Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1526546
14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 860-561-4000 West Hartford | Shelton | Marlborough CLAconnect.com ©2024 CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP) is an independent network member of CLA Global. See CLAglobal.com/disclaimer. Investment advisory services are offered through CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. SHORT TERM. LONG TERM. It takes balance. ™ the class of 2021 and 2022 SPACs down 90%. But then you have to go to the other part of it, which is, in the long term, it's a weighing machine." In Rothberg's view, each of his companies are producing products with weight. Butterfly Network Butterfly is producing the "best-selling portable ultrasound in the world," he said, adding it is now used in the "majority of the top 100 medical centers," and is being distributed "to medical students and many medical schools." It also has more than 600 patents. Rothberg said Butterfly recently "had its best quarter ever," reporting record revenue of nearly $21.5 million in the period that ended June 30. The company, which has moved its headquarters from Connecticut to Burlington, Mass., reported an overall $15.7 million loss in the quarter (an improvement from a $28.7 million loss in the year-ago period), and 225 employees as of Jan. 31, 2024. Hyperfine Hyperfine, Rothberg said, offers the "only portable MRI in the world. We're now in the top 10 of any medical company for AI-approved applications by the Food and Drug Administration." He added that its MRI is "penetrating major hospitals literally around the globe," and is now used to examine astronauts when they return to Earth. Like Butterfly, Hyperfine also posted its best quarter for revenue, with $3.6 million for the period that ended June 30. The Guilford-based company reported an overall $10.2 million loss in the quarter. In an annual report published in March, Hyperfine disclosed it completed an orga- nizational restructuring in the first quarter of 2023 that led to a 13% reduction in its global workforce. As of Feb. 15, 2024, the company said it employed 131 people. Quantum-Si As for Branford-based Quantum-Si, "it just invented protein sequencing. It will abso- lutely win Nobel Prizes, and it will save the life of somebody you love," Rothberg said. The company has said protein sequencing "will advance drug discovery and diagnostics and bring transformative health and disease insights to the world." Quantum reported record revenue of $622,000 for the three months ended June 30. It also reported a $23.1 million loss in the quarter (an improvement from a $25.6 million loss a year earlier), and 159 employees at the end of 2023. Returning to the voting machine vs. weighing machine analogy, Rothberg said it takes time to go from one to the other, and his three companies are showing promise with improving sales. "Amazon was down 90% in 1999 or 2000, but the people that bought it (eventually) made 100 or 1,000 times their money," he said. "At the end of the day," Rothberg added, "the SPACs are a great thing, I promise you, because somebody you love, their life will be saved because of one of our devices … or protein sequencing that developed the drug or diagnostic. … The money is saving lives." "Yes, I'm optimistic," he continued. "Yes, it's raining today, but tomorrow will be sunny." Jonathan Rothberg focuses on the intersection of engineering and biology, putting processes including DNA sequencing, protein sequencing and ultrasound onto computer chips. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER