Eric Wiesen

Seed-stage fundraising requires differentiation. Grind Ventures found it at the intersection of three underserved markets Technology transfer from universities creates early-stage opportunities that most VCs miss. Defense and federal marketplace applications provide revenue visibility. Critical infrastructure sectors offer commercial scale. Focused Thesis - Dual-use technologies serving defense and 16 critical infrastructure sectors Technology Transfer - University research teams1-5 years old at $1-3M valuations Revenue Clarity - Federal marketplace provides structured procurement pathways Commercial Scale - Critical infrastructure sectors offer massive addressable markets   Geographic Focus - US-based companies with clear domestic advantages Stage Discipline - Seed investments with defined entry points and milestones The market rewards problem-obsessed founders with healthy margins and cash flow visibility. Dual-use technology delivers both. Which of these thesis elements resonates most with your investment approach? #VC #GrindVentures #ThoughtLeadership

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Insightful notes from Aditya on the ABB Robotics sale to Softbank: "ABB is essentially selling a data goldmine: its installed base of nearly 500,000 industrial robots worldwide could have served as a massive real-world data collection network, generating the operational insights needed to train successive generations of increasingly intelligent robotic systems. By exiting now, ABB trades long-term optionality in the fastest-growing segment of industrial automation and may look short-sighted if Physical AI follows the explosive adoption curve of generative AI."

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Batteries are shifting from components to catalysts across EVs, defense, and space. In her latest Forbes article, Arieli Group Managing Partner Lisya Bahar Manoah outlines how advances in materials and manufacturing are shifting cost, performance, and supply-chain dynamics, and where long-term, infrastructure-level bets can create durable value. I’m proud of our firm’s role in this ecosystem and the opportunities we’re building toward. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://lnkd.in/dGhfpA_b #BatteryTech #DeepTech #StrategicCapital #ArieliGroup #ForbesFinanceCouncil

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A couple of weeks later, I’m still reflecting on the energy, community, and purpose that came together at the Jewish Climate and Israeli DeserTech Summit during SF Climate Week. What made this event special was not just the incredible founders, investors, policymakers, and innovators in the room, but the deeper mission behind it. This was one of the first gatherings to intentionally connect Jewish values, Israeli innovation, and climate action under one roof, grounded in the spirit of Tikun Olam - our shared responsibility to help repair the world and leave it better than we found it. Huge gratitude to my co-creators and partners who helped bring this vision to life: Talya Herring and the Jewish Green Business Network Adi Vagman and E44 Ventures, and Anat Pesok from DeserTech Thank you as well to our outstanding speakers, sponsors, and community members who helped make this gathering meaningful. The climate challenge is too large for silos. Building stronger bridges across capital, technology, policy, and values driven communities is how we create real momentum. Excited that this was only the beginning. #ClimateTech #SFClimateWeek #TikunOlam #Israel #JewishClimate #ImpactInvesting

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A few highlights from this week's Going Direct episode with Jamie Gull on US re-industrialization and his newly minted pre-seed VC fund Wave Function Ventures. He’s highly technical, invests in deep tech founders at the earliest stages, and is all-in on the, “techno-industrial” movement. Full episode at bottom of post. 1. The push for globalisation made a lot of sense from a dollar and cents standpoint, but was clearly shortsighted. History tells us it’s not a wise move and now we’re a bit stuck. 2. Biggest challenge to US re-industrialization - regulation/red tape from the both government + general public. Its a really big deal and primary blocker. 3. 2nd biggest challenge to US re-industrialization - not enough top-notch teams to fill all the good hard tech ideas. Without the right talent, you’ll just burn through cash and die fast. 4. Jamie is about to close his first fund at Wave. He’s investing across aerospace, defense, energy, robotics at earliest stages. His biggest value-add as a solo-GP is his technical background. 5. Jamie knew he’d be an engineer since he was a kid. His grandpa was a pilot, mom was a pilot, and he got his pilot license in high school.  Jamie cut his teeth at SpaceX for 5+ years where he learned the value of scrappy engineering. 6. Jamie’s take on energy: Everything valuable that we do requires energy. The US is very far behind China and the #1 thing where he's spending time on right now.  7. Jamie’s take on humanoids: household robots don’t make sense. He sees the real opportunity for humanoids in doing dangerous, high-value work in shipyards and factories. 8.  In deep tech storytelling is life or death. You might have the right team and technology, but if you can’t tell the story, you won’t survive the first three years. 9. Jamie Gull’s advice to non-technical founders building a deep-tech company: good luck… Link to full episode at Going Direct: https://lnkd.in/e5iDNPhK

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Santa Barbara Venture Partners has raised a $25M second fund to invest into software and AI, as covered in The Wall Street Journal Pro, Axios Pro Rata, and here in Pacific Coast Business Times. Fund II builds on the success of six successful exits (full and partial) in five years, Fund I’s top quartile performance, and a major competitive advantage in offering extensive customer acquisition and marketing expertise to SBVP portfolio companies. Fund II extends the firm’s unique strategy of generating continuous returns for investors in an asset class otherwise plagued by illiquidity challenges. Five years in, all fourteen SBVP portfolio companies are performing well. SBVP generally invests in companies with $2M to $50M in recurring revenue which are growing 75-200%+ that have outstanding client retention metrics. The firm typically participates in Series A through C rounds, or SBVP buys stock directly from existing founders or other shareholders. Many of SBVP’s 150+ fund investors (from across two funds and fourteen SPVs) are top marketing and sales executives from leading tech firms. They provide the portfolio with expertise in over 25 different marketing and customer acquisition channels and methods to accelerate revenue growth. Limited Partners include leaders from Adobe, Google, Procore Technologies, AppFolio, Snowflake, Salesforce, Zoom, RingCentral, CBS, Pinterest, and various other top firms. LPs work with portfolio companies on demand generation, sales, and marketing, and accelerate product marketing, revops, audio/TV marketing, content, social media, SEM, media buying, account-based marketing, customer success, sales enablement, branding, strategic alliances, trade show marketing, and other areas. https://lnkd.in/gkwaxivz

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For hardware startups, cash flow isn’t just accounting — it’s oxygen. Without financial strategy and a grasp of your supply chain position, even brilliant engineering and design runs out of air. We continue our discussion series with Conduit Fellow and hardware operations and culture builders bad-a$$ Orla Lucey. We chat about the unique challenges that come with creating a culture of innovation within physical-tech ventures, to the early understanding of cash flow, supply chain strategies, tariffs, and surrounding yourself with those that been there before. In hard-tech, experience, wisdom, relationships and access matter more than most founders and investors understand.... Listen to whole conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gWh9pwpZ Conduit Venture Labs / Conduit VC #physicalTech #hardware #venturecapital #vc #venturestudio #deeptech

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Today is the due date of California’s Fair Investment Practices' first annual demographic report, and my team at Fabric VC is proud to report on our 100% diverse-led portfolio. 🎉 We look forward to seeing other funds like ours changing the paradigm in VC, and will be calling out those whose numbers look far different than ours to start making intentional choices to create a more diverse VC system. #FIPVCC

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I've been building tech companies since before Google existed. Proud to be part of the Haverford College entrepreneurial community — a place that quietly produces world-changers. Dr. Bill Harris developed breakthrough coatings that made artificial hips last, changing orthopedic medicine forever. Alex Karp co-founded Palantir Technologies and helped define the AI era. Sang H. Cho, building hello82,a K-pop-native media and commerce platform for the Western market. And Katrina Spade is reinventing what we do with our bodies after death — giving them back to the earth. And I've had the privilege of building through every major tech cycle since the web's earliest days. Haverford doesn't make much noise about it. But the tradition runs deep. And Haverford students are carrying on this proud legacy on campus through Haverford Accelerator. Join Fahim Mosharrof and me this Thursday — link below.

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Seed Stage Venture Debt? Most early founders think venture debt is something you raise at the Series B.  It’s seen as something you layer on once the business is fully “bankable”. But what if this paradigm is limiting growth for early stage companies? And what if founders can utilize a flexible product to reduce dilution? At Top Corner Capital we see it differently… ✅ We underwrite The Founder and to enterprise value, not formulaic metrics ✅ We believe debt can work much earlier, typically right after product-market fit (Seed/Series A) ✅ Our debt is designed to support founders, not constrain them ✅ Our structures are flexible, with none of the traditional debt mechanics that weigh down early stage founders (financial covenants, MAC defaults or investor support clauses) ✅ Our process is fast (think weeks, not months) ✅ Our capital is significantly less dilutive than equity, but can be used just like a dollar of equity: to hire, build, experiment and scale When used for growth (not survival), debt can help teams hit more milestones and empower founders to raise their next round on stronger terms…all while preserving meaningful ownership for both founders and early investors. A recent example… Top Corner partnered with NxLite in February 2025, providing Seed-stage debt capital that allowed the company to acquire critical equipment and fully prepare its production facility prior to raising additional equity. NxLite’s advanced coatings for windows and transparent barriers dramatically reduce energy consumption and support a more sustainable built environment. With this early capital, NxLite achieved production capacity to serve a strong roster of Fortune 500 enterprises, creating a strong foundation for its next phase of growth. NxLite closed a $9.2M Series A in September 2025 at a meaningful valuation increase. We’re excited to support David Mather and the NxLite team as they build on this momentum.

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📊 AmTech Daily: Deals Defining America's Future — Feb 25, 2026 Each morning, Commonweal Ventures compiles the day's top #AmTech deals and news at the intersection of government and technology. Here's today's. Comment "Subscribe" to get the full briefing, news included, in your inbox. Education  🔹 Subject (Beverly Hills, CA), which offers an AI-powered digital curriculum platform for middle and high school students, raised $28 million in funding led by Vistara Growth, joined by NextEquity Partners, Green Street Impact Partners, Outcomes Collective Growth Capital, and other existing investors. Health  🔹 Handl Health (Los Angeles, CA), which provides an analytics platform to help health plans and benefits consultants design employer health benefits that lower costs and improve care quality, raised $14.2 million in Series A funding led by Arthur Ventures, joined by Syndra Capital Partners, a strategic investor, Mucker Capital, Riverfront Ventures, Digital Health Venture Partners, and Boutique Venture Partners. Aerospace  🔹 Sophia Space (Pasadena, CA), building orbital data centers composed of ultra-thin, solar-powered computer panels called TILES that sit on or next to satellites, raised $10 million in seed funding led by Alpha Funds, KDDI Corporation Green Partners Fund, and Unlock Venture Partners. Finance  🔹 Comeryx Insurance (Denver, CO), which runs an AI-driven online insurance platform that automatically prices and issues specialty liability coverage for small trade contractors that traditional carriers won't easily underwrite, raised $7.5 million in seed funding led by Altai Ventures, joined by American Family Ventures, Intact Ventures, Boulder Ventures, Arch Capital Group, and Echelon. AI Chips  🔹 Cerebras (Sunnyvale, CA), which designs wafer-scale AI chips and computer systems that let large organizations train and run advanced AI models faster and more efficiently, has confidentially filed to go public in the U.S. after previously raising more than $2.5 billion in private funding across eight rounds. Energy  🔹 Terrasmart's eBOS division (Grand Rapids, MI), which makes prefabricated electrical wiring and combiner-box systems that connect utility-scale solar panels to inverters and the grid, was acquired by GameChange Energy Technologies for $70 million to extend its end-to-end solar infrastructure offering. What is #AmTech? It's our term for the companies tackling America's biggest challenges in sectors like energy, defense, healthcare, and infrastructure. In these markets, the path to building category-winning companies runs through government, and the founders who understand that are building the most consequential technology businesses of our generation.

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**Redwood's $425M Series E: The Future of AI Power** The recent injection of $425M in Redwood Materials, bolstered by Google, highlights a pivotal trend in the tech landscape—sustainability and energy efficiency are becoming critical for powering AI technologies. As venture capitalists, we at ElevenX Capital recognize the essential intersection of innovation and environmental responsibility. How can startups align their growth strategies with sustainable practices in this evolving market? #investing #innovation #venturecapital #entrepreneurship

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Seed Stage Venture Debt? Most early founders think venture debt is something you raise at the Series B or later. It is seen as something you layer on once the business is fully “bankable” and later stage. But what if this paradigm is limiting growth for early stage companies? And what if founders can utilize a flexible product at the early stages to reduce dilution? At Top Corner we see it differently: - We underwrite The Founder and to enterprise value, not formulaic metrics - We believe debt can work much earlier, typically right after product-market fit (Seed/Series A) - Our debt is designed to support founders, not constrain them - Our structures are flexible, with none of the traditional debt mechanics that weigh down early stage founders (financial covenants, MAC defaults or investor support clauses) - Our process is fast (think weeks, not months) - Our capital is significantly less dilutive than equity, but can be used just like a dollar of equity: to hire, build, experiment and scale When used for growth, debt can help teams hit more milestones and empower founders to raise their next round on stronger term, all while preserving meaningful ownership for both founders and early investors. A recent example: Top Corner partnered with NxLite in February 2025, providing Seed stage debt capital that allowed the company to acquire critical equipment and fully prepare its 45,000 squarer foot production facility prior to raising additional equity. NxLite produces advanced coatings for windows and transparent barriers that dramatically reduce energy consumption and support a more sustainable built environment. With this early capital, NxLite achieved production capacity to serve a strong roster of Fortune 500 enterprises, creating a strong foundation for its next phase of growth. NxLite closed a $9.2M Series A in September 2025 at a meaningful valuation increase. We’re excited to support David Mather and the NxLite team as they build on this momentum. https://lnkd.in/g-Fipd9K

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🚀 Big congratulations to BQP on raising USD 5mn to scale their quantum-powered simulation engine for aerospace, automotive and other mission-critical sectors. The round saw participation from many renowned global investors, reinforcing confidence in their breakthrough approach. As an o2 Angels Network portfolio company, BQP exemplifies the kind of #deeptech we back — building foundational IP, solving non-trivial computational problems, and developing defensible technology moats. Their quantum simulation platform delivers capabilities classical systems can’t; enabling faster design cycles, higher accuracy, and safer, more efficient outcomes in complex engineering environments. This is not just innovation — it’s infrastructure for the future of aerospace, defense, and energy. 💡 At o2 Angels Network, we back founders solving high-impact, high-risk industrial challenges with technology that protects lives and transforms operations. Our portfolio includes Fabheads Automation, Green Tiger Mobility Pvt. Ltd., Eeki, CultYvate, Skye Air Mobility, NAVARS EDUTECH, Janitri, Velectron Labs Private Limited, Abhiyantrik Solutions, Nexstem, REGRIP "RE-ENGINEERED TYRES", SpaceFields, Unibose Technology Private Limited, BQP, Vgenomics, and many others pushing the boundaries of innovation. Onward and upward! 🌍🔬 #QuantumComputing #DeepTech #Simulation #Aerospace #IndustrialInnovation #IPDriven #TechnicalMoat #VentureCapital #O2Angels #NextGenTech

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Working with NRF to pursue our patent strategy is an important step in recognizing that proprietary AI systems and workflows are becoming a new form of intellectual property for modern firms. Great to partner with George, John McBride, and the team at Norton Rose Fulbright as we work at the frontier of how AI can transform investment decision-making in venture capital. At Decasonic, we believe the next generation of companies will reinvent with AI workflows and systems how organizations operate, how leaders make decisions, and how teams collaborate with intelligent systems. In going through this streamlined process, it's clear to me that many more startups should clarify their IP strategy. Our internally developed AI platform, RLEN, reflects that philosophy. We are building AI not to automate tasks and flourish outcomes, in collaborative ways for human and AI teammates. This enables our investors to test ideas, explore alternative perspectives, and reach deeper insights faster when navigating uncertainty. More broadly, we are seeing trailblazing work across industries and cities as leaders experiment with how AI can reshape communities, companies, and countries. Leadership with AI forever transforms. We are still in the early innings. Appreciate the partnership and collaboration from the Norton Rose Fulbright team as we continue inventing and innovating. Special shoutout to my colleague Abdul Al Ali who's listed as a co-inventor.

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I’m lucky to work alongside colleagues like Richard Fruehauf, who constantly push my thinking. His latest piece unpacks why U.S. robotics and drone manufacturing faces uphill economics, and how public policy can help turn the tide. One key takeaway: 232 tariffs on robotics imports could help reset the economics that are holding back U.S. investment and production. It’s a sharp perspective on how policy can shape the future of advanced tech here at home. Well worth a read: https://lnkd.in/edMPTQPQ Richard Fruehauf, Robert J. Szczerba, Michael Lutzky, Edward Ovando, Karl Sanchack, Herman Herman, Jeff Legault, Phil English, Richard Fruehauf, Ryan Aument, Michael Guido, Sheila Fitzgerald Sterrett, David McCormick

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My investment framework centers on 7 layers. CASIMIR fits into the first layer which is the Observation Layer. Out of 22 billion IoT devices on earth and ~10k satellites in space in 2026 we may have a 6 billion (and growing) ultra low power devices on earth and space that can one day run on MicroSparc 👍🏼 -> Eternal power chip Harold “Sonny” White + Capital Factory #HardThings #deeptech

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🚨NEW EPISODE: Recorded live at FUTURE TITANS 2026 - Jeff Perry of Carta sat down with the iconic Seth Levine, co-founder of Foundry. Seth has been in venture for 25 years, built Foundry from scratch as an emerging manager himself, and has backed about 50 emerging manager funds through his fund of funds. He has genuinely seen every side of this table. They went deep on building Foundry, why VCs are in the influence business, not the decision business, and why the concentration problem in venture is not only bad for LPs, but also for the innovation ecosystem overall. And why Seth's new book, Capital Evolution, is so important for the future of America. 🎧 Links to listen... Apple: https://lnkd.in/ehQUQ2EM Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eU4FExpg

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