We have been focused on AI-driven biotech investments, and with our portfolio's growth and contributions to the life science industry, we are now building this fund to specifically focus on computational approaches to biological drug discovery and therapeutic delivery.

We have been focused on AI-driven biotech investments, and with our portfolio's growth and contributions to the life science industry, we are now building this fund to specifically focus on computational approaches to biological drug discovery and therapeutic delivery.

We have been focused on AI-driven biotech investments, and with our portfolio's growth and contributions to the life science industry, we are now building this fund to specifically focus on computational approaches to biological drug discovery and therapeutic delivery.

Philosophy

We invest in AI biotech companies that are capable of delivering real therapeutic solutions, designing and delivering therapeutic molecules for use in human patients—not just for simulation or exploration.

Philosophy

We invest in AI biotech companies that are capable of delivering real therapeutic solutions, designing and delivering therapeutic molecules for use in human patients—not just for simulation or exploration.

Philosophy

We invest in AI biotech companies that are capable of delivering real therapeutic solutions, designing and delivering therapeutic molecules for use in human patients—not just for simulation or exploration.

Team

We are a team of leading research scientists and top-tier industry experts. We identify the most promising computational biotechnology innovations emerging from university research labs. We partner with professors, strategic investors, and companies to accelerate the development of novel therapeutic products.
All of our venture partners are deeply engaged in the portfolio companies, contributing to R&D development, management, fundraising support, and recruiting experienced industry experts to join the early founding teams.

Georgia Lu

Managing Partner

Georgia Lu started her investment career from Cross-Border M&A in CITIC International Asset Management. She founded Magnet Ventures in 2016 and made her first investment in INNFOS, an early-stage robotics company. INNFOS was acquired by CloudMinds in 2018, with Georgia being lead investor and board director prior to acquisition. Subsequent biotech investments by Georgia included Flux Biosciences, HealthTensor, LiliumX, and AtomBioworks from 2018 to 2021.
In 2021, Georgia exited her second investment, Cloudminds, a unicorn robotics company. Following these consecutive exits, she decided to launched Magnet’s first biotech-AI focused fund. Georgia is passionate about working closely with startup founders to realize their vision through focused development, operations and fundraising resource and strategies. A seasoned M&A professional, Georgia has a deep network of corporate and institutional investors to leverage in order to help early stage companies scale.

Artem A. Trotsyuk

Investment Principal

Artem Trotsyuk is a bioengineer and computer scientist by training. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Davis where he studied human biology as well as communication and writing. After completing his undergrad, Artem launched his own consulting company that focused on developing and curating an "online voice" on social and web media for individual clients and industry partners. He then pursued his Master’s in Computer Science and PhD in Bioengineering at Stanford University where he focused on healthcare wearables, particularly the integration of AI and neural networks to develop closed-loop processing units. Prior to his position at Magnet, Artem was a founding member of the R42 Group, an early-stage investment firm specializing in biotechnology investment. Artem brings his extensive domain and investment experience to Magnet, where he helps our founders translate their vision a business success.

Shan X.
Wang

Venture Partner

Shan X. Wang, Ph.D., is the Leland T. Edwards Professor in the Engineering, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. He also holds courtesy appointments in Radiology. Wang specializes in biosensors, information storage and energy-efficient computing. His research and inventions span across a variety of areas including magnetic biochips, in vitro diagnostics, cancer biomarkers, binding kinetics, epigenetics, and personalized machine learning.

Dr. Wang holds 70 issued and pending patents that have been licensed to more than five companies. He is the scientific founder of MagArray Inc. and several other startups in Silicon Valley. He has published 320 articles, 2 books, and 9 book chapters. Dr. Wang is an inaugural Fred Terman Fellow at Stanford, a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Fellow of American Physical Society (APS), and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). His team won the Grand Challenge Exploration Award from Gates Foundation (2010), the XCHALLENGE Distinguished Award (2014), and the Bold Epic Innovator Award from the XPRIZE Foundation (2017). In 2018 MagArray launched a first of its kind lung cancer early diagnostic assay based on protein cancer biomarkers and support vector machine (SVM), which is now covered by Medicare. Through his leadership positions in the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence and the Joint University Microelectronics Program (JUMP), Dr. Wang is actively engaged in transformative healthcare and edge-computation research.

Nancy Chang

Venture Partner

Dr. Nancy Chang is a leading biochemist and entrepreneur who earned her Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School. She co-founded Tanox, where she spearheaded the development of groundbreaking treatments for immunological diseases like asthma, culminating in the launch of Xolair and a remarkable $919 million acquisition by Genentech. Beyond her entrepreneurial achievements, Dr. Chang led OrbiMed's Asia fund as chairman, demonstrating her investment acumen. Her career is distinguished by impactful research, including the development and commercialization of therapies for cancer, HIV, and inflammatory diseases. Notably, her work led to the creation of Trogarzo for HIV and lebrikizumab for atopic dermatitis, both of which have achieved FDA approval. Dr. Chang's contributions continue to shape the biotech landscape through her ongoing advisory and mentorship roles.

Darren Platt

Venture Partner

Darren Platt has spent his career at the intersection of Genetics and Computer Science, from his early days working on the first percent of the human genome to his current role as Chief Data Officer at Montage Bio. He has held diverse roles, from leading computing at the DOE's Joint Genome Institute to Head of Research at 23andMe when they first launched their product and 15 years designing microorganisms for biomanufacturing at Amyris and Demetrix. At Amyris, Darren oversaw Automation and Computing. At Demetrix, as President, he led the company as it progressed from zero lab space to metric tonne scale production in 4 years. At Exelixis, he developed one of the early computational genomics platforms for model organism-based target identification. He advises the yeast genome database as chair of their SAB, along with a range of companies involved in metabolic engineering, Antibody engineering, data management, small molecule development, and AI-driven fermentation.

Holding a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Darren's research has led to groundbreaking developments in genomic data analysis, DNA design languages,  Neanderthal DNA sequencing, and various patents covering a wide range of computational molecular biology and bioproduction techniques.

Alicia Chung

Venture Advisor

Alicia Chung has spent her career in the biotechnology industry spanning drug discovery, clinical development, commercial, corporate/business development and alliance management.  Most recently the SVP of Strategy and Business Development at Bionaut Labs, she led business development, financing and program strategy activities for a first-of-its-kind micro-robotic therapeutics company.  Prior to that, she served as Head of Corporate Development at Amphivena Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, and led Strategy and Business Development at Halozyme Therapeutics where she established strategic partnerships with pharma and biotech partners. Alicia began her career at Roche-Genentech, where she completed her post-doctoral training and held positions of increasing responsibility in oncology R&D, commercial and business development, leading asset in-licensing and M&A for the immunotherapy, oncology and hematology franchises. She advises innovation-focused biotechs, leveraging her industry track record and network to support founders with portfolio/business planning, fundraising and strategic partnerships.  

Alicia obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Brown University.

Team

We are a team of leading research scientists and top-tier industry experts. We identify the most promising computational biotechnology innovations emerging from university research labs. We partner with professors, strategic investors, and companies to accelerate the development of novel therapeutic products.
All of our venture partners are deeply engaged in the portfolio companies, contributing to R&D development, management, fundraising support, and recruiting experienced industry experts to join the early founding teams.

Georgia
Lu

Managing Partner

Georgia Lu started her investment career from Cross-Border M&A in CITIC International Asset Management. She founded Magnet Ventures in 2016 and made her first investment in INNFOS, an early-stage robotics company. INNFOS was acquired by CloudMinds in 2018, with Georgia being lead investor and board director prior to acquisition. Subsequent biotech investments by Georgia included Flux Biosciences, HealthTensor, LiliumX, and AtomBioworks from 2018 to 2021.
In 2021, Georgia exited her second investment, Cloudminds, a unicorn robotics company. Following these consecutive exits, she decided to launched Magnet’s first biotech-AI focused fund. Georgia is passionate about working closely with startup founders to realize their vision through focused development, operations and fundraising resource and strategies. A seasoned M&A professional, Georgia has a deep network of corporate and institutional investors to leverage in order to help early stage companies scale.

Shan X.
Wang

Science Advisor

Shan X. Wang, Ph.D., is the Leland T. Edwards Professor in the Engineering, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. He also holds courtesy appointments in Radiology. Wang specializes in biosensors, information storage and energy-efficient computing. His research and inventions span across a variety of areas including magnetic biochips, in vitro diagnostics, cancer biomarkers, binding kinetics, epigenetics, and personalized machine learning.

Dr. Wang holds 70 issued and pending patents that have been licensed to more than five companies. He is the scientific founder of MagArray Inc. and several other startups in Silicon Valley. He has published 320 articles, 2 books, and 9 book chapters. Dr. Wang is an inaugural Fred Terman Fellow at Stanford, a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Fellow of American Physical Society (APS), and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). His team won the Grand Challenge Exploration Award from Gates Foundation (2010), the XCHALLENGE Distinguished Award (2014), and the Bold Epic Innovator Award from the XPRIZE Foundation (2017). In 2018 MagArray launched a first of its kind lung cancer early diagnostic assay based on protein cancer biomarkers and support vector machine (SVM), which is now covered by Medicare. Through his leadership positions in the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence and the Joint University Microelectronics Program (JUMP), Dr. Wang is actively engaged in transformative healthcare and edge-computation research.

Nancy
Chang

Venture Partner

Dr. Nancy Chang is a leading biochemist and entrepreneur who earned her Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School. She co-founded Tanox, where she spearheaded the development of groundbreaking treatments for immunological diseases like asthma, culminating in the launch of Xolair and a remarkable $919 million acquisition by Genentech. Beyond her entrepreneurial achievements, Dr. Chang led OrbiMed's Asia fund as chairman, demonstrating her investment acumen. Her career is distinguished by impactful research, including the development and commercialization of therapies for cancer, HIV, and inflammatory diseases. Notably, her work led to the creation of Trogarzo for HIV and lebrikizumab for atopic dermatitis, both of which have achieved FDA approval. Dr. Chang's contributions continue to shape the biotech landscape through her ongoing advisory and mentorship roles.

Darren
Platt

Venture Partner

Darren Platt has spent his career at the intersection of Genetics and Computer Science, from his early days working on the first percent of the human genome to his current role as Chief Data Officer at Montage Bio. He has held diverse roles, from leading computing at the DOE's Joint Genome Institute to Head of Research at 23andMe when they first launched their product and 15 years designing microorganisms for biomanufacturing at Amyris and Demetrix. At Amyris, Darren oversaw Automation and Computing. At Demetrix, as President, he led the company as it progressed from zero lab space to metric tonne scale production in 4 years. At Exelixis, he developed one of the early computational genomics platforms for model organism-based target identification. He advises the yeast genome database as chair of their SAB, along with a range of companies involved in metabolic engineering, Antibody engineering, data management, small molecule development, and AI-driven fermentation.

Holding a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Darren's research has led to groundbreaking developments in genomic data analysis, DNA design languages,  Neanderthal DNA sequencing, and various patents covering a wide range of computational molecular biology and bioproduction techniques.

Alicia
Chung

Venture Advisor

Alicia Chung has spent her career in the biotechnology industry spanning drug discovery, clinical development, commercial, corporate/business development and alliance management.  Most recently the SVP of Strategy and Business Development at Bionaut Labs, she led business development, financing and program strategy activities for a first-of-its-kind micro-robotic therapeutics company.  Prior to that, she served as Head of Corporate Development at Amphivena Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, and led Strategy and Business Development at Halozyme Therapeutics where she established strategic partnerships with pharma and biotech partners. Alicia began her career at Roche-Genentech, where she completed her post-doctoral training and held positions of increasing responsibility in oncology R&D, commercial and business development, leading asset in-licensing and M&A for the immunotherapy, oncology and hematology franchises. She advises innovation-focused biotechs, leveraging her industry track record and network to support founders with portfolio/business planning, fundraising and strategic partnerships.

Alicia obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Brown University.

Team

We are a team of leading research scientists and top-tier industry experts. We identify the most promising computational biotechnology innovations emerging from university research labs. We partner with professors, strategic investors, and companies to accelerate the development of novel therapeutic products.
All of our venture partners are deeply engaged in the portfolio companies, contributing to R&D development, management, fundraising support, and recruiting experienced industry experts to join the early founding teams.

Georgia
Lu

Managing Partner

Georgia Lu started her investment career from Cross-Border M&A in CITIC International Asset Management. She founded Magnet Ventures in 2016 and made her first investment in INNFOS, an early-stage robotics company. INNFOS was acquired by CloudMinds in 2018, with Georgia being lead investor and board director prior to acquisition. Subsequent biotech investments by Georgia included Flux Biosciences, HealthTensor, LiliumX, and AtomBioworks from 2018 to 2021.
In 2021, Georgia exited her second investment, Cloudminds, a unicorn robotics company. Following these consecutive exits, she decided to launched Magnet’s first biotech-AI focused fund. Georgia is passionate about working closely with startup founders to realize their vision through focused development, operations and fundraising resource and strategies. A seasoned M&A professional, Georgia has a deep network of corporate and institutional investors to leverage in order to help early stage companies scale.

Artem A. Trotsyuk

Investment Principal

Artem Trotsyuk is a bioengineer and computer scientist by training. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Davis where he studied human biology as well as communication and writing. After completing his undergrad, Artem launched his own consulting company that focused on developing and curating an "online voice" on social and web media for individual clients and industry partners. He then pursued his Master’s in Computer Science and PhD in Bioengineering at Stanford University where he focused on healthcare wearables, particularly the integration of AI and neural networks to develop closed-loop processing units. Prior to his position at Magnet, Artem was a founding member of the R42 Group, an early-stage investment firm specializing in biotechnology investment. Artem brings his extensive domain and investment experience to Magnet, where he helps our founders translate their vision a business success.

Shan X.
Wang

Venture Partner

Shan X. Wang, Ph.D., is the Leland T. Edwards Professor in the Engineering, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. He also holds courtesy appointments in Radiology. Wang specializes in biosensors, information storage and energy-efficient computing. His research and inventions span across a variety of areas including magnetic biochips, in vitro diagnostics, cancer biomarkers, binding kinetics, epigenetics, and personalized machine learning.

Dr. Wang holds 70 issued and pending patents that have been licensed to more than five companies. He is the scientific founder of MagArray Inc. and several other startups in Silicon Valley. He has published 320 articles, 2 books, and 9 book chapters. Dr. Wang is an inaugural Fred Terman Fellow at Stanford, a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Fellow of American Physical Society (APS), and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). His team won the Grand Challenge Exploration Award from Gates Foundation (2010), the XCHALLENGE Distinguished Award (2014), and the Bold Epic Innovator Award from the XPRIZE Foundation (2017). In 2018 MagArray launched a first of its kind lung cancer early diagnostic assay based on protein cancer biomarkers and support vector machine (SVM), which is now covered by Medicare. Through his leadership positions in the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence and the Joint University Microelectronics Program (JUMP), Dr. Wang is actively engaged in transformative healthcare and edge-computation research.

Richard Heller

Portfolio Management Advisor

Richard Heller, with his legal background and deep-seated expertise in investments, is a pivotal addition to Magnet Venture. His tenure at Thompson Hine and strategic involvement with the Cooper Family Office underscore his professional acumen. Renowned for his work in securities and investment law, Richard's guidance is especially beneficial for early-stage portfolio companies navigating complex legal and investment landscapes. His role at Magnet Venture is instrumental in fortifying our portfolio with robust legal strategies and investment insights.

Nancy
Chang

Venture Partner

Dr. Nancy Chang is a leading biochemist and entrepreneur who earned her Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School. She co-founded Tanox, where she spearheaded the development of groundbreaking treatments for immunological diseases like asthma, culminating in the launch of Xolair and a remarkable $919 million acquisition by Genentech. Beyond her entrepreneurial achievements, Dr. Chang led OrbiMed's Asia fund as chairman, demonstrating her investment acumen. Her career is distinguished by impactful research, including the development and commercialization of therapies for cancer, HIV, and inflammatory diseases. Notably, her work led to the creation of Trogarzo for HIV and lebrikizumab for atopic dermatitis, both of which have achieved FDA approval. Dr. Chang's contributions continue to shape the biotech landscape through her ongoing advisory and mentorship roles.

Richard Heller

Portfolio Management Advisor

Richard Heller, with his legal background and deep-seated expertise in investments, is a pivotal addition to Magnet Venture. His tenure at Thompson Hine and strategic involvement with the Cooper Family Office underscore his professional acumen. Renowned for his work in securities and investment law, Richard's guidance is especially beneficial for early-stage portfolio companies navigating complex legal and investment landscapes. His role at Magnet Venture is instrumental in fortifying our portfolio with robust legal strategies and investment insights.

Darren
Platt

Venture Partner

Darren Platt has spent his career at the intersection of Genetics and Computer Science, from his early days working on the first percent of the human genome to his current role as Chief Data Officer at Montage Bio. He has held diverse roles, from leading computing at the DOE's Joint Genome Institute to Head of Research at 23andMe when they first launched their product and 15 years designing microorganisms for biomanufacturing at Amyris and Demetrix. At Amyris, Darren oversaw Automation and Computing. At Demetrix, as President, he led the company as it progressed from zero lab space to metric tonne scale production in 4 years. At Exelixis, he developed one of the early computational genomics platforms for model organism-based target identification. He advises the yeast genome database as chair of their SAB, along with a range of companies involved in metabolic engineering, Antibody engineering, data management, small molecule development, and AI-driven fermentation.

Holding a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Darren's research has led to groundbreaking developments in genomic data analysis, DNA design languages,  Neanderthal DNA sequencing, and various patents covering a wide range of computational molecular biology and bioproduction techniques.

Richard Heller

Portfolio Management Advisor

Richard Heller, with his legal background and deep-seated expertise in investments, is a pivotal addition to Magnet Venture. His tenure at Thompson Hine and strategic involvement with the Cooper Family Office underscore his professional acumen. Renowned for his work in securities and investment law, Richard's guidance is especially beneficial for early-stage portfolio companies navigating complex legal and investment landscapes. His role at Magnet Venture is instrumental in fortifying our portfolio with robust legal strategies and investment insights.

Alicia
Chung

Venture Advisor

Alicia Chung has spent her career in the biotechnology industry spanning drug discovery, clinical development, commercial, corporate/business development and alliance management.  Most recently the SVP of Strategy and Business Development at Bionaut Labs, she led business development, financing and program strategy activities for a first-of-its-kind micro-robotic therapeutics company.  Prior to that, she served as Head of Corporate Development at Amphivena Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, and led Strategy and Business Development at Halozyme Therapeutics where she established strategic partnerships with pharma and biotech partners. Alicia began her career at Roche-Genentech, where she completed her post-doctoral training and held positions of increasing responsibility in oncology R&D, commercial and business development, leading asset in-licensing and M&A for the immunotherapy, oncology and hematology franchises. She advises innovation-focused biotechs, leveraging her industry track record and network to support founders with portfolio/business planning, fundraising and strategic partnerships.  

Alicia obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Brown University.

Contact us

Do you have an idea that you are passionate about and are looking for partners to help with? We would love to sit down and hear more about your vision and see how we can help make your dream a reality.
Contact Us

Contact Us

Do you have an idea that you are passionate about and are looking for partners to help with? We would love to sit down and hear more about your vision and see how we can help make your dream a reality.
Contact Us

Contact Us

Do you have an idea that you are passionate about and are looking for partners to help with? We would love to sit down and hear more about your vision and see how we can help make your dream a reality.
Contact Us