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- Formation Bio
Formation Bio Valuation, Funding & Investors
Formation Bio is valued at $1B as of September 2021.
Last Formation Bio valuation
$1B
Series C · Sep 2021
Last Formation Bio funding round
$372M
Series D · Jun 2024
Cumulative funding Formation Bio raised
$528M
across 2 funding rounds
Key investors in Formation Bio
Lachy Groom
Andreessen Horowitz
Sequoia Capital
SV Angel
Thrive Capital
Emerson Collective
About Formation Bio
Formation Bio is a South San Francisco-based biotechnology firm accelerating drug development through optimized clinical trials. It partners with pharma companies like Eli Lilly to redesign trial operations, leveraging technology for faster patient recruitment and data management in oncology and rare diseases.
Founded
2013
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Services
Valuation
$1B (Sep 2021)
Formation Bio Valuation
Formation Bio is currently valued at $1B, based on its Series C in September 2021.
The $156M round was led by Lachy Groom and Sam Altman.
Formation Bio valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2021 | Series C | $1B |
Formation Bio Funding History
Formation Bio has raised a total of $528M across 2 funding rounds.
Formation Bio's first fundraising round was a $156M Series C in September 2021. The most recent completed round was a $372M Series D in June 2024.
Formation Bio funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2024 | Series D | Andreessen Horowitz (lead); Emerson Collective; SV Angel; FPV Ventures; Sequoia Capital; Sanofi; Thrive Capital; Lachy Groom | $372M | - | Formation Bio is a tech-driven, AI-native pharmaceutical company founded in 2016 (originally as TrialSpark) by Benjamine Liu and Linhao Zhang, headquartered in New York. The company leverages AI platforms, data science, and streamlined processes to accelerate drug development, clinical trials, and therapies across the pipeline, partnering with biotechs and pharma to acquire or in-license clinical-stage drug candidates. It has three drug candidates in clinical development for chronic hand eczema, sensory neuropathy, and knee osteoarthritis, with a multidisciplinary team from tech and pharma backgrounds. On June 26, 2024, Formation Bio raised $372 million in a Series D funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with significant participation from Sanofi and existing investors including Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Emerson Collective, and Lachy Groom, plus new investors SV Angel Growth and FPV Ventures. This brings total funding to over $600 million. Proceeds will fund acquiring and in-licensing more clinical-stage drug assets from biotech and pharma partners—enabling smaller biotechs to advance multiple pipeline programs and large pharma to pursue P&L-efficient development—and expanding AI capabilities for workflow automation like patient recruitment and adverse event reporting. Scott Kupor (a16z Managing Partner) and Alfred Lin (Sequoia Partner) joined the board alongside existing directors Michael Moritz (Sequoia Heritage) and observer Kareem Zaki (Thrive Capital). Investors like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman back the company. Formation Bio positions itself beyond typical drug discovery by focusing on end-to-end AI-driven efficiency in development and trials, contrasting with traditional pharma's high costs and timelines. |
| Sep 2021 | Series C | Lachy Groom (lead); Sam Altman (lead) | $156M | $1B | Formation Bio, formerly known as TrialSpark, is a biotech company building a next-generation pharma platform to accelerate drug development by reducing the time and cost of clinical trials, which traditionally exceed ten years and billions of dollars. The company in-licenses and co-develops drug programs through in-house development, joint ventures, and new companies, aiming to revive shelved drug candidates hindered by traditional trial barriers. On September 30, 2021, TrialSpark raised $156 million (or $156.42MM per some sources) in a Series C funding round led by Sam Altman and Lachy Groom, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Casdin Capital, Dragoneer, Section 32, John Doerr, Spark Capital, Felicis Ventures, Sound Ventures, Arrowmark, and prior investors. The proceeds from the Series C were allocated to acquire or partner on clinical-stage pharmaceutical assets, invest in biotech companies with promising drug candidates ready for development, and scale the team across New York City and remote locations. TrialSpark, co-founded in 2016 by Benjamine Liu (with computational biology background from Oxford and UPenn) and Linhao Zhang (software developer from Salesforce and Oscar Insurance), merges tech, life sciences, and pharma expertise. By 2024, rebranded as Formation Bio, it had advanced three drug candidates into clinical pipelines for chronic hand eczema (phase 3), sensory neuropathy, and knee osteoarthritis, partnering with entities like Sanofi in later funding. The company raised additional capital in Series D ($372M led by Andreessen Horowitz), bringing total funding over $600M to fuel R&D, partnerships, and AI-driven drug development. |
Who has invested in Formation Bio?
9 investors have backed Formation Bio across its funding rounds, including Lachy Groom, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, Thrive Capital and Emerson Collective.
Lead investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Lachy Groom and Sam Altman.
Formation Bio Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Lead | Sep 2021 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2024 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Jun 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2024 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 9 Formation Bio investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Formation Bio
Formation Bio has acquired 1 company to date.
Last acquisition by Formation Bio was on November 29th 2022. Formation Bio acquired Libertas Bio for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Formation Bio
| Description | Libertas Bio is a San Diego-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies for immuno-dermatology conditions. Its lead asset, LIB-01, a topical JAK inhibitor, advances in Phase 2 trials for atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. The pipeline targets IL-17 and IL-23 pathways with oral small molecules. Founded in 2020, Libertas Bio collaborates with CROs in California for IND-enabling studies and preclinical safety data. |
| HQ Country | |
| HQ City | Bridgewater, NJ |
| Deal Date | 29 Nov 2022 |
| Valuation | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Formation Bio acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | |
Investments by Formation Bio
Formation Bio has invested in 1 company to date.
Latest investment by Formation Bio was on March 30th 2022. Formation Bio invested in January in their $10M Series A round.
Latest Investments by Formation Bio
| Description | January is a San Francisco-headquartered fintech modernizing debt collections for consumer lenders. The company deploys AI-driven outreach to delinquent borrowers, reducing harassment while boosting recovery rates through payment plans and financial counseling. January partners with banks and fintechs to manage auto loans and credit card defaults, ensuring FCRA compliance and credit bureau reporting. Its platform automates workflows from skip tracing to settlement negotiations. |
| HQ Country | |
| HQ City | New York City, NY |
| Deal Date | 30 Mar 2022 |
| Round | Series A |
| Raised | $10M |
| Investors | GLG; Bread Ventures; IA Ventures; Tribe Capital; Brewer Lane Ventures; Third Prime; Reciprocal Ventures |
| Valuation | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Formation Bio investments and their VC round multiples. Start Free Trial | |
Formation Bio Competitors
Formation Bio competitors include listed companies like OPKO Health and Monte Rosa Therapeutics, and private ones like Immunai, ArsenalBio, Heyuan Biotechnology and Element Biosciences.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | - | - | $1B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $1.9B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $3B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $607M | ($56M) | $1.2B | 2.3x | ||
| Private | $25M | - | $1B | 41.2x | ||
| Publicly listed | $124M | ($42M) | $1.1B | 5.9x |
Formation Bio Public Comps
Formation Bio is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Basilea Pharmaceutica, Kura Oncology, Oscotec, Attovia Therapeutics, Bio-Thera Solutions, SPIMACO - ADDWAEIH, Janux Therapeutics, MoonLake, Silence Therapeutics and Corvus Pharma.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $283M | $61M | 3.3x | 3.0x | 15.4x | 11.9x | |||
| $67M | ($303M) | 8.1x | 6.2x | (1.8x) | (1.8x) | |||
| $73M | $38M | 12.5x | 14.9x | 23.7x | 30.4x | |||
| $1M | ($66M) | 876.1x | - | (17.8x) | - | |||
| $139M | ($31M) | 7.9x | - | (35.2x) | - | |||
| $455M | $103M | 3.0x | 3.0x | 13.3x | 13.3x | |||
| $10M | ($156M) | 8.1x | 3.3x | (0.5x) | (0.5x) | |||
| - | ($220M) | - | - | (2.8x) | (2.5x) | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Formation Bio competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Formation Bio
| When was Formation Bio founded? | Formation Bio was founded in 2013. |
| Where is Formation Bio headquartered? | Formation Bio is headquartered in New York City, NY, United States. |
| Is Formation Bio publicly listed? | No, Formation Bio is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Formation Bio's valuation? | Formation Bio was last valued at $1B in its Series C in September 2021. |
| How much funding has Formation Bio raised? | Formation Bio has raised $528M across 2 funding rounds. |
| What was Formation Bio's last funding round? | Formation Bio's last funding round was a $372M Series D in June 2024, led by Andreessen Horowitz. |
| Who are Formation Bio's investors? | Formation Bio's investors include Lachy Groom, Emerson Collective, SV Angel, FPV Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Sanofi, Sam Altman and Thrive Capital. |
| Which companies are comparable to Formation Bio? | Companies comparable to Formation Bio include Immunai, ArsenalBio, Heyuan Biotechnology, OPKO Health, Element Biosciences and Monte Rosa Therapeutics. |
| How many companies has Formation Bio acquired? | Formation Bio has acquired 1 company, including Libertas Bio. |
| How many companies has Formation Bio invested in? | Formation Bio has invested in 1 company, including January. |
| What was Formation Bio's last investment? | In March 2022, Formation Bio invested in January's $10M Series A alongside GLG, Bread Ventures, IA Ventures and 4 other investors. |
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