Participated · Series A · May 2026

Kanvas Biosciences develops a spatial biology platform for microbiome drug screening, discovery and manufacturing aimed at accelerating live biotherapeutics development. The company’s lead program is KAN-001, an immuno-oncology candidate for which the recent Series A will fund clinical trials. Kanvas intends to use proceeds to advance commercial partnerships alongside clinical development. Its core technology was initially developed at Cornell University and is exclusively licensed. The company is led by CEO Matthew Cheng. The articles do not report revenue, user metrics, founding year, or prior financing details.

Participated · Series A · Nov 2024

Ecolectro builds modular electrolyzers that fit inside shipping containers, aiming to produce hydrogen on-site to cut transportation and storage costs. The company uses a membrane that combines features of PEM and alkaline electrolysis—avoiding PFAS—and employs nickel as a catalyst instead of iridium or platinum. Its prototype 10-kW unit produces about 5 kg of hydrogen per day and is being tested by Liberty Utilities in Upstate New York for blending into natural gas. Ecolectro is constructing a 250-kW commercial electrolyzer capable of roughly 125 kg per day, which Rodriguez-Calero said will be available in the first quarter of next year. Founders Gabriel Rodriguez-Calero and Kristina Hugar developed the technology after Rodriguez-Calero's doctoral work at Cornell University. The startup emphasizes smaller, modular systems aimed at customers who order roughly one truck of hydrogen per week, as a lower-risk entry point. Financially, Ecolectro raised a $10.6 million Series A led by Toyota Ventures to scale to commercial units and pursue aggressive cost targets.

Participated · Equity · May 2023

Larkspur Biosciences develops precision cancer immunotherapies using its proprietary LarkX platform, which leverages patient genetics, immune phenotypes, bioinformatics, and complex in vitro models to discover immune-evasion signatures. Its lead programs include an approach to lipid remodeling intended to uncloak tumors and a program targeting Pin1, a mechanism of fibroblast differentiation to activate immune cells. The company’s initial clinical strategy targets a genetically- and immunologically-characterized subtype of colorectal cancer whose patients have T cells at the tumor and can be identified via biopsy. Larkspur positions these insights as applicable across multiple cancer indications that share evasion signatures. The company is led by CEO Catherine Sabatos-Peyton and was founded by Drs. Lewis Cantley, Nathanael Gray, and Vijay K. Kuchroo. It raised financing to advance IND-enabling studies and further ongoing preclinical work.

Participated · Series A · Mar 2023

Volastra Therapeutics is a New York-based clinical-stage drug discovery company focused on exploiting chromosomal instability (CIN) to treat cancer. The company in-licensed Amgen’s sovilnesib (AMG650), an oral, first-in-class small-molecule KIF18A inhibitor, receiving an exclusive worldwide license (ex-China) to develop and commercialize the drug. Sovilnesib is in Phase 1 for platinum-resistant high-grade serous ovarian cancer, triple-negative breast cancer and other solid tumors with TP53 mutations, and has FDA fast-track designation for platinum-resistant high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Volastra also develops its own KIF18A inhibitor, VLS-1488, and plans to advance clinical development of both sovilnesib and VLS-1488 in 2023. In parallel with the in-license, the company closed a $60 million Series A financing. Volastra has a multi-year collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb worth up to $1.1 billion for CIN-based synthetic lethality discovery and a partnership with Microsoft to develop AI for high-throughput histopathological identification of CIN. Volastra Therapeutics develops novel therapies and discovery tools aimed at halting or preventing cancer metastasis by exploiting insights into chromosomal instability (CIN). The company uses proprietary computational and experimental approaches and a technology suite to bulk-measure and exploit vulnerabilities in chromosomally unstable cancer cells. The recent financing will support further build-out of that technology platform and advance drug discovery programs to block metastasis. Volastra has announced collaborations with Dewpoint Therapeutics to discover molecules that block immuno-suppressive signaling in CIN-high tumors and with Microsoft to develop AI algorithms to detect and predict metastatic potential in tissue samples. The company was co-founded by Lewis Cantley, Olivier Elemento and Samuel Bakhoum, and is led by CEO Charles Hugh-Jones. Volastra is based in West Harlem, N.Y. Volastra Therapeutics is focused on developing therapies specifically for metastatic cancers by targeting pathways related to chromosomal instability. The company leverages pioneering science from the Cantley and Elemento labs at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Bakhoum lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Volastra uses an extensive library of organoids derived from metastatic cancer samples to validate targets, advance first-in-class clinical candidates, and identify biomarkers to stratify patients. The team aims to shift the treatment paradigm for advanced disease, where metastasis drives the majority of cancer deaths. Volastra is rapidly advancing multiple programs toward the clinic and operates out of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS @ NYC. The company was founded by Drs. Lewis Cantley, Samuel Bakhoum, and Olivier Elemento and is led by an experienced board including Executive Chair Sandra Peterson.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2020

Tiliter provides AI computer-vision systems that automatically identify retail items without the need for barcodes, packaging, or price stickers. Its camera and software platform is focused on the supermarket vertical and uses AI to pre-select items and remove manual entry at self-checkout. The company says its technology makes it easier for shoppers to manage self-checkout and reduces the need for manual item entry. Tiliter plans to use the funding to accelerate expansion across Europe and the U.S., targeting many supermarket customers. Early adopters include Woolworths in Australia with over 20 live stores, Countdown in New Zealand, and several U.S. retail chains such as New York City's Westside Market. Founded in 2017 by Marcel Herz, Martin Karafilis, and Chris Sampson, Tiliter recently secured backing to support its international growth.