Alto Neuroscience is a clinical-stage biotech company dedicated to reinventing mental healthcare by creating a more precise and personalized treatment paradigm. With its AI platform, Alto has screened over 200 psychiatric drug candidates and identified 11 candidates currently being advanced into clinical testing. Recently, Alto closed a $40 million Series A financing round to push multiple drug candidates into mid-stage testing, attracting top-tier healthcare investors like Apeiron Investment Group. By leveraging big data and AI to match specific drugs to individual patients, Alto Neuroscience aims to redefine psychiatry and take the guesswork out of mental health treatment.
Alto Neuroscience raises $40 million to advance psychedelics R&D
In October 2021, Alto Neuroscience emerged from stealth mode after securing $40 million in a Series A funding round led by Apeiron Investment Group. Other notable investors included Founders Fund and Philippe Laffont’s health-focused fund Coatue Life Science. The cash infusion will help Alto advance multiple drug candidates for depression and PTSD into clinical Phase 2A trials. With AI-based predictive biomarkers guiding more targeted therapy, Alto wants to replace the trial-and-error treatment model that dominates mental healthcare currently.
Stanford psychiatry professor leaves university to focus on Alto full time
The Series A round comes on the heels of Stanford University professor and psychiatrist Dr. Amit Etkin stepping down from his professorship to fully devote himself to Alto Neuroscience. As a recognized leader in neuropsychiatry, Dr. Etkin has long advocated for more precise psychiatric diagnoses and treatments tailored to each patient’s unique brain physiology. His frustration with psychiatry’s imprecise diagnostic system was what motivated him to start Alto in the first place. With key research discoveries in EEG biomarkers and AI analysis under his belt, Dr. Etkin now wants to translate those findings into actual clinical treatments that can benefit patients.
With marquee backers on board, expectations run high for Alto’s precision mental health drugs
In addition to the investments from healthcare-focused funds, Alto Neuroscience has also attracted support from top technology investors like Paul Buchheit, Ali Partovi and renowned AI expert Fei-Fei Li. The startup’s total funding raised so far stands at $44 million. With such marquee backers on board, expectations are sky-high for Alto to successfully develop and commercialize the first wave of precision psychiatric medicines. If the promising Phase 2A trial data expected in 2023 lives up to the hype, it would mark a seminal moment in transforming mental healthcare using AI-based personalization.
By combining neuroscience, AI and advanced data analytics, Alto Neuroscience aims to redefine psychiatry with a more targeted, personalized approach to mental health treatment. With over $40 million in fresh investments and a high-profile team including Stanford psychiatrist Dr. Amit Etkin, expectations run high for this promising biotech startup to deliver breakthrough results.