RF-Activated Adhesive Curing, Unpacking Value vs. Momentum Seed Investing, and Why Hard Tech's Valley of Death Is Closing

Happy Thursday.

In today’s issue:

• Angel Deals of the Week | 152 Deals, 96 Networks

• Bookmarks I think you’ll enjoy

• The best nugget from my conversation with a mechanical engineer-turned-COO-turned VC, Anthony Del Porto.

P.S. Today is our 50th issue featuring “angel deals of the week”! In case you haven’t seen it, my team recently put together this handy database to easily sort and search every deal we’ve featured. Feedback welcome as we work to 100. 🙂 

🔥 Angel Deals of the Week

Angel funding rounds announced in recent weeks, compiled from public sources or via direct announcement. These deals represent the elite few that survived an angel network’s vetting process. Note: I have not personally analyzed these companies and am sharing for informational purposes only.

📊 Angel Network Investment Tracker: 152 Deals, 96 Networks.

Advanced Silicon Group | Silicon biosensor for protein testing

Participating Groups: SideCar Angels

Advanced Silicon Group (ASG), founded in 2015 and based in Lowell, Massachusetts, is developing and commercializing advanced silicon nanotechnology, specifically high-sensitivity biosensors for protein testing. The company claims its Nanoswift™ sensor delivers results in under 15 minutes at 15x lower cost than standard ELISA tests, targeting drug development and biomanufacturing quality control. ASG holds patents on its core nanowire technology and recently secured investment from SideCar Angels.

Marcie Black | Lowell, MA | February 2026 | Exclusive

Nano Catalytics | Radio-activated adhesive curing additive

Participating Group: Angel Star Ventures

Nano Catalytics is developing patent-pending nano and micro particles activated by radio frequency (RF) signals to trigger on-demand polymerization through opaque objects, a capability conventional UV curing cannot achieve. Currently focused on the adhesives market, the company says its approach uses existing catalysts without input heat, and claims up to 10x faster production and up to 75% smaller facility footprint. Angel Star Ventures recently announced an investment in the Cincinnati-based startup.

Steve Levin | Cincinnati, OH | February 2026 | Source

Sentiré Medical Systems | Bowel perforation detection system

Participating Group: New Mexico Angels

Sentiré Medical Systems is developing Perf-Alert, a patented monitoring system that alerts surgeons to the presence of bowel gas during laparoscopic and robotic procedures. With more than 15 million laparoscopic procedures performed annually, the company says its system enables surgeons to identify bowel perforations immediately for intraoperative repair. The system has filed three patents and received support from the National Science Foundation. NM Angels recently announced investment in the medical device company to support its development and commercialization efforts.

David Krasne | Santa Fe, NM | February 2026 | Source

📣 Have an Angel Deal to Announce?

🎙️Join Me at the ACA Summit in Denver

I’m hosting a Diligent Observer morning run at the ACA Summit this year, and I’d love for all of you to come. Wednesday, April 22, 6:30 AM. All paces welcome. Show up, get moving, and start the day with good people before sessions kick off.

The Summit runs April 21-23 at The Westin in Westminster, CO. We'll also be at our booth all week recording conversations with leaders from some of the most active angel groups in the country. Come find us.

🎟️ Not an ACA member? Register with code “DO200” and save $200.

Register for the ACA Summit →

P.S. Missed last year? Check out “Inside Angel Investing 2025: The ACA Summit”.

🔖 Bookmarks

1. 🔬 Being Picky Pays Off: Fantastic analysis from BioAngels across 1,094 life science applicants over 10+ years shows tight screening criteria leads to dramatically better angel outcomes.

2. 📊 Is “Value” or “Momentum” Seed Investing Better? Research from 5,700 seed rounds shows both can work. “Cheap” seed rounds produce slightly more 50x returns, while “expensive” ones produce more unicorns.

3. 📱 All Press is Good Press: Anthropic's Pentagon standoff on autonomous weapons triggered a 60% free user surge, a rise to #1 in the app store, and 2x Pro/Max subscriptions since January.

🥇 The Nugget: My Top Takeaway from A Conversation with Anthony Del Porto

"Hard tech is hard" is losing its teeth 🔩

For years, the "valley of death" has kept many capital allocators out of physical-world startups. VC money would dry up after Series A/B or so, but the business wasn't yet ready for institutional debt. Founders are left staring down a half-billion-dollar plant build with few financing options in between. That gap still exists. But according to Anthony, it's closing.

Part of what's driving that sophistication is a new class of financing tools that solve a longstanding bank problem:

Takeaway: When evaluating a hard tech deal, push on the scale question hard:

• Can the company reach profitability at small scale before needing a massive plant build?

• Is the business designed for modular expansion so early investors avoid catastrophic dilution?

• Does the founder have a real debt strategy once hard assets start to mature?

Want more? Check out my full conversation with Anthony 👇

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.

🕵️ Looking for an Angel Group?

Finding the right angel community can be tough.

Answer 12 quick questions and I’ll curate 3 groups you might enjoy.

Even better - if one of them feels like a fit, I’ll personally make the intro.

Until Next Week 👋

Thanks for reading - have a great week.

-Andrew

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