Launch Tennessee
Government fundNashville · Pre-Seed–Series B · 1 people tracked
Investment thesis
Launch Tennessee operates as a public-private partnership serving as Tennessee's hub for startups and innovation. Its mission is to empower innovators statewide by providing capital, commercialization support, and connections. On the capital side, it invests in venture capital firms and provides insight into Tennessee deals to help investors navigate the ecosystem, and it also makes direct investments. Its commercialization team supports researchers with grant-writing and funding assistance as they move ideas from lab to market. The organization fosters collaboration among founders, investors, researchers, the private sector, and government.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 1 people
from public directoriesWhat they invest in
from 30 of 46 portfolio companiesHealthtech ×11Deep Tech ×6Hardware ×6SaaS ×6Medical Devices ×5Digital Health ×4Marketing Tech ×4Advanced Manufacturing ×3
HQs:United States×23
Investments · 46 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2024 · 22023 · 12022 · 12017 · 15 dated
Branch Technology uses patented digital fabrication and additive manufacturing to enable architects and designers to construct complex structural designs at scale.
Advanced ManufacturingConstruction TechDeep TechHardwareChattanooga, US
Ryan Lusk(Chief Executive Officer)in
Nashville, US
Tomer Ben-David(Director)Derek Brown(Executive Officer, Director)
CET evaluates early-stage biomedical technologies from researchers, universities and entrepreneurs and partners with them to support development and commercialization.
BiotechDeep TechHealthtech
Couture Technologies provides an AI-powered sizing and fit suite—including size recommendations, fit agents, and 3D virtual try-on—delivered via API and web-based experiences to reduce size-related returns and speed up fittings.
AI & Machine LearningE-commerceRetail Tech
Nashville, US
Laurel Orley(Executive Officer, Director)Dan Stephenson(Executive Officer, Director)
Nashville-based company funded via the INCITE Fund
Diatech Diabetes is a medical device company developing SmartFusion, a software platform and mobile app that monitors insulin infusion pumps for medication delivery failure and measures the accuracy of insulin delivery for people living with diabetes.
Digital HealthHealthtechMedical Devices
John Wilcox(Co-founder & CEO)Luis E. Blanco(Co-founder & CTO)
Grayline is a travel content site featuring destination guides and inspirational travel videos covering locations across multiple continents, including cities like Washington DC, Ottawa, and various beach destinations.
Media & EntertainmentTravel & Hospitality
Knoxville-based company funded via the INCITE Fund
Healing Innovations develops robotic rehabilitation technology, including a 3-in-1 rehab station that supports seated, standing, and walking neurorehabilitation in a single device.
HealthtechMedical DevicesRoboticsNashville, US
Scott Benda(Executive Officer, Director)Luke Benda(Executive Officer, Director)
Hera Health Solutions is a biotechnology company that develops a proprietary nanotechnology platform to reformulate existing pharmaceutical compounds into more effective and longer-acting therapies.
BiotechDeep TechHealthtechMedical DevicesMemphis, US
Idicula Mathew(Executive Officer, Director)Garrett Whitfield(Executive Officer, Director)
Knoxville-based company funded via the INCITE Fund
AngelEye Health offers a cloud-based platform for hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) that combines NICU navigation and discharge coordination, feeding management, and secure live-stream video and messaging.
Digital HealthHealthtechSaaS
Boomin University (Boomin U) provides small business owners with access to capital, coaching, and growth programs, including zero-interest business funding as well as marketing and bookkeeping support.
FintechImpact & Social Good
Winter Innovations develops a patented two-part surgical needle and stitching technology for orthopedic surgery.
HardwareHealthtechMedical Devices
American Hometown Media provides content, monetization, and technology products for digital publishers and online influencers, including its CuratorCrowd traffic and engagement platform and a large collection of user-submitted recipes.
AdTechMarketing TechMedia & EntertainmentNashville, US
Dan Hammond
First Stop Health provides virtual healthcare for employees through employer-sponsored plans, offering primary care, urgent care, and mental health services at no cost to members and their dependents.
Digital HealthHealthtechMental Health
InvestTN, powered by Launch Tennessee, is a state investment program that makes equity investments in Tennessee-based early-stage startups (Pre-Seed through Series B) and commits capital to venture capital funds investing in Tennessee companies.
Sector Agnostic
Hytch is a map-native group messaging app that combines chat, maps, and coordination tools such as plan suggestions, polls, location sharing, quests, in-location reviews, SafeRide designated-driver coordination, and a shared group memory system.
ConsumerMobility & TransportationSocialNashville, US
MedProctor operates a platform for colleges and universities to manage student health compliance, including immunization record intake, student communications, and data tracking for regulatory requirements.
Digital HealthEdTechSaaS
Octerra is a marketing procurement platform that centralizes marketing production spend, giving brands, agencies, and vendors visibility into non-working spend, vendor management, and secure bidding.
Enterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSaaS
Preteckt develops AI-powered predictive maintenance software for transit vehicle fleets that integrates with enterprise asset management systems.
AI & Machine LearningIoTLogistics & Supply ChainMobility & TransportationMemphis, US
Krishnaraj Inbarajan(Executive Officer, Director)Mark Licht(Director)Dean Hatton(Director)Peter Alexander Kucharczyk(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJan Bouten(Director)
Quire provides custom AI, data science, and software development services, including automated clinical note summarization and predictive models for patient readmissions.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureHealthtech
RootNote provides data analytics and insights for content creators and businesses, helping them understand and optimize their content performance.
Creator EconomyData & InfrastructureGamingMarketing TechSaaSNashville, US
Jason Burchard(Chief Executive Officer)Jeremy Burchard(Chief Creative Officer)Chandler Barnes(Chief Technical Officer)
BoardMyles Grote(Director)
Chattanooga, US
Jay Jumper(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)J Pemberton Guerry(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Dan Marcum(Director)Cameron Newton(Director)Tory Johnston(Director)Kent Cooper(Executive Officer)
SOMAVAC makes a smart surgical drain pump that delivers continuous sensor-controlled negative pressure therapy to the deep wound space, replacing traditional JP bulb drains and enabling earlier drain removal after surgery.
HardwareHealthtechMedical DevicesMemphis, US
Elizabeth Hoff(CEO)
StudioNow provides tools and resources for creative teams to optimize paid content production across multiple channels and formats.
Creator EconomyMarketing Tech
Children's Media Studio produces educational media, including the Sing And Spell phonics song and animation system, to teach early literacy skills such as letter sounds, sight words, and vocabulary.
EdTechMedia & Entertainment
Cathy Vangieri(President)Mark Radice(Director of Music)Todd Carter(Director of Animation & Technology)
Terra Watts is developing a technology to wirelessly transmit power through earthen material, aiming to provide energy access without traditional above-ground grid infrastructure.
CleantechDeep TechEnergyHardware
BiotechMemphis, US
Michael Shmerling(Director)Thomas Monath(Director)Mason Kauffman(Executive Officer, Director)Tommy Thompson(Director)David Williams(Director)Chris Przybyszewski(Executive Officer, Director)
Variable offers white-labeled hardware, software, and custom integrations for companies, including Variable Cloud, a web-based platform for building and managing color libraries.
Cloud ComputingHardwareSaaS
Whisper Aero develops electric propulsion technology for aircraft, emphasizing quiet, efficient thrust for urban air mobility and logistics.
Deep TechDefense TechEnergyHardwareMobility & TransportationTennessee, US
Mark Moore(Co-Founder, CEO)Ian Villa(Co-Founder, COO, CPO)Devon Jedamski(Chief Engineer)Thiago Olson(Director)
BoardShawn Carolan(Director)
Nashville, US
Martine Mahoney(Executive Officer)John Ingram(Director)Mary Elizabeth Wills(Director)Thomas Cunningham(Executive Officer)John Philip Hardin(Chief Executive Officer)Richard Patton(Director)
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesWhisper Aero · benzinga.com · Jul 18, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Launch Tennessee invest at?
- Launch Tennessee invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B stages.
- What sectors does Launch Tennessee focus on?
- Launch Tennessee focuses on Advanced Manufacturing, Biotech, Data & Infrastructure, E-commerce, EdTech, Energy, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Hardware, Medical Devices, Mobility & Transportation, New Materials, SaaS, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Launch Tennessee located?
- Launch Tennessee is headquartered in Nashville, US.
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