Digitalis Launches With $100 Million and a Thirst for Data in the Life Sciences
NEW YORK, Jan. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Digitalis announced today the launch of a $100 million fund for seed- and early-stage companies seeking to address the most challenging problems in human health. Digitalis, with offices in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, was founded to invest in solutions at the intersection of math, physics, computing, chemistry and biology.
"As we looked at the current venture capital ecosystem, we saw a clear need for a health-focused fund that was not bound strictly in life sciences, nor information technology, but rather brought different fields together in new ways," said Geoffrey W. Smith, founder and managing partner of Digitalis. "We pursue investments that can deliver better individual health at population levels of scale."
Digitalis targets early-stage companies seeking to achieve proof-of-concept, complete product development or demonstrate product-market fit. The firm is also actively looking to co-found new companies that demonstrate promise in solving major health challenges. Digitalis has invested in three companies to date: CareDox, whose unified digital health platform covers over 1.8 million students in the public school system; Girihlet, which uses T-cell sequencing technology to enable longitudinal monitoring of human health through the immune system; and Second Genome, which leverages a computational microbiome platform for broad applications in humans, plants and animals.
"Meaningful new additions to the health space will not come from a silo mentality," Mr. Smith said. "Today's problems are complex and Digitalis is focused on supporting innovators who can apply the combined power of science and technology in new ways to improve peoples' lives."
About Digitalis
Founded in 2016, NYC- and CA-based Digitalis invests in companies that address complex problems facing human health and wellbeing. With $100 million under management, Digitalis embraces a multi-disciplinary mindset through investments in technology-enabled companies at the intersection of math, physics, computing, chemistry and biology. The name of the firm is inspired by Mr. Smith's father, Thomas Smith, M.D., who played a key role in building medical knowledge around digoxin, a cardiovascular drug derived from the digitalis plant, also known as foxglove.
For more information, visit www.digitalisventures.com
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SOURCE Digitalis
