New technology captures the biological units of communication between cells at higher yield and quality, increasing their value in understanding, diagnosing, and treating

Hermes Biosciences, a life science tools company developing a benchtop, hands-off system for the isolation of extracellular vesicles (EVs), today announced it raised a Seed financing round to deliver its first commercial instrument in 2026, aimed at clinical researchers across academia, Pharma, and clinical customers who require standardized, scalable workflows. The round was led by Genoa Ventures, with participation from Paladin Capital Group and Vertical Venture Partners. Pre-Seed capital and company formation support were also provided by Genoa’s venture studio, General Inception.

Extracellular vesicles are nano-scale cell-communication packets shed by living cells into blood, urine, and other biofluids. They carry highly specific molecular cargo that reflects cell state and disease biology, making them powerful analytes for understanding, diagnosing, and treating cancer, degenerative diseases, and conditions in regenerative medicine. Their abundance, ubiquity, and molecular specificity have driven significant interest across research and drug development from early biomarker discovery to therapeutic development, yet EV isolation remains a major bottleneck. Current methods are slow, inconsistent, and difficult to scale: ultracentrifugation is cumbersome and poorly suited for clinical workflows, while column-based kits introduce variability and operational complexity, leaving a critical unmet need for reliable, high-quality EV isolation tools.

“EVs carry information that could fundamentally change how we detect and understand disease, but unlocking that value depends on being able to isolate and study them reliably,” said Paco Cifuentes, PhD, CEO of Hermes Biosciences. “Our technology opens the door for the clinical and research community to use EVs as an analyte of choice, addressing the sensitivity shortcomings of circulating tumor DNA and proteins, especially for early disease detection and progression. Providing easy and scalable access to EVs with our platform has the potential to impact lives through better therapeutic insights and earlier disease detection.”

Building on nanofiltration technology invented by the co-founder of Hermes Biosciences and professor of Stanford University School of Medicine, Utkan Demirci, PhD, the Hermes platform isolates EVs with exceptionally high yield and purity through a simple, fully automated workflow. The system delivers up to 10X more vesicles than ultracentrifugation and other commercial platforms, while preserving vesicle integrity and molecular content. Its hands-off, workflow-integrated design enables true high-throughput operation and supports the expanding use of EVs as clinical and translational assets.

“The Hermes platform enables collaborators across translational research to tap into the molecular conversations between cells, revealing how cells grow, communicate, and drive disease progression,” said Vikram Chaudhery, PhD, Partner at Genoa Ventures and President of General Inception. “Through our venture studio, General Inception, we were able to help translate this breakthrough technology into a company with a great team, great science, and a clear opportunity for outsized impact in human health. This is exactly what we look for in a Genoa portfolio company, and we’re excited to support Hermes Biosciences in the journey ahead.”

For more information on Hermes, please visit www.hermesbio.com.

About Hermes

Hermes Biosciences develops automated technology that isolates and analyzes intact extracellular vesicles (EVs) from biological samples. Co-founded by Prof. Utkan Demirci and General Inception, the technology delivers nearly 10 times more vesicles than ultracentrifugation and other commercially available systems while preserving vesicle integrity and molecular cargo. The platform provides high-quality exosome data for research, diagnostic development and clinical innovation to support new ways to detect, understand and treat disease.

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