Eric Lefkofsky's genomic-sequencing startup Tempus has raised another massive round of funding as it brings its cancer-fighting tech to new therapeutic areas.
Tempus announced Thursday that it raised $200 million in a Series F round that values the Chicago startup at $3.1 billion. The fundraise comes less than a year after Tempus raised $110 million at a $2 billion valuation.
Tempus has now raised a total of $520 million since it launched in 2015.
The new round of funding was backed by Baillie Gifford, Franklin Templeton, NEA, Novo Holdings, Revolution Growth, and funds and accounts managed by T. Rowe Price.
Inspired in part by his wife's battle with cancer, Lefkofsky set out to improve the way we treat the disease. 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's platform analyzes molecular and therapeutic data at scale, enabling physicians to make real-time, data-driven decisions to better treat their patients.
Tempus has partnered with a range of top medical centers---such as the Mayo Clinic, Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago---to sequence cancer patients’ genes. Tempus says its platform touches more than one in four cancer patients in the United States.
Now, the startup is expanding into other areas, such as diabetes and depression.
“From our founding, Tempus has been singularly focused on improving the lives of patients diagnosed with disease, starting with cancer,” Lefkofsky said in a statement. “Three and a half years later, we are empowering stakeholders across healthcare with insights derived from real-world clinical evidence connected to rich molecular data."
Lefkofsky co-founded Groupon in 2008 alongside Brad Keywell and Andrew Mason. He left the e-commerce company in 2015. Chicago Inno broke the news of Tempus's launch back in 2016.
