Zavain Dar, Lux Capital
Altitude Lab, a healthcare and life sciences incubator founded in 2020 by Recursion and The University of Utah's PIVOT Center, fills the critical role of attracting and supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs. The incubator focuses on developing diverse and inclusive businesses to innovate lower cost, higher quality, and more accessible healthcare solutions. Altitude Lab's first cohort includes nine minority or women founders, who are tackling everything from personalized chemotherapy strategies and cancer therapeutics to developing novel platforms to diagnose and triage liver disease.
"Lack of access to top-tier investors is a crippling gap for founders in nontraditional geographies or of underrepresented backgrounds," explained Chandana Haque, executive director of Altitude Lab. "Support from experienced investors can completely change the trajectory of a startup. It's our mission to connect founders from all backgrounds to the capital and resources that will propel them to not only compete but excel in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape."