Next Phase Newsletter

A micro VC fund founded by a group of alumni at an established university focuses on Angel to Series A stage companies across various sectors, including pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare IT. The typical investment size is no more than $500,000, but the group will syndicate with other investors for larger investments. The firm looks to make investments in US companies with markets in US and/or China.

The firm is currently looking for new opportunities in the life science space. The fund is opportunistic in terms of sectors, subsectors and indications. The fund typically invests in seed round and series A round. Historically, the fund has been active in life science companies developing synthetic organelles-based research tools, nanoparticle research reagents and devices, web-based EMR system, proprietary screening and diagnostic tests for cancer, drug authentication platform and patient recovery technologies.

The firm focuses on investments in private companies and typically invests in prerevenue companies with strong and experienced management team. The firm will take a board seat or observer seat occasionally, depending on the investments.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.

A venture capital firm focuses on early-stage diagnostics, life science research tools, and biotech-related companies. The firm’s target initial investment size is $1-$2M. The firm prefers to act as the co-investor with other types of investors such as strategic partners. The firm invests in companies that are based in the US. The firm is actively seeking new investment opportunities.

In the life sciences, the firm is currently seeking to invest in early-stage diagnostics, life science research tools, and biotech-related companies. The firm will invest in a limited number of therapeutic opportunities. The firm also has interests in other technology fields. The firm is opportunistic in terms of subsectors and indications. The firm will consider investing in companies that have strong intellectual property protection and provide barriers to competitive entry. The firm also seeks companies with potential large addressable markets, which typically have the potential to generate at least $100M of annual revenues.

The firm seeks a reliable and experienced management team that can bring the concept to market. The firm may take a board seat in applicable cases. The firm aims fundraising CEOs that are driven to deliver exceptional investment returns to both investors and management teams.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.

A fund that was initiated in 2001 by McKinsey & Company and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich. The firm invests the capital of 10 Swiss corporations, and invests in a variety of technological industries; about 50% of the firm’s portfolio companies are in the life science sector. The firm makes allocations from $500,000 to $10m over the life of the investment, and in the life science sector the firm’s allocations are typically over $5m. The firm only invests in companies based in Europe or with ties to Europe, and focuses on Switzerland and its surrounding region, including Germany, France and Austria.

The firm invests in the biotech and medtech sectors and is opportunistic within these sectors regarding indication area and technology. The firm prefers to invest in early-stage companies, with assets ranging from preclinical to mid-stage clinical trials (Phase II for therapeutics).

The firm prefers to invest in companies with ties to Switzerland, particularly those that use technology developed at a Swiss research institution, but will consider companies located in or with ties to the surrounding region. The firm seeks highly qualified, ambitious management teams, and is typically an activist investor that takes a seat on a portfolio company’s board.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email LHI@lifesciencenation.com.

A seed fund founded in 2016 and based in Austin, TX. The firm has an initial fund of $20 million. The firm focuses in investing in women-led startups; the firm will only invest in companies that have at least 1 woman working full-time on the executive team. The firm typically makes seed investments of $500,000, with a majority of their capital reserved for follow-on rounds. The firm focuses on US startups but will also consider opportunities outside of the US with a US-based entity.

The firm invests in healthcare companies in which consumers are involved in the use of or purchase of the product or service. The firm does not invest in drugs, PMA devices or in purely B2B technologies. Areas of interest include wearable medical devices, software used by patients or their caregivers, products that support seniors in aging in place, and products for wellness and prevention of disease. The firm does not invest in products based on unproven science, and the company needs to be able to demonstrate that the product or technology improved clinical outcomes; however, the firm is open to investing in pre-revenue products.

The firm only invests in companies with at least one woman on the executive team. The firm will invest in companies that face operational risk, but not companies that face scientific risk. The firm would consider investing in digital health companies that have not yet conducted pilot studies with customers provided these companies have a strong IP position.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email LHI@lifesciencenation.com.

A newly established venture capital firm based in the USA. The firm just successfully closed the first round of their fund ($20M target). The firm invests globally in medically related early-stage companies. Initial size of investment ranges from $250 – 500K. While the firm is focused on USA-based companies, the firm is open to considering companies across the globe.

The firm invests in medtech and digital health companies. While the founder has decades of experience as an oculofacial plastic surgeon, the firm is generally opportunistic and will consider any promising technologies that address unmet medical need. The firm has looked at AI companies, digital health/software companies implementable in medical practices, etc. In terms of stage of development, the firm is open to investing as early as pre-prototype, given that the company has properly researched the idea behind their technology.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email LHI@lifesciencenation.com.

Founded in 2002, a venture capital firm is looking to invest in tech-based digital health and diagnostics companies looking to expand to the Chinese market. The firm primarily invests in European companies but will consider US-based companies as well. The firm looks to leverage their connections in China and the Chinese market to help its portfolio companies, and usually invests between $2-10M in each company, taking a 15-30% equity stake. The firm prefers to be a lead investor, taking an active role in their portfolio companies and typically make 2 investments per year, depending on their fund cycle. In cases where the firm does not invest funds, they are also willing to offer consulting services for equity, connecting companies with strategic partners in China.

The firm has an additional partnership model that, instead of making direct investments, licenses technologies through a Chinese platform company, acting as a focused distributor for entry into the Chinese market. This is the firm’s alternate investment approach to bring these technologies to the Chinese market, by utilizing this Chinese platform company to serve as their portfolio company’s representative in China to navigate the regulatory environment and spearhead all of the sales and marketing.

The firm is interested in tech-based companies that are not consumer-focused, such as diagnostics tools or AI/machine learning technologies in the healthcare space. The firm has some experience with pathology and diagnostic-related companies but is willing to consider other areas as well. The firm prefers to invest in a few companies within the same area, choosing complementary technologies between their portfolio companies. The firm will consider companies with technologies that are in development or in pilot stages. The firm is an active investor and takes a board seat for every company in which they invest.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email 4dmeetsai@lifesciencenation.com.

A venture capital firm founded in 2005 is headquartered in Singapore and Shanghai, with additional offices in Hong Kong, New York, and San Diego. In 2017, the firm closed the 5th fund of over $220M and is actively seeking investment opportunities across a wide range of industries. 1/3 of the fund is dedicated to global/USA-based life sciences and healthcare investments, while the rest of the fund will focus on investing in China and Southeast Asia-based companies. In addition, the firm is expecting to close its sixth fund, Fund VI, this year, targeting $500M. On average, the initial size of investment is in the $2-5M range but the firm has the capacity to invest more in companies they identify as a strong fit. The firm can participate anywhere from Seed to Series B, but Series A is their sweet spot.

The firm is an opportunistic investor and will consider therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and healthcare IT companies. However, the firm will generally avoid single therapeutic assets and those that are pre-clinical or earlier. The firm is open to novel medical devices of all FDA regulatory pathways, including 510k and PMA. The firm is strongly interested in platform plays, or technologies that have implications in multiple disease areas or indications. Examples include novel drug delivery platforms, drug discovery platforms that leverage AI or machine learning, regenerative medicine, etc.

The firm considers the management team’s character and entrepreneurial spirit – more so than the team’s experience – as one of the most important factors in the investment screening process. Each partner of the firm will dedicate their time to become acquainted with the management team and determine their degree of fit. The targeted market and the company’s competitive edge are also important considerations. The firm prefers to act as the lead investor and will seek board representation, but is also open to co-investing.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email 4dmeetsai@lifesciencenation.com.