- Companies
- Karius
Karius Valuation, Funding & Investors
Karius is valued at $700M as of February 2020.
Last Karius valuation
$700M
Series B · Feb 2020
Last Karius funding round
$100M
Series C · May 2024
Cumulative funding Karius raised
$329M
across 4 funding rounds
Key investors in Karius
Lightspeed Venture Partners
Khosla Ventures
Innovation Endeavors
General Catalyst
SoftBank Group
DCVC
About Karius
Karius is a Redwood City, California-headquartered life sciences company that develops liquid biopsy tests for infectious diseases using next-generation sequencing. The Karius Test analyzes microbial cell-free DNA from blood plasma to identify bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites within 24 hours, aiding clinicians at hospitals like Cleveland Clinic and UCSF. Operating a CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratory since 2014, Karius focuses on immunocompromised patients and sepsis cases to enable precise antibiotic stewardship.
Founded
2014
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Services
Valuation
$700M (Feb 2020)
Karius Valuation
Karius is currently valued at $700M, based on its Series B in February 2020.
The $165M round was led by SoftBank Group, with participation from General Catalyst, HBM Healthcare Investments, Khosla Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Karius valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 2020 | Series B | $700M |
Karius Funding History
Karius has raised a total of $329M across 4 funding rounds.
Karius' first fundraising round was a $5M seed round in September 2014. The most recent completed round was a $100M Series C in May 2024.
Karius funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | Series C | 5AM Ventures (lead); Gilde Healthcare (lead); Khosla Ventures (lead); General Catalyst; Waycross Ventures; Blue Water Life Science Fund; SoftBank Group; HBM Healthcare Investments; Innovation Endeavors; Seventure Partners | $100M | - | Karius, Inc. is a biotechnology company headquartered in Redwood City, California, specializing in genomic diagnostics for infectious diseases. The Karius Test utilizes genomics and AI to detect over 1,000 pathogens from a single blood sample, enabling rapid treatment decisions for clinicians. Founded in 2014, the company operates in the diagnostics and life sciences sectors, focusing on infectious disease testing. On May 2, 2024, Karius completed a $100 million Series C funding round co-led by 5AM Ventures, Gilde Healthcare, and Khosla Ventures, with participation from Blue Water Life Science Advisors, General Catalyst, HBM Healthcare Investments, Innovation Endeavors, Seventure Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Waycross Ventures. This round brought total funding to approximately $340 million across multiple rounds, following a Series B in February 2020 with a $700 million valuation. Karius plans to use the proceeds to expand access to its multi-pathogen blood test beyond hospital settings and support research into its DNA technology for applications outside infectious diseases. The company has around 239 employees and competes in the biotech space with firms like DiaCarta and Mission Bio. |
| Feb 2020 | Series B | SoftBank Group (lead); General Catalyst; HBM Healthcare Investments; Khosla Ventures; Lightspeed Venture Partners | $165M | $700M | Karius, a Redwood City, California-based company, develops a liquid biopsy test using microbial cell-free DNA (mcfDNA) technology combined with genomics and artificial intelligence to detect over 1,000-1,400 bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites from a single blood draw, aiding in the diagnosis of hard-to-identify infections in immunocompromised patients, complex pneumonia, fungal infections, and endocarditis. The test is priced at $2,000 per use, with results delivered within 24 hours, and was already adopted by more than 100 hospitals and health systems at the time of the funding announcement. In February 2020, Karius raised $165 million in a Series B round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from General Catalyst, HBM Healthcare Investments, and existing investors Khosla Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The funding is intended to support additional clinical studies, accelerate technology innovation, expand commercial reach through sales efforts, and conduct more research to validate the test's efficacy in reducing hospital costs, ICU stays, and mortality compared to invasive biopsies. CEO Mickey Kertesz highlighted the technology's life-saving potential demonstrated in early clinical studies and its role in identifying novel microbes early, amid discussions around emerging threats like coronavirus. Investors praised the application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) to infectious disease diagnostics, drawing parallels to its success in oncology liquid biopsies, with SoftBank noting infectious diseases as the second leading cause of global deaths. Karius differentiates from other pathogen blood tests by its broad microbial coverage and speed, positioning it as a non-invasive alternative in a field facing skepticism post-Theranos, though the company emphasized transparency. SoftBank's life sciences team, with experience backing Guardant Health and 10X Genomics, led the round despite broader Vision Fund criticisms in consumer tech. |
| Aug 2017 | Series A | DCVC (lead); Lightspeed Venture Partners (lead); S28 Capital; aMoon Fund; Innovation Endeavors; Tencent; Pacific 8 Ventures; Khosla Ventures | $59M | - | - |
| Sep 2014 | Seed | DCVC (lead); Innovation Endeavors; Lightspeed Venture Partners | $5M | - | Karius, founded in 2014, raised a $5 million seed round in September 2014 led by DCVC. Innovation Endeavors and Lightspeed Venture Partners are noted investors in the company, though specific participation in the seed round is not detailed. The round marked the company's first funding. Karius has since raised additional capital, including a $59 million Series A in August 2017 led by DCVC and Lightspeed Venture Partners, a $25 million debt financing in November 2018, a $165 million Series B in February 2020 led by SoftBank Vision Fund at a $700 million valuation, and a $100 million Series C in May 2024. Total funding across rounds reaches approximately $340-354 million from 15 investors. |
Who has invested in Karius?
16 investors have backed Karius across its funding rounds, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, General Catalyst, SoftBank Group and DCVC.
Lead investors include 5AM Ventures, Gilde Healthcare, Khosla Ventures, SoftBank Group, DCVC and 1 other investor.
Karius Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Participant | Sep 2014 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Aug 2017 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Sep 2014 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Feb 2020 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Feb 2020 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Feb 2020 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Sep 2014 | ||
| 1 | Lead | May 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | May 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2017 | ||
| 1 | Participant | May 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2017 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2017 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 16 Karius 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 TrialKarius Competitors
Karius competitors include listed companies like Fulgent Genetics, Novogene, Myriad Genetics and BGI Genomics, and private ones like Pathway Genomics and Clear Labs.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $323M | ($77M) | $601M | 1.1x | ||
| Publicly listed | $329M | $50M | $867M | 1.9x | ||
| Private | - | - | $933M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $413M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $825M | ($332M) | $396M | 0.6x | ||
| Publicly listed | $553M | ($20M) | $2.3B | 3.4x |
Karius Public Comps
Karius is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Genfit, Diagnósticos da América, SOPHiA Genetics, Integral Diagnostics, Scribe Therapeutics, Fulgent Genetics, Assure Tech, Eckert & Ziegler, Novogene and Jiangsu Bioperfectus.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $75M | ($98M) | 9.9x | 7.9x | (7.7x) | 52.1x | |||
| $2.2B | $346M | 0.9x | 1.0x | 5.6x | 4.9x | |||
| $77M | ($65M) | 8.8x | 7.5x | (10.4x) | (18.8x) | |||
| $561M | $99M | 1.8x | 1.8x | 10.2x | 8.4x | |||
| $51M | ($21M) | 14.2x | - | (34.0x) | - | |||
| $323M | ($77M) | 1.1x | 1.1x | (4.5x) | (6.2x) | |||
| $67M | $18M | 4.8x | - | 17.9x | - | |||
| $359M | $105M | 2.2x | 2.2x | 7.5x | 7.4x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Karius competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Karius
| When was Karius founded? | Karius was founded in 2014. |
| Where is Karius headquartered? | Karius is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States. |
| Is Karius publicly listed? | No, Karius is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Karius' valuation? | Karius was last valued at $700M in its Series B in February 2020. |
| How much funding has Karius raised? | Karius has raised $329M across 4 funding rounds. |
| What was Karius' last funding round? | Karius' last funding round was a $100M Series C in May 2024, led by 5AM Ventures, Gilde Healthcare and Khosla Ventures. |
| Who are Karius' investors? | Karius' investors include Innovation Endeavors, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst, SoftBank Group, HBM Healthcare Investments, DCVC, 5AM Ventures, Waycross Ventures, S28 Capital and 6 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Karius? | Companies comparable to Karius include Fulgent Genetics, Novogene, Pathway Genomics, Clear Labs, Myriad Genetics and BGI Genomics. |
See companies similar to Karius
Start Your
Free Trial Today
Try Multiples for free for 3 days. Got questions or need a demo? Schedule a call with us below.




