Tartu-based biotech Gearbox Biosciences raised €380K
Estonian biotech Gearbox Biosciences raised €380K from Estonian firm Specialist VC and UniTartu Ventures, an investment company of the University of Tartu. They were leading this round. Estonian investment company Amalfi, and business angels Johanna Britt Berzin, former government CIO of Estonia Siim Sikkut, venture partner at Finnish VC SuperHero Capital Ivo Remmelg, board members of EstBAN Robert Laud and Hugues Flament also participated.
Founded in 2021 by Arvi Jõers, Marje Kasari, and Villu Kasari, Gearbox Biosciences is a spin-off company from the University of Tartu. It develops a technology that makes it possible to produce proteins without using antibiotics. The company promises to help reduce the risk of antibiotic use outside of medicine and the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The technology allows decoupling protein production from cell growth, at the same time increasing protein production. Gearbox Biosciences solution can be implemented to produce insulin, usually made with the help of a large amount of antibiotics.
The startup received a €150K grant from the Estonian Research Council for developing its technology. In March, the startup received a €125K investment offer from Lithuanian accelerator and investor Baltic Sandbox Ventures during StartupDay in Tartu. According to the company, the team decided not to receive this investment.
Founded in Tallinn in 2017, Specialist VC is a venture capital firm supporting companies from the Baltic region, Finland and Ukraine. Usually, it starts financing from €250K. At the beginning of 2022, Specialist VC launched a new €50M, which gets support from Estonian LHV pension funds and the European Investment Fund through the European Guarantee Fund and the Baltic Innovation Fund 2. In 2023, the fund invested in the Estonian manufacturer of electric cargo bikes Vok Bikes, an Estonian investment platform allowing its users to invest in sustainable funds Grünfin, Mumbai-based building health companies startup 2070 Health, an Estonian developer of a complete solution for charging electric cars Vool, Estonian insurtech Value.Space, Vilnius-based sales automation platform AskToSell. Specialist VC's partners are Kaspar Hanni, Riivo Anton, Tõnu Esko, and Gerri Kodres.
