Participated · Series A · Mar 2026

Ateios Systems develops RaiCure™, a curing technology for lithium-ion battery electrodes that replaces slow, energy-intensive thermal curing and avoids PFAs. The RaiCure technology was developed in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The company aims to scale its electrode production and supply battery manufacturers at commercial scale by embedding its solution into existing production lines. Ateios has active commercial partnerships with companies including Eastman Kodak and Vianode and plans to use new funding to increase production capacity and manufacturing capabilities. Its recent $7.25M Series A follows earlier support including a million-dollar investment from the TitletownTech Start-up Draft and participation in ORNL’s Innovation Crossroads program.

Participated · Series A · Feb 2026

Avisi Technologies, Inc. is a clinical-stage company focused on creating novel ophthalmic solutions, most notably VisiPlate®, an investigational aqueous shunt engineered from an ultrathin, patented metamaterial designed to maintain intra-ocular pressure through multiple microchannels that resist blockage and scarring. The device targets the unmet need for long-term, low-maintenance glaucoma care and is currently being evaluated in the FDA IDE-approved SAPPHIRE pivotal trial that is enrolling patients across the United States. Avisi’s broader pipeline includes V-001, a sustained intraocular drug-delivery platform, and VisiPlate-S, a drainage device intended for use during cataract surgery. Proceeds from its latest financing will fund the SAPPHIRE trial and advance additional pipeline programs addressing the full spectrum of glaucomatous disease. The company has garnered recognition and non-dilutive support from the National Science Foundation, the Glaucoma Research Foundation, Johnson & Johnson JLABS, and other industry accelerators. Current investors include both venture funds and angel networks, underscoring diversified backing for its development roadmap. No revenue or user figures have been disclosed to date.

Participated · Safe · Nov 2025

Dalan Animal Health is a bioscience company that created the world’s first USDA-approved vaccine for honeybees and is now advancing what it says will be the first commercial shrimp vaccine. Built on its proprietary Innate Immunity Platform, the firm targets conserved pattern-recognition receptors shared across animal species to deliver broad-spectrum disease protection. After launching its honeybee vaccine, the company is focusing on regulatory approval, manufacturing scale-up, and commercial rollout of its shrimp vaccine to help mitigate the estimated $4 billion in annual shrimp industry losses from disease. Concurrently, Dalan is investigating platform extensions into poultry and additional aquaculture species to reduce antibiotic dependence in food production. The business operates globally, including a European subsidiary, Dalan Bio SL, which recently secured a €250 K grant to conduct pan-European surveillance of honeybee diseases. Recognition for its technology includes TIME’s Best Inventions, Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech, and SVG THRIVE Global Impact Challenge winner (2025). The latest financing leaves the company capitalized to complete shrimp vaccine commercialization and expand its product pipeline, though no revenue or user metrics were disclosed.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2025

Hoofprint Biome develops an enzyme feed additive that tweaks the cow rumen microbiome to suppress microbes that generate methane while increasing nutrients available to the animal. The enzymes are derived from the rumen itself and will be produced using yeast, similar to other industrial enzymes. The company targets a 5% improvement in feed efficiency (more pounds gained per unit of feed). Co-founders Kathryn Polkoff (CEO, PhD in animal science) and Scott Collins developed the approach with a farmer-facing focus on productivity and animal health. Hoofprint plans to use its latest financing to trial the enzymes on farms. The startup frames methane reduction as necessary but emphasizes that improved productivity will drive farmer adoption. Hoofprint Biome was founded by two NC State Ph.D. graduates to improve cattle gut health and reduce methane through an engineered probiotic. The company engineers Saccharomyces boulardii to deliver novel methane-preventing enzymes into the rumen while providing feed-efficiency benefits. Hoofprint is licensing NC State research-based patents and Crook’s patented delivery techniques to build its product. The startup plans to use most of its initial capital on in vivo trials and expects to double its four-person team by next year. It operates from NC State’s Plant Sciences Building on Centennial Campus and emphasizes farmer-friendly, easy-to-deploy dried-yeast feed formulations. The founders are also Breakthrough Energy Innovator Fellows and have pursued university commercialization support including the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund and a Daugherty Endowment prize.

Led · Series A · Jun 2024

VenoStent is a Houston, TX–based clinical-stage medical device company developing SelfWrap, a bioabsorbable perivascular wrap placed around arteriovenous access sites during fistula-creation surgery. The wrap is intended to accelerate usability and increase the durability of AV fistula sites for chronic kidney disease patients requiring hemodialysis by mimicking the arterial environment in veins and leveraging the body’s healing mechanisms. The company is led by CEO Tim Boire, Ph.D., and COO Geoffrey Lucks. VenoStent recently completed its Series A financing at $20M, including a $4M investment from Norwest Venture Partners. It was also awarded a $3.6M SBIR Phase II grant from the NIH to help fund a planned multi-center, 200-patient randomized controlled trial in the U.S. The company intends to use the funds to support clinical development and the RCT to validate SelfWrap's impact on fistula usability and durability. VenoStent is a clinical-stage, venture-backed therapeutic medical device company developing a bioabsorbable wrap, SelfWrap, to transform outcomes in vascular surgery, starting with hemodialysis access. SelfWrap is intended to improve the usability and durability of arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) used by chronic kidney disease patients for dialysis. The company recently closed a $16M Series A financing to support clinical and manufacturing work. VenoStent plans to use the funds to expand its US pivotal trial and scale manufacturing capabilities as it pursues FDA approval. The company has been granted an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) from the FDA for its US clinical trial, SAVE-FistulaS. VenoStent is led by CEO Tim Boire, Ph.D., and has previously received funding from KidneyX, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, Y Combinator, Health Wildcatters, and Texas Halo Fund. VenoStent’s core technology is polymer engineering protected by patents; its first product, SelfWrap, is a slip-on bioresorbable wrap intended to address the 55–65% vascular access surgery failure rate in hemodialysis patients. The company aims to complete first-in-human clinical work and conduct studies to support Breakthrough Device Designation (BDD) and an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) submission. Proceeds from the recent round will be used to grow the team, scale quality control and manufacturing processes, and strengthen clinical and reimbursement positions. VenoStent has participated in Y Combinator’s Summer 2020 batch and is led by Co-Founder and CEO Tim Boire, Ph.D., with Geoff Lucks as Co-Founder and COO. Its funding to date exceeds $6M, which includes non-dilutive grants and prize awards alongside prior equity investments.