iGeneTech Secures Tens of Millions in Series A Funding to Advance Core Gene Capture Technologies

Today, iGeneTech Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Beijing, China (iGeneTech) announced the completion of its Series A financing round, raising tens of millions of RMB. The round was led by a newly established healthcare industry fund under Puhua Capital, with participation from Legendstar Capital and Beikeshe Fund.

iGeneTech is a platform-oriented company positioned around technological innovation in biotechnology itself. With gene capture technology at its core, it is committed to providing design, manufacturing, testing, and data services for genetic testing products to enterprises, clinical laboratories, and hospitals within the industry. Its business scope includes genomic capture, methylation capture, optimization of genome editing effects, and transcriptome capture.

Dr. Hang Xingyi, the company’s founder and CEO, has previously noted that small and medium-sized enterprises in the genetic testing sector lack core technologies for target capture and library preparation; clinical laboratories and hospitals are unable to deploy upstream industrialized processes; foreign companies struggle to provide end-to-end services; and existing products and services are costly and inefficient. These factors have collectively created significant obstacles to the development of the genetic testing industry. In clinical applications, targeted capture represents the primary market segment due to its stringent requirement for precision. However, China lacks a mature system for product design and validation from a technical standpoint—a critical pain point that iGeneTech is currently addressing.

Gene capture technology is an essential technique for detection, referring to the process of isolating specific fragments from the genome for sequencing; it serves as one of the foundations of precision medicine.

In the field of gene capture, iGeneTech possesses two independently developed core technologies: liquid-phase chip capture technology and multiplex PCR capture technology. The former is suitable for capturing large genomic regions as well as insertions and deletions, while the latter offers extremely high efficiency in capturing small regions and point mutations.

Additionally, the company’s extended core technologies include a high-throughput probe design and evaluation system (for liquid-phase chip capture sequencing), an ultra-multiplex PCR primer design and evaluation system (for multiplex PCR sequencing), as well as validation systems for off-target effects in synthetic biology (probe/primer synthesis) and genome editing (e.g., CRISPR/Cas9).

Following the rise of the genetic testing industry driven by precision medicine, two types of genetic startups have emerged: those targeting mass consumers and those serving testing institutions. Gene capture is a key technology in genetic testing, yet it remains inaccessible to many small and medium-sized enterprises. iGeneTech is positioned specifically to serve business clients, including enterprises and institutions.

Zhou Mi, Founding Partner of the lead investment fund and former Senior Healthcare Investor at Matrix Partners China, stated that iGeneTech operates in a highly specialized field. “Based on our extensive engagement with both upstream and downstream sectors of the gene sequencing industry, our team has confirmed that gene capture technology presents significant technical barriers and constitutes a critical bottleneck and pivotal link in the development of NGS-based genetic testing. The iGeneTech team boasts substantial experience and technical expertise. We believe they are well-positioned to break the monopoly held by a few overseas giants in this field and have the potential to serve as a catalyst for the growth of China’s precision medicine industry.”

Furthermore, Zhou Mi also noted that iGeneTech is highly complementary and synergistic with Genedock (Judao Technology), a gene big data PaaS company previously led by Matrix Partners China in its investment. Together, the two companies can provide a one-stop, end-to-end industrial chain service for the NGS-based genetic testing industry.

Currently, iGeneTech has partnered with over 40 institutions, primarily small and medium-sized enterprises in the genetic testing sector, including clinical laboratories, hospitals, and health examination centers.

iGeneTech currently has a team of 26 members. Following the financing round, the team will continue to expand, with a commitment to mastering core technologies and independent intellectual property rights. The company aims to establish a more stable and high-quality standardized product supply chain, independently formulate enterprise and industry production and data standards, and secure pricing power for its core products and services.