Drug development is facing mounting economic and regulatory pressure. Industry returns have fallen from around 11% a decade ago to roughly 3% today, while the number of therapies successfully reaching the market remains relatively low.
At the same time, clinical trials have become significantly more complex.
Data volumes have increased by more than 400% over the past decade, while many biotech and pharmaceutical companies still rely on fragmented spreadsheets and legacy software systems to manage critical workflows.
Here’s where Swiss startup Rivia believes artificial intelligence could play a key role in addressing that challenge.
The Zurich-based company has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Earlybird, with participation from Defiant and existing investors Speedinvest, Amino Collective, and Nina Capital.
The funding will support product development, team expansion, and international growth, particularly in the United States.
Building a unified data engine for trials
Founded in Zurich and led by Erik Scalfaro, Rivia is developing a data platform designed to unify and structure clinical trial data from multiple sources in real time.
The system integrates thousands of heterogeneous data files and applies trial-specific scientific logic using a library of reusable configurations.
This process produces harmonised datasets that can feed directly into operational review workflows used by clinical trial teams.
The company says the platform helps automate tasks that are currently handled manually, such as validation, reconciliation, and monitoring of trial data.
These activities often require thousands of hours of human effort across large trials.
According to the company, its technology is already being used in about 40 clinical trials across the United States and Europe.
The announcement comes at a point where the company reported fourfold growth in annual recurring revenue during 2025.’
Building AI agents for clinical workflows
On top of its data platform, Rivia is developing a new suite of AI agents intended to assist trial operators directly within their workflows.
The first agent, called Spark, converts natural language prompts into clinical-grade data visualisations.
Additional agents are being deployed to monitor data quality, detect potential trial deviations earlier, and help prioritise operational decisions.
The company’s broader goal is to replace large portions of manual review processes with automated systems that can scale across trials.
Rivia says the approach could reduce the cost of clinical trials by up to 50% by replacing repetitive operational work with automated 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 systems 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.
