Medtech Innovator is a Los Angeles, California-based public charity that organizes competitions and accelerator programs for medical device, digital health, and diagnostic startup companies. Formed in 2016, it describes its mission as improving patients’ lives by accelerating companies transforming the health care system.
Key facts about Medtech Innovator
In short: Medtech Innovator gave $545K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $55K), mostly in California. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- EIN
- 81-3132011
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025
- Annual giving (2025)
- $545,000
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- Average grant
- $54,500
- Median grant
- $25,000
- Total assets
- $8,946,570
- Primary geography
- California (69% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- How to apply
- For the MedTech Innovator program, companies apply through the organization’s application process. Full details ↓
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Financial Overview
From 2025 IRS Form 990 · View filing
Total Assets
$8.9M
-20.8% YoY
Annual Giving
$545K
-28.1% YoY
Grant Count
10
-23.1% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$55K
-6.6% YoY
How Medtech Innovator gives
- Giving fell 26% from 2022 to 2025. Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings. Methodology.
Mission & Focus Areas
The organization’s stated mission is to improve patients’ lives by accelerating the growth of companies transforming the health care system. Its flagship program supports medical device, digital health, and diagnostic startups and scale-ups. The organization describes its broader work as helping companies refine business models and value propositions, access industry networks, and address challenges in commercializing health technologies.
The MedTech Innovator program seeks early- to mid-stage startups in medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health or health IT. The website also describes Vantage awards for startup and university-backed projects developing, evaluating, or validating diagnostic and medical device technologies related to health security preparedness and response. These programs provide support to participating organizations; the competition awards are not described as a general grant program for outside applicants.
Grantmaking
The 2025 filing reports 10 grants totaling $545,000. Grant amounts ranged from $10,000 to $350,000, with a median of $25,000. The listed awards are associated with the MedTech Innovator 2024 competition, including a $350,000 grand prize to SAMAY in Mountain View, California. Other listed awards include $25,000 each to NeuroBionics, Somnics Health, Brainspace, Flow Medical Solutions, Juniper Medical, Ozlo, and Arsenal Medical; SanaHeal received $10,000. Ozlo also received a separate $10,000 award.
The website describes Vantage as offering non-dilutive awards of $50,000–$200,000 for six-month projects focused on development, evaluation, or validation of technologies aligned with health security preparedness and response. The website states that its 2025 applications are closed and that applicants can join a waitlist for notification about 2026 fall applications. Separately, applications for the 2026 MedTech Innovator cohort are closed; the organization invites prospective applicants to sign up for notification when 2027 applications open. Its published extended deadline of December 16, 2025, was for the 2026 cohort and has passed.
How to Apply
For the MedTech Innovator program, companies apply through the organization’s application process. Companies that raised up to Series C were eligible for the 2026 cohort. The website recommends that pitch decks cover the unmet need, market, standard of care, technology and expected clinical outcomes, and competitive differentiation. The organization’s 2024 contest terms stated there were no application fees and that prizes carried no equity or dilution requirements.
Ready to take the next step with Medtech Innovator?
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The organization is based in Los Angeles, California. Its programs and events take place virtually and in U.S. and international locations; the organization lists events in cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston, and Washington, D.C., as well as Ireland and Singapore.
In the 2025 filing, 69% of grant dollars went to California recipients, 16% to Massachusetts, 6% to Delaware, 5% to Washington, and 5% to Illinois.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $385K (2020) to $759K (2024). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $545K.
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 9 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Samay ($350K). Together the top 9 received $545K.
Grant Size Distribution
50 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 42 grants of 50 (84%).
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Samay Mountain View, CA | MTI 2024 Grand Prize Award | $350,000 |
| Neurobionics Somerville, MA | MTI 2024 Early Stage Finalist Award | $25,000 |
| Somnics Health Redwood City, CA | MTI 2024 Mid-Stage Finalist Award | $25,000 |
| Brainspace Woodinville, WA | MTI 2024 Early Stage Finalist Award | $25,000 |
| Flow Medical Solutions Inc Chicago, IL | MTI 2024 Early Stage Finalist Award | $25,000 |
| Juniper Medical Worchester, MA | MTI 2024 Early Stage Finalist Award | $25,000 |
| Ozlo (Drowsy Digital Inc) Dover, DE | MTI 2024 Mid-Stage Finalist Award | $25,000 |
| Arsenal Medical Inc Waltham, MA | MTI 2024 Mid-Stage Finalist Award | $25,000 |
| Sanaheal Inc Boston, MA | MTI 2024 Execution Award | $10,000 |
| Ozlo (Drowsy Digital Inc) Dover, DE | MTI 2024 Awards - Best Video | $10,000 |
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $8,946,570 | $4,492,842 | $7,197,545 | $545,000 |
| 2024 | $11,294,121 | $2,103,858 | $5,671,866 | $758,500 |
| 2023 | $14,747,390 | $13,316,576 | $3,953,081 | $706,000 |
The 2025 filing lists 10 grants, the 2024 filing year 13, and the 2023 filing year 10.
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $8,946,570 | $11,294,121 | $14,747,390 |
| Revenue | $4,492,842 | $2,103,858 | $13,316,576 |
| Expenses | $7,197,545 | $5,671,866 | $3,953,081 |
| Net Investment Income | $36,893 | $51,313 | — |
Data update history
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS July 6, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS August 7, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS October 1, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 15, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS January 28, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS January 24, 2023)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Officers and directors listed on the 2025 filing are Christopher Martin, director; Paul Grand, CEO and president; Biren Mehta, director; Karen Johnson, director; Kathryn Zavala, COO; Brian Benson, senior vice president; Ayelet Marom, VP of programs; Daphne Aghalarpour, chief of staff; and Jerry Ciolino, director of operations.
Medtech Innovator is led by Paul Grand, CEO & President on every filing since 2019; 6 of 9 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Paul Grand
CEO & President
On filings since 2019
50 hrs/week
$457K (2019) → $804K (2025)
Jerry Ciolino
Director of Operations
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$101K (2024) → $136K (2025)
Christopher Martin
Director
On filings since 2019
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Biren Mehta
Director
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Karen Johnson
Director
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Kathryn Zavala
COO
Secretary, Director of Bus. Development & Ops → COO, 2020
On filings since 2019
50 hrs/week
$128K (2019) → $386K (2025)
Brian Benson
Senior Vice President
Vice President & Strategic Alliances → Senior Vice President, 2024
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$139K (2021) → $272K (2025)
Ayelet Marom
Vice President & Programs
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$163K (2024) → $186K (2025)
Daphne Aghalarpour
Chief of Staff
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$109K (2024) → $124K (2025)
Former officers (5)
- Former: Diane Bouis (2024) — Director
- Former: Scott Whitaker (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Jenell Robinson (2019–2020) — Vice President & Clinical Value
- Former: Renee Ryan (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Ashley Wittorf (2019) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $804K, to Paul Grand (CEO & President). 6 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Contact
Mailing address: 907 Westwood Blvd 1067, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Phone: (707) 466-6887
Website: https://medtechinnovator.org
Frequently asked questions about Medtech Innovator
How much does Medtech Innovator give each year?
Medtech Innovator gave $545K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $759K across 13 grants.
What is Medtech Innovator's typical grant size?
Medtech Innovator's median grant in 2025 was $25,000, and its average grant was $54,500, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does Medtech Innovator give grants?
Medtech Innovator gives mostly in California: 69% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The next largest states were Massachusetts (16%) and Delaware (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Dover, DE (2 grants).
Does Medtech Innovator give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 10 grants with a stated purpose on Medtech Innovator's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "MTI 2024 Early Stage Finalist Award" (4 grants) and "MTI 2024 Mid-Stage Finalist Award" (3 grants).
Who are Medtech Innovator's largest grantees?
Medtech Innovator's largest 2025 grantees include Samay ($350,000), Ozlo (Drowsy Digital Inc) ($35,000 across 2 grants) and Neurobionics ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 75% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Medtech Innovator?
Medtech Innovator reported $8.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $4.5M.
What does Medtech Innovator fund?
The organization’s stated mission is to improve patients’ lives by accelerating the growth of companies transforming the health care system. Its flagship program supports medical device, digital health, and diagnostic startups and scale-ups. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Medtech Innovator?
For the MedTech Innovator program, companies apply through the organization’s application process. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Medtech Innovator's EIN?
Medtech Innovator's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 81-3132011. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Here's the math on researching Medtech Innovator by hand.
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