Looking to be more upstart than startup, Element Biosciences has raised more than $277 million in new venture capital funding to help it take on the DNA sequencing giant located right down the road from its home in San Diego.
The proceeds will help fund the current commercialization of its Aviti benchtop genomic analyzer as well as the upcoming launch of its next-generation Aviti24 system, which also incorporates cell profiling and multi-omic capabilities.
The Fierce 15 winner’s series D haul is also a near-repeat of Element’s 2021 series C round, which topped out at $276 million. The latest financing was led by Wellington Management with additional backing from Samsung Electronics, Fidelity, Foresite Capital, T. Rowe Price Associates, Venrock and others.
“After years of watching Element’s impressive progress from the sidelines, we are excited to support the company’s next chapter of growth and development,” Wellington’s private healthcare sector lead, Joshua Sommerfeld, said in a statement. “Their platform combines quality, cost, and flexibility advantages that disrupt the incumbent price curve. By bringing end-to-end integrated multi-omic workflows onto a single system, Element has potential to accelerate biological discovery.”
The funding round brings Element’s lifetime total to over $680 million. And, according to the company, its international base of installed Aviti machines has accelerated from about 40 to more than 190 in the past 12 months across users in academia, biotech, cancer research and agriculture.
But the company still has a ways to go to make a dent in the nearly 25,000 DNA sequencers placed worldwide by Illumina, which commands a market share in the vicinity of 75%.
“After a decade of an 800-pound gorilla dominating the ecosystem, it has been a privilege to help the exceptional Element team deliver customer-centric products that advance the quality, affordability and democratization of genomic analysis,” said Venrock Partner Bryan Roberts.
Element also reported earlier this year that it made $25 million in revenue during 2023, though, as a private company, it is not obligated to publish its financials.
More recently, late last month Element expanded its executive leadership with the additions of Amirali Kia, Ph.D., as vice president of artificial intelligence and Tina Tian, Ph.D., as vice president of portfolio management. Ali previously held AI VP roles at Deepcell and Harbinger Health, while Tian served as head of pharma services at Roche Diagnostics.
“We cofounded Element based on a simple belief that cutting-edge science should be available to the entire research community,” said CEO Molly He, Ph.D., who was previously Illumina’s senior director of scientific research and head of protein sciences at Pacific Biosciences. “An oversubscribed round against the backdrop of a challenging macroeconomic environment is a testament to our mission.”