jLabs

ActiveVenture Capital

Updated: Mar 19, 2026 ·

About

JLABS operates as Johnson & Johnson’s global incubator network, providing a comprehensive platform for life science and health technology startups. This initiative offers capital-efficient lab space and critical resources, including scientific expertise, a collaborative community, and strategic industry connections. Its core capability lies in supporting the incubation, growth, and optimization of early-stage research and development, facilitating both physical residency in key hubs and virtual membership for innovators worldwide.

Founded as a strategic initiative by Johnson & Johnson, JLABS was established with the insight that fostering external innovation is crucial for accelerating healthcare breakthroughs. The program began with its first site in San Diego in 2012, aiming to dismantle barriers for early scientific discoveries. It leverages the extensive resources and knowledge of its parent company to empower promising ventures.

The primary beneficiaries of JLABS are early-stage companies and innovators across the life science and health technology spectrum, ranging from nascent virtual startups to those requiring full laboratory facilities. Its overarching mission is to accelerate the development and delivery of novel healthcare solutions globally, ensuring that groundbreaking ideas receive the necessary support to mature and ultimately impact patient care.

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Investments Made

Date	Company	Round	Lead Investor(s)	Co-Investor(s)
Mar 1, 2025	Mimo	$9.0M Venture Round	—	Jlabs, LAUNCH, Northzone, Passion Capital, SuperAngel.Fund, Velo Capital Partners LLP, Abdul Hye, Bernhard Niesner, Johann "Hansi" Hansmann, Jonathan Wasserstrum, Steven Sinofsky, Victoria van Lennep, Vishal Rao
Oct 1, 2024	Glooko	$100.0M Series F	—	Canaan Partners, Jlabs, rocketship.vc, Social Capital, Tribe Capital, Bill Campbell, Sundeep Madra
Mar 1, 2024	Superlinked	$10.0M Seed	—	AlleyCorp, Atomico, Broadway Angels, Felicis Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Hack VC, Index Ventures, Jlabs, Kleiner Perkins, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Motier Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Plug & Play Ventures, Scale Asia Ventures, Silicon Valley Connect, Soma Capital, Stellar Capital, Theory Ventures, TQ Ventures, Two Bear Capital, Unconventional Ventures, Chafic Kazoun, Colin Carrier, Ido Leffler, Karim Atiyeh, Kevin Lin, Loic Le Meur, Manish Patel, Ron Pragides, Sam Shank, Shervin Pishevar
Oct 1, 2023	Tavolo	$1.0M Seed	—	Bread and Butter Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Jlabs, Seven Seven Six, Spark Capital, John Lilic, Mark Cuban, Mark Pincus
Apr 1, 2023	Mansa	$8.0M Seed	—	Backstage Capital, Forum Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Hyperplane, Jlabs, MaC Venture Capital, Pareto Holdings, Ribbit Capital, Seven Seven Six, Social Capital, Spark Capital, Harry Hurst, John Lilic, Kevin O'Leary, Mark Cuban, Mark Pincus, Rob Solomon
Mar 1, 2023	DragonflyDB	$21.0M Series A	—	Andreessen Horowitz, Atomico, Bessemer Venture Partners, Broadway Angels, Felicis Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Hack VC, Jlabs, Kleiner Perkins, Norwest Venture Partners, Plug & Play Ventures, Quiet Capital, Silicon Valley Connect, Soma Capital, Theory Ventures, TQ Ventures, Unconventional Ventures, Chafic Kazoun, Colin Carrier, Frederic Kerrest, Gokul Rajaram, Ido Leffler, Karim Atiyeh, Kevin Lin, Loic Le Meur, Manish Patel, Ron Pragides, Ryan Carlson, Sam Shank, Shervin Pishevar
Mar 1, 2023	Superfiliate	$3.0M Seed	—	10X Capital, Access Biotechnology, AirAngels, Awesome People Ventures, Darling Ventures, Hawke Ventures, Jlabs, LAUNCH, Menlo Ventures, Passion Capital, QEY Capital, SuperAngel.Fund, Velo Capital Partners LLP, Abdul Hye, Baron Davis, Bobby Goodlatte, Jonathan Wasserstrum, Niklas Jansen, Scott Belsky, Shane Neman, Siqi Chen, Steven Sinofsky, Victoria van Lennep, Vishal Rao
Feb 1, 2023	Superchain Network	$4.0M Seed	—	Galaxy Digital, Jlabs, Seven Seven Six, Spark Capital, Kevin O'Leary, Mark Cuban, Mark Pincus
Feb 1, 2023	Stelo Labs	$6.0M Seed	—	10X Capital, Access Biotechnology, AirAngels, Awesome People Ventures, B Capital Group, Byers Capital, Coatue, Darling Ventures, EQT Ventures, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Jlabs, Menlo Ventures, QEY Capital, Ribbit Capital, Sherpalo Ventures, Stripe, Unusual Ventures, Valar Ventures, World Fund, Baron Davis, Bobby Goodlatte, Bradley Horowitz, Charles Delingpole, James Beshara, Jeffrey Wilke, Manik Gupta, Mike Tsao, Niklas Jansen, Nik Sharma, Paul Forster, Ryan Tabone, Scott Belsky, Shane Neman, Shishir Mehrotra, Siqi Chen, Stefan Jeschonnek
Oct 1, 2022	RYE	$14.0M Seed	—	Altair Capital Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Antler, Jamison Hill, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Foundamental, Fuel Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, Iterative, Jlabs, Madrona Ventures, NFX, Polygon, Uncorrelated Ventures, Unusual Ventures, Balaji Srinivasan, Evan Moore, Jeffrey Wilke, Louis Beryl, Matt Mickiewicz, Peter Kazanjy, Prashant Malik, Surojit Chatterjee, Tony Jamous, Will Martin
Aug 1, 2022	Goldcast	$28.0M Series A	—	Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Jlabs, Unusual Ventures, James Beshara, Jeffrey Wilke, Louis Beryl
Aug 1, 2022	Vespene Energy	$4.0M Seed	—	Jlabs, Jude Gomila Rolling Fund, Polychain Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Charlie Cheever, Charlie Songhurst
Jul 1, 2022	Spotnana	$75.0M Series B	—	Atomico, Broadway Angels, Felicis Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Hack VC, Jlabs, Kleiner Perkins, Norwest Venture Partners, Plug & Play Ventures, Silicon Valley Connect, Soma Capital, Theory Ventures, TQ Ventures, Unconventional Ventures, Chafic Kazoun, Colin Carrier, Ido Leffler, Karim Atiyeh, Kevin Lin, Loic Le Meur, Manish Patel, Sam Shank, Shervin Pishevar
Jun 1, 2022	Aidaly	$9.0M Seed	—	Alumni Ventures, Autotech Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Freestyle Capital, Galaxy Digital, Greycroft, Harlem Capital, Innovation Works, Primetime Partners, Scribble Ventures, Seven Seven Six, Spark Capital, Wealthing VC Club, John Lilic, Kevin O'Leary, Marco A. Casas, Mark Cuban, Mark Pincus, Ron Pragides, Ted Serbinski
May 1, 2022	Lang.ai	$11.0M Series A	—	Atomico, Broadway Angels, Felicis Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Hack VC, Jlabs, Kleiner Perkins, Norwest Venture Partners, Plug & Play Ventures, Silicon Valley Connect, Soma Capital, Theory Ventures, TQ Ventures, Unconventional Ventures, Chafic Kazoun, Colin Carrier, Ido Leffler, Karim Atiyeh, Kevin Lin, Loic Le Meur, Ron Pragides, Sam Shank, Shervin Pishevar
May 1, 2022	Logseq	$4.0M Seed	—	Aglae Ventures, AirAngels, Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, C2 Investment, Divergent Capital, Felicis Ventures, FJ Labs, Flex Capital, FTX Ventures, Jlabs, Jude Gomila Rolling Fund, Lowercarbon Capital, Otherwise Fund, Pareto Holdings, Polychain Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Serena Ventures, Seven Seven Six, Sherpalo Ventures, Social Capital, Sweet Capital, The Hit Forge, Union Square Ventures, Unruly Capital, World Fund, Akshay Kothari, Azeem Azhar, Balaji Srinivasan, Charlie Songhurst, Claire Hughes Johnson, Derrick Li, Ellen Pao, James Beshara, Jeremy Stoppelman, Jeremy Yap, Manu Ginobilli, Marcos Galperin, Michael Ma, Nitay Joffe, Sahil Lavingia, Sam Blond, Scott Belsky, Seth Goldman, Tikhon Bernstam, Varadh Jain
Apr 1, 2022	Exogene	$2.0M Seed	—	Ada Ventures, Jlabs, Jude Gomila Rolling Fund, Polychain Capital, R42 Group, Balaji Srinivasan, Charlie Cheever, Charlie Songhurst
Apr 1, 2022	Context	$20.0M Seed	—	2048 Ventures, Alt Capital, C2 Investment, Coatue, Data Tech Fund, DST Global, Foundation Capital, Founders Fund, Greenfield One, Iporanga Ventures, Jlabs, Khosla Ventures, LAUNCH, LGF, Mechanism Capital, Mischief Venture Capital, monashees, Pale Blue Dot, Pioneer Fund, Prototype Capital, Ride Ventures, Sixth Street, Sound Ventures, Y Combinator, Arash Ferdowsi, Ben Tossell, Claire Hughes Johnson, Dylan Field, Gokul Rajaram, Jaan Tallinn, Kevin Lin, Parker Conrad, Roger Laughlin Carvallo, Scot Wingo, Sebastien Borget, Stewart Butterfield
Mar 1, 2022	Climate X	$5.0M Seed	—	A/O PropTech, Atomico, Backed VC, Brand Capital International, Broadway Angels, Felicis Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Frontline Ventures, General Catalyst, Hack VC, Jlabs, Kleiner Perkins, Northzone, Norwest Venture Partners, Pale Blue Dot, Pareto Holdings, Picus Capital, Plug & Play Ventures, Point Nine Capital, Silicon Valley Connect, Soma Capital, Stanley Ventures, Theory Ventures, Nicholas Shekerdemian, TQ Ventures, Unconventional Ventures, Albert Armengol, Chafic Kazoun, Colin Carrier, Felipe Navio, Hanno Renner, Ido Leffler, Juan Urdiales, Karim Atiyeh, Kevin Lin, Loic Le Meur, Manish Patel, Michael Wax, Ron Pragides, Sam Shank, Shervin Pishevar
Mar 1, 2022	Unleash	$14.0M Series A	—	Galaxy Digital, Jlabs, Seven Seven Six, Spark Capital, John Lilic, Kevin O'Leary, Mark Cuban, Mark Pincus
Mar 1, 2022	Fractal Analytics	$35.0M Seed	—	Alumni Ventures, Beat Ventures, Bond, Flourish Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Greylock, Hashed, IVP, Jlabs, Lightspeed India Partners, Menlo Ventures, Montage Ventures, Multicoin Capital, Carmen Chang, Not Boring Capital, Paradigm, Republic, Sequoia Capital, Seven Seven Six, Social Capital, Spark Capital, Tiger Global Management, Trucks Venture Capital, True Ventures, Upfront Ventures, Anthony Pompliano, Jaime Schmidt, Jehan Chu, John Lilic, Josh Elman, Kevin O'Leary, Marcy Simon, Mark Cuban, Shane Neman, Steve Aoki
Mar 1, 2022	prePO	$2.0M Seed	—	Animoca Brands, Bankless Ventures, Gumi Cryptos Capital, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Jlabs, Jude Gomila Rolling Fund, Mechanism Capital, ParaFi Capital, Polychain Capital, Polygon, Scalar Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Charlie Cheever, Furqan Rydhan, Sebastien Borget, Stani Kulechov
Feb 1, 2022	Goldcast	$10.0M Seed	—	Abstract Ventures, Kevin Hartz, AirAngels, Alt Capital, Alumni Ventures, Antler, Banana Capital, David Namdar, Craft Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Earl Grey Capital, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Felicis Ventures, Flybridge, Founders Fund, Humba Ventures, Jlabs, Jude Gomila Rolling Fund, Kearny Jackson, Khosla Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Meritech Capital Partners, Mischief Venture Capital, Offline Ventures, Pioneer Fund, Saga, Sequoia Capital, SNR, Stripe, The Community Fund, Unusual Ventures, YLEM, Dan Wright, David Petersen, Dharmesh Shah, Eric Ries, Esther Dyson, Frederic Kerrest, Gokul Rajaram, Gordon Wintrob, James Beshara, Jeffrey Wilke, Jeremy Cai, Joel Englander, Jon Runyan, Louis Beryl, Mathilde Collin, Max Mullen, Miki Kuusi, Paul Rios, Ryan Carlson, Ryan Chan, Scott Belsky, Siqi Chen, Susan Kimberlin, Tony Xu, Zack Kanter
Oct 1, 2021	Karat	$110.0M Series C	—	8VC, ARCH Venture Partners, Atomico, Broadway Angels, Eurazeo, Felicis Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Hack VC, Jlabs, Kima Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Lux Capital, Scott Gottlieb, Norwest Venture Partners, Outrun Ventures, Picus Capital, Plug & Play Ventures, #SecretFund, Silicon Valley Connect, Soma Capital, Theory Ventures, Tiger Global Management, TQ Ventures, Unconventional Ventures, Chafic Kazoun, Colin Carrier, Ido Leffler, Jean Charles Samuelian, Karim Atiyeh, Kevin Lin, Loic Le Meur, Manish Patel, Ron Pragides, Roxanne Varza, Sam Shank, Shervin Pishevar
Sep 1, 2021	Fulfilld	$3.0M Seed	—	Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Jlabs, LAUNCH, Lightbank, Matchstick Ventures, Pi Labs, TenOneTen Ventures, Unusual Ventures, Garrett Smallwood, James Beshara, Louis Beryl, 645 Ventures, Flex Capital, Foundry Group, Freestyle Capital, Recursive Ventures, Thomas Noonan, Trajectory Ventures, True Ventures

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Leadership Team

Key people at jLabs.

Jonathan Yaari

Angel

Leadership Team

Key people at jLabs.

Jonathan Yaari

Angel

Deep Dive

High-Level Overview

JLABS is Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s global life science incubator and accelerator network, designed to support early-stage healthcare innovators across pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer health, and health tech. Its mission is to create a leading global innovation ecosystem that generates transformational healthcare solutions by removing barriers for startups with strong science and unmet medical needs. Unlike a traditional venture capital firm, JLABS operates on a “no strings attached” model: it does not take equity or claim IP from resident companies. Instead, it provides infrastructure, mentorship, and access to Johnson & Johnson’s vast network of experts, investors, and commercial capabilities.

JLABS focuses on nurturing science-driven startups at the earliest stages, helping them translate breakthrough discoveries into viable companies. By offering shared lab space, state-of-the-art equipment, educational programming, and curated connections to investors and industry partners, JLABS plays a critical enabling role in the life sciences startup ecosystem. Its presence lowers the capital burden for founders and accelerates time-to-market, making it a powerful force in de-risking and scaling early healthcare innovation.

Origin Story

JLABS originated as Janssen Labs, an initiative launched by Johnson & Johnson’s innovation arm, Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJI), to tap into external innovation beyond its internal R&D engine. The network was formally branded as JLABS in the early 2010s as part of a broader strategy to build a global innovation footprint and engage with entrepreneurs developing cutting-edge science in areas aligned with J&J’s healthcare priorities. The model evolved from the recognition that many promising life science startups fail not due to weak science, but because of operational hurdles, lack of infrastructure, and limited access to experienced mentors and capital.

Over time, JLABS expanded from its initial U.S.-based locations into a global network, establishing sites in major biotech hubs including San Diego, San Francisco, Boston, Houston, Toronto, and others. Each location is embedded within or adjacent to existing innovation ecosystems, allowing startups to benefit from local talent and networks while gaining access to J&J’s global resources. The program has since become a cornerstone of Johnson & Johnson’s open innovation strategy, supporting hundreds of companies across the healthcare spectrum.

Core Differentiators

No-Equity, No-IP Model: JLABS does not take equity stakes or assert claims on intellectual property, making it uniquely founder-friendly compared to most corporate incubators and accelerators.

Turnkey Lab Infrastructure: Resident companies gain access to fully equipped, shared laboratory spaces with advanced instrumentation (e.g., mass spectrometers, biosafety cabinets, autoclaves), reducing upfront capital needs and time to experiment.

Johnson & Johnson Network Access: Startups are connected to the “Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies” through JPALS (Johnson & Johnson Partnerships for Accelerated Learning and Support), giving them mentorship from seasoned industry leaders in R&D, regulatory, manufacturing, and commercialization.

Investor & Partner Connectivity: JLABS runs an active Investor Hub that connects portfolio companies with global healthcare investors, strategic partners, and potential acquirers, significantly increasing their visibility and fundraising potential.

Cross-Sector Healthcare Focus: The incubator supports innovation across pharma, medtech, consumer health, and digital health, enabling interdisciplinary collaboration and broader impact.

Global Footprint with Local Integration: With multiple locations in key biotech clusters, JLABS combines global reach with local ecosystem integration, offering startups both scale and community.

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

JLABS sits at the intersection of three powerful trends: the rise of decentralized biotech innovation, the increasing importance of open innovation in large pharma, and the growing demand for faster, more agile pathways to bring healthcare solutions to patients. As drug discovery becomes more democratized—enabled by advances in synthetic biology, AI-driven drug design, and decentralized clinical trials—incubators like JLABS are essential infrastructure for translating academic and early-stage science into viable companies.

The timing is particularly favorable: with rising healthcare costs, aging populations, and persistent unmet medical needs, there is strong pressure to accelerate innovation. Large pharmaceutical companies can no longer rely solely on internal pipelines; they must partner with or acquire external innovation. JLABS strengthens this pipeline by de-risking early-stage ventures and preparing them for partnerships, licensing deals, or acquisition by J&J or other players.

Moreover, JLABS influences the broader ecosystem by setting a high bar for corporate incubators: combining deep scientific rigor with operational support and a truly neutral stance toward equity and IP. This model encourages more entrepreneurs to pursue high-risk, high-reward healthcare ventures, knowing they can access world-class resources without sacrificing ownership or control.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, JLABS is well-positioned to deepen its role as a global gateway for healthcare innovation. As the lines between biotech, medtech, and digital health continue to blur, JLABS’ cross-sector mandate will become even more valuable, enabling convergence around complex problems like chronic disease management, personalized medicine, and AI-augmented diagnostics.

The network may expand further into emerging biotech hubs and deepen its digital health and AI integration, potentially launching specialized tracks or verticals (e.g., AI-first therapeutics, digital biomarkers, or decentralized clinical trial platforms). At the same time, JLABS will likely continue refining its “no strings attached” model, serving as a blueprint for how large corporations can engage with startups in a way that builds trust, fosters innovation, and ultimately delivers better outcomes for patients.

In a world where the next breakthrough therapy or medtech device could come from a garage lab or university spinout, JLABS stands as a critical enabler—turning bold science into real-world impact, one startup at a time.

Sources

High-Level Overview

Origin Story

Core Differentiators

No-Equity, No-IP Model: JLABS does not take equity stakes or assert claims on intellectual property, making it uniquely founder-friendly compared to most corporate incubators and accelerators.

Turnkey Lab Infrastructure: Resident companies gain access to fully equipped, shared laboratory spaces with advanced instrumentation (e.g., mass spectrometers, biosafety cabinets, autoclaves), reducing upfront capital needs and time to experiment.

Johnson & Johnson Network Access: Startups are connected to the “Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies” through JPALS (Johnson & Johnson Partnerships for Accelerated Learning and Support), giving them mentorship from seasoned industry leaders in R&D, regulatory, manufacturing, and commercialization.

Investor & Partner Connectivity: JLABS runs an active Investor Hub that connects portfolio companies with global healthcare investors, strategic partners, and potential acquirers, significantly increasing their visibility and fundraising potential.

Cross-Sector Healthcare Focus: The incubator supports innovation across pharma, medtech, consumer health, and digital health, enabling interdisciplinary collaboration and broader impact.

Global Footprint with Local Integration: With multiple locations in key biotech clusters, JLABS combines global reach with local ecosystem integration, offering startups both scale and community.