Participated · Seed · Sep 2025

TrueMeter offers an AI energy-savings platform that combines automated rate optimization, consolidated billing, predictive analytics and real-time operational intelligence for restaurants, retailers and hospitality chains. The platform automates instant switching to lower electricity rates, collective gas procurement, rate-plan optimization and automated utility bill auditing, and it can detect energy theft and equipment inefficiencies via anomaly detection. TrueMeter delivers 7–15% savings with zero upfront investment and has reported $3M+ in customer savings while processing millions in gross energy spending. Since launching in March 2024 the company has grown to serve over 500 business locations, including customers such as Yoshinoya, Fresh Direct, Misfits Markets and Local Kitchens. The company plans to use the new funding to expand its engineering team, accelerate customer acquisition, and further enhance its AI-powered optimization platform. TrueMeter was founded in 2023 by Stanford graduates Ali Sarilgan and Dr. Ozge Islegen-Wojdyla and is based in San Francisco.

Participated · Seed · May 2025

Verdi raised CAD$6.5M in seed funding to expand its irrigation automation offerings. The company, led by CEO Arthur Chen and based in Vancouver, provides modern automation tools and patented retrofit devices that automate irrigation and maintenance on existing farm infrastructure. Verdi says its technology helps farmers save labor, reduce inputs and increase yields and is used by the largest food producers. The company plans to use the funds to expand into new regions, advance its AI-powered platform and deepen relationships with major agribusinesses. Management frames these initiatives as driving automation at scale and building infrastructure for a more climate-resilient food system. The seed brings Verdi's total funding to CAD$9.5M. Verdi builds a scalable platform for farm automation and personalized plant healthcare, using intelligent devices that transform existing irrigation equipment into AI-powered systems. Its technology enables automated operations that boost crop and workforce productivity while reducing technology adoption costs. Verdi counts customers among the world’s largest food brands and in 2023 saved its customers over 30 million liters of water. Founded in 2020 by Canadian entrepreneurs Arthur Chen and Roman Kozak, the company is focused on scaling internationally. Verdi plans to enhance its AI capabilities and expand geographic reach through a strategic collaboration with NEC X and integration with NEC’s CropScope initiative. Entry into NEC X’s Elev X! Boost program is intended to provide capital, strategic partnerships and integrations with NEC’s tech ecosystem to accelerate growth.

Participated · Equity · Jul 2020

Popshop Live operates a live-streaming shopping app that combines social, e-commerce and entertainment to let merchants create hosted shows and connect with hundreds of customers. The core product enables sellers of all sizes to tell stories and build dedicated customer bases through curated, interactive shopping experiences. Sellers report shows grossing upwards of $500,000 and nearly 80% of customers return to make a second purchase within 30 days; the platform grew its seller base by more than 500% over the past three months. The company is about 30 people and plans to triple headcount this year to support growth. New hires Bangaly Kaba (to lead platform growth and product expansion) and Jason Droege (to head expansion and seller acquisition) will drive product, regional and vertical expansion. Popshop Live is expanding into new verticals including vintage fashion, furniture, collectibles and food. Popshop Live provides a platform for individual sellers and established brands to create live shopping shows, integrating features like gamification, show templates, real-time performance stats and Shopify inventory/POS integration. The app is currently invite-only and available on iOS, and the team is 17 people with 70% people of color and 40% women. Sellers can share show links across social platforms and browse other shows on the platform; some merchants reserve inventory specifically for Popshop Live sales. The company highlights strong merchant results — Japan LA did $17,000 in sales with more than 1,500 individual checkouts in a single show — and investors such as Cyan Banister have also run successful charity shows on the platform. Popshop Live is framed as a modern reimagining of the Home Shopping Network/QVC and the company says its format can work in or out of a pandemic. Popshop Live was founded by Danielle Li and has raised a total of $4.5 million to date.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2017

Fairy operates a subscription model offering frequent, hotel-like residential cleanings with pricing starting at $149/month for two 30-minute cleanings per week and options up to five days a week or longer sessions. The company emphasizes short, frequent cleanings to reduce per-visit workload and boost efficiency. It creates neighborhood client density and limits service areas so cleaners have less travel time and can perform more sessions per day; the team says a neighborhood usually needs about five clients before assigning a housecleaner. Cleaners choose which clients to work with, and Fairy asks clients to supply cleaning materials rather than requiring cleaners to carry supplies. The company views supply purchasing and replenishment as a potential future add-on to lower costs further. Fairy has been operating in San Francisco since early 2016 and began limited service in New York City late last year. The company has raised $4.1 million in funding from a group of angel and seed investors.

Participated · Seed · May 2015

Silversheet provides a technology platform that streamlines medical credentialing and onboarding for healthcare facilities. The platform lets physicians, nurses and other medical staff create and update their entire credential file from a computer or phone in minutes instead of days. Providers can update qualifications and instantly share profiles across different facilities to increase productivity and prevent frustration and burnout. The company is co-founded by Dr. Miles Beckett, Dr. David Rakoff, Pat Cheung, and Steve Seigel. Silversheet secured a $5m Series A that brings total funding to $10.2m. The new investment is intended to accelerate Silversheet’s growth in California and across the country. Silversheet provides a platform that digitizes documents and automates verification of medical credentials to save administrators time. The company focuses solely on medical credentials, arguing concentrated attention reduces administrative errors that can impact patient safety. Silversheet positions the fax machine and filing cabinet as primary competitors while noting services such as Box for Healthcare and TrueVault also address HIPAA-compliant medical data storage. The startup has tested its platform in more than 50 medical facilities across the United States. The seed funding will be used to build out the platform and expand into additional medical facilities.