Washington Research Foundation

The Washington Research Foundation, established in 1981 and located in Seattle, is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing technology in the life sciences, information technology, and physical sciences. The foundation supports innovative research and early-stage entrepreneurs, contributing to the growth of Washington's technology economy. Its seed fund branch, WRF Capital, plays a crucial role in managing intellectual property and providing business support to local companies and institutions. As one of the leading venture capitalists in the Northwest, the foundation reinvests its financial returns into research and initiatives that foster new company spinouts. Through its efforts, the Washington Research Foundation aims to cultivate a vibrant research and enterprise community within the region.

Jeff Eby

Chief Financial Officer

Morgan Hellar

Controller

Ronald S. Howell

Chief Executive Officer

John Reagh

Managing Director

Dale Wadman

Communications and Venture Center Manager

Past deals in Seattle, WA

Monod Bio

Seed Round in 2022
Monod Bio develops biosensors intended for protein and other analyte detection. The company's state-of-the-art technology combines binding, transduction, and amplification to detect a wide range of target molecules, enabling the development of simple, powerful biosensors for biotechnology and medicine.

Cyrus Biotechnology

Series B in 2021
Cyrus Biotechnology builds software tools to accelerate basic research in biotech, pharma, and industrial biotechnology. Cyrus Bench delivers an enterprise version of the Rosetta molecular modeling and design toolkit, with the associated array of bio-molecular computation tools. It was founded in 2014 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

AdaptX

Venture Round in 2020
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.

A-Alpha Bio

Seed Round in 2019
A-Alpha Bio, Inc., founded in 2017 and based in Seattle, Washington, specializes in synthetic biology with a focus on drug development that targets multiple proteins. The company's flagship platform, AlphaSeq, offers innovative cell-based tools for quantitative and high-throughput measurement of protein interactions. This technology accelerates processes such as target discovery, library screening, and preclinical drug characterization, addressing significant bottlenecks in the industry. By providing biologics and molecular glue discovery and optimization services, A-Alpha Bio supports pharmaceutical companies in enhancing binding and specificity for various target proteins. The team comprises experts in synthetic biology, structural biology, and next-generation sequencing, all dedicated to advancing drug discovery methodologies.

AdaptX

Venture Round in 2019
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.

Phase Genomics

Seed Round in 2017
Phase Genomics, Inc. is a biotechnology company founded in 2015 and located in Seattle, Washington. The company specializes in advanced genomic technologies, particularly ProxiMeta Hi-C genome assembly and metagenome deconvolution. Its mission is to assist scientists in making significant discoveries by delivering highly complete and accurate genomes and metagenomes. Through its innovative approaches, Phase Genomics aims to enhance the understanding of complex biological systems, facilitating research in various fields of life sciences.

Phytelligence

Series B in 2017
Phytelligence is a product-focused technology company that develops and provides smart plants and solutions to growers, nurseries, and horticultural experts. It provides custom genetic analysis services that assess the similarity or dissimilarity of closely related samples. The company provides plants free of diseases, viruses, and pests. Its portfolio includes the Geneva series, Gisela series, and Krymsk series of rootstocks. Phytelligence was founded in 2012 by Amit Dhingra, and it is based in Pullman, Washington.

Rodeo Therapeutics

Series A in 2017
Rodeo Therapeutics Corp. is a drug development company. The company develops novel small molecules therapies for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and the promotion of blood cell reconstitution following bone marrow transplant. It develops drugs for tissue repair and regeneration. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Arzeda

Series A in 2017
Arzeda Corporation, founded in 2008 and based in Seattle, Washington, specializes in the development and commercialization of innovative enzymes and specialty chemical products. The company leverages advanced computational enzyme design technology to create designer proteins and enzymes tailored for diverse applications in polymers, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals. By focusing on biocatalysis, Arzeda aims to provide clients with high-performance, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions that enhance their products. The company's expertise in synthetic biology positions it as a leader in the field, enabling the development of a robust portfolio that addresses the growing demand for advanced chemical products.

WiBotic

Seed Round in 2017
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.

ApoGen Biotechnologies

Series A in 2016
ApoGen Biotechnologies, Inc. is focused on the development of new class of therapeutics targeting drivers of cancer genomic mutation.As the arsenal of available cancer therapies has grown and evolved from cytotoxic chemotherapy to targeted therapy to immunotherapy, one fact has unfortunately remained constant nearly all cancer drug therapies eventually fail due to the development of drug resistance. Mutation of cellular DNA is central to the formation of cancer, and chronic mutation of the cancer genome is a primary cause of cancer evolution and drug resistance, resulting in ineffective therapy, cancer recurrence and metastasis, and decreased overall survival.

Nexgenia

Venture Round in 2016
Nexgenia, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the development and manufacture of proprietary polymer-based reagents. It develops stimuli-responsive polymers and polymer-containing magnetic nanoparticles for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

AnswerDash

Seed Round in 2015
AnswerDash, Inc. provides Website contextual answer services. It enables companies to provide selection-based, self-service, point-and-click contextual answers on their Websites, Web applications, and mobile experiences to their customers where they need them, whether on desktop or mobile platforms. AnswerDash, Inc. was formerly known as Qazzow, Inc. and changed its name to AnswerDash, Inc. in May 2014. The company was founded in 2012 and is based in Seattle, Washington. As of June 23, 2020, AnswerDash, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of CloudEngage, Inc.

Faraday Pharmaceuticals

Series A in 2015
Faraday Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company based in Seattle, Washington, that focuses on developing innovative therapies to treat ischemia-reperfusion injury, particularly following ST elevation myocardial infarction. Founded in 2014, the company has in-licensed proprietary liquid formulations of reduced nonmetal gaseous elements, which were developed in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Roth at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Faraday's therapeutics aim to utilize specific reduced forms of elements to enhance patient outcomes, providing medical practitioners with effective treatment options for ischemia-reperfusion injury and other critical care conditions.

CSATS

Series A in 2015
C-SATS provides a personalized surgical skills assessment platform using a unique combination of data analytics, artificial intelligence. It specializes in the fields of robotic surgery, surgical skills, surgical insights, laparoscopic surgery, and minimally invasive surgery. The company was founded in 2014 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Cardeas Pharma

Series B in 2015
Cardeas Pharma is developing a novel antibiotic formulation of two drugs with synergistic activity against all relevant, highly resistant Gram-negative bacilli, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. In addition, this antibiotic formulation has activity on biofilms. The combination also has activity against Gram-positive pathogens including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This formulation is administered using a single-patient use, vibrating-plate nebulizer that is compatible with all ventilators. The nebulizer creates small, uniform aerosol droplets that deliver drug to the small airways and alveoli. Integration of this novel antibiotic formulation and device has the potential to achieve significant clinical outcomes relative to current standard therapy.

Faraday Pharmaceuticals

Series A in 2014
Faraday Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company based in Seattle, Washington, that focuses on developing innovative therapies to treat ischemia-reperfusion injury, particularly following ST elevation myocardial infarction. Founded in 2014, the company has in-licensed proprietary liquid formulations of reduced nonmetal gaseous elements, which were developed in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Roth at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Faraday's therapeutics aim to utilize specific reduced forms of elements to enhance patient outcomes, providing medical practitioners with effective treatment options for ischemia-reperfusion injury and other critical care conditions.

FlexMinder

Series A in 2014
FlexMinder is revolutionizing the healthcare industry by changing the way third party administrators (TPAs) handle claims, and helping consumers fall in love with their flexible spending arrangements and healthcare reimbursement accounts. FlexMinder automates the claims submission process for participants and helps TPAs dramatically reduce manual processing time and costs. Based in Seattle, Washington, FlexMinder was selected in 2011 to participate in the prestigious TechStars incubator program, and announced $1.4 million in Series AA financing to fund future growth in January 2013.

AnswerDash

Series A in 2013
AnswerDash, Inc. provides Website contextual answer services. It enables companies to provide selection-based, self-service, point-and-click contextual answers on their Websites, Web applications, and mobile experiences to their customers where they need them, whether on desktop or mobile platforms. AnswerDash, Inc. was formerly known as Qazzow, Inc. and changed its name to AnswerDash, Inc. in May 2014. The company was founded in 2012 and is based in Seattle, Washington. As of June 23, 2020, AnswerDash, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of CloudEngage, Inc.

FlexMinder

Series A in 2013
FlexMinder is revolutionizing the healthcare industry by changing the way third party administrators (TPAs) handle claims, and helping consumers fall in love with their flexible spending arrangements and healthcare reimbursement accounts. FlexMinder automates the claims submission process for participants and helps TPAs dramatically reduce manual processing time and costs. Based in Seattle, Washington, FlexMinder was selected in 2011 to participate in the prestigious TechStars incubator program, and announced $1.4 million in Series AA financing to fund future growth in January 2013.

Uptake Medical

Series C in 2012
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.

Groove Biopharma

Series B in 2011
Groove Biopharma focuses on the generation of novel microRNA (miRNA) therapeutics with improved properties, including higher potency and enhanced pharmacodynamic activity. Endogenous microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in extensive regulatory networks for many target genes and pathways. Groove Biopharma’s core technology addresses a new avenue of nucleotide therapeutic drug discovery via modulation of cellular miRNA. Using exclusive technology, Groove Biopharma is generating a series of lead candidates with the potential to be best-in-class therapeutics. By incorporating proprietary structural modifications into miRNA therapeutics, the Groove Biopharma technology platform presents promising potential for treating a wide range of diseases, including cancer, fibrosis, and infectious disease.

Oncofactor

Series A in 2011
Oncofactor is a Seattle, Washington-based developer of cancer therapeutics that disrupt signaling pathways between tumors and the immune system.

Mirador Biomedical

Series B in 2011
Mirador Biomedical's team of experienced entrepreneurs and seasoned medical device professionals are partnering with an exceptional group of physicians and scientists to develop innovative, cost effective devices that provide physiological feedback to alleviate doubt and uncertainty during common medical procedures.

Mirador Biomedical

Series A in 2010
Mirador Biomedical's team of experienced entrepreneurs and seasoned medical device professionals are partnering with an exceptional group of physicians and scientists to develop innovative, cost effective devices that provide physiological feedback to alleviate doubt and uncertainty during common medical procedures.

Uptake Medical

Series B in 2010
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.

Groove Biopharma

Series A in 2010
Groove Biopharma focuses on the generation of novel microRNA (miRNA) therapeutics with improved properties, including higher potency and enhanced pharmacodynamic activity. Endogenous microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in extensive regulatory networks for many target genes and pathways. Groove Biopharma’s core technology addresses a new avenue of nucleotide therapeutic drug discovery via modulation of cellular miRNA. Using exclusive technology, Groove Biopharma is generating a series of lead candidates with the potential to be best-in-class therapeutics. By incorporating proprietary structural modifications into miRNA therapeutics, the Groove Biopharma technology platform presents promising potential for treating a wide range of diseases, including cancer, fibrosis, and infectious disease.

Arzeda

Seed Round in 2009
Arzeda Corporation, founded in 2008 and based in Seattle, Washington, specializes in the development and commercialization of innovative enzymes and specialty chemical products. The company leverages advanced computational enzyme design technology to create designer proteins and enzymes tailored for diverse applications in polymers, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals. By focusing on biocatalysis, Arzeda aims to provide clients with high-performance, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions that enhance their products. The company's expertise in synthetic biology positions it as a leader in the field, enabling the development of a robust portfolio that addresses the growing demand for advanced chemical products.

Corensic

Series A in 2009
Corensic provides software quality tools and runtimes that enable developers and IT organizations to build and deploy more reliable software. Corensic was founded in late 2008 (formerly known as PetraVM) and backed by Madrona Ventures, the Washington Research Foundation, and Perkins Coie. Our mission is to fuel the multi-core revolution by enabling software developers and IT organizations to build higher quality software. Corensic’s first product is Jinx, a tool that will help you improve the quality of your applications when they are running in a multi-core environment. Jinx makes your code “unlucky” by forcing hard-to-find concurrency bugs to occur with more frequency while you are debugging.

Accelerator Corp.

Series C in 2007
Founded in 2003, Accelerator Corporation is a Seattle-headquartered private equity firm with an office in New York and San Diego. The firm is focused on early-stage investments in biotechnology companies.

Omeros

Series E in 2007
Omeros is a Seattle-based commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing small-molecule and protein therapeutics for large-market as well as orphan indications targeting inflammation, complement-mediated diseases and disorders of the central nervous system.

Targeted Growth

Series D in 2007
Targeted Growth, Inc. is a crop biotechnology company specializing in the development of technologies aimed at enhancing seed size and yield for the agricultural and biofuel sectors. Established in 1998 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with additional laboratories in the United States and Canada, the company focuses on developing high-yield and quality-improved food and energy crops such as canola, soybean, sugarcorn, and camelina. By increasing the productivity of these crops, Targeted Growth supports farmers in cultivating raw materials essential for the production of renewable fuels, including ethanol and biodiesel. Through its innovative approaches, the company contributes to advancements in sustainable agriculture and energy production.

Farecast

Series C in 2007
Farecast is a fare-prediction service founded in 2003 that helps travelers decide when to purchase airline tickets. The company utilizes a sophisticated analytical engine that examines 175 billion points of historical airfare data to predict future price movements, claiming a success rate of 70-75% for its predictions. This allows users to determine whether to buy a ticket now or wait for potential fare drops. In addition to airfare predictions, Farecast has expanded its offerings to include hotel deals, displaying results from various travel search sites on a map with pricing information. The platform highlights overpriced hotels in blue and those with attractive pricing in red, helping users identify the best deals. Farecast distinguishes itself in a competitive market by focusing on predictive analytics, asserting that it is the only company capable of forecasting future airfare prices.

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.

Targeted Growth

Series D in 2006
Targeted Growth, Inc. is a crop biotechnology company specializing in the development of technologies aimed at enhancing seed size and yield for the agricultural and biofuel sectors. Established in 1998 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with additional laboratories in the United States and Canada, the company focuses on developing high-yield and quality-improved food and energy crops such as canola, soybean, sugarcorn, and camelina. By increasing the productivity of these crops, Targeted Growth supports farmers in cultivating raw materials essential for the production of renewable fuels, including ethanol and biodiesel. Through its innovative approaches, the company contributes to advancements in sustainable agriculture and energy production.

Teranode

Series B in 2005
Teranode's software and services support both executives and researchers on research and development decisions. Its goal has been to change the role computing plays in Life Sciences by providing flexible, scientist-driven technology that automates experiment workflow, manages experiment and biological data, unifies data into user specific views to improve product life cycle.

Farecast

Series B in 2005
Farecast is a fare-prediction service founded in 2003 that helps travelers decide when to purchase airline tickets. The company utilizes a sophisticated analytical engine that examines 175 billion points of historical airfare data to predict future price movements, claiming a success rate of 70-75% for its predictions. This allows users to determine whether to buy a ticket now or wait for potential fare drops. In addition to airfare predictions, Farecast has expanded its offerings to include hotel deals, displaying results from various travel search sites on a map with pricing information. The platform highlights overpriced hotels in blue and those with attractive pricing in red, helping users identify the best deals. Farecast distinguishes itself in a competitive market by focusing on predictive analytics, asserting that it is the only company capable of forecasting future airfare prices.

Farecast

Series A in 2004
Farecast is a fare-prediction service founded in 2003 that helps travelers decide when to purchase airline tickets. The company utilizes a sophisticated analytical engine that examines 175 billion points of historical airfare data to predict future price movements, claiming a success rate of 70-75% for its predictions. This allows users to determine whether to buy a ticket now or wait for potential fare drops. In addition to airfare predictions, Farecast has expanded its offerings to include hotel deals, displaying results from various travel search sites on a map with pricing information. The platform highlights overpriced hotels in blue and those with attractive pricing in red, helping users identify the best deals. Farecast distinguishes itself in a competitive market by focusing on predictive analytics, asserting that it is the only company capable of forecasting future airfare prices.

TripHub

Venture Round in 2000
Noting the growing trends in group travel, [Expedia](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/expedia) and [Microsoft](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/microsoft) vets founded TripHub in 2005. Based on the philosophy that "planning should be as fun as the trip," TripHub provides users with many different ways to facilitate group travel. Recently, Triphub [teamed up](http://about.triphub.com/2006/01/plan-talk-among.html) with [Orbitz](http://www.orbitz.com) to provide a ["powered by Triphub"](http://about.triphub.com/partners/index.html)group travel option. They are funded by Madrona Venture Group and other private investors. ###TripHub entered the deadpool on August 25, 2008.###