A turning point
In the mid-2010s, KANTIFY, an AI pioneer, made a name for itself in pricing, personalized marketing, and image analysis. A few years later, the startup founded by Ségolène Martin and Nik Subramanian made a spectacular shift, successfully developing a drug discovery technology with a focus on rare diseases and cancer.
A wake-up call
How can such a radical shift happen in just a few months? The diagnosis of a rare cancer within the team was a wake-up call.
“We realized that, when used properly, our expertise could have a significant societal impact in healthcare. Running a business is great, but making sure that business helps patients waiting for treatment is even better,” explains Ségolène Martin, co-founder and CEO of KANTIFY.
“We wanted to remain AI pioneers, this time in the field of AI applied to pharmaceutical discovery. Our goal was to develop a technology that outperforms existing solutions, particularly in rare diseases and cancer, enabling faster, cheaper, and more efficient drug discovery.”
A success story
The results have been “incredibly successful,” says KANTIFY’s founder. The Brussels-based startup quickly formed collaborations with renowned academic institutions, such as Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, and CECS/I-Stem (part of the Telethon research network) in France, as well as laboratories in Belgium, Singapore, the Netherlands, and Spain.
“Our team was initially recognized for its AI expertise, not for drug development. Of course, we brought in specialists in bioengineering and chemistry, but we mainly turned what could have been a weakness into a strength. Instead of doing things ‘like everyone else,’ we approached extremely complex problems with a fresh perspective. That’s our secret to driving innovation. We developed entirely new strategies to discover therapeutic targets and new molecules. Within just a few years, we created a completely novel procedure that surpasses all previous methodologies. The results we just announced in prostate cancer with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine are outstanding. It’s so exciting and motivating to push the boundaries like this!”
A dual legitimacy
“AI is not a magic wand, but rather a technological tool,” warns Ségolène Martin, who elaborates: “Our AI-based technology, SAPIAN, helps discover therapeutic targets, small molecules, and even predicts potential side effects of treatments at an early stage. It can identify drugs for various cancers or rare diseases, such as sarcomas, where our results have been spectacular. Our partners then test and validate them in laboratories.”
Beyond offering its technology to biotech companies, KANTIFY also develops its own molecules to meet patient needs directly. However, regulatory processes for new drug approval take time, meaning the first molecules developed using SAPIAN are still in the preclinical phase, undergoing in vitro and in vivo testing before moving to human clinical trials.
Still, KANTIFY’s presence in the Brussels Lifetech ecosystem, particularly in Biotech and Digital Health, is fully justified. Ségolène Martin clarifies: “It would be more accurate to say we belong to the emerging ‘TechBio’ sector, which integrates technology into biotechnology. In the increasingly competitive biopharma industry, leveraging AI efficiently is a key differentiator.”
Brussels: A strategic location
This dual legitimacy has convinced Innoviris to support KANTIFY in a research project focused on discovering new cancer treatments in collaboration with CNRS. “It’s a highly ambitious collaborative project, and the initial results are very promising,” says Ségolène Martin.
Having originally come to Brussels to represent her home region in the EU before founding her first company here, the Sciences Po Strasbourg graduate and MBA holder feels more at home than ever in the Belgian capital.
“In the TechBio sector, everything is about the long term,” she says. “Belgium has excellent teams in technology, AI, and biotechnology. There’s a real opportunity to leverage AI in healthcare, creating value for both patients and the economy. It’s the perfect formula. As a tech company, we’re delighted to be in Brussels, where Belgium makes perfect sense for drug discovery.”
