Insider Brief
- iOrganBio emerged from stealth with $2 million in funding to advance its CellForge platform, which uses AI and high-throughput control to engineer predictable, scalable human cells and organoids for drug discovery, manufacturing, and cell therapies.
- The platform integrates real-time optimization of 3D culture environments with a comprehensive Human Cell Atlas, enabling precise, reproducible development of diverse cell types for disease modeling and therapeutic applications.
- Founded by experts in stem cell biology and automated manufacturing, the company aims to overcome key bottlenecks in cell-based therapies and expand access to reliable human-relevant models for biopharma and regenerative medicine.
PRESS RELEASE — iOrganBio announced its launch from stealth with $2 million in funding to transform how human cells are made. The round was led by First Star Ventures along with institutional investors IndieBio, Cape Fear BioCapital, 2ndF, Terasaki Institute, and Alix Ventures.
iOrganBio’s proprietary CellForge™ platform combines AI-driven prediction with high-throughput experimental control to engineer cells and organoids across multiple high-value areas spanning drug discovery, manufacturing, and cell therapies. The first-of-its-kind platform utilizes closed-loop control of 3D culture environments to dynamically optimize culture conditions during human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) differentiation. By changing the way human cells are engineered and deployed across applications, iOrganBio enables predictable, reproducible, and scalable outcomes across a wide range of cell types originating from stem cells and peripheral blood cells. The unique approach could help biopharma partners accelerate disease modeling, regenerative medicine, and drug development.
“The future of human health depends on our ability to intelligently design human cells and organoids with the same precision and reliability we expect from any other industrialized process. With CellForge, we are seeking to create a new standard for cell manufacturing — one that is configurable, reproducible, and scalable, and adapted to living products,” said Daniel Delubac, co-founder and CEO of iOrganBio.
At the core of CellForge is the Functional Human CellAtlas™, a comprehensive and growing repository of human cell data derived from single-cell RNA sequencing and other high-resolution profiling methods. This foundation allows CellForge to guide cell development with unparalleled precision. Partners can target specific cell states and use them to guide the design and manufacturing of tissues and organoids at both the population and single-cell level. The result is precision and reliability for any process or application that relies on human cells, from model development to therapeutic production.
CellForge can be applied in a myriad of contexts to generate advanced tissue models and innovative cell therapies. To date, the platform has already been successfully utilized to pinpoint specific beta islet cells to guide organoid and tissue design, enabling pancreas models with tailored properties, such as optional vasculature and immune competency for disease modeling, drug testing, and regenerative applications.
Founding Team and Vision
iOrganBio was founded in 2024 by Dr. Daniel Delubac (formerly Guardant Health, Freenome, Chemify), Dr. Shuibing Chen (Weill Cornell Medicine), and Prof. Xiling Shen (MD Anderson Cancer Centers, Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation). The Company’s platform is based on pioneering science from Dr. Chen’s lab at Weill Cornell Medicine. Together, these recognized experts in hPSC differentiation and manufacturing process automation have pioneered CellForge to address the five key bottlenecks that impact accessibility and cost in cell-based therapies and disease modeling:
- Definability: Establishing exact target characteristics through a digitally defined cell profile.
- Generalizability: Developing diverse cell types to broaden access to advanced models and therapies.
- Adaptability: Using multiple cell sources to enable rapid adjustment to new applications.
- Reproducibility: Achieving consistent target profiles to reduce batch-to-batch variability.
- Scalability: Expanding from small-scale experiments to high-volume production for clinical and commercial needs.
“As a scientist, one of the most rewarding moments is seeing your discoveries move beyond the lab and begin transforming how we use human cells in the real world,” said Dr. Chen, co-founder, Board of Directors member, Senior Scientific Advisor of iOrganBio and the Kilts Family Professor of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. “By scaling the engineering of cells that reflect true human biology, we’re opening the door to breakthroughs across drug discovery and patient care.”
“Pharma has long needed human-relevant models that can reliably predict how therapies will work in the clinic. The level of engineering precision by iOrganBio’s technology uniquely positions the company to become an indispensable partner,” said Drew Volpe, Founding Partner of First Star Ventures. “Their digital-first approach, grounded in AI and data, will dramatically reduce costs and accelerate the path from idea to therapy.”
About iOrganBio
iOrganBio is transforming human cell production with CellForge, its AI-powered platform for consistent, scalable, and intelligent manufacturing of cells and organoids for in vitro modeling and cell therapies. By applying engineering precision to biology, CellForge uses AI and automation to guide cell development and make real-time adjustments aligned with defined biological profiles. At the core of the platform is iOrganBio’s Functional Human Cell Atlas, a comprehensive reference built from single-cell and multi-omics data that provides the digital blueprints for each cell type. This smart, closed-loop process provides the accuracy, efficiency, and quality partners need to turn scientific ideas into breakthroughs — accelerating disease modeling, regenerative medicine, and drug development. iOrganBio is based at BioLabs in Chapel Hill, NC.
For more information, visit iOrgan.Bio or follow us on LinkedIn.
Contacts
Media Contact
Susan Sharpe
Linnden Communications
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