£8.9m extension enables end-to-end antibody expression and validation on benchtop microfluidics
This article covers Nuclera, a Cambridge biotech startup, extending its series C funding round with an additional £8.9m ($12m), taking the round to £64.6m ($87m). The extension will fund integration of full-format antibody expression, purification and binding validation into Nuclera's benchtop eProtein Discovery system, supporting AI-enabled protein engineering workflows and aiding researchers and drug developers in early-stage biologics discovery.
Nuclera, a Cambridge biotech startup, has extended its series C funding round with an additional £8.9m ($12m), taking the round to £64.6m ($87m). The raise, led by Elevage Medical Technologies and investor Jonathan Milner alongside existing backers including British Business Bank and GK Goh, will fund the integration of full-format antibody expression, purification and binding validation into Nuclera’s benchtop eProtein Discovery system — a move the company says will support AI-enabled protein engineering workflows.
Why it matters
The extension signals continued investor interest in platforms that can speed early-stage biologics research. Nuclera’s aim is to compress parts of the protein discovery pipeline that are typically slow, resource-intensive and fragmented, particularly for antibodies. For researchers and drug developers, having a compact, repeatable system for expression and validation could reduce time-to-data and improve the consistency of datasets used to train AI models in biologics discovery.
The deal also reflects a broader pattern of funding in UK biotech where capital is flowing to companies building automation and data infrastructure for drug discovery rather than single-asset therapeutics.
Inside the product
Nuclera’s eProtein Discovery system combines cell-free expression methods with digital microfluidics and multiplex screening to produce and characterise proteins on a benchtop unit. The company says the new extension will add workflows for full-format antibody expression, purification and binding validation, enabling end-to-end handling of antibodies on the same platform.
Recent product milestones cited by Nuclera include a membrane protein workflow, which is notable because membrane proteins are technically challenging and relevant to many drug targets. The company has also begun partnerships to streamline the path from DNA to purified proteins, including a collaboration with Cytiva and a commercial installation at Domainex, a contract research organisation that now uses the system to support protein production services.
### Who's backing the round
Who are the investors?
The additional £8.9m was led by Elevage Medical Technologies and Jonathan Milner. Existing investors participating in the extension include British Business Bank and GK Goh. Taylor Wessing LLP acted as legal adviser to Nuclera on the financing.
The financing narrative emphasises backing from investors who have followed Nuclera through product development and international rollout. Elevage says its continued support reflects progress on capability expansion and adoption, while Milner — founder and former CEO of Abcam — points to the team’s technical progress on difficult protein classes as a reason for his involvement.
In the announcement, Dr Michael Wasserman, Chief Operating Officer, Elevage Medical Technologies, said:
Since our initial investment, Nuclera has made meaningful progress in expanding the capabilities, adoption, and global reach of the eProtein Discovery platform. The extension of the system into full-format antibody expression, purification, and binding validation represents a significant step forward, particularly as biologics discovery becomes increasingly driven by AI-enabled workflows that require scalable, high-quality datasets. Elevage is proud to continue supporting Nuclera as it evolves into a foundational platform for protein and antibody engineering, helping researchers accelerate discovery timelines and reduce friction across the drug development process.
In the announcement, Dr Jonathan Milner, Chairman of the Nuclera Board of Directors, founder and former CEO of Abcam, Inc and CEO of Meltwind Advisory, said:
Nuclera is solving one of the most pressing bottlenecks in biologics discovery - the slow, fragmented, and resource-intensive process of synthesising full-format antibodies. The team’s success in membrane proteins, one of the most challenging protein classes, combined with their microfluidic expertise, places them in a unique position to transform antibody development workflows.
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Dr Michael Chen, CEO and co-founder at Nuclera, said:
This financing underscores our growing momentum and demonstrates that we are expanding eProtein Discovery into one of the fastest-growing segments of biologics R&D. Scientists increasingly require scalable, high-quality datasets to power AI models in biologics discovery. We are positioning Nuclera to become a foundational platform for the future of protein and antibody engineering, ultimately accelerating therapeutic discovery timelines.
Chen’s comment frames the raise as both a product development step and a data strategy: by standardising and scaling protein characterisation, Nuclera aims to produce the consistent datasets that machine-learning models require.
The bigger picture
Nuclera’s expansion sits at the intersection of automation, data and AI in drug discovery, an area attracting attention across the UK and Europe. Tools that make protein characterisation faster and more reproducible can feed larger, higher-quality datasets into predictive models — a key bottleneck for next-generation biologics discovery.
Partners and early adopters — such as Cytiva and Domainex — offer routes to commercial validation and broader deployment, while investor support from institutions like British Business Bank underlines continued public and private interest in platform technologies for biotech.
This funding move is part of a wider trend in the UK and European biotech ecosystem where capital is increasingly allocated to companies building infrastructure for R&D efficiency and data generation, not just to single-drug developers.
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