Brazil's Doroth raises R$23M to build Latin America's first microfluidic chip plant
What's the deal? DorothDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Brazilian deeptech focused on lab-on-a-chip platforms for molecular diagnostics, has raised R$23 million ($4.5 million) in an early VC round led by biotech firm LoccusDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The financing combines private capital with grant funding from FinepDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Fapesp.
What's the endgame? The money will fund the startup's research, development, and production, including a factory for microfluidic chips with proprietary reagents embedded. The plant aims to be Latin America's first, with capacity to produce up to four million chips per year.
What does Doroth do? Founded in 2019 and based in Piracicaba, the company builds compact, automated devices that miniaturise lab steps — sample prep, genetic extraction, amplification, and readout — onto a single chip. Its platforms detect pathogens, genetically modified organisms, and resistance genes in samples such as leaves, seeds, grains, milk, and meat.
Why the pairing? Loccus CEO Eduardo Araújo said the deal was driven by how the two firms complement each other. Doroth holds deep scientific expertise but lacks production capacity, while Loccus brings manufacturing, infrastructure, and regulatory support. "By joining the companies, we create an unbeatable team," Araújo said (translated from Portuguese).
What's the aim? Doroth will focus on product development and fundraising, while Loccus handles manufacturing and distribution. The goal is to turn technologies developed entirely in Brazil into products made at scale, cutting reliance on imported reagents and sensors and widening access to decentralised molecular diagnostics in agribusiness.
The signal: The round sits in the 63rd percentile by amount for comparable deals, a modest size that reflects Brazil's push to localise a technology chain that runs from enzymes and molecular assays to sensors, instruments, and microfluidic consumables. For Doroth, co-founder Rodrigo Gurdos said the deal marks a shift from research and validation to industrial-scale production.
Read more: startups.com.br
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
