About Hella Ventures
Hella Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2015. It is primarily based out of San Francisco, United States. As of Dec 2021, Hella Ventures has invested in 17 companies. It primarily invests in Series B round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from High Tech to Enterprise Applications and Auto Tech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series B round of Apex.AI Overall, Hella Ventures portfolio has seen 1 unicorn, 2 IPOs and 5 acquisitions including key companies like BreezoMeter, AEye and Wejo. A lot of funds co-invest with Hella Ventures, with names like Taiwania Capital sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Hella Ventures has team of 3 people including 2 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Series B, Series A & 2 more
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Unicorns
Hella Ventures' List of Top Investments
Hella Ventures has a portfolio of 17 companies, one of which is a Unicorn. Their most notable investmentis in Apex.AITheir portfolio spans across United States, Germany, Canada and 2 more locations. They have invested in High Tech, Enterprise Applications, Auto Tech and 12 other sectors, across stages such as Series B, Series A and 2 more. Here is the list of top investments by Hella Ventures:
1. BreezoMeter
BreezoMeter provides a real-time air quality tracking platform. The big-data analytics platform allows the gathering of data from thousands of sensors worldwide and provides a real-time, location-based map of air pollution levels (with past levels available) at the street level using air pollution dispersion models and analytics. It allows users to plan daily activities, track air quality wherever they are, and get real-time air pollution alerts for important locations together with personalized health recommendations. Also available as an API for commercial use.
Key facts about BreezoMeter
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: Haifa (Israel)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $45M
- Employee Count: 19 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Hella Ventures, SeedIL Ventures and 19 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Apr 20, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
2. Excelfore
Automotive connectivity solutions for software-defined vehicles, enabling secure data management. The company offers cloud-to-edge and edge-to-edge connectivity solutions, focusing on Software Defined Connectivity. They provide standards-based in-vehicle and cloud-to-vehicle connectivity solutions and comprehensive cloud-based device management applications. Their offerings include Over-the-Air (OTA) software updates, in-vehicle networking, and data management platforms that support connected, autonomous vehicles. The company's eSync platform enables two-way data communication for software updates and operational data collection. They support reliable OTA updates for ECUs, domain controllers, and smart sensors, optimizing updates with technologies like delta compression. Their technologies are designed for software-defined vehicles, allowing OEMs to dynamically deploy new features and collect performance data. They also offer Ethernet Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) for real-time communication and integrate with cloud platforms like AWS for data ingestion and analytics.
Key facts about Excelfore
- Founded Year: 2008
- Location: Fremont (United States)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $14.6M
- Employee Count: 99 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Hella Ventures, Molex Ventures and 1 Other
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Sep 26, 2018, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. AEye
Platform offering artificial intelligence and cloud enabled solutions. It provides sensor solutions for automobiles. It offers hardware products that are solid-state lidars with ADAS functionality. It also offers AI-enabled software for perception with features like real-time integration of pixels, and predictive solutions.
Key facts about AEye
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: Pleasanton (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $0 - $1M as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $71.4M
- Employee Count: 88 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Pegasus Tech Ventures, ATP and 21 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Conventional Debt, Sep 01, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Public
4. Apex.AI
Apex.ai develops AI-enabled software stacks for self-driving vehicles. It offers products like Apex.OS which is an open-source framework for autonomous systems. It enables software developers to write safe & secure applications based on Robot Operating Systems, Apex. autonomy provides autonomous driving software that combines 3D perception, localization, planning, and control algorithms. and MARV. automotive offers a data management platform.
Key facts about Apex.AI
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Palo Alto (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $87.5M
- Employee Count: 75 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Canaan, Webb Investment Network and 15 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Feb 21, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. Wejo
Tech-enabled platform offering a data platform for connected cars. It provides mobile, web, and in-car apps to consumers to improve safety and convenience while driving. It also provides an automotive data exchange platform with analytical insights on consumer (and vehicle) data to car manufacturers, insurers, and service providers to help them better serve their customers.
Key facts about Wejo
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: Tattenhall (United Kingdom)
- Annual Revenue: $1M - $10M as on Dec 31, 2022
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $160M
- Employee Count: 81 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: DIP Capital, Hella Ventures and 15 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Mar 24, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Public
Hella Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Hella Ventures has invested in 17 companies over the last 8 years, with an average of 0 new investment annually in the last 5 years. Its most recent first time investment was in actnano and most recent follow-on round was in Apex.AI.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
2020 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2019 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2018 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Hella Ventures' Investments by Stage
Hella Ventures has made 5 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $27.4M, 2 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $28M, 1 investment in Post IPO stage and 1 investment in Seed stage.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series B | 5 |
Series A | 2 |
Post IPO | 1 |
Seed | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Hella Ventures' Investments by Sector
Hella Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the High Tech, Enterprise Applications, Auto Tech, Internet of Things - Industry Applications and Semiconductors. Notably, it has invested in 16 Tech companies, 15 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 11 Software companies and at least 6 companies focusing on Tech hardware.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
High Tech | 6 |
Enterprise Applications | 5 |
Auto Tech | 4 |
Internet of Things - Industry Applications | 3 |
Semiconductors | 2 |
Others | 6 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Hella Ventures' Investments by Geography
Hella Ventures has made most investments in United States (7), followed by Israel where it has made 1 investment.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 7 |
Israel | 1 |
United Kingdom | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Hella Ventures' recent investments
Hella Ventures has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by Hella Ventures:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec 14, 2021 | United States | Series B | 9779 | [+9] | |
Nov 30, 2021 | United States | Series B | 8974 | [+6] | |
May 06, 2021 | United States | Series B | 8256 | [+9] | |
Apr 19, 2021 | United States | Seed | 4382 | [+2] | |
Mar 24, 2021 | United Kingdom | Post IPO | 2108 | - |
Unicorns in Hella Ventures' Portfolio
Hella Ventures has 1 unicorn in its portfolio - ZaiNar. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is ZaiNar which became a unicorn in 2026.Here is a list of unicorns in Hella Ventures' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
56 | Developer of wireless network technology for precise real time positioning | 2016 | Menlo Park | Seed | uethtjp |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Hella Ventures' Portfolio
2 of Hella Ventures' portfolio companies have become public. AEye got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), in Aug 2021 and Wejo got listed on the OTC Markets (OTCMKTS).Here are Hella Ventures' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 18, 2021 | - | - | 7646 | |
Mar 19, 2021 | Mar 24, 2021 | Post IPO | 5410 |
Acquired companies in Hella Ventures' Portfolio
5 companies from Hella Ventures' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Brighter AI in Apr 2025 by Milestone systems for $*****.Here are Hella Ventures' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Apr 08, 2025 | - | - | 7568 | |
Nov 02, 2023 | Apr 19, 2021 | Seed | 4251 | |
Jun 01, 2023 | Jun 16, 2020 | Series B | 7341 | |
Sep 20, 2022 | Sep 13, 2018 | Series B | 6957 | |
Oct 26, 2021 | May 06, 2021 | Series B | 7134 |
Team profile of Hella Ventures
Hella Ventures has a team of 3 members including 2 Partners and 1 Principal located in United States and Germany. Hella Ventures' team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of all team members in Hella Ventures:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Germany | - | - | |
Partner | Plymouth | - | - | |
Principal | Indianapolis | - | - |
Co-investors of Hella Ventures
Over the past 8 years, 86 investors have co-invested in Hella Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Hella Ventures: Entree Capital, Launchpad Digital Health and 25 others have invested in rounds before Hella Ventures. There is 1 company where Entree Capital has invested before Hella Ventures and 1 company where Launchpad Digital Health has invested before Hella Ventures.
- Top Co-investors of Hella Ventures: 33 investors entered a company along with Hella Ventures. These include investors like Taiwania Capital (2 companies).
- Invested after Hella Ventures: A total of 26 investors have invested in Hella Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Fortissimo Capital (1 company), Jumpspeed Ventures (1 company) and Eurazeo (1 company).
Recent News related to Hella Ventures
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actnano: Surface Protection Technology Company Raises $40 MillionPulse 2.0•Apr 06, 2024•actnano, Anthelion Capital, BMW i Ventures, Porsche Ventures and 7 others
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Apex.AI Gains Minority Investment From Daimler TruckTtnews•May 05, 2022•Daimler Truck, Apex.AI, Toyota Ventures, Volvo Group and 5 others
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AGCO Invests in Apex.AI, a Developer of Safety-Certified Software for Mobility and Autonomous ApplicationsBusiness Wire•Dec 14, 2021•AGCO, Apex.AI, ZF, Continental and 8 others
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actnano Inc. Announces Oversubscribed $21.75 Million Series B FundingBusiness Wire•Nov 30, 2021•actnano, BMW i Ventures, Hella Ventures, TDK Ventures and 6 others
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Faurecia obtains only 79.5% of the capital of HellaAGEFI•Nov 16, 2021•Faurecia, Hella Ventures, Elliott Management, HELLA
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Oculii raises $55 million series B to accelerate the future of autonomy with AI-powered radarGeospatial World•May 06, 2021•Oculii, Catapult Ventures, Conductive Ventures, Taiwania Capital and 12 others
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Drishti Technologies picks up $25m Series BVCJ•Jun 16, 2020•Drishti, Presidio Ventures, Micron, Toyota AI Ventures and 6 others
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Volvo Group Venture Capital Invests in Software for Autonomous MobilityPR Newswire•Dec 05, 2019•Volvo Group, Apex.AI, Volvo, InMotion Ventures and 6 others
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NTT DOCOMO Ventures Invests in LIGHT FIELD LABWebwire•Aug 19, 2019•Ntt Docomo Ventures, Light Field Lab, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Taiwania Capital and 9 others
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Holographic technology company Light Field Lab raises $28M in funding roundSiliconAngle•Aug 12, 2019•Light Field Lab, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Taiwania Capital, Samsung Venture Investment and 16 others
