Led · Equity · May 2024

Ecodrive develops tools to track tree planting and plastic removal from the ocean, aiming to quantify environmental restoration efforts. The company presented at San Diego Angel Conference VI and was awarded the top prize. Ecodrive’s CEO said the investment will enable the company to scale. The award came with mentoring, coaching on investor communication, and due diligence support from SDAC. Financially, Ecodrive received a $300,000* seed investment from the SDAC VI fund of accredited angel investors. The actual amount depends on total dollars raised, and SDAC notes investors have historically exceeded the announced amounts.

Led · Seed · Jan 2023

CARI Health is building what it describes as the world’s first wearable medication monitor to enable remote medication monitoring and improve treatment compliance. The company plans to use the newly awarded NIDA SBIR Fast Track grant to support product development and conduct human clinical studies. It is eligible to receive up to $2.8 million over three years as project milestones are completed across Phase I and Phase II. CARI Health has previously received investments and support from the San Diego Angel Conference, NuFund Venture Group, Cove Fund, Chemical Angel Fund, Device of Tomorrow Capital, and several individual angel investors. The company also secured investments and accelerator support from the Cedars Sinai Accelerator and the Rady Venture Fund (UCSD), and participated in programs including the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur MedTech Accelerator at UCSD, MedTech Innovator, and EvoNexus. Founder and CEO Patrik Schmidle launched CARI Health following a family member’s struggle with opioid use disorder, and the firm says the grant will enable it to move toward human trials and broader deployment. CARI Health is building a wearable remote medication monitoring device that provides clinicians with real-time medication levels to enable tailored dosing and verify adherence. The company’s first clinical application targets patients on medications for opioid use disorder to allow remote proof of treatment compliance. CARI’s device is entering first in-patient human clinical studies and the company is preparing for the FDA regulatory pathway. Earlier development was supported by non-dilutive SBIR grant funding and participation in accelerator programs including Qualcomm Institute Innovation Space, UC San Diego’s MedTech Accelerator, and MedTech Innovator. The company says it will expand its intellectual property portfolio as it readies the product for regulatory clearance and commercial launch. CARI Health is based in San Diego and anticipates a subsequent financing round in the second half of 2023 to support regulatory and commercialization efforts.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2021

Abterra Biosciences (formerly Digital Proteomics) is a CRO that combines next-generation sequencing, mass spectrometry and machine-learning methods to map the antibody response and identify therapeutic antibodies. The company was founded in 2009 by Dr. Pavel Pevzner and Dr. Vineet Bafna, whose algorithmic work underpins its products and services. After joining the University of San Diego's Brink SBDC in July 2018, Abterra expanded its team to nine employees and hired a Marketing Manager and a Senior Bioinformatic Scientist. In February 2021 it was awarded two NIH SBIR grants to further develop its immune-response analysis technology, and it also advanced seed fundraising through angel conference competitions in 2021. Between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021 Abterra reported 90% revenue growth and says it is continuing to accelerate sales. The company is building a drug-discovery platform aimed at transforming cancer treatment and expects additional publications from ongoing pilot projects.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2019

GroGuru supplies precision soil and irrigation monitoring and management systems to the commercial agriculture industry. Its solutions enable farmers to increase crop yields while using water, energy, fertilizer and labor more efficiently and sustainably. The product combines a patented wireless underground system (WUGS) for soil monitoring, an AI-based recommendation engine in the cloud, and an intuitive farmer-friendly interface accessible on tablet, computer or mobile device. The company is led by president and CEO Patrick Henry and has participated in accelerator programs including OCTANE LaunchPad, EvoNexus, AgLaunch, the Yield Lab, SVG-Thrive and Plug & Play AgTech. GroGuru closed a $2.3M Seed A financing to support expansion and commercialization. The company intends to use the funds to expand sales, continue development and commercialization of its AI-enabled continuous farm monitoring and management solutions, and grow strategic partnerships. GroGuru develops a patented wireless underground system (WUGS) that enables permanent installation of soil sensors in annual field crops, removing the need for annual installation and removal. The sensors feed data to the cloud, where GroGuru uses machine learning and other data to deliver recommendations on when and how much to irrigate. Its technology targets crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and sorghum. The company says it will use the new capital to grow its team, scale operations and deploy critical sensor technologies connected to the cloud. Leadership includes president and CEO Patrick Henry and co‑founders CTO/VP engineering Farooq Anjum, PhD, and Chief Scientific Officer Jeff Campbell, PhD. GroGuru is a portfolio company at the EvoNexus technology incubator in Southern California. GroGuru develops irrigation automation technology and a precision soil and irrigation monitoring system for the agriculture industry. The company aims to improve on-farm efficiencies amid a severe labor shortage. It plans to advance its automation technology using proceeds from new funding. GroGuru secured $250,000 in seed funding from Western Growers and Radicle Growth. The financing was awarded as part of the Radicle Automation Challenge. GroGuru is part of the EvoNexus startup incubator, which operates locations in San Diego and Irvine, and is led by CEO Patrick Henry.