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The Biotech Founder’s Guide to Finding Affordable Lab Space That Supports Growth
Bakar Bio Labs at the University of California Berkeley and Venture Catalyst at the University of California Davis are two examples that offer these types of opportunities. For instance, UC Berkeley is one of the leading public universities in the country, particularly in STEM fields, explained Gino Segrè, PhD, managing director of Bakar Bio Labs, a life science–focused incubator for startups. “So you’re getting all of that when you lease space at Bakar Labs—access to the campus, shared resources, advanced equipment, paid-for student interns, and perhaps faculty advisors—all set in the backdrop of a very vibrant urban environment.” Read post
Profluent Bio Announces Strategic Collaboration with Ensoma to Develop AI-Designed Base Editors for In Vivo Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapies
Profluent, a leader in frontier AI for protein design, today announced that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with Ensoma, an in vivo cellular engineering company with a mission to advance the future of medicine through one-time therapies. Under the agreement, the companies will leverage Profluent’s AI-designed deaminases in connection with Ensoma’s gene editing scaffolds and helper-dependent adenovirus (HDAd) delivery systems to design, develop, and evaluate AI-designed base editors for in vivo hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) therapies, which will inform future translational decisions. Read post
Azulene turbocharges chemistry simulations with “better data, better models”
Using physics and machine learning, the startup is accelerating computational chemical engineering. Read post With clinical trials in sight, ResVita Bio reaches out to Netherton syndrome community
In preparation for future tests of their flagship therapy, the company is offering updates to those afflicted with the disease. Read post
Davis biotech ARIZ Precision Medicine seeks $10M to advance cancer-killing technology
ARIZ Precision Medicine, a Davis-based company developing technology to kill cancer cells while not damaging healthy cells, is seeking to raise $10 million from investors to advance its work and get to clinical trials. Read post
Azalea Therapeutics Presents New Preclinical Data Demonstrating Robust In Vivo Generation of TRAC-CAR T Cells Using Enveloped Delivery Vehicles
Azalea’s dual-vector platform combines T cell-targeted EDVs delivering Cas9 RNP complexes with a human T cell-tropic AAV carrying a promoterless CAR template. This approach enables precise genomic insertion at the TRAC locus, bringing CAR expression under the control of the native T cell receptor promoter. In vivo TRAC insertion is designed to improve potency, persistence and safety by achieving regulated, physiologic CAR expression rather than continuous signaling from exogenous promoters. Read post
Hermes Biosciences Raises Seed Funding to Make Extracellular Vesicles a Practical Tool for Precision Medicine
Hermes Biosciences, a life science tools company developing a benchtop, hands-off system for the isolation of extracellular vesicles (EVs), today announced it raised a Seed financing round to deliver its first commercial instrument in 2026, aimed at clinical researchers across academia, Pharma, and clinical customers who require standardized, scalable workflows. The round was led by Genoa Ventures, with participation from Paladin Capital Group and Vertical Venture Partners. Pre-Seed capital and company formation support were also provided by Genoa’s venture studio, General Inception. Read post
East Bay AI biotech company raises $106 million from Jeff Bezos and others
Profluent Bio, a three-year-old Emeryville company, was the first to show that large language models can generate functional proteins. It went on to design the first CRISPR genome-editing system from scratch, creating an open-source gene editor known as OpenCRISPR-1. With its new-found cash from Altimeter and Bezos Expeditions, it now hopes to continue applying its genome editors into antibodies, enzymes and immune system-triggering antigens. It already has cut deals with a handful of partners, such as life sciences tools company Revvity Inc. (NYSE: RVTY) — the former PerkinsElmer Inc. — agricultural player Corteva Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) and the Rett Syndrome Research Trust, to make custom proteins. Read post Profluent Raises $106M to Scale Frontier AI Models for Programmable Biology
Profluent, a leader in frontier AI for protein design, today announced a $106 million financing co-led by Altimeter Capital and Bezos Expeditions, with participation from existing investors including Spark Capital, Insight Partners, and Air Street Capital. This round brings Profluent’s total funding to $150 million and will accelerate its mission to make biology programmable – transforming how therapeutics, diagnostics, agriculture, and biomanufacturing solutions are developed. Read postOur affiliates
Ready to run?
Startups need to focus on making milestones, not managing equipment.
Bakar Bio Labs maintains tissue culture facilities, a freezer farm, fume hoods, basic benchtop equipment and plenty of analytical instruments. Optional lab support services can also make for quick starts that help get results fast.
At UC Berkeley
Bakar Bio Labs is just steps from UC Berkeley’s world-renowned faculty and more than 40,000 students who train in top programs including science, engineering, law and business. Dotting the campus is a network of core facilities that feature a wide range of advanced equipment and services for use by startups. Recruiting student talent and scientific co-founders couldn’t be easier.
Today’s best startups blaze a trail all their own, but they don’t do it alone.
They build their support network to help them navigate the multiple challenges they face. At Bakar Bio Labs, tenants join a community of as many as 50 like-minded teams willing to share the scientific and business insights that help them advance. The incubator spans more than 40,000 square feet of lab and office spaces within the fully renovated Woo Hon Fai Hall, the iconic former home of the Berkeley Art Museum. With so much going on, investors, industry partners and new talent are already taking notice.
Built for startups. For more than 20 years, QB3 has been the University of California’s center for innovation and entrepreneurship in life science. Through pitch summits, seminars, symposia, podcasts, office hours, internships, and workshops QB3 educates, connects, and elevates the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
