Cellares
Cellares is a cell therapy manufacturing company that has raised $682M to automate production of living drugs. It employs 333 people and counts major pharma firms like Bristol-Myers Squibb among its investors.
The growth story
Cellares grew from 49 to 333 employees between 2021 and 2026, raising $682M along the way, most recently a Series D in January 2026.
About
Cellares builds automated systems for manufacturing cell therapies, serving drug developers who need scalable production of personalized treatments. Its Cell Shuttle and Cell Q platforms aim to improve success rates and lower costs compared to manual methods.
The company has raised $682M through Series D, with backing from pharmaceutical and biotech investors. Its workforce draws heavily from established drugmakers, suggesting a focus on industrializing cell therapy production at scale.
Founders and leadership
Engineering makes up 22% of the workforce, reflecting the technical demands of automating biomanufacturing. The company has a median tenure of 2 years, typical for a high-growth biotech startup.
The Cellares org chart
Fabian Gerlinghaus (Co-Founder & CEO) leads 60 mapped leaders with 6 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
- RDEVP, Global Corporate Technology at Cellares | CIO Function | IT · Data · AI · CybersecurityExecutive
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Engineering 73 (+9% YoY), Operations 61 (+61% YoY), Research 46 (+5% YoY), Quality Assurance 42 (+35% YoY), Information Technology 35 (+13% YoY), Business Development 19 (+19% YoY).
Talent flow
Nearly 1 in 5 employees previously worked at Bristol Myers Squibb, with Genentech and Novartis also major talent sources. Alumni frequently move to adjacent biotech firms like 10x Genomics and Intuitive.
Most common previous employers of Cellares staff: Bristol Myers Squibb (19), Genentech (17), Novartis (15), Synthego (11), Legend Biotech (10), Thermo Fisher Scientific (10). Former Cellares employees most often moved to Intuitive (3), 10x Genomics (3), Lila Sciences (2), Lam Research (2), AGC Biologics (1), HireTalent - Staffing & Recruiting Firm (1).
Alumni worth knowing
Web traffic
Traffic mix: 56% direct, 20% search, 2% social, 0% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at Cellares: Microsoft Office (110), Microsoft Excel (97), Project Management (91), Leadership (89), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) (84), Research Skills (83), Microsoft Word (74), Microsoft PowerPoint (74).
Where the team actually sits
Cellares people are concentrated in California, United States (113), San Francisco Bay Area (43), New Jersey, United States (23), New York City Metropolitan Area (17).
Search footprint
Cellares attracts about 259 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $1K a month if bought through ads. It gained 41 ranking keywords and lost 41 in the last period.
What employees say
- Compensation
- 4.30 / 5
- Career opportunities
- 4.30 / 5
- Senior management
- 4.30 / 5
- Work-life balance
- 4.10 / 5
Frequently asked
Cellares has 333 employees as of September 2026.
Cellares has raised $682M in total, most recently a Series D round in January 2026.
Cellares was founded in 2019 by Fabian Gerlinghaus, Omar Kurdi.
Fabian Gerlinghaus (Co-Founder & CEO) sits at the top of Cellares's reporting structure, with 6 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current Cellares staff are Bristol Myers Squibb (19 people), Genentech (17 people), Novartis (15 people).
Former Cellares employees most often move to Intuitive (3), 10x Genomics (3), Lila Sciences (2).
Cellares attracts about 259 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $1K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Cellares staff are Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, Project Management, Leadership, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
Cellares staff are concentrated in California, United States (113), San Francisco Bay Area (43), New Jersey, United States (23).
Cellares has about 73 people in Engineering, up 9% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Cellares has about 61 people in Operations, up 61% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 246 current and 122 former Cellares profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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