Investments
139Portfolio Exits
30About WRF Capital
WRF Capital is the venture investment arm of Washington Research Foundation. An early-stage investor, that partner with entrepreneurs, local universities, research institutions and other investors to develop technology-based start-up companies. WRF Capital seeks to invest in innovations that occur in the life science, information technology and physical science sectors, as well as in opportunities where these sectors may converge. WRF specializes in investing at the earliest stages, and are often involved before a company has been formed.
WRF Capital Headquarter Location
2815 Eastlake Ave E Suite 300
Seattle, Washington, 98102,
United States
206-336-5600
Expert Collections containing WRF Capital
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Find WRF Capital in 1 Expert Collection, including Synthetic Biology.
Synthetic Biology
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Research containing WRF Capital
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CB Insights Intelligence Analysts have mentioned WRF Capital in 1 CB Insights research brief, most recently on Apr 19, 2022.
Latest WRF Capital News
Sep 4, 2020
The funding round was led by E14 Fund and Ubiquity Ventures, and joined by Root Ventures, Blue Sky Capital, WRF Capital, and Tsingyuan Ventures. In-Q-Tel, Inc., a not-for-profit strategic investor for United States Government agencies, joined the round as an investor and customer. ThruWave was additionally awarded a $750,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation to accelerate the development of its unique millimeter wave technology. ThruWave's high throughput X2 mmWave Imaging System provides unprecedented supply chain visibility by enabling warehouse and fulfillment center operators to see through packaging to the items inside. Unlike existing X-ray inspection systems, ThruWave's sensors use human-safe millimeter waves to enable safe operation alongside human workers in busy warehouses and fulfillment centers. ThruWave's analytics layer automatically interprets images to measure cube utilization, count items, and detect missing or damaged items, all at conveyor speed. ThruWave systems can automatically image and analyze up to 20,000 boxes per hour. "ThruWave makes the invisible visible," said ThruWave founder and CEO Matt Reynolds. "Our sensors do what existing cameras can't do - we see through cardboard boxes and plastic totes to look at the items inside. We also detect anomalies such as missing or damaged items. Our computer vision layer analyzes the images to extract critical process variables like item counts, or fill volumes. We enable our customers to dramatically improve accuracy and efficiency in their warehousing and order fulfillment operations." "ThruWave's groundbreaking millimeter wave technology addresses major pain points in both automated and manual material handling operations," said Calvin Chin, Managing Partner of E14 Fund. "Industry-wide, it is estimated that a typical e-commerce shipment is only 40% full, leading to tremendous waste in packaging material, shipping cost, and carbon footprint. ThruWave's unique sensors and software enable customers to regain control over their shipping cost and environmental impact." "ThruWave's high-throughput millimeter wave sensors have the potential to enhance national security by enabling the detection of items concealed by packaging," said Eileen Tanghal, Senior Partner at In-Q-Tel. "We are excited to partner with ThruWave to bring this `x-ray vision' capability to government customers who need high throughput, human-safe screening of mail, packages, and other items in an easily deployed form factor." About ThruWave Based in Seattle, Washington, ThruWave makes the Invisible Visible with human-safe, 3D millimeter wave imaging. ThruWave sensors and software analytics are an easy retrofit for existing conveyor and robotic material handling systems, enabling supply chain and logistics customers to measure and improve their inbound and outbound item handling. For more information, visit http://www.thruwave.com. About E14 Fund E14 Fund is the early stage venture capital firm for the MIT Media Lab community. E14 Fund invests in deep tech startups that are transforming traditional industries across a broad array of market-ready, scalable innovation such as sensors, AI/ML, robotics, health, synthetic biology and more. Officially affiliated with MIT, E14 Fund builds and supports a vibrant community of founders and companies with resources from across the MIT ecosystem. For more information, visit http://www.e14fund.com. About Ubiquity Ventures Ubiquity Ventures is a seed-stage institutional venture capital firm that invests in "software beyond the screen" startups. Ubiquity portfolio companies leverage smart hardware and machine intelligence to bring software into the real world, not just buried within computers and smartphones. See more details on the Ubiquity Ventures website at http://www.ubiquity.vc. About In-Q-Tel In-Q-Tel, Inc. is the nonprofit strategic investor serving as a trusted partner to government intelligence and national security agencies by sourcing, funding, and accelerating innovative technologies from the commercial startup community to strengthen the security of the U.S. and its allies. Learn more at http://www.iqt.org. (c)2011-2020 by Massinvestor, Inc. For contact info, please check out our about page.
WRF Capital Investments
139 Investments
WRF Capital has made 139 investments. Their latest investment was in TransformativeMed as part of their Series A - II on May 5, 2022.
WRF Capital Investments Activity
Date | Round | Company | Amount | New? | Co-Investors | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5/6/2022 | Series A - II | TransformativeMed | $1.2M | No | 1 | |
3/31/2022 | Seed VC - II | Link Immunotherapeutics | $12M | No | ||
2/8/2022 | Seed VC | Wavely Diagnostics | $2.2M | Yes | Ambit Health Ventures, Cascade Seed Fund, Crosstimbers Capital Group, Gaingels, HealthTech Capital, PurposeBuilt Ventures, Undisclosed Angel Investors, Vantage Partners, Wealthing VC Club, and WXR Fund | 6 |
1/19/2022 | Seed VC | |||||
6/3/2021 | Series A |
Date | 5/6/2022 | 3/31/2022 | 2/8/2022 | 1/19/2022 | 6/3/2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Series A - II | Seed VC - II | Seed VC | Seed VC | Series A |
Company | TransformativeMed | Link Immunotherapeutics | Wavely Diagnostics | ||
Amount | $1.2M | $12M | $2.2M | ||
New? | No | No | Yes | ||
Co-Investors | Ambit Health Ventures, Cascade Seed Fund, Crosstimbers Capital Group, Gaingels, HealthTech Capital, PurposeBuilt Ventures, Undisclosed Angel Investors, Vantage Partners, Wealthing VC Club, and WXR Fund | ||||
Sources | 1 | 6 |
WRF Capital Portfolio Exits
30 Portfolio Exits
WRF Capital has 30 portfolio exits. Their latest portfolio exit was AbSci on July 22, 2021.
Date | Exit | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Acquirer | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7/22/2021 | IPO | Public | 6 | ||
3/30/2021 | Acquired | 11 | |||
9/18/2020 | IPO | Public | 1 | ||
Date | 7/22/2021 | 3/30/2021 | 9/18/2020 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Exit | IPO | Acquired | IPO | ||
Companies | |||||
Valuation | |||||
Acquirer | Public | Public | |||
Sources | 6 | 11 | 1 |
WRF Capital Team
5 Team Members
WRF Capital has 5 team members, including current Chief Executive Officer, President, Ronald Howell.
Name | Work History | Title | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Ronald Howell | Chief Executive Officer, President | Current | |
Jeff Eby | Chief Financial Officer | Current | |
Loretta L. Little | Washington Research Foundation | Managing Director | Current |
John Reagh | Managing Director | Current | |
Thong Q. Le | Washington Research Foundation | Managing Director | Former |
Name | Ronald Howell | Jeff Eby | Loretta L. Little | John Reagh | Thong Q. Le |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Work History | Washington Research Foundation | Washington Research Foundation | |||
Title | Chief Executive Officer, President | Chief Financial Officer | Managing Director | Managing Director | Managing Director |
Status | Current | Current | Current | Current | Former |
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