How the T1D Fund Can Supercharge Cure Progress

January 22, 2026

The T1D Fund (the Fund) is a venture philanthropy fund focused on type 1 diabetes. It has proven to be one of the most successful and influential venture philanthropy funds in the world. However, JDCA believes it can and should do much more.

Given the recent adoption of stem cell research by the commercial sector, the Fund is in a unique position to accelerate and catalyze progress toward a functional cure. Its expertise lies in working with companies, while its parent, Breakthrough T1D, focuses on providing grants to academics. But more money must be allocated, critical changes must be made, and there is no time to waste.

This article offers five key action recommendations to achieve optimal performance and ultimately accelerate a cure for T1D.
 

Background

The T1D Fund was established by Breakthrough T1D in 2016 as an independently managed subsidiary. The Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to “accelerate treatments, preventions, and cures for type 1 diabetes (T1D) by catalyzing investment in T1D-focused companies.”

Although the Fund is a nonprofit, its business model is similar to that of traditional venture capital funds. Like a venture capital fund, it invests in commercial-stage companies in exchange for equity and provides a range of additional support services, including strategic guidance and access to the global Breakthrough T1D network.

The Fund’s assets under management (AUM) are provided in the form of donations, not investments. When a high-net-worth individual or organization makes a monetary contribution to the Fund, it is treated as a charitable gift. The contributor(s) do not receive and do not expect to share in any Fund profits that may result from an investment. Profits generated by the Fund are retained and used for future investments.

Today, the Fund holds twenty-seven active investments and has a little over $200 million in AUM. It is in the middle of its third fundraising round, aiming to raise an additional $150 million.
 

Five Key Action Recommendations

As we enter 2026, JDCA makes five key recommendations to maximize the impact of the T1D Fund. These recommendations will require changes in thinking and execution by both the Fund and Breakthrough T1D leadership.

These recommendations are made while acknowledging the changing tide in T1D cure research. A Practical Cure for T1D requires both a sustainable cell supply source and a method of cell protection. In the past five years, the tide of cell supply research progressed from primarily academic to primarily commercial. Meanwhile, cell protection research remains mainly in the academic domain.

An essential question asked in this report is: ‘Who has the optimal experience and expertise to quickly move forward a functional/Practical Cure for T1D?' A strong case can be made that the T1D Fund is optimally positioned to advance commercial research as quickly as possible, while Breakthrough T1D is optimally positioned to accelerate academic research. The implications of this perspective are reflected in the following recommendations.

1. Fully Leverage the Strengths of the Fund

The Fund is in a unique position to accelerate stem cell-derived beta cell therapies across the finish line. While a handful of companies are currently conducting human trials, more are nearing them, and many more are in animal testing. These are mostly smaller, entrepreneurial companies researching innovative solutions that would benefit from the Fund's skills and expertise. There may be no better partner than the Fund to keep them moving forward.
 
The Fund has proved successful in raising capital and working with developing companies. It has helped several companies achieve a profitable exit and/or advance their research programs. On net, the Fund has unlocked more wins than losses.
 
Moving forward, there will be many opportunities to invest in those developing next-generation stem cell technologies and in those that can manufacture and distribute them. This is where the Fund should focus.

2. Substantial Increase in Fund Investment Activity

To accelerate progress, the Fund must materially expand its investment-making capacity. This will require cultivating more active investments, fully utilizing available capital, and increasing tolerance for calculated risks.
 
First, the Fund’s staff must broaden its net of potential investments, including encouraging companies that are not working on T1D to expand their research and development to include T1D. Small gains in its investment activity are not enough to accelerate a cure. A near-term goal to double or even triple its number of investments is a first step—we should expect nothing less.
 
Second, the Fund will need to deploy its capital. Today, it holds roughly $100 million in unused funds on its balance sheet. Because any monetary returns from the Fund are not distributed to partners or donors, capital accumulates on its balance sheet until it is utilized. The T1D community needs this money to go to work, not be held back or undeployed. 
 
The Fund has twenty-seven active investments compared to 507 active grants made by Breakthrough T1D. Comparatively, the Fund is underutilized—expectations must be much higher to maximize the speed to a cure.
 
Lastly, as the Fund expands its investment volume, it will need to intentionally increase its capacity and tolerance for higher risk. With a much greater volume of investments, there will be more failures or early exits. This should be built into the business model as anticipated and, when it arises, not serve to delay the Fund’s aggressiveness toward a cure. On the other hand, by casting the net wider for potentially game-changing innovation, there is a greater chance of hitting a surprise home run.

3. Breakthrough T1D: Step-Up Contributions to the Fund

The Fund launched in 2016 as an adjunct fundraising vehicle to the main grant-making and advocacy purpose of its parent organization. In 2026, it has evolved and matured; it is no longer the icing on the cake, but rather part of the cake itself.
 
Breakthrough T1D should use the Fund as its engine to drive research through the commercial domain. It can be used more aggressively and should be measured accordingly.
 
We recommend that Breakthrough T1D’s active non-curative grant dollars be pared back and reallocated to increase the Fund’s spending power. This aggregation of capital would serve as a powerful force multiplier, materially accelerating deployment velocity and significantly increasing the Fund’s ability to attract and catalyze co-investors.
 
JDCA has contended in the past that part of the appeal of the Fund to Breakthrough T1D is as an additional fundraising platform. This recommendation does not run against that. The Fund has a strong appeal to many donors, and it should be fully utilized while Breakthrough T1D heightens its commitment to ensure the Fund is employed with maximum strategic impact.

4. Maximize the Fund’s Capital-Raising Leadership

The T1D Fund is a powerful influence in T1D research, directing significant capital toward companies and research pathways in which it invests. An investment from the T1D Fund in an early-stage company serves as a beacon to other investors, signaling confidence in research that would otherwise be overlooked.
 
The T1D Fund, unlike nonprofits, has an inherent urgency, unique to commercial entities, to deliver a return on investment (ROI) in a reasonable time frame. In T1D research, this means bringing a therapy from clinical trials to the market (patients) as soon as possible. An investment from the T1D Fund indicates to for-profit investors, entrepreneurs, and larger companies that a therapy or pathway can yield a near-term ROI and that capital is circulating. To the T1D community, it signifies more money is going toward research that could yield a Practical Cure.
 
This is an exceptional capability of the Fund. It should be fully utilized, and goals should be set to measure progress. Magnification of dollars from traditional investors could have an exponential impact on accelerating a T1D Cure.

5. Adopt World-Class Governance and Transparency Practices

Today, the T1D Fund operates as a private subsidiary, protected from public scrutiny and the press by its parent organization. Financial information is hidden in Breakthrough T1D’s financial statements, and accurate portfolio updates are not public-facing or regularly updated. These practices obscure the T1D Fund’s operation, and this will become a problem as the Fund grows.
 
JDCA argues that the Fund should grow substantially over the next five years and become a more significant part of Breakthrough T1D’s overall cure strategy. But as the Fund grows, so will expectations from potential contributors and business partners, who may become concerned by the lack of transparency and raise suspicions about governance.
 
As the T1D Fund increases its investment activity, its fiduciary obligations and governance must be reported independently and publicly. Though not legally required, it would exponentially increase public trust and may become a requirement for the T1D Fund to maintain the respect it has fostered to date.
 
Companies invested in by the T1D Fund are of great interest to the T1D community and other investors. JDCA strongly recommends that the T1D Fund make public governance information, including audited financial statements, strategy updates, key operating documents/agreements, and executive compensation. It should also keep the public informed about its investment portfolio, including new investments and exits, in real time; conduct one or two investor conferences annually; publish quarterly or annual portfolio updates; and ensure the website is up-to-date with relevant news.