Based in Würzburg, NanoStruct has secured €2.6 million in seed funding from High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Bayern Kapital, and the AUXXO Female Catalyst Fund to advance its rapid food safety testing technology. The round follows earlier backing from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) and the European Union, as Vestbee was informed.
- Founded in 2021 by Dr. Henriette Maaß, Enno Schatz, and Kai Leibfried, NanoStruct develops nanostructured sensor chips designed to detect harmful bacteria in food samples within hours rather than days.
- The company combines optical measurement technology with nanotechnology, biotechnology, and machine learning to identify pathogens such as Listeria and Salmonella through their molecular signatures, enabling faster microbial analysis for food manufacturers and testing laboratories.
Details of the deal
- With the fresh capital, the firm plans to validate its rapid food pathogen detection technology through pilot projects in the food analysis market, expand its team, build a structured sales organization, and accelerate the commercialization of its AI-powered nanostructured sensor chip platform for faster and safer food testing.
"With HTGF, Bayern Kapital, and AUXXO, we have found exactly the partners we need for this next step: experienced, well-networked, and convinced of our vision. Now we are bringing rapid bacterial analytics to the food industry," explains Dr. Henriette Maaß, CEO of NanoStruct.
