Fenwick represented Khosla Ventures in its investment in Karius’s $100 million Series C financing. The round was co-led by Khosla Ventures and new investors 5AM Ventures and Gilde Healthcare, with participation from Seventure Partners, Softbank Vision Fund 2, General Catalyst, HBM Healthcare Investments, Blue Water Life Sciences, Innovation Endeavors, Waycross Ventures, and others.
Karius is an operator in genomic diagnostics for infectious disease. Karius will use the funds to extend its reach beyond the 400 U.S. hospitals currently using the Karius Test®, an infectious disease diagnostic test that utilizes genomic analysis and artificial intelligence to detect over 1,000 pathogens from a single blood sample. The funding enables Karius to address increasing demand from healthcare providers to expand access to the Karius Test beyond the hospital setting. Additionally, it will support research into the broader health implications of Karius’ microbial cell-free DNA technology beyond infectious diseases. More information can be obtained from the company’s announcement.
The Fenwick transaction team included corporate partner Will Black and associates Kate Pfeiffer and Jared Leung; and technology transactions partner Key Shin and associate Pinar Bailey.