Loading organizations...
§ Public · Los Altos, CA, USA
Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on precision psychiatry, developing targeted medications for mental health.
Alto Neuroscience is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Los Altos, California, that develops personalized precision psychiatry treatments for mental health conditions using artificial intelligence and brain biomarkers. The publicly traded enterprise utilizes electroencephalogram data, genetics, neurocognitive assessments, and wearable technology to match patients with targeted drug candidates for major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia. Operating with a workforce of 68 employees, the firm maintains an enterprise value of approximately $361 million after raising $128 million during its February 2024 initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. Prior to entering the public equity markets, the organization secured over $100 million in private venture funding from notable institutional investors including Eli Lilly and Company, Alpha Wave Ventures, Lightswitch Capital, and Alkeon Capital. Alto Neuroscience was founded in 2019 by Dr. Amit Etkin.
Alto Neuroscience has raised $277.0M across 8 funding rounds.
Alto Neuroscience has raised $277.0M in total across 8 funding rounds.
Alto Neuroscience has raised $277.0M across 8 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $50.0M Other Equity in October 2025.
Alto Neuroscience has raised $277.0M in total across 8 funding rounds.
Alto Neuroscience's investors include Perceptive Advisors, Commodore Capital, Vestal Point Capital, Vivo Capital, Michael Liang, 7BC Venture Capital, Baird Capital, Champion Hill Labs, Crosscut Ventures, Endeavor Venture Funds, Scott Hartley, LombardStreet Ventures.
Alto Neuroscience is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering precision psychiatry through an AI-driven Precision Psychiatry Platform™ that measures brain biomarkers to match patients with targeted drug candidates for neuropsychiatric conditions like depression, PTSD, bipolar depression, and schizophrenia.[1][2][3][4] It serves patients suffering from mental health disorders by solving the inefficiencies of trial-and-error treatments, using multimodal data—including EEG, cognitive tests, wearables, genetics, and behavioral patterns—to predict drug responses and improve clinical outcomes.[2][3][6] The company boasts a robust pipeline with multiple programs, including ALTO-100 (Phase 2b for bipolar depression) and others in Phase 2 and Phase 1, demonstrating strong growth momentum from stealth emergence in 2021 with $40M funding to advancing biomarker-enriched trials.[5][7]
Founded in 2019 in Los Altos, California, Alto Neuroscience emerged from decades of neuroscience research, particularly the work of co-founder Amit Etkin, MD, PhD, a former Stanford professor who used brain imaging to predict antidepressant responses like Zoloft.[5] Etkin, alongside co-founders Dan Segal and Wei Wu, launched the company to translate this into accessible, at-home biomarker analysis via computerized tests, wearables, and in-home EEG, moving beyond lab-based studies.[5][3] Early traction included $8M seed and $32M Series A funding led by Apeiron Investment Group in 2021, enabling three Phase 2a drugs for depression and PTSD by mid-2023 targets; partnerships like with Cerebral in 2021 further accelerated decentralized Phase II studies.[5][6]
Alto Neuroscience rides the convergence of AI, biomarkers, and precision medicine in neuropsychiatry, addressing a crisis where mental health disorders affect millions amid outdated trial-and-error methods that fail due to biological variability.[1][4][6] Timing is ideal post-COVID mental health surge, with AI enabling multimodal data integration for the first biomarker-enriched CNS pipeline, reducing development risks historically plaguing 90%+ failure rates in psychiatry trials.[3][7] Market forces like rising demand for personalized therapies, wearable tech proliferation, and FDA openness to biomarkers favor Alto, influencing the ecosystem by partnering (e.g., Cerebral for decentralized trials) and setting standards for AI in drug matching, potentially accelerating approvals and transforming access to effective treatments.[5][6]
Alto is poised to lead precision psychiatry commercialization, with near-term milestones like ALTO-100 Phase 2b readouts and platform expansions into schizophrenia and beyond, potentially yielding first FDA approvals by late 2020s.[7] Trends like advanced AI models, real-world evidence integration, and neurotech wearables will amplify its edge, while challenges like scaling diverse datasets persist. As it evolves from stealth innovator to market shaper, Alto could redefine psychiatric care, delivering the patient-drug matches that finally tame the mental health epidemic—elevating outcomes where trial-and-error has long fallen short.[1][3]