First Spark Ventures

SoloPulse is a company focused on revolutionizing sensing and communication technologies through its proprietary mathematical wave theory algorithms. By leveraging advanced sensing and beamforming techniques, SoloPulse overcomes the limitations of traditional technologies, enhancing both computational efficiency and imaging resolution. Its innovative approach utilizes a single electromagnetic pulse, which enables clients to achieve higher data transmission rates and produce high-resolution imaging. This unique methodology positions SoloPulse at the forefront of technological advancements in the field, offering significant improvements over legacy systems.

Vitara Biomedical is focused on developing a therapeutic platform designed to support premature infants. The company draws inspiration from natural physiological processes to improve neonatal care, aiming to enhance the quality of life for these vulnerable newborns. By addressing the unique challenges faced by premature infants, Vitara Biomedical seeks to reduce mortality rates and associated health complications, ultimately providing a foundation for a healthier future for both infants and their families.

Tidal Metals developed a breakthrough suite of innovations for producing critical minerals and metals from seawater and brines – with no waste, no carbon emissions, and no harm to the environment.

Altera, established in 2018, specializes in developing advanced artificial intelligence systems. The company focuses on creating AI agents that mimic fundamental human qualities, aiming to enhance AI capabilities and make them more relatable. Altera's team, comprising computational neuroscientists, AI researchers, and engineers, drives this innovation through applied research.

SynthLabs is a research laboratory focused on the alignment of artificial intelligence through transparency and auditability. It operates as a software development company that assists various organizations in ensuring their AI systems function according to their intended purposes. SynthLabs specializes in steering and customizing large language models, particularly those that are open source, allowing clients to effectively evaluate these models on complex subjects. Through its innovative approach, the company aims to enhance the reliability and accountability of AI technologies across different industries.

Flower Labs is an open-source framework dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence through federated learning. By enabling companies to train AI models on distributed, sensitive data, Flower Labs addresses a critical challenge in the AI landscape where most models rely on centralized public data. The platform is designed to be interoperable across various operating systems and hardware, allowing for seamless integration in heterogeneous edge device environments. It supports a wide range of machine learning frameworks and programming languages, making federated approaches accessible to a diverse set of users. Notable companies such as Banking Circle, Nokia, Porsche, and Brave utilize Flower to enhance their AI capabilities while maintaining data privacy and security. This innovative approach aims to leverage significantly more data, unlocking potential advancements in AI development.

Unnatural Products Inc. is a biotechnology company based in Santa Cruz, California, focused on drug discovery through innovative technology. Founded in 2016, the company specializes in designing and developing a platform that utilizes artificial intelligence and computational biology techniques to create macrocyclic peptides. These peptides target intracellular protein interactions, addressing drug targets that are typically considered undruggable. By harnessing machine learning to optimize chemical synthesis, Unnatural Products aims to accelerate the drug discovery process, offering potential therapeutic strategies for a wide range of medical conditions. Through its unique approach, the company seeks to pioneer new treatments where traditional methods have fallen short.

Zephr powers next-generation location-based solutions by significantly improving the accuracy and resiliency of GNSS on mobile devices by enabling nearby devices to work together. Zephrs SDK and supporting cloud APIs allow a network of mobile phones to compute and share corrections that dramatically improve location performance for AdTech, AR, mobility, logistics, insurance, gaming and mapping. The team behind Zephr is composed of a seasoned group of startup veterans with multiple successful exits, and PhDs with a unique set of sophisticated computational skills and business acumen. Zephr is backed by a coalition of top-tier venture capital firms and research labs with deep expertise in PNT technologies.

Inlyte Energy specializes in developing and manufacturing grid-scale batteries for energy storage. Their core product is an innovative iron-sodium battery, which utilizes abundant and low-cost materials like iron and sodium chloride (table salt) to create a safe, efficient, and scalable energy storage solution. This technology supports the global shift towards renewable energy by providing a reliable and cost-effective alternative to traditional battery systems.

FIGUR8, Inc. is a Boston-based company founded in 2016 as an MIT spin-off, specializing in advanced wearable sensor technology to measure body movement related to musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. The company's innovative solution integrates smart biosensors, intuitive software, and artificial intelligence to collect and analyze movement data without the need for cumbersome cameras. This technology accurately identifies the sources of MSK pathology, providing essential insights that enhance patient recovery and care management. By enabling trainers, therapists, and physicians to objectively assess musculoskeletal performance, FIGUR8's platform not only improves access to care but also empowers patients to take control of their health. The comprehensive approach records value throughout the entire episode of care, from injury to recovery, ultimately reducing costs and improving health outcomes.

Inworld AI is an AI framework powering massive consumer applications. Inworld is funded by VCs including Lightspeed, Stanford University, Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Section 32, M12, Intel Capital, CRV, Bitkraft, and Meta, as well as a team of all-star angels including corporate executives, top VC funds' partners, scouts, and industry veterans.

Flower Labs is an open-source framework dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence through federated learning. By enabling companies to train AI models on distributed, sensitive data, Flower Labs addresses a critical challenge in the AI landscape where most models rely on centralized public data. The platform is designed to be interoperable across various operating systems and hardware, allowing for seamless integration in heterogeneous edge device environments. It supports a wide range of machine learning frameworks and programming languages, making federated approaches accessible to a diverse set of users. Notable companies such as Banking Circle, Nokia, Porsche, and Brave utilize Flower to enhance their AI capabilities while maintaining data privacy and security. This innovative approach aims to leverage significantly more data, unlocking potential advancements in AI development.

Nimble Science Ltd. is a digital health company focused on revolutionizing gastrointestinal (GI) health through its innovative SIMBA capsule technology. This end-to-end platform facilitates multi-omic mapping of the GI tract, allowing for the passive sampling of small bowel luminal fluid. By leveraging this advanced sampling method, Nimble Science provides precision datasets that offer valuable insights into GI health, thereby transforming the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal conditions. The company's approach enables healthcare providers to directly sample and analyze targeted regions of the GI tract, marking a significant advancement in the understanding and management of GI health.

Normal specializes in providing an application development platform that integrates advanced probabilistic AI technology, aimed at enhancing the reliability and adaptability of artificial intelligence in high-stakes applications for enterprises and government entities. By leveraging a unique full-stack machine learning infrastructure influenced by thermodynamic physics, Normal allows organizations to effectively manage AI models, ensuring they are suitable for essential workflows. The company focuses on deploying AI solutions that can autonomously understand their limitations, thereby addressing critical operational challenges faced by its clients.

Simulon is a developer of innovative video production applications aimed at simplifying the video editing process for creators. The company's tools enable users to produce professional-quality visual effects in real time, making high-quality VFX accessible on standard consumer hardware. By eliminating the need for specialized skills or advanced technology, Simulon empowers a wide range of users to enhance their projects with advanced visual effects at a low cost. The company's focus on next-generation 3D tools positions it as a valuable resource for those in the creative industry.

Valitor, Inc. is a biotechnology company based in Berkeley, California, founded in 2010. The company specializes in the development of advanced, protein-based drugs and has established innovative methods for modifying therapeutic proteins. This technology enables enhanced control over pharmacokinetics, target specificity, and bioactivity, thus improving the pharmacological properties of existing and emerging protein drugs. Valitor's research and development efforts are focused on three key areas: dermatology, ophthalmology, and orthopedics, where they are advancing novel drug products designed to address unmet medical needs in these fields.

Vitara Biomedical is focused on developing a therapeutic platform designed to support premature infants. The company draws inspiration from natural physiological processes to improve neonatal care, aiming to enhance the quality of life for these vulnerable newborns. By addressing the unique challenges faced by premature infants, Vitara Biomedical seeks to reduce mortality rates and associated health complications, ultimately providing a foundation for a healthier future for both infants and their families.

Xona Space Systems, Inc. is a company focused on developing and manufacturing position, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellite solutions. Established in 2019 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, the company is creating a constellation of low-cost, low-Earth orbit satellites designed to enhance navigation services for a variety of sectors, including smart transportation and infrastructure. Xona's flagship product, the Xona Pulsar, delivers high-power signals to support applications such as autonomous vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and mobile robotics. The constellation aims to provide secure, resilient, and precise navigation and timing services essential for the safe and scalable operation of modern intelligent systems.

Walking Fish Therapeutics is focused on developing innovative cell-based therapeutics aimed at treating serious diseases, particularly in the fields of oncology and regenerative medicine. The company leverages the unique capabilities of B cells to activate the immune system, thereby creating treatments for cancer and other conditions. Additionally, these B cell factories can function as in vivo protein producers, generating replacement proteins for deficiency diseases and engineered antibodies. By harnessing locally acting proteins, Walking Fish Therapeutics seeks to enhance therapeutic outcomes and provide targeted solutions for patients suffering from various ailments.

Tauk is a platform designed to assist developers in releasing their applications efficiently and at scale. It offers app development services that facilitate testing, collaboration, and issue resolution. By diagnosing and addressing problems that arise during the app testing process, Tauk enables developers to enhance user experience effectively. The company focuses on streamlining communication regarding issues, allowing developers to promptly rectify any challenges encountered, thereby improving the overall quality and performance of their applications.

Latent AI, Inc. is a technology company based in Menlo Park, California, with an additional office in Skillman, New Jersey. Founded in 2018, it specializes in optimizing edge devices to facilitate smart Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The company's primary offering is the Latent AI Efficient Inference Platform (LEIP), which allows developers to train, quantize, and deploy edge AI neural networks. This platform supports adaptive artificial intelligence by providing a quantization optimizer that automates low-bit-precision training, enabling efficient neural network deployment for on-device intelligence and inference. Latent AI aims to accelerate AI implementation and streamline workflows for enterprises, making it easier for software developers to access and manage AI capabilities across various edge environments.

Syntegra is a company specializing in the generation of synthetic healthcare data that preserves privacy while maintaining the statistical properties of the original data. By employing advanced machine learning techniques, Syntegra creates validated synthetic data derivatives that do not contain any identifiable information, thus addressing the increasing barriers to clinical data access faced by healthcare systems and data aggregators. The company provides an open-access data platform that allows users to conduct analytics, build predictive models, and generate synthetic control groups for clinical trials. Its approach ensures compliance with privacy regulations such as HIPAA and GDPR, with multiple validation methods in place to safeguard data integrity. Syntegra's scalable solution is adaptable to various data types, including images and sensor streams, and is designed to enhance patient care and clinical outcomes. The company is led by a team of experienced entrepreneurs and academics with expertise in medicine and data science.