– African genomics startup 54gene has raised $25m in Series B funding.
– Pan-African venture capital firm Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund led this round.
– Lead investor from the company’s Series A funding, Adjuvant Capital, invested once again with participation from other VCs including KdT Ventures, Plexo Capital, Endeavor Catalyst and Ingressive Capital.
– The company has raised a total of $45m since its inception.

– Bayer’s impact investment arm Leaps has co-led a USD 15m Series A investment round in agriculture and biotechnology innovator, Andes.
– Other new investors Builders VC, Germin8, Accelr8 and Wilson Sonsini participated, alongside existing investors KdT Ventures and Endurance.
– Through its novel seed treatment technology, called ‘Microprime’, Andes is reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers.
– The California-based company has developed a process for seamlessly integrating seeds with a unique library of microbes that colonize the seed’s root structure. This kick-starts a process known as biological nitrogen fixation, enabling the crop to draw down nitrogen from the air instead of relying on synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.

– Debut Biotech is a San Diego, CA-based developer of a biomanufacturing platform harnessing cell-free enzymes.
– The company raised $22.6m in Series A funding.
– The round was led by Material Impact with participation from Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, Fine Structure Ventures, ACVC Ventures, Humboldt Fund, Cantos Ventures, as well as existing investors including KdT Ventures.
– The new capital will be used to commercialize ingredients developed from its proprietary cell-free biomanufacturing platform.

– SeQure Dx is a gene-editing diagnostics company.
– It announced a $17.5m Series A funding.
– The funding was led by RiverVest Venture Partners and Mass General Brigham Ventures along with Digitalis Ventures, Casdin Capital, KdT Ventures, Bold Capital Partners and Alexandria Venture Investments.
– Funds will be used for initial company development leading to establishment of a full-service laboratory providing off-target gene-editing analysis for use in drug development, clinical trials and ultimately patient evaluation prior to therapy.
– SeQure Dx was founded on exclusive licensure of GUIDE-seq, ONE-seq and related assay technologies for detection of off-target gene-editing events.

– Xilis, Inc. announced the close of a $70m Series A financing.
– The round was led by Mubadala Capital and joined by new investors including GV, LSP, Catalio Capital Management, and Duke Angel Network.
– Current investors Felicis Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, Pear VC, KdT Ventures, and Alix Ventures also participated.
– Xilis is based on decades of biomedical, oncology, and stem cell research by its three co-founders.
– Dr. Clevers, a Breakthrough Prize winner, is the inventor and pioneer of the organoid technology.
– Dr. Shen and Dr. Hsu are accomplished engineering and medical professors at Duke University and experts in precision medicine.