The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Another Big Week For Biotech As Tome Raises $213M

Malek KhazenDecember 16, 2023NewsComments are off for this post

1. Tome Biosciences, $213M, biotech: A big biotech raise hit high on the list this week. Watertown, Massachusetts-based Tome Biosciences emerged from stealth with a $213 million combination Series A and B funding from investors that include the likes of Andreessen Horowitz Bio + Health and Arch Venture Partners. The startup’s “molecular surgery” technology, based on research licensed from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is designed to allow the insertion of varying sizes of genetic material in the genome without damaging DNA. The company plans to use the tech to develop gene therapies for monogenic liver diseases and cell therapies for autoimmune diseases.

2. Bicara Therapeutics, $165M, biotech: If Bicara Therapeutics looks familiar, it’s because this isn’t its first time on this list. Boston-based Bicara Therapeutics raised a $108 million Series B co-led by Red Tree Venture Capital and RA Capital Management in March. This week, it is back with a $165 million Series C co-led by Braidwell and TPG — which is investing through its TPG Life Sciences Innovations, and The Rise Fund. The company is developing biologics to fight tumors and is already in clinical trials for a head and neck cancer treatment. Founded in 2020, the company has raised $313 million, per Crunchbase.

3. True Anomaly, $100M, space: Centennial, Colorado-based True Anomaly, which develops hardware and software systems to help space security and readiness, raised $100 million in a round led by Riot Ventures this week. The company’s valuation was not disclosed, but Bloomberg reported it was not $1 billion. The startup helps the government and commercial customers keep an eye on threats to assets they have in space, such as satellites. The company’s Jackal autonomous orbital vehicles, which can detect objects in space, are slated to launch aboard SpaceX‘s Transporter-10 mission next year. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $158 million to date.

4. Totus Medicines, $66M, biotech: As one can tell, biotech really went big this week. Our third such startup already on the list, Emeryville, California-based Totus Medicines, closed a $66 million Series B financing led by DCVC Bio. The firm specializes in small molecule drug discovery and development using covalent libraries and AI tools. Founded in 2020, the company has raised $106 million, per Crunchbase.

5. Essential AI, $57M, artificial intelligence: Essential AI’s round this week is a good example of what many AI startups did all this year — raise big money from corporates. The San Francisco-based startup announced it had $56.5 million in new funding led by March Capital, but other investors also were a who’s who of AI big tech — Advanced Micro Devices, Google, Nvidia and others. The interest seems warranted, as the company is attempting to use AI to automate monotonous corporate tasks — which could be a big market. The company is calling its technology the “Enterprise Brain.” Founded this year, the company already has raised more than $100 million, per Crunchbase data.

6. Deep Apple Therapeutics, $52M, biotech: New York-based biotech firm Deep Apple Therapeutics raised a $52 million Series A from life sciences venture capital firm Apple Tree Partners, which created and incubated the startup. Deep Apple is developing novel small molecule therapeutics through screening of AI-generated virtual libraries. This is the company’s first round of financing, per Crunchbase.

7.(tied) Calyxo, $50M, medical device: Pleasanton, California-based medical device startup Calyxo closed a $50 million Series D led by Avidity Partners. Founded in 2016, the company has raised more than $97 million, per Crunchbase.

7.(tied) Parse Biosciences, $50M, biotech: Seattle-based Parse Biosciences, a developer of scalable single-cell sequencing solutions, raised a $50 million Series C as a mix of equity and debt. No lead investor was announced for the equity portion. Horizon Technology Finance provided the debt facility. Founded in 2018, the company has raised $100 million, per Crunchbase.

7.(tied) Twin Health, $50M, biotech: Mountain View, California-based Twin Health locked up a $50 million round led by Temasek. The company uses a body digital twin to reverse or prevent chronic metabolic diseases. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $250 million, per Crunchbase.

10. StayNtouch, $48M, software: New York-based Stayntouch, a developer of cloud hotel property management software, secured a $48 million investment led by Sixth Street Growth. Founded in 2012, the company has raised more than $60 million, per Crunchbase.

Big global deals The largest raise of the week was a really big one from across the Pacific.

Singapore-based Lazada Group, an online shopping site, raised a $634 million corporate round from Alibaba.

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Dec. 9 to Dec. 15. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.