Chicago-based Tempus has raised $110 million in its latest round of funding as the cancer-fighting startup brings its genomic-sequencing technology to more patients.
Tempus announced Wednesday that it landed $110 million in a round led by new backer Baillie Gifford, a U.K. investment management firm. Others in the round include existing investors T. Rowe Price, Revolution Growth and New Enterprise Associates. The new round doubles Tempus' valuation to now $2 billion, the company confirmed.
Tempus has now raised $320 million since it launched two years ago. Led by Groupon co-founder Eric Lefkofsky, Tempus raised $80 million just last March.
The latest round for Tempus comes at a time where $100 million+ rounds are frequently becoming commonplace in Silicon Valley. The number of $100 million rounds in 2018 is on pace to easily outnumber last year's amount, and July set an all-time record for the number of $100 million+ venture deals in a single month.
However, these so called "mega rounds" have been less common in Chicago. Uptake, a predictive analytics startup founded by Lefkofsky's business partner Brad Keywell, raised $117 million in November 2017. Outcome Health raised roughly $500 million last year, but was later sued by its investors for fraud.
Tempus uses machine learning and genomic sequencing to better understand a patient’s tumor, and it tailors treatment plans best suited to combat it. The startup is building a molecular clinical library of patient information and an operating system to make the information useful for physicians. The centralized database allows physicians to learn from cancer patients that came before, and find treatment options that are more likely to be effective.
It partners with organizations such as the Mayo Clinic, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Michigan to sequence cancer patients' genes. In total, Tempus works with around 250 hospital systems.
Tempus said the funding will be used to grow operations outside of the U.S. and expand into new therapeutic areas other than cancer.
“Our mission is to help usher in precision medicine, in the United States and abroad,” Lefkofsky said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more thrilled with our progress to date, and we’re honored to be surrounded by world class investors, collaborators, partners and an incredibly talented team here at Tempus.”
