Participated · Equity · May 2023

Founded in 2022, Duetti partners with independent artists, songwriters, and other music creators to unlock the value of their music catalogs through flexible capital solutions and operational support. The company acquires portions of master recording and publishing rights and then boosts catalog performance through playlisting, remix production, sync licensing, and customized marketing programs. To date, Duetti has worked with more than 1,100 creators across 40+ countries and now closes 80+ catalog deals each month—over 2.5× its pace a year ago. Its 65-person team operates across New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, London, and Rio de Janeiro. The firm maintains a playlist network of 3,000+ playlists with 5+ million followers and releases 60+ remixes per quarter, supporting over 200 tailored artist marketing programs in 2025. Including the latest raise, Duetti has secured more than $635 million in funding, with over $100 million of that in equity, enabling continued expansion of its technology, marketing services, and global footprint.

Participated · Series D · May 2021

Ethos operates a big-data life insurance platform that uses more than 300,000 data points to determine eligibility and offers term and whole-life policies starting at about $8/month. It integrates with third-party carriers to provide underwriting, customer service, faster onboarding (often without in-person medical exams) and personalized pricing. The company is sold across 49 U.S. states and is expanding its product set into adjacent areas such as critical illness coverage. Ethos said both revenues and user numbers have grown by over 500% year-over-year and it is on track to issue roughly $20 billion in life insurance coverage this year. The business is approaching $100 million in annualized growth profit but is not yet profitable. The company plans to use new funding to hire more people and accelerate product expansion. Ethos builds a vertically integrated InsurTech platform that underwrites, administers, and distributes life insurance using machine learning and data science to remove traditional underwriting barriers. Its technology enables underwriting with no medical exams, blood tests, or complex paperwork, allowing approval of many who would otherwise be denied. Revenue and users have each grown by more than 500% year‑over‑year, and the company expects to issue $20 billion of life insurance coverage this year. Ethos is nearing $100 million in annualized gross profit and expects increasing EBITDA in the next year, and the article says it has surpassed competitors in annualized revenue and gross profit. The company plans to use new funding to enrich its technology and data platform and to launch new products to expand access to life insurance. Funding raised to date totals $300 million. Ethos is a San Francisco-based life insurance company that uses predictive analytics and data technology to provide life insurance policies. Its application process takes minutes, requires no medical exams for most applicants, and uses no commissioned agents. The company said it will use the funds to accelerate product refinement, hire technical staff, and expand operations. Ethos reported a quadrupling of revenue since October 2018. The financing also supports recent leadership hires, including Head of Finance David Zhang and VP of Insurance Phil Murphy. Peter Colis leads the company as CEO and co-founder. Ethos offers life insurance products that leverage proprietary technology, data science and predictive analytics to estimate life expectancy and streamline applications and claims. The company enables customers to apply and qualify after a ten-minute application versus the traditional ten-week process. A non-commissioned licensed agent is available to provide guidance to applicants. Ethos partners with life-insurance providers including Assurity Life and Munich Re to deliver its policies. The company is licensed in 49 states. Ethos intends to use new funding to continue expanding its business reach. Ethos is a San Francisco insurtech that sells life insurance products via a technology-driven platform designed for quick applications and easy qualification. Using Ethos, customers can apply and qualify for a policy after a ten-minute application and consult with a non-commissioned licensed agent for guidance. The company is licensed in 49 states and was co-founded by Peter Colis and Lingke Wang, who previously co-founded Ovid Life. Ethos intends to use recent funding to accelerate growth and enhance product development. The financing also included a credit facility to support the company’s operations and expansion of its product offering. Sequoia’s partner Roelof Botha will join Ethos’s board as part of the transaction.

Participated · Equity · Mar 2018

Promise provides a modern payments platform built for government agencies to simplify residents' repayment of government debt. The platform is mobile-first, supports all payment methods and multiple languages, and offers adjustable payment dates, interest-free payment plans, custom reminders, and non-traditional payment options. Promise also operates a 24/7 team to assist residents, aiming to increase payment velocity and revenue for governments while reducing friction for underserved communities. The company positions itself as a financial services technology provider focused on public-sector payments. Promise plans to use the new funding to continue development and expansion of the Promise platform. Promise builds a mobile app and service for counties to replace pretrial jailing of low‑risk people who cannot afford bail. The platform conducts comprehensive intake, creates individualized care plans, reminds participants about court dates and obligations, and connects them with job training, housing, counseling and referrals. It provides monitoring and support, including progress reports and optional GPS monitoring devices for compliance tracking. Promise is onboarding one county and is in talks with three more; the company charges some counties about $17 per person per day—compared with roughly $190 per day to incarcerate someone—and sometimes less. The company says its system is built to reduce recidivism by helping participants secure employment and avoid further involvement in the criminal justice system. Promise is led by co‑founder and CEO Phaedra Ellis‑Lamkins and is part of Y Combinator’s current batch; it recently raised over $3 million.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2016

Devialet produces high-end speaker systems and amplifiers and has broadened its lineup into personal audio (earbuds) and home soundbars such as the Dione. The company emphasizes engineering-led product development and unique audio technologies. It is pursuing global expansion with a particular focus on Asian markets and a licensing strategy. Devialet reports six retail locations in China and five in South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia, and says Asia accounts for three of its five biggest countries by sales. The company recently secured new funding to support growth and product development. CEO Franck Lebouchard framed the new partnership as evidence of confidence in Devialet’s strategy and technologies. Devialet builds high-end sound technology and consumer audio products, anchored by its Phantom speaker and a portfolio of 107 patents and 61 international awards. The company is headquartered in Paris and was founded in 2007. It reports rapid growth—doubling its turnover every year—and employs about 230 people. Devialet plans to roll its technologies into automotive, television and IoT markets through strategic industrial partnerships. The company is expanding its retail footprint with additional immersive rooms and new flagship stores beyond Paris, London and Soho, New York. It will further invest in R&D to accelerate innovation and reinforce its patent portfolio while broadening adoption of Phantom across five continents. Devialet is a French audio-technology company with 88 patents and numerous awards for its amplifier engineering. Its headline product in this article is the Phantom, a spherical all-in-one wireless speaker offered as a 750-watt model and a 3,000-watt Silver Phantom. The standard Phantom is priced at $1,990 and the 3,000-watt Silver Phantom at $2,390. Devialet has sold amplifiers since 2010 and positions the Phantom to reproduce the soundstage and musicality of much larger speaker systems. The company has opened U.S. pre-orders and plans to begin shipping Phantom units to U.S. customers in July. Financially, Devialet announced a $20 million funding round, bringing its total capital raised to about $50 million.