Participated · Series B · Nov 2024

Chaos Industries develops radar systems specifically engineered to identify and track aerial drones. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company positions its technology as a critical component in counter-drone defense infrastructures. Hardware manufacturing sits at the core of the business, and scaling production capacity is a primary operational priority. In October, Chaos Industries secured a $510 million Series D financing that valued the firm at $4.5 billion, signaling strong investor confidence. Chief Executive John Tenet noted that the proceeds will be used to broaden manufacturing lines and expand the workforce. These initiatives aim to meet increasing demand for reliable drone-detection solutions. While explicit revenue or user figures were not disclosed, the recent valuation underscores significant market expectations.

Participated · Series A · Jul 2019

Momentus develops in-space transportation vehicles — Vigoride and Vigoride Extended — that relocate small satellites between low Earth orbit and to geostationary transfer/geostationary orbit using a water plasma thruster. The company launched its first demonstration mission on July 5 aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. With the new Series A funding, Momentus plans to accelerate development and testing of its Vigoride family and conduct Vigoride demonstration flights in 2020. Management says the company will pursue a semi-experimental mission to validate the technology while generating first revenue. Momentus is moving most development in-house, investing in vertical integration and expanding staff, research, and manufacturing facilities. Financially, the company has raised $25.5 million in the Series A on top of an $8.3 million 2018 seed, bringing total funding to nearly $34 million. Momentus offers last-mile in-space delivery to move satellites from one orbit to another using its Vigoride vehicle powered by water-plasma thrusters. The company positions itself as a service provider rather than a propulsion manufacturer and can move payloads up to 50 kilograms to destinations including GTO, GEO and lunar orbit. Momentus planned an in-orbit demonstration of Vigoride in 2019 and intends to begin commercial in-space transportation in 2020. It is also developing a next-generation Ardoride intended to move 180 kg from LEO to lunar orbit and 250 kg from GTO to Mars orbit, with testing slated for 2020. Momentus raised $8.3 million in seed funding and participated in Y Combinator. Management says it has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in Letters of Intent and aims to drive ticket prices for 100–200 kg transfers to below $10 million.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2017

Fluent City operates a hybrid language-learning platform offering live online video sessions, private offline lessons, group classes and corporate training. The business was built on an existing community after James Rohrbach bought Sam Teaches French and spent 2015 streamlining operations. That operational overhaul improved gross margins from about 40% to roughly 60%, and since 2016 the company has been building out its online platform. Pricing ranges from $99/month for two online lessons to $350/month for eight, while offline private lesson packages start at $960 for 12 hours with larger packages lowering per-class cost. Fluent City teaches Spanish, French, Italian, Arabic, Portuguese, German, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Hebrew and English, uses roughly 20 proprietary textbooks focused on communicative proficiency, and runs offline classes in NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, DC and Boston. With operations stabilized, the company is now taking investor capital to finance growth and potential M&A. Fluent City is a NYC-based experience company and modern-day culture school that offers language and cultural programming. Founded in 2011 and led by CEO James Rohrbach, the company provides courses in 10 languages across varying skill levels. It is expanding its programming beyond languages into Art & Design, Food & Drink, and Culture & Travel. Offerings are experiential and include classes such as cocktail making, interior design, and a full-sensory exploration of France. Over 20,000 students have participated in its courses. The company intends to use new funding to further expand its range of courses.