When was Athersys founded?

Athersys was founded in 1995 and raised its 1st funding round 5 years after it was founded.

Where is Athersys located?

Athersys is headquartered in Cleveland, United States.

How many employees does Athersys have?

As of Jul 31, 2026, the latest employee count at Athersys is 35.

Is Athersys a funded company?

Athersys is a funded company, having raised a total of $74.4M across 15 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $***** Series C round, raised on May 08, 2000.

When was the latest funding round of Athersys?

Athersys' latest funding was a $***** Post IPO round on Mar 30, 2020, with participation from 1 investor. Its primary sector is Diversified Pharmaceuticals. In United States, the Diversified Pharmaceuticals sector has seen $585M in funding in 2026 to date.

What is the annual revenue of Athersys?

Annual revenue of Athersys is between $1M and $10M as on Dec 31, 2022

Where does Athersys rank among its competitors?

Athersys ranks 70th amongst 1899 active competitors, of which 113 are funded. It stands 3rd in terms of total funding among its competitors. The most recent competitor to raise funding was AstraZeneca, which secured $6.05M in Jul, 2025.

Who are the top competitors of Athersys?

Athersys' top competitors include AbbVie, Gilead and Amgen. Among them, AstraZeneca secured the most recent funding round in July, 2025.

Athersys - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding, Competitors & Financials

Athersys is a public company based in Cleveland (United States), founded in 1995 by Hunt Willard. It operates as a Stem Cell Therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease areas. Athersys has raised $74.4M in funding. The company has 1899 active competitors, including 113 funded and 212 that have exited. Its top competitors include companies like AbbVie, Gilead and Amgen.

Company Details

Athersys engaged in the discovery and development of therapeutic product candidates to treat different cardiovascular, neurological, inflammatory diseases. Its product portfolio includes MultiStem, a stem cell product, which is being developed as a treatment for multiple disease indications such as Ischemic stroke, Acute myocardial infarction, Inflammatory bowel disease. In addition, the Company is developing pharmaceuticals to treat indications such as obesity, certain cognitive and attention disorders, and narcolepsy or other forms of excessive daytime sleepiness.

Website: www.athersys.com
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Key Metrics

Founded Year

1995

Location

Cleveland, United States

Stage

Public

Total Funding

$74.4M in 15 rounds

Latest Funding Round

Post IPO, Mar 30, 2020, $*****

Investors

Western Technology Investment & 19 more

Ranked

70^th among 1899 active competitors

Annual Revenue

$1M - $10M as on Dec 31, 2022

Employee Count

35 as on Jul 31, 2026

Similar Companies

Ensoma & 79 more

Exit Details

Public

View Athersys' full profile

Athersys is associated with 2 legal entities given below:

Legal Entity Name	Date of Incorporation	Revenue	Latest Employee Count	Documents
Athersys, Inc / New CIN: 1368148 , United States, Active	Jan 08, 2019	$1M - $10M (As on Dec 31, 2022)	24 (As on Dec 31, 2022)	-
Athersys, Inc. CIN: 341830213 , United States, Active		-	13 (As on Dec 31, 2023)	-

Athersys got listed on Jun 12, 2007.

Click here to take a look at Athersys's IPO in detail

Athersys has raised a total funding of $74.4M over 15 rounds. Its first funding round was on May 08, 2000. Its latest funding round was a Post IPO round on Mar 30, 2020 for $*****. 1 investor participated in its latest round. Athersys has 20 institutional investors.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of Athersys:

Filter this list

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Mar 30, 2020	9032241	Post IPO	4294338	6792978	1696321	8479711
Nov 26, 2019	3236409	Post IPO	7817975	1970969	3281880	Aspire Capital
Aug 15, 2017	4650485	Grant (prize money)	2500281	9185653	5486455	HHS

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View details of Athersys's funding rounds and investors

The founders of Athersys is Hunt Willard.

Here are the details of Athersys' key team members:

Hunt Willard: Co-Founder of Athersys.

View details of Athersys's Founder profiles and Board Members

Athersys' employee count trend

Athersys has 35 employees as of Jul 26. Here is Athersys's employee count trend over the years:

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Top competitors of Athersys include AbbVie, Gilead and Amgen. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of Athersys, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	AbbVie 2012, Chicago (United States), Public	Research-based biopharmaceutical company	$14.7B	Berkshire Hathaway, Alcor Fund & 9 others	83/100
2nd	Gilead 1987, Foster City (United States), Acquired	Developer of medicines to treat HIV/AIDS, liver diseases, cancer & others	-	BB Biotech, Jindal ventures & 17 others	81/100
3rd	Amgen 1980, Thousand Oaks (United States), Public	Developer of pharmaceutical products for treating multiple diseases	-	Digital Pharma Lab, Amgen Business Development ... & 11 others	79/100
4th	AstraZeneca 1999, Cambridge (United Kingdom), Public	Developer of pharmaceutical medicines for oncology and various chronic diseases	-	Digital Pharma Lab, Columbia Capital & 13 others	76/100
5th	Lilly 1876, Indianapolis (United States), Public	Developer of traditional pharmaceutical medicines	-	Alcor Fund, Digital Pharma Lab & 11 others	75/100
6th	Johnson & Johnson 1886, New Brunswick (United States), Public	Manufacturer and supplier of beauty care products, medical devices, and pharmaceutical products	-	Western Technology Investment, Alcor Fund ... & 16 others	74/100
7th	Roivant Sciences 2014, New York City (United States), Public	Developer of therapeutics to treat neurology, oncology, rare, and endocrinology based diseases	$1.3B	SoftBank Vision Fund, NovaQuest Capital Management ... & 8 others	72/100
8th	Novartis 1996, Basel (Switzerland), Acquired	R&D focused on manufacturing of drugs for multiple therapeutic areas	-	Digital Pharma Lab, Atlas Venture & 9 others	71/100
9th	Roche 1896, Basel (Switzerland), Public	Developer of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics kits	-	Gilde Healthcare, SoftBank Group & 11 others	70/100
10th	Genentech 1976, San Francisco (United States), Acquired	R&D company focused on manufacturing drugs for multiple therapeutic areas	$72.5M	Ignite 500, The Column Group & 4 others	68/100
70th	Athersys 1995, Cleveland (United States), Public	Stem Cell Therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease areas	$74.4M	Western Technology Investment, Ignite 500 ... & 18 others	52/100