Albuquerque-based Armonica Technologies says it raised a $2 million Series B round from local investors and a Japanese lighting company.
Contributors to the recent investment round included Hamamatsu Photonic K.K., according to a release from Armonica. Hamamatsu is a manufacturer of optical and lighting equipment based in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, with more than 3,600 employees, according to its website.
"At Hamamatsu, we are excited about our investment in Armonica, and their novel nanopore optical spectroscopy with its potential of new genetic sequencing methods to areas such as precision medicine," Hamamatsu president Akira Hiruma said in a prepared statement included in Armonica's release. "By investing in Armonica's technology we hope to speed the development of new and more effective treatments to some of the world's most devastating diseases."
Local venture capital firms Cottonwood Technology Fund and Sun Mountain Capital in Santa Fe, alongside Tramway Venture Partners in Albuquerque also contributed to the round, according to the release. Earlier in the year, Armonica received a $350,000 research grant from the federal Small Business Innovation Research agency.
Armonica's DNA sequencing technology uses what it says is a superior form of DNA sequencing. DNA sequencing is a lab practice used to find the order of nuceotides in DNA, which is used for studying the functions of genes.
The company also planned to to partner with the University of New Mexico through Jeremy Edwards, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology, to allow Armonica use the university’s high-throughput DNA sequencing laboratory, Business First reported.
Armonica was incorporated in 2015 with a presence in Albuquerque and Carlsbad, California, according to its website. A company official was unable to be reached for immediate comment.
