About Life Sciences
There are 83.9K companies in the Life Sciences sector across the world, with 32.4K funded companies having collectively raised $1.03T in venture capital money and private equity. Overall 16.5K of these are Series A+ funded and the sector has seen the creation of 88 Unicorns.
Life Sciences sector has seen 6.08K acquisitions and 3.57K IPOs. This represents almost 11.5% of all such companies - which is higher than the 3.9% exit rate of tech companies in general.
This sector includes companies providing disease specific and disease agnostic therapy, diagnostic solutions, drugs, and life science R7D.
Life Sciences sector is also known as Biotech or Biological Sciences.
Companies included in Life Sciences sector
It includes companies developing drugs, devices and diagnostic tests for various diseases, nutraceutical supplements, and solutions for life science researchCompanies excluded in Life Sciences sector
It excludes digital health platforms, assistive technology etc for the health industryReports related to Life Sciences
Here is a report related to Life Sciences sector:
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There are more than 83.9K companies in Life Sciences. Medidata is the top Life Sciences company globally, ranked using Tracxn Score (what's this?).
Here are 5 of the top Life Sciences companies globally:
Company | Description | Location | Founded | Current Stage | Private Funding Raised |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AI-based clinical trial management software for researchers | New York City (United States) | 1999 | Acquired | $41.5M | |
Provider of an online genealogy platform offering a host of services | Lehi (United States) | 1996 | Acquired | $446M | |
Research-based biopharmaceutical company | Chicago (United States) | 2012 | Public | $14.7B | |
Developer of an array of connected products | Moulineaux (France) | 2008 | Acquired | $93.8M | |
Manufacturer of pharmaceutical products | Rahway (United States) | 1891 | Public | - |
Companies founded year-on-year in the Life Sciences sector
932 new startups have been founded so far in 2026 in the Life Sciences sector. 4,039 Life Sciences startups were founded in 2019 - this is the most number of startups founded in any year in the last 10 years.
- Total Number of Companies
Year | No. of companies |
|---|---|
2026 | 932 |
2025 | 1,112 |
2024 | 1,339 |
2023 | 1,691 |
2022 | 2,045 |
2021 | 2,773 |
2020 | 3,941 |
2019 | 4,039 |
2018 | 4,039 |
2017 | 3,852 |
Companies founded across countries in the Life Sciences sector
United States has 32,113 Life Sciences startups, the most by any country, followed by India which has 7,680 startups and United Kingdom which has 5,350.
- Total Number of Companies
Country | No. of companies |
|---|---|
United States | 32,113 |
India | 7,680 |
United Kingdom | 5,350 |
China | 4,316 |
Germany | 3,733 |
Canada | 2,682 |
France | 1,815 |
Israel | 1,768 |
South Korea | 1,538 |
Switzerland | 1,404 |
Stage-wise distribution of the Life Sciences sector
Out of the total 83,876 Life Sciences companies, 32,385 have secured funding. Among them, 16,457 have reached Series A or higher, and 12,805 to Series B or beyond.
Founded - 83,876
Funded - 32,385
Series A+ - 16,457
Series B+ - 12,805
Series C+ - 11,051
Company Stage | No. of companies |
|---|---|
Founded | 83,876 |
Funded | 32,385 |
Series A+ | 16,457 |
Series B+ | 12,805 |
Series C+ | 11,051 |
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- 83.9K+ Total Companies
- $1.03T+ Total Funding
- 32.4K+ Funded Companies
- 3.6K+ IPOs
- 6.1K+ Acquisitions
- 1.1K+ Reports
Funding Trends in the Life Sciences sector
Total funding year-on-year in the Life Sciences sector
The Life Sciences sector saw a total funding of more than $687B in the last 10 years. The most amount of funding was in 2018 at more than $124B. There has been a total funding of $46.7B in 2026 till date.
- Total Funding
Year | Total Funding |
|---|---|
2026 | $46.7B |
2025 | $56.4B |
2024 | $51.3B |
2023 | $44.3B |
2022 | $62.6B |
2021 | $91.5B |
2020 | $89B |
2019 | $74B |
2018 | $124B |
2017 | $46.8B |
Total funding across countries in the Life Sciences sector
In the last 10 years, Life Sciences startups in United States have recieved the highest funding among all countries - $423B. China follows with $43.9B and United Kingdom with $34.5B.
- Total Funding
Country | Total Funding |
|---|---|
United States | $423B |
China | $43.9B |
United Kingdom | $34.5B |
Canada | $18.1B |
Switzerland | $17.2B |
France | $12.8B |
Germany | $11.2B |
Israel | $10.3B |
India | $8.1B |
Spain | $2.62B |
Total funding amount raised by stage in the Life Sciences sector
Over the last 10 years, the Life Sciences sector have seen $16.9B into Seed Stage funding rounds, $214B into Early Stage funding rounds and $161B go into Late Stage funding rounds.
Funding Stage | Total Funding |
|---|---|
Early Stage | $214B |
Late Stage | $161B |
Post IPO | $118B |
Debt | $114B |
Grant | $22.1B |
Seed Stage | $16.9B |
PE | $7.22B |
Other-Equity | $236M |
ICO | $35.2M |
Recent Funding Rounds in Life Sciences
In the year 2026, till October 2026, Life Sciences companies have raised $36.2B in equity funding across 1.28K rounds.
In the same period last year (i.e. till October 2025), Life Sciences companies had raised $32.9B across 1.56K rounds.
So, 2026 has seen a 9.99% rise in funding in Life Sciences companies as compared to 2025.
Here are some recent, important funding rounds in Life Sciences:
Company | Round Raised | Amount Raised | Funding Date | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Series B | 3797 | Oct 09, 2026 | ||
Series D | 3554 | Oct 08, 2026 | ||
Seed | 4028 | Oct 07, 2026 | ||
Series A | 8885 | Oct 07, 2026 | - | |
Series B | 6279 | Oct 06, 2026 |
Top Investors in Life Sciences
HHS is the top investor in Life Sciences companies based on number of companies invested.
Here are some top investors in Life Sciences:
Investor | Location | Top Portfolio Companies |
|---|---|---|
Washington, DC (United States) | ||
Arlington (United States) | ||
Brussels (Belgium) | ||
M&A activity in Life Sciences
In the year 2026, till October 2026, 227 acquisitions happened in Life Sciences sector. Last year, in 2025, a total of 327 acquisitions happened in Life Sciences sector.
Here are some recent, important acquisitions in Life Sciences:
Company | Acquisition Type | Acquisition Date | Acquirers |
|---|---|---|---|
Business Acquisition | Oct 07, 2026 | ||
Business Acquisition | Oct 07, 2026 | ||
Business Acquisition | Oct 06, 2026 | ||
Business Acquisition | Oct 05, 2026 | ||
Business Acquisition | Oct 05, 2026 |
Acquisition trends in Life Sciences
Here are the acquisition trends in Life Sciences:
- Total Number of Acquisitions
Year | No. of companies |
|---|---|
2026 | 227 |
2025 | 327 |
2024 | 327 |
2023 | 369 |
2022 | 470 |
2021 | 525 |
2020 | 404 |
2019 | 417 |
2018 | 451 |
2017 | 418 |
IPOs in Life Sciences
In the year 2026, till September 2026, 65 IPOs happened in Life Sciences sector.
Here are some recent, important IPOs in Life Sciences:
Company | IPO Date | Exchange Symbol |
|---|---|---|
Sep 25, 2026 | National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) | |
Sep 18, 2026 | National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) | |
Sep 09, 2026 | National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) | |
Sep 01, 2026 | Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), National Stock Exchange (NSE) | |
Aug 18, 2026 | Korea Exchange (KRX) |
Colleges which produce the most Life Sciences companies
Companies founded by alumni from top colleges in the Life Sciences sector
Most number of Life Sciences startups have been founded by alumni from Harvard University, Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
College | No. of companies |
|---|---|
Harvard University | 634 |
Stanford University | 619 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 596 |
University of California (Berkeley) | 364 |
University of Cambridge | 323 |
University of Pennsylvania | 323 |
University of Oxford | 277 |
Cornell University | 248 |
Tel Aviv University | 226 |
University of California (Los Angeles) | 223 |
Total funding in companies founded by alumni from top colleges in the the Life Sciences sector
In the last 10 years, Harvard University graduates' Life Sciences companies have raised the most funding among top colleges. Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni are second, and Yale University alumni are third.
College | Total Funding |
|---|---|
Harvard University | $70.5B |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | $62.5B |
Yale University | $44.8B |
Stanford University | $44.2B |
University of Cambridge | $36.4B |
University of California (Berkeley) | $23.5B |
Cornell University | $16.5B |
University of Oxford | $14B |
University of California (Los Angeles) | $13.3B |
Stanford Business School | $13.3B |
Top News in Life Sciences
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Bio-Techne Opens GMP-Grade Small-Molecule Manufacturing Facility in Bristol, UKContract Pharma•Oct 09, 2026•Bio-Techne
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Lupin Receives U.S. FDA Approval for Phytonadione Injectable Emulsion USPPR Newswire•Oct 09, 2026•Lupin
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FDA Approves Roche's Tecentriq for Adjuvant Treatment of Stage III dMMR Colon CancerGlobeNewswire•Oct 09, 2026•Roche
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Pfizer Tukysa Regimen Gets FDA Nod for Maintenance Treatment of HER2+ Metastatic Breast CancerContract Pharma•Oct 08, 2026•Pfizer
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Viola Davis Partners with GSK to Launch 'Shingles, Actually' Educational CampaignPR Newswire•Oct 08, 2026•GSK
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