Entropix, a company creating high-performance enzymes for use across a range of sectors, has secured a six-figure investment from LYVA Labs.
LYVA Labs was established with £11m from Liverpool City Region’s Combined Authority, to drive innovation and economic growth by turning great ideas into high-growth businesses and creating partnerships to attract investment.
Entropix Ltd has secured investment from LYVA Labs’ Health and Life Sciences Fund, for start-ups based in Liverpool City Region. Entropix is an enzyme development company specialising in creating novel, high-performance enzymes and biocatalysts for use in diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, food and drink, and plastic recycling, using state-of-the-art molecular biology and machine learning computational methods.
Co-founded in 2021 by Dr Rob Rule and Professor David Hornby, who has an international reputation in enzyme technology, the company uses AI to design new enzymes before manufacturing them in their laboratory. Used in more than 500 everyday consumer and industrial products, enzyme production represents a $12b market opportunity.
In 2023, the company secured an Innovate UK grant and expanded its operations with new facilities at The Heath Business and Technical Park in Runcorn. The investment from LYVA Labs will enable them to continue to scale their activities and to grow their science team and research activity.
Speaking of the investment, Rob Rule, CEO Entropix Ltd, said: “We are delighted to receive this investment from LYVA Labs, which is testament to the progress we have made since our earlier investment from Deepbridge Capital. We have been developing our technology platform and a range of high-performance enzymes during this time. The company is ready to commercialise its own enzymes in the life science sector and has several opportunities in the pipeline to develop enzymes for a range of customers.”
Akshay Bhatnagar, Head of Investment, LYVA Labs, added: “ The opportunity to back Rob and David to develop novel enzymes for applications like plastics degradation and to optimise enzymes for their clients is a truly exciting one. Our fund was designed to support early-stage, research-focused businesses like Entropix, providing much-needed investment alongside Innovate UK grants. We look forward to working with the team as they continue to grow this exciting business.”
Image, l-r: Dr Rob Rule, CEO and Co-founder, Entropix; Professor David Hornby, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and Co-founder, Entropix; Rachel Lawless, Innovation Funding Manager, LYVA Labs; Akshay Bhatnagar, Head of Investments, LYVA Labs.