Participated · Series C · Jun 2026

PhysicsX offers an AI-based engineering platform that predicts physical behavior in seconds rather than hours or days, enabling engineers to test many more design variations. Its platform is used across aerospace and defense, semiconductors, industrial machinery, automotive, energy and materials. The company plans to expand its platform capabilities, develop larger pre-trained "Large Physics Models," and grow its geographic presence including the U.S. and a new office in Singapore. Recent financing will fund that expansion and product development. Financially, PhysicsX reported rapid commercial momentum: it doubled recognized revenue and tripled booked revenue in the past year while more than doubling its customer count. The company has grown its team to over 300 employees in the last 12 months.

Participated · Series C · Aug 2020

Syntiant provides purpose-built silicon and an edge-optimized data platform and training pipeline to enable always-on deep learning for voice, sensor, audio and image use cases. Its Neural Decision Processors™ and chip solutions combine deep learning with semiconductor design to produce ultra-low-power, high-performance processors for devices from earbuds and wearables to automobiles and other IoT systems. The company offers an end-to-end stack that includes chips, software and training tools to allow edge devices to hear, speak, see and feel. Syntiant plans to accelerate deployment of its third-generation Syntiant Core 3™ architecture and to enhance its software capabilities. Financially, the company raised $55M in the reported financing and has raised more than $100M since its founding in 2017. Leadership is headed by CEO Kurt Busch. Syntiant develops microwatt-power Neural Decision Processors (NDP100 and NDP101) that run deep learning inference for voice and sensor applications. Its NDPs are designed to extend battery life in edge devices such as smartphones, smart speakers, laptops and earbuds. The company reports it has shipped more than one million units of the NDP100 and NDP101 to customers globally. Syntiant positions its technology to deliver high performance at very low power and low cost for improved AI voice‑activation. Financially, the company completed a $35 million Series C to support continued development and growth. Investors named in the round include Sunstone Venture Capital Fund, Seraph Group, Microsoft and Applied Materials. Sunstone, based in Long Beach, previously invested in Syntiant’s Series A and B rounds and participated in this Series C. Syntiant develops analog neural-network semiconductors that enable on-device machine learning for always-on voice, sensor and image tasks in battery-powered devices such as smartphones, watches and speakers. The company combines innovations in deep learning and semiconductor design to expand AI capabilities at the edge with very low power consumption. Syntiant says it will commercialize its neural network technology for battery-powered devices and has expanded its board with the additions of Samir Kumar and Bret Johnsen to deepen guidance. Financially, Syntiant completed a $25 million Series B equity raise that included strategic technology and industrial investors. Participants in the Series B included Sunstone Venture Capital Fund, Seraph Group, Microsoft, Intel, Amazon, Robert Bosch, Applied Materials and Motorola. Sunstone had also participated in Syntiant’s Series A less than a year earlier and credited the company’s rapid advancement with increasing the value of its investment. Syntiant develops analog neural-network semiconductors called Neural Decision Processors (NDPs) that perform neural computation locally on edge devices. Its technology seeks to eliminate data-movement penalties to enable faster, lower-power ML inference than traditional CPU, GPU and DSP options. The NDPs use custom analog neural networks optimized at the transistor level to run deep-learning functions. The chips are positioned for voice, sensor and video applications across mobile phones, wearables, smart sensors and drones. Led by CEO Kurt Busch, the company says it will use new funding to further develop and commercialize its technology. The company is based in Irvine, CA.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2008

Enphase makes microinverters for solar systems and once dominated the U.S. microinverter market. Since Q2 2014 the company has steadily lost market share to SolarEdge, which by Q3 2014 surpassed Enphase in megawatts shipped and as of Q1 last year was shipping roughly four times as many megawatts. A National Renewable Energy Laboratories report showed in Q1 2016 Enphase’s products cost approximately 50% more per watt than SolarEdge’s combined power optimizer/inverter product. Enphase has missed quarterly projections regularly since 2015, trimmed its workforce by 11% in September, and sold its residential operations-and-maintenance arm in December. T.J. Rodgers and John Doerr agreed to invest $10 million to help offset some portion of recent quarterly deficits, with Rodgers joining the board as a condition. The company says it will use some of the $10 million on consulting services to improve operational performance and boost support for global demand. Enphase Energy develops solar microinverter systems for residential and commercial markets. The company is based in Petaluma, California. It completed a financing round totaling $63M, with a $40M first close and a $23M second close. Investors across the two closes include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Third Point Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners, Madrone Capital Partners, PCG Asset Management, Applied Ventures LLC and Bay Partners. Proceeds will be used to accelerate product development, support global expansion plans and strengthen the company’s balance sheet. In conjunction with the financing, Ben Kortlang, a partner at KPCB, will join Enphase Energy’s board of directors. Enphase Energy develops and manufactures photovoltaic microinverters that convert the DC output of each solar module into AC and provide module-level monitoring. The company has sold tens of thousands of microinverters into hundreds of residential and commercial installations and reports its devices have surpassed 15 million unit-hours in the field. Its second-generation microinverter achieves a 96% efficiency rating, operates from -40°C to 65°C, claims better than 99.8% system availability and an MTBF rated at over 300 years, and has a smaller footprint than the first-generation device. Enphase reports the module-level devices deliver an average 10.7% kilowatt-hour energy improvement and a system-level internal rate of return gain of 24.5% when deployed. The Petaluma, CA–based company has signed sales and distribution agreements with major partners and distributors to meet strong demand. Management says it will use new capital to ramp up manufacturing, accelerate new product development, and expand into new geographic markets. Enphase Energy develops micro-inverters that mount on each solar panel to convert DC to AC while improving energy yield and enabling panel-level diagnostics. The company says micro-inverters can boost output by roughly 5–25 percent and allow installers and homeowners to pinpoint problems that centralized inverters cannot. Enphase launched its product in June and has shipped thousands of units, with a backlog of tens of thousands expected by year-end. Management expects to sell hundreds of thousands of micro-inverters next year and to ramp production into the millions thereafter if the solar market continues to grow. Today Enphase sells into the home and commercial markets and plans to expand into the utility market. On the financing front the company has raised $28 million to date and recently completed a new $15 million financing, and leadership says it will likely seek additional equity financing if scaling continues as planned.