Anzu portfolio raises more than $500 million in 2023
Anzu portfolio companies at JPM and CES conferences this week
EnCharge AI and AM Batteries raise new funding
ImmunoScape secures new partnerships
Aspinity, EnCharge AI, and South 8 Technologies expand executive teams
Hi everyone,
2023 felt more like a decade than a year! With a race to the finish in the final week of December, we are pleased to report that Anzu’s portfolio raised over $500 million in follow-on funding across more than 20 companies in 2023. We are happy to see that our differentiated portfolio of technology companies was able to attract this magnitude of follow-on funding in 2023, despite the challenging venture environment.
This indicates that commitment across venture to advancing breakthrough technologies remains robust, despite Pitchbook’s estimation that 38% of VCs “disappeared from deal-making” in 2023. Anzu’s portfolio companies had more than 100+ different co-investors (not including individuals) across rounds that closed successfully last year. We are grateful to each of our co-investors for dedicating the time and committing the capital to drive these businesses forward.
While industry headlines focused on the 3,200+ startups that went bankrupt in 2023 (which had raised over $27 billion collectively), Anzu’s portfolio showed resilience, and managed to navigate the year without any bankruptcies. The leaders of our portfolio companies made and implemented challenging decisions with care and compassion. We appreciate the dedication and discipline that the management teams in our portfolio have shown to respond to market uncertainty and to remain focused on building value.
To kick off the new year, we were delighted to have one of our principals,Jenna Abelli, selected as a 2024 Rising Starby Venture Capital Journal. Please join us in congratulating Jenna on this well-deserved recognition for her contributions to the VC ecosystem!
Together, we've navigated the turbulent conditions of 2023, and now we look forward to making further progress during 2024.
Thanks,
David, David, and Whitney
P.S. We have partners and portfolio companies attending the JP Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco and the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week. Please reach out to Jessica Terlizzi (jst@anzupartners.com) if you want to connect with the Anzu team or portfolio companies at these events.
Aspinity Welcomes Semiconductor Industry Veteran Richard Hegberg as CEO
Aspinity, the leader in always-on processing and computation at near-zero power, appointed semiconductor industry leader Richard Hegberg as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Hegberg will drive Aspinity’s next phase of growth as its industry-leading AML100 processor enters volume production. Most recently, he was the CEO at Vesper Mems, where he helped lead the company to a successful acquisition. He also served in various executive positions at NetApp, SanDisk, Qualcomm, Atheros, Numonyx, AMD, and ATI Technologies.
ImmunoScape Partners with MiNK Therapeutics and Singapore’s EDDC and Expands its Scientific Advisory Board
ImmunoScape, a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of next-generation T cell receptor (TCR)-based therapeutics is collaborating with MiNK Therapeutics, Inc (Nasdaq: INKT), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of allogeneic, off-the-shelf, invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell targeting therapies. Together, the companies will discover and develop next-generation TCR therapies against novel targets in solid tumors.
ImmunoScape also announced a partnership with Singapore’s Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC). In this new partnership, ImmunoScape will leverage its catalog of highly potent tumor-specific TCR candidates for the joint development of innovative off-the-shelf TCR-based bispecific molecules with EDDC.
ImmunoScape also welcomed John Tsang, Ph.D. to its Scientific Advisory Board, whose expertise in computational biology will help elevate ImmunoScape's Machine Learning platform. He currently serves as Professor of Immunobiology and Biomedical Engineering at Yale University.
ImmunoScape CEO Choon-Peng (Choon) Ng, Vice President, Discovery, Dan MacLeod, and Senior Director, Business Development Christopher Alfonso will be attending The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. If you’re interested in setting up a meeting with them, please email info@immunoscape.com.
TeraPore Technologies Launched IsoBlock® VF Viral Filtration Product Line
TeraPore, an innovator in nanofiltration membranes, commercially launched the flagship IsoBlock® VF product line for parvovirus removal from biopharmaceuticals. During evaluations at multiple customer sites across different novel antibody constructs, IsoBlock VF has demonstrated robust and consistent performance. With both mammalian parvoviruses and surrogate bacteriophages, IsoBlock VF has shown high virus retention that appears unaffected by solution conditions and process interruption.
Accompanying the launch of the IsoBlock VF Syringe Filter is the IsoBlock PF Syringe Prefilter Device, an adsorptive membrane-based prefilter, used to remove unwanted high molecular weight species from the feed immediately before size-based virus removal.
Members of the TeraPore team will be attending The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. If you’re interested in setting up a meeting with them, please contact them here.
CytoTronics Published New Findings in Nature Communications on its Novel, High-Throughput Functional Biology Platform
CytoTronics, a pioneer of semiconductor-based platforms for cell biology research, is proud to announce that Nature published findings on their novel high-throughput semiconductor platform that will offer a dynamic, real-time assessment of live cells’ characteristics, such as epithelial barrier properties, which are crucial for understanding diseases like cancer, fibrosis, inflammation, and cystic diseases.
Members of the CytoTronics team will be attending The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. If you’re interested in setting up a meeting with them, please email them at contact@cytotronics.com.
EnCharge AI Closes Additional $22.6M in Funding and Welcomes Former Qualcomm Executive Don Rosenberg to its Board
EnCharge AI, the company developing advanced AI chips and full stack solutions, announced the close of a second institutional round of funding from strategic partners including VentureTech Alliance, RTX Ventures, and ACVC Partners with participation from existing investors such as Anzu Partners, AlleyCorp, Scout VC, Silicon Catalyst Angels and S5V. The funding round underscores the demand for new AI chips capable of running AI system workloads at a far lower cost and with greater efficiency than previously thought possible.
EnCharge also welcomed Donald (Don) J. Rosenberg, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Qualcomm, to its Board of Directors. The company also appointed Jonny Morris as Vice President, Government Affairs and Communications. Morris six years leading corporate affairs and public policy for Embark Technology, Inc., the autonomous vehicle pioneer.
AM Batteries (AMB), a pioneer in the field of lithium-ion dry-electrode technologies, announced it closed a $30M Series B in an oversubscribed funding round led by Toyota Ventures. New investment combines strategic corporate support from Porsche Ventures and Asahi Kasei, with financial investment from RA Capital Management – Planetary Health, Wilson Sonsini, and Industry Ventures. The round also includes existing investors such as Anzu Partners, TDK Ventures, Creative Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, Foothill Ventures, and Zeon Ventures.
South 8 Technologies Appoints Industry Veteran Tom Stepien as CEO and Debuts Arctic™ LiGas® Battery Electrolyte
South 8 Technologies, the first company to develop and commercialize LiGas®, liquefied gas electrolyte for advanced lithium-ion batteries, appointed industry veteran Tom Stepien as chief executive officer. Tom will apply more than 35 years of business, technology and energy industry leadership to drive South 8’s growth and expand commercial markets for its unique LiGas product that solves the “fire and ice” ™ limitations experienced in conventional lithium-ion batteries. He also joins the South 8 Board of Directors.
The company also introduced its Arctic™ LiGas 18650 cell at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference (AABC) in San Diego. Arctic is the first in a family of lithium-ion battery cell formats and chemistries that South 8 is introducing to support the growing demand for batteries with superior performance.
NUBURU Expands Automotive Manufacturing Offering with Wire Welding Solutions
NUBURU, a leading innovator in high-power and high-brightness industrial blue laser technology, received a purchase order for its BlueScan solution from a worldwide leader in coil and motor winding and assembly systems to produce electric motors. The Company’s BlueScan solution includes a BL-250 laser, scanner and optics that will be supplied to the customer’s research and development (R&D) lab where the automotive solenoid manufacturing production process will be validated.
Xendee Launched PROPOSE: A Revolutionary Sales and Business Development Tool for EV Fast-Charging Infrastructure
Xendee, the world’s leading EV fast-charging and distributed energy system design platform, officially released PROPOSE, a groundbreaking sales and business development tool designed for teams operating in the energy transition and EV fast-charging infrastructure sectors.
PROPOSE enables business development and sales teams to easily create EV fast charging and distributed energy system proposals, and confidently respond to RFPs. The tool generates proposals within minutes by streamlining the sales and business development process and allowing for rapid feasibility studies that leverage multiple investment paths.
Zeteo Tech, the biodefense and medical device company that has developed a revolutionary new class of fieldable biological mass spectrometers, was awarded a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research contract for $1.87M with a potential value of up to $5.86 million (including options) from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This new contract will fund the development and testing of digitalMALDI®, Zeteo Tech’s next generation of sensor technology that enables real-time detection of aerosolized biological-threat agents that include bacteria, viruses, and toxins.
Niron Magnetics' Co-Founder and CSO, Professor Jian-Ping Wang appeared on an episode of Milwaukee’s NPR station’s Midwest Moxie Podcast to discuss the company’s history and progress.
GelSight's VP of Global Distribution and Key Accounts Thierry Mantel wrote an article for Aerospace Manufacturing Magazine on the benefits of digital tactile sensing in aerospace manufacturing and maintenance.
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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/.
The information contained in this newsletter is being provided by Anzu Partners for informational purposes only. The information was obtained from various sources, but Anzu Partners cannot assure its accuracy. This is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation for an offer to buy an interest in any fund managed by Anzu Partners. Any such offer or solicitation will only be made to qualified potential investors pursuant to a private placement memorandum. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.
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