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

Karius Overview

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

United StatesSan Francisco, CA

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

Karius valuation by funding round
DateStageValuation
Feb 2020Series 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

Karius funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
May 2024Series C5AM 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 2020Series BSoftBank Group (lead); General Catalyst; HBM Healthcare Investments; Khosla Ventures; Lightspeed Venture Partners$165M$700MKarius, 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 2017Series ADCVC (lead); Lightspeed Venture Partners (lead); S28 Capital; aMoon Fund; Innovation Endeavors; Tencent; Pacific 8 Ventures; Khosla Ventures$59M--
Sep 2014SeedDCVC (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

Investors in Karius by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Innovation EndeavorsUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA3ParticipantSep 2014
Khosla VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA3LeadAug 2017
Lightspeed Venture PartnersUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA3LeadSep 2014
General CatalystUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA2ParticipantFeb 2020
SoftBank GroupJapanTokyo2LeadFeb 2020
HBM Healthcare InvestmentsSwitzerlandZug2ParticipantFeb 2020
DCVCUnited StatesUnited States2LeadSep 2014
5AM VenturesUnited StatesUnited States1LeadMay 2024
Waycross VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantMay 2024
S28 CapitalUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantAug 2017
Blue Water Life Science FundUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantMay 2024
aMoon FundIsraelRa'anana1ParticipantAug 2017
TencentChinaShenzhen1ParticipantAug 2017

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Karius Competitors

Karius competitors include listed companies like Fulgent Genetics, Novogene, Myriad Genetics and BGI Genomics, and private ones like Pathway Genomics and Clear Labs.

Public and private companies comparable to Karius
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
Fulgent GeneticsUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$323M($77M)$601M1.1x
NovogeneChinaChinaPublicly listed$329M$50M$867M1.9x
Pathway GenomicsUnited StatesSan Diego, CAPrivate--$933M-
Clear LabsUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate--$413M-
Myriad GeneticsUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$825M($332M)$396M0.6x
BGI GenomicsChinaChinaPublicly listed$553M($20M)$2.3B3.4x
Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Genfit$75M($98M)9.9x7.9x(7.7x)52.1x
Diagnósticos da América$2.2B$346M0.9x1.0x5.6x4.9x
SOPHiA Genetics$77M($65M)8.8x7.5x(10.4x)(18.8x)
Integral Diagnostics$561M$99M1.8x1.8x10.2x8.4x
Scribe Therapeutics$51M($21M)14.2x-(34.0x)-
Fulgent Genetics$323M($77M)1.1x1.1x(4.5x)(6.2x)
Assure Tech$67M$18M4.8x-17.9x-
Eckert & Ziegler$359M$105M2.2x2.2x7.5x7.4x

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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.

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