NYA News - April 2025: 286 investments, 37 rounds in 2024NYA's Esther Dyson Inducted into NYC Tech Hall of Fame, Bruce Kaminstein on CNBC, Interviews with Glen Lewy and Membrion's Greg Newbloom
New York Angels Members recently hosted its 2024 Annual Meeting to reflect on the past year's successes. NYA Members doubled their investments from the previous year, funding innovation and entrepreneurship in almost 40 companies. As one of the leading angel investment groups in the country, NYA members made 286 investments in 37 rounds in 2024.
Read more about the 2024 investment activity and the latest in NYA news in this newsletter:
NYA NEWS NEW YORK ANGELS MEMBERS DOUBLE INVESTMENTS IN 2024
In our 2024 Annual Meeting, NYA Members recognized their successes inlcuding doubling their investments from the prior year and continued membership growth. NYA Board Member Simon Hopkins breaks down the details of investment activity including details on average check size and new and follow-on investments, increased use of SAFEs, and the strong momentum in early 2025.
RECENT INVESTMENT ACTIVITY
New York Angels Members invested $363k in two new investments last month.
MARCH INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Hinalea Imaging provides machine learning-powered hyperspectral imaging solutions for food quality inspection and testing, precision agriculture, industrial, and bio-medical applications. The Hinalea team has extensive industry knowledge, and the founder and CEO, Barry McDonough, led the spinout of Hinalea from TruTag Technologies. Doug Pearson and Michael Gibbons led this deal.
EndoShunt is a novel surgical tool for controlling abdominal bleeding, allowing surgeons to place a temporary, length-adjustable shunt within the major abdominal vessels. EndoShunt was the Student Health & Life Sciences winner in the 2024 Havard Innovation Labs President's Innovation Challenge. John Younger and Mauri Rosenthal managed closing the investment for NYA Members.
FOUNDER SPOTLIGHT
As the Founder and CEO of Membrion, Greg Newbloom says the best part of his job is working with his awesome team. Membrion is a cleantech startup that specializes in electro-ceramic desalination to recycle wastewater from harsh industrial processes. Greg discusses why NYA is an easy to group to work with, why founders need 6-9 months for fundraising, and what causes deep friction between investors and founders.
COMPANY NEWS
CHERRE
Cherre was recently awarded the 2025 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Award in Real Estate by the Business Intelligence Group. The award recognizes outstanding organizations, products, and individuals who are driving innovation and redefining possibilities in AI. ReadAbout the Award
COMPANY NEWS MEMBRION
Membrion was named one of the top Green Tech Companies in America by Time and Statista. Membrion was recognized for its leadership in electro-desalination and being one of the few sustainable wastewater treatment options that actually lowers facility operating costs. See All Winners
COMPANY NEWS
EPICURED
Epicured has partnered with Staten Island Performing Provider System and the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health to launch "Fair Start" - a new initiative aimed at demonstrating how access to healthy food, regular primary care, public health resources, and exercise can significantly improve health outcomes and promote overall well-being. Read Announcement
CNBC: ANGEL INVESTING AND TARIFFS
NYA Member Bruce Kaminstein was featured on CNBC to discuss the effects of tarrifs on angel investing. Bruce addresses the severe impact tarrifs will have on companies, importing, manufacturing, jobs, consumer pricing, margins, investing and more.
NYA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Glen Lewy began his career in corporate law, transitioned into investment banking, and then moved into venture capital. Although Glen is “retired”, he remains active in finance by advising venture funds, sitting on boards, and investing as a New York Angel member. Glen shares his experience working with Enertiv, initially passing on an investment that turned out to be his best investment ever, and his experience learning from two incredible mentors: Jim Wolfensohn and Paul Volcker.
MEMBER EVENTS STARTUP BOARDS
The Member Engagement team hosted an event on Startup Boards. NYA Member Vijay Aggarwal presented, followed by a discussion featuring panelists who are currently serving on the boards of companies and founders of NYA portfolio companies.
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS MIT ACCELERATOR
New York Angels Chair Cindy Cook was one of the four judges in the 3rd Annual MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition. Cindy represents NYA and its commitment to investing in female founders and the early-stage investment community.
MEMBER EVENTS WOMEN'S LUNCH
Female New York Angels members gathered for a spring luncheon featuring a fireside chat with Esther Dyson. As one of the founding members of NYA and a very early tech investor, Esther shared her legendary stories about health and wellness investing and philanthropy. New York Angels has been one of the premier networks for angel investors since its beginnings and continues to play an important role in early-stage investing as we recruit female members and invest in female founders.
PRIMARY VENTURE PARTNERS
HOW NYC BECAME A TECH TOWN: ESTHER DYSON SHAPED THE STORY
New York Angels long-time member Esther Dyson has had a tremendous impact on shaping the tech community. She was recently inducted into the New York City Tech Hall of Fame for her work as a founder, investor, commentator, journalist, and philanthropist. Esther is also expected to release her latest book Term Limits: A design for living in the age of AI next year.
UPCOMING MEMBER MEETINGS
Investment Forum (Hybrid):
• April 21st (9:00 AM - 12:30 PM)
May Screening (Hybrid):
• May 5th (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM)
FOUNDER DEADLINES
May Screening Application:
• April 14th
*New York Angels, Inc. ("NYA") is a not-for-profit corporation that is funded by membership dues for individuals and/or entities that NYA has designated as members as well as from certain sponsors. Its purposes include providing administrative support to its members. NYA does not invest in companies. Investments, if made, are made by individual members of NYA.
