Organizations

The Pearl is a $1.5B innovation district in Charlotte anchored by Wake Forest School of Medicine. It hosts Connect Labs and multiple health tech programs.

Connect Labs Charlotte is a 30,000 sq ft shared lab and office space at The Pearl by Wexford Science & Technology. Designed for emerging medtech, biotech, and life sciences companies.

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center is a state-funded nonprofit that grows North Carolina's life sciences economy through company loans, grants, and regional programs. Its Charlotte team works out of Connect Labs at The Pearl.

Atrium Health is the largest healthcare system in the Carolinas with 40+ hospitals and 65,000+ employees. Partner in gBETA Charlotte Health.

gBETA Charlotte Health is a free 7-week accelerator program by gener8tor focused on health innovation. Backed by City of Charlotte and Advocate Health.

Wake Forest School of Medicine opened its Charlotte campus at The Pearl, creating research and talent linkages for the health tech ecosystem.

SCbio is South Carolina's life sciences industry association. It runs founder workshops, the Drive accelerator with MassBio, and the annual Life + Science conference.

NC IDEA provides non-dilutive grants and programming to North Carolina startups. MICRO grants are $10,000 and SEED grants are $50,000.

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development connects North Carolina founders with investors and mentors through programs like Venture Connect and Smart Money.

Northeastern University's Charlotte campus on Hawkins Street in South End offers graduate programs and hosts health and innovation events. Advisory5 partners with Northeastern's Venture Mentoring Network on a team-mentoring track that connects university ventures to Charlotte's health innovation ecosystem.

Innovate Charlotte is a public-private partnership coordinating the entrepreneurial ecosystem and connecting founders to vetted resources.

gener8tor is a national accelerator platform. In Charlotte it runs gBETA Charlotte Health, a free 7-week program for early-stage health startups backed by the City of Charlotte and Advocate Health.

The North Carolina chapter of HIMSS brings health IT and digital health professionals together through an annual conference and regional events.

UNC Charlotte's Division of Research supports university inventors and startups and hosts biomedical research events, including the Charlotte Biomedical Sciences Symposium and the Invention of the Year Awards.

Charlotte Angel Fund invests in early-stage companies in North Carolina, typically writing $50K–$250K into rounds of $250K–$2M. Their process includes screening, founder presentations, 30-day due diligence, and a member vote. Health and life-science portfolio companies include Gradient Health, Baebies, Elektrofi, EternaTear, Camras Vision, NIRvana Sciences, and Neurotone AI.

VentureSouth is one of the largest angel investment organizations in the Southeast, deploying capital across early-stage companies and frequently leading deals. They have notable activity in health tech and life sciences — including leading the investment in Gradient Health, backing Darby (their 100th portfolio company), and participating in KIYATEC's financing round.

Black Pearl Global Investments is a Charlotte-based healthcare-focused investment firm spanning venture capital, private equity, private lending, and healthcare innovation. They back founders building healthcare and medtech solutions with an impact and sustainable growth lens, and are active in the local ecosystem — partnering with Hurt Hub@Davidson to support early-stage ventures.

Pamlico Capital is a Charlotte-based private equity firm investing in middle-market growth and buyout opportunities, with Healthcare IT as one of five core sectors. They back experienced management teams building healthcare technology businesses that improve patient experience, reduce cost of care, and increase operational efficiency.