SCI Ventures is a novel, evergreen fund created to catalyze innovative cures for paralysis.
Backed by the leading foundations for spinal cord injury in the US and Europe, and advised by world-class neuroscientists, we invest in early-stage companies developing cure-oriented therapies for spinal cord injury and other related markets.
We invest globally in companies with the greatest potential to impact our mission, typically at the Seed and Series A stages.
We follow a venture philanthropy model, inspired by successful initiatives in other disease areas, to catalyze an investment market aimed at reversing paralysis.
We focus on investing in companies advancing cures for paralysis-related challenges, prioritizing both long-term neural pathway restoration and immediate clinical impact. Our investments are guided by community priorities and scientific rigor, leveraging our team's expertise and the support of research foundations.
A new wave of innovation
For the first time, the combination of breakthroughs in biology, engineering and computing make a cure to paralysis a real possibility.
An evergreen fund that redeploys 100% of its returns
Venture philanthropy has been adopted by a number of disease- focused organisations, including JDRF’s T1D Fund and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, to deploy their own capital to produce a tangible impact and to attract the traditional life-science venture capital industry to their cause.
SCI Ventures is making investments with the intent of generating a financial return. All returns will be recycled and reinvested within the fund to take more targeted shots at the goal of curing paralysis.
All initial operating costs of SCI Ventures are being met by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, allowing all donated capital to be invested in cutting-edge, early-stage companies.
Investment strategy
Catalyzing an investment market to address spinal cord repair.
Recent advances in science and technology have made recovery from paralysis a real possibility.
We target near-term functional improvement, while also backing the ultimate goal of biological repair of the spinal cord. Our strategy is guided by the priorities of those living with a spinal cord injury. We focus on curative therapies for motor and sensory deficits and leave the important work of care and adaptation to others.
SCI Ventures is uniquely positioned to de-risk assets for a broad range of adjacent neurological conditions.
We invest in technologies targeted at SCI. There are many similarities between SCI and other conditions including stroke, neurodegenerative diseases or neural circuit disorders such as epilepsy or pain. The technologies we back have the potential to yield high impact beyond the SCI community.
We use strict criteria to assess a company’s investment impact, focusing on prospective financial return.
We aim to make an impact, by identifying the most innovative technologies and supporting at an early stage the most entrepreneurial management teams, regardless of where they are in the world. We assess each company for its scientific maturity and potential for clinical impact.