Participated · Series B · Sep 2020

Ouster designs and sells digital CMOS-based lidar sensors that print lasers and photodetectors onto chips to reduce complexity, improve reliability, and lower cost compared with legacy analog designs. The company launched a second-generation 128-beam product line in January with three models (urban/warehouse, a 120m mid-range with 45° FOV, and a long-range >200m unit); all three are shipping in some of 50 available configurations. Ouster sells into a wide set of markets beyond automakers, including robotics, drones, mapping, defense, building security, mining and agriculture, and reports about 800 customers across 15 markets (customers include Konecranes, Postmates, May Mobility, Kodiak Robotics, the U.S. Army, NASA, Stanford and MIT). Ouster has expanded globally with offices in Paris, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Suzhou and uses a San Francisco facility for low-volume product introduction while Benchmark in Southeast Asia handles higher-volume production. The company said 12-month revenue grew 62% and third-quarter bookings were up 209% year-over-year. Ouster has taken steps during COVID-19 (a 10% headcount reduction and temporary factory shutdown) but continued to increase sales and fully paid employees and temps while avoiding further layoffs. Ouster develops digital lidar sensors (OS-1 and OS-2 product lines) with resolutions from 16 to 128 channels and has launched the OS-1 128 sensor. The company sells sensors across industries including robotics, drones, mapping, defense, building security, mining and agriculture, and reports about 400 customers across 15 industries. Ouster has grown to more than 100 employees and expects to nearly double headcount to support further product development. The startup opened a new factory that currently produces hundreds of sensors per month and aims to assemble and ship several thousand sensors a month by the end of 2019; at full capacity the facility could produce $25 million to $50 million in inventory per month. Ouster is led by Angus Pacala and recently added Susan Heystee to its board. Ouster develops affordable, production-ready LiDAR sensors aimed at supporting autonomous and consumer vehicles. Its first product, the 64-channel OS1, is shipping now and is priced at $12,000. The company says the OS1 is dramatically lighter, smaller, and uses less power than competitors' sensors. Ouster emphasizes design for manufacturability as well as technology to lower cost while maintaining performance. It is planning an aggressive manufacturing ramp—targeting 1,000 units per month in January and 10,000 per month by the end of June. The long-term vision is to move LiDAR from a research product into every consumer automobile.

Led · Equity · Sep 2019

Rivian builds electric consumer vehicles, notably the R1S SUV and R1T pickup, and is developing a lower-cost R2 slated for 2026. The company delivered 10,661 vehicles in Q2 and 8,640 in Q1, with Q2 representing a 23% drop from the prior-year quarter. Rivian lowered its 2025 sales target due to tariffs and trade tensions but still expects to deliver between 40,000 and 46,000 EVs this year. Management achieved a second-ever gross profit in Q1 after simplifying and redesigning the R1S and R1T, which materially cut production costs. Despite the gross-profit milestone, Rivian remains unprofitable overall and has historically burned through billions of dollars. The company is also exposed to potential policy risks if the federal EV tax credit is eliminated, which could reduce demand. Rivian is an electric vehicle manufacturer focused on consumer EVs, including its next‑generation R2 midsize SUV. The company announced plans in December 2021 for a second factory east of Atlanta intended to double production capacity with a targeted 400,000 vehicles per year. Facing a cash crunch, Rivian paused construction on the Georgia site and shifted R2 production to its Normal, Illinois plant, a move projected to save $2.25 billion. Rivian has received a conditional $6.6 billion loan commitment from the DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program to restart the Georgia factory. The Georgia facility is expected to begin operations in 2028, will employ 7,500 people by the end of 2030, and had a $1.5 billion state incentives package tied to it. The company also secured $827 million in Illinois incentives to support R2 production at Normal; the loan follows other large federal LPO commitments for EV projects. Rivian builds electric vehicles and an in-house software stack and zonal electrical architecture that enables over‑the‑air updates and reduces vehicle wiring and ECUs. The company recently began production of next‑generation R1T and R1S models and is developing a mass‑market R2 SUV. Rivian’s new zonal architecture cut ECUs from 17 to seven and removed about 1.6 miles of wiring per vehicle, yielding a roughly 44‑pound weight savings and faster build times. Its software stack covers real‑time operating systems for vehicle control, ADAS, safety systems, and infotainment. Rivian plans a factory in Georgia and will license electrical architecture IP to partners. The company faces a challenging path as it scales products, but its shares jumped more than 49% in after‑hours trading on the news of Volkswagen’s investment. Rivian develops all-electric consumer vehicles (the R1T pickup and R1S SUV) and is building commercial delivery vans for Amazon. The company is preparing to begin production of its R1T pickup this summer and is building out its own EV charging network. Rivian is fulfilling a 100,000-vehicle order for Amazon and plans to produce those vans at its updated factory in Normal, Illinois, with first van deliveries slated for late 2021. The company has spent more than $1 billion updating and expanding the 3.5 million-square-foot factory; a pilot line is producing validation prototypes daily. Financially, Rivian recently raised a large funding round and is valued at $27.6 billion according to a person familiar with the investment. Rivian is an electric vehicle company focused on consumer pickup and SUV models plus commercial delivery vans. Its core products mentioned are the RT1 pickup and the R1S SUV. The company also plans to produce purpose-built delivery vans for Amazon. Rivian raised $2.5 billion to push those vehicle programs forward. The funding is intended to accelerate bringing the RT1, R1S and the Amazon delivery vans to market in 2021. The article does not include operating metrics such as revenue or user data.

Led · Equity · Apr 2019

Fyusion develops an immersive 3D imaging platform that combines computer vision and machine learning to create interactive 3D images (Fyuses) from any camera or smartphone. Its technology captures high-definition images that can be processed in about 60 seconds and presented across mobile, desktop, AR and VR hardware. The company holds nearly 80 patents and has commercialized use cases in automotive (damage analysis, AR/VR extraction) and is expanding into fashion and e-commerce. Fyusion reports around 150 million users of its products globally. The business has raised close to $70 million to date and is backed by prominent Silicon Valley investors and global corporate partners. Fyusion’s platform is positioned to drive higher e-commerce engagement and sales by enabling 360-degree interactive product viewing. Fyusion develops technology that enables 3D capture with any camera to produce interactive images called ‘fyuses’ that users can tilt or swipe to view in up to 360 degrees. Its core stack combines computer vision and machine learning and is covered by more than 50 patents. Fyuses are optimized for small file sizes similar to a high-quality JPEG while remaining immersive and interactive across web, mobile, VR, AR and mixed reality platforms. The company has commercial partnerships with Cox Automotive and its Manheim brand to deliver enhanced merchandising for Manheim Express and wholesale services. Fyusion and Manheim plan future innovations that will add more artificial intelligence and improve objectivity in condition reports. The company is led by CEO and co-founder Radu Rusu and is based in San Francisco, CA. Financially, Fyusion announced a new $30M funding round and had previously raised $40M. Fyusion builds 3D computer-vision and machine-learning technology that lets users create immersive, interactive 3D images (“fyuses”) by moving a camera around a person, object or scene. Its core stack is covered by over 50 patents and is underpinned by a large, monthly-updated database of real-world 3D images from OEM partnerships. The company targets three verticals: mobile OEM (chipset-level mobile AR platforms with a first launch planned for Q1 2018), automotive imaging (a Car Capture App/SDK for 360° 4K captures and inspection workflows), and e-commerce imaging (studio and lifestyle 3D capture with Turntable Mode and automatic tagging). Fyusion reports more than 15 million Weekly Active Users and about 2.5 billion tilts (user-triggered view events) per week on its platform. OEM partners named in the articles include Gionee, Huawei, TCL and ZTE, and commercial partners or customers include Cox Automotive, Gulliver and DoneDeal. The company has been recognized by Walmart and Accenture for retail innovation. Fyusion has raised a total of $38 million since its 2014 inception and is based in San Francisco. Fyusion develops surround-view digital technology and a mobile photo app platform that lets users navigate beyond fixed angles and experience images from multiple perspectives. Its first application, Fyuse, is a mobile photo social app available for iOS and Android. Fyuse has been adopted by musicians (including Katy Perry, J*Davey, and Kittens), fashion designers (Kerby Jean‑Raymond and Camelia Skikos), and several brands across e-commerce, fashion and automobile industries. The company is led by CEO and co‑founder Dr. Radu B. Rusu. Fyusion intends to continue developing its user experience and to broaden its audience. Fyusion develops patent-pending 3D image-processing technologies and a 3D modeling platform that capture space via visual graph structures called "Spatial Photographs." Its consumer product, Fyuse, is a mobile iOS app that lets users create and share immersive Spatial Photographs by moving a camera through a scene. The company licenses its technologies and platform to players in the mobile and wearable device sectors. Fyusion intends to use recent funding to continue adding features and capabilities to the Fyuse app. The company was founded in 2013 by Dr. Radu B. Rusu (CEO), Stefan J.J. Holzer (CTO) and Stephen D. Miller (VP Engineering).

Participated · Series B · Nov 2018

Ridecell offers a data insights and workflow automation platform that enables fleets, motor pools, and trucking and logistics companies to deliver a safe driver experience and 24/7 self-service operations without retail staff or brick-and-mortar locations. Its product includes APIs, an SDK, a real-time data platform, and pre-integrated partner solutions to manage fleet data, workflow automation, and vehicle access. The platform aims to reduce risk and operational expenses for fleet providers through automation and digitization. Ridecell plans to use the new funding to accelerate international growth, support larger customers globally, and extend its core automation and digitization capabilities. Recent customers include Penske, Toyota Sweden, Renault, and AAA, which have used the platform to automate and digitize services. The company is led by CEO Aarjav Trivedi and operates globally with offices in San Francisco, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, and Pune. Ridecell offers a cloud-based mobility engine that tracks fleet locations, maintenance schedules, and usage insights for car-sharing, ride-sharing, and ride-hailing operators. Its platform is used by more than 20 customers including UCSF, 3M, SouthWest Transit, BMW, Groupe Renault, Ferrovial, and AAA Northern California. The company has processed over 25 million rides and rentals covering more than 20 million miles and employs over 120 people across offices in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia. Ridecell acquired Auro Robotics in 2017 and supports driver-operated and autonomous on-demand services with a single platform. It has obtained permits to operate driverless shuttles on public roads in California and is expanding into autonomous fleet management and has applied for an e-scooter permit in San Francisco. Altogether, Ridecell has raised more than $70 million to date. Ridecell provides an intelligent software platform for new mobility operators—OEMs, car rental companies, auto clubs, cities, transit agencies, dealer groups, and private fleets—to launch, expand and operate carsharing, ridesharing, and autonomous fleet services. The company powers services such as ReachNow (BMW Group), ZITY (Groupe Renault and Ferrovial), and GIG Carsharing (AAA), and runs dynamic shuttle services for campuses and transit agencies including Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, UCSF, 3M and SouthWest Transit. Ridecell has processed over 20 million rides and rentals and employs more than 100 professionals across the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. The product focus is on end-to-end orchestration and operations for shared and autonomous fleets. Led by CEO Aarjav Trivedi, the company was founded in 2009 and is based in San Francisco, CA. The article does not disclose specific revenue figures. RideCell builds fleet-management software described as an operating system for car-sharing, ride-sharing, fixed-route and dynamic transit services. The platform tracks vehicle locations, battery status, maintenance needs and other operational signals to optimize fleet utilization. The company pivoted from an original ride-hailing concept to focus on managing human-driven and future autonomous fleets. Customers include UC Berkeley, USC, 3M and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which uses RideCell to reduce empty runs. RideCell’s tech is powering BMW’s ReachNow launch in Seattle, helping BMW operate and incentivize use of its 3 Series, Mini Cooper and i3 fleet. Financially, RideCell closed an $11.7 million Series A and has raised $17 million in total.

Participated · Series A · Jun 2015

Vinli operates a vehicle data intelligence platform that aggregates and analyzes connected-car data for automakers, large fleets, and transportation providers. The company launched in 2014 via TechCrunch Startup Battlefield as a direct-to-consumer business and has since shifted its focus toward B2B data services. With the new capital it plans to broaden mobility services and integrations and to expand offerings for electric mobility and fleets. Vinli has engaged energy company E.ON to examine the electric-vehicle market as part of that effort. Financially, the company closed a $13.5M Series B that brings total funding to more than $20M. CEO Mark Haidar says Vinli aims to make it easier for partners to access smarter data intelligence and to help those partners scale. Vinli builds a small OBD‑II plug‑in device and an open software platform that links a driver’s smartphone to car data via Bluetooth, enabling a suite of third‑party apps and services. The company says about 1,000 developers have built for the platform, it expects to launch with 20 apps in August, and roughly 120 more apps are in development. Vinli is manufacturing its devices, running an Indiegogo pre‑order campaign, and plans to ship by the end of August while pursuing retail distribution. The product lineup was simplified—Vinli dropped a $50 option, cut the $150 unit to $100, and is upgrading earlier $50 preorders to the newer model. The company has a T‑Mobile partnership to provide wireless connectivity and is in talks with a major retailer for a third‑quarter launch. Vinli raised $6.5 million in a Series A and will leverage new investor relationships to accelerate market entry and distribution.