Argonaut Ventures

Argonaut Ventures LLC is a private investment and business development company focused on technology, media, healthcare, digital businesses and emerging opportunities in artificial intelligence.

The company’s founders have been building, investing in and developing Internet businesses since 1995. Their early work included the creation of some of the first major online health communities, including Alzheimers.com, Depression.com, Diabetes.com and Obesity.com, which were developed through Epicenter Communications and later acquired as part of the growth of online healthcare.

Today, Argonaut Ventures evaluates and develops new businesses, technologies and investment opportunities, drawing on decades of experience in entrepreneurship, digital media, healthcare, Internet businesses and, increasingly, artificial intelligence.

Argonaut Ventures is based in Sausalito, California.

Matthew Naythons MD, Partner

Dr. Naythons has spent his career at the intersection of medicine, journalism, media, technology and entrepreneurship.

After medical school, he practiced emergency medicine while building an award-winning career as an international photojournalist for Time magazine. While covering the Cambodian refugee crisis in 1979, he founded and led International Medical Teams (IMT), a mobile relief organization that provided medical care to Cambodian refugees and displaced Thai villagers through 1982.

In 1991, Dr. Naythons founded Epicenter Communications, which produced major photojournalism, multimedia and publishing projects, including The Face of Mercy: A Photographic History of Medicine at War, Sarajevo: A Portrait of the Siege, and Clinton: A Portrait of Victory. As the Internet emerged as a consumer medium, Epicenter moved into digital health publishing, producing one of the first guides to online health information and, in 1995, launching NetMed and NetHealth. The company developed some of the earliest major disease-specific health websites, including Diabetes.com, Depression.com, Obesity.com and Alzheimers.com.

Following the acquisition of NetHealth by PlanetRx in 1999, Dr. Naythons joined PlanetRx as Vice President and Publisher. He later co-founded EpiCom Media, producing large-scale editorial and photographic projects including A Day in the Life of the United States Armed Forces and A Day in the Life of the American Woman. He also co-authored There Is Still a Person in There: A Complete Guide to Treating and Coping with Alzheimer’s.

In 2006, Dr. Naythons co-founded Argonaut Ventures, LLC, a private investment company. His background in healthcare, media, technology and company development informs Argonaut’s evaluation and development of new businesses and investment opportunities.

Dr. Naythons is a charter member of the International Society of Travel Medicine and a member of the Explorers Club. He holds a BS from Muhlenberg College and an MD from Hahnemann University, and received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Muhlenberg in 1995.

Peter Goggin,  Partner

Peter Goggin has been building, investing in, and advising technology and Internet businesses since the early days of the commercial web

Beginning in 1995, he helped develop some of the first major health information communities online, including Diabetes.com, Alzheimers.com, Depression.com and Obesity.com, as Vice President of NetHealth, a division of Epicenter Communications. Following NetHealth’s acquisition by PlanetRx in 1999, he joined PlanetRx.com, where he held senior management roles overseeing project management, design and production during the company’s rapid growth.

He later joined San Francisco-based ISL Consulting, where he worked with companies on Internet strategy, e-commerce, publishing platforms and specialized healthcare applications.

Peter Goggin is now a Partner at Argonaut Ventures, LLC, a private investment company. His current work focuses on evaluating and developing businesses at the intersection of technology, media and consumer markets, with particular expertise in artificial intelligence, digital products, online business models and emerging technologies. He brings the perspective of both an investor and an operator, drawing on more than three decades of experience building and evaluating Internet-based businesses.

Argonaut Ventures' portfolio of companies includes both consumer and professional health and medical companies.

Current Ventures
Malaria.com — Malaria.com was created to harness the power of the Internet to raise awareness of malaria, and to help fund the purchase and distribution of bed nets. The goal of Malaria.com is quite simple—fighting malaria one net at a time.

MedNews — MedNews provides original and aggregated health and medical news by category. The site offers research and networking tools, such as story clipping and storage, commenting, blogging, and RSS subscriptions.

Sold
Diabetes.com — A consumer health portal for diabetics and their families, Diabetes.com featured health information, daily news, lifestyle tips and recipes, and community features for site members to share stories and network with others. (Acquired)

Alzheimers.com — Targeted to Alzheimer's caregivers, Alzheimers.com was a strong community site that provided news, information, support, and social networking features to caregivers and their families. (Acquired)

Depression.com — A consumer health information and support website, Depression.com provided individuals suffering from Depression with a source of information and support. Members could browse the informative health library, or share stories and support with other registered members. (Acquired)