FAQ

The UCSF Rosenman Institute is an ecosystem of innovative entrepreneurs, functional experts, investors, scholars and clinicians that are dedicated to developing transformative health technology companies. Our programs help build critical intellectual capital, spur collaboration with clinicians, and accelerate the development of technologies that will change lives.

We welcome healthtech innovators who are developing new technologies that have market potential. You do not need to be affiliated with a university, nor do you need to be based in the San Francisco Bay Area, but most of our programs involve in-person connections for which a Bay Area presence is helpful.
Generally, we work with entrepreneurs who are either on the verge of incorporating a company (we can provide legal assistance through Startup in a Box) or operating an early-stage company, up to and through a Series A funding.

We provide the following to help entrepreneurs take their innovations from concept to commercialization:
Expertise:
– Expert industry mentorship
– Hands-on guidance (strategy, operations, regulatory and IP)
Connections:
– In-kind services (legal, financial)
– Access to early stage funding, collaborators, partners, and more
Community:
– Like-minded innovators
– Events to inform, inspire, and connect

Rosenman Innovators is an annual cycle (deadline to apply is mid-April) in which ~10 startups undergo a rigorous selection process and receive support to accelerate their progress to market.
Members of the program receive coaching in communications, product development, IP, clinical/regulatory, reimbursement, marketing and business strategy from our network of experts; get exposure to a select group of investors and industry partners — several Innovators have met their lead investors for Series A rounds through the program; and showcase their startups at the annual Rosenman Symposium in late June. Companies in the cohort are also matched with a range of valuable in-kind services from participating providers.

The Rosenman Innovator cohort is chosen by a panel of judges representing all sectors of healthtech. The judges are looking for companies that are incorporated, operational, and developing innovative technologies that have clear regulatory paths with good market potential. In general, selected companies are in the process of seeking funding from seed stage to Series A. Technologies of interest include diagnostics, digital health, medical devices, and services. While we do not support biotech and pharma companies, our parent group QB3 does.

We know that the greatest success results from connecting entrepreneurs and investors who work well together with the ultimate goal of benefiting patients. The main way we do this is through the Rosenman Innovator program. But we also make connections on a rolling basis through the year. The better we know you, the better connections we can make.

We also invest ourselves. Our funding arm, MedTech Venture Partners, has $31 million under management with a portfolio of 10 companies.

The UCSF Rosenman Institute operates as UCSF; we are all UCSF employees. Rosenman is the healthtech initiative of QB3, which is a multicampus University of California accelerator for life sciences. MedTech Venture Partners was co-founded by Christine Winoto, the Institute’s founder and director, and is an independent for-profit venture that provides a return to Rosenman. There is some overlap between the advisory boards of Rosenman and MTVP.

We receive a small amount of funding from the state of California through the UC Office of the President, and rely primarily on the private sector to support the good work we are doing to drive innovation in healthtech.

Our advisors include business leaders, clinicians, investors, and professionals in areas such as engineering, marketing, and regulatory issues. All have deep experience in commercializing healthtech. They work with us in two ways:

ROSENMAN ADVISORS: Rosenman Innovators are assigned a set of advisors, with whom they meet as needed for everything from practical business counsel to strategic and regulatory issues during the course of the Innovator program.
EXECUTIVE MENTORS: We offer companies the opportunity to bring key executive mentors on board in a deeper capacity, in exchange for equity. For more information, please click here.

The Rosenman Founders Pledge is an invitation-only program for startup founders. Startup founders get support from Rosenman as well as peers in our wider network who share wisdom and resources and make useful connections. The Founders Pledge is a way to pay it forward to future founders, as well as enjoy close connections with our existing members. The Pledge itself is a non-binding agreement to give financial support to Rosenman, and thus to your future entrepreneurial peers, if and when you have a liquidity event (acquisition or IPO).

Yes. While program members have priority access to expert consult sessions, any unused slots are made available to non-members. We are always interested in making new connections that benefit startups, providers, and investors, and we encourage you to contact us if you would like to take advantage of this resource.