Phagos

AI-native startups grow 20× faster than everyone else in France. Here's what "AI-native" actually means: not AI bolted on afterwards. AI from day 1. That's exactly who we are. At Phagos, AI has been in our DNA from the start. We've built one of the world's largest phage collections, turned it into a massive, unique dataset of phage–bacteria interactions, and built deep learning models on top to design personalized phage cocktails in ⚡days⚡ instead of months. We're putting AI to work against one of the biggest threats to humanity: antimicrobial resistance. Building at the frontier of AI + biology? We should connect 🤝 (full article + study in the comments)

🏆🇫🇷 Phagos is a laureate of “Pionniers de l’IA”, #France2030's program for the AI projects set to reshape strategic sectors, including HEALTH. The takeaway we’re proudest of: building AI for biology is now recognized as a technology worth betting a nation’s future on. That’s a credit to our team, our ML scientists and phage scientists turning bacteriophages into precise treatments against antimicrobial resistance. Thank you Bpifrance, Direction Générale des Entreprises, Ministry of Economy, Secretary general for investment. The mission to end bacterial disease continues.

🔥🔥🔥 we’re on the BBC The BBC came to our lab in Paris to film a deep-dive into one of the most overlooked weapons in modern medicine: bacteriophages. We were honoured to share the story of Phagos alongside some of the most iconic names in phage research: Professor Martha Clokie from the University of Leicester and Professor Laurent Debarbieux at the Institut Pasteur. At Phagos, we build our own deep learning models from the ground up to design personalised phage cocktails — precision-matched to each infection, in days instead of months. A century-old therapy, finally moving at the speed of modern medicine. 🎙️ Link to the full episode in the comments 👇

We took the stage this week to accept the Tech for Future prize in the health category, an event championed by the Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs of France. Her presence highlights a conviction we share: that the intersection of AI and health is the frontline of modern medicine. Tech For Future recognizes the most innovative startups across France whose breakthroughs are solving critical challenges. It’s a milestone for Phagos, but more importantly, it’s validation for a shift we’ve been pushing from day one: the future of medicine is biological, and being AI-native is the only way to make that future a reality. The problem with antimicrobial resistance is that bacteria evolve in days, while traditional medicine takes years. To stay ahead, our treatments have to move faster than the threat. We aren’t just hunting for phages and putting them in bottles. We’ve put AI at the heart of our platform to overhaul the entire drug design process. By using AI to understand how bacteria and phages interact, we can deploy personalized treatments at a speed that traditional discovery simply can’t match. That’s what the Tech for Future jury saw in us: a way to turn a slow, manual process into a scalable solution that can turn the tide against antimicrobial resistance. Congratulations to fellow winners: Miratlas, Neuronaix, SeeHaptic (ex artha), Alterskin®, and OptimPharma And thank you to La Tribune, BFM Business, and Olivier Chabanon

Behind every item in your grocery cart is a world of innovation most never see. At Phagos, ours starts on the farm where we develop personalized phage-based solutions as a sustainable alternative to antibiotics. Healthier animals mean safer, more affordable food for everyone. We're honored to be recognized for this work as a 2025 Forward Fooding FoodTech 500 Finalist, named among the top innovators shaping the future of food. 🔗 Full list in the comments - we're in great company.

You eat nearly 237 eggs a year 🥚 Do you know what it takes to make sure every single one is safe?  France is the #1 egg producer in the EU and eggs have quietly become the country's most consumed protein, at every meal, in every form. But behind every egg on your plate is an invisible chain of decisions: who enters a farm, how animals are treated, how bacteria are kept in check. One of the newest tools in that chain? Phages, natural enemies of the bacteria that threaten hen health. At Phagos, we’re working to keep dangerous bacteria out of the food chain so it never reaches your plate. Bon appétit! 🍳

👨🍳 Production team has been cooking. We just hit our 100th production batch so we gathered the team to celebrate. For anyone not in the lab with us: each batch produces solutions of highly concentrated, purified phages. After quality control testing, they are blended together and bottled into the final doses sent to farms across France. Hats off to the crew making this happen!

Two flasks. One story. In 1917, microbiologist Félix d'Hérelle noticed something strange.  Bacterial cultures that had been dark and cloudy overnight had turned completely clear. Something invisible had killed the bacteria. He called it a bacteriophage or "bacteria eater." For decades, the science existed but the tools didn't. We couldn't sequence phage DNA, couldn't study them at scale, and didn't have AI to help us understand their complex biological data.  Phage therapy stayed on the margins…until now. Today we use AI to identify the most promising phages from our collection, then validate them through our own lab testing before they ever enter production. What you're seeing in these two flasks is where that science becomes medicine.  The dark flask is phages and bacteria growing together at a ratio precisely controlled to allow the phages to multiply over 12 hours.  The clear flask is what comes after we filter the solution until only pure phages remain. It’s the same phenomenon Hérelle stumbled upon in 1917. But a century later, we finally know how to scale it.

“Don’t assume regulation is a roadblock.” Caught up with FDA's director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Tim Schell who shared a clear message: the FDA is open for business and encouraging innovation. Tim’s parting advice to me? “Go for it. Always ask what’s possible.” Happy to relay this message to all builders in the health space !! When did regulation become that exciting 😂 ?