Gut-biome startup AMILI raises US$10.5m Series A round led by Vulcan Capital

AMILI, a precision gut-biome startup has raised US$10.5 million in Series A funding led by Vulcan Capital, the investment arm of late Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen.

Other investors in the oversubscribed round include Seeds Capital, Emtek Group and Capital Code. The biotech startup claims investors were picked for their expertise in biotech, healthcare and food tech to augment AMILI’s expansion.

“Although gut health research has advanced steadily over the years in other regions, there is still a big gap in research that is representative of the Asian population,” said Tommy Teo, managing director, Vulcan Capital.

The biotech startup is building a data and sample repository of Asian-centric microbiome, along with a proprietary analytics engine, AMILI PRIME, to develop diagnostics tests, predictive algorithms and microbiome-modifying interventions. AMILI also has a direct-to-consumer precision gut health brand BIO & ME in Singapore, with plans to launch into the rest of South-East Asia and Hong Kong in 2022.

The funds will be used to develop AMILI PRIME, and AMILI’s presence in South-east Asia. Microbiome research partnerships and discovery will also be accelerated using the funds raised.

“AMILI is delighted to welcome Vulcan Capital and our other Series A investors as partners on our journey to unlock the potential of the human microbiome. We are incredibly excited by the traction we are seeing across our platform and eager to expand our presence in South-East Asia and Greater Asia,” said Dr Jeremy Lim, chief executive officer and co-founder, AMILI.

This article first appeared in the Business Times