Stämm, an early-stage biotechnology company based in Buenos Aires, recently announced raising $17 million in its Series A round. The round was led by Varana Capital, along with other existing and new investors.
The funding will help Stämm prepare for commercialization of its technology; further develop biopharma partnerships into pilot scale; enhance its operational infrastructure; and continue growing the company’s 100+ person team, deepening its international presence.
Stämm is dedicated to making biomanufacturing easy, scalable, and repeatable. Pairing naturally occurring microfluidics and laminar flow together with 3D-printing, Stämm is developing a next-generation biomanufacturing platform that will enable continuous and autonomous mammalian cell production.
CEO Yuyo Llamazares told TechCrunch, “We detected this breach between the will to develop a biological product and the abilities of tools that were out in the market. That inspired us to take ownership of this problem.”
Bolstered by the funding and with newly inaugurated bio facilities for microfabrication, cell line development, bioprocessing optimization, and Pilot Scale Qualification, Stämm continues on the path to becoming a one-stop solution, enabling biopharma pipelines for antibodies and cell therapies from discovery through commercialization.
After visiting with Stämm in Denver six months ago, Varana became convinced of the power of the technology and the ability to forever change how vaccines and other medicines are discovered and manufactured.
Llamazares said: “Connecting with Varana Capital was a defining moment for Stämm. When we met in Denver, it was instantly clear to us that we are perfectly aligned on the impact we want to make in the world. I’m grateful for their trust and for having their support to fulfill Stämm’s Mission.”
Philip Broenniman, co-founder and Managing Partner at Varana Capital, said: “With this most recent fundraise, we, along with the balance of investors, are excited to be a part of Stämm’s mission to decentralize the biotech industry, to digitize biomanufacturing in the cloud, and to enable democratized access to biotechnology products.”
The current fundraising was led by Varana Capital, along with new and existing investors, Draper Associates, SOSV’s IndieBio, Decarbonization Consortium, Trillian LLC, New Abundance, Grid Exponential, VistaEnergy, Teramips, Cygnus Draper, Serenity Traders, and Dragones VC.