
At newly rechristened Rakuten Medical, Japanese billionaire Mikitani ups the ante with another megaround
Mickey Mikitani made it clear, over the three years he’s backed the San Diego startup Aspyrian Therapeutics, that he’s ready to bet a fortune of his massive wealth — estimated at $6.7 billion — on its photoimmunotherapy tech. The e-tail billionaire got involved early in the $40 million Series A, provided the lion’s share for the subsequent rounds totaling $284 million, took charge first as chairman then as CEO, and gradually integrated the biotech’s brand entirely into his Rakuten empire.
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