Pillar Biosciences Funding, Investors & Competitors

Pillar Biosciences has raised $100M across 5 funding rounds, most recently a $35M undisclosed-stage round in May 2025.

Last Pillar Biosciences funding round

$35M

Undisclosed stage · May 2025

Cumulative funding Pillar Biosciences raised

$100M

across 5 funding rounds

Key investors in Pillar Biosciences

  • ORI Capital
  • ZhenFund
  • Soleus Capital
  • Illumina
  • HB Ventures

Pillar Biosciences Overview

About Pillar Biosciences

Pillar Biosciences is a Natick-headquartered biotechnology firm founded in 2014 that specializes in next-generation sequencing for oncology diagnostics. Its patent-pending targeted sequencing platform paired with a proprietary data analysis toolkit delivers high sensitivity and specificity using clinical samples, enabling fast and cost-effective NGS-based cancer testing. The company distributes beta versions of its Lung and Colon Cancer Somatic Mutation Panel alongside BRCA1 and BRCA2 Germline Mutation Panels to cancer centers and labs across the United States and China for validation. This technology supports comprehensive genomic profiling to guide precision medicine in tumor and hereditary cancer detection.


Founded

2014

HQ

United StatesBoston, MA

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Services

Pillar Biosciences Funding History

Pillar Biosciences has raised a total of $100M across 5 funding rounds.

Pillar Biosciences' first fundraising round was a $200K seed round in August 2014. The most recent completed round was a $35M undisclosed-stage round in May 2025.

Pillar Biosciences funding rounds

Pillar Biosciences funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
May 2025Undisclosed stageSoleus Capital; Illumina$35MPillar Biosciences, a leader in Decision Medicine focused on precision oncology, announced on May 27, 2025, that it raised $34.5 million in funding, including a strategic investment from Illumina, structured financing from Soleus Capital, and participation from existing investors. The proceeds are intended to advance commercial activities, such as expanding headcount and infrastructure to support biopharma partnerships and increase adoption of its distributable clinical testing kits for next-generation sequencing (NGS) targeted panels. This funding reinforces Illumina's ongoing partnership with Pillar, which includes prior agreements from 2017 and 2023, enabling expanded research and clinical NGS solutions for genomic tumor profiling to support personalized therapy. Pillar Biosciences has demonstrated strong commercial growth, as noted by company leadership and investors, positioning it as a market leader in rapid NGS testing solutions that streamline molecular testing platforms and reduce time to results for global laboratories. The investment from Soleus Capital highlights the company's traction, including multiple biopharma collaborations, with Founder and Executive Chairman Gang Song emphasizing its path toward profitability through top-line growth. Illumina's involvement underscores the complementary nature of Pillar's rapid sequencing panels with its own sequencing and bioinformatics technologies. Post-funding developments include a continued partnership showcased at ESMO 2025 in October, where Illumina and Pillar demonstrated their combined in vitro diagnostic (IVD) tumor profiling and software solutions for oncology workflows. Additionally, Pillar announced a partnership with AstraZeneca to enhance access to liquid biopsy testing in European markets and the UK, further expanding its precision medicine offerings.
May 2020Series CORI Capital (lead); HB Ventures$30MPillar Biosciences, a Boston-based startup specializing in next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based clinical oncology testing, closed a $29.7 million Series C preferred stock financing. The company develops a patent-pending targeted sequencing technology platform and proprietary data analysis toolkit for high sensitivity and specificity in clinical samples, offering fast, simple, and affordable NGS-based oncology testing. Products include beta versions of Lung & Colon Cancer Somatic Mutation Panel and BRCA1 & BRCA2 Germline Mutation Panel released for validation in the US and China. Note that an earlier investment of $18 million from ORI Healthcare Fund was announced in May 2016 to support R&D in tumor tissue genotyping and liquid biopsy products. The financing aligns with ORI Capital's focus on clinical oncology and precision cancer therapeutics, emphasizing NGS for early cancer detection via circulating tumor DNA.
Feb 2020Undisclosed stage-$18M-
May 2016Undisclosed stageORI Capital (lead)$18MPillar Biosciences is a Boston-based startup specialized in next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based clinical oncology testing, developing targeted sequencing technology for precision medicine in cancer diagnostics. The company's platform delivers high sensitivity and specificity using a fast, simple, and affordable targeted sequencing method for NGS-based oncology testing. By May 2016, Pillar Biosciences had released beta versions of its Lung & Colon Cancer Somatic Mutation Panel and BRCA1 & BRCA2 Germline Mutation Panel to cancer centers and clinical testing companies in the United States and China for validation studies. ORI Healthcare Fund, a $200 million venture capital fund focused on disruptive healthcare technologies, completed an $18 million investment in Pillar Biosciences in May 2016. The capital was designated to support the company's research and development efforts in tumor tissue genotyping, including integration of back-end information analytics capability and expansion into liquid biopsy products for cancer therapeutic decision-making and treatment monitoring.
Aug 2014SeedZhenFund (lead)$200K-

Who has invested in Pillar Biosciences?

5 investors have backed Pillar Biosciences across its funding rounds, including ORI Capital, ZhenFund, Soleus Capital, Illumina and HB Ventures.

Lead investors include ORI Capital and ZhenFund.


Pillar Biosciences Investors

Investors in Pillar Biosciences by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
ORI CapitalHong KongHong Kong2LeadMay 2016
ZhenFundChinaBeijing1LeadAug 2014
Soleus CapitalUnited StatesGreenwich, CT1ParticipantMay 2025

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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples

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Pillar Biosciences Competitors

Pillar Biosciences competitors include listed companies like Illumina, 10x Genomics, BillionToOne and Personalis, and private ones like BGI Group and Sangon Biotech.

Public and private companies comparable to Pillar Biosciences
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
IlluminaUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$4.3B$1.4B$37B8.4x
10x GenomicsUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$643M($16M)$10B15.2x
BillionToOneUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$305M$12M$5.2B11.7x
PersonalisUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$70M($78M)$1.7B20.1x
BGI GroupChinaShenzhenPrivate--$1.6B-
Sangon BiotechChinaShanghaiPrivate$102M-$1.4B13.7x

Pillar Biosciences Public Comps

Pillar Biosciences is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Roche, Merck KGaA, Natera, Illumina, Guardant Health, Sartorius, Bio-Techne, Twist Bioscience, 10x Genomics and Demant.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Roche$77B$26B5.0x4.9x14.6x12.4x
Merck KGaA$24B$5.3B3.1x3.1x14.3x10.7x
Natera$2.3B($266M)22.5x19.0x(195.0x)(261.5x)
Illumina$4.3B$1.4B8.8x8.4x27.1x30.0x
Guardant Health$982M($408M)25.7x20.2x(61.8x)(129.5x)
Sartorius$4.1B$1.1B5.7x5.4x21.8x18.2x
Bio-Techne$1.2B$343M9.4x9.3x33.1x26.3x
Twist Bioscience$377M($63M)27.2x22.6x(161.4x)(316.8x)

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Common questions about Pillar Biosciences

When was Pillar Biosciences founded?Pillar Biosciences was founded in 2014.
Where is Pillar Biosciences headquartered?Pillar Biosciences is headquartered in Boston, MA, United States.
Is Pillar Biosciences publicly listed?No, Pillar Biosciences is a private, VC-backed company.
How much funding has Pillar Biosciences raised?Pillar Biosciences has raised $100M across 5 funding rounds.
What was Pillar Biosciences' last funding round?Pillar Biosciences' last funding round was a $35M undisclosed-stage round in May 2025.
Who are Pillar Biosciences' investors?Pillar Biosciences' investors include ORI Capital, ZhenFund, Soleus Capital, HB Ventures and Illumina.
Which companies are comparable to Pillar Biosciences?Companies comparable to Pillar Biosciences include Illumina, 10x Genomics, BillionToOne, Personalis, BGI Group and Sangon Biotech.

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