Iktos
Iktos is a Paris-based AI drug discovery company building generative chemistry, retrosynthesis, and lab-automation software (Makya, Spaya, Ilaka, Iktos Robotics) licensed to major pharmaceutical clients including Servier, Pfizer, Takeda, and Janssen through SaaS and milestone-bearing collaborations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Iktos does
Iktos is a French AI-native drug discovery company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Paris, with operational presence in the United States and Japan. The company builds end-to-end small molecule discovery software built on proprietary generative AI and machine learning models. Its core platform comprises Makya for generative molecular design, Spaya for retrosynthesis planning, Iktos Engine APIs for model integration, and the newer Ilaka orchestration layer and Iktos Robotics offering that close the loop between AI design and automated lab execution.
The company monetizes through three primary channels: SaaS-style subscriptions and project fees for its AI platform, milestone-bearing drug discovery collaborations with pharmaceutical partners, and selective internal pipeline programs (including IKT525 targeting MTHFD2, an Amylin Receptor program, and a SKP2-CKS1 program). It serves major pharmaceutical clients including Servier, Pierre Fabre, Pfizer, Janssen, and Takeda, with 60+ cumulative collaborations announced. The January 2026 Servier partnership, valued at over €1 billion in upfront and milestone payments, represents the largest commercial validation in the company's history.
Iktos has scaled through a combination of venture funding (a €15.5M Series A in 2023), non-dilutive capital (a €2.5M EIC grant in 2025), and inorganic moves (the July 2024 acquisition of Synsight to add structure-based design). The company employs between 51 and 100 people and continues to expand its product surface, ecosystem partnerships (AWS, Chemspeed), and geographic footprint, positioning it as one of the more commercially validated European generative AI drug discovery platforms.
Iktos firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Iktos
- Legal name
- Iktos SA
- Website
- https://iktos.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Iktos is a Paris-based AI drug discovery company building generative chemistry, retrosynthesis, and lab-automation software (Makya, Spaya, Ilaka, Iktos Robotics) licensed to major pharmaceutical clients including Servier, Pfizer, Takeda, and Janssen through SaaS and milestone-bearing collaborations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Iktos is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Iktos business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Strategic Drug Discovery Collaborations: Iktos generates revenue through strategic multi-target collaborations with pharmaceutical companies. Deals typically include upfront payments, research funding, and milestone payments tied to programme progression. Notable example: €1B+ partnership with Servier covering multiple undisclosed targets in oncology and neurology.
- SaaS Platform Subscriptions: Makya and Spaya are offered as Software-as-a-Service platforms. Customers can access generative AI for molecular design and retrosynthesis planning through subscription-based licenses. Spaya API Suite available for high-throughput scoring.
- API Access and Engine Licensing: Iktos Engine offers production-ready APIs including 3D Align, 3D Dock, and Boltz 3D Affinity for computational chemistry pipelines. Available via AWS with autoscaling or on customer VPC.
- EIC Accelerator Grant: European Innovation Council Accelerator grant funding of €2.5 million with potential additional €5 million investment to advance automated AI and robotics platform for drug synthesis automation.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Iktos product offering
Product offeringCore offering
No source-backed information available in the provided input.
Product overview
Iktos is an AI and robotics drug discovery company offering an integrated platform combining three core proprietary products — Makya (generative AI for de novo molecular design), Spaya (AI-driven retrosynthesis planning), and Iktos Robotics (AI-orchestrated automated synthesis and biological testing) — coordinated by Ilaka orchestration software. The platform delivers preclinical drug candidates in under 2 years through an automated Design-Make-Test-Analyze (DMTA) cycle. Iktos also provides two API products: the Spaya API Suite for high-throughput synthetic feasibility scoring, and Iktos Engine APIs for 3D drug design (alignment, docking, and affinity prediction). The company maintains an internal pipeline of drug candidates across oncology, inflammation, and metabolism. The platform is supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC Accelerator grant) and serves pharmaceutical and biotech partners globally.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Discovery phase reduced from 4-5 years to under 2 years
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Iktos
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Iktos technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability7 records
Feature7 records
Iktos partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, strategic and minor.
- Chemspeed TechnologiescoreStrategic partnership to deliver AI-driven laboratory automation solution for pharmaceutical research. Combines Iktos' Ilaka orchestration software with Chemspeed robotic synthesis platforms. Enables automated workflows for pharmaceutical library synthesis and reaction screening. Chemspeed is a Bruker company.
- ServierflagshipLandmark multi-year strategic collaboration for AI-driven small-molecule drug discovery in oncology and neurology. Potential deal value exceeding €1 billion including upfront, research funding, and milestone payments. Iktos applies generative AI and robotics to design and optimize molecules for multiple undisclosed targets.
- Pierre Fabre LaboratoriescoreIntegrated AI-driven drug discovery collaboration in oncology. Iktos leverages generative AI to design optimized small-molecule candidates against undisclosed oncology target; Pierre Fabre contributes oncology research and preclinical development expertise. Includes upfront and milestone payments.
- Cube BiotechcoreSmall molecule AI drug discovery collaboration. Cube's cutting-edge protein stabilization technology preserves natural conformation of membrane proteins, enabling biologically active drug targets for testing. Combined with Iktos AI platform for Amylin receptor agonist development.
- SynsightcoreAcquisition of Synsight completed July 2024 to integrate Synsight's MT Bench system into Iktos' drug discovery platform. Synsight is a biotechnology company specializing in phenotypic screening technologies.
- ElsevierstrategicStrategic partnership combining Elsevier's Reaxys chemistry database with Iktos' retrosynthesis AI technology to create new predictive retrosynthesis and synthetic accessibility tools.
- AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreCloud infrastructure partner providing AWS cloud services for Iktos' AI platforms and operations. Featured in AWS Pioneers Project 2026 showcasing European AI innovation.
- ETH ZurichminorAcademic research collaboration on peptide cheminformatics tools for peptide drug discovery, published in Drug Discovery Today journal alongside Novo Nordisk.
- Novo NordiskminorAcademic research collaboration on peptide cheminformatics tools for peptide drug discovery, published in Drug Discovery Today journal alongside ETH Zurich.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Iktos competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Insilico Medicine: AI-driven drug discovery company combining generative chemistry, target discovery, and clinical development. Directly competes with Iktos on generative molecular design and integrated discovery platforms, though larger and more advanced pipeline.
- Exscientia: Public UK-based AI drug discovery company offering generative AI platforms for small molecule design and end-to-end precision medicine. Closest direct peer to Iktos in generative AI + pharma collaborations and pipeline.
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals: TechBio combining high-throughput biology, automation, and AI/ML for drug discovery. Comparable through integration of automated experimentation with AI-driven molecular design, though oriented more toward phenotypic biology than Iktos's small-molecule focus.
- Schrödinger: Computational chemistry and molecular simulation platform used widely in pharma, with co-founded internal pipeline. Directly comparable to Iktos through physics-based and AI-driven molecular design and enterprise pharma software customers.
- Benevolent AI: AI drug discovery company combining knowledge graphs with machine learning for target identification and molecule design. Comparable to Iktos as an AI-native pharma collaborator with internal pipeline programs and major pharma partnerships.
- Atomwise: AI-driven small molecule drug discovery company using structure-based design and virtual screening. Comparable to Iktos on generative and structure-based molecular design SaaS for pharma, with overlapping customer base.
- Aqemia: Paris-based AI drug discovery company using quantum-inspired physics and generative AI for small molecule discovery. Direct geographic and product peer to Iktos in the European AI drug discovery ecosystem.
- Qubit Pharmaceuticals: French AI-driven drug discovery company combining molecular simulation, quantum chemistry, and machine learning. Mentioned via an Iktos board observer connection and is a direct French peer in AI-native pharma R&D.
Broad incumbents
- Isomorphic Labs: Alphabet-owned AI drug discovery spinout of DeepMind, pursuing an end-to-end computational drug design platform. Comparable to Iktos in generative molecular design ambition but with substantially more capital and broader scope.
Others
- Chemspeed Technologies (Bruker): Provider of automated synthesis and workflow robotics now part of Bruker; technology partner and supplier of the robotic platforms underlying Iktos Robotics. Relevant as enabling infrastructure rather than direct competitor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Iktos social profiles
Digital presenceIktos financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Iktos leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Iktos subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Iktos funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Iktos M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Iktos
What does Iktos do?
No source-backed information available in the provided input.
Is Iktos a public or private company?
Iktos is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Iktos founded?
Iktos was founded in 2016. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Iktos based?
Iktos is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Iktos make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Strategic Drug Discovery Collaborations are the primary driver. The others are saaS Platform Subscriptions, API Access and Engine Licensing and EIC Accelerator Grant.
Who are Iktos's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Insilico Medicine, Exscientia, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Schrödinger, Benevolent AI, Atomwise, Aqemia and Qubit Pharmaceuticals. Isomorphic Labs is listed as a broad incumbent. Chemspeed Technologies (Bruker) is listed as an others.
Does Iktos have an API?
Yes. Iktos offers multiple production-ready APIs. The Spaya API enables programmatic access to retrosynthesis planning, including RScore (proprietary synthetic accessibility score), number of steps, and RSpred (fast synthetic feasibility estimation). It integrates with platforms like KNIME and Pipeline Pilot, and is available on AWS with autoscaling or on a private VPC. Iktos Engine APIs include three services for 3D drug design: Iktos 3D Align (ligand-based virtual screening), Iktos 3D Dock (template-based docking), and Boltz 3D Affinity (binding affinity prediction using the Boltz-2 trunk without co-folding). Engine APIs are benchmarked on AlignDockBench and FEP+/OpenFE, with CPU-based performance suitable for production environments. An early-adopter program is available via [email protected]. Developer documentation is at spaya.ai/app.