Participated · Seed · Aug 2025

Qlay Technologies develops "Qlay," an AI-driven HR solution that automates resume parsing, runs AI interviewers and examiners, and provides real-time AI proctoring to detect dishonest use of AI tools. The product also includes a marketplace for pre-screened overseas engineers to simplify international hiring. Deployments are progressing with startups and tech companies across Japan and the United States. The company plans to use new funding to expand product functionality, accelerate development, strengthen marketing, and grow partnerships focusing on Japan and US markets. Qlay emphasizes improving hiring quality, reducing screening labor, and increasing transparency and fairness in technical interviews. The company is led by CEO Tomofumi Nakata and COO/CTO Norimasa Yamashita and maintains offices in San Francisco and Tokyo.

Led · Series A · Jun 2023

Cuzen Matcha is a San Mateo, CA–based food‑tech company founded by Eijiro Tsukada that launched in 2020. It produces fresh matcha from organic, shade‑grown leaves using an at‑home maker and a matcha leaf system. The company's at‑home system is available to order on its website and Amazon. In 2023 it introduced the Cuzen Matcha Maker for Business; the prototype was unveiled in April at the Specialty Coffee Expo in Portland and the business product will roll out in 2024. Cuzen emphasizes sustainability and the preservation of Japanese matcha tea culture as part of its growth strategy. The company recently raised $3.6M in a Series A to support market expansion and its sustainability commitments.

Participated · Series A · Dec 2021

Limbix develops prescription digital therapeutics for adolescents, delivering its first product via smartphone. Last month the company launched SparkRx, a CBT-based program focused on behavioral activation for adolescent depression. Limbix reported positive clinical-trial results showing a statistically significant reduction in depression symptoms for users who completed the program as recommended. The company raised $15 million in a Series A2 and has $31 million in total funding to date. Proceeds will be used for commercialization and to double staff to approximately 60 employees by Q2 2022. With an expanded product and research team, Limbix plans to accelerate development and testing of new digital therapeutics targeting other common adolescent mental health disorders. Limbix develops Limbix Spark, a self-guided, cognitive behavioral therapy–based mobile program designed to treat adolescent depression and to be prescribed by pediatricians. The program was developed with clinical experts and direct input from teens and aims to reach the roughly 60% of teens with depression who do not receive care. The company says Limbix Spark could become the first prescription digital therapeutic for adolescents if cleared by the FDA. Limbix has partnered with the Duke Clinical Research Institute to run a large-scale pivotal clinical trial, with recruitment scheduled to begin later this year. The trial is described as a double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized controlled trial to evaluate safety and efficacy. Limbix is headquartered in San Francisco and emphasizes a cross-functional team of clinicians, product designers, researchers, and engineers. Limbix develops prescription digital therapeutics to treat adolescent mental health disorders. Its flagship product, Limbix Spark, is a multi-week cognitive behavioral therapy program focused on value-based activities that aim to elicit feelings of pleasure or mastery. Limbix Spark is positioned as the first prescription digital therapeutic designed to treat adolescents with depression and is intended for pediatrician prescription once FDA clearance is obtained. The company raised $9M in a Series A round led by GSR Ventures with participation from Sequoia Capital, Storm Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners and BIXINK Therapeutics. Limbix intends to use the funds for research and development of Limbix Spark. Ben Lewis is CEO and co-founder and the company is based in Palo Alto, California.

Participated · Series C · Jan 2021

MX is a data-driven finance company that helps organizations connect to financial data and transform raw, unstructured data into valuable assets. The company enhances financial data by cleansing, categorizing and adding metadata so partners can build new experiences and increase top-line growth. MX's platform is designed to reduce fraud, speed loan approvals and help customers save and invest smarter. The company intends to use the proceeds from its $300M Series C to expand operations and broaden its business reach. In the last 12 months MX was valued at $1.9 billion and now powers more than 2,000 banks, credit unions, fintechs and technology companies, including 85% of digital banking providers. Its combined reach exceeds 200 million consumers. MX provides a platform that enables banks, credit unions, and fintechs to collect, enhance, analyze, present and act on financial data to understand customers in real time and drive growth. The company reports clients on its platform see up to 4X growth in digital engagement, a 5X increase in deposit growth rate, and a 30% increase in NPS according to internal studies. MX recently signed its 2,000th customer with the addition of Synovus Financial Corp. Management says the company has been operating profitably for the past two years. The new funding will support growth, forge new partnerships and investments, accelerate hiring, and develop the next round of innovations. Including the latest round, MX has raised a total of $175 million to date. MX (formerly Money Desktop) provides a backend money-management solution that lets banks and other financial institutions show customers consolidated, real-time account data inside their own platforms rather than on third-party sites. The company differentiates from consumer apps like Mint by powering institutional integrations and offering a framework to simplify bank integration. MX plans to use the new funding to rapidly build out that backend with larger financial institutions and to pursue international expansion opportunities via partner Digital Garage. The startup is expanding operations, building new headquarters in Lehi, Utah, and plans to add about 150 employees to its current roughly 130, with most hires in engineering and additional sales and client services hires. MX reported customer growth of 200–300 percent and will leverage strategic investor USAA to help reach that firm's more than 10 million customers. The company has raised a total of $50 million to date and will use proceeds to accelerate product development and customer onboarding. MX (formerly MoneyDesktop) provides a platform that delivers a centralized digital money-management and omnibanking experience for banks, credit unions and fintech partners. The company enables partners to offer cross-platform online and mobile banking that strengthens customer relationships and positions institutions as primary financial providers. MX says it partners with hundreds of financial institutions and more than 30 mobile/online banking, core and payment network partners, and recently added seven large institutions totaling $74 billion in combined assets. Headquartered in Utah’s Silicon Slopes and led by CEO and founder Ryan Caldwell, MX emphasizes rapid innovation in the enterprise SaaS and financial-technology markets. Financially, the company has avoided highly dilutive rounds while accelerating growth; its total funding has reached $20 million following the recent close. MX aims to continue expanding its omnichannel capabilities and partner base to deepen account-holder engagement.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2020

Mmhmm builds presentation-focused video-chat tools that add automatic background removal and advanced presenter features to make meetings look more like professional newscasts. The product integrates with existing video services, including Zoom, enhancing presentations rather than replacing meeting platforms. The company was born during the pandemic and, at just over a year old, has iterated frequently to add features and improve performance. Bloomberg reporting cited in the article says mmhmm plans to go standalone and introduce a mobile app, which are likely uses for the new funding. Financially, the company received a fresh $100 million injection and has now raised a total of around $140 million. Phil Libin, known for Evernote, leads the startup in his second act. mmhmm provides a product that makes video calls, meetings and presentations fun, easy and collaborative, turning Zoom calls into SNL Weekend Update–style presentations. The solution works with Zoom, Google Meet and YouTube and has collected 100K+ signups since its beta launch about three months prior. Launched by Steve White and Phil Libin, mmhmm was born out of Phil Libin’s All Turtles product studio. The company intends to use the new funds to continue to expand its development and business growth efforts. Financially, mmhmm closed a $31M financing in this round, had previously raised a $4.6M seed in June, and has raised $35.6M in total to date (including $5M in venture debt). Mmhmm builds a virtual-camera video app that overlays presenters on top of shared content so users can remain visible while presenting slides, web pages, or live video. The product lets users move, shrink, or hide their on-screen image and supports co-presenting from different computers. It offers virtual backgrounds and is designed to integrate with services like Zoom and Google Meet. The app was developed at All Turtles, the studio founded by Phil Libin, who previously served as Evernote CEO. Mmhmm is currently in beta and users can sign up for a waitlist. Financially, the company has completed a $4.5 million seed round led by Sequoia Capital with several notable angel backers.