CellX Biosolutions raises 1.7 million Swiss francs

(CONNECT) The start-up CellX Biosolutions in Zurich has raised a total of 1.7 million Swiss francs in its pre-seed round, according to an announcement on LinkedIn. "This capital will drive the development of the first commercial bacterial solution for the degradation of PFAS. We are now embarking on exciting collaborations with industry partners to develop customized products that address real-world challenges," says CEO and co-founder Estelle Clerc.

PFAS are perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds that are used in many products such as pans, textiles and packaging. CellX Biosolutions combats chemical pollution with powerful bacterial degradation products that enable CO2 emission-free degradation of industrial pollutants. A microfluidic tool - micro-scale liquid delivery - is used to identify unique bacteria with high degradation capacity that can break down harmful chemicals such as PFAS and pharmaceuticals.

Start-up sponsor Venture Kick in Schlieren ZH supported CellX Biosolutions with 150,000 Swiss francs as recently as November. Estelle Clerc describes the total proceeds of 1.7 million Swiss francs in the financing round as a "milestone" that "would not have been possible without the unwavering support of our investors, partners and advisors". She particularly emphasized the main investor Positron Ventures. The venture capital and private equity investor is based in Amsterdam.

CellX Biosolutions is equally grateful to Kickfund, Venture Kick and "our business angels, including our early supporters Marcello Campanelli and Ian Metcalfe", Clerc continues. She also thanked the City of Zurich for its support in furthering the mission of the young company through non-dilutive funding as part of the KlimUp program.

Non-dilutive funding is a form of financing in which a company does not finance itself by selling its own shares. ce/gba