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Illumina Secures $40M for Accelerator Startups

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Illumina today announced that its startup accelerator has secured $40 million from Viking Global Investors to fund promising genomic firms.

Accelerator graduates that raise between $1 million and $5 million in new capital will receive additional dollar-for-dollar match funding from Illumina Accelerator Boost Capital.

"This capital commitment will be instrumental in driving value for our startups as they advance breakthrough applications in genomics," Amanda Cashin, head of Illumina Accelerator, said in a statement.

The Illumina Accelerator provides early-stage startups with a $100,000 seed investment, business guidance, access to Illumina's sequencing systems and reagents, and fully operational lab space in the San Francisco Bay Area for a six-month funding cycle. The program selected its inaugural class of three firms in October 2014, consisting of Encoded Genomics, EpiBiome, and Xcell Biosciences.

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