Participated · Series D · Jun 2026

Nearfield Instruments designs next-generation scanning probe microscopy systems and the proprietary QUADRA platform to deliver in-line 3D nanometer-scale metrology and non-destructive, high-throughput atomic force microscopy (AFM) with full 3D imaging capabilities. Its systems target critical measurements including sidewall metrology for high-aspect-ratio trenches, GAA recesses, vias, multi-layer stacks, High-NA EUV, CFET architectures, and hybrid-bonded 3D integration. The company emphasizes automation, fast measurement cycles, and compatibility with fab standards for integration into high-volume manufacturing environments. Nearfield works closely with leading semiconductor manufacturers and research partners and operates R&D and support activities across multiple Asia-Pacific and Western markets. The company employs about 450 people and was founded in 2016 as a spin-off from TNO, headquartered in Rotterdam. Following the $380 million Series D at a $1.6 billion valuation, Nearfield plans to expand production capacity, global customer support, Applications Centers of Excellence, and collaborative R&D with chipmakers.

Participated · Seed · May 2026

RadixArk is a spin-out from UC Berkeley that maintains SGLang, an open-source engine designed to make the inference phase of large language models markedly faster and cheaper. The platform is already in use by teams at xAI and Cursor to boost training and real-time inference performance. Building on this foundation, RadixArk will keep SGLang free while offering paid cloud hosting and releasing new products such as Miles, a reinforcement-learning framework that helps models improve over time. The effort began in 2023 under Databricks co-founder Ion Stoica and has now transitioned into an independent commercial entity. Although much of its software remains open source, the company has introduced revenue-generating hosting services to capitalize on enterprise demand for AI infrastructure. RadixArk’s latest fundraising values the firm at roughly $400 million, giving it resources to expand product development and go-to-market efforts.

Led · Seed · May 2026

Nace.AI builds a MetaModel architecture that converts enterprise policies and procedures into Small Language Models tailored to large-scale, real-world data, orchestrating over 100 specialized AI agents to execute complex workflows. The platform ingests massive amounts of unstructured files and produces explainable, decision-ready outputs with clear reasoning traces and grounding in source documents. Nace.AI’s operating model emphasizes autonomous execution by AI followed by final validation from an Expert Network of certified freelancers, veterans, and boutique firms, targeting a 90/10 split between execution and human review. The company launched its product in a research preview for professional non-technical knowledge workers and is expanding its expert validator network. Nace.AI recently raised $21.5 million in seed funding to advance its technology and scale operations.

Led · Seed · Apr 2026

NeoCognition develops agent systems designed to self-learn and build internal "world models" so they can rapidly specialize and become reliable experts in distinct domains. The startup positions its approach as a contrast to current generalist agents, which its founder says complete tasks successfully roughly half the time. NeoCognition aims to improve agent reliability and enable enterprises to deploy agent-workers or enhance existing SaaS products. The company plans to sell primarily to enterprise customers and established software companies, leveraging investor relationships such as Vista Equity Partners to access potential customers. NeoCognition emerged from stealth with a $40 million seed raise and currently employs about 15 people, the majority holding PhDs. The article did not disclose revenue, users, or a valuation.

Led · Series B · Feb 2026

Opaque Systems, spun out of UC Berkeley's RISELab and headquartered in San Francisco, offers a Confidential AI platform that serves as a trust layer for enterprise AI workloads. The product delivers secure, auditable infrastructure that gives organizations runtime cryptographic proof that data privacy, model weights, and policy compliance are maintained before, during, and after computation. By solving concerns around data leakage and compliance, the platform enables customers to move AI deployments from pilot to production four to five times faster. Current users and partners include ServiceNow, Anthropic, Encore Capital, Accenture, and firms across the technology, financial services, insurance, and healthcare sectors. The company recently launched Opaque Studio, a development environment for building and deploying Confidential AI agents with runtime-verifiable guarantees. Looking ahead, Opaque plans to expand its offerings into post-quantum security, confidential AI training, and sovereign cloud environments. To date, the company has raised $55.5 million in venture funding and is valued at roughly $300 million post-money.