Participated · Series A · Jan 2026

Neurophos is an Austin-based semiconductor startup building optical processing units (OPUs) that integrate more than one million micron-scale optical processing elements onto a single chip. Using proprietary metamaterial optical modulators—miniaturized 10,000-fold versus prior photonic components—the company targets up to a 100× gain in both speed and energy efficiency over leading silicon GPUs. Its technology is positioned as a drop-in replacement for current data-center accelerators, addressing power, scalability and cost constraints facing large-scale AI inference. Total capital raised now stands at $118 million, providing resources to commercialize the first integrated photonic compute system, complete with datacenter-ready OPU modules, software stack and developer hardware. The Series A proceeds will support expansion of the Austin headquarters and the opening of a San Francisco engineering office to serve early customers. Neurophos’ founding team includes veterans from NVIDIA, Apple, Intel and other major chipmakers, bolstering its credibility in bringing photonic computing to market.

Led · Seed · Nov 2025

Sensetics is a Princeton-based deep-tech startup commercializing Touch Signature™ programmable fabrics and AI-powered software that let users record, edit, and stream tactile sensations with human-fingertip resolution. Spun out of research from UC Berkeley and Virginia Tech, the system replicates key mechanoreceptor functions to enable real-time touch data transmission for robotic arms, surgical tools, wearables, and other devices operating in structured or unstructured environments. By creating a new category of physical data analogous to video and audio, the company aims to serve a $10 billion+ market spanning medical robotics, manufacturing, transportation, logistics, and VR/AR training. Sensetics’ platform is designed to provide durable, low-latency haptic feedback that can drive next-generation automation and AI control. The founding team includes CEO Adam B. Hopkins, a repeat entrepreneur, and CTO Professor Rayne Zheng, Director of the Berkeley Sensors & Actuators Center. With its recent capital infusion, Sensetics will accelerate product development and expand its touch-data ecosystem, positioning itself as the foundational layer for “physical AI.”

Participated · Seed · Oct 2025

Cephia is a Princeton University spin-out creating superhuman vision sensors that merge proprietary computational imaging software with silicon metasurface hardware. Inspired by biological eyes found in mantis shrimp, dragonflies and cephalopods, its technology bends optical signals in unconventional ways, enabling detection capabilities unavailable to traditional sensors. The company targets machine vision, robotics and edge-AI applications across consumer electronics, manufacturing, automotive and precision agriculture, and is already working with several pilot customers. Cephia’s hardware–software co-design promises to unlock new use cases in the rapidly expanding physical AGI market. Backed by $4 million in seed capital, the firm intends to accelerate product development, grow its team and expand sales efforts. The founding team—Bo Dong (CEO), Ethan Tseng (CTO) and Felix Heide—bring deep expertise from Princeton’s Computational Imaging Lab and industry roles at Disney Research, SRI, ESPN, and Torc Robotics.

Led · Seed · Feb 2025

Kapta Space is a Seattle-based developer of advanced spaceborne electronically-steered radar imaging systems, founded in 2023 by Milton Perque and Adam Bily. Its core product is a metasurface-based electronically-steered antenna radar array intended to offer more capable, scalable, and cost-effective performance than spaceborne AESAs. Kapta plans to deliver persistent geospatial imagery and ground-target-tracking modalities from LEO using SAR and related techniques such as InSAR and GMTI to serve commercial earth-observation and defense customers. The company says its InSAR capability can produce centimeter-scale 3D deformation maps and that a modest constellation of around 10 satellites could enable rapid-revisit, practical 3D infrastructure monitoring. Kapta will use the new funding to accelerate on-orbit demonstrations and intends to continue pursuing non-dilutive funding while leveraging security clearances to pursue classified defense contracts. Financially, Kapta announced a $5 million seed round and previously received a $1.8M Direct to Phase II SBIR award to build its electronically-steered antennas.

Participated · Series B · Feb 2025

Lumotive pioneers programmable optics with its patented Light Control Metasurface (LCM™) platform, which turns photonics into a digital, software‑defined solution for sensing, switching, and communication. Its LCM technology is powering compact, solid‑state LiDAR and intelligent perception systems for autonomy, robotics, manufacturing, and smart infrastructure. The company says it holds more than 200 patents and is gaining commercial traction. Recent investments are intended to accelerate product deployments in industrial applications and expand its global market presence. Lumotive positions its semiconductor beamforming chips as a replacement for bulky mechanical optical components, enabling compact, software‑defined sensing for factories, robots, and logistics networks. Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, Lumotive is backed by a broad investor base that the company says will support scaling and commercialization efforts. Lumotive develops programmable optical semiconductors built around its patented light control metasurface (LCM™) chip, a software-defined photonic beamforming solid-state technology. The company says its technology improves perception, increases computing power, and enables reliable high-speed communication across multiple industries. Lumotive highlights applications including 3D sensing and AI computing. Led by CEO Sam Heidari, the company plans to accelerate sales growth of its LCM technology. Lumotive has identified three strategic areas for investment: global market expansion, data center AI infrastructure, and aerospace and defense. Lumotive develops Light Control Metasurface (LCM™) beam‑steering optical semiconductors that enable 3D sensing and software‑defined lidar. Its patented beam‑steering technology is intended to provide advanced perception capabilities for consumer, mobility, and industrial markets. Led by CEO Dr. Sam Heidari and based in Seattle, WA, the company produces optical semiconductor devices and chips. Lumotive raised $13M in a strategic funding round led by Samsung Ventures with participation from new investors USAA and Uniquest. The company will use the proceeds to accelerate development and customer delivery of optical semiconductor devices that enable next‑generation lidar sensors. The new investment brings the company’s total capital raised to more than $56M to date. Lumotive has developed a metamaterials-based lidar system that enables electronic beam steering to improve responsiveness, targeted illumination, and sensitivity compared with mechanically steered systems. The company’s chips are silicon-based, designed for fabrication with standard processes, and operate with ubiquitous 905nm lasers; devices can be sized or shaped for different platforms. In normal sweep mode the system can offer roughly a 20Hz frame rate with a 120×25° field of view and about 1000×256 resolution, while concentrating beam time on small regions for higher temporal and spatial fidelity. Lumotive emerged from Intellectual Ventures’ incubator and holds an exclusive license to IV’s metamaterials IP; its team includes CEO and co‑founder Bill Colleran. The product is currently in prototype but is showable as Lumotive pursues partnerships with automotive and tech firms. Financially, the company has run on a 2017 seed round funded by Bill Gates and Intellectual Ventures and is now seeking additional investment.