• AquaPoro

  Participated · Seed · Jun 2026

  AquaPoro develops Atmospheric Low-humidity Moisture Adsorption (ALMA™) technology that extracts clean water from ambient air at lower energy and cost and operates below the humidity threshold of conventional systems. Its modular Stream™ systems are designed for continuous-flow, uninterrupted production and to integrate directly into manufacturing facilities, leveraging waste and ambient on-site energy to reduce grid intensity. The company builds systems ranging from residential units to industrial-scale arrays and positions itself as decentralized industrial water infrastructure. AquaPoro is preparing commercial pilot deployments and will break ground on a continuous-flow system at UC Riverside in partnership with the university’s CE-CERT. The technology has already drawn commercial interest from a national beverage manufacturer and a large multinational water treatment and sustainability leader. Kyle Cordova is the founder and CEO.

• Verdi Expeditions

  Participated · Seed · May 2025

  Verdi raised CAD$6.5M in seed funding to expand its irrigation automation offerings. The company, led by CEO Arthur Chen and based in Vancouver, provides modern automation tools and patented retrofit devices that automate irrigation and maintenance on existing farm infrastructure. Verdi says its technology helps farmers save labor, reduce inputs and increase yields and is used by the largest food producers. The company plans to use the funds to expand into new regions, advance its AI-powered platform and deepen relationships with major agribusinesses. Management frames these initiatives as driving automation at scale and building infrastructure for a more climate-resilient food system. The seed brings Verdi's total funding to CAD$9.5M. Verdi builds a scalable platform for farm automation and personalized plant healthcare, using intelligent devices that transform existing irrigation equipment into AI-powered systems. Its technology enables automated operations that boost crop and workforce productivity while reducing technology adoption costs. Verdi counts customers among the world’s largest food brands and in 2023 saved its customers over 30 million liters of water. Founded in 2020 by Canadian entrepreneurs Arthur Chen and Roman Kozak, the company is focused on scaling internationally. Verdi plans to enhance its AI capabilities and expand geographic reach through a strategic collaboration with NEC X and integration with NEC’s CropScope initiative. Entry into NEC X’s Elev X! Boost program is intended to provide capital, strategic partnerships and integrations with NEC’s tech ecosystem to accelerate growth.

• Glacier

  Participated · Series A · Apr 2025

  Glacier develops low-cost robotic arms guided by computer vision to identify over 30 material types and automate sorting at materials recovery facilities (MRFs). Its robots have been deployed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Phoenix and Seattle. The company offers robots as outright purchases or via lease-to-own, and provides training, spare parts and maintenance packages to customers. Glacier also sells a data product that gives MRFs, consumer-products companies, and government agencies insights into the waste stream and recycling performance. The startup, described in the article as six years old, plans to expand its robot fleet to more municipalities to address labor shortages and improve recycling rates. Financially, Glacier recently closed a $16 million Series A to support that expansion. Glacier is a Bay Area recycling robotics startup whose core products are a sorting robot deployed in recycling facilities and an AI scanner that tracks materials and packaging fate. Amazon is piloting the AI scanner to understand what happens to packaging after it reaches consumers. The company says it works with customers in 10 states and is forming partnerships with brands, Fortune 500 companies, and government agencies. Glacier has collaborated with the City of Phoenix and received a grant from the Michigan Department of Environment to support further deployments. Co-founders include CEO Rebecca Hu and Areeb Malik. The startup recently closed a new $7.7M funding round co-led by Amazon and NEA. Glacier builds compact, low-cost recycling robotics and automation systems designed for space-constrained sorting facilities. The company emphasizes three advantages—low cost, small size and easy install—and has conducted pilots and deployed its first commercial system at a facility in Los Angeles. Founded in 2019 and operating in stealth until the announcement, Glacier’s team combines AI and robotics engineers with founders Areeb Malik (formerly a software engineer at Facebook) and Rebecca Hu (formerly at Bain & Company). The team’s experience includes self-driving excavators and forklifts, extraterrestrial mining robots, humanoid disaster-response robots and AI models for medical detection. Glacier has opened preorders for its first commercial system and plans to use new funding to increase headcount and accelerate commercial deployment. The company positions its product as an alternative to larger, more expensive systems in the recycling space.

• Simplifyber

  Participated · Series A · Apr 2025

  Simplifyber has developed a novel process and a proprietary natural fiber liquid called Fybron™ that can be injected into 3D molds to create a variety of soft goods, bypassing traditional steps like spinning, weaving, cutting, and sewing. The company has demonstrated its technology in footwear, unveiling a cellulose-based shoe upper at Paris Fashion Week in September 2024 through a collaboration with GANNI. Founded in 2021 and led by CEO Maria Intscher-Owrang, Simplifyber is pursuing fully bio-based and biodegradable applications. The company intends to use the new funding to scale up production capabilities, expand the team, and develop new applications. Financially, Simplifyber completed a US$4.2M seed round in July 2022 and has now closed a US$12M Series A in April 2025. The Series A supports commercialization and manufacturing scale efforts following pilot customer collaborations. Simplifyber is a NYC-based maker of fully-molded garment and shoe uppers manufactured directly from a cellulose-based liquid. Its core product is soft, cotton-like biodegradable clothing and footwear created by injecting a 100% natural cellulose formula—derived from wood pulp and other plant-based materials with non-toxic additives—into molds, removing the need for spinning, weaving, cutting, and sewing. The company says this process is less resource-intensive and aims to reduce the roughly 35% of materials in the fashion supply chain that ends up as waste. Simplifyber is led by co-founder and CEO Maria Intscher-Owrang, who has 20+ years as a fashion designer and director at brands including Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Alexander McQueen, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Edun. The company closed a $3.5M seed funding round to support its development; no operating metrics were disclosed in the article.

• GoodSAM Foods

  Participated · Series A · Mar 2025

  GoodSAM Foods is a B-Corp Certified P.B.C. snack and food brand dedicated to regenerative agriculture, transparency, and farmer empowerment. It produces organic nuts, organic chocolate, organic coffee and fruit chips sold nationwide at Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, and a variety of natural, independent and specialty retailers. Led by CEO Heather K. Terry and based in Greenwich, CT, the company sources from smallholder and indigenous farmers across nine countries including Colombia, Mexico and Kenya. GoodSAM emphasizes direct trade and farmer empowerment as part of its supply-chain model. In March 2025 the company raised $9M in Series A funding to support growth. The funds will be used for team expansion, new product line launches, and continued direct trade support for its supplier communities.

No current team members are available.