Lilly Ventures

Lilly Ventures was formed in 2001 with $175 million from Eli Lilly and Company, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal, which reported in 2009 that Lilly was its sole investor. That year Lilly reorganized the unit into an autonomous subsidiary that still reported up through the company but with greater independence, a change that let its six employees receive profit-sharing compensation, and added $25 million of capital. SEC Form D filings from that period list a fund vehicle, Lilly Ventures Fund I, LLC, with an office on West Washington Street in Indianapolis. Today Lilly describes Lilly Ventures as its global investment arm and one of four pillars of Lilly Catalyze360, alongside Lilly Gateway Labs, Lilly ExploR&D and the TuneLab AI platform. The former standalone site, lillyventures.com, now redirects to Lilly's partnering pages.

Lilly says the unit invests to move the innovation needle in novel areas of science, extending to health tech, emerging platforms and impact initiatives, and that it co-invests with syndicate partners while offering counsel and connections across Lilly's network. Historically the focus was biotech, medical technology and health care IT startups, with deals of $1 million to $5 million in 2009. Early holdings included Phase Forward and XenoPort, both of which went public, Serenex, acquired by Pfizer, and Avid Radiopharmaceuticals.

What separates Lilly Ventures from a pure financial investor is the surrounding Catalyze360 package, which gives portfolio companies access to lab space, R&D services, AI models and Lilly's scientific staff. Global Corporate Venturing reported in 2026 that Lilly has committed more than $2 billion over two decades to early-stage biotech through the unit, that a social impact venture portfolio is set to grow to $300 million, and that Lilly is supplying all of the capital for a $500 million Biotech Ecosystem Venture Fund managed with Andreessen Horowitz, announced in January 2025.