Our Portfolio
Airware
Airware develops an operating system for commercial-grade unmanned aerial systems (UAS). UAS enable software systems to interface directly with our physical world, enabling real-time measurement and optimization of physical infrastructure, urban environments, and agricultural and energy production.
This is a nascent technology with broad potential to transform many industries. Airware is establishing a platform as the technology moves from its monolithic roots in the defense industry to a modular architecture supported by a sophisticated and diverse commercial industry.
Following a pattern from PC’s and mobile devices, Airware’s operating system integrates subsystems (flight control, navigation, datalink, and payloads) and provides a development suite for application developers to focus on application-specific value creation.
Regardless of the commercial UAS applications that ultimately gain traction, Airware stands to benefit and serves as a vantage point for further investment in this space as the market matures.
BluWrap
Sitting at the confluence of population growth and the global middle class’ growing appetite for animal protein, BluWrap is a technology-enabled logistics company that will re-map global flows of protein products through fundamental reductions in the cost structure of moving seafood and other perishable meats to market as well as new capabilities for how these products are inventoried and prepared for sale.
By isolating proteins from even trace amounts of oxygen, BluWrap is able to effectively stop all spoilage on products in their system. BluWrap’s technology is uniquely able to eliminate oxygen to extremely low levels and to do so at very low cost.
By enabling customers to effectively inventory an otherwise perishable product, BluWrap enables transformation of the supply chain. Product is delivered into customers’ hands in fresher condition and with more days of shelf life, reducing spoilage loss and giving customers more flexibility. Product can be inventoried closer to customers with just-in-time supply and traceability data not seen before in the industry. Short term pricing fluctuations can be played to advantage. Use of ocean freight vastly reduces carbon footprint and new markets can be reached from production regions where air freight links are inadequate or too expensive.
BluWrap has demonstrated their technology on salmon, pork, chicken, and other fish species including tilapia, barramundi and pangasius. The company has shipped hundreds of tons of product to consumers worldwide.
EnerG2
EnerG2 engineers advanced nano-structured carbon materials for energy storage and is focused on the production of these materials for energy storage devices. Proprietary manufacturing technologies allow its products to surpass the material limitations of naturally occurring carbons, producing high surface area, high performance
materials that improve power density and cycle life in batteries and other energy storage devices. EnerG2 is currently delivering its advanced carbons to customers for ultracapacitors, lead acid batteries, and lithium ion batteries. EnerG2 was acquired by BASF in 2016.
EOS Climate
EOS Climate is the premier global producer of financial securities generated from the destruction of ozone depleting substances (ODS), which are also extremely potent greenhouse gases – in some cases equivalent in warming potential to 11,000 times an amount of carbon dioxide (CO2e). ODS's are most commonly found in refrigerants. Current inventories of ODS are equivalent to approximately 2.5 times the total annual GHG emissions of the United States.
The company has built a comprehensive system to collect and destroy ODS, turning them into a tradable security called an Air Resources Board Offset Credit (ARBOC). ARBOC's are the primary source of offsets in the California carbon market under state law AB32 (commonly referred to
as California's cap and trade system). EOS currently sells ARBOC's in the California market which went live January 1, 2013.
To leverage its intellectual property in refrigerant aggregation and destruction, and to position its technology as a disruptive innovation to the market, the company launched Refrigerant Asset Service, a management service offering to Fortune 500 and other large enterprises with refrigerant assets. This is the first software platform to offer a complete solution for full-lifecycle refrigerant management and leverages EOS Climate’s core technology into a unique and compelling offering to customers that reduces their complexity and liability while creating an additional revenue stream for the company.
Kurion
Kurion is an advanced materials company providing solutions for isolation and long-term storage of nuclear and other hazardous waste. It was the only U.S. company and the only startup to participate in the unprecedented cleanup effort of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Kurion's technology centers around two critical tasks: separating nuclear waste from water or other liquids, and isolating that waste in a way that stabilizes it for the hundreds of years required for it to naturally decay.
Kurion’s systems are modular, reliable, and substantially
reduce total costs for cleanup, enabling it to pursue waste projects that have accumulated over decades. The company was founded by veterans of the nuclear services industry, with experience in commercial nuclear operations, as well as the cleanup of Three Mile Island. The cleanup at Fukushima adds significant credibility to their marketing effort and the company now serves customers in long-term projects on three continents. The company has acquired additional technologies and built an engineering capability to execute on large projects, positioning it as a sustaining standalone player in the global waste industry. Kurion was acquired by Veolia, a French conglomerate that specializes in water, waste and other essential services in 2016.
NovaTorque
Electric motors account for 45% of global electricity consumption, and two thirds of power used in industry. But electric motors have evolved little in recent decades. There's no room for further innovation, right? Wrong. NovaTorque has re-imagined electric motor design to bring to market the world’s most efficient electric motor of its size class. Further, their motors maintain high efficiency over a wide speed range. In the fan, pump, and compressor markets NovaTorque targets, this combination is of enormous interest. NovaTorque’s motor has the added advantage of being more compact than comparable state-of-the-art motors and not requiring the use of expensive rare earth magnets.
NovaTorque is initially selling standard frame motors directly for applications in fans, pumps, and HVAC, an entry point to the $8.1B variable-speed integral horsepower motor market. Standard frame motors are attractive as a starting point because they are built to standard electrical and mechanical specifications, making them easy for customers to adopt. The company employs contract manufacturers to produce its motors and pursues strategic partnerships to expand its product line and technology footprint through licensing agreements. While industrial applications are the starting point, as electric drive continues to displace combustive and hydraulic methods, NovaTorque's motors will find use in a broad spectrum of places. Acquired by Regal Beloit Corporation in 2016.
Ruckus Wireless
Global populations are urbanizing, becoming more dense and at the same time demanding exponentially more data connectivity through mobile devices. This explosion overwhelms even the latest cellular infrastructure. Providing pervasive, high-performance, and reliable wireless connections in high interference environments is a growing challenge for carriers and enterprises worldwide.
Ruckus Wireless makes specialized Wi-Fi equipment that uses the company’s proprietary smart antenna technology, derived from algorithms used in electronic warfare. With 142 patents issued or pending, the company is
repurposing the WiFi standard into a carrier-grade offering that scales into the densest and most demanding mobile environments. In 2010 the company started shipping a carrier-grade Wi-Fi access point for use by wireless carriers in public places, to provide data access for smart phone users in places where the traffic is so dense that it overloads the 4G network. The company’s access points ship with software for authentication and management functions needed by carriers, including hand-off between 4G and WiFi. The systems are deployed in hundreds of thousands of locations across the globe. The company completed an IPO on NYSE in November 2012 and was acquired by Brocade in 2016.