Illumnina Ventures closes second fund on USD 325m

Illumina Ventures was launched in 2016 and is headed by Nicholas Naclerio, the former vice-president of Illumina, a US-based pharmaceutical company that focuses on technologies for genetic variation and function analysis.

The VC operates independently from Illumina. The firm held a final close for its debut fund in 2017 on USD 230m.

Illumina Ventures II will follow the same strategy as the firm's debut fund, targeting genomics-focused companies.

Venture capital firms that have raised healthcare and life sciences funds over the past year include Forbion, which held an April 2021 close for its USD 360m Growth Opportunities fund, as well as the close for its EUR 460m Forbion V in December 2020.

Digital health and healthcare technology have also been a focus for many VCs, with firms including MTIP and Heal Capital raising funds to target opportunities in the sector in 2021. Elsewhere, Octopus Ventures registered its debut Healthcare Fund in January 2021, according to Unquote Data, while Earlybird is on the road for its second health fund.

Investors
Illumina committed USD 100m to the firm's first fund in 2016, taking the position of anchor investor in the vehicle. Corporates, institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds also backed the vehicle.

Illumina remains the anchor investor for the firm's second fund, but the vehicle has also seen commitments from institutional investors including the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF).

Investments
Illumina Ventures invests in early-stage genomics companies focusing on the development of life science tools, clinical diagnostics, therapeutics platforms, and digital health platforms.

The firm has invested in 25 companies to date, according to a statement. The fund invests in Europe and the US.

Illumina Ventures' portfolio companies include Ireland-based health testing kits producer LetsGetChecked, which raised a USD 71m Series C in May 2020, followed by a USD 150m funding round in June 2021 that valued the company at more than USD 1bn. Another Illumina Ventures investment was in France-based synthetic DNA producer DNA Script, which it backed in May 2019 as part of a USD 38.5m round.

People
Illumina Ventures – Nick Naclerio (founding partner).

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