Participated · Seed · Sep 2025

BoobyBiome is a London-based biotechnology company focused on the science of breast milk and the microbiome. Founded in 2019 by Dr Lydia Mapstone, Dr Sioned Jones and Dr Tara O’Driscoll, its work builds on over five years of research at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. The company has created the world’s largest high-resolution breast milk microbiome database and a biobank of proprietary strains that capture beneficial bacterial diversity in human milk. It has developed a patented storage device compatible with any storage bottle that preserves the natural microbiome, antioxidants and vitamins while preventing contamination. BoobyBiome is also developing a live microbiome drop composed of bacteria isolated from breast milk to support the developing microbiomes of formula-fed, C-section, or preterm infants. The company recently raised £2.5m in seed funding to commercialize the storage device, continue R&D on the live drop, expand its commercial team and scale internationally.

Participated · Seed · May 2024

Auggie provides a single platform where parents can share product recommendations, join topic- and location-based community spaces, and shop a vetted desktop marketplace. The startup began by testing a WhatsApp community that produced more than 450,000 messages and 35,000 product recommendations, which prompted development of its own iOS app (Android coming soon). Its desktop marketplace hosts about 10,000 products and includes services such as pediatricians and lactation consultants; the marketplace currently links out from the mobile app and is planned to be integrated in-app. Auggie’s current revenue model is affiliate marketing, earning commissions on marketplace sales, and the company says it may explore subscriptions, drop-shipping, and brand partnerships in the future. The product targets primarily parents of children under five and aims to reduce decision fatigue by combining community, content, and commerce in one place.

Participated · Seed · Feb 2024

BuildStock operates a centralized B2B marketplace and fintech platform that brings discovery, pricing transparency and payments to the construction materials industry. Buyers can compare vendors, get clarity on pricing and lead times, and finance payments instantly through the platform. Materials suppliers can access increased volume and faster payment timelines, receiving payments in as little as five days instead of 30, 60 or 90 days. The company raised $1.6M in a Pre-Seed financing and plans to use the proceeds to scale and expand third-party fintech, AI, and logistics integrations. BuildStock intends to bring more participants into its marketplace to deepen liquidity and usage. The company is led by founder and CEO Kathryn Thiele AIA and is based in New York City.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2024

Diem is a female-founded social search engine that targets women and nonbinary people, offering a space to share personal stories and ask questions about sexual health, relationships, mental health and body positivity. Available as a web app and on iOS and Android, the platform is designed to feel like a giant group chat and includes an anonymous question option. It uses an AI component that pulls reputable sources and, combined with ChatGPT and user-contributed content, summarizes answers "through a feminine lens." Recent feature launches include a referral tool called "Nominate Your Friends," "Spaces" micro-communities, and "Daily Briefing," with plans to roll out "Recommended Reading" and an event feature soon. Diem has partnered with verified reproductive-health content providers Aavia, Hey Jane, Evvy and Stix, and plans to add more partners in finance and relationships. The company reports more than 40,000 users and has raised $3.7 million in total; it is also exploring a monetization feature to pay users for content contributions. Diem was founded by Emma Bates (CEO) and Divia Singh (COO), who previously worked at Away.

Participated · Series A · Oct 2023

Pow.bio combines continuous-fermentation hardware with AI-controlled software called SOFe to accelerate process optimization and autonomous operation for synthetic-biology manufacturers. The company says its system enables a steady pace of inputs and outputs that is roughly 5x faster while requiring a fraction of traditional capital expenses. Pow.bio positions itself as a rapid-prototyping partner that can shorten development cycles to two or three months versus multi-month, costly iterations. It is already working with multiple clients, bringing in revenue and reporting at least 50% year-over-year growth in demand. The startup will deploy most of its new funding to build a demonstration facility in Alameda, California to move from gram-scale experimentation to production of hundreds of kilograms of finished products. The Alameda demo, slated to open summer 2024, is intended to serve 20–50 partners and be a blueprint for scaling to multiple locations. Pow.bio was founded in 2019 by Ouwei Wang and Shannon Hall. Pow.bio develops a process-based continuous fermentation platform that separates growth and production phases to keep microbes in an ultra-productive, non-growing state for extended runs. The company operates a 30-liter facility and is scaling to 300 liters while projecting roughly eightfold higher productivity at commercial scale using 50 cubic meter reactors for certain ingredients. Pow.bio positions itself as a ‘fermentation as a service’ provider, helping customers validate strains, optimize processes, and produce materials for regulatory and go-to-market testing. It reports it is already generating revenue and is working with about 30 clients but currently lacks capacity to meet inbound demand. The team holds contamination-control IP licensed from UC Berkeley and a growing patent family covering its process innovations and optimization technologies. Future plans include expanding capabilities, moving to a larger facility, pursuing joint ventures and licensing deals, and building larger manufacturing capacity with partners.