Granata Bio is a Boston-based biopharmaceutical company building a portfolio of fertility and reproductive-health therapies. Founded in 2018, it in-licenses and develops medications used in IVF outside the US, runs its own clinical programs, and is expanding into ovarian biology. Its lead asset is an investigational human menopausal gonadotropin in the pivotal Phase III GRACE study, and its 2025 acquisition of Oviva Therapeutics added a first-in-class therapeutic aimed at extending ovarian function. The company targets the multi-billion-dollar global infertility medication market with the goal of expanding patient access and improving IVF outcomes.
Angela Rastegar is the co-founder and CEO of Sunfish, a Los Angeles fertility-finance company that treats the cost of building a family as a problem worth engineering around. After a 2016 egg-freezing attempt left her facing a confusing, expensive and isolating bill with no insurance to lean on, she went to work inside the fertility industry, watched patients drain 401(k)s and sell engagement rings, and then built a platform of loans, grants, guidance and a money-back IVF Success Program priced off a patient's own biodata. A two-time founder with a Stanford biology degree and a Stanford MBA, she raised a $10M Series A in early 2025 and put a refund guarantee at the center of an industry that has long charged for attempts rather than outcomes.
Nucleus Genomics is a New York-based consumer genomics company that sells a $399 at-home, clinical-grade whole-genome sequencing kit and a software platform that turns a person's full DNA sequence into readable reports on disease risk, carrier status, traits, and longevity. Founded in 2021 by Thiel Fellow Kian Sadeghi, Nucleus pairs whole-genome data with polygenic risk scores and lifestyle inputs to estimate risk for common, complex conditions. In 2025 it expanded into reproductive products - carrier screening, partner DNA alignment, and a controversial embryo-ranking tool, Nucleus Embryo - that put the company at the center of a public debate over the science and ethics of genetic selection.
Evan Sussman is the co-founder and CEO of Granata Bio, a Boston-based biopharma company expanding access to fertility care by in-licensing IVF medications proven abroad and bringing them through U.S. clinical development and commercialization. A former fertility business unit head at EMD Serono, he built Granata to be revenue-positive early through a fee-for-service model, then raised a $14M Series A led by GV (Google Ventures), extended it, acquired ovarian-aging biotech Oviva Therapeutics, and struck a strategic investment and co-development deal with Gedeon Richter.
Alife Health is a San Francisco-based health technology company building AI-powered software for IVF clinics. Its platform helps embryologists grade embryos, helps reproductive endocrinologists time ovarian stimulation, and helps clinics streamline scheduling and patient communication - all aimed at improving outcomes and lowering the cost of fertility care.
Orchid is a reproductive genetics company offering the first commercially available whole-genome sequencing test for IVF embryos. Founded by Noor Siddiqui in 2019, Orchid reads more than 99% of an embryo's genome before implantation and screens for over 1,200 monogenic conditions, chromosomal abnormalities, de novo mutations, and polygenic disease risk - so prospective parents can make informed choices before pregnancy begins.
Noor Siddiqui is the founder and CEO of Orchid Health, a San Francisco-based biotech startup offering whole-genome sequencing for IVF embryos, screening for 1,200+ genetic variants. Motivated by watching her mother lose her sight to retinitis pigmentosa, she dropped out of high school at 17 to become one of the youngest Thiel Fellows, later returned to earn dual CS degrees at Stanford, and then built Orchid with $16.5M in funding from investors including 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki and Coinbase's Brian Armstrong. She is also the host of the podcast 'Conceivable with Noor.'
Paxton Maeder-York is the founder of Alife Health, an AI platform for IVF clinics that has raised $31.5M and raised the standard for data-driven fertility care. A Harvard-trained biomedical engineer and MBA, he previously helped build surgical robotics at Auris Health (acquired by J&J for $3.4B) and worked in product at Google X. In 2020, driven in part by the fact that his younger brother is an IVF baby, he founded Alife to apply machine learning to embryo selection, hormone dosing, and lab scheduling. By 2024 the company had launched five products, earned recognition from Fast Company and the World Economic Forum, and achieved a leadership transition - Paxton stepping into a board role as Melissa Teran took the CEO seat.