New privacy-first smart home platform raises $5M seed round led by Fifth Wall to scale bespoke hardware and software that requires no pairing, no subscriptions, and no external data collection

PHOENIX, July 7, 2026 — The smart home was supposed to belong to the homeowner. Somewhere along the way, the home stopped being private. Today, One Raven launched to rebuild the smart home around a different premise: what happens inside the home should stay inside the home.

Backed by a $5M seed round led by Fifth Wall, One Raven is the first privacy-focused smart home platform built from the hardware up—every component, every line of code, designed to keep the home’s intelligence inside the home. At its center is the One Raven Home Server, which allows every device to run locally and keeps homeowner data on the home network. Homeowners can securely access and manage the system remotely, with no subscriptions, no hidden fees, and no behavioral data quietly monetized in the background.

The One Raven system pairs the Home Server with smart devices that work without sending the home’s data to the cloud. Homeowners can configure each home with the devices they want—including thermostats, locks, leak detection and security sensors—and every system arrives pre-paired and factory-configured. The full system already knows itself before the box is opened.

The promise of the smart home was simple: your house, smarter.

What arrived instead was a fragmented maze of apps, recurring subscriptions, cloud dependencies, and privacy policies buried in legal language. Devices lose functionality when the internet goes down, when a company changes its pricing model, or when a feature moves behind a higher subscription tier. Homeowners didn’t agree to rent the intelligence inside their own homes. Too often, that is what they got.

“We spent a decade building the smart home for the Renters and Commercial Owners of multifamily portfolios. One Raven is for every homeowner who wants a modern living experience while maintaining their privacy,” said Lucas Haldeman, co-founder and CEO.

This shift is arriving at a moment when consumers are increasingly concerned about privacy and longevity of connected devices. A November 2024 Federal Trade Commission staff report found that 89% of smart products surveyed failed to disclose how long they would receive software updates. Meanwhile, 81% of Americans say they are concerned about how companies use their data, according to Pew Research Center.

Your home is yours. Your data should be too.

Built for the Next Generation of Homeowners

One Raven was founded by Lucas Haldeman and Sarah Roudybush, the team behind SmartRent’s rise to the largest smart apartment platform in real estate. With One Raven, they are bringing that experience to a new category: a smart home platform designed for people who live in the home, not the companies that collect data from it.

“The first generation of the smart home asked homeowners to send their data to the cloud and pay monthly fees for features they already owned. We don’t think any of that is necessary. One Raven is built to prove there is a better model—one where the home is intelligent, simple, private, and fully owned by the homeowner,” shared Roudybush, co-founder and President.

Haldeman and Roudybush are building One Raven together as the next chapter of a partnership that helped define the first generation of the institutional smart home. They are now building the category for the people who live in the home, not the people who own the building.

Haldeman leads technology and sales. Roudybush leads marketing and operations.

Backed by Fifth Wall

The $5M seed round was led by Fifth Wall, the largest investment firm focused on technology for the built environment, which previously backed Haldeman and Roudybush at SmartRent. Fifth Wall Founder Brendan Wallace joins the board.

“Fifth Wall is backing Lucas and Sarah for a second time because we believe they are building the next generation of the smart home,” stated Brendan Wallace, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Fifth Wall. “The first generation was fragmented, cloud-dependent, and built around recurring fees. One Raven is building the opposite: a local-first, privacy-first platform designed for homeowners, builders, and a future where the home itself becomes intelligence infrastructure.”

The capital will support scaled production of the One Raven Home Server and initial device suite, expansion of the company’s local-intelligence software and growth of the sales and partnership teams.

One Raven is hiring across hardware engineering, software, field deployment, and go-to-market roles in Phoenix. The company will announce its first homebuilder partnerships later in the third quarter.

The smart home’s first generation belonged to the cloud. The next one belongs to the homeowner.

About One Raven

One Raven is a local-first smart home platform designed around homeowner ownership, privacy, and simplicity. Powered by the One Raven Home Server, the system runs locally inside the home, stores data on the homeowner’s own network, and delivers a unified smart home experience without subscriptions or external data collection. Learn more at oneraven.com.

About Fifth Wall

Founded by Brendan Wallace, Fifth Wall is the largest investment firm focused on technology for the built environment. The Firm is driving the growth of nearly 170 companies, backing category-defining PropTech leaders such as Opendoor, Procore, Blend, Hippo, and Bilt Rewards. It’s supported by nearly 115 of the world’s largest real estate owner-operators including CBRE, Hilton, Hines, Marriott, Public Storage, Related, and Starwood. Founded and headquartered in Los Angeles, Fifth Wall’s other offices include New York City, San Francisco, and London. For more information, visit fifthwall.com.

SOURCE One Raven

The investment underscores growing conviction that professional services teams are becoming the central engine of enterprise AI outcomes and that the category is ripe for a generational shift

SAN FRANCISCO, July 7, 2026 — Rocketlane, the agentic platform for implementations and professional services teams, today announced a strategic investment from Atlassian Ventures. The investment is a strong vote of confidence from one of the world’s most influential enterprise software companies and a signal that professional services is entering a fundamentally new era.

The news arrives on the heels of Rocketlane’s landmark year: a $60 million Series C led by Insight Partners (bringing total capital raised to $105 million), the launch of Nitro, the industry’s first agentic execution platform for PS teams, more than doubled revenue, and a customer base that now spans 750+ companies globally, including 20 on the Forbes Cloud 100.

What makes this investment particularly notable is that Atlassian is not just a believer in Rocketlane’s vision, they are a customer and have internally adopted Rocketlane to handle AI-driven professional services.

That experience, according to Atlassian Ventures, is precisely what drove the investment decision.

“We’re seeing AI create meaningful opportunities for disruption across industries. Rocketlane’s thoughtful approach to launching AI agent-led experiences for implementation services and consulting teams is exciting. Seeing our own services team at Atlassian choose Rocketlane was compelling proof of their momentum and the strength of their product in the category.” 

– Georgia Zhang, Head of Atlassian Ventures

‘What the AI era means for PS delivery’

The AI era is forcing a fundamental reckoning in professional services, not just in the tools teams use, but in what delivery itself means. How work is scoped, priced, staffed, and measured is all up for reinvention. Rocketlane’s bet is that the companies willing to sit with that discomfort and rebuild their delivery model around it will define the next decade of the industry.

“AI isn’t just changing how PS teams do their work. It’s challenging every assumption about what that work should look like in the first place. How you scope a project, how you price it, how you draw the line between human judgment and agent execution… these are all open questions now. The temptation is to take everything you know and layer AI on top of it. We think that’s the wrong instinct. The teams that will win are the ones willing to rethink delivery from scratch, and that’s exactly what we’re building Rocketlane to support.” 

– Srikrishnan Ganesan, CEO and Co-founder, Rocketlane

Rocketlane Nitro: Transforming How Services Work Gets Done

Rocketlane operates across the full lifecycle of professional services delivery: project management, resource and financial management, and customer-facing delivery. Through Nitro, the company is set to transform delivery operations across all three:

Execution transformation. For the first time, repeatable delivery tasks: migrations, configurations, environment setups, documentation, can be handed off to agents entirely. In early deployments, Nitro has demonstrated the potential to reduce delivery effort by up to 50 percent.

Delivery transformation. Signals surface risks and opportunities from project data, calls and emails as they rise. Nitro monitors customer health in real time, flags deviations, and enables proactive governance rather than reactive firefighting.

Back-office transformation. AI agents handle the administrative overhead that consumes delivery teams: timesheet governance, utilization tracking, compliance tasks, freeing consultants to focus on high-value billable work.

Together, these three layers represent a fundamental shift: from a platform that tracks the work, to one that does it.

About Rocketlane

Rocketlane is the agentic delivery platform built for teams running enterprise AI implementations. It empowers services teams to automate execution work such as migrations and configurations, streamline back-office operations, and transform project delivery with AI agents. Rocketlane also monitors delivery and customer signals, enforcing governance, surfacing risks early, and enabling proactive intervention. By unifying project management, resource planning, collaboration, and customer-facing experiences in a single platform, Rocketlane helps organizations deliver faster, more predictable outcomes. Trusted by modern and AI-native companies including Decagon, Intercom, Glean, Vercel, Notion, and 20 of Forbes Cloud 100 companies, Rocketlane is redefining how services teams deliver value in the AI-first era.

Learn more at www.rocketlane.com.

Press Contact:
Varun Singh
[email protected]
+91-9176149544

SOURCE Rocketlane

Norm brings together senior attorneys and AI engineers to build agentic law, already serving institutions managing more than $30 trillion.

NEW YORK, July 7, 2026 — Norm Ai raised a $120 million Series C at a $1.2 billion valuation, led by Khosla Ventures, the first institutional investor in OpenAI. Blackstone, Bain Capital Ventures (BCV), Craft Ventures, Coatue, Vanguard, New York Life, TIAA, Tony James (former President, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice Chairman of Blackstone), Jeff Hammes (former Chairman of Kirkland & Ellis), and Fenwick LLP also participated, drawing a rare mix of financial, legal, and venture capital investors. The company has raised more than $260 million since its founding less than three years ago.

Norm Ai builds agentic law for high-stakes work by bringing AI engineers and attorneys together to embed law into AI agents. Norm Law, LLP, an affiliated AI-native law firm running on the Norm Ai platform, uses those AI agents to serve clients as outside counsel, with senior attorneys supervising, calibrating, and improving the agents.

Because Norm Law runs natively on Norm Ai’s agentic law technology and prices based on outcomes rather than hours, the benefits of AI can flow directly to the client. This creates a client-aligned incentive structure, unlike model providers, whose economics are tied to token usage, and traditional law firms, whose economics are tied to billing hours.

Norm Law is chaired by Mike Schmidtberger, the former Chair of the Executive Committee of Sidley Austin. Other Partners include the former Global Head of Real Estate at Sidley Austin, a senior M&A Partner from Ropes & Gray, the General Counsel from Bain Capital Ventures, and lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis, Simpson Thacher, Paul Weiss, Davis Polk, Skadden, Cleary Gottlieb, Latham & Watkins, Paul Hastings, Proskauer, and Pillsbury.

Clients representing more than $30 trillion in assets under management use Norm Ai, deploying legal AI agents directly for their in-house legal teams. Norm Ai’s technology is also increasingly deployed to supervise other AI agents operating in regulated environments. When companies deploy their own AI agents in increasingly high-stakes roles, Norm Ai’s agents built for that work can check that those agents are performing appropriately.

“As AI capabilities race forward, one of the greatest opportunities is to build the interface between AI and the most legitimate encapsulation of human values: law.” said John Nay, founder and CEO of Norm Ai. “We are building that interface in an increasingly agentic society to (1) align legal services with the client, and (2) align AI with human values.”

“AI will not transform regulated work until institutions trust it, and that trust is the hardest thing to earn in this market,” said Samir Kaul, Managing Director at Khosla Ventures. “The most demanding buyers of legal services in the world already rely on Norm Ai. We led this round because John has built the only credible path to AI-native legal work at institutional scale.”

“Norm offers premium legal services using a fundamentally different operating model and price structure,” said Kurt Chauviere, who leads Legal AI efforts at Blackstone. “Norm was built to drive speed, quality and efficiency gains from AI, and share those gains with its clients. They continue to add practice areas and senior attorneys relevant to us. As Blackstone becomes more AI-forward, it’s fitting that we are ramping up with an AI-native law firm.”

“The investment management ecosystem has needed a law firm built for the benefit of its clients,” said Matt Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. “Norm has already proven that this is possible and we’ve witnessed it firsthand: Norm Ai powers internal regulated workflows at Bain Capital, while Norm Law represents us in deals in a way that benefits our firm and our portfolio companies.”

The Series C will accelerate hiring, expand practice area coverage, and advance Norm Ai’s supervisory agents for regulated enterprise AI deployments.

About Norm Ai

Norm Ai builds agentic law, embedding law into AI agents. Its systems help govern how AI operates in high-stakes, regulated environments across a client base representing more than $30 trillion in combined assets under management. Norm Ai also powers Norm Law, the first AI-native law firm built for institutional clients. Norm Ai has raised more than $260 million from Khosla Ventures, Craft Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Coatue, Blackstone, Vanguard, Citi, New York Life, TIAA, Henry R. Kravis, and Marc Benioff.

For more information, visit norm.ai.

SOURCE Norm Ai

Built by experts in sanctions, intelligence and banking, Tangos uses autonomous AI agents to conduct end-to-end investigations that deliver evidence-backed, regulator-ready case files.

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 7, 2026 — Tangos AI, the leading autonomous AI platform for financial crime investigations, today announced a $20 million seed financing round led by Red Dot Capital Partners, with participation from Leaders Fund, Clarim, Venture Israel, Signal Fire, Clutch Capital and Selah Ventures and a strategic investment by Bright Data.

Founded in 2025 by Eyal Azoulay, a serial entrepreneur with three previous exits, including one acquired by BNY, Tangos brings together a leadership team with deep experience across financial crime investigations, sanctions enforcement, intelligence operations, banking and artificial intelligence.

Financial crime is estimated to generate more than $1.5 trillion in illicit proceeds annually, while financial institutions continue to face rising alert volumes, increasing regulatory expectations and a global shortage of experienced investigators. As a result, many organizations are forced to prioritize only a fraction of potentially relevant cases, leaving significant risk uninvestigated.

Tangos has built the industry’s most advanced AI-powered investigation platform, enabling financial institutions, fintech companies, government agencies and intelligence organizations to conduct complex investigations faster, more accurately and at significantly greater scale.

The platform helps organizations:

• Investigate suspicious activity and compliance alerts
• Analyze sanctions, anti-money laundering and fraud risks
• Identify beneficial ownership structures and hidden relationships
• Map networks of entities, accounts and counterparties
• Validate evidence across multiple sources
• Generate regulator-ready investigative reports with complete audit trails

Unlike traditional compliance tools that focus primarily on identifying potential risk, Tangos is designed to perform the investigative work itself. By combining domain-specific AI models, structured investigative workflows and expert-trained reasoning systems, the platform evaluates evidence, tests hypotheses, validates findings and produces comprehensive case files that investigators can review, approve and act upon.

Tangos enables organizations to dramatically expand investigative capacity without proportionally increasing headcount, helping compliance and risk teams operate more efficiently while improving investigative quality, consistency and regulatory readiness.

“Financial crime has evolved into a network problem that increasingly exceeds the capacity of traditional investigative processes,” said Eyal Azoulay, Founder and CEO of Tangos. “Organizations have made tremendous progress in detecting risk, but the investigation process remains one of the largest operational bottlenecks in financial crime prevention. We built Tangos to bring the speed, scale and consistency of autonomous AI to a process that has historically depended on highly manual work.”

The company’s senior leadership includes former officials from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), senior intelligence leaders from Israel’s national security community and AI infrastructure experts who previously led large-scale autonomous systems initiatives.

Tangos is already supporting major financial institutions and intelligence organizations in high-stakes financial crime, sanctions and national security investigations.

“Financial institutions have invested billions of dollars in detection infrastructure over the last decade, but investigations remain one of the most resource-intensive functions across compliance and risk organizations,” said Yaniv Stern, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Red Dot Capital Partners. “Tangos has developed a category-defining platform that enables organizations to investigate complex cases more efficiently while maintaining the governance, transparency and evidentiary standards required by regulators.”

“Financial crime investigations remain one of the largest operational bottlenecks across banking, compliance and risk management,” continued Stern. “Tangos has assembled an exceptional team with deep domain expertise and built a platform that addresses a fundamental challenge facing financial institutions worldwide. We believe autonomous AI will transform how investigations are conducted, and Tangos is uniquely positioned to lead that transition.”

About Tangos

Tangos AI develops autonomous AI technology for risk, financial crime, fraud, sanctions and compliance investigations. The company’s platform enables organizations to conduct complex investigations at greater speed and scale by combining domain-trained AI systems, structured investigative methodologies and comprehensive auditability. Founded in 2025, Tangos serves financial institutions, government agencies and intelligence organizations across the United States and internationally.

SOURCE Tangos AI

CHICAGO, July 7, 2026 — EDX Markets, a leading digital asset technology firm that combines an institutional-only trading venue with a central clearinghouse, today announced the closing of a $76 million Series C funding round led by SBI Holdings.

The funding will support EDX’s continued growth, enabling the firm to expand its trading, clearing and settlement capabilities, accelerate product development and scale its global operations. As institutional participation in digital assets continues to increase, EDX is meeting rising demand through secure and efficient market infrastructure that combines digital asset innovation with the resilience, transparency and risk management standards expected in traditional financial markets.

“We’re pleased to welcome SBI as a strategic partner as we continue to expand our suite of digital asset products and services,” said Tony Acuña-Rohter, CEO of EDX Markets. “SBI brings deep expertise serving global financial institutions and has built one of the world’s leading digital asset and financial services ecosystems. Their extensive global network and proven track record of driving growth for innovative businesses make them an ideal partner who shares our vision for advancing institutional participation in digital assets. Their investment strengthens our ability to deliver the capabilities and market access that financial institutions need to engage with digital assets confidently and at scale.”

The investment builds on SBI Holdings’ broader commitment to advancing regulated digital asset infrastructure. SBI Group recently launched JPYSC, Japan’s first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin, further expanding its ecosystem of digital asset products and reinforcing its focus on regulated financial services.

“EDX has built and provides a robust, regulatory-compliant platform that addresses the growing demand for institutional digital asset infrastructure,” said Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, Chairman, President of SBI Holdings. “As SBI Group continues to expand its digital asset ecosystem through initiatives such as the issuance of JPYSC, a yen-denominated stablecoin, and the domestic handling of U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins including RLUSD and USDC, we believe trusted market infrastructure will serve as a critical foundation for institutional adoption. We look forward to working closely with EDX to accelerate innovation, expand market access and help drive the broader use of digital assets globally.”

EDX continues to evolve its market infrastructure to serve institutional clients worldwide. Earlier this year, EDX launched EDX FlowConnect™, a crypto-as-a-service offering that enables firms to securely launch digital asset trading products for their customers. The firm also recently filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish EDX Trust, a proposed national trust bank designed to provide regulated digital asset custody, clearing, settlement and risk management services.

About EDX

EDX is a digital asset technology firm that combines an institution-only trading venue with a central clearinghouse. EDX Markets, our flagship marketplace, is designed to emulate the world’s most sophisticated exchanges, with deep liquidity, firm prices and low trading costs. EDX has structured its business to minimize risk for its members while providing a diverse array of operational and capital efficiencies. Backed by some of the world’s leading trading and venture capital firms, EDX is actively developing new features and expanding its geographic presence to deliver trusted, liquid and efficient crypto trading experiences for all institutions. To learn more, visit edxmarkets.com.

Disclaimer: EDX Markets products are available only to institutions in the U.S. and certain other jurisdictions. This communication is directed solely at investment professionals with experience in matters relating to investments. Any investment activity to which it relates, including services or products described, is available only to such persons. Persons who do not have such professional experience may not rely on it.

About SBI Holdings

SBI Holdings is a Tokyo-based comprehensive financial group established in 1999 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Through its subsidiaries—including SBI Shinsei Bank, SBI Securities, and SBI Investment—it provides a wide range of financial services such as banking, securities, asset management, and insurance, all within an internet-based financial ecosystem. In addition to its financial services, SBI Group has expanded into areas such as digital assets, biotechnology, and media. In 2022, it announced a capital and business alliance with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), followed by a similar partnership with the NTT Group in 2025, further strengthening its position as one of Japan’s leading financial groups.

Media Contact:

EDX Markets
Forefront Communications
[email protected]

SBI Holdings
SBI Holdings, Inc. Corporate Communications Dept., Tel: +81 3 6229-0126

SOURCE EDX Markets

NEW YORK, July 7, 2026 — Regal Healthcare Capital Partners (“Regal”), a New York-based healthcare private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in healthcare services companies, announced the final close of its fourth private equity fund, RHCP IV (“Fund IV”) at $610 million of total commitments, including approximately $575 million of external commitments on an original target of $550 million.

Since 2018, Regal has raised nearly $1.3 billion of aggregate commitments across the firm’s first four funds to continue its strategy of partnering with leading entrepreneurs in the healthcare services space.

Fund IV received strong support from its existing investor base and secured new commitments from several blue-chip investors, including prominent endowments and foundations, asset managers, consultants, and public pension plans, successfully expanding its investor base by both geography and investor type.

“The quality and diversity of our Fund IV investor base speaks for itself, and we are deeply grateful to our longstanding partners and new investors alike for the trust they have placed in us,” said David Kim, MD, General Partner at Regal. “Fund IV reflects the confidence our investors have placed in our team and strategy, and we are excited about the opportunities ahead,” said Jon Santemma, General Partner at Regal.

Lazard served as the exclusive placement agent for the fundraise. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to Regal.

About Regal

Regal Healthcare Capital Partners (“Regal”) is a New York-based private equity firm focused exclusively on lower-middle market healthcare services companies. Regal seeks to partner with healthcare entrepreneurs across the United States, with a focus on providing high-quality, accessible, and convenient care to all patients. Regal targets equity investments of ~$75 million in each opportunity, with target investments generally ranging in size from $20–$100 million of revenue and $2–$10 million of EBITDA.

For more information, please visit www.regalhcp.com.

Contact Info:

Regal Investor Relations
[email protected]

SOURCE Regal Healthcare Capital Partners

BIRMINGHAM, England, July 7, 2026 — Healome Therapeutics (“Healome”), a University of Birmingham spinout developing a proprietary eye-drop matrix technology for ocular surface diseases, has closed a GBP£2 million oversubscribed seed financing round led by Empirical Ventures, with participation from DEBRA Research, Cure EB, Oshen Bio and existing investor SFC Capital. Proceeds will support pre-clinical development, manufacturing scale-up, regulatory engagement with the MHRA and FDA, and progression toward first-in-human studies expected in 2027.

The problem: poor retention limits eye-drop effectiveness

Conventional eye drops clear from the ocular surface in minutes, driving dosing regimens of up to 20 times per day and contributing to treatment adherence rates as low as 20% in chronic-use populations. Dry eye, the most well-known ocular surface condition, has an estimated global market size of USD$5 billion and affects over 350 million people. The broader ocular surface disease opportunity exceeds USD$12 billion across multiple indications.

The Healome solution: structured polymers, longer residence time

Healome’s eye-drop matrix behaves like a liquid when dropped on the eye, then restructures to form a clear, lubricating and protective matrix. The platform can deliver a range of drugs, from small molecules to complex biologics, and has been used to deliver an anti-scarring biologic drug in a standard pre-clinical model of severely injured and infected corneas, resulting in rapid corneal healing with minimal side-effects.

The platform is being developed for dry eye disease, ocular surface inflammation, corneal injury, rare diseases associated with severe ocular surface damage and chronic drug delivery. Healome holds five patent families covering the underlying matrix architecture, which is built on established pharmaceutical- and food-grade polymers structured into proprietary architectures, avoiding complex chemical modifications that can create manufacturing or regulatory issues.

Rare disease application: Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB)

EB is a rare genetic condition affecting approximately 500,000 people globally, of whom an estimated 5-20% experience ocular complications including chronic pain and recurrent corneal abrasions with a high risk of sight-threatening scarring. The unmet needs of patients and families living with EB were highlighted in the Netflix documentary Matter of Time. Investment from DEBRA Research and Cure EB will support Healome’s work on EB-associated ocular complications.

Founding team and origin

Healome was co-founded by Professor Liam Grover, Professor Tony Metcalfe, Dr Richard Moakes and Dr Richard Williams who serves as CEO. The team combines over 80 years’ experience across biomaterials, regenerative medicine and drug development, with six peer-reviewed publications underpinning research that originated at the University of Birmingham’s Healthcare Technologies Institute.

Richard Williams, CEO of Healome Therapeutics, said:

“Using our matrix to extend residence time of novel and existing therapeutics opens the door to reduced dosing, better adherence and ultimately improved outcomes across a range of indications. This financing lets us drive the platform toward the clinic.”

Johnathan Matlock, Co-Founder and General Partner at Empirical Ventures, said:

“Healome targets a quantifiable bottleneck – drug residence time on the ocular surface – with a manufacturing-friendly approach built on well-characterised polymers. The approach and the data, demonstrating how the team are building upon this to unlock further therapeutic value on the eye, is what convinced us this is a category-defining platform rather than an incremental formulation play, with credible read-across from dry eye through to rare ocular diseases.”

Dr. Christoph Coch, MD, Managing Director at DEBRA Research, said:

“For many people living with EB, the condition not only affects the skin but also the eyes. Blistering and wounds can occur spontaneously or be triggered by friction, dryness or irritation, often leading to severe pain, impaired vision and a significant impact on daily life. As there are currently no specific treatments for these ocular complications, we look forward to supporting Healome in their effort to develop patient-friendly and effective therapeutic approaches in this area. With this investment, we are continuing our commitment to accelerate the development of treatments that address the urgent unmet needs of people living with EB.”

Key facts

• Company: Healome Therapeutics
• Founded: 2021
• Headquarters: Birmingham, United Kingdom
• Sector: Ophthalmology/ocular drug delivery
• Founders: Prof. Liam Grover, Prof. Tony Metcalfe, Dr. Richard Moakes, Dr. Richard Williams
• Amount raised: £2,000,000 (oversubscribed)
• Lead investor: Empirical Ventures
• Participating investors: DEBRA Research, Cure EB, Oshen Bio, SFC Capital
• First-in-human target: 2027
• Intellectual property: Patents granted in Japan and South Korea; pending in all major markets

About Healome Therapeutics

Healome Therapeutics is a UK ophthalmology company developing a platform eye-drop matrix technology aiming to improve retention, lubrication, protection, healing and drug delivery on the ocular surface. www.healometx.com

About Empirical Ventures

Empirical Ventures is a UK venture capital firm investing in science-led companies with the potential for significant societal and commercial impact – from climate change and resource scarcity to accessible healthcare. www.empiricalventures.vc

About DEBRA Research

DEBRA Research funds and accelerates research aimed at delivering effective treatments for Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare and painful genetic skin condition. www.debra-research.org

About Cure EB

Cure EB supports the development of therapies and technologies aimed at improving the lives of patients living with Epidermolysis Bullosa. www.cure-eb.org

About Oshen Bio

Oshen Holdings SA is a European-based family office investing in medtech and biotech companies with early-stage to market-ready technologies to improve longevity, quality of life and global health outcomes. www.oshenbio.com

About SFC Capital

SFC Capital is a UK early-stage investment firm providing seed capital and support to promising British startups. www.sfccapital.com

BIRMINGHAM, England, 7. Juli 2026 — Healome Therapeutics („Healome”), ein Spin-out der University of Birmingham, das eine proprietäre Matrix-Technologie für Augentropfen zur Behandlung von Erkrankungen der Augenoberfläche entwickelt, hat eine überzeichnete Seed-Finanzierungsrunde in Höhe von 2 Millionen GBP abgeschlossen. Die Runde wurde von Empirical Ventures angeführt; weitere Beteiligte waren DEBRA Research, Cure EB, Oshen Bio sowie der Bestandsinvestor SFC Capital. Die Erlöse werden die präklinische Entwicklung, die Skalierung der Produktion, die Abstimmung mit den Zulassungsbehörden MHRA und FDA sowie die Vorbereitung auf die für 2027 geplanten ersten Studien am Menschen unterstützen.

Das Problem: Eine geringe Resorption schränkt die Wirksamkeit von Augentropfen ein

Herkömmliche Augentropfen werden innerhalb weniger Minuten von der Augenoberfläche abgewaschen, was zu Dosierungsschemata von bis zu 20 Anwendungen pro Tag führt und dazu beiträgt, dass die Therapietreue bei Patienten mit chronischen Erkrankungen bei nur 20 % liegt. Das trockene Auge, die bekannteste Erkrankung der Augenoberfläche, hat ein geschätztes globales Marktvolumen von 5 Milliarden US-Dollar und betrifft über 350 Millionen Menschen. Das Marktpotenzial für Erkrankungen der Augenoberfläche insgesamt übersteigt über verschiedene Indikationen hinweg 12 Milliarden US-Dollar.

Die Lösung von Healome: Strukturierte Polymere, längere Verweildauer

Die Augentropfen-Matrix von Healome verhält sich wie eine Flüssigkeit, wenn sie auf das Auge getropft wird, und strukturiert sich anschließend neu, um eine klare, schmierende und schützende Matrix zu bilden. Die Plattform kann eine Reihe von Wirkstoffen verabreichen, von kleinen Molekülen bis hin zu komplexen Biologika, und wurde bereits zur Verabreichung eines narbenhemmenden Biologikums in einem standardmäßigen präklinischen Modell schwer verletzter und infizierter Hornhäute eingesetzt, was zu einer schnellen Hornhautheilung mit minimalen Nebenwirkungen führte.

Die Plattform wird für das Syndrom des trockenen Auges, Entzündungen der Augenoberfläche, Hornhautverletzungen, seltene Erkrankungen im Zusammenhang mit schweren Schäden an der Augenoberfläche sowie die chronische Wirkstoffabgabe entwickelt. Healome hält fünf Patentfamilien, die die zugrunde liegende Matrixarchitektur abdecken. Diese basiert auf etablierten Polymeren in Pharma- und Lebensmittelqualität, die zu proprietären Strukturen angeordnet sind, wodurch komplexe chemische Modifikationen vermieden werden, die zu Herstellungs- oder Zulassungsproblemen führen können.

Anwendung bei seltenen Erkrankungen: Epidermolysis bullosa (EB)

EB ist eine seltene genetische Erkrankung, von der weltweit etwa 500.000 Menschen betroffen sind. Bei schätzungsweise 5–20 % von ihnen treten Augenkomplikationen auf, darunter chronische Schmerzen und wiederkehrende Hornhautabschürfungen mit einem hohen Risiko für sehkraftbedrohende Vernarbungen. Die ungedeckten Bedürfnisse von Patienten und Familien, die mit EB leben, wurden in der Netflix-Dokumentation Matter of Time hervorgehoben. Die Investition von DEBRA Research und Cure EB wird die Arbeit von Healome im Bereich der EB-assoziierten Augenkomplikationen unterstützen.

Gründungsteam und Ursprung

Healome wurde von Professor Liam Grover, Professor Tony Metcalfe, Dr. Richard Moakes und Dr. Richard Williams, der als CEO fungiert, gemeinsam gegründet. Das Team vereint über 80 Jahre Erfahrung in den Bereichen Biomaterialien, regenerative Medizin und Arzneimittelentwicklung. Sechs von Fachkollegen begutachtete Veröffentlichungen untermauern die Forschung, die am Healthcare Technologies Institute der Universität Birmingham ihren Ursprung hat.

Richard Williams, CEO von Healome Therapeutics, sagte:

„Die Nutzung unserer Matrix zur Verlängerung der Verweildauer neuartiger und bestehender Therapeutika eröffnet die Möglichkeit einer reduzierten Dosierung, einer besseren Therapietreue und letztlich verbesserter Ergebnisse bei einer Reihe von Indikationen. Diese Finanzierung ermöglicht es uns, die Plattform in die klinische Anwendung voranzutreiben.”

Johnathan Matlock, Mitbegründer und General Partner bei Empirical Ventures, sagte:

„Healome zielt auf einen quantifizierbaren Engpass ab – die Verweildauer des Wirkstoffs auf der Augenoberfläche – und verfolgt dabei einen herstellungsfreundlichen Ansatz, der auf gut charakterisierten Polymeren basiert. Dieser Ansatz und die Daten, die zeigen, wie das Team darauf aufbaut, um weiteren therapeutischen Nutzen für das Auge zu erschließen, haben uns davon überzeugt, dass es sich hierbei um eine bahnbrechende Plattform handelt und nicht nur um eine inkrementelle Weiterentwicklung der Formulierung – mit glaubwürdigen Übertragbarkeitspotenzialen vom trockenen Auge bis hin zu seltenen Augenerkrankungen.”

Dr. Christoph Coch, MD, Geschäftsführer von DEBRA Research, sagte:

„Für viele Menschen, die mit EB leben, betrifft die Erkrankung nicht nur die Haut, sondern auch die Augen. Blasenbildung und Wunden können spontan auftreten oder durch Reibung, Trockenheit oder Reizungen ausgelöst werden, was oft zu starken Schmerzen, Sehstörungen und erheblichen Beeinträchtigungen im Alltag führt. Da es derzeit keine spezifischen Behandlungen für diese Augenkomplikationen gibt, freuen wir uns darauf, Healome bei seinen Bemühungen zu unterstützen, patientenfreundliche und wirksame Therapieansätze in diesem Bereich zu entwickeln. Mit dieser Investition setzen wir unser Engagement fort, die Entwicklung von Therapien zu beschleunigen, die den dringenden, bislang ungedeckten Bedarf von Menschen mit EB decken.”

Die wichtigsten Fakten

• Unternehmen: Healome Therapeutics
• Gegründet: 2021
• Hauptsitz: Birmingham, Vereinigtes Königreich
• Branche: Augenheilkunde/Verabreichung von Augenarzneimitteln
• Gründer: Prof. Liam Grover, Prof. Tony Metcalfe, Dr. Richard Moakes, Dr. Richard Williams
• Eingenommener Betrag: 2.000.000 £ (überzeichnet)
• Hauptinvestor: Empirical Ventures
• Beteiligte Investoren: DEBRA Research, Cure EB, Oshen Bio, SFC Capital
• Erstes Anwendungsziel beim Menschen: 2027
• Geistiges Eigentum: In Japan und Südkorea erteilte Patente; in allen wichtigen Märkten angemeldet

Informationen zu Healome Therapeutics

Healome Therapeutics ist ein britisches Unternehmen im Bereich der Augenheilkunde, das eine Plattformtechnologie für Augentropfen-Matrizen entwickelt, mit dem Ziel, die Resorption, Befeuchtung, den Schutz, die Heilung und die Wirkstoffabgabe auf der Augenoberfläche zu verbessern. www.healometx.com

Informationen zu Empirical Ventures

Empirical Ventures ist eine britische Risikokapitalgesellschaft, die in wissenschaftlich orientierte Unternehmen investiert, die das Potenzial für bedeutende gesellschaftliche und wirtschaftliche Auswirkungen haben – von Klimawandel und Ressourcenknappheit bis hin zu einer barrierefreien Gesundheitsversorgung. www.empiricalventures.vc

Informationen zur Forschung bei DEBRA

DEBRA Research finanziert und beschleunigt Forschungsarbeiten, die auf die Entwicklung wirksamer Therapien für Epidermolysis bullosa abzielen, eine seltene und schmerzhafte genetisch bedingte Hauterkrankung. www.debra-research.org

Informationen zu Cure EB

CureEB unterstützt die Entwicklung von Therapien und Technologien, die darauf abzielen, die Lebensqualität von Patienten mit Epidermolysis bullosa zu verbessern. www.cure-eb.org

Informationen zu Oshen Bio

Oshen Holdings SA ist ein in Europa ansässiges Family Office, das in Medizintechnik- und Biotechnologieunternehmen mit Technologien in der Frühphase bis hin zu marktreifen Lösungen investiert, um die Lebenserwartung, die Lebensqualität und die globalen Gesundheitsergebnisse zu verbessern. www.oshenbio.com

Informationen zu SFC Capital

SFC Capital ist eine britische Frühphasen-Investmentgesellschaft, die vielversprechenden britischen Start-ups Startkapital und Unterstützung bereitstellt. www.sfccapital.com

– Healome Therapeutics cierra una ronda de financiación inicial de 2 millones de libras esterlinas liderada por Empirical Ventures para impulsar la tecnología de matriz de gotas oftálmicas para enfermedades de la superficie ocular

BIRMINGHAM, Inglaterra, 7 de julio de 2026 — Healome Therapeutics (“Healome”), una empresa derivada de la Universidad de Birmingham que desarrolla una tecnología patentada de matriz de gotas oftálmicas para enfermedades de la superficie ocular, ha llevado a cabo el cierre de una ronda de financiación inicial de 2 millones de libras esterlinas con una sobredemanda, liderada por Empirical Ventures, con la participación de DEBRA Research, Cure EB, Oshen Bio y el inversor actual SFC Capital. Los fondos se destinarán al desarrollo preclínico, la ampliación de la producción, la interacción con la MHRA y la FDA, y el avance hacia los primeros estudios en humanos, previstos para 2027.

El problema: la escasa retención limita la eficacia de las gotas oftálmicas

Las gotas oftálmicas convencionales se eliminan de la superficie ocular en solo unos minutos, lo que obliga a administrarlas hasta 20 veces al día y contribuye a alcanzar unas tasas de adherencia al tratamiento tan bajas como el 20% en poblaciones con uso crónico. El ojo seco, la afección de la superficie ocular más conocida, tiene un mercado global estimado de 5.000 millones de dólares y afecta a más de 350 millones de personas. El mercado global de enfermedades de la superficie ocular, en general, supera los 12.000 millones de dólares en múltiples indicaciones.

La solución de Healome: polímeros estructurados, mayor tiempo de permanencia

La matriz de las gotas oftálmicas de Healome se comporta como un líquido al aplicarse en el ojo y luego se reestructura para formar una matriz transparente, lubricante y protectora. Esta plataforma puede administrar una amplia gama de fármacos, desde moléculas pequeñas hasta productos biológicos complejos, y se ha utilizado para administrar un fármaco biológico anti-cicatrización en un modelo preclínico estándar de córneas gravemente lesionadas e infectadas, lo que ha dado como resultado una rápida cicatrización corneal con mínimos efectos secundarios.

La plataforma se está desarrollando para su uso en la enfermedad del ojo seco, la inflamación de la superficie ocular, las lesiones corneales, las enfermedades raras asociadas con daños graves a la superficie ocular y la administración crónica de fármacos. Healome posee cinco familias de patentes que cubren la arquitectura de la matriz subyacente, que se basa en polímeros establecidos de calidad farmacéutica y alimentaria estructurados en arquitecturas patentadas, evitando modificaciones químicas complejas que pueden crear problemas regulatorios o de fabricación.

Aplicación en enfermedades raras: Epidermólisis Bullosa (EB)

La EB es una enfermedad genética poco común que afecta aproximadamente a 500.000 personas en todo el mundo, de las cuales se estima que entre un 5% y un 20% experimentan complicaciones oculares que incluyen dolor crónico y abrasiones corneales recurrentes con un alto riesgo de cicatrices que amenazan la vista. Las necesidades insatisfechas de los pacientes y las familias que viven con EB se destacaron en el documental de Netflix Matter of Time. La inversión de DEBRA Research y Cure EB respaldará el trabajo de Healome sobre las complicaciones oculares asociadas a la EB

Equipo fundador y origen

Healome fue cofundada por el profesor Liam Grover, el profesor Tony Metcalfe, el doctor Richard Moakes y el doctor Richard Williams, que es consejero delegado. El equipo combina más de 80 años de experiencia en biomateriales, medicina regenerativa y desarrollo de fármacos, con seis publicaciones revisadas por pares que respaldan la investigación originada en el Instituto de Tecnologías de la Salud de la Universidad de Birmingham.

Richard Williams, consejero delegado de Healome Therapeutics, declaró:

“El uso de nuestra matriz para prolongar el tiempo de residencia de terapias novedosas y existentes sirve para abrir la puerta a la reducción de la dosis, una mejor adherencia y, en última instancia, mejores resultados en diversas indicaciones. Esta financiación nos permite impulsar la plataforma hacia la fase clínica”.

Johnathan Matlock, cofundador y socio general de Empirical Ventures, afirmó:

“Healome hace frente a un cuello de botella cuantificable —el tiempo de residencia del fármaco en la superficie ocular— con un enfoque de fabricación sencillo basado en polímeros bien caracterizados. El enfoque y los datos, que demuestran cómo el equipo está desarrollando esta tecnología para desbloquear un mayor valor terapéutico en el ojo, nos convencieron de que se trata de una plataforma que define una categoría, en lugar de una simple formulación incremental, con una aplicabilidad creíble desde el ojo seco hasta enfermedades oculares raras”.

El doctor Christoph Coch, director general de DEBRA Research, indicó:

“Para muchas personas que viven con EB, la enfermedad no solo afecta la piel, sino también los ojos. Pueden aparecer ampollas y heridas de forma espontánea o desencadenarse por la fricción, la sequedad o la irritación, lo que a menudo provoca dolor intenso, visión borrosa y un impacto significativo en la vida diaria. Dado que actualmente no existen tratamientos específicos para estas complicaciones oculares, nos complace apoyar a Healome en su esfuerzo por desarrollar enfoques terapéuticos eficaces y adaptados a las necesidades de los pacientes en este ámbito. Con esta inversión, reafirmamos nuestro compromiso de acelerar el desarrollo de tratamientos que aborden las necesidades urgentes no cubiertas de las personas que viven con EB”.

Datos clave

• Compañía: Healome Therapeutics
• Fundada: 2021
• Sede central: Birmingham, Reino Unido
• Sector: Oftalmología/administración de fármacos oculares
• Fundadores: Profesor Liam Grover, Profesor Tony Metcalfe, doctor Richard Moakes, doctor Richard Williams
• Cantidad alcanzada: 2.000.000 libras (sobresuscrito)
• Inversor principal: Empirical Ventures
• Inversores participantes: DEBRA Research, Cure EB, Oshen Bio, SFC Capital
• Objetivo de primera administración en humanos: 2027
• Propiedad intelectual: Patentes concedidas en Japón y Corea del Sur; estando pendiente del resto de los mercados principales

Acerca de Healome Therapeutics

Healome Therapeutics es una empresa oftalmológica del Reino Unido que lleva a cabo el desarrollo de una plataforma tecnológica de matriz de gotas oftálmicas con el objetivo de mejorar la retención, la lubricación, la protección, la cicatrización y la administración de fármacos en la superficie ocular. www.healometx.com

Acerca de Empirical Ventures

Empirical Ventures es una firma de capital de riesgo del Reino Unido que se dedica a invertir en empresas de base científica con potencial para generar un impacto social y comercial significativo, desde el cambio climático y la escasez de recursos hasta la accesibilidad a la atención médica. www.empiricalventures.vc

Acerca de DEBRA Research

DEBRA Research financia e impulsa la investigación destinada a ofrecer tratamientos eficaces para la epidermólisis bullosa, una enfermedad cutánea genética rara y dolorosa. www.debra-research.org

Acerca de Cure EB

Cure EB apoya el desarrollo de terapias y tecnologías destinadas a mejorar la vida de los pacientes con epidermólisis bullosa. www.cure-eb.org

Acerca de Oshen Bio

Oshen Holdings SA es una empresa familiar europea que invierte en compañías de tecnología médica y biotecnología con tecnologías en fase inicial y listas para el mercado, con el objetivo de mejorar la longevidad, la calidad de vida y los resultados de salud a nivel mundial. www.oshenbio.com

Acerca de SFC Capital

SFC Capital es una firma de inversión británica que está especializada en empresas emergentes, que proporciona capital semilla y apoyo a startups británicas prometedoras. www.sfccapital.com