Ada Ventures

🏥 I am delighted to share that Ada Ventures have backed Juno Bio as lead investor as they open their new CLIA lab, as part of their $3.8M round. Proud to be on this journey alongside Artesian (Alternative Investments), Entrepreneurs First, and Illumina Accelerator.  Today they have announced the opening of its first sequencing lab built entirely for women’s health. The new facility, based in Oakland, California, marks a major step forward in expanding access to high-quality, clinically relevant microbiome testing. Using next-generation sequencing, Juno Bio’s platform delivers a detailed, clinically actionable view of vaginal health, equipping patients and healthcare providers with deeper insights into conditions that are often misunderstood or misdiagnosed. Hana Janebdar and Leighton Turner have pioneered a new standard of care for vaginal microbiome health, building one of the largest repositories of vaginal microbiome data and helping thousands of women access more precise testing and treatment. The company has sold more than 20,000 tests organically and evolved into a clinical platform, expanding its scientific and clinical infrastructure through pharmaceutical R&D partnerships, its own clinical lab, telehealth and pharmacy integrations, and a growing network of medical advisors, including Anna Powell, MD of Johns Hopkins, specialising in reproductive infectious disease and vulvovaginal disorders. Juno Bio’s original wellness test helped tens of thousands of people better understand their vaginal microbiome. The test is currently available in 46 states, with additional expansion planned. https://www.juno.bio/ 👇 Head to the comments to read the story in Axios and Tech.eu

Six years ago, Ada made a bet: that the people best placed to spot the founders of the future aren't always the ones already inside venture. Today, two women who came through Ada's network are running their own funds, backed by the British Business Bank. Huge congratulations to Mandy Nyarko MBE (Future Impact Ventures), who came through our Ada Angels programme, and Deborah Okenla (FirstDoor VC), an Ada Scout who sourced companies for us including Bubble. They're two of the 10 first-time managers the BBB is backing with up to £90m through its new Investor Pathways Capital programme. In 2023, our Women in UK VC report found that just 7p of every £1 raised in UK venture goes to all-women-owned firms, and that all-male-owned firms raised more than 10x the capital of all-women-owned ones. This cohort is a important intervention: 57% women GPs, 43% from ethnic minority backgrounds, chosen from 151 applications. To Mandy, Deborah, and all 10 new funds (Evertrue Capital, Common Ventures, Openseed VC, The Tech Bros, Almanac Ventures, Future Impact Ventures, Blue Lake VC, FirstDoor VC, Mustard Seed and Twin Track Ventures), congratulations, this is what changing the system actually looks like.

In a recent interview with TechSavvy Media - leading Nordic innovation, Matt Penneycard, GP at Ada Ventures, described the UK as "a British version of Silicon Valley in the 90s", with a capital ecosystem second only to the US and one of the world's highest concentrations of technical talent. The comparison highlights why the connection between the UK and the Nordics is becoming increasingly valuable for founders building global companies. The UK offers one of the world's deepest density of venture capital, talent and scaling expertise. The Nordics continue to produce technical talent and globally ambitious companies. At Ada, we are increasingly seeing opportunities emerge across both ecosystems. This year, Ada invested in Danish company Alcolase, expanded its scout presence across the Nordics and hosted a hackathon in Norway with Startuplab and The Foundry (congrats Jenz.ai 💥 ). The scout network now covers UK, Ireland and the Nordics, and has found 19 investments so far. For Nordic founders, access to both ecosystems can be a powerful combination 🇬🇧 🇩🇰 🇳🇴 🇸🇪 🇫🇮 Link in the comment.

The technologies that will define the next decade are being built today, and we're excited to share that MatNex has been selected as a 2026 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. The Technology Pioneers community brings together 100 of the world's most promising start-ups across AI, energy, advanced manufacturing, health, space, and the bioeconomy. These companies are not only solving critical global challenges, they are creating entirely new industries and reshaping existing ones. At MatNex, we're building the infrastructure for a new era of materials innovation. By making materials programmable through AI, we believe the discovery and deployment of next-generation materials can move at software speed, unlocking breakthroughs across energy, semiconductors, manufacturing, and critical supply chains. As part of this, I'll be speaking at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions ("Summer Davos") in China, joining senior business leaders, policymakers, and technology innovators to discuss how programmable materials can become a foundational technology for the next industrial revolution. We're honoured to contribute to a community shaping the future of global industry, and we're only at the beginning of what's possible. Many thanks for the recognition Aline Pognonec, Ella Yutong Lin, Verena Kuhn, Michelle Mormont, Larry Fink, Jim Hagemann Snabe, Joe Kaeser, André Hoffmann, Klaus Schwab! Learn more about the 2026 Technology Pioneers: #TechPioneers26 #Innovation #AI #DeepTech #InnovateScaleImpact https://lnkd.in/dmVhVe2F