Leaps by Bayer

Leaps by Bayer is the strategic investment unit of Bayer AG. The unit describes its purpose as accelerating transformative biotechnologies that could shift key paradigms in life science and move Bayer closer to its mission of "Health for All, Hunger for none." It invests from Bayer's balance sheet rather than from a third-party fund, and its own figures put total capital invested in the portfolio at more than USD 2.1 billion across more than 65 companies between 2015 and 2025, with more than 20 new and follow-on investments in 2025 alone. The team operates from hubs in Berlin and Boston, with members in the Bay Area, Basel and elsewhere.

The portfolio splits into two halves. In health, Leaps backs therapeutics and platform companies such as Boundless Bio, Recode Therapeutics, Capstan Therapeutics, Nextpoint Therapeutics, Sudo Biosciences, SonoThera and Celea Therapeutics, along with digital health companies such as Ada Health, whose USD 90 million Series B it led in 2021. In agriculture, it backs companies including Sabanto, EarthOptics, Sound Agriculture, Apollo Agriculture, Guardian Agriculture, Ukko, Amfora and Fork & Good. Leaps says it supports early-stage companies and also forms new ventures itself.

What separates Leaps from a conventional corporate venture desk is its organizing framework and its stated patience. Every investment maps to one of ten "Leaps," from preventing genetic disease and curing heart failure to decarbonizing agriculture and closing gaps in women's health. The unit argues that significant, sustained capital lets companies pursue long-term delivery of disruptive technology rather than short-term results. Portfolio companies remain autonomous in decision making, while Leaps staff provide what it calls active incubation, helping set early strategic direction. Leaps has also built an impact metric, Wellbeing Adjusted Life Years (WALY), with the Happiness Research Institute to measure outcomes beyond financial return.