The Series A round was led by Menlo Park’s Khosla Ventures, with participation from Bold Capital Partners, Collaborative Fund and Boutique Venture Partners. It brings total funds raised to date to $8.5 million.
Proceeds will support the company as it “further develops detection algorithms” for a variety of conditions such as Barrett’s esophagus and inflammatory bowel diseases and “puts them into clinical programs,” Ritter said.
The company expects to submit clinical data for its first FDA submission—focused on polyp detection for colon cancer—later this year, and is actively recruiting for its technology team.
Ritter said Docbot aims to stand out from competitors by “transforming the GI practice more broadly. We’re not just focused on polyp detection. If you can scope it, we can detect.”
Ritter comes to Docbot from Ritter Pharmaceuticals, a Los Angeles-based gut microbiome therapeutic developer that went public via a reverse merger with Qualigen Inc. (Nasdaq: QLGN) and simultaneously raised $4 million in a private placement of preferred common stock in January. It is now valued around $50 million.
Andrew Ninh, the founding CEO of Docbot and a 2019 Business Journal Innovator of the Year Award winner, will continue as chief strategic officer. Ninh started the company in 2013 with researchers from the University of California, Irvine.
Additional investors included Arcadian Capital Management, Genesis Venture Investments, and WGD Capital.
Petalfast says it uses an accelerator approach to help cannabis brands go to market, and it offers a range of services across sales, marketing, strategy, merchandising and expansion.
“The cannabis industry, as we know it today, is still a relatively young category with so much potential. With more regulatory reform and an increasing number of states opening the door to cannabis, more people are exploring brands and products than ever before,” Chief Executive Jason Vegotsky said.
“Petalfast provides a framework for these brands, one rooted in our team’s adult beverage background and our expertise in cannabis, to connect with today’s consumers and members of the trade in a brand-appropriate way, to solidify marketing efforts through unique and creative programs, and to leverage our portfolio approach to sales.”
Petalfast was launched by Vegotsky and COO and General Counsel Arun Kurichety last July. Vegotsky and Kurichety were previously chief revenue officer and president, and general counsel, respectively, at Cypress-based KushCo Holdings Inc., one of the first cannabis-related companies in the U.S. to go public (OTC: KSHB).
Cannabis products and service provider KushCo, valued about $135 million, said in March it agreed to be bought in an all-stock deal by Florida-based Greenlane Holdings Inc.
Products will be merchandised in the frozen meat section, rather than protein alternatives section, reflecting “a change that highlights the mainstream acceptance of meat alternatives,” the company said.
It’s the largest expansion to date for Abbot’s Butcher; it launched in farmer’s markets in Southern California in 2017 and has since expanded to over 565 grocery locations.
Last August, Abbot’s Butcher added its chorizo, chicken and beef sausage products to Whole Foods Markets in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii. It also sells through Mother’s Market and Kitchen and Los Angeles-based specialty chains Earwhon Organic Grocer & Cafe and Lassen’s Natural Foods & Vitamins.
Abbot’s Butcher, led by Kerry Song, has raised about $1.7 million to date with backers including New Crop Capital and SOSV, both of New York.
Michelle Thai, co-medical director at Providence St. Jude’s Centers for Rehabilitation in Fullerton, came up with the idea for Koazie while trying to find a facility for her mother suffering from late-stage cancer. She launched the transition of care platform in 2019 with her son, Jonathan Thai, and Dan Bailey, executive director of skilled nursing facility collaboratives at Providence St. Joseph Health.
Koazie partnered with La Palma-based Innovation Institute’s Innovation Lab in Newport Beach to develop a business model, go-to-market strategy and plans for expansion.
The company, which offers resources on skilled nursing facilities, home health care, long-term care and hospice, is now focused on adding services such as Helen’s Plan.
“Dealing with the loss of a loved one is unbelievably complicated and costly. Helen’s Plan is a simple to use application and great resource at Koazie for patients and families to help them get their affairs in order,” said Ganesh Laxminarayan, acting CTO for Koazie, and executive director of Innovation Lab in Newport Beach.
“Adding this application to the Koazie platform furthers our vision to become the single source for patients and families navigating transition of care.”
The duo will work with Tyson Foods, the world’s second largest processor of chicken, beef and pork, to identify constraints related to material flows, manufacturing operations and energy consumption.
They aim to develop efficiencies that optimize yield and material utilization on poultry processing equipment, and as a result, provide value to other food processing and energy-intensive industries.
ThinkIQ has experience managing supply chain issues in the food industry; it’s worked with a large grain-based cereal maker to reduce raw materials usage, enhance safety inspections, and run its manufacturing plants at full-capacity more often, among other benefits.
ThinkIQ raised an $11.6 million Series A round in October, and is currently growing its team as it expands to the pharmaceutical and metal-mining sectors.
Smith was most recently chief revenue officer at healthcare revenue cycle management cycle leader eSolutions and previously served as chief commercial officer at Global Healthcare Exchange.
He succeeds founding CEO David Hamilton, who will remain involved with the company as a board member and advisor.
Mnet Health, started in 2005, is the developer of PaySuite, a patient billing software platform for surgical hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers that today handles more than $1 billion in managed balances for over 900 facilities. It is the preferred vendor for United Surgical Partners International and Surgical Care Affiliates, among other clients.
In January, the company received an undisclosed investment from SSM Partners; the Memphis-based private equity firm typically makes investments between $8 million to $30 million in companies with annual revenues of $5 million to $50 million, according to its website.
