Participated · Series B · Jan 2021

VSPN (Versus Programming Network) is a Chinese esports total-solutions provider that facilitates and broadcasts esports competitions and has expanded into related areas such as esports venues. It serves as the principal tournament organizer and broadcaster for a number of top competitions, partnering with more than 70% of China’s esports tournaments. The company offers end-to-end services across event organization, production and streaming for the esports ecosystem. VSPN plans to use new funding to branch out its overseas esports services and showcase diversified esports products and content. Dino Ying, founder and CEO, said the company is preparing for a new era in esports as the industry matures. The article does not disclose revenue or user metrics beyond its tournament partnerships. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Shanghai, VSPN was an early pioneer in esports tournament organization and content creation out of Asia. The company operates a large content-production ecosystem and says it is by far the largest esports organization in China, with over 1,000+ employees and coverage of every major tournament. Beyond tournament production, VSPN has expanded into offline venue operations and has begun hosting large-scale events with in-person audiences under COVID-19 prevention measures. VSPN is pursuing a short-form video strategy and plans to work with platforms worldwide, with investor/partner Kuaishou positioned to support content distribution. The company is investing in data and R&D via a research center and is testing new technologies such as AR and VR to create novel esports experiences. Leadership includes founder and CEO Dino Ying and co-founder/president Ethan Teng.

Participated · Series B · May 2018

FogPharma leverages its Helicon peptide platform to design stabilized helical peptides capable of efficient cell entry and modulation of intracellular targets. Its lead program, FOG-001, is a first-in-class TCF-blocking β-catenin inhibitor currently in a Phase 1/2 study in patients with advanced solid tumors, including colorectal cancer. The company uses custom-built computational physics and machine learning/AI methods to drive discovery across previously undruggable intracellular targets. The recent financing will accelerate the Helicon portfolio, deepen data science capabilities, and strengthen the core therapeutics platform. FogPharma has expanded its leadership team with industry veterans in clinical, commercial, and data science roles to support development and potential commercialization. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., and has raised more than $500 million to date. FogPharma is a biopharmaceutical company developing Helicon™ hyperstabilized α‑helical polypeptide therapeutics intended to reach targets considered undruggable. Its discovery engine integrates directed evolution, proprietary α‑helix conformational hyperstabilization chemistry, highly multiplexed optimization, AI and structure‑based drug discovery to generate polypeptides that combine antibody‑like specificity with small‑molecule tissue distribution and intracellular engagement. The company’s lead candidate, FOG‑001, is a first‑and‑only‑in‑class direct TCF‑blocking β‑catenin inhibitor expected to enter clinical development in mid‑2023, and FogPharma is advancing additional programs against TEAD, NRAS, Pan‑KRAS, ERG and Cyclin E1. Proceeds from the Series D financing will be used to advance and accelerate the Helicon pipeline and platform capabilities. FogPharma is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., was spun out of Harvard University by Dr. Gregory Verdine, and has raised more than $360 million to date. In connection with the financing the company added Rick Klausner to its board and appointed Dr. Verdine as board chair as it scales science, team and infrastructure. FogPharma develops Helicon™ peptides, a proprietary class of hyperstabilized α-helical peptides that combine the targeting strength and specificity of antibodies with the tissue distribution, intracellular engagement, and oral dosing optionality of small molecules. Its Helicon discovery engine integrates directed evolution, helix hyperstabilization chemistry, highly multiplexed optimization, artificial intelligence (deep learning and machine learning), structure-based drug discovery, and multiscale manufacturing. The company is advancing first-in-class programs toward clinical development with an explicit focus on targets considered previously undruggable and broad applicability across disease areas, especially cancer. Lead programs include a direct β-catenin antagonist that disrupts β-catenin/TCF interaction and a TEAD antagonist that blocks the YAP/TAZ–TEAD interface and binds the fully activated form of TEAD. FogPharma emphasizes making a wide range of targets druggable via its Universal Druggability™ platform. The company has raised substantial financing to support its clinical ambitions, including a recent Series C. FogPharma advances a broadly enabling new drug class of cell-penetrating miniproteins paired with a parallelized, on-demand drug discovery engine designed to access intracellular targets. The company’s platform is configured to deliver multiple new medicines rapidly, with the first clinical entry — a beta-catenin antagonist — targeted by the end of 2019. FogPharma was founded and is led by scientist-entrepreneur Dr. Gregory Verdine, who pioneered the cell-penetrating miniprotein approach. Its early therapeutic focus is on drugging major, intractable drivers of cancer and on pharmacological management of the immune response. The company has raised $77M to date following the Series B, and plans to advance several programs and expand its platform technology. Intended near-term programs include advancing the beta-catenin inhibitor (iCat) into Phase 2, clinical development of a Cbl-b inhibitor, a third program through IND-enabling studies, and development of three additional forms of cell-penetrating miniproteins.

Participated · Series A · Jan 2018

Goxip operates a shoppable Instagram-style platform that helps users discover and buy high-end fashion, listing retailers such as Net-a-Porter, Harrods and ASOS and brands including Nike, Alexander McQueen and Topshop. It reports 600,000 monthly users and average orders of $300, and is getting close to breaking even. Goxip says it will use new capital and a partnership with Convoy to offer installment-based financing via a virtual credit card, enabling staggered payments over 6–12 months. The company recently opened an office in Bangkok and plans an imminent launch in Thailand, its second expansion after Malaysia. Goxip has also launched RewardSnap, an influencer-marketing service similar to RewardStyle, with 150 influencers signed up and a combined following of over 14 million; one example is Elly Lam with 140,000 followers. Management sees flexible payments and influencer integrations as ways to better address Southeast Asian consumers who typically spend less. Goxip is a Hong Kong-based social shopping service whose core app functions like a 'shoppable Instagram,' enabling users to post outfit photos, wish lists and earn money when followers click and buy. The company claims about 300,000 users mainly in Hong Kong and Malaysia and has partnerships with Net-a-Porter, Harrods, and ASOS. Most of its 20-plus employees are based in its Hong Kong office. Goxip plans to expand into Thailand and explore opportunities with Southeast Asian retailers while shifting its main focus toward influencer marketing via an upcoming service called RewardSnap. RewardSnap, launching in the coming months, will be invite-only for influencers (Gimenez suggested a 500,000 follower minimum) and will allow influencers to post content anywhere on the internet, not just the Goxip app. The company is partnering with Meitu and expects to leverage Meitu's regional user base and apps to accelerate growth in Southeast Asia. Goxip is a Hong Kong-based startup that describes itself as a "shoppable Instagram" for fashion followers in Asia, using image recognition to match uploaded images with items sold by retail partners. The app originally launched on Android, was redeveloped, and now has an iOS version. Goxip aggregates 400–500 merchants selling over two million items from upwards of 15,000 brands. The company is led by CEO and co-founder Juliette Gimenez with co-founder and CPO YC Lau, and it won the top startup award at the inaugural Rise conference months after being founded. Goxip closed a $1.62 million seed funding round, which the company says will be used to expand from Hong Kong into Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia. The product includes social features—Instagram sync, tagging up to five items, searchable celebrity looks, and user-uploaded photo browsing—and the company plans to help bloggers monetize via commissions and in-app stores. Goxip faces stiff competition from major players like Facebook and e‑commerce investments such as Alibaba's backing of Lazada, but maintains an Asia-first growth strategy.

Participated · Series C · May 2016

Founded in 2009, Bolt Threads develops spider-silk materials produced by engineered microorganisms. Its first commercial product was a $314 necktie launched in early 2017, and the company has partnerships with Patagonia and Stella McCartney and acquired Best Made Company. Bolt says it is the first to bring man-made spider silk to market and plans to continue refining its processes and pursuing additional brand partnerships and products slated for 2018. The company will use the new funding to continue development and commercialization of its microorganism-derived materials. Financially, Bolt has raised a total of $213 million to date, including the recent Series D. Bolt Threads has developed a method to brew spider silk and other insect-derived fibers and spin them into yarn, making those materials accessible to apparel and upholstery manufacturers. The company was co-founded in 2009 by CEO Dan Widmaier, Chief Scientific Officer David Breslauer and VP of Operations Ethan Mirsky. Bolt already manufactures its Engineered Silk protein at scale via outsourced manufacturing partners and plans to move into yarn manufacturing in the summer. The company said it has built much of the supply chain and is in the process of scaling up to bring products to market. Bolt also inked a deal with Patagonia to begin developing and designing products using its fibers, though specific product details were not disclosed. Investors and company leadership expect the biofabricated silks to become available in mainstream products by 2018. Bolt Threads engineers microbes to produce spider-silk proteins and spin them into high-performance fibers. The company says the material can be stronger than steel, softer than Merino wool, washable, dyeable and UV resistant, offering a sustainable alternative to polyester. Bolt is targeting textile and apparel applications and is working with large textile partners while also planning its own consumer product line. The team includes co-founder and CEO Dan Widmaier alongside scientists David Breslauer and Ethan Mirsky; the company had been operating in stealth prior to the raise. Bolt aims to commercialize scalable production of the fiber and bring cloth to both manufacturers and the public by 2016. The company positions the technology as a more eco-friendly solution for the clothing industry’s pollution and performance-fiber needs.