Danish biotech startup Bactolife has secured more than €30 million in a Series B funding round, marking a significant milestone in its mission to develop a new generation of gut-health solutions. According to investors and European biotech media, the round was led by Cross Border Impact Ventures (CBIV) and Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), with continued support from existing backers including Novo Holdings and ATHOS.
The fresh capital is expected to power the company’s next phase of growth, including advancing clinical development, scaling up production, and laying the groundwork for market entry—starting with an initial focus on the US market.
Credits: Ascendants
From Conversations to Company: How the Idea Was Born
While Bactolife was formally founded in Copenhagen in 2017, the thinking behind the company began earlier. In 2016, biotech entrepreneur Mads Laustsen and his son Andreas Laustsen-Kiel, then working in protein research, began questioning the limitations of existing gut-health treatments.
They saw a clear problem. Antibiotics, though effective, often destroy beneficial bacteria along with harmful ones. Probiotics, on the other hand, frequently produce inconsistent results. These shortcomings sparked discussions around whether protein science could offer a more precise and reliable alternative.
Those early conversations eventually led to the creation of Bactolife A/S, bringing together deep research expertise and industrial biotechnology experience to pursue a fundamentally different approach to gut health.
A Precision-Based Alternative to Antibiotics
At the core of Bactolife’s platform is its proprietary Binding Proteins™ technology. According to the company, these engineered proteins are designed to bind selectively to specific unwanted compounds in the gut, helping neutralize them without disturbing the broader microbiome.
Unlike antibiotics that kill bacteria or probiotics that introduce new strains, Bactolife’s approach focuses on targeted neutralisation. This precision-led strategy positions the technology for multiple applications, including human nutrition, dietary supplements, and animal health, while also aligning with global efforts to reduce antibiotic dependency.
To ensure scalability and consistency, the proteins are manufactured using precision fermentation, a widely used method in industrial biotech that enables controlled, large-scale production.
Early Validation and Strong Institutional Support
Investor confidence began to build early. In 2021, Bactolife raised a seed round of around €7 million, led by Novo Seeds, with participation from Selfinvest. This funding allowed the company to move beyond exploratory research and into early validation of its technology.
Momentum continued in 2022, when the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Bactolife a $5 million grant. The support was tied to the technology’s potential to reduce gut-related infections and lower antibiotic use, particularly in regions with limited healthcare access.
Series A: Preparing for the Real World
Bactolife’s next major leap came in August 2023, when it announced a €30 million Series A round led by ATHOS, with participation from Novo Holdings and continued backing from the Gates Foundation.
This phase focused on moving from promising science to operational readiness. The company expanded its team, strengthened manufacturing capabilities, and began preparing for regulatory pathways. During this period, Bactolife also reported results from large-scale animal studies, including trials involving thousands of piglets aimed at improving gut stability during early life stages—an area closely linked to antibiotic use in livestock.
Series B Signals Confidence in Long-Term Vision
The newly reported Series B round, crossing the €30 million mark, underscores growing belief in Bactolife’s long-term potential. The company has stated that the funding will support human clinical studies, further production scale-up, and preparation for future commercial launches.
CEO Sebastian Søderberg has publicly noted that the round reflects confidence not just in the science, but in Bactolife’s ability to translate that science into scalable, real-world products.
Credits: Femtech World
Looking Ahead
From its roots as a research-driven idea to becoming one of Europe’s closely watched gut-health startups, Bactolife has followed a deliberate, step-by-step growth path. With strong institutional backing and increasing global interest in non-antibiotic solutions, the company now enters a critical phase—one focused on clinical validation, scale, and meaningful impact on how gut health is managed worldwide.
