CLOAK Biotech

DARPA spin-out developing weeks-long mosquito protection for defense and civilian use

Confirmed by founder

Austin, San DiegoFounded 2026

DefenseDeep TechBiotech

Capital FactoryAll Access Fund 2026

🟢 Raising Pre-Seed — $1.0M target

AboutConfirmed by founder

CLOAK Biotech develops engineered skin bacteria for long-lasting, chemical-free mosquito protection

Team

EV

Esther Vlessing

founder

See something off about this company?

Problem

Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on earth, responsible for over 700M mosquito-borne-disease cases and 1M deaths annually across 85 countries. Yet, the best protection relies on decades-old toxic chemical repellents that wear off within hours.

Solution

CLOAK Biotech unlocked the ability to use engineered skin bacteria to create long-lasting, efficacious repellency that isn't harmful to the environment or body. Our animal-study data shows that our repellent lasts 1+ week without reapplication, remains effective through sweat and washing, and provides scent-free and residue-free protection against mosquitoes.

Traction

Developed in a $10M DARPA program with MIT, Stanford, and UCSD researchers.
Recieved $60K in non-dilutive grant from Desjardin Group

Recent press

Cloak Wins $75,000 Perlman Grand Prize in Venture Lab Startup Challenge
News · May 5, 2026
PHILADELPHIA, May 5, 2026 – The University of Pennsylvania’s Venture Lab is proud to announce the winner of its tenth annual Startup Challenge: Cloak, founded by Rishi Ambavanekar, ENG’29, W’29, and Tyler Sacharow, C’29. Cloak works with publishers, ranging from news to novels to screenplays, to protect content against AI…Read More

Links

Website

Share this profile

Sign in to see contact details

Pitch deck

CLOAK Biotech Deck.pdf

3.3 MB · Uploaded May 6, 2026

This pitch deck is for investors.

Sign in to view →

This section requires investor access

Apply for investor access