Michael Berolzheimer 
The “robots are coming” narrative has two parallel conversations. One is a dialogue over whether or not this is a good thing. Team Bee collaborated (argued, postulated, wrote, erased, and wrote again) over several months last year to develop our core thesis, Machines Will Win on that topic. Spoiler alert: Yes, they will win, and … Read more
Imagine two different bars. They’re both in the same part of town, and they both have identical crowds, decor, and alcohol choices. One bar has a menu of drinks with each ingredient listed, so you order knowing full well every component that will go into it. At the second bar, you simply tell the bartender … Read more
We believe that it is not a question of if, but when and how quickly collaborative robots and the surrounding software and services layer penetrate the global workforce at scale (most imminently the U.S. and China) amidst unprecedented technological convergence, rising labor costs, reduced productivity, and the emergence of the robots-as-a-service business model and full-stack solution providers.
A Consumer-Driven Stack Introduction The growth of the on-demand economy (from 41.5m to 56m U.S. consumers in 2018) is transforming supply chains globally like never before. Fast-moving consumer goods that once took days to arrive are now expected in hours or even minutes. Status visibility, product authenticity, and receipt optionality are no longer premium service … Read more
Back in 2012, I was a sole GP investing from a windowless office in a shared workspace south of Market. With the backing of several remarkable and patient LPs, I had raised $7M of capital and invested in only 25 companies. I was learning a lot in a very hands-on manner. The portfolio had its … Read more
Today, it was announced that BuildingConnected, a Bee Partners II portfolio company, has been acquired by Autodesk. This means a Q1 distribution event for our LPs. And, of course, it’s a big win for everyone involved, especially Autodesk, which now has access to brilliant Co-Founders Dustin DeVan and Jesse Pedersen and to a market network … Read more
Some say it takes five years and twenty million dollars to train a venture capitalist. This last quarter, I crossed that five-year mark. And while I’m not sure about that $20M number (my learning curve is still vertical when it comes to fund management, board responsibilities, and relationship management; perhaps it always will be…), one thing I’ve … Read more
Bee Partners is pleased to announce our investment in Voltaiq, a team that is revolutionizing how transportation, energy storage, and electronics companies ensure performance, predictability and reliability in the battery systems that power their products. See coverage in Pitchbook, Greentech Media, and PR Newswire. Battery technology has emerged as the clear front-runner in the sustainable energy revolution. Many countries … Read more
There’s big news in the sky: Skycatch has sold 1,000 drones to construction giant Komatsu (and already delivered 200). Read the story here. The Skycatch Explore 1 drones are semi-autonomous quadcopters made in partnership with dronemaker DJI. They’ll use Skycatch’s machine-vision software to control Komatsu’s robot construction vehicles and deliver real-time insights and autonomous execution. Our kudos to … Read more
We are grateful for our event partners and sponsors: Blockchain Capital, Blockchain at Berkeley, SkyDeck, Accel, General Catalyst, Scalar Capital, Samsung Next, CryptoParency, and Run8 Patent Group. We have big news to share: Bee Partners is hosting a series of events, the Frontier Innovation Awards 2018: Blockchain, presented by CalFounders, that will culminate in recognition at … Read more