Innovation, Impact and Imagining the Future: Part 2
We dedicate Part 2 of Innovation, Impact, and Imagining the Future to Advancements in Healthcare. Thematically, our investments in the space cover digital healthcare (specifically applications that deliver cognitive behavioral therapy), therapeutics, diagnostics and genomics.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically accelerated venture dollars across all areas of healthcare. According to Rock Health’s Market Insights Report, in 2017 (AAF I’s first full year of its investment period), the total venture dollars which went into digital health in the US market was approximately $5.8B compared to a whopping $14.1B in 2020, a 143% increase!
By de facto, healthcare companies put human and community impact at the forefront of their corporate missions. In this piece, we highlight some of the incredible work our healthcare portfolio has done over the past 5 years.
Investing in Advancements in Healthcare
Kinsa
Kinsa is an early warning system to detect and respond to contagious illness. The company reimagined its FDA-cleared thermometer to create an early warning system for illness in real-time and maps “heat-spots” across the country. The Kinsa Healthweather™ map helps one explore risk levels, COVID-19 forecasts, and other illness data for all 50 states.
Kinsa helps tracks the spread of illness in real-time and forecasts future outbreaks. The company’s thermometers are in 2 million households and 5% of elementary schools.
Funding: We invested in Kinsa’s Series B Round in 2016. The company has raised $30M from GSR Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and FirstMark.
Founder: Inder Singh
Latest Funding Round: $17M Series B
Headcount: 93
Synthego
Synthego is a genome engineering company that enables the acceleration of life science research and development in the pursuit of improved human health. The company leverages machine learning, automation, and gene editing to build platforms for science at scale. its technologies are cited in hundreds of peer-reviewed publications and utilized by thousands of commercial and academic researchers and therapeutic drug developers
To date, Synthego has made over 58,345 gene edits and its products have been used in over 45 countries.
Funding: We invested in Synthego’s Series B Extension Round in 2017. The company has raised $260M from 8VC, Wellington Management, Founders Fund, Intel Capital, Menlo Ventures and AME Cloud Ventures.
Founder: Paul Dabrowski
Latest Funding Round: $100M Series D
Headcount: 270
Hello Heart
Hello Heart is a clinically-based smartphone solution for patients to track, understand and improve their chronic conditions. Users can build healthy tracking habits and improve their health in real time with an easy-to-use smartphone application. The company’s solution empowers users to identify health risks in time and potentially save lives.
Clinically validated, Hello Heart’s technology helps reduce blood pressure and heart risk by up to 70% and is 2x better than any other solution.
Funding: We invested in Hello Heart’s Seed Round in 2016 and again in the Series A and Series B. The company has raised close to $70M from IVP, Maven Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Resolute Ventures.
Founder: Maayan Gonnen-Cohen
Latest Funding Round: $45M Series C
Headcount: 94
Genomic Prediction
Accurate understanding of the genomic architecture of human disease requires larger training datasets, greater accuracy, and a more rigorous, empirical basis of computational modeling (machine learning) than implemented in the past with simpler technologies and simpler computational methods. Genomic Prediction represents the next step in embryo genetic testing, combining dense, genome-wide genotyping methods with sophisticated validation-focused modeling, suitable for the information age.
Today Genomic Prediction products can be found in over 240+ clinics and laboratories across 26 countries. Genomic Prediction’s tech also shows 3x fewer failed IVF cycles, 2x higher pregnancy rate per cycle and 3–4x fewer pregnancy losses (embryos that miscarry).
Funding: We invested in Genomic’s Seed round in 2017 and again in the Series A. The company has raised $19M from Vulcan Capital, 8VC, Future Shape, Passport Capital and Rocketship.vc.
Founders: Stephen Hsu Ph.D, Laurent Melchior-Tellier
Latest Funding Round: $11M Series A
Headcount: 14
Quit Genius
Quit Genius is the world’s first digital clinic for treating nicotine, alcohol and opioid addictions. Built on the evidence-based approach of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), Quit Genius combines virtual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with approved medication and connected devices to help employers and health plans tackle the high cost of addiction, while improving the lives of their employees and members.
Quit Genius grew revenue by 10x in the past 12 months, and now partners with 55 employer and health plan clients, covering 2.1M lives. To date, Quit Genius has helped more than 750,000 people improve their lives and conquer their addictions.
Funding: We invested in Quit Genius’s Seed Round in early 2018 after completing Y Combinator’s Winter 2017 batch. Quit Genius has raised nearly $80M to date, including a recent $64M Series B from Kinnevik, Atomico and Triple Point Ventures.
Founders: Yusuf Sherwani MD
Latest Funding Round: $64M Series B
Headcount: 74
Babyscripts
Babyscripts built a pregnancy care platform designed to provide prenatal and postpartum care. The company’s platform manages pregnancies virtually to eliminate maternal mortality and improve access to care for all mothers, enabling doctors to detect pregnancy-related risks swiftly and automate the elements of care. Today, the company has multiple kits that can be targeted to patients, including blood pressure monitoring, weight and captured blood sugars. Babyscripts can automate 40% to 50% of prenatal care and alert doctors as health problems occur so that both mother and baby are healthy.
Babyscripts’ program is being used by 75 health systems in 32 states, and the company is monitoring 250,000 women each year.
Funding: We initially invested in Babyscripts venture round in late 2016. The company has raised just over $25M, including a recent $12M Series B from Philips, Banner Health, Memorial Care Innovation Fund and WellSpan Health.
Founder: Juan Pablo Segura
Latest Funding Round: $12M Series B
Headcount: 50
NuEyes
NuEyes smart glass technology assists those with eye conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, and retinitis pigmentosa. Over the past five years, the company has seen extensive sales growth and has obtained federal, state, and insurance reimbursement for its devices. NuEyes addresses a multitude of augmented reality markets including low vision and medical, enterprise, and gaming and entertainment.
UPS & Tesla recently approached NuEyes regarding an enterprise roll-out of its smart glasses after releasing its Pro3 version.
Funding: We initially invested in NuEyes $2M Seed round in 2018. The company is currently in the market for its Series A.
Founder: Mark Greget
Latest Funding Round: $2M Series Seed
Headcount: 10
Rational Vaccines
Rational Vaccines’ goal is to revolutionize the treatment, prevention, and diagnosis of herpes and herpes-related diseases worldwide. Rational Vaccines is developing rationally engineered, live attenuated (intended to reduce) viral immunotherapeutic and prophylactic (intended to prevent disease) vaccine candidates using its proprietary technology.
The company’s first go-to-market vaccine is one of the early recipients of the Innovation Passport, a designation under the ILAP, which was launched by the U.K Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in January 2021 to reduce the time to market for innovative medicines.
Funding: We invested in Rational Vaccines $10M Series A round in 2020. To-date the company has raised close to $19M. Other investors include Founders Fund, Presight Capital and Thiel Capital.
Founder: Agustin Fernandez III
Latest Funding Round: $10M Series A
Headcount: 20
Peptilogics
Peptilogics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that designs and develops novel peptide therapeutics. Through their computational platform, Peptilogics is radically altering drug discovery by not only uncovering new, previously unexplored chemical design space, but ensuring that each potential therapeutic is biologically viable and scalable to manufacture. Peptilogics’ lead clinical stage peptide therapeutic, PLG0206, is a novel, broad-spectrum anti-infective that has been granted FDA Orphan Drug Designation and Qualified Infectious Disease Product Designation for its initial focus on the treatment of prosthetic joint infections, an unmet medical need.
Peptilogics recently achieved the first known cure of rabbits in a clinically representative PJI infection model which is typically 100% fatal.
Funding: We invested in Peptilogics Series A in 2019. The company has raised $45M to date, including a $35M Series B from Presight Capital, Founders Fund, Carb-X and Peter Thiel.
Founder: Jonathan Steckbeck Ph.D
Latest Funding Round: $35M Series B
Headcount: 23
InnaMed
InnaMed is developing an internet-connected, at-home blood testing device (HomeLab®) to decentralize data collection for clinical trials and digital-health/telemedicine services and improve patient compliance to blood parameter monitoring. Its vision is to create the gateway to personalized healthcare by allowing patients and clinicians to better collect and analyze actionable molecular-level health information.
InnaMed recently signed a new pharmaceutical contract with Janssen.
Funding: We invested in InnaMed’s Seed Round post the Y Combinator Demo Day of Winter 2017. To-date the company has raised over $4M. Investors include Data Collective, Dorm Room Fund, Matadero Capital and Y Combinator. The company is currently raising a Series A to reach FDA clearance and expand its lab space.
Founders: Eshwar Inapuri, Anup Singh
Latest Funding Round: $2.5M Series Seed
Headcount: 15
Attivare
Attivare’s goal is to create innovative immunotherapeutics with superior efficacy and durability. Attivare created a new biomaterials-based platform called OmniVax with programmable components, geometry and time of antigen presentation to elicit broad immunomodulatory effects for infectious disease and cancer.
Attivare is a spin-out from David Mooney’s Lab at Harvard after nearly $6M of non-dilutive capital was injected in the business.
Funding: We recently invested in Attivare’s $6M seed round led by MBX Capital. Other investors included 8VC, Ulu Ventures, Embark VC and Harmonix.
Founder: Joaquim Trias Ph.D
Latest Funding Round: $6M Series Seed
Headcount: 6
Stay tuned for Part 3 of the Series!
AAF Management Ltd. (AAF) is a leading early stage venture capital firm focused on direct investments into pre-Seed, Seed and Series A stage technology companies in North America. We are sector agnostic but have a core focus on Fintech, Enterprise SaaS, Digital Healthcare, E-Commerce and Deep Tech. AAF has invested in over 100+ venture backed founding teams and has over $100M in AUM.
In less than 5 years, our portfolio companies have raised over $2.2B after we initially invested most notably from over 50 venture capital firms with more than $1B in AUM.
