Led · Equity · Dec 2023

Certainly Health operates a New York City marketplace for booking medical and cosmetic care that lets patients use insurance while avoiding surprise bills. Patients enter their insurance and visit reason, and Certainly uses machine learning to predict and guarantee out-of-pocket costs across nearby providers. If patients who book on the platform end up owing more than the listed price, Certainly covers the difference on their behalf. The platform lets users compare costs, provider reviews, and appointment availability across thousands of providers and medspas for cosmetic procedures including Botox and microneedling. Led by CEO Kevin Chiu, the company intends to use the funds to expand the team and improve its offerings. The company raised $2.3M in funding in the announced round.

Participated · Seed · Dec 2023

Interface Biosciences has developed an AI and metabolomics-based discovery platform to identify bacterial natural products that modulate the immune system and reduce inflammation. The company is advancing therapeutic programs targeting inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Its lead program is a 44‑amino peptide derived from Ruminococcus gnavus that the company reports has wound-healing, anti-inflammatory, and antibiotic activity against pathogens including Clostridium difficile and Staphylococcus aureus. Initial data reportedly show the lead compound is stable and non-toxic, with in vivo studies slated to begin in January 2024. Interface was founded by Stanford PhDs Hannah C. Wastyk and Will Van Treuren and is based in Palo Alto. The company recently closed an oversubscribed $3 million seed round to advance its platform and programs.

Participated · Series C · Mar 2022

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.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2021

Fauna Bio is an Emeryville, Calif.-based biotechnology company that leverages animal genomics to improve human health. Its core product is the Convergence drug-discovery platform, which applies comparative and functional genomics and initially uses gene expression data from hibernating mammals. The platform has identified two compounds and four novel genetic targets undergoing evaluation for heart disease and related disorders, and seven targets aimed at reducing fibrosis relevant to NASH and cardiovascular disease. Fauna Bio collaborates with Novo Nordisk on a target discovery program for obesity and is advancing its internal pipeline toward clinical testing. The company says it will use the $9M Seed financing to expand Convergence and accelerate discovery of new therapeutic targets across a broad range of indications. Leadership includes CEO Ashley Zehnder, DVM, Ph.D., and recent hire Bryan Burkey, Ph.D., as Head of Therapeutics Discovery. Fauna Bio operates a drug-discovery platform that leverages the science of hibernation to identify adaptation-inspired therapeutic targets. Its first platform version focuses on hibernating mammals to uncover mechanisms relevant to human disease. The company highlights applicability to Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, osteoporosis, obesity/diabetes and traumatic injury. Fauna Bio is co-founded by Dr. Ashley Zehnder (CEO), Dr. Linda Goodman and Dr. Katharine Grabek and is based in Berkeley, Calif. The startup raised seed funding to expand and further develop its discovery platform to find new therapeutic targets for human diseases.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2020

Mammoth Biosciences is a diagnostic technology startup leveraging CRISPR to create rapid, accurate tests for infectious diseases. Its lead product is the DETECTR platform, a CRISPR-based SARS-CoV-2 assay that has already secured Emergency Use Authorization at UCSF and is being positioned for broader commercial laboratory deployment. The company’s approach differs from conventional PCR by using CRISPR enzymes to identify viral genetic material, potentially easing current U.S. testing bottlenecks. Mammoth is also collaborating with GlaxoSmithKline to build a handheld, disposable COVID-19 test capable of delivering results in roughly 20 minutes at the point of care. With fresh support from the NIH’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program, the startup plans to scale manufacturing of DETECTR to achieve a “multi-fold increase in testing capacity” across the United States. No revenue, user, or other financial metrics were disclosed in the article.