Talents Fund Leads Seed Financing in Retham Technologies to Advance Functional HIT Testing
Mayo Clinic-licensed cryopreserved platelet technology could help bring faster, more practical testing for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia to hospital laboratories
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, September 15, 2026 — Talents Fund is pleased to lead the seed financing in Retham Technologies, a Milwaukee-area clinical diagnostics company developing HITDx™, a functional test for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). Golden Angels Investors and Milwaukee Venture Partners also participated in the financing.
HIT is a potentially life-threatening immune reaction to heparin that can trigger dangerous blood clots even as a patient's platelet count falls. The diagnostic challenge is consequential: frontline immunoassays can produce false-positive results, while more specific functional tests often depend on fresh donor platelets and specialized reference laboratories, delaying answers and incurring significant costs that clinicians need to navigate for treatment.
Retham is addressing that bottleneck with proprietary cryopreserved platelet technology. HITDx is designed to incorporate long-term-stable, responsive donor platelets so functional testing can be performed more practically in hospital and clinical laboratories. The same platform may support additional platelet-based diagnostics, blood research and drug-development applications.
The technology was created by Retham's founders and incorporates core intellectual property exclusively licensed from Mayo Clinic. Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer Anand Padmanabhan, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., is aninternationally recognized expert in platelet immunology and coagulation disorders, including HIT.
Retham also brings an unusually strong foundation of non-dilutive scientific support. The seed financing complements a recent $2.8 million Phase IIB Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. Together, the financing and award will support clinical and analytical studies, FDA 510(k) clearance activities, manufacturing scale-up and commercial readiness for HITDx.
"Retham represents the kind of company Talents Fund was built to support: clinically important science emerging from a strong regional research ecosystem, reinforced by competitive federal funding and ready for focused institutional capital," said Dan Becker, general partner at Talents Fund. "The team is tackling an urgent diagnostic problem with technology that could also become a broader platform for platelet-based testing. We are proud to partner with Retham as it advances HITDx toward the clinical market."
Led by CEO Steven Visuri, Ph.D., Retham combines deep expertise in platelet science with experience advancing and commercializing clinical diagnostics. Dr. Visuri previously helped lead the FDA clearance of multiple infectious-disease assays and the acquisition of Prodesse by Gen-Probe.
Retham's progress reflects Talents Fund's broader mission: helping breakthrough life-science companies from research ecosystems outside coastal venture hubs translate NIH-supported science into scalable companies capable of attracting next-stage capital and reaching global markets.
Read Retham Technologies' full announcement: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260915996988/en/Retham-Technologies-Announces-Initial-Close-of-%241.5-Million-Seed-Financing-to-Advance-HITDx-Diagnostic-for-Heparin-Induced-Thrombocytopenia
About Retham Technologies
Retham Technologies, Inc. is a Milwaukee-area clinical diagnostics company developing solutions for platelet-related testing. Its lead product, HITDx™, is a functional diagnostic assay for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia built on proprietary platelet cryopreservation technology. Learn more at www.rethamtechnologies.com.
About Talents Fund
Talents Fund is an institutional seed-stage venture capital firm investing in breakthrough life science companies developing therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, healthcare technologies and advanced biomanufacturing. The Fund partners with emerging founders from ecosystems outside coastal venture hubs, combining connected capital and active company building to accelerate long term value. Learn more at www.talentsvcfund.com.