US-based molecular analysis device producer 908 Devices filed for a $75m initial public offering on Wednesday that would enable oilfield services provider Schlumberger and petroleum supplier Saudi Aramco to exit.
908 Devices provides handheld and desktop mass spectrometry systems that can perform chemical and biomolecular analysis on unknown objects to identify their physical make up.
The company more than doubled revenue year on year to $21.1m for the nine months leading up to the end of September 2020 while cutting its net loss from $13m to $2.7m in the same period. The IPO takings will fund research and development and commercial expansion.
Venture capital firm Northpond Ventures led an $17.5m series E round for 908 Devices in May 2019 that included Saudi Aramco’s investment arm, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV), and Schlumberger, increasing the company’s total funding to $70m.
Sans Capital Ventures, Arch Venture Partners, Razor’s Edge Ventures, Casdin Capital and Tao Capital Partners also participated in the round, the last four having backed a $20m series D alongside Schlumberger and SAEV two years earlier.
The company completed an $11.6m series C round in 2015 led by SAEV and backed by Schlumberger, Arch Venture Partners, Razor’s Edge Ventures and University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC).
Schlumberger, University of Tokyo Edge Capital and existing investors Arch Venture Partners and Razor’s Edge Ventures had supplied $7m in series B funding for 908 Devices in 2013, and In-Q-Tel is among its earlier backers.
Arch Venture Partners is the company’s largest shareholder, with a 22.3% stake, followed by Razor’s Edge Ventures (8.3%), SAEV (6.4%) and UTEC (6.1%).
Cowen and SVB Leerink are lead book-running managers for the IPO, which is set to take place on the Nasdaq Global Market, while William Blair and Stifel are book running managers.
Image courtesy of 908 Devices.
