The
San Francisco, California-based company, which was valued at $4
billion in a funding round earlier this year, is aiming to go
public in early 2022 at a much higher valuation, the sources
said.
Benchling is considering going public through a direct listing,
although the company has not ruled out a traditional IPO
(initial public offering), sources said. One of its major
investors on the board, Benchmark Capital, has been a vocal
advocate of direct listings.
The start-up hired investment banks and other financial advisors
earlier this year to advise on its listing plans, the sources
said.
The sources, who requested anonymity as these discussions are
confidential, cautioned that Benchling's go-public plans were
subject to market conditions and could change. Benchling
declined to comment.
Founded in 2012 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology
classmates Sajith Wickramasekara and Ashu Singhal, Benchling has
emerged as a prominent player in a niche and growing market for
digitizing the R&D process.
Its valuation has soared since the beginning of 2020, when it
was valued at less than $1 billion, as the company benefited
from booming R&D investments in pharma and biotech companies.
Benchling has so far raised roughly $350 million from venture
capital investors including Sequoia Capital and Menlo Ventures.
Benchling offers customers a variety of software applications
and technology platforms, including cloud-based tools and
laboratory automation software. Its end-to-end workflow
management system allows researchers to collaborate and track
projects.
According to its website, over 200,000 scientists currently use
Benchling's technology tools. It counts numerous big names from
the pharma, life sciences and biotech sectors, including Gilead
Sciences , Sanofi, Regeneron, Gingko Bioworks, Zymergen, Lyell
Immunopharma Inc and BP's Biosciences Center among its
customers.
Earlier this year, Benchling hired former LinkedIn executive
Richard Wong as its chief financial officer as part of its plans
to go public.
(Reporting by Anirban Sen in Bengaluru and Krystal Hu in New
York; editing by Richard Pullin)
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