50 of the best-funded biotechs of 2023

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As the year draws to a close, it is clear that molecular science and diagnostics is the hottest funding area in the biotech industry. In an analysis of 50 of the best-funded biotechs of 2023 focused on human health, molecular and science and diagnostics startups collectively attracting roughly $945 million, dwarfing the figures in other segments. The next popular two niches, gene therapies and oncology, had average funding levels of approximately $245 million and $170 million, respectively. While AI has received a significant amount of attention this year, biotechs specializing in that field garnered an average funding of only about $66 million. Outside of the life sciences, startups with a broader focus on AI raised a cumulative average of $202.47 million, based on an analysis of close to 1000 companies.

Caris Life Sciences has raised nearly $1.7B to date

In terms of best-funded companies overall, Caris Life Sciences came in on top with close to $1.7 billion in total funding. Founded in 2008, the company’s most recent funding was a senior secured term loan on January 19, 2023 that provided up to $400 million in capital from OrbiMed and Braidwell.  Next in line was the cell and gene therapy technology company ElevateBio, whose most recent funding was a $401 million Series D financing on May 24, 2023. It was founded in 2017. Rounding out the top three is Eikon Therapeutics, which raised $106 million in a Series C funding round on June 1, 2023. Eikon was founded in 2019.

Noted industry veterans are at the helm of Eikon Therapeutics. Dr. Roger Perlmutter, a former president of Merck Research Laboratories, joined Eikon Therapeutics as its CEO after leaving Merck at the end of 2020​​. While the company itself was founded in 2014 by Robert Tjian, Luke Lavis, Xavier Darzacq, and Eric Betzig, who is a cowinners of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The fourth company on the list, SHINE Technologies, is not a pure-play life sciences company, but is focused on fusion technology. Based in Janesville, Wisconsin, it is, however, developing medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals for cancer treatment. In October 2023, it scored $70 million in additional funding in a convertible note round. ​

Rounding out the top five is Generate Biomedicines, which generated $273 million in Series C financing on September 14, 2023. The company plans on using the funding to advance its machine-learning-powered generative biology platform, which is focused on developing preclinical and clinical protein therapies​.

50 of the best-funded biotechs of 2023

The following table captures cumulative funding totals for 50 of well-resourced biotechs. It was limited to companies that had raised capital in 2023. The list does not distinguish between funding types, and thus includes both equity financing and debt financing. Data was sourced from Crunchbase, which tracks startup activities and funding data. There is little overlap in this list in a prior roundup of 30 innovative biotechs from August.