AI research startup Gibran has raised $2.6 million in early funding. The money came from Together Fund, which was started by Girish Mathrubootham (founder of Freshworks) and Manav Garg (founder of Eka Software).
The money will be used to create simple AI models that can work well even with small amounts of data.
The first goal is to use these models for finding new medicines, where there isn’t a lot of data available, because there are only a few patients.
“Our central thesis is that AI should not replace humans, but rather evolve with them,” said Balakrishnan in a statement. “That means building systems that learn not just from data, but from people, continuously and contextually.”
Manav Garg from Together Fund said these AI systems could transform fields like biomedicine, filmmaking, design, and education. “It’s not just about boosting productivity—it’s about helping people thrive,” he added.
Govind Balakrishnan and Srikant Chakravarti started Gibran. They aim to transform the collaboration between machines and people in creative fields, such as discovering new medicines and education.
The team includes Balakrishnan and Chakravarti, who, before working together on Curio—an AI audio news app that ran for eight years before closing in January 2025. They also have Sadedin, a scientist who studies thinking using AI, and Duéñez-Guzmán, a researcher who works on AI systems that create new things.
Gibran is working on areas like finding new medicines and science ideas, where there isn’t much organized data available. Their AI helps by combining what we already know in new ways. This allows people to think of new ideas or designs, instead of just doing simple tasks automatically.
Instead of using regular AI that needs a lot of data and fixed rules, Gibran is creating “scale-free” models. These are flexible systems that learn and improve over time by working with people.
Together Fund said the research will focus on AI that can keep learning, follow ethical rules, and work on its own. These models could help in science, creative work, and personalized education.
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