Cortado Ventures Doubleshot Newsletter: December 2025

by | Dec 17, 2025 | Media, Newsletters

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)

This month marks a major milestone at Cortado Ventures with the acquisition of Sway Medical by Healthy Roster, a full circle moment for one of our earliest investments. We’re also reflecting on five years of Cortado Ventures, as Managing Partner Nathaniel Harding shares how a belief in Midcontinent founders has grown into a nationally recognized platform for innovation. From our upcoming 2026 AGM Reception to Oklahoma’s expanding role in aerospace and space manufacturing, the region’s momentum continues to build.

Across the portfolio, companies are achieving meaningful wins in healthcare, space, insurtech, and advanced manufacturing, while our Portco Highlight, Watkins-Conti, showcases what it looks like to scale mission-driven women’s health innovation nationally. We round out the issue with a NextGen Insights Blog from Elianna Huang, a Builder Highlight on Capital Innovators, open roles across the portfolio, and upcoming ecosystem events.

Newsletter Elements

  • Cortado News
    • Sway Acquired by Healthy Roster
    • Nathaniel Harding Reflects on 5 Years of Cortado
    • The Future of Aerospace in Oklahoma ft. State Rep. Nick Archer
    • NextGen Insights Blog by Elianna Huang
    • 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM) Reception
  • Portco News
    • Portco Highlight: Watkins-Conti
    • Portcos In The News
      • CorriXR
      • Nuview
      • Agentech
      • Array
      • Myri Health
      • Relativity6
    • Portco Jobs
  • Ecosystem News & Events
    • Builder Highlight: Capital Innovators
    • Upcoming Events

Cortado News

Sway Medical Acquired by Healthy Roster

Sway Medical has been acquired by Healthy Roster.

From pioneering FDA-cleared mobile balance testing to building a comprehensive suite of neurological and functional assessments, Sway has redefined how clinicians measure balance, coordination, and cognitive performance, anytime, anywhere.

What began with founder Chase Curtiss’ vision for objective, sensor-based assessments grew into a nationally adopted platform trusted by health systems, athletic programs, and workforce safety teams. Under the leadership of CEO Alex Pettigrew, Sway accelerated commercialization, expanded enterprise partnerships, and positioned the company for this significant next chapter.

This acquisition marks a full-circle moment: the breakthrough technology we invested in back in 2020 will now scale even further as part of Healthy Roster’s connected sports medicine and healthcare ecosystem, extending Sway’s impact to countless clinicians and patients nationwide.

Congratulations to founder Chase Curtiss, CEO Alex Pettigrew, and the teams at Sway Medical and Healthy Roster on this milestone acquisition and partnership.

Read the full story here.

Check out Sway’s other highlights below.
Sway Medical Announces Integration with Teamworks Performance
Sway Medical Secures FDA Clearance for Concussion Management System

Nathaniel Harding Reflects on 5 Years of Cortado

In our Managing Partner Nathaniel Harding’s latest blog, he reflects on the last 5 years of Cortado Ventures. In a year when starting a venture fund felt impossible, our partners believed that the engineers, founders, operators, and creators across this region could build world-changing companies if they had support early enough. Five years later, that vision continues to be a reality.

From advanced manufacturing and aerospace to cybersecurity, autonomy, and energy innovation, the Midcontinent is stepping onto the national stage. Startup growth is accelerating, new funds are launching, and our Midcon VC Summit now brings together hundreds of founders and investors representing more than $1T in capital.

We’re proud of the work happening in our own backyard. Here’s to the next frontier!

Read the full reflection here.

The Oklahoma Space Renaissance is Here

The Oklahoma Space Renaissance is gaining real traction. State representatives Nick Archer and Preston Stinson hosted an interim study bringing aerospace leaders, Agile Space, Dawn Aerospace, Firefly Aerospace, Amazon Project Kuiper, Boeing, Kratos Space, and Quantum Space, to the Capitol to examine how Oklahoma can become a hub for suborbital research, microgravity innovation, and next-gen manufacturing.

The conversation focused on expanding OSIDA, unlocking opportunities in advanced materials, and scaling Oklahoma’s legacy in aircraft maintenance into propulsion and space manufacturing. Lawmakers are now weighing what level of state investment will best accelerate this vision.

Oklahoma isn’t waiting for the future, it’s building it.

Read more here.

NextGen Insights: Midcon is the Next Frontier for Tech Innovation

In this final blog, “Midcon is the Next Frontier for Tech Innovation,” coming from Elianna Huang, she discusses the potential stored within the Midcontinent region and why everyone should be paying attention to it.

Subscribe to our Medium page, Cortado Ventures Insights, to read Elianna’s full blog post. Be sure to also read the other two blogs in the series from Raeed Zainuddin and Joy Akande.

Read Elianna’s full blog post here.


2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM) Reception

Our Annual General Meeting is coming, and you’re invited to join us for our open house and reception at The Verge OKC. Guests will have the opportunity to tour The Verge OKC, the Cortado Ventures offices, and Citizen House while enjoying complementary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

Join our mailing list to stay in the loop and RSVP on all things AGM 2026.

A special thank you to our event sponsors, Magellan Executive Partners, Carta, and The Verge OKC.

Portco News

Portco Highlight: Watkins-Conti

Watkins-Conti is one of our portfolio companies leading the charge in advancing women’s pelvic health. Founded by Allison L. Watkins, the company was born out of Allison’s personal experience. After having children, she was diagnosed with stress urinary incontinence (SUI), an issue that affects nearly 2 in 3 women in the US. It can leave many feeling frustrated and embarrassed. Faced with limited effective solutions, Allison decided to create one herself: Yōni.Fit Bladder Support.

Yōni.Fit is a comfortable and convenient vaginal insert that stops bladder leaks immediately, but doesn’t interfere with voluntary urination. Yōni.Fit received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2024 following completion of a national clinical trial by urogynecologists at Stanford, NYU, and Jefferson Health. (Watkins-Conti Products)

Building on this success, Watkins-Conti has continued to expand its reach. After FDA clearance, Yōni.Fit became available through Oklahoma healthcare providers and pharmacies, followed by distribution in HAC Inc. pharmacies (United, Homeland, CashSaver) across the state. This year, they announced a partnership with Cardinal Health’s Edgepark, the leading provider of in-home medical supplies, which made Yōni.Fit available for national distribution. Most recently, the company launched an online storefront, enabling healthcare providers to easily order for their clinics and allowing patients to obtain prescriptions directly, making access simpler and more widespread.

Since our investment in 2021, we’ve witnessed Watkins-Conti’s relentless innovation and commitment to raising awareness about stress urinary incontinence. At Cortado, we’re proud to support their mission to empower women and transform pelvic health care. Read our Why We Invested blog for Watkins-Conti to learn more about our backing decision.

Keep up with Watkins-Conti’s updates and wins on their LinkedIn. Check out some notable wins:
Online Storefront
Oklahoma Pharmacy Expansion
Yōni.Fit Oklahoma Launch
FDA 510(k) Clearance

Purchase Yōni.Fit here:
Yōni.Fit Storefront
Edgepark
Medical Mega
ATC Medical

Portcos In The News

 

CorriXR Therapeutics Partners with InhaTarget Therapeutics and Merxin Ltd

CorriXR Therapeutics announced a strategic collaboration with InhaTarget Therapeutics and Merxin Ltd to develop an inhaled genetic therapy for lung cancer that delivers treatment directly to tumors to maximize impact while minimizing systemic side effects. The partnership combines CorriXR’s CRISPR-based NRF2 gene-editing platform, InhaTarget’s lipid nanoparticle inhalation formulation capabilities, and Merxin’s inhaler device technology. This milestone demonstrates continued progress toward more targeted and patient-friendly cancer treatments.

Read more here.

Nuview Named Finalist for Multiple Categories at Global Space Awards

NUVIEW was named a finalist for the Global Space Awards in the Innovation Breakthrough and Sustainability for Earth categories, spotlighting its space-based LiDAR technology capable of mapping Earth and the Moon in 3D with extraordinary precision.

Read more here.

Agentech Partners with Mid-America Catastophe Services

Agentech has announced a major partnership with Mid-America Catastrophe Services, a national leader in independent adjusting and TPA services.

Through this collaboration, Mid-America is integrating Agentech’s agentic AI platform, including the QA Complete review suite, directly into their daily claims operations and catastrophe deployments. This gives adjusters access to more than 200 AI coworkers that help automate file review, enhance compliance, and accelerate claim resolution.

At the center of the partnership is QA Complete, Agentech’s intelligent file review tool that automatically checks files for completeness, accuracy, and compliance. This allows adjusters to focus more on supporting policyholders and making informed decisions.

Agentech continues to shape the future of claims automation and strengthen the insurtech landscape across the Midcontinent and beyond.

Read more here.

Array named Tech Strategic Partner of the Year

Array was honored as the Tech Strategic Partner of the Year by the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) at SEMA 2025.

This recognition highlights Matt Doyle, and his team at Array’s innovation and leadership in developing configurable form-building software that enables automotive teams to digitize inspections, capture consistent data, and strengthen safety and service workflows.

Read more here.

Myri Health wins Gold at 2025 WomenTech Global Awards

We’re thrilled to celebrate Myri Health, awarded Gold in the B2B Startup of the Year – Health & Life Sciences Innovation category at the 2025 WomenTech Global Awards. This recognition honors Myri’s mission to close longstanding gaps in maternal care by building connected, preventative, and data-driven solutions that support mothers and care teams worldwide. This continues to shine a spotlight on the critical work being done to improve maternal health outcomes. Congratulations to Myri Health and Dr. Pinkey Patel on this incredible achievement!

Read more here.


Relativity6 CEO Alan Ringvald featured on Cytora’s Podcast

Relativity6 CEO and Co-Founder Alan Ringvald joined Cytora’s Making Risk Flow podcast with host Jake Harding to discuss how AI and multi-source data are transforming underwriting.

Their conversation covers the growing importance of automation, intelligent data aggregation, and collaboration between human and machine intelligence.

Listen to the episode here.

Portco Jobs

Our portfolio companies are growing. Explore open roles across sectors from engineering and sales to data science and operations.

Builder Highlight: Capital Innovators

Meet Capital Innovators, an accelerator program based in St. Louis, Missouri. At Capital Innovators, they support more than just the typical startup, they also support corporations and universities, offering highly ranked programs, venture fund management, and corporate innovation.

One program offered through Capital Innovators is Venture Ready Missouri, a two-part course to help entrepreneurs access venture capital and angel investment. Part 1 focuses on funding and pitching, walking them through the fundraising process. Part 2 is for those who have completed Part 1, and by invite only. Entrepreneurs participate in weekly Pitch Development Workshops, as well as office hours, to structure fundraising strategy. The program concludes with the chance to pitch in front of members of the Missouri ecosystem. This program is offered to Missouri-based startups at no cost, giving committed entrepreneurs an opportunity to succeed without worrying about cost.

Read more here.

Ecosystem Events