Lotte Holdings, the Japan-based holding company for South Korea’s Lotte Group, whose businesses span food, retail and chemicals, has made a strategic investment in a California biotechnology startup, underscoring how U.S.-based life sciences platforms are drawing capital from global industrial groups seeking early access to advanced research technologies.
The investment was led by Lotte Holdings’ healthcare and biopharmaceutical corporate venture capital unit in Japan, which participated in a funding round for OmicInsight Corporation, a Santa Clara–based company specializing in artificial intelligence–driven spatial omics analysis. The round also included a healthcare-focused private equity firm and existing investor Adelphi Ventures. Financial terms were not disclosed.
OmicInsight develops ultra-high-sensitivity platforms capable of analyzing DNA, RNA and other multi-omics data at subcellular resolution. By combining spatial imaging with machine-learning models, the company aims to give drug developers more precise insight into how diseases emerge and progress at the cellular level. Such tools are increasingly viewed as critical to improving the efficiency of drug discovery and reducing costly late-stage failures. The company said the new capital would be used to further develop its AI-based diagnostic technologies and expand large-scale multi-omics analysis capacity.
The deal reflects growing momentum behind spatial omics, a field that has emerged as one of the fastest-growing areas within precision medicine. As pharmaceutical companies confront rising development costs and pressure to improve success rates, technologies that allow more granular biological analysis have become a focal point for both venture investors and strategic backers.
Lotte’s participation highlights a broader shift among manufacturing-oriented conglomerates toward earlier stages of the biotechnology value chain. While the group has historically focused on consumer-facing businesses and chemicals, it has been building a biotechnology footprint in recent years, including contract development and manufacturing operations through Lotte Biologics. The OmicInsight investment places Lotte closer to the analytical and discovery layers of drug development.
The transaction was overseen by Shin Yoo-yeol, a board member of Lotte Holdings in Japan and chief executive of Lotte Biologics. His involvement signals that the group views the investment not simply as a financial stake, but as part of a longer-term strategy to connect advanced research technologies with downstream manufacturing and commercialization capabilities.
Baek Jun, managing partner of Lotte Holdings’ healthcare and biopharma venture unit, said OmicInsight’s focus on spatial omics imaging, translational research and AI platforms could have broad implications for pharmaceutical development as the industry shifts toward more data-intensive approaches.
Since launching its healthcare and biopharmaceutical venture arm in 2024, Lotte has expanded its investment portfolio across medical devices, drug discovery and life sciences tools. Previous investments include Physiologas Technologies and Cartography Biosciences, a U.S. company applying machine learning to cancer drug development. The OmicInsight deal extends that strategy into precision-medicine platforms.
The investment suggests that competition to secure footholds in next-generation biomedical technologies is increasingly playing out within the U.S. innovation ecosystem, as global industrial groups seek to align early-stage science with long-term manufacturing and commercialization capabilities. Lotte’s healthcare and biopharmaceutical venture arm, established in August 2024 with backing from chairman Shin Dong-bin, reflects that broader recalibration.
