XellSmart Biosciences Secures Tens of Millions in Angel Funding to Advance iPSC-Derived Therapies for Severe Neurological Disorders

VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) has learned that XsellSmart (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. has officially announced the completion of its tens-of-millions-level angel financing round. The round was led by FreeS Fund, with participation from TEDAVC and YuanBio Venture Capital.The funds from this angel round have been sequentially allocated to establish XsellSmart’s R&D center, support the formation of its team, and initiate key R&D experiments.

XsellSmart’s core team hails from top-tier domestic and international universities and research institutions, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Harvard University, and the University of California. With an average of ten years of industry experience, the team is dedicated to scientific research and industrialization in the field of “stem cells + gene therapy.” XsellSmart’s core team possesses unique and robust expertise in cutting-edge technological innovation and translational applications within the realm of stem cell therapeutics.

Li Xiang, founder of XsellSmart, graduated from the College of Life Sciences at Peking University. He pursued his doctoral studies under Professor Deng Hongkui, an internationally renowned authority in stem cell reprogramming. Subsequently, he completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the birthplace of human pluripotent stem cells, under the supervision of Professor Su-Chun Zhang, a globally recognized pioneer in the differentiation of stem cells into neural subtypes.

After independently completing a research project on stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease funded by the Parkinson’s Foundation in the United States, Dr. Li Xiang joined Sana Biotechnology, Inc. in the U.S. The company’s Series A financing round broke funding records in the cell therapy sector, it successfully listed on the NASDAQ in 2021, and it ranks among the top ten biotechnology IPOs in the United States since 2018. Since 2021, Dr. Li Xiang has led the establishment of XsellSmart Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., together with Dr. Xiao Xiong, Dr. Yan Pixi, and others, focusing on the research and development of innovative drugs based on pluripotent stem cells.

Workflow for treating Parkinson’s disease using pluripotent stem cell technology. Image source: “Stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease”

XsellSmart is committed to providing scalable, low-cost stem cell therapies for major diseases that currently lack substantive clinical solutions, particularly severe neurological disorders.Human pluripotent stem cells possess the potential for unlimited proliferation and multilineage differentiation in vitro, offering new possibilities for cell replacement therapy in major human diseases. By inducing the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into functional cell types in vitro for transplantation to replace damaged or degenerated cells in the body, cell replacement therapies hold promise for addressing major human diseases.

Li Xiang, Founder, CEO & CTO of XsellSmart

Dr. Li Xiang, Founder, CEO & CTO of XsellSmart, stated：

XsellSmart recognizes and positions itself as a pragmatic driver in the macro-level process of stem cell therapy development and industrialization in China, while remaining a humble learner. Adhering to the core value of “patient-centricity,” XsellSmart upholds its corporate culture of “Patients First, Innovation Second, Shareholders Third.”

XsellSmart has established its operations in China, committed to benefiting millions of suffering patient families with innovative pluripotent stem cell therapies that are developed in China, for the local market, and based on original research. Behind the development of each innovative drug are countless real lives and patient families enduring hardship. The team at XsellSmart is dedicated to providing novel cell therapy solutions for critical and severe diseases that currently lack effective clinical treatments.

XsellSmart extends its sincere gratitude to FreeS Fund, TEDAVC, and YuanBio Venture Capital for their recognition and support of the XsellSmart team and mission. We are especially thankful to our angel-round shareholders for their full understanding of the challenges and difficulties inherent in the R&D of innovative cell therapies in China, and for their commitment to providing long-term companionship and support to XsellSmart. The XsellSmart team will let time and ultimate results speak for themselves.

FreeS Fund Founding Partner Li Feng stated：

Congratulations on the establishment of XsellSmart! The company stands at the historical starting point where China’s development converges with biomedical technologies, and at the nexus of multiple cutting-edge biotechnological advances. Moreover, it is strategically positioned to address the most critical issues and directions in human health for the decades to come. With such a remarkable opportunity and an outstanding team, XsellSmart is poised to achieve significant success and a promising future!

Shen Jiong, Partner at FreeS Fund, stated：

There is a substantial unmet clinical need in the field of neurological disorders, which nonetheless presents significant challenges. The convergence of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology and gene editing has ushered in new hope for overcoming these diseases, making scalable, low-cost stem cell therapies for many degenerative conditions a reality. This interdisciplinary technological frontier is a key focus area for FreeS Fund. Furthermore, we hold strong confidence in the XsellSmart team’s long-term expertise and their steadfast sense of mission. We believe that under the leadership of Dr. Li Xiang, the company will deliver widespread benefits to patients globally, and FreeS Fund remains committed to partnering with XsellSmart for the long term.

Zhao Hua, Chairman of TEDAVC, stated：

TEDAVC is delighted to serve as the angel investor for XsellSmart! We are deeply impressed by Dr. Li and his team’s extensive experience in stem cell research, their keen market awareness, and their determination to contribute to national progress through scientific and technological innovation. The stem cell therapy industry has achieved technological breakthroughs and fully entered the stage of clinical translation. In the future, it will undoubtedly stand alongside traditional therapies such as small-molecule drugs and antibody drugs, becoming an irreplaceable emerging force in the pharmaceutical industry. TEDAVC firmly believes that this professional team, led by Dr. Li and endowed with international capabilities and a global mindset, will position XsellSmart as a leader in China’s cell therapy industry.

At the same time, we sincerely hope that XsellSmart can bring its disruptive therapeutic products to market at more affordable prices, thereby benefiting a broad patient population in China. TEDAVC is willing to serve as a steadfast backer for XsellSmart, providing long-term and unwavering support to the XsellSmart team as they forge ahead and scale new heights!

Ding Xusheng, Managing Director of TEDAVC, stated：

TEDAVC is delighted to participate in XsellSmart’s angel round of financing. Stem cell therapies have already achieved significant breakthroughs, and we anticipate that such therapies will evolve into one of the effective means to address a range of unmet clinical needs. We are deeply impressed by XsellSmart’s unique solutions and substantial potential! The founding team of XsellSmart possesses extensive expertise and technical capabilities, and we look forward to their continued efforts in bringing hope to patients at an early stage.

Chen Jie, Founding Partner of YuanBio Venture Capital, stated：

The stem cell field is experiencing an extraordinary transformative moment, as engineering cells to achieve therapeutic effects has now become a commercial reality. Led by Dr. Li Xiang, the team at XsellSmart has long been dedicated to the field of stem cell therapy, boasting strong professional expertise and distinct competitive advantages. We look forward to XsellSmart’s success in stem cell therapy, delivering more precise services to physicians and patients, and emerging as a global leader. YuanBio Venture Capital will continue to accompany and support XsellSmart every step of the way!

Li Guochun, Partner at YuanBio Venture Capital, stated：

iPSC technology has matured and is currently leading the transition from customized autologous products to off-the-shelf allogeneic products. We are delighted to collaborate with the XsellSmart team and are committed to leveraging our full capabilities to support their in-depth work in cell reprogramming, differentiation, genetic engineering, and manufacturing, thereby facilitating the delivery of next-generation cell therapies.

FreeS Fund is committed to mobilizing all available capital, technology, and resources to invest in outstanding startups and help them grow into great enterprises with long-term social and commercial value. Established over five years ago, FreeS Fund has evolved into a full-chain fund management company driven by early-stage investments while actively laying out growth-stage and later-stage investments.

FreeS Fund’s key investment areas include consumption upgrading, deep tech, and biopharmaceuticals. Its portfolio companies include Three Squirrels (listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange), 360 DigiTech (listed on NASDAQ), Uber Global (listed on the New York Stock Exchange), Unity (listed on the New York Stock Exchange), Qingtao Development, Saturnbird Coffee, PatPat, Yifei Automation, ChipSight, Nuoxin Chuanglian, Singleron, XtalPi, Kayou Diagnostics, Shangyu, Yanming Biotech, Two Point Five Animation, and Chicecream, among other innovative enterprises.

TEDA Venture Capital Corporation Limited, established in October 2000 with a registered capital of RMB 1.873 billion, has managed a cumulative fund size exceeding RMB 10 billion. As one of the first professional venture capital firms in China, TEDAVC has evolved over two decades from a state-owned technology finance institution serving regional small and medium-sized enterprises into a fully market-oriented venture capital firm investing nationwide. Its investment portfolio spans semiconductors, healthcare, software and big data, intelligent manufacturing, and other sectors. From 2017 to 2020, the company was consecutively ranked among Zero2IPO Group’s “Top 50 Venture Capital Firms in China,” and also received accolades such as “Top 10 Semiconductor Investment Firms in 2020,” “Top 30 Healthcare Investment Firms in 2019,” and “Top 50 Hard Technology Investment Firms in China.”

YuanBio Venture Capital is an investment firm focused on the early and growth stages of the healthcare sector, headquartered in Suzhou BioBAY with a global reach. Currently managing approximately RMB 6 billion in assets, YuanBio has invested in over 100 high-quality projects, primarily spanning new drug development, medical devices, in vitro diagnostics, and healthcare services. The firm has delivered substantial investment returns and has been repeatedly recognized as one of the Top 10 venture capital funds in China’s healthcare sector and as one of the most active healthcare investment institutions in China. YuanBio brings together a team of seasoned professional investors and world-class scientific advisors, possessing extensive experience in entrepreneurship, venture capital, and corporate operations within the biopharmaceutical industry and related fields. Leveraging its focused strategy and abundant industry resources, YuanBio is committed to becoming one of the most successful healthcare venture capital funds in China.