• Clear Labs

  Participated · Series C · May 2021

  Clear Labs develops next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms and integrated solutions for clinical and applied diagnostics. Its platform integrates DNA sequencing, robotics, and cloud-based bioinformatics and analytics to enable healthcare institutions to perform advanced genomics in-house. The company is led by CEO Dr. Sasan Amini and is based in San Carlos, California. Clear Labs raised $30M in a Series D financing. It plans to use the funds to accelerate development and adoption of its NGS solutions and to scale operations to meet demand for fully automated turnkey genomics solutions worldwide. The company also added Kevin Keegan, formerly of Illumina and Becton Dickinson, to its board of directors. Clear Labs builds a fully automated next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform that combines DNA/RNA sequencing, robotics, and cloud-based analytics to deliver turnkey diagnostics for clinical and applied markets. Its Clear Dx Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) workflow can determine the complete SARS-CoV-2 RNA sequence in under 24 hours, and the EUA-approved Clear Dx SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostic Assay enables simultaneous diagnostic screening and genomic surveillance at the price of a traditional PCR test. The company also markets the Clear Safety platform for food safety, used for listeria and salmonella detection, which substitutes PCR, culturing, and antigen-based tests. With the new financing, Clear Labs plans to broaden availability of its solutions to public health organizations, reference labs, hospitals, and epidemiologists and to continue innovating its real-time genomic surveillance and variant-tracking capabilities. The company emphasizes scaling its fully automated sequencing approach to deliver early warning systems and improved pathogen management for future outbreaks. Clear Labs is based in San Carlos, Calif., and has raised $60 million in this Series C financing to accelerate those plans. Clear Labs provides an automated and intelligent diagnostic NGS platform integrating DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, and robotics to safeguard the global food supply and support preventative food safety management systems. Its core product offering is Clear Safety, a food-safety platform the company intends to commercialize. Clear Labs plans to leverage its underlying NGS technology into the clinical market. Specifically, the company aims to enhance the availability and quality of COVID-19 diagnostic tests. In this financing Clear Labs raised an $18M strategic round, bringing total capital raised to $62M to date. Investors in the round included a lead from Redmile Group and participation from Wing VC, Menlo Ventures, Tyson Ventures, Khosla Ventures, GV, Felicis Ventures and HBM Genomics. Clear Labs, led by CEO Sasan Amini, offers Clear Safety, a food-safety testing platform that integrates next-generation sequencing, advanced microbiology, robotic automation, data science and software analytics. The system collects hundreds of millions of data points per analysis and can characterize pathogens in a single test. Currently the platform supports high-volume testing for Salmonella, with plans to add support for additional pathogens and software features in 2019. Clear Labs has over 40 customers globally, including many leading food brands and service labs. The company closed a $21M Series B2 round that brought total funding to $45M. Clear Labs intends to use the funds to ramp up commercial operations and build new Clear Safety features. Clear Labs applies next-generation sequencing (NGS) to food testing, offering microbiome tests and whole-genome sequencing to identify pathogens, ingredient accuracy, origin, GMOs, allergens, nutritional data and off-label additives. Its core product is an NGS-based molecular testing platform positioned as a scalable alternative to inspection- and documentation-based certification methods. The company works with major food brands to deploy these tests across supply chains. Clear Labs plans aggressive commercialization in the U.S., Europe and Asia and intends to use new funding for hiring, accelerating licensing of its technology to third-party laboratories, and expanding its portfolio of tests. Former FDA deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine Michael R. Taylor joined the board to support government relations and industry standing. Financially, the company raised $13 million in Series B, bringing total reported funding to $19.5 million after a prior $6.5 million Series A.

No current team members are available.