Eshelman Innovation Venture Studio (Kairos)

Eshelman Innovation Venture Studio (Kairos)

Runs Eshelman Innovation Venture Studio to build and capitalize digital health startups through structured programs.

The Eshelman Innovation Venture Studio, now branded Kairos, is a public-private partnership managed by Eshelman Innovation — the innovation arm of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The studio conceives, de-risks, incorporates, and capitalises digital health startups, pairing UNC-affiliated faculty innovators with student venture builders in 6-month sprint programmes. Active sprint locations include Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Durham, and Asheville, North Carolina, with HBCU partnerships at NC Central University (NCCU) and NC A&T.

Startups progress through a five-stage pipeline: initial venture creation and hypothesis development; a 13-week stage-gated Venture Diligence process culminating in a pitch to an external investment committee; formal company incorporation and founder recruitment; startup capitalisation at approximately $1 million of pre-seed investment per launched company, together with back-office services covering finance, HR, payroll, legal, and marketing; and, for eligible concepts, a separate Eshelman Innovation validation grant for technology or clinical validation work. The programme targets a VC fundraising round within 12–18 months of launch. Active portfolio companies include Goldie (paramedic workflow tooling), Valable (opioid-use-disorder recovery tracking), Kudo Health (rural pharmacist platform), and TerraLink (food insecurity/community garden tech).

The programme is open exclusively to UNC-Chapel Hill faculty, UNC system researchers, and student venture builders admitted to the Kairos sprint. Entry is through sprint application and concept submission; there is no external open application process. The instrument is equity pre-seed investment, not a non-dilutive grant.