Cradle vs Scala Biodesign (2026)
Both sell software that improves proteins a team already has, rather than designing them from nothing, and they differ in how the model is built and what it leans on. Cradle fine tunes a project specific model on public data, its own wet lab data and the customer's own assay results across rounds, proposing sequences and whole experimental plates that balance activity, binding, stability and expression, through a web interface and an API, with customers keeping full ownership of what they design. Scala Biodesign runs ScalaOS, which aims to introduce many beneficial mutations in a single round, combining evolutionary data, atomistic physics and AI, across enzymes, antibodies and antigens. Cradle is the one for a team that wants a model that learns from its own rounds of data over time. Scala is the one for a team that wants a single round redesign drawing on physics and evolutionary signal.
- A project specific model fine tuned on the customer's own assay results across rounds.
- Whole experimental plates proposed, balancing activity, binding, stability and expression at once.
- A web interface and an API, with customers keeping full ownership of their designs.
- A single round redesign that introduces many beneficial mutations at once.
- An engine combining evolutionary data, atomistic physics and AI across enzymes, antibodies and antigens.
- Named industrial and pharmaceutical users, including BASF, Boehringer Ingelheim and Teva.
This comparison is published by AI Health Index, an independent research platform that compares healthcare AI vendors objectively. Cradle and Scala Biodesign are each graded against the same capability taxonomy, from each vendor's own public materials and the regulatory record, under the AI Health Index verification standard. No vendor pays for placement, and no vendor has reviewed this page. How this evidence is graded
Plain facts
| Fact | Cradle | Scala Biodesign |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Drug Discovery AI | Drug Discovery AI |
| Founded | 2022 | Not recorded |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Website | cradle.bio | scala-bio.com |
Side by Side
Each record in one paragraph
Written to be quoted whole. Each paragraph states what the AI Health Index verified about the vendor, with the caveats attached. Generated from this pair’s live capability grades, so it moves when a grade moves.
The AI Health Index awards Cradle its top capability grade on AI Centrality. Set against Scala Biodesign, Cradle grades higher on several axes, including AI Centrality, Model and Technology Transparency and Model Supply Chain Disclosure. Its thinnest published disclosure sits on Autonomy and Oversight Model. Grades reflect evidence the AI Health Index could verify at the last review, so a low grade records disclosure the vendor has not published rather than a capability it has been shown to lack.
Source: AI Health Index, October 2026
The AI Health Index records no top capability grade for Scala Biodesign on any axis it scores. Set against Cradle, Scala Biodesign grades higher on Autonomy and Oversight Model. Its thinnest published disclosure sits on several axes, including AI Safety and PHI Stewardship, HIPAA and BAA Posture and Security Certifications and Trust Center. Grades reflect evidence the AI Health Index could verify at the last review, so a low grade records disclosure the vendor has not published rather than a capability it has been shown to lack.
Source: AI Health Index, October 2026
Questions buyers ask
Should we choose Cradle or Scala Biodesign?
On the axes where the AI Health Index separates them, Cradle grades higher on several axes, including AI Centrality, Model and Technology Transparency and Model Supply Chain Disclosure, and Scala Biodesign grades higher on Autonomy and Oversight Model. Cradle leads on the greater share of scored axes, but the split means the decision turns on which constraint is binding rather than on an overall winner.
Where do Cradle and Scala Biodesign differ most?
The widest separation the AI Health Index records between Cradle and Scala Biodesign is on AI Safety and PHI Stewardship, where Cradle grades B and Scala Biodesign grades D. That axis sits in the AI Capability group, so it should carry the most weight for a buyer whose binding constraint is how much of the work the model itself is trusted to do.
Where do Cradle and Scala Biodesign grade the same?
The AI Health Index grades Cradle and Scala Biodesign the same on several axes, including Clinical and Operational Evidence, FDA and Regulatory Status and Commercial Transparency. Neither holds an advantage the index can evidence on those axes, so they should not carry weight in a selection between these two.
What have Cradle and Scala Biodesign not disclosed?
At the last review, at least one of Cradle and Scala Biodesign published thin or absent detail on several axes, including Autonomy and Oversight Model, AI Safety and PHI Stewardship and HIPAA and BAA Posture. The AI Health Index treats an absent disclosure as a gap in the public record rather than a failure of the product, so these are the axes to get in writing during diligence instead of inferring from the grade.
Related comparisons
Other published head to head assessments involving these vendors or their closest peers. The full set for this category is on the Drug Discovery AI page.
Both records were reviewed in October 2026. Both sell platform access or design partnerships and neither publishes a price. Both improve existing proteins rather than designing new ones from a target alone.
Ask both how a customer's uploaded data is retained and kept separate from other customers, and for results on a protein class like yours.