Eric Tan

Eric Tan is a scientist-turned-investor whose training bridges hardware and biology: his background is in mechanical engineering and molecular biology, with specific expertise in DNA replication and diagnostics. Before moving into venture capital he spent roughly eight years in medical-device development, taking products from initial concept through FDA approval and commercialization at several device companies — two of which were acquired during his tenure. He holds a PhD (molecular biology) and an MBA, and styles himself publicly as "Eric Tan, PhD, MBA."

He then spent about five years as a Partner and Head of Diligence at an early-stage medical-device venture fund — Zoic Capital, one of the few US-based firms focused solely on seed-stage investing at the intersection of life sciences and medical technology across the US and Canada. There he led the sourcing and technical/IP due-diligence function, evaluating early device and diagnostics companies and supporting them post-investment on technology and intellectual-property strategy. This "Partner & Head of Diligence" role is the title reflected in the stub data.

In 2023 he co-founded and became Managing Partner of Blackwood Healthcare Breakthroughs, a seed-stage medtech/life-science fund he launched with partners Chris Willenken and Eugene Shteyn (the firm closed its first fund in October 2023). Blackwood's differentiator is an operationally heavy, IP-first model: it pairs capital with hands-on intellectual-property development and "capture" processes modeled on those used by large Fortune-500 technology companies, aiming to help small medtech startups build defensible patent portfolios early.

Eric is also an active mentor with the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL-Toronto and CDL-Vancouver), where he advises biomedical-engineering and cancer-stream startups.

• Stage & check size: Seed-stage lead/co-investor, writing roughly $250K–$500K checks (sweet spot ~$500K).
• What he backs: Early-stage medtech and life-science companies — medical devices, diagnostics, and increasingly healthcare-data platforms and healthcare-specific AI/LLMs. Stated interest areas include "data generation, data input, healthcare-specific data, healthcare LLM, diagnostics, medical devices, medical AI."
• The core thesis (Blackwood): invest in "seed-stage healthcare and life-science technology platforms that can gather large amounts of unique data" — i.e., companies whose product inherently produces proprietary datasets that compound into a moat.
• What makes him say yes: deep technical/regulatory credibility. Given his own path (concept → FDA clearance → commercialization → acquisition), he underwrites founders on their ability to actually build and clear a regulated medical product, not just the pitch — and he runs the diligence himself.
• Value-add / why they win: an IP-capture and IP-strategy playbook borrowed from Fortune-500 tech, applied post-investment to help portfolio companies build defensible patent positions and operational execution.
• Geography: US and Canada, with a Southern California / Los Angeles concentration.