Ori Capital Closes on $260M for 2nd Life Sciences Fund

Ori Capital, a Hong Kong- and Natick, MA-based life sciences venture capital firm, held the final close of its second fund, ORI Fund II, at $260 million.

The fund will invest in early-stage biotech startups around the world, focusing on areas with “significant unmet medical need and the highest mortality rates.” The VC identified cancer, metabolic disorders, and neurological diseases as potential targets.

The capital infusion will be allocated to firms working in areas that ORI believes will drive considerable growth, including next generation molecules, programmable nuclear acid treatments, immuno-oncology cell therapy, and synthetic biology.

“We are in a golden era of innovation across the intersection of AI and biology, where technological breakthroughs are creating new approaches to diagnosing and treating disease,” said Simone Song, founding partner, ORI Capital.

The firm uses its unique AI-enabled data platform to comb through firms, fund managers, and industry specialists in search of biotechs that suit their disease focus areas. It also uses the data to determine which companies look to have the best probability of success based on leadership experience and technological capabilities.

Since its inception in 2015, the VC has funded several firms with notable exits, including CG Oncology’s recent IPO, which raised a double upsized offering of $380 million; Kymab, which was acquired by Sanofi in January 2021 for $1.1 billion upfront; Semma Therapeutics, which was acquired by Vertex in 2019 for $950 million in cash; as well as Orchard Therapeutics and TriSalus Life Sciences.