Anzu's November Newsletter shares information about GelSight’s advanced surface inspection platform, which is capable of capturing micron-level measurement data with human-level precision.
Niron Magnetics adds rare-earth engineering expert to leadership team
Hi Anzu Partners Community,
I’m Youssef Benmokhtar, CEO of Anzu portfolio company, GelSight, the pioneer in 3D digital tactile sensing technology developed to mimic human touch and feel. GelSight’s advanced surface inspection platform is capable of capturing micron-level measurement data with human-level precision – a distinction that has attracted customers across industries, including Meta AI, Blue Origin, Rolls-Royce, and NASA.
Take it from our customer, Rolls-Royce – the company has opted to equip its service and maintenance workers with GelSight to efficiently and effectively assess engine parts for damage – over a traditional approach to quality inspection: the fingernail test. Many manufacturing workers use their hands to judge whether a surface defect is just a small scratch or deep enough to potentially compromise the part. Alistair Donaldson, a Rolls-Royce executive said the company hasn’t “found another product that has the capability of GelSight. I could put it in the hands of a child, and he could take an accurate measurement.”
Our intelligent tactile sensor is made of an elastomeric material that conforms to an object on contact. Armed with a tiny, but powerful, camera, its sensing technology inspects surface textures, can detect roughness, defects, contamination, and omnidirectional dimensions down to submicron-level detail. GelSight’s advanced surface inspection and analysis capabilities are a game changer for the nearly 3 million inspectors working on production and maintenance lines. Our systems overcome the limitations of incumbent solutions with its ability to digitally characterize the texture of any surface regardless of material type or reflectivity, directly on the production line.
At GelSight, we continue toenhance our market presence through new partnerships and product integrations. Last month, GelSight and Meta AI expanded an existing partnership with the introduction of Digit 360, a fingertip-shaped tactile sensor can detect miniature changes in spatial details, and captures forces as small as 1 millinewton – surpassing previous sensors. Digit 360 aims to make AI-enabled surface measurement tools more accessible and scalable, with potential real-world use cases in medicine, prosthetics, virtual reality, and telepresence. To see how Digit 360 can unlock new applications in robotics, check out this video on YouTube. To apply for early access to Digit 360, members of the research community can submit a proposal.
Over the past year, GelSight has bolstered growth by achieving significant progress in both technological innovation and strategic partnerships, including:
Our partnership with Flexxbotics incorporates our tactile sensing technology into Flexxbotics’ automated, robot-driven manufacturing systems. This integration enables nondestructive testing and precision inspections, reducing inspection time on the production line by 40% while ensuring micron-scale measurement reliability. This partnership specifically targets industries like aerospace, defense, medical devices, and automotive manufacturing.
We expanded our global footprint through a reseller agreement with Hexagon, a leader in metrology and smart manufacturing technologies. In addition to the distribution of GelSight products, our companies will co-develop solutions to address challenges like labor shortages while enhancing inspection automation and analysis. This deal follows the 2023 Hexagon's Sixth Sense Innovation Platform award to help scale our business.
Major aerospace companies are using GelSight’s technology to improve inspection and quality assurance workflows across its global operations. Customers like Boeing, Kalitta Air, MTU Aero Engines, Rolls-Royce, and Safran use GelSight to inspect aerospace components like turbine blades and landing gear.
GelSight continues to advance our software capabilities and innovate our proprietary elastomeric 3D imaging technology for the GelSight Mobile and GelSight Max handheld devices. Meeting market demands, GelSight has recently pushed a suite of tools to enable users to integrate GelSight’s factory automation processes, robotics systems, and OEM products, including:, enhanced Workflow automation, and API for integration.
As demand for automation grows, GelSight tactile systems are enabling seamless integrations with robotic platforms, allowing manufacturers across industries to save time and costs for use in diverse applications. Examples include helping ensure surface integrity for space parts and boosting space manufacturing efficiency.
We also welcomed Troy Lambeth to the Board of Directors. His background in aviation and experience building maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) will help us further expand our reach in key markets.
Finally, we are thrilled to have been named an Inno Blazer winner in the robotics category of the 2024 BostInno Fire Awardsfor making “everyday life and manufacturing easier.”
We’re grateful for the support from our investors, including the Anzu team, and hope you’ll follow along as we continue to expand our reach and unlock new applications.
Sincerely,
Youssef Benmokhtar, CEO at GelSight
PORTFOLIO COMPANY UPDATES
Opscura Demoed Solution at the Cyber Wall on MxD’s Future Factory Floor
Opscura, innovators of the only drop-in OT security protection platform that offers segmentation, encryption, and protection, announced that its solution is now available for live demonstration at the Cyber Wall on MxD’s Future Factory Floor, a collaborative space where MxD members and their partners showcase the future of manufacturing with product demonstrations in real environments.
At the MxD Cyber Wall, the Opscura OT Security Protection Platform will respond to common security threats with three demo scenarios: Allow Listing (formerly called White Listing), Network Zone Protection (Machine in the Middle Attack), and Legacy Asset Protection. These product demonstrations will showcase the scope of Opscura's comprehensive drop-in OT/ICS security solution.
NanoCellect Biomedical Announced Strategic Partnerships with Distributors Across the APAC Region
NanoCellect Biomedical, a leading provider of innovative microfluidic flow cytometry solutions, announced new strategic partnerships with additional distributors in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. NanoCellect has partnered with IMH Bio, DKSH, and Trend Bio to serve the APAC market, specifically covering North China, Southeast Asia, and Australia/New Zealand, respectively.
These partnerships will further expand NanoCellect’s presence in these key markets, enabling scientists to leverage NanoCellect’s proven high-viability cell sorting platforms to advance their research and development success. In addition, these partnerships will enable scientists in APAC to gain access to NanoCellect’s VERLO platform that will deliver image-guided cell analysis and sorting technologies that leverages both traditional FACS technology with label free, AI enabled tools to further drive cellular discoveries.
Niron Magnetics Appointed New Vice President of Magnet Engineering and Operations
Niron Magnetics, the company pioneering the world’s first high-performance, rare-earth-free permanent magnets, announced the appointment of Jeff Calvert as Vice President of Magnet Engineering & Operations. In this role, Calvert will oversee Niron’s advanced magnet engineering initiatives and operational strategies, driving innovation in the development and production of Niron’s permanent magnet technology, designed to reduce reliance on rare earth elements in key industries.
Jeff Calvert brings over 35 years of engineering and operations experience focused on rare-earth permanent magnet (REPM) materials. His career includes roles in development and process engineering, quality and safety management, and executive leadership in both domestic and international production environments. Before joining Niron, Jeff held leadership positions at several notable magnet manufacturers, including UGIMAG, Magnequench, and Arnold Magnetic Technologies, as well as magnet and assembly fabricators such as Precision Magnetics, Energy Conversion Systems, and TDA Magnetics, where he was employee No. 2 in the company’s successful 10-year start-up journey.
Please reach out to info@anzupartners.comif you’re interested in meeting with us at any of these events.
WELCOME TO ANZU PARTNERS
Hunter Brown
Principal, Investment
We are thrilled to welcome Hunter Brown back to the Anzu Investment team in San Diego! Hunter, who was an Investment Director at Anzu Partners from 2017 to 2021, returns to the firm after serving as an Associate Director at Anduril Industries, a cutting-edge defense technology company specializing in autonomous systems. At Anduril, Hunter played a key role in shaping strategies for next-generation programs across critical mission areas, such as Space, Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) and Maritime, adapting commercial technologies for U.S. Department of Defense applications.
“We are thrilled to welcome Hunter back to Anzu, where his experience navigating the complex world of government procurement, program execution, and the intersection with the legislative branch will help us field new investment opportunities,” said Whitney Haring-Smith, Managing Partner at Anzu Partners in the press release announcing Hunter’s return. “In the face of global competition, there is an urgent and growing need of strategic capital for the development and commercialization of critical technologies that also support the economic base, domestic manufacturing, job creation, and the skilling of the next-gen workforce.”
Neika joins Anzu Partners as a Digital Marketing Manager. She brings extensive experience in Health Tech, SaaS, and B2B marketing, with a proven track record of building and executing innovative marketing strategies. Prior to joining Anzu Partners, Neika was a Digital Marketing Manager at Vital, a health tech startup, where she helped establish the marketing function from the ground up. Her expertise spans social media, SEO, email marketing, content creation, PR, paid advertising, and demand generation.
Neika holds a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Global Health from the University of California, San Diego.
ADDITIONAL ANZU & PC MEDIA COVERAGE
Anzu Partners’ new Principal and SVP, Capital Solutions, Joey Clark was featured in Technical.ly.
Niron Magnetics won a 2024 Tekne Award by the Minnesota Technology Association* for its business impact. Niron was also featured in a piece by IDTechEx on progress and expectations for EV drivetrain technology.
NTx was featured in a GEN piece on improving mRNA manufacturing.
South 8 Technologies CEO Tom Stepien talked toAZO Materialsabout the company’s LiGas® technology.
AM Batteries was featured in an episode of Battery Insiders podcast and was featured in a medium post by TDK Venturesrecapping Massachusetts governor, Maura Healey’s presentation at TDK’s recent energy conference.
Voltaiq CEO Eli Leland appeared on an episode of the Wards Auto Podcast to discuss battery recalls.
Pivotal Systems was featured in Penang Hyperlocalto highlight its new manufacturing facility in Kulim Hi-Tech Park.
Aspinity was featured in a piece by EDNabout opportunities amid analog industry consolidation.
OTI Lumionics’ VP of Materials Discovery Scott Genin contributed a piece to Inside Quantum Technology News about how quantum simulations are accelerating new materials discovery.
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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
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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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