• Sendmarc

  Participated · Series A · Feb 2023

  Sendmarc builds software that implements, monitors and maintains email authentication standards (SPF and DMARC) to prevent domain spoofing and email impersonation. The company was founded in 2020 by Sam Hutchinson, Keith Thompson and Sacha Matulovich after selling their prior communications platform. Its technology helps customers lock down domains and monitor attempted abuse, and it targets a largely underserved market of businesses that have not yet implemented global email security standards. Sendmarc has 1,000+ paying customers (about 80% in South Africa) including stock exchanges, law firms, insurers, banks, startups and law enforcement agencies across multiple regions. Customers pay monthly subscriptions between $49 and $119, generating over $2 million in ARR since 2021. The company has offices in the Netherlands, Argentina and Canada and plans to expand its product suite and scale to serve up to 100,000 customers in the next five years while growing sales teams across Africa, the U.S., Europe and Latin America. Sendmarc provides end-to-end implementation and monitoring of the DMARC industry standard to stop scammers from spoofing customers' domain names and sending fraudulent emails. The startup configures DNS and reporting for clients and charges between R450 and R50,000 per month for its service. Launched operations in July last year, Sendmarc is working with about 100 companies covering over 200 domains, though not all are paying customers. The company was founded in 2018 and has seven employees, with plans to hire roughly 10 more (sales and developers) in the next two to three months. Founders Keith Thompson and Sam Hutchinson initially self-funded the business, contributing roughly R1-million since inception; Sam joined full time in October last year and Sacha Matulovich joined recently. Management aims to expand the service to as many as 200,000 small and medium-sized firms in South Africa, while noting competition from established players such as Mimecast.

• Plantish

  Participated · Seed · Mar 2022

  Plantish has developed a plant-based whole-cut salmon that mimics cooked salmon in taste, texture, appearance and fibrous structure while delivering similar nutritional value including high protein and Omega-3s. The company uses plant proteins and algae extracts and says its ingredients are already used in U.S. foods, meaning it does not require FDA approval to serve the product. Plantish has prototyped the product and says it has proved the technology, with plans for pop-up locations by the end of the year, placement in five restaurants by December 2023, and a nationwide restaurant launch in 2024. The startup will use new funding to invest in R&D and build a manufacturing facility and machines that mix proteins and algae extractions to reproduce salmon structure and nutrition. Founded in 2021, the company is pre-revenue and led by CEO Ofek Ron and co-founders with backgrounds in chemistry, bioengineering and product at Impossible Foods. Ron positions Plantish as pursuing a next-generation "filet" approach to alternative protein focused on whole cuts rather than minced formats.

• Agtonomy

  Participated · Seed · Jan 2022

  Agtonomy is a South San Francisco–based software and services company that brings autonomous operation to agriculture, turf, and broader land-maintenance markets. Its physical AI platform is integrated directly into commercial equipment through partnerships with leading original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs), enabling machines to navigate and work autonomously in orchards, vineyards, fields, and managed green spaces. The technology is designed to reduce labor costs, boost safety, and promote more sustainable farming and land-care practices. Agtonomy generates revenue by licensing its software and providing related automation services to OEM partners and end-customers. To date, the company has secured $18 million in Series B funding and counts investors such as DBL Partners, Nuveen, Autotech, Allison Transmission, Rethink Food, and Black Forest Ventures on its cap table. The new capital will be used to enhance the platform’s capabilities, broaden equipment integrations, and scale commercial deployments into adjacent off-road industries.

• Lovely Day Foods

  Participated · Seed · Nov 2021

  Perfeggt develops a plant-based egg alternative—a liquid egg substitute formulated to reproduce the taste and texture of chicken eggs for dishes like scrambled eggs, pancakes and French toast. The company was founded in 2021 and is based in Berlin. Its first product is slated for foodservice and retail launch after positive consumer tastings in Hamburg. Perfeggt says it uses pioneering research to create an authentic egg experience while pursuing a more sustainable approach to food production. The startup plans to use the fresh capital for product research and development, team growth and market launch, including further pop-up tastings across German and European cities. Financially, the company increased its pre-seed round to over €3.6 million after previously raising €2.5 million in November 2021. Perfeggt is a Berlin-based foodtech company developing a chicken-less, protein-rich liquid egg alternative made from fava beans. The product can be prepared as a scrambled egg or omelet and is formulated to mimic mouthfeel, flavors and textures of animal eggs. The company plans to debut the product in Q1 2022 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and will initially launch with food service organizations. Perfeggt conducts R&D at a site in Emsland, Germany and works closely with Wageningen University & Research to test plant-protein sources and combinations. The company is part of Lovely Day Foods GmbH and was co-founded earlier this year by CEO Tanja Bogumil, Gary Lin and Bernd Becker. The newly announced $2.8M first funding round will finance building out the team and the R&D facility and support further European expansion later in 2022. Perfeggt is hiring food scientists, marketing and R&D personnel to support its launch and product development.

No current team members are available.