Xbiome, China's First AI-Driven Microbiome Therapeutics Company, Secures Tens of Millions in USD Funding

VCBeat News (WeChat ID: biobeat1) has learned that Shenzhen Xbiome Co., Ltd. (“Xbiome”) has officially announced the completion of its Series A and Series A+ financing rounds. In August 2018, Xbiome completed its Series A round led by Banyan Capital, with participation from Morningside Venture Capital and ZhenFund. Less than half a year later, in early this year, the company closed its Series A+ round led by Lihé Hongxin, with participation from Yahui Investment. The combined total for both rounds amounted to tens of millions of US dollars.

These investment events all reflect the high recognition of domestic capital for Xbiome's technology platform, as well as optimism about the explosive growth of the future microbiome pharmaceutical industry. In the future, Xbiome will further improve its proprietary microbial drug development platform and accelerate the advancement of several ongoing clinical pipelines.

Xbiome, established in 2017, is China’s first AI-driven microbiome pharmaceutical company. Dedicated to gut microbiome modulation, and leveraging AI and biotechnological engineering, Xbiome aims to tackle refractory human diseases and improve human health.

The human gut microbiota is referred to as the "second genome" of humans. Research into its relationship with human disease and health has become one of the most cutting-edge and prominent areas of scientific inquiry worldwide. According to the latest scientific and clinical studies, gut dysbiosis is directly associated with more than 50 diseases, including diabetes, obesity, cancer, and autism spectrum disorder.Microbiome Therapy: Treating Diseases and Improving Health by Modulating the Human Gut Microbiota, with Broad Clinical Application ProspectsThe global competitive landscape of the microbiome pharmaceutical industry is beginning to take shape, with the United States holding a relative lead and European countries actively following suit. Although China’s sector is still in its early stages, it boasts advantages such as abundant clinical data and strain resources, coupled with strong policy support, indicating immense potential.

Xbiome’s core R&D team comprises scientists from prestigious international institutions, including the Broad Institute, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Johns Hopkins University. The drug development team brings extensive R&D experience from leading global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies such as Pfizer, Novartis, and Bristol Myers Squibb. The clinical team members possess over 20 years of experience in clinical drug trials, regulatory submissions, and FDA drug review processes. Xbiome’s Scientific Advisory Board consists of academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Academies, former FDA drug review experts, and top-tier industry leaders in pharmaceuticals.

In just a year and a half since its establishment, Xbiome has built a data-driven preclinical platform for microbiome-based pharmaceuticals, providing end-to-end standard operating procedures (SOPs) for drug development approaches that still lack standardization. The platform comprises six sub-platforms, overseeing all stages from computational analysis of the microbiota to discovery, R&D, and manufacturing.

On the computing platform, Xbiome's multi-omics big data computing platform leverages the latest cloud technology framework to reconstruct traditional bioinformatics pipelines.Effectively Addressing Current Computational Bottlenecks, Result Consistency, and Reproducibility Issues in Bioinformatics Processing and AnalysisOn the discovery platform, Xbiome’s key strain discovery platform integrates self-developed and optimized methods including network analysis, natural language processing, and machine learning. By analyzing and modeling data from public databases and proprietary clinical datasets, it helps identify key bacterial strains with therapeutic effects on diseases and their associated functions.

On its R&D platform, Xbiome is dedicated to advancing omics research by integrating genomic and metabolomic experimental techniques with computational analysis to isolate and identify microbes with clinical therapeutic value, thereby establishing its proprietary microbial strain library. On its production platform, Xbiome operates China’s first microecological drug manufacturing facility built in accordance with U.S. FDA standards.

Currently, Xbiome has collaborated with multiple renowned medical institutions, including Peking University Cancer Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States, to conduct clinical research, and with the Shenzhen Institute of Tsinghua University,Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesThe Institute of Synthetic Biology, the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other institutions have carried out multiple scientific research collaborations in the field of microbiology.

“Microbiome therapeutics is a new trend that has emerged in the international pharmaceutical industry in recent years, demonstrating significant potential particularly in the fields of complex and chronic diseases,” said Dr. Tan Yan, Founder and CEO of Xbiome. “Given that data on gut microbiota and their interactions with the human body are characterized by multi-omics, multidimensionality, and high complexity, it has become an inevitable trend to leverage rapidly advancing bioinformatics and artificial intelligence technologies to facilitate the research and development of microbiome-based drugs. This also positions microbiome therapeutics as a paradigm for data- and computation-driven drug development. A global surge of interest in microbiome therapeutics is already underway. Xbiome aims to establish its roots in China and explore its own path for the development of the country’s gut microbiome therapeutics industry.”

Zhang Zhen, Founding Partner of Gaorong Capital, stated, “The stability of the gut microbiome is crucial to human health, and the emerging field of microbiome-based therapeutics holds immense market potential. Xbiome’s innovative development model for gut microbiome drugs, underpinned by AI and biotechnology, places it at the forefront of global drug development efficiency. Gaorong Capital continues to closely monitor the disruptive impact of AI in the pharmaceutical industry, and the convergence of AI with microbiome therapeutics is approaching a tipping point for explosive growth. We look forward to Xbiome leveraging its advanced technologies to precisely manage the gut health of the Chinese population and create a better life through science and technology.”

Li Menghui, Investment Director at Lihe Hongxin, stated, “As a relatively new concept, microbial pharmaceuticals have rapidly transitioned from the forefront of scientific exploration to the industrial sector, garnering increasing attention. This itself underscores the technology’s vast application potential. With strong execution capabilities and a relatively mature technological roadmap, the Xbiome team has introduced cutting-edge global microbial pharmaceutical technologies to China, emerging as the most prominent rising star in this domestic field.”

GaoRong Capital was founded in 2014 by founding partners Zhang Zhen, Gao Xiang, and Yue Bin. It is dedicated to identifying early-stage and growth-stage enterprises in the new economy sector and building long-term value alongside them. The total assets under management of GaoRong Capital’s USD and RMB funds exceed RMB 15 billion. Its investment sectors include new consumption, new technology, and more. To date, numerous companies backed by GaoRong have grown into leaders in their respective industries. Examples include Pinduoduo (NASDAQ: PDD), a pioneer in new e-commerce; Huya Live (NYSE: HUYA), China’s largest game live-streaming platform; Nuro, a global leader in autonomous driving; and Yitu Technology, a leading global artificial intelligence company.

Shenzhen Lihe Hongxin Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership) was established in 2016 and is managed by Zhuhai Lihe Hongxin Investment Management Co., Ltd. Its investment focus lies in strategic emerging industries such as new energy, new materials, biopharmaceuticals, electronic information, internet applications, and specialized technical equipment. To date, it has completed approximately 40 investment cases. In response to the State Council’s call under the “Made in China 2025” development plan to vigorously develop high-level biopharmaceutical industries, and to implement Shenzhen’s “13th Five-Year Development Plan” regarding major deployments in strategic emerging industries such as biopharmaceuticals, high-end medical imaging, and gene technology, Lihe Hongxin is based in Shenzhen with a global outlook, prioritizing investments in high-tech enterprises within the biopharmaceutical and general health sectors.

Yahui Capital is an early-stage investment fund focused on the life sciences sector. Centering on the application of cutting-edge innovative biotechnologies in disease diagnosis and treatment, Yahui Capital has completed investments in more than 20 early-stage biotech startups.

Morningside Venture Capital is one of the earliest institutions in China to engage in early-stage venture capital. Currently, it manages dual-currency funds in both US dollars and Chinese renminbi, with assets under management totaling several billion US dollars. Its limited partners include internationally renowned sovereign wealth funds, family offices, funds of funds, and university endowments. Over the course of nearly two decades of collaboration, the Morningside team has been dedicated to identifying, supporting, and empowering solitary entrepreneurs, sharing their exceptional vision, and providing them with our insights, industry expertise, and comprehensive support spanning from psychological encouragement to all aspects of operational management.

Successful cases include Sohu, Ctrip, The9, Zhengbao Remote Education, JuZhong Media, Xunlei, Phoenix New Media, UCWeb, YY Inc., Dahuangfeng Ride-hailing, Musical.ly, Huami Technology, Jingrui Education, Huya, Xiaomi Group, and Viomi. The investment portfolio also includes high-growth outstanding enterprises such as Kuaishou, WeDoctor Group, SenseTime, XPeng Motors, DaSouChe, Horizon Robotics, Bigo, AiHuiShou (Love Recycling), Xiaozhu Short-term Rental, Maimai, Smartmi, Pony.AI, Keep, and Agora. Morningside Venture Capital has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong.

ZhenFund is an early-stage investment firm co-founded by Mr. Xu Xiaoping and Mr. Wang Qiang in partnership with Sequoia Capital China in 2011. Since its inception, ZhenFund has actively sought out the most exceptional entrepreneurial teams and epoch-defining investment opportunities across diverse sectors, including the internet, mobile internet, future technologies, artificial intelligence, enterprise services, healthcare, consumption upgrades, education, content entertainment, and the broader cultural industry. To date, ZhenFund has invested in over 600 startups, cultivating industry-renowned unicorns such as Meicai, VIPKID, 17 Education & Technology Group, Zhaogang.com, Yitu Technology, Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), and Mia.com. Since 2011, numerous portfolio companies of ZhenFund, including Jiayuan.com, Jumei International, LightInTheBox, 51Talk, and Niu Technologies, have been listed on U.S. stock exchanges as Chinese concept stocks, solidifying ZhenFund’s leading position in China’s early-stage investment landscape despite its relative youth.