• Trace Genomics

  Led · Series B · Feb 2024

  Trace Genomics applies hi-definition genomics, soil science, and machine learning to deliver DNA-based soil intelligence. The company analyzes soil biology, physical properties, and chemistry to provide a comprehensive and precise understanding of soil composition. It delivers targeted database insights and actions intended to operate at cost, speed, scale, and accuracy for partners advancing modern farming solutions. Led by CEO Poornima Parameswaran, Trace focuses on improving agricultural business outcomes and boosting productivity for farmers and agronomists. The company plans to expand its commercial growth and make its offerings available to more farmers and agronomists following its recent fundraise. No operating metrics (revenue/users) were disclosed in the article. Trace Genomics has developed a scalable soil microbiome test that uses high-throughput DNA sequencing and machine learning to help farmers predict soil disease, assess soil health, and forecast crop quality. The company received a $3 million equity investment as an extension to its Series A. FoodShot Global catalyzed the investment and will open its network of partners to support Trace’s R&D and deployment efforts. FoodShot’s post-investment engagements are intended to connect Trace with partners such as Rabobank, MARS, and the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health. The company’s product is positioned to support soil-health programs, carbon quantification efforts, and agricultural decision-making. Trace aims to grow its commercial deployment and become a leading company in global soil health, according to FoodShot leadership. Trace Genomics offers a scalable soil microbiome test that combines high-throughput DNA sequencing, artificial intelligence, and a growing microbial database to identify and profile soil microbial communities and interpret soil health and disease risk indicators. The core product delivers actionable recommendations to growers on nutrient efficiency, input-cost reduction, disease-risk mitigation, and choice of seeds, rotations, or biological agents. Its testing can also gauge soil health metrics and carbon sequestration potential and identify risks such as soybean sudden death syndrome. After one year of commercial availability the company has served growers of over 70 high-value fruits and vegetables and tested soil samples representing more than 150,000 acres. Trace plans to scale lab capacity to process more than a thousand soil samples per week across geographies and expand into corn and soybean. The company has raised capital to support that growth, having closed a $13M Series A and brought total capital raised to more than $19M; Trace was founded in 2015 and is based in Burlingame, California. Trace Genomics offers a soil testing kit and pathogen panel that sequences and analyzes soil microbiomes to tell growers whether harmful bacteria or fungi are present. The company began by testing its science and software for about a year with lettuce and strawberry farmers in California. Trace charges $199 per test, with bulk discounts for large customers. Founders Diane Wu and Poornima Parameswaran launched the company in January 2015 and the team participated in Illumina’s corporate accelerator. The startup aims to build a global database — a “fingerprint” of every farm — to identify both harmful and beneficial microbes and stabilize the food system. Its service is marketed broadly to the agriculture industry and plant pathology researchers.

• Infinitum

  Participated · Series E · Nov 2023

  Infinitum designs patented air-core, axial-flux motors that are lighter, smaller, and more efficient than traditional motors, targeting applications including mission-critical data centers, commercial HVAC, pumps, and industrial equipment. The company’s motors rely on high-powered printed circuit board (HP-PCB) stators, which it says are central to its efficiency and light weight. Infinitum has more than 100 pending or issued patents and has developed a manufacturing approach that reduces copper usage and waste. The company was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains to negotiate funding to accelerate domestic clean energy manufacturing. Infinitum plans to establish an HP-PCB stator manufacturing facility expected to be located in Rockdale, Texas, which the company says could create up to 170 operating jobs and 125 construction jobs. The project and facility aim to strengthen U.S. supply chains for critical components that are currently produced largely overseas. Infinitum develops patented air-core motor systems that aim to sustainably power energy-intensive applications in data centers, hospitals, buildings, logistics, manufacturing and industrial facilities. Its motors consume 10–65% less energy than traditional motors, are about 50% smaller and lighter, and use 66% less copper. Infinitum motor systems include an integrated variable frequency drive and can be customized for specific power and torque requirements; their modular design enables servicing, repair, remanufacturing and recycling. The company cites U.S. Department of Energy estimates that implementing advanced motor technology in U.S. industrial and commercial sectors could save 127 TWh/yr, $14.7 billion, and reduce 90.2 MMT of CO2. Infinitum is based in Austin, Texas and is led by founder and CEO Ben Schuler. The company said it will use new funding to scale production, meet customer demand and accelerate decarbonization. Infinitum develops patented air-core motors that replace iron-core, copper-wound stators with a lightweight printed circuit board stator and a built-in variable frequency drive. Its motors are roughly 50% smaller and lighter, use 66% less copper, have no iron in the stator, and consume about 10% less energy than traditional motors. The printed circuit board stator is described as 10x more reliable, and the motor’s modular design enables component reuse while manufacturing and servicing are less carbon intensive. Infinitum positions its product to enable variable-speed operation across industrial applications (compressors, pumps, fans, material handling) to cut energy use and emissions. The company is partnering with Rockwell Automation to develop a motor and low-voltage drive solution to be distributed through Rockwell’s channels. Infinitum is based in Austin, Texas and intends to scale production to meet customer demand and drive industrial decarbonization. Infinitum produces a patented air-core motor that is 50% smaller and lighter, uses 66% less copper, contains no iron, and consumes about 10% less energy than conventional motors. Its motors are modular by design, allowing housings, rotors, and stators to be reused multiple times and extending service life beyond typical 10–20 year motor lifetimes. The company recently rebranded as Infinitum and is renaming product lines (IEs to Aircore EC, IEm to Aircore Mobility, and IEalt to Aircore Power Gen) as it pushes commercialization. Infinitum is based in Austin, Texas and operates a 65,000 square foot production facility in Mexico. The company plans to expand and fully automate assembly at that Mexico facility to meet a significant increase in demand. Leadership says the goal is to scale production this year and next while advancing decarbonization and circularity in industrial, commercial, and mobility applications. Infinitum Electric designs and manufactures patented air-core motor systems that replace heavy iron with printed circuit boards to deliver comparable power at half the size and weight and lower noise and carbon footprint. Its integrated motor systems include motor, variable frequency drive (VFD) and embedded IoT in a single compact package, and the motors are reported to be about 10% more efficient than conventional motors. Since launching its IEs Series in 2020 the company has secured customer agreements representing more than $900 million in potential orders across heavy industry, manufacturing, HVAC and transportation. The company plans to vertically integrate and automate production, complete development and commercialization of a traction motor for the electric-vehicle market, and expand high-volume production out of its facility in Tijuana, Mexico. Infinitum moved its headquarters to a larger facility in Round Rock, Texas, and said it will double its U.S. workforce in 2022 with an additional 50 employees across Round Rock and Spokane, Washington. The company is based in Austin, Texas and has positioned its technology to address large-scale electrification and decarbonization opportunities.

• Gradient

  Led · Series A · Feb 2023

  Gradient Comfort was founded by thermal scientists and builds HVAC products starting with the Gradient, a window heat pump that uses climate-friendlier R32 refrigerant and is designed to be quiet, efficient and not block the window. The company says its product aims to deliver heating and cooling with significantly lower carbon impact and targets a 95% carbon reduction when used to both heat and cool. Gradient Comfort plans to use new capital to advance design, deployment and manufacturability of its air‑sourced window heat pump units for cold climates, expand into business‑to‑business channels, and develop software services (hardware monitoring, maintenance, leasing, and demand‑response/VPP integration). The firm also intends to add headcount and build new products as it scales operations. Financially, Gradient Comfort closed a $9M Series A follow‑on that brings total Series A funding to $27.5M and has additionally secured more than $9M in non‑dilutive government grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission, and the California Strategic Growth Council. In August 2022 the company was awarded a seven‑year contract to develop and deliver 10,000 cold‑climate packaged window heat pump units by NYCHA/NYPA/NYSERDA under the Clean Heat for All Challenge. Gradient builds HVAC products aimed at cooling and heating homes without the environmental harm of traditional systems; its first product is a replacement for the window AC that uses heat pump technology and a climate-friendly refrigerant. The company was founded by thermal scientists and includes talent from Tesla and Nest, positioned to reduce carbon emissions from heating and cooling. Gradient plans to develop a second product: cold-climate packaged window heat pump units, and to expand solutions for multi-family homes. It also intends to add services such as hardware monitoring, maintenance, leasing, and demand-response integrations with virtual power plants. Gradient has secured more than $9M in non-dilutive government grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, California Energy Commission, and California Strategic Growth Council, in addition to venture funding. In August 2022 the company won the Clean Heat for All Challenge and was awarded a seven-year contract to develop and deliver thousands of cold-climate packaged window heat pump units for NYC agencies.

• Ojjo

  Participated · Series C · Sep 2022

  Ojjo develops and manufactures next-generation solar foundations centered on its patented Earth Truss system and the Truss Driver drilling machine. The Earth Truss System offers a fast and efficient means of securing ground-mount solar systems, typically requiring less steel volume and labor than customary pile foundations. The company holds more than 250 domestic and international patents and its system has been contracted or constructed in over 1.6 gigawatts of solar projects to date, including the Gemini Solar project. Led by CEO Mike Miskovsky and based in San Rafael, California, Ojjo intends to use the new funding to accelerate growth and execution on a 9-gigawatt active project pipeline. Prior to this round Ojjo had raised $27M across two earlier funding rounds.

• Arable

  Participated · Series C · Jul 2022

  Arable builds an integrated solution combining connected sensors, agronomic models, and a software suite to provide weather, soil, plant-health and irrigation insights for farmers, agronomists and food companies. Its platform combines sensor data and machine learning to support on‑farm decisions, optimize water use, and benchmark sustainability and carbon outcomes. Customers have used Arable to reduce irrigation by up to 50% and pesticide use by about 15% in deployed cases cited by the company. Arable serves customers in over 40 countries and works with partners including Bayer, Netafim, The Nature Conservancy, Treasury Wine Estates and The World Food Programme. The company reports four‑time growth in annual recurring revenue each of the last two years, a 200% increase in active mobile app users over the past 12 months, and has doubled its team while adding offices in Sao Paulo and Bangalore. With the new funding Arable plans to accelerate product development, deliver new services, and expand its global footprint to advance climate resilience in agriculture. Arable provides an integrated system of hardware, agronomic modeling, and software that uses spectral and thermal sensors plus unique rain‑measurement microphones to observe crops continuously and diagnose stress. Its products fuse ground devices, forecasts, satellite data, and APIs to deliver actionable intelligence to farmers, researchers, processors, and food companies. The company reports just over 300% sales growth through Q3 2020 and has deployed thousands of devices across hundreds of thousands of farm acres, covering 37 crops in 39 countries on six continents. Arable’s calibration‑validation network includes more than 30 scientific research sites and its system collects over 36 million data points per day. The team emphasizes data quality, accuracy, and intuitive design and partners with major agriculture players such as Bayer, BASF, Corteva, and Treasury Wine Estates. With the new capital, Arable plans to accelerate global commercial growth and build the next phase of its predictive data products. The company is led by CEO Jim Ethington and Founder & Chief Scientist Adam Wolf and is based in San Francisco, CA. Arable makes solar-powered sensors (Arable Mark, formerly the Pulsepod) and the Arable Insights software platform to collect and analyze plant, light and weather data for farms. Its sensors measure more than 40 different, relevant data types, aiming to provide broader field visibility than single-focus IoT devices. The platform helps farmers automate monitoring, improve forecasting and reduce supply chain risk by surfacing onset of blooms, cluster development and crop coloring. Arable positions its data as valuable to farmers and downstream buyers — processors and grocers — for reducing distribution and procurement risk. The company says the capital raised will be used to hire scientists and engineers and to ramp up sensor production. Arable Labs builds the Pulsepod, a professional-grade, solar-powered crop and weather sensor that pairs with cloud software and developer tools. The device is ruggedly designed by Fred Bould and contains a six-band spectrometer, a 4-way net radiometer and an acoustic rain gauge. Each Pulsepod continuously monitors crop growth, rainfall, crop water demand, light and heat levels and crop color to inform harvest timing and yield forecasts. Data are sent to the cloud and accessible via Arable’s app and API for custom forecasting and analysis. Early adopters include Valley Irrigation, Yara International, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Treasury Wine Estates, Driscoll’s and Blue Marble Microinsurance. Longer term the company says the sensors could be used beyond agriculture for urban flooding, water quality or fire management, though current focus remains on food farmers and reducing food waste.

No current team members are available.