• Ascatron

  Participated · Series A · Jan 2020

  Ascatron develops SiC-based power semiconductor devices and supplies SiC epitaxial material for high-voltage power-electronics applications. The company focuses on using SiC to significantly reduce energy conversion losses in transformers and other high-voltage equipment. It has begun implementing its advanced material technology into production equipment for SiC epitaxy and is cooperating with LPE on 150mm SiC epitaxy. Next steps include optimizing device design and outsourcing remaining chip manufacturing to a foundry with volume-production capacity. Ascatron spun out of research institute Acreo in 2011 and is based in Kista, Stockholm, Sweden. The firm completed A-round financing to fund the final development of its first SiC products, and notes strong market interest—about 40% of the market for power electronic components is in China.

• Leaf Space

  Participated · Equity · Jul 2016

  Leaf Space operates a fully owned, globally distributed network of ground stations that enables telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) and payload data transmissions via an easy-to-use interface and proprietary autonomous scheduling software. The company supports around 80 satellites and offers global coverage to simplify spacecraft communications for operators. Leaf Space plans to use new capital to expand its ground-station network and add several new locations worldwide, support new frequencies for remote sensing satellites, and continue simplifying its user experience. Management also intends to hire additional talent to scale operations and to pursue new market segments and special projects with customers and partners. Founded in 2014, Leaf Space has offices in Lomazzo, Italy, and Delaware, US. The company is led by CEO Jonata Puglia and CSO Giovanni Pandolfi Bortoletto. Leaf Space is a Milan-based spacetech company founded in 2014 that provides satellite telecommunications-as-a-service, managing and procuring the entire ground segment for microsatellite operators. Its service suite includes time-shared access to ground stations, customized telecommunication solutions, ground station procurement, consultancy and backup services, turning the ground segment into a predictable recurring cost. The company currently supports over 15 customers, including Astrocast, Pixxel, Virgin Orbit and D-Orbit, as well as institutional customers such as ESA, Telespazio-Leonardo and ISRO. Leaf Space announced a €5 million Series A that brings its total funding to €10 million. The new capital will be used to further develop its ground segment services and globally scale operations, with plans to expand operational ground stations from eight to 11 in the first trimester of 2021 (deploying in Sri Lanka, Canada and Australia) and to reach 15 stations by the end of 2021. The company will also provide additional ground stations to client Astrocast via its Leaf Key service. Leaf Space is a Milan, Italy-based software platform that facilitates access to space data for private microsatellite operators. Founded in 2014 and co-founded by Jonata Puglia, Michele Messina, Giovanni Pandolfi, Matteo Boiocchi and Caterina Siclari, the company was accelerated within Turin-based I3P in 2015. Its primary product under development is Leaf Line, a TLC service dedicated exclusively to enabling private microsatellite operators to access space data. Leaf Line and other dedicated services target applications including marine traffic tracking, deforestation control, precision agriculture, natural disaster response, air pollution monitoring, illegal spills and sea search and rescue. The company raised €1m in venture capital in a round led by RedSeed Ventures with participation from Como Venture, Key Capital, PoliHub and others. Leaf Space intends to use the funds to launch its first solution, Leaf Line, and to develop additional dedicated services.

• D-Orbit

  Participated · Equity · Oct 2015

  D-Orbit leverages its experience with flown orbital transfer vehicles to offer managed orbital logistics services, including last-mile payload delivery, orbital transfer and hosted services on a subscription basis. The company is pursuing a Deorbit-as-a-Service (DaaS) model intended to let customers define mission objectives while D-Orbit provides the vehicle and operations, aiming to reduce time and cost compared with buying dedicated hardware. Through the DIU/SDA award, D-Orbit Space will demonstrate rendezvous, docking and other on-orbit capabilities that could enable refueling, repair, inspection and repositioning missions in low Earth orbit. For the DaaS demonstration D-Orbit Space will lead the effort with partners TransAstra and Falcon Exodynamics. The company positions the service model as scalable and resilient to meet repeated government mission demands.

• PileGrowth Tech

  Participated · Equity · Nov 2014

  Pilegrowth Tech develops, licenses and sells technologies for manufacturing semiconductor structures and devices. Its technologies are specifically applied to thick-film systems, including high-efficiency photovoltaic cells, imaging detectors and power electronics devices. The company was established in September 2012 as a spin-off of the University of Milano Bicocca. Founders are CEO Leonida Miglio and CTO Hans von Känel. Headquartered in Como, Italy, Pilegrowth Tech completed a second funding round, raising over €500k. Backers in the round included existing investors TT Venture (managed by Quadrivio Capital sgr), Como Venture srl and LPE spa.

• Hyperverse International

  Participated · Seed · Feb 2014

  Hyperfair provides a 3D platform for hosting online trade shows, virtual expos, career fairs and educational fairs. Its platform enables exhibitors and attendees to facilitate business matching, meet, engage, and do business through their avatars, mirroring aspects of physical events. The company was founded in 2010 by Marco Campanari (CEO) and Max Bonfanti (CPO); leadership also includes Andrea Ballarini (COO) and Massimiliano Mantione (CTO). Hyperfair intends to use new funding to improve the platform and deliver a better social business experience for users. The company previously raised $1.1M in 2012. Hyperfair is based in San Francisco, CA. HyperFair offers a platform for online trade shows that emphasizes interactivity and a 3D avatar-based experience rather than static pages. The product includes chat (text, Skype integration, and voice), easy booth creation by uploading media, and the ability for exhibitors to upload multiple photos to create 3D product displays. The company positions itself as expanding physical events—enabling pre-show virtual meetups or off-year engagement for biennial conferences—rather than replacing in-person shows. A demo by the COO highlighted a simple, intuitive interface focused on key tasks like networking, browsing products, and exchanging business cards. HyperFair was launched in Italy, where most of its events are currently held, and the team is working to expand in the United States from a small group operating out of RocketSpace in San Francisco. Financially, the company raised $1.1 million in seed funding from European angel investors earlier this year and counts Lorenzo Thione among its advisors.

No current team members are available.