08/01/2025 - Apheris, the leading federated computing company powering data networks for the life sciences sector, last week announced the completion of a Series A funding round, bringing total funding to $20.8 million. The round was led by leading European DeepTech VC firms, OTB Ventures and eCAPITAL, followed by existing investors including Octopus Ventures and Heal Capital.
This funding will enable Apheris to further its mission to build the largest and most secure life sciences data networks by safely connecting distributed data for analytics and AI.
“I’m very excited to welcome OTB Ventures and eCAPITAL as new partners on our journey. Their deep understanding of the complexities of building a high-security, technically advanced product stood out. With their help, Apheris will unlock the potential of AI and machine learning for the life science industry by solving its critical bottleneck: access to large and diverse data.” – Robin Röhm, CEO of Apheris
Addressing a critical challenge: Secure computational access to proprietary life sciences data for industrial R&D
Despite significant progress in artificial intelligence, its application in the life sciences industry faces unique challenges. ML models' predictive accuracy and generalizability are often insufficient for the high demands of complex industrial settings. This is primarily because these models are trained on publicly available datasets lacking the necessary diversity and size. Research consistently shows that increasing the quantity and diversity of training data significantly improves model accuracy across various tasks[1]. However, vast amounts of proprietary data with the highest relevance for pharmaceutical R&D remain locked in silos due to IP concerns.
The Apheris Compute Gateway addresses this critical challenge by making sensitive life sciences data securely accessible without moving it and while preserving intellectual property. The Apheris product focuses on protecting Data Custodians’ data while making it compliantly and securely available for AI and analytics. Already today, the Apheris Compute Gateway is deployed in many of the most security-critical environments of top 20 pharmaceutical companies and leading hospital sites across four continents.
“We are thrilled to partner with Apheris as the lead investor in this equity round. Apheris is pioneering the future of distributed data infrastructure, enabling organizations to unlock the full potential of their AI/ML workloads while keeping sensitive raw data secure and local. By addressing the most pressing data challenges and allowing seamless, secure collaboration, Apheris product is setting new standards for data-driven innovations. We are confident that Apheris’ exceptional team and cutting-edge technology will drive significant value and redefine the future of AI-powered decision-making." – Marcin Hejka, Co-Founder and General Partner at OTB Ventures.
Apheris supports industry-critical federated data networks
Apheris product powers some of the leading life science data networks enabling Pharma companies to collaborate with other Pharma & Biotech companies as well as hospitals and clinical sites. One example is the AI Structural Biology (AISB) Consortium that leverages Apheris’ secure, federated learning infrastructure to customize AI drug discovery models on proprietary pharma data while preserving data privacy. The consortium brings together the leading pharmaceutical companies AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson, and Sanofi, combining collective expertise and proprietary data for AI model customization to achieve higher precision accuracy for protein complex structure prediction.
The road ahead: Doubling down on trust in life sciences data networks
Supported by the robust cybersecurity expertise of its backers, OTB Ventures and eCAPITAL, this series A allows Apheris to cement its position as the most secure solution for life sciences data networks. Other critical focuses post-fundraise includes building end-to-end functionality around industry critical life sciences use cases where collaborative model training will lead to step changes in performance.
“We have closely followed Apheris’ journey since its inception and have been impressed by Apheris’ technological advancements in federated computing. As cybersecurity investors, we recognize the growing importance of secure and private data collaboration, particularly in the life sciences sector where such capabilities can drive transformative outcomes. Apheris enables organizations to unlock value out of their IP-sensitive data while maintaining full control over it. We are proud to support the Apheris team in scaling its technology and redefining secure data collaboration in healthcare and beyond.” – Hannes Schill, Managing Partner at eCAPITAL.
To learn more about Apheris and our mission, visit www.apheris.com.
About OTB Ventures
OTB Ventures is a pan-European deep tech VC fund specializing in Series A and late seed rounds. Its focus lies in supporting startups that pioneer unique technologies across four key verticals: Enterprise AI & Automation, SpaceTech, FinTech Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity. Established in 2017, OTB Ventures currently manages over €350 million and has offices in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Warsaw, Poland.
About eCAPTIAL
Founded in 1999, eCAPITAL is an entrepreneur-led venture capital investor focusing on early and growth-stage deep-tech companies with a positive impact on society. eCAPITAL is based in Germany and invests with its own funds with a total volume of over € 400 million in the areas of Sustainability, Enterprise Software, Cybersecurity, IoT and New Materials. In addition to financial resources, eCAPITAL offers its portfolio companies strategic support and access to an international network of entrepreneurs, scientists, investors, and founders. eCAPITAL was lead investor in several deep-tech companies such as sonnen, Novaled or Jedox, which were sold very successfully to international corporates or investors.
About the European Investment Fund (EIF)
This operation benefits from support from the European Union under the InvestEU Fund.
[1] e.g., Chen et al., 2020; Durant et al., 2024
