Talus Bio
Talus Bio is a Seattle-based, venture-backed biotech founded in 2020 that uses its proprietary MARMOT platform — combining AI, functional proteomics, and synthetic chemistry — to discover small-molecule drugs against transcription factors and other previously undruggable genome-regulating proteins for biopharma partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Talus Bio does
Talus Bio (Talus Bioscience, Inc.) is a Seattle-based, privately-held drug discovery biotechnology company founded in 2020 by Alex Federation, PhD and Lindsay Pino, PhD. The company targets transcription factors, cofactors, and splicing regulators — genome-regulating proteins (the 'regulome') historically considered 'undruggable' because they are confined to the nucleus and resist conventional in vitro modeling. Talus Bio's core technology is the proprietary MARMOT platform, anchored on Native Regulome Profiling: a measurement modality described as the first capable of quantifying the activity of 4,000+ genome-regulating proteins in their natural cellular context and over time. MARMOT layers AI-designed chemical libraries, high-throughput cell-based assays generating tens of millions of compound-target interactions per month, and foundation AI models trained on that functional proteomics data, producing a lab-in-the-loop discovery system for small-molecule modulators of regulome activity.
Talus Bio operates a partnership-driven business model that combines (a) internal pipeline development — four disclosed programs in Library Design stage: TBXT for Chordoma and Lung Cancer; NONO/AR-V7 for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer; and two transcription factor programs for Solid Tumor and Autoimmune Disease — with (b) external co-development collaborations structured as cost-share and profit-share on out-licensed and commercialized drug products, exemplified by the December 2025 PRISM BioLab agreement for TF and PPI targets. Long-term revenue mechanics point toward licensing, royalties, and milestone payments on out-licensed drug products, with a free Regulome Early Access Program used to seed academic and industry collaborators (whose resulting datasets are open-sourced) and build a community funnel for future partnership demand. Pricing and contract terms are negotiated individually per partnership and are not publicly disclosed.
The company is funded primarily through venture capital and non-dilutive grants. Its most recent equity raise was an $11.2 million Seed+ round in August 2024 led by Two Bear Capital, with participation from NFX, WRF Capital, 50 Years, Boom Capital, Y Combinator Continuity, BoxOne Ventures, FundersClub, and Rolling Bay Ventures; earlier rounds and NIH/NCATS/NCI/NSF grants contribute additional capital. Talus Bio maintains approximately 20 named team members across leadership, advisors, board, and broader team roles, with operations headquartered at 550 17th Avenue, Suite 550, Seattle, WA. The company was recognized in StartUs Insights' '10 New Drug Discovery Companies' roundup and presents at major industry conferences including AACR 2025 and the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
Talus Bio firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Talus Bio
- Legal name
- Talus Bioscience, Inc.
- Website
- https://talus.bio
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Talus Bio is a Seattle-based, venture-backed biotech founded in 2020 that uses its proprietary MARMOT platform — combining AI, functional proteomics, and synthetic chemistry — to discover small-molecule drugs against transcription factors and other previously undruggable genome-regulating proteins for biopharma partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Talus Bio industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AI-enabled drug discovery / regulome profiling for transcription factor therapeutics
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Target Identification & Validation Platforms (omics-driven, chemoproteomics, genetic validation) (HLAAAIAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Genomic & Multi-Omic Biomarkers (NGS panels, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) (HLAAAMAJ), Single-Cell & Spatial Omics Discovery Platforms (target ID/validation, functional profiling) (HLAAAIAF), RNA Therapeutics Platforms & Design (sequence design, target ID/validation, AI/bioinformatics) (HLAAADAG)
Keywords
Where Talus Bio is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Talus Bio business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Co-development collaboration revenue share: Talus Bio enters strategic collaborations with pharma/biotech partners (e.g., PRISM BioLab) under which the companies share costs of discovery research and development and share any profits generated from out-licensing and commercialization of discovered drug products.
- Tech Access / Early Access Program partnerships: Talus Bio offers free Native Regulome Profiling through the Regulome Early Access Program to a small number of academic and industry research groups; this functions as a partnership-seeding model rather than direct revenue. Underlying long-term monetization expected through follow-on partnerships and pipeline out-licensing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Strategic co-development collaboration with negotiated cost-share and profit-share on out-licensed products. |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Talus Bio product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Talus Bio operates the proprietary MARMOT platform, an AI-enabled Native Regulome Profiling platform that combines next-generation proteomics, AI-designed chemical libraries, high-throughput cell-based assays, and foundation AI models to measure and modulate the activity of over 4,000 genome-regulating proteins in their natural cellular context. The platform is used to discover and optimize small-molecule modulators of transcription factor and protein-protein interaction targets, both for internal pipeline programs and for biopharma partners under negotiated co-development agreements.
Product overview
Talus Bio offers a single unified platform — the MARMOT platform — anchored on its proprietary Native Regulome Profiling technology. Native Regulome Profiling is the measurement core that quantifies the activity of over 4,000 genome-regulating proteins in their natural cellular context, and MARMOT layers AI-designed chemical libraries, high-throughput cell-based assays (tens of millions of compound-target interactions per month), and foundation AI models on top of that core to discover and optimize small molecules modulating regulome activity. The platform supports both internal pipeline programs (TBXT for Chordoma/Lung Cancer; NONO/AR-V7 for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer; transcription factor programs for Solid Tumor and Autoimmune Disease; additional targets across oncology, immunology, cardiometabolic, and rare disease) and external collaborations, including the Regulome Early Access Program (Tech Access Program) for academic and industry researchers and the December 2025 PRISM BioLab collaboration for transcription factor and protein-protein interaction targets. Together, Native Regulome Profiling, the MARMOT platform, the Tech Access Program, and the internal pipeline programs constitute Talus Bio's integrated regulome drug discovery offering.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MARMOT: Proprietary AI-enabled drug discovery and regulome profiling platform that measures and modulates the regulome in its native cellular context, generating functional proteomics data used to train foundation AI models for transcription factor drug discovery.
Products and services
- MARMOT Platform Proprietary AI-enabled regulome profiling platform that combines AI-designed chemical libraries, high-throughput cell-based assays (tens of millions of compound-target interactions per month), functional proteomics across thousands of regulome targets, and foundation AI models to discover and optimize small molecules modulating transcription factor and protein-protein interaction activity in live human cells. Offered to biopharma partners via negotiated co-development collaborations.
- Native Regulome Profiling (NRP) First technology capable of measuring the activity of the over 4,000 genome-regulating proteins in their natural cellular context and over time. It is the foundational measurement capability of the MARMOT platform and is offered to external collaborators through the Regulome Early Access Program (Tech Access Program).
- Regulome Early Access Program (Tech Access Program) Collaboration program offering free Native Regulome Profiling, access to Talus Bio's AI-powered analysis pipeline, and direct 1-on-1 collaboration with the Talus Bio platform team to a small number of academic and industry research groups; resulting datasets are open-sourced to the community.
- TBXT Program First-in-class internal pipeline program targeting TBXT for Chordoma and Lung Cancer, currently in Library Design stage. Part of Talus Bio's effort to drug previously undruggable targets implicated in oncology and rare disease.
- NONO/AR-V7 Program First-in-class internal pipeline program targeting NONO/AR-V7 for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer, currently in Library Design stage. Represents Talus Bio's focus on transcription factor and cofactor targets in oncology.
- Transcription Factor Programs (Solid Tumor and Autoimmune Disease) First-in-class internal pipeline programs targeting transcription factors for Solid Tumor and Autoimmune Disease indications, currently in Library Design stage. Additional pipeline targets span oncology, immunology, cardiometabolic, and rare disease.
Quantifiable outcome
- Closes the gap between 'what is possible now' in cutting-edge regulome research and 'what might be available later' as actionable treatments for transcriptionally driven diseases.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Talus Bio
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Talus Bio technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature5 records
Talus Bio partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship / core and minor.
- PRISM BioLab Co., Ltd.flagship / coreStrategic collaboration announced December 17, 2025, between Talus Bio (Seattle) and PRISM BioLab (Tokyo) to discover novel small-molecule modulators of transcription factor (TF) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) targets. PRISM's proprietary PepMetics small-molecule libraries will be deployed in Talus Bio's AI-guided regulome profiling screens to identify and optimize first-in-class compounds against high-value TF and PPI targets. The companies will share the costs of discovery research and development and any profits from out-licensing and commercialization of discovered drug products.
- University of Washington (Regulome Summit host venue)minorUniversity of Washington hosted the inaugural Regulome Summit on September 15, 2025, organized by Talus Bio; the event convened genome scientists, technologists, AI experts, and patient-advocacy organizations (including the Northwest Sarcoma Foundation) to chart a collaborative path toward drugging challenging regulome targets.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Talus Bio competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals: Publicly traded AI-native drug discovery company combining high-throughput biology with foundation models; comparable to Talus Bio in applying AI/proteomics at scale to discover novel small molecules, but operates across a broader target universe rather than regulome-specific.
- Schrödinger: Publicly traded computational chemistry and AI drug discovery company serving pharma clients and running an internal pipeline; directly comparable to Talus Bio in pursuing AI/ML-enabled small molecule discovery, with a much broader software-plus-services business model.
- Isomorphic Labs: Alphabet-backed AI drug discovery company applying DeepMind-derived foundation models to pharma partnerships; comparable in pairing AI foundation models with proprietary biological data and pursuing undruggable targets through large-pharma co-development deals.
Direct peers
- Insitro: AI-driven drug discovery company combining machine learning with high-throughput biology to generate functional datasets for target discovery; comparable in technology philosophy (data-generation loops feeding AI models) and in pursuing historically hard-to-drug targets, with larger scale.
- Insilico Medicine: AI-driven biotech using generative models and automated biology to discover novel small molecules, including in oncology and undruggable targets; comparable business model of AI-native discovery with platform-plus-pipeline approach and co-development partnerships with large pharma.
- Atomwise: AI small-molecule discovery company using structure-based deep learning to screen ultra-large virtual libraries; comparable to Talus Bio as an AI-native small-molecule platform pursuing difficult targets and pharma co-development partnerships.
- Absci: AI-enabled generative biology company combining deep learning with high-throughput wet-lab validation to design novel proteins and small molecules; comparable in platform-plus-pipeline model and in pursuing pharma co-development partnerships (Christopher Joyce, Talus Bio's VP of BD, previously held a BD role at Absci).
- Hexagon Bio: Computational biology company applying genomics, ML, and synthetic chemistry to discover novel therapeutics against historically undruggable targets including transcription factors; closely comparable niche focus on genome-regulating proteins (and an advisor relationship to Talus Bio).
Emerging players
- Generate Biomedicines: Generative biology company applying foundation models to programmable biomolecule design; comparable in using AI foundation models on proprietary biological data to expand the druggable target universe, though focused on biologics rather than small molecules.
- Adagene: Clinical-stage biotech using computational biology and AI for antibody and small-molecule discovery in oncology; comparable in applying AI to transcription-factor and protein-protein-interaction-adjacent oncology targets, though with a more clinical-stage pipeline.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Talus Bio social profiles
Digital presenceTalus Bio financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Talus Bio leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Talus Bio funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds11 records
Investors22 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Talus Bio M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Talus Bio
What does Talus Bio do?
Talus Bio operates the proprietary MARMOT platform, an AI-enabled Native Regulome Profiling platform that combines next-generation proteomics, AI-designed chemical libraries, high-throughput cell-based assays, and foundation AI models to measure and modulate the activity of over 4,000 genome-regulating proteins in their natural cellular context. The platform is used to discover and optimize small-molecule modulators of transcription factor and protein-protein interaction targets, both for internal pipeline programs and for biopharma partners under negotiated co-development agreements.
Is Talus Bio a public or private company?
Talus Bio is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Talus Bio founded?
Talus Bio was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Talus Bio based?
Talus Bio is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Talus Bio make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Co-development collaboration revenue share is the primary driver. The others are tech Access / Early Access Program partnerships.
Who are Talus Bio's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Schrödinger and Isomorphic Labs. Direct peers are Insitro, Insilico Medicine, Atomwise, Absci and Hexagon Bio. Emerging players are Generate Biomedicines and Adagene.
Does Talus Bio have an API?
No public API is recorded for Talus Bio.
What industry is Talus Bio in?
Talus Bio's product category is AI-enabled drug discovery / regulome profiling for transcription factor therapeutics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAIAI, Target Identification & Validation Platforms (omics-driven, chemoproteomics, genetic validation), with a secondary code of HLAAAMAJ, Genomic & Multi-Omic Biomarkers (NGS panels, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics). Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.