The funding round was co-led by Ferring Ventures S.A. and Apeiron Investment Ltd., with participation from both new and existing institutional investors focused on healthcare, such as Ally Bridge Group and ADAR1.
NEW YORK and AMSTERDAM, July 01, 2025 — (NASDAQ: ATAI) (“atai”), a biopharmaceutical company in the clinical stage dedicated to creating effective mental health treatments for improved patient outcomes, today announced the execution of subscription agreements for the purchase of 18,264,840 ordinary shares of atai, each with a nominal value of €0.10 (“Common Shares”), and pre-funded warrants to acquire 4,566,210 Common Shares (the “Pre-Funded Warrant”). The financing is anticipated to generate approximately $50 million in gross proceeds, prior to deductions for placement agents’ fees and other expenses. Atai intends to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including working capital and the advancement of its product candidates and programs through clinical development. The private placement is contingent upon certain closing conditions, including the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”) related to the filing expected from Christian Angermayer regarding Apeiron’s investment in this financing. The closing of the financing is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2025.
Ferring Ventures S.A. and Apeiron Investment Group, the family office of atai’s Founder and Chairman Christian Angermayer, co-led the financing. Other participants included new and existing healthcare-focused institutional investors like Ally Bridge Group and ADAR1.
Mr. Angermayer stated: “This financing places atai in a strong position to accelerate its efforts and achieve its objective of providing new therapeutic options for individuals facing significant mental health challenges. We are confident that the results of these trials will facilitate a productive discussion with the FDA, allowing us to establish a clear Phase 3 plan early in 2026. I am particularly grateful for the continued support of Ferring Ventures. Their extensive knowledge of commercialization, market dynamics, and the development and management of effective sales teams is invaluable to atai as it transitions from a clinical-stage biotech company to a fully integrated commercial entity over time.”
Jean-Frederic Paulsen, Chairman of Ferring Ventures S.A., added: “Psychedelics have shown considerable promise as a transformative class of treatments for various mental health conditions. Atai has consistently been at the forefront of innovation and progress in this area, and I am pleased to increase our investment to support atai in pioneering the next generation of mental health treatments.”
TD Cowen, Leerink Partners, Guggenheim Securities, and Berenberg served as joint-lead placement agents for the private placement.
The securities being issued and sold in the private placement have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or any state’s securities laws. They will be issued and sold in a private placement relying on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. These securities may not be offered or sold in the United States without an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the Securities Act’s registration requirements. Atai has granted registration rights to the purchasers in the private placement and has agreed to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to register the resale of the common shares issued in the private placement and the Common Shares that can be issued upon exercising the Pre-Funded Warrants. The offer and sale of the Common Shares underlying the Pre-Funded Warrant have not been registered under the Securities Act.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities mentioned herein. Furthermore, there will be no sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction where such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful before registration or qualification under the securities laws of that state or jurisdiction.
About atai Life Sciences
atai is a biopharmaceutical company in the clinical stage focused on creating highly effective mental health treatments to transform patient outcomes. Atai’s pipeline of psychedelic-based therapies includes VLS-01 (buccal film DMT) for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and EMP-01 (oral R-MDMA) for social anxiety disorder, both of which are in Phase 2 clinical development. Additionally, it is progressing a drug discovery program to identify new, non-hallucinogenic 5-HT2AR agonists for TRD. These programs are designed to address the complexities of mental health by providing commercially scalable interventional psychiatry therapies that can be easily integrated into healthcare systems.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Terms like “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “initiate,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “potentially,” “preliminary,” “likely,” and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements, although not all such statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements include explicit or implied statements about expectations regarding the closing of the private placement financing, including the satisfaction and timing of closing conditions like those related to the HSR Act filing, and expectations regarding how the proceeds from the proposed financing will be used. These statements are not promises or guarantees but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those projected. These risks include important factors described in the “Risk Factors” section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, as updated in atai’s other filings with the SEC. Atai disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release, except as required by law.
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