Exclusive: Cancer biotech Earli seeks $60M Series B
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Earli, a Bay Area biotech developing novel cancer drugs, is seeking to raise a $60 million Series B round, CEO Cyriac Roeding tells Axios Pro exclusively.
Why it matters: Earli is talking to several large pharma companies about potential collaborations, Roeding says.
Zoom in: Earli began fundraising this month, and the process is "moving pretty quickly," he adds.
Follow the money: The company has already raised $105 million from investors such as Khosla Ventures, Gaingels, Accenture and Andreessen Horowitz.
- Earli, which raised a $45 million Series A extension in 2024, currently has runway through the end of the year.
How it works: Earli is using AI to design a new type of cancer drug that creates "genetic switches" that activate only in cancer cells.
- As a result, Earli's technology programs cancer cells into "factories" that produce their own immune therapies and effectively destroy themselves.
- So far, the company is focused on treating lung cancer, but Roeding says it can also address liver and bladder cancers.
- Founded in 2018, Earli is based on concepts out of Stanford University.
What they're saying: Roeding says Earli's approach can help eliminate the pitfalls of currently available cancer drugs.
- "The No. 1 problem is systemic toxicity," Roeding says. "You cannot give people the dose they really should be getting because of side effects."
Catch up quick: Roeding, a serial entrepreneur, previously founded retail rewards app Shopkick, which SK Telecom acquired in 2014 for $250 million.
- He also operates Roeding Ventures, which has invested directly in about 20 startups across AI, robotics, tech bio and fusion.
