Lund-based life-sciences technology company Aligned Bio has raised $3.6 million (SEK 35 million) in a funding round led by Swedish family office LMK, providing the company with capital to accelerate the commercialization of its nanowire-assisted single-molecule detection platform.
The financing is the largest funding round in Aligned Bio’s history since the company was founded in 2019. The round included both existing and new shareholders, including Almi Invest, LU Ventures and STOAF, alongside lead investor LMK.
The new funding will support Aligned Bio’s transition from technology development toward commercialization, with an initial focus on Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and ultra-sensitive protein detection for life-sciences and diagnostics applications.
Nanowires for single-molecule detection
Aligned Bio has developed a nanowire-based sensing platform designed to detect individual molecules with high sensitivity.
The company’s technology is based on research originating from Lund University and Chalmers University of Technology. Its platform is designed to enable applications ranging from DNA sequencing to highly sensitive protein detection.
For DNA sequencing, Aligned Bio says its technology can achieve read lengths of more than 1,000 bases using industry-standard equipment and sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) reagents.
The company also claims its platform could enable up to 200 times higher immunoassay sensitivity than conventional approaches, while potentially reducing costs by orders of magnitude.
From research to commercialization
The new investment comes as Aligned Bio enters a key commercialization phase.
Pete Corish formally joined the company as CEO in June and will lead its commercial expansion. Over the next six to twelve months, the company plans to engage with potential partners in the sequencing and proteomics industries.
“Our transition into a commercial phase is now underway,” Corish said, highlighting the company’s intention to work with leading companies in Next-Generation Sequencing and Proteomics.
Aligned Bio also plans to collaborate with companies looking to improve existing molecular detection platforms without completely replacing their current workflows or instruments.
Scaling nanowire manufacturing
One of the company’s immediate priorities will be scaling manufacturing processes for its nanowire consumables.
Moving from a research platform to a commercially viable technology requires the company to produce these components consistently at the volume and performance levels demanded by the life-sciences market.
Aligned Bio says its platform is designed for integration with existing laboratory equipment and workflows, potentially allowing customers to improve the performance of established systems without investing in entirely new infrastructure.
The approach could be particularly relevant in diagnostics and sequencing markets, where improvements in sensitivity, read length and cost efficiency can have significant downstream effects.
Building on Swedish research
Founded in 2019 in Lund, Aligned Bio is part of Sweden’s deep life-sciences ecosystem, combining research from two of the country’s major academic institutions with a technology commercialization strategy.
LMK CEO Anders Månsson said the investment reflects the family’s approach of supporting innovative companies that can strengthen Swedish industry and address global healthcare challenges.
With its latest financing, Aligned Bio now aims to move its nanowire technology closer to real-world applications in sequencing, proteomics and diagnostics.
Company: Aligned Bio
Headquarters: Lund, Sweden
Founded: 2019
Sector: Life Sciences / Molecular Detection
Technology: Nanowire-assisted single-molecule detection
Latest funding: $3.6 million (SEK 35 million)
Lead investor: LMK
Other investors: Almi Invest, LU Ventures, STOAF
CEO: Pete Corish
