• 3D Robotics

  Participated · Series C · Apr 2015

  Founded in 2009 by former Wired editor Chris Anderson, 3D Robotics designs and manufactures drones and associated technologies for commercial and consumer use. The company has become one of the more high-profile players in the drone industry, leveraging successive venture rounds to scale its hardware and software capabilities. It attracted a $50 million Series C round in early 2015 led by Qualcomm. According to the latest regulatory filing, 3D Robotics has now amassed roughly $150 million in total funding over seven years. The firm’s backers include Atlantic Bridge Ventures, Foundry Group, Mayfield, O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, SanDisk, SK Ventures, True Ventures, WestSummit Capital Management, and Richard Branson. The newest capital raise, which could reach up to $45 million, is expected to bolster the company’s operating runway as it continues product development and market expansion.

• August

  Participated · Series B · Mar 2015

  August’s flagship product is the August Smart Lock, an intelligent hardware and software access system that launched in Apple stores nationwide in October 2014. The company also offers August Connect, a device that adds Wi‑Fi and enables remote access and integration with other smart devices. August’s iOS and Android apps let users send virtual keys to family, friends, and guests to provide seamless access to homes. The company says its platform is open to trusted developer partners to build new experiences that leverage the Smart Lock. August plans to use its new funding to launch additional home-access products, expand further into retail channels, and grow its San Francisco–based team. August was co‑founded by Jason Johnson and designer Yves Béhar and emphasizes security, design, and integration across hardware, software, and cloud services. August builds the August Smart Lock, a Bluetooth Low Energy–enabled locking mechanism paired with an intuitive mobile app that lets users send virtual keys and auto-unlock doors as key holders arrive. The lock includes EverLock™, a feature that senses a closed door and automatically locks it. August debuted the product at D: All Things Digital and is taking pre-orders in multiple finishes. The company has opened its cloud platform to trusted developer partners to let others integrate devices with the platform. August said it will use new financing to expand the team and scale operations ahead of shipping, with pre-order customers expected to receive locks in spring 2014. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and has raised $10 million in venture funding to date. August makes a $199 keyless smart lock that attaches to an existing deadbolt and is controlled via a mobile app. The lock uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) so it operates without a Wi‑Fi connection; the team says it is the smallest electronic door lock on the market and installs in about 10 minutes. Through the app users can grant, revoke, and schedule conditional or temporary access to approved visitors and view a log of who entered and when. Users can send invitations to contacts or Facebook friends to let guests, cleaners or service personnel into a house without a physical key. August was founded by Jason Johnson and industrial designer Yves Behar (Behar is noted for prior work on products like the Jawbone Up and OUYA). The company has raised $2 million in seed funding from a group of angel investors.

• August Home

  Participated · Series B · Mar 2015

  August Home builds smart locks and offers August Access, a partnership program that enables remote generation of temporary access codes for homeowners and landlords. Its core product targets rental and residential markets, and is designed to be updated via firmware post-sale. Most sales still come through traditional retail channels, but the company is increasing focus on service and utility partnerships to broaden distribution. Notable partners in the rental space include Airbnb and HomeAway. Corporate partners/investors include Comcast Ventures and Australian utility AGL, reflecting strategic distribution opportunities such as inclusion in Xfinity Home. Management says funds will support an aggressive product roadmap and significant R&D to introduce additional new products this year. August Home builds smart home access products and services that replace traditional keys and let users control their front door from anywhere. The company’s products enable creation of virtual keys and time-limited access for house cleaners, dog walkers, delivery services, guests, friends, and family via a smartphone. Its devices are designed to fit naturally and elegantly into the home and integrate with other smart devices and services. Jason Johnson is identified as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. August Home is based in San Francisco, California. The article does not disclose financial metrics or specific revenue figures. August builds smart home access products, including the August Smart Lock and Connect, with accompanying mobile apps and cloud-based access control. The company aims to solve the 'last five foot problem' by providing secure, intelligent ways to manage home access for homeowners, property managers, and guests. August plans to use the new financing to launch additional home access products and expand further into retail markets. It also intends to grow its San Francisco-based team. Financially, August raised $38 million in a Series B and reports total funding of $50 million to date. Its product suite emphasizes security and seeks to bridge the gap between service providers and homeowners.

• Magisto

  Participated · Series C · Oct 2013

  Magisto provides a cloud-based mobile technology service that automatically selects moments from ordinary videos and photos and weaves them together with customized styles and music to create personal movies. The service is accessible across iOS, Android and the Web. The company has surpassed 20 million registered users and is acquiring two million users per month. Magisto recently released CamCrew, a technology for mobile devices on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset that automates more of the video-making process. It has offices in New York and California and is led by CEO Oren Boiman. The company integrated its offering into Odnoklassniki as part of its growth push. Magisto uses artificial intelligence and a simple user experience to automatically select compelling moments and weave them into professional-quality personal movies. The service is available across iOS, Android and the web and is described as the highest-rated video creation app in Google Play and the iOS App Store. Magisto recently launched a redesigned app with new creation and consumption functionality and unveiled technology at DEMO 2013 that converts photo collections into dynamic personal movies using smart photo editing and emotion-sense video editing. The company reports more than 13 million users. The new funding is intended to expand Magisto’s leadership in the emerging category of Video Storytelling and to deepen collaborations with hardware and personal-photography ecosystem partners. Magisto maintains headquarters in Tel Aviv and has offices in New York and California. Magisto offers a cloud-based mobile video editing service that automates editing and adds music to user-shot footage. The company introduced its cloud editing tool in September and launched an iOS app in early January, gaining more than 1 million iPhone users within seven months who produced over 7 million edited videos. Magisto is rolling out an Android app that leverages Android-specific features such as gallery integration and is working with Google to optimize for Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). Users select clips and a soundtrack, upload videos to the cloud, and receive a finished, shareable video via notification. Finished videos can be shared to Facebook and Twitter or sent via email links. Last year the company raised $5.5 million from Li Ka-shing’s Horizons Ventures, with previous investor Magma Venture Partners participating.

• WhipTail

  Participated · Series C · Dec 2012

  WhipTail is a flash storage company whose technology is designed to pass data through a server with high volume, speed, and efficiency. The company’s approach to server-side flash can enable customers to do with one flash server what might otherwise require three or four traditional hard-disk servers. WhipTail’s technology positions it as a potential disruptor in storage efficiency and performance, with strategic interest from larger enterprise players. The company recently raised financing that included both equity and debt components. SanDisk participated via its SanDisk Ventures arm, marking the first deal for SanDisk’s new $75 million innovation fund. The article frames WhipTail as relevant to converging storage and networking markets and as a target for strategic investments from incumbents. WhipTail commercialized an all-flash enterprise storage array designed to address performance bottlenecks in data centers by delivering extreme IOPS, bandwidth and low latency. Its solid-state arrays are used in mission-critical database, virtualization and online environments to dramatically reduce delays and accelerate server processing. The company reports more than 100 customers, including AMD, The Pension’s Trust, Ohio.gov, Weichert and inVentiv Health. Over a third of WhipTail’s revenue comes from repeat business, indicating strong customer demand for additional arrays and deployments. WhipTail plans to use new financing to expand sales and marketing and to support additional product development. Sales efforts are being ramped up in the U.S., Europe and Asia through hiring, partnerships, reseller programs and channel marketing support. WhipTail manufactures pure solid-state storage arrays designed to improve scalability and performance for applications such as virtualization, databases, financial trading and email. The company plans to use proceeds from its Series A to accelerate expansion of sales and marketing and to develop new products. Specific growth actions include hiring sales teams in the U.S. and Europe, developing key strategic partnerships, and enhancing reseller channels. The amount raised in the Series A was not disclosed. Leadership changes accompanied the financing: SMC managing directors Raymond Wong, Avi Faliks and Jamie Weston joined the company’s board. WhipTail was founded in 2007, is based in Whippany, New Jersey, and is led by CEO Dan Crain.

No current team members are available.