left to right: Manny Stockman, Mitra Miri, and Beth Grafstrom
Osage University Partners (OUP), a venture capital firm that specialises in backing spinouts, has promoted three of its staff, including Manny Stockman , who now serves as a managing partner.
Mitra Miri has been promoted to partner, while Beth Grafstrom is now the senior vice president of finance.
Founded in 2009, OUP sources its dealflow from a global network of more than 150 university partners. It manages more than $800 million and has invested in more than 150 life sciences and technology companies to date.
Stockman has been with OUP since 2015, joining as an associate after working for Lockheed Martin as an aeronautical engineer. He became a senior associate in April 2017, a principal in January 2019, and a partner in April 2022.
He has been credited with shaping OUP’s technology portfolio across a broad range of sectors, including advanced computing, AI-enabled infrastructure software, and materials.
“I’m proud to step into the Managing Partner role at a firm whose core mission aligns perfectly with the growth we have seen in venture capital activity in deep tech startups.
“Very few funds have the broad mandate to track how the earliest research advances can convert into compelling, outsized venture returns, and I’m excited to continue backing visionary founders building technology companies that can shape the next several decades.”
Manny Stockman
Miri joined the firm in October 2021 as a senior investment associate, before being promoted to principal in June 2022. Her focus has been on the life sciences portfolio, where she has led investments in therapeutics and platform technologies such as Veradermics, Precede Biosciences, and Normunity.
“It is in the firm’s DNA to invest in leading-edge companies, either when they are born directly out of university research or are inspired by it. We recognise research institutions are core to enabling fundamental biological insights and technologies that both underpin and have inspired some of the most transformational startups we will see in our lifetime.
“I am deeply committed to working with colleagues across the biotech ecosystem to support the translation of these innovative ideas into therapeutic realities for patients.”
Mitri Mira
Graftstrom joined OUP in 2015 as vice president of finance, and since then has helped build the firm’s finance and accounting team, delivering reporting, insights, and communications, and supporting the investment team and limited partners.
“Manny and Mitra exemplify the thoughtful, forward-thinking investment mindset required to invest in startups based on cutting-edge science. Both have proven to be strong investors and excellent company builders, helping guide founders through the multitude of challenges of technology commercialisation.
“Beth has helped OUP build a strong operational foundation to manage multiple funds and maintain strong investor connectivity. These three promotions recognise each person’s impact to date and their importance to OUP’s future.”
Marc Singer, managing partner
