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How Nautilus Biotechnology Went Public: Its 2021 SPAC Deal and $900 Million Valuation

Nautilus Biotechnology completed its merger with SPAC Arya III in June 2021. The $900 million valuation was not the same as the deal’s projected $1.3 billion initial market capitalization.
From TheFinanceBase Team2 min to read
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Nautilus Biotechnology completed its SPAC merger with Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp III in June 2021, and its shares began trading on Nasdaq as NAUT on June 10. The $900 million figure was Nautilus’s implied equity value under the deal—not the combined company’s projected initial market capitalization. The reviewed transaction announcement names several existing investors but does not identify Jeff Bezos as a backer.

What Nautilus’s $900 million valuation meant

In the February 8, 2021 agreement, Nautilus and Arya III assigned Nautilus an implied equity value of $900 million. That figure valued Nautilus for purposes of the transaction; it was not a forecast of the post-merger company’s market capitalization.

The announcement separately estimated an initial market capitalization of about $1.3 billion, assuming a $10 share price, no redemptions by Arya III shareholders, and the specified PIPE participation. The two figures describe different measures and rely on different assumptions. Nautilus and Arya III transaction announcement, February 8, 2021

How the SPAC financing was structured

Arya III was a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by Perceptive Advisors. Its merger with Nautilus was paired with a $200 million private investment in public equity, or PIPE, at $10 per share. A PIPE is an investment in a company’s shares made alongside a transaction, rather than through an ordinary public offering.

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The announcement projected approximately $350 million in proceeds assuming no shareholder redemptions. That was a conditional estimate, not the same as the amount later reported after closing. Nautilus’s subsequent SEC filing reported approximately $345 million in gross proceeds from the PIPE and business combination, with approximately $18 million in transaction costs and underwriters’ fees. Gross proceeds and costs are separate figures; the filing’s reported amounts should not be confused with the announcement’s no-redemption projection. Nautilus SEC transaction filing, July 22, 2021

Did the Nautilus SPAC deal close?

Yes. The business combination closed on June 9, 2021. Arya III became a Delaware corporation named Nautilus Biotechnology, Inc., and Nautilus became its wholly owned subsidiary. The company’s common stock started trading on Nasdaq under the ticker NAUT on June 10, 2021. Nautilus SEC transaction filing, July 22, 2021

Was Nautilus backed by Jeff Bezos?

The primary transaction announcement reviewed for this article does not name Jeff Bezos. It lists existing shareholders including Andreessen Horowitz, Madrona Venture Group, and Vulcan Capital. That announcement alone does not establish direct Bezos backing; nor does it rule out an indirect or earlier connection. Nautilus and Arya III transaction announcement, February 8, 2021

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What Nautilus does—and what later filings show

The 2021 announcement described Nautilus as developing a single-molecule protein analysis platform intended to quantify the human proteome. That describes a research-oriented biotechnology and proteomics company, not a consumer product.

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Later corporate disclosures provide dated context beyond the merger. Nautilus’s 2025 Form 10-K says NAUT traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market through October 28, 2025, and on the Nasdaq Capital Market beginning October 29, 2025. In an 8-K filed September 11, 2026, the company disclosed an at-the-market sales agreement with TD Cowen covering up to $125 million in common stock. The filing also says the previous sales agreement was terminated and that no shares had been sold under it. Those disclosures do not by themselves establish a current share price, remaining capacity under the new agreement, or whether future sales will occur. Nautilus 2025 Form 10-K; Nautilus Form 8-K, September 11, 2026

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