NEW YORK – Infectious disease firm Karius announced Thursday that it has raised $100 million in a Series C financing round with new and existing investors.
The funding round was co-led by Khosla Ventures and new investors 5AM Ventures and Gilde Healthcare, Karius said in a statement. Other investors include new investor Seventure Partners and existing investors Softbank Vision Fund 2, General Catalyst, HBM Healthcare Investments, Blue Water Life Sciences, Innovation Endeavors, and Waycross Ventures, among others.
The funding will be used to broaden the reach of the company's Karius Test for infectious diseases that uses genomic analysis and artificial intelligence to detect over 1,000 pathogens from a blood sample. The investment will allow the Redwood City, California-based firm to expand access to the test beyond the hospital setting, it noted.
The funding will also be used to "support research into the broader health implications of Karius' microbial cell-free DNA technology beyond infectious diseases," the company added.
The investment "will significantly enhance our capacity to deliver rapid diagnostic testing to more patients, where faster treatment saves more lives and significant healthcare resources," Karius CEO Alec Ford said in a statement.
The firm also announced that three new members would join its board of directors: Alex Morgan, partner at Khosla Ventures, Joep Muijrers, general partner at Gilde Healthcare, and Andrew Booth, venture adviser to 5AM Ventures and CFO of AbCellera Biologics.
In 2020, Karius raised $165 million in a series B financing round.