Imperagen raises £5m to advance enzyme engineering
Biotech startup Imperagen has announced it has raised £5 million ($6.7 million) in a seed funding round led by PXN Ventures. This financing, which also saw participation from IQ Capital and Northern Gritstone, will enable the company to fundamentally transform enzyme engineering. Founded in 2021 by scientists from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, the company aims to move away from traditional, time-consuming trial-and-error methods. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports.
Imperagen relies on three core technologies: quantum physics simulation, artificial intelligence, and robotic automation. Instead of physical laboratory experiments, the company uses quantum physics modeling to analyze millions of enzyme mutations on a computer. This data is then fed into specialized AI models and continuously enriched with real-world experimental results obtained via robots.
Enzymes are crucial in pharmaceuticals, the food industry, biofuels, and agriculture. Imperagen's technology helps accelerate the drug development process and makes industrial production more sustainable. According to the company's new CEO, Guy Levy-Yurista, current technologies often pass laboratory tests but fail to deliver expected results at an industrial scale, and Imperagen solves exactly this problem.
Having raised a total of £8.5 million to date, the startup will use the new funds to hire AI specialists, expand research and development, and increase laboratory capacity. Over the next two years, the company plans to bring its products to market and expand industrial partnerships.
