Granza Bio secures $7M seed from Felicis, YC to enhance cancer treatments

Biotech Startup Emerges from Oxford Collaboration

Two doctoral students at Oxford University, Ashwin Nandakumar from the oncology department and Ashwin Jainarayanan from an adjacent department, unknowingly crossed paths in their academic journey. Their collaboration began when Nandakumar stumbled upon an interesting prostate cancer dataset that required sequencing analysis. Reaching out to his network for help, Nandakumar was directed to Jainarayanan, leading to an immediate connection between the two researchers.

Joining forces, they began working in the laboratory of Jainarayanan's adviser, Professor Michael Dustin, a molecular immunology specialist. Dustin's groundbreaking discoveries about the immune system deeply intrigued both Nandakumar and Jainarayanan. Originally planning to pursue careers in large pharmaceutical companies upon graduation, they shifted focus, inspired by Dustin's research, to explore the idea of forming their own company.

The pivotal moment came when they met with Surbhi Sarna, a bio partner at Y-Combinator, who persuaded them to apply to the accelerator program. This conversation marked a turning point for Nandakumar and Jainarayanan. Deciding against joining Big Pharma, they opted to create their own biotech venture instead.

Thus, Granza Bio was founded, with the aim of developing innovative immunotherapy and therapeutic delivery methods. Entering Y-Combinator's Winter 24 batch, their novel approach rapidly garnered investor interest. Initially seeking to raise $2.5 million for crucial experiments, they surpassed this target within days. Buoyed by investor enthusiasm, they expanded their fundraising efforts.

This week, Granza Bio announced a successful $7.14 million seed round led by Felicis Ventures, with participation from Y-Combinator. According to Felicis, Granza's work aligns perfectly with its investment thesis that the body's immune system can be harnessed to treat cancers and autoimmune diseases. Highlighting the novelty of Professor Dustin's research, Felicis emphasized that Granza’s therapeutic delivery mechanism holds promise for wide applications in medical treatment.

Felicis Ventures, while renowned for investments in technology companies like Notion, Canva, and Shopify, also has a strong track record in the biotech sector, dedicating 10% to 15% of its capital to biological startups. Well-known life sciences investments include now-public companies like Gingko Bioworks and Recursion Pharmaceuticals.

With their significant seed funding, Granza Bio and its investors are optimistic about the potential to revolutionize therapeutic treatments through their innovative delivery systems, paving the way for numerous new drug developments.