Luxendo, a microscope manufacturer spun out of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) has received backing from the institute’s venture arm.
EMBL Ventures was joined by Life Science Partners (LSP) in the €6m ($6.84m) series A. As part of the round, Stephen Herr, partner at EMBL Ventures, and Joachim Rothe, partner at LSP, will join Luxendo’s board.
Luxendo is currently developing advanced single plane illumination microscopes (SPIM), developed at EMBL. The emerging technology allows for reduced sampling times, higher resolution, and reduced side effects on living objects under the microscope.
EMBL Ventures is currently managing €68m to invest in European life sciences firms with both institutional and private investors backing the fund. Looking to invest between €3m to €5m per deal, the fund retains a close relationship with EMBL and the laboratory’s technology transfer arm EMBL Enterprise Management Technology Transfer.
Herr said: “EMBL has been at the forefront of microscope technology development worldwide for decades and we are delighted to be co-leading this financing round. While the majority of labs still use confocal microscopes to conduct their research, SPIM technology has gained major ground amongst scientists in both academia and industry. Luxendo’s SPIM technology taps into this rapidly emerging market and has the potential to gain a significant share due to its superior characteristics.”
