• Simplifyber

  Participated · Seed · Jul 2022

  Simplifyber has developed a novel process and a proprietary natural fiber liquid called Fybron™ that can be injected into 3D molds to create a variety of soft goods, bypassing traditional steps like spinning, weaving, cutting, and sewing. The company has demonstrated its technology in footwear, unveiling a cellulose-based shoe upper at Paris Fashion Week in September 2024 through a collaboration with GANNI. Founded in 2021 and led by CEO Maria Intscher-Owrang, Simplifyber is pursuing fully bio-based and biodegradable applications. The company intends to use the new funding to scale up production capabilities, expand the team, and develop new applications. Financially, Simplifyber completed a US$4.2M seed round in July 2022 and has now closed a US$12M Series A in April 2025. The Series A supports commercialization and manufacturing scale efforts following pilot customer collaborations. Simplifyber is a NYC-based maker of fully-molded garment and shoe uppers manufactured directly from a cellulose-based liquid. Its core product is soft, cotton-like biodegradable clothing and footwear created by injecting a 100% natural cellulose formula—derived from wood pulp and other plant-based materials with non-toxic additives—into molds, removing the need for spinning, weaving, cutting, and sewing. The company says this process is less resource-intensive and aims to reduce the roughly 35% of materials in the fashion supply chain that ends up as waste. Simplifyber is led by co-founder and CEO Maria Intscher-Owrang, who has 20+ years as a fashion designer and director at brands including Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Alexander McQueen, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Edun. The company closed a $3.5M seed funding round to support its development; no operating metrics were disclosed in the article.

• Brightly

  Participated · Equity · Feb 2021

  Brightly began as the Good Together podcast and is now a curated commerce platform selling vetted sustainable products and advising conscious consumers. The site launched with more than 200 products from eco-friendly brands and vets every product for sustainable materials, ethical supply chains and durability. The founders plan to roll out two to four Brightly‑branded home products by the holiday season and are exploring white‑label and corporate partnership opportunities. Brightly monetizes today through brand partnerships and affiliate-style placement while pursuing a direct‑to‑consumer commerce strategy. The company reports more than 250,000 daily visitors across its app and website. Founders Laura Wittig and Liza Moiseeva aim to convert their existing community into superfans who buy in‑house products.

• Give InKind

  Participated · Equity · Jun 2020

  Give InKind operates a platform that makes it easier for family and friends to coordinate meals and other necessities for people in need. The company has established partnerships with hospitals and is being offered to patients through multiple touchpoints, beginning with Multicare across nine hospitals and 250 clinics. It has expanded nationwide with agreements in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Missouri. Over the past year Give InKind says it tripled its user base and increased revenue tenfold, and it currently has 10 employees. The new funding will support the launch of paid consumer and enterprise features, and the company has joined the Blackbaud Social Good Startup program and graduated the Female Founders Alliance Ready Set Raise program. Give InKind operates a social giving platform that streamlines donations of meals and other aid between friends, family members and recipients going through difficult life situations. Demand surged during the pandemic, with the company reporting 40% week-over-week growth earlier this year and revenue doubling since January. More than 200 hospitals and healthcare facilities began using the platform to coordinate meal donations. The company generates revenue from affiliate fees and is exploring B2B offerings. Proceeds from the recent raise will fund integrated meal delivery ordering and a new way to send digital gift cards, and will support team and marketing growth. Give InKind employs 20 people and graduated from the Female Founders Alliance Ready Set Raise accelerator. Give InKind provides a central profile for people in hardship to receive coordinated help beyond cash—wishlists, merchant links (Instacart, Uber), recurring gifts, deliveries, and an in-app calendar for scheduling in-person support. The site is primarily affiliate-driven today: helpers are routed to merchant sites to complete transactions, though the company is experimenting with some on-site purchases. Product usage is heavily skewed toward coordination—about 90% of pages are set up by someone other than the beneficiary, and roughly 70% of actions are calendar signups or people committing to do tasks; the calendar is the most used feature. The company bootstrapped for three years, found product–market fit, and reports ~20% month-over-month growth. Roadmap items include adding locally run service providers (which requires more manual work) and doubling down on organic growth plus marketing to scale. Founder Laura Malcolm built the product from personal experience, positioning Give InKind as a complementary alternative to pure cash platforms like GoFundMe.

• HaptX

  Participated · Seed · Dec 2016

  HaptX develops the HaptX Gloves, devices that physically displace the user’s skin to mimic real object contact and provide more than 130 points of tactile feedback per hand. The company’s products are used by Fortune 500 companies and governments for demanding applications in training and simulation, industrial design, and robotics. HaptX plans to use the new funding to commercialize next-generation products building on the HaptX Gloves DK2. The company is led by founder and CEO Jake Rubin and is headquartered in Redmond, WA, with offices in San Luis Obispo and San Francisco, CA. The round increases the company’s total funding to more than $58M, positioning it for broader commercialization. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article. HaptX develops realistic haptic gloves for VR and robotics, led by founder and CEO Jake Rubin. Its flagship product is the HaptX Gloves DK2, an advanced haptic feedback glove. The company sold out its first DK2 production run in less than six months. New financing will be used to accelerate expanded production of the DK2 and to speed development and commercial introduction of new haptic products. Financially, HaptX has raised $35M in total funding, with Series A now at $28M after the latest credit facility. Prior investors include Verizon Ventures, Mason Avenue Investments, Taylor Frigon Capital Partners and Upheaval Investments. HaptX also maintains offices in San Luis Obispo and San Francisco, CA. HaptX develops realistic haptic technology and produces the HaptX Gloves DK2, described in the announcement as the world's most advanced haptic feedback gloves. The company targets enterprise use cases including training, design, and robotics, and sold out its first DK2 manufacturing run in less than six months, prompting a second run. HaptX announced a $12 million Series A-1 growth financing, bringing total funding to $31 million. The round included participation from existing investors Verizon Ventures, Mason Avenue Investments, Taylor Frigon Capital Partners, and Upheaval Investments. HaptX opened a new 15,000-square-foot headquarters in Redmond, WA, expanded its San Luis Obispo office footprint by 50%, and also maintains an office in San Francisco. Over the next 12 months the company plans to add dozens of new positions across mechanical engineering, software development, sales, and operations to scale manufacturing and meet growing demand. HaptX develops a sensor-packed glove that simulates haptic and resistance feedback for enterprise VR and robotics users. The system uses an external pneumatic box to expand and contract air pockets inside a glove to recreate the feel of virtual objects. HaptX has shifted from a VR-only pitch to also address robotics, positioning its offering around real-world input and output for design and visualization workflows. The company focuses on enterprise customers, where deployments have largely been in internal innovation hubs and pilot programs. HaptX announced $12 million in new funding to be dedicated to its next-generation glove hardware and has now raised $19 million to date. Alongside the financing, HaptX has partnered with Advanced Input Systems on product development, manufacturing, and go-to-market efforts. AxonVR is the creator of the HaptX Platform, a haptic textile that simulates lifelike touch and can be applied to wearables and other form factors. The technology is aimed at bringing realistic touch to digital experiences across enterprise use cases including location-based entertainment, training and simulation, and design and manufacturing. AxonVR plans to deliver HaptX technology to its first enterprise partners to enable more authentic VR interactions. The lightweight, flexible material can be applied to any surface and the company highlights integration with physics engines to produce realistic sensations. AxonVR was founded in 2012 by Jake Rubin and Dr. Robert Crockett and is based in Seattle, WA and San Luis Obispo, CA. Financially, the company has raised $7M to date, including a recently completed $5.8M seed round.

No current team members are available.