INSIGHTS / News

Left to right: Amanda Franklin, Luke Cox, Ximena Vasto

The SETsquared Bristol member has closed its first funding round to advance the development of its unique biotech automation platform and begin customer trials.

Impulsonics is an award-winning spin-out from the University of Bristol’s Ultrasonics and Non-Destructive Testing Research Group, building on over a decade of deep research and leveraging world-leading expertise in acoustics.

Impulsonics is developing a biotech automation platform using acoustic waves to manipulate cells non-invasively, within sterile containers. This breakthrough will allow for the simplification of crucial processes in cell culture, leading to the development of low-cost, high-throughput modular systems for automating key tasks such as cell passaging – the repetitive process of transferring cells from one container to another when the current one is full.

The closure of its recent funding round from SFC Capital, British Business Investments, the University of Bristol and private angels highlights market confidence in Impulsonics’ mission to turn cutting edge scientific innovations into scalable processes for research and healthcare.

Technologically, this innovation will be especially critical in light of the growing influence of AI in drug discovery, which requires vast quantities of high-quality data, surpassing the capabilities of current technology applications. Impulsonics’ solution could contribute greatly to the adoption of more scalable methods for cell-based therapies, which are already demonstrating clinical effectiveness in treating a spectrum of conditions, ranging from cancer to blindness.

Dr Luke Cox, CEO & Co-Founder, Impulsonics said, “We’re already seeing a demand for more reliable, scalable processes across the sector and that is exactly what our technology promises to deliver. Our unique approach builds on well-established industrial technologies from the aerospace and infrastructure sectors and will help to re-imagine workflows in biotechnology.”

Ed Stevenson, Investment Executive, SFC Capital added, “There has never been a more exciting time in biotechnology, and Impulsonics fills a critical gap of scalability in a way that nobody else is tackling it. We were impressed by their innovative approach and are excited to be backing Luke and the team on their journey.”