Femtosecond Technology Secures Nearly RMB 100 Million Series A Funding to Accelerate Commercialization of Live-Cell Imaging FV Series and Tissue Imaging FI Series

VCBeat has learned that recently, a company specializing in fully independent and innovative label-free bioimaging technology—Femtosecond Research Center (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Femtosecond Technology")Announced the completion of its Series A financing round, which raised nearly RMB 100 million. This round of financing was led byOriza HoldingsandTaiyi FundCo-led investment,Nuoyu Capital, Deshi Capital, Guoju Venture CapitalParticipating in this round of financing, existing shareholdersMARATHON VENTURE PARTNERSAdditional Investment.

The proceeds from this round of financing will be primarily allocated to three areas:

1. Promote the mass production of research-grade products and clinical product registration for the FemtoVision (FV) series of live-cell imaging systems.The product has completed technical validation in the field of assisted reproduction for continuous observation and metabolic analysis of oocytes and embryonic cells. In the fields of organoids and stem cells, product validation is underway for application scenarios such as comprehensive monitoring of the culture process, establishing live-cell quality control systems and standards, and enhancing the clinical value and efficiency of organoids. The completion of this round of financing will facilitate small-scale mass production of the FV series products and enable the exploration of a series of solutions for broader live-cell application scenarios.

2. Accelerate the regulatory approval, mass production, and market promotion of the FemtoIris (FI) series products for tissue imaging.This product is a Class II innovative medical device certified by Guangdong Province. It serves not only as the hardware platform for the company’s next-generation standalone software medical device for AI-driven precision oncology diagnosis, but also as an independently developed, iterated version of high-end multiphoton microscopes for scientific research. With broad application scenarios, it addresses a substantial market size.

3. Initiate the development of the next-generation series of in vivo imaging products.This product can be integrated with various types of endoscopic and laparoscopic systems to acquire in vivo, real-time FLI data from human tissues, providing more convenient and direct real-time imaging and AI services for clinical medical applications.

Femtosecond Technology is a high-tech enterprise and a “Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative” (SRDI) company dedicated to the clinical diagnosis and treatment as well as the industrial application of femtosecond laser technology in biomedicine. The company’s core technology, “Femtosecond Label-free Imaging” (FLI), is a platform-level technology that enables efficient, non-destructive conversion of real-world biological tissues or cells into digital imaging data without the need for sectioning, staining, or any labeling. Its depth of data mining and efficiency of information acquisition are among the world’s leading standards. The highly standardized image data generated by FLI technology, combined with artificial intelligence deep neural networks, facilitates the efficient training of AI algorithms with excellent generalizability.

The FLI series products can be applied to cancer mechanism research, pharmacological research, drug screening, embryo selection, in vivo imaging, companion diagnostics for organoids, precision cancer diagnosis, efficacy evaluation, efficacy prediction, and prognosis prediction, demonstrating broad application prospects and significant market potential.

Taking the applications of stem cells and organoids in the live-cell industry as an example, the FV series products can:

• Real-time monitoring of the culture process, establishment of product quality control systems and standards

Non-invasive Live-Cell Imaging of Embryos

• Develop organoid-based therapies and evaluate their therapeutic efficacy

  
  

Skin Organoids (Day 190)

• Supports Drug Screening for Patients with Advanced-Stage Cancer

  
  

• Improving the Efficiency of Drug Development

It is reported that the core system patents for Femtosecond Technology’s FLI technology have been granted in China, the United States, Europe, and Japan. Furthermore, the company has established extensive research collaborations with more than 20 leading hospitals in China across multiple fields, including cancer diagnosis and prognostic assessment, cell analysis, organoid screening, and drug efficacy prediction.

This joint effort by new and existing shareholders will further accelerate the company’s product R&D and market expansion, driving the widespread adoption and deeper integration of the FLI product series across diverse application scenarios, including scientific research, clinical practice, and pharmaceutical development.

For this round of financing,Xu Bingwei, Founder of Femtosecond TechnologyStatement: Although the industry remains in a downturn, Femtosecond Technology has successfully completed its Series A financing with strong support from both new and existing shareholders, including several renowned investment institutions. This achievement not only recognizes our team’s years of deep cultivation in the field of label-free imaging but also injects strong momentum into the future expansion of our artificial intelligence applications. We will continue to focus on core technology research and development, constantly launching innovative products and solutions to contribute to the industry's growth.The FLI technology product series directly detects endogenous signals from biological tissues or cells. It is free from phototoxicity and causes no photodamage, thereby avoiding interference potentially caused by traditional fluorescent labeling. It eliminates systematic and operational errors introduced by labeling procedures, providing customers with a digital imaging approach that closer reflects natural states, along with superior solutions for extracting biological digital information. From the perspective of life science research and clinical translation, this technology addresses critical practical needs, such as the digital restoration of existing “native” tissue microenvironments without external interference, the acquisition of multimodal information under co-registered spatiotemporal conditions, real-time quantitative analysis of live-cell metabolic indicators, and breakthroughs in imaging depth for tissue or organoid samples.

Dr. Liu Bingqian, Partner at Oriza Holdings Guangzhou FundIt is noted that while fluorescence labeling technology has a nearly 80-year history of application and has significantly expanded the scope of detection, its labeling characteristics have limited its use in living tissues, particularly in clinical medicine. Consequently, label-free imaging technology has become a primary focus for next-generation optical imaging in the life sciences. Femtosecond Technology innovatively employs ultrashort pulses and supercontinuum generation to acquire multimodal signals, enabling non-destructive endogenous signal imaging of cells and tissues. This approach promotes the exploration and commercialization of Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLI) technology in areas such as life science instrumentation, tumor pathology, organoids, and assisted reproduction. Oriza Holdings continues to support the industrialization of innovative and breakthrough technologies. Based on the founding team’s decades of fundamental research in FLI and their original explorations in application development, we believe that Femtosecond Technology can provide imaging tools with greater depth, efficiency, and value for the life sciences and clinical medicine.

Taiyi Fund SVP Fu LanStatement: We have followed Femtosecond Technology for many years and are delighted to formally participate in the company’s future development. We believe that in the future biomedical industry, the practical application of cutting-edge technologies will largely rely on multidisciplinary integration. Femtosecond Technology’s FLI product series and its “+AI” suite of solutions are precisely the crystallization of such convergence across physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and computational science. We are optimistic about the team’s commercial translation capabilities in scenarios such as assisted reproduction and precision cancer diagnosis, and we hope the company will also achieve rapid breakthroughs in areas including digital twins of living cells and the establishment of quality control systems for organoids.

Yang Zhiwen, Founding Partner of Nuoyu CapitalIt is stated: During surgery, how to preserve normal tissue while resecting the tumor as completely as possible has always been a major challenge for surgeons. The emergence of label-free femtosecond laser technology provides physicians with a powerful tool to achieve this goal, and even holds promise for enabling in vivo guidance of surgical margins. It is an honor to participate in the investment of FAR-related projects, and we look forward to the outstanding entrepreneurial team continuing to bring us more surprises.

Guo Jia, Founding Partner of Deshi CapitalStatement: It is a great honor to participate in this round of financing for Femtosecond Technology. The company has developed the world’s first femtosecond laser label-free imaging (FLI) system, breaking the monopoly held by imported manufacturers in the field of high-end optical microscopy. As a powerful tool for basic scientific research, FLI is poised to become a revolutionary technology driving industrial upgrades across multiple sectors, particularly biology and medicine. We are also pleased to see that FLI has already begun to make its mark in both the scientific research and clinical translation markets.

Yang Xi, Chairman of Guangzhou Guoju Venture Capital Co., Ltd.It is indicated that FLI technology can be applied in areas such as cancer mechanism research, pharmacological studies, drug screening, embryo selection, in vivo imaging, companion diagnostics for organoids, precision cancer diagnosis, therapeutic efficacy evaluation, and treatment response prediction, demonstrating broad application prospects and significant market potential. Guangzhou Development District is a fertile ground for high-tech enterprise startups, having gathered a large number of distinctive and rapidly growing enterprises representing new quality productive forces in the biomedical field. Guangzhou Guoju Venture Capital Co., Ltd. will promote industrial collaboration between its portfolio companies and large-scale enterprises within the district through continuous investment in this sector, aiming to build an industrial highland for the biomedical cluster.

Existing ShareholdersTang Yinan, Managing Director at MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERSMARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS stated that it remains bullish on Femtosecond Technology’s ability to leverage its breakthrough FLI technology to continuously expand clinical application scenarios and reshape the paradigm of disease diagnosis and treatment. It hopes that the company will utilize this round of financing to further accelerate the registration and commercialization of its series of software and hardware products, thereby promoting the empowerment of clinical practice with next-generation FLI technology and benefiting more patients.

Oriza Yuan Dian is a specialized early-stage equity investment platform under Oriza Holdings, operating on market-oriented principles. It focuses primarily on investment opportunities in startups and early-growth enterprises within the technology and healthcare sectors. With a total fund size exceeding RMB 7 billion, its portfolio includes both venture capital (VC) funds and angel funds targeted at specific regions.

Since its establishment in 2013, Oriza Holdings has maintained an investment style focused on early-stage ventures with a preference for technology-driven companies and a steadfast commitment to its promises, earning a strong reputation among early-stage tech startups. To date, it has invested in over 280 companies, dedicated to empowering their growth and evolving alongside entrepreneurs.

Taiyi Investment Fund was established in 2016, jointly initiated by a management team primarily affiliated with Tsinghua University and a group of outstanding entrepreneurs.

Taiyi Fund operates both angel funds and industry guidance funds tailored to different regions. It has successively managed multiple government industry guidance funds in cities such as Yueyang and Tianjin, serving as an effective instrument for local governments to strengthen government-enterprise cooperation, integrate industry with finance, and build, supplement, strengthen, and extend industrial chains. By leveraging a combined strategy of “leading industries + investment + local characteristic industries,” and drawing on the fund’s extensive social and corporate resources, Taiyi Fund attracts top-tier and leading enterprises to invest and establish operations locally, facilitates the landing of high-quality industries, and stimulates and deepens the structural transformation and upgrading of local industries.

Taiyi Fund focuses on hard technology and industrial investment, with assets under management exceeding RMB 1 billion, and has nurtured a cohort of high-growth enterprises.

Nuoyu Capital is an early-stage venture capital fund founded by investors with extensive experience in the healthcare industry. Deeply rooted in the fields of medical devices and digital health, the firm focuses on early-stage investment opportunities and is committed to identifying entrepreneurs who can truly solve healthcare challenges through a long-term perspective.

The core members of the Nuoyu Capital investment team each possess over 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry, with profound expertise in medical diagnostic and therapeutic technologies and a deep understanding of business operational models. They provide startups with the most critical growth support needed in areas such as early-stage project evaluation and post-investment value creation. The firm has established a comprehensive presence across numerous sectors within the medical device and digital health landscapes, including brain science, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, surgical robotics, and medical AI.

Deshi Capital is a specialized private equity investment management firm focused on investments in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. Deshi Capital is committed to identifying investment opportunities in niche markets, collaborating with entrepreneurs and founders to drive transformation in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

Guangzhou Guoju Venture Capital Co., Ltd. (“Guoju VC”) is a wholly-owned private equity fund subsidiary of the High-Tech Zone Group. Established in January 2015 with a registered capital of RMB 1 billion, the company manages and participates in funds totaling over RMB 3 billion. As a key capital operation platform for the High-Tech Zone Group to strengthen government-enterprise collaboration, industry-finance integration, and investment across the entire biomedical industry chain, Guoju VC leverages the Group’s strategic layout in the biomedicine and health sectors. Adopting a “fund-of-funds + direct investment” approach, it actively promotes investment attraction and capital deployment in the biomedical sector of the Guangzhou Development District. By harnessing the leveraging effect of its “Biomedical Industry Fund,” Guoju VC has participated in establishing the “China-Israel Phase II Fund” and the “Guangdong Traditional Chinese Medicine Grand Health Fund.” It has also forged partnerships with renowned investment institutions such as Matrix Partners China, Sinoway Capital, and Oriza Holdings. Its portfolio includes Maisheng Medical, Meiyang Innovation, Paizhen Bio, Ruifeng Bio, Huizhengqi, Nuwa Life, and Ruipai Medical. Rooted in Huangpu District, Guangzhou, and radiating across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), Guoju VC is committed to becoming a leading state-owned venture capital firm in the GBA’s biomedical industry and a well-known market-oriented fund-of-funds management institution in China.

MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS, established in 2016, is an early-stage venture capital fund focused on the digital health technology sector. Currently, the cumulative assets under management across its multiple RMB and USD funds exceed the equivalent of RMB 3 billion.

MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS focuses on early-stage investment opportunities in digital health, making forward-looking investments in three key infrastructure areas: efficient access, innovative payment models, and efficiency enhancement. This strategy supports the transformation and upgrading of healthcare systems in China and globally, driving cost reduction, efficiency improvement, quality enhancement, and cost containment. To date, MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS has invested in nearly 100 high-quality innovative enterprises across various digital health sectors.