Leo Science Secures Tens of Millions in Angel Funding to Advance Integrated Laboratory Automation Solutions

Beijing Leao Dingfeng Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Leao Science”) recently announced the completion of its tens-of-millions-RMB angel financing round, co-led by Huagai Capital and CBC Group. The seed round saw participation from Qishi Dingfeng, with Qushi Capital serving as the exclusive financial advisor. The proceeds from this round will be primarily used for the industrial implementation of intelligent nanoliter-to-microliter liquid handling workstations and the delivery of integrated laboratory solutions.

Laboratory automation is defined as the use of integrated engineering technologies to simplify or replace manual operation of equipment and processes. With the increasing prevalence of laboratory automation and robotics, scientists can conduct scientific experiments more efficiently by automating routine laboratory procedures using specialized automated liquid handling workstations and software. This enables them to acquire larger volumes of higher-quality experimental data in less time, accelerate the development of new drugs and synthetic biology products, and complete tasks with minimal manual intervention. Laboratory automation not only provides high-quality data and facilitates better documentation but also reduces human errors associated with repetitive tasks such as pipetting and plate handling. Automated laboratory systems save time previously spent on tedious laboratory processes, including sample preparation, sample transfer, sample logging, staff training, routine administration, and maintenance. Currently, a pressing challenge is how to properly utilize integrated workstations, automated analyzers, and total laboratory automation systems to liberate scientists from mundane experimental tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-value activities.

Currently, international giants such as Tecan, Hamilton, Beckman, PerkinElmer (PE), and Agilent possess core technologies and dominate the vast majority of the market share, while domestic liquid handling workstations are still in their infancy. Addressing the pain points in this sector, Leo Science is committed to launching independently developed, intelligent nano- to microliter liquid handling workstations made in China. The company aims to resolve the critical lack of domestically produced core automated workstation units with independent intellectual property rights in China’s life sciences and medical automation markets, thereby alleviating the dependency on imported brands that currently constrains key niche segments such as drug discovery, synthetic biology, single-cell analysis, and cell-based therapy development.

Leo Science will leverage its automated workstations featuring core technologies and application-specific capabilities, along with automation system integration software, to enter the life sciences and medical application markets. By combining these offerings with biological process development expertise, the company aims to address the current lack of robust domestic system integration brands in the bioscience automation market that possess strong biological process development capabilities. Drawing on the founding team’s nearly 20 years of technical and commercialization experience in biological and medical automation applications and markets, as well as extensive research experience in national-level laboratories, Leo Science has been established to fill this gap in China.

Dr. Lei Wang, Founder of Leo ScienceStatement: Over the past two decades, we have witnessed the critical period of incubation and growth in China’s life sciences laboratory automation market, giving rise to a series of outstanding enterprises with the potential to achieve billion-yuan valuations. It is against this backdrop that Leo Science was founded as an enterprise integrating both life sciences and engineering DNA. Focusing on the core technologies and equipment needs for automation in life sciences and medicine, Leo Science is committed to helping our customers enhance the R&D efficiency of drugs and synthetic biology products, thereby securing a competitive advantage in the market. Through independent R&D and industrial collaborations, we have launched a series of intelligent laboratory automation products and solutions, represented by our intelligent nanoliter-to-microliter liquid handling workstations. These offerings empower enterprises engaged in drug discovery, synthetic biology, and single-cell sequencing. We also look forward to deepening cooperation with industry partners to contribute Chinese strength to global human health.

For this round of financing,Huagai CapitalHuagai Capital stated: “We have consistently monitored the development of core upstream technologies in China’s biopharmaceutical sector, particularly life science tools. The trend from manual operations to automation and even intelligence is clearly defined. Rayo boasts a professional and experienced team, with unique advantages in nanoliter-scale liquid handling workstations and integrated wet-and-dry lab automation. We believe Rayo is well-positioned to provide significant support for innovative development within China’s biopharmaceutical industry.”

For this round of financing,CBC GroupStatement: The rapid development of China’s life sciences industry has created significant opportunities for the upstream sector and opened up broad growth prospects for domestic enterprises. Currently, China’s high-end liquid handling workstation market is dominated by imports, while existing domestically produced products still require improvements in precision. Leveraging the Leo team’s profound understanding of laboratory automation, we are optimistic about the company’s technical advantages and growth potential in high-precision liquid handling workstations and intelligent, comprehensive automated laboratory solutions. We believe that Leo is well-positioned to deliver high-quality automation services to customers in China and around the world.

Huagai Capital, established in 2012, is a private equity investment firm co-founded by professionals from renowned domestic and international investment institutions. With the vision of “becoming the most trusted capital partner for entrepreneurs and investors,” the company focuses on private equity investments in the healthcare and technology sectors, committed to fostering the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises into industry leaders. Currently, the firm manages assets totaling approximately RMB 20 billion, with 25 of its portfolio companies successfully listed.

CBC Group is Asia’s largest private equity fund focused on the healthcare industry, dedicated to continuously creating value and integrating global resources. By partnering with leading entrepreneurs and scientists worldwide, CBC Group empowers industry leaders through its proprietary “Investment plus Operations” strategy, enhancing access to healthcare services, fostering innovation, and improving efficiency to address unmet medical needs globally. Founded in 2014, CBC Group boasts a professional team with expertise in investment, healthcare, and portfolio management across the globe. Headquartered in Singapore, the firm has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, and New York, as well as representative offices in Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Seoul, and Tokyo. CBC Group focuses on platform building, acquisitions, credit, and other growth opportunities in three core sectors: biopharmaceuticals, medical technology, and healthcare services.