Pilgrim
SeedA Smoke Alarm for Pandemics
Autonomous airborne sensors that detect and sequence pathogens on device, with no lab in the loop.
About
Pilgrim builds autonomous biosurveillance hardware to catch outbreaks in the air before anyone gets sick. Its flagship Argus device is a 50-pound box that samples 325 liters of air a minute, breaks apart captured biological material, and analyzes it on board. An ultraviolet trigger flags biological activity in seconds, targeted qPCR checks against known threats, and on-device genomic sequencing can fingerprint even a novel pathogen with a first result in under an hour. This contrasts with DHS's aging BioWatch system, which relies on filters collected by technicians and shipped to a lab. Founded in 2024 by 22-year-old Thiel Fellow Jake Adler, Pilgrim raised a $25M seed led by Buckley Ventures and has a biosurveillance agreement with the CDC.
DailyDropout Take
Outbreaks are still detected after people get sick; Pilgrim is betting that a cheap, field-deployable sequencer can move that warning into the air itself. Proof of low false-alarm rates is the open question.
Discovery signal: $25M seed from Buckley Ventures plus Thiel and AI-lab researchers, alongside a CDC biosurveillance agreement and units already deployed.
What Makes Them Unique
Runs collection, qPCR, and genomic sequencing on board in a 50-pound box, so even unknown pathogens can be flagged without shipping filters to a lab.
325 L/min
Air sampled
Under 1 hour
Time to first result
$25M
Total raised
Target Markets
Founders
Jake Adler
Founder & CEO
22-year-old 2023 Thiel Fellow and self-taught hardware engineer and chemist who skipped college to build hardware.
Pilgrim is hiring!
Team size: Growing
Funding History
Valuation: $150M (reported)
Lead: Buckley Ventures
Investors
Firms
Individual Investors
Co-founder, Coinbase
CEO, Coinbase
CEO, Figma
Researcher, Anthropic
Researcher, Anthropic
Accelerators
Gallery