Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Alice and Bob, a France-based quantum computing spinout exploiting research from Écoles Normales Supérieures (ENS) graduate schools in Paris and Lyon, has closed an inaugural €3m ($3.3m) round involving venture firms Elaia and Breega. The funding will go toward development of a prototype quantum computer with universal fault-tolerant capabilities. Alice and Bob was co-founded in February 2020 by its CEO Théau Peronnin, an ENS Lyon doctorate researcher specialised in statistical and non-linear physics, and chief technology officer Raphaël Lescanne, who focuses on quantum error correction at ENS in Paris.
Ferronova, an Australia-based cancer diagnostics spinout of University of Sydney, has closed an A$3.5m ($2.3m) round featuring multi-university venture fund Uniseed, according to the Australian Financial Review. The funding will facilitate initial clinical-stage trials of Ferronova’s approach in oral, breast and colorectal cancers. Peter Devine, CEO of Uniseed, said animal research trials suggest the technology can detect cancer in lymph nodes more effectively.
University of Wolverhampton has formed UK-based biometric identity confirmation technology spinout AlgorID with a £120,000 ($147,200) co-investment alongside its university venture arm Caparo Angad Paul Fund. AlgorID is working on mathematical-based methods for matching incomplete fingerprints at crime scenes to the right person. The spinout has also secured grant money from government research body Innovate UK to drive operations over the next 18 months.
BioCode, a South Africa-based diagnostics nanosensor technology spinout of Stellenbosch University, has become the first portfolio company of University Technology Fund, the R150m ($9.9m) vehicle backed by Stellenbosch, University of Cape Town and the South African state. BioCode aims to build cost-effective nanosensors to determine inflammation-driven biomarkers such as abnormal blood protein folding linked to diseases including cancer, diabetes and stroke. The technology was co-invented by Anna-Mart Engelbrecht, an oncology-focused professor in the Department of Physiological Sciences, and Willie Perold, professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
