Ovo Labs, a fertility technology startup operating in Munich and London, has secured seed funding of €4.7 million (£4 million). The investment was led by capital providers LocalGlobe and Creator Fund. The capital is intended to accelerate the company’s path to clinical trials with IVF clinics.
In addition to LocalGlobe and Creator Fund, Blue Wire Capital, Ahren Innovation Capital, and Antonio Pellicer, founder of a globally operating chain of IVF clinics, also participated in the funding round.
Therapeutic technology against age-related fertility problems
Ovo Labs was founded by Melina Schuh, director at the Max Planck Institute for multidisciplinary sciences, and fertility researcher Dr. Agata Zielinska. The startup aims to support women with age-related fertility problems, particularly women over 35 whose egg quality declines due to genetic changes. Ovo Labs’ therapeutic technology targets aneuploidy – genetic errors in egg cells – and has already shown promising results ex vivo.
The development is based on Schuh’s research at the Max Planck Institute and was conducted in collaboration with Bourn Hall Clinic. The founding team is supported by Dr. Oleksandr Yagensky, biologist and former strategy consultant at Bain & Company.
Life Science Factory as an important development hub
Munich plays a central role in Ovo Labs’ product development. Activities take place in the Life Science Factory, an innovation center for bioscience startups. Since 2024, the Munich Life Science Factory has existed, complete with fully equipped laboratories. The facility was originally founded in 2018 by German pharmaceutical company Sartorius, with the goal of promoting startups and scientific progress in the life sciences sector. Startups housed in the Life Science Factory receive industry insights and founding support as well as access to valuable contacts and tailored investor matching.
