In the past year, we saw great achievements across our portfolio of high-impact life science companies despite a challenging overall fundraising environment. Our VIC Tech team and the portfolio company teams showed great adaptability and perseverance to be able to make such progress in a down year for venture capital funding nationwide.
The simultaneous challenges of a liquidity crunch and a closed IPO window have limited the avenues for capital infusion for startups at various VC stages. VIC Tech and the VIC Investor Network (VIN) have helped our companies through funding gaps and our companies have been persistent in reaching out to new investors as well as seeking non-dilutive funding. It was, in fact, a banner year for our companies for non-dilutive funding with several multi-million-dollar Phase II SBIR/STTR grant awards, numerous new Phase I awards, and other sources of non-dilutive funding. That helped our portfolio manage the difficult venture capital environment while simultaneously reducing dilution to VIC and VIN investors.
We saw strong progress in our portfolio companies across all of the sectors in which we work – therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, and life science related areas such as analytical instrumentation and bioprocessing materials. But perhaps the greatest progress in 2023 was in our portfolio of medical device companies. Milestones include our largest single investment round (a $50M Series D) in one company, lead investment from a likely strategic acquirer in another, and mass manufacturing and scale-up progress in a third company. We will provide detail on these achievements in our upcoming annual report.
Despite a difficult venture capital landscape, our VIC Investor Network continues to provide outstanding returns to our investors. VIN members have seen an estimated 38% IRR combined across all investments made since formation of the network in 2013 including both realized and unrealized returns.
I want to extend my great appreciation to the dedicated employees at VIC, the leaders and staff of our portfolio companies, and our collective investors. Our work is demanding, and progress is rarely a linear path. As we look forward, we have confidence in our ability to navigate the ongoing challenges, ensuring continued exceptional growth and value for our stakeholders.
Be on the lookout for the VIC Annual Report Executive Summary (accessible to all readers) and the complete confidential Annual Report (exclusive to VIC shareholders) in February. The upcoming year promises to be one of our best ever.
On behalf of the entire VIC team, I wish everyone a joyful and fruitful 2024!
Calvin Goforth
Chief Executive Officer | VIC Technology Venture Development
Co-Manager | VIC Investor Network