Participated · Series B · Dec 2018

Happiest Baby was founded by pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp and develops parenting products focused on infant sleep. Its flagship product, the SNOO Smart Sleeper, was released in 2016 and automatically responds to fussing with graduated motion and womb-like sound while using a swaddle that secures babies on their backs. SNOO’s sensors trigger higher levels of motion and sound to calm infants, often in under a minute, and the company says it naturally sleep-trains babies over the first months of life. The SNOO was developed in collaboration with industrial designer Yves Béhar and Dr. Deb Roy. The product is used by families and corporate customers including Activision Blizzard, Snap, Dow Jones, Qualcomm, Indigo Books and Music, Button, Cooley LLP, and The Motherhood Center of New York across the United States, Canada and Australia. In December 2018 Happiest Baby raised $23M in a Series B led by Greycroft Partners with participation from Sallfort Bank and GV.

Participated · Series B · Nov 2017

Trocafone operates a platform for buying, refurbishing and reselling used smartphones and tablets, performing rigorous hardware and software quality checks before listing devices for sale. The company also offers device insurance against accidental damage, theft and loss, and supports leasing programs that allow consumers to pay in installments and return or buy out devices at contract end. With plans to expand its service offering in Brazil, Trocafone is preparing a new express repair service to fix smartphones and tablets in a few hours. The startup employs about 400 people and says it will increase headcount by 50% with the new capital. Trocafone has sold more than 1.4 million devices, saw sales double during the pandemic year versus the prior year, and expects an 80% increase in device sales by year-end. It sells refurbished phones at discounts of roughly 35–40% and distributes through its site and retail partners including Casas Bahia, Americanas.com, Ponto Frio, Magalu, Samsung, Fast Shop and Vivo. Trocafone is an online marketplace focused on buying, refurbishing, and reselling used consumer electronics, primarily smartphones. The company accepts devices from consumers, repairs them, and retails them at roughly 50–60% of market price. It currently operates in Brazil and Argentina and counts more than 1 million buyers and sellers on its platform. In its three-year history it has signed six deals with phone makers and telecommunications companies to power trade-in programs. With recent funding, Trocafone is targeting expansion into Russia and additional countries that lack carrier subsidies or loan programs. The company has now raised nearly $40 million in total funding. Trocafone operates a certified refurbished smartphone marketplace that buys back, refurbishes and resells used phones across Latin America. The company partners with major brands, manages buyback programs and sells directly to consumers through its web portal. Certification and GSMA IMEI checks are central to its model, helping prevent the resale of blacklisted or stolen devices. Trocafone launched a trade-in program with Samsung two years prior and claims to be the largest reseller of certified used phones in Brazil. It is currently selling about $3 million worth of phones per month and expects to reach a $70 million annualized run rate by November. The company began operating in Argentina in March 2016 and says it will use new funding to continue international expansion across Latin American and other markets. Trocafone acquires used mobile phones, refurbishes them, and resells them with the same features as a new device for about 40% of the new-device price. The startup raised $1.1M in a funding round that included Quasar Ventures, the incubator Wayra and NXTP Labs. Proceeds from the round are intended to support regional development, with an initial launch in Brazil followed by expansion into Argentina and the rest of Latin America. The company positions its service as a lower-friction, lower-risk way to buy and sell phones. The article frames this against a growing market, citing projections of 225 million mobiles in the U.S. and 241 million in Latin America by 2017 and noting that phone prices in Latin America can be up to five times those in the U.S. The funding round was announced on November 17, 2014.

Participated · Series B · Oct 2016

Pluto TV operates a free, advertising-supported streaming service featuring over 100 live channels and on-demand content. The service has partnerships with TV networks, movie studios, publishers and digital media companies, and announced more than 40 content deals in the year cited. Pluto TV is available online, on mobile devices and a range of living-room platforms including Samsung Smart TVs, Roku, Apple TV, PlayStation and Xbox. It reaches about 6 million active viewers per month and generates revenue through advertising. The company has been expanding content and distribution, previously using a $30M Series B to help fuel European expansion. Management has emphasized strategic partnerships with platform owners such as Samsung while continuing to grow its content and distribution footprint. Pluto TV replicates a linear TV experience online by providing a TV‑guide‑like interface that lets users tune into hundreds of channels rather than offering on‑demand catalogs. The service targets cord cutters and aggregates content through more than 75 partnerships with networks, studios, publishers and digital media companies including Sky, NBC, A&E, CBSi, Bloomberg and Paramount. It has distribution deals and preinstalls (such as on Xiaomi Mi Box) and is available on Vizio Cast, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and PlayStation 3/4. Pluto TV acquired Berlin‑based Quazer to establish an immediate presence in Germany and now has a team of about 50. The company reports over 5 million monthly active users, up from 500,000 in Q1 2015, and generates revenue through advertising sold via content and device partners and programmatic channels; monetization began less than a year ago and executives declined to disclose detailed financials. It plans to use new funding to invest in product, content and marketing and to expand further into Europe with the goal of becoming a global destination for free television. Pluto TV operates a free, ad-supported video platform that aggregates online and traditional content into themed, 24/7 channels. The service organizes content into categories such as music, sports, news, entertainment, comedy, lifestyle, tech, art & culture, education and kids. The platform features over 100 channels available for free on any device and is accessible via iOS and Android apps, web, and connected-TV options including Amazon Fire TV, Google Nexus Player & Chromecast and Apple AirPlay. Led by co-founder and CEO Tom Ryan, Pluto TV aims to broaden its content offering and expand availability across web, mobile and connected TVs. The company announced it will use the new funding to continue growing the platform and increase distribution and content breadth. Pluto.TV is an online television platform that aggregates web video and programs it into themed TV channels. Led by CEO Tom Ryan and based in Los Angeles, CA, the company combines technology, data and a team of specialist editors to build channels spanning music, news, sports, comedy, entertainment and niche interests. The service is available in the U.S. across iOS, Android, Google Chromecast, Amazon Kindle Fire, Fire TV and the web. Pluto.TV raised $500K in funding from BSkyB (BSY). The investment is intended to give Sky insight into emerging content trends while allowing Pluto.TV to leverage Sky’s experience in packaging and promoting content.