• Plastomics

  Participated · Series B · Oct 2025

  Plastomics is an agricultural biotechnology company headquartered in St. Louis that has developed a proprietary chloroplast engineering platform for corn and soybeans. By inserting traits into chloroplast DNA rather than nuclear DNA, the company eliminates pollen out-crossing, delivers maternal inheritance, and achieves higher and more durable trait expression. Its technology is aimed at producing crop varieties with superior insect and herbicide resistance, greater resiliency and improved sustainability. Following a commercial breakthrough in soybean chloroplast transformation, Plastomics plans to enter final commercial-scale field trials for soybean traits over the next 12–24 months. Concurrently, the firm is accelerating development of what it says will be the world’s first chloroplast-based transgenic traits in corn. The company recently secured $5.8 million in Series B funding to advance these initiatives. No operating metrics such as revenue or acreage under cultivation were disclosed in the announcement.

• Edison Agrosciences

  Participated · Seed · Jul 2024

  Edison Agrosciences develops natural rubber from sunflower crops using a seed-breeding approach rather than genetic modification. The company has demonstrated that rubber accumulation in sunflowers is heritable and is running diversity and exploratory trials to identify high-rubber genetic lines. Sunflower leaves naturally contain about 1–2% rubber by weight and are already grown on roughly 1 million acres in the U.S., which Edison views as an advantage for scale-up. The new funding will support scaling operations to produce quantities for industry partners and physical and mechanical testing, and to further build out its breeding program. Edison plans to target specialty, higher-margin applications first before pursuing commodity rubber markets. The company describes itself as extremely lean and has previously operated for four years on roughly $100,000 in investor equity; prior funding came from the U.S. Department of Defense and the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator.

• Maximum Fidelity Surgical Simulations

  Led · Seed · Jul 2024

  Maximum Fidelity (MaxFi) offers a patented, proprietary cadaver perfusion system that makes cadavers bleed, breathe and handle like live patients, enabling realistic operating room and trauma-care simulations. Its core customers include healthcare professionals, military medical personnel, and medical device manufacturers, with named customers such as Johnson & Johnson, Washington University in St. Louis, and Safeguard Medical. The company’s simulations are used for education, device testing, and research, positioning MaxFi as a specialized service provider in surgical training and medical device development. MaxFi plans to use the newly raised capital to build a leading-edge medical device development and surgical simulation center in St. Louis, equipped with labs, meeting spaces and lecture rooms. The funds will also support hiring full-time employees, development and launch of new technology, and expansion to new markets. Founded in 2014 in Columbia, Missouri, MaxFi emphasizes commercialization and scaling of its simulation services.

• Healium

  Participated · Seed · Mar 2023

  Healium, based in Columbia, MO, develops patented virtual and augmented reality biofeedback technology that connects biometric data from hardware-agnostic consumer wearables to modify and recommend 3D objects in the metaverse. Led by CEO Sarah Hill, who developed the technology with Dr. Jeff Tarrant in 2016, the company offers products including Sleepium that let users see and interact with real-time EEG patterns, heart rate, skin conductance, blood pressure and other biomarkers. Their iOS and Android apps currently work with Apple Watch and consumer EEG headbands, with more fitness tracker compatibility planned. Healium's products are used worldwide in schools, with frontline healthcare workers, elite athletes, and the U.S. military to self-manage anxiety, burnout, and prepare for sleep or stressful events. The company has a know-how agreement with Mayo Clinic to provide subject matter experts for developing immersive mental health and fitness capabilities. Healium closed a $3.6M seed round and is using the funds to expand operations and accelerate development. Healium combines virtual reality, augmented reality and wearable biometric sensors (including Apple Watch and brain‑sensing headbands) to deliver immersive, biometrically driven stories and neuromeditation designed to calm users. Peer‑reviewed studies cited by the company found Healium can reduce moderate anxiety by about one‑third and increase feelings of positivity in as little as four minutes. The app feeds heart‑rate and brain‑pattern data (e.g., gamma asymmetry) into interactive AR/VR scenes so users can see immediate environmental responses to lowered heart rate or calmer brain activity. Healium began at StoryUp Studios under CEO Sarah Hill and launched as a startup in 2015; the company is based in Columbia, Missouri. The product lineup includes Healium AR ($5/month) and Healium VR ($29/month); the company reports more than $800,000 in revenue to date and has had organizational customers such as the U.S. Navy. Healium also holds issued and pending patents and positions itself as a drugless, self‑management tool for anxiety.

• Compatio AI

  Participated · Seed · Feb 2021

  Compatio builds a knowledge-based digital commerce platform engineered to sell complete solutions instead of just products. Led by founder and CEO Tim Baynes, the company focuses on accelerating purchases online through its Intelligent Commerce technology. The platform is in development and the company has been raising capital to support growth. Recent funding will be used to expand sales and marketing efforts and to broaden and accelerate product development. Compatio is based in Springfield, Mo., and targets commerce use cases that require solution-selling rather than single-item transactions. The company has completed multiple early financings to date to fund its product and go-to-market activities.

No current team members are available.