CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — iOrganBio, a biotechnology company focused on advancing human cell engineering, has launched from stealth with $2 million in seed funding to revolutionize how human cells are designed and produced. The funding round was led by First Star Ventures, with participation from IndieBio, Cape Fear BioCapital, 2ndF, Terasaki Institute, and Alix Ventures.
iOrganBio’s proprietary CellForge platform combines artificial intelligence with high-throughput experimental control to engineer cells and organoids for applications in drug discovery, cell therapy, and advanced manufacturing. The platform uses closed-loop control of three-dimensional culture environments to dynamically optimize conditions during human pluripotent stem cell differentiation. By integrating predictive AI with precise experimental feedback, CellForge enables scalable, reproducible, and configurable outcomes across a wide range of cell types derived from stem cells and peripheral blood cells.
“The future of human health depends on our ability to intelligently design human cells and organoids with the same precision and reliability we expect from any other industrialized process,” said Daniel Delubac, co-founder and chief executive officer of iOrganBio. “With CellForge, we are seeking to create a new standard for cell manufacturing—one that is configurable, reproducible, and scalable, and adapted to living products.”
At the foundation of the platform is the Functional Human CellAtlas, a growing repository of human cell data compiled from single-cell RNA sequencing and other high-resolution profiling methods. This resource enables precise control over cell development, allowing partners to target specific cell states and guide the design and production of tissues and organoids at both population and single-cell levels. The result is a new degree of precision and reliability for applications that depend on human cells, from disease modeling and drug testing to regenerative therapies.
CellForge has already demonstrated its utility in generating specialized tissue models. The platform has successfully identified specific beta islet cells to guide organoid and tissue design, producing pancreas models with tailored properties such as optional vasculature and immune competence for research and therapeutic use.
iOrganBio was founded in 2024 by Dr. Daniel Delubac (formerly of Guardant Health, Freenome, and Chemify), Dr. Shuibing Chen of Weill Cornell Medicine, and Professor Xiling Shen of MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation. The platform is built on pioneering research from Dr. Chen’s laboratory at Weill Cornell Medicine. Together, the founders bring deep expertise in stem cell differentiation, process automation, and biomedical engineering.
“As a scientist, one of the most rewarding moments is seeing your discoveries move beyond the lab and begin transforming how we use human cells in the real world,” said Dr. Chen, co-founder, board member, and senior scientific advisor of iOrganBio. “By scaling the engineering of cells that reflect true human biology, we’re opening the door to breakthroughs across drug discovery and patient care.”
“Pharma has long needed human-relevant models that can reliably predict how therapies will work in the clinic,” said Drew Volpe, founding partner of First Star Ventures. “The level of engineering precision achieved by iOrganBio uniquely positions the company to become an indispensable partner. Their digital-first approach, grounded in AI and data, will dramatically reduce costs and accelerate the path from idea to therapy.”
