Research Grid secured $6.5M to automate clinical trials' administrative work

Research Grid recently announced it raised a $6.5 million seed funding round led by Fuel Ventures and supported by several participating investors, including Arve Capital, Ada Ventures, Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab, Arāya Ventures, Ascension Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, and Atomico Angels. The seed funding will boost Research Grid's market presence in the US and Asia, help it grow its engineering team, develop more AI-powered automations and invest in research and development.

Founded by Dr. Amber Hill, a former medical researcher who holds a PhD in biomedical neuroscience and has experience with AI research technology, Research Grid aims to simplify and accelerate the administrative processes behind clinical trials. At a time when the pharmaceutical industry is tapping the potential of AI to accelerate processes such as drug discovery and protein optimization, clinical trials leverage inefficient methods, from using legacy software to guaranteeing a representative participant selection using a manual process that mainly relies on social media advertisements.

To address these shortcomings, the Research Grid platform comprises two products: TrialEngine supports administration, data, and reporting workflows, while Inclusive connects medical researchers with a vetted network of over 91,000 global communities covering 2,050 medical conditions. Inclusive is also designed to handle the administrative processes related to participant recruitment, including payments and data management. Both products are powered by Research Grid's proprietary algorithms that automate low-level repetitive tasks to free up time and resources that researchers can devote to more meaningful work.