Participated · Seed · Feb 2022

Respira Labs is developing a wearable, non‑invasive lung‑function monitoring device that uses microphones and projected piezo‑electric signals to assess resonant frequency, lung capacity, trapped air volume and signs of COPD. The company has been granted three patents for its technology, including one covering the use of a projected piezo‑electric signal analyzed for body resonance. It is conducting feasibility trials with 30 patients across Florida and California and says the device could aid patients with COVID‑19, COPD, asthma and other respiratory conditions. Respira is working toward FDA clearance over the next couple of years and was selected for the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center accelerator and biotech incubator. The recent financing will accelerate product development and continued trials.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2020

Spine Align is a Baltimore, MD-based medical device company developing a portfolio of intraoperative products that assess and assist with corrective surgeries for spinal alignment. Its flagship product, LiveAlign, is designed to enable surgeons to measure, visualize and adjust patients' spinal alignment during surgery. The company closed a $1.75M seed round to support development efforts to achieve FDA 510(k) clearance for LiveAlign in 2021. Spine Align was co-founded by Amir Soltanianzadeh (CEO), Dr. David Gullotti (CTO) and Dr. Nicholas Theodore. The venture originated as a spinout from the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2019

Sensatek Propulsion develops wireless sensors that collect real-time temperature, pressure, and strain data from gas turbines, using a polymer-derived ceramic material able to withstand environments above 1,200°C. The sensors are designed for rotating equipment in harsh conditions to enable condition-based monitoring and preventative maintenance. By providing accurate data, Sensatek aims to help power producers and OEMs avoid failures, reduce downtime, and operate turbines closer to operational limits. The company’s intellectual property was developed at the University of Central Florida and is supported by the National Science Foundation, StarterStudio, and VentureWell. Sensatek is led by founder and CEO Reamonn Soto and is based in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company raised equity financing in 2019 to advance its product and commercialization efforts.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2017

Kinnos's core product, Highlight, is a patented, hospital-grade color additive platform that temporarily colors disinfectant wipes and solutions to provide staff with an instantaneous visual cue to improve disinfection quality. Highlight is Star Registered by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council and recognized by the World Health Organization; a peer-reviewed study in the American Journal of Infection Prevention found it improved disinfection quality by as much as 70%. Highlight is already in use by hospitals, first responders, and transit agencies around the world and the company positions the product as a way to raise the standard of care for cleanliness and infection prevention. Kinnos was founded in 2015 during the Ebola outbreak and is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY. The company announced a $15 million financing to meet growing healthcare industry demand and to scale commercial deployment. It also named healthcare veteran Steve Fanning as CEO to lead rapid growth and commercialization. Kinnos is a New York–based startup that makes colorized disinfectant additives to ensure surfaces are covered. Its core products are Highlight powder, a patented additive dissolved into bulk bleach that colors solutions blue and fades after a few minutes, and Highlight wipes, which impregnate wipes at point of use. The company primarily targets hospitals and healthcare settings and has sold to humanitarian organizations deployed to Liberia, Guinea, Haiti, DR Congo and Uganda, with recent shipments to China amid the coronavirus outbreak. Kinnos is a five-person company founded six years ago and conducts third‑party testing to ensure its additive does not reduce disinfectant potency. The additive lasts about five hours in a bucket of bleach and fades on surfaces in about three minutes. After establishing a foothold in hospitals, the company is considering a consumer offering. Kinnos developed Highlight, a patent-pending additive for disinfectants designed to improve visibility, coverage, and end-user compliance. The product was created in response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa and has been field-tested in Liberia, Guinea, and Haiti. Highlight is used by the Fire Department of New York and Kinnos was a grantee of the USAID Fighting Ebola Grand Challenge. The company has received recognition including the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, Collegiate Inventors Competition, and Columbia Venture Competition, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, and Forbes 30 Under 30 in Healthcare. Kinnos is led by CEO Jason Kang. Financially, Kinnos recently closed a $1M seed round led by Georgica Advisors with participation from New York Angels, VentureWell, and other strategic angel investors.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2017

Hazel Technologies is a USDA-funded agricultural technology company that develops solutions to extend the quality shelf life of fresh produce. Its flagship product is a packaging insert sachet that delivers a controlled release of shelf-life enhancing vapor, placed in boxes of bulk produce at harvest to slow aging and prevent decay. The company works with more than 160 companies across 12 countries and counts Mission Avocado, Zespri, and Oppy among its customers. Founded in 2015 and led by CEO Aidan Mouat, Hazel is based in Chicago, IL. Hazel raised $70M in a Series C, bringing cumulative capital raised to over $87M. The company intends to use the funds to build global operations in major agricultural production areas and expand into Southeast Asia, Africa, the EU, and beyond. Hazel Technologies is a USDA-supported agricultural technology company founded in 2015 and based in Chicago, IL. It develops sachet-based products that release active, shelf-life-enhancing vapor from packaging inserts placed in boxes at harvest to slow aging and prevent fungus or decay. The company has completed over 100 pilot trials since 2017 across crops including melons, okra, apricots, avocados and cherries. Hazel works with over 100 of the largest fresh produce packers, shippers and retailers in the US and Latin America. The company plans to use new funding to continue growth of its main product line, launch new technologies and add talent. Its recent fundraise increased its cumulative financing to date, supporting commercial expansion of its core technology. Hazel Technologies develops drop-in packaging inserts that release an anti-fungal, shelf-life-extending vapor for produce. Its inserts can extend shelf life by as much as three times by preventing fungus and decay. The company is USDA-supported and is led by CEO and co-founder Aidan Mouat. Hazel closed a $3.26M Series A and intends to use the funds to increase production capacity. In 2017 and 2018 the company announced partnerships with major domestic and international produce growers, including Dresick Farms International (DFI) and Agritrade Farms International. The product targets the global food-waste problem by increasing produce shelf life via a simple packaging solution. Hazel Technologies builds shelf-life enhancement technologies aimed at extending the freshness of fresh produce to reduce food waste. The company develops treatments and packaging adjuncts that growers and shippers can apply to prolong produce shelf life. Hazel has received multiple USDA awards, including a recent $600k Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant and an earlier $100k development grant in 2016. With the new funding the company plans to explore export markets and further enhance its technology for global food-waste reduction. The USDA awarded the SBIR grant based on endorsements from growers who tested Hazel’s technologies, providing field validation. Aidan Mouat is the company’s CEO and co-founder. Chicago-based Hazel Technologies produces biodegradable, non-toxic packaging inserts—pads and sugar‑packet–sized sachets—that actively emit ingredients to slow spoilage of fruits and vegetables. Its FruitBrite packets use 1-methylcyclopropene (1‑MCP) to block ethylene receptors and delay ripening; the BerryBrite product line targets fungal threats. The company was started by Northwestern University alumni and is led by CEO Aidan Mouat. Hazel says the inserts work with existing grower and shipper infrastructure and can extend shelf life from days to weeks, enabling access to more distant markets. Hazel previously received SBIR grant funding from the USDA. The startup raised funding to ramp up manufacturing and to develop new products while expanding its commercial partnerships.