Pear is an early-stage venture fund founded by Pejman Nozad and Mar Hershenson. Their co-founding managers have historically seeded very early stage tech start-ups such as Doordash, Guardant Health, Gusto, Viz.ai, Dropbox, Lending Club, Vanta, Zoosk, Addepar, Path and many others. Their motto is simple: they invest in exceptional founders who are building amazing companies. They utilize every resource they have to assist their founders and entrepreneurs shape the future.

Pear VC

ZhenFund is a seed fund founded by former entrepreneurs to invest in the most promising innovators. New Oriental co-founders Bob Xiaoping Xu and Victor Qiang Wang established ZhenFund in 2011 in collaboration with Sequoia Capital China. ZhenFund now has a network of over 800 portfolio companies, including over 30 unicorns based in China.  We believe that great businesses start with exceptional founding teams. We are dedicated to helping our entrepreneurs build successful companies by providing them with mentorship and the best resources available. Some of our services include biannual demo days to top Chinese VCs, ZhenHR services, marketing and PR consulting, as well as fundraising. Our strong and large CEO network also facilitates entrepreneurs helping each other, especially via our WeChat platform.  ZhenFund has been ranked as the “#1 Early-Stage Investment Firm” for six years. Bob Xiaoping Xu, Founder of ZhenFund, has been named on the Midas List since 2016 and ranked #11 in 2019. Anna Fang, Founding Partner and CEO of ZhenFund, has been named on the Midas List since 2019 and made her 4th appearance as #12, and #1 on Midas Seed List in 2022.

ZhenFund

StartX is a 501(c)(3) Stanford-affiliated nonprofit in Silicon Valley that runs one of the world’s top startup accelerator programs. Its mission is to advance the development of the best entrepreneurs through experiential education and peer learning. Since launching in 2010, it has supported more than 450 companies and 1000 entrepreneurs, from early to pre-IPO stage, working across a wide spectrum of industries.    StartX and StartX Med, dedicated to medical and biotechnology innovation, provide founders with access to a powerful network of entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and industry partners, along with office space and a variety of other resources. Based in Palo Alto, the accelerator also operates StartX-QB3 Labs and the Stanford-StartX Fund. We are funded by Stanford University, Stanford Health Care, Microsoft, Steelcase, Hyundai, Oriza Ventures, Nissan, Panasonic, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Analog Devices, Silicon Valley Bank, Greylock Partners, Sequoia Capital, and many others. For more information, visit startx.com The company is associated investment vehicle, the Stanford-StartX Fund is a partnership between StartX, Stanford University and Stanford Health Care.  It can invest only in StartX companies who raise qualified rounds of venture capital using objective criteria; it is founder opt-in.

StartX (Stanford-StartX Fund)

Threshold is an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on a high-conviction investment strategy. The firm partners with entrepreneurs to build innovative consumer, enterprise, and healthcare technology companies.

Threshold

Cota Capital is an SEC-registered multi-stage investment firm focused on private and public enterprise technology companies. Cota has invested in more than 100 private and public technology companies since inception. Cota’s overall Mission is to deliver impactful outcomes through principle-guided investment in modern enterprise technologies.

Cota Capital

Polarr

Polarr develops offline artificial intelligence technology for photography, video, and other creative use cases to provide developers with tools and resources to create applications that enable and make creations.

Polarr is a photo and video editing software provider offering AI-powered editing tools across multiple platforms. The company's flagship product is its photo editing application, which features advanced color correction capabilities, AI-enabled face detection and retouching tools, and millions of customizable filters created by users worldwide. The software includes tools for exposure adjustment, color balancing, HSL modifications, curve adjustments, and local editing using masks and layers. Its AI technology enables automated tasks such as background removal, object replacement, and portrait enhancement. The platform also offers batch processing capabilities and RAW image editing support. In February 2024, Polarr launched the public beta version 1.0 of Polarr Next, which offers batch RAW editing workflows in browsers, and 24FPS, a video effects application featuring aesthetic filters like barbiecore, weirdcore, and vaporwave. In September 2024, the company announced a public beta 2.0 update to Polarr Next, introducing integrated AI culling and enhanced AI editing experiences.

Facial recognition delivers incredible convenience to consumers, as well as serious risks.

Facial Recognition

Borui Wang and Derek Yan, co-founders of Polarr, on the VatorNews innovation podcast

FacePhi offers a range of facial recognition identity authentication solutions for transaction approval and digital onboarding. FacePhi’s Selphi software allows the user to perform ID authentication via a selfie. The selfie is encrypted and sent to the bank’s database to be used for payee authentication. The encryptions ensures the user's privacy, as the full image is not sent to the bank.&nbsp;In 2023, FacePhi recorded an annual revenue of EUR 25.15 million (USD 26.4 million).Key customers and partnershipsIn May 2021, FacePhi partnered with Revelock, a Spanish fraud detection company, to provide comprehensive identity verification and fraud prevention solutions for financial institutions. In February 2022, the company partnered with software company Oracle Cloud Marketplace to act as a distributor for FacePhi's digital onboarding and facial recognition solutions.&nbsp;In November 2021, the company also partnered with airport operator Aena to offer identity verification for passengers and employees at a price of USD 1.7 million for four years. Aiming to expand its presence in the LATAM region, FacePhi established a regional office in Uruguay in March 2022, followed by an agreement with Hites, a Chilean department store, to use remote selfie onboarding technology to allow<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates?industryIds=16"> Hites’</a> customers to apply for credit cards online.&nbsp;In May 2024, the company entered a strategic partnership with Hancom Group, making it the exclusive distributor of FacePhi's products in the Asia-Pacific region.As of November 2024, FacePhi served over 300 clients across more than 25 countries, with a client retention rate exceeding 95%. The company's technology was being used by several Spanish airlines including Air Europa, Binter, Iberia, and Vueling. Samsung Securities became a technology client in 2024, strengthening FacePhi's presence in the Asia-Pacific market.&nbsp;

FacePhi

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Sightcorp is an AI spin-off from the University of Amsterdam that develops patented proprietary AI Software solutions for mobile apps which includes face detection (detect multiple faces in an image), emotion analysis, crowd demographics, and attention analytics. Main target markets of the company include retail, advertising, hospitality, and digital signage.&nbsp;In January 2022, Sightcorp was acquired by&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7828?industryIds=16">Raydiant</a>, a provider of an in-location experience management platform, to jointly develop solutions for personalized on-screen, in-location experiences targeting retailers, restaurants, etc. Sightcorp expects to open offices in Lithuania and London in 2022 and to grow its European team from 20 to 100. Raydiant is also hiring across the US and internationally to accompany Sightcorp’s new offices.Key customers and partnershipsThe company’s clients include Toyota, Wahlburgers, T-Mobile, Red Bull, and Baskin Robbins.

Sightcorp

Okaya offers a mobile app that aims to understand the users’ wellbeing by using a combination of facial recognition technology, biometrics analysis (such as heart rate, weight etc.) and machine learning. Okaya’s facial recognition algorithm developed in-house, analyses facial features obtained from a 15 second video recording where up to 30 frames are captured in a second. This data is evaluated along with other biometrics to determine the level of fatigue of a person. The product is claimed to help create strong work teams and a strong work environment as it allows to identify areas where improvement is required.Key customers and partnershipsOkaya targets industries such as healthcare, corporate wellness, and human resources. The platform is designed to serve both clinical providers and employers aiming to improve workforce mental health. Okaya also supports businesses with dedicated integration assistance via channels like Discord.

Okaya

Facetec offers a 3D&nbsp;facial authentication software called ZoOm, which is capable of high-performance liveness detection (verifying that the captured facial features belong to a living person). The software can be used on smart mobile devices and webcams. The company also has patented technology to generate a 3D face map using a video selfie recorded even with a 2D camera. While most other 3D face mapping requires dedicated hardware components, FaceTec's technology eliminates this requirement. As a result, app developers do not need to rely on device manufacturers to incorporate additional hardware in order to use ZoOm. In September 2019, Facetec improved its product by embedding an age-estimation tool.&nbsp;Even though selfie-based authentication has become commonplace, many of them use 2D facial mapping which makes them vulnerable to spoofing attacks (attempts to gain access illegally by reproducing a person's face using images, masks, mannequins, etc.) due to the use of 2D mapping of facial features.&nbsp;The company claims that its product is one of the few companies to be certified at level 1 and 2 in the iBeta Presentation Attack Detection (PAD) test, which is governed by an ISO standard. The software can detect digital and physical 'spoof artifacts' such as high-resolution photos and videos, masks and mannequins.Key customers and partnershipsFaceTec has over 100 customers across various verticals with an installed base of over 10 billion smart devices. ZoOm targets a wide range of markets ranging from banking, e-commerce, healthcare, insurance, e-voting, attendance, and government. Majority of FaceTec's customers are currently government and financial institutions.

FaceTec, Inc.

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 FaceFirst offers facial recognition solutions mainly for access control as well as for identity authentication and real-time security. It focuses on retailers, airports, casinos, banks, as well as music and gaming events. The company also offers a mobile app (for iOS and Android) for facial recognition on the go. FaceFirst&rsquo;s facial recognition tool is mainly aimed at the retail segment, which accounts for around 50% of its business. FaceFirst&rsquo;s patented retail security platform can identify any known shoplifters or forbidden employees attempting to enter the store. Its products can be integrated with existing retail systems. 
 
 
 The company also introduced Mask-ID in November 2018, which instantly blurs identified faces without compromising accuracy. Additionally, the retail security platform allows its users to access the company&rsquo;s database of retail criminals, enabling them to include any individuals banned by the company itself. FaceFirst is one of the companies to work with lawmakers to help regulate the industry.
 
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FaceFirst

Companies that are developing facial recognition technology to suggest tags for photos uploaded on the platform, typically social media.

Companies that provide facial recognition technology for contactless and fast-payment gateways.

Companies providing tools to identify VIP customers and repeat customers by using facial recognition.

Companies that provide technology to monitor physical access to offices, retail stores, and residences as well as access to electronic devices, such as mobile phones and laptops, using facial recognition.

Companies providing facial recognition technology to identify people from live and recorded videos.

Companies that provide facial recognition technology to police and government agencies to identify criminals, protestors, unauthorized overstayers in the country, and departing passengers.

Facial recognition is a type of biometrics used to verify individuals

Used in smart city applications for access control

Facial recognition technology is built on ML models for training data

Polarr

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