Deliveroo Backer Joins $4M Seed Round for Tooth Enamel Startup Eterna

London-based biomaterials startup Eterna has successfully raised £3 million ($4 million) in seed funding to advance its groundbreaking tooth enamel regeneration technology. The recent investment round was co-led by Hoxton Ventures, the venture capital firm with a track record of backing tech pioneers such as Deliveroo and Darktrace, alongside The Venture Collective.

Originating from King's College London as a spinout in 2024, Eterna is developing a state-of-the-art regenerative platform. Their proprietary material, derived from keratin found in human hair and sheep's wool, has the unique ability to actively regenerate damaged human tooth enamel, presenting a permanent solution to the temporary strengthening provided by fluoride treatments.

Co-founder Sherif Elsharkawy expressed optimism that the new capital will propel the company from lab proof of concept to commercialization. Eterna aims to enter the market as early as year-end, targeting the $43 billion global oral care industry. With investors increasingly backing deep-tech startups aimed at repairing biological damage, Hussein Kanji, a partner at Hoxton Ventures, emphasized Eterna's alignment with their investment philosophy.

Kanji highlighted Eterna's powerful, defensible science and efficient path to market, and hinted at potential future applications in broader areas of tissue and bone regeneration.