Brazilian deeptech Doroth has secured R$23 million in early-stage funding to build what it says will be Latin America’s first factory dedicated to manufacturing microfluidic chips for molecular diagnostics.
The round, led by Brazilian biotechnology company Loccus, combined private investment with grant funding from Finep and Fapesp. Doroth will use the capital to expand research, development and production as it moves from technology validation towards industrial-scale manufacturing.
Founded in 2019 in Piracicaba, São Paulo state, Doroth develops lab-on-a-chip platforms designed to compress multiple laboratory processes into compact automated devices. Its technology combines sample preparation, genetic extraction, amplification and readout on a single microfluidic chip.
The planned facility will have capacity to produce up to four million chips annually, including devices containing proprietary embedded reagents. Doroth said its platforms could detect pathogens, genetically modified organisms and antimicrobial resistance genes in agricultural and food samples including leaves, seeds, grains, milk and meat.
Under the partnership, Doroth will focus on product development and fundraising while Loccus provides manufacturing infrastructure, regulatory expertise and distribution capabilities.
Loccus CEO Eduardo Araújo said the companies brought complementary strengths, combining Doroth’s scientific expertise with Loccus’ production capacity.
The investment is also intended to reduce Brazil’s dependence on imported reagents, sensors and diagnostic components by establishing a domestic technology supply chain.
Doroth co-founder Rodrigo Gurdos said the partnership marked its transition from research and validation towards scaled production, potentially widening access to decentralised molecular diagnostics across Brazil’s agribusiness sector while creating a commercial platform for broader regional diagnostic applications.
