France-based DNA quantification technology developer Stilla Technologies collected €20m ($21.8m) today in a series B round featuring Illumina Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of genomics technology producer Illumina.
The round included BNP Paribas Développement, a subsidiary of financial services firm BNP Paribas, as well as Kurma Partners, Idinvest Partners, LBO France, TUS Holdings – the holding corporation of Tsinghua University – and Paris Saclay Seed Fund, which represents University of Paris-Saclay.
Founded in 2013, Stilla has developed a device called Naica System which enables researchers to automate the detection of DNA mutations. The company is targeting the full spectrum of life sciences with its technology, from clinical research to genomics.
The funding will allow Stilla to double the size of its 80-strong staff as it seeks to increase commercialisation activities and bolster research and development efforts around the next generation of Naica, which is expected to detect multiple genetic markers at once.
Rémi Dangla, Stilla’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “We will use the funds to boost the development of our next‐generation solution, which will feature superior analytical performance including 6‐colour detection capabilities.
“Our future focus will be to apply our state‐of‐the‐art technology to clinical diagnostics, to the benefit of patients.”
Illumina Ventures led the company’s last round, an $18m series A in late 2018 that also featured BNP Paribas Développement, Kurma Partners, Paris Saclay Seed Fund, Idinvest Partners and LBO France.
The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.