On February 19, 2025, Altitude Lab launched a $2.5 million pre-seed venture fund, named the Altitude Lab Fund (ALF), during its Demo Day in Salt Lake City, Utah.

ALF will invest between $100,000 and $250,000 in qualified startups, providing them with 12 months of lab and office space, along with access to Altitude Lab's accelerator program.

The fund aims to support early-stage biotechnology startups adversely affected by recent federal funding policy changes, particularly those awaiting Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funds.

Approximately 1,500 health-related startups have been negatively affected by these policy changes, disrupting their access to crucial SBIR funding.

Chandana Haque, executive director of Altitude Lab, highlighted that federal funding disruptions are hindering significant biotech research and emphasized the fund's commitment to supporting underrepresented founders.

The fund specifically targets startups with an Impact Score of 20 or lower on their SBIR submissions, indicating promising research that has undergone federal review.

The fund will be managed by Recursion CEO Chris Gibson, entrepreneur David Bearss, and Altitude's executive director Chandana Haque.

David Bearss, a serial entrepreneur and cofounder of Halia Therapeutics, has joined as an anchor Limited Partner for the fund, reinforcing the collaborative effort to strengthen biotech innovation in the region.

Chris Gibson emphasized the importance of early-stage funding in enabling biotech companies to grow, drawing from Recursion's own experience with SBIR grants that contributed to its valuation of $4 billion.

From 2020 to 2024, startups affiliated with Altitude Lab raised $154 million, accounting for over 50% of early-stage life science capital in Utah.

This initiative aims to enhance Salt Lake City's position as a biotech hub and facilitate a concentrated biotech cluster by attracting top-tier talent and startups to the region.

The Altitude Lab Fund seeks to deliver strong returns to its investors while helping secure the future of biotech innovation in America amid federal funding disruptions.