The Venture Codex

Led · Series A · Apr 2025

Hi Auto develops a SaaS conversational voice platform that automates drive-thru order-taking for quick-service restaurants. Its system delivers over 96% order accuracy and over 90% order completion rate, using advanced noise-cancellation and a specialized language model tuned to chaotic drive-thru environments. The product includes dynamic upselling that recommends add-ons based on store inventory, daypart, and weather, helping boost average ticket sizes. Customers include Bojangles, Checkers & Rally's, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken, Burger King New Zealand, and Popeyes UK, and the company is running multiple paid pilots with top-tier QSR chains in the U.S. and abroad. Founded in 2019 by Roy Baharav, Eyal Shapira, and the late Zohar Zisapel, Hi Auto employs about 100 people worldwide. The company plans to use new funding to expand its footprint, refine its product, and scale deployments with leading QSR brands.

Participated · Seed · Feb 2023

BloomX develops an AI-driven bio-mimicking platform that pairs software with mechanical hardware to replicate natural pollination. The company produces crop-specific electric vehicles with mechanical arms that navigate between plant rows and vibrate stems to dislodge and transfer pollen. Its product suite includes a Collector Device designed to stroke avocado plants to release and transmit pollen between varieties. BloomX’s platform also aims to pinpoint optimal pollination windows to improve effectiveness. The company emerged from stealth concurrent with its funding announcement and says its goal is to enable growers to manage and control the pollination process without exploiting bees. Backers and company statements emphasize reducing environmental impact by lowering reliance on non-native pollinating insects and increasing yields per unit land. Financially, BloomX has just secured seed funding to commercialize and scale its mechanized pollination hardware and software.

Participated · Series A · Jan 2022

Addionics produces textured, three-dimensional copper and aluminum foil current collectors for lithium-ion batteries, using electro-deposition for copper and electroetching for aluminum. Its foils feature tiny holes and undulating peaks and valleys that increase contact between the foil and active material. The company says the design improves battery performance and efficiency and can potentially double battery lifespan, and that the collectors can work with a wide range of chemistries. Addionics plans to tailor collectors to different chemistries in the future to extract additional performance. The Israel- and U.K.-based startup recently raised a $39 million Series B to accelerate delivery of its current collectors and to explore new markets and geographies. Earlier this year it announced plans to build a $400 million factory in the U.S. and said it has letters of intent from U.S. automakers. Addionics develops patented Smart 3D Electrode architecture and a scalable electrode fabrication process that replaces traditional 2D layered electrodes, aiming to increase energy density, power, safety and lifetime without raising cost. Its drop-in solution is compatible with existing battery manufacturing lines and is paired with a proprietary AI algorithm to accelerate and optimize electrode design for varied applications. The company targets electric vehicles initially and is collaborating with automotive OEMs and suppliers in the U.S. and Europe to integrate with NMC, LFP, silicon, lithium polymer and solid-state chemistries. Addionics plans to commercialize by 2024 and will use funding to advance product development, expand the team, and increase activity in the U.S. and Germany. The company also highlights applications beyond EVs, including consumer electronics, stationary storage, aviation, defense and medical devices. Addionics has developed a scalable, patent‑protected “smart 3D structure” that redesigns battery architecture via 3D metal fabrication to reduce internal resistance and improve mechanical longevity and thermal stability. The company’s approach is chemistry‑agnostic, designed to enhance existing and future battery chemistries rather than replace them. Addionics says its technology can increase EV mileage, improve safety, and reduce cost and charging time, and could be applied to consumer electronics, medical devices, grid storage, drones, and more. Commercial traction is early: the company is working with an unnamed tier‑1 American automotive company on a proof‑of‑concept and testing Addionics cells in vehicles. Management aims to secure 3–4 major collaborations with world‑leading OEMs over the next year. Financially, the company has raised $6M in funding, which includes a $2.5M grant awarded through the European Union’s Horizon2020 program.