Participated · Equity · Sep 2020

Texel develops "smart" fitting-room solutions and 3D body-scanning hardware and software. The company built a 3D scanner called Portal MX and a machine-learning algorithm for smartphones; the Portal MX is priced at 1.8 million rubles and is intended for precise measurements in garment manufacturing and entertainment. Texel reports owning intellectual property, passing patent checks in the US and Europe, and completing independent comprehensive checks of its technology, documentation, and finances. The firm says it partnered with a leading scientific laboratory, gathered unique data, and has grown revenue while learning to sell its products. Its mobile application is available in a closed beta on iOS and Android and is provided to clients on request; the company reports pilots with Marks & Spencer that produced good metrics and customers already using the product. The article also includes allegations that investors were misled using a render video and contains the founder's responses and supporting press links. Texel is a Russian startup that develops "умные" (smart) fitting-room solutions for retail. The company announced the launch of its smart fitting rooms in Moscow. The article reports that Texel attracted investment from M&S. No financing amount, instrument, or other financial metrics were disclosed in the article. Public comments in the article raised consumer concerns about handling of personal data and body measurements, as well as questions about possible radiation/exposure from the fitting rooms. Texel plans to deploy its smart fitting-room offering in Moscow retail locations as announced.

Participated · Series E · Sep 2015

Selecta Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing antigen-specific immunotherapeutics via its proprietary Synthetic Vaccine Particle (SVP) platform. The SVP platform is designed to generate antigen-specific immune tolerance and enable applications such as inhibition of immunogenicity of biologic therapies, treatment of allergies, and autoimmune diseases. Selecta’s lead candidate, SEL-212, is being developed as the first non-immunogenic biologic therapy for gout. The company is advancing SEL-212 through a Phase 1 clinical program in refractory and tophaceous gout and plans a multi-dose ascending Phase 2 study slated to start in 2016. Selecta also has preclinical candidates aimed at preventing life-threatening rejections in gene therapies and Factor VIII therapies, and programs (in collaboration with Sanofi) targeting an undisclosed food allergy, celiac disease, and type 1 diabetes. Selecta is based in Watertown, Massachusetts, and will use the new proceeds to advance multiple product candidates from its SVP platform toward clinical development. Selecta Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotech developing targeted antigen-specific immune therapies using its proprietary Synthetic Vaccine Particle (SVP) platform. Its lead program, SEL-212, is positioned as a non-immunogenic treatment for refractory and tophaceous gout. The company is also advancing immune tolerance programs to prevent anti-drug antibodies against Factor VIII (SEL-201), anti-TNF alpha antibodies, and gene therapy vectors, and is pursuing candidates for allergies and autoimmune diseases. Selecta says its SVP platform can be adapted internally or with partners and highlights established R&D and manufacturing capabilities. It is building a pipeline through proprietary products and collaborations with pharmaceutical companies and research organizations. Financially, Selecta has secured more than $20 million in the latest equity funding and has received a total of $78.6 million in private equity to date. Selecta Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Watertown, Mass., developing a novel class of targeted antigen-specific immune therapies. The company develops drugs that use immune‑modulating nanomedicines to generate targeted antigen‑specific immune responses to prevent and treat disease. Selecta has announced a product candidate, SEL-212, a non‑immunogenic treatment for refractory and tophaceous gout. It is developing products across three applications of antigen‑specific tolerance: inhibition of immunogenicity for biologic therapies, treatment of allergies, and treatment of autoimmune diseases. Selecta received $9.35M in new funding, including a $1.25M grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for malaria vaccines and an $8.1M grant from the National Institutes of Health for a nicotine vaccine for smoking cessation and relapse prevention. Werner Cautreels, Ph.D., serves as President and CEO. Selecta develops a proprietary Synthetic Vaccine Particle (SVP™) platform to enable targeted vaccines (tSVP™) and tolerogenic particles (t2SVP™) for therapeutic and prophylactic applications. Its pipeline includes SEL-068 (a vaccine candidate for smoking cessation and relapse prevention), a Type 1 diabetes vaccine, universal influenza and HPV candidates, a malaria vaccine, and research programs in cancer and allergies. The company plans to broaden R&D capabilities, accelerate product development timelines, and expand applications of the SVP platform. As part of this expansion Selecta is establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in Moscow to manage and conduct R&D, integrate emerging-market needs, and access local funding and partners. Proceeds from the announced financings will be used to advance SEL-068 more rapidly through clinical studies and to push additional candidates into development. Selecta has raised $79.85 million in private funding to date, including the proceeds from the new financing. The company was founded on nanoparticle technology from the labs of MIT and Harvard researchers and is based in Watertown, Massachusetts. Founded in 2008 and based in Watertown, MA, Selecta Biosciences develops synthetic nanoparticle vaccines and immunotherapies using its proprietary targeted Synthetic Vaccine Particle (tSVP™) technology. The company is advancing an enhanced therapeutic nicotine vaccine aimed at smoking cessation and relapse prevention, progressing the program from preclinical through early clinical evaluation. Recently Selecta received a $3M award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) via the NIH BRDG-SPAN program to support that development and bridge R&D toward commercialization. Selecta is backed by venture investors including Polaris Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, NanoDimension, OrbiMed Advisors and Leukon Investments. Earlier in the year the company raised $15M in a Series C financing. The BRDG-SPAN grant is intended to help translate promising medical technologies into clinical and commercial readiness.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2015

Crocus Technology designs TMR sensor products with high magnetic sensitivity, stable temperature performance, and ultra-low power consumption, with sensors integrated within a CMOS process for monolithic, cost-effective solutions. Its MLU™ technology underpins products targeted at IoT, mobile, automotive, medical, industrial and other applications. The company says it will use newly raised capital to expand its commercial team, broaden its product portfolio, and extend its patent portfolio to solidify TMR leadership. Crocus is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and also has offices in Grenoble, France and Beijing and Shenzhen, China. Management cites a goal to accelerate revenue growth and reach profitability by the end of the year. The company referenced market research projecting the worldwide magnetic sensor market to grow to $5.37 billion by 2023 (8.77% CAGR) and TMR sensors to grow at about a 9.41% CAGR over the next five years. Crocus Technology is a supplier of magnetic sensors and embedded memory solutions built on Magnetic Logic Unit™ (MLU) technology. Its products target applications that require high sensitivity, high-temperature operation, low-noise and low-cost, including industrial, consumer electronics and automotive sectors. The company plans to deploy its sensor product strategy in key target markets including industrial, consumer electronics, automotive and IoT. It intends to strengthen commercial resources by finalizing a distribution network in Asia and reinforcing its support team. Crocus also plans to develop new designs to expand its portfolio with integrated sensor and smart sensor applications. The company raised $21M in this financing and has raised $194M (€180.3M) to date. Founded in 2004 and led by CEO Michel Desbard, Crocus is based in Santa Clara, California and maintains offices in Grenoble and Rousset, and co-owns a Russian manufacturing facility, Crocus Nano Electronics. Crocus Technology develops magnetically enhanced semiconductor technologies built around its Magnetic Logic Unit (MLU) for mobile security, embedded microcontrollers, harsh-environment electronics and magnetic sensors. Its MLU is a CMOS-based rugged magnetic technology that the company licenses to TowerJazz and other foundries for integration. Founded in 2004 and led by CEO Bertrand Cambou, Crocus has offices in Grenoble and Gardanne, France, and US operations in Santa Clara, California, and jointly owns a Russian manufacturing facility with Rusnano. Together with IBM it is developing Generation 3 technology targeting high-end smart cards. The company is expected to launch a magnetic sensor product line. It recently completed a financing round to support go-to-market, product qualification and manufacturing ramp at TowerJazz Semiconductors. The company develops Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) for dense, non-volatile, high-speed, scalable memory applications. MRAM is positioned as a replacement for SRAM and flash across telecommunications, networking, computing and handheld devices. Crocus completed an €8m financing round to support its production transfer and product development. The funds will be used to complete the production transfer of its 130nm MRAM technology to manufacturing partner Tower Semiconductor and to continue product development. Investors in the round include AGF Private Equity, CDC Innovation, CEA Investissement, Nanodimension, Sofinnova Ventures and Ventech. In conjunction with the funding the company appointed Dr. Bertrand F. Cambou as CEO and chairman; he brings more than 29 years of semiconductor industry experience to help commercialize the technology. Crocus Technology is a French semiconductor maker developing magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) chips that store information using magnetic fields. Its MRAM chips are described as less volatile, lower-power and generally faster than conventional flash memory used in most computers and handheld electronics. The company plans to commercialize the technology and expects MRAM to start replacing flash once it goes to market. Crocus faces competition from other firms racing toward similar products, including Austin, Tex.-based Freescale Semiconductor Inc., an offshoot of EverSpin Technologies Inc., and Silicon Valley’s Grandis Inc. Financially, Crocus completed a second-round financing of $15.8 million and also received $4.1 million from OSEO, France’s public agency for funding innovation. The new funding will be used for continued development of its MRAM chips.

Led · Equity · May 2015

Motorika develops 3D-printed bionic prosthetic hands and has received a declaration of conformity from Moscow’s Main Bureau of Medico-Social Expertise, permitting sale of its 3D-printed prostheses. The certification is the first in Russia for a 3D-printed prosthesis and was issued after toxicology and mechanical testing; the founder Ilya Chekh said the process took about a month. The company has already supplied prostheses to five patients in Moscow, Yaroslavl, Saratov and Novokuznetsk. Motorika plans to bring a bionic prosthesis to market priced at 250–300 thousand rubles including installation; reported production cost is 100–150 thousand rubles, with roughly half of that cost attributable to components. The company is positioning itself against a large domestic need — Russia requires more than 60,000 hand prostheses annually while production is seven times lower than demand. Motorika became a resident of the Skolkovo biomedical cluster in February 2015.

Participated · Equity · Dec 2014

Quantenna develops ultra-high performance Wi‑Fi semiconductor and system software solutions for carriers and retail OEMs. The company has shipped tens of millions of Wi‑Fi chipsets that are deployed by tier-one telecom, cable and satellite providers including AT&T, DirecTV, Orange and Telefonica, and by numerous retail OEMs. Earlier this year Quantenna unveiled what it described as the world’s first 10G Wi‑Fi technology for access points, featuring an architecture enabling up to 8x8 MIMO, throughput and capacity up to 10 Gbps, and universal support for MU‑MIMO clients. The company says the 10G Wi‑Fi delivers high capacity and performance while minimizing spectrum usage to maximize geo-capacity. Quantenna will use the newly raised funds to expand its investment in technology and customer success as it scales through accelerating growth. Quantenna is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices worldwide. Quantenna develops standards-based 802.11n and 802.11ac 4x4 MIMO chipsets that aim to deliver high performance, coverage, and wire-like reliability for whole-home video and other demanding applications. The company positions its 4x4 MIMO chipsets as the only commercially available solution for ultra-high reliability, carrier-grade video distribution in both managed and over-the-top architectures. Its chipsets have been integrated into products from vendors including AirTies, Amper, Datasat Technologies, Gemtek, Motorola, Netgear, Sagemcom, Sigma Designs, Swisscom, Technicolor and Telefónica. Quantenna is pursuing 40- and 28-nanometer process technology for next-generation products and plans to accelerate new product development as it enters new market segments. The company will use funding to expand its engineering and service organizations to support growing deployments worldwide. Quantenna also plans to expand its presence in Russia, including opening a Russian subsidiary and collaborating with local engineering schools. Quantenna Communications is a semiconductor chip maker. Its technology is used to support the deployment of video services to the home. Telefónica Ventures, the investment arm of Telefónica Digital, has made an equity investment in the company. The investment was made so Telefónica can gain access to Quantenna's latest technology. Telefónica is a Spanish broadband and telecom company. The deal positions Quantenna to work with a major operator on home video-service deployments. Quantenna develops semiconductor chips that let consumers wirelessly stream HD video to home devices. Its technology improves data transfer speeds to about 100 megabits per second over 100–150 feet, enabling reliable Netflix and game streaming and multi-room DVR playback. Quantenna's chips are used by Swisscom in Switzerland and the company will sell chips directly to consumers through Netgear. Management is in talks with U.S. service providers and hopes to finalize multiple deals within a year. The company is primarily focused on consumer applications now but plans to explore enterprise opportunities in 2011. Quantenna expects to see "substantial revenue" early next year and has raised more than $80 million to date. Quantenna develops 802.11n-compatible Wi‑Fi radio chipsets that use MIMO 4×4, dynamic digital beam‑forming and wireless channel monitoring to improve signal robustness and throughput. The company reports measured through‑wall performance of 145 Mbps at 60 feet (one wall) and 83 Mbps at 170 feet (six walls), outperforming typical rival solutions. Quantenna plans to move production from a 90‑nanometer process to a more efficient 65‑nanometer process and to get its chips into mass production. The company was founded in 2006, has about 60 employees, and says it will ship its first chips by the end of the year. Management expects to generate several million dollars in revenue in the current year as it begins shipments. To date the startup has raised almost $60 million in prior financings.