Araceli Biosciences Raises $11.2 Million to Ramp up Drug Discovery with AI-powered analysis 

In the high-stakes world of biotech, speed can mean the difference between a missed breakthrough and a life-saving drug. While artificial intelligence has changed areas like genomics and robotics have accelerated lab processes, one critical piece of the drug discovery pipeline has remained painfully outdated that is its high-content imaging. 

Despite advances elsewhere, researchers still spend hours or even days waiting for cellular imaging data to be processed and analyzed.

That’s the problem Araceli Biosciences is here to solve. The Portland-based biotech startup is on a mission to blow up the industry’s biggest bottleneck, and it’s doing it with a next-generation platform that fuses ultra-fast imaging with real-time AI-powered analysis. With $11.2 million in fresh funding under its belt including $7.2 million in new equity investment and $4 million in converted SAFEs Araceli is gearing up to scale production, expand commercial reach, and continue redefining what speed means in scientific research.

The main reason for Araceli’s rising is Endeavor®, the company’s flagship high-content imaging system that captures cellular data up to 40 times faster than traditional solutions. But capturing images is only half the story. Paired with its proprietary AI analysis software, Clairvoyance, Endeavor doesn’t just collect data it interprets it in real time, slashing wait times, reducing experimental errors, and accelerating the pace of drug development. For researchers and pharmaceutical companies racing to understand how potential therapies interact with cells, this combination is a game-changer.

It’s mission began as a spinout from Phoseon Technology, leveraging deep expertise in imaging, optics, and engineering. From the start, the company’s approach was radically different. Instead of retrofitting outdated systems for today’s AI-driven pipelines, Araceli built a platform from the ground up designed specifically for speed, scalability, and seamless AI integration. In doing so, it has positioned itself at the forefront of a movement to modernize one of the slowest and most data-intensive steps in drug discovery.

CEO Matt Beaudet is clear about the company’s ambition. “The old model of waiting hours or even days for data is over,” he said. “At Araceli, we’re building a platform that moves at the speed of science.” And in a research landscape where minutes and seconds matter, that speed isn’t just a nice-to-have it’s a strategic necessity. Faster imaging means faster insights. Faster insights mean better decisions, more experiments, and shorter timelines to clinical breakthroughs.

For industries like personalized medicine, where timing is crucial and every data point matters, the company’s ability to generate actionable results in near real time opens new doors. Researchers can iterate faster, test more hypotheses, and get to validation quicker. In pharma, where billion-dollar timelines hinge on the pace of early-stage discovery, tools like Endeavor and Clairvoyance don’t just make life easier they make success more likely.

Backing from investors, including Araceli’s Chairman of the Board Bill Cortelyou, reinforces the market’s belief in the company’s potential. “Araceli’s breakthrough technology, experienced leadership, and clear market demand position the company well for significant growth,” Cortelyou noted. With this latest funding round, Araceli is doubling down on its momentum ramping up manufacturing, enhancing its real-time analysis capabilities, growing its go-to-market team, and extending its reach into emerging applications.

And perhaps most importantly, Araceli’s rise reflects a broader shift in biotech, one where legacy systems can no longer keep up with the demands of modern science. Imaging, once a passive step in the research process, is becoming a proactive engine of discovery, one that drives faster cycles, higher throughput, and smarter results. Araceli isn’t just keeping up with that shift it’s leading it.

For scientists used to slow feedback loops and clunky analysis pipelines, their platform offers something revolutionary that is speed, intelligence, and precision in one seamless package. In a space where every second can shape a cure, the company is turning time into its most powerful tool.