eNLife Research raises Rs 6 crore to develop AI-powered blood test for early Alzheimer’s detection

Deeptech startup eNLife Research has raised Rs 6 crore in a seed funding round led by Piper Serica VC Fund to develop its blood-based biomarker platform for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

The Bengaluru-based startup said the funding will be used to build and validate its biomarker platform, expand its research and development team, and advance its first diagnostic assay from prototype to clinical-grade validation.

Founded in 2025 by Deepak Kumaran Nair, Jojo Jacob and Anish Mathew, eNLife is developing an AI-powered blood test that aims to detect Alzheimer’s disease years before clinical symptoms appear.

The startup’s platform analyses biomarkers linked to neurodegenerative diseases and uses AI to identify early signs of disease progression. According to eNLife, the test is designed to be administered through routine diagnostic centres and deliver results within two to five hours.

Conventional diagnostic methods such as PET scans, MRI scans and cerebrospinal fluid analysis can be expensive or invasive, and are often used later in the diagnosis process. eNLife said its approach is aimed at making early detection more accessible and affordable.

“The biggest failure of Alzheimer’s care today isn’t the absence of treatments in trials; it’s that we find patients a decade too late to use them,” said Deepak Kumaran Nair, co-founder and CEO of eNLife Research.

“We started eNLife to close both gaps at once: detect the disease at the molecular stage through a simple blood draw that is both accessible and affordable,” he said.

It is also developing next-generation assays capable of tracking up to 100 biological markers for multiple forms of dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders.

eNLife is collaborating with researchers associated with the Indian Institute of Science, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Hyderabad, and the Centre for Brain Research in Bengaluru to build India-specific biomarker datasets.

The platform is being designed around Indian genetic and lifestyle risk profiles. It expects to begin filing patents over the next nine to 18 months across biomarker binders, diagnostic assays and its detection platform.

“India will have one of the world’s largest ageing populations within a generation, and neurodegenerative disease is the burden we are least prepared for,” said Rajni Agarwal, director at Piper Serica.

“Piper Serica VC Fund backs technologically differentiated category creators, and eNLife is the first we’ve seen that changes the quality of life rather than merely extending it,” she said.