Project Canary - Investment Announcement

Today’s Partner PoV comes courtesy of our associate Blair Simpson……

Frontier’s investment thesis is based on a series of themes that guide the partnership’s portfolio construction. It is through this lens that Frontier VC identifies new opportunities for technology to reshape how businesses and consumers interact, and the founders and teams uniquely positioned to disrupt the status quo.

Project Canary is the latest addition to the Frontier portfolio.   The company provides a software and IoT solution for collecting, reporting, and validating Methane emissions data. While ESG reporting solutions and “carbon trackers” have proliferated over the years, there has yet to be a monitoring solution for the Natural Gas industry that is continuous, reliable, and cost-effective. Project Canary meets this need by integrating a next generation emissions monitoring technology with a powerful, data-driven software platform.  The company employs a powerful combination of real-time feedback, distribution & access, and data & personalization.

The primary customers Project Canary serve are Natural Gas producers and transporters. With 2.5 million miles of natural gas pipelines in the US alone, the scale of this opportunity is massive.  Historically, O&G companies have been reactive in their approach to monitoring emissions. They’ve relied on spreadsheets populated with estimates of methane emissions leakage that are completely detached from the reality of what’s occurring in the field. Increased pressure from regulatory agencies and capital markets has prompted the need for higher fidelity in this emissions data, and Natural Gas producers are shifting to a proactive approach in response. Just as a company’s financial reporting must be compliant and auditable, emissions reporting is subject to the same scrutiny. These reporting requirements are already present in Europe, Canada, many states with the US, and we expect this trend to continue globally. Project Canary’s remotely operated IoT device and software platform give customers the real-time feedback and unique data set necessary to thrive in an evolving energy landscape.

Achieving a net-zero emissions energy infrastructure is critical for mitigating the effects of climate change. Given that methane is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide, the world needs a certified, transparent solution to prove that net-zero truly means net-zero. Maintaining this infrastructure will require the most comprehensive monitoring solutions, and Canary is positioned to serve the Natural Gas producers and transporters that power homes, business, and communities around the world. 

The founders, Chris Romer and Will Foiles, are uniquely positioned to drive this initiative forward.  We are happy to have backed them, and their enormous and important mission. 

Click here to visit Project Canary…..

THE IDEAL PATIENT CARE JOURNEY

Today we turn over the Partner PoV column to our portfolio company Noteworth…..

Unless a person has Münchausen syndrome they will probably feel like the majority of the population who dread going to the doctor. Right or wrong, they may believe that a doctor or hospital visit means some form of pain or potentially bad news combined with long waits and more often than not, a rather unpleasant experience. These beliefs are directly related to perceptions of the patient care journey based on their previous experience. The good news is that can all change thanks to advances in Digital Medicine.

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How IoT is Reshaping Healthcare

Today we turn over the Partner PoV column to Nishant Paschal, CTO of our portfolio company Noteworth….

It is safe to say that healthcare is ready for the Internet of Things. Why? Because it already has a lot of technology that can benefit from it. These things range from simple thermometers, blood pressure monitors, and bathroom scales, to high-definition orthoscans, blood gas analyzers, and cardiac monitors—all of which are outfitted with digital sensors, and each of which provides valuable data. What many of them lack, however, is the Internet portion—the communication and software pieces that would enable them to readily exchange their data with one another and with centralized healthcare systems, giving caregivers a more comprehensive and timely view of the patient’s health.

But that’s starting to change. After all, different IoT configurations are already reducing operating costs, increasing efficiency, and creating new revenue streams in such diverse industries as logistics, retail and manufacturing, with other applications, including autonomous vehicles, on the near horizon. Certainly healthcare, which is among the nation’s largest industries, and one that is experiencing its own serious issues with cost, staffing, and customer experience, should be a prime candidate for IoT solutions.

Indeed, the market for healthcare industry IoT has been steadily gaining ground over the past 10 years, following enactment of the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, designed to stimulate adoption of electronic health records and allied technologies. Developments since that time have included a combination of continuing advances in technology, increased investment by developers as well as healthcare systems, and the expanding range of IoT applications in disease monitoring. Chronic diseases in particular, including diabetes, asthma, obesity, heart failure, and COPD—all of which appear to be increasing—are ideal candidates for the monitoring capabilities that IoT brings to medicine.

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Spotlight on Canvas GFX

Our portfolio company, Canvas GFX, recently participated in a podcast, hosted by the Industrial Evolution, which was established to explore how industrial enterprise leaders can use emerging technologies to stay competitive.  The host, Chad Perry, is a chief technology officer, software engineer, and digital strategy expert.  He interviews the most innovative companies in the world to reveal the future of how we make, grow, move and power things.  Chad focuses on pioneers, who enable industry 4.0: making it possible for organizations in manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, energy and every other industrial sector to improve efficiency by offering better products and adopting completely new business models like internet-connected products as a service.

Here is a selected quote from Chad during the interview:

“Canvas is a leader in technical illustration software addressing the future of engineering collaboration across the entire product lifecycle, improving productivity from sales to design to support - from ideation to sunset. Canvas GFX reveals how critical product data is moving from data silos to the cloud, ushering in a new era of competitive efficiencies for both startups and global giants.    This is the next generation of cloud-based product lifecycle management tools that frees up skilled engineers to focus on design while enabling downstream stakeholders to do their jobs faster and with fewer mistakes!”

Thanks Chad – we could not have stated Canvas’ case with more clarity than that!

If you have time, here is the link to the podcast.  https://evolution.industrial.fm/episodes/ep-3-cloud-collaboration-plm-grows-up-canvas-gfx

Why we backed Digbi Health....

By Blair Simpson

At Frontier, we have a series of <<themes>> that drive our investment decisions.  One of them is data and personalization.  We also have a guiding light in the form of our Fund’s mission:  to amplify joy, well-being, safety and productivity around the globe.  It will therefore be no surprise that we are excited about our recent decision to back Digbi Health. Digbi has developed a digital platform for patients and doctors to improve weight management outcomes by harnessing the power of cutting-edge microbiome research and genetic testing. 

There is strong scientific evidence to support a link between obesity and comorbidities such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Founder Ranjan Sinha, a serial entrepreneur, was inspired to tackle this problem while facing his own health challenges. As doctors recommended emergency triple bypass to a patient with no prior health conditions, Ranjan knew there must be something missing from his health analysis and treatment options. A decade of research later, Digbi Health emerged with a platform to monitor weight management 

By combining advancements in microbiome research, digital innovation in managing patient care, and a proprietary data set and algorithm to provide a holistic analysis of patient health, Digbi has carved its own niche in the healthcare space. And with $190B spent annually on treating obesity-related illnesses, it will not remain a niche for long! 

So many Americans are well-intentioned in their approach to weight management, but become disillusioned with the underwhelming results. In a world crowded with ads for weight-loss diets, apps, and supplements, how would Digbi reach those who needed it most?  Ranjan knew that a clinical delivery of the platform would optimize outcomes and he sought out forward-thinking institutions within the healthcare industry. In Digbi’s first healthcare partnership, 75% of patients in the trial lost weight: it was an outcome the Digbi team had dreamed of seeing for years, and one they are eager to replicate for patients and clinicians everywhere.

Frontier looks forward to our partnership with Digbi as it expands services to customers across the healthcare landscape. Best wishes to Ranjan and the Digbi Health team, welcome to Frontier!