Led · Series E · Nov 2022

Volocopter develops electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Six weeks after warning it could be forced to consider insolvency, the company announced it had been successfully financed by several existing investors. The company described the transaction as a financial lifeline. Due to ongoing contractual obligations, Volocopter said it could not disclose the investor names or the amount raised. The article did not provide details on the financing instrument, past rounds, future plans, valuation, or operating metrics. Volocopter develops the VoloCity eVTOL passenger air taxi and positions itself as a pioneer in urban air mobility. The company has conducted international tests, including a South Korean test flight in November 2021, and first committed to a Japanese market entry in 2018. Volocopter expects regulatory approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Authority in 2024, and its concurrent type‑certification application to Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau has been accepted. Japanese, Singaporean and U.S. (FAA) regulators are validating its urban air mobility system. The company plans to showcase a full‑size VoloCity replica at an Osaka shopping mall to build public awareness ahead of regional launches. Strategic partners and investors are being used to support certification and commercial rollout plans, including a targeted Japan service date of 2025. Volocopter is a German startup that builds electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, principally the two-seater VoloCity air taxi. It also develops the VoloDrone heavy-lift electric drone and the VoloIQ digital platform for bookings and flight operations. The company is in active flight testing to meet European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) requirements and has received Design Organisation Approval in 2019 and Production Organisation Approval in 2021. Volocopter aims to obtain Special Condition certification for small-category VTOL aircraft by the second half of 2023 and begin initial revenue-generating rides in 2024. Recent fundraising — including a $182M second signing of its Series E on top of a $170M tranche from March — will fund testing, certification, infrastructure development, ecosystem integration and public awareness ahead of commercialization. The company has formed joint ventures with Neom and Geely Holding to integrate its aircraft into smart-city and China markets, with Neom ordering 15 aircraft and the Geely JV agreeing to purchase 150. Volocopter develops eVTOL aircraft and an urban air-taxi operating model from its base in Bruchsal, southern Germany. The company highlights three aircraft families—VoloCity, VoloConnect and VoloDrone—and has completed roughly 1,000 public and private test flights. It is the first eVTOL company to receive Design Organisation Approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, positioning it for certification and early market entry. Volocopter plans to use new funding to kick off commercial air taxi services in cities such as Singapore, Rome, Paris (and South Korea has been mentioned for launch), aiming for initial commercial operations around 2024 contingent on certification. At commercial launch flights will be piloted, though the VoloCity is technically capable of crewed, remotely piloted, and autonomous operation and the company says it will transition toward non-crewed flights as regulations and public acceptance evolve. Management has said the business will pursue a path to a public listing eventually. Volocopter develops fully electric eVTOL aircraft and associated physical and digital infrastructure, including the VoloCity and VoloDrone aircraft, VoloPort terminals, and the VoloIQ digital platform. The company partners with firms across infrastructure, operations, and air traffic management to build the ecosystem required for urban air mobility. Its product roadmap and services range from autonomous electric air taxis for passengers to cargo delivery via VoloDrone. Volocopter intends to use recent funding to bring the VoloCity to certification and to accelerate the launch of its first commercial routes. The company is the first eVTOL firm to receive Design Organisation Approval (DOA) from EASA and expects first commercial air taxi routes within the next two years. To date it has conducted milestone flights in Helsinki, Stuttgart, Dubai, and over Singapore’s Marina Bay and has cumulatively raised €322m.

Participated · Series C · Oct 2022

Ascend Elements commercializes an ultra‑efficient Hydro‑to‑Cathode process to produce sustainable pCAM and CAM from black mass recovered from recycled lithium‑ion batteries. The company is building Apex 1, a 1‑million‑square‑foot facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, slated to open in early 2025, which is expected to produce materials sufficient for up to 750,000 electric vehicles per year. Ascend’s process eliminates intermediary steps in traditional cathode manufacturing, yielding economic and carbon‑reduction benefits, and peer‑reviewed studies show recycled materials perform comparably to those from mined sources. The Apex 1 project is partly supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Financially, Ascend announced $162 million in new equity financing as part of a Series D, bringing its 12‑month funding total to $704 million following a $542 million round in September 2023. Goldman Sachs served as sole placement agent for the Series D round. Ascend Elements develops sustainable, closed-loop lithium-ion battery materials, including recycled battery feedstock, precursor cathode active material (pCAM) and cathode active materials (CAM). Its proprietary Hydro-to-Cathode® direct precursor synthesis technology produces new pCAM from spent lithium-ion cells, aiming to reduce cost, improve performance, and lower GHG emissions. The company has signed commercial-scale supply contracts (including a $1 billion pCAM contract starting Q4 2024 with options up to $5 billion) and is building its Apex 1 facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Apex 1 is planned as a 1-million-square-foot plant on a 140-acre site, targeting enough sustainable pCAM for 750,000 electric vehicles per year when complete. Ascend has also secured two U.S. Department of Energy grants totaling $480 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Led by CEO Mike O’Kronley, the company is scaling from EV battery recycling through commercial pCAM and CAM production. Ascend Elements develops engineered materials and lithium-ion battery recycling processes, including commercial-scale production of lithium-ion battery precursor (pCAM) and cathode active materials (CAM). Its proprietary Hydro-to-Cathode direct precursor synthesis technology produces new CAM from spent lithium-ion cells, aiming to reduce cost, improve performance, and lower GHG emissions. The company intends to accelerate commercialization of that process and scale production to serve EV supply chains. Ascend has disclosed plans to invest up to $1 billion to build the Apex 1 facility in Hopkinsville, Ky., which is expected to produce enough pCAM and CAM to equip up to 250,000 electric vehicles per year. Financially, the company recently raised $300 million in equity and debt (including $200 million in Series C equity) and has two Department of Energy grants totaling $480 million. Led by CEO Mike O’Kronley, Ascend positions itself as a provider of sustainable, closed-loop battery materials solutions from EV battery recycling to commercial-scale cathode manufacturing. Ascend Elements develops Hydro-to-Cathode™ direct precursor synthesis technology to produce cathode active materials from spent lithium-ion cells. The process is presented as more efficient than traditional methods, offering reduced cost, improved performance, and lowered greenhouse gas emissions. The company is led by CEO Mike O’Kronley and is based in Westborough, MA. Ascend plans significant manufacturing and recycling capacity expansions, including a multi‑phase investment of up to $1 billion to build a facility called “Apex 1” in Hopkinsville, Ky. Apex 1 is expected to produce enough precursor and sustainable cathode active material to equip up to 250,000 electric vehicles per year. Ascend is also opening a battery recycling facility, “Base 1,” in Covington, Ga, which when fully operational in Q4 2022 will recycle more than 30,000 metric tons of used batteries and manufacturing scrap per year.

Participated · Equity · Aug 2022

Nexeon has developed silicon-carbon and silicon-based anode technologies aimed at increasing energy density and improving performance relative to conventional battery materials. The company targets applications such as electric vehicles and other sectors seeking higher-performance lithium-ion batteries. Nexeon is moving into a phase focused on scaling production and accelerating commercialisation of its technology. Management characterized the Honda investment as validation of the company's technology and commercial traction. The partnership with Honda is expected to strengthen development and deployment of Nexeon's materials as demand for higher-performance batteries grows. The articles do not provide financial metrics, year founded, or location.

Participated · Series E · Jun 2022

Vayyar develops radar-imaging "radar-on-chip" sensor technology that uses MIMO antennas to deliver high-resolution mapping of surroundings. The company began by pursuing alternative breast-cancer screening and later expanded its technology into automotive, senior care, retail, smart home, commercial property and construction, offering products such as Vayyar Care (fall detection) and the Walabot handheld sensor. It has secured partnerships and customer relationships including Amazon (Alexa Together integration), Piaggio Group deployments, supply contracts with automakers in Japan and Vietnam, and a joint venture with Haier subsidiary HCH Ventures in China. Founded in 2011 by Miri Ratner, Naftali Chayat and Raviv Melamed, Vayyar plans to introduce a family of machine-learning-powered sensor solutions targeting robotics, retail, public safety and smart buildings. The company raised $108 million in a Series E, bringing total capital raised to over $300 million, and says the latest funding values it at over $1 billion. Vayyar engaged China International Capital Corporation as lead financial adviser to support investor outreach in China and has opened a new office there. Vayyar develops 4D radar-imaging chips, sensors and the software that interprets radar-generated images to detect and track people and objects while preserving privacy. Its technology is applied across automotive and IoT use cases; the company also produces a consumer product, the Walabot handheld sensor. Customers include automotive supplier Valeo and an unnamed "major Silicon Valley company" that is integrating Vayyar tech into smart-home products. The company primarily supplies technology to partners who productize it rather than focusing on direct-to-consumer sales. Vayyar says its software and algorithms differentiate it from other radar-imaging competitors. Management expects regulatory trends (for example, automotive safety requirements around detecting children left in cars) and growing privacy concerns to accelerate demand for its solutions. Vayyar Imaging develops 3D imaging sensors that create realtime, camera-free images capable of seeing through solid objects and mapping large areas. Its technology uses an embedded chip and advanced imaging algorithms to enable sensing in privacy-sensitive locations where optics cannot be used. The sensors are being applied across sectors including smart home, automotive, retail, robotics, medical, construction and agriculture. Vayyar says its mission is to improve health, safety and quality of life worldwide, and that demand from diverse industries requires rapid scaling. Following a $45 million Series C, total capital raised to date is $79 million; the company will use proceeds to expand into new industries, grow its global team and diversify its sensing product offerings. Vayyar also markets a consumer handheld device (Walabot DIY) and planned demonstrations of its latest automotive and smart home sensors at CES 2018. Vayyar builds compact sensors that use radio waves to create 3D images of obstructed objects — from root systems and piping to tissue behind skin. The company works with chip manufacturers to deliver a reference design, tailored antennae and an API so customers can plug the sensor into phones, devices or ground‑installed instruments. Vayyar launched a board for external tinkering to accelerate use‑case discovery and is starting to roll out products more broadly as augmented reality interest grows. Targeted applications mentioned include low‑cost breast‑cancer detection, milk fat measurement during production, irrigation profiling and infrastructure inspection. The startup faces competition from ultrasound, MRI and other chip/sensor makers but positions its tech as lower‑cost and already in use by a number of companies. Financially, the company has raised $22M in the latest venture financing and has raised $34M to date.