Participated · Debt Financing · Apr 2024

Vertical Harvest creates multi-storey, controlled-environment farms that leverage proprietary AI and advanced digital systems from partners such as Elevated Signals and Siemens to maximize yield and resource efficiency. Its new flagship farm in Westbrook, Maine produces the equivalent of 250 acres of traditional farmland on just half an acre while using 95% less water and achieving what the company claims is the lowest energy consumption per pound of food in the sector. The platform is built to be replicable, providing a scalable pathway for sustainable food production in urban settings worldwide. Beyond technology, the firm embeds a social-impact model that offers tailored careers to under-represented workers, including people with disabilities, turning high-tech agriculture into an engine of economic inclusion. Management positions the company as part of “Vertical Farming 2.0,” seeking to pair AI with controlled-environment agriculture to solve the traditional sector’s labor- and energy-intensive economics. By addressing both climate resilience and food sovereignty, the company is targeting expansion into global smart cities, particularly in regions where food security is a national priority. No revenue, valuation, or user metrics were disclosed in the article.

Participated · Seed · Jul 2018

Inbox Health offers a cloud platform that uses artificial intelligence to generate clear, personalized medical bills and to automate multi-channel payment collection for healthcare providers. Patients can pay via credit card, digital wallet, ACH, phone or check, and can interact with human or AI support agents in 60 languages through calls, chat and email. The system feeds real-time payment posting, analytics and feedback dashboards back to practice staff, aiming to cut administrative workload and reduce unpaid balances. Recent partnerships include an enterprise rollout with CHE Behavioral Health Services and a deepened integration with Greenway Health’s Intergy EHR via the Greenway Marketplace. The company plans to devote new capital to further AI research focused on emotional intelligence and faster issue resolution. Since inception, Inbox Health has raised $55 million in equity financing across multiple rounds to fuel product expansion and market penetration.

Participated · Series B · Oct 2013

Precipio Diagnostics LLC, based in New Haven, Conn., provides pathology diagnostic services to community oncologists and hospitals. Led by CEO Ilan Danieli, the company has 14 employees and has exclusively licensed several diagnostic technologies developed at Yale, which it is bringing to market. It commenced sales about a year and a half prior to the article and has produced more than 800 diagnostic reports for patients worldwide. The company raised $1.8M in Series B funding from several investors. Backers included Connecticut Innovations, which invested $750,000 through its Eli Whitney Fund and whose managing director Kevin Crowley joined Precipio’s board. Other participants were Ironwood Capital, Enhanced Capital, Kuzari Capital and individual investors; CI had previously provided a $500k loan in 2012 through the Bioscience Facilities Fund.

Participated · Debt Financing · Jul 2013

SciAps, founded in 2012 and based in Woburn, MA, designs handheld analytical instruments used to identify compounds, minerals and elements on-site and in real time. Its flagship product for the mining sector is the LIBZ Z family of handheld elemental analyzers that use laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The company serves industrial, service/security and mining markets with instruments for compound, mineral and element analysis. Manufacturing, service and customer support are operated from a fully ISO-certified facility in Laramie, WY. SciAps intends to use recent funding to scale global sales and marketing operations and to accelerate development of its product line. The company recently raised equity financing to support these growth and product initiatives. SciAps, founded in 2012 and led by President Don Sackett, develops handheld and portable analytical instruments that use laser technology to identify compounds, minerals and elements on-site and in real time. Its analyzers target applications including alloy analysis, mining and exploration, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, plastics and polymers, law enforcement, and hazmat first responders. The company emphasizes portable, durable, field-tested instruments and operates manufacturing, service and customer support from an ISO-certified facility in Laramie, Wyoming. In November 2013 SciAps raised $2.5M in funding, reflecting an injection of capital to support its operations and product deployment. The company added board members in conjunction with the funding, indicating investor engagement in governance. SciAps produces portable analytical instruments designed to identify any compound, mineral or element. Its product lineup includes portable Raman analyzers operated through its Delta Nu operations. The company is based in Woburn, MA, with manufacturing, service and customer support run from an ISO-certified facility in Laramie, WY. SciAps completed a $2.3M financing comprising $1M in senior debt and $1.3M in equity. The debt proceeds will support Delta Nu's portable Raman business while the equity will fund continued development of new portable analytical technologies. Company founders also participated in the equity portion of the round.

Participated · Series A · Dec 2012

CMDBioscienceSM specializes in computer-enabled analysis, modeling and design of therapeutic protein-peptide interactions. It provides a proprietary validated discovery platform, CMDInventusSM, which allows partner organizations to identify novel peptide hits, understand the structural basis of protein-peptide interactions, and rationally optimize peptide leads. Led by CEO Joseph Audie, Ph.D., the company positions CMDInventusSM as a partner-focused discovery tool for peptide therapeutic development. CMDBioscienceSM is a tenant in the CI-managed CTech@Science Park incubator at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. Financially, the company raised $1M in a Series A round, with Connecticut Innovations contributing $500k and additional participation from LaunchCapital, Enhanced Capital Connecticut, the Mohegan Tribe and an individual investor. Following the financing, CI's managing director of investments, Daniel Wagner, joined CMDBioscienceSM's board of directors.