uBiome Raises $4.5 Million Including Andreessen Horowitz

uBiome raised just over $350,000 on Indiegogo back in February 2013.  The small company had set out to sequence the human microbiome.  The campaign organizers described the human environment,

“like the rainforest, the healthy human microbiome is a balanced ecosystem. The correct balance of microbes keeps potential pathogens in check and regulates our immune system. Microbes also perform essential functions such as digesting food andsynthesizing vitamins. Studies have also linked the microbiome to human mood and behavior, as well as many gut disorders, eczema, and chronic sinusitis.”

The campaign was declared the largest citizen science crowdfunding campaign ever.   Kits were mailed out to backers so they too could sample their gastrointestinal tract allowing the organizers to sample a large group of data – which is kind of cool.

Crowdfund Insider reported on uBiome as they had shifted their focus to an AngelList campaign where they were looking to raise $1.5 million.  They subsequently went on to report a $3.0 million series A round from Andreessen in June (at a $10 million valuation) and now have closed on a $4.5 million round last week.

Now uBiome did have a nice little boost from Dave McClure’s 500Startups accelerator back in 2012. In a bit of a victory tweet, McClure shared the news  about the new funding from Andreessen;

.@TechCrunch: @uBiome Gets $4.5M from @A16Z @Ycombinator 4 Microbiome Research http://t.co/pZ91EwKhuf @500Startups pic.twitter.com/fJdD9IWfRS

— Dave McClure (@davemcclure) August 19, 2014

uBiome was founded by UCSF scientists and Stanford and Cambridge technologists including Jessica Richman and Zacher Apte.  While McClure saw the potential it is nice validation to have consumer interest generated by a popular crowdfunding campaign.