Encellin today announced the closing of a $5.9M Seed financing round, co-led by Khosla Ventures and SV Latam Capital, with participation from Sandhill Angels and Y Combinator.

With a membrane pouch and a small seed round, Encellin believes it has found a way to keep cells safe, happy and at the ready to treat patients with a range of chronic diseases, including type 1 diabetes.

Making the leap from academia to company founder requires an appetite for risk and the ability to learn quickly. Grace Wei, Ph.D., who founded Encellin in 2016 with co-founder Crystal Nyitray, Ph.D., shared some of her lessons during a recent Innovation Centre Denmark, Silicon Valley presentation for would-be biotech entrepreneurs.

The transplantation of insulin-producing cells could free people with Type 1 diabetes from daily insulin injections, but this approach has run into hurdles such as a limited treatment benefit and the need for lifelong immunosuppression.