23andMe, a US-based genetic testing and analysis provider backed by corporates such as conglomerate Alphabet, is set to raise nearly $200m in a series F round led by Sequoia Capital, TechCrunch reported today.
Fidelity Management & Research is also said to be interested in contributing to the round.
Founded in 2006, 23andMe enables customers to send in a saliva sample that is analysed to gain information about their ancestry and genetically linked health issues, including conditions such as lactose intolerance or late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
The analysis also provides an insight into whether a customer is a carrier for certain inherited conditions.
The series F round would enable the company to continue growth without the pressure of seeking an initial public offering, which the company’s chief executive and co-founder Anne Wojcicki reportedly reluctant to prepare for a flotation.
23andMe previously raised a total of approximately $225m in equity and debt.
The company closed a $115m series E round in 2015 led by Fidelity with participation from Alphabet’s early-stage corporate venturing arm GV, genetic research firm Illumina and WuXi Healthcare Ventures, the investment unit of pharmaceutical firm WuXi PharmaTech.
Casdin Capital, Xfund, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and MPM Capital also contributed to the series E round.
GV, NEA and MPM earlier supplied $57.9m in series D funding in 2012.
In 2011, GV and Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, a subsidiary of healthcare company Johnson & Johnson, took part in a $31m series C round that also included MPM and NEA.
GV had first invested in 23andMe’s $9m series A round in 2007 alongside biotech firm Genentech (since acquired by pharmaceutical company Roche), MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures and NEA. In 2009, GV provided $2.6m while Sergey Brin, co-founder of Alphabet, injected $10m in debt financing.