Ansa secures $54.4 million to expand enzymatic DNA synthesis platform

US biotech Ansa Biotechnologies has raised $45.2 million and secured a further $9.2 million in commitments through an oversubscribed series B financing, aiming to expand its DNA synthesis technology. The round was led by Cerberus Ventures with participation from Fall Line Capital, AIM13 and Black Opal Ventures, alongside existing backers Blue Water Life Science Advisors and Altitude Life Science Ventures.

As part of the deal, Cerberus Ventures director Chenny Zhang and Fall Line Capital senior vice president Yanniv Dorone have joined Ansa’s board. The company said funds will be used to increase US manufacturing capacity, strengthen customer services, and advance both partnerships and technological innovation.

Ansa’s platform uses enzymatic reagents to add single bases to DNA molecules, enabling the direct synthesis of “ansamers” more than 1,000 bases long. The firm claims its technology can produce longer, more complex sequences than traditional chemical synthesis, unlocking previously inaccessible regions of the genome. These advances could accelerate discovery in gene and cell therapies, vaccines, agrigenomics and synthetic biology.