Dr. Garrett C. Smith is the Founding Managing Partner of ReefHaven Ventures, an early-stage healthcare venture fund investing in AI healthcare technologies, with a focus on the San Diego innovation ecosystem. As a member of the UC San Diego Chancellor's Innovation Awards selection committee and the UC San Diego MedTech Accelerator Executive Committee, Garrett is committed to helping founders translate academic innovation into successful healthcare companies.
In 2026, ReefHaven invested in three UC San Diego-affiliated healthcare startups in the Schools of Engineering and Medicine, reflecting the firm's mission to strengthen the regional innovation ecosystem while advancing technologies that improve patient outcomes.

Garrett's career spans entrepreneurship, company building, venture investing, and business development. He earned his PhD in Bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego and was a Post-Doctoral Stanford Biodesign Innovation Fellow at Stanford University. Drawing on experience as a scientist, founder, operator, and investor, Garrett brings a unique perspective to transforming breakthrough innovations into scalable companies.

As a founder and operator, Garrett has led multiple healthcare ventures from concept through financing, clinical development, regulatory approval, and commercialization. This includes serving as CEO of a company originating from his PhD research at UC San Diego and leading an implantable medical device startup through clinical trials and FDA clearance. He also co-founded Oculeve, an academic spinout developing neurostimulation technology for dry eye disease that was acquired by Allergan for more than $300 million.

Over the past two decades, Garrett has built a track record as an investor and strategic advisor. He has managed early-stage venture investments for a publicly traded corporate venture fund and has made angel investments in healthcare companies that collectively raised more than $450 million in follow-on financing. Across his career, including Johnson & Johnson Innovation, he has led more than 30 buy-side and sell-side transactions spanning venture financings, research collaborations, licensing agreements, strategic partnerships, and M&A.

Through ReefHaven Ventures, Garrett partners with founders at critical inflection points, helping build enduring healthcare companies that improve patient outcomes and create lasting impact.