Ghent-based SpectaCell raises €6 million to advance its cell analysis platform
Belgian startup SpectaCell has officially launched in Ghent with €6 million in seed funding. It is developing a cell analysis platform for immunotherapy drug development and manufacturing.
SpectaCell, a biotechnology startup based in Ghent, Belgium, has announced its official launch together with a €6 million seed funding round. The company was spun out of imec (a Belgian research centre for microelectronics and digital technologies), VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and Ghent University. Its platform is intended for drug development and manufacturing, with the aim of showing sooner which immunotherapy candidates deserve further investment.
The round was led by imec.xpand and also included PMV's Flanders Future Tech Fund, InnovationQuarter Capital, Qbic and VIB.
What the company is building
SpectaCell was founded in 2026 by Mathieu Rabaey, Veronique De Vroey, Jan Van de Velde and Tony Montoye. Its proprietary technology combines digital imaging with data analysis to measure how treatments affect individual cells.
The company says immunotherapies are opening new ways to treat cancer and immune system diseases, but it remains difficult to predict which candidates will work in patients and to produce them consistently. Many existing tests measure indirect signals or sample averages, so important differences between cells can disappear.
SpectaCell uses chip-based imaging to follow large numbers of individual cells and their interactions directly, at high resolution and over time. The approach needs no fluorescent labels, which can interfere with cell behaviour. The company is developing a cartridge-based instrument meant to deliver results in hours rather than days. Applications include cell therapies and T-cell engagers, which help immune cells recognise and attack cancer cells.
Target customers and plans
The platform is aimed at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and specialist manufacturers worldwide, and is meant to be used from early research through to routine manufacturing quality checks. It would let researchers compare drug candidates, development teams improve production processes, and manufacturers check whether each batch meets required performance standards.
Benoit Devogelaere, Partner at imec.xpand, said he is convinced SpectaCell can become essential to how new medicines are selected, developed and produced. The company plans to use the capital to fund further development and commercialisation of the platform with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners.
