Genemod raises cash for its lab inventory management service used by research institutions around the US

Genemod, a software for laboratory inventory management used by institutions like the University of Washington School of Medicine; the University of California, Berkeley; and the National Institutes of Health; has raised $1.7 million from a clutch of top venture investors.

The small seed round came from Defy.vc, with additional commitments from Omicron, Unpopular Ventures, Underdog Labs and Canaan Partners.

With the capital, the company said it would develop a product management software to complement its existing inventory management service.

These are small stepping stones on the way to paving a new road to pharmaceutical development based on collaborative data-sharing technology, the company said.

It’s a road that companies like Owkin and Within3 have raised big dollars to pave already. They’re just two companies in the market that are building collaborative software for the pharmaceutical industries.

Genemod’s pitch is that it can increase productivity by giving researchers a better window into the tools they have and the tools they need to accelerate the process of experimentation without downtime while waiting for supplies.

“While the life sciences industry is known for developing inventive solutions to some of the world’s biggest health problems, many scientists are working with manual, siloed and inefficient processes,” said Jacob Lee, the company’s chief executive.

Alongside the funding, Defy.vc will serve as a growth partner for Genemod, supporting the company as it works to roll out its product road map for the latter half of the year. Neil Sequeira, co-founder and managing director of Defy.vc, will join Genemod’s board of directors.

Founded in 2018, Genemod was part of the first cohort of Venture Out Startups, a pre-seed investment program designed to encourage entrepreneurs to start their own businesses.