MENLO PARK — BillionToOne, Inc., a next-generation molecular diagnostics company with a mission to create powerful and accurate tests that are accessible to all, has closed an oversubscribed Series C funding round of $125 million. This round was co-led by incoming investor Adams Street Partners and existing investor Hummingbird Ventures with significant participation from Baillie Gifford, Neotribe Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Civilization Ventures, Fifty Years VC, Pacific 8 Ventures, Time BioVentures, and Libertus Capital, among others.
BillionToOne’s molecular counting technology increases the resolution of disease detection using cell-free DNA by over 1000-fold. This technology is at the core of the Company’s products. BillionToOne’s flagship product, UNITY Screen, is the only non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) that can assess fetal risk for common recessive conditions and aneuploidies from one maternal blood sample. According to an independent peer-reviewed publication (Choates et al., 2020), less than half of male partners go through traditional carrier screening when indicated, limiting the identification of at-risk pregnancies. UNITY Screen™ does not require a paternal sample to assess fetal risk, supporting greater equity in care. The Company has been growing its market share at an exponential pace, with test volumes increasing more than 300% year over year in the fiscal year 2021. BillionToOne is applying this same molecular counting technology to a groundbreaking liquid biopsy test that combines treatment selection with monitoring. This test is slated to launch this year.
This Series C funding will be used to expand BillionToOne’s commercial and clinical teams, scale up lab capacity, and conduct clinical studies for their liquid biopsy test. “Our prenatal test is solving a critical unmet medical need. We continue to grow at an incredible rate, and we are building out an ever-increasing set of larger laboratory facilities. The current funding will be used to support our prenatal test growth while launching our differentiated liquid biopsy test that will transform oncology care,” said Oguzhan Atay, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of BillionToOne.
“We have partnered with BillionToOne since their Series A in 2019, and it has been incredible to witness the Company’s tremendous growth and unparalleled execution. BillionToOne has experienced a significant expansion in terms of test volume and team members despite a pandemic. This is not by accident. The Company has an extremely talented and diverse team and a powerful technology platform. This unique combination will lead BillionToOne to revolutionize molecular diagnostics,” said Firat Ileri at Hummingbird Ventures, a board member and one of the lead investors at BillionToOne.
Thomas Bremner from Adams Street Partners, who is joining BillionToOne’s Board of Directors, adds, “BillionToOne’s truly differentiated technology, product lines that enable it to grow with higher efficiency, execution in the prenatal market, and plans for the oncology sector are exactly the kinds of traits we look for in companies that we invest in. We have great confidence around their growth trajectory and look forward to the next phase as they build a category-defining molecular diagnostics company.”
