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§ Private Profile · 820 HEINZ AVE BERKELEY, CA, 94710-2737. USA.
Zephyrus Biosciences is a technology company.
Zephyrus Biosciences develops specialized research tools for single-cell analysis, with its flagship Zephyrus Z1 system enabling protein analysis at an unprecedented resolution. This microfluidics-based platform allows researchers to perform western blotting on individual cells, directly addressing the complexities introduced by cellular heterogeneity in biological samples. The technology provides a crucial advancement for understanding cellular function and disease mechanisms.
The company was founded in 2013, emerging from research conducted at the University of California, Berkeley. Key founders include Professor Amy Herr, Kelly Gardner, Josh Molho, and Douglas Crawford. Their collective insight centered on the critical need for advanced tools to move beyond bulk analysis and gain precise molecular insights from single cells, leveraging their expertise in microfluidics to build a novel solution for the life sciences.
Zephyrus Biosciences primarily serves academic and biopharmaceutical researchers who require high-resolution data to unravel intricate biological processes. The company’s mission focuses on advancing high-resolution biology by providing innovative tools that empower scientists to achieve deeper, more granular insights into cellular behavior, ultimately driving progress in fundamental research and drug discovery.
Zephyrus Biosciences has raised $5.3M across 2 funding rounds.
Zephyrus Biosciences has raised $5.3M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Zephyrus Biosciences has raised $5.3M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $3.4M Grant / Other Equity / Seed in September 2014.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 2014 | $3.4M Grant | Michael Finney | Mission BAY Capital, National Institutes OF Health, Stanford, The Angels' Forum, U.C. Bakar Fellows Program | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2014 | $2M Seed | — | ACME Capital, Amplify Partners, Bling Capital, General Catalyst, Genoa Ventures, Harrison Metal, Heavybit, MTech Capital, Night Ventures, Operator Collective, RRE Ventures, Y Combinator, Cory Ondrejka, Greg Kidd, Josh Abramowitz, Shervin Pishevar | Announced |
Zephyrus Biosciences has raised $5.3M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Zephyrus Biosciences's investors include Michael Finney, Mission Bay Capital, National Institutes of Health, Stanford, The Angels' Forum, U.C. Bakar Fellows Program, ACME Capital, Amplify Partners, Bling Capital, General Catalyst, Genoa Ventures, Harrison Metal.
Zephyrus Biosciences was a life science research tools company that developed innovative instruments for single-cell protein analysis, addressing limitations in traditional methods like western blotting.[1][2] Its flagship product, the Milo (later Z1™ System), was a benchtop instrument enabling researchers to analyze proteins in up to 1,000 individual cells simultaneously, providing high-throughput insights into cellular heterogeneity in cancer, stem cells, neurology, and human disease.[1][2][3] The company served academic researchers, biopharma, and clinical institutes in the burgeoning single-cell analysis market, solving the problem of studying protein variability at the single-cell level for the first time, which revolutionized fields like oncology and drug discovery.[1][2][4][5] Founded as a UC Berkeley spinout in 2013, it raised $1.85M, secured SBIR funding, and achieved early recognition before being acquired by Bio-Techne in 2016, marking strong initial growth momentum.[1][2][3][4]
Zephyrus Biosciences emerged from UC Berkeley's bioengineering department, founded in 2013 by Kelly Gardner, a PhD student, and Professor Amy Herr, who co-developed the core technology in Herr's lab.[1][2] The idea for the Milo instrument originated during Gardner's work on advancing western blotting to single-cell resolution, a breakthrough named the #1 Innovation of 2016 by The Scientist Magazine.[1] Early traction included affiliations with QB3, StartX, CLSI/BayBio, and Berkeley SkyDeck, plus a 2014 Phase I SBIR award of $349,917 from NIH for microfluidic disposables and the single-cell western system.[2][4] Key inventors included Todd Duncombe, Alex Hughes, and others from the Herr lab, humanizing the venture as a direct translation of academic innovation to commercial tools.[1]
Zephyrus rode the explosive rise of single-cell genomics and proteomics in the 2010s, a trend shifting biology from population averages to individual cell insights amid advances in cancer immunotherapy, personalized medicine, and regenerative therapies.[1][2][5] Timing was ideal: post-2010 sequencing booms created demand for protein-level single-cell tools, positioning Zephyrus against players like 10x Genomics and Fluidigm in a market favoring high-resolution heterogeneity analysis.[3][5] Market forces like NIH funding for lab-to-market tech and biopharma's push for companion diagnostics amplified its impact, influencing the ecosystem by pioneering single-cell westerns now integrated into Bio-Techne's portfolio for heterogeneous samples.[2][4] Its Berkeley spinout model exemplified how university IP accelerates biotech tools, paving the way for subsequent single-cell innovations.
Post-2016 acquisition, Zephyrus's technology endures within Bio-Techne, likely evolving with proteomics trends like multi-omics integration and AI-driven analysis to tackle complex diseases.[2] Next steps could involve scaling Z1 for clinical diagnostics or combining with spatial biology, shaped by booming single-cell markets projected to grow with genomics investments.[3][5] Its influence may expand indirectly through Bio-Techne's global reach, reinforcing single-cell protein tools as staples in precision oncology and cell therapy, tying back to its origins as a game-changing Berkeley innovation that democratized high-resolution biology.[1][2]