Led · Equity · Jun 2024

42dot is Hyundai Motor Group's global software center focused on building a standardized software-defined vehicle platform for the group's vehicles. The center aims to complete development of the platform by 2025 and begin rolling it out across the vehicle lineup in 2026. 42dot has announced a partnership with Samsung Electronics to utilize Exynos Auto processors in platform development and contributed customization for Kia Assistant, which uses ChatGPT. Since Hyundai‑Kia's takeover in 2022, the group has injected substantial capital into 42dot, with cumulative investments of roughly 1 trillion won. The company plans to use new funds primarily for aggressive talent acquisition; over 100 job openings are currently listed and the firm says it has no set limits on hiring. Recent and planned funding is structured in phased capital infusions through 2025 to support development and hiring. 42dot develops an urban mobility operating system (UMOS) and two core solutions: AKit, a lidar-free autonomous driving software and hardware stack that uses cameras and imaging sensor radar, and TAP!, an autonomous mobility/logistics platform offering ride-hailing, fleet management, demand-responsive transport, and smart logistics. The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Seoul. 42dot says AKit and TAP! are expected to commercialize in 2023 and its primary clients will be autonomous carmakers and mobility platform operators. It has about 200 employees as of October and plans to use proceeds to advance its AI-based technology, establish joint ventures, hire staff, and pursue growth through investment and M&A. The company has raised $130.1 million to date and its valuation is estimated at $425 million according to a source; a spokesperson declined to comment on valuation. Chang-Hyeon Song is CEO and co-founder and also heads the TaaS team at Hyundai Motor.

Participated · Series A · Jul 2021

Sonatus develops the Sonatus Vehicle Platform, a suite of software products that serve as building blocks for OEMs and their ecosystems to enable continuous vehicle improvements. The platform includes Sonatus Collector, which is in production and gathers precise vehicle data across fleets, and the newly launched Sonatus Automator, which uses automation recipes to trigger in-vehicle functions and external actions. Sonatus’ software is already in mass production with Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis and the company says the platform will grow to millions of cars by 2024. Sonatus has expanded into Japan and exhibited at Automotive World 2023 to showcase its SDV solutions and host a seminar on its data center approach. Financially, Sonatus has raised more than $110 million from automotive, technology, and venture investors. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and maintains offices in Dublin, Paris, Shanghai, Seoul, Taiwan, and Tokyo. Sonatus develops automotive software platforms that enable vehicle manufacturers and their ecosystems to deliver continuous improvements in cost, capability, reliability, and user experience over a vehicle's lifespan. Its core products power software-defined vehicle capabilities and are in production in Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles, including multiple Genesis car and SUV models and the Hyundai Ioniq 6. The company says its software will be in millions of cars by 2023. Sonatus plans to use the new funding to accelerate growth, expand operations and broaden its business reach. Led by CEO Jeffrey Chou, the company has grown with backing from venture capital, strategic partners and customers. Sonatus is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, with offices in Paris and Seoul; combined with its earlier Series A it has now raised over $110M. Sonatus offers an in-vehicle software component and a cloud platform that together enable OEMs to collect, store, analyze and expose vehicle data in real time. Its architecture is drivetrain-agnostic and designed to let automakers add features, manage usage data and perform targeted, real-time data collection without full OTA updates. The company says its first-generation product is already in mass production with a top global automaker and will be announced soon. Sonatus grew from a small team to beyond 50 employees and initially built the company without outside investment. The startup intends to use the new funds for branding, marketing, new OEM partnerships and expanding local teams. Leadership has said the platform could later be used to analyze driver behavior and support autonomous technology development, though it is not pursuing that yet.

Participated · Equity · Jan 2020

Arrival is an electric-vehicle startup that planned to use microfactories to build electric buses, vans and a car designed for Uber drivers. It also had programs for XL delivery vans targeted at the U.S. market with planned production in Charlotte, North Carolina by 2024. Those plans have largely unraveled: the company has dropped its Uber car and bus programs, slashed production targets, and laid off workers four times in the past 15 months. Arrival has missed SEC filing deadlines, including its 2022 annual report, and executed a reverse stock split to try to regain Nasdaq compliance. Financially, Arrival reported about $43 million of cash and cash equivalents at the end of the first half of 2023 and a net loss of $155.7 million in that period (versus a $100 million loss in H1 2022). It reduced capital expenditures to $4.1 million in H1 2023 from $198.9 million in H1 2022 as part of restructuring and cost-cutting efforts. The company is pursuing strategic alternatives, including a potential sale, while seeking additional capital to continue operations. Arrival is a pre-revenue electric vehicle maker focused on purpose-built last-mile delivery vans and a microfactory manufacturing approach. The company has shifted its product strategy to prioritize XL vans for the U.S. market and plans to start production in Charlotte, North Carolina in late 2024. Arrival is currently burning cash rapidly and has implemented drastic cost cuts, including a planned 50% headcount reduction to leave fewer than 800 employees and a target cash spend of no more than $35 million per quarter. It has built two L vans so far at its Bicester facility and aims to produce 10 L vans and accumulate 250,000 kilometers of public road mileage by the end of 2023 to validate engineering. Financially, Arrival says it is pre-revenue, reduced net debt by $121.9 million after a February sale of common stock, and is seeking further financing to fund XL development and ramp production. Leadership changes include the appointment of Igor Torgov as CEO and other governance moves such as a proposed reverse stock split to regain Nasdaq compliance. Arrival develops electric buses. The company is led by a former head of Yota. The article reports that a fund linked to Vladimir Potanin invested €50 million in Arrival. The report does not provide details on the financing instrument or other participating investors. No operating metrics, revenue, or user numbers are included in the article. Public comments attached to the article express a range of opinions about the company and its investors. Arrival is a British electric vehicle company that focuses on commercial vehicles, notably vans and buses. Founded in London in 2015 by Denis Sverdlov, the company has attracted strategic investors including Hyundai, Kia, UPS, and BlackRock. Earlier this year Arrival secured a reported €100 million strategic investment from Hyundai and Kia at a €3 billion valuation and later received a $118 million investment from BlackRock. The company has an order from UPS for 10,000 Generation 2 electric vehicles. Arrival plans to open a small-scale “microfactory” in Rock Hill, South Carolina, investing $46 million to establish its first U.S. production facility. The Rock Hill site is expected to produce up to 1,000 battery-powered buses per year and employ about 240 people once it opens next year. Arrival is a UK-based electric-vehicle startup led by Denis Sverdlov that has developed in-house software, materials, components and other technologies for Generation 2.0 electric vehicles. Its core product is a scalable 'skateboard' electric platform that can be adapted across multiple vehicle categories to underpin Purpose Built Vehicles (PBVs). Arrival is targeting vans and other vehicles for logistics, on-demand ride-hailing, and shuttle-service markets. The company plans to explore those segments through co-development with automotive partners. In January 2020 Arrival received a €100M investment from Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation to enable co-development of eco-friendly vans and other PBVs. Hyundai will contribute €80M and Kia €20M as part of the deal.

Led · Equity · May 2019

Rimac Automobili, founded by Mate Rimac in 2009, is known for producing electric hypercars such as the two-seater C Two. The C Two produces 1,914 horsepower, has a top speed of 256 mph and accelerates 0–60 mph in 1.85 seconds; Rimac planned to unveil the C Two in its final form in 2021. Beyond hypercars, Rimac engineers and manufactures battery technology in the high-voltage segment, electric powertrains, and digital human-machine interfaces. The company employs around 1,000 people. Rimac has attracted strategic investments from automakers including Porsche and a joint €80M investment from Hyundai and Kia. Porsche has placed orders with Rimac for the development of series components and views Rimac as positioned to become a Tier 1 supplier. Rimac Automobili develops electric hypercars and high‑voltage battery systems, electric powertrains and human‑machine digital interfaces. It is best known for the C Two hypercar debuted in 2018, which produces 1,914 horsepower, has a 256 mph top speed and an NEDC range of about 404 miles. The company also operates Greyp Bikes (established 2013) and supplies battery and powertrain technology to other automakers. Rimac was founded in 2009 and is based in Zagreb, employing around 550 people. It has worked with Renault, Jaguar and Aston Martin and in May 2019 Hyundai and Kia jointly invested €80 million. Rimac says it plans further collaboration with strategic partners to develop electrified models and battery technology. Rimac Automobili develops high-performance electrification components and bespoke electric hypercars, and supplies high-voltage battery technology and powertrains to automakers. The company also designs in-car digital interfaces, runs a subsidiary focused on electrics, and produces vehicles such as the C_Two. Rimac was founded in 2009 by Mate Rimac and is based in Croatia; the team is about 500 people strong. The firm says its next challenge is to scale from low-volume, complex components to an established Tier‑1 supplier for the industry. To support that transition, Rimac is partnering with major automakers and expanding collaborations. Its recent deals aim to accelerate bringing high-performance electric vehicles to market under partner brands. Rimac Automobili is a Croatian electric hypercar maker and developer of high-performance EV powertrains and battery systems, founded by Mate Rimac in 2009. Its flagship C Two hypercar debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2018 and produces 1,914 horsepower, accelerates 0–60 mph in 1.85 seconds, reaches a 256 mph top speed, and has a reported 405-mile battery range. Rimac plans to produce roughly 150 C Two hypercars priced at about $2.1 million each. Beyond building cars, the company engineers components for OEMs including Renault, Jaguar, and Aston Martin, and its tech was used in Jaguar’s E‑Type Zero. Rimac employs about 400 people, works on digital vehicle interfaces, and runs a separate electric-bike subsidiary called Greyp Bikes. Porsche’s recent investment is positioned as a development partnership that could support both companies’ EV ambitions. Rimac Automobili builds electric vehicles including the Concept_One supercar and the Greyp high-tech electric bike. The company completed a €10 million Series A investment with investors from Asia and South America. Its order books for both the Concept_One and Greyp are full. Sixty of Croatia's top electronics and mechanical engineers currently manufacture products and design new ones, and the workforce is scheduled to increase to 150 by this time next year. The company is Croatia-based and is cited as part of a broader wave of seven-figure funded startups in the country. Prior to the close, Rimac had been reported to be "gearing up" for an €8 million investment.

Participated · Series D · Sep 2016

Apttus provides a cloud-based Intelligent Middle Office platform that leverages technologies from Salesforce, Microsoft and IBM to help enterprises automate and optimize revenue and commercial relationship management processes. The company is led by Kirk Krappe and is based in San Mateo, California. Apttus received $75M in growth financing to support its operations. The financing was provided by Golub Capital’s Late Stage Lending team. The company said it will use the funds to continue to expand operations and broaden its business reach. No operating metrics or past rounds were disclosed in the article. Apttus provides a SaaS-based Quote-to-Cash and Contract Lifecycle Management platform powered by Salesforce and Microsoft Azure. The company operates Max, an AI agent that uses machine learning and a conversational interface to simplify enterprise applications such as Configure Price Quote, Contract Lifecycle Management, E-Commerce, Billing, Revenue Recognition, Deal and Order Management, promotions and incentives. Led by Chairman and CEO Kirk Krappe, Apttus serves over 600 customers and has more than 1,100 employees. Financially, the company has raised $329M in total funding to date. The recent Series E round was announced as $55M and the raise remains open to additional investment for a short period. The platform targets enterprise quote-to-cash and contract workflows across sales, finance, and operations. Apttus provides Quote-to-Cash software including CPQ, e-commerce, contract management, renewals and revenue management as SaaS applications. Its Intelligent Cloud delivers prescriptive data to decision-makers on trusted cloud platforms including Salesforce and Microsoft Azure. The company’s solutions are guided by Max, an intelligent agent that responds to voice commands, text inputs and augmented reality interactions. Apttus intends to use new capital to expand operations. The company has raised $274M in total funding and recently closed an $88M Series D. Apttus currently has over 1,200 employees, 500+ customers and millions of users. Apttus offers quote-to-cash SaaS that handles quoting, contract management, and revenue management, operating closely with Salesforce and stepping in where CRM leaves off. The company says its products integrate with Salesforce sales teams and that the two organizations work shoulder to shoulder inside customers. Apttus has grown to roughly 900 employees and projects more than 1,000 by year‑end, reporting year‑over‑year growth in the ~60% range. Management claims a valuation north of $1 billion, says the company has no churn, and reports strength across verticals. Executives note they have only signed up 1% of Salesforce’s top 20% of customers, indicating substantial room for expansion. Leadership plans to use recent funding as a war chest for digital acquisitions and to build out the sales team; an IPO is an option but not imminent. Apttus provides software to manage the latter half of the sales cycle—generating complex quotes, producing contracts and handling payments—integrated with Salesforce CRM. The product is designed to handle intricate catalog and contracting constraints (the article cites GE Aviation’s 200,000 options as an example). Apttus is built on the Salesforce platform and positioned as a complement to Salesforce CRM. The company has been scaling rapidly, doubling to 400 employees in the last year and instituting an eight-week internal academy to train new hires and improve retention. CEO Kirk Krappe says the training program has increased employee loyalty and helped address quality issues from rapid hiring. Financially, Apttus has raised a total of $78M to date, including the newly announced $41M Series B.