Nicoya Secures $10M Series A Funding to Advance Digital Transformation in Drug Discovery

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on January 14, 2020, Nicoya, a Canadian supplier of advanced analytical instruments for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, announced the completion of a $10 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Whitecap Venture Partners, with participation from Garage Capital, MaRS IAF, Laurier Startup Fund, and the Waterloo University Student Venture Fund.

The company plans to use the funds from this financing round to accelerate the development of new products in drug discovery, expand its existing team from 50 to 80 employees over the next year, and extend its business reach into more international markets.

Nicoya, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Ontario, Canada, is a nanotechnology company dedicated to developing scientific instruments that can change the world. The company is a leader in the fields of nanotechnology, biochemistry, and optical sensors. To date, its products have been used by hundreds of cutting-edge researchers across academia, government agencies, biotechnology firms, and pharmaceutical companies in more than 40 countries worldwide. Furthermore, data generated from Nicoya’s instruments have been published in leading academic journals such as Nature.

As a company rooted in academia, Nicoya is committed to retaining highly skilled technical talent. Of the 50 members currently on the Nicoya team, all but six hold degrees in science or engineering. The company also stands out for its gender-balanced workforce, with women comprising 49% of its employees.

OpenSPR is Nicoya’s flagship product and the world’s first benchtop surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instrument. OpenSPR utilizes nanotechnology-based sensors to ensure data consistency and measurement reproducibility, with all optical performance coefficients of variation (CV) below 2%. Furthermore, the instrument is priced at half that of traditional SPR systems. By leveraging OpenSPR, scientists can obtain robust molecular interaction data directly from their own laboratory benches, enabling them to gain deeper insights into diseases such as cancer, hepatitis, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease.

Nicoya accelerates new drug development by providing precise analytical tools to a broader audience. “The future of drug discovery is digital, and we are developing world-class technologies to support this,” said Ryan Denomme, Co-founder and CEO of Nicoya. “Our technology will have a significant impact on human health in the future, but it requires the support of excellent partners, including the Whitecap team.”

Russell Samuels, Partner at Whitecap Venture Partners, stated, “Nicoya’s team is developing disruptive, world-class technologies to aid in the creation of drugs that have the potential to transform people’s lifestyles. Nicoya has already established itself at the forefront of disease research, drug discovery, and scientific inquiry worldwide. We are honored to welcome this innovative company into our portfolio and look forward to supporting its growth.”

Prior to this funding round, Nicoya had completed three previous financing rounds: a seed round on September 18, 2015; a $2 million seed round on January 29, 2018; and a $2.6 million financing round on May 14, 2019.

Whitecap Venture Partners, founded on April 7, 2015, and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in high-growth companies across three vertical sectors: Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Food Technology, and Medical Technology.

Garage Capital, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, is a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage companies in the Waterloo region.

MaRS IAF, established on August 27, 2007, and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a seed-stage investment firm. The fund invests up to $100 million in sectors such as IT, healthcare, and clean technology, executing 10–12 investments annually with extensive investment experience.

(Compiled by Yang Xiaohui)