𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜: 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀
Clinical trials are one of the most data-intensive processes in medicine — and one of the least technologically advanced. Biotech and pharma teams still spend thousands of hours manually validating, reconciling, and monitoring trial data across fragmented spreadsheets and legacy systems. The result: slower trials, higher costs, and ultimately delayed access to treatments for patients who have no other options.
Rivia was founded to fix this. The Zurich-based company built an AI platform that takes over the full data operations layer of a clinical trial — integrating heterogeneous data sources in real time, automating quality control and monitoring, and making trial data instantly queryable for clinical teams. What previously required weeks of manual work can now be done in days, with the platform learning and improving across every trial it runs.
Rivia has now closed a $15 million Series A financing round to accelerate this next phase. The round was led by Earlybird Venture Capital, with additional participation from Defiant and existing investors Speedinvest, Amino Collective, and Nina Capital.
The new funds will enable Rivia to 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗜-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. By pioneering advanced AI technology, Rivia is transforming clinical trials into faster, more cost-efficient processes to improve patient care and reduce time-to-market for life-saving treatments.
Kellerhals Carrard advised Rivia on all legal aspects of this transaction. The Kellerhals Carrard team was comprised of:
Karim Maizar (Partner, Corporate/VC)
Norbert Schenk (Senior Associate, Corporate/VC)
Simon Gluch (Associate, Corporate/VC)
Melissa Wiss (Paralegal, Corporate/VC)
Erik Scalfaro, CEO and co-founder of Rivia, 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: “Kellerhals Carrard was instrumental in closing our Series A. Their technical rigour, precision, and commercial pragmatism made them a highly reliable partner for navigating our transaction at speed.”
Congratulations to Erik Scalfaro and Tiago Kieliger. This milestone reflects their early conviction to build the hard infrastructure first — and the results it is now delivering for clinical teams, investors, and ultimately the patients waiting on the other side of these trials.
