BillionToOne Secures $15M Series A to Advance UNITY, a Non-Invasive Prenatal Test Using Molecular Counting for Genetic Disorders

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on March 28, 2019, U.S. biotechnology company BillionToOne announced the completion of a $15 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Hummingbird and NeoTribe, with participation from Y Combinator, Civilization Ventures, and HOF Capital. The funds raised will be used to promote UNITY, its first non-invasive genetic disease testing tool.

Since its founding in 2016, BillionToOne has completed seed and angel financing rounds, raising a cumulative total of over $17 million.

Financing History (Source: Crunchbase, VCBeat)

BillionToOne is a genetic disease testing company headquartered in California, United States. The company was co-founded by Dr. Oguzhan Atay and Dr. David Tao. Dr. Atay graduated with honors from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology. During his doctoral studies at Stanford University, he combined machine learning and genetics to address problems in cell biology. His doctoral thesis was featured on the cover of Cell Systems, garnering widespread influence.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 3 million babies are born with severe genetic disorders worldwide each year. “Amniocentesis” is a traditional method for detecting fetal genetic diseases and is widely used around the world; however, it is a highly invasive procedure. This technique involves inserting a long needle into the uterus to extract fetal cells from the amniotic fluid. The process carries an approximate miscarriage risk of 0.5%, so it is typically performed only when there is already a suspicion that the fetus has a genetic disorder.

BillionToOne has developed a non-invasive alternative with the launch of its new product, UNITY, which enables non-invasive detection of genetic disorders. As the fetus develops, a small number of fetal cells undergo apoptosis, releasing their DNA molecules into the maternal bloodstream. UNITY draws maternal venous blood and precisely quantifies cell-free DNA (extracellular DNA in a cell-free state) to determine whether the fetus is affected by a genetic disorder based on the amount of cell-free DNA detected. Compared with traditional methods, UNITY not only reduces sequencing costs but also improves resolution by more than a thousand-fold, enabling the detection of monogenic diseases, including cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, spinal muscular atrophy, and thalassemia.

Schematic Diagram of Cell-Free DNA (Source: BillionToOne Official Website)

Dr. Oguzhan Atay, Co-founder and CEO of BillionToOne, stated, “Current non-invasive prenatal testing can rule out certain monogenic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis and spinal muscular atrophy. However, detecting certain cancer mutations, such as HER2 in breast cancer, may require cell-free DNA to constitute more than 20% of the total. UNITY can accurately detect cellular mutations at lower concentrations.”

“BillionToOne’s new technology can create an exciting new type of cell-free DNA test that is affordable and accessible,” said Kittu Kolluri, Co-Founder and Managing Director of NeoTribe. “We are thrilled to invest in BillionToOne, and we firmly believe that UNITY will revolutionize the current landscape of genomic sequencing.”

Hummingbird Ventures is an investment partner that grows alongside early-stage technology companies. Founded in 2000, it has offices in London, Ghent, and Istanbul. Its successful investments include Deliveroo, Showpad, Krake, and Clear2pay.

(Compiled by Yang Shaobo)