Cambridge-based bit.bio has closed a $25m (about £19m) Series D backed by existing investor M&G Investments and Abcam founder Dr Jonathan Milner, months after its Series C. The company says paid vial volumes are up 76% in 2026 and active customers up 40% year to date.
bit.bio makes human cells to order for drug discovery and life-sciences research. Its opti-ox platform reprograms stem cells into defined cell types consistently and at scale, which avoids the donor variability and limited supply that come with traditional sources.
Its ioCells catalogue now covers more than 50 human cell types, including heart, liver and central nervous system models. They are used in disease research, functional genomics, drug discovery and toxicology.
The round
The Series D is an insider-backed raise. M&G Investments, through its crossover strategy, returns as an existing shareholder, and Milner, who built Abcam into a global research-reagents business, also invests. bit.bio has not named any new institutional lead, and valuation and dilution terms were not disclosed.
The timing stands out. The Series D comes only months after a Series C earlier this year, and a quick follow-on led by insiders usually means existing backers are putting more money into commercial momentum rather than waiting for a fully priced external round.
M&G's involvement is significant for the cap table. Crossover investors typically back companies they see as candidates for a later public listing, and M&G investment director Cornel Chiriac pointed to bit.bio's proven technology, established manufacturing and rising demand as reasons to back its next phase of growth.
The numbers
bit.bio has given unusually detailed trading metrics for a private biotech tools company:
- Paid vial volumes up 76% in 2026
- Orders up 34% year to date
- Active customers up 40% year to date
- Academic customers up 63%
Chief executive Dr Emma Pepperell said two shifts in drug development are pushing demand: AI is speeding up candidate discovery, and the industry is moving away from animal testing. Both create a need for large volumes of consistent human cells to validate new medicines.
What's next
The company says its manufacturing capacity is already in place, so the new money will go into expanding the cell-type catalogue and widening customer access around the world, rather than into plant.
Milner compared the opportunity to Abcam, which grew by becoming the supplier researchers used by default before Danaher bought it in 2023. For bit.bio's investors, the question is whether a cell supplier can scale in the same way. The growth figures released with this round are the company's first public case that it can.
Original source: BusinessCloud — https://businesscloud.co.uk/news/human-cell-manufacturer-bit-bio-wins-19m-backing/ (additional detail: Tech.eu — https://tech.eu/2026/11/04/human-cell-programming-company-bitbio-closes-25m-series-d/)
