A biotech spinout from the University of Manchester that leverages artificial intelligence and quantum physics to engineer enzymes has successfully closed a £5 million seed funding round led by PXN Ventures.
Funding and Growth Plans
Imperagen, which also received additional investment from existing backers IQ Capital and Northern Gritstone, says the funding brings its total raised to £8.5 million. The capital will support the company's growth over the next 18 months, allowing it to expand its R&D platforms, lab operations, and AI team, as well as strengthen its marketing function to secure revenue in key sectors including pharmaceuticals, life sciences, personal care, sustainable fine chemicals, and industrial biotech.
New CEO Appointed
The firm has appointed Dr. Guy Levy-Yurista as CEO to lead its next phase of growth. Levy-Yurista, a technology and life sciences executive with two successful exits across the US and Europe, praised the company's technology and its "undeniable swagger" rooted in Manchester. He stated: "What I see right now is that the companies that will make a radical difference in this emerging AI-driven future are all AI-native, lean on real world data, have genuine impact, and are fundamentally deep tech. Imperagen has each of those characteristics, combining them with outstanding people, phenomenal technology and the undeniable swagger you only get from Manchester."
Technology Platform
Founded in 2021 by Dr. Andrew Almond, Dr. Andrew Currin, and Dr. Tim Eyes, all researchers from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Imperagen develops enzymes for pharmaceutical manufacturing, personal care, and chemical manufacturing. Rather than relying on manual screening—described as "a slow and expensive process with a low hit rate"—the company has created a three-stage closed-loop platform. First, quantum physics generates millions of potential mutation combinations for enzymes. These models then train AI systems "calibrated to the precise engineering challenge at hand." Finally, automated robots test the best-performing predictions in a physical lab, with results fed back into the AI model to enable continuous improvement. According to Imperagen, "The result is a platform that gets smarter round by round."
Proven Results
The company has already delivered significant results, including a project with a Fortune 500 personal care company where its system "improved the productivity of two enzymes by 677x and 572x respectively in just five rounds."
Investor Support
PXN Ventures invested through the GMC Life Sciences Fund By PXN Ventures, managed on behalf of Bruntwood SciTech, Enterprise Cheshire + Warrington, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Additional investment came via NPIF II – PXN Equity Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II. Sim Singh-Landa, investment director at PXN, commented: "The North West’s life sciences ecosystem is becoming stronger all the time and stands to gain from Imperagen’s local hiring and growth plans, building on the company’s connection to the University of Manchester's Manchester Institute of Biotechnology. We’re excited to be supporting Imperagen with investment from both the GMC Life Sciences Fund and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II as the company looks to scale success in enzyme engineering and deliver progress within the life sciences sector, which is one of the key sectors highlighted in the UK Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy."
