Participated · Equity · Mar 2025

Decibel Bio is a Berkeley, CA-based company that provides an epigenetic reprogramming platform for crops. Led by CEO and founder Travis Bayer, the company develops treatments that boost genes protecting plants' photosynthetic machinery from extreme heat, helping them remain productive under stress. The same approach is described as working for drought, excess rainfall, and for yield enhancement. Decibel aims to advance its proprietary platform for both reading and writing the plant epigenome to create crop varieties with higher yield, efficiency, and resilience. The company raised $12M in funding from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Future Ventures, Bayer and Syngenta. It intends to use the funds to expand partnerships across the platform and fast track product development.

Participated · Series A · Oct 2021

Founded in 2016, Stable offers a parametric insurance platform that lets food, farming and other commodity-exposed businesses lock in protection against price swings. Its software hosts more than 5,000 third-party indexes across 70 countries, allowing clients to build highly correlated, automated payout contracts without a traditional claims process. The company applies machine-learning models—running roughly 62 trillion simulations daily—to price risk fairly for both customers and its A-rated re-insurer partners, and earns revenue via a fixed brokerage-style commission. Stable operates from Chicago, Austin, New York City and London, employs about 50 people, and is targeting $500 million in annual written premium within three years of launch. With roughly $50 million raised to date, the firm plans to use fresh capital to grow North American sales and marketing teams and hire additional data scientists. Future expansion targets include new verticals such as packaging, construction/timber and energy, and new geographies in Central and South America.

Led · Equity · Nov 2020

MycoTechnology harnesses the metabolic engine of mushrooms—mycelium—using natural fermentation to produce novel food ingredients. Its product portfolio includes ClearIQ, a kosher and halal all‑natural bitter blocker, and FermentIQ, a plant‑based meat analog ingredient made by fermenting pea and rice protein with shiitake mycelium. The company positions its ingredients as solutions for sugar reduction, food insecurity, sustainable protein and natural immune support, and aims to improve taste and functionality in plant‑based products. Founded in 2013 and based in Aurora, Colorado, MycoTechnology says its platform can add new-to-the-world ingredients from the fungal kingdom. The startup plans to use recent funding to further capitalize its fermentation technology platform and expand its geographical footprint, prioritizing launches in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. MycoTechnology emphasizes improving the palatability of alt‑protein to help drive broader consumer adoption. MycoTechnology develops a mushroom fermentation platform to create food-processing solutions and functional ingredients made from mycelium. The company is Colorado-based and was selected from more than 150 global applicants to win the Radicle Protein Challenge, receiving a US$1 million investment prize. It previously closed a US$39 million Series D backed by Greenleaf Foods, Tyson Ventures and Eighteen94 Capital. Management has stated plans to expand its line of ingredients and food-processing solutions made using mycelium. The company also alluded to an opportunity for an IPO in late 2022. As part of the prize, MycoTechnology will gain access to the agricultural network and expertise of Radicle and Syngenta to accelerate its technology. MycoTechnology develops mushroom-based functional ingredients, including ClearTaste (a bitterness masker) and PureTaste, a fermented pea-and-rice protein that is 77% protein. The company raised $39M in a Series D to help build and scale its functional ingredients platform. PureTaste is produced by fermenting pea and rice protein with shiitake mycelia and is positioned for use in meat alternatives, snack bars, dairy alternatives, and baked goods. ClearTaste is commonly used to mask the aftertaste of stevia, enabling sugar reduction, and is also used in CBD products, coffee, chocolate, and low-sodium formulations made with potassium chloride. MycoTechnology's CEO, Alan Hahn, has said the company has projects that may create opportunities to go public, with a previously announced IPO plan for late 2022. The article also situates the company within a growing mycoprotein market, noting industry expansion and other recent fundraising by fungi-based ingredient startups. MycoTechnology is a Denver, CO–based developer of a novel organic food processing platform that transforms agricultural material into functional ingredients. Its offering includes ClearTaste, which enables companies to reduce sugar by blocking bitterness, and PureTaste®, a sustainable, functional, plant-based protein. The company is led by CEO Alan Hahn, CSO Anthony Clark, COO Rick Becker, and CFO Jonathan Jachimiec. MycoTechnology closed a $30M Series C to accelerate expansion, speed R&D project execution, and grow the team to support current and future projects. The firm targets major challenges in the food and beverage industry by commercializing ingredient solutions derived from its platform. MycoTechnology develops functional food ingredients using mushroom fermentation, commercializing products for the food and beverage industry. Its first product, ClearTaste®, is a certified organic bitter blocker that helps companies reduce sugar in their products. The company is commercializing a Shiitake-fermented vegetable protein called PureTaste, which the article describes as highly digestible, non-GMO, vegan, low in calories/fats/carbohydrates and rich in vitamins and minerals not found in competing proteins. After ClearTaste commercialization, MycoTechnology is focusing on addressing challenges in the protein industry with PureTaste. The company intends to use new funds to continue to grow operations, and its commercial facility will initially be able to produce 4,000 metric tons of PureTaste per year. MycoTechnology was founded in 2013 by Alan Hahn, who serves as CEO.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2015

Brandtone secured €18.5m in funding to support geographic and sector expansion. The company uses a "sustainable engagement" approach whereby consumers initiate interactions, receive meaningful rewards, and grant permission for future re-engagement. Proceeds will be used to expand into South East Asia, Africa and Latin America, enter new sectors including agri-food and healthcare, and to invest in innovation. Founded in 2010 and based in Dublin, Ireland, Brandtone is led by founder and CEO Donald Fitzmaurice. The firm operates in 12 markets — including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Russia, Colombia, Brazil, India, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines — employs 120 people and has worked with over 60 brands. Brandtone provides mobile marketing solutions to global brands in developing and emerging markets, delivering campaigns based on a “sustainable engagement” model that emphasizes opt-in, controlled interactions and tangible rewards. The company was launched in 2010 and is led by founder and CEO Donald Fitzmaurice. Brandtone has run campaigns for clients including Unilever, PepsiCo, Kellogg’s and Mondelēz. It closed a €14m third funding round to support growth. The company intends to use the funds to establish and grow operations, including opening offices in New York and Jakarta, and to invest in products and services to address rising smartphone penetration and growth in financial and health services in its markets.