Hi Anzu Partners Community,

This is Dr. Henk Both, Principal at Anzu Partners, with an update from our Atlanta office.

Atlanta has been a top ecosystem target for Anzu for the past several years. I was pleased to lead the opening of Anzu’s office on Peachtree late last year and our ongoing presence here. As we expand our investment footprint, Atlanta offers a unique opportunity to engage with thriving ecosystem of renowned research institutes, emerging tech startups, and major corporate players.

We believe Atlanta has the infrastructure to support a durable, successful hard tech innovation hub, including: 

• Innovators and intellectual property from leading research institutes like Georgia Tech, Emory University, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Corporate partnerships through the presence of numerous Fortune 500 corporate headquarters and offices capable of partnering through commercial relationships, joint innovation programs, and financial support
• Accelerators dedicated to strengthening Atlanta’s tech innovation ecosystem in critical sectors, like the Georgia Cleantech Innovation Hub and Cox Cleantech Accelerator

Our initial focus with organizations like the Strategic Energy Institute at Georgia Tech has identified promising technologies that align with Anzu’s interests in battery manufacturing, battery recycling, aerospace, chemical, life sciences, and mechanical engineering technologies. Notably, Georgia Tech receives more R&D funding than any other US research institution without a medical school, placing it alongside (and ahead of) peers like MIT. 

With our local Atlanta presence, we aim to identify and support groundbreaking technologies that can scale to have national and global impacts, deliver value to our investors and founders, and support local economic development. We are enthusiastic about being part of a city with a thriving research community, especially since many of Anzu’s existing portfolio companies are spinouts from research institutes. With Anzu’s investment capital and operational support – including our technical investment team and business services platforms – these startups have established themselves as leaders in their respective industries. For example, since we helped spin out EnCharge AI from Princeton University in 2022, it has raised approximately $100 million in financing and received significant financial support from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to commercialize its advanced AI inference processors. 

Our Atlanta office underscores our commitment to identifying and supporting the next generation of innovators in critical technologies. While Georgia Tech, walking distance from Anzu’s office, is a natural first place to start, our ambitions extend to the entire Southeast region. As an alumnus of The University of Alabama and a product of the public education system in Mississippi, I’m personally motivated to be spearheading Anzu’s efforts to foster innovation across the region. Together with Wilson Poole, an Atlanta native and an Investment Director in our office, we are building relationships with universities, accelerators, and corporate partners in Georgia and the surrounding states. We welcome inquiries from local startups or businesses interested in partnering with us.

Sincerely,

Henk Both, Principal at Anzu Partners 

PORTFOLIO COMPANY UPDATES

6K Additive Awarded Major Projects for Additive Manufacturing Powder and Process Optimization and Powder Alloy Development

6K Additive, a division of 6K, announced the company has been selected by RTX Technology Research Center (RTRC) and the University of Arizona for the America Makes and National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining EARTH project. The proposal directly addresses more sustainable production of aerospace and defense products via additive manufacturing. The EARTH Project totals $1.2 million and is funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering Manufacturing Technology Office.

Leveraging 6K Additive’s tested track record in sustainable production of additive manufacturing powder, the RTRC will utilize advanced mode-guided process development techniques, emerging commercially available laser optics, and more efficient powder feedstock to optimize additive build Ti-6A1-4V material for deposition rate, feedstock reuse, and recyclability. The feedstock and print process optimization will be paired with techno-economic and lifecycle analyses to quantify and exploit its benefits to sustainability. 

6K Additive also announced the company has been selected by America Makes for its Powder Alloy Development of Additive Manufacturing (PADAM) project. 6K Additive will work in partnership with project lead, Castheon. The project is part of the $6M PADAM project funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The PADAM program specifically targets the cost-efficiency and performance enhancement of Nb C-103 powder feedstock by qualifying an extended particle size distribution (PSD) for both laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) and directed energy deposition (DED) methods.

C-103 is a niobium alloy used in high-temperature applications. While C-103 has historical success in space-flight applications there are significant MRL maturation opportunities identified to improve productivity, affordability, material, and design maturity. This project is expected to improve material availability and decrease the cost for C-103 by expanding the supply base and utilizing a broader range of PSD.

BioFlyte Partnered with SoBran for Mail Screening Operations with Streamlined Chemical and Biological Aerosol Threat Detection Technology

BioFlyte, a chemical and bioaerosol surveillance firm with a disruptive new class of fieldable chem/biothreat collection, detection, and identification solutions, announced a new strategic collaboration with SoBran Inc., a leader in mail security and provider of SafeMail mail screening services.

SoBran will utilize BioFlyte’s BioTOF z200 monitoring sensor to offer both chemical and biological threat agent detection and identification for its SafeMail screening services across the United States. BioFlyte’s BioTOF z200 is the first dynamic threat monitoring solution that is capable of early warning detection, analysis, and confirmatory identification across the chemical and biological threat landscape. BioTOF detects and identifies all classes of particulate threats, including bacteria, viruses, biotoxins like anthrax and ricin, and pharmaceutical-based agents. In its MailScreen configuration, it is a fully enclosed, scalable solution that keeps the operator safe, has an easy-to-read interface, and offers a low, predictable operating cost. Each test, from collection to alarm, is completed within approximately 5 minutes. It is the only available technology that can identify bio and chem threats simultaneously.

The news was covered in New Mexico Inno and the Albuquerque Journal.

Xendee Corporation Entered Next Phase of Contract with NEOM

Xendee Corporation, provider of the leading design and operation platform for distributed energy systems and Electric Vehicle (EV) fast-charging infrastructure, announced the achievement of important milestones in their contract to support NEOM, a visionary development aiming to create a sustainable and futuristic city in the northwest region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In the first phase of the project, Xendee provided its expertise to support NEOM in the conversion from fossil-based systems to a renewable energy-driven infrastructure, leveraging solutions including solar panels (building integrated as well as rooftop), battery systems, wind turbines (both larger offshore and smaller ones next to buildings), hydrogen fuel cells, micro-hydro systems, and other innovative technologies at different locations such as The Line, Gulf of Aqaba, and Oxagon.

Most recently NEOM has faced some challenges regarding its ambitious goals and its ability to achieve them within the original plan’s scope. With the help of Xendee, some of the assumptions used in the original plan have been reworked. Xendee has demonstrated that 100% renewable energy is possible for those sites, but at a different cost level than originally assumed, which is addressable by the NEOM team. With updated information from Xendee, NEOM now moves into the next phase of the project – microgrid-powered cities and islands with less reliance on expensive transmission projects or centralized power plants.

XGS Energy Promoted Dr. Axel-Pierre Bois to Chief Technology Officer and Dr. Lucy Darago to Chief Commercial Officer and Established a New Houston Office

XGS Energy, an innovator in geothermal energy technology and project development, announced that Axel-Pierre Bois, Ph.D., has been promoted to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Lucy Darago, Ph.D., has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).

“Axel and Lucy’s proven operational excellence and technical knowledge has helped propel XGS forward as we enter our next phase of growth,” said Josh Prueher, CEO of XGS Energy in the press release. “I’m thrilled to have them both join XGS’ C-suite and have their support as we continue to grow our team, further advance our next-generation geothermal technology, and invest in our multi-gigawatt project pipeline.”

The XGS leadership team expansion comes at a time of rapid advancement. The company recently leased over 10,000 square feet of office space in Memorial City, between downtown Houston and the Energy Corridor. XGS is planning for continued growth in the Houston area, leveraging the region’s leading engineering and operational workforce and intensifying energy transition activity.

The news was covered in the Houston Business Journal  and inEnergy Capital HTX. 

Excision BioTherapeutics Published Preclinical Study for Treatment of HSV-1 Keratitis and was Named to Fierce Biotech’s 2024 Fierce 15 List

Excision Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing CRISPR-based therapies to cure serious latent viral infectious diseases, announced the Molecular Therapy Methods & Clinical Development publication of a preclinical study of EBT-104 in herpes simplex virus-1 keratitis (HSV-1 Keratitis). 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 by co-targeting two essential HSV-1 genes, ICP0 and ICP27.

“Positive preclinical data published in Molecular Therapy Methods & Clinical Development demonstrate EBT-104’s potential as a curative approach for HSV-1 keratitis,” said Daniel Dornbusch, Chief Executive Officer of Excision in the press release.

CytoTronics’ Pixel System Received a 2024 R&D 100 Award

CytoTronics, a pioneer of semiconductor-based platforms for discovery in cell biology, was honored with a 2024 R&D 100 Award for its flagship product, Pixel™. Pixel’s innovative semiconductor-to-live-cell interface empowers cell biologists to re-imagine their experiments and unlock new applications that haven’t been possible before. Early adopters around the world are harnessing Pixel in therapeutic areas including vascular, inflammatory, cardiovascular, and neurological disease, rare disease, and oncology.

By enabling thousands of simultaneous, multi-modal readouts on any cell type at single-cell resolution, Pixel dramatically accelerates the scale at which cell biology applications can be executed, and the breadth and depth of live-cell insights obtained. Recognized in the Analytical/Test category of the R&D 100 Awards, this first-of its-kind system lets scientists assess live cell function with simultaneous monitoring of cell viability, morphology, electrophysiology, metabolism, and more while generating non-invasive electrical images with single-cell spatial resolution — for the first time.

ANZU PARTNERS UPDATES

Upcoming Events

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

• Climate Week NYC – September 22-29, 2024 – New York, NY
• Littler AI Summit – September 23-24, 2024 – Washington, DC
• The Battery Show – October 7-10, 2024 – Detroit, MI
• Manufacturing Institute’s Workforce Summit – October 8-10, 2024 – Minneapolis, MN
• VC in DC Venture + Startup Gala – October 24, 2024 – Washington, DC

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

WELCOME TO ANZU PARTNERS

Joey Clark, Principal & SVP, Capital Solutions

Joey was previously a Market Executive for Startup Banking at J.P. Morgan, where he led teams across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Greater Atlanta areas to serve early-stage startups growth and tech ecosystems. He has also worked with the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), an innovation unit of the U.S. Department of Defense, where he helped military leaders solve complex technical challenges by collaborating with early-stage startups. In his new role, Joey will leverage his extensive background in the innovation economy to support growth and capital strategies for startups and Anzu’s family of funds.

Deidra Migliorini, Senior Paralegal

Deidra joins Anzu as an accomplished legal professional with experience in contract management and complex litigation. Deidra's expertise spans a wide array of legal domains including contract law, commercial litigation, and regulatory compliance. She excels in coordinating due diligence processes, managing comprehensive document control, and developing internal procedures to enhance operational efficiency.

ADDITIONAL ANZU & PC MEDIA COVERAGE

• Anzu Partners’ Jimmy Kan and EnCharge AI were both featured in a Venture Capital Journal piece on innovating data centers.
• Niron Magnetics was featured in an MIT Technology Review piece on neodymium supply chain challenges and received distinguished recognition in the Logitech Future Positive Technology Challenge.
• AM Batteries was mentioned in a Forbes piece on investment in a sustainable future. 
• 6K was featured in a 3DPrint.com piece where the author recapped a recent tour of the 6K North Andover, MA facility.
• CytoTronics was named a winner in the R&D World 2024 R&D 100 Awards in the Analytical/Test category.
• OTI Lumionics was featured in a BetaKit piece about Next Generation Manufacturing Canada’s (NGen) recent advanced manufacturing investments.
• e-Zinc was featured in a piece in EnergyTech about the future of sustainable batteries.
• Voltaiq’s partnership with Amazon Web Services was featured in EV Tech Insider and CTO and Co-Founder, Eli Leland appeared on an episode of the Take Charge Podcast to discuss how AI will accelerate battery manufacturing.
• Xendee was featured in an Arizona State University news story on how an ASU lab is helping increase access to electricity around the world.

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/.