Investments
62Portfolio Exits
5Funds
2Partners & Customers
1Service Providers
1About Illumina Ventures
Illumina Ventures pursues investments in early stage companies that are pioneering new applications of nucleic acid sequencing, developing products that will expand the genomics ecosystem, and utilizing genomics to improve human health.

Want to inform investors similar to Illumina Ventures about your company?
Submit your Analyst Briefing to get in front of investors, customers, and partners on CB Insights’ platform.
Expert Collections containing Illumina Ventures
Expert Collections are analyst-curated lists that highlight the companies you need to know in the most important technology spaces.
Find Illumina Ventures in 1 Expert Collection, including Synthetic Biology.
Synthetic Biology
382 items
Research containing Illumina Ventures
Get data-driven expert analysis from the CB Insights Intelligence Unit.
CB Insights Intelligence Analysts have mentioned Illumina Ventures in 1 CB Insights research brief, most recently on Jan 31, 2022.
Latest Illumina Ventures News
Sep 23, 2023
Posted on San Francisco, CA — September 21, 2023 — Illumina Ventures today announced that Mara Aspinall, MBA, has joined the Company’s investment team as a Partner. Mara G. Aspinall “Mara brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in genomics and the diagnostics industry to this position,” said Nick Naclerio, PhD, Illumina Ventures Founding Partner. “Her experience ranges from early-stage start-ups to established public companies, and she is recognized as a thought leader in the diagnostics field.” Most recently, Mara served as co-founder and managing director of BlueStone Venture Partners. Previously, she was president and CEO of Ventana Medical Systems, a billion-dollar division of The Roche Group (now Roche Tissue Diagnostics), where she oversaw a world-class team that achieved more than two dozen major instrument and assay launches, as well as global leadership in companion diagnostics. During her tenure at the Genzyme Corporation, Mara served as President of both Genzyme Genetics and Pharmaceuticals, transforming the former from a small, specialized player to one of the top five clinical laboratories in the US and the latter to an international leader in specialized pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing. Mara has served on the boards of numerous public and private companies. Mara was named Arizona Biosciences Leader of the Year by the Arizona Biotechnology Association and one of the “100 Most Inspiring People in Life Sciences” by PharmaVOICE magazine. She co-founded the Biomedical Diagnostics master’s degree program at Arizona State University, the only program dedicated exclusively to diagnostics, genetics and genomics. She publishes the widely read Sensitive & Specific: The Diagnostics Newsletter. During the pandemic, she was an advisor to The Rockefeller Foundation on COVID. Mara earned a Master of Business Administration in management from Harvard Business School after receiving a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and Chinese from Tufts University. “As Mara is a healthcare industry thought leader committed to helping biotech companies achieve success, she will be a strong asset to our team and our work at Illumina Ventures,” added Dr. Naclerio. About Illumina Ventures Illumina Ventures is an independently managed, healthcare-focused venture firm in a strategic partnership with Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN). As an early-stage, value-add investor, Illumina Ventures helps entrepreneurs develop breakthrough science and technologies into market-leading companies to transform healthcare. The firm focuses on investment in life science tools, therapeutics, diagnostics, personal wellness and sustainability. For more information, visit illuminaventures.com. Editors Note: Mara G. Aspinall is a member of the AZBio Board of Directors . Click the image to learn more Click the image to learn more Click the image to learn more about AZBio Membership Click the image to learn more Click the image to enter the AZBio Career Center Click the image to learn more about the AZBio/AZAdvances Public Information Campaign Patients are why we do what we do. Click the image to listen to their stories.
Illumina Ventures Investments
62 Investments
Illumina Ventures has made 62 investments. Their latest investment was in Broken String Biosciences as part of their Series A on September 9, 2023.

Illumina Ventures Investments Activity

Date | Round | Company | Amount | New? | Co-Investors | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9/18/2023 | Series A | Broken String Biosciences | $15M | Yes | 2 | |
8/17/2023 | Series B | Lightcast Discovery | $49M | Yes | 1 | |
7/6/2023 | Series A - II | Actym Therapeutics | $11.24M | No | 1 | |
6/20/2023 | Series A | |||||
5/24/2023 | Series A |
Date | 9/18/2023 | 8/17/2023 | 7/6/2023 | 6/20/2023 | 5/24/2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Series A | Series B | Series A - II | Series A | Series A |
Company | Broken String Biosciences | Lightcast Discovery | Actym Therapeutics | ||
Amount | $15M | $49M | $11.24M | ||
New? | Yes | Yes | No | ||
Co-Investors | |||||
Sources | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Illumina Ventures Portfolio Exits
5 Portfolio Exits
Illumina Ventures has 5 portfolio exits. Their latest portfolio exit was Cernostics on October 19, 2021.
Date | Exit | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Acquirer | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10/19/2021 | Acquired | 3 | |||
Date | 10/19/2021 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Exit | Acquired | ||||
Companies | |||||
Valuation | |||||
Acquirer | |||||
Sources | 3 |
Illumina Ventures Fund History
2 Fund Histories
Illumina Ventures has 2 funds, including Illumina Innovation Fund II.
Closing Date | Fund | Fund Type | Status | Amount | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9/20/2021 | Illumina Innovation Fund II | $325M | 3 | ||
10/16/2017 | Illumina Innovation Fund I |
Closing Date | 9/20/2021 | 10/16/2017 |
---|---|---|
Fund | Illumina Innovation Fund II | Illumina Innovation Fund I |
Fund Type | ||
Status | ||
Amount | $325M | |
Sources | 3 |
Illumina Ventures Partners & Customers
1 Partners and customers
Illumina Ventures has 1 strategic partners and customers. Illumina Ventures recently partnered with AltaReturn on April 4, 2017.
Date | Type | Business Partner | Country | News Snippet | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4/24/2017 | Vendor | United States | AltaReturn selected by Illumina Ventures - Allvue Systems About Illumina Ventures : Illumina Ventures is an independently-managed venture fund with A strategic partnership with Illumina Ventures . | 1 |
Date | 4/24/2017 |
---|---|
Type | Vendor |
Business Partner | |
Country | United States |
News Snippet | AltaReturn selected by Illumina Ventures - Allvue Systems About Illumina Ventures : Illumina Ventures is an independently-managed venture fund with A strategic partnership with Illumina Ventures . |
Sources | 1 |
Illumina Ventures Service Providers
1 Service Provider
Illumina Ventures has 1 service provider relationship
Service Provider | Associated Rounds | Provider Type | Service Type |
---|---|---|---|
Counsel |
Service Provider | |
---|---|
Associated Rounds | |
Provider Type | Counsel |
Service Type |
Partnership data by VentureSource
Illumina Ventures Team
3 Team Members
Illumina Ventures has 3 team members, including current Chief Information Officer, Omer Ayfer.
Name | Work History | Title | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Omer Ayfer | Chief Information Officer | Current | |
Name | Omer Ayfer | ||
---|---|---|---|
Work History | |||
Title | Chief Information Officer | ||
Status | Current |