/ About this event
Health and biotech founders: your next milestone needs capital. It may not need another round.
AGENDA
10:00–11:00 | Accelerators: More Than Mentorship How can the right accelerator unlock the resources you actually need to grow? Hear about funding, infrastructure, expertise, and networks—and how founders use different programs to reach their next milestone.
Moderator: Larry Liu — medtech investor and operator; Berkeley SkyDeck and MedTech Innovator Panelists: Marga Ortigas-Wedekind — Fogarty Innovation Todd Pray — Cyclotron Road at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Christian Chung — Nucleate Judee Sharon — KuriBio, with experience through QB3 and the Innovative Genomics Institute’s Women in Enterprising Science Fellowship; winner of the inaugural Amgen-QB3 Innovation Award Michael Powell — Immergo Labs, with experience through Fogarty Innovation, NVIDIA Inception, and Innovate Bay
11:00–12:00 | Industry Partnerships: How Startups Get in the Door How do startups get in front of major industry players and turn those relationships into real opportunities? Hear corporate and ecosystem perspectives alongside founders who have built paid R&D partnerships and accessed corporate-backed innovation programs.
Moderator: Arvita Tripati — Founder, Vahana Labs Panelists: Betiel Hadgu Haile — Roche Diagnostics Aaron Blotnick — SynBioBeta; Bits in Bio Maria Artunduaga — Samay, which built a paid R&D partnership with Chiesi Pharmaceuticals Andrew Chang — DeepSeq, which participated in the Merck Digital Sciences Studio, opening access to Merck expertise and industry collaboration opportunities
12:00–1:00 | Lunch (doors at Hanwha will be closed 11:30-12:30 for participants and volunteers to have lunch)
1:00–2:00 | Government Grants & Contracts: Fund Your R&D How do founders identify the right government opportunities, build competitive applications, and sequence funding as their companies grow? Hear perspectives from people with experience inside NIH and ARPA-H, alongside founders who have navigated customer-discovery programs, research grants, and government contracts.
Moderator: Tim Barnes — Co-founder and CEO, Scout Panelists: Angela Jimenez — Leon Precision Capital, who led the evaluation and financial recommendation process for NIH grant proposals Mimi Lee — Founder, OPUS 132; former ARPA-H Program Manager Ratnam Srivastava — LabOps, with experience through NSF I-Corps at UMass Chan Medical Morgan Stanton — Opal Therapeutics, recipient of NSF SBIR Phase I and Phase II awards Anna von Wendorff — Scopi Medical, recipient of a U.S. Air Force/AFWERX contract through the DOD
2:00–3:00 | Philanthropy: Foundations Fund Startups Too
When can philanthropic capital fund work inside a for-profit startup, and how do founders access it? Explore how foundations choose what to support, how funding reaches companies directly or through research partners, and how founders build relationships that advance both their innovation and a funder’s mission.
Moderator: Megan Groves — Venture Partner, Blue Vision Capital; former Senior Advisor, Renaissance Philanthropy Panelists: Elise Belusa — Executive Director, Tara Health Foundation Ishita M. Shah — Founder and CEO, Matrubials, which received a direct grant from the Gates Foundation Lauren M Taylor — Managing Partner, NDVC, formerly at venture philanthropy REDF, where she led 86 seed investments and helped founders access $70M in non-dilutive capital
3:00–4:00 | Debt, Credit, & Taxes: Your Next $500K Could Be Hiding in Your R&D Stay for the session that could change your runway. Your company could qualify for up to $500,000 annually in R&D payroll tax credits! Learn how to bridge the gap between contract spending and reimbursement, and when venture debt can help you reach your next milestone. Connect these tools to a financial strategy that supports your path through regulatory clearance—and meet the experts who can help. Leave today with a readiness assessment and concrete next steps to put these tools to work.
Moderator: Ben Kromnick — Venture Partner at Might Middle Ventures and LvlUp Ventures; GTM Advisor at Oral Genome; Entrepreneur in Residence at Yale School of Management; former Head of Healthcare and New Verticals at Mercury Panelists: Shilpa Dinavahi — Tax Attorney and CPA, JKZ LLP Dan Marotto — Managing Principal and CFO, Kranz Consulting Brandon Clark — Managing Director, Life Sciences, Banc of California
Hosted by NDVC.fund and sponsored by the Hanwha AI Center.
This event is a part of #SFTechWeek—a week of events hosted by VCs and startups to bring together the tech ecosystem. Learn more at www.tech-week.com.
Hanwha AI Center (HAC) is a private membership for all those dedicated to AI. As a hub for innovation, HAC brings together passionate entrepreneurs, researchers, and visionaries to explore the societal and technological impacts of AI on human life.
Notice of Filming and Photography: By attending this event, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording may occur. Entering the event premises constitutes your consent to be filmed, photographed, and recorded, and to the use of your likeness, voice, and name in media published by NDVC for promotional and educational purposes. If you do not wish to be subject to these recordings, please notify event staff upon arrival.
