£4m seed round investment into health tech firm
Exciting Instruments, a University of Sheffield health tech spinout, has secured a multi-million pound investment.
Northern Gritstone, an investment company focused on science and technology businesses in the North of England, has revealed a combined £4m seed round investment into the firm with co-investors Empirical Ventures, who led on scientific due diligence, NPIF II – Praetura Equity Finance (managed by Praetura Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II) and serial entrepreneurs Stan Boland and Jonathan Millner.
Exciting Instruments aims to set to revolutionise health research through its single-molecule detection platform.
Single-molecule microscopy is one of the most powerful tools to understand disease and develop targeted therapies.
However it has often been limited by complex workflows and limited accessibility, restricting its use so far to select and specialist research environments.
Exciting Instruments has developed and delivers a practical and efficient new platform for single-molecule detection, opening up adoption to an unconstrained user base spanning pharma, healthcare and other industrial applications.
Its platform technology allows users to visualise and analyse individual molecules and their interactions, while also providing high throughput processing and automation of analytics, advancements that are critical for improved efficiency and productivity.
Early customers of Exciting Instruments’ platform are already using it to drive new discoveries in drug development, clinical diagnostics and a range of research applications in both the pharmaceutical industry and within leading research laboratories.
With the new funding, the company plans to further develop commercial partnerships, build out its team and evolve its products.
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, said: “Northern Gritstone is happy to support Exciting Instruments’ internationally renowned team from the University of Sheffield.
“Their technology will open up a broad range of health-related research and discovery and will also support job creation in Sheffield’s thriving tech cluster.
“I’m particularly pleased that the funding round for Exciting Instruments has been over-subscribed which is another validation of the quality of deep tech investment opportunities that exist within the Northern Triangle.”
Tim Craggs CEO and Rob Bell COO, co-founders of Exciting Instruments, said: “Our vision at Exciting Instruments is to bring the power of single-molecule detection to every academic and pharma lab across the globe.
“We’re not just building technology – we’re creating a new era where single-molecule insights become the foundation for breakthroughs that will redefine what’s possible in human health.”
Stan Boland added: “Exciting Instruments has created compelling new products for a deep market need.
“Tim and Rob’s energy is incredible, and I’m thrilled to play a part in helping them turn their amazing technology into the powerhouse of a huge business that will accelerate the pace of disease detection and drug development for the benefit of us all.”
