The Engine has co-led by $16m seed round for Cellino, which is working on a process to automate the generation of stem cells at scale.

Cellino, a US-based personalised regenerative medicine developer based on research at Harvard University, completed a $16m seed round on Monday co-led by The Engine, the venture firm backed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard.
Khosla Ventures co-led the round, which also featured Humboldt Fund and 8VC.
Cellino is working on an artificial intelligence-guided laser editing platform to enable an automated process that generates autologous induced pluripotent stem cells at scale.
Nabiha Saklayen, chief executive and co-founder of Cellino, said: “This seed financing round enables us to build towards a democratised future for autologous cells and tissues.
“I am thrilled to be leading a team that brings together diverse backgrounds spanning laser physics, stem cell biology and machine learning, to achieve our shared mission to increase patient access to custom regenerative therapies.”
Ann DeWitt, general partner at The Engine, added: “Stem cell-derived therapies promise regenerative and curative therapies for many diseases.
Cellino’s transformative approach will dramatically improve quality and scale. The company’s leadership team has the experience and vision to make it a reality.”

Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the former editor-at-large of Global University Venturing and Global Corporate Venturing, and was the producer and host of the Beyond the Breakthrough podcast until December 2024.