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- Cellares
Cellares Funding, Investors & Competitors
Cellares has raised $612M across 4 funding rounds, most recently a $257M Series D in January 2026.
Last Cellares funding round
$257M
Series D · Jan 2026
Cumulative funding Cellares raised
$612M
across 4 funding rounds
Key investors in Cellares
Eclipse Ventures
8VC
Decheng Capital
DFJ Growth
Willett Advisors LLC
T. Rowe Price
Baillie Gifford
EDBI
About Cellares
Cellares is a South San Francisco-headquartered cell therapy manufacturing platform provider. The company offers the Cell Shuttle, a robotic system producing 50 patient doses simultaneously for CAR-T and stem cells. Cellares raised $180 million in 2022 and partners with Takeda. Founded in 2019, its facilities support GMP production.
Founded
2019
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Product sales
Cellares Funding History
Cellares has raised a total of $612M across 4 funding rounds.
Cellares' first fundraising round was a $18M Series A in October 2020. The most recent completed round was a $257M Series D in January 2026.
Cellares funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | Series D | Eclipse Ventures (lead); Baillie Gifford; Willett Advisors LLC; Decheng Capital; Duquesne Family Office; T. Rowe Price; DFJ Growth; Intuitive Ventures; EDBI; Gates Frontier Fund | $257M | Cellares, the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO), raised $257 million in an oversubscribed Series D funding round on January 28, 2026, co-led by investment funds managed by BlackRock and Eclipse Ventures. New investors included T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Baillie Gifford, Duquesne Family Office, Intuitive Ventures, EDBI, and Gates Frontier, with participation from existing backers DC Global Ventures, DFJ Growth, and Willett Advisors. This brought the company's total capital raised to $612 million, following prior rounds of $18 million Series A in 2019, $82 million Series B in 2021, and $255 million Series C in 2023. The funding will support the global commercial launch of Cellares' automated Cell Shuttle and Cell Q platforms, enabling end-to-end manufacturing of cell therapies. It finances expansion of Smart Factories in the US (South San Francisco and Bridgewater, New Jersey), Europe (Leiden, Netherlands), and Japan (Kashiwa City), with clinical manufacturing starting in the first half of 2026 and commercial-scale production in 2027. The company entered a $380 million global manufacturing agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb, reserving capacity across the US, Europe, and Japan, and received FDA Advanced Manufacturing Technology designation for the Cell Shuttle. Cellares aims to industrialize cell therapy production to address manufacturing bottlenecks, supporting partners like Cabaletta Bio, City of Hope, and Autolus Therapeutics. CEO Fabian Gerlinghaus emphasized building high-tech infrastructure for global scale, with FDA validation and commercial demand positioning the company for an IPO in Q4 2027. BlackRock's Andrew Farris highlighted Cellares as a category-defining platform in a market projected to reach tens of billions annually. |
| Aug 2023 | Series C | Koch Disruptive Technologies (lead); Willett Advisors LLC; Eclipse Ventures; 8VC; Decheng Capital; DFJ Growth; Bristol-Myers Squibb | $255M | Cellares develops automated cell therapy manufacturing platforms including the Cell Shuttle for production and Cell Q for quality control, aiming to reduce costs by up to 50%, increase throughput 10-fold, and minimize facility footprint and labor by 90% compared to traditional methods. The company operates as an Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) with cGMP-compliant facilities in San Francisco and Bridgewater, targeting 150,000 patient doses annually across its network with far fewer employees than conventional setups. It has secured a $380 million capacity reservation and supply agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb for CAR-T therapies, plus deals with five of the top eight pharma companies in cell therapy, Cabaletta Bio, Lyell, Kite (Gilead), and City of Hope. Previous funding includes $18M Series A (2019), $82M Series B (2021), and $255M Series C (2023) led by investors like Koch Disruptive Technologies, bringing total capital to $612M before the January 2026 $257M Series D co-led by BlackRock and Eclipse with participation from T. Rowe Price, Baillie Gifford, Duquesne Family Office, Intuitive Ventures, EDBI, Gates Frontier, and existing backers including 8VC, Bristol Myers Squibb, Decheng Capital, DFJ Growth, Eclipse Ventures, and Willett Advisors. The Series D funds scaling of smart factories globally, with clinical manufacturing planned for H1 2026 and commercial-scale in 2027. The Cell Shuttle holds FDA Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) designation for expedited regulatory review. Cellares reports capacity for over 41,000 patient doses per year currently, with each smart factory capable of up to 75,000 doses depending on process duration, contrasting the industry's 10,000 doses in the prior year. The company positions itself to address industrial scaling barriers in cell therapy, with plans for a public listing in Q4 2027. Recent milestones include European expansion, FDA IND clearance for Cabaletta Bio, partnerships for solid tumor CAR-T with City of Hope, and evaluation by Autolus Therapeutics. |
| May 2021 | Series B | Decheng Capital (lead); Eclipse Ventures (lead); Skyviews Life Science; 8VC | $82M | Cellares Corporation is a life sciences technology company developing automated cell therapy manufacturing solutions, including the Cell Shuttle platform for end-to-end, closed-system production and Cell Q for quality control, aiming to reduce costs, increase throughput, and minimize facility and labor needs compared to traditional methods. The company operates as the world's first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) with facilities like the one in Bridgewater, New Jersey, targeting capacity for tens of thousands of patient doses annually. On May 5, 2021, Cellares raised $82 million in its Series B funding round, led by Decheng Capital and Eclipse Ventures, with participation from 8VC and Skyviews Life Science, bringing total funding at the time to $100 million following an $18 million Series A in 2019. The Series B financing supported Cellares' efforts to address key bottlenecks in cell therapy manufacturing scalability. Subsequent rounds included a $255 million Series C in 2023 to build its commercial-scale Smart Factory in Bridgewater, expected to create 350 jobs, and a $257 million Series D in January 2026 co-led by BlackRock and Eclipse Ventures, raising total capital to $612 million. The Series D valued the company at a post-money valuation of $1.37 billion. Cellares has secured major partnerships, including a capacity reservation agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb valued at up to $380 million across the US, Europe, and Japan, and deals with five of the top eight pharma companies in cell therapy, plus Cabaletta Bio and Lyell. The Bridgewater facility holds a drug manufacturing license and is cGMP-compliant, with the Cell Shuttle receiving FDA Advanced Manufacturing Technology designation. The company plans clinical manufacturing support in early 2026 and commercial-scale production in 2027, positioning it to meet global patient demand in a market projected to reach tens of billions annually. |
| Oct 2020 | Series A | Eclipse Ventures (lead); 8VC; EcoR1 Capital | $18M | Cellares is an Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) founded in 2019 that develops automated platforms for cell therapy manufacturing. The company's proprietary Cell Shuttle platform enables end-to-end automation of cell therapy production, including CAR-T therapies, and allows transfer from preclinical to clinical and commercial environments. In August 2019, Cellares raised $18 million in Series A funding led by Eclipse Ventures with participation from 8VC and EcoR1 Capital, according to the company's official announcements. By May 2021, Cellares had raised $82 million in a Series B round led by Decheng Capital and Eclipse Ventures, bringing total funding to over $100 million. The company has since grown substantially, raising $257 million in Series D in January 2026 co-led by BlackRock and Eclipse, bringing cumulative funding to $612 million. The company entered into a $380 million global manufacturing agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb and operates commercial-scale facilities in Bridgewater, New Jersey, with additional facilities under construction in Europe and Japan. |
Who has invested in Cellares?
15 investors have backed Cellares across its funding rounds, including Eclipse Ventures, 8VC, Decheng Capital, DFJ Growth, Willett Advisors LLC and T. Rowe Price.
Lead investors include Eclipse Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies and Decheng Capital.
Cellares Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Lead | Oct 2020 | ||
| 3 | Participant | Oct 2020 | ||
| 3 | Lead | May 2021 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Aug 2023 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Aug 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
| 1 | Participant | May 2021 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Aug 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialCellares Competitors
Cellares competitors include listed companies like Siemens, Johnson & Johnson, Roche and Thermo Fisher Scientific, and private ones like Biosplice Therapeutics and Neuralink.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $91B | $15B | $234B | 2.9x | ||
| Publicly listed | $94B | $40B | $651B | 6.8x | ||
| Publicly listed | $77B | $26B | $351B | 4.9x | ||
| Publicly listed | $45B | $11B | $243B | 6.0x | ||
| Private | - | - | $12B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $9B | - |
Cellares Public Comps
Cellares is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Samsung, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Abbott, ABB, Hitachi and Danaher.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $243B | $67B | 4.4x | 2.4x | 15.8x | 4.4x | |||
| $94B | $40B | 7.2x | 6.8x | 17.0x | 18.3x | |||
| $77B | $26B | 5.0x | 4.9x | 14.6x | 12.4x | |||
| $45B | $11B | 6.3x | 6.0x | 26.8x | 23.6x | |||
| $91B | $15B | 3.0x | 2.9x | 18.1x | 15.7x | |||
| $46B | $9.5B | 4.3x | 3.9x | 21.0x | 18.4x | |||
| $44B | $12B | 4.6x | 4.2x | 17.4x | 15.8x | |||
| $33B | $6.9B | 5.4x | 4.9x | 25.9x | 22.6x | |||
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Common questions about Cellares
| When was Cellares founded? | Cellares was founded in 2019. |
| Where is Cellares headquartered? | Cellares is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States. |
| Is Cellares publicly listed? | No, Cellares is a private, VC-backed company. |
| How much funding has Cellares raised? | Cellares has raised $612M across 4 funding rounds. |
| What was Cellares' last funding round? | Cellares' last funding round was a $257M Series D in January 2026, led by Eclipse Ventures. |
| Who are Cellares' investors? | Cellares' investors include Eclipse Ventures, 8VC, Decheng Capital, Willett Advisors LLC, DFJ Growth, Baillie Gifford, Skyviews Life Science, Duquesne Family Office, T. Rowe Price, Koch Disruptive Technologies and 5 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Cellares? | Companies comparable to Cellares include Siemens, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Biosplice Therapeutics and Neuralink. |
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