En Carta Diagnostics Raises $5.3M for At-Home Lyme, STI Tests

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-10

French startup En Carta Diagnostics just closed a $5.3 million funding round to bring reliable molecular testing into your home. No lab visits, no waiting days for results. Think of it as a pregnancy test, but for Lyme disease or STIs. The company's goal? Make high-precision diagnostics as simple as a rapid test. ### The Funding Breakdown The round combines equity and non-dilutive financing. Here's the breakdown: - **$3.2 million** in equity from Blue Forest Ventures, Ring Capital, and existing investors like CentraleSupelec Venture and 50 Partners Health. - **$2.1 million** in non-dilutive funding from Bpifrance and other partners. - This follows a $1.6 million pre-Seed round in May 2024. "This first closing brings us closer to our mission of transforming access to testing," said Guillaume Horreard, co-founder and CEO. "By enabling patients to perform reliable molecular tests wherever they are, we can support earlier diagnosis and relieve pressure on healthcare systems." ### What En Carta Actually Builds Founded in 2022 by Horreard and Margot Karlikow, En Carta is developing a new generation of home diagnostics. Their platform combines the accuracy of a lab PCR test with the ease of a rapid test. It uses aptamers—molecules that bind to specific targets—to detect genetic material from pathogens. The whole process takes about 30 minutes. The company is starting with two big problems: Lyme disease and STIs. Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the Northern Hemisphere, with about 1.2 million cases each year. Cases are rising 22.5% annually, according to the CDC. Current tests are often unreliable early on, leading to missed diagnoses. En Carta's test aims to catch it early, when treatment is most effective. ### Why This Matters for the US Market En Carta already has a foot in the US. In January 2026, the FDA granted its Lyme test Breakthrough Device Designation, which speeds up the regulatory path. The company is running clinical trials in Boston and in Bialystok, Poland. This designation is a big deal—it signals the FDA sees potential for a real impact on public health. "From FDA Breakthrough Designation to a $13.8 million commercial partnership, and now $5.3 million in financing, En Carta is delivering," Horreard said. "Our next milestone is getting our two products into the hands of patients and clinicians across Europe and the US." ### A Major Commercial Deal En Carta also signed a $13.8 million co-development and commercialization agreement with AAZ, a French leader in self-tests. The deal covers new rapid molecular tests for chlamydia and gonorrhea in Europe, with committed volumes of several million units over five years. That's a strong vote of confidence from an industry player. ### What's Next With this capital, En Carta plans to push for regulatory certification in both Europe and the US. The company's technology platform can be adapted for many other diseases—veterinary, genetic, or infectious. For now, the focus is on Lyme disease and STI screening, but the potential is huge. If you're following EU startup news, this is one to watch. En Carta isn't just another diagnostics company—it's tackling a real gap in healthcare with a product that could change how we think about testing.