Mentioned:
One of the giants of the pharmaceutical business is partnering up with one of Silicon Valley’s most revered venture capital funds. But, why?
What’s happening:
- Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) has launched a new venture capital fund with a16z known as the Biotech Ecosystem Venture Fund
By the numbers:
- The Biotech Ecosystem Fund will deploy $500M USD into startups and growth companies
- Eli Lilly will provide 100% of the capital for the fund
Why it matters:
- This is one of the first times a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital fund and a publicly traded pharmaceutical company have ever directly collaborated on new venture capital investments
Going deeper:
- Both Eli Lilly and a16z have publicly stated that the purpose of the new fund is to make bets on entirely new areas of medicine and develop new healthcare technologies at scale
