ORI Capital has raised $260 million, the venture capital firm’s second life sciences fund that will go toward early-stage biotechs worldwide.
The Hong Kong- and U.S.-based investment firm will support companies focused on diagnostics, therapeutics and drug delivery for conditions with large unmet need and high mortality rates, according to a Feb. 22 release. Those indications include cancer, metabolic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, ORI said.
The VC touts an AI-driven research platform and has identified themes such as next-gen small molecules, programmable nuclear acid therapies, immuno-oncology cell therapy and synthetic biology as key drivers of growth. The company’s new fund will be used to invest in companies pursuing these approaches.
“We are in a golden era of innovation across the intersection of AI and biology, where technological breakthroughs are creating new approaches to diagnosing and treating disease,” Simone Song, founding partner of ORI Capital, said in the release. “We believe the current environment provides an attractive opportunity for investing in the next generation of leading biotech companies.”
Since launching in 2015, the VC has supported several companies with notable exits, including CG Oncology’s recent IPO that raised an upsized $380 million.