Avant becomes Avaí Bio: inside its move from AI to cell therapies
Avant Technologies has changed both its name and the kind of problem it wants to solve. Now called Avaí Bio, the company is developing cell-based approaches to diabetes and age-related disorders. Its central idea is to place living, therapeutic cells inside protective capsules that let useful substances pass out while helping shield the cells within.
The appeal is easy to understand: could an implanted population of cells keep producing a needed protein, instead of requiring repeated replacement from outside the body? Turning that idea into a dependable treatment is the difficult part. Avaí’s latest announcements concern research collaborations and cell manufacturing, rather than evidence that its proposed therapies already work in patients.
From an AI strategy to a biotechnology business
The public company’s earlier identity included Trend Innovations Holding. Under the Avant Technologies name, its healthcare ambitions included artificial intelligence: in June 2025, it described work with Ainnova on retinal imaging and Vision AI, alongside plans to expand into diabetes treatment.
That expansion helps explain the later change of identity. On 11 February 2026, Avant announced that its name had become Avaí Bio, with AVAI remaining its stock symbol. The company presented the move as a shift toward cellular medicine, organised around two programmes: Insulinova for diabetes and Klothonova for α-Klotho research.
Those programmes depend on partnerships, licensing and specialised cell-processing technology. Avaí’s current proposition is therefore quite different from selling a general-purpose AI platform: it needs to develop biological products whose production, safety and therapeutic effects can be demonstrated.
Why the protective capsule matters
Austrianova’s Cell-in-a-Box technology is central to the approach. The capsule is intended to contain living cells while allowing small molecules to move through its porous structure. Nutrients and oxygen must reach the cells; the substances the cells produce must be able to leave.
For diabetes, the intended output is insulin. For the Klotho programme, it is the α-Klotho protein. The shared engineering problem is keeping a useful population of cells alive and functioning inside a protective enclosure. The biological requirements of the two programmes remain different, however: progress with one cell line does not establish the effectiveness of the other.
Insulinova’s diabetes research moves to Milan
In August 2026, Avaí and Austrianova announced a research collaboration between their Insulinova venture and Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital. The work combines stem-cell-derived, insulin-producing beta cells with Cell-in-a-Box encapsulation.
The team led by Professor Lorenzo Piemonti and Dr Valeria Sordi is evaluating whether encapsulation can support cell survival, insulin-producing function and protection from the immune system. Reducing or avoiding the need for immunosuppressive drugs is a goal of the research, not an established result of the agreement.
Insulinova is funding the work, including equipment and materials, while San Raffaele contributes research staff, facilities and cell-science expertise. That gives the programme a defined experimental route. It does not, by itself, establish a treatment schedule, regulatory clearance or a date when patients could receive the proposed therapy.
Klothonova reaches a manufacturing milestone
The second programme uses a cell line intended to produce α-Klotho, a protein being investigated in connection with ageing and age-related disease. Klothonova brings Avaí together with an Austrianova affiliate; the cell line was licensed from Klothea Bio.
On 15 September 2026, the partners reported that their master cell bank had completed adventitious-agent and viral testing, and that a working cell bank had been established. According to the company’s announcement, testing for more than 30 viruses, along with other potential contaminants, returned negative results.
A master cell bank provides a controlled starting stock for further production. A working bank supplies cells for subsequent development and manufacturing activity. Establishing those banks is a practical step toward producing consistent material; it is not evidence that the eventual therapy slows human ageing or has received FDA approval.
The next challenge is biological performance
Avaí’s story now turns on what its encapsulated cells can do under testing. The diabetes collaboration must examine whether the cells remain viable and functional. The Klotho programme must move beyond a qualified cell supply toward evidence supporting its intended medical use.
The February rebrand gave those ambitions a new name. The research and manufacturing milestones give them more substance. Whether they become useful treatments will depend on results that a name change, a partnership or a clean cell bank cannot supply on its own.
