Participated · Seed · Jul 2026

Freight Hero operates an outcome-driven service that runs the full lifecycle of brokerage loads inside customers' existing systems, using AI agents to handle more than 90% of customer load touches and a team of human operators called Heroes for judgment-intensive exceptions. The company reports it has managed more than 50,000 loads and handled millions of carrier communications. Customers have converted fixed labor costs into variable ones and are tracking toward 100%+ ROI, and a cited customer, Ally Logistics, said it grew revenue 82.4% year-over-year while not meaningfully increasing operations headcount after adopting Freight Hero. Freight Hero sells a flat fee per load model rather than selling software, positioning itself as a Service-as-a-Software / AI-native services provider. With the new funding the company plans to expand sales and marketing, hire engineering and operations staff, and extend services into billing, accounting and carrier sales. The company was founded by André Luis Martins Filho and is based in Durham, N.C.

Participated · Series B · Mar 2026

Lucid Bots designs, manufactures and supports autonomous exterior cleaning systems including the Sherpa exterior cleaning drone and the Lavo AI autonomous pressure washing robot. It offers Lucid Refresh, a subscription RaaS platform that bundles hardware, Lucid Command software, training, job intelligence and equipment coverage. The company serves customers ranging from independent operators to enterprise accounts such as Disney, Sunbelt Rentals and commercial facilities managers. Lucid manufactures its products domestically and plans to expand its Charlotte, NC manufacturing capacity. It is a member of the NVIDIA Inception Program and is developing AI and autonomy capabilities in partnership with NVIDIA. The company is led by CEO and Founder Andrew Ashur and has raised a total of $34M to date.

Participated · Seed · Feb 2026

Founded in 2025 and headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, Hardshell provides data-layer security for artificial intelligence systems, focusing on protecting proprietary and regulated datasets before models are trained. Unlike many AI security tools that monitor models post-deployment, Hardshell stops threats at the source, preventing corrupted or exposed data from creating downstream vulnerabilities. The platform is aimed at high-trust sectors such as healthcare and defense, where data privacy and regulatory compliance are critical hurdles to AI adoption. Co-founders Hunter Moore (CTO) and Andrew Schoka (CEO) leverage extensive backgrounds in defense, cybersecurity, and AI research to build the product. The company has participated in accelerator programs including the Batten Institute i.Lab Incubator, Starburst National Landing Launchpad, Lighthouse Network, and the 434 Accelerator. Fresh capital will support expanded engineering efforts and go-to-market activities to grow its customer base. No operating metrics such as revenue or user counts were disclosed in the article.

Participated · Series A · Nov 2025

Founded in 2019, Charlottesville-based Poppy Flowers operates a technology-driven marketplace that matches couples with local floral designers whose style, budget, and vision align with their needs. The company has already served more than 6,000 couples nationwide, positioning itself as a fast-growing player in the $71 billion U.S. floral industry. Poppy’s platform streamlines the traditionally fragmented wedding-florist experience by handling design matching, logistics, and fulfillment. With fresh capital, the team plans to accelerate an expansion into business-to-business offerings, roll out new technology features, and hire key leadership roles. Management believes these moves will widen its customer base beyond consumer weddings and deepen engagement with professional florists. Investors cite the company’s clear category leadership and scalable model as reasons for continued support. Financial details beyond the most recent and prior capital raises were not disclosed in the article.

Participated · Seed · Nov 2025

Extellis designs and plans to operate satellites built to capture high-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, with the company claiming each satellite can capture thousands of images per day using patented antenna technology developed at Duke University from DARPA-sponsored research. The platform is intended to provide consistent monitoring that works at night and through clouds, smoke and other conditions that limit optical imagery. Extellis targets infrastructure operators and industrial companies—such as pipeline, transportation and energy facility operators—that need frequent, wide-area visibility of distributed assets. The company is preparing a pathfinder mission to test technology and operating capabilities ahead of broader commercial service and is building the infrastructure required to serve industrial customers. Extellis recently expanded its seed financing with investment from Shell Ventures to support the pathfinder mission, team expansion and progress toward commercial operations. The company positions its offering as an alternative to helicopters, ground inspections and optical satellite imagery for more dependable, high-frequency monitoring.