Karius has raised $334.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
Karius's investors include Coalition Operators, Khosla Ventures, NanoDimension, Pareto Holdings, Seventure Partners, WorkLife Ventures, Ysios Capital, Andy Coravos, Claire Hughes Johnson, Founder Collective, General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Karius is a clinical metagenomics company that develops advanced diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, using genomics and AI to detect microbial cell-free DNA (mcfDNA) from pathogens in blood or other samples.[1][2] Its flagship products, Karius Spectrum (a blood test detecting over 1,000 bacteria, fungi, DNA viruses, and parasites) and Karius Focus | BAL (a bronchoalveolar lavage test for over 500 lung pathogens), serve hospitals, transplant centers, and clinicians treating hospitalized patients with hard-to-diagnose systemic or pulmonary infections.[1][2][5] These tests address limitations of traditional diagnostics by providing rapid, comprehensive pathogen identification from a single sample, enabling faster treatment decisions; Karius has processed over 100,000 patient samples across 600+ U.S. institutions and raised over $300M in funding.[1][4]
Founded in 2014, Karius emerged from intellectual property developed at Stanford University, headquartered in Redwood City, California, with a CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited lab for high-complexity testing.[1] Key leaders include CEO Alec Ford, CSO Tim Blauwkamp, PhD (likely tied to early genomics work), CTO Sivan Bercovici, PhD, CMO Bradley Perkins, MD, and others driving commercial and scientific efforts.[1] The idea stemmed from unmet needs in infectious disease diagnostics, where conventional tests often fail to identify pathogens quickly; early traction built through proprietary AI algorithms and genomic sequencing, scaling to serve major hospitals.[1][3]
Karius rides the clinical metagenomics wave, merging next-generation sequencing, AI, and cloud computing (e.g., AWS for scalable data storage and analytics) to transform diagnostics amid rising antimicrobial resistance and complex infections in aging, immunocompromised populations.[2][3] Timing aligns with post-pandemic emphasis on rapid pathogen ID, where traditional tests miss 50%+ of cases; market tailwinds include FDA support and $300M+ funding fueling expansion.[4] It influences healthcare by enabling precision medicine—shifting from empirical antibiotics to targeted therapies—reducing hospital stays and resistance, while partnering with life sciences ecosystems like BIO conventions.[1][4]
Karius is poised to expand its test portfolio, potentially adding more sample types or RNA viruses, as AI refines databases and adoption grows beyond 600+ sites.[1][2] Trends like AI-driven genomics, value-based care demanding faster diagnostics, and global infection surges (e.g., in transplants) will propel it; influence may evolve toward partnerships with pharma for companion diagnostics or international scaling.[3] With strong funding and leadership, Karius stands to redefine infectious disease care, turning microbial insights into lives saved—just as its Stanford roots envisioned a world without infection threats.[1]
Karius has raised $334.0M across 4 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $100.0M Series C in May 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2024 | $100.0M Series C | Coalition Operators, Khosla Ventures, NanoDimension, Pareto Holdings, Seventure Partners, WorkLife Ventures, Ysios Capital, Andy Coravos, Claire Hughes Johnson | |
| Feb 1, 2020 | $170.0M Series B | Founder Collective, General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Aaron Levie, Drew Houston, Marc Benioff, Shishir Mehrotra | |
| Aug 1, 2017 | $59.0M Series A | Bloomberg Beta, Cota Capital, DCVC (Data Collective), Founder Collective, General Catalyst, Highbury Group, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, OrbiMed, Pear VC, Tencent Holdings, WndrCo LLC, Aaron Levie, Chris Schaepe, David Chen, Drew Houston, Farzad Nazem, Laszlo Bock, Marc Benioff, Shishir Mehrotra, Todd Warren | |
| Sep 1, 2014 | $5.0M Seed | Bloomberg Beta, DCVC (Data Collective), Founder Collective, General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Aaron Levie, Drew Houston, Marc Benioff, Shishir Mehrotra, Todd Warren |
