Madrona

Don't wait. Even if AI reasoning capabilities stand still (they won't), there are years of agent innovation ahead! As Madrona Partner Jon Turow shared earlier this week, AI agents feel stuck in first gear —?just a few products in a few categories today work reliably and have a large scale of adoption. But there has been a ton of innovation beneath the surface that will unstick builders/founders in 2025 and enable new use cases. Read his blog post for Jon's take on why it all matters and the opportunities he sees for founders: https://lnkd.in/gew-DsyR

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We are thrilled to announce Madrona's investment and the official launch of Aizen Therapeutics. We invested alongside our friends at Wilson Hill Ventures and Cercano to form the initial investing syndicate. We were lucky to have met founder David Van Valen, M.D. Ph.D. and founding CEO Ajay Kshatriya early in their company-building journey and to partner with them from day one. Aizen is taking on the challenge of designing and developing Mirror Peptides with its novel drug discovery platform DaX - an AI-based platform for exploring, designing, and optimizing D-amino acid-based therapeutics. This platform emerged from research in Dr. Van Valen's lab at Caltech, which has long focused on developing leading AI approaches to challenging problems in biology. Aizen represents another true day one investment for Madrona and our first investment in a Caltech spinout. We are always excited to partner with incredible founding teams at the beginning of their journey and help them achieve their visions from the start. Read our blog by Partner Chris Picardo and Investor Joseph Horsman for more details about why we invested and why we are so excited about Aizen's vision and their cutting-edge approach to developing mirror peptides: https://lnkd.in/gHGTaKw2

Excited to share the latest episode of Founded & Funded, where my Co-Founder James Lazarovits and Madrona Partner Chris Picardo discuss our journey in starting Archon Biosciences and the work we’re doing to redefine what’s possible in biotechnology. After years of research & development at the Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, it’s incredible to see our vision for Archon come to life — combining cutting-edge protein design and AI to tackle some of the most complex challenges in medicine. In this episode, Jamie shares: 1) What Antibody Cages (AbCs) are and how they are transforming drug design 2) Lessons on picking a complementary co-founder and translating research into real-world impact 3) The importance of seeking the right help and focusing on the right problems If you’re curious about what’s next in protein design — or want to hear how we’re turning protein design concepts into real drug development solutions — you'll want to be sure to check this episode out! Listen or watch wherever you get your podcasts: YouTube: https://bit.ly/48Jhj0p Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3UOAct5 Apple: https://apple.co/40Fxbio Amazon: https://amzn.to/4fL2sVj Full Transcript: https://bit.ly/40Ljuyy

Archon Biosciences's James Lazarovits joined the latest episode of Founded & Funded to share his journey from academic research to launching an AI+biotech company. Madrona Partner Jon Turow dives into the world of AI agents, sharing the opportunities for founders to build transformative tools and critical infrastructure in 2025. Plus, catch Jon at the Cerebral Valley AI Summit in SF tomorrow, discussing agents that reason.?On the portfolio front, Amperity and iSpot.tv named new C-level executives, Read AI announced an integration with Notion, Observe, Inc. launched Kubernetes Explorer, and so much more.

We’ve been fortunate to partner with incredible teams innovating in this space and can’t wait to see how innovation in 2025 takes shape!! If you’re building in AI agents or infrastructure, be sure to connect with Madrona Partner Jon Turow!

The work of (Art)ificial Intelligence is back. From Madrona’s IA Summit, we transform ideas from the top minds in AI into art. Stay tuned for season two. Feat: Barry McCardel, Hex, Ben Van Roo, Yurts, Betsabeh Madani-Hermann, Philips, Cody Coleman, Coactive AI, Div Garg, MultiOn, Doug Tallmadge, Gradial, Edward Wu, Dropzone AI, Esha Joshi, Yoodli AI Communication Coach, Gennady Pekhimenko, CentML, Guru Hariharan, CommerceIQ, Jacob Solawetz, Arcee.ai, Laurie Yoler, Playground Global, Matan Grinberg, Factory, Muddu Sudhakar, Aisera, Robert Bradley, Synthesize Bio, Saurabh Baji, Cohere, S. Somasegar, Tullie Murrell, Shaped, Tyler Xuan Saltsman, EdgeRunner AI

How do you turn groundbreaking academic research into a biotech company poised to transform medicine? In this week’s Founded & Funded, Madrona Partner Chris Picardo sits down with James Lazarovits, CEO and co-founder of Archon Biosciences, to explore that and so much more. While sharing how Archon spun its revolutionary Antibody Cage (AbC) technology out of the Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Jamie discusses tackling the complexities of commercializing science, finding the right co-founder, building a strong foundation before scaling, and partnering with investors who align with your mission. This episode is packed with actionable insights for any founder — it isn’t just a story for biotech enthusiasts. Listen or watch wherever you get your podcasts: YouTube: bit.ly/48Jhj0p Spotify: spoti.fi/3UOAct5 Apple: apple.co/40Fxbio Amazon: amzn.to/4fL2sVj Full Transcript: bit.ly/40Ljuyy

What does it take to move from cutting-edge academic research to launching a biotech company that could transform medicine? In this week’s episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Partner Chris Picardo sat down with James Lazarovits, CEO and co-founder of Archon Biosciences, to uncover the story behind their groundbreaking protein-based biologics and their unique Antibody Cages (AbCs). From bootstrapping deep tech investments as a student to navigating the challenges of commercializing revolutionary science, Jamie shares the pivotal moments, tough decisions, and key lessons that led to Archon’s creation. This isn’t just a story for biotech enthusiasts—every founder can take away valuable insights on: 1) Asking for help and building teams with complementary skills — no founder succeeds alone. 2) Applying AI thoughtfully — it’s a tool, not a magic wand. 3) Patience — ensure your foundation is strong before scaling. 4) Partnering with investors you trust and who align with your mission. 5) Setting a high bar for talent and culture — great people build great companies. 6) Communicating your differentiation — make your value clear to all stakeholders. If you’re curious about what’s next for medicine—or just looking for inspiration to take bold ideas to the next level—this episode is a must-listen. YouTube: bit.ly/48Jhj0p Spotify: spoti.fi/3UOAct5 Apple: apple.co/40Fxbio Amazon: amzn.to/4fL2sVj Full Transcript: bit.ly/40Ljuyy