Mary Minno launches residency-venture program for health AI

Mary Minno, an investor and former product manager at Google, announced on Wednesday the launch of Treehub, an early-stage startup accelerator program, and the AI Health Fund, an early-stage venture firm. The AI Health Fund serves as the venture arm of the Treehub residency, a six-month program where founders apply to incubate their ideas and find product-market fit.

The AI Health Fund intends to raise $10 million to back academic-focused founders who struggle to commercialize their research. The fund writes early checks ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 to companies coming from academic circles, partnering with Stanford Medicine. Last year, the fund made its first close at $1.5 million. The initial capital breakdown includes:

• $500,000 raised from family and friends
• $1 million from billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper

Minno designed the program to team operators with academic founders, “similar to the way a venture would in order to teach them the art of building a business,” Minno said. Anne Wojcicki has joined the AI Health Fund as an operating partner, while Esther Wojcicki serves as a founding adviser to help founders with strategy and problem-solving.

Minno conceived the idea for the residency late last year, shortly after a family member was diagnosed with acute leukemia. The experience of navigating a slow treatment process and outdated technology convinced her of the need for new companies to challenge the status quo in healthcare.

The program differs from traditional startup accelerators by omitting a demo day—the standard pitch event where graduating startups present to investors. Because healthcare companies mature at different rates, the residency focuses instead on strategy and problem-solving. The AI Health Fund has already backed 12 companies, including Clair Health. The program hopes to back at least 60 companies in its first iteration. Minno noted that the residency is in its first iteration, with plans to run the cycle a few times and eventually expand the model across the country. She added that the program often plays a co-founder-like role, frequently introducing founders to the lawyers who help them incorporate.

Why it matters

The program addresses the commercialization gap for academic researchers in healthcare, offering a hybrid residency-venture model that aims to bridge the divide between research and market-ready startups.