A-Alpha Bio

Charlotte Schubert / GeekWire Sep 8, 2021

A-Alpha Bio raises $20M Series A led by Madrona to expand Seattle lab and scale protein-discovery platform

University of Washington spinout A-Alpha Bio raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Madrona Venture Group to expand downtown Seattle lab space and grow its machine-learning team for its protein-discovery platform. The company combines computational tools and yeast-based experiments to generate large protein-interaction datasets used to predict therapeutic protein candidates for diseases including COVID-19.

Charlotte Schubert / GeekWire Sep 2, 2021

Former Tech Leaders Join Biotech: Isilon Founder Sujal Patel, Ex-Microsoft Terry Myerson and Others Lead AI-Driven Life Sciences Startups

Several former software and tech executives are moving into biotech and life sciences startups, bringing AI, machine learning, and tech-style business models to companies that analyze proteins, microbes, and medical records. Their tech backgrounds are reshaping product development and funding approaches at firms such as Nautilus Biotechnology, Truveta, insitro and Viome.

GeekWire Podcast Featured Dec 5, 2020

'Slackforce,' AWS re:Invent, and Seattle's new $9B tech company

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Salesforce strikes a deal to acquire Slack for $27.7 billion; Amazon Web Services makes some surprising news at its annual re:Invent cloud conference; and a new tech giant arrives in our backyard. Joining us on this episode is Matt McIlwain, managing director at Seattle-based venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group, offering his commentary on the implications of these developments in the world of cloud and enterprise technology. Special bonus: Listen to the end of the show for a new installment of our GeekWire Podcast trivia contest, with a chance to win a GeekWire mask…

41 min

Built in Seattle with Adam Schoenfeld Featured Sep 24, 2020

Matt McIlwain (Madrona) on lessons from 20 years of VC investing, traits of top entrepreneurs, and building a bigger pie

20 years as a VC at Madrona. Headline IPOs like Accolade, Smartsheet, Apptio, Isilon. Invested in cloud before it was cool. 3x Midas list. 3x CB's top 100 VC list. Matt goes behind the scenes on his lessons (from the highs and lows), Madrona's philosophy, and how the best leaders work.

45 min

Taylor Soper / GeekWire Sep 1, 2020

Lumen Bioscience raises $16M Series B to scale Spirulina platform for orally delivered antibodies; total funding $68M

Lumen Bioscience raised $16 million in a Series B to advance its Spirulina-based platform that produces orally delivered antibodies and biologics for GI diseases, claiming dramatically lower costs and three clinical programs. The Seattle startup, co‑founded in 2017 by CEO Brian Finrow and CSO Jim Roberts, has partnerships with the Gates Foundation, NIH and others and has raised $68 million to date.

Lisa Stiffler / GeekWire Jul 9, 2020

Gates Foundation Awards $800,000 to A-Alpha Bio to Fund AlphaSeq Antibody Research Targeting SARS-CoV-2 and Intestinal Pathogens

Seattle biotech A-Alpha Bio received an $800,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support research using its AlphaSeq platform to develop multi-target antibody treatments for respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, and intestinal pathogens such as campylobacter, in partnership with Lumen Bioscience.

Alan Boyle / GeekWire May 26, 2020

A-Alpha Bio wins $620,472 NSF Phase II SBIR to develop molecular-glue discovery system

Seattle startup A-Alpha Bio received a $620,472 NSF Phase II SBIR grant to develop a system that identifies molecular glues which tag disease-causing proteins for cellular degradation, aiming to target previously 'undruggable' proteins for diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancer and autoimmune disorders.

What Fuels You Podcast Featured May 19, 2020

Special COVID-19 Episode: Matt McIlwain

Matt McIlwain, one of the Managing Directors at Madrona Venture Group, explains the most important quality he looks for in a CEO before investing, Madrona’s new accelerator fund, how he spends his time as an investor and his passion for public policy on the What Fuels You podcast. On COVID-19, Matt brings up some interesting points about the “natural tension between freedom and boundaries” and how “barriers have been broken down to find sustainable preventions, cures and tests.” Listen to hear what he believes will be the business opportunities that come out of this pandemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

60 min

Karina Mazhukhina / GeekWire Apr 9, 2020

Takeda buys Seattle startup PvP Biologics for up to $330M, will advance TAK-062 into Phase 2

Japanese pharmaceutical Takeda acquired Seattle biotech PvP Biologics for up to $330 million in late February, taking over its TAK-062 (Kuma062) program and all clinical and manufacturing activities while laying off PvP staff. Takeda plans to run phase 2 trials of the enzyme-based celiac disease treatment that PvP developed after earlier funding of $35 million supported phase 1 work.

Alan Boyle / GeekWire Sep 24, 2019

Seattle’s A-Alpha Bio Raises $2.8M Seed Round to Advance AlphaSeq Drug Discovery Platform

Seattle startup A-Alpha Bio raised $2.8 million in seed funding to advance its genetically engineered protein analysis platform, AlphaSeq, which accelerates drug candidate evaluation by sorting millions of protein interactions. The round was led by OS Fund and included investors such as Madrona Venture Group and AME Cloud Ventures.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire May 24, 2019

HRG Infrastructure Wins $25,000 at UW Dempsey Startup Competition for Drone-Based Bridge Inspection Tech

HRG Infrastructure, founded by Harsh Rathod from the University of Victoria, won the $25,000 first-place prize at the University of Washington’s 22nd Dempsey Startup Competition for its drone-based civil infrastructure monitoring technology that significantly speeds up bridge inspections. Rathod was inspired to start the company after witnessing a bridge collapse in India where his family members lived.