Tempus, a health technology startup based in Chicago, raised $200 million in new funding at a $3.1 billion valuation, the company announced on Thursday. Tempus was launched in 2015 by Groupon cofounder Eric Lefkofsky. To date the business has raised $520 million over six funding rounds. Investors in the latest round include New Enterprise Associates, Novo Holdings, Revolution Growth—chaired by AOL cofounder Steve Case—and funds and accounts managed by T. Rowe Price. Lefkofsky also participated; he has put more than $100 million of his own money into the business. At its core, Tempus is a data company. It gathers and analyzes clinical and molecular data, mainly related to cancer treatment, and is creating a library of that information it hopes will lead to more precise healthcare. Clinicians and researchers will be able to see trends in patient outcomes and target their work accordingly. Tempus says it is already enabling this kind of analysis, though it has not yet published data showing that its services improve quality of care. The company says it works with 70% of U.S. oncology centers, who use some of its genomic sequencing services or its data library. Still, at present Tempus faces heavy competition, including from Foundation Medicine, which was acquired by Roche last summer and is considered the dominant player in the space. The latest funding round will facilitate Tempus’ growth and help it expand beyond cancer, to areas like depression and diabetes. “Tempus has been singularly focused on improving the lives of patients diagnosed with disease, starting with cancer,” Lefkofsky said in a statement. “We are humbled by the industry response thus far and remain committed to delivering on the promise of precision medicine to improve patient care.” Lefkofsky, 49, founded the business after his wife, Liz, was diagnosed with breast cancer. “I found myself spending a bunch of time in the clinic and I was just perplexed at how little data was there for her care,” he told Forbes last year. (Tempus says that Liz is currently “doing well and is taking it one day at a time.”) Lefkofsky is best known as a cofounder of Groupon, the online discounts marketplace he helped take public in 2011. He still serves as its chairman, though he spends virtually all of his time on Tempus. Forbes estimates Lefkofsky’s net worth at $2.4 billion.
Chicago - based start - up Tempus has raised $ 200 million from investors including Novo Holdings and Revolution Growth , and gained a valuation of $ 3.1bn . Tempus , created by Groupon co - founder Eric Lefkofsky , collects and analyses clinical and molecular information for a database that will enable more precise health information . The company said the latest investment will allow it to shift its focus from cancer to conditions including depression and diabetes .