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We are a venture capital firm focused on science-based solutions that positively impact life. We invest in early stage businesses with proven technology in North America and Europe.

Focus

We live in an age of accelerating advances in life sciences, synthetic chemistry, materials science, robotics and AI.  These technologies are being combined in novel ways to create more effective and sustainable solutions. Level Eight invests time and capital in outstanding teams commercializing these advances. We seek out companies that:

Physical

Positively impact the physical world rather than being purely virtual

Proven

Have demonstrated efficacy – even if it is only at prototype scale

Market

Address substantial market needs – we are not fans of market building

Compelling

Possess sufficiently compelling advantages to drive rapid adoption

IP

Own or license defensible intellectual property integral to their solution

Viable

Are economically viable without government subsidies or leaps of technology

Approach

  • At our core we are technologists and business builders.  What excites us most is seeing promising new technology positively impact millions of lives.  Every company in our portfolio shares this potential.  We tend to dig much deeper into the science and technology than other firms. To us, understanding your technology, and the many hurdles to commercial scale, is essential to us becoming long-term partners in building your business.

Sectors

Many exciting opportunities exist at the intersection of disciplines and across sectors. The combination of big data and machine learning is unlocking hidden patterns and providing fresh insight across almost every sector. Advances in synthetic chemistry, novel materials, additive manufacturing, robotics and many other areas are enabling greener more efficient products. We see high potential in the following areas:

Clean Energy

Advances in the clean generation, storage, and transmission of energy are reducing the need for subsidies and legal imperatives. Small incremental advances are often stackable, tipping the balance in favor of the green option.  For example, efficiently converting organic waste to power would eliminate over 100 million tonnes of carbon equivalent annually in the US alone.

Mobility

More than a century of conventional wisdom is being turned on its head by electrification, autonomy, and compelling mass mobility solutions. While fully autonomous vehicles grab headlines, there are nearer term opportunities in battery technology, smart components, intelligent infrastructure, novel construction techniques and lightweighting.

Healthcare

We do not invest in pharmaceuticals, but we are interested in diagnostic, treatment, and supporting technologies such as sampling, filtration, purification, and sterilization. We see the combination of big data and AI fueling jump improvements in diagnosis and treatment, while helping to deliver quality healthcare to underserved populations globally.

Materials and Chemicals

Markets are demanding new materials with advanced properties and efficient recycling. Green chemistry is central to improving resource re-use and sustainability, while newer areas such as synthetic biology are helping to engineer next generation products. The capture and productive use of by-products, such as carbon dioxide and methane, is becoming good business.

Sensors and Inspection

Sensing is essential to many areas from robotics and manufacturing to environmental monitoring and healthcare. Miniaturization and IoT capabilities are enabling active functions such as drug delivery and the autonomous control of complex processes. Image analysis technologies are providing in-situ real time assessment of vital parts and structures with accurate failure prediction.

Resources and the Environment

Almost every country is facing clean water supply and waste remediation challenges. Water is playing an increasingly important role, fueled by better clean-up and separations technologies, less toxic industrial water processing and biocides, re-purposing of waste streams, and smarter monitoring and modelling.

Location

We know that the coasts have no monopoly on great business ideas or world class talent. We search widely and invest in businesses across Western Europe, the United States and Canada from offices in Ann Arbor, Cambridge, and Philadelphia.  A key strength is helping portfolio companies expand operations across the Atlantic and to Asia.

Ann Arbor

Cambridge

Philadelphia