Participated · Equity · Jun 2026

Violette Fr was launched in 2021 by French make-up artist Violette Serrat, who previously worked for Dior Beauty and served as global beauty director for Estée Lauder Companies. The brand’s portfolio includes makeup, skincare, haircare and fragrances. In December 2024 the company completed a Series B financing whose amount was not disclosed, and in 2025 it raised an additional $5 million from existing investors. The new capital is earmarked to support the next growth phase and to accelerate international expansion, particularly into the U.S. market. Investors in the recent raise include Silas Capital and Experience Capital as co-leads, alongside Felix Capital, Female Founders Fund, Monogram Capital and Highlander Partners. Public disclosure of the transaction was made via a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Led · Seed · Mar 2026

Taya is a San Francisco–based hardware-software startup developing the Taya Necklace, an $89 pendant that starts and stops recording with a button and, by default, keeps its microphone off until activated. During onboarding, users provide a short voice sample so the device’s on-device filtering and planned directional microphones prioritize the wearer’s voice and suppress surrounding audio, addressing privacy concerns common to voice recorders. Captured audio is sent to an iOS app that stores transcripts and offers an AI chat interface for querying notes. Founder and former Apple design engineer Elena Wagenmans wants the product to feel like jewelry rather than a gadget, aiming to broaden adoption among privacy-conscious consumers. The company, launched in 2024 and currently staffed by five full-time employees plus contractors, positions itself as a “single-player” note-taking tool rather than an ambient meeting recorder. Taya is experimenting with new feedback mechanisms on the pendant to confirm successful note capture, hinting at ongoing product iteration. No revenue or user metrics have been disclosed to date.

Led · Seed · Sep 2025

Space DOTs develops SKY-I, a software platform (backed by its own payload hardware) that generates proprietary in-orbit environmental data and fuses it with external sources for real-time attribution, nowcasting, and forecasting of orbital threats. The company owns both its hardware and software and says its decentralized software design improves resilience and scalability for future cislunar and multi-orbit operations. Space DOTs focuses on commercial and defense customers and on threats rather than only forecasting or space weather. The startup is already capturing data from its payload and plans additional data from future launches as it readies technology for upcoming space missions. Founder Bianca Cefalo launched the company in 2022 after decades in the industry, including work on NASA’s InSight mission and projects at Airbus Defence and Space. Financially, Space DOTs announced a $1.5M seed round and has now raised $3.2M in total. Space DOTS builds a smartphone-sized payload, the Barnacle DOT, that performs active testing of advanced materials in orbit and can rideshare on a variety of launchers. The Barnacle DOT is modular and scalable and is designed to reach any orbit, enabling testing beyond microgravity. The company has also developed an end-to-end logistical portal to accelerate on-orbit qualification of materials. Space DOTS says its solution reduces the time and expense of bringing materials for space technologies to market and intends to commercialise for the global space industry. The team is led by CEO Bianca Cefalo and CTO James Sheppard-Alden and is already working with customers including specialist materials supplier Goodfellow Cambridge. The company is based in London, UK and recently completed a pre-seed fundraise.

Participated · Series A · Jun 2024

Rising Team provides a team performance platform that equips managers to run connecting, interactive team-building sessions remotely or in person without needing an outside facilitator. The software covers leadership topics that drive high-performing teams and offers tools to develop managers, increase employee engagement, and improve retention. Customers named in the article include Bank of Hawaii, Yahoo!, DXC, and Achieve. Led by CEO and founder Jennifer Dulski and based in Menlo Park, the company is introducing aRTi, a conversational AI leadership coach, this summer; aRTi combines research-based leadership best practices with insights from Rising Team sessions to offer personalized recommendations and scripts. Rising Team recently closed an $8M Series A and plans to use the funds to enhance its platform with AI, hire new team members, and expand market presence. The platform is positioned to deepen manager coaching and scale talent development across distributed teams. Rising Team offers a platform that combines management tools and training to help managers motivate, organize and lead their teams. Its tools suite includes proprietary assessments and 1:1 templates designed to surface who team members are, how they want to be appreciated, and what motivates them. Alongside assessments, Rising Team provides training via videos, articles, and audio resources and is building a community for managers to communicate with one another. The company plans to add AI-based custom training tips powered by assessment data in the future. Rising Team is pursuing a bottom-up revenue approach that allows individual managers to purchase the product while also enabling organizations to license it for full employee bases. It is currently in free beta and has a team of eight people, with 60% female and 50% BIPOC representation.

Participated · Series B · Feb 2024

Oula is a modern maternity clinic that integrates midwifery and obstetrics to provide whole-person, evidence-based care. Its care model is technology-enabled and hybrid, powered by proprietary software that complements its electronic medical records. The software includes a patient portal to guide decision-making, enable messaging with care teams, and a care-management platform to coordinate patient needs across staff. Oula accepts insurance, including Medicaid, and operates multiple New York City clinics. Leadership includes CEO Adrianne Nickerson, COO Elaine Purcell, and Chief Experience Officer Joanne Schneider. The company recently raised funding and plans to expand its hybrid care approach to markets beyond New York City and to launch new services for people in their reproductive years. Oula is a New York-based maternity clinic that integrates midwifery and obstetrics to deliver personalized, evidence-based care across prenatal, delivery, and postpartum services. Its care model includes a collaborative medical team, a welcoming clinic environment, and a remote care platform. The company offers in-clinic services including sonography and plans to expand those capabilities alongside group support. Oula accepts all major insurances, including Medicaid; one in five patients use Medicaid, 54% of patients identify as non-white or Hispanic, and one in 10 patients are LGBTQ+. Financially, the company raised $19.1M in a Series A that brought total funding to $22.3M. Oula is led by CEO Adrianne Nickerson and COO Elaine Purcell. Oula combines obstetrics and midwifery care to treat birth as a natural life event, using medical interventions only when necessary. The company operates modern clinics supported by an experienced clinical team and a remote care platform that extends care into the home. Oula’s collaborative care model includes midwives and obstetricians alongside doulas, lactation consultants, therapists, and nutritionists. The startup offers virtual coaching and monitoring spanning preconception through postpartum care. It also runs event programming covering evidence-based topics to help guide informed decision-making. Using its new funding, Oula plans to open a prenatal clinic in Brooklyn Heights in early 2021 and to site a birth center in Manhattan later in 2021.