ChemT Biotechnology, an AI-driven biotechnology company building the intelligence layer for biomanufacturing, closed a US$4 million seed round led by Wavemaker Ventures, the early-stage fund of Wavemaker Partners, with participation from co-investment partner SEEDS, an arm of SG Growth Capital, the investment platform of EDB and Enterprise Singapore.
Biotechnology startups have secured billions of dollars in 2026. The funding activity was led by AI-powered biotech startups.
The round was further supported by notable investors across the United States and Asia, including Wavemaker 360 Health, Draper University Ventures, and Temasek Life Sciences Accelerator.
At the heart of the ChemT Biotechnology is CelMo, an AI-driven Virtual Cell platform trained on billions to trillions of proprietary biological sequencing reads and validated in the lab. CelMo is designed to simulate how cells respond to manufacturing conditions, genetic changes, and other stresses. By tracking which biological processes inside a cell are being activated, suppressed, or rewired, from growth and metabolism to stress response and productivity, CelMo builds a dynamic picture of how cell states shift throughout manufacturing. Built on this foundation are practical applications: identifying target cell pathways to improve manufacturing performance, designing small molecules to guide cell behavior, and supporting cell engineering using AI.
“This financing is a strong validation of our team, our technology, and our mission during a difficult funding environment for life sciences,” said Jie Sun, co-founder and CEO of ChemT Biotechnology. “Within roughly a year and half of launch, we’ve built commercial partnerships with more than 40 pharmaceutical, biotech, and CDMO companies across the globe. The future of biomanufacturing will not be won by automation alone — it will require intelligence.”
CEO Jie Sun said that seed financing will support the continued expansion of ChemT’s AI and experimental infrastructure, advancement of its AI-designed molecular products toward GMP standards and regulatory readiness, scaling of commercial partnerships, and further development of CelMo. ChemT plans to expand the platform beyond CHO cells and T cells into other cellular systems, including stem cells, NK cells (Natural Killer cells, used in next-generation cancer immunotherapies), and HEK cells (Human Embryonic Kidney cells, widely used in gene therapy and biologics production), enabling broader intelligent control across biomanufacturing workflows.