British startup Tolemy Bio chooses Barcelona to advance AI solutions applied to the production of advanced therapies

07 Sep 2026

Backed by ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, Tolemy Bio sets up at SID/Barcelona with €1.4M funding to build AI software for advanced therapy manufacturing.

British startup Tolemy Bio has established operations in Barcelona with the aim of advancing the development of data and artificial intelligence-based technologies to improve the manufacturing of advanced therapies and other biological treatments.

The company recently raised €1.4 million in a pre-seed funding round, which it will primarily allocate to R&D, and plans to create six highly qualified jobs.

For its establishment project in Catalonia, Tolemy Bio has received support from ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, the business competitiveness agency of the Ministry for Business and Labour of the Government of Catalonia.

The startup has established itself at the facilities of SID/Barcelona, a science and innovation hub specialised in life sciences located between Esplugues de Llobregat and Sant Joan Despí.  

“Barcelona brings together talent, scientific capabilities and a growing biotechnology ecosystem”

Alex Ward, co-founder and CEO of Tolemy Bio

The startup is currently focused on developing Orbit, a platform designed to analyze large volumes of data generated during cell culture and biological product manufacturing. The platform combines virtual cell models, biological data, and artificial intelligence tools to improve understanding and predict the behavior of cellular systems. Its objective is to help scientific and industrial teams make more informed decisions, reduce uncertainties in manufacturing processes and accelerate the transition from research to production.

The funding secured by the company will enable it to accelerate the development of this platform, strengthen its experimental capabilities and foster new collaborations with scientific and industrial partners. In addition, Tolemy Bio plans to recruit six professionals specializing in fields such as cell biology, engineering, machine learning, data science, research and product development.

"Barcelona brings together talent, scientific capabilities and a growing biotechnology ecosystem," said Alex Ward, co-founder and CEO of Tolemy Bio. "For us, it offers a particularly strong environment to build a company at the intersection of AI, biotechnology and advanced therapy manufacturing. We have access to highly skilled scientific and technical talent, leading hospitals and research institutions, and a growing network of biotechnology and pharmaceutical partners. Establishing our experimental operations at SID/Barcelona also gives us the infrastructure we need to develop and validate our technology close to potential collaborators and customers. ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment has also played an important role in helping us establish ourselves in Catalonia, from connecting us with the local ecosystem and potential partners to supporting us through the practical aspects of setting up and growing the company here."


Tolemy Bio is a British startup founded in 2024 and specializes in developing technological solutions for the life sciences sector. The company works with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to understand, predict and optimize the behavior of cellular systems during the development and manufacturing of advanced therapies and other biological medicines, thereby contributing to the delivery of more efficient, predictable and safer treatments.

SID/Barcelona is a science and innovation hub specialized in life sciences, located between Esplugues de Llobregat and Sant Joan Despí. It offers 60,000 square meters distributed across five buildings featuring laboratories, offices, semi-industrial spaces and specialized services. It is home to a community of more than 2,500 professionals and forms part of the European Science & Innovation Districts (SID) network, which is focused on promoting research, scientific entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer.

The Government’s drive to attract foreign investment

The Government of Catalonia has launched a new strategy for the attraction, promotion and retention of foreign investment in Catalonia for the 2026–2030 period, with the objective of securing 600 foreign investment projects that will generate €6 billion in investment, including reinvestments by subsidiaries of foreign companies already present in the region, and enable the creation and maintenance of 45,000 jobs. At the same time, the Government has set itself the goal of reaching 10,000 foreign subsidiaries established in Catalonia.

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Anna Bellver

Anna Bellver

Senior FDI Consultant - Life Sciences