Participated · Series A · Aug 2026

Velaura AI develops energy-efficient digital design technology for AI compute, built on patented techniques applied at leading semiconductor process nodes. Its flagship product, Titan Core, is a proprietary chip IP and design platform that the company says delivers a 2x to 4x improvement in performance per watt on the mathematical operations used by AI accelerators without sacrificing performance. The underlying technology has been deployed across more than 30 million ASICs, and Velaura licenses it under an upfront fee plus a royalty tied to the power savings its customers achieve. The company says it is engaged with hyperscalers and chip partners at 3nm and 2nm nodes to integrate the technology into next-generation AI accelerators, and is extending the architecture into physical AI systems including robots, drones, and autonomous machines. Founded in 2022 as Auradine, a bitcoin mining ASIC designer behind the Teraflux miner series, the company rebranded to Velaura AI in March 2026 alongside a pivot to AI silicon, and is headquartered at 3200 Coronado Drive in Santa Clara, California. Financially, Velaura AI announced a $110M Series A in August 2026 at a valuation above $1 billion, led by Seligman Ventures; the articles do not state a cumulative total raised across its earlier rounds under the Auradine name.

Participated · Series G · Aug 2026

Form Energy develops iron-air long-duration batteries capable of delivering up to 100 hours of discharge. Its chemistry relies on iron oxidation and reduction, enabling lower-cost storage by avoiding higher-priced minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. The company has secured large commercial customers including Google, Crusoe, Xcel Energy, and FuturEnergy Ireland and reports a commercial project backlog of about 80 gigawatt-hours. About 80% of the company’s materials supply is sourced from the U.S., with the remainder from Europe and Asia. Form is expanding manufacturing capacity in West Virginia following its recent financing. The company’s positioning and technology aim to address growing demand for long-duration storage as U.S. electricity demand rises and renewable generation expands.

Participated · Series G · Jun 2026

Helion Energy had been working toward a promised energy breakthrough but fell behind schedule and began running short on cash. The company's financial strain led to a high-profile fundraising effort in which Sam Altman, one of its largest investors, solicited OpenAI to lead a $500 million round at a $35 billion valuation. A significant portion of Altman's personal net worth is reported to be tied to Helion. Within the company, employees who reviewed the proposed financing raised doubts about the viability of the technology. Concern about potential legal exposure led some staff to avoid discussions about the deal in internal Slack channels. The article does not provide revenue, user, or other operating metrics, nor does it detail specific product plans beyond the referenced "energy breakthrough."

Participated · Series A · May 2026

Magrathea develops a next-generation electrolytic process to extract magnesium metal from seawater and waste brines with a goal of producing carbon-neutral magnesium. The company operates a pilot facility in Oakland, California and is led by CEO Alex Grant. Magrathea positions its product to reduce reliance on traditional mining and on Chinese supply chains for magnesium. Following the Series A, the company intends to expand operations and continue development work, including building a demo smelter. Financially, Magrathea has just completed a $24M Series A; no revenue or user metrics were reported.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2026

OpenLight develops a heterogeneous III-V silicon photonics process and a foundry-validated process design kit (PDK) that integrates active and passive components—such as integrated lasers, modulators, amplifiers, and detectors—into custom PASICs. Its PDK is validated at Tower Semiconductor and is used by more than 25 companies to design and fabricate production-grade PASICs across datacom, telecom, AI data centers, sensing, and quantum computing. The company holds over 410 patents related to its PDK and manufacturing of heterogeneously integrated III-V photonics. OpenLight is advancing leading-edge components including 400G modulators and indium phosphide on-chip lasers and amplifiers, and plans to develop standards-based reference PICs at 1.6T and 3.2T. The firm aims to expand its PDK library, worldwide sales, and technical support as it scales; it is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, with offices in Silicon Valley and has raised $84 million in total funding.