Navidence announced it has completed a Series Seed preferred funding round co-led by Grand Ventures of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Nina Capital of Barcelona, Spain, as the company targets a persistent bottleneck in life sciences research: turning ethically obtained real-world data into evidence that regulators, sponsors, and research teams can consistently interpret and reuse across studies.
The company, founded in 2022, positions its platform as infrastructure for research teams that increasingly rely on real-world data in drug development and regulatory decision-making, but still face time-consuming, manual work to determine whether a given dataset and its underlying definitions are appropriate for a specific clinical research use case. Navidence argues that the challenge is less about access to data than about the lack of shared, standardized definitions that make analyses reproducible across stakeholders and over time.
Navidence said its AI native technology and professional services are designed to make it easier to design and deploy studies using real-world data by creating what it calls Computable Operational Definitions, or CODefs. The company describes CODefs as standardized definitions of key study elements that are readable by both humans and computers, intended to bridge clinical healthcare data and research requirements while improving precision, consistency, and efficiency in study design and execution.
The platform’s approach combines software, curated CODef libraries, and expert services so research teams can more objectively select fit-for-purpose real-world data and align stakeholders earlier in the process, from protocol development through study execution. Navidence framed the product as a way to reduce burdens on research teams by replacing fragmented, inconsistent definitions with reusable, computable standards that can be applied across studies.
The investors said the company’s focus on standardized, computable definitions addresses a foundational need as real-world data becomes more central to therapy evaluation and healthcare decision-making. Navidence is aiming to become a core layer in the clinical research workflow by helping life sciences organizations define, assess, and transparently apply real-world data to clinical research studies and clinical trials.
KEY QUOTES
“There’s an enormous opportunity to make real-world data more usable and trustworthy. With this funding, we’re advancing tools that directly reduce burdens on research teams, making the work—from protocol creation to study execution—more efficient and quickly aligning stakeholders throughout the process.”
Aaron Kamauu, CEO and Co-Founder, Navidence
“As real-world data becomes increasingly central to drug development and regulatory decision-making, the industry needs more than access to data—it needs clarity, consistency, and trust in how that data is defined and used. Navidence is building foundational infrastructure that helps life sciences teams translate complex, fragmented healthcare data into standardized, computable definitions that can be reused and trusted across studies. Their combination of software and thought-leading domain expertise is deeply embedded in customer workflows, and we believe it positions Navidence to become core infrastructure for RWD-driven research.”
James Hill, Partner, Grand Ventures
“At Nina Capital, we back companies that solve fundamental bottlenecks in healthcare through meaningful innovation. Navidence is providing the essential ‘Rosetta Stone’ for real-world data, transforming disparate health information into standardized, computable evidence. By bridging the gap between clinical care and rigorous research, they aren’t just improving study design—they’re building the infrastructure necessary to make RWD-driven research a global standard.”
Sebastian Anastassiou, Partner and Head of Investments, Nina Capital
