With over 30 strains of coronavirus already documented it is incredibly likely that we’ll be dealing with this pandemic for a prolonged period. The high mutation rate of the virus makes vaccine development all the more difficult which means that it will be incredibly important to develop greater sustained testing capabilities in order to re-open the economy. While a number of companies are focusing on developing those tests, we’re excited about 3CBio’s contribution to testing infrastructure.

By building mobile, robotic labs 3CBio will enable countries to respond quickly to outbreaks with increased local testing capacity. It might mean bringing labs to cruise ships as they disembark, or to towns experiencing what seem to be second or even third waves of this virus. As large facilities start to reopen, it can even mean bringing labs onsite to test entire workforces before allowing them to go back to near-essential services.

And it isn’t just for coronavirus. In a world where decreased biodiversity and antibiotic resistance are increasing the prevalence of pandemic-capable diseases, we see a lot of promise in the long-term role of 3CBio as critical infrastructure.

We invested in Chorus because of their ambitious mission to transform women’s health.  We love the niche focus on 40+ women’s health (which is a $45B untapped market) and think they will achieve high adoption rates.

The Founders Arfa and Scott are strong with domain expertise and previous operating experience.   They were classmates at the University of Oxford and bonded over improving healthcare.  This shared passion will help drive the company forward as they scale.

We were most impressed by their organic growth so far and the high engagement rates. Our team believes this could take off as they close more partnerships with clinics, insurers, and patient advocate groups.

I’ve been a VR user and enthusiast since the days of the Oculus Kickstarter. It’s been amazing seeing the medium grow and transform how we think about gaming and entertainment. But I’m also painfully aware that we are in the early days of the VR/AR industry. The tech is limited, the market is small, and the commercial interest is experimental at best. However, this is a common phase for all consumer technologies and it’s inevitable that the technologies here get better and the applications more useful. That’s especially true for productivity tools. 

Immersed VR is tackling a hard, important challenge: helping people work better and collaborate with others in a world where it’s difficult to simply get in a room together. The world looks obviously different in 2020, but the way people work and work together has been changing for years. I think Renji and his small team understand these problems well and have what it takes to show how useful VR, and subsequently AR, can be for productivity.

We chose MedMe based on the formidability of the founders. Purya gives off the vibe of a CEO who is going to get it done or die trying. Nick helped design the Tesla Roadster 2.0. Rui has a Dr. of Pharmacy and deeply understands the needs of pharmacists. They are a well-knit team that has worked well together for over a year

The problem they are tackling is also important and potentially represents a huge new market. Pharmacists are trained to counsel patients and save lives. However, currently pharmacies make money for dispensing pills, not clinical services.  This is now changing. Dispensing is now less profitable with new entrants like Amazon, while regulatory reforms are allowing pharmacies to be compensated for improving health.  Covid-19 has accelerated regulatory reform for telemedicine. 

The "state of the art" software that pharmacies currently use look like it was made in the 1980's and is not as useful for clinical services. We're impressed with  MedMe’s product design and traction.  They have 21 LOI's and 4 paid pilots, and potentially could be in hundreds of pharmacies this year.

Shu and Joe are two all-star co-founders with deep technical expertise and prior startup expertise. By combining first-in-class comparative genomics and directed evolution, they have developed a library of therapeutic candidates for COVID-19 that neutralize the spike protein on SARS-CoV-2 and inhibit infection. Additionally, the peptide inhibitor can be functionally modified to prime the host’s immune system for response, cleverly doubling as both a therapeutic and immune-boosting combination, providing treatment throughout the entire course of disease progression. The team has computationally identified high-affinity drug candidates, partnered with a manufacturer, and is ready to initiate in vitro candidate evaluation. Finally, their platform can be repurposed for future uses besides biotherapeutics such as the agriculture and industrial biochemical markets.

We loved Standups because of the enormous opportunity they are pursuing. COVID 19 has fundamentally changed the way businesses operate, and they are perfectly positioned to take advantage of this monumental shift. As more and more teams go virtual, they will need new tools to improve communication and efficiency. It is not a case of if, but when this next-generation workforce tool is built...and we believe it's going to be Standups!

By 2028, 73% of all teams globally will have remote employees. Arjun and JP are both impressive Founders with an endless amount of energy and passion that lights up a room. They can use this to expand their product and continue to close deals. We also liked their complementary skill sets and their shared vision to scale the company. 

Stark is developing a vaccine for COVID-19 targeting the nucleocapsid protein (N-protein), a well-studied vaccine target from the original SARS outbreak, but surprisingly a target that current vaccine efforts have overlooked. By leveraging the vast amount of research on the original SARS nucleocapsid, we believe Stark has identified a safe vaccine target with a low variance rate and a predictable immunogenetic response. Stark is moving at breakneck speed as they have partnered with a manufacturer, set up a lab for target production, and are looking at initiating animal trials in the next six weeks. Couple this with Anthony’s endless energy, passion, brilliance, and domain expertise, we believe Stark is a major contender to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.