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ZEISS Ventures

About

The ZEISS Group is a technology and innovation leader in the fields of optics, optoelectronics and precision engineering and in the respective applications. Its core strategic business units operate in attractive target markets with long-term growth prospects that are supported by megatrends. These megatrends open up significant new business opportunities relevant for ZEISS, especially along Horizon Two and Three for future growth.

To address these opportunities, ZEISS Ventures, a unit within the ZEISS Group, makes investments and actively manages a portfolio of startup companies. We focus on opportunities that are between, beyond, or disruptive to the core strategic business units of the ZEISS Group. Our goal is to invest in and partner with startup companies to build lasting and sustainable businesses.

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Mirae Asset Capital Life Science was formed in 2023 as a joint venture between Mirae Asset Capital and Mirae Asset Global Investments. It is the first and only U.S. affiliate for Mirae Asset dedicated to investment in Life Science. Near-Term ValueThe majority of our investments will be Series A/B and entering the clinic within a few years to generate real value with clinical proof of concept We believe companies at this stage maximize returns given the risk; we remain open to seed opportunities where there is a clear path to value and Series C opportunities if the valuation and resulting equity ownership support meaningful returns to our investors We aim to find the right mix between first-in-class and best-in-class assets with meaningful market share and evaluate both platform and single asset approaches Calculated RiskWe are modality agnostic when it comes to therapeutics and incredibly opportunistic with diagnostics Our interest in digital health involves using AI/ML tools (e.g. quantum computing, generative biology/chemistry) for drug discovery or protein engineering We co-invest with top-tier life science investors who we know and have worked with before and leverage our operational experience to find strong management teams with excellent track records relevant to the company they are building We aim to be active investors by securing board roles whenever possible; this is a role that is familiar to us and helps mitigate risk to our investors by helping to shape the course of our investments Innovative yet Validated ModalitiesWe have selected five core therapeutic sectors to focus our investments: Oncology, Immunology, CV/Metabolic, CNS/Ophthalmology, and Rare/Genetic Disease For each of the above sectors we have defined various focus areas defined by a unique combination of validation, unmet need, market potential, and acquisition/public market interest We seek to limit biological and technical risk and prioritize small molecule, antibody approaches (includes mAbs, bsAbs/TCEs, ADCs, radiotherapeutics), and nucleic acid therapeutics (siRNA, ASOs) across these sectors Rigorous EvaluationWe leverage the combined scientific background of our team and our affiliates in Asia (medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, structural biology) to perform rigorous evaluation of each investment We prepare a comprehensive diligence memo for each investment that includes a thorough evaluation of the science, pipeline, finance, management, board, investors, operations, regulatory, IP, clinical development, and potential return to our investors We conduct calls with relevant Key Opinion Leaders for every opportunity to ensure we have the most informed and updated views from the leading voices in the field

MG

Mass General Brigham Ventures

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82

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Sanofi Ventures

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CV

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