mo:re receives 2.3 million euros for automated laboratory platform

With seed funding of € 2.3 million, the startup is driving the commercialization and standardization of animal-free methods.

Hamburg, March 26, 2025 - Hamburg-based life science startup mo:re has developed a laboratory platform that automates the planning, cultivation and analysis of complex 3D cell culture models. The innovative technology is intended to facilitate research and development in the drug industry and offer a scalable alternative to animal testing.

The official market launch took place at SLAS 2025 in San Diego, one of the leading trade fairs for laboratory automation. To accelerate commercialization, mo:re secured seed funding of 2.3 million euros. The financing round was led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with participation from Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg (IFH), Gilson Inc, NEDGEX, Nidobirds Ventures as well as R&R Medical and Martin Blüggel.

Automated cell culture as an alternative to animal testing

The demand for animal-free methods in drug development is growing. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published new guidelines that allow the use of organoids as an alternative to animal testing. However, scalable and automated solutions for the efficient use of these cell models in research have been lacking until now.

Our platform is designed to make cell culture easier and more efficient for researchers. We want to use the funding to accelerate our market launch and further expand our team.

Lukas Gaats, Managing Director of mo:re

This is where the mo:re laboratory platform comes in:

• Automation of all relevant process steps in cell culture
• Standardized, reproducible results for higher research quality
• Lower access barriers for researchers, regardless of their specialization

Outlook and voices of investors

The investors emphasize the potential of the technology. Dr. Christian Kannemeier (HTGF) sees mo:re as a pioneer for standardized 3D cell culture methods: "The team is well on its way to providing an innovative solution for biomedical research." Stefanie Höhn (IFH) also emphasizes the importance of the platform for animal-free methods: "mo:re offers a pioneering technology that can change the life science industry in the long term." Dirk Freystadt (Gilson Inc.) emphasizes the importance of standardization: "The automation of cell culture processes will accelerate drug development and at the same time reduce dependence on animal testing."

With the financing and market launch, mo:re is pursuing the goal of further developing its technology and establishing it internationally. The laboratory platform could make an important contribution to making animal-free methods the standard in drug research and thus accelerate the development of new therapies.