Participated · Series B · Jan 2022

E Green Global produces potato microtubers via in‑vitro micropropagation inside sterile ‘plant factories,’ creating ~1 gram seed potatoes in about three months from tissue culture. The company supplies these lab-grown, virus‑free microtubers to farmers through contract‑farming and joint cultivation arrangements, often providing microtubers as part of an investment deal with partner growers. Its method removes the need for greenhouses, enables year‑round harvesting, shortens propagation cycles (two years versus six or more), reduces water and chemical inputs, and cuts logistics costs due to the microtubers’ small size. The firm emphasizes quality assurance and disease‑free seed as a path to improving yields in markets with low clean‑seed availability. E Green Global plans to replicate the approach for other crops but cites capital, time, and the need for market validation as key challenges. Financially, the Seoul‑based startup recently closed a $15 million Series B led by development and impact investors as it scales production and commercialization.

Led · Series C · Jul 2021

Mathpresso operates QANDA, an AI-powered learning app that uses advanced optical character recognition to recognize text and mathematical equations and provide in-depth solutions and personalized content. Its product suite includes the QANDA App, 1:N online school (QANDA Study), and 1:1 online tutoring (QANDA Tutor). The company leverages proprietary AI technology and data to power personalization and tutoring features. Mathpresso plans to accelerate development of an education-specific large language model and incorporate that LLM into its AI tutor and existing services, leveraging KT’s infrastructure. The company raised an $8M investment from KT, bringing total funding to approximately $130M. QANDA is used by over 10 million users monthly and holds a top-seat position in more than 20 countries. Mathpresso, founded in 2015 by Ray Lee and Jake Lee, operates Qanda, a mobile learning platform for K–12 students. Qanda can decipher mathematical equations and text queries from a photo and deliver answers. The app reaches more than 14 million students each month across more than 50 countries, with 87% of users outside South Korea concentrated in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and Japan. Mathpresso is headquartered in Seoul and also maintains offices in Tokyo, Hanoi, and Jakarta. Since founding it has raised more than $122 million in total funding. The company says it will use the new capital to improve its offerings and execution. Mathpresso operates QANDA, an AI-based learning app for K-12 students that provides detailed math solutions and personalized learning content. Founded in 2015 by co-CEOs Ray Lee and Jake Lee, QANDA launched in 2016 and added AI-based OCR in 2017 to recognize text and mathematical formulas. The company claims over 45 million registered users, about 12 million monthly active users across 50 countries, and more than 3 billion education data points; roughly 85% of users are outside Korea. QANDA processes approximately 10 million photos uploaded daily and supports seven languages with offices in Tokyo, Hanoi, Jakarta and Bangkok. Earlier this year Mathpresso introduced a premium subscription offering unlimited micro-video lectures and added a community feature to enhance collaborative learning. QANDA is available on Android, iOS, and web. Mathpresso operates Qanda, a K-12 mobile learning app that delivers instant answers and customized learning resources using OCR to recognize text and mathematical formulas. The app is supported by over 2.4 billion solution data and a self-developed search engine, and serves more than 9.8 million monthly active users across 50+ countries. Qanda currently offers seven languages (Korean, English, Spanish, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Thai) and Mathpresso maintains regional offices in Tokyo, Hanoi, Jakarta, and Bangkok. The company was founded in 2015 by co-CEOs Ray Lee and Jake Lee and is headquartered in Seoul. Mathpresso plans to strengthen its AI-based recommendation algorithms and develop localized business models for its offices in Indonesia and Thailand. The company recently completed a financing round to support these initiatives. Mathpresso develops Qanda, an app that provides math and science help by letting students photograph problems and receive solutions from the app or human tutors using AI-based OCR. The app is used by roughly a third of students in South Korea and has users in more than 50 countries after launches in Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. The company emphasizes AI-driven personalized learning and is pursuing overseas expansion. Financially, Mathpresso has raised a total of $21.2 million to date. Its most recent financing was a $14.5 million Series B, following a $5.3 million Series A at the end of the prior year. Investors in the latest round include Legend Capital, InterVest, NP Investments and Mirae Asset Venture Investment.

Participated · Seed · Apr 2021

Jellatech, founded in 2020 by Stephanie Michelsen, develops cultivated collagen and gelatin via cellular agriculture with applications across food, personal care, biomedicine and materials. The company has demonstrated the ability to create both bovine and human collagen and is building a broader protein portfolio focused on proteins uniquely found in animals and humans. Jellatech plans to commercialize and scale production, prioritizing smaller, cost-effective use cases to begin generating revenue while pursuing larger market opportunities. The team views beauty and biomedical customers as attractive early markets with different regulatory pathways and diverse distribution channels. Management is focused on improving cost, efficiency and speed of production as it expands species and protein offerings. The startup raised capital to support these commercialization and scale efforts and remains agile across industries and applications. Jellatech, founded in 2020 by Stephanie Michelsen, positions itself as the world’s first cell-based collagen and gelatin ingredient company. The firm leverages a proprietary cellular agriculture process to manufacture sustainable, high-quality animal-free substitutes for collagen and gelatin. Its core product targets food applications and the company is also exploring uses in cosmetics, personal care and medication. Jellatech closed a $2 million pre-seed fundraise in April and counts Ryan Bethencourt’s Sustainable Food Ventures as a prominent investor. The company recently completed a strategic investment from CULT Food Science Corp. and plans to scale, pursue commercialization globally, and explore scientific synergies with CULT’s teams. Jellatech develops real collagen and gelatin via cellular agriculture rather than isolating them from meat-industry byproducts. Its products are biologically identical to native collagen, addressing functionality limitations of current animal-free and plant-based alternatives. The company targets applications across skincare and cosmetics, medical and pharmaceutical uses, and food & beverage. Jellatech reports several inquiries from potential customers and partners and will ship early samples by the end of the month. The startup says the new funding will accelerate product development and distribution of initial collagen samples. Stephanie Michelsen is co-founder and CEO.

Participated · Series A · Oct 2020

Shiok Meats is a Singapore-based cell-cultured seafood startup developing cultivated crustaceans such as shrimp, lobster, crab, prawn, and crayfish. The company says it will use recent funds to advance R&D and build a state-of-the-art production facility in Singapore. Management expects the first production facility to be operational and a commercial product launched by 2023. Shiok Meats has partnered with Japanese cellular ag startup IntegriCulture to explore scaling up production of cultured shrimp. The company has also secured a grant under Enterprise Singapore’s Startup SG Tech Proof-of-Value scheme to accelerate development and commercialization. To date the startup has raised $30 million in total funding and is planning to close a full Series B round sometime next year. Shiok Meats is a Singapore-based cell-based crustacean meat company founded in August 2018 by stem cell scientists Dr. Sandhya Sriram and Dr. Ka Yi Ling. Its flagship product is an anticipated cell-based shrimp positioned as a clean, traceable alternative to farmed shrimp. The company plans to produce frozen cell-based shrimp meat for dumplings and other shrimp dishes from a commercial pilot plant and aims to launch a minced shrimp product in 2022. Beyond minced shrimp, Shiok plans to develop shrimp flavouring paste and powder, fully formed 3D shrimp, and cell-based lobster and crab in the coming years. The company raised $12.6M in a Series A to support building its pilot plant and initial commercial production. Shiok Meats is a Singapore-based alternative proteins startup. The company develops products in the alternative-protein space. It has raised $3 million in a bridge financing round. The funding will be used to set up its first manufacturing plant in Singapore. Investors named in the round include Agronomics, VegInvest, Impact Venture and UAE’s Mindshift Capital Fund. Shiok Meats is a Singapore-based company focused on producing shrimp from cultured cells rather than conventional aquaculture. The company’s core product effort is cell-based shrimp intended for commercial food production. Shiok Meats completed a $4.6 million seed funding round to carry out research on its cell-based shrimp platform. The funding is intended to support research and preparations to target mass production within the next couple of years. The fundraising was reported by Forbes. Shiok Meats is developing cultured seafood products, beginning with a shrimp substitute and a minced shrimp option for dumplings. Co-founders Sandhya Sriram and Ka Yi Ling are stem-cell scientists who left Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research to found the company. Early tests of their cultured shrimp have been successful, and the team estimates production costs at roughly $5,000 per kilogram. They plan to expand from shrimp to higher-end crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters over time. The company aims to bring its first product to market in three to five years. Initial commercial targets are Asia‑Pacific consumers, beginning in Singapore and expanding to Hong Kong, India and Australia.

Led · Series B · May 2020

Enuma develops game-based, self-directed educational applications for children, with flagship product Todo Math designed to teach foundational math and literacy without adult assistance. Todo Math has recorded over 8 million downloads worldwide since its 2014 launch. The company recently expanded its product lineup with Todo English, launched last month in Korea, which combines game-based activities, worksheets, videos and parent progress reports via chatbots. Enuma also operates Kitkit School and Enuma Geulbang to address educational inequities and teach literacy to out-of-school children and multicultural families. Founded in 2012 and led by CEO Sooinn Lee, the company maintains offices in Berkeley, Seoul and Beijing. Financially, Enuma closed a $9M Series B in May 2020. Enuma develops game-based education software to help children—especially those who struggle due to physical, cognitive, cultural or economic constraints—learn reading, writing and math independently. The company is best known for Todo Math, a multi-award-winning math app launched in 2014 that has charted more than five million downloads worldwide. To reach children in developing countries, Enuma developed Kitkit School, which was selected as one of five finalists in the $15M Global Learning XPRIZE competition. The company says it will use investment to develop partnerships around the world and create a viable model to reach children underserved by traditional education systems. Enuma’s leadership includes Founder and CEO Sooinn Lee, an Ashoka Fellow. The company is headquartered in Berkeley and maintains offices in Seoul and Beijing. LocoMotive Labs builds Todo Math, a mobile math‑learning app for children ages three to eight that uses game‑design elements and Universal Design for Learning to accommodate different learning styles. The app offers exploration gameplay with treasure boxes and rewards, multiple input modes (writing or drag‑and‑drop), and customizable problem presentations to tailor lessons to users. Todo Math has been downloaded 1.1 million times overall, including about 350,000 downloads in China, and is used in roughly 1,000 U.S. classrooms. Founder Sooinn Lee, a former game developer inspired by her son with special needs, aims to boost confidence in young children who struggle with traditional worksheets. The company plans to expand into Asia—initially focusing on China, which accounts for half of its new users—by localizing cultural references and promoting mobile alternatives to paper‑based cram schools. Todo Math is aligned with U.S. Common Core standards and LocoMotive Labs emphasizes adapting content for different curricula during international expansion.