Who is building AI for drug discovery and development
By David TsaiUpdated Nov 2026
Trial Stack AI (TSAI) follows the companies where AI is changing how medicines are found, tested and approved, from AI-native startups to established pharma using AI in earnest. Built from David's experience advising and talking with founders.
Founders and biotech leaders kept asking how their products stacked up in AI x Bio. Everyone had “a list”. Nobody shared theirs. So I built one.
Latest moves
Check out the latest news and announcements across the landscape of companies building with AI, from funding rounds and partnerships to acquisitions and shutdowns aka departures. Select a row to see more and dive into the source.
Latest moves
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Arrival: money or a partner coming in. Departure: acquired, sold or shut. Announcement: what a company says its AI will do or did, as Target (a goal), Claimed (said, no data) or Shown (backed by data). Terminal: round, buyer or source. Fare: dollar amount or headline number. Gate: where its AI works, from discovery to clinical, regulatory or end to end. Select a row for the news.
AI x Bio tracker
Every company, in one list
The AI x Bio tracker of all relevant companies operating in this space.
Open the tracker (opens in a new tab)Further insights
Additional visualizations to go deeper into the companies: how they got started, amounts raised, who is backing them and what stage of the pipeline they are in now.
Big pharma AI ranking
Wonder which big drug maker has gone the furthest with AI?
Ranked on the public record: how central AI is, how widely it is used, recent moves and how much is built in house.
- 1AstraZenecaAZNMixes in-house builds, acquisitions and licensed tools.
- 2Johnson & JohnsonJNJBuilds much of its AI in house and adds selected partners.
- 3Eli LillyLLYBuilds heavily in house, with large compute partnerships.
- 4GenentechROGBuilds most of its AI in house, led by Genentech research.
- 5SanofiSANCalls itself AI-powered and mixes builds with partnerships.
- 6PfizerPFEUses AI mainly in discovery, in house and through partners.
- 7Bristol Myers SquibbBMYMostly buys clinical AI rather than building platforms.
- 8RegeneronREGNBuilds on its own data rather than outside AI platforms.
- 9NovartisNVSMostly buys AI through discovery partners, not own models.
- 10GileadGILDMostly buys AI through discovery and data partnerships.
- 11VertexVRTXA smaller public AI footprint than most large drug makers.
- 12BiogenBIIBDiscloses few named AI deals next to large-pharma peers.
Lines and stops
Each line is a type of company in the space, and each stop is a step in drug development.
- DiscoveryBiology, small molecules, and biologics design.
- TranslationalPreclinical models, toxicity, and IND preparation.
- Start-UpTrial strategy, site activation, and patient enrollment.
- ConductEDC, data monitoring, live execution, and CRO services.
- RegulatoryRegulatory submissions, pharmacovigilance, quality, and medical writing.
- DiscoveryBiology, small molecules, and biologics design.
- TranslationalPreclinical models, toxicity, and IND preparation.
- Start-UpTrial strategy, site activation, and patient enrollment.
- ConductEDC, data monitoring, live execution, and CRO services.
- RegulatoryRegulatory submissions, pharmacovigilance, quality, and medical writing.
Lines
- FFinding DrugsPure-play AI labs generating or validating candidates for partnerships without taking clinical risk.
- OOwning DrugsBiotechs utilizing internal AI platforms to advance proprietary clinical pipelines.
- RRunning TrialsClinical software, patient networks, and AI-native CROs managing trial execution and compliance.
- AAI TechnologyFoundational models, R&D/clinical operating systems, and real-world data networks.
The map is a mini Gulliver's Travels representation of the lines and stops that make up the current AI x Bio landscape. It is not to scale and should not be taken as an actual representation of where companies are located, but it does have some fun surprises to explore and find.
