Amili gets East Ventures backing to expand its gut microbiome services into Indonesia

Singapore-based precision gut microbiome company Amili has secured an undisclosed amount in funding led by East Ventures.

The fresh capital will be used to expand its operations into Indonesia, with a primary focus on addressing common gut health problems using scientifically-based approaches tailored to the Indonesian context.

Established in 2019 by CEO Jeremy Lim, along with David Ong and Jonathan Lee, Amili conducts advanced gut microbe research and translates it into practical products and services.

(The gut microbiome consists of trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in the digestive tract. It plays a key role in almost every aspect of human health, including digestion, immune function, mental health, and disease prevention.)

At present, Amili provides gut microbiome sequencing services, aiding healthcare professionals in improving patient care and developing probiotic formulations tailored specifically for Asian consumers. It also hosts a microbiome transplant bank.

Through its collaborations with regional research partners, Amili has created a multi-ethnic microbiome database that enables the development of offerings, such as Singapore’s first at-home gut microbiome testing service and the region’s first probiotic blend that includes prebiotics and postbiotics.

The company has three fundamental assets:

- A multi-ethnic Asia microbiome database

- A microbiome bank with samples stored for metagenomic and metabolomic analysis

- Amili Prime, a set of proprietary analytical tools, informatics pipelines, and discovery engines

“Beyond medicine, the microbiome is important in food and agritech. Amili also looks forward to contributing to innovations in this space, particularly in health-enhancing foods and addressing stunting and malnutrition,” said CEO Lim.

“By conducting localised studies and understanding the specific intricacies of the Asian gut microbiome, we can discover insights and develop health interventions tailored to the needs and challenges of the Asian population, ultimately improving the health and well-being of individuals in the region,” said Willson Cuaca, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at East Ventures.

In June 2022, Amili secured US$10.5 million in Series A funding led by Vulcan Capital (now Cercano Ventures), the investment arm of the late Microsoft Corp Co-Founder Paul Allen. Pruksa Group, TVM Capital Healthcare, Emtek Group, Capital Code, Pureland Group, Blue7, GK Goh, and SEEDS Capital also participated.