How many investments has Cycad Group LLC made?

Cycad Group LLC has 29 tracked investments, 3 of which have exited.

What stage does Cycad Group LLC invest at?

Cycad Group LLC invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth, Late Stage stages.

Where is Cycad Group LLC located?

Cycad Group LLC is headquartered in Santa Barbara, US.

Does Cycad Group LLC lead rounds?

Yes, Cycad Group LLC leads investment rounds.

Who does Cycad Group LLC co-invest with?

Cycad Group LLC most often shares deals with Bessemer Venture Partners, Lux Capital, Khosla Ventures, among 19 tracked co-investors.

Cycad Group LLC

Venture capital

Santa Barbara · Seed–Late Stage · 4 people tracked

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Find your way into Cycad Group LLC

134 people in our graph share verified history with the Cycad Group LLC team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Matt Mullensunlockedknows Benito Cazares · together at UC Santa Barbara (overlapped)

×5knows the team · via UC Santa Barbara

×6knows the team · via Missouri State University

✨ Fox Verdict

Investment thesis

Cycad Group is an opportunistic venture capital investor that does not restrict itself to a single industry, though it actively targets life sciences (therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and analytical tools), energy technologies, and advanced materials and chemical processes. The firm invests across all stages of company development, from a company's first round of outside financing through to PIPE transactions. At each stage, Cycad focuses on understanding the fundamental questions surrounding a company's technology, market opportunity, management team and risks before committing capital.

Invests inBiotech Deep Tech Energy Medical Devices New MaterialsSector AgnosticSpace Tech Santa Barbara United States

Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.

Stage

Seed–Late Stage

Santa Barbara, California, US

Leads rounds

Leads

Instruments

Equity

Founded

2000

Tracked investments

IPOs

Acquisitions

Team · 4 people

from the firm's website & public directories

K. Leonard Judson· President and Managing Director

Co-founded Cycad Group in 2000 after practicing law for 14 years, including as a partner in two firms focused on corporate finance and M&A. He co-founded and was CEO of the law firm May, Potenza, Judson and Baran, P.C., served on the NASD Board of Arbitrators (1989-2002), and sits on the boards of several Cycad portfolio companies. Holds a J.D. from George Washington University and a B.S. from Northern Arizona University.

k•••@cycadvc.comreveal

Paul F. Glenn· Chairman and Director

Paul was Chairman, Director, and the driving force behind the creation of Cycad Group. After a Wall Street career and trading commodities and securities for his own account, he became an early-stage investor in companies that later went public or were acquired. He founded the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research in 1965, a nonprofit supporting research into the biology of human aging. He held a BA from Princeton and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

p•••@cycadvc.comreveal

Robert J. Balch· Of Counsel

Bob Balch joined Cycad Group in 2004 and has helped found and finance companies across stages, serving as a director or board observer for portfolio companies such as ClarVista Medical, Iosil Energy, Lixivia, Sofie, SteriFx, SpectraFluidics and Agile RF. He previously co-founded Taraval Associates Seed Capital Fund, an early-stage life sciences venture fund, and held operating roles in healthcare startups and telecommunications, including as General Manager of Mark Products.

r•••@cycadvc.comreveal

Benito Cazares· Analyst & Operations Manager· Santa Barbara, California, United Statesin

Benito Cazares has over a decade of experience in accounting operations, financial management, and administrative leadership. As Manager of Accounting Services at Balanced Asset Solutions, he led a team providing full-cycle accounting services to more than 20 clients, focusing on financial audits, GAAP-compliant reporting, and software migrations, and his background includes legal and financial services work such as managing an operational wind-down and vendor negotiations. He holds a B.A. in Global Studies & Spanish from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an M.B.A. from Missouri State University.

What they invest in

from 14 of 29 portfolio companies

Biotech ×10Healthtech ×6Medical Devices ×5Hardware ×3Cleantech ×2Energy ×2AI & Machine Learning ×1Deep Tech ×1

HQs:United States×16

Investments · 29 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2018 · 1 2016 · 1 2015 · 46 dated

Ziopharm OncologyNASDAQ: TCRT

Ziopharm Oncology is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing orally administered small-molecule drugs for obesity and metabolic disorders, particularly fatty liver disease, using a non-hormonal mechanism distinct from existing hormone-based treatments.

BiotechBoston, US

Kevin Lafond(Executive Officer)Caesar Belbel(Executive Officer)Jonathan Lewis(Executive Officer, Director)inDale Curtis Hogue, Jr.(Interim Chief Executive Officer and Director)

BoardRandal Kirk(Director)Timothy McInerney(Director)

Advanced Bionicsadvancedbionics.com in 𝕏

Advanced Bionics manufactures cochlear implant technology and sound processors for adults and children with severe hearing loss, including devices that connect to a telehealth app and integrate with Phonak hearing aids for bimodal solutions.

HardwareHealthtechMedical Devices

ExThera Medicalextheramedical.com in

BiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesMartinez, US

Michael DiMeo(Executive Officer)in Erin Borger(Executive Officer, Director)in Robert S. Ward(Executive Officer, Director)in Keith McCrea(Executive Officer, Director)inGeorge Pitarra(Executive Officer, Director)Kathleen White(Executive Officer)in

Co-investorsFresenius Medical Care Ventures

Fziomedfziomed.com inSep 2015

Fziomed develops proprietary dual-polymer gel technology for use across multiple surgical applications.

BiotechDeep TechHealthtechMedical DevicesSan Luis Obispo, US

John Krelle(Executive Officer, Director)inPaul Mraz(President & CEO)

BoardRonald F. Haynes(Director)Kevin K. Sidow(Director)Tracy Augustine(Director)Daniel R. Doiron(Director)

Genocea Biosciences in

Uses a T-cell antigen discovery platform to develop vaccines for oncology and infectious disease.

BiotechCambridge, US

Narinder Singh(Executive Officer)Derek Meisner(Executive Officer)inMichael Alfieri(Executive Officer)Jessica Flechtner(Executive Officer)Girish Aakalu(Executive Officer)Thomas Davis(Executive Officer)

Co-investorsLux Capital MC Healthcare Ventures Advent Life Sciences Alexandria Auriga Partners Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation +1 more

Imaginabimaginab.com in 𝕏

Imaginab develops advanced imaging solutions for immuno-oncology that visualize immune cell activity and treatment response without invasive biopsies.

BiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesInglewood, US

Anna M. Wu(Executive Officer, Director)Jeffrey D. Quan(Executive Officer)Benjamin Chen(Executive Officer)Jennifer Keppler(President and Chief Operating Officer)Christian Behrenbruch(Chief Executive Officer)

BoardIsaac Bright(Director)

Co-investorsRaptor Group Third Rock Ventures

Lixivialixivia-inc.com

Santa Barbara, US

Michael Wyrsta(Executive Officer, Director)

Board K. Leonard Judson(Director)Zachary Komon(Director)

Sofie Biosciencessofiebio.com in 𝕏

BiotechCulver City, US

Michael Phelps(Director)Stan Berman(Executive Officer)in Patrick Phelps(Executive Officer, Director)inJohannes Czernin(Director)James Heath(Director)

BoardAjit Singh(Director)

Solariasolaria.com in 𝕏

Solaria manufactures high-efficiency solar panels, including its PowerXT and PowerX product lines, and provides related datasheets, installation guides, and technical documentation.

CleantechEnergyHardwareFremont, US

Suvi Sharma(Executive Officer, Director)Robert Zapotosky(Executive Officer)Daniel Shugar(Director)

BoardLi Biao(Director)Bang Nguyen(Director)Wu Binyan(Director)

Co-investorsDBL Partners Adams Street Partners

Unity Biotechnologyunitybiotechnology.com inMar 2018Defunct

Unity Biotechnology was a biotechnology company that is no longer operating.

BiotechBrisbane, US

Nathaniel E. David(Executive Officer, Director)in Dan Marquess(Executive Officer)in Keith Leonard(Executive Officer, Director)inTamara Tompkins(Executive Officer)inBob Goeltz(Executive Officer)inJamie Dananberg(Executive Officer)in

Co-investorsage1 ARCH Venture Partners EcoR1 Capital Khosla Ventures Venrock

Urban Electric Powerurbanelectricpower.com in 𝕏Sep 2015

Urban Electric Power manufactures modular, rechargeable zinc-based battery energy storage systems for commercial, industrial, and off-grid applications.

CleantechEnergyHardwarePearl River, US

Alexander Couzis(Executive Officer, Director)inSanjoy Banerjee(Director)inAnn Marie Scuderi(Executive Officer)

BoardDavid Elliman(Director)Jamshyd Godrej(Director)Thomas Baruch(Director)in

Co-investorsBaruch Future Ventures

VISTERRA, INC.visterrainc.com inacquired by Otsuka

A biologics center of excellence focused on developing and delivering medicines to patients, operating as a subsidiary within the Otsuka pharmaceutical group.

AI & Machine LearningBiotechHealthtechMedical Devices

Zachary Shriver(President and Chief Executive Officer)Karthik Viswanathan(Vice President, Research)in

Co-investorsCTI Life Sciences Fund L.P.Lux Capital MRL Ventures Fund

Other

Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.

Agile RFAlsiusCalimmuneCDTICentaur RenovisClarVista MedicalFirst American Nuclear Co (FANCO)FormetrixGRT, Inc.Intarcia Therapeutics NanosteelOvascienceSirtris PharmaceuticalsSofieSSC Universal Space NetworkSterifxTPX

Exits · 3

1 IPOs · 2 acquisitions

Ziopharm OncologyNASDAQ: TCRTCalimmuneacq. by CSL BehringVISTERRA, INC.acq. by Otsuka

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Solaria Raises €300 Million to Build Out Renewables, Storage, Data Center Infrastructure Platform - ESG Today

Solaria · esgtoday.com · May 1, 2026

Spiral Therapeutics Raises $27M in Series B Funding, Partners with Advanced Bionics - South San Francisco Today

Advanced Bionics · nationaltoday.com · Apr 14, 2026

ExThera Medical Announces Resolution of Federal Investigation | Press Releases | napavalleyregister.com

ExThera Medical · napavalleyregister.com · Mar 6, 2026

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Cycad Group LLC made?: Cycad Group LLC has 29 tracked investments, 3 of which have exited.
What stage does Cycad Group LLC invest at?: Cycad Group LLC invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth, Late Stage stages.
What sectors does Cycad Group LLC focus on?: Cycad Group LLC focuses on Biotech, Deep Tech, Energy, Medical Devices, New Materials, Sector Agnostic, Space Tech.
Where is Cycad Group LLC located?: Cycad Group LLC is headquartered in Santa Barbara, US.
Does Cycad Group LLC lead rounds?: Yes, Cycad Group LLC leads investment rounds.
Who does Cycad Group LLC co-invest with?: Cycad Group LLC most often shares deals with Bessemer Venture Partners, Lux Capital, Khosla Ventures, among 19 tracked co-investors.

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