Newly launched $10M fund makes early-stage investments in Penn spinout companies.

The Office of the Chief Innovation Officer (OCINO) at the University of Pennsylvania today announced the first investments from its StartUP Fund, a $10 million University-backed initiative designed to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative technologies emerging from research across all twelve of Penn’s schools. The fund’s inaugural investments will support three separate Penn faculty-founded companies—Vasowatch, OneFiltr, and Peptaris—spanning the fields of maternal health, advanced radio-frequency filtering technology, and AI-powered drug discovery, respectively.

“Penn researchers are developing technologies with the potential to address some of the most important challenges facing society today, and many of these solutions have the potential to create entirely new markets,” said John Swartley, Penn’s Chief Innovation Officer. “I am thrilled that the StartUP Fund is able to provide the critical early-stage capital needed to support Penn spinout companies as they translate these types of innovations into products with real world impact. These first three investments are truly reflective of the extraordinary breadth of research and entrepreneurship across Penn.”

Three Penn Innovations, Three Paths to Market

Vasowatch, co-founded by Stefanie Modri, Clinical Adjunct Professor of Penn Nursing and former Penn Engineering faculty James Weimer, is developing a non-invasive monitoring system designed to predict the risk of maternal postpartum hemorrhage, a leading cause of maternal death. The company is advancing its Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) technology and preparing for a pivotal clinical trial targeted to begin in early 2027. The StartUP Fund’s investment will support further optimization of the Vasowatch technology and the upcoming trial.

Christine Rohan, Vasowatch’s CEO stated, “We are deeply grateful to Penn for their support of Vasowatch.  Our predictive technology was initially developed by Penn researchers with the goal of minimizing postpartum hemorrhage complications and deaths during childbirth.  The StartUP Fund provides us with critical early support to accelerate this vital technology through the regulatory approval process.”

OneFiltr, co-founded by Troy Olsson, professor of electrical and systems engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, is developing a compact tunable radio-frequency filter technology designed to greatly simplify the complex and costly hardware currently required in advanced radio frequency (RF) systems such as those employed by common handheld communication devices.

The technology has potential applications across multiple high-growth and strategically important markets, including defense, radar, satellite communications and quantum computing. OneFiltr will use the StartUP Fund investment to support development and production of its proprietary device for advanced evaluation by major aerospace and defense companies.

“The StartUP Fund is a really great example of Penn’s commitment to supporting faculty innovation and entrepreneurship. Their investment provides OneFiltr with the critical initial capital it needs to further refine the tunable RF filter technology developed in my laboratory and get it into the hands of industry partners where it has the potential for groundbreaking impact in the field of wireless communication” Commented Professor Olsson.

Peptaris Inc., co-founded by Penn Presidential Associate Professor César de la Fuente and Marcelo Der Torossian Torres, a research assistant professor in the Perelman School of Medicine, is advancing its AI-powered platform to accelerate the design and optimization of peptide therapeutics. As interest in peptides as a distinct class of medicines continues to grow, so does the need to systematically optimize their properties for therapeutic development. Peptaris is addressing this challenge through its AI-powered platform for peptide design, discovery, and optimization. The StartUP Fund investment will support further development of the platform and experimental validation of the company’s initial therapeutic candidates.

Professor de la Fuente added, “We are very grateful to Penn and the StartUP Fund for supporting the launch of Peptaris out of our laboratory.  This investment gives us an important opportunity to advance and validate our AI-driven platform for discovering and optimizing peptide medicines that will hopefully make a meaningful difference for patients.”

About the Penn StartUP Fund

The StartUP Fund provides early-stage capital to companies built around Penn technology, know-how and ideas and founded by Penn faculty and researchers. Managed by Penn’s Office of the Chief Innovation Officer and backed by a $10 million commitment from the University, the StartUP Fund is part of Penn’s broader commitment to translating research discoveries into real-world impact.  The fund provides capital at a critical stage in a startup’s early development, when targeted investment can help demonstrate technical and commercial potential, reach meaningful milestones and position companies to secure additional funding.

Eligible company applicants must be based on Penn technology, know-how or ideas and have at least one Penn-affiliated faculty member or researcher as a founder. Applications are evaluated in partnership with the fund’s panel of expert external advisors, who assess opportunities based on factors including technical and commercial feasibility, market potential, and the likelihood that a StartUP Fund investment will increase the chances of company and technology success as well as follow-on investment.

Contact: Laurie Actman at 215-519-2081or lactman@upenn.edu