London-based Portal Biotech has raised $35 million in an oversubscribed Series A round to advance its AI-powered platform for full-length, single-molecule protein sequencing. The round is among the largest investments in a European life sciences tools company to date.
The Series A was co-led by the NATO Innovation Fund and Earlybird Venture Capital, with contributions from existing investors SCVC, Pillar VC, 8VC, Amino Collective, and Outsized. New backers include We Venture Capital, the British Business Bank, and WS Investment Company, the venture arm of Wilson Sonsini.
Proteins are central to biological functions, yet current tools fail to read them in their entirety or capture vital modifications. Traditional techniques like mass spectrometry break proteins into fragments, often missing key information that could impact drug development, diagnostics, and biosecurity. These limitations contribute to costly delays and failures in medical and pharmaceutical research.
Portal Biotech, founded by experts in nanopore genomics and spun out from over a decade of research in the Maglia lab, is developing technology that provides full-length protein characterisation at the single-molecule level. The company’s platform combines nanopore biosensing with AI-driven analysis, promising faster, more affordable insights into complex protein structures.
Portal’s benchtop instruments bring sophisticated proteomics capabilities to everyday labs, making it easier to conduct early-stage drug discovery and diagnostic testing without relying on expensive mass spectrometry setups.
"Portal Biotech’s technology offers unprecedented capabilities in protein identification and characterisation, providing unmatched detail on protein structure and modifications at the single-molecule level—on accessible desktop instruments that bring this state-of-the-art characterisation to any lab," said Andy Heron, co-founder and CEO.
With its new funding, Portal Biotech plans to accelerate its commercialisation efforts, expand R&D, and grow its engineering and data-science teams. The company aims to support pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and governments with tools that enable faster decisions in drug pipelines and more robust biosecurity measures.
“Portal Biotech’s ability to characterise proteins at the molecular level onsite anywhere could help detect engineered biological threats faster and more accurately," said Dr. Ana Bernardo-Gancedo, Senior Associate at the NATO Innovation Fund. "The scientific and commercial track record of the Portal Biotech team gives us tremendous confidence that they will play a defining role in the next era of proteomics.”
By unlocking the proteome, Portal Biotech hopes to do for protein sequencing what next-generation technologies did for DNA sequencing. Their AI-powered insights are set to deepen our understanding of how proteins work, opening new doors in drug discovery and diagnostic innovation.
"We believe Portal Biotech is uniquely positioned to revolutionise protein analysis and sequencing in much the same way next-generation DNA sequencing revolutionised genomics," added Dr. Rabab Nasrallah, Principal at Earlybird Venture Capital.
Founded in London, Portal Biotech emerged from research in the Maglia lab and is led by co-founder and CEO Andy Heron. Its proprietary technology enables detailed, full-length protein sequencing that traditional platforms cannot match.
In addition to lead investors NATO Innovation Fund and Earlybird, the round brought continued support from SCVC, Pillar VC, 8VC, Amino Collective, and Outsized. New investors joining the syndicate include We Venture Capital, British Business Bank, and WS Investment Company.
