Participated · Equity · Dec 2025

Ambassador provides marketing and revenue teams with a single platform to manage referrals, surveys, loyalty programs, email outreach, and other engagement activities. The company says it works with more than 200 customers worldwide, spanning telecom, fintech, and B2B software. Its newly launched HiroAI layer analyzes engagement data across systems and recommends next-step actions aimed at boosting retention and revenue; the firm also uses AI internally for lead scoring and customer outreach. Ambassador positions itself as the most connected AI-powered feedback network, betting that firms want fewer disconnected tools and more automation amid tighter budgets. As of the raise, Ambassador employs 22 people. The company was acquired by Intrado in 2021 and is led by CEO Geoff McDonald, who previously co-founded Seattle startup Factor Knowledge. Ambassador’s total funding to date stands at $11 million.

Participated · Seed · May 2025

Verdi raised CAD$6.5M in seed funding to expand its irrigation automation offerings. The company, led by CEO Arthur Chen and based in Vancouver, provides modern automation tools and patented retrofit devices that automate irrigation and maintenance on existing farm infrastructure. Verdi says its technology helps farmers save labor, reduce inputs and increase yields and is used by the largest food producers. The company plans to use the funds to expand into new regions, advance its AI-powered platform and deepen relationships with major agribusinesses. Management frames these initiatives as driving automation at scale and building infrastructure for a more climate-resilient food system. The seed brings Verdi's total funding to CAD$9.5M. Verdi builds a scalable platform for farm automation and personalized plant healthcare, using intelligent devices that transform existing irrigation equipment into AI-powered systems. Its technology enables automated operations that boost crop and workforce productivity while reducing technology adoption costs. Verdi counts customers among the world’s largest food brands and in 2023 saved its customers over 30 million liters of water. Founded in 2020 by Canadian entrepreneurs Arthur Chen and Roman Kozak, the company is focused on scaling internationally. Verdi plans to enhance its AI capabilities and expand geographic reach through a strategic collaboration with NEC X and integration with NEC’s CropScope initiative. Entry into NEC X’s Elev X! Boost program is intended to provide capital, strategic partnerships and integrations with NEC’s tech ecosystem to accelerate growth.

Participated · Seed · Dec 2024

Nowadays uses LLM AI combined with OpenAI, Anthropic and its own models plus a database of 400,000 global venues to automatically source venues, caterers and vendors for large events. The platform emails and can call vendors to gather bids, organizes responses, and presents options for planners to make decisions and sign contracts. It targets events with budgets over $20,000 and charges 5% of sourced spend or offers an annual subscription. Since launching, Nowadays has been used to book over $4 million worth of events and has served customers including Google, Amazon, Notion, and Supabase. The company was founded in 2023 by sisters Anna Sun (CEO) and Amy Yan (COO) and participated in Y Combinator; growth has primarily come via word of mouth from corporate event planners. Nowadays has also been featured in startup demo forums such as TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield 2024.