Key Takeaways
- • Alphabet's GV is the biggest corporate spender in biotech, participating in deals worth a cumulative $5.23 billion since the beginning of 2025 across 20 deals, according to PitchBook data.
- • GV's total outpaces Eli Lilly, which had 63 deals worth $4.2 billion including its Asia unit, and Sanofi Ventures, with 30 deals worth $3.7 billion.
- • GV, founded in 2009 with $13 billion in assets under management, tends to participate in larger deals, per a PitchBook analysis.
- • J.P. Morgan reports U.S. biopharma venture funding reached $23.9 billion across 385 rounds this year, with 2026 projected to reach $33 billion, topping 2025's $30.5 billion.
- • Investors favored later-stage rounds (series B or later) and selective bets on derisked and AI-driven drugmakers, while first-time fundings fell to their lowest level since Q3 2025.
Summary
Alphabet's GV has become one of the most influential corporate investors in biotechnology, according to data collected by PitchBook cited in a recent BioSpace report. The Google parent's venture arm has participated in deals worth a cumulative $5.23 billion since the beginning of 2025, spread across 20 transactions. That figure exceeds the totals of major pharmaceutical corporate venture investors, including Lilly USA, which took part in 38 deals worth $2.5 billion, and Sanofi Ventures, which participated in 30 deals worth $3.7 billion. Including the separate Lilly Asia Fund, Eli Lilly was involved in 63 deals worth $4.2 billion, still more than $1 billion below GV's total. Pfizer Ventures notched 18 deals worth $1.3 billion.
GV's portfolio includes hundreds of biotechs, among them pancreatic cancer company Revolution Medicines. GV invested in RevMed's $100 million series C in 2019 and exited when the company went public in February 2020. PitchBook analysis indicates GV tends to back larger deals. Founded in 2009, the firm currently manages $13 billion in assets under management.
The report places GV's activity within a broader venture environment. J.P. Morgan reports that U.S. biopharma venture funding reached $23.9 billion across 385 rounds this year, and it projects 2026 funding of $33 billion, which would top last year's $30.5 billion and mark the fourth consecutive year of growth. Third-quarter fundraising slowed, though capital continued to flow. The third quarter saw 68 rounds of $100 million or more, led by Encoded Therapeutics' $275 million series F and Solstice Oncology's $225 million series A, while most rounds were $50 million or less.
Investors favored later-stage financings, series B or later, and remained selective, preferring advanced, derisked assets and AI-driven drugmakers. First-time fundings reached $1.7 billion in the third quarter, the lowest since Q3 2025. Series A and seed financings numbered about 170, down from a peak of 400 in 2021. The U.S. led venture financings despite China's emergence as an innovation hub, though deals involving Chinese biotechs tended toward licensing partnerships with large back-ended payments.
GV's portfolio includes hundreds of biotechs, among them pancreatic cancer company Revolution Medicines. GV invested in RevMed's $100 million series C in 2019 and exited when the company went public in February 2020. PitchBook analysis indicates GV tends to back larger deals. Founded in 2009, the firm currently manages $13 billion in assets under management.
The report places GV's activity within a broader venture environment. J.P. Morgan reports that U.S. biopharma venture funding reached $23.9 billion across 385 rounds this year, and it projects 2026 funding of $33 billion, which would top last year's $30.5 billion and mark the fourth consecutive year of growth. Third-quarter fundraising slowed, though capital continued to flow. The third quarter saw 68 rounds of $100 million or more, led by Encoded Therapeutics' $275 million series F and Solstice Oncology's $225 million series A, while most rounds were $50 million or less.
Investors favored later-stage financings, series B or later, and remained selective, preferring advanced, derisked assets and AI-driven drugmakers. First-time fundings reached $1.7 billion in the third quarter, the lowest since Q3 2025. Series A and seed financings numbered about 170, down from a peak of 400 in 2021. The U.S. led venture financings despite China's emergence as an innovation hub, though deals involving Chinese biotechs tended toward licensing partnerships with large back-ended payments.
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