AI's New Bet: Predicting Cancer Drug Success Before Trials

Jan de Vries · 2026-11-12

What if we could know whether a cancer drug will work before it ever reaches a patient? That's the question driving Orakl Oncology, a French startup that just raised $34 million to make it a reality. ### The Big Idea: Virtual Cancer Patients Orakl Oncology is building what they call 'virtual cancer patients' – lab-grown tumors from real patients, paired with deep clinical and molecular data. These virtual patients let researchers test drugs at scale and predict how real patients will respond, years before clinical trials. It sounds like science fiction, but it's grounded in real biology. The company spun out of the Gustave Roussy Institute in 2023 and has already shown promising results. ### Why This Matters Right now, about 75% of oncology drugs fail in Phase 2 trials. That's a massive waste of time, money, and hope. The problem? We can't reliably predict how a drug will behave in humans until we test it on humans. Orakl's approach could change that. By combining real patient biology with AI, they're giving pharma companies a way to bet on the right drugs for the right patients much earlier. Dr. Fanny Jaulin, CEO and co-founder, put it simply: "For decades, we've developed cancer drugs without being able to reliably predict how they will behave in patients until they reach clinical trials. We believe the next breakthrough will come from making tumor and patient biology predictable." ### The Funding Round The $34 million Series A was co-led by Norrsken VC and Singular, with participation from new investors like InfraVia Capital Partners, Serena, and Bpifrance's Patient Autonome Fund. Existing investors Verve Ventures VC, Speedinvest, and HCVC also joined in. This brings Orakl's total funding to $50 million. Jeremy Uzan, co-founder and General Partner at Singular, said: "Fanny, Gustave and Diane-Laure bring together a rare combination of expertise in cancer research, cell biology and computational biology, alongside a clear understanding of what the pharmaceutical industry needs." ### A Growing Trend Orakl isn't alone. European startups are increasingly using AI to tackle drug discovery. In 2026 alone, we've seen: - Rivercell raise $24 million for AI-powered cell-response modelling - Biorce secure $47 million for AI-driven clinical trials - Adaptyv Bio raise $37 million for automated biological testing - Generare close $21 million for molecular drug discovery Together, these deals represent over $160 million in funding for AI-enabled drug development – and that's just the beginning. ### What's Next? Orakl plans to use the fresh capital to expand its platform across more cancer types and pharmaceutical programs. If successful, it could drastically reduce the failure rate of oncology drugs and bring better treatments to patients faster. It's a bold vision, but one that's increasingly within reach. And with backing from top investors, Orakl is well-positioned to lead the charge.