Led · Grant · Jun 2024

CraniUS Therapeutics is building NeuroPASS™, a skull-anchored, fully implantable platform that leverages the temporal cranial space to deliver and monitor therapeutics directly in the brain, sidestepping the blood-brain barrier. The system is envisioned as a multi-product platform, initially consisting of three complementary devices that progressively expand therapeutic capabilities and convert cranial implants from passive hardware to active treatment interfaces. Founded by Johns Hopkins neuroplastic surgeon Dr. Chad Gordon, the company positions its technology as a paradigm shift for treating neurological diseases and brain cancers. CraniUS holds 15 issued U.S. patents as well as multiple international patents protecting its platform and long-term roadmap. The firm collaborates with global experts in neurosurgery, drug delivery, implant design, engineering, and manufacturing. Proceeds from recent financings are earmarked for regulatory submissions, manufacturing scale-up, and product testing as the company moves toward commercialization. Including its latest round, CraniUS has raised approximately $40 million, providing operating runway into 2027. NeuroPASS™ remains an investigational device and has not yet received FDA clearance.

Participated · Seed · Apr 2022

Dwellwell Analytics builds the Check Engine Light for Homes™ service, a SaaS platform that combines unique sensing technology, machine learning, and custom-designed AI to digitize residential maintenance diagnostics. The platform diagnoses and alerts residential property owners and managers to irregularities across HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and environmental systems to detect issues early and avoid system failures. It is designed to help multifamily and short-term rental owners streamline maintenance, generate cost savings, improve NOI, and ensure tenant comfort. Dwellwell aims to enable users to proactively address repairs and eventually predict issues before they occur. The company was founded by a team of seasoned tech entrepreneurs and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD. Dwellwell plans to expand in critical business areas and reach new audiences through a partnership with Resideo. Dwellwell Analytics builds a single plug-in device filled with sensors that uses AI — a system the company calls “Ambient Inference” — to monitor a home’s HVAC, electrical, plumbing and environmental systems. The device measures temperature ranges and electrical patterns, applies machine learning and neural networks, and aims to detect maintenance needs without technician installation or opening walls. The company positions the product primarily for landlords and multifamily operators, and also for single-family rental owners. Dwellwell says it is running two pilot programs, including one with Washington D.C.-based developer Beinstein Management and a customer in the single-family rental space. The company has received UL and FCC certifications to deploy electronics into homes and plans to expand deployments later this year. Dwellwell intends to use the new capital to continue product R&D and accelerate sales and marketing.

Participated · Equity · May 2021

TargetDocs offers a visual board for construction project files built with Angular, Node.js and Postgres that organizes users’ files, tracks current or missing documents, provides invoice-payment reminders, and supplies a collaborative workspace. It targets six- to 24-month contract projects ranging from roughly $10 million to a few billion across private and public builds such as shopping malls, commercial and industrial buildings, multifamily apartments, bridges, roads and highways. The company was founded by Joseph Leiva, who created the product from firsthand construction-industry experience; the team is four people and serves about 20 clients. Many clients are in the government space, so the product includes additional cybersecurity protections and compliance-focused features; TEDCO’s investment came from its Cybersecurity Investment Fund. Financially, TargetDocs completed an $850,000 funding round in April and plans to use the proceeds to hire three team members in sales, marketing, and engineering. Leadership aims to grow organically and may pursue a larger round in the first or second quarter of next year.

Participated · Equity · Jul 2014

Synapsify provides a text analytics and search tool that leverages patented and artificially intelligent software to prioritize and interpret written content. The company offers an API product and has just launched a web-based virtual analyst product, Synapsify Core, to complement that offering. Founded in 2012 by CEO and co-founder Stephen Candelmo, Synapsify targets organizations seeking to extract insight and recommendations from their written content. The recent funding will be used to support continued business growth and product development. To date, Synapsify has raised approximately $1.5m. Synapsify is a tech analytics startup offering patented text analytics and search technology that reads and evaluates written content across multiple dimensions. Its platform can reveal the quality, balance, credibility and quotability of content, index and match material against other written content or custom indexes, and surface actionable insights. The company measures overall content value and can compare content quality and potential traffic against competing pieces. Use cases called out include forum moderation, helping publishers produce better books, and giving governments clearer insight into social networks. Synapsify plans to announce its API and first set of enterprise customers in early Q2. The startup recently closed a $600,000 seed round. CEO and co-founder Stephen Caldelmo says the technology goes beyond simple keyword mentions or one-dimensional sentiment to bring new value to overwhelmed content ecosystems.

Led · Equity · Jan 2014

BrainScope commercializes an FDA‑cleared handheld device that integrates brain‑activity biomarkers to rapidly rule out the need for head CT scans and objectively assess concussion in about 15 minutes. The company reports its technology has demonstrated an average 50% reduction in unnecessary head CT scans and patient length of stay. BrainScope is developing an AI/ML‑derived brain‑activity biomarker to predict future onset of Alzheimer’s and is evaluating whether its trauma‑related brain bleed biomarker can detect ARIAs to reduce reliance on serial MRI scans. It is pursuing collaboration partnerships with Alzheimer’s‑focused drug companies to support clinical trial patient selection or serve as a companion diagnostic. BrainScope also sees future opportunities in sports concussion assessment and consumer wellness. The company is based in Bethesda, Md., and recently added three new board members to support these initiatives. BrainScope develops handheld, non-invasive medical devices for rapid, objective assessment of traumatic brain injury, beginning with its flagship BrainScope One. BrainScope One (FDA cleared as Ahead 300) uses EEG-based technology to measure brain electrical activity and neurocognitive function in mildly presenting adult patients 18–85 years old within three days of head injury, producing a panel of objective data to aid clinical diagnosis. The device targets markets including urgent care, occupational health, hospital emergency rooms, university and professional sports, and the U.S. military and government. The company’s platform integrates databases of thousands of brainwave recordings with advanced digital signal processing, algorithms, miniaturized hardware and disposable headset sensors, and is backed by an intellectual property portfolio of over 100 issued and pending patents. BrainScope has received multiple FDA clearances (four clearances cited) and ISO 13485:2003 certification, has partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense, and was an awardee of the GE‑NFL Head Health Challenge I. The company plans to use recent financing to support the commercial launch of BrainScope One and to fund continued research and development to broaden its product portfolio. BrainScope makes portable, FDA-cleared traumatic brain injury (TBI) assessment devices aimed at helping medical professionals triage and evaluate concussions. Its Ahead 100 device was cleared in November 2014; the Ahead 200 is a smaller, more rugged, FDA-cleared headpiece with EEG leads that connects to an Android smartphone running diagnostic software. The Ahead 200 is intended as a middle ground between a CT scan and questionnaire-based screening, offering greater portability and practicality for field use. The company is also developing an additional assessment device that has received significant support from the Department of Defense, GE, and the NFL. Financially, BrainScope raised $2.5 million in a recent financing and has brought total funding to at least $6.2 million to date; it has also been awarded $500,000 from GE and the NFL and more than $27 million in DoD research contracts. BrainScope builds a handheld concussion-detection device intended to diagnose cases without the use of neuroimaging. The company has conducted six years of studies on student athletes. Last year it was one of 16 finalists in the NFL Head Health Challenge I and received part of a combined $10 million fund, which enabled testing of the device. CEO Michael Singer said learnings from the first phase provide a foundation for the next phase of multi-site studies in high schools. With a new $500,000 award from GE and the NFL, BrainScope will continue testing the devices in high schools across the United States. BrainScope is a Bethesda-based startup that develops a handheld medical device to assist medical personnel in determining whether a person has suffered a traumatic brain injury, including concussion. The company’s technology targets improved diagnosis and prognosis of mild traumatic brain injury, a focus highlighted by the Health Challenge I awards. BrainScope was one of 16 companies to receive a piece of $16 million in the first round of those awards. The Health Challenge program was created through a partnership between General Electric and the National Football League in 2013. Separately, the company was the recipient of the first investment from Maryland’s $84 million InvestMaryland fund. The article does not report revenue, users, or other operating metrics.