Participated · Seed · Dec 2025

Mach is a Tier-1 supplier of hardware and software that delivers autonomous navigation, perception, radar, connectivity, remote control and fleet-management capabilities to off-road equipment manufacturers. Formed in 2023 through the merger of two autonomy companies, it leverages more than a decade of R&D and claims 500,000 driverless miles and 250,000 autonomous operating hours in the field. The company’s modular stack—branded Mach Command, Perception, RadX, Nexus, Pilot and Ops—allows over 25 OEM partners to integrate autonomy faster and de-risk product development. Recent partnerships include Amazone in agriculture and landcare, Dok-Ing in defense robotics, and Alamo Group in industrial equipment. Mach targets industries grappling with labor shortages and safety demands, positioning its platform as a quicker, standardized route to commercial autonomy. The business model focuses on being a single trusted partner for OEMs, providing ruggedized hardware plus scalable software. Proceeds from its latest funding will be used to scale production and support its expanding OEM ecosystem.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2024

Hummingbirds is a female-founded platform that matches hyperlocal creators with locally based brands to run targeted social campaigns and drive in-store and local purchase behavior. Brands launch city-specific campaigns on the platform and pay a fee to participate; creators receive rewards (gift cards, experiences, merchandise) and Hummingbirds takes 0% commission from creators. Creators are mostly everyday "nano" creators (up to 10,000 followers) with high engagement; the company says its approach can boost sales up to 14x and social engagement by 80%. The startup reports rapid growth over the past year: it has quadrupled revenue, doubled its community size to 11,000 creators, and now works with over 300 brand partners. Hummingbirds currently operates in more than 20 cities (examples include Des Moines, Madison, Nashville, and Omaha) and focuses on Middle America. The new capital will be used to expand into 20 more cities by 2025, including Atlanta, Charlotte, and Denver. Hummingbirds operates an online platform that connects businesses with hyperlocal content creators, called “hummingbirds,” who receive perks for trying brands and sharing their experiences on social media. The company expanded from three to 14 Midwest cities in 2023 and plans broader national growth in 2024. Hummingbirds intends to scale its platform to more than 30 U.S. cities in 2024 and target select mid-sized cities with between 300,000 to 1 million employable people. In 2024 the company will also offer paid opportunities for some content creators as part of a “community-led growth” strategy. CEO and co-founder Emily Steele said the company has a tech roadmap to give more locals the opportunity to drive awareness for brands and get rewarded. The article does not disclose revenue, valuation, or other financial metrics.

Participated · Series A · Jul 2023

iotaMotion is a medical technology company based in St. Paul, MN, focused on advancing cochlear implantation with robotic-assisted solutions. Its flagship product, the iotaSOFT® Insertion System, provides controlled electrode array insertion intended to reduce intracochlear trauma compared with manual insertions. After its first full year of commercialization the system is installed at 25 U.S. centers, including use in ten neurotology fellowship programs. Some centers using the technology have demonstrated 20% year-over-year cochlear implant program growth versus a 7% market average. The company plans to use recently secured Series B funding to scale commercial operations and continue product innovation in 2025. The Series B round also accompanied an expansion of the board with the addition of Jeff Hopkins, a medical-technology leader with 30 years of experience. iotaMotion develops advanced robotic-assisted technologies for cochlear implant surgery, including the iotaSOFT® Insertion System. Led by CEO Mike Lobinsky, the company aims to standardize cochlear implant electrode array insertion and provide greater control in surgical settings. The firm intends to use its recent financing to accelerate commercial expansion of the iotaSOFT Insertion System. iotaMotion describes its products as advancing cochlear implant surgery beyond human capability with the goal of expanding access for surgeons and patients. The company is also expanding its Scientific Advisory Board with additions including Bruce Gantz, MD; Professor Thomas Lenarz, MD, PhD; and Camille Dunn, PhD to support continued product innovation. iotaMotion is a medical device startup spun out from the University of Iowa’s Otolaryngology Department that is developing iotaSOFT, a robotic-assisted insertion device for cochlear implant electrodes. Led by President and co-founder Chris Kaufmann, MD, the device is intended to allow surgeons to advance electrodes with the control and precision of robotics. The company completed an iotaSOFT human-factors usability study in July with participation from cochlear implant surgeons in a simulated-use clinical environment. iotaMotion raised an additional $2.52M in a second funding round and said the backers remained undisclosed. It intends to use the funds for ongoing development and commercialization of iotaSOFT and is focused on achieving development and regulatory milestones. Completion of the usability study was described as a significant milestone on the path toward FDA submission of the technology. iotaMotion is developing robotic-assisted systems to improve cochlear implant surgery, with its lead product IOTA-Soft™ enabling controlled, precise electrode insertion. The company plans to use recent funding to accelerate development of these novel robotic systems. IOTA-Soft™ is designed to reduce surgical variability and help protect inner-ear structures during insertion. iotaMotion was spun out of the University of Iowa’s Otolaryngology Department and aims to deliver individualized solutions for patients with hearing loss. The company has also been awarded NSF and NIH SBIR grants totaling $1.7M, which support its development work.

Participated · Series A · Mar 2023

Pitchly is a no-code, SaaS-based data enablement company that centralizes and activates business data to power real-time content and document generation. Its data enablement suite includes data collection, integrations, approvals, a drag-and-drop editor and rule builder for smart data-connected templates, and publishing to documents, APIs, and partner products. The platform aims to streamline compliant, repeatable processes for creating customized content, reducing time spent searching, creating, formatting and publishing content by up to 93%. The company reported strong operating momentum including 90%+ ARR growth and a second consecutive year of top-tier customer retention. With the new funding Pitchly plans to expand its sales and marketing team, broaden its SaaS offering, deliver new products this year, and grow its partner ecosystem and customer community. Pitchly is based in San Francisco and emphasizes customer-driven product expansion and thought leadership on data enablement.

Participated · Series A · Oct 2022

Tractor Zoom operates a cloud-based marketplace that aggregates real-time price and valuation data to simplify procurement of tractors, combines and other farm machinery for farmers, dealers, auctioneers and lenders. The platform lets auctioneers and dealers list inventory while farmers browse, filter and compare listings from mobile or desktop. Since its 2017 founding by Southern Iowa farmer Kyle McMahon, Tractor Zoom has added over 1,450 equipment suppliers, 600 auctioneers and 1,900 dealer locations, and its user base has grown 400%. The company now holds data on more than $20 billion in equipment sale transactions, a 14x increase from 2020, and it offers financing pre-approval services though it is not a lending institution. Tractor Zoom previously raised $3 million in 2020 and recently secured $5 million in a Series A to fund growth. The new capital will be used to expand data-science products and product development with the goal of building a streamlined end-to-end mobile transaction flow, while continuing to focus on the North American agriculture market. Tractor Zoom operates Iron Comps, a pricing and analytics product that tracks used equipment transactions and provides real-time comparable sales for farm machinery. Its Tractor Zoom marketplace lets farmers enter exact make and model details and find auctions where equipment is being sold. The company monetizes through traditional ad buys, primarily from banks and insurance companies. Tractor Zoom has partnered with over 450 auction companies to market more than 6,300 farm equipment auctions to an audience of over 225,000 buyers across the U.S. The company plans to use new funding to scale Iron Comps and to add four hires to its current team of 12. CEO Kyle McMahon developed the idea after attending over 1,000 auctions and positions Iron Comps as a Kelley Blue Book–style valuation tool for heavy equipment. Tractor Zoom operates a digital marketplace that aggregates farm equipment auction listings and lets buyers search by keyword and set auction alerts. The platform uses natural language processing to repurpose sparse auction descriptions and surface details such as hours run and serial numbers. It launched in 2017 and reports 266 auction companies on the platform, 97,000 subscribers, and 102,000 pieces of equipment transacted through the system. The site is monetized primarily through traditional ad buys, especially from banks and insurance companies, with zip-code targeting for local vendors. Tractor Zoom aims to add an Iowa team and expand into agricultural regions beyond the Corn Belt. The company was founded and led by CEO Kyle McMahon, who built the product from firsthand auction experience. Tractor Zoom is an online marketplace that connects farm equipment auctioneers and buyers, aiming to simplify and speed up auction listing and shopping. The company launched mobile apps in November 2017 and a web app in February of this year, built on an AngularJS web framework and the Ionic framework for mobile. Its platform lets auctioneers list large auctions quickly (the company says auctioneers can list a 2,000-lot auction in under five minutes) and lets farmers browse aggregated inventory to find specific equipment. The company’s genesis followed the founder attending more than 1,000 auctions and speaking to over 300 industry participants to validate the concept. Tractor Zoom plans to hire key staff, expand its geographic footprint across North America, bring in more inventory, and release products for other ag-industry players to “bring the equipment buying and selling experience full circle.” Financially, Tractor Zoom completed a $1 million seed round following an earlier family & friends round; the proceeds will be used primarily for team growth, inventory acquisition and North American expansion.