Meet AV’s VC Partners in Healthtech Investing

Alumni Ventures invests in innovative healthtech alongside other established venture capital firms

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One of Alumni Ventures’ most crucial assets is our broad network of venture capital partners. We are strictly a co-investor, following other established lead investors into rounds. That means we don’t negotiate terms or take Board seats, giving us more time to source promising opportunities. It also affords us the latitude to build diverse portfolios while investing alongside VCs with significant domain experience.

Healthtech is a key sector for established VC firms. At present, there are ~20,000 healthtech startups in the U.S., with VCs investing about $14 billion into the sector in 2020 — doubling 2019’s total.

In this article, we feature some of the well-regarded and widely-known VCs who have been our co-investors in supporting healthtech innovators improving patient outcomes while promising to create value for investors.¹

Healthtech Fund Open Through Q2 2023

Our Healthtech Fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of ~20-30 companies applying secure record digitization, telemedicine, big data, genomics, and real-time monitoring via wearable devices. The fund will be invested over ~12-18 months, with a large reserve (~20-25%) for follow-ons. Every investor becomes a member of the Healthtech Venture Club, with opportunities to invest in Syndications, learn, and network.

Click below to review fund materials or connect with a Senior Partner.

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a stage-agnostic venture capital investor with $28.2 billion in assets under management (AUM). The firm focuses on forward-thinking tech companies across industries, with investments in healthtech companies like EQRx ($1.8 billion SPAC), PatientPing (acquired by Appriss Health; combined valuation of more than $1.5 billion), Nautilus ($900 million SPAC), Erasca ($300 million IPO), and Jungla (acquired by Invitae for up to $65 million).

Sample AV Healthtech Co-Investments with a16z

Accolade is an independent health and benefits solution designed to improve experience, outcomes, and cost of medical care. The company uses personalized advocacy and the latest technology to help achieve consistent, favorable results in the healthcare field. We invested in a $50 million round in 2018 led by Andreessen Horowitz, Carrick Capital Partners, Madrona Venture Group, and McKesson Ventures. In July 2020, the company announced its IPO at a $1.2 billion valuation

Honor is a software and tech-enabled services company that utilizes AI to improve in-home senior care. The company partners with local agencies and professional caregivers, to provide high-quality, non-medical home care for older adults. We invested in a $50 million Series C in 2018 led by Naspers Ventures, alongside Andreessen Horowitz, Kapor Capital, and Thrive Ventures.

Bain Capital is a leading private alternative investment firm with approximately $160 billion in AUM. Founded in 1984, the firm pioneered a consulting-based approach to private equity investing, partnering closely with management teams to offer the insights that build valuable businesses and improve operations.

Sample AV Healthtech Co-Investments with Bain

Centivo is a digital-first health insurer with a proprietary technology stack, providing members with coordinated care while reducing costs. The company offers real-time referral management with primary care providers and partnerships with pharmacy benefits managers. Alumni Ventures invested in a $34 million Series B in 2020 led by B Capital Group and a $51 million round in 2021 co-led by B Capital and Maverick Ventures, with participation from Bain Capital and others.

Legacy is a direct-to-consumer healthcare platform that is developing methods to enable at-home collection, remote testing, and long-term cryogenic storage of sperm. It allows male users to test and freeze their best sperm without leaving their house. We invested in a $1.5 million Seed round in 2019 led by Bain Capital.

pulseData uses data to help healthcare providers detect kidney issues and manage care. Its platform enables healthcare providers to predict which patients are at risk for chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, improve health outcomes, and save money. We invested in a $16.5 million Series A in 2021 led by Bain Capital and Two Bear Capital.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners is the venture capital arm of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Over the last 30 years, the firm has invested over $200 million in more than 2,000 regional tech companies, with a focus on IT, healthcare and digital health, and physical sciences.

Sample AV Healthtech Co-Investments with Ben Franklin

Allevi develops 3D bioprinters and bioinks intended to cure disease, test novel drugs, and eliminate the organ waiting list. They aim to develop versatile technology that simplifies the designing and engineering of 3D tissues. The company raised a total of $4.7 million before it was acquired in 2021 by 3D Systems

Neuroflow builds digital health tools for patient self-care and creates platforms connecting patients to care providers and specialists. Its tools empower health providers to remotely coordinate and deliver effective mental health care at scale, resulting in better outcomes and positive impacts for patients. We invested in a $1.25 million Seed round in 2017 led by Ben Franklin, a $1.5 million “post-Seed” round in 2018 led by NJ JumpStart, and a $7.5 million Series A in 2019 led by Builders VC.

Khosla Ventures was launched by Vinod Khosla, Co-Founder of Sun Microsystems (acquired by Oracle for $7.4 billion). Khosla has more than $15 billion in AUM and focuses on a broad range of investments. The firm’s healthtech investments include Color Health ($4.6 billion valuation), Rightway Health ($1.1 billion valuation), Guardant Health ($273 million IPO), Zebra Medical Vision (acquired by Nanox for up to $200 million), and Pardes Biosciences ($199 million SPAC). The firm invests in projects which will have a beneficial impact on people’s health and environment.

Sample AV Healthtech Co-Investment with Khosla

Scipher Medicine is commercializing blood tests that match a patient’s unique molecular disease signature to the most effective therapy. In February 2022, we invested in a $110 million Series D led by Cowen Healthcare Investments, with additional participation from Khosla Ventures and Northpond Ventures. We previously invested in Scipher’s $82 million Series C in 2021 and $25 million Series B in 2020.

Kleiner Perkins is an established VC founded in 1972. The firm has invested in some of the most pivotal tech companies in venture, including Amazon, Google, Sun Microsystems, and Twitter. The New York Times has described Kleiner as one of Silicon Valley’s “most famous venture firms.” As of 2019, the firm had invested more than $9 billion across hundreds of companies.

Sample AV Healthtech Co-Investments with Kleiner Perkins

Future provides digital fitness and training services. Its subscription-based fitness platform connects users with personal trainers remotely and uses a smartwatch to track exercise metrics. We invested in a $24 million Series B in 2020 led by Trustbridge Partners and a $75 million Series C in 2022 led by SC.Holdings and Trustbridge. Kleiner Perkins participated in both rounds after leading the company’s Series A.

Nurx is a telemedicine prescription and delivery platform granting users the ability to request and receive medications. Users can have medications delivered to their door without visiting medical professionals, making healthcare easy and accessible. We invested in a $52 million Series C in 2019 led by Kleiner Perkins and Union Square Ventures.

Founded in 1977, New Enterprise Associates is a venture capital firm based in Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland. The firm prefers to invest in consumer and enterprise technologies, biopharmaceutical, life science, digital health, medical devices, and healthcare service sectors.

Sample AV Healthtech Co-Investments with NEA

Willow Innovations is the developer of a hands-free, wearable breast pump that has 100% spill-proof, 360-degree mobility. The Willow Pump features an all-in-one, in-bra design with no external cords, tubes, or bottles — to give moms unprecedented freedom. In 2021, we co-invested with NEA in a $26.8 million Series C led by Endeavour Vision.

Woebot develops digital therapeutics for the mental health space. The company’s AI-enabled chatbot platform acts as a relational agent that can establish a therapeutic bond with users and provide therapeutic support. In 2021, we co-invested with NEA in the company’s $90 million Series B.

Y Combinator is a technology startup accelerator founded in 2005. The accelerator has launched over 3,000 companies, with notable alumni including Stripe, Airbnb, DoorDash, Coinbase, Instacart, Dropbox, Twitch, and Reddit. As of January 2021, the combined valuation of the top YC companies was more than $300 billion. Y Combinator has been described by publications such as Forbes as one of the most successful startup accelerators in Silicon Valley.

Sample AV Healthtech Co-Investments with Y Combinator

Eva develops an accessible and non-invasive wearable device for breast cancer risk assessment. Their biosensing bra insert uses thermal sensing and AI to identify abnormal temperatures in the breast that can correlate to tumors. We invested in a $5 million round led by Khosla Ventures and Hummingbird Ventures, announced following Eva’s participation in Y Combinator’s Summer 2018 program.

Qurasense empowers women with regular insights into their health through a non-invasive blood analysis platform. Women can track their period blood through an app and monitor it via various tests in order to check for diseases and health conditions. We invested in the company’s Seed round alongside Sand Hill Angels, Box Group, and StartX, announced following Quarasense’s participation in Y Combinator’s Summer 2018 program.

Healthtech Fund Open Through Q2 2023

Our Healthtech Fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of ~20-30 companies applying secure record digitization, telemedicine, big data, genomics, and real-time monitoring via wearable devices. The fund will be invested over ~12-18 months, with a large reserve (~20-25%) for follow-ons. Every investor becomes a member of the Healthtech Venture Club, with opportunities to invest in Syndications, learn, and network.

Click below to review fund materials or connect with a Senior Partner.

Contact [email protected] for additional information. To see additional risk factors and investment considerations, visit av-funds.com/disclosures.

¹For illustration purposes only. These investments are not intended to suggest any level of investment returns; not necessarily indicative of investments invested by any single fund or investor. Many returns in investments result in the loss of capital invested. These investments are not available to future fund investors except potentially in certain follow-on investment options.

²Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and this fund involves substantial risk of loss, including loss of all capital invested. To see the performance of each exited investment for all Alumni Ventures funds over the last twelve months and our historical performance since 2014, click here.