Bionaut Labs Raises $43M To Advance Microscale Robots
November 28, 2022
Bionaut Labs, which uses microscale robots to revolutionize the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases and disorders, has announced raising $43.2 million in a Series B round of financing. Led by Khosla Ventures, the new funding round brings the company’s total financing raised to date to $63.2 million.
The company’s Bionaut treatment platform deploys remote-controlled microscale robots that can deliver therapies locally to previously inaccessible disease areas in the midbrain. Magnetic propulsion-controlled Bionauts can navigate to deep locations in the human body and brain safely and precisely through non-linear 3D trajectories, the company said, which allows them to access the midbrain through previously inaccessible anatomical routes. Bionaut Labs said it aims to develop solutions to treat conditions including Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease, as well as malignant glioma and hydrocephalus.
The funding will be used to support pre-clinical and clinical research, expand clinical targets and progression through two accelerated FDA designations. In addition, the company said it will release major pre-clinical data packages from IDE and IND enabling studies in 2023, with the goal of initiating human clinical trials in 2024.
“There has been a dearth of innovation around treatments for conditions that cause tremendous suffering, in large part because past failures have discouraged even the best of researchers,” said Michael Shpigelmacher, co-founder and CEO of Bionaut Labs. “Bionaut Labs remains committed to finding new ways to treat these devastating diseases, which are long overdue for a breakthrough.”
Also participating in the round are new investors Deep Insight, OurCrowd, PSPRS, Sixty Degree Capital, Dolby Family Ventures, GISEV Family Ventures, What if Ventures, Tintah Grace and Gaingels, along with existing investors Upfront Ventures, BOLD Capital Partners, Revolution VC, and Compound.
“We are extremely excited about the transformative potential Bionaut presents in treating debilitating neurological disorders,” said Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures. “Anatomically precise treatment will make traditionally used methods seem archaic, and Bionaut is at the forefront of this movement.”
For more details on the company, visit the Bionaut Labs website here.
