The Venture Codex

Led · Seed · Aug 2024

Piramidal has developed a foundation model trained to interpret EEG recordings from heterogeneous devices and electrode configurations, aiming to standardize and automate detection of clinically relevant brain‑wave patterns. The founders say the model is being productionized and scaled toward billions of parameters rather than staying purely in research. The company plans to deploy its first production model in hospitals early next year and is running four ICU pilots starting in Q1 that will co‑develop and test the technology. Piramidal has aggregated and harmonized large amounts of open‑source, siloed EEG data and is establishing hospital partnerships that could provide thousands of hours of labeled signals for further training. The team expects the seed funding to cover compute costs and hiring as they move the model into clinical settings. Founders Dimitris Sakellariou and Kris Pahuja draw on years of domain experience, including time spent with neurologists in operating rooms, to guide model design and clinical integration. The company intends to fine‑tune models for specific applications itself rather than relying primarily on API monetization.

Participated · Seed · Oct 2022

Clerkenwell Health operates a commercial clinical research facility focused on psychedelic-assisted therapies and works with multiple drug developers rather than being tied to a single compound. The company intends to host and run trials at its London site, including trials for external partners such as Toronto-based Psyence. Psyence will begin a trial at Clerkenwell to assess psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy versus psychotherapy alone for adjustment disorder in patients with an incurable cancer diagnosis following MHRA approval. Clerkenwell is also engaging North American drug-discovery and biotech companies, notably Otsuka Pharmaceutical-backed Mindset. The startup raised £2.1M in seed funding to become fully operational and has now raised £2.5M in total to date. CEO Tom McDonald has cited the UK’s competitive clinical-trial framework as a rationale for launching operations in London. Founded in 2021, Clerkenwell Health is a UK-based clinical research organisation specialising in psychedelic-assisted therapy trials and support for drug developers across the U.K. and Europe. The firm provides clinical research services and has rolled out a training programme for therapists who will work with psychedelic drugs. It is opening a commercial facility in London in August dedicated exclusively to running psychedelic clinical trials and will begin trials in its Central London facility. Clerkenwell has partnered with life-sciences company Psyence to trial psilocybin-assisted therapy for adjustment disorder in patients with terminal diagnoses. The company is also working with North American drug discovery and biotechnology companies and is in discussions with developers targeting mood disorders, trauma-related conditions, addictions, and other psychiatric and neurological disorders. Its current financing includes a pre-seed round of over £700,000 from institutional and angel investors.

Led · Seed · Sep 2022

Trek Health is an AI-powered payment and insurance workflow automation platform for mental health provider groups based in San Mateo, CA. Led by CEO and Founder Dilpreet Sahota, the platform helps healthcare organizations benchmark and negotiate payer contracts using real market data and automates claims processing to better synchronize providers and payers. The solution integrates with EHR systems and provides instant claim reimbursement, automatic claim generation and submissions, and payer enrollments across 900+ insurance networks. Trek Health says this enables the highest quality of mental health care to be delivered nationwide. The company raised $11M in a Series A and intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts. Investors in the round include Madrona, Correlation Ventures, LifeX Ventures, Accrete Health Partners, SNR Ventures and Founder Collective. Trek Health provides a payment and insurance workflow automation platform that eliminates lengthy manual tasks required for financial transactions for mental health providers and enables instant reimbursement of insurance claims. Its platform integrates with EHR systems and offers instant claim reimbursement, automatic claim generation and submissions, and payer enrollments across 900+ insurance networks. The company leverages artificial intelligence, including an intelligent auto-coding engine, to automate claims processing and synchronize providers and payers. Trek Health serves a broad set of U.S. customers, including inpatient mental health rehabilitation centers, outpatient psychiatric and psychotherapy facilities, and venture-backed mental health startups, and has seen an early surge in demand. The company says it is starting with mental health and plans to expand into other healthcare verticals over time. Trek Health recently closed an oversubscribed $2.7M Seed Round led by Lionheart Ventures, and its board will be joined by Shelby Clark of Lionheart Ventures.

Participated · Seed · Apr 2022

Homecoming is a Toronto-based health-tech startup that offers a comprehensive patient care platform designed specifically for psychedelic therapy. The software supports clients before, between, and after psychedelic sessions with personalized guides, tasks, and daily check-ins. Clinics and retreats use the system to streamline operations, manage the entire patient experience, and reach more patients through modern therapy tools and precision data. By integrating preparation and integration support into one interface, the platform aims to improve clinical outcomes and operational efficiency. The company plans to use newly secured capital to scale its products and services, deepening its partnerships with psychedelic clinics and retreats. Although detailed user or revenue figures were not disclosed, management emphasizes its data-driven approach to enhancing patient engagement and care continuity.

Participated · Seed · Nov 2021

Wavepaths builds on scientific research showing the critical role of music in psychedelic therapy, offering clinicians an AI-powered system that generates personalized, adaptive soundscapes in real time. Practitioners can seamlessly shift emotional atmospheres, depth, activation levels and instrumentation, drawing on compositions from artists such as Jon Hopkins, Greg Haines, Robert Rich and Christina Vantzou. Founded in 2019 by Dr. Mendel Kaelen and Anna Rickman, the company partners with research institutions, universities and psychedelic-therapy providers to study and optimize therapeutic outcomes. The product is currently in closed beta, is used in more than 29 countries and has a wait-list exceeding 5,000 practitioners ahead of a planned public launch later this year. Fresh capital will be deployed to refine the platform’s personalization and music-generation algorithms, scale infrastructure and add features for a broader range of healthcare practices.