The Venture Codex

Participated · Equity · Nov 2021

LabMinds is an award-winning lab automation robotics company focused on automating solution preparation with its Revo technology. The company's core product is the Revo automated solution preparation system, which automates manual buffer solution preparation used across drug-development labs. LabMinds plans to commercialize the Revo system, develop new products, and expand its team. Company leadership and investors say customer feedback and validation for Revo have been positive and that the technology addresses time- and resource-wasting manual processes. The company completed an oversubscribed $6.4M funding round in the third quarter to support these initiatives. LabMinds' management emphasized that automating buffer preparation will free scientists to focus on drug development.

Participated · Series E · Oct 2021

RedShift BioAnalytics develops and commercializes a novel analytical platform, Microfluidic Modulation Spectroscopy (MMS), for detecting pivotal changes in molecular structure. Its flagship AQS3pro instrument delivers fully automated, ultrasensitive, and ultraprecise measurements of secondary structure for proteins, mRNA, AAVs, ADCs, mAbs, and other biomolecules. The company reports a rapidly growing list of user publications demonstrating broad utility across drug discovery, development, formulation, and quality control. RedShiftBio has sold instruments to the majority of leading biopharmaceutical companies in North America, Europe, and Asia. It recently opened the StructurIR Scientific Services Lab to provide institutions access for sample testing and proof-of-concept experiments. The company will use the new financing to fund additional commercial expansion, continue technology innovation, and execute product development objectives. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, RedShiftBio positions MMS as a tool for supporting biotherapeutics and vaccine development worldwide. RedShift BioAnalytics develops analytical instrumentation and a patented Microfluidic Modulation Spectroscopy (MMS) technique to probe protein secondary structure for biotherapeutic development. Its flagship AQS3pro infrared platform offers advanced data analytics and direct measurement of previously undetectable changes in protein structural attributes, replacing the need for multiple instruments. The company reports successful launch of the AQS3pro and installation of its first production systems at three major biopharmaceutical companies in the US and Europe. Management expects rapid commercial growth and has appointed Julien Bradley as CEO to lead expansion; Chip Marshall will remain as COO. RedShiftBio completed an oversubscribed $18M Series D Preferred Stock financing to support commercial expansion and continued innovation. The company targets improved decision-making across discovery, formulation and manufacture of protein therapeutics. RedShift BioAnalytics develops bioanalytical instruments for the R&D and manufacturing of protein-based therapeutics. Its platform combines innovative lasers, microfluidics and analytical technologies to deliver five critical measurements: quantitation, structure, stability, aggregation and similarity. The company is led by CEO Chip Marshall. In March 2017 it closed a financing to support commercialization efforts. RedShift says it will use the funds to accelerate commercialization of its biotechnology instrument platform in 2017. The business targets customers involved in protein therapeutic development and manufacturing. RedShift Systems develops infrared tunable filter technology, offering micro-optical tunable infrared filters that are solid-state devices with no moving parts. Its core products enable compact tunable components and systems for infrared spectroscopy. The company is entering the molecular spectroscopy market with a family of tunable infrared lasers that it says offer performance improvements over conventional FTIR-based solutions. RedShift intends to use new capital to increase adoption of its filters and lasers across existing and emerging infrared spectroscopy markets. The company is led by Chip Marshall (CEO) and Eugene Ma, Ph.D. (CTO and co-founder).

Participated · Series A · Oct 2019

TetraScience builds a cloud-based data integration platform for life sciences R&D that centralizes data from instruments, lab systems and lab partners. Its platform collects, standardizes, analyzes and shares R&D data with downstream applications to support decision-making. The company serves more than 70 pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Led by Co‑Founder and CEO Siping (Spin) Wang and based in Boston, TetraScience will use its $8M Series A to expand its commercial team. Investors in the round include Waters Corporation, Floodgate Capital, First Round Capital, Underscore VC, Founder Collective and Y Combinator. TetraScience provides both hardware (TetraScience Link) and cloud software that connect existing laboratory instruments to the web so researchers can monitor, control, receive alerts, and automatically log experimental data. The Link is a plug-and-play module that connects instruments via Wi‑Fi or Ethernet and can be activated in under five minutes through a researcher dashboard. The platform is instrument- and manufacturer-agnostic, enabling integration with hundreds of instruments and offering timeline-style experiment/event logging and multiple alerting channels (email, SMS). The company emphasizes security with multiple layers to protect experimental results. Traction includes nearly a dozen paying customers across pharma, biotech, hospitals, and universities, about 60 active data streams today and a target of 100 active streams by mid‑August. TetraScience positions its product as a way to reduce wasted R&D time and material loss and to accelerate drug discovery workflows.

Participated · Series B · May 2019

Riffyn provides cloud software that structures scientific experimentation and delivers integrated process design and data analytics for life‑sciences R&D. Its platform automatically integrates heterogeneous experimental data in real time to feed machine‑learning and AI workflows using a patented scientific blueprints computer‑aided‑design approach. The technology enables continuous improvement of R&D processes, real‑time multi‑experiment data access, and global data integration for collaboration and machine learning. Riffyn reports customers include eight of the top 15 global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and cites a 30% reduction in effort to execute scientific workflows. The company also offers Riffyn Scientific Services for training, assay design, process improvement, and scientific data analysis consulting. Following a $15M Series B, Riffyn plans to expand global sales and scientific services and accelerate development of its process development and advanced data analytics capabilities. Riffyn develops a cloud-based computer-aided process design and data analytics platform for R&D organizations in the life science, chemical and food industries. Its software supports workflows from early-stage discovery through manufacturing development and pre-clinical trials. The company is led by founder and CEO Timothy Gardner. As of June 2016 the platform was in private beta and planned for commercial release in August 2016. Riffyn is based in Oakland, California. The company raised $4.6M in funding to accelerate the platform's launch.

Participated · Series C · Jun 2018

Andrew Alliance develops a family of software-driven benchtop robots that automate liquid handling using standard pipettes and consumables. Each robot has a footprint about the size of a standard piece of paper, works right out of the box and delivers consistent measurements within minutes of setup. The company says its robots are relied on by 18 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies, the top four diagnostic companies and 16 of the top 20 leading academic research institutions. Its approach targets improved repeatability and reduced manual pipetting errors to transform bench research. Andrew Alliance plans to use new funding for continuous product innovation, strategic industry partnerships and to extend customer collaboration worldwide to refine future offerings. The company positions its robots as an affordable, complementary option to larger automation workstations. Andrew Alliance develops the Andrew co-worker robot to automate routine laboratory liquid-handling tasks by manipulating commercial pipettes. The robot reduces repetitive pipetting, health risks and errors while delivering reproducible and traceable results. Launched in January 2013, Andrew was named New Product of the Year by SLAS and MIPTEC and was rapidly adopted by academic and pharmaceutical customers. The product is commercially available in more than 17 countries through distributor partners and direct distribution elsewhere. The company announced a Series B financing from Omega Funds to support product development and to establish commercial operations in the U.S., and it is opening a Boston office in Copley Square. Omega’s venture partner Vincent Ossipow will join Andrew Alliance’s board alongside the company’s founders.