CAV Angels, an investment syndicate composed of University of Virginia alumni, students and friends, closed 2023 with more than $1 million in investments across three startups.
The recipients include:
- One Health Group — This upstate New York medical technology company is developing a health and wellness platform for animals called Voyce.
- Alfie Health — A New York City company that uses proprietary AI technology for an obesity management platform called ObesityRx.
- Clockwork — A Charlotteville company that offers technology and services to streamline private investment monitoring, due diligence and company financial management.
CAV Angels said it closed 2023 with its investments down 25% year over year, citing deal quality, the economy and a “level of investor pickiness” for the slowdown. It made its investments in the three companies across 10 days toward the end of the year, and said fourth-quarter investment for the group was up 165% over the fourth quarter of 2022.
Last year, CAV Angels crossed the $20 million mark in startup investments since its founding in 2015. All the companies the group invests in have a connection to the University of Virginia.
“Some people ask if that is restrictive, and we have found is that it is not,” Rich Diemer, CAV Angels co-chair, told us in June. “Charlottesville, Virginia, like Richmond, is an undiscovered place. People don’t look to invest money in startups [located there].”
Unlike other investment organizations, CAV Angels does not take a large management fee. The organization has no paid staff and only takes a small percentage for administrative and legal fees, Diemer told us.
