Carolina Angel Network Invests in Network Bio, AI Biotech Founded by Lampe Joint BME Alumnus
CAN joins leading institutional investors backing the company, which emerged from stealth this summer; CAN also announces Innovation Fellowship pilot with the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering
CHAPEL HILL, N.C., October 23, 2026 - The Carolina Angel Network (CAN), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s angel investing network, today announced its investment from earlier this year in Network Bio, a biotechnology company building disease-specific AI models from human biological data to support the personalized practice of medicine. CAN invested alongside a syndicate of institutional investors that includes Section 32, Thiel Bio, Founders Fund, Breyer Capital, Blue Venture Fund and JSL Health Capital. Network Bio is led by CEO and co-founder Asad Ahmad, Ph.D., a graduate of the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University.
Network Bio emerged from stealth in August 2026, announcing $50 million in financing and what it describes as the world’s largest patient tissue training dataset. The company has built a research network of leading U.S. academic biobanks, including Mass General Brigham, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Colorado Anschutz. Harmonized standards across these sites let Network Bio generate “AI-ready” datasets that pair patient tissue and blood samples with longitudinal clinical outcomes, at a scale no single institution can reach.
On that data foundation, Network Bio is developing bio-native AI designed to learn biological principles that transfer across diseases, tissues and data types. Its work spans immunology, metabolic, cardiovascular and autoimmune disease, with peer-reviewed research published in Nature Machine Intelligence. The company has also signed a co-development and licensing agreement valued at more than $30 million with a Fortune 100, top-10 healthcare company.
Ahmad earned his degree from the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, a program shared by UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State that has become a steady pipeline of entrepreneurial founders. Its graduates train at the intersection of engineering, medicine and life sciences, and a growing number go on to translate that training into companies. Network Bio is the latest example of a BME-trained founder building at the frontier of AI and human biology.
“Building the first artificial organ model of the colon as a UNC Biomedical Engineering student shaped everything we are doing at Network Bio today. Having the Carolina Angel Network join this round means a great deal to me personally. With their support, we are turning decades of banked patient tissue at leading academic medical centers into AI models that can detect disease earlier and match patients to the right therapy.”
Asad Ali Ahmad, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder, Network Bio
“The Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering consistently produces strong ventures, from undergraduates and postdocs to alumni like Asad. Network Bio is a standout: deeply rooted at UNC-Chapel Hill and now backed by leading West Coast venture funds. Alongside our investment, we’re partnering closely with the BME department to give researchers the resources and a clear path to launch university IP into new companies through Innovation Fellowship program pilot.”
Brett Luing, Director, Carolina Angel Network
New Innovation Fellowship to Build the Next Generation of BME Founders
Building on that track record, CAN is collaborating with the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering to pilot the Innovation Fellowship. The program gives a postdoctoral researcher one year to explore building a company around intellectual property developed at the University. In year two, fellows who are ready to spin out receive a $100,000 catalytic early investment to launch their venture. The pilot is now open to donors interested in using donor-advised fund (DAF) assets to support and invest in these emerging ventures, with future potential returns flowing back to original DAFs and/or re-directed to University Endowments. Interested donors can learn more and submit interest through CAN’s Innovation Fellowship page.
About the Carolina Angel Network
The Carolina Angel Network (CAN) connects UNC-Chapel Hill alumni, donors and friends with promising early-stage startups affiliated with the University. Founded in 2016, CAN gives accredited investor members access to curated investment opportunities each year. Portfolio companies are founded or led by UNC alumni, faculty or students, or are built on UNC intellectual property. Beyond capital, CAN provides mentorship, due diligence and network support to help founders scale. Since inception, CAN has invested more than $34MM across 41 companies. Learn more at carolinaangelnetwork.com.
About Network Bio
Network Bio is a biotechnology company building disease-specific AI models from human biological data to support the personalized practice of medicine. Through collaborations with U.S.-based academic medical centers, the company has connected data spanning immunology, metabolic, cardiovascular and autoimmune disease, among others. By integrating this biological foundation with AI purpose-built for medicine, Network Bio is developing technologies to accelerate diagnostics, biomarker discovery and drug development. For more information, visit www.network.bio.
Media Contact
Brett Luing
Director, Carolina Angel Network
brett@carolinaangel.net