SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 7, 2017) - Lemnos, the premier early stage hardware venture capital firm, today announced its third, $50 million fund focused on hardware and the growing ecosystem of software surrounding the hardware renaissance. Now in its sixth year of leading the market for early stage hardware investing, Lemnos uniquely embeds in a consigliere role with its portfolio companies to guide entrepreneurs along the complex path of hardware creation.
"At Lemnos, we make smart bets on small teams of visionary entrepreneurs, and we are full-time partners with them to painstakingly guide their businesses to success," said Lemnos Partner Jeremy Conrad. "Our experience has taught us that great companies are defined by great people first and great ideas second. With our third fund, we are excited to continue to invest in visionary entrepreneurs who are forging breakthrough technologies. We continue to be in our entrepreneurs' corner, shaping the way they think and transforming their potential into purpose."
Lemnos focuses on pre-seed and seed round funding and prefers to lead or co-lead rounds ranging from $500,000 to $3 million. The firm screens hundreds of entrepreneurs each year and chooses a select few with the tenacity to transform their ideas into viable companies. Working as partners to the entrepreneurs, Lemnos takes the founders' passion for ideas and then helps them to create diverse teams, identify market forces, and uncover addressable audiences.
Focused on more complex solutions and larger disruptions, Lemnos portfolio companies have tackled aerospace, applied robotics, consumer electronics, advanced manufacturing, health, agriculture and enterprise IoT opportunities.
"Lemnos has been an incredible partner to us, especially in the early days. They bring deep strategic thinking about the particular issues hardware companies face, as well as practical contacts and know-how on the daily challenges," said Tim Harris, CEO of Swift Navigation. "I'm really excited to see what they'll do with the new capital to expand the hardware startup ecosystem."
"Lemnos has been outstanding from day one. I've never met anyone with their passion for hardware and ability to network," said Peter Platzer, CEO of Spire Global. "And when it comes to helping companies raise money, they are simply a superstar team. Spire would not be where we are without them."
Dave Merrill, entrepreneur in residence at Lemnos, added, "Lemnos has been a great partner for my new company. The frequent interactions I have within the community of founders in the portfolio provides real camaraderie and opportunities to learn from each other. The best part is how committed the partners are to helping their companies and founders succeed -- pitching in on strategy, operations and fundraising whenever we need them."
Founded in 2011, Lemnos has launched two previous funds and made investments in 39 companies. Lemnos invests in enterprise, high-tech and consumer startups and is based in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood.
About Lemnos:
Lemnos, the premier early stage hardware venture fund based in San Francisco, crafts the breakthrough companies of the future and nurtures the visionaries who will lead these cutting-edge companies to success. Not a typical VC fund, Lemnos makes fewer, smarter bets, enabling them to devote as much time and energy into creating great products as they do to teaching founders the details needed to create massively scalable companies. Part investors, part educators, part inventors, but most importantly full-time partners, Lemnos provides startups with the tools, expertise, experience and connections they need to build disruptive solutions that change markets. A list of our companies and more information can be found at www.lemnoslabs.com.