DayTwo Secures $5 Million in Series B Funding to Advance Gut Microbiome-Based Blood Sugar Management Platform

On October 11, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that biotechnology company DayTwo announced the completion of a $5 million Series B financing round. The round was led by Longliv Ventures, with participation from Cathay Innovation and Samsung NEXT. Additionally, Dr. Dan Eldar, General Partner at Longliv Ventures, will join DayTwo’s Board of Directors.

Following the completion of this funding round, DayTwo will continue its research on leveraging gut microbiota to regulate blood glucose levels, helping consumers prevent obesity and diabetes.

It is reported that DayTwo has completed five rounds of financing, raising a total of over $50 million. Specifically, the company closed its $12 million Series A round in June 2017 and its $31 million Series B round in June 2019.

DayTwo, a biotechnology company founded in 2015 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, develops microbiome platforms leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence and provides consumers with nutritional and health supplements. Led by CEO and founder Lihi Segal, the company employs 85 people and maintains offices in Tel Aviv and the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States.

DayTwo focuses on personal health and is committed to providing consumers with personalized nutrition and wellness solutions to improve their physical condition. The company primarily develops its products based on the research findings of Professor Eran Segal and Dr. Eran Elinav from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Currently, DayTwo has secured exclusive licensing rights to the research outcomes of Professor Segal and Dr. Elinav.

The Weizmann Institute of Science, established in 1934, is a research institution located in Rehovot, Israel. It was founded by Dr. Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president and a renowned chemist. The institute primarily engages in multidisciplinary research spanning mathematics, physics, and life sciences, and is renowned for its broad scope of scientific and technological research. Committed to advancing Israel’s industrial and scientific sectors, the Weizmann Institute of Science was ranked in 2011 by *The Scientist* as the best academic workplace among non-U.S. institutions.

Furthermore, DayTwo has developed a microbiomics platform based on its gut microbiome database. The company’s biotechnology team has conducted a series of studies, including DNA sequencing of gut microbes, with the aim of leveraging microbiota to regulate blood glucose levels. In 2015, DayTwo researchers published their findings in Cell, elucidating how the gut microbiome can be integrated with other clinical and personal parameters to deliver personalized dietary interventions for consumers, thereby helping them maintain glycemic balance.

Microbiomics is one of the major breakthroughs in life sciences and biotechnology research following genomics, with broad application prospects in healthcare, agriculture, ecological environments, and industrial manufacturing. The gut microbiome becomes dysregulated under disease conditions such as inflammation and metabolic disorders, directly reflecting human health status.

Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, Longliv Ventures is a venture capital firm that primarily focuses on the digital health and biotechnology sectors, providing funding and strategic guidance to startups.

Cathay Innovation, established in 2015 and headquartered in California, USA, is a venture capital and private equity firm. The company primarily supports digital enterprises in North America, Europe, and Asia to drive technological transformation. Currently, Cathay Innovation maintains offices in San Francisco (USA), Paris (France), and Beijing and Shanghai (China).

Samsung NEXT, established in 2013 and headquartered in California, USA, is a venture capital firm primarily investing in disruptive software technology startups.

(Compiled by Xu Xiaoxue)