The BritChips Podcast: Kahu SiliconBio - Pivoting to a Patch

Anthony Miller speaks with Dr. James Flewellen, co-founder and CEO of Kahu SiliconBio, about the company’s £1.2 million SPRIN-D funding and its shift from environmental sensing toward continuous hormone monitoring for women’s health. The conversation explains the underlying microbial electronic interface, why the pivot is more of a natural extension than a reset, and what the team plans to deliver over the next year. *This podcast is also available on the BritChips YouTube channel and in audio form on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.* **Key topics** \* **James Flewellen explains Kahu SiliconBio’s core technology:**a microbial electronic interface that combines living molecular machinery with an integrated circuit chip to turn biological responses into quantitative electronic data. \* **Why microbes are useful as sensors:**they can detect trace molecular changes in aqueous environments because they have evolved for billions of years to sense their surroundings with extreme sensitivity. \* **The technology platform is broader than water monitoring:**James says the same sensing approach can work in biological fluids such as urine, saliva, blood plasma, and interstitial fluid. \* **The shift into women’s health was driven by opportunity and fit:**Kahu saw a SPRIN-D challenge for continuous hormone monitoring, and the application aligned with work they had already begun on estrogen sensing. \* **The funding process moved very quickly:**Kahu applied at the end of June, pitched in Leipzig a week later, and received confirmation shortly after, with the programme effectively already underway. \* **The team is scaling up:**Kahu currently has five people, plus advisors and technical partners, and is hiring two to three more R and D scientists. \* **The first deliverable is a benchtop prototype:**by the end of June next year, Kahu expects to produce a device that simulates the fluid flow of an eventual on-body monitor. \* **The longer-term goal is a smart patch for continuous monitoring:**James describes a postage-stamp-sized patch, similar in concept to continuous glucose monitors, that would sit on the skin and process signals wirelessly. \* **Initial use cases focus on IVF and fertility support:**James highlights how continuous hormone monitoring could reduce blood draws and clinic visits during multi-month fertility treatment journeys. \* **The platform may extend beyond one condition:**Kahu’s planned panel includes five hormones, including thyroid hormones, female sex hormones, and cortisol, with potential applications in other biomedical and performance contexts. **Timestamps (approx)** 01:12 - Kahu’s origin story and the water monitoring concept 02:04 - £1.2 million SPRIN-D funding for hormone monitoring 02:50 - How the microbial electronic interface works 04:42 - Turning biological signals into electronic readouts 05:50 - Two-part system: engineered biology plus microelectronics 08:18 - Why the company is moving into biological fluids and diagnostics 09:18 - Regulatory concerns around entering healthcare 10:17 - SPRIN-D’s challenge model and why Kahu was eligible 10:56 - Fast application, Leipzig pitch, and funding turnaround 12:51 - Competition for the programme and winning one of eight places 13:10 - Building the team and moving from fundraising to execution 14:34 - Why this is a natural extension rather than a major pivot 16:14 - One-year programme goals and the benchtop prototype 18:45 - The on-body smart patch concept 20:02 - Wireless data transmission to phones, clinicians, or cloud storage 21:08 - IVF as a practical early use case 23:16 - Why thyroid hormones and stress hormone monitoring matter too 24:04 - Measuring five hormones on one chip 26:13 - How Kahu could commercialise through clinics and standalone devices 27:52 - Using saliva or urine instead of blood draws 28:25 - Technical challenges in scaling from prototype to manufacturing 29:25 - No direct competitor using living microbes inside chips 31:02 - Closing thoughts and next steps This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anttheantidote.substack.com