Participated · Seed · Aug 2021

Fluid Biomed is a clinical-stage medical device company based in Calgary, Alberta, developing ReSolv™, the world’s first bioabsorbable polymer-based neurovascular stent for brain aneurysms. The ReSolv™ stent has been validated by years of scientific research and demonstrated functional benefits in a first-in-human clinical study. The technology was developed by co-founders John Wong, M.D. (CEO), and Alim Mitha, M.D. (President and CTO), both academic neurosurgeons at the University of Calgary. The company plans to use recent financing to further validate the ReSolv™ stent and its proprietary delivery system in expanded patient studies and to enable larger clinical trials. Fluid Biomed also intends to broaden its product pipeline with the additional strategic and financial capital. Fluid Biotech is commercializing a hybrid polymer-metal flow-diverting brain stent constructed of bioabsorbable polymer and metal to provide a scaffold that enables better healing and vessel visualization. Led by Dr. John Wong (CEO) and Dr. Alim Mitha (President and CTO), the company aims to cure intracranial aneurysms with this novel device. Fluid closed a $4.7M seed funding round to advance development. The company intends to use the funds to engage contract manufacturers to initiate production, complete regulatory milestones, and plan for first-in-human implantation. In conjunction with the raise, Fluid added two board members with capital and industry experience to support commercialization and regulatory progress. The company is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Participated · Series A · Jul 2019

RoadBotics builds AI-driven computer vision software for pavement assessment and infrastructure management. Its RoadWay online GIS platform analyzes road images and color-codes each 10-foot segment from green to red, enabling decision-makers to monitor networks, communicate budget needs to city councils, and resolve citizen complaints. The company was spun out of Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute in 2016 by Mark DeSantis, Dr. Benjamin Schmidt, and Dr. Christoph Mertz and is based in Pittsburgh, PA. Over 150 governments across 23 US states and 11 countries use RoadBotics’ solution. The company closed a $7.5M Series A and intends to use the funds to accelerate growth and develop new products. RoadBotics develops computer vision and deep learning technology to inspect roads and infrastructure using a proprietary smartphone app. Users mount a standard smartphone on a vehicle windshield to collect roadway imagery, which is uploaded to RoadBotics' platform where deep learning isolates the road, assesses condition, and generates objective condition ratings. The company renders assessments on an interactive online mapping platform called RoadWay. RoadBotics emerged from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute in December 2016 and was co-founded by Christoph Mertz, Benjamin Schmidt and Mark DeSantis. It currently assesses roadways for 78 cities, towns and counties across the US and Australia. The company intends to use its new seed funds to continue developing its technology.

Participated · Equity · May 2019

Hostfully offers a Property Management Platform and Digital Guidebooks that let professional managers centralize booking calendars, adjust pricing, distribute inventory, automate guest communications, and collect payments. Its platform is used for more than 40,000 properties in 80 countries, and its digital guidebooks (available in 15 languages) are viewed more than two million times each month. The company plans to add capabilities including a native mobile app and multi-unit inventory handling. It also intends to expand its team with hires focused on sales and customer success. Hostfully will use the new funding to accelerate those product and go-to-market initiatives. The company has raised a total of $7.0M to date. Hostfully builds an end-to-end property management platform aimed at helping vacation rental property managers increase bookings and boost revenue. The company was founded in 2015 by Margot Schmorak and is based in San Francisco. Hostfully’s product is positioned for property managers seeking recurring revenue streams from vacation rentals. According to investors cited in the article, the company has a proven model and is generating real recurring revenue. The article does not disclose user counts or exact revenue figures. Recent financing activity indicates continued investor interest in its market and product.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2017

Laugh.ly is a mobile streaming service for stand-up comedy available on iOS and Android that offers on-demand listening and personalized “radio” stations. At launch the catalog grew from 400 to more than 650 comedians and tens of thousands of tracks. Since its public debut in August 2016 the app has been used by more than 200,000 users, with listeners averaging more than 60 minutes per session. The app is free with a premium tier that enables offline listening, ad removal and profanity filtering; the company declined to disclose revenue. Laugh.ly uses in-house technology including transcription and keyword search to help users find specific jokes and to filter profanity. The company plans to use the new funding to build out its engineering team, hire key players in the comedy and entertainment market, and release additional features.