Manchester life sciences spin-out Imperagen, which uses AI and quantum physics to engineer better enzymes faster, has closed a £5m seed funding round.
The raise was led by PXN Ventures with participation from Imperagen’s existing investors IQ Capital and Northern Gritstone.
Imperagen was founded in November 2021 by Dr Andrew Almond, Dr Andrew Currin and Dr Tim Eyes, all researchers from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology.
The raise brings Imperagen’s total funding to £8.5m and will accelerate research and development, expand its wet lab capabilities, and build out its go-to-market function over the next 18 months.
Life sciences spin-out Imperagen secures £3.5m seed investment
Coinciding with the round experienced technology and life sciences executive Guy Levy-Yurista joins as CEO.
Dr Levy-Yurista has two successful exits across the US and Europe and brings a track record of scaling DeepTech businesses from early stage to market leadership.
The funds will be used to grow the in-house AI team, both human and agentic, and convert growing commercial interest into contracted revenue across its target sectors: pharmaceuticals, life sciences, personal care, sustainable fine chemicals, and industrial BioTech.
Dr. Levy-Yurista said: “What I see right now is that the companies that will make a radical difference in this emerging AI-driven future are all AI-native, lean on real world data, have genuine impact, and are fundamentally DeepTech.
“Imperagen has each of those characteristics, combining them with outstanding people, phenomenal technology and the undeniable swagger you only get from Manchester. It was a no-brainer to join the team and lead this next stage in its growth.”
Enzymes are biological catalysts used to reduce waste, lower energy usage and decrease overall production costs in everything from pharmaceutical manufacturing and personal care to sustainable chemical production.
However, engineering an enzyme for practical application is a challenging and complex process.
Imperagen’s proprietary platform combines three stages into a single closed-loop system:
Sim Singh-Landa, investment director at PXN, said: “The North West’s life sciences ecosystem is becoming stronger all the time and stands to gain from Imperagen’s local hiring and growth plans, building on the company’s connection to the University of Manchester’s Manchester Institute of Biotechnology.
“We’re excited to be supporting Imperagen with investment from both the GMC Life Sciences Fund and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II as the company looks to scale success in enzyme engineering and deliver progress within the life sciences sector, which is one of the key sectors highlighted in the UK Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy.”