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eversyn secures €1.6 million in seed funding to scale up production and accelerate technology applications in nutrition and biopharma
Magdeburg, March 20, 2025 - eversyn, a spin-off of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, has successfully secured €1.6 million in seed funding to advance its innovative technology applications in the nutrition and biopharmaceutical sectors. This investment follows a €1.1 million grant from the EXIST Transfer of Research Grant program, a government initiative supporting innovative startups from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). The funding round was led by bmp ventures with IBG funds, and saw co-investments from the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Foundation’s MPF Start-Up Accelerator GmbH, and a strategic business angel.
Image: The team members of eversyn, pictured in March 2025 (from left to right): Dr. Daniel Last, Dr. Thomas Rexer, Rachel Thu Nguyen, Sebastian Bruno Kleeberg, Dr. Karim Jaén, Dr. Nam-Hai Hoang.
Bridging the Gap in High-Value, Complex Glycan Accessibility
The nutrition and biopharmaceutical sectors are experiencing unprecedented growth, driven by increasing health awareness, aging populations, and the prevalence of non-communicable chronic diseases. eversyn's technology addresses the limitations faced by traditional cell-based approaches in these industries. The start-up’s cell-free enzymatic approach allows for optimization of complex biosynthetic pathways without the constraints of cellular metabolism. This technology enables the production of high-value, complex glycans with unprecedented efficiency and flexibility, potentially revolutionizing the development of nutritional products and biopharmaceuticals.
Dr. Thomas Rexer, CEO and co-founder of eversyn, stated: "This funding round marks a pivotal moment in eversyn's journey, providing us with the resources needed to scale our production capabilities and bring our transformative technology to market more rapidly. We are particularly excited about the opportunities this creates to address pressing challenges in nutrition and biopharma, where our solutions can deliver significant value to society. The support from Max Planck Innovation GmbH over the past years, with respect to patenting, founding, and acquiring grants and investments, has been essential in helping us to advance our mission. Moreover, without the excellent support through the EXIST Transfer of Research programs, both in terms of funding and start-up advice, we could not have achieved this point.”
Investor Support and Scientific Backing
The investment round garnered strong support from both financial and scientific institutions, underscoring the potential impact of eversyn's technology.
Philipp Kopp, Investment Manager at bmp Ventures, commented: "eversyn’s innovative approach to nutrition and biopharmaceuticals addresses critical market needs with a scalable technology platform. The team’s deep technical expertise and clear vision for commercialization were key factors in our decision to invest."
Dr. Axel Nemetz, Managing Director at MPF Start-up Accelerator: “We strongly believe in eversyn’s vision and technology. Their robust patent portfolio significantly lowers manufacturing costs—by nearly an order of magnitude—for essential glycan building blocks. This enables unprecedented commercial feasibility for producing critical components required in biopharma and nutrition to accelerate the development of next-generation therapeutics and human milk oligosaccharides used in infant nutrition. Their groundbreaking approach to life sciences aligns perfectly with our commitment to investing in transformative, science-based companies. We are excited to support their growth and contribute to the future of this exceptional international team originating from a leading Max Planck Institute.”
Technology Transfer Through Fundamental Research
eversyn is a spin-off of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems in Magdeburg. The institute is dedicated to all aspects of process systems engineering, chemical, biochemical and energy systems, that are vital to the future of well-being of global society. The company's emergence from the institute underscores the potential of fundamental research to foster technological advancements and economic growth through technology transfer and commercialization.
Dr. Lars Cuypers, Senior Patent & Licensing Manager, and Sebastian Meyer-Borchert, Senior Start-up & Portfolio Manager at Max Planck Innovation: "eversyn is a prime example of how cutting-edge fundamental research can evolve into a high-potential start-up. The team has successfully transformed a complex scientific concept into a viable business model with significant real-world applications. With its innovative technology platform, eversyn not only brings breakthrough science to industry but also demonstrates how effectively knowledge transfer can lead to impactful company creation. We are proud to have supported the team from the initial IP strategy to the successful closing of this funding round."
Looking Ahead
With this new funding, eversyn will scale up its production capabilities, expand its team, enhance ongoing research and development efforts, and forge strategic partnerships. These initiatives will accelerate market entry and position eversyn as a key innovator in nutrition and biopharmaceutical solutions. The company remains committed to delivering impactful technologies that address critical global health challenges.
About Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems
A production plant in the chemical or biotechnology industry is as complex as a living being: innumerable components are in operation to produce a product. A large number of processes influence each other and even compete with each other, and it is often not clear why a process works or, more importantly, why it does not. The scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems therefore investigate biological as well as technical processes. Engineers, chemists, physicists, biologists and mathematicians develop mathematical models for this purpose. In the case of technical processes, they try out these models in their own testing plants. They then design suitable controls so that the processes in the plants do not unexpectedly come to a halt or get out of control. The researchers also use their findings as a basis for developing completely new processing concepts that are significantly more efficient.
About Max Planck Innovation
Max Planck Innovation is responsible for the technology transfer of the Max Planck Society and, as such, the link between industry and basic research. With their interdisciplinary team they advise and support scientists of the Max Planck Institutes in evaluating inventions, filing patents and founding companies. They offer industry a unique access to the innovations of the Max Planck Institutes. Thus, they perform an important task: the transfer of basic research results into products, which contribute to the economic and social progress.
About bmp ventures/IBG Funds
bmp Ventures is a Berlin-based technology investor with 25 years of active investment experience and one of the most experienced VCs in Germany. The track record includes ten managed VC funds and more than 260 investments. bmp currently manages the IBG funds, the venture capital funds of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. IBG provides venture capital to innovative companies with sustainable, high growth potential and headquarters in Saxony-Anhalt.
About MPF Start-up Accelerator
MPF Start-up Accelerator offers start-ups that originate from Max Planck Institutes or are affiliated with Max Planck Institutes, e.g. via patents, licenses, or are founded by Max Planck alumni, a financing of up to EUR 360k plus expenses for the accompanying accelerator program via a convertible loan or an equity investment. Since September 2024, they have also been opening the Accelerator to DeepTech start-ups without affiliation to the Max Planck Society. The MPF Start-up Accelerator GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Max Planck Foundation.
About EXIST Transfer of Research
The EXIST Transfer of Research program, initiated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), supports research-based startup projects involving high-risk and costly development work. It aims to transform innovative scientific findings into commercially viable products and services while fostering entrepreneurship and economic growth. This initiative is designed to advance technology-oriented startups, ensuring their sustainability and market readiness.