Participated · Series A · Oct 2025

Lula Commerce is a Philadelphia-based technology company that equips convenience retailers with an AI-powered platform to streamline digital commerce operations. Its suite includes Lula Hub, which consolidates third-party delivery marketplaces like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub into a single dashboard; Lula Direct for branded web and mobile ordering; and Lula Operators, a collection of 30+ AI tools that automate refunds, reviews, uptime, and other critical tasks. The software also delivers inventory management, customer engagement, and business intelligence capabilities, helping stores improve efficiency and drive incremental sales. Lula has quickly scaled to serve industry leaders such as Circle K franchisees, United Pacific (Rocket/Alta Stores), Jacksons Food Stores, Par Mar Stores, Clipper Petroleum, and more than 50 regional chains, representing thousands of franchise locations across the United States. Management is actively hiring across engineering, sales, product, and customer success to support its growth. Including the newly announced round, the company has raised more than $16 million to date, which will fund product development and broader market expansion.

Participated · Series B · Aug 2025

Asylon Robotics builds integrated robotic perimeter security solutions that combine autonomous drones, ground robotics and AI-driven command software. The company serves commercial and government customers with high-security needs, protecting critical infrastructure, corporate campuses, logistics hubs and defense installations. Founded in 2015 and based in Carmel, Ind., Asylon has completed more than 250,000 robotic security missions. Its products are US-built and positioned for rapid response and automated, tech-enabled physical security. Asylon says it will use recent funding to expand engineering, operations and go-to-market teams and to accelerate product development across its robotic platforms. The company also plans to deepen partnerships across defense, logistics and critical infrastructure sectors. Asylon Robotics builds and deploys next-generation robotic systems designed to perform high-risk tasks in hazardous and austere environments, protecting U.S. personnel. The company is a dual-use technology provider that partners with the U.S. Department of Defense and offers a 24/7 robotic security service for commercial sites. Over the past 18 months Asylon has been awarded multiple SBIR contracts and a $12M STRATFI contract with Air Force Global Strike Command. Leonid Capital Partners has provided a tailored loan structured to leverage Asylon’s Air Force contract portfolio to accelerate the company’s work. The financing is intended to help scale Asylon’s business across domains and advance development of new life‑saving robotic capabilities. Asylon’s leadership framed the partnership as a catalyst for growth and continued deployment of its defense and commercial offerings. Asylon Robotics develops advanced automated air and ground security robotics systems that combine drones, robots, software, and artificial intelligence to deliver continuous security operations. The company positions its products as force multipliers to streamline security workflows. Led by CEO Damon Henryand, Asylon serves defense and security customers and intends to further strengthen its defense portfolio. Asylon received an investment reported on 09/02/2023; the amount of the deal was not disclosed. The company said it will use the funds to bolster its defense offerings. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article. Asylon designs and manufactures the DroneCore System, an open-architecture hardware-and-software platform that manages unmanned ground and aerial robots to execute pre-programmed patrol missions and deliver security data intelligence. The company sells DroneCore as an end-to-end, white-glove service for advanced perimeter security and positions the system as an American-made, fully automated aerial and ground guard. Asylon reports technical maturity of the DroneCore product and cites sales to a number of Fortune 100 customers. Its growth has been driven by adoption in both commercial and federal markets, and the company is working with the Air Force on base security modernization and remote surveillance. Leadership describes the solution as enabling extended autonomous operations with minimal human intervention. No revenue, valuation, or specific financial metrics are disclosed in the article.

Participated · Series B · Feb 2022

Houwzer is a full-service, salaried-agent real estate brokerage and homeownership platform that integrates real estate, mortgage, title, and escrow services on a proprietary end-to-end technology platform. The company uses an all‑W2 compensation model and a $5,000 flat‑fee listing product that it says saves sellers an average of $15,000. Houwzer has helped clients buy and sell roughly 4,000 homes with cumulative sales volume near $2 billion and has saved home sellers about $35 million in brokerage commissions. The company reports a category‑leading Net Promoter Score of 84 and an average client rating of 4.9 from over 1,000 reviews. Houwzer plans to launch three consumer products—Cash Advantage™, Convenience Offers™, and Buy Before You Sell—to give clients a competitive edge in today’s market. The fundraising will also support deeper penetration across its six MSAs in seven states and hiring across Marketing, Product, People, and Home Services. Houwzer is an online real-estate platform that hires agents as salaried employees and charges a flat $5,000 listing fee plus a 2.5% buyer’s broker fee. The company handles business generation, marketing, and administrative tasks for agents and invests in their training and education. Since founding in 2015, Houwzer says it has saved home sellers in the mid‑Atlantic more than $13.8 million and helped buy or sell thousands of homes worth a combined $750 million. Houwzer has grown 100% year‑over‑year and is profitable in the Philadelphia area, with plans to be profitable in the D.C. area within the coming year. With 77 employees (50 agents), the company plans to double its workforce in the next 12–18 months and enter the Orlando market later this year. Houwzer intends to expand its geographic footprint across greater Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, and to broaden services beyond brokerage into mortgage, title, and insurance while doubling down on its technology. Houwzer operates a full-service real estate brokerage that aims to reimagine every aspect of the home buying and selling experience by providing homeowners full service at a fair price. The company leverages technology alongside a team-based brokerage model that uses listing agents to support sellers from consultation to closing and salaried realtors who help buyers find homes. Led by Co-Founder & CEO Mike Maher, Houwzer offers an alternative to traditional commission-driven brokerages. The company announced a $4.5M extension of its seed funding and said it will use the proceeds to continue expanding operations and its business reach. The raise reflects ongoing early-stage financing activity rather than a later-stage round. Houwzer is based in Philadelphia, Pa. Houwzer is a tech-enabled real estate brokerage founded in February 2015 by CEO Mike Maher and based in Philadelphia, PA. The company leverages listing and buyer specialists who receive salaries instead of commissions to prioritize service over sales. Houwzer has saved homeowners more than $2 million in unnecessary listing fees and has booked well over $100 million in sales volume. It currently employs 35 full-time employees with plans to reach 55 by year’s end. The company plans to use its seed funds to grow operations in Philadelphia, expand into a second major metro market in 2017, and launch a new technology platform to improve the home transaction experience for buyers and sellers. The articles report a $2.0M seed raise with $1.6M already closed and the remainder scheduled to close on June 1, 2017.

Led · Series B · Jul 2021

Audigent operates a first-party data management platform (DMP) and data agency that builds full-stack solutions for entertainment, sports, lifestyle and DTC eCommerce customers as well as retail/CPG partners. Its core products include a verification suite and a deep insights data platform powered by its cookieless identity solution, HALO IDTM, plus cookieless PMP products. The company provides verified, opt-in data from major publishers, influencers, athletes and artists and serves large brands and global media agencies. Audigent plans to broaden the reach of its cookieless PMP products and HALO IDTM and to expand sales and marketing efforts globally. It also intends to accelerate the expansion of data and inventory monetization tools for premium digital publishers. The company is led by ad tech and entertainment veterans Drew Stein, Brian Brater and Matt Griffiths and lists clients including Warner Music Group, Condé Nast, Universal, Penske, a360 Media and Fandom. Audigent provides a first-party data monetization platform and DMP focused on the entertainment, sports and lifestyle verticals. The platform purges fraudulent IDs and duplicates through verification, offers auditability across multiple blockchain ledgers, and delivers ownable audience banks to increase conversion. Its proprietary system automates the building of valuable audiences and segmentation across large first-party data sets using deterministic 1-to-1 insights, and exposes those audiences as DMP segments, SmartPMPs, or a full data-driven managed service. The company is led by adtech and entertainment veterans Drew Stein and Brian Brater and sells data products to brands and media agencies. Audigent raised $6.7M in the Series A described here, bringing total funding to $14.5M; it plans to use proceeds to expand sales and marketing and to continue innovating its core platform and proprietary data products. Audigent builds adtech that optimizes video ads by adapting music and backing tracks to individual users based on music data. The platform targets fans by genre and artist and can swap in real or similar music to improve engagement across platforms such as YouTube, Hulu and Facebook. Musicians can log onto the platform to monetize their work and see how their ads are performing; the company says it can yield attractive royalties. The project began in December 2015 and the company is launching its service at the Music Biz conference in Nashville, Tenn., armed with data obtained through a partnership with a music industry leader. For the time being Audigent is self-funded via a $400,000 friends and family round. Cofounders are Jon Gosier, Shelton Mercer, Brian Brater and Drew Stein, who bring backgrounds in sales, data science, the music industry and adtech.

Participated · Seed · Aug 2018

Capillary Biomedical, headquartered in Irvine, California, develops the SteadiSet infusion set powered by its SteadiFlow technology to simplify and improve insulin pump therapy for people with Type 1 diabetes. The SteadiFlow platform features a soft, flexible cannula with multiple holes to reduce kinking, tissue damage, and inflammation, plus an integrated one-handed inserter. The SteadiSet is designed with materials selected for insulin stability and an adhesive optimized for extended wear to increase comfort, reliability, and predictability of insulin absorption. CapBio is pursuing extended-wear use of infusion sets for seven days and beyond and is conducting clinical studies to validate that performance. The company’s core cannula technology was developed with Professor Jeffrey Joseph and supported by the NIH and the JDRF T1D Fund. CapBio has previously raised over $10 million from organized angel investment groups and is advancing clinical trials to support broader adoption. Capillary Biomedical is developing the SteadiSet infusion set featuring SteadiFlow technology, a patented helical cannula design and a patent-pending helical inserter intended to reduce infusion set failures and insulin absorption variability. The company says the design is kink‑proof and combines advantages of steel needles and Teflon cannulas to improve comfort and reliability for pump users. Research specific to SteadiFlow was presented at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, and the core cannula work was developed at the Jefferson Artificial Pancreas Center with NIH and JDRF grant support. CapBio has assembled a veteran diabetes‑technology team, developed a minimal viable product, and filed multiple patent applications. Headquarters are in Irvine, California. The company plans clinical studies to support an initial 510(k) filing and preparation for a commercial launch in 2019; funds from the recent financing will support those activities.