Imperagen
Imperagen is a UK-based techbio company that sells enzyme engineering services through a closed-loop platform combining quantum mechanical simulations, problem-specific AI models, and automated robotics, serving pharmaceutical, diagnostics, chemical, and personal care manufacturers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersManchester, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Imperagen does
Imperagen Ltd is a privately held UK biotech company founded in November 2021 as a spin-out from the University of Manchester's Manchester Institute of Biotechnology. The company sells enzyme engineering services built on a proprietary closed-loop platform that integrates quantum mechanical (QM) physics simulations, problem-specific AI models, and automated high-throughput laboratory robotics in an iterative design-build-test-learn cycle. Imperagen claims each round of the cycle produces approximately 1,000 high-quality sequence-to-activity data points and refines its AI models, with the system reportedly delivering verified productivity improvements of 677x and 572x in five rounds with a Fortune 500 personal care client and a 10x productivity gain alongside a 90% cost reduction in a commercial project with Zanoprima Lifesciences and Enzymicals AG.
The company operates a B2B enterprise services model, with typical projects running approximately four months across two evolution rounds. Target customer segments span biopharma (therapeutic enzymes and biomanufacturing), molecular diagnostics, industrial chemical manufacturing, API biocatalysts, personal care, and sustainable fine chemicals, with named engagements including a Fortune 500 personal care company, Zanoprima Lifesciences, and Enzymicals AG. GTM is direct enterprise field sales targeting R&D and manufacturing teams in pharmaceutical, life sciences, personal care, and industrial biotech firms, supported by content marketing (company blog, LinkedIn, X, newsletter) and PR coverage.
As of May 2026, Imperagen had raised £8.5 million in total funding, anchored by a £5M seed round led by PXN Ventures with IQ Capital and Northern Gritstone, plus a £350K UKRI grant. The company has 11–50 employees headquartered at Manchester Science Park. The May 2026 appointment of Guy Levy-Yurista (PhD) as CEO signals a deliberate pivot from founder-led R&D to commercial scaling, with stated use of proceeds covering R&D, wet lab expansion, AI team growth, and GTM buildout over an 18-month runway.
Imperagen firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Imperagen
- Legal name
- Imperagen Ltd
- Website
- https://imperagen.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Imperagen is a UK-based techbio company that sells enzyme engineering services through a closed-loop platform combining quantum mechanical simulations, problem-specific AI models, and automated robotics, serving pharmaceutical, diagnostics, chemical, and personal care manufacturers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Imperagen industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Enzyme Engineering Services
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization) (HLAAAIAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Therapeutic Enzymes & Enzyme Replacement Therapies (ERT) (HLAAAAAK)
Keywords
Where Imperagen is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Manchester
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Imperagen business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Enzyme Engineering Services: B2B service model delivering enzyme optimization projects for enterprise customers. Customers receive experimentally validated enzyme improvements rather than just computational predictions. Typical project duration of approximately four months including development, modeling, and two evolution rounds
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Imperagen product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Imperagen is a techbio company that delivers B2B enzyme engineering services through its proprietary Digital Enzyme Evolution platform. The platform combines quantum physics simulations, problem-specific AI models, and automated high-throughput laboratory robotics in a closed-loop design-build-test-learn workflow, producing experimentally validated, production-ready enzyme improvements for enterprise customers in biopharma, personal care, chemical manufacturing, and industrial biotechnology.
Product overview
Imperagen offers a single unified product: the Digital Enzyme Evolution™ Platform, a proprietary closed-loop enzyme engineering system. The platform combines three integrated components—quantum physics simulations (QM), problem-specific AI models, and automated high-throughput laboratory robotics—operating in a continuous feedback loop to deliver production-ready enzymes with verified productivity improvements. Beyond the core platform, Imperagen provides enzyme engineering services across four industry verticals: Biopharma (therapeutic enzymes and biomanufacturing), Molecular Diagnostics (diagnostic assay enzymes), Chemical Manufacturing (industrial biocatalysts), and API Biocatalysts (pharmaceutical production enzymes). The company has demonstrated commercial traction with 677x and 572x productivity improvements in collaborations with Fortune 500 clients, and achieved a 10-fold enzyme productivity improvement in a partnership with Zanoprima Lifesciences and Enzymicals AG for sustainable nicotine production.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Digital Enzyme Evolution: The company's proprietary platform combining quantum physics simulation, problem-specific AI models, and automated robotics for enzyme engineering.
Products and services
- Digital Enzyme Evolution Platform
- Biopharma Enzyme Engineering Services
- Molecular Diagnostics Enzyme Services
- Chemical Manufacturing Biocatalysts
- API Biocatalysts
Quantifiable outcome
- 677x and 572x productivity improvements in five optimization rounds with Fortune 500 personal care client
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Imperagen
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Imperagen technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
Imperagen partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered commercial partnership and foundational.
- Zanoprima Lifesciencescommercial partnershipCollaboration to optimize enzymes for sustainable (S)-nicotine manufacturing. Imperagen achieved 10x productivity improvement and 90% cost reduction in Zanoprima's existing ton-scale production process for smoking cessation therapies.
- Enzymicals AGcommercial partnershipGerman biotechnology partner with expertise in enzyme discovery and commercial manufacturing. Collaborated with Imperagen and Zanoprima on optimizing enzymes for pharmaceutical fine chemicals production. Achieved 10x productivity improvement on already commercially proven enzyme.
- University of Manchester / Manchester Institute of BiotechnologyfoundationalImperagen is a spin-out from the University of Manchester's Manchester Institute of Biotechnology. Founded in November 2021 by researchers from the institute. Company maintains connection to this academic hub for biotechnology and digital innovation.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Imperagen competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cradle Bio: Cradle is an AI-driven protein engineering company offering generative biology tools for designing improved enzymes, binders, and peptides. It overlaps Imperagen on AI-guided enzyme design for industrial biopharma and chemical customers, though with a more software-first delivery model.
- Menten AI: Menten AI uses AI/quantum-inspired methods to design de novo enzymes for pharmaceuticals and other industrial applications. It is an early-stage direct competitor with a similar AI-plus-wet-lab enzyme engineering model targeting pharma and chemicals customers.
- Arzeda: Arzeda applies computational protein design and AI to engineer novel enzymes for industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and consumer products. It is a closely comparable techbio rival pursuing similar in silico enzyme optimization use cases as Imperagen.
- Codexis: Codexis is a leading industrial enzyme engineering company serving pharmaceutical, food, and sustainable chemical manufacturers with engineered biocatalysts. It is the most direct comparator to Imperagen, operating a similar B2B enzyme optimization model for the same enterprise customer base.
- Bota Bio: Bota Bio is an industrial biotechnology company combining synthetic biology, fermentation, and enzyme engineering to serve consumer care, food, and chemical manufacturers. Its biomanufacturing-oriented enzyme platform competes for the same sustainable-chemical and personal-care deals that Imperagen targets.
Emerging players
- EvolutionaryScale: EvolutionaryScale is an emerging AI-for-biology company developing frontier generative models for protein design and biological systems. It competes with Imperagen on the AI-protein-design frontier and could become a major rival for AI-led enzyme engineering contracts.
- Octant Bio: Octant Bio is an early-stage synthetic biology and chemistry company combining cellular engineering and chemistry automation with computational tools. It is an emerging competitor in the broader techbio space serving pharma and chemical markets.
Others
- Synthace: Synthace is a lab automation and experiment execution platform for life sciences R&D, founded in the UK. It is relevant as a thematic/ecosystem peer rather than a direct enzyme engineering competitor, and notably Imperagen's incoming CEO previously led Synthace.
- TeselaGen (Synonym): TeselaGen/Synonym provides a cloud platform for designing and executing synthetic biology workflows, including automated DNA assembly and protein engineering experiments. It is an enabling/ecosystem peer in computational biology rather than a direct enzyme engineering competitor.
Broad incumbents
- Ginkgo Bioworks: Ginkgo Bioworks operates a broad synthetic biology platform serving pharma, agriculture, and industrial biotech customers across cell engineering and enzyme pathways. It is a larger, broader competitor with overlapping capabilities, but operates as a diversified platform rather than a focused enzyme engineering specialist.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Imperagen social profiles
Digital presenceImperagen financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Imperagen leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Imperagen funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Imperagen M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Imperagen
What does Imperagen do?
Imperagen is a techbio company that delivers B2B enzyme engineering services through its proprietary Digital Enzyme Evolution platform. The platform combines quantum physics simulations, problem-specific AI models, and automated high-throughput laboratory robotics in a closed-loop design-build-test-learn workflow, producing experimentally validated, production-ready enzyme improvements for enterprise customers in biopharma, personal care, chemical manufacturing, and industrial biotechnology.
Is Imperagen a public or private company?
Imperagen is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Imperagen founded?
Imperagen was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Imperagen based?
Imperagen is headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Imperagen make money?
One revenue line is on record: enzyme Engineering Services.
Who are Imperagen's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cradle Bio, Menten AI, Arzeda, Codexis and Bota Bio. Emerging players are EvolutionaryScale and Octant Bio. Others are Synthace and TeselaGen (Synonym). Ginkgo Bioworks is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Imperagen have an API?
No public API is recorded for Imperagen.
What industry is Imperagen in?
Imperagen's product category is Enzyme Engineering Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAIAC, Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization), with a secondary code of HLAAAAAK, Therapeutic Enzymes & Enzyme Replacement Therapies (ERT). Its NAICS code is 541714.