• Cymax Stores

  Led · Series A · Oct 2015

  Cymax operates an analytics-based platform for buying and selling home and office furniture online. Since launching in 2004, the company has partnered with manufacturers and handled shipping and delivery to connect shoppers with furniture options previously unavailable online. Cymax moves over 1.4 million boxes a year and is on track to do $140M in sales this year. Led by CEO Arash Fasihi, the company intends to use its technology and partnerships to expand its marketplace reach. Cymax plans to launch an end-to-end e-commerce solution for furniture retailers and proprietary technology to streamline shipping and logistics. The recent funding is aimed at accelerating growth of its platform.

• Mojio

  Led · Series B · Jun 2015

  Mojio is a cloud platform and SaaS provider that enables automakers and mobile network operators to build connected-car services. Founded in 2012 and led by CEO Kenny Hawk, the company collects real-world data from more than 7 billion miles of driving and offers a big-data analytics framework that uses machine learning to generate actionable insights. Mojio positions its technology to uncover new revenue streams across the automotive value chain. The company operates teams in Silicon Valley and Vancouver and works with large brands as customers, investors, and partners including Amazon, Assurant, Bosch, Deutsche Telekom, Microsoft, SAP and T-Mobile. It raised $40M in a Series B round to invest in talent and technology to accelerate adoption of connected-car services and expand its IoT offerings. The platform combines telematics data, cloud services and analytics to support automakers, carriers and other enterprise customers. Mojio is a scalable, secure, hardware-agnostic cloud platform and SaaS provider for connected cars, serving automakers and mobile network operators. Its platform solutions and mobile apps deliver safety, security and convenience while providing a big-data analytics framework that uses machine learning to generate actionable insights and new revenue streams across the automotive value chain. Mojio has connected more than 750,000 vehicles globally and gathered driving data from more than 7 billion miles. The company counts customers, investors and partners including Amazon, Bosch, Deutsche Telekom, Microsoft, SAP and T‑Mobile. Founded in 2012, Mojio has teams in Silicon Valley, Vancouver and Sofia. Mojio plans to collaborate with Assurant to develop digital protection and support solutions that leverage pooled vehicle data to enhance the ownership experience. Mojio operates an open, scalable and hardware-agnostic connected-car cloud platform that pairs a plug-and-play OBD device with a mobile app to deliver connected-vehicle features. The company sells its platform to mobile network operators and automotive partners to provide services such as diagnostic alerts, vehicle location and tracking, stolen-vehicle recovery, recall notices, trip logging and on-demand roadside assistance. Mojio has connected more than 500,000 vehicles and collected over 6 billion miles of driving data, which it analyzes with machine learning to generate actionable mobility insights. Its big-data analytics framework is positioned to unlock new revenue streams across the automotive value chain. Financially, Mojio completed a CAD$30M Series B in late 2017 and has secured additional Series B investment from Iris Capital and TELUS Ventures to accelerate global roll-outs. Mojio works with major network operators including Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile US, Bell Canada, Rogers and TELUS and maintains teams in Vancouver, Palo Alto and Sofia. Mojio provides a cloud platform for the deployment of secure connected car apps and services to deliver improved driving and vehicle ownership experiences to subscribers of major network operators. The company aggregates real-world data from more than 5 billion miles of driving and offers a big data analytics framework that uses machine learning to generate actionable insights and surface new revenue streams across the automotive value chain. Mojio has connected over 500,000 vehicles worldwide and counts subscribers of network operators including Bell Canada, Deutsche Telekom, Rogers Communications, T-Mobile and TELUS. The company was founded in 2012 and has offices in Vancouver, Palo Alto and Sofia. Mojio plans to use recent funding to accelerate roll-outs with network operators globally, drive product innovation and patent development, and advance its machine learning initiatives. Mojio began as a consumer connected-car gadget but shifted to a B2B2C, platform-focused approach in 2015. The company provides always-on cellular connections for cars and is positioning itself at the intersection of wireless carriers and automotive OEMs. Mojio is targeting wireless operators as partners (Deutsche Telekom is a backer and T‑Mobile has signed up as a partner) and is building a team in Prague to support international expansion. The company is integrating with voice platforms — the Alexa Fund is cited as helping fuel development of a second‑generation Alexa Skill that will use Mojio’s automotive data. Mojio recently executed a follow-on raise to extend its Series A and says the funds were intended to provide runway to go global and to grow engineering talent. Leadership changed recently: founder and CEO Jay Giraud stepped down and Kenny Hawk was brought in as the new CEO.

• vogogo

  Participated · Equity · Aug 2014

  Vogogo operates a custom payments platform that combines cryptocurrency acceptance (notably Bitcoin) with credit-card and other currency processing for large web-based businesses. The company leverages cross-border payments expertise to simplify multi-currency and crypto settlement for customers. Over the past 10 months Vogogo processed about $75 million in payments and is currently handling $6–10 million in crypto payments per month. The team has been operating for roughly 13 years from its Calgary headquarters. Vogogo plans to scale its platform internationally, beginning with a U.S. rollout and subsequent expansion into the EU. Management says the product will be adjusted to scale services and to improve interoperability with banks to help legitimize bitcoin in payments.

• Slyce

  Participated · Equity · Jun 2014

  Slyce provides a visual product search platform that lets shoppers snap a smartphone picture or hover over images online to find exact or close product matches. The company has integrated its technology into mobile commerce apps and works with North American retailers and publishers to activate web content for purchasing through images. Led by President Mark Elfenbein, Slyce acquired Hovr.it to incorporate a proprietary image recognition process that delivers direct, purchasable product links. Financially, the company has raised over $27M to date following its latest financing. In the most recent round Slyce raised over $12M. In April 2014 the company announced its intent to list on the TSX Venture Exchange, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. Slyce builds image recognition technology that enables point-and-shoot shopping with smartphone cameras. Unlike Amazon Flow, Slyce says it can identify products outside of packaging by relying on unique item attributes rather than OCR or logos. The system combines machine vision that handles roughly 85–90% of the work with a human crowdsourcing element to make final identifications. Slyce is partnering with major retailers and has proof-of-concept pilots with five of the top twenty U.S. retailers by revenue and sales volume. It recently acquired computer vision technology from York University and desktop visual image search startup Hovr.it and is using its current funding to continue hiring and pursue acquisitions. The company has "a decent amount of bank to rely on" and plans to raise a larger round in the next two to three months to accelerate growth. Slyce, based in Calgary, Alberta, provides a visual search platform that lets consumers purchase real-world items by taking a photo with their smartphone. The company is finalizing a consumer-facing app for Android and iPhone, expected in January 2014. It also plans to pursue B2B opportunities by supplying its technology to brands and retailers. Slyce is led by CEO Cameron Chell and recently appointed Mark Elfenbein as Chief Digital Officer. The company’s recent financing activity indicates it is preparing to scale product development and commercial partnerships. Slyce, based in Calgary, Canada, is developing a Social Commerce Point of Interest Purchasing platform led by Founder and CEO Cameron Chell. Its core product allows smartphone users to identify objects at the exact point they see them using video and audio recognition, QR and barcode scanning, and NFC. Once recognized, users can purchase items for shipment or be directed to the nearest retail location. Discovered products can be shared across multiple social platforms, including Slyce's own content-sharing site. The company raised $3.75M in seed funding to continue developing the platform, with backers undisclosed. Slyce plans to release a private Android beta in the coming weeks, followed by Version 1, and is signing up brands and beta testers via its website.

No current team members are available.