Nuclein Closes $14M in Funding led by Trinity Private Equity Group

AUSTIN, Texas, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuclein, LLC has closed a $14 million Series B funding round. The financing helps Nuclein, a medical device company, to commercialize its novel, hand-held PCR platform designed as a disposable, all-in-one, self-test for infectious disease diagnosis.

The Nuclein device runs gold-standard, real-time PCR, does not require technical expertise to operate, and delivers battery-powered, sample-to-answer results from saliva in under one hour, without the need to mail in a sample. While the Nuclein technology platform has been designed to detect any infectious disease target, the company is currently focusing on COVID-19 to assist with the ongoing pandemic.

Nuclein's Series B round was led by Trinity Private Equity Group (TPEG), a Southlake, Texas-based private equity firm.

"Trinity is pleased to lead the $14 million Series B equity round for the Company. This round supports our efforts to gain necessary regulatory authorization – and then take the product to market and provide the infrastructure to ramp up manufacturing and distribution. We are excited to partner with Nuclein as it embarks on delivering a quick and easy PCR test that will provide valuable data for healthcare professionals, patients, organizations, and companies around the world to make better decisions," stated Sanjay Chandra, TPEG managing partner and Nuclein board member.

With this investment, TPEG joins other early Nuclein investors, including board members Dr. William Cunningham, former President of the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. John Butler, former Director of IC2, and David Shockley, CEO of International Biophysics Corporation. Other notable early Nuclein investors include advisory board members Joe Aragona, co-founder and General Partner of Austin Ventures, Jason Dorsey, president of the Center for Generational Kinetics, and Alan Richey, a Senior Vice President for Dell Technologies.

"Our vision is to enable simple, affordable, rapid, and accurate disease testing for everyone. We are excited to close this funding round to support advancement of our innovative technology," said Alan Blake, CEO and co-founder of Nuclein.

Dr. Richard Crockett, Nuclein's president and co-founder, added: "The Nuclein platform makes PCR diagnostics as easy as pushing a button. We are excited to work with Trinity as we bring this true sample-to-result technology to market."

Blake and Crockett, long-time Austin biotechnology entrepreneurs, founded Nuclein in 2017 in response to the Zika epidemic. With approximately $20 million raised to date, the company plans to apply to the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to commercialize a COVID-19 testing device in the near future. Nuclein currently employs approximately 30 scientists, engineers, and other professionals. It is seeking to immediately hire additional molecular biologists, engineers, and manufacturing staff to support its growth.

ABOUT NUCLEIN, LLC:  Nuclein, LLC was founded in 2017 by long-time Austin biotechnology entrepreneurs Alan Blake and Dr. Richard Crockett. The company's vision is to enable simple, affordable, rapid, and accurate disease testing for everyone.  Mr. Blake and Dr. Crockett's last company was Yorktown Technologies, best known for GloFish, a high-profile, public brand (sold in Walmart, PetSmart, and Petco) that operated under FDA oversight and ultimately sold to a publicly-traded company. They are joined by a highly accomplished board, including Dr. William Cunningham, a former President of the University of Texas at Austin. Other board members include David Shockley, CEO of International Biophysics Corporation, and Dr. John Butler, former Director of IC2. Nuclein LLC is headquartered in Austin, Texas.  For more information, please visit: www.nuclein.com.

ABOUT TRINITY PRIVATE EQUITY GROUP:  Trinity Private Equity Group, founded in 2006 by Dan Meader and Sanjay Chandra, has a portfolio of over $3 billion. Areas of focus are diverse operating companies from software to powersports, as well as commercial and residential real estate. In 2020, the firm invested over $800 million and returned over $160 million to investors. Learn more about the firm by visiting: www.trinitypeg.com.

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SOURCE Nuclein, LLC