Hi everyone,

In April, we celebrated the promotion of several Anzu team members to Principal across our investment and business services teams: Henk Both, Ph.D., Patrick Harrington, Kyle McQuighan, and Wendy Papakostandini. Their contributions are instrumental to advancing Anzu’s fund finance, capital solutions, and talent pipeline in support of our portfolio.

Since joining Anzu’s investment team in 2021, Dr. Henk Both has led and supported investments of $48 million in energy-related companies that received $125 million of follow-on financing. He has also developed and refined Anzu’s sourcing and investment pipeline process, which now reviews approximately 1,000 companies in the industrial and life science technologies per year. Henk manages Anzu’s energy transition investments and recently played a central role in the firm’s investments in e-Zinc, Xendee, and XGS Energy, among others in energy and climate tech. He also recently opened the firm's Atlanta office.

Patrick Harrington joined Anzu in 2020 and has helped develop new strategies, including Anzu’s structured financing solutions, and now leads the fund finance group. In his role, Patrick coordinates across Anzu’s lenders, investors, and fund administrators, and leads valuations and credit support for Anzu’s funds. Patrick played a central role in Anzu’s investments in voxeljet, which makes some of the world’s largest 3D printers, and Envoy Medical, which has developed a FDA-designated breakthrough medical device. Both transactions were structured across the public and private markets. 

Since joining the firm in 2021, Kyle McQuighan leads Anzu’s capital solutions and investor relations efforts from our Washington, D.C. office and maintains an extensive network across the investment community. Kyle supported the acquisition of Edge Precision Manufacturing by Zeon Corporation and developed the investor syndicates for the recent financings of several portfolio companies, including AM Batteries, Partium, South 8 Technologies, and XGS Energy. Kyle has also spearheaded efforts to expand Anzu’s co-investor network, which includes over 100 financial and strategic co-investors. 

Wendy Papakostandini was hired as one of Anzu’s first employees back in 2017. She has helped the firm grow by handling many aspects of Anzu’s operations and managing talent for the firm and our portfolio companies. As Principal, Talent, Wendy works closely with portfolio company executives, helping them build and scale their team and talent operations, recruiting critical roles from niche technical hires to VP and Board level. She is also the lead author on the “Talent” section of the Volta Foundation’s 2023 Battery Report.

Henk, Patrick, Kyle, and Wendy are all strong examples of Anzu’s next generation of leaders with deep expertise in each of their fields. Their experience will help push Anzu into a new era as both the firm and our PCs continue to grow. We look forward to seeing how each of them continue to support our portfolio companies, investors, and fellow Anzu team members. Please join me in congratulating them!

Best,

Whitney-Haring Smith, Managing Partner

PORTFOLIO COMPANY UPDATES

6K Inc. Won Awards from Forbes and TIME Magazine, Announced New Compliance Demonstrations, and Signed Strategic Supply Agreement with Aqua Metals   

6K Energy, which produces and innovates UniMelt microwave plasma technology for the localized production of critical materials, signed a strategic supply agreement with Aqua Metals, establishing North America’s first sustainable circular supply chain for the critical minerals essential for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. Aqua Metals will deliver sustainably recycled battery materials from its Sierra ARC facility in Reno, NV for 6K Energy to manufacture cathode active material (CAM) with a low carbon footprint at its PlusCAM™ facility in Jackson, TN.

The news was covered by Recycling Today, Environment + Energy Leader, Batteries News, EV Engineering + Infrastructure and other trade publications.

6K was also recognized by both Forbes and TIME Magazine as an industry visionary and market leader in sustainable production of advanced materials for batteries and additive manufacturing.  6K was ranked as one of “America’s Best Startup Employers 2024” by Forbes Magazine and listed among “Americas Top GreenTech Companies 2024” by Time Magazine. Both awards were decided in collaboration with Statista, one of the Internet’s leading statistics and analysis firms. The selections are based on hundreds of data points – ranging from employee reviews, product portfolio, and positive environmental impact to financial strength and the company’s ability to build a positive workplace.  

6K Energy also announced that its cathode active material (CAM) will meet stringent government mandates for compliance outlined by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the first company to meet compliance for both LFP and NMC materials. 6K Energy’s CAM has demonstrated market-leading performance at over 30 partners in the Li-ion ecosystem, including major automotive OEMs, battery cell producers, and other battery material producers. 6K Energy is actively delivering large quantities of critical materials from their Battery Center of Excellence facility as part of the customers’ qualification process.  

The news was covered by eVehicle Technology.  

South 8 Technologies Partnered with NanoGraf on $6.4M U.S. Army Battery Contract 

South 8 Technologies, the developer of LiGas®, a liquefied gas electrolyte for advanced lithium-ion batteries, announced that it is collaborating with NanoGraf to deliver higher energy, safer, and lighter batteries for soldiers in the battlefield. South 8’s $6.4 million subcontract with NanoGraf will support the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command C5ISR Center (DEVCOM). South 8 will develop and deliver a high-rate injection system for its LiGas electrolyte to bolster domestic production of cylindrical lithium-ion batteries under the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)’s Family of Advanced Standard Batteries (FAStBat) initiative.

U.S. soldiers are often weighed down by more than 20 pounds of lithium-ion batteries when in the field, carrying multiple battery packs as backups in case of poor performance due to extreme weather or physical damage. The combination of South 8 and NanoGraf’s technologies has the potential to alleviate these common lithium-ion battery concerns, while also offering soldiers a lighter load. Together, South 8 and NanoGraf plan to develop a universal, accessible, domestically produced energy storage cell.

This partnership was covered by Microgrid Knowledge and San Diego Metro. 

 AM Batteries and Tokyo-based Zeon Partnered to Develop Dry Battery Electrode with Novel Binders 

AM Batteries, a pioneer in the field of lithium-ion dry-electrode technologies, announced it will be working with Tokyo-based Zeon Corporation to develop dry battery electrode (DBE) manufacturing with an innovative and novel binder. Through its investment arm, Zeon Ventures, Zeon invested in AM Batteries in December 2022. As part of this deal, Zeon worked closely with AM Batteries to support the commercialization of the company’s electrode manufacturing solution for lithium-ion batteries.  

AM Batteries’ "powder to electrode" method cuts the drying and solvent recovery steps, creating a more energy efficient and low-cost process. In order to eliminate the need for the wet-coating process, AM Batteries is building an ecosystem well-suited for the needs to develop batteries through the dry process at every level of the supply chain. By working with Zeon, AM Batteries is optimizing the dry electrode performance with a novel binder at a lower cost compared to the traditional wet-coating process. 

The news was covered in Powder & Bulk Solids and other trade publications.  

Xendee’s Teamed Up with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for Significant Carbon Reduction Program

Xendee, the leading distributed energy system and Electric Vehicle fast-charging design and operation platform, partnered with The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) to drive transformation of the electricity grid and decarbonization initiatives.  

In collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory, supported by the Office of Electricity at the US Department of Energy, Xendee enhanced SMR capabilities of its microgrid modeling tool for use in the UIUC campus analysis. New features introduced by Xendee include fuel costs, decommissioning expenses, baseload operation, and reactor power maneuvering. These enhancements enable a nuanced exploration of scenarios for SMR integration within the campus microgrid and offer a glimpse into the future of energy systems.

Excision BioTherapeutics Presented New Data at Scientific Conferences  

Excision BioTherapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing CRISPR-based therapies to cure serious latent viral infectious diseases presented new data at various scientific conferences.

Excision presented six abstracts at the ASGCT 2024 Annual Meeting, which was held from May 7-11, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. The presentations were related to new data for Excision’s emerging preclinical programs for herpes simplex virus-1 keratitis (HSV-1 Keratitis) and hepatitis B virus (HBV), as well as an overview of a next generation AAV delivery vector. Additionally, they presented an update on the Company’s first-in-human study of EBT-101. Excision’s EBT-104 is a CRISPR-based gene therapy that is being developed as a potential cure for HSV-1 Keratitis. EBT-104 utilizes a CRISPR/Cas gene editing system to inactivate the latent HSV-1 virus. 

Excision also delivered an oral presentation highlighting new data from its herpes simplex virus-1 keratitis (HSV-1 Keratitis) program, EBT-104, at CRISPRMED24, the CRISPR Medicine Conference, which was held from April 23-25 in Copenhagen, Denmark.  

“This research marks a significant advancement in our understanding and treatment of HSV-1 keratitis and further demonstrates the broad potential of our unique gene editing platform to treat latent viral infections,” said Daniel Dornbusch, Chief Executive Officer of Excision in a press release.

GelSight Streamlined Integration with Partner Solutions with GelSight Mobile 3.7  

GelSight, a pioneer in tactile intelligence technology, announced the release of its GelSight Mobile™ 3.7 software package, which adds APIs that enable users to integrate GelSight’s tactile sensing capabilities into factory automation processes, robotics systems, and other products sold as a total solution. GelSight Mobile 3.7 also makes it easier to deploy and use the GelSight Mobile system globally by adding Mandarin translation support in addition to English, French, and Japanese. 

The new APIs in GelSight Mobile 3.7 deliver a suite of tools that allows users to integrate GelSight into automated production tests or workflows that require detailed surface inspection and analysis. GelSight partners will now also have the ability to add GelSight’s tactile sensing capabilities and the detailed data from its surface measurements to their own OEM products. For example, Cadre Forensics has embedded a GelSight sensor into its firearm forensics imaging device to enable deeper analysis of defects on reflective surfaces. 

This release was covered by Metrology News. 

NUBURU Announced a Second Contract with NASA for Next-Generation Blue Laser Space Technology  

NUBURU Inc., a leading innovator in high-power and high-brightness industrial blue laser technology, was awarded an $850,000 Phase II contract by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”) to advance blue laser power transmission technology as a unique solution to dramatically reduce the size and weight of the equipment needed for Lunar and Martian applications. This contract award builds upon NUBURU’s successful Phase I Small Business Innovation Research ("SBIR”) announced in August 2023. 

In the initial phase I project, NUBURU demonstrated the scientific, technical, and commercial feasibility of its technology. During the Phase II program, NUBURU aims to scale up the power, range, and performance of the blue laser power beaming technology. This program will demonstrate the technology with hundreds of watts of power delivered at kilometer-scale range. Furthermore, NUBURU will advance its high-brightness laser source with a next-generation technology capable of extending the technology range to 10s of kilometers on the lunar surface. 

ANZU PARTNERS UPDATES

Upcoming Events

Anzu to Sponsor First. U.S. High Tech Venture Days (HTVD) 

Anzu is proud to sponsor the first High Tech Venture Days (HTVD) U.S. event on May 7-8, 2024, in Washington, D.C. This year, 40 startups (30 from Europe, 10 from the U.S.) across industrial sectors including clean tech, electronics, manufacturing, materials, mobility, space, and defense have been selected to pitch and meet more than 50 VCs and CVCs to showcase their technology and build strategic relationships.

For more information on HTVD or to register to attend, please visit https://www.hightech-venture-days.com/home-us/. 

Anzu representatives will be attending the following events in the coming weeks: 

May

• CleanPower 2024 – May 6-9 in Minneapolis
• Display Week – May 12-27 in San Jose
• Asia Summit on Global Heath – May 16-17 in Hong Kong
• ESS Safety & Reliability Forum – May 14-16 in Richland, WA
• ARPA-E Innovation Summit – May 22-24 in Dallas
• American Society for Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting – May 31-June 4 in Chicago 

June

• BIO – June 3-6 in San Diego
• American Public Power Association National Convention – June 7-12 in San Diego
• Edison Electric Institute’s EEI 2024 – June 18-20 in Las Vegas
• Cowen Conference – June 24-26, Laguna Beach, CA 

Please reach out to info@anzupartners.com if you’re interested in meeting with us at any of these events.

Welcome to Anzu

Marcela Zarate, Executive Assistant, Investor Relations

Marcela joins Anzu Partners from McKinsey & Company, where she supported its Worldwide Capital Excellence team with operations, statistics, forecasting, and event planning. With over twenty years of experience in the field of operations, she has been instrumental in steering projects towards successful completion. Marcela is based in Tampa, Florida.

ADDITIONAL ANZU & PC MEDIA COVERAGE

• Anzu Partners and ven^x, the deep tech VC collaborative, were covered in Startup Boston. 
• Niron Magnetics was included in the BBC on the rise of magnet technology and in The Hill on how the demand for critical materials is driving change in the global economy. 
• South 8 Technologies CEO Tom Stepien was quoted in San Diego Business Journal on how its LiGas technology can help expand EV adoption.
• NanoCellect Biomedical was covered by GenomeWeb for its new imaging based cell sorter. 
• Voltaiq's VP of Customer Success Angela Kenner was interviewed by TechFinitive on customer data. 
• Xendee contributed a piece to Microgrid Knowledge on achieving high efficiency and revenue for microgrid and DER projects. 
• OTI Lumionics was covered by Biometric Update for its technology that has made under-display facial recognition a reality. OTI’s VP, Jacky Qiu, was also quoted in a BGR piece on Apple’s OLED on the iPad Pro. 

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Anzu Partners and our portfolio companies are hiring

Browse the open roles here and learn more about joining our amazing teams.

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ABOUT ANZU PARTNERS

Anzu Partners is an investment firm that focuses on industrial and life science technology companies with the potential to transform their industries. Anzu works with entrepreneurs to develop and commercialize technological innovations by providing capital alongside deep expertise in business development, market positioning, intellectual property, global connectivity, and operations. For more information, please visit https://anzupartners. com/.