Eric Lefkofsky’s Cancer-Fighting Company Receives $80 Million in Funding

Eric Lefkofsky’s Cancer-Fighting Company Receives $80 Million in Funding

Tempus, which is a Chicago-based tech firm co-founded by Eric Lefkofsky in 2015, has recently received $80 million in new funding from a group that includes both existing and new investors. The company uses cancer patient data to personalize care for them and to make this care more efficient.

So far, the company has raised a total of $210 million, and — according to insiders — the latest round of fundraising puts the company’s value at around $1.1 billion. As its value surpasses the billion-dollar mark, Tempus is considered a unicorn, which is rare among Chicago startups.

At the moment, the company employs around 400 people, though it is quickly adding to this number, at a rate of 30 new employees per month. Lefkofsky believes that this pace will continue into the future, and he adds that the company is using its additional funding to expand its business.

Tempus uses clinical data to find trends in cancer treatment. It further gathers molecular data from cancer patients. Lefkofsky says that sometimes collecting data can entail simply taking a doctor’s handwritten notes and digitizing it, in order to make this information searchable and easily locatable. Lefkofsky further says that his firm has developed relationships with both organizations and individuals in all spheres of the healthcare system. This includes not only doctors but also pharmaceutical companies, which are currently looking for ways to use what is called big data to more efficiently help cancer patients.

Lefkofsky states that he is amazed by how well received the company has been by the healthcare industry. He went on to say that he believes that the industry is undergoing a fundamental paradigm shift, and he believes this shift is the most significant of modern times.

Among those contributing to the latest round of funding for Tempus were Revolution Growth, New Enterprise Associates and Kinship Trust Co.

Apart from co-founding Tempus, Eric Lefkofsky is a founding partner in a venture capital firm called Lightbank, which invests in disruptive technologies. He is also a co-founder and the chairman of Groupon, and a co-founder of the following companies: Uptake Technologies, Mediaocean, Echo Global Logistics and InnerWorkings.

In 2006, Lefkofsky — along with his wife — founded the Lefkofsky Family Foundation, which is a private charity that engages in high-impact initiatives that improve lives. He is further a trustee of Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, World Business Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry, and he is the chairman of the board of trustees for Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

A graduate of both the University of Michigan and the University of Michigan Law School, Lefkofsky is further an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago. He is also the author of Accelerated Disruption.