• NeoChord

  Participated · Series C · Jun 2015

  NeoChord develops beating-heart mitral valve repair solutions for patients with mitral regurgitation. Its flagship product, the NeoChord Artificial Chordae Delivery System, enables a minimally invasive procedure on a beating heart without cardiopulmonary bypass or aortic cross-clamping and received CE market clearance in December 2012. In the United States the system is for investigational use only and is limited by federal law to investigational use. Founded in 2007 and led by President and CEO David Chung, the company is based in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. NeoChord plans to use the recent proceeds to accelerate development of its transcatheter chordal repair and edge-to-edge programs. Over the past 12 months the company has raised over $32m in equity. NeoChord is a medical technology company advancing beating-heart mitral valve repair, founded in 2007 by David Chung and based in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Its flagship product, the NeoChord Artificial Chordae Delivery System (Model DS1000), enables minimally invasive transapical delivery of artificial chordae on a beating heart without cardiopulmonary bypass or aortic cross-clamp. The system received CE market clearance in December 2012 and in the United States is for investigational use only. The company intends to use the funds from the recent financing to accelerate development of its transcatheter chordal repair and edge-to-edge programs. The procedure provides real-time feedback that allows surgeons to precisely adjust chord length to reduce or eliminate mitral valve regurgitation while the heart is beating. David Chung serves as President and Chief Executive Officer. NeoChord, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and led by President & CEO David Chung, has developed a proprietary device enabling mitral valve repair on the beating heart using a minimally invasive approach. Its DS1000 device received CE marking in December 2012 for minimally invasive mitral valve repair via surgical implantation of artificial chordae tendinae. The company focuses on advancing clinical and regulatory work for its technology while pursuing commercialization. NeoChord closed a $20M Series C financing to support those efforts. The company will use the proceeds for clinical and regulatory advancements, sales and marketing, research and development, and working capital. The article does not report operating metrics such as revenue or user numbers. NeoChord is a medical technology company developing minimally invasive devices and procedures to treat mitral regurgitation. Its flagship DS1000 System, CE marked in December 2012, enables surgical implantation of artificial chordae tendinae and is approved for sale in Europe but is not available commercially in the United States. The company is also developing NeoNav imaging software and an Edge-to-Edge mitral valve technology; near-term clinical goals include completing enrollment in the TACT Registry and performing First-in-Man procedures for the Edge-to-Edge approach. NeoChord reports it is in-revenues in Europe, with initial reimbursement established in Germany and a rapidly growing queue of surgeons seeking training. Financially, the company completed a $3 million sale of Series B-2 Preferred Stock in March 2013 and later closed a $3 million credit facility, providing additional cash runway to pursue its clinical and product development milestones. The company is based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. NeoChord is commercializing a minimally invasive cardiac surgery device that places artificial chords in the mitral valve to treat mitral regurgitation while the heart is beating. The procedure is designed to eliminate the need for sternotomy and cardiopulmonary bypass required in open heart surgery. NeoChord holds an exclusive license from the Mayo Clinic; the technology is currently approved only for clinical use. The company recently raised $5 million and is seeking an additional $6 million according to a regulatory filing. Management intends to use proceeds to secure European approval, prepare a U.S. investigational device exemption application, and fund the subsequent pivotal U.S. trial. Investors include Clarian Health Ventures, Heron Capital and TGap Ventures; the company is based in Minnesota.

• Scale Computing

  Led · Series D · Oct 2012

  Scale Computing builds hyperconverged infrastructure and edge computing products that virtualize customers’ infrastructure by combining servers, storage, a hypervisor, and backup/data recovery into a single system. Its self-healing platform centralizes management of remote sites via a console that surfaces device health, flags issues, and logs events to simplify operations for distributed IT teams. The company positions its software to replace traditional silos of virtualization, disaster recovery, servers, and shared storage, promising higher resiliency and uptime even with limited local IT staff. Scale claims more than 6,000 customers across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia‑Pacific region and employs roughly 160 people; revenue figures were not disclosed. Founded in 2007 by Jeff Ready, Jason Collier, and Scott Loughmiller, Scale plans to use new funding to expand its leadership in edge computing through investments in people and R&D and to restructure debt. Management emphasizes cost savings and improved IT confidence for customers as core benefits driving demand. Scale Computing’s core product is the HC3 Edge platform, a hyperconverged, self-healing system built on patented HyperCore™ technology that identifies, mitigates, and corrects hardware and software issues in real time. The HC3 software replaces traditional virtualization, backup, DR, servers, and shared storage to run mission-critical applications in distributed enterprise, retail, and SMB environments with limited onsite IT staff. Scale positions the platform as “set-it-and-forget-it,” reducing local infrastructure management and eliminating the need for multiple third-party products. Recent customer wins cited in the company release include Ahold Delhaize, Genting Group, Jerry’s Enterprises, and Farm Bureau Insurance. Scale reported revenue has more than doubled over the past two years, with retail-sector sales up 4x. The company is pursuing global expansion through a recently announced partnership with Lenovo to reach retailers, distributed enterprises, and SMBs worldwide. Scale Computing delivers hyper-converged appliances that combine storage, servers, and virtualization software in a single, appliance-based system managed as one server. The company’s architecture requires no separate virtualization software licenses and no external storage purchases. Led by CEO Jeff Ready and based in Indianapolis, the company serves over 1,100 customers across healthcare, education, manufacturing, financial services, and government verticals. Scale is expanding its distribution network through partners such as CDW and Dell. The product positioning emphasizes simplicity and reduced component licensing for customers. The company intends to use new capital to develop and launch additional products for global customers. Scale Computing, founded in 2009 and based in Indianapolis, builds the HC3 hyperconverged platform that integrates servers, storage, virtualization and management into a single automated system. The company focuses on the middle-market data storage segment and is described as a pioneer in hyperconvergence. Scale intends to use the newly raised funds to build out sales and marketing and to extend research and development. The announced funding round’s size and instrument were not disclosed; backers included First Analysis, the Indiana University Foundation and prior investors. Scale has previously raised more than $50m from outside investors. The company is led by CEO Jeff Ready, and Craig Nankervis of First Analysis joined the board in conjunction with the financing. Scale Computing builds HC3, a datacenter-in-a-box appliance that combines servers, storage, and virtualization in a single integrated, scalable system. The company emphasizes eliminating ongoing hypervisor licensing fees, leveraging open-source technologies, and simplifying support to reduce cost and complexity versus competitors such as EMC and VMware. HC3 launched in late August and rapidly gained traction, accounting for half of Scale’s Q3 sales and approaching 100 deployments. Scale plans to use new funding to accelerate HC3 growth, continue product development, and launch a partner program later this year. Management sees a large midmarket opportunity, citing over one million U.S. companies that could virtualize for the first time.

• AirXpanders

  Participated · Series D · Jan 2012

  AirXpanders, based in Palo Alto, Calif., develops AeroForm, an injection-free, patient-controlled tissue-expansion system for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. The company is focused on completing a U.S. clinical trial for the technology and pursuing 510(k) clearance in the United States. It plans to use new funds to finish the clinical trial and implement semi-automation into AeroForm manufacturing to increase throughput. Outside the U.S., AirXpanders intends a limited market release in Australia following TGA approval and will conduct a key opinion leader assessment in Europe. The company is led by president and CEO Scott Dodson and is backed by Vivo Ventures, GBS Venture Partners, Prolog Ventures, Heron Capital and Shalon Ventures. AirXpanders, based in Palo Alto, CA, develops technology to address unmet needs for patients requiring tissue expansion for breast reconstruction surgery. Its core product is the AeroForm Patient‑Controlled Tissue Expander System, a self‑contained expander implanted in the same manner as a traditional saline expander and operated via a small handheld wireless remote. The expander contains a lipstick‑sized carbon‑dioxide reservoir that gradually releases CO2 through an internal valve, eliminating the need for invasive weekly saline injections. The company secured $10M in Series D financing to advance its regulatory and commercial plans. Proceeds will be used to complete an ongoing IDE study in the U.S., obtain a CE Mark, and execute market launches in the U.S., Europe and Australia following clearance. The IDE study results will be used to support a 510(k) application in the U.S.; the company is led by President and CEO Scott Dodson.

• IDEV Technologies

  Participated · Series D · Oct 2010

  IDEV develops and commercializes minimally invasive interventional devices, most notably the self‑expanding SUPERA® stent and the SUPERA VERITAS™ Peripheral Vascular System. The SUPERA stent is indicated in the US for palliative treatment of biliary strictures from malignant neoplasms and in Europe for biliary strictures and peripheral vascular use following failed PTA. The company recently launched the SUPERA VERITAS delivery system in Europe and operates there through an office in Beuningen, The Netherlands. IDEV completed a $46M Series D financing to support ongoing and planned clinical programs. Proceeds will fund a multi‑center IDE superficial femoral artery clinical trial for the SUPERA stent, additional peripheral artery clinical trials, development of new interventional products, and sales and marketing to support continued revenue growth.

• Aptus Endosystems

  Led · Equity · Jan 2009

  Aptus Endosystems is a privately held Sunnyvale, Calif. medical device company focused on developing advanced technology for endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Its products include the HeliFX Aortic Securement System, which is cleared by the U.S. FDA and bears a CE Mark, and the Fortevo AAA Endograft System, which has a CE Mark and is investigational in the United States. The company has developed a unique endograft and helical anchor technology intended to enable minimally invasive EVAR while providing control and potential long-term durability. Proceeds from the financing will be used to expand commercialization of HeliFX in the United States and Europe, develop additional HeliFX product offerings, execute a U.S. clinical trial of the Fortevo system to support a Premarket Approval filing with the FDA, and expand Fortevo utilization in key European centers. Management stated the capital will be used judiciously to grow product use, introduce new aortic repair products, and approach profitability. Aptus Endosystems is a Sunnyvale, Calif. biotech company developing the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair System, a device designed to fix abdominal aneurysms. The company is using the funding to finish clinical trials of the repair system. Management says the $30 million round should cover a U.S. launch in 2010 and a smaller release in Europe. Aptus previously raised $19.5 million in 2006 to advance the device through early trial phases. The company’s near-term plans center on completing trials and bringing the product to market in the U.S. and Europe. Financially, the new third-round financing is positioned to support those commercialization milestones.

No current team members are available.