• CRISPR Therapeutics

  Participated · Series B · Jun 2016

  CRISPR Therapeutics develops gene‑based medicines using its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 gene‑editing platform. The company focuses on translating CRISPR/Cas9 into therapeutic programs and advancing them to the clinic. It has strategic collaborations with Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Bayer AG to develop CRISPR‑based therapeutics. Headquarters are in Basel, Switzerland, with R&D operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company plans to use recent proceeds to advance current and future programs to the clinic and to expand its research and development organization in Cambridge. Recent financing activity included an oversubscribed additional closing to its Series B round, bringing total proceeds to nearly $140 million. CRISPR Therapeutics focuses on translating CRISPR-Cas9 gene‑editing technology into therapies for serious human diseases. The company has translational development programs across multiple disease areas with collaborators in Europe and the U.S. It maintains operations in Basel, Switzerland; Stevenage, UK; and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Management intends to use recent proceeds to advance current and future programs toward the clinic and to expand the research and development organization in Cambridge. The company emphasizes curing diseases at the molecular level by leveraging CRISPR-Cas9 in its drug-development efforts. CRISPR Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company created to translate CRISPR-Cas9, a breakthrough gene-editing technology, into transformative medicines for serious human genetic diseases. The company focuses on using the Cas9 enzyme, programmable with RNA, to cut DNA at targeted sites to delete, insert or correct genes and address both recessive and dominant disorders. CRISPR Therapeutics has assembled a founding team of world-renowned academics and clinicians, including Drs. Daniel Anderson, Emmanuelle Charpentier, Chad Cowan, Craig Mello and Matthew Porteus. It has secured rights to foundational intellectual property covering the use of CRISPR-Cas9 in human therapeutics, in-licensing the technology from Dr. Charpentier. The company says the funding and the team’s expertise will allow it to translate the technology into new gene medicines that could cure serious genetic diseases at the molecular level. CRISPR Therapeutics is based in Basel, Switzerland, with operations in London, UK.

• General Assembly

  Participated · Series D · Sep 2015

  General Assembly runs short, career-focused educational programs and corporate training delivered in person and online. In 2015 it expected to enroll over 14,000 students in its three-month programs and to finish the year with over 25,000 alumni worldwide. It also reported training more than 15,000 executives and employees and collaborating with over 5,000 companies to shape curriculum and hire graduates. The company recently raised a $70 million Series D, bringing total funding to $119.5 million. CEO Jake Schwartz said this funding should be "the last round" needed before becoming fully self-sustaining. The board was expanded with the addition of Steve Newhouse, who the company says shares its commitment to building for the long term and prioritizing quality and community. General Assembly offers in-person and online tech courses through campuses in multiple cities. Founded in 2011 in New York, it has expanded to eight cities including London, which opened last year as its first campus outside the U.S. About 100,000 students have passed through its programs and its alumni network totals roughly 6,000; the company employs about 250 people. GA has shifted away from coworking to focus on its higher-margin educational courses and has begun building supporting software such as Dash, an online coding tool. The company emphasizes long-term support for alumni, positioning itself as a place for repeat learning and a loyalty-style model. The new funding will be used to open more campuses and grow its student and alumni base. General Assembly is a New York-based education company that offers in-person classes, seminars and event space for technology, business and design professionals. It began as a co-working space and evolved into an urban educational facility that also hosts networking events. The company offers offline and online courses and is scaling enterprise education offerings. General Assembly raised $10 million in new funding via an SEC filing, and previously raised $4.5 million plus a $200,000 grant from NYC’s Economic Development Corporation. The new capital will fund expansion of course offerings, development of newer campuses, and a planned Las Vegas launch in 2013, with London already opened and a Berlin outpost slated to open soon. The company was co-founded by Brad Hargreaves, Adam Pritzker, Matthew O. Brimer and Jake Schwartz. General Assemb.ly operates an "urban campus" co‑working space in Manhattan’s Flatiron District with event and classroom facilities, a library, media space, kitchen/bar, lockers, bike storage and dedicated work desks. It pairs communal and dedicated memberships with public programming: the company plans to offer 30–50 classes per month and a weekly keynote when fully operational. School was set to open on February 1, 2011, with classes ranging from free sponsored sessions to multi‑thousand‑dollar ten‑week workshops. Membership pricing listed in the article includes $500 per desk for dedicated memberships, $300 per month for communal members, and $25 per month for Programming Members. Demand was strong at launch, with a waiting list of about 100 entrepreneurs seeking communal membership. Founders named in the article are Brad Hargreaves, Adam Pritzker, Matthew O. Brimer and Jake Schwartz; advisor Chris Hughes is also mentioned, and the company is supported by corporations including IDEO, Skype, Silicon Valley Bank, Rackspace and Wilson Sonsini.

No current team members are available.