Participated · Series B · Dec 2020

Group14 is a battery materials startup that manufactures silicon anode materials for lithium‑ion batteries. Its product is a scaffold with internal voids that hold silicon, allowing the silicon to expand without crumbling; the material can be blended with graphite or replace it entirely. Group14 says the material can improve energy density by up to 50% and cut fast‑charging times below 10 minutes. The company operates three factories—two in the U.S. and one in South Korea—and plans to expand its manufacturing footprint using proceeds from the recent round. It closed a $463 million funding round to support that expansion, a move investors took as a sign of continued confidence in EV battery technology despite softer EV demand headlines. The broader lithium‑ion battery market is expected to grow more than 15% annually and quintuple in size over the next decade, according to Precedence Research. Group14 Technologies is a commercial manufacturer and supplier of advanced silicon battery materials, producing SCC55 silicon‑carbon battery active materials. The company operates a commercial-scale Battery Active Materials (BAM-1) factory in Woodinville, Washington, with a nameplate capacity of 120 tons per year. It launched BAM-1 in April 2021 and is developing additional manufacturing capacity through a joint-venture factory with SK, Inc. in South Korea and a second U.S. factory. Group14 plans to use recent Series C funding to build its second commercial-scale BAM-2 factory. The company is led by CEO and co-founder Rick Luebbe. Recent financings indicate institutional backing from strategic and climate-focused investors. Group14 Technologies is a Woodinville, Washington–based maker of advanced silicon battery technology founded in 2015. The company developed a silicon‑carbon composite material designed to replace graphite anodes in lithium‑ion batteries, which it says improves performance by about 50% and enables faster recharging. Group14 launched its first commercial-scale Battery Active Materials factory in Woodinville in April 2021. It will use a $100 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy to build two 2,000‑ton‑per‑year commercial manufacturing modules at a second facility in Moses Lake, Eastern Washington, and expects to hire 500 employees for construction, commissioning and operations. The DOE funding is part of a first phase deploying more than $7 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to boost domestic battery production. The company raised $400 million in May in a funding round led by Porsche AG and has raised $441 million to date. Group14 produces a silicon‑carbon powder (branded SCC55) that can replace or augment graphite anodes by infusing a porous carbon scaffold with a silicon‑containing gas to create nanoscale silicon particles. The company says SCC55 can store about 50% more energy than traditional graphite anodes and can be blended with existing graphite anodes with minimal production-line changes. Group14 currently has one battery‑materials plant online and is building two more: a joint venture plant with SK Group coming online later this year and another plant slated to begin production in 2023. The company appears to be targeting production for Porsche battery packs in 2024. Prior to the new financing, Group14 had secured roughly $41.5 million combined in venture funding and government grants. The startup is based in Woodinville, Washington. Group14 Technologies develops silicon-carbon composite materials for lithium-ion markets, with flagship product SCC55™ that promises up to 50% more energy density than conventional graphite. The company has ramped pilot production and planned to supply its first commercial customers in consumer electronics in Q1 2021. It secured $17 million in Series B funding to scale production and meet rising demand for its lithium-silicon technology. Group14 plans to break ground on a hydroelectric-powered production facility in Moses Lake, Washington to build out a domestic lithium-ion battery supply chain. Earlier investors include Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), Showa Denko, Cabot Corporation, BASF, and OVP Venture Partners. Founded in 2015 and based in Woodinville, Washington, the company has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy for its drop-in nanomaterials and industrial-scale process.

Participated · Equity · Apr 2014

Verdezyne is an industrial biotechnology company based in Carlsbad, California, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that uses proven and proprietary metabolic pathway engineering tools to develop unique yeast strains for cost-effective production of bio-based chemicals. Its core product offering is renewable chemicals produced via engineered yeast rather than petroleum-derived feedstocks. The company plans to accelerate technology development in the U.S. and to support collaborative projects with Sime Darby Renewables. Management researched the oil palm industry with assistance from the Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation and positions Sime Darby as a partner to help lead the development of sustainable palm-based materials into higher-value downstream renewable products. Verdezyne has arranged a $48 million financing led by Sime Darby and joined by existing investors BP Alternative Energy Ventures, DSM Venturing B.V., OVP Venture Partners and Monitor Ventures. The financing was formalized at a signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur attended by U.S. President Barack Obama and Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Najib Razak. Verdezyne is an industrial biotechnology company using proven and proprietary metabolic pathway engineering tools to create unique yeast strains for cost-effective production of biobased fuels and chemicals. Its platform has been advanced for the company’s ethanol and adipic acid processes. The company is building yeast metabolic engineering capabilities to produce a pipeline of renewable transportation fuels and platform chemicals. New financing will allow Verdezyne to continue development and deployment of first-in-class engineered yeast strains. Company executives and investors characterized the funding as strategic validation from industry leaders. Current investors include BP, DSM, OVP Venture Partners, Monitor Ventures, Life Science Angels and Tech Coast Angels. Verdezyne develops fermentation processes for industrial chemicals and biofuels using synthetic biology. The company applies proprietary computational and bioinformatics programs to create highly diverse directed mutant gene libraries. These libraries are intended to enhance metabolic engineering tools and serve as a platform for protein and metabolic engineering. Verdezyne says the enhanced capability will be directly useful to life science researchers and to its internal biofuel and biobased chemical programs. The company received a $1.7M grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to advance this work over an 18-month period. Verdezyne is based in Carlsbad, California.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2013

Symform is a Seattle, WA-based provider of a distributed and crowdsourced cloud storage and backup service for mid-market customers and IT resellers. Its product lets businesses on the network contribute excess local drive space to a global grid in exchange for reliable cloud data backup. Before data leaves the source device it is encrypted and shredded, redundancy is added, and data is geo-distributed across the network. The company intends to use the new funding for product development and to accelerate adoption of its product. Symform's Series B totaled $11m and included Second Century Ventures, Longworth Venture Partners, OVP Venture Partners and WestRiver Capital. Matthew J. Schiltz serves as CEO. Symform operates a global, peer-to-peer data storage network that allows users to contribute unused local disk space and receive cloud storage in return. The service offers up to 200GB of free storage and users choose how much storage to contribute; they can earn up to 200GB for registering, contributing and referring others. The company positions its product as a distributed alternative to traditional cloud backup by pooling participant storage resources. Leadership includes co-founders Praerit Garg (President) and Bassam Tabbara (CTO) and CEO Matthew Schiltz. Symform is based in Seattle, WA. As of the article, the company was actively funding growth through recent investment activity. Symform offers the Symform Cooperative Storage Cloud, a backup and disaster-recovery solution that aggregates excess storage capacity from participating small-business computers and transforms it into a secure global storage system. The technology relies on a proprietary RAID-96TM approach and software that leverages idle storage, 24×7 power and off-peak bandwidth. The company positions the product as a cheaper, faster and more secure option for small-business backups. Symform currently partners with nearly 1,000 resellers across North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific. The recent $4M financing is intended to support continued worldwide customer acquisition. The company described its Cooperative Storage Cloud in an official press release reported by FinSMEs.

Participated · Series E · Dec 2012

NanoString Technologies is a privately held provider of life science tools for translational research and a developer of molecular diagnostic products. Its core product is the nCounter Analysis System, which delivers highly multiplexed, amplification-free profiling for gene expression, copy number variation and microRNA analysis. The company is developing its technology for molecular diagnostics; its first diagnostic is a PAM50-based breast cancer assay that recently received the CE Mark but has not been cleared for marketing in the U.S. Proceeds from the financing will support expansion of its life sciences business and the first commercial launch of its diagnostics product, including U.S. regulatory work and ex‑U.S. launches. Management plans to use funds to advance development and commercialization of the PAM50 assay while continuing to invest in the nCounter business. NanoString Technologies is a Seattle, WA-based provider of life sciences tools for translational research and a developer of molecular diagnostics. The company has developed the nCounter® Analysis System, a technology platform that profiles hundreds of gene transcripts, copy number variations, or miRNAs simultaneously to support biomarker discovery and validation. NanoString intends to use financing proceeds to support ongoing growth, product distribution and the expected launch of its first in vitro diagnostic product, a breast cancer assay based on the PAM50 gene expression signature. The financing consists of $15M in debt provided by Oxford Finance and Silicon Valley Bank, including a $13M senior secured term loan and a $2M revolving line of credit. The company is led by President and CEO Brad Gray. The funding is aimed at advancing commercialization of its diagnostic and research platforms. NanoString Technologies develops the nCounter Analysis System, a fully automated digital detection and counting platform for multiplexed profiling of gene expression, miRNA, and copy number variation. The nCounter system was first introduced in 2008 and the company recently launched a second‑generation system that includes the hardware intended for regulatory clearance of diagnostic assays. NanoString sells assays for research use and is developing molecular diagnostics, including a breast cancer subtyping assay based on the PAM50 gene expression signature. The company plans to pursue regulatory clearance for its diagnostic assays and to grow the installed base of its nCounter research platform. Proceeds from the recent financing will be used to grow the life science tools business and advance clinical development and regulatory approval of its diagnostics. NanoString presented initial clinical study results for its breast cancer assay at the 2011 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Participated · Equity · Jul 2012

Adapx provides Capturx, a platform that automates mobile paperwork by capturing and sending handwritten data from tablets, paper forms, maps, or notebooks into leading backend systems. The product is used to streamline mobile data capture and logistics in activities such as energy field service, delivery of food aid, and health assessments for civilians and soldiers. Led by CEO Ken Schneider, the company says Capturx eliminates the costs and delays of paper handling and transcription. Adapx recently secured $3M in additional funding and reports total funding of approximately $32M. The company intends to use the new capital to accelerate development of new software solutions and to enter new markets. Adapx is based in Seattle, WA, and has added General Peter W. Chiarelli to its board of directors. Adapx develops and provides enterprise software for digital pens and related multimodal input systems. Its products let mobile teams collect data and collaborate in native file formats and systems (Microsoft Office, SharePoint, GIS, PDF, ERP and CRM) through digital pens without transcribing paper or deploying mobile computers. The company also offers a multimodal product line used by the military for command and control to enable ISR teams to input data into digital mapping and intelligence systems by sketching on paper, touchscreen devices, or by speaking as they sketch on wall displays. Adapx intends to use the newly raised funds to expand its digital pen product line and its multimodal offerings. The company is led by CEO and Chairman Ken Schneider. Adapx is based in Seattle, WA. Adapx develops Capturx, software that digitizes handwritten notes captured by Anoto digital pen-and-paper technology. The software records pen strokes with a digital camera and converts writing into formats compatible with Microsoft Office, Autodesk engineering models, and ArcGIS maps. At DEMOfall the company demonstrated mapping paper-form notes into corresponding Excel spreadsheet boxes. Adapx says it has more than 500 customers and counts NASA as a customer; it also received a strategic investment from In-Q-Tel. Use cases cited include marking up construction diagrams, field inspections of utilities, annotating maps during disasters, and adding military intelligence to maps. Financially, the company has raised $19 million to date. Adapx builds a digital pen-and-paper system called Capturx that records handwriting with a tiny camera and lets users import notes into OneNote, AutoCAD and ArcGIS. The company sells to enterprises and government agencies, with a consumer product also offered. Adapx reports about 300 customers so far, including multiple government users. CEO Ken Schneider says the firm will continue to focus on established “beachheads” and add compatibility with different kinds of forms. The product is positioned for field work where tablets may be impractical, and competes with consumer-focused LiveScribe. Financially, Adapx previously raised a $10 million first round in December and plans to raise a full second round in the last quarter of 2008. Adapx produces the Penx, a highlighter-sized digital pen that writes with ink on paper while a built-in camera and image processor store what is written. The pen uploads captured data to computers via a docking station and Adapx’s Capturx software, integrating with Microsoft OneNote, Autodesk AutoCAD and ArcGIS. The product requires special digital paper printed with imperceptible dots and Adapx sells OneNote notebook kits, proprietary ink and docking hardware. The Penx is rechargeable with a battery life of about three years and can be password-protected to prevent unauthorized downloads. Adapx is targeting military, government, utility, architectural and construction customers and has only recently started selling. The company reports pre-orders “in the hundreds.”