Biotechnology company Imperagen announced on Thursday a £5 million ($6.7 million) seed round led by PXN Ventures, with participation from IQ Capital and Northern Gritstone. The company was founded in 2021 by Manchester Institute of Biotechnology scientists, Dr. Andrew Currin, Dr. Tim Eyes and Dr. Andy Almond and dropped out of university.
The startup seeks to improve enzyme engineering by making it faster, more efficient and less expensive than the slower, more natural, trial-and-error-focused process now used.
Imperagen uses three key technologies as it strives to redefine enzyme engineering. Specifically, it uses a simulation based on quantum physics instead of trial-and-error enzyme mutations in a lab. Imperagen predicts the behavior of enzyme variants on a computer using advanced quantum physics modeling that can explore millions of mutations, the company said. It then translates this information into its custom AI models trained on the enzyme problems Imperagen seeks to explore. Finally, to maintain the AI models, Imperagen uses robots and automation to generate experimental data, which feeds back into the AI model, in a process called closed-loop simulation.
Enzymes are incredibly important in many industries, especially pharmaceuticals, as they are essential for drug development. Startups like Imperagen hope to speed up enzyme engineering because it can have a domino effect, making, for example, drug discovery faster and more efficient. Enzymes are also used in areas such as food, biofuels and agriculture. Sustainability experts are also looking in enzymes — and the artificial intelligence technologies that surround them — to make industrial production and processing more sustainable.
Others in this space include Biomatter, Cradle Bio and Absci.
On Thursday, Imperagen also announced that Guy Levy-Yurista will take on the role of CEO. Speaking to TechCrunch, he said that currently, the process of enzyme engineering is lagging, where even many new AI-powered technologies can pass trial and error but fail when implemented on an industrial scale.
Imperagen hopes its technology will make enzyme development “faster, more reliable and more commercially accessible, helping companies bring better bio-based products to market without the long timelines and uncertainty that have traditionally held the field back,” he told TechCrunch.
Levy-Yurista has a background in artificial intelligence, life sciences and business technology. Although the founders will remain with the company, Levy-Yurista has been brought in to help build its new technologies, including a vertical AI infrastructure for biocatalysis (a process that speeds up chemical reactions using natural catalysts like enzymes), while scaling the startup’s AI strategy, business models and industry partnerships.
The company has raised £8.5 million ($11.42 million) in funding to date, and the new capital will be used to hire more AI experts, research and development, expand its experimental lab capabilities and build a go-to-market operation within the next two years.
“Ultimately, Imperagen hopes that the wider use of engineered enzymes will help industries produce products that are cleaner, safer and better for people and the planet, while making commercial sense for the companies that adopt them,” said Levy-Yurista.
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