Every scientific revolution in biology starts with a breakthrough that provides deeper insights into life’s fundamental building blocks. The last decade brought the era of genomics, where decoding DNA unlocked an explosion of discovery, including key drivers of cancer, rare disease, and immune function. Armed with that understanding, scientists developed targeted medicines, cell and gene therapies, and ultimately the mRNA technology that defeated the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, as important as DNA and RNA are, they are still incomplete because they are not living things. Instead, they matter because they shape the smallest atomic living unit – the cell.
At its core, biology is about cells: how they behave, how they communicate, and how they change. Until now, scientists have been stuck with tools that deliver frozen snapshots of cells at isolated points in time. But life doesn’t happen in still frames. To truly understand cells, we need to see them in motion and tie that behavior directly to their individual molecular signatures, closing the loop on the last decade of genomics and enabling the next wave of innovation.
Today, we are proud to announce that DFJ Growth led a Series B financing in Cellanome to bring about the era of cell biology.
Cellanome has developed a powerful new system that enables scientists to dynamically isolate, probe, and characterize live cells. Using a combination of computer vision, AI-driven analysis, and proprietary “CellCages” — semipermeable, reversible enclosures formed on demand — live cells can be observed in action and studied longitudinally over time. Scientists can not only watch how individual cells move, signal, or differentiate in real-time, but can also directly connect that behavior back to each specific cell’s genes, proteins, and metabolites. This linkage of functional biology to multiomic biology is a game-changer.
Importantly, Cellanome isn’t just building a better scientific tool. The company is building a highly adaptable platform that supports a wide range of scientific applications. For instance, Cellanome’s technology accommodates highly diverse cell types, including adherent cells that cannot be addressed today, while also giving scientists full control to design and customize their own experiments. Cellanome’s customers are already pushing the scientific frontier by optimizing cell therapies, exploring how neurons form networks, probing the mysteries of cell aging and senescence, and analyzing how cells form tissues. Early adopters include biopharma companies and leading researchers, showcasing the versatility of the platform.
Of course, the best companies are led by world-class teams. Cellanome is led by CEO Omead Ostadan, co-founder Mostafa Ronaghi, and chairman Jay Flatley — the pioneers who scaled Illumina into a global genomics powerhouse. Under their leadership, Illumina grew revenue from $200 million to over $4 billion while driving the cost of sequencing down by more than 10,000x.
We’ve worked with Jay, Omead, and Mostafa for more than a decade through our work as co-founders and investors at Helix, a leading population genomics company where Illumina was a founding partner and investor.
Just as DNA sequencing fueled the genomics revolution, we believe Cellanome can catalyze the cellular revolution. We’re thrilled to partner with this exceptional team as they pursue the future of scientific research and precision medicine.
The era of cell biology has begun, and we’re excited to help bring it to life!
