Asa Ren, an Indonesia-based direct-to-consumer DNA testing startup, announced the closing of its $8.15 million early-stage equity funding round.
Top Harvest Capital and Kejora Capital co-led the investment round with participation from Mrcy Venture Partners, Northstar Ventures, Naya Capital, and PT Diagnos Laboratorium Utama Tbk.
With new funds, Asa Ren plans to expand its direct-to-consumer DNA testing offerings across Indonesia. The company currently offers genetic testing for predisposed health risks and ancestry.
The new capital injection will allow also the company to expand its efforts in deepening its digital capabilities, developing clinical bioinformatics, an electronic health passport, and a clinico-genomic database focused on non-communicable diseases.
Commenting on the funding news, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Asa Ren Aloysius Liang said: “Our company is very pleased with this funding. Especially to be trusted by such reputable partners and global-investors is an honor for us. This also marked a milestone achievement in Indonesia’s dynamic genomic and healthcare industry development. Asa Ren is focused on building this industry with all our key partners.”
Asa Ren is one of Indonesia’s first DNA data company which aims to accelerate drug discovery and personalized treatments for Southeast Asia’s healthcare industry by developing clinico-genomic databases from both healthy, and confirmed diagnostic populations.
The company’s technology is intended to allow its customers to understand and manage their own healthcare data through their genetic profile, 360 phenotypes, and medical records for a more personalized healthcare experience.
“Indonesia has the highest biodiversity in Southeast Asia with 1,300+ ethnic groups in the country. This provides a ripe opportunity for innovation and genetic research to improve the health and welfare of the country. We believe Asa Ren has all the right ingredients to capture this opportunity,” he said.
The company looks forward to bringing its value-added capability to escalate and improve Indonesia’s healthcare and ecosystem.
Consumer DNA testing
DNA testing startups have raised more than $5 billion in funding to date, according to our funding database. More recently, Variantyx, a provider of advanced genomic testing for rare genetic disorders, reproductive health, and precision oncology markets, received $20 million in venture debt funding from Kreos Capital. In another deal, Ultima Genomics, a provider of DNA sequencing technology platform, raised $600 million in funding from investors including General Atlantic, Andreessen Horowitz, D1 Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed, Marius Nacht, aMoon, Playground Global and Founders Fund.
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