BIONOMOUS raises CHF 1.3 million Seed funding in a round led by Nivalis Group.
10.09.2021
BIONOMOUS, an EPFL spin-off and Venture Kick alumni startup building devices to automate processes in Life Science research, raised a CHF 1.3 million Seed funding round led by Nivalis Group, with participation from SICTIC business angels and Venture Kick.
 Bionomous cofounders Frank Bonnet and Ana Hernando
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Experts in mechatronics, microfluidics, and machine learning, Bionomous develops the EggSorter, a device that automatically inspects, sorts and dispenses small biological entities like the eggs of zebrafish, a small freshwater fish native to South Asia. Its eggs are particularly suited for research in the Life Sciences industry, to find new treatments, perform toxicology tests or better understand the biology and genetics of living organisms. With the EggSorter, laboratories can standardize all processes and increase research throughput.
The investment from Nivalis Group marks the start of a new development phase for Bionomous. Nivalis Group CEO Nicolas Corsi explains why they have taken an interest: “We are confident that Bionomous is a great addition to the Nivalis Group family. With this investment, we ticked off all the boxes we look for in a startup: a growing market segment, a product with excellent traction, a great team, and several underlying technologies that match our existing investments and allow us to create interesting synergies.
The closing of this Seed funding round allows Bionomous to accelerate the testing phase, to develop a certified product ready-for-market, and to prepare for industrialization. Frank Bonnet Bionomous CEO & co-founder explains: “Our team has demonstrated its capacity to develop products tailored to the specific needs of our customers. This new investment, in addition to the interest of early adopters and the first confirmed orders we received despite the COVID pandemic, allows us to confidently move to the next development phase of our final product and to target commercialization over the next two years.”
Ana Hernando, Bionomous CMO & co-founder, adds: “Leaders in the zebrafish field have expressed great interest in the EggSorter, which gives us the confidence to launch it to the market. Furthermore, we have received several requests to use our technology in other fields such as personalized medicine, diagnostics, and aquaculture. Thanks to this investment round, our team can explore the possibilities to apply our technology to other segments and study new opportunities to diversify our product lines.”
We interviewed Ana to know more about her entrepreneurial path.
Ana, how will the CHF 1.3 million-investment help achieve your vision?
The investment from Nivalis Group marks the start of a new development phase for Bionomous. Nivalis Group CEO Nicolas Corsi explains why they have taken an interest: “We are confident that Bionomous is a great addition to the Nivalis Group family. With this investment, we ticked off all the boxes we look for in a startup: a growing market segment, a product with excellent traction, a great team, and several underlying technologies that match our existing investments and allow us to create interesting synergies.
The closing of this Seed funding round allows Bionomous to accelerate the testing phase, to develop a certified product ready-for-market, and to prepare for industrialization. Frank Bonnet Bionomous CEO & co-founder explains: “Our team has demonstrated its capacity to develop products tailored to the specific needs of our customers. This new investment, in addition to the interest of early adopters and the first confirmed orders we received despite the COVID pandemic, allows us to confidently move to the next development phase of our final product and to target commercialization over the next two years.”Ana Hernando, Bionomous CMO & co-founder, adds: “Leaders in the zebrafish field have expressed great interest in the EggSorter, which gives us the confidence to launch it to the market. Furthermore, we have received several requests to use our technology in other fields such as personalized medicine, diagnostics, and aquaculture. Thanks to this investment round, our team can explore the possibilities to apply our technology to other segments and study new opportunities to diversify our product lines.”
We interviewed Ana to know more about her entrepreneurial path.
Ana, how will the CHF 1.3 million-investment help achieve your vision?The closing of this Seed funding round allows Bionomous to accelerate the testing phase, to develop a certified product ready-for-market, and to prepare for industrialization. Furthermore, this investment will allow us to explore the possibilities to apply our technology to other segments in the industry.
You won Venture Kick in 2020. How did it help you lay the foundation for your growth and today's achievement?
Winning Venture Kick was a key milestone in our way to get where we are today. It meant the financial support to grow our team and to finish the development of the beta version of the EggSorter.
It also kicked us to market entry. Thanks to their support we were able to start the testing phase of our technology with end-users and make the first sales, which has been a key point in the closing of this Seed Round.
Moreover, Venture Kick gave us the guidance, advice and tools needed to set out the principles of a company, to deal with a growing team and to build a strong network, which has been of great importance during the search for funding.
When, and what, was your inspiration to found Bionmous?
Our inspiration to found Bionomous was to help researchers by providing them tools to facilitate and accelerate their work.
What is your advice for the potential biotech entrepreneurs launching companies in Switzerland today?
Pitch your project to as many events as possible, even if you are bored by it, because you will only increase your chance to meet the right partner/investor that will like your project and team. One single meeting can change everything.