SHINE Medical Technologies LLC has raised another $150 million to support its medical commercialization efforts and growth toward clean energy applications for its nuclear fusion technology, the Janesville-based company announced Monday.
The company's latest fundraising round brings its total amount raised to around $650 million, including $600 million from private investors and $50 million from government funding, according to SHINE.
The lastest Series C-5 funding round was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies LLC (KDT), a Wichita, Kansas-based investment firm that's a subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc., the largest U.S. privately-owned company, according to Forbes.
"Koch knows how to scale a company, with more than 120,000 employees around the world, and we look forward to tapping that knowledge as we continue to grow," SHINE CEO and chairman Greg Piefer said in a statement.
SHINE has already begun selling its cancer-treating isotope lutetium-177 and it has long-term contracts with customers including GE Healthcare. It's also building two new facilities — one in Janesville and one in the Netherlands — that will make molybdenum-99, which is used in diagnostic procedures.
“SHINE’s innovative medical isotope technologies, which play a crucial role in identifying and treating patients with debilitating diseases, are astounding,” KDT president Chase Koch said in a statement. "Koch’s global knowledge networks and capabilities are uniquely suited to help SHINE’s impressive team implement its vision to advance fusion technology."
While SHINE is furthest along in the development of its diagnostic and therapeutic medical isotopes, it has long said that its ultimate goal is to create fusion-based clean energy. The company currently is in phase 2 of its four-phase plan to achieve that.
"As we bring these production facilities online, we will move into nuclear waste recycling and clean energy production, the next two phases of our plan," SHINE president and chief strategy officer Todd Asmuth said in a statement.
Fidelity Management & Research Co. and Scotland-based investment firm Baillie Gifford also participated in SHINE's most recent fundraising round, as did other new and current investors, according to a press release.
SHINE's latest funding round follows an $80 million raise the company closed in September to tie with Fetch Rewards for the largest 2020 funding round among Wisconsin tech companies.
