Participated · Series C · Sep 2023

Transfr provides virtual reality simulations paired with a digital coach to deliver hands-on workforce training and career-development courses, with a focus on middle-skills jobs. Its platform is used by government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, community organizations, workforce development groups, K-12 schools and higher-education institutions. The company reports installations in more than 1,000 U.S. locations, has facilitated almost 400,000 training simulations, operates in over 40 states, and says its customer base more than doubled year-over-year from 2019 to 2023. Transfr monetizes via a software-as-a-service licensing fee; customers must also acquire headsets (notably Meta’s Oculus Quest with Oculus for Business) to use the platform. The company plans to scale the platform, build out its executive team, invest in new training simulations across a wider range of skills and scenarios, and expand Spanish-language offerings and overall content. Founder and CEO Bharani Rajakumar, whose prior company LearnBop was acquired by K12 in 2014, leads the company’s partnerships with educational and workforce organizations. Transfr VR builds virtual and augmented reality simulations that simulate on-the-job training in fully immersive, 360-degree environments. Delivered with employers, colleges, and workforce development organizations, its simulations include a pre-programmed digital coach to enable hands-on, distraction-free training. The company serves industries including automotive, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, health care, and construction. Over five years Transfr expanded from customers in a single state to partners in 36 states and the District of Columbia, and nearly 300 organizations now use its platform. More than 10,000 incumbent workers, job-seekers, and students have accessed its simulations. The company recently completed a $35 million Series B financing led by Lumos Capital Group. TRANSFR VR builds simulation-based, hands-on training experiences using virtual reality to prepare people for technical and skilled-trade roles. The company’s platform pairs curriculum and assessment tools with headsets (the article cites Oculus Quest with Oculus for Business) to recreate on-the-job experiences. TRANSFR says its programs are aimed at boosting economic mobility in regions with acute skills gaps and unemployment and are already used by workforce agencies, schools, colleges, and employers. Customers and partners named in the article include Lockheed Martin, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, and statewide partnerships in Alabama through AIDT and the Alabama Community College System under the JumpstartAL initiative. The company emphasizes connecting schools, workplaces, and governments to make technical careers more accessible and to open pathways to higher wages. TRANSFR was recognized in January 2020 as a “2020 Innovator to Watch” by nonprofit JFF.

Participated · Series B · Sep 2013

Evolent Health provides clinical, analytical and financial capabilities to help health systems adopt value-based care through a population health and risk management platform. The company plans to further build out its technology, operational platform and expert team and broaden its national network of health system partners. Evolent currently partners in 15 markets and works with multiple leading health systems, including Piedmont Healthcare, WellStar Health System, Indiana University Health, MedStar Health and Premier Health. The company emphasizes a provider-led, physician-first orientation to align incentives across providers, payers, physicians and patients. Evolent is a private, high-growth company headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Financially, the company has secured significant external capital to support expansion, most recently a $100 million Series B.