Migrant Founders Fireside Chat: How to Scale Biotech and HealthTech in the US
🔬 Curious about how to scale your biotech or health tech company in the United States as a migrant founder?
Join us in San Francisco for Migrant Founders in Biotech and HealthTech: Scaling to the US, a practical and interactive fireside chat 🔥 created for scientists, clinicians, and entrepreneurs who are already building innovations that save lives and now want to expand their impact in the US market with a smart immigration strategy.
Instead of generic immigration advice, this session focuses on what migrant founders in biotech and health tech really need to succeed in the United States: understanding regulation and funding 💰, choosing the right hub to land in 📍, and designing an immigration path 🛂 that supports your company growth instead of limiting it.
Who this event is for
• 🧪 Founders and researchers who have developed or commercialized biotech, medtech, or digital health solutions.
• 🤝 Teams that already have funding, clinical validation, or partnerships with hospitals, universities, or research institutions.
• 🌎 Founders exploring US expansion for clinical trials, R and D, or commercialization.
• 💡 Entrepreneurs who want to access NIH, NSF, SBIR or STTR and other federal and private funding opportunities.
• 🛂 Migrant founders who want to open operations, attract US investors, or relocate under strategic visa categories such as EB2 NIW, O1, or EB1.
• 🚀 Anyone who does not want to improvise with their immigration status or close doors for their company in the future.
What you will walk away with
• 📝 A clear checklist to understand if your company or research is truly ready for US expansion.
• 🧩 A simple framework to connect your scientific profile and traction with the right visa path, including O1, EB2 NIW, and EB1.
• 🏙️ A practical view of the main US hubs for biotech and health tech — Boston, Texas, and Silicon Valley — and how to choose where to land based on your focus, partners, and lifestyle.
• 📊 A roadmap of the key regulatory and funding milestones you should keep in mind, including FDA pathways and NIH and SBIR or STTR opportunities.
• 🚀 Concrete first steps to position yourself and your company for US investors, accelerators, and institutional partners.
• 🔗 Tools, contacts, and resources to continue building your expansion plan after the event.
Agenda
2:30 to 3:00 PM
📝 Registration, welcome, snacks, and intentional networking with other migrant founders in biotech and health tech
3:00 to 4:00 PM
🔥 Fireside chat Migrant Founders in Biotech and HealthTech Scaling to the US
4:00 to 4:30 PM
🤝 Networking, snacks, and intentional conversations with other migrant founders in biotech and health tech.
Topics we will cover
Is this your moment
🔍 How to know if your current traction, science, and team are ready for a US move.
Where to land
📍 Opportunities, differences, and challenges of setting up in Boston, Texas, or Silicon Valley, depending on your focus area, partnerships, and lifestyle.
Regulation and funding landscape
💼 How FDA pathways, NIH and SBIR or STTR, and other federal incentives shape the way biotech and health tech companies grow in the US.
Smart immigration strategy O1, EB2 NIW, EB1 and more
🛂 How to design an immigration plan that matches your scientific and business goals, instead of treating migration as a separate problem.
Strategic tools and connections
🧭 Self assessment tools to evaluate your readiness and risks.
🔗 Access to curated contacts and resources to support your expansion in the US biotech ecosystem.
🚀 A practical guide to relocate your company or research line without losing focus on what matters most — your science, your team, and your mission.
Speaker
Adriana Soto Ospina
Founder and CEO of Maternal+ and VisaHub
Migrant founder, psychologist, occupational therapist, MBA
EB2 NIW recipient through self petition who used her own company and traction to migrate to the United States and now helps other founders and professionals do the same in a strategic and accessible way.
Moderator
Andrea Stephany Diaz
Co-founder and CEO of OncoSwab
Molecular biotechnologist and biochemist advancing non-invasive diagnostics for lung cancer. Recognized in Silicon Republic, Medium, and Horizon EU, and awarded at EU TalentOn and Mission Arena Cancer for her contributions to oncology innovation.
As an O-1 and EB-1 immigrant founder, Andrea brings both scientific expertise and firsthand experience navigating the U.S. immigration landscape, offering a strategic perspective at the intersection of biotech, entrepreneurship, and migrant leadership.