• Proterro

  Participated · Equity · Dec 2012

  Proterro produces non-crop-based, noncellulosic sucrose via engineered sucrose-producing cyanobacteria and a high-density, modular solid-phase photobioreactor. The company projects production costs below $0.05 per pound, undercutting sugarcane, corn and cellulosic approaches. Proterro holds a notice of allowance from the USPTO on a composition-of-matter patent covering its engineered microorganisms and genetic code, and it is adding to its patent portfolio. Management plans to use new capital to optimize genetic engineering and accelerate piloting of a full-scale photobioreactor. The company is completing designs for a demonstration-scale facility and pursuing business partnerships. Leadership includes advisors with experience from BP, Cargill, Gevo and Solazyme, and the company was recognized by Lux Research for its disruptive potential.

• Allylix

  Participated · Equity · Mar 2012

  Allylix uses a fermentation-based, metabolic and protein engineering technology platform to produce terpenes and their derivatives for flavor & fragrance, food ingredients, cosmetics and other markets. The platform enables creation of highly pure, renewable compounds that were previously available only from limited natural resources. Allylix’s technology is protected by 57 patents and is positioned to rapidly develop and produce high-value specialty chemicals at lower cost than traditional methods. The company says it can deliver high-quality products at scalable commercial quantities and at a lower price point. Proceeds from the recent financing are intended to support development and delivery of new compounds in Allylix’s pipeline and to expand the market for its existing products. Allylix develops terpene products and their derivatives for multiple end markets including flavor and fragrance, food ingredients, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and biofuels. The company is based in San Diego, CA. Its near-term commercial focus is on three initial products for the flavor and fragrance industry. The financing described in the article is intended to commercialize those initial products and to advance other products in its pipeline. No operating metrics (revenue or users) are disclosed in the article. Allylix develops a metabolic engineering platform to enable low-cost production of terpene products through yeast fermentation. The platform is protected by 28 patents with additional applications pending and is applicable across flavors and fragrances, food ingredients, fine chemicals, pesticides/crop protection and pharmaceuticals. The company’s first product is nootkatone, a long‑lasting citrus flavor and fragrance used in food, beverage and personal care industries. Allylix plans to commercialize its first three products for the food and fragrance industry and to advance several additional pipeline products. The company previously licensed its technology for specific biofuels products in 2008. The business is based in San Diego, CA. Allylix develops chemicals for the flavor, fragrance, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and agricultural markets. Its products are based on terpenes and the company planned six initial products. The company said new funding will be used to launch the first three of those six products. Allylix raised $3.35M in a venture round. Investors in the round included Tech Coast Angels, Life Science Angels, Blue Grass Angels, Pasadena Angels, and Tate & Lyle Ventures; the Tech Coast Angels' lead investor on the deal was Stephen Block. Allylix maintains business operations in San Diego and research and development in Lexington, Kentucky.

• Aratana Therapeutics

  Participated · Series B · Dec 2011

  Aratana Therapeutics is focused on developing novel medicines for companion animals, specifically cats and dogs. The company holds worldwide animal-health rights to three patent-protected compounds—two acquired from RaQualia Pharma Inc. and one from Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. It is advancing those compounds to address osteoarthritis-related pain, inappetence and frailty, and post-surgical pain. Aratana is led by President and CEO Steven St. Peter, M.D. The company intends to use the Series C proceeds to continue expanding its product pipeline. The business is based in Kansas City, KS. Aratana Therapeutics develops innovative, patent‑protected medicines for companion animals, acquiring compounds from human pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The company licenses and develops those compounds and then out‑licenses or partners with major animal health firms for commercialization. It intends to use new capital to expand its product pipeline and to in‑license and develop novel medicines for dogs and cats. Leadership is led by CEO Dr. Linda Rhodes and President & COO David K. Rosen, DVM. Financially, the company has raised capital this year including a $20M Series A and additional financing described below, bringing total capital raised to $31M. Aratana Therapeutics is a newly-formed company based in Kansas City, Kansas focused on developing innovative therapies for the animal health industry. The company’s core activity is the development of new therapeutic products for animals. It closed a $20m Series A financing to support its work. The round was led by MPM Capital and Avalon Ventures with participation from the Kansas Bioscience Authority. As part of the transaction Dr. Steven St. Peter (MPM) and Jay Lichter (Avalon) will join Aratana’s board, which also includes Ron Meeusen. Dr. Linda Rhodes, founder and vice-president of clinical development at AlcheraBio, will join Aratana as CEO in February 2011, and Dr. David Rosen is President and Founder.

• Rivertop Renewables

  Led · Equity · Nov 2011

  Rivertop Renewables is a Missoula, Montana–based producer of novel chemicals made from renewable feedstocks, specifically salts of glucaric acid derived from plant sugars. Its technology converts a range of sugars and sugar alcohols into corresponding sugar acids, enabling access to multiple end markets. The company intends to use the $26M in funding to scale the platform and begin commercial production, completing construction and starting operations at a semi-works facility at its Missoula headquarters. Rivertop plans to hire more than 20 employees in the next 12 months to support commercial development. Its initial commercial focus is on dishwasher detergent and corrosion inhibitor markets, while exploring additional opportunities in home and personal care, oil and gas, building and infrastructure, agriculture and food. The company is led by CEO Mike Knauf. Rivertop Renewables develops renewable chemicals with initial products that are salts of glucaric acid serving as cost-competitive replacements for phosphates in the global detergent market and for corrosion and scale inhibition. The company is led by President Jere Kolstad and is commercializing sustainable, bio-based detergent builders and corrosion inhibitors. It intends to use the funding to continue commercialization and to expand facilities for continued research and development and pre-commercial production. Longer-term opportunities in its research include advanced biodegradable polymers, adhesives, and other functional materials. In conjunction with the investment, Cultivian Co-Founder and Principal Ron Meeusen will join Rivertop’s board. Cultivian Ventures is a venture fund focused on high-technology opportunities in the food and agricultural sectors.

• Harvest Automation

  Participated · Series A · Sep 2010

  Harvest Automation designs and commercializes the HV-100 robot, nicknamed Harvey, an autonomous mobile system that moves, organizes and consolidates potted plants for nurseries, farms and greenhouses. The robots perform highly repetitive, physically demanding tasks autonomously, which the company says can reduce physical labor by about 40 percent. Harvest is seeing product validation with first customers and plans to use new funding to further commercialize the HV-100 and expand deployments. The company was founded in 2007 (formerly Q Robotics) by former iRobot employees and a CERN scientist and is based in Billerica. Management emphasizes bringing smart, mobile, adaptive robotics into agriculture to work alongside people. To date Harvest has raised $23.5 million in total funding. Harvest Automation builds mobile-robot technology intended to automate a variety of traditionally manual agricultural tasks. The company’s approach uses teams of small, highly intelligent machines that work alongside human laborers to perform the most physically demanding parts of those tasks. Its robots are designed to operate safely with people and to lower labor costs for agricultural operations. The firm says this system can replace portions of manual work across multiple tasks in the industry. Financially, the company recently completed a financing indicating ongoing capital needs to support its technology and deployment. The company is located in Billerica, Massachusetts, and seeks to scale automation within the agricultural sector. Harvest Automation builds cooperative robotics systems designed to work alongside humans to improve productivity and working conditions across multiple industries. The company is initially targeting the U.S. agriculture sector, citing a $300bn market where roughly one-third of crops are still produced using mostly manual labor. Harvest Automation plans to announce product details in 2011. The business closed a $5.3M Series A financing to advance its product and commercialization efforts. Investors in the round include Founder Collective (which committed $1.3M) and existing backers Life Sciences Partners, Cultivian Ventures and the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation. The company has also formed an advisory board that includes Colin Angle and Mick Mountz to provide executive guidance.

No current team members are available.