Cambridge-based biotech startup Tolemy Bio has raised €1.4 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Norrsken Evolve, with participation from Big Sur Ventures, JME Ventures, Masia Ventures, and a UK-based stealth fund, as Vestbee was informed.
- Founded in 2026 by Alex Ward and Caelan Anderson, the company is developing Orbit, an AI-native platform designed as a “virtual control panel” for cell biology.
- The system is aimed at addressing long-standing inefficiencies in biopharma research, where experimental data is often fragmented across lab equipment outputs, spreadsheets, notebooks, and other disconnected sources, making it difficult to interpret, reproduce, or scale.
- Orbit brings these disparate data streams into a single integrated environment, where AI models and agent-based tools analyse cellular behaviour and help researchers understand how living cells respond to changes in experimental conditions.
- The platform also includes a “virtual cell” modelling layer intended to simulate and interpret biological responses, supporting scientists in identifying patterns, assessing experiment outcomes, and determining next steps in research workflows.
- According to the company, the goal is to make cell-based therapeutic development more predictable and data-driven, reducing reliance on trial-and-error methods in areas such as cell therapies and therapeutic protein development. The approach is designed to improve reproducibility and efficiency across both research and manufacturing stages.
“During my time working in the lab, it became clear to me that cell biology is still too difficult to interpret, optimize and reproduce. Teams generate huge amounts of experimental data, but too often that data does not become reusable intelligence. We founded Tolemy Bio to change that. Our goal is to make complex cell biology more interpretable, optimizable and useful for real therapeutic development," explains Alex Ward, co-founder and CEO of Tolemy Bio.
- The newly raised capital will be used to expand Tolemy Bio’s data generation, machine learning, and engineering teams, further develop the Orbit platform, and support early deployments with research and industry partners.
