Our Investment Priorities
Health of People
– Children’s health
– Chronic physical conditions in later life
– The adult brain
– Immune and digestive health
– Reproductive health
– Women’s health
– New models of health care
– Innovations in enabling technologies in health
Health of Planet
– Biomaterials and biochemicals
– Biodiversity, regeneration and nature-based solutions
– Heating and cooling
– Deep decarbonisation
– Critical minerals
– Pollutants
– Innovations in enabling technologies in environment
Improving the Health of People
We back exceptional founders whose mission lies in one of these priority areas:
Children's Health
Children's Health
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– Brain development
– Allergies and immunology
– Respiratory diseases
– Hormonal conditions
Chronic Physical Conditions in Later Life
Chronic Physical Conditions in Later Life
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– Respiratory disease
– Cardio-vascular disease
– Sensory loss
– Frailty
– Kidney disease
– Hypertension
– Multi-morbidity
The Adult Brain
The Adult Brain
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– Pain
– Migraine
– Neurodegenerative diseases
– Strokes
– Severe mental illness
– Addiction
– Brain injuries
Immune and digestive health
Immune and digestive health
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– Immune system engineering
– Auto-immune diseases
– Microbiome and gut health
– Cutting edge nutritional science
Reproductive Health
Reproductive Health
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– Perinatal care
– Effectiveness of fertility treatments
– Male Infertility
Women's Health
Women's Health
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– Improved diagnosis of female-specific conditions, eg HPV, reproductive health,
– Non-invasive therapies and monitoring
– Regenerative technologies, tissues and biomaterials
– Female experience of chronic conditions – cardiovascular disease etc
– Female infertility and hormonal health
– Artificial incubation and robotics based solutions
New Models of Health Care
New Models of Health Care
We want to back founders with missions in these areas, especially where they improve health care for disadvantaged and underserved groups:
– Diagnosis, detection, prediction and monitoring
– Precision-medicine
– Integrated medical services for people with multiple chronic conditions
– Remote delivery of care, including hospitals at home and virtual collaboration
– Platform solutions that integrate point solutions from separate providers
– Overcoming skill shortages through automation and augmentation
– Self-management of conditions by patients and their families.
Innovations in Enabling Technologies
Innovations in Enabling Technologies
We want to back founders to apply general innovations in these technologies which impact on one or more missions in our other seven priority areas in health:
– Internet of Medical Things
– Bioinformatics
– Genomics and other -omics
– Molecular and cellular medicine
– Assistive technologies
– Synthetic biology
– Immunoengineering
– Imaging and computer vision
Improving the Health of The Planet
We back exceptional founders whose mission lies in one of these priority areas:
Biomaterials and Biochemicals
Biomaterials and Biochemicals
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– New material development
– Alternative materials in construction
– Bioplastics and biopolymers
– Precision fermentation-based solutions
Biodiversity, regeneration and nature-based solutions
Biodiversity, regeneration and nature-based solutions
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– Bio controls in agriculture
– Natural carbon stores
– Regenerative agriculture
– Restoration of biodiversity and soil health
– Bio-geoengineering
– Natural capital economy
Heating and Cooling
Heating and Cooling
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– Industrial heating and cooling
– Electrification of heat sources
– Thermal energy storage and distribution
– Radiative and convection insulation technologies
– Extreme temperatures due to climate change
Deep Decarbonisation
Deep Decarbonisation
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– High temperature process heat
– Green hydrogen and ammonia production, storage, transportation and use
– Concrete decarbonisation (concrete replacement and additives)
– Low-carbon steel and metallurgy
– Industrial process optimisation
Critical Minerals
Critical Minerals
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– Critical mineral recovery
– Battery and electrolyser recycling
– Brine processing
– Biomining
– Advanced mining processes
Pollutants
Pollutants
We want to back founders with missions in these areas:
– Replacing harmful chemicals
– Persistent organic pollutants
– Novel filtration
– Tyre emissions
– Indoor pollution
Innovations in Enabling Technologies
Innovations in Enabling Technologies
We want to back founders to apply general innovations in these technologies to impact on one or more missions in our other six priority areas for the environment:
– Genomics and genetic engineering and editing
– Electro-chemistry
– Molecular and cellular engineering
– Bioinformatics
– Microbial engineering
Founders Who Built Their Business at Zinc
Sterling Bio Machines
Sterling Bio Machines is an early-stage biotechnology startup on a mission to develop a novel bioreactor system that will revolutionise how biomanufacturing processes operate and scale and enable the manufacture of entirely new products that can’t currently be made in existing systems.
Sterling’s co-founders, Steve Goldenberg (CEO and 3x founder) and Akshaya Ahuja (CTO and mechanical engineer), met in Zinc’s Venture Builder. They were united by a passion for driving positive environmental impact at an enormous scale and a desire to develop a truly novel science-based solution to a huge technical challenge.
Vira Health
Vira Health’s mission is to make high-quality personalised menopause care accessible to all women. Founders Andrea Berchowitz and Rebecca Love met on Zinc’s Venture Builder focussed on helping people to live mentally and physically healthier lives, for longer.
Vira’s online clinic and app-based lifestyle support has been designed to improve women’s health outcomes. Their personalised app, Stella, supports behaviour change to manage the various symptoms associated with menopause and reduce their severity, combined with an online clinic to help to make specialist care more accessible.
