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What Opportunities Are Emerging in Life Sciences?
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By Brian Gormley, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Biotech startup Mariana Oncology makes radiopharmaceuticals to attack cancer. On Thursday, the company said it would be acquired by drugmaker Novartis for up to $1.75 billion.
For our question of the week, we would like to know: What do you see as the most promising opportunities emerging in life sciences? Email responses to vcnews@wsj.com.
Last week, we asked what is keeping companies from testing the public markets and what would need to happen for the dam to break. Following are edited and condensed excerpts from the responses.
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Lorenzo Paoletti, managing director, head of biotech investment banking for Truist Securities, said several biotechnology startups are contemplating an IPO: I think there are private companies in several different therapeutic areas that are certainly ready to go public. The reality is, it’s not clear if the macro environment is conducive for a healthy number of IPOs. Could you see a few going out in the foreseeable future? You could. Is it going to be a healthy number, a number we would all like to see? Unclear.
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Pradeep Tagare, head of investments for National Grid Partners, lists several developments that could unlock more stock-market debuts: Interest stabilization and a dependable trajectory of rate cuts, elections and the broader markets—rather than just the headline companies—starting to get a better multiple based on better operating results.
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Larry Aschebrook, founder and managing partner of G Squared: Given the more muted expectations for interest-rate cuts than at the start of the year, 2024 will be another lukewarm year for IPOs. We need to see more significant cuts for companies to start testing public markets, then for successful IPOs to build momentum for a more robust pipeline of debuts. In the meantime, private market liquidity pressures continue to build, driving more late-stage companies and their shareholders to find needed liquidity elsewhere—like large-scale secondary sales—taking the pressure off of raising funds via public markets.
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And now on to the news...
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One of Pete Sonsini’s partners in his new Laude Ventures is Andy Konwinski, a co-founder of Databricks, in which Sonsini was an early investor. PHOTO: PAVLO GONCHAR/ZUMA PRESS
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Laude Ventures seeking $75 million or more for its first fund. Venture investor Pete Sonsini, whose highest-profile deal is business software company Databricks, has teamed up with a pair of entrepreneurs in a new venture shop, Laude Ventures Management. Joining Sonsini at Laude, which is raising its first fund, are Andy Konwinski, co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity AI, as well as Andrew Krioukov, co-founder of startups Comfy and Antimatter, according to a pitch-deck slide seen by WSJ Pro Venture Capital, as well as people familiar with the situation.
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Laude Ventures is raising $75 million for its first fund, according to the pitch-deck slide. The upper range for the fund, which hasn’t closed yet, is $125 million, said a person familiar with the situation.
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$2.2 Billion
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The amount Microsoft will invest in cloud and artificial-intelligence infrastructure in Malaysia, coming on the heels of fresh spending plans in Indonesia and Thailand.
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The AI-Generated Population Is Here, and They’re Ready to Work
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Artificial intelligence is making it possible for companies to replace humans in tasks that range from modeling sweaters to participating in clinical trials, The Wall Street Journal reports. AI systems can take in data on a person’s individual characteristics, then predict how they would look in an item of clothing, how they would answer a question or be affected by a disease. This AI content, sometimes referred to as a person’s digital twin, is already being used for a variety of tasks.
More: These Models Gave Up Photoshoots to Sell Their AI Likenesses
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New EU Cyber Rules Aim to Prevent Cascading Outages
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Electricity providers in Europe will soon have to perform cybersecurity risk assessments for regulators, including disclosing incidents, reporting threats and implementing safeguards, under coming rules that aim to prevent hacks from causing blackouts in multiple countries, WSJ Pro reports. The new rules are expected to take effect as soon as lawmakers approve them, which could come as soon as next week. The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, approved the legislation in March.
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Funds
Chicago-based early-stage investor Hyde Park Venture Partners raised nearly $98 million for its fourth fund. The firm closed a $30 million opportunity fund in 2021, and a $100 million third fund in 2019.
People
Kevin Rodrigues was appointed regional managing director at bp ventures, where he will lead the firm's investments and existing portfolio across Europe. He previously held various positions at Credit Suisse, International Finance Corp. and Lightrock.
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Altruist, a Los Angeles-based provider of registered investment adviser tools, landed $169 million in Series E funding, bringing the company’s valuation to more than $1.5 billion. Iconiq Growth led the round, with General Partner Yoonkee Sull joining the company’s board.
Corelight, a San Francisco-based open network detection and response provider, scored $150 million in Series E funding led by Accel.
Transcarent, a personalized health app, collected $126 million in Series D funding. General Catalyst and 7wireVentures co-led the round, which saw additional support from Geodesic Capital and others.
Reunion Neuroscience, a Morristown, N.J.-based startup developing serotonergic psychedelic mental health therapies for postpartum depression and other conditions, completed a $103 million Series A round co-led by MPM BioImpact and Novo Holdings.
Karius, a Redwood City, Calif.-based infectious disease diagnostics startup, secured $100 million in Series C financing co-led by Khosla Ventures, 5AM Ventures and Gilde Healthcare. Khosla’s Alex Morgan, 5AM’s Andrew Booth and Gilde Healthcare’s Joep Muijrers have joined the Karius board.
StrongDM, a privileged access management startup, closed a $34 million Series C round. Anchor Capital led the investment, which included participation from GV, Sequoia Capital and others.
Mimic, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based ransomware defense startup, emerged from stealth with $27 million in seed funding. Ballistic Ventures led the round, with General Partner Ted Schlein joining the board.
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Here is our weekly roundup of stories from across WSJ Pro that we think you'll find useful.
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The Paramount Studios in Los Angeles PHOTO: ERIC THAYER/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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