Viome Secures $25 Million Series B Funding Led by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff to Advance Microbiome-Based Health Diagnostics

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on April 17, Viome, a startup specializing in microbiome monitoring, announced the completion of its $25 million Series B financing round. Investors include Marc Benioff, CEO of IT giant Salesforce; existing investors Bold Capital and Unity Physician Partners; as well as Matthew Harris from the Hambrecht Healthcare Growth Venture Fund and Global Infrastructure Partners.

It is reported that since its establishment in 2016, Viome has raised $45 million in funding, having previously secured a total of approximately $20 million in financing rounds in 2017 and 2018.

Viome CEO Naveen Jain stated that the funding will be used to research the connections between the human microbiome and chronic diseases (such as diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and Parkinson’s disease) as well as cancer. “We are conducting a series of clinical trials targeting approximately 15 diseases,” Jain said. “By studying a broad spectrum of conditions, such as insomnia and pancreatic cancer, we can gain precise insights into the physiological changes occurring within the body, enabling us to prevent and reverse chronic diseases.”

Viome is a microbiome monitoring company headquartered in California, USA. Its competitive advantage is built on two revolutionary technologies: RNA sequencing and artificial intelligence. Viome’s RNA sequencing technology is licensed from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. This technology enables researchers to observe the activity of each bacterial strain and determine whether it produces nutrients or toxins within the gut. Meanwhile, Viome’s AI engine analyzes data from its information database to identify which foods and supplements are optimal for the gut microbiome. Jain believes that Viome can predict an individual’s physiological response to specific foods based on the composition of their microbiome, thereby providing personalized recommendations for health improvement or weight loss.

This claim has sparked controversy within the industry. Jonathan Eisen, a professor at the University of California, Davis, argued that Viome’s technology lacks any scientific basis and described it on Twitter as “the Theranos of the microbiome world.” Theranos was a blood-testing startup that became notorious for its fraudulent technology. Additionally, Sean Gibbons, an assistant professor at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, stated that while dietary changes can modulate the microbiome and impact health, it is premature to draw conclusions about the specific effects of individual foods on personal health.

In response, Jain stated that Viome’s core technology surpasses the microbiome sequencing technologies employed by other companies and noted that Eisen had previously served as a consultant for uBiome, a competitor of Viome. Reportedly, Viome has garnered endorsements from health and wellness celebrities such as Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Dr. Mark Hyman. The company is currently collaborating with the precision medicine firm Helomics to investigate the link between the gut microbiome and ovarian cancer.

In addition, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has demonstrated an interest in health and mental well-being by introducing meditation rooms at the company and investing in Thrive Global, a wellness startup founded by Arianna Huffington.

Salesforce is a customer relationship management (CRM) software service provider founded in 1999, headquartered in San Francisco, USA, offering an on-demand CRM platform. Marc Benioff is the current Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. The company ranked first on Forbes’ list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for four consecutive years. In October 2018, Salesforce was ranked tenth on Fortune’s Change the World list (also known as the “50 Companies That Changed the World”).

Marc Benioff is the founder of IT giant Salesforce. Before establishing Salesforce, he was the youngest senior vice president in Oracle’s history. At the end of the last century, he foresaw that with the development of the internet and the widespread adoption of broadband, an increasing number of enterprises would obtain software services via the internet. Subsequently, he left Oracle and founded Salesforce in 1999, embarking on the exploration of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model. Since then, Marc Benioff has been hailed as the “Terminator of Software.” He pioneered the concepts of cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), marking a new milestone in the development of the internet.

Bold Capital Partners is a venture capital firm based in California, United States, active on the U.S. West Coast, primarily investing in early-stage and growth-stage startups.

Unity Physician Partners is a healthcare company based in Tennessee, United States. Its Unity Health Homes medical clinics aim to integrate comprehensive healthcare services, including specialized care for physical and behavioral health as well as supportive community services, by consolidating resources from various stakeholders to build a robust care delivery framework and a refined service system.

Global Infrastructure Partners is a leading global independent infrastructure investor. GIP combines specialized industry expertise with operational and management experience to deliver superior risk-adjusted investment returns. The firm actively manages diverse portfolios by leveraging the complementary skills and experience of its team, thereby enhancing service quality and financial performance.

(Compiled by Wang Yue)