Benchling Raises $34.5 Million Series C to Fuel Life Sciences R&D

Life sciences R&D cloud platform Benchling closed $34.5 million in Series C funding led by Menlo Ventures. New investors Lead Edge Capital and Y Combinator Continuity participated in the round, as well as returning investors Benchmark and Thrive Capital. According to the company, it has tripled its revenue and customers, winning one hundred new industry and institutional clients since closing its Series B a year ago. 

Launched in 2012, Benchling is used by over 170,000 scientists worldwide, including those in academic labs at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and Berkeley, and industry leaders Zoetis, Beam Therapeutics, Zymergen, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. According to the company, scientists working in fields like CRISPR, CAR-T immunotherapy, and genetic engineering depend on Benchling’s suite of cloud applications to design DNA, collaborate on experiments, manage research workflows, and make R&D decisions.

The company plans to use the investment to grow globally, extend its product lead, and expand commercial relationships.