Participated · Series A · Aug 2022

Dryad Networks builds Silvanet, a solar-powered, AI-driven IoT sensor network for ultra-early wildfire detection and forest health monitoring. Silvanet is deployed in over twenty countries and the company has shipped 20,000 sensors to date. Dryad is developing Florian, an autonomous drone-based wildfire suppression system that would use technologies such as acoustic waves and a permanently stationed drone fleet for rapid response. Florian is a finalist in the XPRIZE Wildfire Competition. The company says new funding will allow it to scale Silvanet deployments and accelerate Florian’s development. Recent capital injections include grant and convertible financing proceeds to support product development and strategic partnerships. Dryad Networks builds a proprietary wildfire detection solution that combines solar-powered infrastructure with AI-enabled gas sensors placed across forested areas. Its core product, Silvanet, is deployed in more than twenty countries across North America, Europe and Asia. The company has shipped 30,000 sensors to date. Dryad intends to use newly raised capital to accelerate development and wider deployment of its detection technology. The company is led by CEO Carsten Brinkschulte and is based in Berlin, Germany. The announcement cites an initial closing of convertible financing as a validation of the company’s market position and potential. Dryad Networks builds Silvanet, a large-scale environmental IoT network that uses gas sensors trained to detect smoke and alert during the smoldering phase of fires. Its wireless sensor solution can operate in remote regions and uses IoT technology to extend mobile coverage, enabling alerts within minutes to give first responders critical time. The system is already deployed with public and private clients in Europe, South America and the US. Dryad aims to deploy 120 million sensors by 2030 and to prevent roughly 3.9–4.0 million hectares of forest from burning, avoiding an estimated 1.7 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions. TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good has made an equity investment into Dryad as part of its Series A, and the funding will support scaling deployments into the US and Canada. By improving reaction times and ultra-early detection, Dryad positions itself to reduce wildfire-related economic losses, biodiversity impacts and emissions. Dryad is a Berlin-based environmental IoT startup led by CEO Carsten Brinkschulte. It provides solar-powered environmental sensor networks and an end-to-end Silvanet® system for ultra-early wildfire detection and forest monitoring. Silvanet combines low-cost sensors, solar-powered LoRa-based mesh networking infrastructure and a cloud analytics platform to monitor, analyse and protect large, remote forests for public and private forest owners. The company spent more than two years developing the system. Dryad raised €10.5M in a Series A round led by eCAPITAL with participation from Toba Capital, Semtech and TIME Ventures. It intends to use the funds to scale its team and accelerate its go-to-market strategy around the world. Dryad Networks develops Silvanet, a large-scale IoT network that uses a mesh of gas sensors for ultra-early detection of wildfires (detection in under 60 minutes). The company is focused on enabling public and private forest owners to monitor, analyze and protect remote forests. It tested a minimum viable product in a German forest and has secured ten letters of intent from forest owners in Germany and Africa. Dryad will use the new funding to accelerate product development across R&D, testing and market introduction. The firm expects to begin two proof-of-concept deployments in Germany and Africa by summer 2021. The team is led by CEO and co-founder Carsten Brinkschulte.

Led · Equity · Jul 2020

Microshare provides Smart Facilities and Sensing-as-a-Service solutions via its EverSmart suite, creating Digital Twins of real-world assets to drive operational efficiency, safety, and ESG insights. The company supplies customers across Commercial Real Estate, Corporate, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Pharmaceutical sectors, with notable clients including GlaxoSmithKline, Aramark and Rent-A-Center. Microshare gained attention for its Universal Contact Tracing wearables introduced during the pandemic and for partnerships such as Aramark’s AIWX Connect Predictive Cleaning deployments and a UK test with the British government and University of Leeds. Technically, the firm is a leader in LoRaWAN applications and a member of the LoRa Alliance. The company plans to use new funding to expand sales and development teams, grow business in North America, Europe and the Middle East, and strengthen complex supply-chain and reseller relationships to scale deployments. Microshare provides Sensing-as-a-Service and Digital Twin capabilities that surface curated IoT data for safety, efficiency, and sustainability of facilities. Its Clean=Safe smart facilities suite includes Universal Contact Tracing, Occupancy and Indoor Air Quality monitoring, and Predictive Cleaning. Universal Contact Tracing, launched in Q2 2020, uses Bluetooth wearable wristbands and badges and does not collect personally identifiable information; the company is deploying the solution globally across offices, hospitals, mines, factories, military bases and retail. Microshare’s solutions integrate Kerlink Wanesy management software and Semtech’s LoRaWAN protocol and gateway hardware. The company completed an inventory leasing arrangement with Cal‑Chip Connected Devices to support a unique hardware business model. Microshare says the funding will fuel growth in facilities safety and intelligence offerings amid increased demand driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since founding in 2013, Microshare has raised just over $20 million, the majority from individual investors, and counts prior investment from Kerlink and a multimillion-dollar stake by Motley Fool Ventures in 2018. Microshare provides data management and sharing software that enables secure revenue and efficiency models across facilities management, logistics, and other sectors. The platform helps combine data stores, enforce sharing rights, and monetize data with audit, compliance, and control. Microshare leverages IoT data and participates in the LoRa Alliance, promoting the LoRaWAN protocol for LPWAN connectivity. The company plans to use new funding to scale pilots in Europe and North America, expand to other global markets, and invest in platform and product development. Microshare was recently accepted into Microsoft’s Co‑Sell program, which it cited as a strategic endorsement alongside new investment. Financially, the company announced a $5 million investment round led by Motley Fool Ventures and has raised funds from strategic partners including Kerlink over the past two years.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2018

Imprint Energy develops ultrathin, flexible, printed batteries based on its proprietary ZincPoly chemistry for always-connected IoT products such as smart labels, health sensors, and flexible displays. The zinc polymer chemistry delivers higher energy density in thin formats, is environmentally safer, can be rechargeable or disposable, and offers low resistance to support power surges for long-distance wireless communication. Multiple manufacturing partners have successfully printed Imprint batteries on standard equipment, including surface-mount technology (SMT) lines and roll-to-roll screen printers, enabling a mass-print approach and direct integration with sensors, chips, and antennas to lower device costs. Imprint batteries are moving into field trials of IoT products and the company has designed cells specifically to power devices using Semtech’s LoRa technology; Semtech and its partners are early customers and technology partners. The company reports continued progress toward commercialization while advancing its process technology for high-volume, low-cost production. Imprint Energy is based in Alameda, Calif. Imprint Energy develops ultrathin, flexible, rechargeable batteries based on its proprietary ZincPoly chemistry, built on original research from UC Berkeley. The technology uses non-toxic, non-volatile materials and is designed for scalable, print-based manufacturing with high energy density. The company intends to use the $6M Series A to advance its technology and product development and to accelerate ZincPoly commercialization. Management is led by Dr. Devin MacKenzie (CEO) and Brooks Kincaid (President). In conjunction with the financing, Phoenix Venture Partners’ Dr. John Chen and Dr. Nobi Kambe will join the company’s board. Imprint Energy is targeting initial product design wins in the Wearable Electronics and Internet of Things markets. The addressable market already exceeds $1B and is expected to grow with new consumer, medical, and industrial devices.

Led · Series A · Jan 2017

myDevices provides Cayenne, a drag-and-drop IoT Project Builder that enables customers and developers to bring IoT projects from prototype to mass production. Its connectivity- and device-agnostic technology empowers engineers and enterprise partners to develop and deploy IoT solutions into existing infrastructure. The company also hosts an online community of IoT developers for collaboration and information sharing. Led by CEO Kevin Bromber, myDevices targets developers, engineers and organizations building IoT applications. It plans to use the Series A proceeds to advance the functionality of the Cayenne platform. myDevices will collaborate with investor Semtech to accelerate prototyping and commercialization by connecting sensors enabled by Semtech’s LoRa technology to private and public LPWANs.

Participated · Series C · Feb 2014

Powervation develops Intelligent Digital Power ICs and digital DC/DC controllers built on a proprietary digital control platform that delivers auto‑tuning, dynamic performance and programmable power management. Its products target cloud server, high‑performance computing, communications and power‑supply markets, where the company reports strong customer adoption. The company says its controllers address efficiency, size, cost and time‑to‑market challenges and will accelerate deployment of new digital controllers featuring xTune auto‑tuning and ITM fast‑transient technology. The recent financing provides working capital to scale the business and support product development and go‑to‑market expansion. Powervation is privately held and headquartered in Cork, Ireland, with offices in San Jose, Taipei and Shenzhen. Powervation is a private fabless semiconductor company that delivers Intelligent Digital Power™ integrated circuit solutions and digital power controllers. Its products feature a programmable architecture and a self‑tuning Auto‑Control® digital control loop for adaptive compensation. The company says its controllers have achieved wide adoption by market leaders in cloud/datacenter server infrastructure, high‑performance computing, power module solutions, and communications infrastructure. Customers value the products for their performance, flexibility, efficiency, and reduced time to market. Powervation plans to use new funding to accelerate growth, product development, market adoption, and expansion of its product portfolio. The company is headquartered in Cork, Ireland, with facilities in San Jose, California and Taipei, Taiwan. Powervation designs digital DC/DC controllers and an Intelligent Digital Power™ platform that incorporate patented Auto-Control® technology for real-time adaptive compensation. Its solutions target communications, computing, and point-of-load systems, offering improved performance, efficiency, reliability, and programmability alongside the PowerSMART™ GUI-based design tool. The company has established traction in communications and server/computing infrastructure, including early adoption of its PV3201 Intel VR12.x DDR controller series by leading server/computing OEMs. Powervation plans to accelerate market adoption at cloud and communications infrastructure OEMs, expand sales channels, and strengthen applications engineering. The company will establish a new facility in Taiwan to support Asian growth and bolster its Cork design team to speed new product development. The business is privately backed by a group of VCs and strategic investors and recently completed a new funding round to fuel its commercial build-out. Powervation develops integrated circuit system-on-chip solutions for energy control and management in information processing systems. The company secured new funding from Braemar Energy Ventures to support its continued growth. Braemar joins existing investors SEP, Intel Capital, VentureTech Alliance and 4th Level Ventures. In conjunction with the funding, Jiong Ma, Ph.D., principal of Braemar Energy Ventures, will join Powervation’s board of directors. The company said the proceeds will be used to support its continued growth initiatives. Powervation maintains corporate offices in Limerick, Ireland; Mountain View, California; and Taipei, Taiwan.