Azalea Therapeutics, a spinout from Jennifer Doudna’s lab, closed an $82 million financing to develop in vivo CAR‑T approaches that aim to reprogram patients’ immune cells with a single infusion. The company plans a dual‑vector strategy to deliver editing payloads directly in patients and reduce the manufacturing cost and complexity of ex vivo CAR‑T. STAT and press releases note the round includes a Series A tranche following an earlier seed raise; Azalea positions itself in a crowded, capital‑intensive race for in vivo cell engineering. The company cites preclinical work and Doudna lab intellectual property as its scientific foundation. Investors and competitors are watching whether Azalea’s delivery approach can match safety and durability benchmarks set by ex vivo CAR‑T while offering scalability. Successful clinical translation would reshape access and economics for cellular oncology and autoimmune indications.