Qi Biodesign, a biotechnology company developing next-generation genome editing technologies, announced the completion of its Series A funding round. The company has now raised a total of $75 million across its Seed, Series Pre-A, and Series A stages.
This newly secured funding will enhance Qi Biodesign’s R&D capabilities, advance its proprietary SEEDIT platform, support product development, and build commercialization platforms to streamline and speed up the transition from research to market.
The Beijing Medical and Health Care Industry Investment Fund (Limited Partnership) led the Series A funding round, which included additional investments from Beijing Changping Technology Innodevelop Group, Mingzhe Capital, and returning investor CD Capital. Previous investors also included Apricot Capital, Source Code Capital, Gaorong Ventures, CSSD Capital, Shang Capital, and CASSTAR.
Qi Biodesign was launched in 2021 by leading genome editing scientists Dr. Caixia Gao and Dr. Kevin Zhao (Chief Technology Officer), and industry experts Dr. Bei Zhang (Chief Executive Officer), and Haiquan Yang (Chief Business Officer). And Qi Biodesign has established itself as a leader in genomic innovation with its proprietary SEEDIT research platform, featuring advanced genome editing tools like novel RNA-guided nucleases, base editors, plant prime editors, and PrimeRoot editors for precise large DNA insertions and manipulations.
These technologies drive multiplex gene editing, fine-tuning of gene expression, and high-throughput trait discovery, driving the development of superior biological traits to address global challenges in crop breeding and synthetic biology.
Qi Biodesign already achieved significant milestones in product development, including receiving two biosafety certificates for gene-edited plants (high oleic acid soybean and powdery mildew disease-resistant wheat) by the China Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and securing an exemption for a gene-edited product (high oleic acid soybean) from the US Department of Agriculture. More gene-edited traits – including yield enhancements, herbicide tolerance and quality improvements – are advancing through regulatory pipelines. Qi Biodesign’s plant breeding innovations advance the application of gene editing in agriculture, contributing to food security and sustainable developments.
