Boundary Capital has joined other UK angels and VCs to pump $2.15 million into Cambridge-born Desktop Genetics (DTG).
The Investment will accelerate development of the startup’s DESKGEN genome editing software platform. The platform aims to revolutionise the way genetic researchers carry out gene editing experiments.
The cash comes from a syndicate of VCs and angel investors, including Boundary Capital, IQ Capital Partners, London Business Angels, the London Co-Investment Fund, Dr Jonathan Milner (deputy chairman and founder of Abcam), Dr Martin Murphy (CEO of Syncona Partners) and Dr Darrin Disley (CEO of Horizon Discovery).
DTG will invest in the expansion of its existing sales infrastructure, expand marketing efforts to drive new user registrations and launch a custom sgRNA library design service for users engaged in functional genomics, target identification and validation.
CEO and founder Riley Doyle said: “DESKGEN makes CRISPR gene editing more predictable, accessible and efficient, arming scientists with all of the capabilities they need to scale their genomics research.”
In addition to enhancing researchers’ productivity and reducing the time and cost of gene editing with software tools, DTG also offers CRISPR library design, synthesis and screening services, and is partnering with specialist companies to create a high-throughput cell line engineering service in the cloud.
Doyle said: “To date, the DESKGEN platform has enabled over 4,000 gene editing experiments and assisted thousands of users in designing and accessing the best reagents for their research.
“We are grateful to our investors for making the next stage of development possible, and I am excited to lead the company through this phase of growth.”
Dan Somers, Managing Partner at Boundary Capital adds: “We invested in DESKGEN in the seed SEIS round and we are delighted to continue our support in this later EIS round. The investment supports their rapid growth and expansion and our unique Venturer model.”