Venture Philanthropist Sheri Sobrato Sees Great Impact on Investments in Federal Technology Commercialization through the Center for Advancing Innovation
The “Celebration of Philanthropy for the Public Good” recognized Sheri Sobrato’s transformative partnership with the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI) and the remarkable ripple effects it has created across science, startups, and society.
By Chris Frew
On May 8, 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) welcomed leaders from across the life sciences innovation ecosystem to honor a pivotal force in biotech venture philanthropy—Sheri Sobrato. Held at the Natcher Building on NIH’s Bethesda campus, the “Celebration of Philanthropy for the Public Good” recognized Sobrato’s transformative technology commercialization partnership with the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI) and the remarkable ripple effects it has created across science, startups, and society.
This gathering wasn’t just a retrospective—it was a call to action. As NIH funding stagnates and private biotech investment wanes, CAI’s model—fueled by targeted philanthropy and public-private partnerships—is proving that scalable, inclusive innovation is not only possible, but essential.
A Groundbreaking Partnership
The event celebrated an extraordinary collaboration between three forces: a federal research institution with a deep pipeline of underutilized inventions, a mission-driven nonprofit accelerator, and a philanthropist with a clear-eyed view of impact and scale. Together, the NIH, CAI, and Sheri Sobrato have proven a model for converting dormant Federal discoveries into active solutions for patients, while empowering a new generation of global founders and entrepreneurs, many from historically underrepresented backgrounds.
Since its inception, CAI has launched 12 innovation challenges involving over 4,000 participants, 700 advocates. The results are no less than incredible, with 440 startups launched, 2,100 jobs created, and over $2.1 billion in follow-on capital raised through a bold, collaborative model that activates untapped public-sector inventions and puts them in the hands of visionary entrepreneurs. Most impressively, nearly 70% of these companies remain active six years later—an extraordinary survival rate in the volatile world of early-stage biotech.
“These organizations epitomize the relentless pursuit of knowledge and the audacity to confront the unknown,” said CAI founder and CEO Rosemarie Truman at the event. “Their collective odysseys are a testament to perseverance, grit, and a shared commitment to elevating human health.”
Sheri Sobrato’s Venture Philanthropy
Sheri Sobrato, a longtime philanthropist and member of one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent families, has made a name for herself supporting mental health, pediatric care, and biomedical innovation. Her personal journey, including surviving a brain tumor, profoundly shaped her commitment to ensuring others have access to the innovations that saved her.
At the ceremony, Sobrato described her approach to giving, stating; “There are three things I look for—one, is it a good cause? Two, is it a good partner? And three, can I have impact?”
CAI checked every box. But what resonated most, she said, was the concept of leverage:
“All these inventions that are collecting dust, that have been federally funded, that we—because of our tax dollars—have paid for, are just sitting there. And wouldn’t it be great if they could be activated and incubated so that the results of these inventions can help people?”
Sobrato emphasized that this model allowed her philanthropic dollars to do more.
“I didn’t have to pay for all that expensive stuff—all that medical research in the beginning that led to these discoveries. All I had to do was contribute to the part of launching these challenges and helping with the incubation side… It was the cheapest way to have this incredible impact.”
To date, Sobrato’s contributions have supported five CAI challenges: Brain Race, Innovate Children’s Health 1 & 2, and Global Health Innovation 1 & 2. These alone helped launch over 150 companies across key health areas—ranging from neurological disease to cancer to maternal health.
CAI’s Model: Turning Inventions into Startups
Founded in 2014 by Rosemarie Truman, former Booz Allen executive, the Center for Advancing Innovation was born from a simple but urgent observation: federal agencies like NIH and NASA produce a vast number of potentially life-saving inventions each year—yet most never reach patients or markets and remain languish unlicensed and underutilized.
CAI addresses this gap by identifying high-potential inventions and then launching global challenges to attract and organize teams of entrepreneurs, scientists, and business leaders to commercialize them into new companies. Unlike traditional accelerators, CAI takes no equity and charges no fees. Instead, it provides teams with access to seasoned mentors, pro bono legal and business support, and partnerships with global firms like Johnson & Johnson JLABS, McKinsey, and McCarter & English.
Truman describes it as “matching inventions with passionate people,” a phrase echoed by many participants. The press has called it the “Tinder for tech transfer,” and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has praised CAI’s cost-effective impact. With more than 40% of its companies led by women and 73% including minority co-founders, it also represents a rare success in building inclusive innovation ecosystems. CAI’s programs have received nine recognitions from the White House and were positively reviewed by the Government Accountability Office for their economic impact and cost-effectiveness.
Personal Mission, Public Good
For Sheri Sobrato, the partnership with CAI was never just a grant or an experiment in philanthropy—it was an expression of deeply personal values shaped by lived experience and a commitment to broad public impact.
“I had a brain tumor,” she shared during her remarks at the NIH celebration. “I was helped by medical innovation. I wanted to support not just one researcher, but launch solutions that were going to help other patients like me.”
Sobrato’s recovery from a life-threatening illness gave her a firsthand appreciation for the power of clinical research. But it also led her to question how she could most effectively support the translation of scientific discovery into real-world solutions. She found her answer in CAI’s model: a platform that doesn’t fund early-stage research, but instead activates existing, federally funded inventions and guides them into market-ready companies.
What drew her in, she emphasized, was the opportunity for outsized impact through leverage.
“All these inventions that are collecting dust, that have been federally funded, that we—because of our tax dollars—have paid for, are just sitting there,” she said. “And wouldn’t it be great if they could be activated and incubated so that the results of these inventions can help people?”
Sobrato explained that CAI gave her a way to fund the most critical point in the innovation lifecycle: not discovery, but deployment. She noted that she didn’t have to underwrite years of basic science, since that work had already been done.
“I didn’t have to pay for all that expensive stuff—all that medical research in the beginning that led to these discoveries. All I had to do was contribute to the part of launching these challenges and helping with the incubation side… It was the cheapest way to have this incredible impact.”
And the results, she noted, speak for themselves.
“Because of my support, CAI has been able to raise money and grow 20 times in terms of my philanthropic dollar invested to what has been the money that has come in to support these inventions and entrepreneurs,” she said. “It’s been a dream come true.”
Through her funding, more than 150 companies have emerged from CAI’s Brain Race, Global Health Innovation, and Innovate Children’s Health challenges. But perhaps more significantly, her role helped validate a model of venture philanthropy that makes existing public science work harder, faster, and for more people.
Corporate Champions for Federal Innovation
One of CAI’s earliest and most influential private-sector collaborators was Jarrod Borkat, former Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships at MedImmune, the former biologics division of AstraZeneca. In 2015–16, Borkat led efforts to broaden AstraZeneca’s oncology strategy, recognizing the need to look outside their walls for innovation.
That led to the Nanotechnology Startup Challenge in Cancer (NSC²)—a partnership between CAI, MedImmune, and the National Cancer Institute.
“Science doesn’t happen in isolation,” Borkat said. “To tackle cancer the right way, we had to think more broadly.”
The NSC² challenge evaluated over 20,000 NIH inventions and brought together 28 teams, including nine from the BioHealth Capital Region. Participants included entrepreneurs, attorneys, scientists, and students from across the globe. Borkat emphasized the value of this multidisciplinary, crowd-sourced model for identifying talent and innovation long before it would have otherwise appeared on pharma’s radar.
“What CAI does is a simple formula that is profoundly effective: breakthrough inventions plus passionate people plus a nurturing ecosystem equals the possibility for miracle breakthroughs.”
Why This Model Matters—Now More Than Ever
This partnership arrives at a pivotal time. Federal research agencies like NIH face mounting scrutiny and stagnant budgets, while early-stage biotech companies struggle to raise capital in a post-2021 funding slump. Crossover rounds have slowed. IPOs are rare. Many promising startups are stuck in the “valley of death” between discovery and viability.
In this environment, CAI’s challenge-based model—amplified by philanthropy and anchored in public assets—offers a rare solution. It bridges funding gaps, mitigates risk, and builds companies rooted in science that taxpayers have already funded.
“This is a time for impact,” Sobrato said. “Children, families, and patients are waiting for it.”
CAI Startups Creating Real-World Solutions
Fifteen CAI-launched startups were showcased at the May 8 event. These ventures represent the diversity and urgency of today’s health challenges—and the creativity made possible by CAI’s model:
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MindArch Health (Nadine Wilches)
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Establishing a wellbeing research-based preventive program to decrease mental health risks, burnout, overwhelm and disengagement
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Intrommune Therapeutics (Michael Nelson)
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Developing safe and effective options for food allergy sufferers
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Heudia Health (Ed Connors)
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Connecting people in need with people who care using the AccessMeCare digital health platform
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Appleseed Education (Kate Tulenko)
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Scaling up African nursing schools with an EdTech platform
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HueDx (Brianna Wronko-Stevens)
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Overhauling the diagnostic process to improve outcomes for both patients and physicians using a portable chemistry and infectious disease analyzer for everyone
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Fzata (Elizabeth Anne Smith)
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Developing swallowable biologic drugs to treat gastrointestinal diseases
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Nanochon (Benjamin Holmes)
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Reducing costs to health providers, payers, and patients with a 3D printed, nanostructured material for cartilage repair and regrowth in joints
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True Bearing Diagnostics (Tisha Jepson)
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Creating tests to catch diseases early, from heart issues to infections and pandemics
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Couplet Care (Stacie McEntyre)
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Offering a postnatal unit medical infant bassinet and other tools for improving patient safety and clinical efficiency for newborns and parents **together**
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Filterbaby (Xin Shui)
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Pioneering ultra filtration technology to remove up to 99% chlorine from faucet filters for skincare
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PigPug (Vitali Karpeichyk)
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Unlocking the potential of children with ADHD and autism through neurofeedback and AI
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Aloe Therapeutics (Martha Sklavos)
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Developing a first-in-class, localized immunotherapy for hard-to-treat solid tumors
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Jeeva Clinical Trials (Harsha Rajasimha)
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Making innovation accessible to patients, regardless of their location, by optimizing and decentralizing clinical research
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Arkayli Biopharma (Seth Reno)
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A repurposed, FDA-approved drug to make cosmetically impactful childhood birthmarks go away
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Aptabridge Therapeutics (Taylor Cottle)
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Creating a next generation drug design platform to leverage DNA nanoparticles for immunotherapy
