Novo Holdings

Name

Novo Holdings

Legal name

Novo Holdings A/S

Website

https://novoholdings.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Management & Life Science Investing

NAICS

Offices of Other Holding Companies (551112), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Multi-Sector / Generalist Growth Equity (FSANACAO), Family Office Investment Platforms & Direct Investing (PE/VC/Co-Invest) (FSAAADAH), Corporate LP Programs (Corporate as LP in VC/PE funds) (FSANAHAH)

Keywords

• Life science investing
• Venture capital investments
• Private equity buyouts
• Biotech investment management
• Asset management services

Headquarters

HQ city

Hellerup

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Investment Portfolio Returns: Returns generated from managing Life Science Investments (52.2% of investment assets portfolio) and Capital Investments (47.8%), spanning private equity, public equity, venture capital, real assets, credit, and bonds & cash. In 2025 the portfolio generated DKK 21 billion (EUR 2.7 billion) in total income and investment return, with a 9.2% CER return.
2. Novo Group Company Income: Income derived from Novo Holdings' controlling stakes in Novo Nordisk A/S (28.1% economic share, 77.3% voting share) and Novonesis A/S (25.5% economic share, 63.4% voting share), including dividends, value appreciation, and strategic income. In 2025, total income from Novo Group companies was DKK 15.4 billion.
3. Realised Capital Gains from Exits: Returns from successful divestments of portfolio companies, including M&A exits (LimmaTech Biologics to Lilly, Nalu Medical to Boston Scientific, Clario to Thermo Fisher, KabaFusion to Nautic Partners, Paratek) and IPO exits (Hemab Therapeutics, Avalyn Pharma, MapLight Therapeutics). Venture Investments alone generated $519 million in cash exit proceeds in 2025.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company that manages the assets and wealth of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. It invests patient, long-term capital into life science companies at all stages (seed, venture, growth, buyouts, planetary health) through six dedicated investment teams, while also running a diversified Capital Investments portfolio across public equity, real assets, credit and private equity. It is the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novonesis A/S and manages DKK 694 billion (EUR 93 billion) in total assets as of year-end 2025.

Product overview

Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company (not a software/product company) that manages the assets and wealth of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Rather than a single unified product, it operates a platform-plus-modules architecture through six specialized investment teams: Seed Investments, Venture Investments, Principal Investments, Planetary Health Investments, Capital Investments, and Asia Investments. These teams work together with specialized sub-platforms including the REPAIR Impact Fund (anti-infectives), the Quantum Fund, and Quantum Investments (deep tech), backed by an investment portfolio of 180+ direct life science companies. Through these arms, Novo Holdings is also the controlling shareholder of two Novo Group companies: Novo Nordisk and Novonesis. As of year-end 2025, Novo Holdings had Total Assets under Management of DKK 694 billion (EUR 93 billion / $109 billion) and employed 235 people across offices in Copenhagen, London, Boston, San Francisco, Singapore, Shanghai, and Mumbai.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Seed Investments
• Venture Investments
• Principal Investments
• Planetary Health Investments
• Capital Investments
• Asia Investments
• REPAIR Impact Fund
• Quantum Investments / Quantum Fund

Quantifiable outcome

• DKK 21 billion (EUR 2.7 billion) total income and investment return in 2025, with 9.2% CER return
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers31 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and flagship.

• Hemab TherapeuticsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Clinical-stage biotech developing prophylactic therapies for Glanzmann thrombasthenia, Factor VII deficiency and von Willebrand disease. Novo Holdings backed the company from seed stage, remained lead investor through Series A, B, and C rounds, and continued as significant investor through $346.7 million Nasdaq IPO in May 2026.
• Eli Lilly and CompanymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026Acquirer of LimmaTech Biologics, a Novo Holdings portfolio company backed via the REPAIR Impact Fund since 2023 to develop anti-infective vaccines against antimicrobial resistance and sexually transmitted diseases. Represents a successful exit validating Novo Holdings' anti-infective strategy.
• Windward Bio (with OrbiMed, RA Capital, Janus Henderson, Sanofi Ventures and others)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2026Novo Holdings participated as existing Series A investor in $165 million upsized crossover financing led by OrbiMed. Capital will advance lead candidate WIN378 (ultra long-acting anti-TSLP antibody) into Phase 3 and WIN027 (anti-TSLPxIL-13 bispecific) into respiratory and dermatology studies. Naveed Siddiqi (Senior Partner, Venture Investments) is a board representative.
• Avalyn PharmamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2026Boston-based biotech developing inhaled therapies for pulmonary fibrosis; Novo Holdings held a 13% pre-offering stake. Avalyn raised $300 million in Nasdaq IPO in April 2026 with shares surging 44% on debut. Earlier $100 million Series D in July 2025 was co-led by Suvretta Capital Management and SR One.
• Subra A/S (with co-investors Maj Invest and SPRIND)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 April 2026Novo Holdings' Planetary Health Investments team led a €40 million Series A in Subra, a European deep-tech company specialising in high-temperature superconducting technologies, supporting its acquisition of Theva (German superconducting materials producer) to create a fully integrated European superconductors platform headquartered in Denmark.
• Qure.aiminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2026Existing investor Novo Holdings participated in Qure.ai's $65 million Series D funding round led by Lightspeed and 360 ONE Asset, alongside Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Kae Capital, Health Quad and TeamFund. Qure.ai has solutions deployed in 90+ countries and 3,000+ sites with 18 FDA-cleared indications.
• European Life Sciences Coalition (ELSC) - Sofinnova Partners, Forbion, Omega Funds, HealthCap, Jeito Capital, Cooley, Covington & BurlingmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 February 2026Co-founding member of the European Life Sciences Coalition, a nine-member group of European VCs managing over €24 billion in life sciences assets that advocates for improved capital allocation conditions in Europe and lobbies for policies including the EU Biotech Act.
• Surya Hospitals (and SCP Investments as selling shareholder)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 January 2026Novo Holdings acquired a 49% stake (valued at Rs 1,000-1,200 crore) in Surya Hospitals, the largest private women's and children's specialty hospital chain in Western India, with facilities in Mumbai, Pune, and Jaipur. Supports the network's Western India expansion. Amit Kakar and Navjeewan Khosla from Novo Holdings joined the board.
• Blue Planet Environmental SolutionsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2025Investment in Singapore-headquartered integrated waste management platform with operations in India, Southeast Asia, UK and New Zealand. Supports scaling of circular waste management, recycling, energy recovery, and carbon credit initiatives. Deepa Hingorani (Partner and Head of Asia, Planetary Health Investments) led the deal.
• Thermo Fisher ScientificmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 October 2025Acquirer of Clario, a leading clinical-trial endpoint data solutions provider supporting ~70% of FDA drug approvals over the past decade. Novo Holdings first invested in Clario in 2016 alongside Astorg, Nordic Capital and Cinven. Acquisition valued at $8.875 billion in cash plus potential earn-outs up to $400 million.
• Boston Scientific CorporationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2025Acquirer of Nalu Medical, a portfolio company developing the Nalu Neurostimulation System for chronic peripheral nerve pain. Novo Holdings led Nalu's Series E in January 2024; Boston Scientific had been a strategic investor since 2017. Transaction includes an upfront cash payment of approximately $533 million.
• Stingray Marine SolutionsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 October 2024Novo Holdings acquired a majority stake in Stingray Marine Solutions, a Norwegian company specialising in intelligent aquaculture solutions aimed at sustainable fish farming, particularly technology to manage sea-lice in salmon production.
• Catalent, Inc.flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 May 2024Novo Holdings completed the $16.5 billion acquisition of Catalent, Inc., a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) acquired to expand its global CDMO footprint, manufacturing infrastructure and drug delivery capabilities supporting biologics, cell and gene therapies, mRNA vaccines and GLP-1 manufacturing capacity. Catalent subsequently sold three plants to Novo Nordisk.
• Single Use Support (with founders and Danaher as co-investors)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2024Novo Holdings acquired a controlling ~60% stake in Austrian life science tools company Single Use Support (deal valued at high triple-digit million euros) with founders and Danaher retaining 20%. Single Use Support employs nearly 200 people across Austria and the USA and is expanding globally, especially in the US and Asia.
• EQT (sell-side) and Lundbeck Foundation (co-investor)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 June 2023Novo Holdings acquired Ellab, a Danish provider of validation and monitoring solutions for biotech and pharma, from EQT Private Equity (which had tripled Ellab's revenues, EBITDA, and employee count during its ownership). The Lundbeck Foundation also acquired a minority stake as part of the new ownership group. Acquisition completed in June 2023.
• Sampension and European EnergymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2021Novo Holdings, Sampension, and European Energy established a partnership with starting capital of DKK 650 million (~EUR 87 million) to purchase land for solar and wind farms in Denmark and Sweden, with potential investments of DKK 1.5 billion (~EUR 200 million) via debt financing.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wellcome Trust: UK charitable foundation with a multi-tens-of-billions investment portfolio that deploys patient, long-horizon capital into life sciences, biotech, and healthcare companies — the closest structural and strategic analogue to Novo Holdings globally.
• EQT Life Sciences: European-headquartered PE platform with a dedicated Life Sciences vertical investing from venture to growth across therapeutics, medtech, and digital health — directly comparable to Novo Holdings' Venture and Principal Investments strategies.
• Patient Square Capital: US healthcare-dedicated private equity firm taking control and significant minority positions in life sciences and healthcare services — comparable in mandate and check size to Novo Holdings' Principal Investments platform.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: US philanthropic foundation combining programmatic global health grants with a substantial investment portfolio, including direct biotech and life science investments — structurally similar to Novo Holdings' foundation-owned model and impact-aligned investment approach.

Broad incumbents

• Bain Capital Life Sciences: Life sciences-focused arm of Bain Capital, investing across venture, growth, and public equity in biotech and medtech — directly comparable to Novo Holdings' venture and growth investing strategy but operating within a broader multi-strategy alternatives platform.
• Blackstone Life Sciences: Life sciences vertical of Blackstone deploying capital across drug development, life science tools, and biopharma services — comparable in scale and sector focus to Novo Holdings' Principal and Capital Investments activity.
• KKR Health Care Strategic Growth: Healthcare-dedicated growth equity strategy within KKR, co-investing in life sciences, healthcare services, and biotech — directly comparable to Novo Holdings' growth-stage and buyout life science deals (e.g. co-investments in HST Pathways and Sylvan).
• TPG Capital (Healthcare): Major alternatives platform with a dedicated healthcare strategy investing across life sciences, providers, and pharma services — comparable in mandate to Novo Holdings' life science private equity activity.
• Carlyle Group: Global alternatives manager with a dedicated healthcare team investing across life sciences, pharma services, and healthcare providers — comparable in sector breadth and check size to Novo Holdings' Principal Investments activity.
• Temasek Holdings: Singapore sovereign wealth investor with significant global healthcare, biotech, and life sciences exposure across public and private markets — comparable in long-duration capital, cross-border reach, and diversified life science allocation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/novoholdings
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/novo-a-s

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles29 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A13 records

Investments425 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Novo Holdings