Participated · Series A · Mar 2023

Prana Thoracic develops the Prana System, an image-guided, minimally invasive platform designed to enable precision surgical solutions that conserve healthy tissue and support personalized treatment plans for lung cancer. The company targets earlier interventions for patients and says the system can be applied across a range of conditions including lung cancer. Prana is also exploring use of the technology in other soft tissues and investigating integration with ablation and robotic systems. Its team includes surgeons, engineers, and entrepreneurs and is led by CEO and co-founder Joanna Nathan. Financially, the company has raised $9 million to date—an initial $3M, a $3M non-dilutive grant, and a $3M Series A extension that was oversubscribed by 30%. The new funding will be used to accelerate product development and advance clinical and regulatory plans. Prana Thoracic is developing the ThoraCore System, a minimally invasive, lung-sparing tool designed to target hard-to-reach pulmonary nodules and enable definitive diagnosis earlier in the lung cancer care pathway. The company’s technology was developed on the Texas Medical Center campus in collaboration with Precision Thoracic Corporation and inventor Edward M. Boyle, MD. Prana is led by CEO and co-founder Joanna Nathan. The company announced the closing of a $3.0 million founding Series A financing and previously received a $3.0 million award from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas. Proceeds from the Series A and the CPRIT award will be used for product development and to support first-in-human clinical studies. Prana positions the ThoraCore System to improve diagnostic access for patients with challenging lung nodules and accelerate earlier intervention. Prana Thoracic is developing a minimally invasive, tissue-sparing lung tissue excision tool intended to provide definitive diagnosis of suspicious pulmonary nodules earlier in the patient journey. The company says the device targets nodules that are challenging to sample, filling a gap between needle biopsy and open chest procedures. Prana Thoracic aims to commercialize the technology through first-in-human studies supported by the award. The company notes that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and that screening rates are low despite large eligible populations. Prana Thoracic partnered with the Johnson & Johnson MedTech Center for Device Innovation for design and early testing. Joanna Nathan is CEO and founder, and Dr. Edward Boyle is a founder and one of the inventors of the technology.

Led · Seed · Apr 2022

Vital Start Health is a health technology company offering virtual reality programs and expert-backed resources for pregnancy support. Its core product set includes immersive VR experiences, curated content, and mental health tips designed to foster a deeper sense of support and connection during pregnancy. The company distributes its tools through health insurance and EAP programs and now offers direct access on the Pregnancy+ app via email sign-up. The Pregnancy+ partnership exposes Vital Start’s content to Pregnancy+’s user base of over 1 million active users. Vital Start is raising $3M to scale the Pregnancy+ partnership and expand its VR-enabled mental health offerings that are covered by insurance. Leadership emphasizes providing women and partners with resources to feel confident and informed throughout the pregnancy journey. Vital Start Health launched COURAGE, a next-generation, multi-lingual virtual reality–enabled coaching and psychotherapy platform focused on maternal mental health and well-being across pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum stages. The platform emphasizes experiential practice and immersive psychoeducation, and the company has grown a network of Perinatal Wellness Coach practitioners and a direct-to-consumer 1:1 coaching service. Vital Start completed an initial feasibility study at a leading neonatal intensive care unit and cites the American Psychological Association's recommendation of VR for mental health. The platform was developed by Persistent using Microsoft Cloud and the company participates in the Microsoft for Startups program; key partnerships include a patient advocacy group and Reach's Happy Mama remote patient monitoring platform. In its pre-seed round Vital Start raised $250K from the University Science Center and angels and is beginning a seed raise to execute go-to-market, grow the team, and further clinical validation. The company has a Health Equity Pledge to direct 5% of online sales toward no-cost services for underserved and underrepresented mothers and aims to impact one million mothers by 2030.

Participated · Equity · Aug 2021

Gray Oncology builds GrayOS, a scheduling and operations platform that overlays electronic health records to manage oncology centre resources. The software creates a digital twin to structure resources, simulate operations, optimize workflow, automate patient scheduling and provide a command centre for strategic decisions. Its platform is currently used in one of Canada’s largest hospitals for both radiation oncology and medical oncology. Founded in 2019 by André Diamant and co‑founders with expertise in healthcare logistics and radiation therapy, the team emphasizes an oncology-specific approach versus broader scheduling competitors. The company raised C$1.25M in an angel equity round and has C$2M in total non-dilutive and dilutive funding, including federal and provincial grants and an earlier Startup Health investment. Gray plans to use the financing to break into the U.S. market to address treatment backlogs and scale in a larger market.