Cellply, a DeepTech biotechnology company, has raised €7.15 million in its latest funding round to accelerate the development and international expansion of its cell therapy analysis platform.
The round was led by ENEA Tech e Biomedical, with additional support from existing investors, including the SAFE conversion into equity by CDP Venture Capital via its Fondo Rilancio initiative. A small portion of the round remains open for selected investors. The company develops advanced analytical tools for characterising immunotherapies and cell-based biotherapeutics at single-cell resolution, aiming to improve development speed and therapeutic reliability in advanced medicine.
What The Company Does
Cellply develops analytical technologies designed to improve how researchers and biopharmaceutical companies study immune cells during the development of immunotherapies and cell-based treatments. These therapies, often referred to as advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), require highly precise quality control due to their biological complexity and variability.
The company’s core platform, VivaCyte®, is an automated system used for discovery, process development, and functional testing of cell therapies. It enables researchers to analyse immune cells at single-cell resolution, providing detailed insights into cell behaviour, potency, and functional response.
The system integrates multiple technologies into a unified workflow, including microfluidics for controlled sample handling, AI-powered image analysis for data interpretation, and automation for end-to-end processing from sample preparation to final results. This reduces manual intervention and increases reproducibility in experimental workflows.
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Market Context / Industry Background
Cell and gene therapies are among the fastest-growing areas in biotechnology, driven by increasing demand for personalised and precision medicine. However, one of the main bottlenecks in the sector remains the ability to reliably characterise cell behaviour and ensure consistent therapeutic quality across production batches.
Traditional analytical methods often lack the resolution or scalability needed to fully assess immune cell functionality. This creates challenges in both research and manufacturing, particularly for therapies that depend on highly variable biological materials.
As regulatory standards for ATMPs become more defined globally, companies in this space are under pressure to improve quality control systems that can provide accurate, scalable, and reproducible measurements. Single-cell analysis platforms are emerging as a key enabling technology in this transition.
Founder / Investor Commentary
Cellply CEO Alessia Zanelli highlighted the role of the new funding in expanding commercial reach and improving access to advanced quality control technologies in cell therapy development. She emphasized the importance of enabling broader adoption of ATMPs through more reliable and efficient analytical tools.
The company was founded in 2013 by Massimo Bocchi and Roberto Guerrieri with a focus on combining biology and engineering to address limitations in how immune cell therapies are evaluated. Their approach centers on making complex cellular behaviour measurable at scale through integrated automation and imaging technologies.
Growth Plans / Use Of Funds
The €7.15 million investment will primarily support the international expansion of the VivaCyte® platform, with a focus on strengthening Cellply’s commercial presence in key global biotech and pharmaceutical markets.
A second priority is the development of next-generation automated functional testing systems for ATMP quality control. These tools are designed to improve the accuracy of cell potency measurements while simplifying and accelerating batch release processes in manufacturing environments.
The company also aims to further integrate automation and AI-driven analysis into its platform to reduce operational complexity and improve scalability for large-scale therapeutic development workflows.
About Cellply
Cellply is a biotechnology and DeepTech company based in Bologna, Italy, focused on developing advanced analytical tools for cancer immunotherapy and cell therapy research. Founded in 2013 by Massimo Bocchi and Roberto Guerrieri, the company specializes in single-cell analysis technologies that help biopharmaceutical companies study immune cell function with greater precision. Its flagship platform, VivaCyte®, is a fully automated system combining microfluidics, AI-based image analysis, robotics, and software to support the development, manufacturing, and quality control of next-generation cell therapies.
