CANTILEVER INVESTORS
Venture capitalAnn Arbor · Pre-Seed–Series A · 15 people tracked
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1 people in our graph share verified history with the CANTILEVER INVESTORS team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Investment thesis
Cantilever Investors focuses on discovering early-stage technologies with compelling commercial opportunities. The fund leads and participates in pre-seed, seed, and early Series A rounds, favoring companies with multiple exit paths. It emphasizes hands-on involvement, frequently collaborating with founders for months or years before investing and taking active roles in the commercialization process to protect its investments. Target companies have typically conducted extensive customer discovery and due diligence to establish market fit, a viable business model, and early traction. For its LPs, the fund sources, vets, and de-risks investable opportunities, allowing them to co-invest alongside the fund or independently, aiming for high returns through early checks and follow-on investments.
Source: firm website, verified Sep 20, 2026.
Team · 15 people
from the firm's website & public directoriesWhat they invest in
from 13 of 24 portfolio companiesBiotech ×8Healthtech ×8Medical Devices ×5Deep Tech ×4AI & Machine Learning ×2Hardware ×2Advanced Manufacturing ×1Energy ×1
HQs:United States×11
Investments · 24 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2024 · 12021 · 12020 · 12019 · 12014 · 15 dated
Acurx Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of antibiotics targeting bacterial infections classified as priority pathogens by the WHO, CDC, and FDA.
BiotechHealthtechStaten Island, US
Robert J. DeLuccia(Executive Officer, Director)David Luci(Founder)inDavid P. Luci(President, Chief Executive Officer and Director)inRobert G. Shawah(Executive Officer)in
BoardJoseph Scodari(Director)Carl Sailer(Director)
HealthtechAnn Arbor, US
RONALD FRISBIE(Executive Officer)WILLIAM CLARKE(Director)HANNAH HENSEL(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatSteve Tokarz· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsInvest Michigan
AcuraStem is a patient-based biotechnology company developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases including sporadic ALS and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
BiotechDeep TechHealthtechPasadena, US
Justin Ichida(Director)inSam Alworth(Founder)inMarcel van der Brug(Executive Officer)in
BoardQing Liu-Michael(Director)Paul August(Director)
Co-investorsKeiretsu Forum
Akadeum manufactures GMP-compliant ancillary materials for cell and gene therapy applications, specializing in microbubble-based negative selection products.
Advanced ManufacturingBiotechDeep TechHealthtechMedical DevicesAnn Arbor, US
Kalyan Handique(Executive Officer, Director)John Younger(Executive Officer, Director)inJames Militello(Executive Officer)
BoardJeffrey S. Williams(Director)Paul D'Amato(Director)inDan Kidle(Director)in
Co-investorsArboretum VenturesBeringeaBerkeley CatalystBlueStone Venture PartnerseLab VenturesHemisphere Ventures LLC+7 more
BiotechPittsburgh, US
Alan I. West(Executive Officer, Director)Paul Kornblith(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardWilliam Newlin(Director)James Jordan(Director)Richard Upton(Director)
Co-investorsDellin Investments
Ann Arbor, US
NIGEL GRISWOLD(Executive Officer, Director)inBENJAMIN CALNIN(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsID Ventures
inReality provides radar-based sensors and cloud software that measure in-store shopper engagement with product displays, tracking metrics like stopping power and lost revenue.
HardwareIoTRetail TechCincinnati, US
Shylesh Karuvath(Founder)inJohn DeCaprio(CEO and Manager of InReality, LLC)
BoardDaniel Bailey(Manager of InReality, LLC)Dan Meyer(Manager of InReality, LLC)
Co-investorsKeiretsu Forum
Light Line Medical develops visible light technology for catheters that reduces infections and improves patient outcomes in minimally invasive medical procedures.
BiotechDeep TechHealthtechMedical Devices
Kevin Shifrinin
Co-investorsAstiaHouston Angel Network
Pathware provides real-time biopsy quality assessment technology for pathologists to determine sample adequacy on-site, reducing repeat procedures and unnecessary surgeries.
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechMedical Devices
Co-investorsInnoventures IowaNext Level VenturesSolas BioVenturesLevel Eight Ventures
Peptinovo develops PALM™, a targeted drug-delivery platform that encapsulates chemotherapy drugs to deliver them directly to cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue, reducing side effects and enabling higher therapeutic doses.
BiotechDeep TechHealthtechMedical DevicesAnn Arbor, US
Ren Homan(Founder)inREYNOLD HOMAN(Executive Officer, Director)BILL ELLIOTT(Executive Officer)inSTEVE TOKAZ(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardDAVID ROMENESCO(Director)FRED BROWN(Director)
Co-investorsID VenturesWMU Biosciences Research & Commercialization Center
Spinal Simplicity is a medical device company founded in 2008 that develops implants and procedure solutions for spinal fusion and sacroiliac joint stabilization, sold to physician partners treating chronic back pain.
BiotechHardwareHealthtechMedical DevicesOverland Park, US
Jonathan Hess(Executive Officer)inTim McCown(Executive Officer)inJulie Mckee(Executive Officer)inTodd Moseley(Co-Founder)inHarold Hess(Co-founder, Chief Medical Officer & Neurosurgeon)in
Co-investorsBlue Hour VenturesNueterra Capital
BiotechAnn Arbor, US
JONATHAN LEINONEN(Executive Officer, Director)YOKE KHIN YAP(Executive Officer, Director)MICHAEL MORTLOCK(Executive Officer)MARK EHLERT(Director)STEVE TOKARZ(Executive Officer, Director)JOHN RANSOM(Director)
Co-investorsID VenturesInvest Michigan
Zive provides operational and compliance automation software designed for fund managers to streamline administrative tasks and reporting.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS
Rajesh Gopi(Founder & CEO)in
Co-investors7BC Venture CapitalEagle VentureNew Leaf InvestSparq Capital (SFO)CerraCap VenturesHeadline
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
NanosoundAttune MedicalHotel Communications Network IncKineta Immuno Oncology LlcKineta Inc Drug DiscoveryKyto TechnologyMassvr LlcOrion BiotechnologyRvelocity IncToma BiosciencesXenocor
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Exits · 1
1 IPOsAcurx PharmaceuticalsNASDAQ: ACXP
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesAcurx Pharmaceuticals · tipranks.com · Aug 15, 2026
AcuraStem · prnewswire.com · Apr 28, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has CANTILEVER INVESTORS made?
- CANTILEVER INVESTORS has 24 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited.
- What stage does CANTILEVER INVESTORS invest at?
- CANTILEVER INVESTORS invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
- What sectors does CANTILEVER INVESTORS focus on?
- CANTILEVER INVESTORS focuses on Deep Tech, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is CANTILEVER INVESTORS located?
- CANTILEVER INVESTORS is headquartered in Ann Arbor, US.
- Does CANTILEVER INVESTORS lead rounds?
- Yes, CANTILEVER INVESTORS leads investment rounds.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the team#opnaskaninvestor - Steve Tokarz, General and Managing Partner at Cantilever Investors Fund
Open People Network · Steve Tokarz