Eikon Therapeutics vs Recursion (2026)
Both generate their own biological data at scale and apply machine learning to it. Eikon Therapeutics tracks individual proteins moving inside living cells with super resolution microscopy, rather than inferring behavior from fixed samples, and listed on Nasdaq in 2026 under Roger Perlmutter, formerly Merck's head of research and development. Recursion images and profiles cells at a larger scale, up to two million experiments a week, trains foundation models on more than 50 petabytes of its own data, publishes methods and datasets, and has several programs in clinical studies. Eikon's bet is on a finer measurement of protein behavior; Recursion's is on breadth, with a longer published record.
- Super resolution live cell microscopy that tracks individual proteins inside living cells.
- Machine learning applied to protein behavior observed directly rather than inferred from fixed samples.
- A drug developer led by Roger Perlmutter, listed on Nasdaq in 2026.
- Automated labs running up to two million experiments a week, feeding foundation models trained on more than 50 petabytes of the company's own data.
- Published methods and public releases, including Phenom, MolE, TxPert, RxRx3 and OpenPhenom.
- Seven internal programs in oncology and rare disease, several in clinical studies.
This comparison is published by AI Health Index, an independent research platform that compares healthcare AI vendors objectively. Eikon Therapeutics and Recursion 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 | Eikon Therapeutics | Recursion |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Drug Discovery AI | Drug Discovery AI |
| Founded | 2019 | Not recorded |
| Headquarters | South San Francisco, CA | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Website | eikontx.com | recursion.com |
Side by Side
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Each vendor in one paragraph
Written to be quoted whole. Each paragraph opens the AI Health Index profile of the vendor: what the product is, who buys it and what it does.
Drug discovery company built around super resolution live cell fluorescence microscopy, applying advanced optics descended from Nobel recognized single molecule imaging work together with machine learning to track how individual proteins behave and move inside living cells, rather than inferring behavior from fixed or lysed samples.
Source: AI Health Index, September 2026
Recursion (Nasdaq: RXRX) is a Salt Lake City drug discovery company built around the Recursion OS, which pairs automated wet labs running up to 2 million experiments a week with machine learning foundation models trained on the resulting 50 petabyte plus dataset of cellular images, transcriptomics and chemistry, in a loop where predictions are tested in the lab and fed back into training. Its combination with Exscientia in November 2024 added generative chemistry design and automated synthesis.
Source: AI Health Index, September 2026
Questions buyers ask
How do Eikon Therapeutics and Recursion work with the EHR?
For Eikon Therapeutics, the clinical programs reach patients through trial sites rather than through any system the company connects to.
With Recursion, the platform runs on the company's own experimental data and on licensed datasets, including human genomic and clinical data from outside data partners, and its outputs feed internal and partnered programs. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified September 28, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
How are Eikon Therapeutics and Recursion priced and sold?
In Eikon Therapeutics' case, the capital history is public, including a Nasdaq listing in February 2026, and as a registrant the company now files financial statements and risk factors on a cadence.
Recursion sells no software license; it works with pharmaceutical partners through discovery collaborations and also develops its own pipeline, and the partners page describes pharmaceutical, technology and data partnerships. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified September 28, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
How do Eikon Therapeutics and Recursion handle patient data?
With Eikon Therapeutics, the only document on the site is a website privacy policy, which states by its own terms that it applies to visitors and users of eikontx.com and lists what it collects from them: name, email address, IP address and browsing history.
Recursion's home page features a post on "leveraging the power of patient data" in drug discovery, and its data corpus includes material licensed from companies holding human genomic and clinical data. No published statement covers consent provenance for that licensed data, the de-identification standard applied, permitted secondary uses, retention, or what happens to trained model representations if a license ends. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified September 28, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
Which settings and specialties do Eikon Therapeutics and Recursion cover?
For Eikon Therapeutics, the pipeline page names the areas and the programs: oncology, with a TLR7/8 agonist through Phase 2 and PARP1 programs including a central nervous system penetrant one, plus androgen receptor and VCP programs; and, beyond oncology, immunology and neuroscience, where the company says it invests substantial effort.
With Recursion, the internal pipeline concentrates on oncology (solid tumors, lymphoma, B-cell malignancies, small cell lung cancer) and rare disease (familial adenomatous polyposis, hypophosphatasia), with clinical studies running in both. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified September 28, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
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 on this site in September 2026. Part of Eikon's platform material could not be read for this review.
Ask both what share of their targets have reached clinical testing.