Karius®, Inc., a world leader in genomic diagnostics for infectious disease, secures $100million in series C round funding. The round was co-led by Khosla Ventures and new investors 5AM Ventures and Gilde Healthcare.
Also investing was new investor Seventure Partners, and existing investors Softbank Vision Fund 2, General Catalyst, HBM Healthcare Investments, Blue Water Life Sciences, Innovation Endeavors, Waycross Ventures, and others.
This investment will enable it to extend its reach beyond the 400 U.S. hospitals currently using the Karius Test®, an infectious disease diagnostic test that utilizes genomic analysis and artificial intelligence to detect over 1,000 pathogens from a single blood sample.
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The funding enables it to address increasing demand from healthcare providers to expand access to the Karius Test beyond the hospital setting. Additionally, it will support research into the broader health implications of Karius’ microbial cell-free DNA technology beyond infectious diseases.
Alec Ford, CEO of Karius said, “Every minute in the U.S., five cancer patients are admitted to the hospital due to infections—conditions that are often overshadowed by their primary diagnosis but are equally lethal, leading to nearly 1,000 deaths daily, This worrying reality emphasizes a critical and frequently overlooked gap in our healthcare system: the urgent need for faster diagnostic solutions. At Karius, we confront this challenge head-on. The Karius Test can reduce the time required to identify the cause of infections, as every minute counts for cancer patient survival. This additional $100 million will significantly enhance our capacity to deliver rapid diagnostic testing to more patients, where faster treatment saves more lives and significant healthcare resources.”
Alex Morgan, Partner at Khosla Ventures said, “Investing in it addresses critical gaps in healthcare diagnostics, Traditional methods can be slow and can contribute to overuse of antibiotics, particularly risky for immunocompromised patients and fueling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Precisely identifying pathogens allows for targeted treatment, minimizing the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and reducing the risk of AMR proliferation. This investment aligns with our commitment to advancing technologies for better public health outcomes.”
Joep Muijrers, General Partner at Gilde Healthcare said,“We are thrilled to partner with Karius and to support the company in its journey to help deliver better care at lower cost to some of the most vulnerable patients out there,”.
Andrew Booth, Venture Advisor, at 5AM Ventures said, “Karius’ strong revenue and growth illustrates how impactful the Karius Test is to clinical care. We are proud to co-lead the company’s Series C as Karius expands into new markets and moves to profitability,”.
Vali Barsan, M.D., Karius Board Member and investor for SoftBank Investment Advisers said,“Over the years, we’ve witnessed firsthand the repeat impact Karius has made on patient management across numerous clinical settings,”“Alongside our new as well as existing investors, we’re proud to extend our partnership with the this team as they continue to scale precision metagenomics for more rapid and definitive diagnostics that enable better patient outcomes.”
It’s Series C financing coincides with the positive results from the PICKUP1 trial, a landmark multi-center study enrolling 257 hospitalized adults with pneumonia and active hematologic malignancies across 10 leading medical centers, including Duke University Health, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.
About Karius
Karius Inc., a global leader in liquid biopsy for infectious diseases, harnesses metagenomics, next-generation sequencing, and artificial intelligence (AI) to help enhance the precision and speed of pathogen diagnosis. it’s Test®is , used in over 400 healthcare institutions–including 90+ transplant centers and 40+ children’s hospitals across the United States–identifies more than 1,000 pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites from a single blood draw typically within a day of sample receipt.
