• NIHON AGRI

  Participated · Series C · Feb 2026

  Founded in 2016, NIHON AGRI operates a vertically integrated business that spans production, sorting, packaging, and export of Japanese agricultural produce, with a focus on Asian markets such as Taiwan and Hong Kong. The company pioneered high-density planting for apples in Aomori Prefecture, achieving average yields of about 6 tons per 0.1 hectare—three times conventional methods. Its flagship export, Aomori apples, reached 2,761 tons and ¥1.58 billion in value for the 2024 Lunar New Year season. NIHON AGRI now works with 700 directly contracted apple growers, roughly 2.3 × last year, driving a 2.2 × increase in supply volume. Beyond its own orchards, the firm runs “Nichinou Pack,” an agricultural entry support program that guides other companies from business launch through sales of harvested crops. The new capital will fund working capital needs and value-chain investments to scale apple exports and expand Nichinou Pack. To date, the company has raised about ¥5.7 billion in equity financing.

• Lumotive

  Participated · Series B · Feb 2025

  Lumotive pioneers programmable optics with its patented Light Control Metasurface (LCM™) platform, which turns photonics into a digital, software‑defined solution for sensing, switching, and communication. Its LCM technology is powering compact, solid‑state LiDAR and intelligent perception systems for autonomy, robotics, manufacturing, and smart infrastructure. The company says it holds more than 200 patents and is gaining commercial traction. Recent investments are intended to accelerate product deployments in industrial applications and expand its global market presence. Lumotive positions its semiconductor beamforming chips as a replacement for bulky mechanical optical components, enabling compact, software‑defined sensing for factories, robots, and logistics networks. Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, Lumotive is backed by a broad investor base that the company says will support scaling and commercialization efforts. Lumotive develops programmable optical semiconductors built around its patented light control metasurface (LCM™) chip, a software-defined photonic beamforming solid-state technology. The company says its technology improves perception, increases computing power, and enables reliable high-speed communication across multiple industries. Lumotive highlights applications including 3D sensing and AI computing. Led by CEO Sam Heidari, the company plans to accelerate sales growth of its LCM technology. Lumotive has identified three strategic areas for investment: global market expansion, data center AI infrastructure, and aerospace and defense. Lumotive develops Light Control Metasurface (LCM™) beam‑steering optical semiconductors that enable 3D sensing and software‑defined lidar. Its patented beam‑steering technology is intended to provide advanced perception capabilities for consumer, mobility, and industrial markets. Led by CEO Dr. Sam Heidari and based in Seattle, WA, the company produces optical semiconductor devices and chips. Lumotive raised $13M in a strategic funding round led by Samsung Ventures with participation from new investors USAA and Uniquest. The company will use the proceeds to accelerate development and customer delivery of optical semiconductor devices that enable next‑generation lidar sensors. The new investment brings the company’s total capital raised to more than $56M to date. Lumotive has developed a metamaterials-based lidar system that enables electronic beam steering to improve responsiveness, targeted illumination, and sensitivity compared with mechanically steered systems. The company’s chips are silicon-based, designed for fabrication with standard processes, and operate with ubiquitous 905nm lasers; devices can be sized or shaped for different platforms. In normal sweep mode the system can offer roughly a 20Hz frame rate with a 120×25° field of view and about 1000×256 resolution, while concentrating beam time on small regions for higher temporal and spatial fidelity. Lumotive emerged from Intellectual Ventures’ incubator and holds an exclusive license to IV’s metamaterials IP; its team includes CEO and co‑founder Bill Colleran. The product is currently in prototype but is showable as Lumotive pursues partnerships with automotive and tech firms. Financially, the company has run on a 2017 seed round funded by Bill Gates and Intellectual Ventures and is now seeking additional investment.

• SiLC Technologies

  Participated · Equity · Nov 2023

  SiLC Technologies develops integrated single-chip FMCW (coherent) LiDAR solutions and silicon-photonics-based vision systems for AI-based machine vision. Its flagship products include the 4D+ Eyeonic Chip and the Eyeonic Sensor and Vision System, which the company says deliver long-range, high-precision coherent LiDAR with velocity measurement. SiLC positions FMCW LiDAR as superior to time-of-flight sensors because it resists interference, detects dark or distant objects at up to a kilometer, and measures object velocity to predict movement. The company targets robotics, mobility, perimeter security, industrial automation and other markets and emphasizes low-cost, low-power and scalable silicon photonics for high-volume automotive production. SiLC was founded in 2018 and has been recognized by Frost & Sullivan and Gartner for its 4D LiDAR chip and silicon-photonics innovations. Investors in the company include Dell Technologies Capital, Sony Innovation Fund by IGV, FLUXUNIT – ams OSRAM Ventures, Alter Venture Partners and Epson; a recent investment from Honda is intended to accelerate automotive-focused development. SiLC Technologies develops silicon photonics-based FMCW LiDAR solutions, including its 4D+ Eyeonic Chip and the Eyeonic Vision System, designed to provide coherent machine vision across ranges from short distances to over 1 km. The company has introduced four versions of its FMCW LiDAR-based Eyeonic Vision System and emphasizes AI-driven perception for machines. SiLC says its Eyeonic Chip integrates all photonics functions needed for a coherent vision sensor, offering a tiny footprint with low cost and low power. The new funding will be used to expand production to support design wins and to continue product development and application deployments in mobility, robotics, smart cameras, security, industrial automation, and related markets. SiLC highlights milestones in chip integration, precision, resolution performance, and range detection as drivers of customer engagement. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in Monrovia, California. SiLC Technologies develops silicon-based semiconductor imaging chips and provides development systems for customers in mobility, industrial machine vision, robotics, augmented reality and consumer markets. The company uses a proprietary silicon-based fabrication process and automated IC-style assembly to produce compact solutions. Founded in 2018 by CEO Mehdi Asghari, SiLC is based in Monrovia, California. Over the last year it has supplied development systems to multiple customers across those end markets. The company plans to use new funding to expand operations, accelerate product development and secure additional production design wins ahead of pre-production and product launch activities. Its recent financing brings its total capital raised to support those next-stage commercialization efforts. SiLC Technologies is a developer of integrated single-chip FMCW LiDAR solutions focused on its silicon photonic 4D+ Vision Chip platform. The company’s 4D+ Vision Chip has demonstrated ranges beyond 300 meters and is positioned for a wide range of applications. SiLC uses a proprietary silicon-based semiconductor fabrication process and standard automated IC-style assembly to produce compact, cost-effective, and robust devices. The company plans to scale R&D and operations to further develop its FMCW silicon photonic 4D+ Vision Chip platform. Financially, SiLC closed a $12M seed funding round to support those efforts. SiLC was founded in 2018 by CEO Mehdi Asghari and is based in Monrovia, California.

No current team members are available.