The Polish fund Smartlink is investing £0.5 million in Nanovery, a biotechnology company based in Newcastle, UK. This marks another international transaction for Smartlink. With the fund’s support, the British company will be able to accelerate the commercialization of its groundbreaking nanorobotics technology, already being used in projects for leading pharmaceutical companies and opening new possibilities in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases previously considered incurable.
Smartlink Partners has completed another foreign investment, allocating £0.5 million to Nanovery, a UK leader in the field of nanorobotics and RNA bioanalysis. This is an important step for the company, operating in the rapidly growing RNA therapeutics market, which is expected to exceed $20 billion globally by 2030, and where all major pharmaceutical companies are conducting research.
The total value of the recently completed late-seed investment round reached £1.1 million. Besides Smartlink Partners, investors included Northstar Ventures (through the North East Innovation Fund and Northstar EIS Growth Fund), which collectively invested £645,000. The company also received a grant from Innovate UK. Previous funding rounds attracted investors such as Prostate Cancer Research, JRH ASI, and business angels from the UK and Switzerland. In total, Nanovery has raised over £5.5 million since its inception to develop its breakthrough technology.
“This is an incredibly innovative company and a fantastic investment. Our participation in Nanovery’s funding round proves that Polish capital can support the world’s most groundbreaking projects. At Smartlink, we consistently look for companies that not only develop pioneering technologies but also truly transform entire industries. Nanovery perfectly fits this strategy, offering solutions that could revolutionize RNA drug development and molecular diagnostics. I’ve known Jurek Kozyra, a Polish scientist working in the UK for many years, since we at JRH invested essentially in a technology concept. Today, it’s clear that this is a technology the entire Big Pharma sector has been searching for,” emphasizes Bartłomiej Kurylak, Managing Partner at Smartlink Partners and CFO of JRH ASI S.A.
Nanovery has developed a unique platform based on DNA nanorobots (Nucleic Acid Nanorobotics, NANs), enabling ultra-rapid, precise, and cost-effective detection and measurement of RNA molecules (including siRNA and ASO) in biological samples. Unlike traditional methods, Nanovery’s test involves adding nanorobots to the sample and reading fluorescence, eliminating complicated and costly procedures and dramatically shortening analysis time to just a few hours.
This technology surpasses existing solutions in terms of sensitivity, repeatability, and ease of implementation in standard laboratories. Nanovery already holds two patents and proprietary know-how that have solved key bioanalytical challenges limiting the development of next-generation RNA therapies.
The company has successfully completed Proof of Concept (POC) testing for its miRNA, ASO, and siRNA analysis technologies and is currently executing commercial projects using its nanorobotics platform for two global Big Pharma companies, as well as several smaller biotech clients. Nanovery is also engaged in advanced negotiations and pilot projects with additional global partners, confirming the growing market interest in its technology.
“The funds raised will allow us to accelerate the development and deployment of our platform, expand our R&D team, and enter new markets. Thanks to the support of investors, including Smartlink, we can more quickly pursue projects with global pharmaceutical companies and develop further applications for our nanorobots — both in RNA drug bioanalysis, molecular diagnostics, and biological agriculture,” comments Jurek Kozyra, CEO of Nanovery.
Nanorobots, measuring from 1 to 100 nanometers — up to 100 times smaller than red blood cells — could soon revolutionize diagnostics and disease treatment, enabling precise drug delivery and biomarker detection directly in blood samples. Nanovery, as one of the global pioneers, is already turning this vision into reality, offering a platform that finds applications not only in pharmaceuticals but also in diagnostics, agriculture, and food safety.
Smartlink Partners is a Polish venture capital fund co-created by leading Polish entrepreneurs, JRH ASI S.A., and Corporate Connections. It specializes in investments in innovative companies in sectors such as biotechnology, medtech, AI, deeptech, and digital business. The fund invests in seed and Series A rounds, typically committing between PLN 2 million and PLN 8 million, often participating in international financing rounds and supporting its portfolio companies’ expansion into foreign markets. To date, the fund has completed 12 investments.
Source: managerplus.pl
