June 5, 2026
Over the past two weeks, rumors about major changes to the T1D Fund’s leadership and structural independence have been circulating. While facts and details are still emerging, enough have been acknowledged by various sources to suggest that momentous change is happening now.
This report will share what we have learned to date. It discusses the changes communicated to JDCA by various sources, and the recent removal from the websites of all T1D Fund board and investment committee members.
We hope that this report will encourage clear and transparent communication of these events and the rationale behind them. If JDCA has been misinformed, which we believe is unlikely, we will acknowledge that as well. During the next few weeks, we will update and amend this story as we learn more.
Sources
The changes in T1D Fund leadership and operating structure have been communicated to JDCA through several anonymous sources. These sources are independent of one another, but their information has been remarkably consistent. The sources were clearly very well-informed, most likely insiders, and all expressed a deep passion and commitment to improving the lives of people with T1D. It is enough that we thought it our responsibility to write this report.
We are not aware of public statements from either the T1D Fund or Breakthrough T1D regarding these changes. JDCA will reach out to the leadership of both organizations and will report accordingly as we gain more information.
T1D Fund Background Summary
The T1D Fund is an independent subsidiary of Breakthrough T1D that makes equity investments in companies working on solutions for T1D. It has operated independently of its parent organization and brought a very different set of skills and capabilities to T1D research. Where Breakthrough T1D has expertise in grant-giving, public education, and advocacy, the T1D Fund’s expertise is in making investments and providing guidance to those companies. These are very different skill sets.
The T1D Fund is a nonprofit. All contributions to the T1D Fund are donations. When the T1D Fund is able to achieve a profitable exit from one of its investment positions, which it has done several times, the proceeds remain within the T1D Fund (at least to date). The T1D Fund has led three rounds of fundraising since 2016, which brought several hundred million dollars to T1D.
The T1D Fund accepts only large donations of $500 thousand or more. One reason donors are attracted to the T1D Fund is its sole focus on investing in for-profit companies developing T1D solutions, all of which operate with an inherent urgency to get to market.
For many of these donors, it has been important that the operating relationship between the T1D Fund and its parent is kept at arm’s length, allowing each to focus on its area of expertise. JDCA understands that an operating agreement defines swim lanes. This, however, may be changing.
Claimed Changes in the T1D Fund
The overarching theme of the claimed changes at the T1D Fund is control. Breakthrough T1D leadership, the legal parent organization of the T1D Fund, is said to have made several changes to the T1D Fund's leadership and operating agreement, designed to give it more direct authority over the T1D Fund's decision-making and finances.
Here is what has been shared with us:
- Several T1D Fund board members were “fired without warning” by Breakthrough T1D leadership.
- Other T1D Fund board members “quit in protest.”
- Breakthrough T1D now has “full control to move donor gifts and proceeds (made to the T1D Fund) back to Breakthrough T1D.”
- The T1D Fund Investment Committee has been terminated.
- Donor grants have been “rescinded by large strategic donors."
- Breakthrough T1D leadership is “trying to keep all of this quiet.”
- Litigation among various stakeholders is being discussed.
T1D Fund Board Names Removed from Both Websites
At some point in the past week, the names of the T1D Fund board members were removed from both the Breakthrough T1D and T1D Fund websites. In addition, all investment committee members were removed from the T1D Fund website. As of publication, there is no reference to the T1D Fund board members or investment committee members on either website.
For reference, we have included screenshots of the altered webpages in the appendix. Taken from the Internet Archive, it compares the leadership pages of both organizations earlier in the year versus their appearance today.
Why Might All This Occur?
One would rationally expect some degree of friction and conflicting perspectives between the T1D Fund and its parent organization; they see the world through different lenses and have different purposes. Friction is common in many high-performing organizations with discrete operating divisions that have competing objectives. One mark of a highly effective, large organization with different factions is the ability to balance this competitive tension effectively—to bring out the best in everyone.
However, this can also go sour. One can imagine that Breakthrough T1D leadership felt the T1D Fund was operating too independently or perhaps moving away from its mandate. Again, this is speculative, and we will share more as we learn more.
Implications
The T1D Fund has been one of Breakthrough T1D's featured success stories and is widely touted as one of the most successful and effective examples of the venture philanthropy business model. The T1D Fund has been effective in driving more capital to T1D entrepreneurs and is well-positioned to bring cell supply solutions to market. Anything that risks this is bad.
But, there are two sides to every story, and there are always bumps in the road. At the end of the day, we all want a functional cure for T1D as soon as possible. If these reports are even partially accurate, the key now is to be fully transparent so that we know where things stand, discuss and offer opinions, and, ultimately, move forward.
Appendix A: Breakthrough T1D's Altered Leadership Page
Appendix B: T1D Fund's Altered Leadership Page
