Eagle Genomics achieves first close for $20m scale-up funding round

Eagle Genomics, the pioneering biotechnology platform business applying network science to biology, has announced a first close to its $20million scale-up funding round.

Based on the Wellcome Genome Campus, Eagle Genomics has developed e[datascientist], an AI-augmented knowledge discovery platform which addresses critical bottlenecks in the industrial application of microbiome science – from soil, to plant, to farm, to fork, to human, to animals, and environmental health.

The microbiome is one of the most exciting discoveries in science this century, and Eagle Genomics is using its secrets to accelerate the bioeconomy through the digital reinvention of life sciences R&D.

The e[datascientist] platform is powered by network science – which studies complex networks of physical, biological, and social phenomena – and multilayer hypergraphs, applying machine learning and AI to provide a data-driven insight journey into solving complex problems at scale. It has been gaining major traction with large household brands as they strive to demonstrate the link between their latest products, microbiome health, and ‘One Health’ related issues.

The business problem that the platform solves for its customers is to network their scientific data to support step-change innovation – eg understanding new key bio-active ingredients that could deliver health benefits, or targeting a particular health benefit and working backwards through data to identify key ingredients.

Particular innovation journeys that enable differentiated products and product claims include:

- Food and nutrition: Including botanicals, food as medicine, precision fermentation, and ingredient design.

- Beauty and personal care: Personalised cosmetics including cosmeceuticals, and hygiene products.

- Agbio: Biofertilisers, microbiome engineering, bioavailability, crops, soil treatment, and smart agriculture.

- Biopharma: Includes microbiome therapeutics and metabolic health.

Anthony Finbow, CEO of Eagle Genomics, said: “We are the pre-eminent platform business using next-generation graph technology and network science to drive the bioeconomy. We are seeking to support our enterprise customers as they strive to achieve more sustainable and impact-orientated innovation outcomes. The current scale-up funding will enable us to accelerate the bioeconomy through the digital reinvention of science.”

The round is being led by abrdn plc, with continued participation from existing investors Environmental Technologies Fund, and a consortium of investors headed by Granpool Innovative Investments. The current funding round will remain open for a further period to enable additional participation up to a further $10m.

Alistair Watson, head of strategy innovation – private equity, abrdn, said: “We believe that Eagle Genomics is poised to support increasing numbers of large enterprise customers with digitising R&D and product innovation activities. This investment will support Eagle Genomics’ scale-up while driving further penetration into global markets. It is also pivotal for the wider bioeconomy, as the importance of microbiome science increases and its applications become more widespread.”

Rob Genieser, managing partner at Environmental Technologies Fund, added: “We are delighted to see Eagle Genomics continue to mature and scale. The timing could not be better, with the world’s focus on disease and accelerated in silico innovation.

“At a time when there is an urgent requirement for systems change to support and protect the Biosphere, Eagle Genomics is helping drive sustainability and impact-focused business outcomes. We wish the team all the best in expanding its reach and deepening its capabilities.” ”