# Maria Luisa Pineda

> Maria Luisa Pineda is the Colombian-born CEO and co-founder of Envisagenics, a Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory spinout founded with Martin Akerman in 2014. A scientist with investment experience at Canrock Ventures and Golden Seeds, she has led the company through research grants, AI competitions, institutional financing and commercial partnerships, while advocating for women and underrepresented scientists.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-founder at Envisagenics
- **Organizations:** Envisagenics, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Canrock Ventures, Golden Seeds, Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
- **From:** Cali, Colombia
- **Nationality:** Colombian
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science; minor in mathematics, Barry University, Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory School of Biological Sciences
- **Known for:** High school award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair., First recipient of the Goizueta Minority Science Scholarship at Barry University., Arnold and Mabel Beckman graduate student and William Randolph Hearst Foundation scholar.

## Career timeline

- **2001** — Immigrated from Colombia to the United States; pursued high school research in Miami.
- **Before 2014** — Earned her doctorate at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and gained investment experience at Canrock Ventures and Golden Seeds.
- **2014** — Co-founded Envisagenics with Martin Akerman as a Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory spinout.
- **2017** — Envisagenics announced a $2.35 million seed round and launched SpliceCore.
- **2018** — Envisagenics won the North American Innovate.AI competition, receiving a $1 million investment from M12 and Madrona.
- **2021** — Envisagenics announced a Series A led by Red Cell Partners.
- **2022** — Named secretary in the AAIH leadership slate; Envisagenics began a Bristol Myers Squibb research collaboration.
- **2024** — Envisagenics announced Series B financing with Bristol Myers Squibb as a new strategic investor.
- **2025** — Named to Inc.'s Female Founders 500 list.
- **2026** — Envisagenics announced a Boehringer Ingelheim collaboration and a separate grant exceeding $2 million.

## Achievements

- High school award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
- First recipient of the Goizueta Minority Science Scholarship at Barry University.
- Arnold and Mabel Beckman graduate student and William Randolph Hearst Foundation scholar.
- Led Envisagenics through seed, Series A and Series B financing.
- CEO of the North American winner of the 2018 Innovate.AI competition.
- Second runner-up in the 2018 Xcelerate startup pitch competition.
- Included in Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — On October 13, Envisagenics announced a grant providing more than $2 million over two years.
- **2026-09** — On September 22, Envisagenics announced a multi-year Boehringer Ingelheim collaboration and option agreement with more than $1 billion in potential payments, plus royalties.

## Links

- Website: https://envisagenics.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marialpineda
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/mlpmonita

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/maria-luisa-pineda
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26