A Manchester-based biotechnology company has secured £5 million in seed funding to accelerate enzyme engineering using quantum physics and artificial intelligence—technologies that proponents argue could make industrial manufacturing cleaner and more accessible to smaller producers.
Imperagen, founded in 2021 by Manchester Institute of Biotechnology scientists Dr. Andrew Currin, Dr. Tim Eyes, and Dr. Andy Almond, announced the investment Thursday, led by PXN Ventures with participation from IQ Capital and Northern Gritstone. The company has now raised £8.5 million in total funding.
The startup's approach challenges what has long been a bottleneck in pharmaceutical development and industrial production: the slow, expensive process of enzyme engineering. Currently, companies rely on trial-and-error methods in laboratories to develop enzymes—biological catalysts essential to drug manufacturing, food production, biofuels, and agriculture. This traditional approach has historically meant long timelines, high costs, and significant uncertainty.
How the Technology Works
Imperagen uses three integrated technologies to streamline enzyme development. First, it employs quantum physics-based simulation to predict how enzyme variants will behave on a computer, exploring millions of potential mutations without physical lab trials. The company then translates this data into custom AI models trained on specific enzyme challenges. Finally, it uses robots and automation to generate experimental data that feeds back into the AI system in a closed-loop process—continuously improving predictions based on real-world results.
New CEO Guy Levy-Yurista, brought on to scale the company's commercial strategy and AI infrastructure, acknowledged a critical gap in the current market. "Right now, the process of enzyme engineering is falling short, where even many new AI-powered technologies can pass trial and error but fail when put into practice on an industrial scale," he said.
Broader Implications for Sustainable Production
Experts in sustainability see engineered enzymes and their supporting AI technologies as tools to reduce the environmental footprint of industrial manufacturing. The company's stated goal reflects this potential: wider use of engineered enzymes could help industries "reliably produce products that are cleaner, safer and better for people and the planet, while also making commercial sense for the companies that adopt them," according to Levy-Yurista.
The fresh capital will fund hiring of AI specialists, research and development, expanded laboratory capabilities, and commercial partnerships over the next two years. The company operates in a growing field that includes competitors like Biomatter, Cradle Bio, and Absci—all pursuing AI-driven approaches to accelerate biological engineering.
Imperagen's founders remain involved while Levy-Yurista, who has background in AI, life sciences, and enterprise technology, leads efforts to build vertical AI infrastructure for biocatalysis and scale industrial partnerships.
Why This Matters:
The democratization of enzyme engineering through AI and automation could reshape how pharmaceutical, food, and chemical products are manufactured. If successful, such technologies could lower barriers to entry for smaller companies and emerging markets, potentially reducing dependence on a handful of large manufacturers. The emphasis on sustainability—making industrial production cleaner with fewer environmental costs—reflects growing recognition that manufacturing must be reformed to address climate and pollution concerns. However, the concentration of this technology in well-funded startups raises questions about who will ultimately benefit and whether public institutions and smaller producers will have meaningful access to these tools, or whether they remain proprietary advantages for large corporations.