Altitude Lab announced the launch of a $2.5 million pre-seed venture fund to support early-stage biotechnology startups impacted by recent federal funding policy shifts. The Altitude Lab Fund (ALF) aims to bridge critical funding gaps for startups undergoing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) review process but now face delays or uncertainties due to policy changes. With approximately $4.5 billion in annual SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) obligations, federal grants have historically been a cornerstone of biotech innovation.
However, recent policy changes have placed an estimated 1,500 health-related startups in limbo, threatening critical advancements in medicine, drug development, and diagnostics. ALF will provide qualified startups between $100,000 and $250,000 in pre-seed investment capital, 12 months of lab and office space, and admission to Altitude Lab’s competitive accelerator program. The program includes exclusive mentorship with leading industry executives and access to top-tier national funds.
Chris Gibson, Ph.D., CEO of Recursion and Altitude Lab board chairperson, shared the importance of early-stage funding: “Earning our early SBIRs was a pivotal moment for Recursion.
Funding gaps for biotech startups
The few million dollars that came in via the SBIR mechanism in our early years allowed us to build the fundamentals of our platform, upon which we have now raised over $1B in private investment to turn Recursion into a $4B publicly traded company with eight therapeutics in clinical development.
David Bearss from Halia Therapeutics has joined as an anchor LP alongside Chandana Haque and Chris Gibson to put the fund together.
The fund aims to support companies currently waiting for SBIR funds and experiencing a funding gap. “Federal funding disruptions are stalling groundbreaking biotech research,” said Chandana Haque, executive director of Altitude Lab. With this fund, we are doing our small part to help secure the future of biotech innovation in America, to build the ecosystem of life science companies around Recursion in Salt Lake City, and also ensure that the best female and underrepresented founders—who receive only 15% of SBIR funding and 3% of venture capital—have an opportunity to build the next great biotech.
Salt Lake City has emerged as a national biotechnology hub, with Altitude Lab startups securing over 50% of Utah’s early-stage life science investment, totaling $154 million from 2020 to 2024.
With its pre-seed fund, Altitude Lab is capitalizing on this momentum by actively recruiting top startups nationwide to relocate and join its program. The fund is open to startups with an Impact Score of 20 or lower on a recent SBIR submission. By creating the Altitude Lab Fund, Altitude Lab demonstrates its commitment to fostering innovation and supporting the biotech community through these transitional times.
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