Harper Court Ventures Launches with $25 Million Supporting University of Chicago Deep Tech Startups
Independently managed by MFV Partners, Fund I will back groundbreaking ventures emerging from the University of Chicago ecosystem. CHICAGO, IL – May 29, 2025 – MFV Partners, a leading deep technology venture capital firm, today announced the launch of Harper Court Ventures Fund I, a new $25 million early-stage fund dedicated to identifying, investing in, […]
Humanoid robots promise a multi-trillion-dollar market, but pose challenges
As an early investor in Agility Robotics, now one of the world’s leading manufacturers of humanoid robots, I’ve watched as humanoids have evolved from a fascinating concept to reality over the past five years. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang made headlines to kick off this year, saying, “Robotics will be a […]
Why we invested in OpenInfer
The MFV team is excited today (February 21, 2025) to share our investment in OpenInfer, the leader in AI compute for edge devices. We are delighted to join the company’s over-subscribed $8M seed round funding led by Cota Capital and Essence VC, with B5 Capital, Brave Capital, Future Fund, Machine Ventures, Pretiosum, SilverCircle, StemAI, Tau […]
Robotics Re-born: Why AI Will Usher in a Third Generation of ‘Humanoid’ Robots in 2025
TESLA‘s unveiling of its Optimus robot in October was met with a rightful dose of skepticism, as many of the capabilities the robots demonstrated were found to be powered by human teleoperation rather than large language models (LLMs). However, despite the human assistance in this case, the scenes that were displayed aren’t that far away […]
The Last Mile of EV Innovation: The Powertrain
Batteries have owned the public’s mind share when it comes to boosting performance and decreasing the cost of electric vehicles. And for good reason. The battery accounts for roughly half the total cost of an EV. Batteries have been undergoing significant innovations in recent years with startups such as QuantumScape and Ample looking into solid-state […]
Investing in Irrigreen’s Robotic Sprinklers to Eliminate Water Waste
Today (March 29, 2023), the MFV team is thrilled to announce our investment in Irrigreen, the leader in robotic irrigation systems. We are delighted to join Ulu Ventures, Burnt Island Ventures, and others in the company’s $15M seed financing round. As climate change exacerbates water scarcity and increases its cost, we’re excited to partner with […]
Is Deep Tech Poised to Take Off
There’s been no shortage of doom and gloom about the venture capital market lately — and for a good reason. With tech stocks cratering, massive bouts of layoffs impacting even the most heralded startups, and the most significant decline in the VC market in 10 years, everywhere you look all signs seem to point to […]
Jensen Was Right on Robotics, Wrong on Quantum Computing
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang made the biggest headlines at CES earlier this month with two strikingly different forecasts. He first noted that robotics is ready for its ChatGPT moment in 2025, based on the strength of humanoid robotics, which is becoming a ‘multitrillion-dollar’ opportunity. Secondly, he played down the immediate opportunity for quantum computing, saying “truly […]
Trump’s plans to kill EV subsidies signal a new era of climate tech Darwinism
A few weeks after an election win, the Trump transition team’s plan to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit on EVs has already surfaced. Although this type of climate-focused subsidy cut was widely rumored, the news still sent Tesla and Rivian shares lower. It’s a critical inflection point for the climate tech sector, which must evolve quickly from being […]