Northstar.VC

Sokowatch revolutionizes access to essential goods and services by connecting small shops to the digital economy. Through individual agents equipped with proprietary mobile data-collection tools, Sokowatch increases sales and market coverage for companies in emerging markets. It enables informal retailers to order products at any time via SMS or mobile app, and receive free same-day delivery to their store. This makes it easier for shopkeepers to source goods and helps manufacturers ensure that their products are consistently available to consumers. Sokowatch evaluates retailers to provide them with access to credit and other financial services typically not available to informal businesses. Sokowatch's systems track real-time sales and orders across thousands of stores. Access to market trends and purchasing habits enables manufacturers to tailor their marketing strategies and allows Sokowatch to offer personalized promotions and business insights to individual retailers.

Bolt Financial, Inc. is a technology company that specializes in providing a comprehensive checkout experience platform for e-commerce merchants. Founded in 2014 and based in San Francisco, Bolt offers a suite of tools designed to enhance online transactions, including streamlined checkout processes, payment processing, and fraud detection. Key products include Convert, which simplifies the checkout experience; Approve, a system that collects data for order approval and fraud prevention; Collect, a payment processing solution; and Enhance, which delivers shopper analytics and personalized options. By focusing on these technological solutions, Bolt allows retailers to concentrate on growing their brand and customer base while improving the overall shopping experience for consumers.

mPharma Data, Inc. is a technology-driven company based in Accra, Ghana, with an additional location in Lexington, Massachusetts. Founded in 2013, it focuses on improving access to high-quality medications in emerging markets by connecting physicians, pharmacies, and patients through its application. The company aggregates real-time market data on prescription trends, drug consumption, and adverse reactions, providing valuable insights to pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and governments. mPharma offers a pharmacy network application that centralizes inventories from multiple pharmacies, enabling easier drug searches for physicians and patients. Additionally, the company provides subscription-based data analytics for actionable insights on drug consumption and diagnosis, along with prescription management tools to assist healthcare providers in locating various medicines. By partnering with drug manufacturers, insurance companies, and governments, mPharma aims to facilitate affordable access to essential medications for patients.

N26 offers mobile banking solutions to customers in the European Union through its subsidiary. It provides international money transfer, investment, overdraft, and cash withdrawal and deposit at stores. N26 provides mobile banking services for customers. Its mobile banking services offer online banking that include making and handling of current accounts, fixed accounts, and other banking services, letting customers manage and control their banking details via a smartphone application easily. Maximilian Tayenthal and Valentin Stalf founded Papayer in February 2013, which later became N26, with its headquarters in Berlin in Germany.

Beacon Technologies Ltd. is a London-based company that specializes in freight forwarding and supply chain financing services. The firm offers a comprehensive platform that facilitates global ocean, air, and truck freight forwarding, providing clients with real-time data on cargo deliveries. Additionally, Beacon features a marketplace that allows users to access information on international shipping costs. The company also provides credit facilities to help businesses manage payments to suppliers, covering international and local expenses, as well as deferred freight, VAT, and duty costs. Established in 2018 and formerly known as Global Technology Holdings Ltd., Beacon has positioned itself as a key player in the logistics and supply chain finance sector.

Discord is a communication platform that provides voice, video, and text services, allowing users to connect and interact with friends and communities. Initially designed for gamers, it has expanded its appeal to various groups, including hobbyists, study groups, and local clubs. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Discord enables seamless communication through its instant messaging and digital distribution features, which are accessible on both desktops and mobile devices. The platform supports voice-over-internet protocol and texting, facilitating regular interaction without compromising performance during gaming or other activities.

STORD, Inc. is a technology-driven company that provides a cloud-based software platform for warehousing and distribution services. Founded in 2015 and based in Atlanta, Georgia, STORD enables clients to manage their product flow across a network of over 500 warehouses and 15,000 carriers through a single dashboard. This platform enhances visibility and control over inventory, allowing shippers to optimize their supply chains efficiently. By leveraging data science and a comprehensive logistics network, STORD delivers significant cost savings to major retailers, consumer packaged goods companies, and manufacturers, while improving customer satisfaction. The company’s mission is to facilitate scalable, technology-driven supply chains that can be implemented more quickly and affordably than traditional methods.

Eight Sleep is the first sleep fitness company. It leverages innovation, technology, and personal biometrics to restore individuals to their peak energy levels each morning. Backed by leading Silicon Valley investors including Khosla Ventures and Y Combinator, it was named by Fast Company in 2018 as one of the Most Innovative Companies in Consumer Electronics. It was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, United States.

Developer of a money management platform designed to educate employees in managing their finances. The company's platform combines human financial planners with financial technology that educates and helps to create, execute, and track personalized financial plans, enabling workers to manage their entire financial lives in one place and receive personalized guidance along the way.

Designer and manufacturer of bio-material fabrics intended to solve the environmental problems of the apparel and consumer goods industries. The company leverages proprietary technologies to create better materials, treatments, or dyes, enabling customers to make environmentally-friendly choices while meeting their apparel needs.

Project44, Inc. is a technology company that provides a cloud-based visibility platform tailored for shippers and third-party logistics providers. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Chicago, with an office in Paris, the company offers a suite of solutions that includes pricing, routing, scheduling, tracking, exception management, digital documentation, and payment processing. By connecting to over 175,000 carriers globally and supporting various transportation modes—such as parcel, final-mile, less-than-truckload, truckload, rail, intermodal, and ocean—project44 enhances operational efficiencies and reduces costs. Its platform enables organizations to improve shipping performance and offers a comprehensive view of the shipment life cycle, allowing businesses to act swiftly on insights gained from real-time data.

Vise, Inc. is a technology company focused on automating investment management for financial advisors through machine learning and artificial intelligence. Founded in 2016 by Samir Vasavada and Runik Mehrotra, the company is based in New York, New York. Vise offers a subadvisor platform that integrates with custodians, allowing users to import client data and streamline trading and portfolio management. The platform supports financial advisors, wealth managers, and portfolio managers by designing customized portfolios, managing ongoing investments, and providing valuable insights. By leveraging advanced technology, Vise aims to enhance the advisor-client relationship, enabling financial professionals to concentrate on delivering personalized service while efficiently managing their clients' investments.

Asteya is an income insurance startup focused on transforming the disability insurance sector by making income protection more accessible. The company offers tailored monthly plans designed for individuals, particularly targeting gig economy workers. Asteya's services emphasize transparency and flexibility, allowing clients to secure coverage that meets their specific needs, including pre-existing conditions. By prioritizing financial, physical, and mental well-being, Asteya aims to support individuals in maintaining a quality lifestyle while protecting their income.

Flutterwave provides a payment service for global merchants and payment service providers. It provides technology, infrastructure, and services to enable global merchants, payment service providers, and helps banks and businesses build secure and seamless payment solutions for their customers by smoothening the exchange of funds. The company was founded in 2016 by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Olugbenga Agboola and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Ubiquity6, Inc. is a technology company that specializes in creating a platform for shared augmented reality (AR) experiences intertwined with the physical world. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, the company employs computer vision technology to facilitate the development of persistent, massively multiplayer AR environments. This platform allows users to interact in a virtual space that mirrors their real surroundings, enhancing communication and engagement through the integration of AR and virtual reality (VR) applications. Ubiquity6 aims to transform how people connect with each other and their environment by merging digital and physical experiences.

Project44, Inc. is a technology company that provides a cloud-based visibility platform tailored for shippers and third-party logistics providers. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Chicago, with an office in Paris, the company offers a suite of solutions that includes pricing, routing, scheduling, tracking, exception management, digital documentation, and payment processing. By connecting to over 175,000 carriers globally and supporting various transportation modes—such as parcel, final-mile, less-than-truckload, truckload, rail, intermodal, and ocean—project44 enhances operational efficiencies and reduces costs. Its platform enables organizations to improve shipping performance and offers a comprehensive view of the shipment life cycle, allowing businesses to act swiftly on insights gained from real-time data.

Nabis is a licensed cannabis distributor that operates a wholesale platform designed to streamline the distribution of cannabis products. The company utilizes a fast distribution network to manage the fulfillment, storage, and sales of wholesale cannabis for various major brands. This platform facilitates efficient shipping of wholesale cannabis orders, catering to a diverse range of clients from small delivery services to large dispensary chains. By leveraging technology, Nabis aims to enhance the accessibility and effectiveness of cannabis distribution in the marketplace.

Project44, Inc. is a technology company that provides a cloud-based visibility platform tailored for shippers and third-party logistics providers. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Chicago, with an office in Paris, the company offers a suite of solutions that includes pricing, routing, scheduling, tracking, exception management, digital documentation, and payment processing. By connecting to over 175,000 carriers globally and supporting various transportation modes—such as parcel, final-mile, less-than-truckload, truckload, rail, intermodal, and ocean—project44 enhances operational efficiencies and reduces costs. Its platform enables organizations to improve shipping performance and offers a comprehensive view of the shipment life cycle, allowing businesses to act swiftly on insights gained from real-time data.

Cohesity, Inc. specializes in hyper-converged secondary storage solutions that help large organizations consolidate, protect, and manage non-mission-critical data. The company offers a web-scale platform known as DataPlatform, which eliminates secondary storage silos and streamlines data workflows. Its DataProtect solution integrates various data protection functions, including backup, disaster recovery, and cloud tiering. Additionally, Cohesity provides Cohesity Orion 5.0, a platform for end-to-end data protection and big data storage, alongside management tools like Cohesity Helios, which allows users to monitor and manage their secondary data efficiently. The company's offerings also encompass a range of services, including backup and recovery, long-term retention, and support for various data types and applications. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Cohesity operates globally, serving a diverse clientele that includes many Global 1000 companies.

mPharma Data, Inc. is a technology-driven company based in Accra, Ghana, with an additional location in Lexington, Massachusetts. Founded in 2013, it focuses on improving access to high-quality medications in emerging markets by connecting physicians, pharmacies, and patients through its application. The company aggregates real-time market data on prescription trends, drug consumption, and adverse reactions, providing valuable insights to pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and governments. mPharma offers a pharmacy network application that centralizes inventories from multiple pharmacies, enabling easier drug searches for physicians and patients. Additionally, the company provides subscription-based data analytics for actionable insights on drug consumption and diagnosis, along with prescription management tools to assist healthcare providers in locating various medicines. By partnering with drug manufacturers, insurance companies, and governments, mPharma aims to facilitate affordable access to essential medications for patients.