How to Get Funded by Polaris Partners: What Healthcare and Tech Founders Should Know After a $187 Million Filing

Polaris Partners, one of the best-known healthcare venture capital firms and biotech venture capital firms in Boston, reported $187.2 million raised for a vehicle named Polaris Partners XI, L.P. in a filing dated October 20, 2026. The filing is signed by Alexandra Cantley and is the largest venture fund among the day's filings. For founders in life sciences, healthcare and software, it is a reason to look closely at one of the older names in the market.

A caution first. Polaris has not publicly announced an eleventh fund that we could find, and the filing does not say what the vehicle is for. Public descriptions of the firm refer to its tenth fund as its current core fund. Treat the $187.2 million as a filing amount only, and do not assume it is a final close or a successor to the tenth fund.

Who Polaris Is

Polaris Partners was founded in 1996 in Boston by Jon Flint, Terry McGuire and Steve Arnold. It works in healthcare and biotechnology and has offices in Boston, New York and San Francisco. Public profiles describe it as having more than $5 billion in committed capital, and name Amy Schulman and Brian Chee as managing partners.

The firm's structure matters for founders. Polaris runs a core venture program and two affiliate funds. Polaris Growth Fund targets profitable, founder-owned technology companies and is led by managing partners Bryce Youngren and Dan Lombard. Polaris Innovation Fund focuses on early-stage academic research and is led by managing partners Amy Schulman and Ellie McGuire. Before you write to anyone, decide which of the three matches your company, because each looks for a different kind of business.

What the Firm Backs

The core fund invests in healthcare and biotechnology companies, from early research spin-outs to later-stage companies with clinical or commercial data. The innovation fund looks for the commercial and therapeutic potential in early academic research, which suits a university team that has results but no company yet. The growth fund is a different animal: it looks for software and technology companies that already make money and are owned by their founders, so it is not a place to bring an idea.

If you are a software startup without revenue, this firm is probably not the right target. If you run a lab-born biotech company, a healthcare services business with real patients or a profitable software company, you are within its stated range.

How to Read the Filing

A Form D filing shows that a vehicle exists and how much it reports as sold. It does not tell you the fund's target, the number of investors or when it closed. The signer is the person who filed the document, which is often a finance or legal officer rather than an investing partner, so do not assume Alexandra Cantley is the person to approach about your company.

The better use of the filing is as a timing signal. A firm that files a new vehicle usually has money to deploy, and founders who start a conversation early in a fund's life tend to meet partners who have time and capital. You can read more about how funds are structured in the glossary entries for a general partner and a limited partner.

How to Approach Polaris

Begin with the partner whose background matches your field. For a biotech or healthcare company, that means the managing partners of the core and innovation funds. For a profitable software business, it means the growth fund team. Read their public talks and posts so that your first message shows you know what they invest in.

Keep the first message short. State what you do, the stage you are at, the evidence you have and what you are raising. For a life sciences company, evidence means data: lab results, trial plans or regulatory steps. For a software company, it means revenue, margins and customer retention. Attach a short deck and offer a call.

Firms like Polaris get many introductions, so a warm path helps. Ask an adviser, a lawyer or a founder in their portfolio whether they will introduce you. A short, clear note from a person the partners trust will usually be read.

What to Prepare Before the Meeting

Expect detailed questions. Biotech investors will ask about the science, the intellectual property, the regulatory path and how much money it takes to reach the next milestone. Healthcare investors will ask who pays, how the product fits into a hospital or clinic and how quickly customers decide. Growth investors will ask about profit, churn and what the founders want from a partner.

Have your cap table ready, along with a clear view of your dilution over the next two rounds. Know how you would handle a term sheet from a lead investor, and be able to explain why you chose a Series A of a given size. Founders who know their numbers move through diligence faster.

What to Watch Next

Watch for a public announcement of the fund, which would confirm its size, focus and team. Until then, the filing is the one verified fact. If you are raising a round in healthcare or biotech now, it is a signal to put Polaris on your list and to start building a path to the right partner.

Browse the biotech investor directory for more active funds, or explore active capital on AngelLinx @ angellinx.ai/register.

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