Success Story: IKTOS

Introduction

Founded in 2016, Iktos is a global leader in AI and robotics for drug discovery. Its generative AI technology designs molecules in silico, optimized to meet all key success criteria of a discovery project. With over 60 successful projects to date, Iktos is also advancing its own pipeline of drug candidates in oncology, obesity and metabolism, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

The company completed a €15.5M Series A financing round in 2023, co-led by M Ventures and Debiopharm Innovation, with participation from Omnes Capital. In 2024, Iktos acquired Synsight, strengthening its platform with cutting-edge cellular imaging and high-content biological screening capabilities. In 2025, the French start-up was awarded a €2.5M grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator, with potential follow-on funding of €5M, to advance its integrated AI and robotics platform.

Why Japan?

Iktos identified Japan as a strategic market from early on. The first connection came in 2020, when Teijin Pharmaceuticals reached out looking for a partner with advanced capabilities in AI for drug discover. After initial discussions for a potential strategic collaboration, a formal agreement was launched in early 2022 and ran until mid-2024 — a significant milestone. Around the same time, Iktos started a business relationship with Ono Pharmaceutical. These two partnerships provided a strong foundation and demonstrated that the Japanese market was the right fit. Reinforced by this early success, the French start-up hired an application scientist who moved to Japan and hired Hideyoshi Fuji, a former Astellas computational scientist, to support their business development efforts in Japan.

The momentum continued with new Japanese clients, including Kissei Pharmaceutical, and a drug The momentum continued with new Japanese clients, including Kissei Pharmaceutical, and a drug discovery collaboration with the start-up Curreio in 2023.

As Japan became an undisputed priority market, a local subsidiary was established: Iktos KK, based in the Greater Tokyo area in Chiba, to better serve its growing base of customers and partners, with Hideyoshi Fuji as Representative Director.
 

EU-Japan Centre’s Support

Iktos benefited from the EU-Japan Centre's support through participation in the 2024 Biotech Business Mission to BioJapan Yokohama, the leading trade fair in Japan.

Mr. Gaston-Mathe, CEO and co-founder, and Mr. Fuji, Representative Director, took part in the mission and were hosted at the Centre's pavilion, gaining visibility with key Japanese industry players and access to targeted business-to-business meetings.
 

Challenges in the Japanese market

Despite strong demand for its software, Iktos’s strategic priority now lies in drug-discovery partnerships, a harder sell in a market where pharmaceutical companies traditionally prefer to conduct R&D in-house.

The broader industry context adds complexity. The pharma sector is going through a period of consolidation, with widespread mergers and acquisitions making budget allocation for R&D software and external collaborations more uncertain than before.
 

Advice European SME

Having a team composed both of Japanese and French colleagues – who are also fluent in Japanese, understanding the local business culture and with strong professional networks, has been a decisive competitive advantage.
 

Future perspectives/opportunities

Iktos's ambitions in Japan are set to grow. In 2025, the company announced a landmark strategic drug discovery collaboration with Servier, a leading French pharmaceutical group, with a potential deal value of over one billion euros.

Japan is considered as a high priority for replicating this kind of high-value strategic collaboration. With years of experience working alongside Japanese innovators, an established local subsidiary, and a track record of successful partnerships with some of Japan's leading pharmaceutical companies, Iktos is well positioned to deepen its footprint in the market.

Text based on an interview with Yann Gaston-Mathe, CEO and co-founder, and Hideyoshi Fuji, Representative Director.

Published in March 2026.