Rivia, the Zurich-based data engine for clinical trial intelligence, today announced a $15 million Series A led by Earlybird, with participation from Defiant and existing investors Speedinvest, Amino Collective, and Nina Capital.
Market Pressure and Regulatory Shift
The raise comes at a critical moment for drug development. Regulatory scrutiny is intensifying, with new FDA guidance1 requiring clinical trial operators to manage risks and compliance proactively. The updated framework explicitly embraces innovation in trial design, conduct, and technology.
At the same time, the economics of drug development are under pressure. Industry returns have declined from 11% a decade ago to roughly 3 % today, with the number of therapies that successfully reach the market remaining stubbornly low. Yet, the operational reality has not evolved.
Rising Complexity in Clinical Trials
Clinical trials have become exponentially more complex. Data volume has increased more than 400 percent over the past decade. Biotech and Pharma operators still rely on fragmented spreadsheets and rigid legacy systems. Thousands of human hours are spent on repetitive validation, reconciliation, and monitoring tasks. Much of it is deterministic, yet manually executed.
AI and Data Infrastructure Foundation
Latest advances in AI allow LLMs to deliver value across workflows and scale decision support, but only if the underlying data is unified, structured, and encoded correctly. Rivia anticipated this shift.
Over the past three years, the company built what it calls the first reusable intelligence layer for clinical trials. Its data engine integrates thousands of heterogeneous data files in real-time, applies trial-specific scientific logic using its proprietary library of reusable configurations, and feeds harmonized data directly into operational review workflows. This helps assist decision-making proactively.
Launch of AI Agents and Vision for Efficiency
On this foundation, Rivia is launching a new suite of embedded AI agents. Its first agent, Spark, converts natural language into publication-grade clinical visualizations instantly. Next-generation agents are being deployed into proactive data quality monitoring and oversight workflows, enabling earlier deviation detection, intelligent prioritization, and structured, auditable action.
The ambition is clear: reduce clinical trial costs by up to 50% by replacing manual efforts by trial operators with scalable Agentic systems.
Erik Scalfaro, CEO and Co-Founder of Rivia, said:
“Two years ago, we made a deliberate decision. We started with the scaffolding, building the foundational data engine before turning to agents. Today, that vertical sequence of data engine to agents gives us a structural advantage. We’ve seen biotechs run global trials on Rivia and deliver measurable results, from preventing issues that would’ve cost millions to gaining earlier clarity on which patients benefit most. With every new trial, our ontology library compounds, making our system more powerful over time. Our goal is now to help clinical trials scale through workflows and AI rather than incremental human effort. Our Series A enables us to accelerate this next phase of growth, and we’re proud to have the backing of Earlybird as we scale.”
“Clinical trials are among the most complex and costly workflows in healthcare, yet much of the infrastructure remains fragmented and manual. Rivia has built a true intelligence layer for clinical operations, unifying data and embedding agents directly into high-impact workflows. We believe this approach has the potential to fundamentally improve trial execution, reducing costs while increasing speed and data integrity. We’re excited to support Erik and the team as they scale this new agentic foundation for global drug development,” shares Christian Nagel, Partner & Co-Founder at Earlybird
“When we first backed Erik and Tiago, they took on the hardest challenge first — building the data and infrastructure engine to power the world’s most complex clinical trials. They’ve delivered and more, becoming mission-critical to their customers. We’re excited to keep backing them as they layer agentic intelligence on that foundation and build the platform no clinical trial can run without, ”comments Andrea Zitna, Lead Partner for Health & Bio at Speedinvest.