10 VCs Writing Biotech Series A Checks in 2026

Five years ago, a strong team and a compelling platform story could go a long way when raising capital. Today, the bar for Series A biotech investment is much higher and more asset-driven. As Ben Hemani, Founding Partner at Bison Ventures, puts it, “Investors want to see differentiated science, sure, but also evidence that a team understands how that technology translates into a resilient, scalable commercial market opportunity.”

That change is perhaps most evident in the shift from platform stories to specific therapeutic assets. Harsha Moole, MD, Founding and Managing Partner at PhysicianEstate, pointed out that in 2020–21 you could raise a large Series A on a platform story, a technology engine that could theoretically produce many drugs. “Today the money wants an asset: a specific drug, a specific disease, a clear path to human data,” he said. The platform can still be the foundation, but investors increasingly want to understand which asset will carry the company forward and how it can be translated into a clinical program.

At the same time, investors are becoming more selective about the data needed to support those bets.“Bets are getting concentrated; investors are looking for more de-risked assets, getting involved later and later, with larger checks—data from animal studies, FDA Q-sub meetings, and Phase 1 readouts are pivotal in underwriting risk,” said Moole.

That doesn’t mean smaller rounds, though. “Some datasets put the average biotech Series A near $100 million, which was a Series B number five years ago.” Investors, in other words, would rather commit substantial capital to companies they believe in than spread smaller checks across more bets. “The bar is now commercial, not just scientific.”

That kind of capital comes with a higher bar of proof. “For founders preparing for a Series A, I’d prioritize ruthlessly focusing on those proof points,” said Hemani. “Identify the technical and commercial milestones that will change an investor’s perception of risk, generate the data to support them, and build external validation with customers and partners that shows you’re poised to go-to-market.” His advice is to “demonstrate you understand the risks, and in spite of them, have a high probability of success.”

Moole takes a similarly milestone-driven approach, advising founders to work backward from what a term sheet requires. “First, focus on the killer experiment—the single data package that removes the most risk for the least money.” The next step is to fill the team gaps, as every management hole will impact a startup’s valuation. Moole recommends that founders also meet with 15 to 20 relevant investors before raising, not so much to pitch as to update them officially, so your leads are warm when you’re ready to execute. Finally, get the numbers airtight. “A budget tied to milestones and a clear, concise answer to why an acquirer eventually buys this,” he added.

Taken together, these perspectives point to a Series A market that is more concentrated and demanding, but also capable of deploying significantly more capital behind companies that can clear the bar. The firms below all showed notable Series A activity in 2026, with a consistent track record of backing early-stage biotech, a clear focus on the sector, and a hand in building the next generation of biotech companies. The deals cited are representative of each firm’s recent Series A activity, not a complete tally.

Notable Series A Deals: The firm led four Series A investments in 2026, including standout rounds for Oratomic ($300M), Salma Health ($80M), and Countable Labs ($26M), alongside participation in Moleculent’s $20M Series A.

Focus: Therapeutics broadly, including oncology, immunology, infectious disease, rare disease, cell and gene therapy, genomics, AI-enabled biology, and deep-tech platforms.

Role in the round: ARCH has backed numerous companies founded by academic scientists, including first-time founders. The firm often leads or co-leads massive, highly concentrated Series A rounds. 

Check size: ARCH’s check size is highly flexible and depends on company needs. The firm has backed companies with investments ranging from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions. In general, seed and Series A checks range from $500K to $5M, but ARCH tailors investments to each company's capital needs.

Notable milestones: Parabilis Medicines completed a $670 million offering in June 2026, one of the year’s largest biotech public offerings. And ARCH-backed Generate Biomedicines went public with a $400 million offering. 

Sourcing: ARCH primarily relies on science-driven sourcing and company creation. ARCH combines internal company creation with investments in externally founded companies.

First-time founders: Yes. ARCH frequently backs scientific founders and first-time biotech entrepreneurs.

Geography: Primarily North America, with the majority of investments in US-based companies,while selectively backing companies in Europe and other innovation hubs. 

The take: ARCH is the ultimate “science-first” biotech builder. The firm is known for transforming breakthrough research into companies before markets fully recognize their potential.

Notable Series A Deals: Atlas launched Ethyreal Bio with up to $101 million in committed financing, participated in Vima Therapeutics' $40 million Series A extension in March, and helped launch Caldera Therapeutics, which emerged from stealth with $112.5 million in financing.

Focus: Early-stage therapeutics across oncology, immunology, rare disease, genetic medicines, biologics, and small molecules.

Role in the round: Atlas frequently serves as the lead or co-lead investor in Series A rounds.

Check size: Pre-seed, Seed, and Series A checks average $500K to 1M on average. The firm may provide additional funding in later rounds. 

Notable milestones: In June 2026, Atlas-backed Antares Therapeutics entered a multi-target cancer drug discovery partnership with Novartis worth up to $1.9 billion. 

Recent deals: Atlas has remained active in company creation and early-stage financings, backing new therapeutics companies in autoimmune disease, neuroscience, oncology, and precision medicine through launches, Series A extensions, and follow-on investments. 

Sourcing: Atlas uses a hybrid sourcing model. The firm identifies opportunities through academic science networks, repeat founders, and inbound opportunities.

First-time founders: Yes. Atlas actively backs first-time biotech CEOs and scientific founders.

Geography: Based in Cambridge, MA, and invests primarily in North American startups. 

The take: Atlas is one of biotech’s purest early-stage specialists. The firm focuses on translating scientific discoveries into venture-backed companies.

Notable Series A Deals: The firm has backed a few significant biotech Series A rounds in 2026, including AirNexis Therapeutics ($200M) and Mendra ($82M), demonstrating continued commitment to early-stage biotech.

Focus: Broad healthcare, including therapeutics, oncology, rare disease, immunology, and biotech platforms.

Role in the round: OrbiMed participates as both a lead investor and syndicate participant depending on the opportunity.

Check size: OrbiMed Private Investments VIII is the firm's flagship venture fund. Invests in venture-stage companies in North America and Europe, including Seed, Series A, Series B, and later private rounds. It targets investments of $10 million–$100 million per portfolio company. 

Notable milestones: Secured a $75M credit facility as sole lender for The Oncology Institute in July and executed a $125M position reduction in Terns Pharmaceuticals following a breakout clinical rally in February. 

Sourcing: OrbiMed is primarily investment-driven rather than incubator-driven. The firm relies on its extensive healthcare network and industry expertise to identify opportunities.

First-time founders: Case-by-case.

Geography: Global.

The take: OrbiMed is a healthcare heavyweight that combines specialist biotech expertise with institutional-scale investment capital.

Notable Series A Deals: RA Capital Management was an active investor in biotech Series A financings in 2026, including Serapha Bio ($138M), Slate Medicines ($130M), cAMPfield Therapeutics ($180M), Stipple Bio ($100M), and Secretome Therapeutics ($30M).

Focus: Therapeutics, oncology, rare disease, and clinical-stage biotechnology companies.

Role in the round: RA Capital often participates in venture rounds. The firm also takes lead investor positions in select opportunities.

Check size: Their minimum check is $500K for early stages, including Series A, and their maximum check is $75M for more established companies.

Notable milestones: Achieved a major portfolio exit in April when Eli Lilly acquired RA Capital-backed Ajax Therapeutics and executed a $175M SPAC business combination with Oak Hill Bio via Research Alliance Corporation III in July. 

Sourcing: RA Capital relies heavily on scientific diligence and healthcare investment networks.

First-time founders: Case-by-case.

Geography: Headquartered in Boston, MA. Primarily invests in U.S. and Europe-based companies. 

The take: RA Capital is known for its exceptionally deep scientific diligence and its ability to invest across both private and public biotech markets.

Notable Series A Deals: The firm’s recent biotech activity includes co-leading Slate Medicines’ $130M Series A in 2026 and participating in Korsana Biosciences’ $150M Series A in 2025, reflecting continued investment in high-growth biotech companies.

Focus: Precision medicine, genomics, AI-enabled biotechnology, and therapeutics.

Role in the round: Foresite leads, or co-leads select opportunities. The firm also participates alongside other investors in broader syndicates.

Check size: Foresite Capital invests across a range of stages, from Series A to Series D and growth equity, with check sizes ranging from $50 million to $120 million. About 50 percent of its resources are allocated to early-stage companies.

Notable milestones: Foresite closed its sixth flagship fund, Foresite Capital Fund VI, with approximately $969 million in committed capital, expanding its ability to invest across healthcare and life sciences.

Sourcing: The firm uses a hybrid approach that combines thesis-driven sourcing with founder networks.

First-time founders: Yes. Investment decisions depend on scientific strength and overall team composition.

Geography: They primarily invest in U.S. companies, and have offices in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and New York. 

The take: Foresite is a data-driven healthcare investor increasingly focused on the intersection of AI and biology.

Notable Series A Deals: Sofinnova Partners participated in several 2026 Series A financings, including Verley (formerly Bon Vivant, $38M) and Bionyra Pharma ($165M). Sofinnova co-led Bionyra’s $165M Series A and participated in Verley’s $38M Series A. It also participated in BrightHeart’s €11M ($12.8M) Series A for its AI-powered prenatal ultrasound platform.

Focus: Biopharmaceuticals, therapeutics, medtech, and industrial biotechnology, with a strong emphasis on early-stage company creation.

Role in the round: Sofinnova frequently serves as a founding or lead investor in early-stage companies, while participating alongside other investors in later-stage financings.

Check size: Not publicly disclosed as a standard check size. Its Capital strategy is backed by a €650M fund (2025 vintage), giving it capacity to support companies across multiple stages.

Notable milestones: In 2026, Sofinnova co-led Bionyra Pharma's $165M Series A, following the firm's creation of the company around a thesis in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Sourcing: Strongly network- and science-driven, with more than 2,000 potential deals reportedly coming through the firm's network annually. Sofinnova also increasingly uses its proprietary Sofia AI platform across sourcing and investment evaluation.

First-time founders: Open to first-time founders, particularly through its company-creation and incubation strategies; Bionyra is a strong example, with Sofinnova helping identify the thesis, assets and first CEO.

Geography: Headquartered in Paris, with offices in London and Milan; invests broadly across Europe and selectively in global opportunities.

The take: Sofinnova stands out for its combination of company creation, deep scientific expertise and substantial early-stage capital, making it particularly relevant for European biotech founders looking for an investor that can stay involved through development.

Notable Series A Deals: F-Prime Capital has participated in several notable 2026 life-sciences Series A financings, including Immutrin (£65M/$87M) and Countable Labs ($26M). F-Prime also made a number of Series A investments across fintech, AI and healthcare technology, including Alfred ($15M), Fazeshift ($17M), Pie ($19.5M), Venice AI ($65M) and Flourish Health ($26M).

Focus: Therapeutics, biotechnology, medtech, healthtech, and healthcare services, alongside technology and fintech.

Role in the round: F-Prime can lead or co-lead Series A financings, but also frequently participates alongside specialist healthcare investors. Its 2026 activity includes both lead positions and follow-on participation.

Check size: F-Prime does not publicly disclose a standard Series A check size. The firm manages approximately $5.3B and describes itself as an early-stage investor by choice, while retaining flexibility to invest at later stages.

Notable milestones: In 2026, F-Prime participated in biotech/life-sciences Series A financings including Immutrin (£65M/$87M) and Countable Labs ($26M), while also making Series A investments across fintech, AI and healthcare technology.

Sourcing: F-Prime combines sector-specialist investors with scientific, medical and operating expertise. Its ecosystem-building also includes events such as Science2Startup, which it co-hosted in 2026 with Atlas Venture, 5AM Ventures, RA Capital and others.

First-time founders: Open to entrepreneurial teams and company creation; F-Prime's portfolio includes Curie.Bio, a founder-focused therapeutics accelerator designed to help entrepreneurs build companies toward Series A.

Geography: Global, with investments across the Americas, Europe and Asia.

The take: F-Prime is a broad healthcare investor rather than a pure-play biotech fund, giving founders access to a wider network spanning therapeutics, medtech, healthtech and technology.

Notable Series A Deals: Frazier Life Sciences has been particularly active in 2026, leading Series A financings for AirNexis Therapeutics ($200M), Immutrin (£65M/$87M), cAMPfield Therapeutics ($180M), and RQ Bio (£85.5M/$115M). Frazier also participated in Vima Therapeutics’ $40M Series A extension, bringing the company’s total Series A to $100M.

Focus: Biopharmaceuticals, therapeutics, drug discovery, and clinical-stage biotechnology, with a strong emphasis on company creation.

Role in the round: Frazier frequently leads or co-leads Series A financings and seeks meaningful ownership positions; its venture strategy emphasizes early-round private investments and company creation.

Check size: Frazier does not publicly state a standard check size. Its strategy targets meaningful equity ownership of more than 20%, suggesting substantially larger commitments than a typical passive Series A participant.

Notable milestones: Frazier was particularly active in 2026, leading Series A financings for AirNexis Therapeutics ($200M), cAMPfield Therapeutics ($180M), RQ Bio ($115M) and Immutrin (£65M/$87M). It also participated in Vima Therapeutics' $40M Series A extension.

Sourcing: Frazier combines deep scientific and clinical expertise with an extensive entrepreneur and company-creation network. The firm has built and backed companies across multiple therapeutic areas for more than three decades.

First-time founders: Particularly founder-friendly when the opportunity involves company creation; Frazier explicitly emphasizes experienced company creators and long-term partnerships with management.

Geography: U.S.-based, headquartered in Palo Alto with offices in San Diego, Boston and Seattle; Frazier also has a London presence and invests globally in biopharma.

The take: Frazier is one of the cleanest fits for a biotech Series A investor: therapeutics-focused, willing to lead large rounds, comfortable creating companies from scratch and structured to maintain significant ownership through clinical development.

Notable Series A Deals: DCVC Bio participated in Latus Bio’s $43M Series A extension, bringing the company’s total Series A financing to $97M, and joined Syntax Bio’s $14.4M Series A extension.

Focus: Computational biology, AI-enabled drug discovery, synthetic biology, molecular engineering, agriculture and other deep-tech applications of biology. DCVC Bio focuses on companies combining fundamental biology with advanced technology.

Role in the round: DCVC Bio both leads/co-leads and participates in Series A financings. In 2026, its notable activity included joining Latus Bio's $43M Series A extension and Syntax Bio's $14.4M Series A extension.

Check size: DCVC Bio does not publicly disclose a standard check size. Its approach is flexible across company stages and technologies, with investment decisions driven heavily by scientific and technical differentiation.

Notable milestones: Its portfolio includes major computational-biology successes such as AbCellera, which DCVC Bio led through a $10M Series A in 2019. In 2026, Latus Bio expanded its Series A to $97M and Syntax Bio expanded its Series A to $14.4M with DCVC Bio participating.

Sourcing: Highly science-driven, with a team spanning genetics, chemistry, molecular biology, agriculture, industrial fermentation and AI. DCVC explicitly invites founders combining biological insight and engineering/deep computation to approach the firm directly.

First-time founders: Strong fit for technical and scientific founders. DCVC describes its investment team as scientist-inventor-operators and emphasizes backing founders with deep technical expertise and ambitious scientific goals.

Geography: U.S.-based, with offices in Palo Alto and San Francisco, while investing internationally in deep-tech life sciences.

The take: DCVC Bio is differentiated by its deep-tech orientation: it is particularly compelling for founders building at the intersection of biology, computation, AI and engineering rather than conventional drug-development companies.

Notable Series A Deals: The firm has led two significant Series A rounds across the 2025–2026 period, backing ProLynx ($70M) at year-end 2025 and Mendra ($82M) in January 2026.

Focus: Early-stage therapeutics, oncology, immunology, genetic medicines, synthetic biology, diagnostics, medical technology, and platform biotechnology.

Role in the round: 5AM frequently leads or co-leads early-stage investment rounds.

Check size: The firm focuses on seed and Series A investments. Typical investments range from $100K-5M.

Notable milestones: Vertex Pharmaceuticals acquired 5AM-backed Crinetics Pharmaceuticals for $10 billion. The firm also backed Precede Biosciences as part of a massive $83.5 million cumulative financing round, and participated in a $103 million Series B round for Kinaset Therapeutics.

Sourcing: 5AM leverages strong academic and founder networks. The firm also evaluates inbound opportunities from entrepreneurs and researchers.

First-time founders: Yes. Supporting first-time scientific founders is one of the firm’s core strengths as is helping build experienced management teams.

Geography: US-focused.

The take: 5AM is a classic seed-to-Series A biotech investor focused on transforming academic science into venture-backed startups.