Startup de cientistas da USP planeja laboratório automatizado na Amazônia: a história em inglês, no seu nível
A BioLinker, fundada por cientistas da USP, captou R$ 8,4 milhões para um laboratório automatizado em Manaus. Leia a história em inglês, no seu nível.
World, meet Brazil · Edição #1
Boas notícias de brasileiros fazendo história, em inglês e no seu nível.
03 NEGÓCIOS · USP → MANAUS
Escolha o seu nível:
Básico · A2 Frases curtas e palavras do dia a dia
A Brazilian startup plans a new lab in the Amazon
BioLinker is a Brazilian company. Scientists from the University of São Paulo started it in 2018.
Mona Oliveira is its founder and CEO, the person who leads the company.
The company raised 8.4 million reais for its work. It will use the money for a new lab in Manaus, in the Amazon region.
The lab will be automated. This means machines will do many of the tasks. They will help the company collect data to train artificial intelligence, or AI.
The company also plans to make DNA in the lab for scientific work. It wants to attract more investors from other countries.
Palavras para guardar
| founder | fundador(a) |
| to raise money / raised money | captar recursos / captou recursos |
| lab | laboratório |
| automated | automatizado |
| task | tarefa |
| data | dados |
| investor | investidor(a) |
Your turn
Imagine you start a company. Complete the sentence: "My company helps people ______."
Se você abrisse uma empresa, ela ajudaria as pessoas a fazer o quê?
Intermediário · B1/B2 Mais detalhes, como numa matéria de jornal
BioLinker raises R$8.4 million for an automated lab in the Amazon
BioLinker is a biotechnology startup founded in 2018 by scientists from the University of São Paulo. According to a report published by Startups on October 6, it has secured R$8.4 million in funding.
Most of the money, R$7.2 million, came from Axcell's fund. The rest came from FAPESP, the São Paulo Research Foundation, through a program that supports research in small businesses.
The funding will help the company set up an automated laboratory at the Centro de Bionegócios da Amazônia in Manaus. Machines will generate large amounts of data to train artificial intelligence models. The company also plans to produce DNA in the lab, increasing its capacity to make this material in Brazil.
Google had already invested in BioLinker in early 2025. Founder and CEO Mona Oliveira now hopes to attract another international investor to the current funding round. She also plans a larger round, known as Series A, within two years.
Palavras para guardar
| biotechnology | biotecnologia |
| to secure funding | obter recursos financeiros |
| fund | fundo |
| to set up | montar, estabelecer |
| large amounts of | grandes quantidades de |
| capacity | capacidade |
| funding round | rodada de captação de recursos |
Your turn
Imagine you are presenting a project to an investor. In three or four sentences, explain what it does, who it helps and how you would use the money.
Imagine que você está apresentando um projeto a um investidor. Em três ou quatro frases, explique o que ele faz, quem ele ajuda e como você usaria o dinheiro.
Avançado · C1 O texto completo, com expressões e contexto
From USP to Manaus: BioLinker links automation, AI and DNA synthesis
An automated laboratory in Manaus is central to the next stage of BioLinker, a biotechnology startup founded by University of São Paulo scientists in 2018. A Startups report published on October 6 describes R$8.4 million in new funding for the company.
The bulk of that sum, R$7.2 million, came from Axcell's fund. The remainder came through FAPESP's PIPE Phase 2 program, which supports research in small businesses. The funding brings together resources from an investment fund and a public research program.
The money is earmarked for a laboratory at the Centro de Bionegócios da Amazônia. Its automated systems are intended to generate data at scale for training artificial intelligence models. BioLinker also plans to expand its capacity to synthesize DNA domestically. According to founder and CEO Mona Oliveira, domestic commercial production of large DNA fragments remains a gap, despite some initiatives within academic institutions.
The company has already attracted investment from Google, which provided funding in early 2025. Oliveira is now seeking an additional international investor for the current round and plans to pursue a Series A round abroad within two years.
For a potential investor, the question is how these planned advances in automation and DNA synthesis would support the next stage of the business. Answering it clearly, to people from anywhere in the world, is now part of a founder's job.
Palavras para guardar
| the bulk of | a maior parte de |
| remainder | restante |
| earmarked for | destinado a |
| at scale | em escala |
| to synthesize | sintetizar |
| domestically | no próprio país |
| gap | lacuna |
| to pursue | buscar, empenhar-se em obter |
Your turn
Imagine presenting a project you care about to an investor, in English. Which part would be hardest to explain simply, and how would you do it?
Imagine apresentar em inglês, a um investidor, um projeto que importa para você. Que parte seria mais difícil de explicar de forma simples, e como faria?
Fontes
- Startups, Gabriela Del Carmen: BioLinker capta R$ 8,4 mi para sintetizar DNA e treinar IA na Amazônia (06/10/2026)
- LatamList (leitura extra em inglês): BioLinker raises $1.7M to build automated biotech lab in the Amazon (06/10/2026)
Os planos da empresa e os comentários de Mona Oliveira foram adaptados em discurso indireto a partir da reportagem do Startups. A referência à lacuna na produção nacional trata de produção comercial de grandes fragmentos de DNA.
Do ler ao falar
Quer conversar sobre isso em inglês, e não só ler?
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