Daily deal net: February 27, 2020

Scipio Bioscience, a France-based cell sequencing technology developer exploiting University of Geneva research, has collected €6m ($6.5m) in a series A round led by M Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Germany-based drug maker Merck. The round featured public-private partnership High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), venture capital fund Seventure Partners’ Quadrivum I, Financière Arbevel and Investiere. The funding will facilitate the final development phase of Scipio’s RNA-focused sequencing technology ahead of commercial launch in 2022, as well as its marketing and business development efforts. The spinout previously completed a $1.3m round in 2017 featuring both HTGF and Quadrivium I.
Vulkam, a France-based amorphous metal developer exploiting research from multiple universities in the Grenoble region, has raised €4.5m ($4.9m) in funding from BNP Paribas’s Développement unit, venture capital firm Sofimac Innovation, VC fund manager Supernova Invest and government-owned investment bank Bpifrance. The funding includes $3.8m from a round co-led by the former two investors. Vulkam is working on metallic glass materials that can be used to produce highly-specialised miniature mechanical components that are more malleable and resistance than incumbent technologies. Vulkam will put the funding towards a pilot of its technology in preparation for mass production aimed at segments including watchmaking, medical devices, aeronautics and aerospace.
Gyana, a UK-based no-code data science development spinout of University of Oxford, has attracted £3m ($3.9m) of funding from investors including specialist redeveloped property management firm U+I Group, TechCrunch reported today. Venture firm Fuel Ventures led the round, which was filled out by growth capital unit Green Shores Capital and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. Founded in 2015, Gyana has built a software development framework in which data science models can be programmed and deployed without any specialist programming knowledge. Users upload their structured data files to Gyana’s platform before applying a selection of queries that produce insights such as visual graphs. Gyana joined the incubator of Oxford University Innovation, the institution’s tech transfer office, in 2014 before raising more than £1.2m ($1.6m at today’s exchange rate) from Quivira Capital, Almington Capital and two unnamed family offices, according to the Financial Times. The FT had reported Gyana was in the process of closing a $10m series A round, although further details could not be ascertained.
QustomDot, a Belgium-based enriched television display technology developer spun out of Ghent University, has obtained €3m ($3.3m) from multi-university venture fund Qbic II, Flemish government-owned investment firm PMV and Vigo Ventures, a venture capital affiliate of infrared photon detector manufacturer Vigo System. The spinout hopes to develop quantum dot-based LED nanocrystals that leverage quantum mechanics to convert UV light into colour within television displays. QustomDot believes its hypothesis will facilitate thinner and more energy-efficient LED displays. The company was founded in January 2019 and previously received capital from Ghent University’s industrial research fund.
iDentical, a US-based portfolio company of University of California, Berkeley’s SkyDeck accelerator, has raised more than $2m in funding from undisclosed investors to develop dental implants that can be fitted without drilling. The round is expected to close in coming weeks, with the funding going to development and regulatory submissions ahead of planned clinical trials.
Largo Films, a Switzerland-based EPFL spinout developing analytics software for film production, has completed a CHF550,000 ($563,000) seed round backed by Swiss ICT Investor Club and DAA Capital Partners. The company’s flagship product applies data-driven artificial intelligence to help production teams scrutinise film content through the scripting, shooting and post-production phases.
Crocos Go Digital, a France-based digital learning tool developer allied to regional tech transfer office Satt Sud-Est, has raised €234,000 ($255,000) from government-owned investment bank Bpifrance as part of a targeted $424,000 funding round. The company has developed age-agnostic robotic toys and gamified software that teach the user fundamental skills associated with present-day technologies like artificial intelligence, while accounting for their specific cognitive abilities. The funding will be used to bolster Crocos’s headcount, secure research partnerships, and progress development toward proof-of-concept. Crocos Go Digital previously took part in the Belle de Mai incubator and is set to continue its training in French Tech Seed Provence Corse, an accelerator backed by both Satt Sud-Est and Belle de Mai.
Arima Genomics, a US-based genomic research tool developer, has closed a series A round of undisclosed size featuring Berkeley Catalyst Fund, a VC vehicle allied to University of California’s campuses in Berkeley and San Francisco as well as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The round was co-led by Agilent Technologies and Cowin Venture with additional participation from Vectr Ventures. Arima Genomics offers a service called Hi-C that helps research labs retain more information from genomic sequencing tests. The funding will go to adding more features tailored to genomic specialisms, scaling up Arima’s business and enhancing its customer relations operation.