🦠 Spore.Bio Raises $23M to Speed Up Microbiology Testing with AI

Paris-based deeptech startup Spore.Bio just raised $23M to make food safety testing 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵. No more waiting for bacteria to throw a party in a petri dish—AI is taking over!

Rafelia

AIMachine LearningBiotechFood Safety

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2025-02-20 05:30 +0530


🚀 Spore.Bio Raises $23M to Speed Up Microbiology Testing with AI

Food recalls = PR nightmares. Contaminated products can cost companies millions in fines, tank their reputation, and turn their best-selling yogurt into a biohazard meme.

Enter Spore.Bio, a Paris-based deeptech startup that just raised $23M in Series A funding to reinvent microbiology testing—using AI, of course. 🤖🔬


💰 Who’s Investing?

This round was led by Singular, with backing from Point 72 Ventures, 1st Kind Ventures (yes, the Peugeot family office), Station F, and even Lord David Prior. 🏛️ Existing investors like LocalGlobe, No Label Ventures, and Famille C also doubled down on their bets.

Why? Because Spore.Bio is already making money—they’ve signed commercial contracts covering 200 factories and even had to open a waitlist to keep up with demand. (Good problems to have.)


⏳ Why Is Food Safety Still Stuck in the Dark Ages?

Traditional microbiology testing is sloooow. 😴

  • Food & beverage: 5 days to get results.
  • Pharma & cosmetics: 14 days (because bacteria love a long vacation).
  • Factories: Can’t test on-site—samples must be sent to specialized labs.

Basically, in a world where robots make coffee and AI writes poetry, companies still have to wait for bacteria to grow in a petri dish. Not ideal.


⚡ The AI-Powered Fix

Instead of waiting days for cultures to grow, Spore.Bio blasts samples with light at specific wavelengths and records their spectral signature. Then, a pre-trained deep learning model instantly detects bacteria and pathogens.

🚀 Result: Testing happens on-site and takes minutes, not days.

Spore.Bio’s AI model is trained with data from the Pasteur Institute (fancy!), and they’re working on manufacturing testing machines so factories can test on the spot without shipping samples anywhere.


🌍 Beyond Food Safety

CEO Amine Raji (a former Nestlé engineer) originally focused on food & beverage safety. But guess what? Other industries want in:

  • 💄 Cosmetics: Preservatives are being phased out, but less preservatives = more bacteria.
  • 💊 Pharma: Gene & cell therapies have a 7-day shelf life, so waiting 14 days for tests makes zero sense.

Basically, if your industry hates bacteria, Spore.Bio has a solution for you.


📈 What’s Next?

  • Hiring spree: Team is growing from 30 to 50 employees by the end of 2025.
  • Scaling up: More factories, more machines, and less waiting for bacteria to do their thing.

With $23M in fresh funding, Spore.Bio is on a mission to make microbiology testing as fast as checking your phone.

Because in 2025, waiting days for bacteria results is so last century. 🦠⏳❌