Participated · Series A · Jan 2024

Sploot Veterinary Care provides veterinary services aimed at improving the pet and pet‑parent experience. The company emphasizes creating the best environment for its team members to thrive. It announced a $40M A‑round funding led by L Catterton. The announcement also acknowledges Skydeck Capital among its investors. Sploot framed the raise as a major step toward its mission to revolutionize and redefine veterinary services. The company said the funding will support continued growth, innovation, and lasting impact in the world of pet care.

Participated · Seed · May 2021

Grove Biopharma pioneers a proprietary Bionic Biologics platform that integrates precision polymer chemistry, medicinal and peptide chemistry, AI/ML‑driven computational chemistry, and protein engineering to design fully synthetic, cell‑penetrant molecules. The platform is intended to engage large intracellular targets and disrupt or degrade protein‑protein interactions that traditional modalities cannot reach. Grove’s pipeline initially focuses on oncology and neurodegenerative diseases, leveraging cell permeability to access intracellular disease pathways. The company’s lead effort targets androgen receptor signaling for castrate‑resistant prostate cancer and has shown in vivo proof‑of‑concept while advancing toward an IND submission. Grove originated as a spinout from Northwestern University and is based in Chicago, embedded in the city’s emerging life‑sciences ecosystem. Proceeds from the recent financing will be used to further develop the platform and drive lead oncology programs toward the clinic. Grove Biopharm is a Northwestern University and UC San Diego spinout developing a novel class of 'protein-like polymers' to make drugs targeting Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and other difficult-to-treat conditions. The company raised $4 million in a seed round led by Portal Innovations. Other investors in the round include Morningstar founder Joe Mansueto, Michael Polsky's family office Skydeck Capital, and Walder Ventures. As part of the investment, Portal's John Flavin will join Grove Biopharma’s board. Grove was co-founded by Nathan Giannesch, CEO Geoff Duyk, and president and COO Paul Bertin. Portal Innovations is based in Fulton Labs in Chicago's Fulton Market, and Grove joins a growing Chicago biotech cluster that includes Jaguar Gene Therapy, Evozyne and CiRC Biosciences. Flavin called the platform a "revolutionary innovation" at the interface of materials engineering, biology, chemistry, and data science.