Main Sequence

We partner early with unstoppable entrepreneurs leveraging breakthrough science and technology to pursue progress at scale. Everything we do revolves around a single problem: What are the best ways to reconcile economic growth with human and planetary health? We invest in teams and solutions that address multi-decade problems that humanity has no choice but to solve. Our focusing questionsHow can we decouple improving living standards from resource depletion? How can we ensure food, energy and materials supply security when confronted by deglobalization, multipolarity and the distractions of the attention economy? How can we improve life on Earth and unlock future economic growth potential by leveraging next-generation computing and exploring outer space? How can the clean industrialization of biological processes reduce humanity’s impact on our planet? How we invest in unstoppable founders We look to problems and unmet needs first and then to which technologies and solutions have the potential to address those problems effectively. We don’t push any one type of technology or limit ourselves to one field. We look for founders and companies at the pre-seed and seed stages leveraging the three basic disciplines (physics, chemistry, biology) to engineer economically viable solutions. We look for teams that are uniquely suited to address the opportunity and its inherent challenges and for solutions that are radically better, technically viable, and defensible. Some of the areas we are keen to continue exploring include clean commodities, space technology, industrial decarbonization, electro- and green chemistry, next-generation computing, new materials & production methods. How we partner for the long-term Starlight is a Pre-Seed and Seed investor and ideally the first institutional check into your company. Having been in your shoes as founders and scientists ourselves, we will serve as an ally in the journey ahead. Here’s what you can expect from working with us: We will lead or co-lead your first institutional round. We reserve capital for follow-on investment in later rounds, and we have to ability to partner with our LPs to augment our participation in future opportunities. We will be personally invested in your success, as a large portion of our fund comes from our own team. We will put a particular focus on ensuring that your roadmap is focused on the key risks and milestones unique to addressing the most pressing problems. We will work with you to establish rock-solid governance and operational practices that hold up to the scrutiny of the world’s best institutional investors. We will help you line up and credibly engage the right future investors for your business and trajectory. Let’s partner and make change happen.

CDL has designed a new approach to enterprising research and innovation, nurturing an entrepreneurial mindset through expert opinion, funding opportunities, research analysis, and business development support. CDL’s objective-setting process enhances the performance of technical founders who learn from the insights of experienced entrepreneurs, increasing their probability of success. The Program involves:Mentorship from select entrepreneurs and angel investors: the Fellows and Associates Intensive full-day sessions with the CDL Mentors take place every eight weeks with the purpose of assessing progress and setting new short-term objectives. Fellows and Associates provide professional judgment (entrepreneurial knowledge) to help guide CDL Ventures and prioritize actions. The program is designed for early-stage, science-based technology companies, though we consider all applicants based on their potential to scale and the viability of their product. CDL’s objective-setting process enhances the performance of technical founders who learn from the insights of experienced entrepreneurs, increasing their probability of success. Opportunities to raise capital CDL Mentors are made up of a carefully selected group of exited entrepreneurs, angel investors, and partners from leading venture capital firms. These participants often invest in ventures that demonstrate a track record of achieving their objectives. Advice on technology roadmaps from CDL’s Chief Scientists World-renowned experts from leading academic institutions provide technical feedback to founders and advise the Fellows and Associates on objectives related to technology validation. Business development support from top students Business school students work to support ventures including developing financial models, evaluating potential markets, and fine-tuning strategies for scaling. Twelve locations globally CDL operates five sites in Canada, three in the United States and four in Europe. Launched in 2012 at the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto, the program has now expanded with locations in Oxford (Saïd Business School, University of Oxford), Paris (HEC Paris), Atlanta (Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology), Madison (Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison), Seattle (University of Washington, Foster School of Business), Berlin (European School of Management and Technology), Tartu (Delta Management School, University of Tartu), Vancouver (Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia), Montreal (HEC Montréal), Calgary (Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary), and Halifax (Rowe School of Business, Dalhousie University).

We are in the midst of technological shifts at a pace faster than ever before. Calculus VC capitalizes on these shifts to deliver returns and impact. We invest in the Series A and Series B stages of startups in the below sectors: FUTURE OF COMPUTING AND AI Continued advancements in AI will demand new developments in hardware and software. New computing materials and interfaces may emerge. Computing power may be more distributed, and the world will be infinitely more connected. These and more, are our areas of interest: Intelligence beyond language: We expect AI to understand quantitative models and physical phenomenon just as well as it understands language. Large Quantitiative Models are a focus for us. New hardware, materials, and architectures: We expect that demand for computing power will grow exponentially. Quantum computing, as well as distributed computing are expected to grow. We expect advancements in computing materials beyond silicon. Immersive and neural interfaces: These interfaces already exist, we expect they will become more mainstream. Spatial computing, integrating the physical world with digital environments may be our future. COMPUTATIONAL LIFE SCIENCES AND HEALTHTECH Breakthroughs in biology, materials, sensors, and data science are converging to redefine healthcare. Precision and personalization will take center stage as AI enhances how we detect, monitor, and treat disease. Areas of interest include: AI-First Therapeutics and Discovery Platforms: ML-powered platforms designing drugs and biologics via simulation, predictive modeling, and data-rich experimentation. Infrastructure for Programmable Biology: Tools that make biology engineerable – lab automation, bioinformatics, 3D bioprinting, next-gen diagnostics and R&D devices. Continuous, Data-Driven and Personalized Care: Wearables, medical devices, and diagnostics to deliver patient-centric care. These models turn users into real-time data streams, enabling adaptive treatment and personalized interventions. ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES As we expand the frontiers of possibility, we expect industry to evolve with intelligence, autonomy and environmental sustainability at its core. Areas of focus include: AI and automation in industry: Intelligent machines will optimize production, reduce waste, and enable new workflows. From predictive maintenance to robotic manufacturing, automation will power the next industrial revolution. We support startups enabling this vision. Land, ocean, and space transport and communications: We are interested in advanced materials, robotics, sensors, systems and software that will unlock new frontiers from deep-sea mapping to planetary missions. Resource efficiency: Building the future will demand large reserves of energy and natural resources. Technologies that can serve our energy, food, water, and agricultural needs while supporting a better planet are of interest to us.

We use our domain expertise, network, and prior experiences to help our founders scale commercialization, product, and engineering. Post-science project investing We recognize that starting and building a company is hard. Startups by definition are outliers being built by unique collections of humans. We utilize our deep domain expertise to uniquely understand the problems of companies in the categories we care about. Pairing this with our experience working with deep technology, allows us to provide leverage in taking a company from pre, to post-commercialization and building engineering teams across both research and production-level eng.

TUM Venture Labs are new entrepreneurial innovation hubs re-enforcing in a unique way tech-based business creation at the interfaces of engineering, natural, life and data sciences and medicine. The joint initiative of TUM and UnternehmerTUM supports entrepreneurial talents in tech-based business translation from science, offering an entire ecosystem with the necessary development environments. Our offers range from technical and social infrastructure to entrepreneurship training and support through our top-class industry and investor networks. Discover and strengthen your entrepreneurial qualities and develop a business idea into a successful enterprise at TUM Venture Labs! Our offerings for talents and founders Whether you are a student, a scientist or a well-established team, the TUM Venture Labs offer tailored support within your technological domain. Various formats along our four pillars are available to you -- from initial inspiration to founding your company. Training formats to deepen specialized knowledge in an application-oriented way, to develop start-up ideas or to grow personally. Domain-specific startup support on your journey from initial idea or technology to starting your venture. Our network of top-class entrepreneurs, mentors, industry partners, scientific/domain experts and investors. Access to spaces and infrastructure in the form of workstations, labs or technical infrastructure (e.g. MakerSpace), individually tailored in each Venture Lab. Discover and strengthen your entrepreneurial skills and develop your business idea into a successful company at the TUM Venture Labs! 11 Venture Labs with entrepreneurial know-how in your tech-domain In order to bring high-tech start-up projects to success, teams need deep knowledge of technology, management know-how as well as specific industry and market understanding. The TUM Venture Labs can support you in enriching your tech know-how with management expertise and deep understanding of your industry and market. To this end, the TUM Venture Labs focus on 11 technology domains and thus create a support offering that specifically addresses the needs of founders and founding teams in the respective technology fields. Discover the Venture Lab that's right for you! Aerospace ChemSPACE Built Environment Robotics/AI Food/Agro/Biotech Software/AI Healthcare Quantum Additive Manufacturing Sustainability & Circular Economy Legal Tech Colab Additional venture lab "mobility" is currently being planned.

Oxygea is here to accelerate and invest in people and their business that will drive sustainable innovation and digital transformation. We value ecosystems and we cooperate with local and global networks to provide only the best to startups that will transform the future of the industry. Where do we invest? Circular Economy Technologies intended for reintegrating plastic waste to production chain Extend the useful lifecycle of plastic applications A reduction in the need for production, use, or disposal Carbon Neutrality Energy transition New materials from renewable sources Carbon market CO2 capture, storage and utilization for new chemicals Biotechnology/ Nanotechnology and New Materials New biological and biochemical routes to produce chemicals, plastics and materials Advanced Materials Digital technologies for accelerating R&D developments Plastic as sustainable solution Biopolymers Plastic applications with performance gain Additive manufacturing Smart Factory & Future Mobility Industry 4.0: Analytics, automation and advanced manufacturing technologies Logistics 4.0: Logistics efficiency and improved traceability