• Proterro

  Participated · Equity · Dec 2012

  Proterro produces non-crop-based, noncellulosic sucrose via engineered sucrose-producing cyanobacteria and a high-density, modular solid-phase photobioreactor. The company projects production costs below $0.05 per pound, undercutting sugarcane, corn and cellulosic approaches. Proterro holds a notice of allowance from the USPTO on a composition-of-matter patent covering its engineered microorganisms and genetic code, and it is adding to its patent portfolio. Management plans to use new capital to optimize genetic engineering and accelerate piloting of a full-scale photobioreactor. The company is completing designs for a demonstration-scale facility and pursuing business partnerships. Leadership includes advisors with experience from BP, Cargill, Gevo and Solazyme, and the company was recognized by Lux Research for its disruptive potential.

• Bionano Genomics

  Participated · Series B · Mar 2011

  BioNano Genomics is a San Diego, CA-based developer of the Irys genome mapping platform. The Irys platform provides researchers and clinicians an organized, actionable picture of a genome, including how components are ordered, arranged, and interact. The company works with institutions in life science, translational research, molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine. Led by President and CEO Erik Holmlin, Ph.D., BioNano intends to expand commercialization to grow the installed base and utilization of Irys and to develop new platforms and technology innovations. The firm completed a $53M Series C to support those plans, and added board members in conjunction with the financing. BioNano Genomics is developing a system for human genome analysis that uses imaging of molecules to directly observe native genomic structure. The company says its technology enables direct observation of native genomic structure through molecular imaging. It announced a $10M funding round to commercialize that system. The funding is intended to support commercialization efforts for its human genome analysis platform. The startup is led by Erik Holmlin, Ph.D., and is San Diego-based. BioNano Genomics develops the Irys platform, a scalable system for structural variation analysis and de novo assembly of next-generation sequencing data. Irys uses a proprietary chip to uncoil and confine long DNA molecules, enabling researchers to view long strands of DNA. Researchers at UCSF demonstrated Irys' utility in a Nature Biotechnology paper by accurately mapping and analyzing structural variation in the human major histocompatibility complex. The company and UCSF authors highlighted applications in studies of new pathogens, complex metagenomics, and cancer genomes where copy number and structural variation are abundant. BioNano raised $10 million in a Series B-1 equity financing from existing investors and is completing product development ahead of a commercial launch anticipated by the end of 2012. BioNanomatrix develops and commercializes nanoscale, single-molecule imaging and analysis technology for large biological molecules, with a focus on whole-genome analysis. The company has introduced the nanoAnalyzer 1000 System and reported placing a number of systems with early-access users after its debut at the American Society of Human Genetics. Its platform is designed to reduce time and complexity for genome analysis and to provide additional structural-variation data not easily addressed by current methods. Ongoing development includes a NIST-ATP-funded project aimed at sequencing the human genome at a cost of $100 and work supported by the National Institutes of Health. Management has signaled a push toward commercialization and plans to establish a stronger West Coast presence to expand business opportunities and recruitment. The company recently completed a $23.3 million Series B equity financing to support these efforts. BioNanomatrix develops a nanoscale whole-genome imaging and analysis platform for single-molecule genomic analysis. The company is preparing to commercialize its first NanoAnalyzer system, with a beta site launch planned for Q2 2010. It received two supplemental Phase II SBIR grants from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) totaling $833,490. The awards were made under the NIH BECON II nanotechnology initiative, an interdisciplinary, multi-institute SBIR consortium. These supplemental grants bring BioNanomatrix's Phase II NHGRI funding to more than $2.8 million. The funds will be used to support further commercial development and to prepare for the NanoAnalyzer beta launch.

No current team members are available.