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§ Venture Capital · Tel Aviv, Israel
Corporate incubator providing lab space, equipment, and resources for early-stage health sciences, biotech, and pharma startups without taking equity.
jLabs is the venture capital arm and incubator of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, providing health science startups with lab space, equipment, and comprehensive resources across 13 global locations, including primary sites in San Diego, California, and Toronto, Canada. It operates on a "no-strings-attached" model, supporting early-stage companies in biotech, pharmaceuticals, and health tech by offering low capital expense for space without requiring equity or intellectual property. The initiative has attracted over 250 startup teams within its first five years, with its New York City site alone receiving $17 million in state funding to foster innovation. Key figures associated with jLabs include Melinda Richter, Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, and directors like Kara Bortone and Kate Merton. Portfolio companies leveraging its support include Nanowear, which develops health technology. Founded in 2012, jLabs does not publicly name specific individual founders.
Key people at jLabs.
JLABS is Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s global life science incubator and accelerator network, designed to support early-stage healthcare innovators across pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer health, and health tech. Its mission is to create a leading global innovation ecosystem that generates transformational healthcare solutions by removing barriers for startups with strong science and unmet medical needs. Unlike a traditional venture capital firm, JLABS operates on a “no strings attached” model: it does not take equity or claim IP from resident companies. Instead, it provides infrastructure, mentorship, and access to Johnson & Johnson’s vast network of experts, investors, and commercial capabilities.
JLABS focuses on nurturing science-driven startups at the earliest stages, helping them translate breakthrough discoveries into viable companies. By offering shared lab space, state-of-the-art equipment, educational programming, and curated connections to investors and industry partners, JLABS plays a critical enabling role in the life sciences startup ecosystem. Its presence lowers the capital burden for founders and accelerates time-to-market, making it a powerful force in de-risking and scaling early healthcare innovation.
JLABS originated as Janssen Labs, an initiative launched by Johnson & Johnson’s innovation arm, Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJI), to tap into external innovation beyond its internal R&D engine. The network was formally branded as JLABS in the early 2010s as part of a broader strategy to build a global innovation footprint and engage with entrepreneurs developing cutting-edge science in areas aligned with J&J’s healthcare priorities. The model evolved from the recognition that many promising life science startups fail not due to weak science, but because of operational hurdles, lack of infrastructure, and limited access to experienced mentors and capital.
Over time, JLABS expanded from its initial U.S.-based locations into a global network, establishing sites in major biotech hubs including San Diego, San Francisco, Boston, Houston, Toronto, and others. Each location is embedded within or adjacent to existing innovation ecosystems, allowing startups to benefit from local talent and networks while gaining access to J&J’s global resources. The program has since become a cornerstone of Johnson & Johnson’s open innovation strategy, supporting hundreds of companies across the healthcare spectrum.
JLABS sits at the intersection of three powerful trends: the rise of decentralized biotech innovation, the increasing importance of open innovation in large pharma, and the growing demand for faster, more agile pathways to bring healthcare solutions to patients. As drug discovery becomes more democratized—enabled by advances in synthetic biology, AI-driven drug design, and decentralized clinical trials—incubators like JLABS are essential infrastructure for translating academic and early-stage science into viable companies.
The timing is particularly favorable: with rising healthcare costs, aging populations, and persistent unmet medical needs, there is strong pressure to accelerate innovation. Large pharmaceutical companies can no longer rely solely on internal pipelines; they must partner with or acquire external innovation. JLABS strengthens this pipeline by de-risking early-stage ventures and preparing them for partnerships, licensing deals, or acquisition by J&J or other players.
Moreover, JLABS influences the broader ecosystem by setting a high bar for corporate incubators: combining deep scientific rigor with operational support and a truly neutral stance toward equity and IP. This model encourages more entrepreneurs to pursue high-risk, high-reward healthcare ventures, knowing they can access world-class resources without sacrificing ownership or control.
Looking ahead, JLABS is well-positioned to deepen its role as a global gateway for healthcare innovation. As the lines between biotech, medtech, and digital health continue to blur, JLABS’ cross-sector mandate will become even more valuable, enabling convergence around complex problems like chronic disease management, personalized medicine, and AI-augmented diagnostics.
The network may expand further into emerging biotech hubs and deepen its digital health and AI integration, potentially launching specialized tracks or verticals (e.g., AI-first therapeutics, digital biomarkers, or decentralized clinical trial platforms). At the same time, JLABS will likely continue refining its “no strings attached” model, serving as a blueprint for how large corporations can engage with startups in a way that builds trust, fosters innovation, and ultimately delivers better outcomes for patients.
In a world where the next breakthrough therapy or medtech device could come from a garage lab or university spinout, JLABS stands as a critical enabler—turning bold science into real-world impact, one startup at a time.
Key people at jLabs.
jLabs has more than 26 tracked investments across 25 companies. The latest tracked deal is $9.0M Series U in Mimo in March 2025.