Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.

Annaida Technologies, a Switzerland-based IVF embryo screening technology spinout of EPFL, has obtained more than CHF1m ($1m) in a round led by life science incubator Hemex. State-owned investment bank Zürcher Kantonalbank backed the round alongside Fongit Seed Invest (FSI), Business Angels Switzerland (BAS), Privilège Ventures, Venture Kick and an undisclosed angel investor. The spinout is developing a non-invasive device that employs nuclear magnetic resonance to quantitatively select in-vitro embryos for test-tube pregnancies. IVF embryos are currently chosen through biopsies based on a sample of contained cells, leaving the pregnancies that follow prone to failure. iSmartWays, a Canada-based connected vehicle technology spinout of University of Alberta, has raised a multi-million dollar pre-series A sum from SAIC Capital, the corporate investment vehicle for China-based carmaker SAIC Motor, and ChinaEquity Group. The funding will support recruitment and research for iSmartWays’s offering, which uses wireless communications to connect vehicles to their driver, other motorists and surrounding roadside infrastructure. iSmartWays was co-founded by Tony Qiu, engineering professor at the University of Alberta. Eradivir, a US-based coronavirus immunotherapy developer spun out of Purdue University, has made its debut with $100,000 of seed capital from spinout-focused commercialisation nonprofit Research Bridge Partners. Founded earlier in 2020, Eradivir believes it has identified two ligand molecules capable of binding specifically to the spike-like surface protein thought to be Covid-19’s main antigen. The funding is intended to help validate the efficacy of Eradivir’s candidates and their specificity in targeting coronavirus. Eradivir expects the work to either validate or discard the potential of its approach. Low’s scientific team previously created ligand-based treatments for cancer while at Purdue spinout Endocyte, purchased for a $2.1bn consideration by pharmaceutical firm Novartis in 2018. Q-Ctrl, a US-based quantum software developer spun out of University of Sydney, has received funding as part of a strategic partnership with In-Q-Tel, the investment affiliate of the US intelligence community. The company is working on quantum computing-driven software for applications including sensors using specialised engineering to compensate for errors and instability inherent with quantum-based processing chips. In-Q-Tel’s funding will help apply Q-Ctrl’s approach for national security partnerships, building on existing relations between the US and Australian governments. Main Sequence Ventures, the VC firm owned by Csiro, previously backed a $15m round for Q-Ctrl in September 2019 that was led by Square Peg Capital and also included Sierra Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Horizons Ventures. French regional TTO Erganeo has unveiled a new spinout, Evora Biosciences, to mature treatments for digestive fistulas, abnormal…

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