DataJoint Closes $4.9M Seed Funding to Revolutionize Data Management and AI in Academic and Life Sciences /Pharma

BARCELONA, Spain and SALT LAKE CITY and AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- DataJoint, a leading computational database and AI platform designed to streamline data management and accelerate research in neuroscience, oncology, and systems biology, today announced the successful closing of its $4.9M Seed funding round. The round was co-led by Barcelona-based Nina Capital, Salt Lake City-based Inoca Capital Partners, and Austin-based Capital Factory, with additional participation from existing investors. DataJoint's geographically diverse investor base reflects the international commercial potential of its platform. The company already has customers and partners in multiple countries.

The funding will enable DataJoint to scale its operations, enhance its proprietary SaaS platform, and expand its market reach to commercial life sciences and pharmaceutical companies in the United States and in Europe. With a unique value proposition of harmonizing multimodal data sources and enabling complex AI/ML workflows, DataJoint is poised to bring new capabilities and address inefficiencies in data management and reproducibility in research labs worldwide.

Additionally, DataJoint was recently selected for the 9th cohort of PharmStars, the leading pharma-focused global accelerator for digital health startups. As part of this program, DataJoint will engage with pharma leaders to explore partnerships and innovation opportunities centered around its groundbreaking platform.

A Founder's Vision

DataJoint's story begins with CTO Dimitri Yatsenko, whose journey into tech started in Ukraine before pursuing computer science studies in the United States in the 1990s. Early in his career, Dimitri worked in database development for public safety and then at a dot-com startup, where he learned the importance of solid engineering and rigorous data models. He then led a team at GE Medical Systems, working on surgical imaging and navigation, where precision and quality control were paramount.

Later, Dimitri joined the neuroscience startup Ripple Neuro, inspiring him to pursue a PhD at Baylor College of Medicine. While in grad school, he helped launch another AI and medical imaging company, nView Medical. It was during this time, at the intersection of engineering and scientific discovery, that Dimitri recognized a critical gap in how research data was managed and AI models were developed. This realization drove him to create DataJoint, bringing engineering discipline and innovation to the challenges of modern scientific research.

Transforming Data Management in Life Sciences

DataJoint's platform is already used by over 100 labs in the U.S. and Europe, including top-tier institutions such as Johns Hopkins, UCSF, Harvard, and UCL. By automating data structuring, processing, and analysis, the platform addresses critical challenges such as fragmented data management, poor reproducibility, and limited collaboration in research environments.  While expanding to pharma companies, DataJoint will continue to serve and collaborate with Academic Medical Centers, in whose environment the platform was originally incubated and has proven its effectiveness.

"This investment will allow us to expand our reach and continue delivering transformative solutions to researchers and organizations in life sciences," said Jim Olson, CEO of DataJoint. "With the support of Nina Capital, Inoca Capital, and Capital Factory, we are well-positioned to scale our platform and bring the power of advanced AI and data harmonization to a broader market."

Investor Support

Marta G. Zanchi, Founding Partner at Nina Capital, emphasized the platform's unique capabilities:
"DataJoint's computational database is a game-changing solution for data management and AI enablement in life sciences. Its ability to streamline workflows and improve reproducibility makes it a crucial tool for advancing scientific discovery and innovation. We are thrilled to support the team in their mission to transform research and accelerate progress in healthcare."

Chris Sheffert, Managing Director at Inoca Capital, highlighted the commercial potential of DataJoint:
"DataJoint's platform is uniquely positioned to address the significant challenges faced by commercial life science and pharmaceutical companies. From managing vast amounts of complex data to enabling actionable insights through AI, the opportunities for adoption in these industries are immense. We are excited to partner with DataJoint as they scale their transformative technology."

About DataJoint

Founded to address inefficiencies in academic and pharmaceutical research labs, DataJoint provides a unified database infrastructure that harmonizes multimodal data sources into automated workflows. The company's SaaS platform is built on an open-source foundation, with plans to achieve SOC2, HIPAA, and ISO27001 compliance to serve a growing customer base in academia and industry.

About Nina Capital

Nina Capital is a specialized venture capital firm investing exclusively at the intersection of healthcare and technology. Based in Barcelona, Nina Capital supports need-driven founders whose innovations transform healthcare through data and compute capabilities. Since its launch in 2019, Nina Capital has invested in 52 companies across 18 countries.

About Inoca Capital Partners

Inoca Capital Partners, based in Salt Lake City, is a private equity firm focused on partnering with strong management teams to drive growth and create long-term value. With expertise in industries such as Data + AI, Cloud, and Healthcare/IT, Inoca helps companies achieve bold goals through strategic investment and mentorship.

About Capital Factory

Capital Factory is the center of gravity for entrepreneurs outside of Silicon Valley, headquartered in Austin, Texas. With boots on the ground in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Washington, DC, they connect world-changing startups with investors, customers, and talent—and have been Texas' most active investor since 2010, according to Pitchbook.

About PharmStars

PharmStars is the member-based, pharma-focused accelerator for digital health startups. Because of our expertise across pharma, startups, digital health, and innovation, we understand the challenges that pharma and startups face when seeking to collaborate. Our PharmaU^TM program supports digital health startups and our pharma members in "bridging the pharma-startup gap," leading to greater success and faster adoption of "beyond the molecule" solutions. More information at www.PharmStars.com.

For Media Inquiries:
DataJoint
Jim Olson, CEO
info@datajoint.com

Nina Capital
press@nina.capital

Inoca Capital Partners
info@inocacapital.com

Capital Factory
press@capitalfactory.com

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