Participated · Equity · May 2024

Circe uses advanced gas fermentation to convert CO2 into complex molecules, positioning its platform as a carbon-negative alternative to plant- and animal-derived fats and oils. The company has demonstrated prototypes across confectionery, dairy, sugars, protein, polymers, and biofuels and is currently focused on fats and oils due to their broad industrial use. Its pilot plant in Waltham, MA, accelerated by an ARPA-E contract, will move production out of the lab and enable scale-up of carbon-negative molecule manufacturing. Circe reports that its process consumes 3 kg of CO2 for every 1 kg of oil produced, enabling fully carbon-negative outputs. The company is pursuing partnerships to co-develop products across oils, sugars, proteins, and polymers and aims to secure supply chains with drop-in, carbon-negative alternatives. Circe is based in Boston, MA, and is a spin-off of the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, holding a worldwide exclusive license to commercialize the underlying bioproduction technology. Circe commercializes a Wyss Institute fermentation platform that programs microbes to consume greenhouse gases and produce industrial molecules. Its platform has produced triglycerides (used to make fats, butter, oils), sugar‑like molecules, biodegradable plastics, and biofuels using only CO2, water, and electricity as inputs. The company has used its triglycerides to make the world's first gas fermentation‑derived chocolate and is exploring other fats including milkfat and palm oil for food, cosmetics, and fuel applications. Circe emerged from work in Pamela Silver’s lab and was spun out of Harvard after being nurtured at the Wyss Institute; co‑founders include Shannon Nangle and Marika Ziesack. The Wyss Institute designated the platform an Institute Project in 2021 and provided additional funding and validation support to de‑risk the technology. Circe has raised over $8 million from venture investors and previously received $3.2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA‑E ECOSynBio program while still at Wyss.

Participated · Series A · Dec 2021

Petra develops the first non-contact, thermal-drilling robotic system designed to bore trenchless utility installations between 18–72 inches in diameter through hard rock and varied ground conditions. Its machinery is remotely operable, reversible through the carrier pipe for maintenance, and intended to reduce cost and downtime compared with legacy tunneling methods. Petra positions its technology to enable undergrounding in previously impenetrable geologies, improving safety and expanding feasible project locations. The company emphasizes utility-scale applications and aims to make undergrounding more accessible and economical for communities. As part of the announced collaboration with Tekfen, Petra plans pilot work and adaptation of its system for mixed-condition trenchless methods. No operating metrics or financial figures were disclosed in the article. Petra builds Swifty, a robotic tunneling system that uses machine vision and a thermal drilling method to bore through hard rock without direct contact. The company says Swifty completed a pilot boring a 20-foot tunnel through Sioux Quartzite at roughly one inch per minute. Unlike conventional microtunneling machines built for a single diameter, Swifty can bore a range of 20–60 inches, which Petra says reduces tunneling costs. Petra positions the technology to underground utilities to protect communities from wildfires and improve infrastructure safety in mountainous and coastal regions. Tesla co-founder Ian Wright has signed on as the company’s CTO and Kim Abrams is CEO. The company emerged from stealth alongside this pilot and recent fundraise.

Led · Series A · Nov 2021

Mekonos has developed a novel chip-based technology platform—an integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC)—for targeted ex‑vivo gene engineering that enables single‑cell delivery and multiplexed payload delivery with localized dose control. The platform supports multi‑payload physical delivery (multiplexing) into cells with repeatable and localized dose control for precise and scalable cell engineering. Demonstration pilot projects with top pharmaceutical and research labs have shown high cell viability and uptake for delivery of CRISPR and other payloads into immune cells, stem cells, and other fragile cell types. The company intends to advance its MEMS, microfluidics, biology, and business development functions to commercialize the SoC and scale partnerships. Mekonos is led by CEO Anil Narasimha and is an alum of Berkeley Launch, Berkeley SkyDeck, Creative Destruction Lab, and was named a 2018 Fierce 15 startup. Mekonos is developing a system-on-a-chip (SoC) for targeted ex vivo gene engineering. The SoC platform, with IP from Stanford University, enables molecular delivery for gene editing and synthetic biology. The company completed a $4.6m financing and will use the proceeds to accelerate the SoC platform for current and new commercial partnerships. Mekonos recently completed pilots with top pharmaceutical companies and research institutes that demonstrated high efficacy of modified gene expression and cell viability. Led by Co‑Founder and CEO Anil Narasimha, PhD, the company aims to increase capacity, accelerate discoveries, and develop new pre-clinical assets in the cell and gene therapy space. Financially, it has completed a $4.6m financing round led by Novartis to support platform advancement and partnership expansion.

Participated · Seed · Apr 2018

Legit is a Cambridge, MA-based provider of NLP software for creators of intellectual property. Its platform uses patent-pending technology to determine the patentable aspects of what researchers, scientists and engineers are working on and to efficiently turn ideas into inventions using artificial intelligence. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Matt Osman. Legit’s team includes three PhDs, collectively more than 30 years of patent-filing experience, and over 120 publications on machine learning and artificial intelligence. In May 2018 the company raised $2.6m in seed funding to support key hires. The round was led by Eniac Ventures with participation from Elementum Ventures and Max Ventures.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2016

The Virtual Reality Company produces immersive virtual reality content, including The Martian VR, a 20-minute interactive journey created for the 20th Century Fox Innovation Lab. The firm has several projects on its slate, including an original family-oriented VR program created with advisor and shareholder Steven Spielberg. Founded and managed by director Robert Stromberg (Chief Creative Officer), CEO Guy Primus, Christopher Edwards and Joel Newton, VRC focuses on producing original VR experiences. The company recently completed a $23M equity financing. Proceeds will be used to produce original virtual reality content and to distribute its content in the greater China region.