Participated · Series B · Apr 2024

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in South Korea, Upstage builds large language models (including its SOLAR LLM) and a document processing solution called Document PATH. Its product suite focuses on converting unstructured data into actionable insights through document parsing and information extraction to automate enterprise workflows. The company targets industries such as insurance, healthcare, and finance. Following the Series C, Upstage achieved a valuation above 1 trillion won and plans to expand GPU infrastructure and hire global AI talent. It also intends to scale operations internationally, particularly across the U.S. and Japan. The article did not disclose revenue, user counts, or other operating metrics.

Led · Series A · Jun 2023

Amsterdam-based Source.ag offers an integrated platform that combines digitisation, artificial intelligence, and plant and cultivation science to support controlled environment agriculture (CEA). The software delivers precise yield forecasting, fully automated irrigation, and centralized data management, effectively serving as an AI co-pilot for growers. By codifying expert cultivation knowledge, the company aims to overcome labor constraints and make CEA more scalable and profitable. Its technology is already deployed in more than 300 greenhouses spanning 2,500 hectares across 18 countries, contributing to the daily supply of tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers for about 40 million people. Founded in 2020 by CEO Rien Kamman and CCO Ernst van Bruggen, Source.ag partners with leading growers throughout Europe and North America. With total funding now exceeding $60 million, the firm plans to accelerate global scaling, expand its AI product suite, and deepen collaborations with major horticulture organizations.

Participated · Series C · Mar 2023

Humane is developing an integrated device and cloud services platform for AI led by ex-Apple designers and engineers Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno. The company remains secretive about its product but has promised a public reveal in the spring and emphasizes trust and privacy “from day zero.” Patent filings and job listings suggest a body-worn device using a laser projection system (projected AR) with cameras, depth sensors, a Snapdragon-class chip and a wearable battery, and use cases such as personal live broadcasting, senior monitoring, memory recall and a personal guide. Humane has formed strategic partnerships with Microsoft, SK Networks, OpenAI, LG, Volvo and Qualcomm for cloud processing, distribution, integration, R&D and potential automotive and smart-home adaptations. Financially, Humane has raised $230 million to date and recently closed a $100 million Series C; the company says it is investing heavily in innovation, research and development. The team has grown to exactly 200 employees. Humane is a stealth startup building a new class of consumer devices and technologies driven by a collaboration of design and engineering. The company has not released products publicly but holds patents that hint at wearable multimedia projection and fertility/hormonal-cycle awareness systems. Humane describes its aim as creating devices and a platform for what it calls the “intelligence age,” focusing on experiences built on trust and joy. The company has roughly a 60-person team and lists nearly 50 open positions across hardware, camera/computer vision, design and security roles. Financially, Humane has raised multiple rounds: just under $12M in early funding, a $30M Series A in September 2020 (per PitchBook), and a newly announced $100M Series B. Its Series B valuation was not disclosed. Humane, Inc. is a San Francisco, CA–based company advancing a new platform for the next era of computing. It creates and sells consumer hardware, software, and services designed to feel familiar, natural and humane. The company was co-founded by Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno. In September 2020 Humane closed a $30M Series A round. The company intends to use the funds to continue developing its innovative solutions and advance its platform for the next era of computing.

Participated · Series C · Jan 2022

MycoWorks develops mycelium materials via its patented Fine Mycelium technology, a manufacturing platform that engineers mycelium during growth to form proprietary, interlocking cellular structures for increased strength and durability. The company intends to use new funds to advance R&D efforts and build more sustainable alternatives for designers. Founded by Philip Ross and Sophia Wang and led by CEO Matt Scullin, MycoWorks focuses on bringing new mycelium materials to market. The firm is based in San Francisco and was founded in 2013. The article does not disclose revenue, users, or other operating metrics. The most recent investment amount and instrument were not disclosed in the article. MycoWorks develops Reishi, a fungal-based biomaterial intended to replace traditional leather, produced via its proprietary Fine Mycelium biotechnology platform. The company was founded in 2013 by Philip Ross and Sophia Wang and is led by CEO Matt Scullin. MycoWorks has established partnerships with major luxury brands, including an initial collaboration with Hermès, and reports contracts with a range of global luxury houses. The company validated its tray-based manufacturing process at a pilot plant in Emeryville, California, processing 10,000 trays and demonstrating scalability. With the new funding it plans to build a production plant in Union, S.C., target mass-scale production (initially several million square feet per year), and expand team, R&D and technology development. Management positions the product both for high-end luxury use and eventual broader price-point availability as it scales manufacturing. MycoWorks develops Reishi™, a natural, non-animal leather material designed for the fashion and luxury industries. The company positions Reishi™ to perform like cowhide while offering a sustainable alternative for fashion and footwear. It intends to use new funds to scale production and meet growing demand. MycoWorks has opened a major Reishi™ production plant in Emeryville, California that introduces proprietary systems to boost productivity and increases capacity by over 10x. Additional plants are being designed and sited to support further scaling. The company plans to roll out consumer products in the coming months as it announces partnerships with leading global luxury fashion and footwear brands, and celebrity investors participated in the round. MycoWorks develops Reishi, a fine mycelium leather produced via its proprietary Fine Mycelium™ technology that emulates the collagen structure of animal leathers. The company says Reishi provides the same performance, quality and aesthetics as leather without the use of animals or plastic. Reishi is already used by multiple European luxury and footwear brands, and products have been prototyped and tested with major luxury customers for more than 18 months. MycoWorks currently operates two production facilities and is about to open a third commercial plant with a production capacity of 80,000 square feet of material per year. The company plans to use the $17M Series A financing to scale production of Reishi. Matt Scullin is CEO of MycoWorks.

Participated · Series C · Feb 2021

Standard Cognition offers an autonomous checkout platform that uses AI-powered cameras and software to detect which items shoppers pick up, enabling checkout-free experiences without facial recognition. Its system is designed to install in existing stores without changing layout, shelving, lighting or inventory processes. The company is led by co‑founder and CEO Jordan Fisher and works with customers such as Alimentation Couche-Tard (parent of Circle K) and Compass Group. Standard says it will outfit hundreds of checkout-free stores in 2021 and beyond and has a goal of more than 50,000 stores in the next five years. In February 2021 the company raised $150M in a Series C. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and broaden its business reach. Standard Cognition builds an AI-powered computer vision platform that enables autonomous checkout by implanting overhead cameras and hardware in brick-and-mortar stores. Its system identifies shoppers by shape and movement, ties accounts and payment methods via an iOS/Android app or a kiosk, and automatically bills customers with no checkout required. The company has installed its hardware in five stores in the U.S. and Japan and operates one branded store in San Francisco, though it says it will not open more owned stores. Founded in 2017, Standard plans to expand globally using the new funding and expects support from EQT Ventures to launch in Europe. Financially, it closed a $35M Series B at a $535M valuation and has raised $86M in total venture capital to date. The company framed 2019 as a "year of deployment," 2020 as a year of repeatability and 2021 as a year of scale. Standard Cognition develops an autonomous retail checkout platform that uses overhead cameras (about 27 per store) and computer vision to identify shoppers by shape and movement rather than facial recognition. Customers can link an account via an iOS or Android app that flashes a light pattern to tie them to payment, or use a kiosk flow that supports cash and card so stores never exclude anyone. The company charges retailers for the capital expenditures to install ceiling cameras and a computer, plus a monthly SaaS fee based on store size, SKUs, and product changes. Standard Cognition claims its camera system is 99% accurate and is trained to identify suspicious shoplifting behavior. It opened a 1,900-sq-ft flagship test store on Market St. in San Francisco and is equipping stores for its first four partners, including Japan’s pharmacy chain Yakuodo and three unnamed U.S. public grocery/drug/convenience businesses. The startup has about 40 employees and plans to hire 70–80 more over the next six months to speed deployment. Standard Cognition develops a machine-vision checkout platform that uses higher-powered security cameras and a customer app to identify items shoppers take and bill them as they exit. The company offers a toolkit intended for both large retailers and mom-and-pop stores, targeting the long tail beyond solutions like Amazon Go. Its platform is built and the team is focused on releasing and adapting deployments to each retail partner’s operations. Standard says it anonymizes data, avoids facial recognition, and stores no personal data in the cloud while still using the internet to push model updates fleet‑wide. The startup also offers cross-store analytics to retailers without storing personal data, and likens its update model to Tesla’s over-the-air feature rollouts. The company positions itself as a privacy-forward challenger to Amazon Go as camera and ML hardware costs decline. Standard Cognition is a San Francisco, CA-based company offering an AI-powered checkout system that lets consumers shop and pay without scanning or stopping to check out. The platform launched in August 2017 as an alternative to Amazon Go and is one of the first such solutions available to retailers. The company is led by CEO Jordan Fisher and COO Michael Suswal. Standard Cognition participated in Y Combinator’s Summer 2017 batch. It raised $5M in seed funding to support growth. The company plans to use the funds to double its engineering team by the end of the year and to launch its first public U.S. store with a retailer in early 2018.