Led · Equity · May 2022

InPink is a niche marketplace that lets female and nonbinary artists and live-entertainment professionals publish listings and connect with brands. The platform serves roles such as tour managers, photographers, video editors, graphic designers and performing musicians. It has grown to over 3,000 users and has processed $300,000 in transactions to date. Product roadmap items include two AI tools — a fair pay scale and a matching tool — targeted to launch in early 2025, plus a paid Pro subscription for higher-level talent. The fair pay feature will recommend rates based on location, service, and project scope and the matching tool will analyze past performance to improve discovery. InPink is part of Gritty in Pink, which is expanding beyond music into adjacent sectors like sports and live events. Gritty In Pink operates InPink, an online marketplace network that lets employers search for female music-industry talent by skill and demographic. The platform launched in beta earlier this year and is designed to connect musicians, songwriters, engineers, producers and other female professionals with hiring businesses. Founder and CEO Shira Yevin created the company to address persistent gender disparities in music credits and industry hiring. The startup has raised $100,000 from Sunstone Management and the Long Beach Accelerator and reports plans for a $1 million pre-seed round. Singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge joined Gritty In Pink as a strategic advisor and holds a stake in the company. The team says its long-term vision is to expand beyond music and become a global destination to hire female freelancers across industries.

Participated · Series C · Aug 2020

Syntiant provides purpose-built silicon and an edge-optimized data platform and training pipeline to enable always-on deep learning for voice, sensor, audio and image use cases. Its Neural Decision Processors™ and chip solutions combine deep learning with semiconductor design to produce ultra-low-power, high-performance processors for devices from earbuds and wearables to automobiles and other IoT systems. The company offers an end-to-end stack that includes chips, software and training tools to allow edge devices to hear, speak, see and feel. Syntiant plans to accelerate deployment of its third-generation Syntiant Core 3™ architecture and to enhance its software capabilities. Financially, the company raised $55M in the reported financing and has raised more than $100M since its founding in 2017. Leadership is headed by CEO Kurt Busch. Syntiant develops microwatt-power Neural Decision Processors (NDP100 and NDP101) that run deep learning inference for voice and sensor applications. Its NDPs are designed to extend battery life in edge devices such as smartphones, smart speakers, laptops and earbuds. The company reports it has shipped more than one million units of the NDP100 and NDP101 to customers globally. Syntiant positions its technology to deliver high performance at very low power and low cost for improved AI voice‑activation. Financially, the company completed a $35 million Series C to support continued development and growth. Investors named in the round include Sunstone Venture Capital Fund, Seraph Group, Microsoft and Applied Materials. Sunstone, based in Long Beach, previously invested in Syntiant’s Series A and B rounds and participated in this Series C. Syntiant develops analog neural-network semiconductors that enable on-device machine learning for always-on voice, sensor and image tasks in battery-powered devices such as smartphones, watches and speakers. The company combines innovations in deep learning and semiconductor design to expand AI capabilities at the edge with very low power consumption. Syntiant says it will commercialize its neural network technology for battery-powered devices and has expanded its board with the additions of Samir Kumar and Bret Johnsen to deepen guidance. Financially, Syntiant completed a $25 million Series B equity raise that included strategic technology and industrial investors. Participants in the Series B included Sunstone Venture Capital Fund, Seraph Group, Microsoft, Intel, Amazon, Robert Bosch, Applied Materials and Motorola. Sunstone had also participated in Syntiant’s Series A less than a year earlier and credited the company’s rapid advancement with increasing the value of its investment. Syntiant develops analog neural-network semiconductors called Neural Decision Processors (NDPs) that perform neural computation locally on edge devices. Its technology seeks to eliminate data-movement penalties to enable faster, lower-power ML inference than traditional CPU, GPU and DSP options. The NDPs use custom analog neural networks optimized at the transistor level to run deep-learning functions. The chips are positioned for voice, sensor and video applications across mobile phones, wearables, smart sensors and drones. Led by CEO Kurt Busch, the company says it will use new funding to further develop and commercialize its technology. The company is based in Irvine, CA.

Led · Series B · Aug 2019

Lucira Health creates battery-powered, single-use molecular diagnostic tests designed to deliver lab-quality results without requiring centralized instruments. Its lead product line includes an at-home influenza test that produces a text read-out within 20 minutes following a nasal swab. The company is also building a companion mobile application and telemedicine workflow so that consumers can seamlessly access follow-up care after receiving results. Earlier work with BARDA enabled Lucira to validate a clinical-use flu kit for CLIA-waived settings, and the new focus is converting that capability into an over-the-counter format for consumers. By targeting both healthcare providers and end users, Lucira aims to broaden access to rapid molecular testing and reduce time to treatment. No operating metrics, revenue figures, or user counts were disclosed in the article.