The Venture Codex

Participated · Series A · Sep 2023

ASTRA FOOD PLAN develops and sells a proprietary overheated‑steam drying/sterilization machine (『過熱蒸煎機』) and upcycles food residues into high‑value powders branded as “ぐるりこⓒ”. Founded in 2020 and based in Fujimi, Saitama, the company has patented its machine and trademarked the powder. The device performs combined drying and sterilization in 5–10 seconds using boiler‑less superheated steam, claiming reduced flavor and nutrient loss and high energy efficiency. ASTRA has completed over 100 ingredient tests, run PoCs with Yoshinoya and Pompadour, opened an AFP lab, and installed machines at three producers as of September 2023. The company plans to expand sales and rental of the machine, develop and brand more “ぐるりこⓒ” products with food manufacturers, build business models with JA and other partners, and scale hiring and organization. Financially, the company completed a Series A that brought cumulative funding to ¥220 million and will use proceeds to accelerate machine distribution, product development/branding, and team growth.

Participated · Series C · Nov 2020

Floadia develops and licenses embedded non-volatile flash memory IP cores used in microcontrollers, power semiconductors, sensors and other chips. Its technology reportedly consumes only 1/1,000,000 of the power required to write and erase data versus competitors, offers strong high-temperature tolerance, and adds only one-third of the additional integration cost. Its first flash IP, “G1,” is deployed in automotive microcontrollers by domestic semiconductor manufacturers and has been adopted by a Taiwanese foundry for smartphone components. Founded in 2011 by engineers with long experience at Hitachi and Renesas, the company focuses on ultra-low-power memory technology. Floadia plans to use the new funding to strengthen sales of its embedded flash IP to semiconductor manufacturers and to advance development of ultra-low-power AI accelerator chips that utilize its flash memory devices. The company has raised a cumulative total of approximately ¥4.95 billion to date. Floadia develops embedded non-volatile memory IP and the associated manufacturing processes and circuit designs that enable integration into microcontrollers, power semiconductors, sensors and other semiconductor devices. Its memories reduce power consumption and cost, offer auto-grade heat endurance, and can be embedded without changing existing IP designs to ease analog/digital integration. Floadia's technology has been adopted in in-vehicle microcomputers and Toshiba microcontrollers and is used for smartphone components produced by Taiwanese foundries. The company is working with major foundries to transplant its technology onto the 130nm BCD Plus platform and planned mass production from early 2021. Founded in 2011 by engineers who left Renesas Electronics, Floadia is based in Kodaira-shi, Tokyo. Financially, the company raised approximately ¥1.2 billion in its Series C and has raised about ¥3.6 billion in total to date. Floadia Corporation develops embedded flash memory IP, licensing manufacturing process know-how and circuit designs for embedded non-volatile memory production. Founded in 2011 by engineers from Renesas Electronics and led by President Kosuke Okuyama, the company is based in Tokyo, Japan. Its core product is embedded flash memory IP intended for integration into semiconductor manufacturing. Floadia plans to use the new funds to expand its embedded flash IP business into automotive, low-cost IoT and mobile device markets. Financially, the company closed a ¥1.6 billion (approx. US$14.5M) Series B and had previously raised ¥800 million (US$7.3M) in a 2015 Series A. The business model centers on licensing IP to enable customers to produce embedded non-volatile memory.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2020

bitBiome develops a data-driven platform for bio-manufacturing centered on its single-cell microbial genome sequencing technology (bit-MAP®) and a proprietary microbial gene database (bit-GEM) that has grown from 2 billion to over 3 billion genes. The company pairs bioinformatics, machine learning/AI, and high-throughput screening including robotics to enable enzyme discovery, enzyme and metabolic-pathway design, and microbial strain engineering via platforms such as bit-QED and bit-EVO. It has expanded leadership with experienced global hires and forged commercial partnerships and CMO ties to support end-to-end research-to-manufacturing workflows, including collaborations with Tojo Vikas International, Kyoritsu Seiyaku, and Sanwa Starch. bitBiome has been selected for large public projects (e.g., NEDO) and published research using bit-MAP® with multiple research groups, and has begun U.S. sampling to expand its database. The company plans to use recent funding to further grow bit-GEM, advance its SENS-AI genome-biology model, expand labs for data collection, and scale global business development, and has reported cumulative funding of about ¥7.0 billion.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2019

Sabrewing Aircraft Company designs and builds unmanned vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) Group 5 regional cargo carrier aircraft, including the Rhaegal (800‑lb payload) and the larger Wyvern (4,400‑lb payload). The Rhaegal is a gas‑electric hybrid capable of vertical operation in austere terrain, speeds up to 200 knots, ranges up to 360 nautical miles, and altitudes to 22,000 feet; both designs feature folding wings and a folding nose for pallet-sized cargo access. Sabrewing is developing a five‑sensor Detect & Avoid (D&A) system in collaboration with several universities and industry partners (UC Channel Islands, Oklahoma University, Garmin, FLIR, uAvionix, Iris Automation, Attollo Engineering). Target missions include disaster and emergency response, forward operating resupply, casualty evacuation, and commercial cargo delivery to locations without airports or roads. The company plans FAA certification of the Rhaegal in 2023 and expects certification of the Wyvern shortly thereafter; it received test‑range permission to begin flight testing in Alaska as early as Q4 2019. Headquartered in Camarillo, California, Sabrewing also opened offices in Akasaka, Tokyo and operates a “Dragonworks” lab in Silicon Valley. Sabrewing Aircraft Company is developing large-scale, long-endurance unmanned cargo aircraft, including a 65% scale demonstrator called the Draco-2. The Draco-2 is designed to fly up to 5,000 miles (about 9,200 km), remain aloft for up to 50 hours, and reach altitudes of 22,000 feet. Sabrewing says its full-scale vehicle will match that range while carrying greater payloads—targeting cargo capacities in the 2,000–4,000 lb range—and comparable acquisition costs to small utility aircraft. The demonstrator will be used for commercial and U.S. Department of Defense applications and to compete in the Pacific Drone Challenge. Testing was planned to begin in May 2018 and include flights within the Pan Pacific UAV Test Range Complex in Alaska, Oregon and Hawaii, with an intended historic flight from Japan to Silicon Valley. The team has been designing and building UAVs since 2002 and founded Sabrewing in 2016 to pursue autonomous, economical, long‑endurance cargo operations.

Participated · Series A · Feb 2018

Nyriad develops storage solutions built on an architecture that combines GPUs and CPUs to deliver performance and efficiency. The company’s technology is designed to allow massive amounts of data and multiple data types to be managed in a single storage system that is simple to deploy, operate, scale, and maintain. Nyriad said it will use the US$28M in funding to accelerate its global go-to-market and engineering efforts in the U.S. and worldwide. Led by CEO Herb Hunt, the company is based in San Jose, California. In September 2021 Nyriad relocated its global headquarters to the U.S. from New Zealand. In October 2020 the company completed an $8.3M financing to fund development and prepare its entry into the U.S. market. Nyriad develops GPU‑based converged computing software designed to minimize data movement during large dataset processing, improving power consumption and accelerating performance for next‑generation data centres and supercomputers. The company focuses on using GPUs to converge computing and storage workloads to boost efficiency and performance. Nyriad completed an $8.5M Series A financing and has raised over $11M to date. Backers include Data Collective VC, Prelude Ventures, East Ventures, IDATEN Ventures, New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF), Ice Angels, Enterprise Angels and several family desks. Founded in 2014 and led by CEO Matthew Simmons, Nyriad is based in Cambridge, New Zealand. The company plans to use the new capital to expand engineering resources and grow its Cambridge operations, with its first product/software slated for commercial availability in Q1 2018.