Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Debut Biotechnology, a US-based cell-free biomanufacturing spinout of University of California, Irvine, closed a $2.6m seed round on Tuesday led by seed VC firm KdT Ventures that included Better Ventures, FTW Ventures and SpringTide Ventures. The spinout is working on a manufacturing process for producing pharmaceutical and chemical compounds faster than existing approaches, using enzymes to mimic pathways in plants and other organisms. The seed capital will help deliver the concept to manufacturing partners and create a pilot production system. Proceeds will also go towards expanding business development and doubling Debut’s science headcount. The approach builds on two inventions developed by Greg Weiss, a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and Joshua Britton, a former UC Irvine visiting scientist who leads Debut Bio as CEO.
Ripple Science, a US-based clinical research engagement software developer, closed a $2.5m seed round on Tuesday backed by University of Michigan-owned venture fund Michigan Investment in New Technology Startups (Mints). The round was led by seed venture firm Dundee Venture Capital and also included Red Cedar Ventures, a VC subsidiary of Michigan State University’s non-profit affiliate MSU Foundation. Invest Detroit Ventures, Invest Michigan, Revolution Ventures’ Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Mercury Fund, SpringTime Ventures and M25 also took part. Greg Beaufait, partner at Dundee Venture Capital, will join the company’s board of directors.
MiAlgae, UK-based microalgae products developer, has collected £1m ($1.3m) in a round backed by University of Edinburgh’s venture unit Old College Capital, the government-owned Scottish Investment Bank and angel syndicate Equity Gap. Founded by University of Edinburgh alumnus Douglas Martin, the company produces microalgae-based animal feed supplements recycled from food and drink production wastewater. MiAlgae expects to double in size and add five new employees over the next year, having previously obtained $672,000 in seed funding in June 2018 from Old College Capital, Scottish Investment Bank and Business Angel Group Equity Gap.
Qunnect, a US-based quantum communications spinout of Stony Brook University, has closed a $800,000 seed round featuring state-backed vehicle Accelerate NY Seed Fund, quantum tech-focused fund Quantonation and unnamed private investors. The company is working on an approach to allow quantum-memory applications to run at room temperature for purposes including quantum communications. Qunnect was founded in 2017 to commercialise research led by its chief science officer Eden Figueroa, a research lead in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
