ImmuneBridge, developer of an integrated platform for screening and manufacturing allogeneic cell therapies, has raised $7.7M in a second seed round led by NFX. The platform uses expandable hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical cord blood, ML-powered screening, and proprietary expansion technology. The capital will scale manufacturing and open the platform to external partners.
NK Market Reaches $4.4B Milestone
The round arrives as the NK cell therapeutics market hits $4.4B TAM in 2026, growing at 12% CAGR. Artiva Biotherapeutics has raised $250M+, Nkarta Therapeutics $500M+ including IPO, Fate Therapeutics over $1B, and Glycostem Therapeutics $50M+. ImmuneBridge's source-screen-scale approach tackles donor variability and cost issues plaguing allogeneic therapies.
Donor Variability Hampers Scale
Current allogeneic cell therapies face high donor-to-donor variability, limiting scalability and raising costs for NK, T cells, and other immune cells. Manufacturing from iPSC or standard progenitors often compromises diversity or requires heavy editing. Cord blood HSCs offer innate advantages, but expansion has been limited without advanced tech.
ML Screening Meets HSC Expansion
ImmuneBridge's platform integrates ML-powered high-throughput screening of donors, edits, and processes with IBR403 small molecule for up to 100,000-fold HSC proliferation, preserving multipotency for tens of thousands of doses per unit. This enables uniform, high-quality starting material for partners developing therapies in oncology and autoimmune diseases. Unlike iPSC-heavy rivals, it leverages public cord blood banks for cost-effective multi-lineage production.
As CTO Rui Tostoes noted:
"At ImmuneBridge, we’re finally aligning the biology with the engineering."
Investors Back Manufacturing Pivot
NFX led the $7.7M extension, with participation from Insight Partners, M Ventures, One Way Ventures, T.Rx Capital, LongGame Ventures, Healthspan Capital, and Sand Hill Angels, bringing total seed funding to nearly $20M following a $12M round in 2023. This mix signals conviction in ImmuneBridge's shift to a partner-enabled platform amid manufacturing bottlenecks. Prior backers like Insight provide growth capital for commercialization.
Allogeneic Shift Drives Capital
The $4.4B NK market reflects a broader push to allogeneic off-the-shelf therapies, driven by autologous CAR-T limitations in cost, time, and variability. ImmuneBridge positions as infrastructure for academic and industry developers, with over 12 partners already engaged. Trends like scalable bioreactor advancements and expansion to autoimmune indications fuel investment.
Ex-Acquisition Leaders Drive Tech
New CEO Nina Horowitz, PhD in bioengineering from Stanford, rose from CSO, while CTO Rui Tostoes, PhD from MIT-Portugal, brings expertise from FloDesign Sonics, acquired by MilliporeSigma in 2019. Cofounder Jesse Cotari holds a PhD in immunology and computational biology from Cornell. This team drove the prior $12M seed and recent promotions amid 16 employees.
Clinic Milestones Slated for 2026
The funding supports lead internal program animal data in 2026 and human trials in 2028, targeting 10 therapies from the platform in clinic within 10 years. ImmuneBridge plans a $30M Series A later in 2026 and continues partnerships like with Sartorius for bioreactor scaling.