Participated · Equity · Sep 2021

Statespace's core product is Aim Lab, a free-to-play virtual shooting range platform that lets first-person shooter players warm up and practice skills before competitive matches. The platform includes training and coaching tools and match postmortem features that allow players to review footage and identify improvement areas. CEO Wayne Mackey said Statespace plans to bring Aim Lab to mobile platforms imminently, possibly as soon as next month. Riot Games has taken a minority stake in Statespace as a strategic investment to accelerate that mobile transition; Riot did not disclose the terms of the investment. Riot intends to integrate Aim Lab with titles such as Valorant and League of Legends: Wild Rift to support weapon-specific warmups and postgame analysis for esports players. The article did not report revenue, user metrics, prior funding rounds, or a valuation for the company. Statespace’s core product is Aim Lab, a performance-training platform for shooters that teaches aiming and controller skills; Aim Lab now has about 5 million monthly active users and 20 million total players. The company also develops Playerbase, a matchmaking and coaching product, and is pursuing digital health products that use gameplay tests for diagnostics and rehabilitation. Statespace has partnerships with Riot Games, Ubisoft, HyperX and is conducting clinical studies with Mount Sinai, the University of Indiana, the University of Delaware, and Kernel. The company plans console expansions in the fourth quarter and a mobile launch on iOS and Android in 2022, plus broader training for other game genres. Statespace has nearly 100 employees and will use the new funding to expand its coaching programs, analytics, platform support, publisher offerings and digital-health initiatives; to date it has raised over $98 million. Statespace operates Aim Lab, a training platform that replicates popular game physics to give users a practice environment and measure visual acuity and other skills. Aim Lab launched out of stealth in 2017, runs on Steam, and was developed by neuroscientists. The company plans to launch The Academy, a paid course product taught by top streamers and players including KingGeorge, SypherPK, Valkia, Drift0r, and Launders. Its technology is being applied beyond consumer training, including a “Cognitive Combine” with the Pro Football Hall of Fame and grant applications with universities for stroke and cerebral palsy rehabilitation. Statespace has rapidly grown from 2 million registered users and 500,000 monthly active users in May to 5 million registered users and 1.5 million monthly active users today, and the team has grown to more than 40 people. Aim Lab is free to use, the company has not settled on a primary revenue channel, and it is experimenting with streamer/team skins for sale while prioritizing growth. Statespace launched out of stealth in 2017 with Aim Lab, a product that recreates the physics of popular FPS games to help players practice aim while measuring broader cognitive and perceptual metrics. The company was founded by neuroscientists from New York University and its technology analyzes factors beyond kill:death, such as visual acuity across screen quadrants and reaction time. Aim Lab is used by casual players and professionals; Statespace also builds custom dashboards and products for esports teams like 100 Thieves and Philadelphia Fusion. The firm is building an Academy (launching in Q3) with top streamers for advanced tutorials and has partnered with the Pro Football Hall of Fame to create a game‑agnostic “Cognitive Combine.” Statespace is expanding availability with a mobile Aim Lab, Xbox support, planned PlayStation support, and intends to add support for 400 games next month. The company has explored non‑gaming applications, applying for a grant with universities to pursue a commercial stroke‑rehabilitation application. Operating metrics reported by the CEO show about 2 million registered users and roughly 500,000 monthly active users (up 400% since January). Statespace operates Klutch and its flagship product Aim Lab, a practice platform that mimics game physics to help players improve and identify specific weaknesses in visual acuity, aiming and spatial skills. Aim Lab analyzes players’ performance to highlight weaknesses and provide targeted training. The product is on track to soon reach 1 million users. The company is partnering with esports and educational partners — including the National Championship Series as an official FPS training partner and the Pro Football Hall of Fame on a "Cognitive Combine" — and is building an Academy with top streamers for advanced tutorials. Statespace is also researching medical applications of its technology, including an Aim Lab product for stroke rehabilitation. The company has raised $2.5M in a seed round and has $4M in total funding.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2021

SoLo Funds operates a community-based marketplace connecting borrowers and individual lenders, allowing borrowers to set repayment terms and lenders to earn returns. The platform aims to replace predatory payday lending with a market-driven alternative. It is financing tens of thousands of loans per month and reports loan-volume growth of about 40% month over month. Management says its default rate is roughly three times better than the payday-lending industry average and that a lender default-insurance product rolled out in April helped drive growth, including 2,000% growth in 2020. SoLo has seen the most activity in Texas, Illinois, California and New York. Borrowers often include teachers and social workers, while many lenders are "power lenders" who are college-educated and higher earners looking to diversify capital; the company plans to use new funding to expand its U.S. business.

Participated · Equity · May 2020

VergeSense offers an AI-driven Workplace Analytics Platform that uses intelligent sensors to collect real-time occupancy data, dashboards and insights to inform workplace strategy, and integrations with other workplace technologies. The platform is used by enterprises globally and analyzes over 40 million square feet, supporting customers across 29 countries, including 26 of the Fortune 500. Led by CEO and co-founder Dan Ryan, VergeSense combines hardware sensors with software analytics to transform static offices into dynamic, employee-centric workplaces. The company intends to use the new funding to accelerate platform innovation and growth. The business emphasizes enterprise deployments and integration with existing workplace systems to drive adoption across large customers. VergeSense builds machine-vision sensors and analytics that help businesses understand and optimize how office spaces are used. The company launched in 2017 and sells dedicated sensors and software that track occupancy and usage patterns. During the COVID-19 pandemic demand increased and VergeSense added features to help manage social distancing, guide cleaning intensity, and infer likely-occupied seats by detecting backpacks and other signs. Its customers include Shell, Quicken Loans, Roche, Cisco and Telus, and its tools now watch more than 40 million square feet across 29 countries. Financially, VergeSense has raised $22.6 million to date, including a $9 million Series A earlier this year and the new $12 million round. The company plans to use the funding to continue improving its core computer vision capabilities and hardware, pursue partnerships and integrations with desk/room booking and building-automation tools, and double headcount across departments. VergeSense is a U.S. startup offering a sensor-as-a-system platform for offices that provides real-time occupant counts, foot-traffic-triggered cleaning notifications and analytics. Its machine-learning platform and sensor hardware support features such as a Social Distancing Score, daily occupancy reports, a Smart Cleaning Planner and an open API for integrations. The company processes about 6 million sensor reports per day for nearly 70 customers, including 40 FORTUNE 1000 companies, covering 20 million square feet across 250 office buildings in 15 countries. VergeSense says bookings are on track to be up 500% quarter over quarter after an early COVID-19 aftershock, indicating accelerated demand for its tools to manage occupancy and safety. The startup plans to scale its software analytics, expand operations to meet increased demand, and invest in product development including smaller/faster sensor form factors and additional environmental data feeds such as air quality, temperature and humidity. VergeSense provides an AI-powered sensor-as-a-service platform that creates an information layer within commercial properties to give real estate investors, property managers, and workplace tenants actionable insights. Its sensors can be installed in minutes and feed a dashboard that delivers AI-powered recommendations to building managers. The platform improves over time as sensors collect more data and learn to detect new types of events via software updates. Led by founder and CEO Dan Ryan, the company plans to use the latest funding to accelerate platform development and build its team. VergeSense also intends to scale distribution through VergeSense API partners and its relationship with JLL. The company is based in San Francisco, CA and raised $1.5M in the latest funding round.

Participated · Series B · Mar 2020

Proxy builds Bluetooth low-energy readers and an identity app that let employees open doors, elevators, turnstiles and garages without taking their phones out. Buildings install Proxy’s signal readers which integrate with existing access-control systems or Proxy’s management dashboard; readers cost roughly $300–$350 plus installation and a $30/month per-reader subscription. The company also offers an SDK and APIs to extend touchless access to Wi‑Fi routers, printers, vending machines and delivery workflows, and has launched smaller Nano sensors for device-level integrations. Proxy emphasizes privacy and security with tokenized credentials, SOC‑2 certification, GDPR compliance, and biometric data kept on users’ phones. It has over 60 customers and is using recent funding to hire across offices and speed deployments of its hardware and access-control software. Proxy positions its product as a background service that can scale across tenants in commercial properties and potentially expand into more physical lock hardware or consumer use cases over time. Proxy offers a Bluetooth Low Energy identity system that turns a user's phone into a hands-free credential for office access and workplace personalization. Its core product is an app that constantly emits an encrypted one-time Bluetooth identifier picked up by readers that retrofit existing access-control fixtures, replacing badges and apps for door entry. Proxy charges for hardware plus a monthly subscription per reader, has piloted with roughly 50 companies, reports about 90% adoption across deployments, and says it has not lost a customer in two years. After demoing at Y Combinator, thousands of companies reached out, and customers include WeWork's headquarters and Dropbox. The company emphasizes privacy and user control—interactions run on encrypted one-time tokens so users retain control of their credentials. Proxy plans to expand beyond doors to auto-reserve conference rooms, sign users into teleconferences, personalize workstations, improve guest check-in and build SDKs so other devices (cars, homes, hotels, retail) can recognize users. Proxy provides an app that turns users’ smartphones into Bluetooth beacons that sensors on IoT devices detect to verify identity and grant access. Its backend verifies IDs and aims to complete the verification in a few seconds so users can instantly open doors or load personalized settings. Today the technology is implemented with office door locking systems that normally require card keys; the company has not yet expanded to other consumer electronics or building systems. Twenty companies in the San Francisco Bay Area have signed up to use Proxy for employee access. The startup plans to use funding to raise its profile and to develop an API so the app can work with other devices and platforms. Proxy is part of the current Y Combinator batch and was originally incorporated as Martians Inc.; it has raised $1.6 million in seed funding from Y Combinator and Blackbird Ventures.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2019

Torch offers a people development SaaS platform that integrates one-on-one coaching, mentoring, and group learning to help leaders and teams grow. The company serves customers including American Express, Allstate, and Reddit and emphasizes trusted relationships as the core of professional development. Torch's product blends coaching, mentoring, and collaborative learning into a single platform for designing development programs. The company announced a $40 million Series C to accelerate market demand and expand product capabilities. Proceeds are earmarked to strengthen customer partnerships and scale operations. Torch positions itself as mission-driven and focused on helping organizations achieve their full potential through people development. Torch Leadership Labs offers an integrated leadership development platform combining coaching, software, and feedback tools for managers. The company is cofounded by CEO Cameron Yarbrough and COO Keegan Walden and merged with Everwise in early 2020 after finishing a $10 million Series A shortly before the merger. Since the end of 2019 it has seen sixfold growth in new enterprise customers, including LinkedIn, Reddit, Twitch, Okta, and T‑Mobile. Post‑merger enterprise customers now spend around $1 million per year on Torch's products versus an average of $40,000 prior to the Everwise merger. After the pandemic hit the team cut burn and planned to run at least two more years on existing funds. Torch says it will use the new capital to build out research and development and marketing and aims to deliver an enterprise product that supports a “lifelong learning journey.” Torch offers executive coaching through a 360-degree interview process, a software dashboard for HR, and one-on-one video chat sessions with trained coaches. The product scores leaders on empathy, communication, conflict management and collaboration, then sets measurable goals and timelines tracked via follow-up interviews and metrics. Coaches deliver sessions via video to accommodate busy executives; coaches do not record notes and HR only sees goals and progress to protect privacy. Torch is B2B-focused, charges between $500 and $1,500 per month for senior coaching, reports significant margins and has about 100 clients including Reddit and Atrium. Its top source of churn is clients going out of business rather than stopping use, and coaches refer clients to psychotherapists for trauma or sensitive issues. The company plans to use new funding to fuel its go-to-market strategy and is doubling down on serving founders, C-suites and senior executives.