Hi everyone! This has been a busy couple of months at EvoNexus, and we are excited to share everything that has been going on in our 2Q23 Recap Newsletter. Read about our recent events, portfolio news, and portfolio companies below!

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Our triumphs are a result of our close partnerships with the world’s leading influential companies, as well as with angel, seed, and other early-stage investors! EvoNexus, as a non-profit, further succeeds thanks to the support we receive from our volunteers and selection committee members, and top providers of professional services. If you or someone you know are interested in becoming involved with EvoNexus, please follow the link below and fill out the form. 

As we announced in the last newsletter, the EvoNexus Demo Day was held on Monday, June 26th at the Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Hall. EvoNexus had over 650 people sign up to attend the event. We had eighteen of our portfolio companies (graduate and current) showing off their technology and demos in the lobby of the Jacobs Hall. Twelve of those startups were able to give a five-minute presentation to the audience. Those twelve startups, in the order they gave their presentations, were Advanced Image Robotics, Tag-N-Trac, Sensoride, Ixana, CRISPR QC, DeepWater Exploration, Falcomm, MeCo Diagnostics, Oculi, RyboDyn, The Good Face Project, and CARI Health. Once all the presentations had concluded, the audience was prompted to scan a QR code and vote for the company they believed should win the event. After two minutes of voting, a winner was announced: CARI Health! We are so proud of everyone who prepared a presentation and/or a demonstration for EvoNexus Demo Day. Thank you to everyone who supported the EvoNexus team and our portfolio companies throughout this whole process. We would like to give Qualcomm a special thank you for hosting and partnering with EvoNexus on our Demo Day event. Keep an eye out for more Demo Day announcements coming soon!

We have always been proud of our connection to the San Diego startup community. 2023 is no different. Below are some highlights from our community events, including two MedTech SIGs (one at Sharp HealthCare and the other at Cooley) and an in-depth discussion with Qualcomm CEO, Cristiano Amon and former Qualcomm SVP, Anil Kripalani. 

This was an exciting event since it was the first program EvoNexus has organized with the CEO of Qualcomm since 2018. Even more exciting is the fact that Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm CEO) extended his talk to meet with our attendees. 

Sharp HealthCare & EvoNexus announced at this event the first EVER incubator partnership with a major hospital system in San Diego. A follow on press release and marketing with this new program is in progress​. 

This event featured a panel of three EvoNexus startups: CARI Health, MeCo Diagnostics, & RyboDyn. This panel was moderated by Cooley Partner, Steve Przesmicki. 

Check out some of our portfolio company funding rounds this past quarter!

• GroupSolver raised $2.82 million of Seed 4 funding in a deal led by Eterus Capital. Neulogy Ventures, NuFund, and other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. The funds will be used to accelerate growth and for product and team development.
• CRISPR QC raised $1.6 million of seed funding in a deal led by Serra Ventures. CaerusX Ventures and other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. The funds will be used to advance the commercial development of the platform and to further enhance data analytics capabilities.
• Pontoro raised $3.5 million of Seed-2 funding in a deal led by Ulu Ventures. Nevcaut Ventures, CSL Capital Management, Illuminate Financial Management, and other undisclosed investors also participated in the round.
• Voluware raised $8.04 million of Series A venture funding in a deal led by Hughes & Company. 
• GroGuru raised $2.78 million of venture funding in a Series Seed A round from Impact Venture Capital, Cove Fund, Keiretsu Forum, and other undisclosed investors. 
• UCAP Power raised an estimated $15 million of Series B-2 venture funding from Marathon Capital Management and other undisclosed investors, putting the company's pre-money valuation at $130 million. 
• MD Revolution raised $5 million of venture funding from undisclosed investors. 

The partnerships, achievements, and recognition that our companies earn throughout their journey, tell the story of how the company got to where it is. Here we celebrate some of our companies’ successes across the second quarter of 2023!

• Cardea Bio, Inc. is acquired by graphene firm, Paragraf for an undisclosed amount. 
• SOCi announces partnerships with Rita's Italian Ice and Bob Evans. 
• Sateliot and S4IoT launch innovative beehive monitoring technology to increase global food security. 
• QuSecure awarded U.S. Army Contract for Post-Quantum Cybersecurity Solutions; United States Army with QuSecure advances toward a quantum-resilient future protecting the country from today’s and tomorrow’s cybersecurity threats. 
• Verified Inc. (formerly Unum ID) and UNest announce strategic partnership to power 1-click user referrals. 
• GigaIO unveils SuperNODE, a 32-GPU solution for generative AI and accelerated computing. 
• Sateliot joins project to bring rural broadband connectivity out of the Ether. 
• Sateliot and Telefónica establish the first-ever 5G roaming connection for space.
• MD Revolution acquires NavCare to expand remote patient care management services. 
• AttackIQ launches new products that democratize testing for everyone. 
• GigaIO's new SuperNODE takes-off with record breaking AMD GPU performance. 
• SOCi is chosen as Nathan's Famous Inc's platform of record to power local visibility. 
• QuestionPro announces new version of its 360 development feedback platform. 

Finally, we are excited to highlight our most recent addition to the EvoNexus portfolio:

RyboDyn, Inc. is an early-stage immunotherapy company. The founders, Corey Dambacher (President & CEO) and Kerry Wilson (Platform Development) created a scalable solution for the discovery of unreported cell surface targets. They are now empowering their novel target prediction approach with breakthroughs in screening for vaccine candidates, as well as new specific binders (drug leads) at an unprecedented scale. Armed with these capabilities, RyboDyn's goal is to develop powerful new vaccines and safer immunotherapies to fight diseases that can feel hopeless.

Prepared by EvoNexus Portfolio & Events Manager and Board Liaison, Ashlyn Haines