NYA's 4th Largest Month in the Past Decade - NYA Members Invest $1.8 Million: NYA News - May 2026Also Liz Lindsey's Farewell Letter, Kind Designs wins ACA 2026 Luis Villalobos Award in Tech
New York Angels closed out an extraordinary month, marking our 4th largest investment month in the past decade and continuing the momentum across the early-stage ecosystem. NYA portfolio company, Kind Designs, was honored with the 2026 Luis Villalobos Award in the Technology category, once again identifying it as one of the most promising startups shaping the future. NYA Members gathered to celebrate the retirement of Liz Lindsey, our longtime Executive Director, whose impact on New York Angels has been immeasurable. Read Liz’s farewell letter, portfolio highlights, and more in this month’s edition of the newsletter.
After 12 years with New York Angels, our Executive Director, Liz Lindsey is retiring. Liz shares her parting words upon her last few weeks before retirement. New York Angels Members celebrated Liz's retirement and her everlasting impact on the organization.
RECENT INVESTMENT ACTIVITY
New York Angels Members invested an impressive $1.8 million last month, which was one of the strongest investment months in the past decade.
APRIL INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Adlyse is building an “AI workforce” designed to help performance marketing teams analyze, optimize, and scale campaigns with greater speed and efficiency. As marketers face increasing pressure to improve ROI while managing growing complexity, Adlyse uses AI-driven analysis and automation to identify what is working, uncover inefficiencies, and streamline reporting across advertising channels. Sukriti Chadha and Larry Samuels were the deal leads for NYA Members on this investment.
AIQ Global is advancing precision oncology through AI-driven software that helps clinicians better understand how late-stage cancer patients are responding to treatment. Its FDA-cleared TRAQinform IQ platform delivers lesion-level imaging analytics designed to support more informed treatment decisions and improve patient outcomes. This is the second investment by NYA Members in the past year. Rob Hedlund and Tom Hirschfeld managed the follow-on round with AIQ Global.
Bounce Imaging offers a suite of tactical, 360-degree camera systems used by over 450 state and local law enforcement agencies and first responders, the FBI, U.S. Marshals and elite teams within the Department of Defense. The company was originally founded at the Harvard Innovation Laboratory and MIT. This new deal for NYA was led by Glen Lewy and Anne Friberg.
Caretech Human has developed AI-powered, contactless health monitoring technology designed to transform everyday routines into actionable healthcare insights. The Cornell-based startup’s toilet-integrated platform helps passively monitor key urological health indicators, supporting earlier detection and more personalized patient care. Recently, the company advanced clinical trials with major healthcare partners. Patrick Lambert and Mauri Rosenthal helped lead the deal for NYA Members.
Counterdrone has created the first universal multi-drone docking station that provides superior wind and weather resistance, while requiring a minimal amount of space. Drone docking stations are becoming a staple of aerial infrastructure, and Counterdrone stations are easily upgradeable and adaptable to new drones as organizations upgrade their drone fleet. Mike Gibbons and Anne Friberg led the new investment for NYA Members.
Kidas is building a safer digital world by empowering brands with seamless, scalable, and trusted scam protection. Kidas offers white-label solutions that defend against emerging threats and integrate with platforms their customers already use: SMS, voice communications, email, and gaming. Bruce Hack and Cindy Cook led the deal for NYA.
The Angel Capital Association proudly announced Kind Designs as the Technology winner of the 2026 Luis Villalobos Award at this year’s Summit of Angel Investing. This prestigious award recognizes the most innovative companies recently backed by ACA member groups. Kind Designs creates 3D-printed seawalls to protect coastal communities against rising sea levels and increased flooding.
Niles Lichtenstein, CEO and Founder of Nestment, is helping solve the housing crisis that impacts millions of people today by creating access to homeownership for first-time home buyers. In this interview, Niles discusses how he connected personally with NYA Members and how New York Angels created warm introductions to help build their client list of 50+ organizations. Niles also shares how Nestment focuses on the problem it is solving not the AI technology it uses and why its important to create meaningful societal impact through entrepreneurship.
PORTFOLIO NEWS
ATRAVERSE
Johnson & Johnson recently announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Atraverse Medical. Atraverse's Hotwire product is the first left-heart access system with impedance-guided technology and a mechanism to halt energy delivery to minimize unnecessary RF exposure in the left atrium. Read About Acquisition
PORTFOLIO NEWS
GOLDILOCK LABS
The UK National Cyber Security Centre has partnered with Goldilock Labs to manufacture and sell a new cyber security device globally globally. SilentGlass is a plug-and-play device that actively blocks any unexpected or malicious HDMI and Display Port connections. Read Announcement
PORTFOLIO NEWS
MM BRANDS
MM Brands Inc announced a strategic partnership with StateHouse Holdings Inc. to expand across California with their portfolio of leading legacy cannabis brands. Together, the companies will combine their leading brands and operations to scale production, streamline distribution, and expand retail access statewide for patients and consumers. Read About Expansion
PORTFOLIO NEWS
ORA GRAPHENE
Ora Graphene has partnered with NACON, a premium gaming gear company, to launch their groundbreaking audio technology and set a new standard for studio-grade game audio. The new RIG R-SERIES headsets are custom-tuned for first-person shooters offers improved spatial audio, allowing players to localize sounds and objects with enhanced speed and precision Read Article
NYA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Kit McQuiston joined New York Angels through a shared investment in the digital comics platform ComiXology, which later exited to Amazon. Kit has been an active New York Angels member and deal lead for the past nine years, and today serves as a Fund Administrator on the NYA Fund 2024. In this interview, he shares how he is constantly learning from fellow NYA members, the importance of investing in founders you genuinely connect with, and why having a strong lead investor can make all the difference for an early-stage company.
TECHCRUNCH
THE 12-MONTH WINDOW
AI investor Elad Gil identifies the 12-month exit window in a recent interivew. For most companies, Gil says, there is roughly a 12-month period where the business is at its peak value, “and then it crashes out.” To catch that window, Gil offered a practical suggestion: pre-schedule a board meeting once or twice a year specifically to discuss exits. If it is a standing calendar item, it drains the emotion out of the equation.
UPCOMING MEMBER MEETINGS
Investment Forum (Hybrid):
• May 20th (9:00 AM - 12:30 PM)
Screening (Hybrid):
• June 8th (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM)
FOUNDER DEADLINES
July Screening Application:
• June 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.
