San Diego Q1 VC Activity Surpass $1 Billion, Biotech Dominates with IPOs and Acquisitions
Learn which San Diego companies received venture capital investments in Q1 2024.
San Diego had a strong quarter with nearly $1 billion invested in the first quarter of 2024, with investments spreading across life sciences, software and consumer sectors.
The region saw fewer deals in Q1 compared to the years prior, and remained difficult for early-stage startups seeking to raise venture capital funding.
We’ve compiled the top five companies that raised funding this quarter for each industry, notable mergers-and-acquisitions and the largest initial public offerings that took place so far.
Please note: Deal amounts are pulled from public filings, Connect San Diego’s Venture Capital Funding Tracker, plus independent research. The data may be incomplete or contain some inaccuracies.
High-Level Overview
Below are San Diego’s top deals in Q1 2024, including tech, bio, and consumer.
Tech: Shield AI (500M), Vervent ($180M), Brain Corp ($32M), Turquoise Health ($30M), RedoxBlox ($25M) Headlight ($18M)
Biotech: Avidity Biosciences ($400M) Engrail ($157M), Rakuten ($119M), BlossomHill ($100M), Kenai Therapeutics ($82M),
Consumer: M2 Ingredients ($25M), Light Helmets ($10M), 9amHealth ($9.5M), EasyChoice Wireless ($1M), AccessParks (Undisclosed)
Acquisitions: RayzeBio acquired ($4.1B), Avidity Biosciences acquired ($2.3B), Inhibrx acquired ($2.2B)
IPOs: Contineum Therapeutics ($150M), Boundless Bio ($100M)
Top five largest tech deals
Shield AI: Late-stage defense-tech company raised raised $500 million.
Vervent: 14-year-old fintech company with 1500 employees raised $180 million.
Brain Corp: a legacy smartphone recycler raised $32 million.
Turquoise Health: an early-stage health tech company raised $30 million.
RedoxBlox: a cybersecurity provider for the medical space raised $25 million.
Top five largest bio deals
Avidity Biosciences: an RNA therapeutics developer raised $400 million.
Engrail Therapeutics: an early-stage biotech raised $157 million.
Rakuten Therapeutics: a global biotech company raised $119 million.
BlossomHill Therapeutics: a 3-year-old biotech raised $100 million.
Kenai Therapeutics: an early-stage biotech raised $82 million.
Top five largest consumer deals
M2 Ingredients: a food production company raised $25 million.
Light Helmets: a helmet manufacturer raised $10 million.
9amHealth: a startup focused on “cardiometabolic care” raised $9.5 million.
AccessParks: a broadband company raised an undisclosed round.
EasyChoice Wireless: a wireless internet brand raised $1 million.
Top Mergers & Acquisitions
Bristol Myers Squibb acquired RayzeBio for $4.1 billion.
Sanofi, a global drugmaker, acquired Inhibrx for $2.2 billion.
Johnson & Johnson acquired Ambrx Biopharma for $2 billion.
Top Initial Public Offerings
Contineum Therapeutics filed for an IPO seeking $150 million.
Boundless Bio filed for an IPO seeking $100 million.
Vuori Clothing reportedly seeks to IPO in the middle of 2024.
Note From This Week’s Newsletter Sponsor:
The LA Fund is a regional venture capital firm that specializes in investments originating from Los Angeles, a thriving hub of media and technology.
The LA Fund is a $10M LA-focused fund with investments into a variety of promising start-ups that are profitable and are sourced from Early Stage LA, Venture Society at UCLA Law, and the Economic Club of Los Angeles (an institutional investor dinner series in Westwood).
Connect with Robert Mowry, General Partner at LA Fund to learn more.