Participated · Seed · Nov 2022

Zulu offers a decentralized digital wallet for Latin American consumers that allows users to hold their own keys, personally custody assets, save in secure digital dollars, and send cross-border payments at no cost. The platform is available on Android and iOS and is designed to protect users from currency devaluations common in countries like Colombia, Venezuela and Peru. Founders Esteban Villegas, Jaime Varela and Julian Delgado started the company in March 2022 after meeting at Universidad de Los Andes. The company reported approximately 500,000 users across Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Mexico. Zulu plans to expand into other Latin American countries and the U.S. in 2023. Management frames the product as a way to bring web3 services to underbanked Latin Americans and to simplify blockchain for individual users. The company raised new funding in the current crypto environment to support growth and product development.

Participated · Series B · Jun 2016

Midokura develops network virtualization software focused on the OpenStack ecosystem, offering both an open source edition and a paid enterprise version. The enterprise product (priced at $1,899 per host) includes enterprise support and compatibility with VMware vSphere and the ESXi hypervisor. Its customer roster includes Dell, Blue Jeans Networks, Overstock.com and Puppet. The company plans to expand into the container market by adding support for the Kubernetes container management platform. Midokura says its platform’s multi-platform support (OpenStack, VMware, etc.) is a competitive advantage because enterprises often run multiple technologies. Financially, the company has raised a total of $44 million to date and currently employs about 50 people; management intends to spend the new funding conservatively and does not plan significant headcount expansion. Midokura sells MidoNet, a software-defined networking and network virtualization offering that integrates with popular cloud platforms to simplify cloud networking, scalability, automation, and isolation. The product targets cloud service providers, hosting providers, mobile network operators, large enterprises and smaller companies building private clouds. The company launched a beta of MidoNet in October 2012 and has generated considerable interest since. Midokura has offices in San Francisco, Tokyo, Lausanne and Barcelona and is preparing for broader deployment and expansion. Management is shifting roles as co-founder Tatsuya Kato moves from CEO to chairman and former CTO Dan Mihai Dumitriu becomes CEO. The company plans to use recent funding to hire engineers, deepen the technology, add features, improve management capabilities, and integrate with other technologies and partners. Tokyo-based Midokura's core product is Midonet, a network virtualization control layer that runs on top of existing IP networks and lets users create virtual layer‑2 switches, routers, load balancers and firewalls via a UI or API. Virtual network topology is independent of the physical layer, so virtual machines can be moved across infrastructure while the virtual network follows automatically. Midonet components are described as fault tolerant with no single point of failure and are designed to scale out on commodity hardware, which the company says can reduce infrastructure costs. The platform can be delivered via integration into existing products, as a standalone solution, as NaaS, or through Midostack — Midokura's OpenStack (IaaS/EC2) distribution and primary delivery mechanism. Midostack is currently in a limited beta for pilot projects. The company is expanding aggressively worldwide, with an office in Europe, a San Francisco office slated to open this summer and possible plans for Singapore later in the year, and is actively hiring; it raised $1.3 million in seed funding and is seeking a Series A this year.