SAN DIEGO, CA (July 10, 2024) – Element Biosciences, Inc., developer of pioneering technologies to empower science, today announced over $277 million in Series D investment to support its growing global customer base with disruptive DNA sequencing and multi-omics technologies for years to come. The oversubscribed round was led by Wellington Management with participation from new and existing investors, including Samsung Electronics, Fidelity, Foresite Capital, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc, and Venrock, among others. This brings Element’s cumulative raise to over $680 million.
“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,” said Joshua Sommerfeld, healthcare sector lead at Wellington Management Private Investing. “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.”
“Molly and the team at Element are cementing their position in a highly competitive environment,” said Mr. Jong-Hee (JH) Han, Vice Chairman and CEO at Samsung Electronics. “Their products set a new industry standard and are foundational to the next wave of biological innovation that will help researchers and businesses around the globe deliver on the promises of precision medicine and artificial intelligence. We are incredibly excited about Element’s vision to make precision medicine affordable and are impressed with the team they built together.”
This funding will further support the commercialization of AVITI™, Element’s benchtop DNA sequencer, and bolster the upcoming launch of AVITI24™, the first instrument to combine state-of-the-art sequencing and cyto-profiling (mapping cell characteristics) into a single integrated biology platform. AVITI24 revolutionizes research by enabling simultaneous examination of DNA, RNA, proteins, phosphoproteins, and cell structure within single cells – empowering researchers to gain unparalleled insights into biological systems with unprecedented ease.
“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 Bryan Roberts, Partner at Venrock and an early investor in Element, alongside Jim Tananbaum at Foresite Capital.
“We cofounded Element based on a simple belief that cutting-edge science should be available to the entire research community. Element has taken the first step to democratize sequencing and will continue helping the community uncover the secrets of biology with high-quality, flexible, rapidly iterative, and affordable tools that are accessible to more scientists.” said Molly He Ph.D., CEO, Element Biosciences. “Element has grown an increasingly large, enthusiastic, and loyal customer base thanks to our innovative products and a collaborative, tenacious team that has remained committed to Element’s mission. An oversubscribed round against the backdrop of a challenging macroeconomic environment is a testament to our mission. With the support of our new and existing investors, Element is solidifying its future as the next name-brand biological tools company – a true unicorn.”
In the last 12 months, Element’s install base of AVITI has grown from approximately 40 units to more than 190. Element’s customers span a diverse set of industries including academia, biotech, cancer research, and agricultural science in more than 25 countries, and its technologies are used by pioneering organizations like Cerba Research, Cornell University, Garvan Institute, Revvity, Stowers Institute, VIB, and others.
The University of Minnesota Genomics Center (UMGC), which installed its first AVITI in mid 2023, has purchased four additional AVITIs over the past year. Dr. Kenny Beckman, Director of the UMGC, has been pleased with its performance. “The AVITI is simple to operate, easy to integrate from a data perspective, and the quality of the output is higher than with our legacy NGS instruments,” said Dr. Beckman. “The AVITI’s scale is a great fit for our clients, most of whom need both fast turnaround and low cost.”
“Precision medicine's vast potential is being unlocked by cutting-edge genomic and multiomic technologies. Element's groundbreaking sequencing is driving significant advancements in precision diagnostics research across critical disease areas,” said Thomas P. Slavin, Chief Scientific Officer at HALO Precision Diagnostics, which installed four AVITI sequencers over alternative high-throughput offerings from an NGS competitor in 2023.
Reflecting on Element’s journey, Molly added, “We simply wouldn’t have made it to this remarkable stage without the initial pioneers and risk-takers who formed our earliest customer base. Element is especially grateful for their support.”
About Element Biosciences, Inc.
Element Biosciences is a pioneering life science company democratizing access to advanced biological tools, driving impactful discoveries to benefit humanity. We are focused on developing disruptive DNA sequencing and multi-omics technology for research markets. Through innovating every fundamental element of a biological assay system, Element empowers customers with affordable, high-quality data and an improved user experience, which in turn will accelerate scientific discoveries. To learn more about Element, please visit www.elementbiosciences.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Facebook.
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