Chinese tech giant and gaming company Tencent has bought shares of Congenica, which is one the fastest growing UK-based genomics startups, Sky News reported. The stake sale is part of a funding process by Congenica, where other UK pension providers also participated.
According to reports, Congenica has raised around £39 million by selling its stakes to Tencent and other investors. Some of the investors besides Tencent that also participated in the funding round include Legal & General, Cambridge Innovation Capital and Downing. Congenica will use the funds to expand its business internationally.
Established in 2014 by Wellcome Sanger Institute and the NHS, Congenica pioneers in the genomic study of rare diseases and inherited cancer, developing software that enables data analysis 20 times faster than industry averages.
David Atkins, Congenica chief executive told the media, “Genomic medicine is revolutionising healthcare, transforming outcomes for patients by providing clinicians with fast, accurate and early diagnoses and the information needed to provide life-changing answers for their patients, improving wellbeing and disease management.
“This new funding will allow us to build on our established foundation in rare disease and bring the power of our platform to new indications and new markets.”
Last month, Tencent revealed two new products- Tencent AIMIS Medical Image Cloud and the Tencent AIMIS Open Lab, which will help consumers and medical professionals to safely and securely share medical data more easily, and equip medical professionals with new tools to diagnose patients and achieve better patient outcomes.