SnapDNA

SnapDNA is solving the challenge of global food safety.

It’s created the first machine designed to replace all food pathogen lab tests. Using this machine, food companies can reduce the time for pathogen testing from three days to about an hour. In doing so, these companies can reduce pathogen outbreaks, lower costs, and bring fresher, safer food to customers.

SnapDNA has been selected as the preferred food testing platform by the USDA. And it’s undergone paid pilots with two of the world’s largest food companies: PepsiCo and Nestle.

Now it’s seeking capital to accelerate its growth, and achieve annual revenues of $140 million by 2025.

Simply put, when it comes to the food industry, there are too many recalls.

Food recalls for potentially deadly pathogens like Listeria, Salmonella, and E.coli are on the rise. Chipotle, for example, lost a reported eight billion dollars in sales due to contamination outbreaks. Romaine lettuce sellers lost $400 million in sales. And Blue Bell Ice Cream lost $125 million.

Diagnostic tools for tracing contaminations rely on outdated, 100-year-old technology. Furthermore, analysis of pathogens takes three to seven days in a specialized, off-site lab. And many of these tests can’t distinguish between a raging contamination and a single errant cell.

This is why it can take food companies months to find and verify the source of an outbreak. The longer it takes, the higher the financial risk. A single outbreak can cripple a large company and bankrupt a smaller one.

New technologies are needed to reduce the number and severity of outbreaks. Dozens of companies have tried. None have succeeded — until SnapDNA.

SnapDNA has created the first self-contained, on-site analysis machine. As mentioned, results are available in as little as an hour. And hundreds of food samples can be analyzed per day. Companies can save millions of dollars a year in storage costs and reduce exposure to contamination and recalls.

Unlike lab tests, SnapDNA provides quantitative data to reduce the time to find contaminations. It also enables predictive analytics to help prevent future outbreaks.

To use the machine, companies place food samples inside single-use cartridges. The machine can test a range of food sizes, from a tablespoon to a few liters. Each cartridge acts as a miniature, computer-controlled laboratory, and can be tested where food is produced, packaged, or grown.

SnapDNA’s machine is as accurate as a lab test and much less susceptible to human error. Test results are uploaded to the “cloud” so food professionals can monitor all of their facilities in real-time and identify potential contamination before a product is shipped.

SnapDNA sells its single-use cartridges at prices competitive with lab testing. It also provides analysis systems for a minimal upfront cost.

As mentioned, SnapDNA is the preferred testing platform by the USDA. USDA will certify SnapDNA products for use by all government agencies and food inspection services. This certification is rare and highly advantageous. Food companies prefer to use the same test as regulators and inspectors.

SnapDNA has been selected into several food-tech accelerators, including Plug and Play, Food Bytes, and Food Tech Accelerator. It’s also applied for multiple patents, and has already raised three million dollars from investors.

The company has commitments from category leaders in its targeted launch markets: leafy greens/produce and poultry. More broadly, it’s targeting the soon-to-be thirteen-billion-dollar food-pathogen testing market.

Team Background

Veronica De Guzman - Co-Founder

Veronica is a molecular biologist with twenty years of experience developing DNA analysis products and services. She once developed a product that is now used by a two-billion-dollar DNA sequencing company.

Prior to working for SnapDNA, she was a scientist with MAP Pharmaceuticals. Before that, she was a post doctoral researcher with NASA, focused on single molecule biomechanics.

Earlier in her career, she spent four years as a graduate researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Before that, she worked for Inhale Therapeutics, a research and development company focused on the biopharmaceutical industry.

Veronica holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Davis and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Tom Jacobs - Co-Founder

Tom has twenty-five years of sales leadership experience, most notably at food processing companies.

He began his career as a national account manager with Tyson Foods, where he worked for 12 years. From there, he was a national account manager with National Steak & Poultry.

After that, he was Director of National Account Sales with Chicago Meat Authority, a food production company. He then was a partner with PJT Concepts, a business development company focused on the restaurant industry.

Tom earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management from the University of Maryland.

Gabriel Matus - Process Engineer

Gabriel brings eighteen years of process engineering experience to the company. And his designs are used in eleven billion dollars worth of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

Prior to joining the company, he was a process engineering manager with Alphabet Energy, a company creating thermoelectric materials for converting waste heat into electricity. Before that, he was a process consultant with GMCC, a civic and social organization based in Minnesota.

Earlier in his career, Gabriel was a packaging lead with Spatial Photonics, a semiconductor company. Before that, he was an optical projects manager with MicroAssembly Technologies, another semiconductor company.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

David Medin - Co-Founder & CEO

David has thirty years of experience as an executive. He’s led multi-billion-dollar businesses and global product development teams.

Prior to starting SnapDNA, he was Vice President of Electrical Engineering with Spatial Photonics, a company in the semiconductor industry. Before that, he was Chief Technology Officer with Tvia, another semiconductor business.

Earlier, he worked in business development for NVIDIA Corporation, a computer hardware company. Before that, he spent ten years as President and CEO of Innovation Corporation, a semiconductor company.

David earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Co-Investors