Tempus AI makes IPO debut, valuing the precision medicine startup at $6 billion

After years of anticipation, AI-driven precision medicine startup Tempus AI is finally making its debut on the U.S. market. Backed by heavyweights like Google and SoftBank Group, Tempus AI has set the price of its initial public offering (IPO) at $37 per share, intending to raise $410.7 million.

Priced at the higher end of its targeted range of $35 to $37, this valuation brings Tempus AI to a market cap of approximately $6.10 billion, based on the outstanding shares listed in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Trading of Tempus AI shares will commence on Friday at the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

This IPO will test the resilience of AI’s promise in a market still cautious about new listings, especially those from companies yet to achieve profitability.

Led by Eric Lefkofsky, co-founder of the e-commerce marketplace Groupon, Tempus AI’s listing will gauge investor interest in its vision. The company provides genomic diagnostic tests in oncology and other fields like neuropsychiatry, radiology, and cardiology to clinicians and hospital systems.

Tempus was founded in August 2015 by Lefkofsky following his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis. His mission was to harness technology and artificial intelligence to revolutionize cancer care. Early on, he recruited Ryan Fukushima as the company’s first employee. Together, they assembled a world-class team to develop a platform capable of ingesting real-time healthcare data for personalized diagnostics.

“The Tempus platform was designed to be disease-agnostic, and we are uniquely positioned to support efforts in identifying patients with the coronavirus and aiding physicians in making data-driven treatment decisions,” said Founder and CEO Eric Lefkofsky.

Tempus AI founder, Eric Lefkofsky (Image Credits: Bloomberg / Contributor)