About Psychedelics Startup Atai
Atai is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to transform the treatment of mental health disorders. Atai was founded in 2018 as a response to the significant unmet need and lack of innovation in the mental health treatment landscape. Atai is dedicated to acquiring, incubating, and efficiently developing innovative therapeutics to treat depression, anxiety, addiction, and other mental health disorders. For more information, please visit their website.
Fundraising Efforts
Biggest Fundraise In Sectors History of $157M Series D, Psychedelics and mental health company Atai Life Sciences has raised $157 million in venture capital. The Series D funding round is being touted as the psychedelics sector’s largest to date.
Christian Angermayer, who founded Atai in 2018, led the effort with Thiel Capital, the venture capital firm of tech billionaire Peter Thiel. Apeiron Investment Group and Woodline Partners LP also participated.
The Series D fundraising saw participation from existing and new investors including Fearless Ventures, Falcon Edge Capital, Pura Vida Pro LLC, Catalio Capital Management, Michael Auerbach’s Subversive Capital and Highline Capital.
The proceeds from this financing will support the expansion and development of the Company’s diverse drug candidate pipeline and enabling technologies. In addition, the financing will provide the necessary runway to continue advancing its current clinical developments, as well as scale its experienced team in order to continue delivering key milestones.
“This marks a monumental moment for atai; we continue on our mission challenging the current way mental health conditions are treated. We have become better equipped than ever to accelerate the development of more efficacious treatments,” said Florian Brand, CEO & co-founder of atai. “With support from our investors, we are determined to improve care and innovate.”
“We are excited to continue supporting atai, the only company in neuropsychiatry today that is thoughtfully pursuing platform diversity alongside scientific depth. The company is well-positioned to deliver on the vision of its founders by creating a new wave of therapies for patients in need” said Jason Camm, Managing Director and Chief Medical Officer of Thiel Capital.
“There is a need for more efficacious treatments to address mental health disorders,” said Matthew Katten, Portfolio Manager at Woodline Partners. “We believe atai has built a leading position in this space and we are excited to partner with them to drive innovation for improved mental health patient outcomes.”
