NEW YORK – Japanese microbiome analysis startup BitBiome announced Tuesday it has raised ¥700 million ($6.6 million) in a Series B financing round.
New investors Universal Materials Incubator, IDATEN Ventures, and Vital Ventures joined additional investment from The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC.)
"BitBiome has developed proprietary microbial single-cell analysis technology that can decipher all the genetic information from a single microbe with high accuracy. Based on this highly accurate microbial genome database, BitBiome is providing services to create new therapeutics, diagnostics, industrial enzymes and other useful substances, as well as to elucidate the mechanisms of diseases and medicinal effects," Atsushi Usami, partner at UTEC, said in a statement. "We expect that this funding will enable the company to further contribute to the development of the biotechnology industry and medical care through the participation of more commercialization members and global business expansion."
The firm will use the funds for in-house research on the relationship between microbes and disease sates, including a study of patient stool and saliva samples; lab equipment, including a next-generation sequencer; business development; securing intellectual property; and talent acquisition, BitBiome said in a statement.
BitBiome, a spinout from Japan's Waseda University, was founded in 2018. It's Bit-Map platform helps researchers analyze the genomes of single microorganisms. The firm said it has now raised a total of ¥1.05 billion in equity financing.
Last month, UTEC invested in ImmunoScape's $11 million funding round. UTEC has also invested in 908 Devices.