Participated · Equity · May 2024

Led by CEO Davide Marini and based in Medford, MA, Inkbit develops a multi-material additive manufacturing system designed for volume production of complex polymer 3D printed parts. Its Vision-Controlled Jetting (VCJ) technology combines advances in computation, chemistry and process control to scale from prototyping to production on the same platform. The system targets rapid manufacturing of innovative products such as complex industrial fluidics and bio-inspired robots. Inkbit says its platform accelerates the translation of ideas into products and enables multi-material manufacturing across development and production. The company intends to use newly raised funds to expand operations and advance development efforts. No operating metrics (revenue/users) were disclosed in the article. Inkbit develops vision-guided, closed-loop 3D printers that use imaging and AI to detect and correct printing errors on the fly. The company’s Vista printer, released in February, builds on its Vision-Controlled Jetting (VCJ) closed-loop feedback technology. Inkbit holds exclusive licensing rights to technology developed with financial support from DARPA. Founded in 2017, the firm says it is experiencing significant growth and plans to scale its team to meet customer demand. The latest funding will be used to expand sales reach in the U.S. and into additional markets including Asia and Europe/Middle East/Africa. Total funding now stands at $45 million after the current round. Inkbit developed the first 3D printer driven by vision-based feedback control and artificial intelligence, using contactless material jetting to print multi-material parts with production-grade materials. The platform adds machine vision and machine learning to material jetting to increase accuracy, reliability and automated quality assurance for every printed part. The company aims to industrialize its system for multi-material and volume manufacturing, expand its materials set for medical, life sciences and robotics applications, and install first units for customers. Inkbit has run an early access program with customers such as Johnson & Johnson and plans to release first systems in 2021 to select customers. The company was spun out of MIT CSAIL in 2017 and is based in Medford, Massachusetts. Prior and public funders include DARPA, the National Science Foundation and MassVentures.

Participated · Series C · Jan 2023

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Oxford, Oxa builds a modular autonomy platform that combines software, hardware and fleet-management tools to retrofit and operate driverless vehicles in controlled industrial environments. The company focuses on “industrial mobile autonomy,” avoiding the complexity of open-road passenger applications in favor of repetitive, predictable driving tasks at ports, airports, warehouses and manufacturing facilities. Oxa’s system can convert a heavy-duty port truck to autonomous operation in less than a day, demonstrating rapid deployment capabilities for customers like DHL, BP and Vantec. By integrating its own sensors, compute stack and remote management software, the startup delivers a full-stack solution that can be adapted to multiple vehicle types. The new financing lifts Oxa’s total funding to more than $250 million, providing fresh capital to expand existing deployments and support upcoming commercial projects. Management intends to use the funds to scale with current partners and enter additional industrial sites globally, positioning the company for broader commercial rollout.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2022

Wayve builds an end-to-end neural network-based self-driving system that uses raw data from whatever sensors are on a vehicle rather than relying on specific sensors, chips, or high-definition maps. Its software underpins two commercial products: an "eyes on" assisted-driving system requiring driver attention, and an "eyes off" fully automated-driving system intended for robotaxis and some consumer scenarios. The company sells directly to automakers and has landed customers including Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis, with Nissan planning integration into ADAS from 2027. Wayve’s software is designed to run on a variety of automotive compute platforms, a capability it is expanding through strategic investments from chipmakers. Financially, Wayve recently closed a $1.2 billion Series D and announced a $60 million extension from semiconductor partners, with an additional $300 million milestone-based commitment from Uber. The company is using new funds to support integration across compute platforms and continued production deployment of the Wayve AI Driver.

Participated · Equity · Dec 2020

Karakuri develops the DK-One, a pre-production food-robotics system initially designed to make breakfast bowls and capable of producing high-quality hot and cold meals. The DK-One dispenses up to 18 temperature-controlled ingredients (wet, dry, soft or hard) onto plates, bowls or containers and uses robotics, sensing and control technologies. Customers tailor portions via an app that tracks ingredients, nutrients, calories and quantities, enabling personalized nutrition and real-time data on ingredients. The system is positioned to augment kitchen staff by taking on repetitive tasks, improve cleanliness and efficiency post-COVID, and reduce food waste through accurate portioning. Karakuri plans on further on-site customer trials of the DK-One in the first half of 2021. Financially, the company disclosed an $8.4M (≈£6.3M) investment round and has closed a total of £13.5M in funding. Karakuri develops integrated robotics and machine-learning systems—using optics and sensors—to prepare personalized, freshly made meals onsite. Its robots can match exact customer requirements (for example ingredient exclusions or specific dressing amounts) and aim to reduce food waste. The technology is positioned to enable restaurants, cafes and food retailers to move away from mass pre-packaged meals toward localized micro-manufacturing. Karakuri emphasizes menu personalization to meet growing consumer dietary requirements and changing eating habits. The company has built an advisory board with industry experts from ARM, Ocado, Imperial College, Bristol Robotics Lab and the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics. Leadership includes CEO and co-founder Barney Wragg, and the company emerged from the Founders Factory incubator.