Participated · Series A · Sep 2025

Optain Health offers a portable robotic retinal camera, integrated AI workflows, and teleophthalmology to enable rapid, non‑invasive screening for eye diseases and systemic risk (oculomics). Its platform detects diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age‑related macular degeneration, and assesses cardiovascular risk while delivering teleophthalmology grading in the U.S. The company was co‑created in 2023 by Aegis Ventures and builds on more than a decade of Australian R&D led by Professor Mingguang He. Optain is expanding deployments into primary care, optometry, and health systems with the goal of closing care gaps and improving outcomes with minimal specialist staffing. The company uses teleophthalmology services in the U.S.; its automated disease detection software is not for sale in the U.S. Optain is scaling globally with investments in Australian R&D to support expansion outside the U.S. Optain develops AI-enabled software and hardware that noninvasively diagnose eye and systemic health conditions in real time using photos of the eye. Its portable retinal camera and accompanying AI software enable clinicians to screen for more than 140 eye and systemic conditions at early stages. The company is led by CEO Jeff Dunkel and positions the eye as a gateway to monitor whole-person health. Optain's approach is based on over a decade of research by Professor Mingguang He of the University of Melbourne and the Centre for Eye Research Australia. The company traces its roots to Australian-founded Eyetelligence (launched in 2019), whose clinically validated and regulatory-approved AI products are commercialized across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan and the Middle East. Optain intends to use recent seed funding to expand operations and development efforts.

Participated · Series D · Aug 2025

SetPoint Medical is a commercial-stage medical technology company headquartered in Valencia, Calif., focused on therapies for chronic autoimmune diseases. Its FDA‑approved SetPoint System is the first neuroimmune modulation therapy for adults with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis, providing a device-based alternative for patients who do not respond to or cannot tolerate biologic or targeted drug therapies. The company’s proprietary integrated neurostimulation platform is designed to activate innate anti-inflammatory pathways in the vagus nerve to reduce inflammation and restore immunologic setpoint. Proceeds from the recent financing will support commercialization of the SetPoint System in select U.S. markets this year and broader national expansion in 2026, and will also fund advancement of the company’s pipeline in other autoimmune conditions. SetPoint plans to evaluate its platform for additional indications including multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease. In conjunction with the fundraise the company expanded its leadership team and board to support commercialization and market access efforts. SetPoint Medical is a privately held clinical-stage healthcare company focused on treating chronic autoimmune diseases. The company is developing a novel platform that stimulates the vagus nerve to activate the inflammatory reflex and produce a systemic immune-restorative effect. The SetPoint system is a miniaturized stimulation device placed on the vagus nerve through a small incision on the left side of the neck in an outpatient procedure and delivers stimulation on a preset schedule. The platform is being developed as an alternative for patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have an incomplete response to or are intolerant of biologic drugs, and is also intended for inflammatory bowel disease and other chronic autoimmune conditions. SetPoint is advancing the RESET-RA study and preparing U.S. FDA regulatory submissions and early commercialization for the RA indication. Financially, the company recently announced an $80 million equity financing and expanded a senior secured term loan facility of up to $65 million with Runway Growth Capital to support development and early commercial activities. SetPoint Medical develops a bioelectronic medicine platform designed to stimulate the vagus nerve and activate the body’s inflammatory reflex to produce a systemic immune‑restorative effect for chronic autoimmune diseases. The company is pursuing electrical‑pulse therapies as a potentially safer, lower‑cost alternative to drugs and biologics for conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. SetPoint is clinical‑stage and is advancing its technology through the RESET‑RA study, which will evaluate safety and efficacy in patients with moderate‑to‑severe RA. The $35 million financing announced will support the ongoing RESET‑RA trial and other development activities. SetPoint is privately held, was founded in 2007, and is based in Valencia, California. The articles do not disclose revenue or user metrics. SetPoint Medical is a privately held, clinical‑stage bioelectronic medicine company developing a platform that stimulates the vagus nerve to activate the inflammatory reflex and reduce systemic inflammation. The company is initially focused on a less immunosuppressive therapeutic option for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is also developing applications for inflammatory bowel disease and other chronic autoimmune conditions. SetPoint’s investigational device is intended to offer an alternative to biologic and targeted drug therapies with potentially lower risk and cost. The company has received Breakthrough Device designation from the U.S. FDA for use in RA patients who are incomplete responders to, or intolerant of, multiple biologic drugs. Proceeds from the financing will support the RESET‑RA multicenter, double‑blind, randomized, sham‑controlled pivotal trial that will enroll up to 250 patients at 40 U.S. sites to evaluate safety and effectiveness. SetPoint converts neurostimulation of the vagus nerve into a systemic immune‑restorative effect and is positioning its platform toward regulatory‑pathway clinical validation. SetPoint Medical is developing a proprietary bioelectronic medicine platform that uses a small implanted device to activate the body’s Inflammatory Reflex and produce a systemic anti-inflammatory effect. The company’s core product is an implanted stimulator that targets the vagus nerve as an alternative to drug therapies for chronic inflammatory diseases. SetPoint has published positive results from a first‑in‑human proof‑of‑concept trial in rheumatoid arthritis in PNAS and presented positive data at the American College of Rheumatology meeting. The company positions its approach as potentially lower risk and lower cost compared with current biologic treatments. SetPoint plans to use the new financing to advance clinical development and enable its next clinical trial in rheumatoid arthritis. It is a privately held company focused on commercializing bioelectronic medicines for debilitating inflammatory diseases.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2025

Ascertain provides AI-powered case management solutions built for health systems, payers, and independent provider groups. Its core product, Ascertain Automate, uses agentic AI to automate high-volume administrative workflows—prior authorizations, eligibility checks, discharge planning, and scheduling—and to interpret unstructured data across fragmented platforms. The company also offers tech-enabled services that operate the software on clients' behalf. Ascertain plans to accelerate growth and expand access following a $10 million Series A, aiming to enable higher-quality patient care, faster care journeys, and more cost-efficient delivery. The platform has been piloted with Northwell Health's centralized transitions-of-care team, demonstrating authorization processing and clinician time savings; the article notes case managers spend up to 60% of their time on manual tasks and there are over 100,000 open US positions for such roles. Ascertain was launched by Northwell Holdings and Aegis Ventures; CEO Mark Michalski, M.D., draws on experience from Mass General Brigham, Amazon, Butterfly Network, and Hyperfine Research. As it scales, Ascertain will move into Deerfield's Cure headquarters in New York City and leverage Deerfield, Northwell, and Aegis distribution channels and data.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2025

Avandra operates a federated network and marketplace for de-identified medical images and clinical data, positioning itself as the world’s largest such network. Its core product is an imaging-centric data platform that indexes and makes multimodal last-mile data available to biopharma, researchers, providers, and AI companies. The company aims to crawl, index, and make available up to 1 trillion images and says over 90% of imaging data research requests go unfulfilled by existing solutions. Avandra plans to expand its data network through partnerships with leading health systems and integrate its platform into broader health-data ecosystems. The company recently formed a strategic partnership with Datavant to enable seamless, privacy-preserving integration into Datavant’s ecosystem. The announced funding will be used to further develop the platform and scale commercial initiatives with biopharma and medical researchers.

Led · Equity · Oct 2022

Lazzaro Medical develops a robotically assisted Minimally Invasive Tracheal Repair (MITR™) procedure centered on its patented LM Scaffold System™ to treat tracheobronchomalacia (TBM). The company is advancing R&D, verification and validation, preclinical testing, and regulatory activities to bring the system to market. Lazzaro has additional patents filed to expand its TBM diagnostic and treatment platform. It cites collaborations with Mayo Clinic and strategic funding from partners including Northwell Health and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), plus support from a leading robotic-systems manufacturer. The company was founded in 2019 and is based in Boulder, Colorado. Management emphasizes accelerating availability of a less invasive, lower-risk repair option for underdiagnosed TBM patients. Lazzaro Medical develops a platform of non-invasive, robotic procedures, devices, and diagnostics aimed at restoring healthy breathing for people with tracheal and bronchial conditions, including TBM. The company emphasizes a less invasive repair option and aims to raise awareness of TBM as an under- or misdiagnosed disease. Proceeds from the recent financing will be used to prepare a 510(k) FDA submission and support a forthcoming commercial launch. Future product and program plans include a diagnostic endoscope, comprehensive training programs for thoracic surgeons, and additional devices to simplify the procedure. Financially, the company has secured strategic investor support and non-dilutive grant funding to advance regulatory and commercialization milestones.