The Venture Codex

Led · Equity · Nov 2021

Qwello develops, installs, owns and operates public, inner-city EV charging infrastructure in partnership with local municipalities. Its offering covers hardware and software development, installation, operations, maintenance and a mobile app for billing, reservations and location search. Charging poles include user-friendly features such as icon-based communication, contactless payment options, and integrated Type 2 cables (plus a Type 2 socket). The company focuses on convenient urban locations and aims to simplify public charging for cities across Europe. Qwello is managed and founded by Henrik Thiele, an industry executive with decades of automotive and rail experience. Mountain Alliance AG is a portfolio holder (approx. 2% stake) and the company recently attracted a new external investor.

Led · Equity · Oct 2019

Stellium Datacentres operates a three‑facility datacentre campus and a fibre‑optic ring in Newcastle upon Tyne that offers enterprise cloud, dedicated and co‑location services as well as powered shell facilities. The campus was constructed to BREEAM Excellent and Outstanding standards in 2017, has its own power supply and reports a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.2. Stellium is a regional hub for transatlantic traffic on Aqua Comms’ North Atlantic Loop and has been selected as the principal UK landing station for the North Sea Connect cable linking the UK and Denmark. The company houses several operating customers on campus and provides infrastructure intended for hyperscale, wholesale and local customers. Management says the business will support European customers, extend services across the Atlantic and help serve public and academic institutions and regional economic growth.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2019

SmartSky Networks, formed in 2011 and led by CEO Haynes Griffin, operates an air-to-ground inflight internet service. Its core product, SmartSky 4G LTE, uses patented spectrum reuse, advanced beamforming technologies and 60 MHz of spectrum to deliver a low-latency, bidirectional data link. The network is designed to enable in-flight productivity comparable to ground experiences and to support new apps, services, and hardware that will digitize the aviation industry. SmartSky is in the process of rolling out a nationwide air-to-ground network; the inflight connectivity service is slated to be commercially available later this year. The company has raised almost $350M to date and recently closed a new financing. Proceeds from the latest round will be used to continue the ongoing network rollout. SmartSky Networks develops SmartSky 4G LTE, an air-to-ground broadband high-speed wireless data network dedicated to providing airborne internet connectivity. The company is working with aerospace and technology partners to roll out its SmartSky 4G LTE network. It plans to deploy a nationwide network and was preparing to roll out the service later that year. SmartSky has raised approximately a quarter of a billion dollars in equity capital to date. The company is led by Chairman and CEO Haynes Griffin. SmartSky was formed in 2011 and is based in Charlotte, N.C. SmartSky Networks, founded in 2011 and headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is developing the first 4G-LTE based air-to-ground communications network in the U.S. to deliver next-generation in-flight connectivity. The company plans a beta launch of its SmartSky 4G network in late 2015 and a rollout of nationwide commercial service beginning in 2016. SmartSky intends to use proceeds from the financing to conduct an end-to-end system demonstration on a multi-site network and to commence network deployment activities ahead of the commercial rollout. Leadership includes Chairman and CEO Haynes Griffin and a team of senior aviation and telecommunications executives. The company is working with leading aerospace and technology partners as it builds its network. No operating metrics (revenue/users) are disclosed in the article.

Led · Series C · Jul 2017

Exosome Diagnostics develops and commercializes exosome‑based, biofluid diagnostics using its ExoLution™ platform and point‑of‑care instrumentation ShahkyTM. Its flagship offering is the ExoDx® Prostate (IntelliScore) test, and the company is commercializing additional oncology diagnostic tests. Management plans to expand into other areas including neurodegenerative diseases, transplant rejection monitoring, and cardiology. Exosome Diagnostics is building out a companion diagnostics (CDx) business and expanding placement of exosomal instrumentation while advancing point‑of‑care clinical development. Technology differentiators cited include one‑reaction RNA and cell‑free DNA interrogation for signal enhancement and the ability to isolate disease‑specific exosomes by tissue type. The company completed a $30 million Series C financing to support rapid commercial expansion and further commercialization of its technologies. Exosome Diagnostics develops an exosome-based liquid biopsy platform that isolates and analyzes exosomal RNA, DNA and proteins from biofluids to enable non-invasive molecular diagnostics. The company’s tests analyze exoRNA for cancer biomarkers and its platform can simultaneously interrogate exoRNA and cell-free DNA to enhance detection of rare mutations. Exosome Diagnostics also highlights protein biomarker interrogation capabilities to broaden its diagnostic scope. The company plans to launch combined RNA-plus-DNA commercial liquid biopsy tests and pursue potential companion-diagnostic programs with pharma. It intends to expand development beyond oncology into areas such as neurodegenerative, inflammatory, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases. Financially, Exosome Diagnostics completed a $60 million Series B financing to support growth of its commercial diagnostics, regulatory, and companion-diagnostics divisions and to advance new test and biomarker development. Exosome Diagnostics develops exosome-based molecular diagnostics that isolate and analyze exosomal RNA (exoRNA) and can also analyze cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from biofluids such as plasma, urine and saliva. Its liquid biopsy tests analyze exoRNA for cancer biomarkers and the platform is positioned to be applied to non-oncology indications as well. The company announced a $17.6M extension of its Series B, bringing the total Series B financing to $44.7M, and said the funds will support commercial and development efforts. Planned near-term commercial launches in 2015 include two blood-based lung cancer liquid biopsies (detecting ALK and T790M mutations), a urine-based prostate cancer liquid biopsy, and a 26-gene solid tumor panel offered initially as an LDT. It is developing a next-generation solid tumor panel planned for 2016 to detect 88 genes and thousands of mutations, and is beginning early development of diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases. Management says the financing positions the company to transition to a commercial-stage company and expand its exosome-based tests across additional disease areas. Exosome Diagnostics develops fluid-based molecular diagnostic tests that analyze exosomes and other microvesicles in biofluids (blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid) to detect disease-specific genetic material. Led by CEO James McCullough, the company positions its platform for personalized medicine and oncology applications. Planned near-term product launches include EXO106 (a prostate-cancer diagnostic to reduce unnecessary biopsies) and exoRNeasy research kits for RNA extraction targeted for Q2 2014. Under an expanded collaboration with QIAGEN the company is developing EXO501, a blood-based test to measure an actionable mutation in non-small cell lung cancer for non-invasive, repeated tumor mutation assessment. It is also developing EXO1000, a blood-based multi-gene clinically actionable biomarker panel for oncology. The company will use the new funding to support these product launches and continued R&D of its proprietary technology platform. Exosome Diagnostics develops exosome-based molecular diagnostics that detect cancer-specific genes from standard blood and urine samples. Its proprietary exosome technology enables minimally invasive testing for disease stratification and monitoring patient response to treatment. The company aims to further develop and commercialize a series of body-fluid-based oncology diagnostics using the new capital. Exosome Diagnostics is establishing R&D and service operations in New York and Munich to support development and commercialization. In conjunction with the financing it incorporated Exosome Diagnostics GmbH as a wholly owned subsidiary to serve as the European center for development and services. The company raised $20M in equity funding to advance these efforts.

Led · Equity · Sep 2015

Sunlight Financial is a technology-enabled finance company that provides point-of-sale consumer loans for residential solar, batteries and roofing through partnerships with installers, distributors and sales organizations nationwide. Its platform includes an intuitive installer portal and robust APIs designed to enable a fast, frictionless point-of-sale process for homeowners and partners. The company positions itself as an originator of high-quality assets and has secured more than $1 billion of capital for loans to homeowners. Sunlight aims to expand its product suite, enhance its technology platform, add strategic partners, and deepen existing partnerships to support growth in solar and adjacent home-improvement financing. Management describes the company as the fastest growing solar financing provider nationwide and emphasizes opportunities driven by the roughly $60 billion solar and energy-efficiency market. Sunlight Financial originates and finances loans for residential solar installations, positioning itself as a lender in the shift from third‑party leases toward solar loans and cash purchases. The company announced an additional $225 million capital raise to support loan originations and expects to finance more than 9,000 homes with that capital, at roughly $25,000 per loan. Using the U.S. average system size of about 5.7 kW-DC, the article estimates an implied all‑in cost of roughly $4.40/W for the loans Sunlight finances. EnergySage data show Sunlight breaking into the top 10 loan providers by market share. The company has grown through several large financings since 2015 to support nationwide expansion and to capture demand as the market shifts away from leases. No revenue or user counts were reported in the article. Sunlight Financial provides loan products and an online platform that enables homeowners to apply for credit and sign loan documents for residential solar systems. The company partners with solar installers, sales organizations and equipment distributors nationwide to simplify and streamline lending for system ownership. Its platform is used by installers and sales teams to offer loans to homeowners across the United States. Sunlight emphasizes capital markets expertise, risk management and consumer credit experience to support installer partners. The company plans to introduce new financing products, expand its Charlotte operations center, and partner with additional solar installers as part of its growth strategy. Financially, Sunlight has secured a $130 million commitment from Route 66 Ventures to support its expansion and product development. Sunlight Financial provides long-term loans to finance the installation of residential rooftop solar systems through market-leading installers and large equipment distributors. The company offers a broad suite of loan products aimed at channel partners and homeowners and emphasizes cost-effective capital and robust service offerings to scale with installers. Its strategy is to grow with several installers to minimize customer acquisition costs and overhead while expanding distribution. Sunlight recently secured $300 million in capital commitments to expand its business platform and increase access to lower-cost financing for residential rooftop solar assets. Management states the capital will be used to deploy loans and enhance product offerings to better serve customers and channel partners. Leadership changes tied to the financing include Neil Z. Auerbach becoming executive chairman while CEO Matthew R. Potere will continue to lead the executive team and hold a board seat.