Led · Seed · Oct 2022

Wilkinson Baking Company develops a fully automated commercial bread-baking robot, the BreadBot, for in-store fresh-bakery production. Led by CEO Paul Rhynard and based in Walla Walla, Wash., the company ran several years of in-market pilots at seven grocery stores. In July 2022 it deployed its first commercial-ready BreadBot into Andy’s Market in College Place, Wash. The company is manufacturing and assembling additional BreadBots and expects to have 20 units deployed by early 2023. Financially, Wilkinson closed a $3.0M seed funding round, with funds earmarked primarily to build and deploy additional BreadBots.

Participated · Series C · Jun 2022

RealWear develops assisted-reality wearable devices and software that give frontline industrial workers hands-free, head-mounted access to real-time information and remote expertise. Its product lineup includes the RealWear Navigator 500, launched late last year as the first commercially available modular head-worn device. The company has shipped devices to thousands of enterprise customers across Energy, Manufacturing, Food & Beverage, Automotive, and Telecommunications, including Shell, Goodyear, Mars, Colgate-Palmolive, and BMW. Led by Chairman and CEO Andrew Chrostowski, RealWear intends to use new funding to grow a unified software and services platform across its human-centric wearable products. The company is based in Vancouver, Washington and maintains local offices in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, and Japan, and recently opened a customer experience center in Dubai. RealWear provides a knowledge-transfer platform combining rugged head-mounted hardware and hands-free workforce software to deliver in-situ information and in-field training for frontline workers. Its flagship HMT-1 is an Android-class, head-mounted wearable designed to free workers' hands while maintaining situational awareness in harsh environments. The company bundles hardware with software capabilities such as remote mentor, document navigation, industrial IoT visualization and digital workflows. RealWear reports more than 15,000 HMT systems shipped, 1,300+ enterprise customers globally, and 120+ workforce software applications. The company says it will use the new funding to continue market expansion and accelerate platform development. RealWear is based in Vancouver, Washington. RealWear sells a voice-controlled augmented reality device worn by industrial workers that supports remote video calling, document navigation, guided workflow, mobile forms and data visualization. The company offers two device versions priced at $2,000 and $5,000. It has shipped more than 10,000 units to 800 customers globally in the past 18 months, including deals with China’s State Grid, Colgate-Palmolive, Volkswagen, and Toyota. RealWear employs about 91 people and is using new funding to expand its global sales arm and invest in product development. Founded in 2016 and based in Vancouver, Wash., the company positions itself as enabling connected-worker programs by freeing workers’ hands with a fully voice-controlled Android wearable. RealWear makes the HMT-1, a rugged, hands‑free AR headset that uses a non‑transparent HUD reflected into the user’s field via a movable arm. The device is designed to act more like a hands‑free tablet than spatially aware AR headsets and prioritizes simplicity and worker safety by avoiding opaque optical overlays. RealWear targets industrial maintenance, repair and operations teams with voice-driven menus that work in noisy environments. The HMT-1 is sold online for $2,000 and the company says it has sold thousands of units. RealWear reported $2 million in revenue in 2017 and management projected $20 million in 2018. With the new funding the company intends to expand its sales and marketing teams to accelerate adoption among enterprise customers.

Participated · Series D · Jan 2020

AbSci unifies biologic drug discovery and development with a platform designed to reinvent the biopharmaceutical drug discovery process. The company pairs its patented SoluPro® E. coli expression system and Protein Printing™ platform with the Denovium Engine deep‑learning AI to create novel biotherapeutic candidates and the cell lines to manufacture them in a single workflow. In that workflow AbSci selects cell lines producing candidates with optimal target potency and affinity as well as high‑titer expression. The company specializes in next‑generation biologics built on complex protein scaffolds and is expanding core discovery capabilities, including non‑standard amino acid technologies. AbSci is led by founder and CEO Sean McClain and is based in Vancouver, Wash. The article does not disclose financial metrics or revenue. AbSci has developed Protein Printing™ technology that combines its E. coli SoluPro® platform with a synthetic biology workflow to generate high-diversity strain libraries and high-throughput screening assays. The company’s SoluPro™ expression platform is patented and designed to rapidly produce complex proteins including mAbs, Fabs, enzymes, hormones, peptides and emerging novel biotherapeutic classes. Led by founder and CEO Sean McClain, AbSci positions its technology for both discovery and scale-up of difficult-to-express biologics. The company has entered commercial arrangements to broaden market access and support industrialization of its platform. Financially, AbSci completed a financing package to support near-term commercial demand and expansion plans. The proceeds will be used to expand facilities and grow the team to meet commercial demand for its technology. AbSci is a developer of biomanufacturing technologies based in Vancouver, Wash., led by founder and CEO Sean McClain. The company has developed SoluPro™, a protein expression platform built on genetically engineered E. coli and plasmids that delivers titers of complex proteins ranging from full-length antibodies to insulin. AbSci serves large pharma and biosimilar partners and is scaling to meet their demand. The company completed a $12M Series C financing. It will use the funds to expand R&D and to scale up capacity to meet partner demand. As part of the financing, AGC Biologics’ President and CEO Dr. Gustavo Mahler will join AbSci’s board of directors. AbSci provides the SoluPro™ platform for soluble microbial protein expression, aimed at increasing yields and speeding drug discovery and manufacturing timelines. The platform is designed to enable higher protein yields in less time than current processes, which the company says will accelerate drug discovery, increase manufacturing efficiencies, and reduce costs for the biopharmaceutical industry. Led by founder and CEO Sean McClain, AbSci is targeting commercial production of insulin and other therapeutic proteins. The company secured funding to support further development and scale-up of SoluPro for commercial production. The Series A financing will support the company’s next-stage product and manufacturing work in Portland, Oregon.

Participated · Seed · Dec 2017

Streem builds augmented-reality smartphone tools that let home-service professionals stream HD video of a customer's issue and use a digital toolbox to take measurements, annotate, and save photos, videos and notes. Its computer-vision features can automatically detect brand and model numbers, and the app supports a laser pointer and arrows anchored to a 3D map of the space, running on Apple's ARKit. The company charges professionals a monthly fee starting at $19 while consumer use is free, and it has partnerships with HomeAdvisor and Porch to attract service professionals. CEO Ryan Fink has expressed broader ambitions to open Streem to many customer-support verticals beyond home services. Streem hired former LiquidPlanner CEO Liz Pearce as chief revenue officer, and during a pitch said it was on pace for $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue by the end of 2018 with potential to triple the following year. The company disclosed an additional $6.8 million in funding via an SEC filing and said the new cash is part of a larger round, though it declined to provide further details. Streem’s mobile platform leverages augmented reality, computer vision and machine learning to let users capture brand, model and serial numbers, take measurements, save notes and record HD video through a digital toolbox. The product is aimed at connecting home-service professionals to customers via on-demand intelligent video and is offered as Streem Pro with a free trial; the app is available in the Google Play and Apple App stores. The company raised additional seed funding to accelerate growth into the $400 billion home services market. Streem announced a new Board of Advisors including Serge Belongie, Christopher Croteau, Eric Doebele and Joseph Tou to support product and go-to-market strategy. The company is led by CEO and co-founder Ryan Fink and is based in Portland, Oregon. Streem raised seed funding to develop a mobile platform that connects home service professionals to consumers with on-demand video streaming and a digital toolbox. The company uses augmented reality, computer vision and machine learning to help professionals diagnose, quote and perform repairs and remodels. Platform features include on-demand cross-platform video calling; a digital toolbox for measurements, notes and anchored laser-pointer/arrow annotations on a 3D map; computer-vision identification of objects, brands, models and serial numbers; and video, image and 3D data capture. Streem plans to use the funds to accelerate product development, grow strategic partnerships, bolster marketing initiatives and expand its team. The company is led by CEO and co-founder Ryan Fink and COO Jef Holove and is based in Portland, Ore. No operating metrics or prior financing details were disclosed in the article.