Hermes Biosciences has secured a seed financing round to advance the delivery of its first commercial benchtop instrument for isolating extracellular vesicles. The company plans to debut the platform in 2026 for clinical researchers in academia, pharmaceutical organizations, and clinical laboratory settings that require standardized and scalable EV workflows. Genoa Ventures led the funding round, with participation from Paladin Capital Group and Vertical Venture Partners. Genoa’s venture studio, General Inception, also provided Pre-Seed capital and company formation support.
Hermes is developing an automated system designed to overcome long-standing challenges in extracellular vesicle isolation. EVs are nano-scale biological packages released by cells into blood, urine, and other biofluids, carrying molecular cargo that reflects cellular state and disease biology. And their ability to support disease detection, biomarker discovery, therapeutic development, and regenerative medicine has driven substantial scientific and clinical interest. However, researchers have struggled with isolation approaches that are slow, inconsistent, and difficult to scale. Ultracentrifugation is cumbersome for clinical workflows, while column-based kits introduce variability and operational complexity.
The company’s platform builds on nanofiltration technology developed by co-founder and Stanford University School of Medicine professor Utkan Demirci. Hermes’ automated workflow produces significantly higher yields and purities than existing systems, delivering up to 10 times more vesicles while preserving vesicle structure and molecular cargo. The system is designed for high-throughput operation to support the expanding adoption of extracellular vesicles as clinical and translational assets.
Backers noted the significance of enabling researchers to reliably access EVs as a core analyte for disease understanding, early detection, and therapeutic discovery. Hermes believes its system can help address the limitations in sensitivity of circulating tumor DNA and protein-based assays, while enabling deeper insights into cell communication and disease progression.
KEY QUOTES
“EVs carry information that could fundamentally change how we detect and understand disease, but unlocking that value depends on being able to isolate and study them reliably. Our technology opens the door for the clinical and research community to use EVs as an analyte of choice, addressing the sensitivity shortcomings of circulating tumor DNA and proteins, especially for early disease detection and progression. Providing easy and scalable access to EVs with our platform has the potential to impact lives through better therapeutic insights and earlier disease detection.”
Paco Cifuentes, PhD, CEO of Hermes Biosciences
“The Hermes platform enables collaborators across translational research to tap into the molecular conversations between cells, revealing how cells grow, communicate, and drive disease progression. Through our venture studio, General Inception, we were able to help translate this breakthrough technology into a company with a great team, great science, and a clear opportunity for outsized impact in human health. This is exactly what we look for in a Genoa portfolio company, and we’re excited to support Hermes Biosciences in the journey ahead.”
Vikram Chaudhery, PhD, Partner at Genoa Ventures and President of General Inception
