No public source ranks biotech angels, so this list is in no particular order. Biotech angel money mostly arrives through specialist groups such as Life Science Angels, Mid-Atlantic Bio Angels and Keiretsu Forum, plus a few individuals with public biotech bets, including Elad Gil and Sam Altman. Each fact links to its source.
How is biotech angel investing different from software?
A biotech company can spend years and a large amount of capital before it has a product, so angels who back it often act as a group or alongside larger funds. Life Science Angels, for example, describes its approach on its investment process page: it makes one check for the whole group, with members pooling their holdings through special purpose LLCs, and it prefers a board seat, observer or advisor role. Its pre-screening also asks whether the money raised can take the company to a value inflection point of at least 2X before the next raise.
That milestone logic is why the groups below matter more than any one wealthy individual. The individuals listed are included because they have a documented biotech record, not because their checks are typical.
Who are the biotech angel groups and investors to know?
Elad Gil
Gil's own site says he runs Gil&Co, a multi-stage investment firm, started Mixerlabs and Color Health, and is involved with the anti-aging biotech companies BioAge and NewLimit. He holds a PhD from MIT and says he funded a Stanford clinical trial on aging that did not work. Newcomer reported in February 2022 that he co-led BioAge Labs' $90 million round with Andreessen Horowitz in 2020 and chairs the board of Spring Discovery, where he took part in a $32 million Series B in 2021. Lenny's Newsletter ranks him third among the most active US angels over five years, though it describes his current focus as mostly AI.
Keiretsu Forum
Keiretsu Forum says on its homepage that it has 53 chapters on four continents, made up of accredited angel, private equity and venture investors. It cites more than 380 company fundings in 2021. The site does not name a sector mandate, but its recent portfolio members include Spinal Simplicity, and its news items tag exits for therapeutics companies such as Kineta and Aprea Therapeutics. Founders apply through an "Apply To Present" page.
Life Science Angels
Life Science Angels says on its homepage that it has invested in early-stage life science companies since 2005 and invests in life sciences exclusively. It cites a 2014 CB Insights ranking as the number one angel group, which is the group's own claim. Its investment process has four stages. Pre-screening checks the problem, the solution, the team and the use of proceeds. At a bi-weekly screening meeting companies present for 15 minutes and take 10 minutes of questions, and about two-thirds of deals are passed there, usually within about two weeks. Due diligence follows with a one-hour meeting, and about two-thirds are passed again. The group then makes one investment, usually seeks a board seat or board visitation rights, and sends members a K-1 each year for tax reporting.
Mid-Atlantic Bio Angels (BioAngels)
The group calls itself an angel investor group focused exclusively on new and emerging life science companies. Membership is by application for individual accredited investors and for institutions that want to invest alongside the angels, and it runs co-investment sidecar funds. Entrepreneurs can submit a funding application or, if not yet ready, apply to pitch to a panel of its investors for feedback. BioSpace reported in April 2026 that founder Yaniv Sneor started it because life science groups were scarce, and that its members include physicians, biotech and medtech executives, attorneys, investors and regulatory specialists.
Sam Altman
MIT Technology Review reported in March 2023 that Altman put up the $180 million that funded Retro Biosciences in 2021, a company aiming to extend human lifespan through rejuvenation of the body. That is far beyond an angel check. He is here because it shows the other end of personal capital in biotech, not because that scale is typical of an angel.
What do the groups screen for?
Life Science Angels publishes its screen as four questions: what problem the company solves, what it built and how that solves the problem, whether the team can reach its next milestones, and whether the money raised reaches an inflection point. The presentation format it describes is 15 minutes of pitch and 10 of questions.
BioAngels' criteria come through the BioSpace piece. Sneor names the management team as the most important criterion, wanting leaders who are commercially minded and adaptable. BioAngels favors companies that could change the standard of care rather than improve on it slightly, prefers an acquisition to an IPO, and favors deals that do not need large later financing rounds, since angels are diluted in big venture-style raises. Its site, per BioSpace, describes syndicated rounds of typically under $10 million each, totaling about $30 million or less before exit. Alex Pederson, a BioAngels investor and partner at Alloy Bio Consulting whose sweet spot is therapeutics, says he tests whether the clinical plan supports the commercial plan and whether the endpoints would matter to a buyer. He also says many pitches cite markets of $10 billion or more that he doubts, and that proof points should match the asset type and stage.
What non-dilutive money sits alongside angels?
The U.S. SBIR and STTR programs are funding from federal agencies that the SBIR site describes as equity-free and non-dilutive, and it says that as of October 16, 2026, agencies may issue up to $335,937 for Phase I and $2,239,578 for Phase II without a waiver. The programs serve American small businesses. For therapeutics and tools companies, which can need years of lab work before revenue, this is a category of money that sits outside the angel round. The Defense Department's share of the program is covered in the defense-tech angels page.
How long do the groups take, and where do founders apply?
Life Science Angels says its screening team typically communicates a decision within about two weeks of the screening meeting, and it often invites companies it passes on to resubmit after milestones are met. Because about two-thirds of deals are passed at each of two stages, the group's own numbers describe a narrow funnel. Keiretsu takes applications through its "Apply To Present" page, Life Science Angels' process starts with reference checks and a referring member or partner, and BioAngels takes a funding application or a panel pitch for feedback.
For care-delivery and digital health groups, see the healthcare angels page. For background on the sector, read angel investing in biotech and life sciences. To compare routes, how to join an angel group or syndicate and how to find angel investors for your startup cover the options, and angel investing due diligence lists questions investors ask. More lists are in the angel investing section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:Who is the top biotech angel investor?
No public source ranks biotech angels. Lenny's Newsletter ranks US angels by activity across all sectors, and Life Science Angels cites a 2014 CB Insights ranking of angel groups, which is its own claim. Neither measures results in biotech.
Q:Do biotech angels invest alone or in groups?
Often in groups. Life Science Angels makes a single check through special purpose LLCs, BioAngels runs sidecar funds beside its angels, and Keiretsu Forum is a network of chapters of accredited investors. Individuals such as Gil and Altman invest personally or through their own firms.
Q:What is SBIR funding?
SBIR and STTR are U.S. federal programs for small businesses. The SBIR site describes the funding as equity-free and non-dilutive, with Phase I awards of up to $335,937 and Phase II awards of up to $2,239,578 as of October 2026 without a waiver. The agency and its topics determine which companies can apply.
Q:How long does a biotech angel group take to decide?
Life Science Angels says its screening step usually ends with a decision within about two weeks, and that about two-thirds of deals are passed at that stage and again at due diligence. Other groups publish no timeline in the sources used here.