Participated · Series C · Aug 2020

AppHarvest describes itself as an applied-technology company that builds high-tech, controlled-environment greenhouses to grow fresh produce. Its system pairs a 10-acre on-site rainwater retention pond with circular irrigation to reduce water usage by 90% compared to typical farms and eliminate agricultural runoff. The company plans to build a 2.76 million square foot greenhouse on 60 acres in Morehead, Kentucky, slated for Fall 2020, initially producing non-GMO tomatoes for national grocers and later expanding into leafy greens, berries, cucumbers, and bell peppers. AppHarvest says the project has created 100 construction jobs and will lead to 300 full-time jobs for Eastern Kentucky residents. Financially, AppHarvest closed a $28 million Series C and now has $150 million in total funding. The startup emphasizes technology partnerships rather than building all components in-house and has pivoted toward attracting tech and sustainability investors as it scales. AppHarvest builds and operates large-scale, hi‑tech greenhouses that grow non‑GMO, chemical‑free tomatoes and other vegetables for distribution to the top 25 U.S. grocers. Led by founder and CEO Jonathan Webb, the company is organized as a Benefit Corporation and plans to create 285 full-time permanent jobs in addition to roughly 100 construction jobs already created. AppHarvest closed an $11M corporate funding round from a group of investors. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and support indoor farms across Central Appalachia. Its first project, a 2.76 million‑square‑foot facility in Morehead, Kentucky, is under construction and is slated to begin operations later this year. The financing is intended to accelerate the buildout and rollout of additional indoor farm facilities across the region. AppHarvest is a controlled-environment agriculture facility developer led by founder and CEO Jonathan Webb. The company is building a 60-acre greenhouse in Morehead, Kentucky—its first controlled-environment facility in Appalachia—with construction beginning immediately and an opening planned for 2020. The facility will grow tomatoes and cucumbers for distribution to America’s top grocers through distribution partner Mastronardi Produce. AppHarvest says the project will create 285 full-time permanent jobs and about 100 construction jobs. Financially, AppHarvest closed an $82M investment from Equilibrium Capital as part of a Series A round led by ValueAct Spring Fund with participation from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. ValueAct Capital founder and CEO Jeffrey W. Ubben joined AppHarvest’s board in conjunction with the funding. AppHarvest builds large-scale, high-tech greenhouses using revolutionary growing techniques to supply sustainable produce to consumers nationally. The company planned to break ground on its first $60 million high-tech greenhouse in spring 2018. AppHarvest operates from an office on the University of Pikeville campus and is partnering with the university to explore curriculum that aligns with the high-tech agricultural industry. The company selected Pikeville, Ky., for its geographic location and access to nearly 70% of the U.S. population within a day’s drive. AppHarvest was founded by Jonathan Webb and is positioning itself as a high-tech ag employer in Eastern Kentucky. The company raised funding from Revolution’s Rise of The Rest seed fund (amount undisclosed).

Led · Series B · Jun 2020

Noodle builds online and agile programs and a network of universities, higher-education leaders, providers, and students to accelerate innovation and efficiency in learning design, marketing, recruitment, technology, student and faculty support, and clinical placement. Led by CEO John Katzman, the company is a certified B Corp focused on elevating campus-wide teaching and technology. In 2020 Noodle acquired key assets of HotChalk, including its online program portfolio, the Creative Communications Associates (CCA) marketing agency, and associated marketing, enrollment, and technology teams. The company intends to use recent funding to activate growth for its university partners through acquisitions and innovation that help keep marketing and student support costs low. Noodle also plans to expand beyond degree programs to compete in the lifelong learning market. Financially, the company has raised over $125 million of equity capital since inception and recently closed a $50M Series C. Noodle Partners is a NYC-based provider of online and hybrid program services that aims to improve traditional classroom models. Founded by John Katzman, the company works with universities on every aspect of building certificate and degree programs, including marketing, student recruitment, enrollment, curriculum design, student engagement, support services, graduate placement and alumni engagement. It partners with about two dozen leading public and private universities, including the University of Tennessee, University of Virginia, University of Michigan, Howard University, Tufts University and Tulane University. Noodle Partners can build online programs and help make on-campus programs more efficient. Financially, the company raised $16M in a Series B and says it will use the funds to accelerate its growth; it has now raised more than $60M in total. Noodle Partners provides a platform and services that enable colleges and universities to build and scale online certificate and degree programs. The company supports universities across marketing, student recruitment, enrollment, curriculum design, student engagement, support services, graduate placement and alumni engagement. It is led by founder and CEO John Katzman and Chief Academic Officer Melora Sundt. Noodle works with institutions such as Tulane and American, plus about a dozen additional universities. The company raised approximately $14m in a Series A to support expansion of its online programs. The funds are earmarked to grow existing partnerships and expand program offerings at its partner institutions. Noodle Partners provides online program management services to higher‑education institutions, including program setup, instructional design, student recruiting, tech support, and measurement of student engagement. The company charges schools for setup and a flat fee per student rather than taking a large share of tuition. Founder John Katzman—who previously started The Princeton Review and co‑founded 2U—launched Noodle Partners to help institutions deliver higher‑quality, lower‑cost online programs. Management positions the offering as a response to changing higher‑education economics and declining college enrollment. Competitors named in the article include 2U, Academic Partnerships, HotChalk, Keypath, Pearson Embanet and Wiley Education Solution. The company intends to scale its OPM services and technology to more top colleges and expand enrollment at partner schools.

Participated · Equity · Dec 2019

Arcadia operates a utility data platform and manages a community solar program that unlocks energy data for businesses. Its platform is used to power solutions aimed at electrification and decarbonization. The company plans to use the recent financing to grow its community solar program and to invest in product innovation leveraging AI to enable new use cases built on its trove of energy data. Financially, Arcadia raised $50M in equity and concurrently closed a $30M credit facility with J.P. Morgan, and it amended an existing facility with TriplePoint Capital to lower its cost of capital. Macquarie Asset Management joined as a new equity investor alongside a group of existing backers. Founded in 2014 and led by CEO and founder Kiran Bhatraju, Arcadia is based in Washington, D.C. Arcadia builds the Arc platform, which unlocks energy data and exposes APIs so companies can build climate tech products and act on their environmental impact. The platform is used by over 300 new energy companies to personalize energy products and generate auditable carbon accounting reports, optimize EV charging schedules, create rooftop solar and storage proposals, and deliver community solar savings on a single bill. Led by founder and CEO Kiran Bhatraju, Arcadia focuses on enabling a zero-carbon economy through data-driven energy products. The company raised $125M to support continued development of the Arc platform and to accelerate its community solar business. Eric Scheyer of Magnetar will join Arcadia’s board as part of the financing. Arcadia is headquartered in Washington, DC. Arcadia operates the Arc data and API platform that supplies easy-to-use utility data, clean energy, and developer APIs to companies building climate and energy products. The company says its platform helps customers monitor, report, and act on their carbon impact and removes barriers around access to comprehensive utility data. Arcadia will use the new funding to expand data coverage — including commercial utility data — and to accelerate new product development and use cases. More than 100 innovators, including Ford, EnelX, Aurora Solar, and STEM, use Arc APIs across verticals such as EVs, solar, storage, and smart-home IoT. Recent momentum includes 155% year-over-year organic revenue growth in 2021, the November launch of the Arc platform, and passing a 700MW managed milestone as a leading manager of community solar in the U.S. The company has also added senior product and board hires as it scales the platform. Arcadia operates a platform that provides access to energy data and manages renewable energy programs, including the nation’s largest community solar subscriber portfolio. The company says the Arcadia Platform accesses more than 80 percent of U.S. electric utility accounts nationwide and manages a community solar portfolio expanded to 500 megawatts. Arcadia has pursued growth by acquiring Real Simple Energy and Nanogrid and by expanding product capabilities across new verticals such as electric vehicles and distributed energy resources. The company strengthened its executive team with hires including CFO John Rucker and Chief Data Officer Nancy Hersh. Arcadia plans to use new capital to accelerate its technology roadmap, scale its community solar offerings across residential and business sectors, attract talent, and broaden its product scope to make renewables more accessible and affordable. The company frames its work as enabling a decentralized, decarbonized power grid and advancing a 100 percent clean energy vision. Arcadia provides software that aggregates, analyzes, and packages a variety of energy options for residential utility customers, enabling access to community solar, wind, and virtual power purchase products. The company acts as a community solar manager and broker, connecting developers with buyers rather than financing or building projects itself. Arcadia reports hundreds of thousands of customers and finances hundreds of megawatts of community solar for developer partners. It is considered the country’s largest residential broker for retail electricity providers in competitive markets, with over $200 million in utility payments to date. The company currently serves customers in New York, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C., and plans expansion to Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado, and Massachusetts next year. Arcadia plans to release new energy subscription models in 2020 and expand financing options for in-home devices such as smart thermostats and LED lighting.

Participated · Convertible Note · Feb 2018

LumiGrow is an Emeryville, California-based smart horticultural LED lighting company led by CEO Shami Patel. The company provides smart horticultural LED lighting solutions combined with software, including its smartPAR application and the smartPAR Light Sensor Module. Its products are designed to help growers improve plant quality, boost crop yields, and achieve cost-saving operational efficiencies. LumiGrow offers a range of proven grow light and software solutions for greenhouses, controlled-environment agriculture and research chambers. The company completed a $5.1M bridge financing and intends to use the funds to accelerate product development. Kelly Barlow of ValueAct Capital joined the board in conjunction with the financing. LumiGrow provides high-efficiency LED lighting solutions designed for commercial growers, agribusinesses and horticultural researchers. Its fixtures are used in greenhouses, indoor farms and scientific research chambers to improve crop yield, reduce energy consumption and enable operational efficiencies. Products are eligible for energy-efficiency subsidies from utilities including Pacific Gas & Electric and Puget Sound Energy. Led by CEO Kevin Wells, the company targets both commercial agriculture and research markets. LumiGrow raised a Series A financing (amount undisclosed) and plans to use the funds to accelerate market expansion. Clean Pacific Ventures’ general partner Sean Schickedanz will join LumiGrow’s board as part of the transaction.