Acorn Biolabs Secures $3.3M Seed Funding to Advance Cell Preservation Technology

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that Acorn Biolabs, a biotechnology company based in Toronto, Canada, announced on January 16, 2019 (local time) the completion of a $3.3 million seed financing round. The round was jointly led by Real Ventures, Globalive Technology, Pool Global Partners, and Epic Capital Management, along with other unnamed investors.

Acorn Biolabs, founded in 2017, is a biotechnology company that provides professional services in the fields of young cell preservation, gene therapy, stem cell therapy, tissue engineering, and organ regeneration. Acorn Biolabs’ home collection kit enables consumers to easily harvest hair follicles at home, collect their own cells, and securely ship these samples for safe storage and future use.

As people age, their cells deteriorate and sustain irreversible damage. Consequently, the success rate of medical treatments using older cells declines significantly. Drew Taylor, Co-founder and CEO of Acorn Biolabs, stated, “The urgency to collect, preserve, and store young cells for future use is real; cryopreserving cells will ensure they are available when needed later.” Acorn Biolabs has made rapid progress in the therapeutic applications of cells, as well as in its capacity to culture human tissue slices, cartilage, artificial skin, and stem cells.

JS Cournoyer, Co-founder and Partner at Real Ventures and Co-founder of Element AI, stated: “Consumers have begun to widely embrace the idea that they can collect their cells to understand their genetic lineage and obtain basic health reports. As cell therapies utilizing living cells advance, consumers’ understanding of the potential value of their own cells will also deepen.”

Anthony Lacavera, Founder and Chairman of Globalive, stated, “To date, any viable cell collection solution has been prohibitively expensive, invasive, and often painful, with applications limited to specialized clinics. Acorn Biolabs stands as a leading industry example, demonstrating how technology can drive genuine innovation—enabling future medical solutions to meaningfully impact people’s well-being and longevity while being accessible, affordable, and painless for everyone.”

Through this round of financing, Acorn has added key resources to its team to enhance market availability. Jacquie Chapman, an experienced industry veteran, has joined Acorn as Chief Operating Officer, bringing extensive expertise in business transformation, globalization, and commercial strategy from top-tier management consulting, marketing, and health companies, including Boston Consulting Group, LoyaltyOne, and Precision Nutrition. Sonya Verheyden, who boasts a broad background in consumer and enterprise technology, telecommunications, and mobile sectors, has joined Acorn as Chief Marketing Officer.

Real Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that supports entrepreneurs in building thriving ecosystems. Real Ventures believes that venture capital firms should play a role in accelerating the creation of world-class technology ecosystems. To date, Real Ventures has invested in more than 200 companies, built a network of over 1,000 founders, and raised more than $300 million across five early-stage funds.

Globalive Technology is a next-generation software company that designs, builds, and commercializes software platforms leveraging cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. Globalive Technology is forming operational joint ventures with strategic partners to enhance its advantages in cost efficiency and rapid time-to-market, thereby securing more sustainable licensing and transaction revenue.

Pool Global Partners is an emerging deep tech and digital health firm that has invested in five companies to date. As a nascent management company, Pool Global Partners combines global growth capital with early-stage deep tech, leveraging an extensive network of operators based in Silicon Valley and Toronto to empower the next generation of high-growth startups.

Epic Capital is a boutique alternative asset management firm founded in 2000 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Specializing in investments in Canadian private healthcare companies, it has consistently provided investors with unique alternatives to traditional mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.