Eli Lilly and Insilico Medicine: what three AI drug discovery deals signal

TL;DR

Eli Lilly just signed its third deal with Insilico Medicine in three years: $115M upfront, up to $2.75B in total milestones, plus royalties. Exclusive worldwide rights to a portfolio of preclinical AI-discovered oral therapeutics across multiple disease areas. The progression — 2023: software licensing → November 2025: $100M+ research collaboration → March 2026: $2.75B commitment — tells the real story. Lilly saw enough from the inside to go from software licensing to a $2.75B commitment in under three years. They’re building a systematic AI discovery stack: NVIDIA for compute, Creyon Bio for RNA, Insilico for small molecules, and 16 AI deals in 2025 alone. For Insilico, the validation is obvious. For smaller AI techbios without a Lilly or Servier on the cap table, the fundraising conversation just got more competitive.

Eli Lilly and Company just signed its third deal with Insilico Medicine in three years.

This one: $115M upfront. Up to $2.75B in total milestones, plus royalties. Exclusive worldwide rights to a portfolio of preclinical AI-discovered oral therapeutics across multiple disease areas.

The progression tells the real story.

2023: Lilly licenses Insilico’s Pharma-AI software. November 2025: $100M+ research collaboration. March 2026: $2.75B global R&D and commercialization deal.

Lilly saw enough from the inside to go from software licensing to a (as always, up to) $2.75B commitment in under three years.

Lilly is building a systematic AI discovery stack. Compute with NVIDIA. RNA with Creyon Bio. Small molecules with Insilico. 16 AI deals in 2025 alone.

I wrote about Insilico’s $888M Servier deal in January, right after their Hong Kong IPO. At the time, the question was whether institutional pharma would treat AI drug discovery platforms as serious partners or glorified CROs.

Three months later, Lilly answered that question with up to $2.75B. Ah, and I didn’t even mention yet that they also were one of the cornerstone investors in the recent IPO.

For Insilico, the validation is obvious. For the rest of the AI drug discovery space, the signal is harder to read. Deals like this concentrate pharma’s attention on proven platforms. If you’re a smaller AI techbio without a Lilly or Servier on your cap table, the fundraising conversation just got more competitive.

Looks like Alex Zhavoronkov and team are on fire.

Key takeaways

• Lilly’s three-deal arc with Insilico (2023 → November 2025 → March 2026) is the clearest public evidence yet that a major pharma is treating an AI drug discovery platform as a core R&D partner, not a CRO.
• $115M upfront, up to $2.75B in total milestones, plus royalties. Exclusive worldwide rights across a preclinical portfolio of AI-discovered oral therapeutics.
• Lilly’s AI strategy is systematic: NVIDIA for compute, Creyon Bio for RNA, Insilico for small molecules. 16 AI deals in 2025 alone.
• Lilly was also a cornerstone investor in Insilico’s Hong Kong IPO. The relationship runs deeper than licensing.
• Together with Insilico’s $888M Servier deal earlier this year, this confirms institutional pharma now treats AI drug discovery platforms as serious partners.
• For smaller AI techbios without a Lilly or Servier on the cap table, the fundraising conversation just got more competitive. Mega-deals concentrate pharma attention on proven platforms.