Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Phospholutions, a US-based sustainable fertiliser developer spun out of Penn State University, raised up to $1.5m on Thursday in a seed round co-led by university-affiliated venture capital fund 1855 Capital and Maumee Ventures, the strategic investment unit of agribusiness The Andersons. The spinout is working on technology to reduce the environmental impact of phosphorus fertiliser. The funding will support the launch of a soil-enhancement product known as RhizoSorb.
Raptor Maps, a US-based solar farm management technology producer based on research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has obtained an undisclosed amount of series A capital from investors including Congruent Ventures, the venture capital firm backed by University of California. The round was led by Blue Bear Capital and also included Powerhouse Ventures and Y Combinator, which had incubated the company. Founded in 2015, Raptor develops artificial intelligence software to use drones for the management of solar farms, verifying systems and identifying anomalies that could impact energy generation. The technology is based on research by chief executive Nikhil Vadhavkar, who was a PhD candidate in bioastronautics at MIT from 2011 to 2016, and chief technology officer Eddie Obropta, a former graduate researcher in MIT’s Man Vehicle Lab from 2013 to 2016. Raptor Maps previously obtained an undisclosed sum from the Commercial Drone Fund, an investment vehicle of drone manufacturer Airware, has injected an undisclosed sum into Raptor Maps, in 2016.
