# Semarion

Startup profile on Capital Atlas: https://capitalatlas.ai/startups/semarion

- Industry: Medical Devices & Equipment
- Headquarters: Cambridge, UK
- Website: www.semarion.com
- Total disclosed funding: $3.2M
- Latest round: Seed (Dec 24, 2021)
- Investors on record: 3

## About

Based in Cambridge, UK, and founded in 2018, Semarion Ltd operates as a company that combines materials engineering and cell biology to tackle unmet drug screening needs. Jeroen Verheyen (CEO), Tarun Vemulkar (CTO), and Russell Cowburn are the co-founders of the company. It is a spin-out company from the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. In March 2026, Semarion Ltd raised GBP 2.9 million in venture funding led by Parkwalk Advisors, with participation from Cambridge Enterprise, The FSE Group, Oxford Innovation Finance, Found Capital, Cambridge Capital, and Start Codon.

The company develops SemaCytes, a novel class of cell carrier materials, which are constructed by combining microchip fabrication methods, nanomagnetism, and smart materials. These flat assaying microcarriers work as ultra-miniaturized, magnetically steerable wells that transport small colonies of adherent cells into suspension to improve cell-based investigations. They allow for the controlled mobility of cell types that require adhesion to a surface, such as those employed in vitro drug screening. SemaCytes is compatible with a variety of multi-well plate formats, liquid handling instruments, and imaging tools such as high-content screening equipment, and it integrates with existing processes.

The company plans to utilize the March 2026 funding to expand production and boost its commercial capabilities for the SemaCyte cell assay platform, while also speeding up its implementation within the pharmaceutical sector.

## Funding rounds

- Seed, Dec 24, 2021, $3.2M — Cambridge Enterprise, Parkwalk Advisors, Martlet Capital

## Investors

- Cambridge Enterprise — Seed
- Parkwalk Advisors (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/parkwalk-advisors) — Seed
- Martlet Capital (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/martlet-capital) — Seed