Hemi Ventures

Hemi Ventures invests in early stage startups in autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence applications, biotech, and other emerging technology sectors. We partner with entrepreneurs whose cutting edge innovations unlock new frontiers for human potential. ‘Hemi’ (hēmi-) means ‘half’ in Greek. We serve as a complementary half to our founders. In addition to capital, we help founders establish pivotal relationships with industry partners and customers to build strong ecosystems that help them grow.

Amy Gu

Founder and Managing Partner

Justin Li

Principal

JP

Joel Palathinkal

Venture Partner

30 past transactions

NAVAN Technologies, Inc.

Seed Round in 2019
NAVAN Technologies, Inc., a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company, develops and commercializes NanoStraw platform technology to enable cell and gene therapies. Its NanoStraws platform provide direct access to the cytosol of a cell to enable the delivery of any cargo into any cell in a gentle, non-perturbative manner. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in South San Francisco, California.
Elaborate the cutting edge electronic technology and the most advanced medical science to equip the clinicians

Skymind Inc.

Series A in 2019
Pathmind helps simulation modelers optimize decisions in industrial operations and supply chains using deep reinforcement learning with an intuitive Web app. Use cases include manufacturing automation, supply chain, warehouse control, machine scheduling, and fleet routing. Pathmind integrates with AnyLogic and other simulation software, and allows simulations modelers to discover better decision paths through complex scenarios with state of the art AI. Pathmind is a Y Combinator company.

Mendo

Seed Round in 2019
Mendo provides highly complex liquid-handling in a portable, low-cost, and programmable electrofluidic device. The company utilizes the liquid-handling technology to condense and consolidate the manual and infrastructure-intensive aspects of the next-generation sequencing workflow in an automated handheld device, thereby enabling clients to construct programmable fluidic circuits that can autonomously execute arbitrarily complex liquid handling steps.

Phase Genomics

Venture Round in 2020
Phase Genomics, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops technology for ProxiMeta Hi-C genome assemby and metagenome deconvolution. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Cypre

Convertible Note in 2017
Cypre, Inc. provides solutions in drug discovery, translational, and clinical research. It offers its solutions for oncology/immuno-oncology, disease modeling, and stem cells applications. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in San Francisco, California.

X-37

Series A in 2019
X-37 is a pharmaceutical discovery and development company, which uses advanced artificial intelligence technology from Atomwise, Inc. to discover novel drug candidates by screening vast libraries of chemical compounds against high-value pharmaceutical targets.

Apprentice FS, Inc.

Seed Round in 2017
Apprentice.io develops an intelligent manufacturing execution system that helps life science teams scale faster. From small and large molecule to cell and gene therapy, Apprentice's cloud-based system leverages artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and Pharma 4.0 to increase an organization's speed to market. Run your entire batch campaign and leverage data for continuous process improvement. It was formed in 2014 and headquartered in New Jersey, United States.

Ravel Biotechnology

Venture Round in 2020
Ravel Biotechnology markets an analytic technology platform capable of early detection of disease from cell-free DNA. The technology platform enables the accelerated development and validation of screening tests for a wide range of diseases from a single analyte, cell-free DNA. Thus providing the opportunity to screen for a multitude of diseases from a single blood draw. The company was co-founded by Erik Gafni and Nathan Boley in 2018 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Skymind Inc.

Venture Round in 2016
Pathmind helps simulation modelers optimize decisions in industrial operations and supply chains using deep reinforcement learning with an intuitive Web app. Use cases include manufacturing automation, supply chain, warehouse control, machine scheduling, and fleet routing. Pathmind integrates with AnyLogic and other simulation software, and allows simulations modelers to discover better decision paths through complex scenarios with state of the art AI. Pathmind is a Y Combinator company.

Skymind Inc.

Series A in 2019
Pathmind helps simulation modelers optimize decisions in industrial operations and supply chains using deep reinforcement learning with an intuitive Web app. Use cases include manufacturing automation, supply chain, warehouse control, machine scheduling, and fleet routing. Pathmind integrates with AnyLogic and other simulation software, and allows simulations modelers to discover better decision paths through complex scenarios with state of the art AI. Pathmind is a Y Combinator company.

Alcatraz AI

Venture Round in 2020
Alcatraz AI replaces badging as an access point identification method by leveraging facial recognition, 3d sensing, and AI. The company builds a facial authentication platform using AI and 3D sensing to enable a highly secure and frictionless entry into physical locations. Alcatraz AI was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in California, USA.

EPINOMICS

Venture Round in 2017
Epinomics Inc. decodes the programming of human genome to drive personalized medicine leveraging big data analytics and epigenomics technology. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Menlo Park, California. As of March 31, 2018, Epinomics Inc. operates as a subsidiary of 10X Genomics, Inc.

Starsky Robotics

Seed Round in 2017
Trucking is the backbone of the American economy, moving 70% of all freight. Truck drivers risk their lives spending months away from their family to keep the American economy moving. They working to make trucks autonomous on the highway and remote controlled by drivers for the first and last mile. Their trucks will make roads safer while giving drivers meaningful work close to their homes and families.

Paladin Cyber

Seed Round in 2018
Paladin Cyber provides cyber protection as a service for Small Businesses. The company was founded in 2017 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Tensorflight

Series A in 2019
Tensorflight provides detailed, accurate and near-instant commercial property data. Our engine based on machine learning, AI, computer vision analyzes multiple image types in order to build a database of all buildings in the world, providing features such as: - Building footprint and square footage - Number of stories - Construction type - Roof attributes like geometry - And much more

Scotty Labs, Inc.

Seed Round in 2018
Scotty Labs is a spin-out of SRI International. They are a driving company. They believe that the true opportunities for the future of autonomy lie in unlocking the ability for human and machine to work together to solve the most difficult problems driverless vehicles face. The path of progress for the autonomous vehicle is blocked by the idea that complete vehicle autonomy is the goal. They believe safe tele-operation subsumes level 5 autonomy, so instead of removing humans from the driving experience entirely, we’re keeping the humans in, virtually.

melo

Seed Round in 2018
melo.ai is building a new way to automatically taking meeting notes and let every meeting become more efficient and actionable. The 1st-gen product includes 6 camera + 6 microphone array which will be placed on the table inside the meeting room. It will record the voice and video for each speaker automatically without any touch or operations. Meanwhile it will transcript the voice of each speaker, then index topics and action items to relative voice/video/transcription in cloud. The product will allow users to check, follow up, share the meeting content efficiently. It also allows user to share with colleagues or partners who cannot participate that meeting due to location or time challenge, in order to 'let everyone in the loop’, more productive and better coordination. It’s a new type of service for business combining technology(vision+speech) with great user experience. The revenue model will be: annual fee for hardware rent + service fee charged by meeting hours.

Bioaesthetics

Seed Round in 2017
BioAesthetics was founded in 2015 as a Tulane University spin-out with the mission to improve reconstruction options for breast cancer patients after they undergo mastectomies. The BioAesthetics’ initial product is a tissue-engineered nipple-areolar complex (NAC). This product will be provided to plastic and reconstructive surgeons as an off-the-shelf ready, acellular, NAC graft. During the breast reconstruction phase, after a mastectomy, the surgeon would engraft the NAC graft in position onto the patient’s reconstructed breast. The patient’s body would then use this NAC graft as a building frame to regenerate their own NAC. This patent-pending product is currently in the pre-clinical phase.

Smart Radar System

Series A in 2019
Smart Radar System (SRS) is a pioneer in the field of 4D image radar. Having specialized in radar technology for more than three years, SRS is developing the world's first 4D image radar, RETINA, with sub 1 degree angular resolution and 360 degree surround view.

Tensorflight

Seed Round in 2017
Tensorflight provides detailed, accurate and near-instant commercial property data. Our engine based on machine learning, AI, computer vision analyzes multiple image types in order to build a database of all buildings in the world, providing features such as: - Building footprint and square footage - Number of stories - Construction type - Roof attributes like geometry - And much more

Point One Navigation

Seed Round in 2016
Point One Navigation is building a localization service accurate down to a few centimeters at a cost 100x less than existing solutions. Using proprietary sensor fusion algorithms between computer vision and satellite navigation data coupled with a network of sensors, the solution out performs inferior single sensor techniques and does so without the need for special hardware. More info available at info@pointonenav.com

Tanvas, Inc.

Series A in 2018
Tanvas, Inc. engages in the development of Surface Haptics technology-based products. The company develops touch screen technology which uses electrostatic fields to create computer-controlled variable friction on the glass and enables people to feel what they see on a screen. Tanvas, Inc. was formerly known as Tangible Haptics LLC. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Chicago. Illinois.

PolySync Technologies, Inc.

Seed Round in 2016
Founded in 2013, Polysync Technologies builds solutions to help partners safely accelerate their development, testing, production, and market deployment of driverless vehicle mobility solutions. Automotive engineering services, developers, government agencies, and universities around the world rely on Polysync for autonomous software and vehicle development. Polysync's products are in operation in more than 17 countries, with offices in Portland, OR, Palo Alto, CA, Detroit, MI, and Europe.

Nebula Genomics

Seed Round in 2018
Nebula Genomics develops an online marketplace for genomic and other health data. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Nebula Genomics

Series A in 2018
Nebula Genomics develops an online marketplace for genomic and other health data. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Apprentice FS, Inc.

Series A in 2018
Apprentice.io develops an intelligent manufacturing execution system that helps life science teams scale faster. From small and large molecule to cell and gene therapy, Apprentice's cloud-based system leverages artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and Pharma 4.0 to increase an organization's speed to market. Run your entire batch campaign and leverage data for continuous process improvement. It was formed in 2014 and headquartered in New Jersey, United States.

Ample

Series A in 2018
Ample utilizes autonomous robotics and smart-battery technology to solve the energy delivery challenge for electric transportation. It created an economical, rapidly deployable, and widely accessible platform that delivers a full charge to any electric car in minutes. The aim is to make it possible to have “Electric Cars for Everyone”. It was founded in 2014 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Alcatraz AI

Convertible Note in 2016
Alcatraz AI replaces badging as an access point identification method by leveraging facial recognition, 3d sensing, and AI. The company builds a facial authentication platform using AI and 3D sensing to enable a highly secure and frictionless entry into physical locations. Alcatraz AI was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in California, USA.