Deepull

Sepsis is one of the hardest emergencies in hospital medicine, and diagnosis still leans on blood culture, a test that takes days to show which pathogen is circulating in a patient's blood. Deepull, a diagnostics company based at the Barcelona Science Park, wants to cut that wait to about an hour. It was founded in 2020 by Jordi Carrera (CEO) and Rafel Bru (CTO), who had earlier built STAT-Dx, an infectious-disease molecular diagnostics company sold to QIAGEN in 2018 for up to $191 million ($147 million upfront plus milestones). The product is UllCORE, an automated system made up of a benchtop analyzer and the UllCORE BSI test. The test works directly on 8 mL of whole blood with no culture step: it extracts total microbial DNA and analyses it with real-time multiplex PCR. The company says it detects 95% of the pathogens associated with bloodstream infections, bacteria and fungi alike, together with selected genetic markers of antimicrobial resistance, and returns around 50 reportable results (52 according to the Series C announcement). Prospective data reported in the press point to high concordance with blood culture and more than twice as many clinically significant pathogens identified. The system is still in development, though, and the company website says it is not yet available for diagnostic use. The product description has also evolved: in 2022 the project spoke of more than 250 pathogens and about 15 resistance genes from 10 mL of blood, with antibiotic susceptibility results in roughly eight hours. The funding path follows the development milestones. After a EUR 3.5 million Series A in July 2020 led by Alta Life Sciences and Kurma Partners, a EUR 13 million Series B came in October 2022 and was extended to EUR 17 million in March 2023 with Asabys joining. In December 2022 the European Investment Bank added a EUR 20 million venture loan. On 29 April 2025 Deepull closed an oversubscribed EUR 50 million Series C, jointly led by Columbus Venture Partners, Panakès Partners and Mérieux Equity Partners. The announcement states that before this round the company had raised more than EUR 50 million in public and private funding. In December 2024 the FDA granted the test Breakthrough Device Designation, which allows earlier engagement with the agency but is not a clearance. The Series C proceeds are meant to complete the clinical studies and speed up the regulatory pathway, ahead of the move to commercialization that investors mention. The leadership team covers reagents, medical affairs, quality and regulatory, marketing and sales, finance and operations, and the board is chaired by Rick Ivey. Why it matters: according to ACCIÓ, Deepull was among Catalonia's largest startup rounds of 2025, and it carries a clear bet for Europe, which is to move sepsis diagnosis from culture to direct molecular testing on blood. The risks are the usual ones for the sector: clinical validation, regulatory authorization and adoption by hospital laboratories all remain to be proven.