The Venture Codex

Led · Series A · Nov 2024

Class8 builds an OEM-native AI operating layer that connects vehicle data with the decisions made by drivers, dispatchers, maintenance teams, and industry partners. The company aims to create a common intelligence and application layer between commercial vehicles, drivers, fleet teams, and partners. Class8 positions that layer as providing a more unified operating experience for fleets today and as a foundation for increasingly intelligent in-cab experiences in the future. The company’s CEO, Chris Atkinson, emphasizes starting software design with the truck and its operational context. The announcement highlights a strategic partnership with EnerTech Capital to help scale Class8’s vision and platform development.

Participated · Series A · Oct 2022

Gather AI offers a vision-based platform that equips off-the-shelf drones and strategically mounted cameras to scan barcodes, lot codes, expiration dates, damages, occupancy and other metrics across warehouse shelves. The system relies on classical Bayesian techniques combined with neural networks to create "curious" robots that decide what to inspect next, avoiding the hallucination issues seen in large language models. Data is fed directly into warehouse management systems so operators can detect low inventory, misplaced stock and safety risks, even in harsh environments like freezers. The technology stems from Carnegie Mellon University research where the founders built some of the first autonomous helicopters, positioning the company within the emerging "embodied AI" category. Customers include Kwik Trip, Axon, GEODIS and NFI Industries, and the team has grown to about 60 employees. To date, Gather AI has secured $74 million in venture funding that will be used to scale commercial deployments and enhance its product capabilities.

Participated · Series A · Sep 2022

EverestLabs provides a suite of AI software and on-premises hardware that identifies objects on conveyor lines and routes them to the correct destinations. The company also sells a monitoring service with engineers who track pick efficiency and accuracy and provide maintenance assistance for existing robotic sorting machines. Its object-recognition algorithms were trained on proprietary datasets, customer data and third-party sources, and the company says its AI was audited by a local city-run plant and an independent auditor. EverestLabs has customer deployments in North America, including SIMS Sunset Park, and counts Recology, Alameda County Industries and Smart Station among customers while targeting global expansion. The startup declined to comment on revenue but says it has significant momentum and is on track to roughly double its 13-person headcount by the end of the year. Proceeds from recent fundraising will be used to support ongoing sales, operations and product development. EverestLabs develops computer vision and robotic solutions that identify and pick valuable recyclables from conveyor belts at material recovery facilities. Their robots feature a differentiated technology with a much smaller physical footprint, enabling easier, faster and lower-cost retrofits into existing plants. The company has signed large customers in early stages to validate product-market fit. EverestLabs emphasizes industry-leading efficiencies and an attractive price point versus incumbent systems. Its solutions address acute labor shortages, high labor costs, and worker safety concerns in waste sorting operations. With global regulatory pressure to improve recycling and reduce carbon footprints, the company is positioned to scale demand for plant automation solutions.

Participated · Series B · Jul 2022

Tesorio sells automation solutions that help companies manage accounts receivable by predicting when customers will pay using AI models trained on payment history. Customers connect their ERP and CRM systems to Tesorio; setup averages around five days and model training about 30 days. The company’s models train on an anonymized invoice dataset covering billions in transactional volume and support features such as email reminder templates, self-service payment portals, digital workspaces, and customizable reports. Tesorio reports over 130 customers, including Slack, Box, Twilio, GitLab and Bank of America, and says it has delivered three consecutive years of triple-digit revenue growth, though it is not yet cash-flow positive. Founded in 2015 and originally focused on supply-chain financing, the company pivoted to serving the companies getting paid and has expanded its product and go-to-market efforts. Proceeds from the latest financing are earmarked for go-to-market expansion, product development, and growing headcount from just north of 50 to around 90 employees within the next year. Tesorio aggregates disparate financial and operational data to build cash-flow forecasts and automate levers that affect cash, positioning itself as a Mint-like service for businesses. Its product pulls data from accounting, bank, billing and customer systems and runs AI models to predict payment behavior and overall financial trajectory. Current customers include Veeva Systems, Box and WP Engine, and the company serves firms with roughly 100–3,000 employees, including international customers. The platform has analyzed $56 billion in payments, 10 million invoices and 5 million user activities, and Tesorio says its revenue grew 4x year-over-year in 2018. The company plans to use new funding to expand the product—particularly integrations with other finance systems—and to scale go-to-market efforts.

Participated · Series A · Jun 2022

Quaise Energy develops superhot geothermal power systems and the millimeter wave drilling technology to access deep, high-temperature rock. Its drilling approach, developed after research at MIT, ablates rock and aims to reach temperatures of roughly 300–500°C at depths beyond what conventional drilling can economically access. The company has demonstrated field progress, drilling more than 100 meters through granite in 2025 and is approaching one kilometer of depth at its Central Texas site. Quaise is both a technology innovator and project developer and is constructing Project Obsidian on federal geothermal leases in Oregon with construction underway. The company says Project Obsidian has gigawatt-scale potential and plans to deliver first electrons to the grid by 2030. Quaise has raised $230 million to date, with the recent $134 million Series B serving as the initial equity component of a broader capital program that includes project-level equity and debt.