iOrganBio, a Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based biotech startup, has officially launched from stealth mode with $2 million in seed funding aimed at revolutionizing human cell manufacturing. The funding round was led by First Star Ventures and included participation from institutional investors such as IndieBio, Cape Fear BioCapital, 2ndF, Terasaki Institute, and Alix Ventures. The company is pioneering a new approach to producing human cells and organoids—miniature, lab-grown versions of organs—using a proprietary platform called CellForge™. CellForge™ integrates artificial intelligence with high-throughput experimental automation to accelerate and refine the engineering of human cells. Unlike traditional methods that rely on trial-and-error processes and lengthy manual workflows, iOrganBio’s platform uses AI to predict optimal conditions for cell growth and differentiation. These predictions are then rapidly tested through automated systems that can run thousands of experiments in parallel, drastically reducing development time and increasing reproducibility. The technology is designed to address critical bottlenecks in biomedical research and drug development. High-quality, human-relevant cell models are essential for testing new therapies, but current methods are often slow, inconsistent, and limited in scale. By enabling the rapid, precise, and scalable production of complex cell types and organoids, iOrganBio aims to make it easier and faster to develop new treatments for diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and rare genetic conditions. The company’s focus areas include regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and preclinical drug testing. With the ability to generate more physiologically accurate human tissue models, iOrganBio’s platform could help reduce reliance on animal testing and improve the success rate of clinical trials by identifying effective and safe drugs earlier in the development pipeline. iOrganBio’s leadership team brings deep expertise in synthetic biology, AI, and biomanufacturing. The company was founded with the mission of making human cell production as efficient and reliable as software development, using data-driven design and automation to standardize and scale cell engineering. The launch of iOrganBio comes at a pivotal time in the life sciences. The demand for human-relevant models is growing rapidly, driven by advances in genomics, personalized medicine, and the increasing complexity of drug development. At the same time, AI and machine learning are beginning to play a central role in biological discovery, and iOrganBio is positioned at the intersection of these two fields. The $2 million in initial funding will be used to further develop the CellForge™ platform, expand the team, and begin early validation studies with academic and industry partners. The company is also exploring strategic collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms to integrate its technology into drug discovery and development workflows. As the field of cell manufacturing evolves, iOrganBio’s approach could set a new standard for how human cells are made—shifting from a slow, artisanal process to a fast, data-driven, and scalable system. This transformation has the potential to accelerate medical innovation, lower the cost of developing new therapies, and bring more effective treatments to patients faster. With support from leading investors in the life sciences and technology sectors, iOrganBio is poised to become a key player in the next generation of biomanufacturing. The company’s success could not only benefit the biotech industry but also have a broad impact on public health by making advanced cell-based research and therapies more accessible and efficient.