South 8 Technologies announces $3M+ grant from ARPA-E
Anzu portfolio companies present at J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference
Hi everyone,
We are excited to share that at the end of December 2022, our portfolio company Edge Precision Manufacturing, a manufacturer of microfeatured thermoplastic devices, was acquired by ZEON Corporation, through its subsidiary ZEON Specialty Materials. Through the acquisition of Edge, which uses many of ZEON’s materials, ZEON plans to expand the use of its materials in microfluidic analytical devices while leveraging Edge’s customer network.
In the press release announcing the acquisition, Edge’s CEO Andrew Kamholz, Ph.D., commented, “The combination of Edge and ZEON offers our customers unprecedented security with a simplified supply chain underpinned by the parent company's long-term track record of growth and success. Edge can now further optimize both its proprietary thermal compression tooling and scale manufacturing technologies, offering the only product-quality process that requires no bridge tooling between prototyping and large-volume production."
Early in our first venture fund, Anzu participated in the creation of Edge in 2018 as an independent company as a spin-out from Zeteo, Inc., also a Fund I portfolio company. Since then, over 60 different individuals from Anzu’s portfolio support teams have dedicated 12,400 tracked hours to Edge’s success. Our entire team looks forward to additional successes for Edge and ZEON that we can celebrate in the coming year.
Thank you again for your continued support!
Sincerely,
David Seldin, David Michael, and Whitney Haring-Smith
Managing Partners
PORTFOLIO COMPANY UPDATES
NUBURU Closed Business Combination Deal with Tailwind and Showcased its Blue Laser 3rd Generation Light Engine at PW 2023
NUBURU, a leading innovator in high-power and high-brightness industrial blue laser technology, and Tailwind Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company completed their previously announced business combination, resulting in NUBURU becoming a publicly listed company. The combined company will operate under the “Nuburu, Inc.” name and its common stock and warrants will commence trading on February 1, 2023, on the NYSE American Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbols “BURU” and “BURU WS”, respectively.
At Photonics West in January, NUBURU launched the NUBURU BL™ -series, a new compact form-factor blue laser enabled by an innovative 3rd generation light engine design. The BL-series lasers are designed as easy-to-service packages that can readily integrate with scanners and beam delivery systems.
Advances in the new light engine build upon the vast range of application development NUBURU has conducted with the AO and AI product lines. The entire NUBURU product line is designed to bring the fundamental physical, economic, and performance advantages of the blue industrial laser to both the electrification (energy storage, electric vehicles) and 3C (computers, communication, consumer electronics) sectors.
South 8 Technologies Received EVs4ALL Grant from the U.S. DOE and Welcomed New Advisory Board Member
South 8 Technologies, developer of a novel liquefied gas (LiGas®) electrolyte for the next generation of safe and high-performing lithium-ion batteries, was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to participate in its American Low-Carbon Living (EVs4ALL) program. The $3.125 million grant allows South 8 to develop high-power, rapid-charge Li-ion battery cells using its LiGas® electrolyte. These battery cells will be developed and evaluated over the next 3 years in collaboration with a global automotive manufacturer.
South 8 also recently welcomed battery energy storage systems expert Yves Saw to its advisory board. Mr. Saw brings 30 years of research and development experience in software, artificial neural networks, and battery energy storage systems, as well as industry experience in Li-ion battery products with a focus on software solutions for battery safety and lifespan. He also currently serves as Element Energy’s Chief Technology Officer, with responsibility for software and systems, and as President of Element Energy Korea.
MedCrypt Extended its Series B with an Additional Investment from Dexcom Ventures
MedCrypt, the proactive cybersecurity solution provider for medical device manufacturers, announced additional funding from Dexcom Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Dexcom. This extension follows MedCrypt’s Series B funding round in November 2022 with investments from Anzu Partners, Intuitive Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, and others, bringing the company’s funding to date to $36.4 million.
With this new investment from Dexcom and its other investors, MedCrypt is working to provide better cybersecurity for all medical devices, including those as small as pacemakers and insulin pumps or as large as surgical robots.
Azumo Announced its 3.4” Memory-in-Pixel (MIP) Reflective LCD Display
Azumo, the reflective display technology company, introduced a new 3.4-inch color MIP reflective module to its product line. Made possible by Azumo’s LCD 2.0™ front light technology, the 272 x 451-pixel display is one of the highest-resolution color MIP reflective LCDs of its size and has a variety of outdoor recreation, mobile POS, and industrial applications.
Device manufacturers seeking durable, color displays have been restricted to backlit LCDs, which drain batteries and are difficult to read in bright outdoor environments. Azumo’s 3.4-inch reflective LCD is 10 times more energy efficient than traditional backlit LCDs and is readable in both bright sun and total darkness. Additionally, the new module integrates Azumo’s next-generation light guide film enabling cover lens bonding and touch panel integration, opening up a new segment of applications that demand better reliability and visual quality.
e-Zinc was Selected for the 2023 Global Cleantech 100 List
e-Zinc, the company enabling sustainable, long-duration energy storage with its zinc-air battery, was chosen for the prestigious Cleantech Group’s 2023 Global Cleantech 100 list of the most innovative and promising companies that will take us from commitments to actions to reach net-zero.
e-Zinc was chosen from 15,753 nominations from over 93 countries by the Global Cleantech 100 Expert Panel of leading investors, corporate and industrial executives. Since 2009, the highly anticipated Global Cleantech 100 annual report has documented companies with the most promising ideas in cleantech – the ones best positioned to help build a more de-carbonized and resource-efficient industrial future.
InterVenn BioSciences Presented at the 41st Annual J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference
ErwinEstigarribia, CEO of InterVenn Biosciences, the life science company pioneering glycoproteomics, presented at the 41st annual J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference in San Francisco. Mr. Estigarribia shared a corporate update on Intervenn and discussed the progress the company has made unlocking the value of glycoproteomics for the development of transformational healthcare solutions.
Mr. Estigarribia was previously InterVenn’s President and Chief Operating Officer, and was recently appointed as Chief Executive Officer. Additionally, Laura Beggrow, a commercial-stage business leader with more than 25 years of experience in molecular diagnostics and biopharmaceuticals, has joined as Chief Commercial Officer.
Niron Magnetics, the company pioneering the world’s first high-performance, rare earth-free permanent magnets, announced the appointment of Jonathan Rowntree as its new CEO. Rowntree is a seasoned executive leader with a proven track record of commercializing new-to-the-world solutions in the advanced materials space, most recently as Senior Vice President of Advanced Electronics Solutions of Rogers Corporation. Previously, Jonathan served as Senior Vice President of the Industrial Electronics business unit at Henkel Corporation, where he led the growth of its global electronic materials business for 11 years.
After more than five years leading Niron as CEO, Andy Blackburn is passing the torch to Jonathan as Niron accelerates toward commercialization of its Clean Earth Magnet technology. Andy will remain a key member of the Niron team as Executive Vice President, Strategy , in addition to serving on the Niron Board of Directors as Vice Chair.
BioSkryb Genomics, a pioneer in comprehensive single-cell multi-omic research solutions, appointed Suresh Pisharody as its new CEO. Pisharody brings a wealth of experience in building life sciences tools and diagnostic businesses globally from his time working with Illumina, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Guardant Health. His expertise in developing and implementing business strategies to enter new markets will be instrumental as the company aims to establish itself as a leader in the rapidly expanding genomics and precision medicine industries.
Jay West, BioSkryb’s Founding CEO will transition into a new role as Chief Technology Officer and will remain an important member of the BioSkryb Board of Directors and its leadership team.
6K Appointed Dennis Fehr as CFO and Rob Davies as COO of 6K Energy
6K, a leader in the sustainable production of engineered materials for lithium-ion batteries and additive manufacturing, announced seasoned financial executive Dennis Fehr as Chief Financial Officer and manufacturing expert Rob Davies as Chief Operating Officer of 6K Energy.
Mr. Fehr brings experience in managing hyper-growth businesses. Prior to 6K, Fehr was CFO of Fluence Energy, as revenue grew from $30 million in FY18 to $1.2 billion in FY22, and the Company’s international presence increased to ten regional entities across the globe.
Mr. Davies is an experienced strategic and operational leader. He joins 6K after a ten-year career at Cabot Corporation, where he was responsible for the industrial performance of eighteen global carbon black plants and chaired the company’s Manufacturing Council. At 6K Energy, Davies will oversee manufacturing expansion, including the full scale PlusCAM™ cathode material production scheduled to open in 2025, which is funded in part by the recently awarded $50M Department of Energy grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Azumo, GelSight, and Niron Magnetics attended CES 2023 to showcase their technologies and network with the other innovators in attendance.
ANZU UPDATES
41st Annual J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference
Anzu team members attended the 41st Annual J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference in San Francisco, CA, alongside executives from many of our life sciences portfolio companies. Anzu hosted a cocktail reception during the conference where everyone met to enjoy drinks, city views, and discuss the latest and greatest in health care.
WELCOME TO ANZU
Sonal Naik, Associate
Sonal joins Anzu Partners as an Associate on the Investment team. In this role, she will be responsible for diligence, industry landscaping and portfolio support across Anzu’s portfolios. She began working in genomics over a decade ago, initially as a government contractor (with DoD) testing next generation sequencing technologies, then as a director for a genomics core at UCSD. Sonal then moved in the commercial world, working for Illumina, 10x Genomics, and Scale Bio, a single-cell focused startup.
ADDITIONAL PC MEDIA COVERAGE
Azumo’sLCD 2.0 display technology was featured in the Wall Street Journal. CEO Mike Casper also was interviewed by the AV+ Podcast about the supply chain and potential solutions for vendors.
GelSightwas featured in scientific YouTube influencer Steve Mould’s recent video, which has received over 1 million views.
To stay up to date on the latest news from both Anzu and our portfolio companies, follow us on social media.
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, IP, global connectivity, and operations. For more information, please visithttps://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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