Rally pitch contest winner secures $5M investment
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Massachusetts-based Biometry Inc., which was among the five winners of Elevate Ventures’ 2023 IN-Prize pitch contest, has established a presence in central Indiana and recently secured $5 million in venture funding.
The company, which does business as myBiometry, is developing a noninvasive breath test that helps patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease monitor their conditions and prevent flare-ups.
MyBiometry announced this month that it has closed on a $5 million seed round led by Dexcom Ventures, which is the venture investment arm of San Diego-based glucose monitor maker Dexcom Inc.
Other investors in the round include Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures and Caresource Indiana, which is part of Dayton, Ohio-based nonprofit managed care organization Caresource.
The round was oversubscribed, meaning that myBiometry was able to raise more money than it had originally planned because of strong investor interest. The original fundraising target had been $3 million, said co-founder and CEO Bryan Nolan.
The funding round actually closed in late August but myBiometry held off on announcing the news until after the Nov. 5 election.
Elevate Ventures’ investment in myBiometry is associated with the company’s participation in the IN-Prize pitch contest, which debuted last year at Elevate Ventures’ Rally innovation conference in Indianapolis. Both last year and this year, five companies won the pitch contest, which came with a chance at up to $1 million in funding for each winner—including up to $500,000 from Elevate Ventures.
The goal of the pitch contest, and of Rally in general, is to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Indiana and to attract new business to the state. So, to receive Elevate Ventures funding, IN-Prize winners must agree to establish a “significant presence” in Indiana for at least a year. The contest rules define “significant presence” as having at least one full-time company executive or founder living in the state and at least one physical office or active co-working space membership within Indiana.
Currently, Nolan said, two of myBiometry’s eight employees work in Carmel. Nolan said he anticipates ramping up the company’s Indiana workforce over time.
The company is still working to secure approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its technology. If all goes as hoped, Nolan said, myBiometry could be ready to hit the market with its product in late 2025 or early 2026.
The company is handling manufacturing at its Lowell, Massachusetts, headquarters for now, Nolan said, but that space is only set up for small-scale production. Once commercial production begins, myBiometry will likely shift manufacturing to Indiana—though the company intends to keep its headquarters in Massachusetts.
In addition to the prize money, Nolan said, participating in the Rally pitch contest was useful for the exposure opportunities it provided.
“It’s really just elevating the presence of the company,” he said. “You know, we’re a small company, so we need to create opportunities to be visible in the investment community.”
