Primer Ventures

Primer Ventures is an investment firm dedicated to partnering with visionary entrepreneurs to advance healthcare through innovation. The firm focuses on early-stage investments in breakthrough innovations and vast market opportunities within the life science tools and therapeutics sectors. Their mission is to empower startups to accelerate the development and delivery of disruptive products and therapies to market, covering areas such as synthetic biology, genomics, single-cell and spatial biology, molecular diagnostics, new therapeutic modalities, genetic medicine, and AI-enabled drug discovery.

Primer Ventures was founded in 2023 by Alexis Ji. With two decades of expertise in venture capital and research and development in the biotech and genomics industries, Ji established the firm to translate advanced science and technology into groundbreaking healthcare solutions. Prior to founding Primer Ventures, she held significant roles at leading venture capital firms, including six years as a partner at Illumina Ventures, and also worked at WuXi Ventures and ARCH Venture Partners.

The firm's portfolio includes companies developing cutting-edge solutions in life sciences. A notable success is Curio Bioscience, a single-cell spatial profiling technology company that was acquired by Takara. Other portfolio companies mentioned on their website include a next-generation digital counting platform, targeted therapies tackling drug resistance, and genetic medicine for autoimmune diseases. PitchBook also lists BlossomHill Therapeutics, AllIn Bio, and Countable Labs among their investments.

Alexis Ji, the Founding Partner, brings extensive experience from both the venture capital and biotech R&D landscapes. Her career began in biotech R&D at major companies such as Merck, Roche, and Life Technologies (Thermo Fisher). Her investment track record includes early support for industry disruptors like Twist Bioscience (TWST) and Juno Therapeutics (JUNO, acquired by Celgene). She holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.