Apheris, which supports industry-critical federated data networks for the life sciences sector, has closed a Series A funding round, bringing the total funding to $20.8 million. The round was led by European deeptech VCs OTB Ventures and eCAPITAL (which backed Italian startup Exein and German startup Dyrad Networks), followed by existing investors, including Octopus Ventures (which backed London-based Semble and Finnish startup Cambri) and Heal Capital.
How will it use the investment?
The fundraising will enable Apheris to expand its reach as the chosen federated computing provider for the world’s leading biopharmaceutical organisations. By 2025 end, the company aims to create the largest and most secure life sciences data network by connecting distributed health data for AI and analytics. It also plans to expand to host foundational models such as those for protein-complex-prediction. This will help the company achieve better performance by securely accessing previously unavailable private data.
Other critical focuses on providing collaborative model training for key use cases in life sciences and cementing its position as the most secure solution for life sciences data networks.
What challenge does it tackle?
97% of all healthcare data remains completely unused as the data is siloed across organisations and cannot be shared due to regulatory and commercial sensitivity. Insufficient access to data limits important innovations and breakthroughs in life sciences due to privacy and security concerns and a lack of trust among collaborators.
Apheris addresses this critical challenge by making data securely accessible for AI model training without moving any sensitive data.
Facilitates data collaboration in life sciences
Founded in 2019 by Robin Röhm and Michael Höh in Berlin, Apheris enables governed, private, and secure access to data for AI, and analytics, serving leading pharmaceutical companies such as Roche and Johnson & Johnson and leading hospitals. It addresses the governance and IP protection needs data owners have when providing sensitive data to collaborative networks.
“I’m very excited to welcome OTB Ventures and eCAPITAL as new partners on our journey. Their deep understanding of the complexities of building a high-security, technically advanced product stood out. With their help, Apheris will unlock the potential of AI and machine learning for the life science industry by solving its critical bottleneck: access to large and diverse data,” said Robin Röhm, CEO of Apheris.
“We are thrilled to partner with Apheris as the lead investor in this equity round. Apheris is pioneering the future of distributed data infrastructure, enabling organisations to unlock the full potential of their AI/ML workloads while keeping sensitive raw data secure and local. By addressing the most pressing data challenges and allowing seamless, secure collaboration, Apheris product is setting new standards for data-driven innovations. We are confident that Apheris’ exceptional team and cutting-edge technology will drive significant value and redefine the future of AI-powered decision-making,” said Marcin Hejka, Co-Founder and General Partner at OTB Ventures.
“We have closely followed Apheris’ journey since its inception and have been impressed by Apheris’ technological advancements in federated computing. As cybersecurity investors, we recognise the growing importance of secure and private data collaboration, particularly in the life sciences sector where such capabilities can drive transformative outcomes. Apheris enables organisations to unlock value out of their IP-sensitive data while maintaining full control over it. We are proud to support the Apheris team in scaling its technology and redefining secure data collaboration in healthcare and beyond,” added Hannes Schill, Managing Partner at eCAPITAL.
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