Theranautilus Bags Funding To Make Nanorobots For Dental Care

Deeptech startup Theranautilus has raised $1.2 Mn in its seed funding round led by pi Ventures, with participation from Golden Sparrow Ventures and angel investors, including Tracxn founder and CEO Abhishek Goyal and Groww founder and CEO Lalit Keshre.

The Bengaluru-based startup, founded in 2020, develops magnetically-controlled nanorobots that can navigate through dental tissues to deliver treatments. These nanorobots, made of biocompatible materials, including food-grade glass and tiny amounts of iron, can be precisely controlled to reach damaged areas within teeth and form bone-like structures to treat conditions like dental hypersensitivity.

Theranautilus said it will use the fresh capital to set up an ISO-certified manufacturing facility, advance its clinical development, and prepare for human trials planned for 2025. The funding will also support its efforts to scale up production from laboratory to commercial levels and develop its go-to-market strategy.

“We manipulate these tiny nanoscale objects, and we give them magnetic properties. Using these magnetic fields, we are able to move these things in a very controllable manner inside the organ,” said professor Ambarish Ghosh, cofounder of Theranautilus.

Ghosh, along with other cofounders Debayan Dasgupta and Dr. Peddi Shanmukh Srinivas, worked on developing the technology for over 15 years at IISc. 

The startup claims that its technology has shown promising results in animal trials. After conducting the human trials in 2025, it aims to enter the market by 2026.

The technology represents a significant departure from traditional treatments for dental hypersensitivity, which typically require continuous use of specialised toothpaste. “In our case, we just need 10 minutes of use time and that’s it. The problem has been solved for a long period of time,” Srinivas said. 

Theranautilus plans to launch an over-the-counter device for moderate to mild cases that patients can use at home, and a professional version for dental clinics for severe cases. The treatment is expected to be priced under INR 2,500 per unit.

Beyond dental applications, Theranautilus plans to explore using its nanorobotics platform for cancer therapy and other medical conditions. “This is a platform technology. And this is the first big problem we are solving,” added Ghosh.

The startup has secured five patents related to its hypersensitivity treatment technology.  

The funding comes at a time when nanotech innovation in dental care is gaining investor attention. In February this year, IIT-Bombay incubated startup Piscium raised INR 6 Cr in Series A funding led by Unicorn India Ventures for its nano diamond dental burs. 

Earlier this week, Inc42 exclusively reported that oral care startup Perfora raised INR 39.8 Cr (about $4.7 Mn) in a funding round led by existing investor RPSG Capital Ventures

According to an Insights10 report, India’s dental care market was valued at $653 Mn in 2022 and is projected to reach a size of $1.4 Bn by 2030, clocking a CAGR of 9.40%.