• Pie Systems

  Participated · Series A · Nov 2025

  Pie Systems develops PIE VAT, a software platform that digitizes duty-free tax refunds while using the resulting data and network to link travelers with retail and hospitality businesses. The company positions itself as a broader "travel platform" that can redefine the shopping experience for inbound tourists and open new marketing channels for merchants. Originating in Japan, Pie Systems sees vast headroom in the inbound travel market, which it notes is second only to the automotive sector in size. By streamlining VAT refunds and aggregating transaction data, the firm aims to drive higher tourist spending and deliver actionable insights to partners. Pie Systems recently secured a USD 15.5 million Series A round, the only publicly disclosed financial metric to date. The fresh capital is intended to accelerate growth and expand the platform’s global footprint. To support this expansion, the company is actively hiring and seeking additional corporate partners.

• Qnovia

  Participated · Series A · Sep 2022

  Qnovia develops and commercializes proprietary inhalation device technologies centered on its RespiRx™ platform, an orientation-agnostic, portable vibrating mesh nebulizer. Its lead asset is the RespiRx™ Nicotine Inhaler (QN-01), a prescription inhaled smoking cessation therapy that has demonstrated clinical proof-of-concept in a first-in-human Phase 1 study and received FDA IND clearance. The company plans to advance QN-01 beyond Phase 1 and pursue a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) submission to the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2026, aiming to accelerate commercialization in the UK. Qnovia will use recent proceeds to support clinical, regulatory, and commercial development of QN-01 and to evaluate additional therapeutic indications for its platform. Founded in 2018, the company highlights opportunities to apply its device technology to asthma, COPD, vaccine delivery, pain management, generics, and select investigational drugs. Qnovia is led by CEO Brian Quigley and was founded by Mario Danek. Qnovia develops proprietary inhalation device technologies, centering on its RespiRx platform described as the first orientation-agnostic, portable vibrating mesh nebulizer. The company’s initial clinical focus is nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) with plans to expand into other cardiopulmonary and therapeutic indications including asthma, COPD, vaccine delivery, and pain management. Qnovia sees opportunities to apply its platform to several generic and investigational drugs to improve patient outcomes. The company raised $17 million in a Series A and will use the proceeds to advance its NRT drug candidate through an IND submission and begin human clinical trials in 2023. Qnovia plans to initiate a Phase 1 study for NRT once the FDA approves its IND application. The company was founded by Mario Danek in 2018 and is based in Los Angeles.

• Jiraffe

  Participated · Series D · Jul 2022

  Giraff operates collector-focused services including the buy-comparison site Hikakaku, the trading-card and sneaker marketplace app magi, and the magi e-commerce site launched in September 2023. The company also runs multiple physical collector shops under magi, magipoke, and Magi Kicks, and opened its first overseas store (magi Taipei Ximen) in November 2023. Giraff aims to grow recognition and sales among overseas collectors and accelerate online and offline global expansion. The company completed additional fundraising in late 2023 to support these expansion plans. As of this financing, Giraff has raised approximately ¥3.3 billion in total since founding. Giraff was founded in October 2014 and is headquartered in Nakano, Tokyo. 株式会社ジラフ operates a suite of collector-focused services including the buy-comparison site Hikakaku! and the collector marketplace app magi, plus multiple specialty retail stores such as magi, magipoke (Pokémon card stores) and Magi Kicks. The company runs several brick-and-mortar locations (e.g., Nakano, Akihabara, Shibuya, Osaka Namba Marui) and plans further store openings including a magi shop at Nagoya PARCO. Its product set targets trading-card and sneaker collectors through both mobile marketplace experiences and physical retail. Financially, the company reported single-month sales exceeding ¥600 million in May 2023. Management says proceeds from the recent raise will be used to further accelerate growth across its services and stores. Overall the business combines online marketplace, comparison services and specialty retail to capture collector demand. Giraff runs the buyback comparison site Hikakaku and a suite of collector-focused services including the magi flea-market app (trading cards and sneakers) and physical collector stores such as Card Shop magi and magipoke. Hikakaku has been offered since September 2014 and provides a platform to compare buyback prices across many product categories. The magi app launched in April 2019, has surpassed 550,000 cumulative downloads and reports monthly GMV exceeding ¥300 million. The company opened new physical stores (including an Akihabara shop that generated about ¥100 million in its first month) and plans additional store openings such as magipoke at Marui Group’s Shibuya Modi. Giraff reports that the whole company achieved sustained profitability for several months starting December 2021. Proceeds from the recent raise are intended to accelerate growth toward a future IPO and to enhance payment and installment offerings for collectors.

• SafetyWing

  Participated · Series B · Apr 2022

  SafetyWing builds insurance products aimed at creating a global social safety net for remote companies, workers, and digital nomads. Founded in 2018 by CTO Sarah Sandnes, COO Hans Nyvold Kjellby, and CEO Sondre Rasch, the company is based in San Francisco. Its first product, Nomad Insurance, is a global travel medical insurance tailored to digital nomads working outside their home country. In 2020 SafetyWing launched Remote Health, a single plan designed to cover employees and contractors as a global health insurance solution for remote teams. The company operates with a roughly 100-strong fully remote workforce spread around the world. SafetyWing closed a $35M Series B to scale Remote Health globally and continue improving the product. SafetyWing offers health insurance and related services for remote teams and digital nomads, operating a remote health insurance scheme that covers 175 countries. The company launched in Oslo three years ago with a travel insurance product for digital nomads and raised a €3 million seed round in summer 2019. Now Y Combinator–backed and based in San Francisco, SafetyWing has expanded its target from travelers to startups and businesses with distributed teams. It recently raised $8 million in a Series A led by Creandum with participation from Rocketship and byFounders to fund growth. Upcoming products include a 'remote doctor' tele-health consultation service and a planned 'remote pension' slated for later this year. The founders’ stated vision is to replicate the Norwegian social safety net globally as remote work reshapes talent markets. SafetyWing builds subscription medical travel insurance designed for people who work outside their home country, marketed primarily to digital nomads, freelancers and remote workers. Its first product is a flexible 28-day rolling subscription that can be paused at any time, with cover starting at $37 every four weeks. The company positions itself as creating a "global social safety net" to address gaps in national health insurance for global workers. SafetyWing launched its product last year and is a recent Y Combinator graduate. Founders include CEO Sondre Rasch, CTO Sarah Sandnes and COO Hans Kjellby; the company was founded in 2017 and is out of Norway. To support its mission and build additional products, SafetyWing has recently raised external funding. SafetyWing provides worldwide urgent-care health insurance for travelers and digital nomads through a partnership with insurer Tokio Marine, charging $37 per month with a $30 add-on for coverage inside the U.S. The plan covers hospital visits and prescriptions but excludes preventative treatments and pre-existing conditions, and it does not qualify as coverage under the U.S. Affordable Care Act. The founders — former Norwegians who participated in Y Combinator’s winter accelerator — built the product to serve freelancers and other mobile workers who struggle to obtain affordable international health coverage. The company estimates a target market of roughly 25 million international workers and positions its pricing at about one-third the cost of existing plans for foreign workers. SafetyWing has said it wants to expand beyond health insurance into products like income protection and home-country insurance to create a broader global safety net. Financially, the startup has raised a bit under $500,000 from investors including NordicVest Angels, the Norwegian Investment Authority and undisclosed individual investors.

• Petokoto

  Participated · Series A · Dec 2021

  PETOKOTO operates a pet‑life concierge platform that includes a shelter dog and cat matching site (OMUSUBI by PETOKOTO), a pet‑life media service, and a direct‑to‑consumer fresh pet‑food brand (PETOKOTO FOODS). PETOKOTO FOODS uses mainly domestic, human‑grade ingredients and a steam‑heating plus rapid‑freezing process to preserve flavor and nutrients; recipes are supervised by a veterinary nutritionist who was a founding member of WSAVA. The company reports a subscription renewal rate of 93%, a cumulative membership base exceeding 100,000, and retail distribution in about 240 stores nationwide following a retail rollout that began in October 2022. A portion of sales is donated to shelter organizations registered on OMUSUBI to support a circular life platform. PETOKOTO says it will continue investing in product development, expand frozen and fresh SKUs, improve online UX, and strengthen both online and offline distribution and partnerships with shelter groups to grow engagement and monetization. PETOKOTO is a pet wellness company whose mission is “to make pets loved as family,” operating three core businesses: OMUSUBI (a screened matching site for rescue dogs and cats), PETOKOTO MEDIA (an information media), and PETOKOTO FOODS (fresh pet food). The company says it reaches more than 1 million users monthly, has over 200,000 social followers, and a nationwide network of 280 rescue organizations. PETOKOTO was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, with 24 employees. Using digital services, the company aims to solve social issues in pet ownership and improve pets’ quality of life across their lifespan. Management plans to deepen business collaboration with new strategic investors and pursue additional fundraising in a planned 2nd close. PETOKOTO provides a pet-wellness platform composed of a pet-life media (PETOKOTO), a rescue dog/cat matching service (OMUSUBI), and a D2C fresh pet-food line (PETOKOTO FOODS). The company positions itself as a pet-life concierge platform that personalizes products and services using D2C behavioral data and aims to strengthen online and offline touchpoints. PETOKOTO FOODS has shown rapid growth, with year-over-year sales up 700%, cumulative sales exceeding 5 million meals, and more than 10,000 members. The firm emphasizes improving pet QOL and tackling issues such as euthanasia through its services and OMUSUBI matching. PETOKOTO plans to use new funding to invest in product development, marketing, and hiring to expand its customer and user base. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, with 18 employees reported.

No current team members are available.