About Aculys
Aculys is a Healthcare company based in Fujisawa (Japan) founded in 2021 by Takeshi Takahashi and Bt Slingsby, and was acquired by Viatris in October 2025. Therapeutic medicines for neuropsychiatric and sleep disorders are developed. Aculys has raised $84 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including Viatris, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings and SoftBank Vision Fund. Its focus areas include Life Sciences, Neurology, Drugs and Sleep.
Company details
Aculys was founded in 2021 and is based in Fujisawa, Japan. Therapeutic medicines are developed by the company to address neuropsychiatric disorders, with a focus on narcolepsy and other sleep conditions. Specialization occurs in central nervous system (CNS) treatments within the pharmaceutical sector. Operations center on drug development for patients affected by these disorders, maintaining a presence in the biotechnology and healthcare industries.
- Headquarters Fujisawa, Japan
- Founders Takeshi Takahashi, Bt Slingsby
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsHealthcare
- Website category Health · Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals
- Website aculys.com
- Social LinkedIn
- Acquired by Viatris (Oct 2025)
Funding Insights of Aculys
Aculys has successfully raised a total of $84M across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series B round of $24 million completed in March 2022. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $84M
- Total Rounds 2
- Last Round Series B — $24M
- First Round $60M
(Oct 2021)
- Investors Count 9
All 2 funding rounds of Aculys with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2022 | $24M | Series B | – | – | |
| Oct 2021 | $60M | Series A | – | SoftBank Vision Fund |
10 investors in total: 10 institutional.
Investors in Aculys
Aculys has secured backing from 10 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Viatris, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings and SoftBank Vision Fund.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venture capital fund focused on growth stage companies | j-vgi.co.jp | Minato City, Japan | ||
Venture capital is invested in AI, energy, and various sectors. | mucap.co.jp | Tokyo, Japan | ||
Life sciences focused VC firm funding companies in the US and Europe | 2001 | hbmhealthcare.com | Zug, Switzerland | |
Venture capital firm focused on early-stage startups | globalfounderscapital.com | Berlin, Germany | ||
Tech-focused investments in Japan are made by ANRI. | anri.vc | Tokyo, Japan | ||
Venture capital investments in technology and startups. | 2016 | visionfund.com | London, United Kingdom | |
| smtic.jp | ||||
Diversified financial services including asset management are provided to clients. | 2002 | smth.jp | Tokyo, Japan | |
Invests in biotech companies via global networks and partnerships for disease treatments. | 2019 | catalyspacific.com | Cayman Islands | |
Branded pharmaceuticals are developed and commercialized by Viatris internationally. | 1998 | viatris.com | Frankfurt, Germany |
Investor details for Aculys
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
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People of Aculys
2 people are tracked at Aculys (2 in leadership).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Takeshi Takahashi | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Bt Slingsby | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Complete people profiles for Aculys
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
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Timeline of Aculys
4 dated milestones of Aculys across 4 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Aculys is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $60.0M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series B, of $24.0M.
- Exit Acquired by Viatris.
Web traffic of Aculys
The website of Aculys (aculys.com) receives about 5.9K visits a month and ranks #4,121,778 among all websites worldwide, #5,139 in Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals.
- Monthly visits5.9K
▲ 54.7% vs previous month
- Unique visitors1.7K
per month
- Global rank#4,121,778
among all websites
- Category rank#5,139
Health · Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals
- Bounce rate43%
- Pages per visit2.2
- Average visit1 min 42 sec
- DevicesDesktop 35% · Mobile 65%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Aculys. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
seiyakucareer.com | seiyakucareer.com | 100% | #7,373,655 | – | |
| eisai.com | 89% | 74.5K | #534,857 | View details | |
passmed.co.jp | passmed.co.jp | 53% | #1,148,065 | – | |
| cyberdyne.jp | 53% | 37.4K | #747,630 | View details |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Aculys
Aculys was founded in 2021.
Aculys is headquartered in Fujisawa, Japan. It is registered at Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan.
Aculys is a funded company, having raised a total of $84M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $60M, raised on Oct 2021.
Aculys was founded in 2021 and is based in Fujisawa, Japan. Therapeutic medicines are developed by the company to address neuropsychiatric disorders, with a focus on narcolepsy and other sleep conditions. Specialization occurs in central nervous system (CNS) treatments within the pharmaceutical sector. Operations center on drug development for patients affected by these disorders, maintaining a presence in the biotechnology and healthcare industries.
Aculys has 10 investors. Key investors include Viatris, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, SoftBank Vision Fund, HBM Healthcare Investments, and JIC Venture Growth Investments.
Yes. Aculys was acquired by Viatris in October 2025.