The Venture Codex

Led · Equity · Oct 2024

Heliene is a North American solar PV module manufacturer that has served the market through multiple cycles over the past 14 years. Its core product is domestically produced solar PV modules, and the company is expanding manufacturing with a new 550MW production line in Rogers, MN that will create 150+ full-time jobs. The MN #3 line will boost Heliene’s total U.S.-based manufacturing capacity to about 1.5GW per year. Heliene has secured long-term supply agreements (2.0GW with Excelsior Energy Capital and 1.5GW with Nexamp) and partnered across the domestic supply chain with Suniva, SOLARCYCLE, OMCO Solar, Premier Energies and NorSun. The company is leveraging the Inflation Reduction Act—including a 45X production tax credit and the Domestic Content Adder—to drive customer value and support its domestic supply-chain strategy. Financially, Heliene recently closed a strategic equity investment of up to $54 million from Transition Equity Partners and a consortium including affiliates of Hamilton Lane, following a $170 million raise in 2023 from Orion Infrastructure Capital and several key customers. Heliene manufactures North American-made solar PV modules and serves utility-scale, commercial and residential customers with in-house logistics and support to deliver modules when and where needed. The company closed a $170M financing package comprising $20M in equity and a $150M credit facility. The debt facility was provided by Orion Infrastructure Capital; the equity tranche included participation from Orion (OIC), 2Shores Capital and two existing customers, Valta Energy and Bullrock Renewables. Heliene plans to use the proceeds to expand manufacturing capacity, add two new 300MW lines at its Mountain Iron facility and bolster workforce development. The company expanded North American capacity in 2022 with an additional 500MW plant and aims to grow US capacity from 1.1 GW to 2.0 GW by the end of 2024. Heliene projects hiring roughly 300 team members in Minnesota and 200 in Ontario to support growth. Heliene is a manufacturer of high-efficiency solar photovoltaic modules with production in Canada and the USA and installations across North America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. The company, established in 2010 and based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is pursuing product and service diversification through proprietary technology development. Heliene is developing an intelligent photovoltaic module branded iPV — a “module with a brain” — that integrates a specialized string-optimization inverter and control system to optimize energy harvesting, generate reactive power, and provide real-time grid communication. The iPV product targets utilities and local distribution companies by offering real-time data visibility and voltage control, and it is designed as a plug-and-play system that also corrects power factor. To support this shift into the Smart Grid market, Heliene will receive $1.45 million in funding through Sustainable Development Technology Canada as part of a $3.3 million iPV project. The company says the iPV program is intended to meaningfully diversify its business model beyond manufacturing and service streams.

Led · Seed · Apr 2023

Springbok builds AI and machine‑learning technology to automatically quantify rotator cuff muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration from standard clinical MRIs, producing 3D volumetric measurements and actionable reports for providers and patients. Its deep‑learning‑based algorithms were developed and validated in Phase I work and are trained on an extensive digital database of healthy and pathological rotator cuff scans. The technology aims to overcome limits of the qualitative Goutallier classification by providing objective, scalable, and faster quantitative analysis within clinical workflows. Springbok is working with research partners at the University of Virginia, the San Antonio Orthopaedic Group (TSAOG), and the University of Wisconsin to further develop and validate its methods. The company received a $1.7 million Phase II SBIR grant from the NIH to develop a commercially viable algorithm and complete product development. Completing Phase II is intended to enable an FDA 510(k) submission and move the product toward clinical commercialization to improve diagnosis, treatment planning, and surgical outcomes. Springbok Analytics, based in Charlottesville, VA, provides technology that converts standard 2D magnetic resonance image (MRI) data into precise, personalized 3D muscle visualizations. The company’s scans take less than 15 minutes and enable quantification of muscle volume, asymmetries, atrophy, soft tissue injuries, and scar tissue for athletic, performance, and health use cases. Led by CEO Scott Magargee, Springbok supports research and care for a range of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions, including facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). The company was recently selected into the NBA’s Launchpad program to source, evaluate, and pilot technologies that advance soft tissue injury prevention and recovery. Springbok intends to use the $3M in seed funding to expand operations and broaden its business reach. The announcement does not disclose revenue or user metrics.