Cytely secures €3M seed round to automate microscopy analysis in biological research

The Swedish startup Cytely has raised €3 million in seed funding, led by Ugly Duckling Ventures and with participation from Icebreaker.vc. The investment will support the expansion of Cytely's cloud-based microscopy platform, which automates image acquisition and analysis for biological research.

Founded in 2021 by Philip Nordenfelt, Pontus Nordenfelt, Johannes Kumra Ahnlide and Oscar André, Cytely originated from research conducted at Lund University. The company's platform uses AI and machine learning to automatically control standard motorised microscopes and analyse biological samples, including cancer cells, bacteria, and viruses, in real time. This approach transforms manual microscopy processes, which traditionally took weeks, into workflows that deliver results within minutes or hours without requiring researchers to purchase new hardware.

The platform addresses a fundamental challenge in biological research by converting microscopy images into standardised, quantitative data that can be reproduced and shared across the scientific community. Cytely's system controls microscopes remotely via the cloud, performs automated analysis, and generates datasets that maintain statistical rigour while reducing manual labour. Research institutions using the platform report efficiency improvements of up to 75% in their microscopy workflows.

The technology is currently in use at Lund University and several other research institutions. The fresh capital will enable Cytely to increase its presence in more laboratories specialising in virology, oncology, metabolic diseases and related fields, where microscopy is an essential part of the experimental process.

Sources: EU-Startups, Cytely, Pulse 2.0, Lund University

Founders: Philip Nordenfelt, Pontus Nordenfelt, Johannes Kumra Ahnlide, Oscar André