Denver, CO – The Angel Capital Association (ACA), the world’s largest association of angel investors, proudly announced the 2026 Luis Villalobos Award winners at this year’s Summit of Angel Investing. This prestigious award recognizes the most innovative companies recently backed by ACA member groups. The winners span two categories: Technology, Kind Designs, and Life Sciences, BMI OrganBank, both nominated by Golden Seeds.
Technology Winner: Kind Designs
Nominated by Golden Seeds
Kind Designs is addressing one of the most urgent challenges facing coastal communities: rising sea levels and increased flooding. While seawalls have long served as a first line of defense, traditional systems are often cost prohibitive—especially for the 40% of the global coastal population living below the poverty line—and environmentally harmful, destroying marine habitats due to flat, chemical-leaching designs. In the United States alone, traditional seawalls are projected to destroy up to 50,000 miles of marine habitat by 2040.
Kind Designs is transforming this approach with its 3D-printed Living Seawalls, which are structurally identical to traditional concrete systems but engineered to support marine ecosystems while dramatically improving speed and cost efficiency. Using proprietary 3D-printing technology, seawalls can be produced in just one hour (compared to one day) and fully cured in one day (versus up to 30 days with conventional methods).
With the U.S. expected to spend $406 billion on seawall infrastructure between 2020 and 2040—including $76 billion in Florida alone—Kind Designs is well positioned to meet growing demand. The company installed the world’s first 3D-printed seawall in late 2024 and has since expanded across residential, commercial, and government projects in Florida and New York. After closing 2025 with $1 million in realized revenue, Kind Designs has already secured $7 million in booked revenue for 2026, along with a $2 million NAVSEA Phase grant to deploy Living Seawalls at a U.S. Navy base.
Angel investors have played a foundational role in the company’s growth.
“Angel investors have been instrumental to Kind Designs—from early conviction when others didn’t understand the problem, to strategic support that helped us scale, enter new markets, and even shape policy,” said Anya Freeman, Founder and CEO of Kind Designs. “Winning the Luis Villalobos Award gives us a national platform at a pivotal moment as we expand beyond Florida into coastal markets across the U.S.”
Life Sciences Winner: BMI OrganBank
Nominated by Golden Seeds
BMI OrganBank is addressing one of the most critical challenges in modern healthcare: the shortage of viable donor kidneys for transplant. While kidney transplantation remains the preferred treatment for end-stage renal disease, up to 90% of donor kidneys are discarded due to limitations in preservation and the inability to confidently assess viability. As a result, thousands of patients remain on dialysis—often at a cost exceeding $100,000 per year and with significantly reduced life expectancy.
The company has developed a breakthrough portable, room-temperature, bloodless organ preservation system that redefines how donor kidneys are maintained and evaluated. Unlike traditional methods that place organs into a static state, BMI’s technology actively simulates the human body—replicating heartbeat, oxygenation, and nutrient delivery—allowing kidneys to remain viable for longer periods while enabling real-time assessment and extended transport distances.
More than 134,000 individuals in the U.S. progress to end-stage renal failure each year, creating a significant and growing need for improved transplant solutions. BMI OrganBank’s approach has the potential to dramatically increase the number of usable donor organs while addressing a $1.3 billion serviceable market.
The company has demonstrated superiority to the current standard of care in pre-clinical studies and was awarded FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in July 2025, accelerating its path toward clinical validation. Supported by a strong intellectual property portfolio and collaboration with leading research partners, including the Duke University Ex-Vivo Organ Laboratory (DEVOL), BMI OrganBank is positioned to transform the future of organ transplantation.
“Winning the Luis Villalobos Award reflects the extraordinary team behind BMI OrganBank and the early support from angel investors who made it possible to turn our vision into reality,” said Carrie DiMarzio, CEO of BMI OrganBank. “Their belief in our approach helped us build the foundation to expand access to life-saving organ transplants.”
“We are thrilled to see Kind Designs and BMI OrganBank honored with the Luis Villalobos Award. From revolutionary climate resilience technology to life-saving medical innovation, these companies represent the very best of what happens when visionary founders are paired with committed early-stage investors. Golden Seeds is proud to be an investor in these women-led companies, and we are excited to support their continued growth.” said Jo Ann Corkran Co-CEO and Managing Partner Golden Seeds
About Golden Seeds
Golden Seeds is a leading angel investment organization founded in 2004 to increase access to capital for women entrepreneurs. Today, it is a nationwide network of investors who fund and support high-potential, women-led companies, providing not only capital but also mentorship, connections, and strategic guidance to help them grow and succeed.
About the ACA and Luis Villalobos
ACA is a professional society of angel investors who make up the world’s most prolific early-stage investment class. The association is the largest professional development organization for angel investors in the world, deploying more than $650 million in early-stage capital each year. The Luis Villalobos Award is named in memory of Luis Villalobos, founder of Tech Coast Angels (now TCA Venture Group) and a passionate advocate for innovative startups. Each year, the ACA honors companies whose ingenuity represents the future of entrepreneurial excellence in life sciences and technology.
The ACA congratulates Kind Designs and BMI OrganBank for their breakthrough contributions and looks forward to watching their continued impact in the years to come.
Press Contact:
Dannielle Stewart, Marketing Director
Angel Capital Association
aca@angelcapitalassociation.org
