Aboard Ben Marcus’ two-seater Gamebird plane, we were off the coast of Palos Verdes, where the negative weight of Earth’s gravity rests on our heads instead of our spines. His partner Marcus, co-founder and managing partner of UP.Partners, agreed to take me on an aerobatic flight. (Yes, aerobatic means exactly what you think.)
We did a lot of rolls and loops in the air, and Marcus said it hit 4.3Gs. I feel like I can now understand phrases like “centrifugal force” and “zero gravity” not only intellectually but also physically. You know, the feeling of a physical rush in the cervical spine that turns the world into technicolor. wizard of oz? Something like that.?
“It’s like a roller coaster, you build your own course,” Marcus told me once we were back on the ground. These are all connected. Marcus’ UP.Partners invests in transportation technology with a portfolio that includes Axiom Space, Skydio, Loft Dynamics, and Beyond Math. And aviation is part, but not all, of his UP theory.
“Investing in aviation is very difficult,” Marcus says. “Why? This is difficult because it’s a highly regulated industry, so entrepreneurs can’t really control their own destiny. It’s capital intensive, a lot of human labor, a lot of materials, etc. So instead of investing in airlines themselves, our strategy is to invest in transportation technology companies that provide transportation for people: on land, in the air, at sea, and in space. Cleaner, Faster, Safer, Better.”
There are workarounds. UP also has UP.Labs. The incubator launches two of his companies per corporate partner each year, and currently launches six companies per year with three corporate partners (including Porsche and Alaska Airlines). The idea is to avoid many of the regulatory and B2B challenges that come with setting up a company in the transportation sector.
“I can’t imagine any company having such a big problem,” said Caitlin Foley, president of UP.Labs. “Some of those problems are solved by internal innovation activities in research and development, and some are actually solved by external startups.”
And at UP.Labs, the company believes in starting close to the customer.
John Kuolt, Founder and CEO of UP.Labs, said: “[Outside of UP.Labs] Not a single startup started working with Porsche and signing a multi-million dollar deal a year ago. ” According to Cuorto, his goal is to help these “billion-dollar giants run more efficiently than they do today.”
The company’s theory applies to land, sea and air, but since Marcus’ experience with the two-seater aerobatic plane has disappointed me, especially given the Boeing scandal and the current turmoil rocking the airline industry. , I was completely stuck in the aviation industry. A dire safety concern. Marcus believes Boeing has disruptive potential, even though it may seem impossible.
“Boeing’s failure is not the only cause,” he said. “In fact, I think there are a lot of technologies now available that didn’t exist before that allow smart, ambitious entrepreneurs to actually create new aircraft. We want to reduce carbon emissions, we want to improve the passenger experience, and I think startups have an opportunity to do that because the Boeing Airbus monopoly can only make small changes over and over again.”
The best startup in that regard, according to Marcus, is Long Beach, Calif.-based JetZero, which is revolutionizing the way airplane fuselages are built with a focus on “blended wings.” It is said that there is The aircraft “can reduce fuel consumption and emissions by up to 50% compared to the tubes and wings that everyone flies today,” JetZero CEO Thomas O’Leary said in an email.
And now, Marcus says, the tipping point has indeed arrived, with electric airplanes less than a year away.
“If you look back over the last 100 years, the biggest change for humanity was semiconductors? Was it the Internet? Was it airplanes?” Marcus said. “It’s really hard to choose, but airplanes began to connect humanity to each other in important ways.”
That’s a good point. But I’m not sure I need to see the world upside down again from 3,500 feet to understand that perspective. But I kind of want to do that.
see you tomorrow,
Allie Garfinkle
twitter: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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Joe Abrams curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.
venture deal
– core lighta San Francisco-based network detection and response platform for cybersecurity teams, has raised $150 million in Series E funding. accelerator Lead the round and be joined by: Investing in Cisco and crowdstrike falcon fund.
– EnvirosparkThe Atlanta, Georgia-based electric vehicle charging company has raised $50 million in funding from: Basalt Infrastructure Partners.
– beehivea New York City-based email newsletter platform, has raised $33 million in Series B funding. NEA Lead the round and be joined by: sapphire sports others.
– Anetaca dynamic identity and security platform based in Los Altos, California, has raised $16 million in funding. Liberty Global Lead the round and be joined by: shield capital, GP Venturesothers.
– backward somersaultA Dallas, Texas-based platform designed to connect entrepreneurs with real estate investing has raised $15 million in Series A funding. Firstmark Capital Led the round with participation from existing investors vertical venture partner, live oak venture partner, Rebel Partners, ECMCothers.
– Ribara Healtha San Diego, California-based musculoskeletal care platform, has raised $15 million in Series B funding. A1 Health Ventures Led the round with participation from existing investors Polaris Partners, providence ventures, martin venturesothers.
– opmed.aian AI-powered operating room scheduling and management platform based in Boston, Massachusetts, has raised $15 million in Series A funding. NFX and globe ventures Led the round and was joined by: secret code ventures others.
– remedyA New York City-based company, a developer of hybrid drugs designed to integrate digital molecules and improve drug efficacy, has raised $10 million in seed funding. NFX Lead the round and be joined by: Vine Ventures, Cymed Ventures, Supernode Ventures, first time venturesothers.
– monoclea New York City-based AI-powered promotional development and personalization platform for consumer brands, has raised $7.5 million in a seed round. F2 Venture Capital Lead the round and be joined by: Tiphares Ventures, irrvrntVCothers.
– vertexan AI security platform based in Tel Aviv, Israel, has raised $7 million in seed funding. Sequoia Capital and index ventures We led the round and included participation from angel investors.
– picture healthA virtual dermatology clinic based in Boston, Massachusetts has raised $6 million from. flare capital, techstars, argon ventures, great growth capital, Bayless Healthcareothers.
– DMCAThe Dublin, Ireland-based provider of AI-powered brand protection and anti-piracy services for content creators and brands has raised $4.5 million in funding. early bird venture capital Lead the round and be joined by: Upside VC and angel investors.
– insane cyberan industrial cybersecurity platform based in San Antonio, Texas, has raised $4.2 million in funding. Paladin Capital Group Lead the round and be joined by: Cyber Mentor Fund others.
private equity
– EQT partner agreed to the acquisition WSO2is an application development and identity and access management software provider based in Santa Clara, California. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– Hypax obtained High precision color printingis a provider of commercial printing services to businesses based in Telford, UK. Claverley Group. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– lone star fund obtained erixis an industrial components distributor and engineering services provider based in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– tailwind capital acquired a majority stake in gray matteris an industrial automation and intelligence solutions provider based in Warrendale, Pennsylvania. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– true food manufacturingis a portfolio company. Mubadala capitalmerged with Barbakersis a manufacturer of nutritional snack brands based in Los Alamitos, California. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Exit
– Kelly (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYB) agreed to the acquisition Motion Recruitment Partnersis the parent company of a workforce solutions provider based in Boston, Massachusetts. Littlejohn & Company Total amount: $485 million.
other
– savage obtained texonis a butane blending and energy marketing services provider based in Houston, Texas. Financial terms were not disclosed.
IPOS
– ZEEKRThe Ningbo, China-based electric car company plans to raise up to $367.5 million by offering 17.5 million shares at prices between $18 and $21 on the New York Stock Exchange. The company had sales of $7.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023. Geely Automobile, geely internationaland GHGK Innovation LIMIT THE COMPANY.
– games globalThe Douglas, Isle of Man-based online betting and casino game developer and distributor will offer 14.5 million shares priced between $16 and $19 on the New York Stock Exchange to raise up to $275.5 million. It’s a plan. The company had sales of $383 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. zinnia limited Support the company.
– Tamboran Resourcesa natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Barangaroo, Australia, developing natural gas resources in Australia’s Northern Territory, has filed to go public with the New York Stock Exchange. sheffield holdings, Nuveen, morgan stanley australia, baupost groupand Helmerich & Payne International Holdings I’m going back to work.
Fund + Fund of Funds
– Hyde Park Venture PartnersThe Chicago, Illinois-based venture capital fund has raised $98 million for its fourth fund focused on early-stage startups in the Midwest and Toronto.
