Participated · Seed · Nov 2024

Persperity Health develops a sweat-sensing technology platform aimed at improving continuous health monitoring with a focus on women's health. The platform is designed to deliver real-time, actionable insights into hormonal health, fertility, and menopause. The technology is exclusively licensed from Caltech and was developed by Dr. Wei Gao and Dr. Cui Ye. The company is led by co-founders CEO Shiv Shukla, Dr. Wei Gao, and Dr. Heather Lukas, with clinical collaborator Dr. Pauline Maki. Persperity intends to use the newly raised funds to accelerate development of its sweat-sensing technology. The company is based in Los Angeles, CA.

Participated · Seed · Apr 2024

Juniper Biomedical is developing a precision, low-power neuromodulation micro-implant platform aimed at treating pelvic health conditions such as urinary and bowel incontinence, pelvic pain, sexual dysfunction, and pelvic floor disorders. The company's first application targets long-term therapy for mixed urinary incontinence (MUI), a condition that affects nearly one in three women. Juniper says it has accelerated development and achieved several important preclinical and clinical milestones. The company will use new capital to complete development and commercialization milestones and to fuel expansion plans. Financially, Juniper completed an oversubscribed $2M Series Seed financing and was awarded a $1M NIH SPARC Neuromod Prize to support its work. The team intends to leverage these funds to advance its platform across multiple pelvic health care gaps.

Participated · Seed · Feb 2024

Yuva Biosciences applies AI to mitochondrial research to identify compounds that restore mitochondrial function; its first ingredient to market is YuvaBio® Y100™. Y100 is available for licensing to non-drug consumer brands and is being incorporated into BosleyMD’s Revive Plus Densifying Foam for national retail and e-commerce rollout. The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Yuva’s scientific leadership includes Co‑Founder and CSO Dr. Keshav K. Singh and CEO Greg Schmergel; the team also includes consumer-products veteran Dr. Shekhar Mitra. The company reports noticeable effects in multiple clinical trials and positions the platform to target additional mitochondrial-related indications such as ovarian aging and wound care. Financially, Yuva completed a $7.5M seed financing led by VentureSouth.

Participated · Series B · Sep 2022

SpinLaunch builds space-access and satellite communications technologies and in 2025 introduced Meridian Space, a platform aimed at lowering the cost and complexity of deploying satellite infrastructure. The company says Meridian Space is a highly differentiated low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband constellation designed for ultra-low capex. SpinLaunch has completed full-scale testing of a proprietary multi-band reflectarray antenna that enables the constellation’s ultra-low capex design. Founded in 2014 and led by CEO Massimiliano Ladovaz, the company is pursuing commercialization of Meridian Space. It raised $30M in new funding to accelerate development and commercialization of the platform. SpinLaunch positions its technology as a new approach to launch and satellite connectivity. SpinLaunch is developing a kinetic launch system that spins payloads inside a vacuum chamber to very high Gs and flings them toward orbit as a lower-cost, high-cadence alternative to rockets. The company claims its system can place up to 200 kg into orbit for about $250,000 and eventually support 5–10 launches per day. SpinLaunch has conducted ten suborbital tests with a smaller accelerator at New Mexico’s Spaceport America, where it holds a long-term lease. It has also pursued satellite-constellation ambitions via a subsidiary, SN Space Systems, filing with the FCC for a 1,190-satellite constellation and meeting with FCC personnel. Leadership has shifted recently: two new board members were added last October, Dómhnal Slattery was named chairman, and David Wrenn was appointed CEO in March, replacing founder Jonathan Yaney. CEO David Wrenn said the company has met its investment and revenue objectives this year and that new financing will help accelerate commercialization of its space technologies. SpinLaunch builds a ground-based, electric-powered mass accelerator launch system designed to place small satellites into low Earth orbit with low cost and high cadence. The technology reportedly eliminates up to 70% of the fuel and structures typical of conventional rockets, substantially reducing the carbon footprint of deploying LEO constellations. SpinLaunch has also developed a line of small satellite buses to complement its launch approach and address upcoming constellation needs. The company has conducted a series of flight tests on its Suborbital Accelerator at Spaceport America. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Long Beach, California, SpinLaunch aims to scale commercial and national-security access to space through partnerships and commercialization initiatives. The company is supported by investors and partners including Kleiner Perkins, GV, Airbus Ventures, and ATW Partners. SpinLaunch develops a kinetic launch system that uses a rotating arm inside a vacuum chamber to accelerate an aerodynamic launch vehicle to roughly 5,000 MPH and fling it toward space. The company has conducted nine successful flight tests with a 33-meter “suborbital mass accelerator,” sending payloads north of 1,000 MPH to nearly 30,000 feet. It has an agreement with NASA for further testing and has conducted tests at Spaceport America in New Mexico while finalizing selection of its first orbital launch site. SpinLaunch plans a full-size orbital launch system three times the size of the suborbital accelerator and aims to place satellites into orbit by 2026. The company is also developing a mass-manufactured line of G‑hardened satellite products designed to survive the high G‑forces of its launch method. Financially, the company announced a $71M round (equity and debt) that brings total funding to $150M. SpinLaunch is developing a kinetic launch system that uses a rotational acceleration method to propel payloads to escape velocity without rockets. The company has not yet demonstrated the technology publicly and remains secretive about technical details. Funds will be used to build a new headquarters and R&D facility in Long Beach and to complete a flight test mass accelerator at Spaceport America in New Mexico. Leadership says the first flight tests at Spaceport America are planned for later this year, and the company targets its first commercial launch in 2022. SpinLaunch aims to offer orbital access for under $500,000 per launch if tests succeed. To date the company has raised prior rounds of $35M (reported in 2018) and $10M, and the latest financing brings total funding to $80M.

Led · Seed · Aug 2022

Uplift Labs offers an AI-driven solution that delivers real-time movement tracking and 3D analysis using a smartphone to help coaches, trainers and physical therapists analyze movement more accurately. The technology enables feedback to athletes at all levels to optimize performance and mitigate injury risk. The company counts a half dozen MLB teams, the NBA and GOLFTEC among its notable clients. Uplift is led by CEO Sukemasa Kabayma, CTO Jonathan Wills and Chief AI Officer Rahul Rajan. The company plans to use the new funding to develop a single-camera version of its solution to make the technology truly portable. As of the reported round, Uplift has raised a total of $5.5M.