• bitBiome

  Participated · Seed · May 2026

  bitBiome develops a data-driven platform for bio-manufacturing centered on its single-cell microbial genome sequencing technology (bit-MAP®) and a proprietary microbial gene database (bit-GEM) that has grown from 2 billion to over 3 billion genes. The company pairs bioinformatics, machine learning/AI, and high-throughput screening including robotics to enable enzyme discovery, enzyme and metabolic-pathway design, and microbial strain engineering via platforms such as bit-QED and bit-EVO. It has expanded leadership with experienced global hires and forged commercial partnerships and CMO ties to support end-to-end research-to-manufacturing workflows, including collaborations with Tojo Vikas International, Kyoritsu Seiyaku, and Sanwa Starch. bitBiome has been selected for large public projects (e.g., NEDO) and published research using bit-MAP® with multiple research groups, and has begun U.S. sampling to expand its database. The company plans to use recent funding to further grow bit-GEM, advance its SENS-AI genome-biology model, expand labs for data collection, and scale global business development, and has reported cumulative funding of about ¥7.0 billion.

• Sift Biosciences

  Participated · Seed · Feb 2026

  Sift Biosciences is a preclinical immunotherapy company creating “T-cell booster” peptides that activate infection-trained memory T cells, aiming to overcome the low immunogenicity that limits many current cancer treatments. Its proprietary platform combines artificial intelligence, metagenomics, and high-throughput immune profiling to identify microbial analogs of tumor-associated epitopes capable of rapidly amplifying immune responses. The initial pipeline targets solid tumors such as microsatellite-stable colorectal and ovarian cancers, while parallel research explores selectively expanding regulatory T cells for autoimmune disease. Founded in 2024 as a UC Berkeley spin-out and headquartered in San Carlos, California, the team is led by CEO and co-founder Clare Lou, Ph.D. The company has raised $3.7 million in pre-seed capital to fund in-vivo proof-of-concept studies, expand its AI-powered discovery engine, and select lead oncology candidates. Early preclinical data suggest the potential for faster, more potent, and durable immune responses compared with existing approaches. Financially, the company is still pre-revenue and focused on advancing its research programs toward clinical validation.

No current team members are available.