Participated · Series D · Jun 2024

BillionToOne develops a patented Quantitative Counting Technology (QCT™) molecular counting platform that measures DNA molecules at the single-molecule level. Its oncology liquid biopsy products, Northstar Select® and Northstar Response®, are designed to help clinicians select therapies and monitor treatment response; Northstar Select® offers a 2–5x lower limit of detection versus other assays and Northstar Response® is a methylation-based ctDNA assay with roughly 10x greater precision than SNV-based assays. The company serves both prenatal and oncology markets and intends to use new funding to expand and scale those businesses. BillionToOne reports that over 500,000 patients have received its tests to date. The company has grown from $0M to $125M ARR in the last ~4 years. Its product suite is validated across different cancer types for assessing treatment response in late-stage patients. BillionToOne develops molecular diagnostic tests built on its Quantitative Counting Templates (QCTs) technology. Its UNITY Screen is a non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) that assesses fetal risk for recessive conditions and red blood cell antigen incompatibility, in addition to aneuploidies. The company also plans to commercialize a liquid biopsy product line—Northstar Select and Northstar Response—in early 2023. BillionToOne intends to use newly raised capital to continue scaling the UNITY Screen and advance commercialization of the Northstar products. The company is led by CEO Oguzhan Atay and is based in Menlo Park, CA. The article does not report operating metrics such as revenue or user counts. BillionToOne is a Menlo Park, CA-based molecular diagnostics company focused on making molecular diagnostics more accurate, efficient, and accessible. Its QCT molecular counter platform can count DNA molecules at the single-count level with single base-pair precision. The company’s flagship UNITY Screen™ is a non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) that assesses fetal risk for common recessive conditions and aneuploidies from a single maternal blood sample. UNITY Screen™ does not require a paternal sample, supporting greater equity in care. BillionToOne plans to use new funds to expand commercial and clinical teams, scale lab capacity, and conduct clinical studies for its liquid biopsy test. The company was co-founded by Oguzhan Atay, Ph.D., and David Tsao, Ph.D. BillionToOne is a Menlo Park, Calif.-based molecular diagnostics company that develops precision diagnostics using its patent-pending QCT molecular counter platform. The QCT platform can count DNA molecules at single-count resolution. Its flagship product, UNITY, is a noninvasive prenatal screening test of fetal cell-free DNA for cystic fibrosis (CF), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and hemoglobinopathies through maternal blood. The company closed a $55M Series B in June 2021 and intends to use the funds to expand its clinical lab and grow its commercial team nationwide. The round was led by existing investor Hummingbird Ventures and incoming investor Four Rivers Group, with participation from Neotribe Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Y Combinator, and Libertus Capital. BillionToOne was co-founded by Oguzhan Atay, Ph.D., and David Tsao, Ph.D., and is also led by Jennifer Hoskovec, MS, CGC, Director of Medical Affairs. BillionToOne, Inc., based in Menlo Park, Calif., is a precision diagnostics company that invented the patent-pending QCT™ molecular counter platform. Its core product, UNITY™, is a prenatal screen that directly assesses a fetus's risk for inherited disorders such as cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and hemoglobinopathies from a single tube of maternal blood. UNITY™ is available for commercial order in all US states except New York and in select international countries. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Oguzhan Atay, Ph.D. BillionToOne closed a follow-on Series A+ funding round of $15M, bringing total funding to more than $32.5M. The company plans to use the proceeds to support commercial expansion of UNITY across the US and to fund R&D of future diagnostics tests, including liquid biopsy products.

Led · Seed · Aug 2022

GitPOAP integrates POAP issuance into GitHub to bridge off-chain contribution platforms and the on-chain world of DAOs and decentralized identity. The platform identifies meaningful contributions via configurable patterns and awards claimable POAPs when contributors sign in with their GitHub accounts. It serves two user groups: contributors, who gain public, immutable records of their work, and project leaders, who can recognize and nurture contributor communities. GitPOAP is memorializing contributions to 617 repositories at the center of the Ethereum ecosystem, including protocol and client teams and major tooling and infrastructure projects. Led by CEO Colfax Selby, the company plans to grow its team, onboard more projects, and build integrations to add utility to its ecosystem. The product positioning focuses on turning socially-sourced contribution records into a web3 representation of identity and community engagement.

Participated · Series A · Aug 2022

Merkle Science (Stackseer Technologies Pte. Ltd.) is a Singapore-based predictive cryptocurrency risk and intelligence platform founded in 2018. Its core product leverages a proprietary Behavioral Rule Engine to enable detection, investigation, and prevention of illicit cryptocurrency activity. The platform serves crypto firms, DeFi participants, financial institutions, and government agencies. The team includes alumni from PayPal, Forter, Luno, Bank of America, the FBI, and the U.S. DOJ. Merkle Science plans to use new capital to accelerate global growth, expand across the U.S. and Europe, and invest in R&D. R&D priorities include analytics and forensics for NFTs, DeFi, and cryptocurrency bridge protocols; total funding now exceeds $24 million following the extension. Merkle Science provides a predictive blockchain monitoring and investigative platform that leverages a proprietary Behavioral Rule Engine to detect illicit activity beyond traditional blacklist approaches. Its Blockchain Monitoring tool helps compliance teams detect suspicious incoming and outgoing cryptocurrency transactions and meet local KYC/AML obligations. The company serves crypto companies, financial institutions, and government entities, and has clients globally. Merkle Science plans to use new funding to accelerate product development for enterprise segments such as law enforcement agencies and financial institutions. It will continue evolving its Behavior-based Rule Engine to address the rise of privacy protocols, expand token coverage to over 500,000 tokens, and customize solutions for DeFi and NFT platforms. The company is led by co‑founder and CEO Mriganka Pattnaik and recently launched in the USA. Merkle Science is described in the article as a deep-tech startup. The company raised $804,000 in a seed funding round. The round was co-led by SGInnovate, the Singapore government’s innovation platform. The fundraising was reported in DealStreetAsia’s SG Digest. The article provides no product details, operating metrics, or future plans for the company.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2022

Mintbase provides a global platform that enables artists, musicians, and event organizers to create and sell NFTs and NFT-based tickets without deep technical knowledge. The platform launched on the NEAR protocol in 2021 and currently operates mainly on the NEAR blockchain. Mintbase plans to scale operations and distribute grants to NFT projects through a new pass-through grants programme called Mintbase Grants. The company will use recent capital to fund developer infrastructure for web3 ticketing, music, and gaming platforms. Financially, Mintbase completed a $7.5M Series A and previously raised a $1M seed in late 2020; additionally the NEAR Foundation will award up to $5M to support its grants programme.

Led · Equity · Jan 2022

Fomo Games is an Istanbul-based mobile games studio founded in 2019 by Emre Teksoz, Yunus Guvenen, and Yusuf Ceylan. The studio's flagship puzzle title is Event Twins: Design & Blast, which holds a 4.9-star rating on the app store. The game features Pixar-like animation-style graphics and a redecorating/upgrading narrative. The company recently raised $5 million in a funding round that values it at $50 million, bringing total capital raised to approximately $6.25 million. The round was provided by Luxembourg-based Libertus Capital, a venture capital and private equity house that typically invests in companies and protocols that enhance freedom, privacy, and trust. According to co-founder Yunus Guvenen, the funding will be used to grow the team and to drive an upcoming marketing campaign.