FA Technology Ventures is an early stage investor, providing venture capital, management and guidance for companies in the emerging growth sectors of Information Technology and Energy Technology.

FA Technology Ventures

Streamlined Ventures is a seed-stage investment firm investing in companies transforming verticle markets through Data Science, APIs, Blockchain/Web3, AI, and Software Automation.

Streamlined Ventures

iRobot

Remote learning is driving an education technology revolution.

EdTech: K-12

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 Founded in 2014 by Mark Schnittman and Max Makeev, Owl Labs develops video technology to create inclusive and immersive video experiences for remote collaboration in the business, education, healthcare, and legal sectors. The company&rsquo;s flagship product, Meeting Owl&mdash;which consists of a 360-degree camera, mic, speaker, and proprietary artificial intelligence technology&mdash;was used by 100,000 organizations and more than 2,000 schools and universities as of June 2022.
 
 
 In March 2021, Owl Labs introduced a new suite of features leveraging Meeting Owl to support remote and hybrid learning. The new features are Owl Connect, which allows educators to expand the video and audio reach in classrooms by pairing two Meeting Owl Pros together; Presenter Enhance, which adapts to the presenter faster and tracks the room differently with video following the presenter&rsquo;s movement and audio following the discussion; and Digital Whiteboard, which allows virtual whiteboards to be viewed remotely. Additionally, Owl Labs has updated its in-device features with new functions, such as 360-degree panoramic controls, vertical flip, the ability to lock the camera on a whiteboard or presenter, and a passcode lock to prevent misuse by students. More recently, in June 2022, the company updated its in-device features with enhanced facial recognition, 4x faster detection, expanded audio range and compatibility, and enterprise IT support. 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 In September 2022, the company partnered with BlueJeans by Verizon, an interoperable cloud-based video conferencing service provider, to offer a bundle subscription service by combining its technology with BlueJeans Meetings video conferencing software licenses.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In November 2022, the company raised 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14577">
 USD 25 million in a Series C funding
 </a>
 round led by HP Tech Ventures. It planned to use the funds to expand the global adoption of its products and continue product development. Additionally, it sought to broaden Owl Labs' reach internationally and strengthen its go-to-market alliances beginning with a business arrangement between Owl Labs and HP France under which HP would market and sell Owl Labs' products domestically. Since its founding, the company's revenue has increased more than threefold year-over-year and it has increased sevenfold since the pandemic started.
 
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A concentration of wealth and a willingness to adopt age-in-place technologies present new opportunities.

Age Tech

Israel-based Intuition Robotics provides digital companionship to elderly people through its in-home digital robot, ElliQ. ElliQ is a voice assistant which utilizes the company’s cognitive artificial intelligence (AI) platform “Q” to function. The company also provides this patented technology to third-party devices. ElliQ engages with the elderly through health reminders, conversations, cognitive games, and other features. The device provides personalized suggestions, adapting to user preferences over time. ElliQ is built to be more proactive than standard voice assistants.In January 2024 Intuition Robotics launched ElliQ 3, a new version of its established companion robot. Announced at CES Las Vegas, ElliQ 3 is designed to assist in eldercare facilities by fostering social wellness, reducing feelings of loneliness, and reinforcing a sense of recognition. The latest model, ElliQ 3, features a range of enhancements, including improved design, more robust hardware, and GenAI integration. The design is now more compact, featuring an upgraded onboard MediaTek octa-core processor and an expanded memory. A key component of its updated package is the integration of LLMs (large language models), which elevate the robot's conversational competence in both structured and open-ended conversations.Key customers and partnershipsThe company commercially launched its companion robot ElliQ in August 2023 following and partnered with government agencies nationwide. The company started programs to provide ElliQ at no cost to end users through partnerships with bodies helping seniors in New York, Florida, Washington, and California. Intuition Robotics also signed its first agreement with a Medicare-focused Managed Care Organization.

Smart Homes: Energy & Water Solutions

Sense is a company that offers an energy monitoring solution for residential homes. Its core product is the Sense monitor, a device that gets installed in a home's electrical panel. The monitor uses machine learning to detect and identify individual appliances and devices based on their electrical signatures. It collects detailed data about a household's electricity usage, including wattage and voltage information from appliances like fridges, washing machines, and personal electronics.
This data is used to provide homeowners with insights into their energy consumption patterns over time. The Sense monitor can pinpoint energy-intensive devices, identify inefficient or failing appliances, and send alerts when devices are left running or have finished their cycles. Sense's technology aims to help homeowners reduce electricity consumption and improve energy efficiency in their homes.
The company offers mobile and web applications that allow users to track real-time energy usage, set efficiency goals, and receive customized recommendations. Sense's business model involves selling its hardware and software solutions directly to consumers.
In April 2022, Sense raised USD 105 million in Series C funding to expand its product offerings and enhance international reach.

AI, robotics, and IoT to streamline the flow of goods and information

Logistics Tech

Osaro specializes in developing AI-driven robotic solutions for warehouse automation, focusing on the ecommerce and logistics industries. Its key product is the “OSARO SightWorks” software, which uses AI and machine learning for advanced perception and control of robotic systems. The company's robots perform tasks such as piece-picking, bagging, kitting, and depalletizing, integrating with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS). A notable feature of Osaro's offerings is its ability to handle complex SKU inventories and delicate items. The company also launched&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35584">"AutoModel,"</a> an advancement to SightWorks, designed for high-volume piece-picking and kitting applications.It offers the products on a robotics-as-a-service basis.Key customers and partnershipsOsaro’s customers include Panasonic Connected Solutions, Konica Minolta, Kyoto Seisakusho, Rohto Pharmaceutical, Zenni Optical, and Konoike Transport.Osaro also has&nbsp;sales and integration partners including Fanuc, Mission Design and Automation, NPSG Global, Cognex, Geek+, Pregis, Sealed Air, Abiman Engineering, IHI, JR Automation, LG CNS, Dematic, Adaptec Solutions, and SVT Robotics.

Intuition Robotics designs social companion technologies that positively impact the lives of older adults. Its technology utilizes artificial intelligence to develop robots, enabling older adults to connect seamlessly with family and friends, making technology accessible and intuitive, and proactively promoting an active lifestyle.

Sense specializes in developing and distributing tracking devices and home automation solutions for its customers. Sense, its home monitoring system, is able to listen to the electronic signatures of electrical devices through its current sensors on the main breakers in electrical panels and records them. Followed by the recording process, it applies multi-domain device signature detection algorithms to distinguish one appliance from another to recognize each individual voice. Furthermore, the system transmits its data to its users through a specially designed mobile application. Sense was founded by Ryan Houlette, Christopher Micali, and Mike Phillips in 2013 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Osaro creates machine intelligence software that combine state-of-the-art perception with powerful adaptive decision-making abilities to help computer and robotic systems act efficiently and intelligently.  Like many advanced machine learning technologies, Osaro's software automatically extracts information from high-dimensional, time-varying data. Osaro goes beyond merely classifying data.  The technology interacts with the environment to learn, discover, and achieve a specific goal.  By making machines more adaptive, intelligent, and efficient, Osaro frees up humans to focus time, energy, and capital on higher level tasks.

Invisible AI is a next-generation computer vision company that offers a no-code, edge-based visual intelligence platform to improve quality, productivity, and safety in manufacturing industries. Its low-bandwidth and low-cost cameras, which can be deployed at each workstation tracks real-time human motion to help customers run accurate, reliable, and safe operations. Invisible AI helps ensure processes are done correctly and safely, every time.

Awair's mission is to empower people worldwide to breathe safely wherever they spend time indoors. The company provides cutting edge technology that is easy to use and understand, as well as an intuitive software platform with actionable insights for IAQ improvement, enabling users to mitigate their indoor air for health and safety, be it at home, school, the workplace, or any other indoor space. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA and has a second office in Seoul, South Korea.

Locix develops solutions to provide spatial and contextual awareness to buildings, homes, and connected devices. The company solutions uniquely capture location, visual, and sensor data and combine them with advanced data analytics to provide spatial awareness and enable actionable insights for automated decision making.  It is backed by several venture and strategic investors including ID Ventures, University of Tokyo Edge Capital, Murata Manufacturing, NTT Docomo Ventures, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, iRobot, Yaskawa Information Systems, Yaskawa Electric, and Acer Ventures.  Locix was founded in 2015 and is based in Silicon Valley.

6 River Systems mission is to redefine fulfillment automation for e-commerce and retail operations.    6 River Systems was founded in 2015 by former Kiva Systems and Mimio executives and is based in Boston.  We are currently working with select customers on pilots through 2016

Owl Labs is a collaborative tech company revolutionizing how the world communicates through inclusive and immersive video experiences. Built for modern organizations, we’re dedicated to empowering hybrid and remote teams with our award-winning collaborative technology and product suite.

Paracosm develops mobile reality capture, progress monitoring, and visualization solutions to help construction teams build better. With quick and easy scanning, job sites can be captured daily or weekly to gain powerful insights into projects and prevent rework. Their tools bring productivity for BIM/VDC to the next level, improve documentation, and make tracking construction progress easier than ever. Paracosm is a 3D mapping software company located in Gainesville, Florida. Their engineering team includes top computer vision engineers, parallel-processing devs, and 3D experts all striving to build the world’s best 3D mapping and visualization solutions.

iRobot designs and builds robots that empower people to do more. The company's home robots help people find smarter ways to clean and accomplish more in their daily lives. iRobot's portfolio of solutions features proprietary technologies for the connected home and advanced concepts in navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence.  iRobot was founded in 1990 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists with the vision of making practical robots a reality. iRobot's home robots are revolutionizing the way people clean – inside and out. More than 15 million home robots have been sold worldwide. The award-winning iRobot Roomba® Vacuum Cleaning Robot is leading the charge. Roomba made practical robots a reality for the first time and showed the world that robots are here to stay. iRobot's acclaimed line of home robots also includes the iRobot Scooba® Floor Scrubbing Robot, the iRobot Braava™ Floor Mopping Robot, the iRobot Mirra™ Pool Cleaning Robot and the iRobot Looj® Gutter Cleaning Robot. In 2015, iRobot generated $617 million in revenue and employed more than 600 of the robot industry's top professionals, including mechanical, electrical and software engineers and related support staff.  iRobot stock trades on the NASDAQ stock market under the ticker symbol IRBT. iRobot's corporate headquarters are located in Bedford, Mass. The company also has offices in California, the United Kingdom, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

iRobot to Present at Upcoming Investor Conferences

Sterilize with ease: The future of hygiene technology

Hygiene Tech

Technological devices used to keep an individual clean, specifically their body, teeth, and clothing to prevent illness and diseases.

Technological products and devices related to balancing a female's vaginal flora to prevent infections and vaginal diseases.

Technological equipment and devices used to keep an individual's house (such as domestic items, the air, and surfaces) clean to prevent illness and diseases.

Technological equipment and solutions that can be used in an industrial or domestic setting to control biological food hazards (such as microbes and bacteria) and to ensure food safety and quality for human consumption, preventing diseases and illness.

Technological equipment and devices used to ensure clean air, sanitation, and hygiene in public places to prevent illness and diseases.

iRobot

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