Participated · Seed · Feb 2026

Founded in 2025 and headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, Hardshell provides data-layer security for artificial intelligence systems, focusing on protecting proprietary and regulated datasets before models are trained. Unlike many AI security tools that monitor models post-deployment, Hardshell stops threats at the source, preventing corrupted or exposed data from creating downstream vulnerabilities. The platform is aimed at high-trust sectors such as healthcare and defense, where data privacy and regulatory compliance are critical hurdles to AI adoption. Co-founders Hunter Moore (CTO) and Andrew Schoka (CEO) leverage extensive backgrounds in defense, cybersecurity, and AI research to build the product. The company has participated in accelerator programs including the Batten Institute i.Lab Incubator, Starburst National Landing Launchpad, Lighthouse Network, and the 434 Accelerator. Fresh capital will support expanded engineering efforts and go-to-market activities to grow its customer base. No operating metrics such as revenue or user counts were disclosed in the article.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2025

Empo Health has developed an at-home diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) monitoring system that pairs the FDA-listed Empo Footprint imaging scale with the HIPAA-compliant Empo Remote Health Link service. Patients step on the Footprint scale to generate a full-color visual image of their feet that is automatically transmitted to care teams for early detection and follow-up. In a pilot study Empo demonstrated near-daily patient engagement and detected early indications of ulcers in half of participants. The company emphasizes ease-of-use to increase adoption among high-risk neuropathy patients and to give clinicians actionable remote data. Empo was incorporated in 2020, is based in the San Francisco Bay Area (San Bruno, Calif.), and was founded by MIT- and Stanford-trained technical founders. The company is supported by venture and angel investors and SBIR grants, and is commercializing its solution while initiating further studies with partners such as Carilion Clinic. Financially, Empo recently closed a $7M financing, bringing total capital raised to date to $15M. Empo Health develops a patented in-home monitoring system built around a smart bathroom scale that detects changes in daily foot scans to enable early detection of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). The company aims to eliminate severe DFUs by integrating monitoring into patients’ daily routines and delivering actionable data to medical professionals. DFUs affect up to 26 million people each year, and Empo positions its product to reduce serious complications through earlier intervention. Empo’s technology is designed to fit seamlessly into daily use, providing crucial information to clinicians for informed care decisions. SeaX Ventures has invested in the seed-stage startup, signaling early external backing. SeaX’s founder described Empo’s technology as a game-changer and cited prior market issues with false positives and cumbersome user experiences that Empo seeks to address.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2023

EarthOptics leverages advances in soil-sensing technologies, genomics, and data science to deliver predictive insights into chemical, physical, and biological soil properties. It combines lab-based analysis with field-based sensors to give farmers and ranchers actionable recommendations to optimize spending and unlock sustainable farming opportunities. The company completed a strategic merger with Pattern Ag, combining EarthOptics’ proprietary field-based sensing technologies with Pattern Ag’s lab-based analysis to offer comprehensive soil data. Led by CEO Lars Dyrud, EarthOptics operates offices in Raleigh, North Carolina; Emeryville, California; Arlington and Blacksburg, Virginia; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Fayetteville, Arkansas, and maintains two laboratories in Emeryville and Memphis, Tennessee. The company intends to use new funding to accelerate technological innovation, broaden its geographic reach, and consolidate its position as an authoritative source for soil insights. EarthOptics develops next-generation soil-sensing technologies that combine ground-based sensors, satellites, physical soil samples, machine learning models, and agronomic expertise to deliver detailed soil measurements. The company's platform provides insights to help farmers optimize fertilizer applications, inform tillage decisions, and quantify carbon sequestration. EarthOptics plans to use its latest funding to expand access to its tools and deliver hyper-accurate soil insights. Founded in 2018 and based in Arlington, VA, the company serves growers and ranchers seeking data-driven land-management decisions. The company is led by CEO Lars Dyrud. The article reports a recent financing that will support its growth and product expansion efforts. EarthOptics has developed an imaging suite that uses ground-penetrating radar and electromagnetic induction to produce deep maps of soil physical and chemical composition. Its commercial products, GroundOwl and C-Mapper (C for carbon), reconcile no-contact sensor data with traditional lab samples via machine learning trained on tens of thousands of ground-truth measurements. The hardware can be mounted on ordinary tractors or trucks and pulls readings every few feet, reducing physical sampling from hundreds of samples to dozens. The company’s outputs can be used to create meter-scale treatment maps or to feed variable-depth robotic field machinery such as smart tillers. Management positions the product as a cheaper, faster, and more precise alternative to traditional soil sampling and as foundational data for automated and robotic farming. Financially, EarthOptics raised a $10.3M A round to scale its two existing products and to develop a moisture-mapping product.

Led · Equity · Jan 2023

Biohm is a Cleveland, OH-based microbiome company that leverages microbiome data to create products and ingredients intended to improve individual health. Its product lineup includes the BIOHM FX probiotic supplement designed to reduce digestive plaque, additional probiotic and prebiotic supplements, and a personalized Gut Test. The company raised $7.5M in equity financing to support growth. Biohm plans to use the funds to fast-track development of A.I. technology and targeted, data-driven microbiome formulations. The company is led by CEO Afif Ghannoum and President Sam Schatz. Biohm Health is a microbiome company that applies a proprietary dual-action technology to neutralize harmful bacteria and fungi and deliver a probiotic designed to break down digestive plaque while maintaining overall microbiome balance. The company sells probiotics and other gut-health products and offers The BIOHM Gut Report, a test that identifies and measures gut bacteria and fungi and provides personalized, actionable wellness recommendations including nutritional advice. The business is led by CEO Afif Ghannoum and was founded by Afif Ghannoum and Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum following their discovery that bad bacteria and bad fungus collaborate to create digestive imbalance. Biohm is based in Cleveland, OH. In December 2017 the company raised funding from Vanterra Capital; the terms of the investment were not disclosed. As part of the deal, Vanterra will join BIOHM's board alongside the founders.

Led · Seed · Aug 2022

Ordaōs is a New York-based biotechnology company designing mini-proteins to help drug hunters deliver life-saving treatments. Led by CEO David Longo, the company positions itself as human-enabled and machine-driven, leveraging proprietary multitask meta-learning and reinforcement learning. Ordaōs uses the Ordaōs Design Engine to generate, appraise, and rank billions of protein sequences and hundreds of thousands of protein structures and properties to create customized miniPRO™ proteins. These proteins are rapidly evaluated in vitro to provide intelligent feedback on multiple design objectives, including structure, binding specificity and affinity, solubility, stability, immunogenicity, and developability. The iterative, continuous-learning process translates human-targeted product criteria into optimized mini-proteins intended to meet a client's molecular target product profile and enable targeted therapies that reduce patient suffering and extend life. The company raised $5M in Seed funding to support these efforts.