Lateral flow tests have become a familiar part of everyday healthcare, yet they still struggle to pick up low levels of viruses or biomarkers. This gap created real challenges during the pandemic when accuracy mattered just as much as speed. Many clinicians and test makers know that these tests are cheap, fast, and easy to use, but they also know the tradeoff: weak sensitivity once you move outside a fully equipped lab.
A Munich-based spin-off called Amplifold believes this tradeoff is no longer necessary. The team has created a DNA origami amplification method that fits into existing strip tests without changing how people use them. It promises to make these tests up to one hundred times more sensitive, giving them lab-like performance while keeping them affordable.
This vision just attracted fresh investment. Amplifold has closed a €5 million seed round that was significantly oversubscribed. Matterwave Ventures and XISTA Science Ventures co-led the funding, with strong support from Bayern Kapital, b2venture, and Becker Ventures. The interest reflects how hungry the diagnostics market is for solutions that deliver accuracy without complexity.
The heart of Amplifold’s idea comes from work done at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Dr Maximilian Urban and a team in the lab of Prof Liedl published research showing how DNA origami nanostructures can dramatically boost the signal inside a standard lateral flow test. They demonstrated that this approach lifts sensitivity by up to two orders of magnitude while keeping the test familiar to the end user. There is no added equipment and no special steps. The strip behaves the way users expect, but with far better performance.
The company sums up that promise through a simple line: affordability meets accuracy. They want the tests people can buy at a pharmacy to perform with the strength usually reserved for central labs.
Dr Urban, who co-founded the company and helped invent the technology, said that rapid tests changed global access to diagnostics, yet their sensitivity has stayed behind what labs can achieve. He explained that DNA origami makes it possible to push these tests close to instrument-level sensitivity while still keeping them cheap and easy to run. His goal is to make accuracy available at scale, not tied to expensive machinery.
Amplifold is also preparing its next leadership chapter. The company plans to bring in diagnostics executive Dr Federico Bürsgens as CEO in 2026. This move signals a shift toward commercial execution as the team prepares to bring its first products to market.
The new funding will help the company push its technology through product development, regulatory milestones, and the path toward IVDR approval for Europe. The leadership at Matterwave and XISTA will also play a closer role as both firms gain seats on Amplifold’s board. Their presence adds operational support at a stage where deep tech startups often need steady guidance.
Matterwave partner Benedikt Kronberger noted that Amplifold fits what they look for in industrial deep tech. He highlighted the size of the market and the strength of the team. He also pointed out that the oversubscribed round shows how clear the commercial opportunity has become. Investors are watching for innovations that can upgrade existing infrastructure rather than replace it, and Amplifold fits that pattern.
As the company scales, Amplifold will move into the Innovation and Start-Up Center for Biotechnology in Martinsried. This campus has become a major hub for European life science ventures and offers direct connections to research and clinical partners. For a company building a regulated medical product, this environment can shorten cycles and strengthen credibility.
XISTA Science Ventures partner Dr Stephan Huber said that poor sensitivity has always been the bottleneck for rapid tests. Amplifold’s method tackles this issue with a nanotech approach that lifts sensitivity but keeps the format simple. He emphasized that simplicity is part of the advantage because it supports large scale adoption without raising costs for manufacturers or users.
What makes this story compelling is how fast the expectations around diagnostics are shifting. People want fast tests that deliver confidence, not uncertainty. Healthcare systems want tools that reduce the burden on labs rather than add to it. And test makers want solutions that plug into existing manufacturing lines without rewriting the entire process. Amplifold is positioning its platform right at this intersection.
DNA origami as a concept might sound complex, yet its application here feels practical. The idea is not to burden users with new steps. Instead, the complexity sits inside the strip itself. This hidden layer boosts the signal in a way humans never see. What they see is a clearer result and a test that catches what older versions would have missed.
The pressure to improve point-of-care testing remains strong even after the pandemic. Infectious diseases continue to evolve and healthcare systems cannot rely on central labs for every case. More accurate at-home tests could reduce unnecessary clinic visits, speed up public health responses, and give people more control over their health decisions.
Investors are paying close attention to platforms that upgrade long-standing diagnostic formats. Lateral flow tests have existed for decades and have been deployed worldwide. Any technology that improves their accuracy without raising complexity can spread quickly across existing supply chains.
Amplifold’s team sees this window clearly. With fresh capital, a growing leadership bench, and rising demand for better rapid testing, the company aims to build a product that stands out in a crowded diagnostics market. The promise of lab-level accuracy inside a simple strip test is powerful. If they pull it off, it could redefine how frontline diagnostics are delivered.
The next few years will shape how this vision plays out. The company will continue refining its first product and progressing through regulatory steps. Partnerships with test developers may follow as more companies look for ways to differentiate on accuracy. The move to the Martinsried campus will also give Amplifold a stronger foundation for scientific and commercial growth.
For now, the company has momentum, investor support, and a technology that could shift global expectations. The race toward better diagnostics is still underway, and Amplifold wants to play a central role in that future.
