• De Oro Devices

  Participated · Seed · Jun 2022

  De Oro’s core product, the NexStride, is a self-contained, attachable gadget that provides two external cues — a metronome-like ding and a laser-projected line — to trigger alternate neural pathways and reduce freezing in people with Parkinson’s. The unit mounts to a walker or cane with a stretchy loop and includes a corded controller and hardware dials to set volume, tempo, and laser position. The company chose a manual operation model after user and clinician feedback, and customer polls and clinical referrals indicate improved confidence and mobility among users. NexStride competes with devices like the U-Step but differentiates on portability and the ability to attach to users’ preferred mobility aids; De Oro keeps manufacturing in the U.S., which raises costs. The retail price is $500 and is not yet broadly covered by insurance, though veterans can obtain units through the VA and the Parkinson’s Wellness Fund may cover partial or full costs for some buyers. De Oro plans to use recent funding to scale operations and expand distribution so more people can access the device.

• ANOZR WAY

  Participated · Equity · Mar 2021

  Anozr Way builds tools to detect and remediate social‑engineering attacks by evaluating and managing the digital footprint of employees and company leaders. The platform reproduces the reconnaissance phase used by cybercriminals to identify the most exposed people within an organization. Its solutions enable CISOs and IT security teams to assess, supervise and reduce risk, while allowing employees to remediate their own exposure. The company was awarded the Startup prize at FIC 2023. Financially, Anozr Way completed a €6M Series A following an initial €2M round in 2021. It plans to recruit 30 people this year and push international development, prioritizing opening offices in Montreal and then the United States. Anozr Way develops a cyberdefense platform that combines artificial intelligence and open-source intelligence to predict and correct human-centered cyber risks, notably social engineering. The solution enables company leaders to anticipate and manage human vulnerabilities that attackers exploit and provides employees tools to protect their professional and personal digital lives. The founders, Alban Ondrejeck (former French intelligence officer) and Philippe Luc (former insurance executive), launched the company in 2019 and operate from Rennes. The startup highlights that human-exploited flaws account for 63% of cyberattacks and centers its product development on that vector. With the new funding, Anozr Way plans to accelerate deployment, improve its AI performance, and expand its data-referencing and multi-source analysis capabilities. The product positioning targets organizations seeking to strengthen defenses against increasingly common social-engineering attacks.

No current team members are available.