Scentian Bio Secures $7m Pre-Series A, Prepares Commercial Launch Of “Digital Nose” For Faster Food Quality Decisions

• Pre-Series A round led by Icehouse Ventures, with additional investors Cultivate Ventures, NZGCP and more
• Secures over-subscribed $7 million in pre-Series A round
• Seven food sector pilot customers, shipping expected within months
• Biomimicry-led sensing platform translates 20 years of insect science into AI-powered biosensors using synthesised odorant receptors
• Initial focus is food quality control, with future potential in areas including biosecurity, medical detection, environmental protection

Auckland, New Zealand, April 2026 - Scentian Bio, a New Zealand deep tech company combining synthetic biology and AI, has closed a $7 million pre-Series A funding round as it readies the commercial launch of its “digital nose”, a sensing technology designed to help industries such as food manufacturers to detect faults earlier and develop new innovations.

Scentian Bio’s platform is built on more than 20 years of research into insect biology by scientists at the Bioeconomy Science Institute (formerly Plant and Food Research). Insects can detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at enormous distances and at a microscopic scale. VOCs are tiny chemicals associated with everything from fruit ripeness to disease markers in human breath.

Scentian Bio translates those biological principles into engineered sensors using synthetic odorant receptors, which can be produced cheaply on mass and connected with a transducer to create a biosensor. Scentian Bio’s solution - dubbed an ‘insect nose on a chip’ - are handheld devices which can detect target VOCs and upload data to the cloud, enabling low-cost deployment across the entire supply chain, from factory to retail outlet.

In 2022 Scentian Bio received international endorsement from the Gates Foundation, including a grant of $2.7 million. Now the company has seven food sector pilot customers and expects to begin shipping within months. Other applications of the Scentian Bio platform include biosecurity, medical detection, environmental protection and the wellness industries.

”Food producers make high-stakes decisions every day,” says Jonathan Good, chief executive and co-founder of Scentian Bio. “When you can detect issues earlier, you can act sooner, before issues emerge. This can reduce waste, rework and write-offs, protect brand trust, and strengthen assurance. Our aim is to shift testing from the lab to operations so food producers can get the best out of every ingredient.”

The new funds set up Scentian Bio for growing sales to the food industry and unlock the next step in the technology. For the food industry, the company is setting up manufacturing in Auckland and building out its sales and support team to support sales growth. It will also enable the company to continue to develop its next-generation digital nose for wider applications, including environmental sensing and health.

Strong venture capital backing

The funding round was led by Icehouse Ventures.

New investors Cultivate Ventures and NZGCP joined the round alongside continued strong support from Toyota Ventures, DYDX Capital, K1W1, Booster and more. The initial target market is food quality control, a global industry worth over US$8b. Scentian Bio also sees strong commercial potential in other sectors, including pest detection and health, where earlier detection can change how teams manage risk and respond.

“Scentian Bio is a great example of New Zealand research translating into globally relevant technology,” says Icehouse Ventures Principal Bex Gidall.

“What stood out to us as investors is the strength of the platform technology. Scentian is initially focused on food, but the underlying sensing technology also has applications across human and environmental health. Technologies with that breadth of application are rare, and it will be exciting to see how this ‘digital nose’ develops.”

For food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers, quality issues that show up late can trigger waste, rework, recalls, disputes, and reputational risk. Scentian Bio is developing a repeatable sensing approach that can support day-to-day operating decisions, enabling preventative actions before issues arise.

Scentian Bio has been working closely with some of the world’s largest food companies ahead of commercial launch. These include leading global food and flavour firms, and global leaders in spices and condiments as well as beverages.

About Scentian Bio

Scentian Bio is a New Zealand company combining synthetic biology and AI to create a new class of biosensors. Spun out of Plant and Food Research, the company is developing biosensors based on synthesised insect odorant receptors, designed to measure the concentration of many compounds. The platform is supported by key patents and a multidisciplinary team across biology, assay development, and machine learning.

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