Participated · Series B · Jan 2023

Photoneo develops robotic vision and intelligence systems and operates Brightpick, a fully automated fulfillment solution for warehouses. Brightpick’s solution averages no more than a month to deploy and has been rolled out across Europe, including at Rohlik Group’s Prague fulfillment center. Rohlik is cited as one customer with over 10 million orders per year and roughly one million customers. The recent capital raise is intended to accelerate deployment and expand Brightpick’s presence in the U.S. market. Since its founding in 2013, the company has raised approximately $53 million in total. The product targets e-commerce and local logistics customers focused on cutting operating costs and addressing labor challenges. Photoneo develops robotic vision and 3D sensor technologies that equip robots with a precise sense of sight and AI-based intelligence to interpret what they see. Its core offerings include 3D sensors and Brightpick, a modular, end-to-end fulfilment solution combining autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and an AI-powered picking system. Brightpick is designed for warehouses and dark stores and can be tailored for both micro and macro fulfilment centres. The company says the solution maximizes throughput, saves space, and increases efficiency by 3 to 5 times compared to manual labour. Photoneo plans to use new capital to accelerate development of its 3D sensor technologies and expand the Brightpick business unit commercially. Since its founding in 2013, the Bratislava-based startup has raised approximately $33.5 million to date.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2023

Brightpick is a Bratislava-founded warehouse automation company, now headquartered near Cincinnati, Ohio, that builds AI robots to automate order picking, consolidation, dispatch and stock replenishment. Founded in 2021 as a spin-off of Photoneo, Brightpick's flagship Autopicker is the only mobile robot that robotically picks and consolidates orders directly in warehouse aisles. The company has over 200 employees and more than 300 AI robots deployed across the US and Europe, and counts customers such as Rohlik Group, Dr. Max, and The Feed. Brightpick's solution can be deployed in weeks and is designed to minimize fulfillment labor. Photoneo has invested over $35 million in Brightpick to date, and total funding now stands at $47 million after the latest raise. The company is focused on scaling in the US, which it expects will generate 50% of its revenue in 2024, and plans to use the new funds to support additional customer installations there. Photoneo Brightpick Group develops robotic vision sensors and intelligence software, and operates a Brightpick business unit offering warehouse automation for e-commerce and grocery order fulfilment. Brightpick's end-to-end robotic solution autonomously picks, consolidates, and dispatches orders across large, small, and micro fulfilment centres. The company says its solution can reduce picking labour by 95% and cut order fulfilment costs by half. Brightpick has been rolling out deployments in Europe, including with Rohlik Group, and the company plans to scale the solution in the US. Photoneo Brightpick Group has more than 300 employees and is used in over 5,000 technology installations across the US, Europe, and Asia. Clients include General Motors, Volkswagen, and KUKA, and the US accounts for approximately 25% of the group's revenue.

Participated · Equity · Mar 2022

Yago, formerly Seraphin, is a Belgian insurtech that presents customers with the best insurance offers in under three minutes and provides claim support with lawyer-guided callbacks within two hours. The startup has repositioned its brand to better target the Flemish market and to strengthen its presence in the north of Belgium. It plans to roll out an embedded ecosystem for selling insurance contracts and is launching mortgage brokerage to streamline the loan experience for customers. The fresh capital will be used to bolster business efforts in Flanders, which currently accounts for about 13% of its clientele. Yago reports more than 8,000 customers, 15,000 insurance contracts, and a 70% Net Promoter Score in 2021. The company emphasises combining digital ease with legal expertise to address low trust and limited digitisation in the Belgian insurance market.

Participated · Series C · Oct 2019

ESS Inc. develops and manufactures long-duration iron flow batteries, including the Energy Warehouse™ (EW) and the battery-in-a-building Energy Center™ (EC). The EW targets commercial and utility-scale applications requiring 4+ hours of flexible energy capacity and offers 20+ years of operating life with no capacity fade. The company is shipping to customers on four continents. Founded in 2011 and led by CEO Craig Evans, ESS is focused on scaling production of its second-generation iron flow technology. The company intends to use the Series C proceeds to expand and automate its manufacturing process. The article reports ESS raised $30M in Series C funding.

Participated · Series C · Oct 2019

ESS Inc. develops and manufactures second-generation iron flow battery systems, including the containerized Energy Warehouse™ (EW) and the battery-in-a-building Energy Center™ (EC). The technology uses earth-abundant iron, salt, and water for a safe, fully recyclable electrolyte and is designed for multi-hour storage (up to 10 hours) with long operating life and unlimited cycling. The company targets time-shifting of renewables, demand‑charge management, ancillary grid services, and transmission‑ and distribution‑level applications. ESS is shipping to customers on four continents and has an order pipeline it intends to serve by scaling manufacturing. To support deployments and project financing, ESS has partnered with Munich Re to offer an insurance-backed warranty. The company highlights a design-build approach for multi‑MW projects and aims to lower levelized cost of storage per kWh. Ess, Inc. develops and manufactures the Energy Warehouse™, an all-iron flow battery for commercial and utility-scale energy storage. The battery is designed to provide 4+ hours of flexible energy capacity and over 20 years of operating life with no capacity fade. Its electrolyte uses iron, salt, and water, positioning the product as an environmentally safe, long-life storage solution. The company plans to expand and automate its manufacturing process to scale production. The new funding is intended to enable a production capacity of 900 MWh per year. Ess was established in 2011 and is based in Portland, Oregon; Craig Evans is the CEO. ESS Inc. develops and commercializes an All-Iron Redox Flow Battery designed for long-duration energy storage (6–12 hours) using earth-abundant iron, salt and water. The company reports the chemistry yields no degradation over 10,000 cycles and supports 20+ year lifetimes, targeting bulk energy shifting from wind and solar and multiple behind- and front-of-meter use cases. ESS moved into a new 23,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Portland, OR and plans initial customer deployments this fall, with a production ramp of its 125kW/1MWh system in 2016. Financially, ESS closed a $3.2M Series A led by Pangaea Ventures and complements roughly $4.5M in development grants from ARPA-e, ONAMI, Oregon Best and others. The Series A proceeds will fund tooling investments for volume production of low-cost battery components and support market development activities. ESS was established in 2011 and is headquartered in Portland, OR.