Led · Series A · Oct 2023

Azul 3D develops and commercializes HARP™ (High-Area Rapid Printing), a proprietary form of vat polymerization that uses a unique liquid interface to enable continuous printing with precise thermal control and strong material properties. The technology was initially invented and developed at Northwestern University and is paired with proprietary industrial-grade materials to enable volume production and just-in-time mass production of highly customized products. Azul 3D is targeting high-value, high-volume applications, including specialty components for electronics and personalized devices, and plans to scale production in those markets. The company has collaborated with DuPont since 2019 on application development for HARP and counts investors from EMEA and Asia among its backers. Leadership includes CEO John Hartner (appointed June 2023) and new board member G. Walter "Wally" Loewenbaum; recent financing is intended to support technology development and scaling. Azul 3D develops HARPTM, a proprietary high‑area rapid printing process that can print 3D structures from a wide palette of materials at production speeds regardless of part size. The technology’s throughput is presented as dramatically outpacing competitors and becoming competitive with injection molding, enabling a transition from prototyping to mass manufacturing on a single platform. Azul 3D pairs HARPTM with proprietary industrial‑grade materials to enable just‑in‑time mass production of diverse, highly customized products. The company was initially invented and developed at Northwestern University and operates from Skokie, Illinois. During the COVID‑19 pandemic a subsidiary used the technology to print PPE for hospitals, prisons, first responders and the Navajo Nation, producing medical face shields at a reported rate of 1,000 components per printer in a 12‑hour shift. Azul 3D plans to use new capital to advance HARPTM and launch its first commercial printers, and to secure major partnerships for validation.

Participated · Series D · Jan 2018

PrecisionHawk provides drone hardware, software, and services to enterprise customers, with a core software product called PrecisionAnalytics that applies AI/ML to aerial data. PrecisionAnalytics helps enterprises turn drone-collected data into actionable insights for asset management and operational decision-making. The company serves Fortune 500 clients across agriculture, energy, and telecommunications, including five of the top 10 utility companies, the largest U.S. communications infrastructure provider, and the Big Six seed and agricultural chemical firms. Common use cases include asset inventory, inspecting telecommunications towers and electricity distribution lines, and measuring crop health. PrecisionHawk says it will use new financing to continue innovating its software, accelerate sales initiatives, and expand into additional markets, positioning the business for sustained profitability and growth. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., the company has been active in policy and technology development for commercial drone adoption, and CEO Michael Chasen serves as Chairman of the FAA's Drone Advisory Committee. To date PrecisionHawk has raised more than $130 million from venture and strategic investors. PrecisionHawk provides drone technology and software to help enterprises integrate drone data into their business insight capture processes. The company serves Fortune 500 companies and market leaders in 150 countries across industries including agriculture, energy, insurance, government and construction. Led by CEO Michael Chasen, PrecisionHawk was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Raleigh, NC. The company has raised more than $100M in total funding to date. PrecisionHawk will use the new capital to expand its team, focus on product innovation and pursue strategic acquisitions. The article does not disclose revenue or user metrics. PrecisionHawk began as a maker of Lancaster fixed-wing drones for farmers and has shifted focus to a cloud platform for aerial data services. Its DataMapper service lets users upload, store, manage and analyze drone-gathered data; a freemium tier exists and a premium “platinum” account costs $95/month for up to 750 GB. The company is developing LATAS (Low Altitude Traffic and Airspace Safety) to help drone operators get clearance, track and verify flights and report paths to the FAA. PrecisionHawk is testing LATAS with partners including the U.S. FAA, NASA and private companies such as Verizon, DigitalGlobe and Harris. With a recent $18M Series C, the company plans to expand beyond agriculture into oil & gas, mining, insurance, search and rescue, forestry and telecommunications. CEO Bob Young says the fastest-growing part of the business is the aerial data services platform rather than selling aircraft. PrecisionHawk builds drones outfitted with sensors and cameras and provides analytics and reporting tools for land surveys. The company offers about a dozen sensor options that customers can select or add themselves, and it collects and stores survey data for subsequent analysis. Customers are notified when survey reports are ready, and PrecisionHawk plans to launch a DataMapper dashboard to let users work with, manipulate, share and run algorithms on their survey data. The company intends to use new funding to expand operations and double its team. PrecisionHawk is also working to expand into new use cases including oil and gas and emergency response.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2014

NexSteppe develops tailored crops—notably Palo Alto biomass sorghum and Malibu sweet sorghum—to provide scalable, sustainable feedstocks for the biofuels, biopower and biobased products industries. Its sugars and biomass are designed to be processed by biomass boilers, anaerobic digesters and biorefineries into power, first- and second-generation biofuels, plastics and chemical intermediates. The Palo Alto and Malibu product lines are already available to customers in Brazil and the U.S., and DuPont says its collaboration helped NexSteppe achieve its first commercial sales in those markets. NexSteppe plans to use new funding to improve existing product lines, launch additional lines, and expand market development globally. The company positions its crops as bankable, non-food-competing feedstock solutions as commercial-scale cellulosic biorefineries begin operations. NexSteppe is based in South San Francisco, Calif. NexSteppe is a Maliby, CA-based company developing sweet sorghum, high biomass sorghum and switchgrass through plant breeding as sustainable feedstocks for the biofuels, biopower and biobased products industries. Its bred crops are intended to be processed by biorefineries, sugar-to-ethanol mills and coal- or biomass-fired power plants into fuels, power, plastics and cosmetics. Led by founder and CEO Anna Rath, the company focuses on breeding programs to produce varieties suitable for industrial processing. NexSteppe raised $14M in a second round of funding to scale up its sugar and biomass programs and to advance its first products toward commercialization. The financing is intended to support scale-up of breeding and product development efforts. As part of the funding, a Braemar Energy Ventures partner joined the company's board of directors.

Participated · Series C · Jun 2012

Nanocomp Technologies develops and commercially produces high-performance materials and component products made from carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Its product lineup includes lightweight CNT-based sheets, tapes, wires and yarns used across aerospace and defense, aviation, automotive, energy and consumer sectors. The company is led by Co‑Founder, President & CEO Peter Antoinette. Nanocomp recently opened a 100,000 square-foot advanced manufacturing facility in Merrimack, signaling expanded production capacity. The company secured a $6M venture loan facility and intends to use the funds for working capital. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article. Future plans implied in the coverage focus on scaling manufacturing and commercial supply through the new facility. Nanocomp Technologies develops performance materials and component products from carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The company is the only commercial producer of CNT-based lightweight sheets, tapes, wires and yarns, offering superior mechanical, thermal and electrical properties for aerospace, defense, aviation, automotive, energy and consumer markets. Its CNT materials are used in a number of U.S. Department of Defense and NASA programs and have been designated “critical for national defense.” Nanocomp recently opened a 100,000 square foot advanced manufacturing facility in Merrimack, NH, increasing production capacity. The company is completing transition into a new volume production facility and plans to use funding to expand manufacturing capacity and underwrite market expansion. Nanocomp has also entered a strategic development relationship with DuPont to jointly develop products targeting ballistics protection, core-structure applications and other markets.