Pluton Biosciences is proud to announce that it is the first St. Louis-based biotech company to graduate from Illumina Accelerator’s first global funding cycle and 11^th U.S. cycle. Pluton was among a group of seven global startups to graduate from Illumina Accelerator, the company creation engine started by San Diego-based, global DNA sequencing leader Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN).

During two, six-month funding cycles per year, Illumina Accelerator provides the selected startups with access to seed investment, Illumina sequencing systems and reagents, as well as business guidance, genomics expertise, and fully operational lab space adjacent to Illumina’s campuses in Cambridge, UK or the San Francisco Bay Area.

 “This has been such a tremendous experience for Pluton in many ways, and we are so honored to have been selected to participate,” said Pluton Biosciences CEO Charlie Walch. “From a business standpoint, the Illumina Accelerator team helped us focus our business model and refine the story behind our pitch to investors. The team also introduced us to numerous San Francisco-based venture capitalists who back genomics startups. Two are now investors in Pluton.”

Founded in 2017, Pluton Biosciences taps into the diverse world of bacteria, fungi and viruses found in the soil to develop eco-friendly products for the agriculture and pest-control industries. Pluton’s Micromining® Innovation Engine allows its team of scientists and engineers to discover novel microbes in months, not years, compared to current approaches.

Participation in Illumina Accelerator boosted Pluton’s ability to cost-effectively shotgun sequence microbial populations from its soil samples. 

“Through Illumina Accelerator, we had access to world-class DNA sequencing capabilities, which allowed us to advance our sequencing platform, a key component of Micromining. Our work in the Accelerator enabled Micromining for several new, exciting projects,” said Pluton Biosciences Founder and Director of Research Dr. Ann Guggisberg. “Illumina technology will be a cornerstone of Pluton’s Micromining Innovation Engine, and we look forward to our continued relationship with the Illumina Accelerator team as we continue to identify novel microbial solutions.”

Three companies comprised the inaugural funding cycle of Illumina Accelerator Cambridge, UK and four companies, which included Pluton Biosciences, joined as part of the 11^th funding cycle in the San Francisco Bay Area. Due to COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions, Illumina Accelerator celebrated the graduation digitally in February 2021, bringing all seven startup companies together.