In the field of protein engineering, historically reserved for laboratories with significant resources and specialized teams, advancements have been limited by complex processes and lengthy research timelines.
This technology, essential for the development of medicines, vaccines, and crops that are more resilient to climate change, was previously characterized by its inaccessibility and high costs.
Democratized Access to Technology.
Fastfold, a Latin American startup, has launched operations in Colombia with the aim of transforming this landscape. The company has developed an AI-powered platform that reduces research costs by up to 90% and accelerates work timelines by as much as 100 times, making this advanced technology more accessible.
Regarding this, Julio César Castellanos, CEO of Fastfold, explains:
“Colombia has a scientific ecosystem full of talent, but it has historically been limited by access to cutting-edge tools. Our goal is to change that. With Fastfold, researchers at universities across the country can work with the same technology currently used in leading laboratories worldwide.”
Protein predictions, which previously could exceed USD 1,000 and take anywhere from six months to five years, are now made in minutes and for less than USD 10. Furthermore, no advanced knowledge of programming or computational biology is required to perform these tasks.
Aura, the autonomous AI agent behind this platform, is designed to predict molecular structures with high precision and analyze results.
Additionally, it learns from each new case, which has led to the identification of previously unknown antimicrobial peptides.
Impact on Research.
Castellanos explains:
“An average university can spend over USD 25,000 annually to make just 60 predictions. With Fastfold, that same budget allows for over 1,000 predictions. This is a profound transformation in access to biotechnology, especially for researchers in the region who were previously excluded from this revolution.”
The impact is already evident at universities such as Los Andes and EAFIT, where the first pilot projects of the platform are underway.
Researchers have been able to solve in minutes what would typically take several months.
According to Castellanos, the true power of this technology is reflected in comments such as this:
“They literally told us: we solved with Aura in 20 minutes what would normally take half a career. That sums up the potential of this technology to free scientists from repetitive tasks and allow them to focus on the major challenges.”
Fastfold already has over 80 users in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Mexico, and Colombia, and is beginning its commercial expansion into strategic sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, food, and cosmetics.
Despite initiating a USD 2 million investment round to expand into the United States and Europe, the company emphasizes that its main motivation is the tangible value already being experienced by research teams.
