(Yicai Global) May 28 -- Chinese biotech startup MGI Tech has closed a USD1 billion B-series fundraiser after its Covid-19 detection tool lured in venture capitalists.

IDG Capital led the round with support from more than a dozen other companies, Shenzhen-based MGI said today.

The company, which makes DNA sequencing tools and related products, got emergency approval to sell its DNBSEQ-T7 sequencer as a medical instrument in January when Covid-19 cases began to increase more rapidly. The product has a higher throughput than its predecessors and proved a successful method of detecting and sequencing the genes of the virus, and was quickly deployed to China’s frontline defenses to help fight the disease.

The latest fundraiser was five times greater than MGI’s A round, which rose USD200 million this time last year.

Editor: James Boynton