sci2sci, a Berlin-based artificial intelligence startup, has raised €1.2 million ($1.3 million) in pre-seed funding to expand its AI-trust infrastructure tailored for heavily regulated sectors. The round was co-led by Heliad and IBB Ventures, with participation from Robin Capital and Superangels.
The capital injection will support the company’s expansion across three key areas: growing its engineering team, deepening existing customer deployments, and broadening its customer base within the biopharma sector while extending its flagship product to additional regulated industries including banking.
Addressing the Trust Gap in Regulated AI
sci2sci’s core offering centers on its Integrity Cortex platform, which functions as a security and transparency layer for artificial intelligence systems operating in compliance-heavy environments. The platform links data and AI-generated outputs to verifiable sources, creating an auditable chain that satisfies regulatory requirements and reduces operational risk.
The startup’s approach reflects a growing concern among enterprises and regulators regarding the reliability and traceability of AI-generated decisions. In sectors like pharmaceuticals and financial services, where decisions directly impact human safety or financial stability, the ability to verify how an AI system arrived at a particular conclusion has become essential.
Valerii Kremnev, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of sci2sci, outlined the company’s foundational philosophy: “Instead of shipping capabilities first and patching trust and security afterward, we built Parseltongue and Integrity Cortex to permit only safe outputs. A model’s lockpicking skills are useless when there’s no door — and our software guarantees there is none. The same holds for deception: our systems don’t have ungrounded statements as a primitive. The model is forced to produce evidence for every claim it makes.”
Targeting High-Stakes Sectors
The focus on regulated industries positions sci2sci within the emerging RegTech segment, where compliance requirements create natural barriers to entry and higher customer retention. Biopharma companies, already major investors in AI for drug discovery and clinical operations, face particular pressure to document and justify AI-assisted decisions under regulatory scrutiny from agencies like the European Medicines Agency.
The expansion into banking signals ambitions to address similar trust requirements within financial services, where regulatory frameworks increasingly demand explainability and audit trails for algorithmic decision-making.
European AI Infrastructure Building
sci2sci’s funding round reflects a broader pattern within the European startup ecosystem, where investors and founders are increasingly focusing on AI infrastructure and governance rather than consumer-facing applications. Companies building trustworthy AI systems for enterprise and regulated contexts have attracted growing attention from both venture capital and institutional investors concerned with responsible AI deployment.
The participation of both corporate venture arms like Heliad and specialized venture firms like IBB Ventures suggests confidence that enterprises in regulated sectors will prioritize trust and compliance features when selecting AI solutions, creating sustainable business models for startups that solve these foundational technical challenges.