• SkyX

  Led · Equity · May 2017

  SkyX is a Toronto-based aerial data solutions provider offering Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) to asset operators. Led by founder and CEO Didi Horn, the company integrates AI with purpose-built aerial systems to source and deliver actionable data. Its DaaS helps energy-sector operators capture high-quality aerial data to build predictive analytics for protecting critical infrastructure. Applications include inspection of midstream oil and gas, power and rail assets, as well as border patrol and emergency search and rescue. SkyX plans to use new funding to expand into markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa and to pursue verticals beyond the energy sector. The company was founded in 2015 and this marks its third capital raise; the amount of the latest investment was not disclosed. SkyX develops autonomous vehicles and an integrated platform for long-range asset monitoring and data acquisition, including the SkyOne UAV, the SkyX System with xStations and unlimited range, and SkyOS fleet-management software. The company closed a $9.5M Series B from Almond Tree/SkyX Limited Partnership led by Almond Tree Enterprise, bringing total funding to date to $15.8M. SkyX intends to use the proceeds to execute client contracts and to advance new and existing strategies to meet global demand from utilities and oil and gas corporations. Its integrated monitoring-as-a-service offering aims to reduce maintenance and monitoring costs while increasing asset visibility, integrity and safety. Typical missions include leak detection (including at night), right-of-way violation scanning, and vegetation-encroachment reporting. The company also says its services can reduce emissions from inefficient monitoring and decrease groundwater contamination through more frequent inspections, improved data and faster alerts. SkyX is an aerospace group based in Markham, Ontario that has developed a self-charging drone for monitoring long-range assets such as oil and gas pipelines. Led by founder Didi Horn, the company aims to bring fully autonomous drones to service the oil and gas industry. Its SkyOne model offers VTOL capabilities and a remote recharging feature that lets drones fly to a local xStation and recharge inside a protective dome. The drones are designed to inspect pipelines for damage and to provide mapping and security surveillance. The company will use the funds to grow its markets and develop new products. Financial detail in the article notes a USD $4M tranche of a planned $5M investment from Kuang‑Chi Group.

• Gilo Industries

  Led · Equity · Jan 2017

  Gilo Industries Group is a Shaftsbury, Dorset, UK-based aerospace technology company led by founder Gilo Cardozo. The company designs, develops and manufactures aerospace products, including foot-launched powered paragliders and ultra-lightweight propulsion systems for innovative aircraft and applications. Gilo describes itself as a technology-led firm with professional aerospace engineering capabilities and experience in aeronautical vehicle and propulsion system design. It received a $30m investment from Kuang‑Chi Group. The company will use the funds to improve and further commercialize its aviation technology, expand its business in the Asia‑Pacific market and establish relationships with global market leaders across multiple industries. The investment and plans were reported by FinSMEs on 18 January 2017.

• Agent Video Intelligence

  Participated · Equity · Sep 2016

  Agent Video Intelligence (Agent Vi), founded in 2003 and led by CEO Itsik Kattan, provides a video analytics platform delivering customized analytics across safe city, infrastructure, transport, retail and other applications. Its solutions turn surveillance cameras into intelligent sensors that automatically analyze, detect and search massive volumes of video through a cloud interface. The company operates through hundreds of integrators and resellers. Agent Vi raised $4.3m in funding from backers including KuangChi Science Limited (via a $300m Global Community of Innovation fund) and Motorola Solutions. Motorola Solutions had first invested in Agent Vi in 2012. The company intends to use the funds to expand engineering, sales and management teams and to open local offices to serve clients in China, Southeast Asia and Europe. Agent Video Intelligence Ltd. (Agent Vi) is a Rosh Ha’ayin, Israel-based provider of video analytics solutions used worldwide. Led by CEO Itsik Kattan, the company provides analytics that operate with video surveillance networks to automatically analyze, alert and search for events of interest without user intervention. Its products also generate business insights through video analysis of customer traffic trends, with applications in retail and other mass-traffic markets. The company received an equity investment of an undisclosed amount co‑led by Motorola Solutions (through Motorola Solutions Venture Capital) and Indigo Strategic Partners. As part of the financing, Dorian Barak of Indigo and Chuck Hutzler, former vice president of product management for security products at Tyco International, joined Agent Vi’s board of directors. Agent Vi said it will use the capital to expand global sales and marketing, establish sales offices in North America and further invest in product development.

• Beyond Verbal

  Led · Series A · Sep 2016

  Beyond Verbal develops analytics technology that infers emotions, well-being, and health conditions from the human voice. Founded in 2012 and led by CEO Yuval Mor, the company builds on more than two decades of research by Chief Science Officer Dr. Levanon. Its technology has applications in improving call-center effectiveness, quantifying emotions for market research, and tracking health conditions over time. Beyond Verbal has ongoing studies and collaborations with the Mayo Clinic, the University of Chicago, Scripps, and Hadassah Medical Center. The company intends to use new funding for continued R&D in the health and wellness space and to commercialize its emotions analytics technology. Beyond Verbal is a Tel Aviv–based provider of an emotions analytics platform that analyzes voice to infer emotional states and character traits. Led by CEO Yuval Mor, the company has developed patented technology that extracts an individual’s emotions and character traits from raw voice in real time as they speak. It has launched a cloud-based Wellness API for developers of wellness and fitness solutions to create emotionally aware apps, devices, and services. The API turns a smartphone, microphone-equipped wearable, or app into a sensor that discovers and tracks emotional wellbeing over time and in correlation with lifestyle activities and events. Beyond Verbal raised an additional $3.3M in funding, bringing total capital raised to more than $7M, and planned to make the API available at the end of the month. The round was led by Winnovation and SingulariTeam. Beyond Verbal Communication develops software that analyzes vocal signals to detect emotions, enabling emotion analytics for call centers, automotive safety, hiring and voice applications. Led by CEO Yuval Mor and based in Tel Aviv, the company’s technology currently supports 26 languages. It has 12 employees and provides examples such as identifying whether a customer is happy or tense, whether a driver is distracted or drunk, or whether a job candidate is confident or insecure. The company plans to use new funding to advance research and development and expand marketing within the nascent voice-technology market. Beyond Verbal intends to generate revenue by offering an API to voice-technology developers, licensing its technology to larger telecommunications and advertising players, and developing and selling voice-controlled or voice-sensing apps of its own. The company previously raised a round in May from Genesis Angels and Kenges Rakishev. Beyond Verbal builds voice-recognition software that decodes emotions by analyzing vocal range and intonation rather than just words. Its algorithms claim to detect emotions and nuances such as anger, anxiety, happiness and satisfaction, and to infer mood, attitude and decision-making characteristics. The company offers its technology as a cloud-based, API-style licensed service and provides analytics and diagnostics to help customers track detected emotions. Potential applications cited include customer service quality monitoring, games, dating services and personal assistants. Beyond Verbal positions itself against players like Nuance and competitors such as Affectiva and Nice, arguing its focus on intonation provides a richer emotional signal. The startup has not yet announced customers, though the CEO said a first customer was likely in the next few weeks.

• Cipia

  Led · Equity · May 2016

  EyeSight has developed an in-car AI vision system that tracks gaze direction, pupil dilation, eye openness and head position and uses proprietary algorithms to determine driver attentiveness. The system can alert drivers with sounds and vibrations or potentially temporarily activate self-driving mode. It also scans the cabin to identify who and what is in the vehicle, including detecting children to help prevent babies being forgotten in locked cars. Regulatory trends are a tailwind: Euro NCAP will require Driver Monitoring Systems by 2020 and child-detection features by 2022. The Israeli company is partnering with two major car manufacturers and says its technology will be in at least four car models by 2020. EyeSight recently secured funding to accelerate deployment of its in-car AI vision technology. eyeSight Technologies develops embedded computer vision and gesture-recognition software that enables touch-free interactions across devices including mobile phones, tablets, PCs, TVs and VR headsets. The company offers an IoT and smart-home product called singlecue and positions its platform for integration in automotive, robotics and other connected-device markets. eyeSight cites partnerships and technology integrations with AMD, ARM and Omnivision and says its technology has been chosen by ZTE, Lenovo, Toshiba, Hisense, Phillips and OPPO. The company emphasizes bringing user-aware, touch-free interactions for safer driving, home control and interactive robotics. Recent activity centers on scaling distribution and development through a strategic partnership with Chinese conglomerate Kuang‑Chi. Financially, eyeSight announced a $20 million investment to support growth and broader market deployment. eyeSight Mobile Technologies develops touch-free interface software that lets users control mobile and portable devices with simple gestures via the built-in camera. Its technology uses advanced real-time image processing and machine-vision algorithms to support gesture recognition and finger tracking. The software can be integrated into devices, chipsets, operating systems and applications to extend traditional interfaces and improve user experience. The company plans to offer its portfolio, including gesture and finger-tracking technologies, as part of the CEVA-MM3000 image signal processing and video platform. Financially, eyeSight completed a $4.2M Series B funding round. The company is led by CEO Gideon Shmuel with founder and CTO Itay Katz involved in technology development.

No current team members are available.