Local Angels Back Health Innovators at NorCal AngelCon

This year’s NorCal AngelCon finale at Aggie Square was a strong signal for anyone building in health, medtech, or life sciences: regional angels are writing real checks for serious clinical innovation.

What began as a single planned $150,000 investment turned into a split decision after some vigorous debate among the new angels:

• $100,000 angel investment to IntelliVasc

• $50,000 grant to Strived.io (state-funded via Accelerate California)

• Plus a $10,000 audience award to Matrubials Inc.

For the MedStart community, two of those three winners are squarely in our lane: IntelliVasc and Matrubials.

IntelliVasc: Smart Implants for Cardiovascular Care

IntelliVasc, a medical device startup with backing from Rocklin-based Growth Factory, walked away with:

• $100,000 investment from the NorCal AngelCon investor group

• Six months of lab and office space at Connect Labs in Aggie Square

The company has developed an implantable sensor for cardiovascular patients that supports remote monitoring by both clinicians and patients.

Key capabilities:

• Alerts physicians when patients aren’t following prescribed regimens

• Monitors blood flow through previously damaged or treated vessels

• Aims to reduce repeat procedures by catching issues earlier

While IntelliVasc is currently based in San Francisco, it will be relocating to Aggie Square, further cementing the Sacramento region as a hub for medtech and digital health.

Matrubials: Milk-Inspired Anti-Infective Therapies

Davis-based Matrubials Inc. won the $10,000 audience favorite award, and they’re working in a space that sits right at the intersection of biotech and women’s health.

Matrubials is developing therapies inspired by components of human milk that:

• Are selective, targeting harmful bacteria while sparing beneficial ones

• Use peptides that don’t have to be sourced from human milk

• Aim to reduce resistance risks compared with broad-spectrum antimicrobials

Their initial focus:

• Bacterial vaginosis (BV) – a widespread gynecological condition linked to recurrent UTIs and yeast infections

• A skin serum with cosmetic applications that can reach market faster while more highly regulated therapies progress through clinical and regulatory pathways

This kind of platform has obvious potential beyond the first indication.

Strived.io: Data-Driven Personalized Learning

While not life science, Strived.io deserves a mention for the way it’s applying AI and data in education — models and approaches that often cross over into digital health and population analytics.

The Davis-based startup received a $50,000 grant funded by Accelerate California for its platform that:

• Tracks student performance, attendance, behavior, and other metrics

• Uses AI and large anonymized datasets

• Helps teachers build personalized learning pathways

Different vertical, similar data and AI infrastructure to what many digital health teams are building.

NorCal AngelCon: Training New Angels for Health & Life Science Deals

NorCal AngelCon isn’t just a pitch night — it’s a structured training ground for new angels.

From April through November, accredited investors learn:

• How to source startups

• How to screen and evaluate opportunities

• The basics of due diligence

• How to debate and decide on a real investment

The program has been timed the last two years to culminate during Global Entrepreneurship Week, alongside dozens of events coordinated by the Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State.

The investor mix this year included:

• Mortgage professionals

• A banker

• An attorney

• A retired corporate executive

• Other first-time angels wanting direct exposure to the local innovation scene

In other words: people who don’t come from VC, but who are now deploying capital into companies like IntelliVasc and Matrubials.

Why This Matters for the MedStart Community

For founders working in medical devices, biotech, diagnostics, digital health, and health services, this year’s AngelCon sends a few clear signals:

• There is local angel appetite for regulated, clinical, and complex tech, not just SaaS

• Aggie Square, Davis, Rocklin, and the broader region are becoming tightly connected through programs like Growth Factory, Connect Labs, and AngelCon

• Non-traditional investors are entering the space with real capital and are being trained to understand startup and health innovation risk

If you’re building in health or life sciences, these are exactly the kinds of programs and networks you want on your radar.

Because when new angels are trained, plugged into the local ecosystem, and then point their first checks at medtech and biotech startups—that’s momentum.