UTokyo IPC Makes Follow-On Investment in Logomix Inc.
PrintAccelerating Open Innovation 1 Investment Limited Partnership (hereinafter “AOI 1 Fund”), managed by UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Kosuke Ueda; hereinafter “UTokyo IPC”), has announced a follow-on investment of 100 million yen in Logomix Inc. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; Co-CEOs: Yasunori Aizawa and Taiki Ishikura; hereinafter “Logomix”), a startup originating from Institute of Science Tokyo.
This round of funding is a co-investment alongside Angel Bridge Inc., JAFCO Group Co., Ltd., Sand Hill Angels, Globis Capital Partners, Itochu Technology Ventures Inc., Delight Ventures Inc., Mirai Souzou Investments Inc., Norinchukin Capital Co., Ltd., Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd., Aozora Corporate Investment Co., Ltd., Resona Bank, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and other angel investors.
Logomix was selected for the 5th cohort (2021) of “1stRound,” UTokyo IPC’s flagship academic accelerator program. UTokyo IPC invested during the seed round and has continued to support the company through partnerships with corporate partners. This follow-on investment reflects Logomix’s ongoing efforts to strengthen quality assurance frameworks for clinical applications in cell and regenerative therapies and to further expand its product pipeline.
As part of its continued strategic expansion following this funding round,, the company has welcomed two distinguished Scientific Advisors: Dr. Ramy Ibrahim, former Chief Medical Officer at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Dr. Mitchell Finer, co-founder and former President of R&D at ElevateBio. Their extensive expertise in genome editing, iPS cell-derived therapies, and clinical translation will provide valuable guidance as Logomix advances its proprietary Geno-Writing™ platform toward the development of transformative, off-the-shelf cell therapies.
UTokyo IPC will continue to support Logomix’s recruitment of talent and strengthening of its R&D organization as the company aims to expand its lineup of high-performance cells for cell and regenerative medicine—particularly in the U.S. market—and accelerate the commercialization of bio-based products targeting multiple industries through its synthetic biology platform.
Logomix is currently hiring for new team members across its “Drug Discovery” and “Bio Manufacturing” divisions:
Comment from Takahiro Mizumoto, Chief Investment Officer, AOI Fund, UTokyo IPC
“We have supported Logomix since 2021 through our 1stRound accelerator program. We are delighted to see strong support from prominent co-investors in this round. Based on the company’s steady growth, we have made a modest follow-on investment. We are particularly optimistic about Logomix’s dual focus on research and scalable bioengineering, which we believe will yield strong synergies as it advances toward impactful applications in cell therapy.”
About Logomix Inc.
Founded in 2019, Logomix Inc. aims to create new value through genome construction technologies originating from the research group of Dr. Yasunori Aizawa (Associate Professor, School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Science, formerly Tokyo Institute of Technology). With the mission to “Maximize the potential of cells by our genome engineering,” the company is developing its Geno-Writing™ platform, which combines custom genome design tailored to specific objectives and precise genome synthesis technologies. Logomix works in collaboration with private sector partners to bring its innovations to market.
- Founded: July 2019
- Headquarters: 2-3-10 Mukogaoka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0023, Japan
- Co-CEOs: Yasunori Aizawa, Taiki Ishikura
- Website: https://logomix.bio/
About UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. (UTokyo IPC)
UTokyo IPC is an investment firm established in 2016 to develop and strengthen the innovation ecosystem around academic institutions. The company is wholly owned by the University of Tokyo and manages multiple investment vehicles to support academic startups and industry-academia collaborations.
- Established: January 2016
- Shareholder: The University of Tokyo (100%)
- Headquarters: Entrepreneur Lab 261, South Research Building, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- President & CEO: Kosuke Ueda
- Website: https://www.utokyo-ipc.co.jp/
For Inquiries
UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd.
Entrepreneur Lab 261, South Research Building, The University of Tokyo
Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033
TEL: +81-3-3830-0200 / FAX: +81-3-3830-0183
Email: info2@utokyo-ipc.co.jp
Contact: Takahiro Mizumoto