en.Wedoany.com Reported - Brazilian biotech startup studio Vesper Biotechnologies, after receiving investment from the Lafer family, which controls paper company Klabin, announced a partnership agreement with the Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (CEIA) at the Federal University of Goiás to jointly develop AI applications for the biotechnology sector. The announcement was made during an annual conference held on May 25-26, 2026, in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina.
Headquartered in Santa Catarina, Vesper is Brazil's first startup studio focused on biotechnology. This model not only provides financial support but also creates and drives companies in the sector through financial and operational management. The company's CEO and co-founder, Gabriel Bottos, has an engineering background and 20 years of experience founding companies across various fields. His entrepreneurial journey began in 2008 when he co-founded Welle Lasers, a laser marking and micromachining company, with his brother Rafael Bottos.
In 2018, Bottos co-founded Vesper with Julio Moura, Jonas Sister, and Rafael Bottos, with the core philosophy of creating "companies that are good for the world." In an interview with Forbes Brasil, he stated that he didn't dream of entering biotechnology at the time, but had a genuine goal: to create businesses that meant something more than just capital appreciation. In 2019, his 4-year-old niece, Helena, was diagnosed with stage 4 chemotherapy-resistant neuroblastoma, an extremely aggressive rare childhood cancer with a survival rate of less than 3% and a life expectancy of under a year and a half. The family took Helena to Madrid, Spain, where she participated in a two-year clinical trial for a drug being tested in the country. Thanks to the treatment, the girl overcame the cancer. This experience prompted the team to redirect all its energy and capabilities toward biotechnology.
The company evaluates over 4,000 projects from Brazil and abroad through a scientific advisory board composed of top global experts, ultimately selecting eight for its portfolio. Of these, five focus on human health, and three are dedicated to agriculture and diagnostics. The Vesper team delves into universities to find cutting-edge science, providing management, capital, and intellectual property support at international standards. The company has raised over 220 million reais, created 17 international patents, and employs over 100 people.
At the end of 2025, Vesper launched a $15 million (approximately 75 million reais) funding round, attracting strategic investors such as the Lafer family of Klabin. The company's existing investors include ECOA Capital, Green Rock, and federal programs Finep and Emprapii. CEO Bottos stated that the goal is to close this round by the end of 2025, using the resources to cultivate a new biotech economic model in Brazil. He also noted that financing biotech companies in Brazil remains a significant challenge, with market biases regarding regulatory gridlock and development timelines. Vesper is working to demonstrate to investors that its portfolio combines cutting-edge science with serious management and best governance practices.
In the human health sector, Vesper is developing therapies for cancer, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, dementia, and aging-related conditions. Among these, Aptah Bio focuses on developing RNA therapies and received FDA Orphan Drug Designation in February of this year. Vyro Biotherapeutics is developing therapies for central nervous system tumors using the Zika virus. Futr Bio is dedicated to RNA vaccine development, Cellerts focuses on cell therapies, and Reddot concentrates on molecular diagnostics. The company also has a project in partnership with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), using an AI platform to develop new therapies for multiple myeloma, with a project value of 21 million reais. In the agricultural sector, Vesper's portfolio includes Symbiomics, which develops biological inputs to replace chemical fertilizers, as well as InEdita and Hapiseeds, which focus on plant genome editing. The goals are threefold: increasing yield on the same land area; reducing costs, especially chemical costs, decreasing reliance on fertilizers and pesticides, and minimizing environmental impact; and reducing losses caused by climate stress. The company operates on an "Intel Inside" model, licensing its technology to seed producers worldwide. Bottos explains that this approach is similar to how NVIDIA develops solutions that are embedded into machines and equipment globally.
Vesper also holds one of the largest microbial databases in Brazil and one of the largest fungal and bacterial databases in the world. The company uses AI to optimize molecules that carry information, such as RNA, accelerating the equivalent of 6 billion years of evolution. The company plans to add two startups to its portfolio annually and is considering funding expansion through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Its medium-term goals include having at least three drugs in clinical stages, five to seven diagnostic products on the market, and at least ten agricultural products field-tested, aiming to create Brazil's first biotech unicorn.
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