A $100 million Series C fundraising round was secured by Karius, Inc., a pioneer in infectious disease genomic diagnostics situated in Redwood City, California.
Ventures
- Khosla Ventures
- 5AM Ventures
- Gilde Healthcare
- Softbank Vision Fund 2
- General Catalyst
- HBM Healthcare Investments
- Blue Water Life Sciences
- Innovation Endeavors
- Waycross Ventures
- Seventure Partners
Use of Funds
The company plans to use the money to support research into the wider health implications of its microbial cell-free DNA technology beyond infectious diseases, as well as to expand its reach beyond the 400 U.S. hospitals currently using the Karius Test®, an infectious disease diagnostic test that uses genomic analysis and artificial intelligence to detect over 1,000 pathogens from a single blood sample. The company also plans to address the demand from healthcare providers to expand access to the Karius Test beyond the hospital setting.
Under the direction of CEO Alec Ford, Karius is a pioneer in the field of liquid biopsy for infectious illnesses, using artificial intelligence (AI), sequencing, and metagenomics to improve the accuracy and speed of pathogen detection.
Utilized at more than 400 healthcare facilities nationwide, including more than 40 children’s hospitals and 90 transplant centers, the Karius Test® detects over 1,000 pathogens, including bacteria, fungus, viruses, and parasites, from a single blood draw usually within a day of sample receipt.
Along with the recent appointments of Elizabeth O’Farrell, a former executive at Eli Lilly, and Dr. Norman Sharpless, M.D., the head of the National Cancer Institute, Karius recently announced the appointment of three additional board members:
- Alex Morgan, Ph.D., M.D., Khosla Ventures partner
- Gilde Healthcare’s General Partner, Joep Muijrers, Ph.D.
- Andrew Booth, CFO of AbCellera Biologics and venture advisor to 5AM Ventures
