Cellares extends Series D to $277M as ARK Invest joins syndicate

Cellares, a South San Francisco-based company focused on automating cell therapy manufacturing, has expanded its Series D financing to a total of $277 million following a new $20 million commitment from ARK Invest. The company disclosed that ARK’s capital is an add-on to an existing Series D round and lifts the aggregate proceeds in that round to $277 million. The new funding is aimed at scaling Cellares’ Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization model, which is designed to support large-scale, automated production of cell therapies for biopharma partners.

ARK Invest joins an existing group of institutional backers that already participated in Cellares’ Series D, including investment funds managed by BlackRock, Eclipse, T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Baillie Gifford, Duquesne Family Office, Intuitive Ventures, EDBI, Gates Frontier, DC Global Ventures, DFJ Growth, and Willett Advisors. The round is positioned to help Cellares expand its global manufacturing footprint and increase capacity for commercial-scale cell therapy production, though no valuation details were disclosed in the available announcements. The financing underscores rising investor interest in infrastructure providers that can reduce cost and complexity in cell and gene therapy manufacturing.