Participated · Equity · Nov 2019

VoltServer commercializes Fault Managed Power (FMP), a transmission technology that sends electricity in small, safety-checked packets embedded with data and sold under the brand Digital Electricity. The company manufactures FMP transmission products and supplies systems with extensive monitoring and control software that augment the hardware. VoltServer reports circuits installed in buildings including NFL stadiums, smart hotels, and indoor vertical farms. Led by CEO Steve Eaves and based in East Greenwich, RI, the company plans to use new funding to hire talent to accelerate product development. It intends to expand further into Communications, Intelligent Buildings, Indoor Agriculture, EV Charging, Data Centers, and other applications where rapid, lower-cost, data-enabled electricity distribution can benefit customers. The company raised new capital in 2023 to support those product and go-to-market efforts. VoltServer develops a packetized power-transmission system that overlays digital control and data onto electricity distribution, using a transmitter that breaks AC or DC into packets and a receiver that reassembles them. Its architecture incorporates digital signal processing and a semiconductor gateway similar to solar power converters to stop transmission when faults occur. The company combines hardware and software: customers buy transmitter/receiver boxes, third parties install them, and software applications track energy usage and manage outage responses. Roughly 700 stadiums, large offices and indoor grow facilities have deployed its technology; typical installations run from $30,000 to $1 million, and the largest installation is a lettuce farm in Florida. VoltServer is targeting intelligent building infrastructure, communications and indoor agriculture as core markets and says its technology can cut traditional power-transmission costs from about $36 per linear foot to less than $10. The company recently attracted a $7.4 million financing led by Sidewalk Labs and has raised $18 million to date from a group of energy-focused investors. VoltServer provides patented solutions that deliver electricity in a natively digital format by combining energy and data into energy packets transmitted from a VoltServer transmitter to a receiver. The transmitter verifies each packet and halts transmission if there is improper wiring, a short circuit, or a person touching the transmission lines. The company began shipping in early 2015 and currently powers 4G/LTE mobile services in many large sports stadiums, office towers, hotels, condominiums and medical buildings. VoltServer intends to use recent funding to support ongoing mobility deployments and trials worldwide and to expand its remote powering solutions into adjacent markets such as converged fiber optic communications (FTTx, POL), smart LED lighting, centralized battery-backed/critical power/UPS, data center and alternative energy applications. The company is led by founder and CEO Steve Eaves.

Led · Series B · Aug 2016

RedShelf operates a platform that distributes digital learning materials to higher education students. Its product suite includes a web-based eReader, a content delivery program for first-day access, customizable in-store and eCommerce transaction solutions, and a tool to streamline adoptions between bookstores and professors. The company partners with over 600 campus bookstores and offers more than 500,000 digital titles across 400 publishers. Founded in 2012 by CEO Greg Fenton and based in Chicago, RedShelf collaborates with publishers, institutions, campus bookstores, and strategic partners to accelerate the transition to digital learning. It plans to use the $25M Series C to accelerate employee growth, product innovation, improve customer service, and expand within the higher education market. The company aims to make learning materials more accessible and affordable through its technology. RedShelf operates a cloud-based e-reader platform focused on selling digital college textbooks. The company partners with more than 500 educational bookstores to offer students content at roughly a 60% discount versus paper versions. Since launching four years ago, RedShelf has seen tremendous growth and aims to give students access to course materials at lower prices. Its business model reduces the resale market for used textbooks, which the company argues lets publishers sell more copies year after year while students pay less and get the latest editions. RedShelf highlights additional advantages of e-books such as lighter backpacks, searchability, and easier annotation. The company plans to use new funding to drive product development on its e-reader and to expand development and content partnership capabilities to grow market share. RedShelf operates a browser-based eReader and eCommerce platform that streamlines discovery and distribution of eBooks and other digital course materials for colleges and students. The company partners directly with all five major academic publishers and with more than 400 independent publishers, offering over 160,000 titles. RedShelf experienced rapid retail growth, expanding from 20 to 160 campus bookstores in 2014 and targeting partnerships with at least 350 bookstores by the end of 2015. The company will use new funding to launch features and products, improve its platform, and support new relationships with publishers and educational institutions. RedShelf emphasizes affordability, user-friendly software, and customer service to accelerate digital adoption on campuses. Founders Greg Fenton (CEO) and Tim Haitaian (CFO) initially raised more than $1M in seed funding from various angel investors.