Imperagen raises £5 million to use quantum physics, AI on enzyme engineering
Biotech company Imperagen has raised £5 million to enhance enzyme engineering using quantum physics and AI. Founded by scientists from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, the startup aims to make enzyme development faster and more efficient. With the new funding, Imperagen plans to expand its team and research capabilities to improve industrial enzyme applications.
- ▪Imperagen raised £5 million in a seed round led by PXN Ventures.
- ▪The company uses quantum physics-based simulations to predict enzyme behavior instead of traditional trial-and-error methods.
- ▪Imperagen aims to make enzyme engineering faster, more reliable, and commercially accessible.
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| Original publisher | TechCrunch |
| Canonical URL | https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/20/imperagen-raises-5-million-to-redefine-enzyme-engineering/ |
| Publication time | Thu, 21 May 2026 04:00:00 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-21T04:05:03.409Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-21T04:54:30.399Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Biotech company Imperagen announced on Thursday a £5 million ($6.7 million) seed round led by PXN Ventures, with participation from IQ Capital and Northern Gritstone. The company was founded in 2021 by Manchester Institute of Biotechnology scientists Dr. Andrew Currin, Dr. Tim Eyes, and Dr. Andy Almond and spun out of the university. The startup seeks to improve enzyme engineering by making it faster, more efficient, and less costly than the slower, more physical, trial-and-error-focused process used now. Imperagen is using three core technologies as it seeks to redefine enzyme engineering. Specifically, it uses a quantum physics-based simulation instead of trial-and-error enzyme mutations in a lab.
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