Intuition Robotics raises $25M + Plenty expands to Whole Foods across CA
A weekly selection of news and investment opportunities from OurCrowd, the global venture investing platform
Startup of the Week
Moon Steak: Disruptive meat production
Consumers crave meat, but would like to cut back due to health, environmental and animal welfare concerns. However, many current alternative meats fail to reproduce the flavor, aroma and texture of steaks, chops and other whole cuts that meat eaters love. Early-stage startup Moon Steak has developed novel metamaterials that emulate the aroma and flavor of animal meat, fat and bone via an injection-molding technology that manufactures whole cuts of entrecote, lamb chops and T-bone steaks at a fraction of the cost of competing technologies such as 3D printing. Moon Steak is led by Prof. Yaakov Nahmias, a successful serial entrepreneur and innovator who founded Believer Meats (formerly Future Meat), one of the world’s leading cultured meat companies and the first unicorn in that sector. OurCrowd is leading Moon Steak’s seed round to fund the development of the company’s mass-production line.
Intuition Robotics raises $25M
Intuition Robotics raised an additional $25M, including $20M in venture capital and $5M in venture debt, Brian Heater reports in TechCrunch. Intuition’s AI-powered ElliQ robot is designed to be a companion for older adults and has been proven to significantly reduce loneliness and improve well-being. The company has inked deals with state agencies in California, Florida and New York. Toyota’s Woven Capital growth funding led the round, with participation from Toyota Ventures and Western Technology Investment. Intuition Robotics has raised $83M to date. OurCrowd has a small allocation remaining, available to investors for a limited time. More details available under NDA.
MadeRight raises $2M for fungi-based green packaging?
Biotech startup MadeRight raised $2M in seed funding to develop its process of cultivating fungi for green packaging, Sharon Wrobel reports in The Times of Israel. Nurtured at OurCrowd’s Fresh Start incubator, MadeRight harnesses the way fungi function as natural recyclers to replace harmful materials in plastic packaging, reducing their environmental impact. The company's fermentation technology cultivates fungi grown on organic industrial waste such as wood chips to produce sustainable materials that are biodegradable and free from pollutants, to create a recyclable plastic alternative for packaging.
NeuReality: Slashing AI deployment costs?
Four key elements can boost the odds that a startup will succeed, Peter Cohan writes in Inc.com. Our currently funding company NeuReality checks off top boxes with its semiconductors that slash the price of AI deployment. “Our network addressable processing units are 10 times more efficient. We lower the cost and power consumption of AI operations. We lower overhead costs from $350K per server to $100K per server, and increase utilization from 25 percent to 100 percent,” says Moshe Tanach, CEO of NeuReality, which is currently funding on the OurCrowd platform. More details available under NDA.
Report: 91% of organizations hit by AI-enhanced email attacks
Cybercriminals are rapidly adopting AI tools, according to a new report from OurCrowd portfolio company Perception Point and Osterman Research. The study shows that 91.1% of organizations have already encountered AI-enhanced email attacks, and 84.3% expect AI will continue to be utilized to circumvent existing security systems. Perception Point’s central detection platform intercepts all threats – not only via email, but also across web browsers and cloud-based apps including Slack, OneDrive, Teams, Salesforce and many others. The company has over 3,800 customers and was recognized in the 2023 Gartner Market Guide for Email Security for the fourth year in a row. Perception Point is currently funding on the OurCrowd platform.
领英推荐
IQM introduces quantum computer for universities, labs ?
Europe’s quantum computing leader and OurCrowd portfolio company IQM introduced a quantum computer tailor made for universities and research labs. The IQM Spark comes with a 5-qubit quantum processing unit, operational training, and learning materials accessible through IQM Academy, the company’s online platform. “Given the potential of quantum computing, the ecosystem will require a wide range of talent across electronics, chip fabrication, hardware design and software engineering. We are confident that our system will facilitate the learning experience and engage students with the physical system,” says Dr. Kuan Yen Tan, Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers.
Plenty doubles retail presence in California at Whole Foods and Gelson’s
Vertical farming pioneer Plenty is making its produce available to more California consumers. Whole Foods Market and Gelson’s Markets stores throughout the state now carry Plenty’s zero-pesticide leafy greens, doubling its retail presence in the state. “Plenty makes it possible for us to provide our Southern California shoppers with delicious, locally grown greens all year long, thanks to their advanced technology that brings out the best natural flavor,” says Paul Kneeland, Senior Vice President at Gelson’s Markets. To meet demand, Plenty's Compton Farm, which opened in May, is scaling up to grow up to 4.5M pounds of leafy greens a year.
DOTS: Managing fertilizer use, protecting the environment?
Over-fertilization of fields is becoming a worldwide problem that is very costly in two different ways, Dan O’Shea reports for Fierce Electronics. First, farmers waste money if they use too much fertilizer. Second is the cost of the resulting groundwater contamination and spike in greenhouse gas emissions. Technology from Israeli startup DOTS (Data of the Soil) monitors the level of fertilizer soil in real time, advising farmers only to add when needed. It has been used in Israeli tomato greenhouses, where it slashed fertilizer use by 30%, without damaging the crop. Nurtured at OurCrowd’s Labs08 incubator, DOTS is currently negotiating and signing partnership agreements with large European and American companies.?
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Startup Beat?is a weekly selection of news and investment opportunities from?OurCrowd, the global venture investing platform.
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