Nov. 2022 / Company
Daniela Buchmayr
Over the past months, outstanding professionals have joined and enriched the team with their expertise in the biopharmaceutical industry, cell therapy manufacturing, photonics and electronics. The new capital will boost the growth of the team and bring its promising technology to its first prototype.
“Scientists aim to identify and engineer the right cells, enhancing control while lowering manufacturing cost. Sarcura unites cutting-edge silicon technologies such as integrated photonics in microfluidic cartridges, to automate, miniaturize and bring real-time control to cell therapy manufacturing” says Daniela Buchmayr.
Engineered cell therapies bring hope to patients who lack alternatives. With more than 1400 CAR-T clinical trials ongoing, the advanced cell therapy industry has seen unprecedented growth, but the manufacturing of these lifesaving treatments remains a major bottleneck.
“Having spent the first 12 years of my career in semiconductors in Taiwan and Silicon Valley, I am really excited to have the chance to lead HCVC’s investment in Sarcura,” says Jerry Yang, General Partner at HCVC. “If successful, they could completely change the cancer treatment landscape. I’m looking forward to partnering with Daniela and her co-founders.”
“The interdisciplinary team at Sarcura demonstrated their ability to advance developments at the intersection of biology and semiconductor technology. Enhancing the understanding of cell biology and solving biomanufacturing bottlenecks through advanced silicon-based technologies is key to translating scientific progress into therapeutic results for patients in the future. We are excited to continue and extend our support in this financing round together with the other investors in this round”, adds Florian Resch, Managing Partner at IST cube.
About
Sarcura GmbH is an Austrian deep-tech startup developing an instrument platform for the manufacturing of advanced cell therapies. Our platform combines silicon chip technology and microfluidic processing to enable real-time process control and manipulation on a cellular level, enabling a fully automated and modular manufacturing system.
Lansdowne Investment Company Cyprus Limited is an investment vehicle managed by Lansdowne Partners Austria GmbH which is an Austrian Alternative Investment Fund Manager with a strong focus on investing in and fostering European innovation. Lansdowne Partners Austria GmbH is part of the Lansdowne Partners group of companies.
IST cube is an early-stage venture fund focusing on academic spin-offs and deep-tech startups rooted in science. The fund leads investment rounds in pre-seed and seed stages with the ability to follow on. IST cube supports portfolio companies with equity, know-how, and network. In addition, the fund has a strong partner in the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, which provides access to academic research and scientific infrastructure.
HCVC is a thesis-driven venture capital firm that backs hard tech founders on a mission to digitize, automate and decarbonize the physical world. Currently investing out of its second fund, HCVC invests in early-stage startups in Europe and US, with first tickets ranging between 250k€~2.5M€. Notable portfolio companies include Span.io, Cowboy Bike, Caper Labs, Radian Aerospace, Automata, etc. HCVC also manages Hardware Club, the largest exclusive community in the world for hard tech startups, which today counts 1800+ founders.
tecnet equity is a venture capital firm with EUR 50M under management. It finances new technology enterprises as well as companies with innovative business ideas. As an archetypal early-stage investor, tecnet has played an active part in the Austrian startup landscape for many years. With personal commitment, an international business network, and many years of experience, tecnet supports its investees in making their business successful.
