Diagnostic developer BillionToOne has clocked a billion-dollar valuation, after raising $130 million in venture capital funding.
The Menlo Park, California-based company said the proceeds will help scale up its DNA testing businesses in non-invasive prenatal screening and cancer. Its series D round was led by Premji Invest, and joined by Neuberger Berman, Adam Street Partners, Baillie Gifford, Hummingbird Ventures, Civilization Ventures, Libertus Capital and Fifty Years.
BillionToOne’s molecular diagnostics have focused on the sizable impacts of some of the smallest genetic alterations. For example, while traditional prenatal screening tests may aim to capture larger changes in chromosomes, singular mutations can give rise to conditions such as sickle cell disease.
The company said that since launching its first tests in 2020, over 500,000 patients have been evaluated to date, driving $125 million in annual revenue. Currently, its flagship UNITY Fetal Risk Screen test checks blood samples for cell-free DNA fragments, to help gauge the risks of recessively inherited conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy and cystic fibrosis without requiring amniocentesis or a blood sample from the male partner.
“BillionToOne has made great progress in transforming the prenatal segment over the last few years, and after seeing the initial growth and potential of their liquid biopsy products, we are excited by the platform’s potential in expanding the diagnostics options available to clinicians in other specialties,” said Premji Invest’s Akshay Rai, who joined BillionToOne’s board of directors.
Meanwhile, the company reported earlier this year that its screening test for Rh incompatibility among pregnant patients had delivered more than 80,000 results, helping to guide efficient uses of RhoGAM shots that have been in short supply.
And in oncology, the company has been developing its Northstar tests to help guide cancer therapy selection and monitor patient responses.
The latest financing follows up on a $125 million series C round in March 2022 and brings BillionToOne’s lifetime fundraising total to nearly $400 million. Previous backers have included NeoTribe Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Four Rivers Group and Y Combinator.