Participated · Equity · Jun 2021

FutureProof is a San Diego, CA-based climate-smart property-and-casualty insurtech that provides a platform to make AI projections of asset-level losses from hurricane wind and flood to power insurance underwriting. Led by CEO Alisa Valderrama and Chief Insurance Officer Fid Norton, the company offers climate-smart insurance products intended to help close the coverage gap and motivate investment in climate adaptation. The company raised $6.5M in the reported round, bringing total capital raised to nearly $10M. Investors in the round included AXIS Digital Ventures (lead), Innovation Endeavors and MS&AD Ventures. FutureProof plans to use the funds to add top underwriting, portfolio risk management, and engineering talent. FutureProof is a San Diego-based fintech developing financial technology to enable asset managers, banks, and insurance-sector institutions to quantify and manage the financial impacts of climate change. The company's technology is focused on projecting the financial implications of climate change. It targets asset managers, banks, and insurers as customers. In June 2021 the startup raised $3M in a funding round. The company has partnered with Tishman Speyer and Equilibrium Capital as part of the funding effort. Alisa Valderrama is CEO and co-founder; co-founders also include Dr. Alexander Gelber, a former senior U.S. Department of the Treasury economic policy official.

Participated · Series A · May 2019

AppHarvest describes itself as an applied-technology company that builds high-tech, controlled-environment greenhouses to grow fresh produce. Its system pairs a 10-acre on-site rainwater retention pond with circular irrigation to reduce water usage by 90% compared to typical farms and eliminate agricultural runoff. The company plans to build a 2.76 million square foot greenhouse on 60 acres in Morehead, Kentucky, slated for Fall 2020, initially producing non-GMO tomatoes for national grocers and later expanding into leafy greens, berries, cucumbers, and bell peppers. AppHarvest says the project has created 100 construction jobs and will lead to 300 full-time jobs for Eastern Kentucky residents. Financially, AppHarvest closed a $28 million Series C and now has $150 million in total funding. The startup emphasizes technology partnerships rather than building all components in-house and has pivoted toward attracting tech and sustainability investors as it scales. AppHarvest builds and operates large-scale, hi‑tech greenhouses that grow non‑GMO, chemical‑free tomatoes and other vegetables for distribution to the top 25 U.S. grocers. Led by founder and CEO Jonathan Webb, the company is organized as a Benefit Corporation and plans to create 285 full-time permanent jobs in addition to roughly 100 construction jobs already created. AppHarvest closed an $11M corporate funding round from a group of investors. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and support indoor farms across Central Appalachia. Its first project, a 2.76 million‑square‑foot facility in Morehead, Kentucky, is under construction and is slated to begin operations later this year. The financing is intended to accelerate the buildout and rollout of additional indoor farm facilities across the region. AppHarvest is a controlled-environment agriculture facility developer led by founder and CEO Jonathan Webb. The company is building a 60-acre greenhouse in Morehead, Kentucky—its first controlled-environment facility in Appalachia—with construction beginning immediately and an opening planned for 2020. The facility will grow tomatoes and cucumbers for distribution to America’s top grocers through distribution partner Mastronardi Produce. AppHarvest says the project will create 285 full-time permanent jobs and about 100 construction jobs. Financially, AppHarvest closed an $82M investment from Equilibrium Capital as part of a Series A round led by ValueAct Spring Fund with participation from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. ValueAct Capital founder and CEO Jeffrey W. Ubben joined AppHarvest’s board in conjunction with the funding. AppHarvest builds large-scale, high-tech greenhouses using revolutionary growing techniques to supply sustainable produce to consumers nationally. The company planned to break ground on its first $60 million high-tech greenhouse in spring 2018. AppHarvest operates from an office on the University of Pikeville campus and is partnering with the university to explore curriculum that aligns with the high-tech agricultural industry. The company selected Pikeville, Ky., for its geographic location and access to nearly 70% of the U.S. population within a day’s drive. AppHarvest was founded by Jonathan Webb and is positioning itself as a high-tech ag employer in Eastern Kentucky. The company raised funding from Revolution’s Rise of The Rest seed fund (amount undisclosed).