WRF Capital

WRF Capital supports groundbreaking research and early-stage companies that focus on life sciences and enabling technologies. WRF Capital is composed of the Washington Research Foundation and WRF Capital. It is a venture investment arm of the Washington Research Foundation. It works with entrepreneurs, research institutions, other investors, and industry partners to transform great ideas into successful Washington-based businesses. It was founded in 1981 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

William Canestaro

Managing Director

Loretta Little

Managing Director

Past deals in Seattle, WA

AdaptX

Series A in 2021
AdaptX is a healthcare data analytics and visualization company based in Seattle, Washington, founded in 2016. It specializes in providing an automated analytics platform that empowers hospitals and surgery centers by delivering critical insights to frontline clinical staff. By facilitating access to data and enabling clinicians to analyze and improve clinical and workflow outcomes, AdaptX aims to enhance patient care while reducing operational costs. The company's innovative solutions are designed to transform clinical operations through the use of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence, ultimately supporting healthcare providers in their mission to deliver high-quality care.

Outpace Bio

Series A in 2021
Outpace Bio is a biotechnology company that creates smart cell therapies aimed at improving efficacy and safety. It offers a platform that combines custom-designed biological functions with cellular control modalities that program the right response at the right time and place. It creates a mechanism-driven solution tailor-made to improve efficacy and safety. The company collaborates with Lyell Immunopharma to develop and commercialize a potential immune cell therapy for the treatment of cancer, auto-immune diseases, infectious diseases, degenerative diseases, regenerative medicine, metabolic disorders, and genetic disorders, enabling healthcare providers to cure a wide range of diseases as per patient's need.

ThruWave

Seed Round in 2020
ThruWave produces millimeter wave imaging technology designed for markets including robotics, construction, and quality control. The company's low-cost sensors for commercial and industrial applications use patent-pending radar signal processing innovations and GPU accelerated image reconstruction techniques. Its technology lowers risk by imaging the internal structure of walls, ceilings, and floors that enable construction professionals to work faster. ThruWave was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

WiBotic

Series A in 2020
WiBotic Inc. develops wireless charging and power optimization solutions. It offers wireless charging systems; components, such as transmitters, onboard chargers, antenna coils, and integrated options; accessories for robots, drones, mobile robots, and underwater vehicles; and professional services. In addition, it offers a power management software that works with the hardware to optimize battery use for the fleets of robots. The company serves aerial, mobile, marine, and industrial clients. WiBotic Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Membrion

Series A in 2020
Membrion, Inc. is a company based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in the manufacturing and commercialization of advanced membranes designed to filter molecules, including ions, under a range of conditions such as heat, cold, acidity, and biological sensitivity. Founded in 2016 as a spin-out from the University of Washington, the company has received funding from various sources, including the National Science Foundation and private angel investors, enabling it to develop and scale its technology for commercial applications. Membrion's membranes are utilized in diverse fields, including flow batteries, water purification, fuel cells, and pharmaceuticals, addressing the growing demand for effective filtration solutions in these industries.

VLST Corporation

Series B in 2006
VLST Corporation is a privately held biotechnology company that has developed a novel and streamlined approach to speed the development of effective therapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The VLST platform uses novel bioinformatics and state-of-the-art proteomics, to identify viral genes whose protein products function as immunomodulatory agents. The resulting product candidates will be either human homologues to these virulence factors or monoclonal antibodies that mimic the function of the virulence gene products. This approach allows for the efficient identification of high quality, pre-validated drug targets for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The Company's technology has identified potential product candidates for the treatment of disorders such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.

Uptake Medical

Series A in 2006
Uptake Medical specializes in developing innovative medical technologies aimed at treating lung diseases. The company's flagship product, InterVapor™, is an endoscopic lung volume reduction therapy designed specifically for individuals with severe emphysema. This unique approach leverages the body’s natural healing processes and does not introduce any foreign materials into the lungs. Clinical studies have shown that InterVapor™ can lead to significant improvements in patients' breathing function, exercise capacity, and overall quality of life.

Amnis

Venture Round in 2001
Amnis Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of cell analysis systems for the imaging and analysis of cells in flow. It provides ImageStream, an instrument that combines the functionalities of microscopy and flow cytometry in a single platform for various applications in drug discovery, basic biomedical research, and diagnostics. The company also offers upgrades for ImageStream system to add additional functionality, including violet and red lasers, and an extended depth of field technology (EDF) option. In addition, it provides IDEAS, a cell image analysis software that is used for the quantitative analysis of cell images, as well as for the evaluation of image-based data in various cell populations. Further, the company provides a calibration reagent for the operation of ImageStream system that allows the instrument to track flow rate and core position; and a sheath solution for the functioning of ImageStream system. Its systems are used in apoptosis, immune synapse analysis, nuclear translocation, leukocyte classification, cell cycle analysis, cell morphology analysis, intracellular molecular trafficking, surface markers co-localization, and gene expression quantitation applications. The company offers its products to academic, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical customers. Amnis Corporation was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.