Proteins.1, a VTT-originated Finnish deep-tech startup, has launched with €4.7 million in pre-seed funding to commercialize a single-molecule protein amplification technology it says could enable disease detection up to 1,000 times more sensitive than current gold-standard platforms.
The round was led by Lifeline Ventures and Cloudberry Ventures, with additional in-kind support from VTT, Finland’s national research and technology organization, and Business Finland.
The company is built around a patented physics-based technology first discovered at VTT in 2018 and later independently validated through European Union breakthrough innovation funding. US and Finnish patents have been granted, with additional international applications pending.
The core problem Proteins.1 is addressing is a longstanding gap in diagnostics. While PCR transformed medicine by amplifying tiny amounts of genetic material into detectable signals, no equivalent amplification method has existed for proteins, the molecules that often carry the earliest signs of cancer, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, and inflammatory conditions. Proteins.1’s platform introduces cyclic signal amplification for proteins using a physics-based magnetic cycling mechanism that repeatedly reads a single captured protein molecule, accumulating signal clarity without increasing background noise.
Unlike conventional immunoassays, which rely on enzymatic reactions prone to variability and noise, the company’s approach is solid-state, enzyme-free, and compatible with semiconductor-based photonic detection. The platform is designed to enable high multiplexing, potentially allowing simultaneous measurement of hundreds of biomarkers from a few drops of blood, while keeping capital costs lower than incumbent systems.
The company will initially target research-use-only applications in oncology, neurology, and immunology before progressing toward regulated clinical diagnostics. The global diagnostics market exceeds €100 billion annually, with growing demand for early detection and multi-omic analysis.
The founding team is led by CEO and co-founder Prateek Singh, the inventor of the core technology, who has previously raised venture capital for microfluidics ventures and holds multiple patent families. COO and co-founder Harri Hallila previously built and exited a regulated medical device company. The broader team includes commercial leadership with experience across leading diagnostics platforms. Proteins.1 plans to expand its engineering and product development team in Finland during 2026 and 2027, positioning itself as a European hub for next-generation diagnostic technology.
