StemSight develops advanced stem cell therapies using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology to manufacture corneal cells at scale and combine them with biomaterials for off-the-shelf treatments. Its lead program targets limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD), a rare but severe form of corneal blindness; StemSight cites ~23k LSCD patients in Europe and the U.S. and notes global corneal blindness affects over 12 million people. The company positions its donor-independent, one-time cell therapy as a scalable, consistent alternative to traditional donor-dependent solutions. StemSight raised €2.3 million to fund key preclinical studies, expand R&D, and run manufacturing pilots to advance toward clinical trials. The team, founded in 2021 by Heli Skottman and Laura Koivusalo, plans to expand its pipeline to additional ocular diseases and address the global shortage of donor corneas. StemSight is developing an off-the-shelf human stem cell therapy intended to cure severe corneal blindness without relying on donor cornea tissue. The company aims to help millions affected by corneal blindness, citing roughly 12.7 million people worldwide waiting for corneal transplants and around 300 new fully untreatable cases per year in the EU. The €500,000 seed funding will be used to support clinical trials and market approval of their treatment. The team spun out of a Tampere University research group and has worked on the innovation for a combined 30 years. Founders hold PhDs in Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cell and Tissue Engineering, and the company is noted as one of the few all-female teams in the Nordic deep tech scene.

Total raised

$3M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Feb 2025