Xellar Biosystems Secures Tens of Millions in Strategic Funding from XtalPi to Advance AI-Powered Organ-on-a-Chip Drug Discovery Platform

VCBeat has learned at the earliest opportunity that the tech platform company focuses on the integration of “AI + organ-on-a-chip”Xellar Biosystems Announces Completion of New Round of Strategic Financing Worth Tens of Millions of Yuan, byGlobally Leading AI Platform for Drug and New Material R&D: XtalPi (2228.HK)Lead Investor, Existing ShareholdersTiantu InvestmentandYayi CapitalContinued investment. This round of financing will be used to accelerate the development of its “3D-Wet-AI” closed-loop system, integrating organ-on-a-chip technology, wet labs, and AI algorithms, while further expanding international collaborations and commercial deployment across diverse scenarios.

Xellar Biosystems, founded by a team of Harvard scientists, is dedicated to redefining the core processes of drug development, safety assessment, and precision medicine through its proprietary high-throughput organ-on-a-chip and AI model platforms. Originating in Boston, the company has established an international operational system covering Europe, the United States, and the Asia-Pacific region, and has partnered with includingSanofi, Pfizer, L'Oréal...and other globally leading pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies to establish project collaboration and data delivery mechanisms, accelerating the implementation of new non-clinical assessment standards that replace animal testing within real-world industry chains.

The strategic investor, XtalPi, is a leading enterprise in the fields of AI-driven drug discovery and new materials R&D. Its quantum physics and AI algorithm platforms, combined with large-scale automated robotic experimental capabilities, serve numerous globally leading pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, and research institutions. XtalPi has already collaborated with Xellar Biosystems in the field of AI- and organ-on-a-chip-driven drug screening and efficacy evaluation, achieving preliminary results.

Following this investment, both parties will leverage the respective strengths of their platforms to targetHigh-Quality Biological Data Generation, Complex Disease Model Establishment, AI-Assisted Toxicology Prediction, and Extrapolation of Drug Efficacy Mechanisms...and other critical industry pain points, further promoting the deep integration of organ-on-a-chip technology with automated equipment, as well as the seamless coupling of complex in vitro models with AI-driven molecular generation and screening algorithms. Together, we aim to establish a new end-to-end, cross-species, and cross-modal paradigm for integrated drug development. By leveraging organ-on-a-chip models that more closely mimic the complex biological environment of the human body, we provide AI algorithms with R&D data of higher clinical relevance, thereby significantly improving the efficiency and success rate of drug development and empowering source innovation in pharmaceuticals.

For decades, animal models have been widely used as the gold standard for preclinical efficacy and safety studies of drugs. However, this approach is costly and time-consuming, and its results show limited concordance with human clinical outcomes. Faced with a mere 10% success rate in clinical trials, pharmaceutical companies are in urgent need of more precise, efficient, and reliable next-generation tools and paradigms for drug development.

Meanwhile, global regulatory agencies are significantly accelerating the transition away from animal testing.On April 24, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, together with six other departments, issued the Implementation Plan for the Digital and Intelligent Transformation of the Pharmaceutical Industry (2025–2030), which also highlights data mining from animal models and virtual animal experiments as typical scenarios in the digital and intelligent transformation of the pharmaceutical industry.

In late 2022, the United States formally enacted the FDA Modernization Act 2.0, permitting the use of non-animal methods for Investigational New Drug (IND) applications. Between 2023 and 2025, the FDA launched multiple multicenter validation initiatives to integrate organ-on-a-chip technologies, human cell-based models, and AI systems into mainstream standards for toxicology and efficacy evaluation.

Xellar Biosystems, as one of the fewOrgan-on-a-chip companies participating in standard validation in parallel with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration, leveraging its human cell-based models and large artificial intelligence models, to provide predictive analytics on the safety and efficacy of new drugs for pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and regulatory bodies worldwide, thereby accelerating drug development, facilitating more efficient and precise drug innovation, and providing data support for global pharmaceutical regulatory reforms.

Xellar Biosystems’ independently developed EPIC™ platform integrates microfluidic chip technology, disease organoid modeling, high-throughput experimental systems, and generative AI algorithms. It features capabilities for rapid construction of complex microenvironments, multi-dimensional imaging and omics analysis, as well as mechanism-level extrapolation of drug efficacy. The platform has been applied to various cutting-edge industrial scenarios, including early-stage drug toxicity prediction, screening of functional foods and skincare products, and simulation of personalized treatment responses, thereby serving as a key infrastructure platform bridging “authentic human responses” with “industrial R&D needs.”

Dr. Xin Xie, Founder and CEO of Xellar Biosystemsstated: “The integration of AI and organ-on-a-chip technology is becoming the ‘new operating system’ for life sciences. We firmly believe that this represents not merely an upgrade of a single technology, but a fundamental restructuring of the entire R&D paradigm. XtalPi’s strategic investment not only provides synergistic support in computation and automation, but also reflects our shared confidence in driving systemic, platform-level transformation. Moving forward, with the support of our partners, Xellar Biosystems will continue to expand its global customer network and accelerate commercialization in key areas such as drug development, safety assessment, mechanistic research, and personalized medicine. Meanwhile, we will actively participate in the formulation of international standards by organizations such as the FDA and OECD, establishing verifiable and traceable industrial pathways to foster global acceptance of non-animal alternative methods.”

Dr. Wen Shuhao, Chairman of XtalPistated, “Xellar Biosystems is a strategic partner on whom we have placed significant emphasis in the field of AI-integrated organ-on-a-chip technology. They are not only at the forefront of the industry in organ-on-a-chip engineering but also possess a solid foundation in cell biology and disease modeling capabilities, thereby establishing a closed-loop technological system ranging from structural design to physiological recapitulation.”Based on XtalPi’s drug discovery platform that deeply integrates quantum physics, AI, and robotics, Xellar Biosystems’ organ-on-a-chip technology offers new possibilities for achieving a closed-loop system between in vitro human biomimetic systems and AI-driven drug discovery algorithms.“We will collaborate with Xellar Biosystems to advance AI-assisted multi-organ system modeling, mechanism discovery, and high-fidelity data generation, thereby enhancing the efficiency and reliability of processes ranging from molecular screening to mechanistic validation, and accelerating the creation of value by AI in the biomedical field.”

Wei Guoxing, Partner at Tiantu Investmentstated: “Xellar Biosystems is one of the key technology platform enterprises strategically prioritized by Tiantu Capital. Over the past two years, the team has demonstrated exceptional technical execution and industrial acumen, rapidly iterating in chip design and organoid modeling, while also pioneering collaborations with international pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies to drive the establishment of industry standards.”Xellar Biosystems’ participation in this round represents a typical case of “technology-coupled” capital synergy, further strengthening Xellar’s leading position in the integrated pathway of AI and organ-on-a-chip technology."As the flagship project under Tiantu Capital’s ‘Consumer + Technology’ strategy, Xellar Biosystems will serve not only as a provider of advanced in vitro models but also as a core technological gateway for scenarios such as future drug R&D, clinical translation, and product development in the broader consumer sector."

Liu Chong, Founding Partner of Yayi Capitalstated: “We have long focused on the innovation path in biotechnology driven by the dual engines of ‘data quality + model capabilities.’ The core value of Xellar Biosystems lies in its ability to generate high-quality physiological data and deeply couple these data with AI models, thereby integrating the entire chain from chips to computation.”From regulation to industry and then to consumer scenarios, all future biomedical decisions will require more realistic, human-relevant systems as their foundation—and this is precisely the capability that Xellar Biosystems is building.“The addition of XtalPi will further strengthen Xellar Biosystems’ competitiveness in automation and intelligent modeling. We look forward to the synergy between the two parties translating into multiple commercialized products and practical solutions in the near future, continuously driving the advancement of fields such as non-animal testing, intelligent experimental systems, and precise efficacy prediction.”

Founded in Boston, USA, at the end of 2021, Xellar Biosystems is the world’s first “3D-Wet-AI” biotech startup leveraging organ-on-a-chip technology combined with high-content 3D cell imaging, computer vision (CV), and artificial intelligence (AI) for drug discovery and precision medicine research. The founding team of Xellar Biosystems primarily comprises professionals from renowned multinational biopharmaceutical companies and top-tier academic institutions such as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), bringing extensive experience in industrial pharmaceutical product development and cutting-edge R&D in biology and AI technologies. Xellar Biosystems is currently serving asThe World’s Only Organ-on-a-Chip Company Collaborates with the FDA and Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies to Jointly Develop and Establish Next-Generation Preclinical Efficacy Testing Standards Based on Organ-on-a-Chip Technology. Xellar Biosystems has established strategic and research collaborations with multiple biopharmaceutical companies and research institutes.

XtalPi (“XtalPi Holdings Limited”, stock abbreviation: XtalPi Holdings, XTALPI, stock code: 2228.HK) was founded in 2015 by three physicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is an innovative R&D platform based on quantum physics, empowered by artificial intelligence, and driven by robotics. The company combines first-principles calculations based on quantum physics, artificial intelligence, high-performance cloud computing, and scalable, standardized robotic automation to provide drug and materials science R&D solutions and services to global and domestic companies in the pharmaceutical and materials science industries (including agtech, energy, new chemicals, and cosmetics).

Tiantu Investment, founded in 2002, is one of the earliest professional institutions in China to engage in equity investment. Adhering to a path of in-depth research and specialization, it boasts a professional investment and research team of dozens of members. To date, its cumulative assets under management have exceeded RMB 25 billion, with investments in over 200 companies, including more than 20 in the life sciences sector. Its investment portfolio includes Zhuozheng Medical, UnknownBiome, ZuoDian, Boyin Bio, Xige Life Sciences, Lemang Biotechnology, China Feihe, Nayuki’s Tea, Pagoda, Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), and AiHuiShou.

Yayi Capital was established in 2018, with primary investment areas including artificial intelligence, life sciences, and synthetic biology. The firm has been deeply committed to the healthcare and life health sectors, systematically laying out its presence across multiple sub-sectors such as innovative drugs, medical devices, in vitro diagnostics (IVD), consumer healthcare, and AI-integrated biotechnology. Yayi Capital is dedicated to serving outstanding entrepreneurial teams, working closely with founders to cultivate high-quality new productive forces, and leveraging its professional expertise to channel more long-term and patient capital into technological innovation.