Led · Series A · Jul 2018

Beddr is a health technology company that applies an integrated, digital approach to understanding and improving sleep. Its core product, the Beddr SleepTuner, combines a clinical-grade sleep sensor, a mobile app, and predictive analytics to deliver personalized insights and actions. The compact wireless sensor captures blood oxygen saturation, stopped breathing events, heart rate and heart rate spikes, and sleep position, while the app guides users through sleep tuning and compares assessments over time. The company is preparing a commercial launch and has opened pre-orders for early fall delivery, offering an introductory price of $99 (suggested retail $149). Beddr intends to expand offerings to include seamless access to board-certified sleep physicians, personalized treatment options, and ongoing coaching and support to improve outcomes and lower costs. Leadership includes CEO Mike Kisch, CTO Tom Goff, VP Marketing and Product Development Simon Vining, and Lead Mechanical Engineer Kirby Chiang.

Participated · Series A · Nov 2017

Biolinq is a healthcare technology company developing precision intradermal biosensors to improve metabolic health. Its initial product is a wearable biosensor patch with an array of tiny electrochemical microsensors that measure glucose continuously just beneath the skin’s surface, providing real-time feedback via a color-changing indicator light on the upper forearm. The device is designed to combine glucose monitoring with activity and sleep information to support people with Type 2 diabetes not on insulin. Biolinq’s platform is positioned for future multi-analyte sensing capabilities and the company says it has spent the last decade developing the underlying technology. The company recently completed a US pivotal trial and submitted for regulatory review; its intradermal glucose sensor remains investigational and is not yet FDA cleared. A $100 million Series C will finance the company’s push from development toward commercial readiness as it pursues US regulatory approval; Biolinq is headquartered in San Diego. Biolinq develops a wearable patch that uses an array of tiny electrochemical microsensors placed in the intradermal space to measure glucose and relative activity from just beneath the skin surface. The device is designed for simplicity and user feedback, with an intuitive on-device display that notifies users when glucose is within or outside target ranges. Its sensor array is engineered for redundancy, reliability and multi-analyte capabilities without the use of introducer needles or bleeding. Biolinq describes the intradermal glucose sensor as investigational and not yet cleared or approved by the FDA. The company is headquartered in San Diego, CA. Proceeds from the completed financing will fund completion of a U.S. pivotal clinical trial this year and support a subsequent FDA submission. Biolinq is developing a wearable biosensor platform whose first product is a needle-free, intelligent continuous glucose sensor with a novel integrated display on the device. The device leverages semiconductor-industry innovation to miniaturize electrochemical sensors into a micro-array of miniature biosensors roughly 25 times smaller than conventional glucose sensors, enabling redundant measurements for reliability. Early feasibility studies demonstrated the microarray patch can track glucose continuously for up to seven days in people with diabetes. Biolinq’s approach includes multiplexed sensing capabilities and immediate biosensor feedback designed to simplify diabetes management and support future consumer health and wellness applications. The company is advancing clinical, regulatory, manufacturing and commercialization milestones to expand the sensing category. Financially, Biolinq completed a $100 million Series B financing, described as a record private capital raise in the continuous glucose monitoring space, with a broad syndicate of strategic and financial investors. Biolinq is developing a skin-applied, minimally-invasive electrochemical biosensor platform that analyzes interstitial fluid to provide actionable health information. Its first commercial product aims to let people with diabetes continuously monitor blood glucose without the pain and hassle of traditional continuous glucose monitoring systems. The platform is wirelessly enabled and designed to simultaneously measure multiple biomarkers, enabling a pipeline of biomonitoring products. Biolinq plans to use new financing to support growth of its technology platform and to fund additional clinical studies. The company completed its first clinical study in 2018 and reports promising initial clinical results. Biolinq was founded in 2012 and is located in San Diego. Biolinq develops a skin-applied, minimally-invasive electrochemical biosensor platform that analyzes biomarkers in interstitial fluid. Its wirelessly-enabled, nickel-sized biosensor patch is designed to continuously monitor multiple biomarkers and its first commercial product targets blood glucose monitoring without the pain and hassle of traditional CGM systems. The company emphasizes factory calibration (no finger sticks), low cost-of-goods, high manufacturing uniformity, and ease of use. Biolinq intends to leverage its novel manufacturing approach to increase access to CGM and simplify diabetes management. The platform’s ability to simultaneously measure multiple biomarkers supports plans to build a pipeline of additional biomonitoring products. Biolinq was founded in 2012 (as Electrozyme, LLC) and is located in San Diego.

Participated · Series A · Jun 2017

CirrusMD is a Denver, CO telemedicine company that lets patients reach a live, licensed physician through a text-based or web app and complete care encounters at their convenience. Its integrated care is delivered 24/7/365 by multi-specialty, board-certified doctors who treat a range of conditions from acute to chronic and specialty areas including behavioral health. The service is offered exclusively through employers and health plans and is available to nearly 10 million users across all 50 states. Led by CEO Andrew Altorfer, the company intends to use new capital to expand solution capabilities, enhance user and provider experiences, increase scalability, and drive innovation for employer and health plan customers. Financially, CirrusMD has raised a total of $46m to date, including the most recent Series C. CirrusMD offers a chat-first virtual care platform that lets health plan members access on-demand dialogue with board-certified physicians in seconds via web or mobile apps. The company partners with health plans to deliver virtual care experiences and recently secured a subcontract to provide care access and delivery to the veteran community through Iron Bow Technologies and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. CirrusMD was founded in 2012 by CEO Andy Altorfer and CMO Blake McKinney, M.D., and is also led by President and COO Scott Johnson. The company plans to use the new funding for product innovation and to support current and future partners. Financially, CirrusMD raised $15M in a Series B, bringing total funding to date to $26M. CirrusMD offers a text-first telemedicine platform for large health systems, integrated delivery networks, and health plans, with a focus on value-based care models. The company enables patients to access local physicians through secure text and video chat. It reports that 1.3 million patients have access to the platform, representing 850% growth over the prior year, and says it provides telemedicine services to over one million covered lives. CirrusMD plans to use recent financing to expand sales and marketing, invest in customer support, and continue innovating its platform and data analytics. The company cites a broader telemedicine market tailwind, noting a report that the market could reach $67 billion by 2021. Founded in 2012 and based in Denver, CirrusMD aims to scale rapidly by delivering value to health systems and payers. CirrusMD operates a HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform that enables secure text messaging, image sharing and telehealth video visits via mobile devices and web browsers. The platform serves over 250,000 consumers, connecting them to a specialized panel of local doctors to reduce emergency room and urgent care visits. The company positions its product to align with value-based and shared-risk payment models rather than legacy fee-for-service telemedicine solutions. Founded in 2012 and based in Denver, Colorado, CirrusMD is actively seeking partnerships with health plans and health systems that are shifting to value-based models. The company raised $1.05M in funding to expand its development and sales teams. CEO Andrew Altorfer has emphasized the need to be included in conversations with health systems and insurers as the industry shifts and consolidation occurs.

Led · Series A · Nov 2016

Cohero Health develops connected care devices and mobile and web applications under its BreatheSmart platform to engage respiratory patients, track medication adherence, and measure lung function. Its product suite includes wireless inhaler sensors, an FDA-cleared mobile spirometer, patient-facing mobile apps with reminders and rewards, and HIPAA-compliant web access for custom data. The company is building a large dataset of respiratory patient demographics, medication utilization, symptoms, pulmonary function, outcomes and costs. Cohero has deployed its platform across more than 25 commercial partnerships, representing over 1 million pediatric and adult asthma, COPD, and cystic fibrosis patients. Led by co-founder and CEO Melissa Manice, PhD, and co-founder and COO Dan Weinstein, the company is a member of StartUp Health, Springboard Enterprises, and Grand Central Tech. It plans to use new funding to grow commercial business development, expand its clinical trial program, and further evolve the BreatheSmart platform. Cohero Health develops connected devices and mobile applications aimed at engaging and empowering respiratory patients by measuring lung function and tracking adherence. Its proprietary platform includes wireless medication inhaler sensors, an FDA-cleared mobile spirometer, patient-facing mobile apps that generate reminders and reward compliance, and HIPAA-compliant servers for custom data access. The company is led by Melissa Manice, PhD, and is a member of StartUp Health, Springboard Enterprises, and Grand Central Tech. Cohero closed a $2M seed funding round to support scaling and commercialization. The company plans to use the funds to scale production of its devices for large customer deployments and to support the full-scale commercial launch of its platform. No operating metrics (revenue/users) were disclosed in the sourced article.

Participated · Series B · Apr 2015

Scanadu develops handheld devices that scan and upload medical-grade diagnostic data to smartphones, including the Scout and a urine-testing stick called Scanaflo. The Scout measures heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature and has more than 8,000 orders shipped. Scanaflo can detect blood in urine, pregnancy and certain STDs and uploads results to a smartphone. The company came out of the X Prize Foundation’s Qualcomm Tricorder competition and operates out of the NASA‑Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. Scanadu is working with the FDA, which has authorized testing of its devices as investigational, and is pursuing full regulatory clearance. The company says new funding will be used to push devices into market testing and continue the path toward approval in the U.S. and China. Scanadu is a medical device developer building the Scout, a handheld medical tricorder that aggregates off-the-shelf sensors to measure blood pressure, heart rate, ECG and other metrics. The Scout pairs with a companion app that stores measurements as a medical record and can provide recommendations and analyses of tracked metrics. The company plans to conduct clinical testing of the Scout in partnership with Dr. Eric Topol at the Scripps Translational Science Institute, with trials set to begin in Q1 2014. Each sensor and sensor combinations will require 501(k) clearance from the FDA as part of the regulatory pathway. Scanadu raised $1,664,574 via Indiegogo and has 8,000 preorder customers from that campaign who will receive early units for usability testing. The company says the commercial device target window is winter 2014 to Q1 2015, and it is developing additional products such as urine analysis. Scanadu's core product, the Scanadu Scout, is a small, round scanner that takes a person’s vital signs and transmits them wirelessly to a smartphone. The device is positioned toward consumer medical empowerment rather than a clinical pathway, aiming to give users actionable personal health data. The company vastly validated demand through an Indiegogo campaign that became the site’s highest-funded project, raising over $1,378,545 with roughly 7,000 funders from about 100 countries. The campaign met an initial $100,000 goal in under two hours and doubled that within five hours, and Scanadu opted to extend the campaign past its original deadline. Founder Walter De Brouwer said the device was developed mostly without prior consumer testing and that crowdsourcing ultimately served to gauge market interest. Next steps highlighted in the article focus on developing an educational component so users not only have data but understand what it means and how to act on it. Scanadu is developing a personal, mobile auto-diagnostics device it calls the 'Medical Tricorder,' aimed primarily at parents to help avoid unnecessary hospital visits. The product leverages smartphone capabilities and sensors to let users check basic health conditions more frequently. The company is building a core team of biomedical engineers, software and hardware developers, and AI specialists and has formed a Medical Advisory Board including Dr. Daniel Kraft and Dr. Jordan Shlain. Scanadu has raised $2 million from a network of global angel investors to advance development. It is relocating its team from Belgium to the San Francisco Bay Area and establishing a lab at NASA's Research Park. The company is actively hiring and seeking technology partnerships with telemedicine and diagnostic startups to accelerate product development and distribution.