Ludovic Copere
Sony Ventures at Sony Innovation Fund
San Francisco Bay Area
Overview
Work Experience
Senior Investment Director, Sony Ventures
2016 - Current
Sony Innovation Fund (SIF) is the venture capital arm of Sony Group Corporation and is dedicated to investing in and engaging with promising early-stage & growth-stage companies. Based in Silicon Valley as a core member of Sony Innovation Fund (SIF) since its inception, Ludovic leads startup scouting, due diligence, venture investment execution as well as portfolio management in many core SIF focus areas such as Mobility, FinTech, InsurTech, web3, PropTech, Drones, FoodTech, AgTech and Environment. Led investments in Arkose Labs, Truepic, Covr, Superpedestrian, Token, Cruz Foam, Iris Automation, Matternet, Delos, Sight Machine, Ridecell, Miles, Magic Cube, Botrista, Analytical Flavor Systems, Plunk, Sentera, Waffle and several other undisclosed ones.
Investor
2021
Cruz Foam produces bio-benign foam and eco-friendly EPS-alternative solutions that power key industry leaders to be the catalyst for a cleaner environment. Cruz Foam’s patent-pending products are produced using an all-natural seafood industry waste material that creates a scalable, compostable alternative using the existing supply chain and at a similar cost. Current industry partners include consumer-packaged goods, consumer electronics, and B2B shipping.
Cruz Foam is a circular materials company offering certified compostable, protective packaging foam and other solutions
Raised $25,282,999.00 from SoundWaves, Seabird Ventures, One Small Planet, At One Ventures, Regeneration.VC and Helena.
Investor
2021
Founded in 2015, Truepic develops the world's most secure camera technology for mobile devices. Truepic is the pioneer of secure media provenance through its patented Controlled Capture technology, which empowers viewers to make better-informed decisions through high integrity photos & videos. The Truepic team is dedicated to restoring trust in every pixel of consequence, with the goal of having a shared sense of visual reality across the internet.
Truepic is a visual media platform used in bolstering the value of authentic photos and videos and evaluate their trustworthiness.
Raised $36,500,000.00 from Adobe, Hearst Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Stone Point Capital and M12 - Microsoft's Venture Fund.
Board Observer
2021
Botrista provides beverage solutions to foodservice operators by leveraging easy-to-use equipment (the DrinkBot) alongside a line of pre-packaged ingredients (BiBs) to deliver a variety of craft beverages, including infused teas & lattes, flavored lemonades, iced coffees and more! Botrista enables brands to add a mini-cafe to their menu without the operational complexities. Operators can now offer high margin items without the investment in a full bar. Our system takes up just 5-sq ft and enables customizable drink recipes at the touch of a button. We automate the portioning, dispensing and mixing process to deliver a fresh and consistently blended product in under 20 seconds.
Our automated Robot Barista increase beverage incidents and overall profit for F&B operators
Raised $125,751,000.00 from Jollibee Food.
Investor
2020
Arkose Labs bankrupts the business model of fraud. Its patented platform combines Arkose Detect, a sophisticated risk engine, with Arkose Enforce, which uses targeted step-up challenges to wear fraudsters down and diminish their ROI. The world’s largest brands trust Arkose Labs to protect their customer journey while delivering unrivaled user experiences. Arkose Labs is based in San Francisco, Calif., with offices in Brisbane, Australia.
Arkose Labs protects enterprises from cybercrime and abuse.
Raised $106,467,749.00 from PayPal Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund, M12 - Microsoft's Venture Fund, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and Ballistic Ventures.
Investor
2016
Web3 Blockchain Infrastructure for Video, Media & Entertainment.
Theta EdgeCloud is the leading decentralized cloud for AI, media and entertainment.
Raised $56,000,000.00 from Blockchain.com Ventures, DHVC, Zhiping Capital, The Venture Reality Fund/VRF, Heuristic Capital, Sierra Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Samsung NEXT, DCM Ventures and Sierra Ventures.
Investor
2019
At Oishii, we grow the best fruit in the world by deploying ground-breaking vertical farming technology that pushes the boundaries of agriculture. We’re the first in the world to grow fruit in an indoor vertical farm at commercial scale. We started with strawberries, which we debuted at Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, the three star Michelin restaurant considered by critics to be among the best in the world. Since then, we have supplied our strawberries to food-loving consumers, world-class restaurants, and specialty retailers across NYC. Our proprietary technology, developed through years of intensive research in Japan and the US, enables us to grow the very best produce year-round, at the same high level of quality, all without using any pesticides. We have rapidly expanded our farm facilities and assembled a world-class team with backgrounds spanning vertical farming, industrial automation, farm operations, and data analysis.
Oishii is a vertical farming company that grows fruit in an indoor vertical farm at commercial scale.
Raised $200,000,000.00 from Miyako Capital, Mizuho Bank, Nymph Investments Cayman Limited, CTBC Bank, YASKAWA Electric, McWin Partners, Japan Green Investment Corporation for Carbon Neutrality, NTT, Resilience Reserve and Bloom8.
Investor
2018
Ridecell empowers new mobility operators, including OEMs, car rental companies, auto clubs, cities, transit agencies, dealer groups, and private fleets to launch, expand, and maximize the utilization of their own ridesharing and carsharing services. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company provides an intelligent software platform that runs new mobility services such as carsharing, ridesharing, and autonomous fleet management. End-to-end integration and automation accelerate time to market, enabling Ridecell customers to launch mobility services quickly, operate efficiently, and scale revenues as business grows.
Investor
2021
Covr partners with financial brands to provide life insurance solutions to their customers in an efficient, easy way that streamlines the process of selling and buying policies. Covr offers a choice of trusted life insurance products from leading insurance carriers, an easy way to compare rates, and the ability to purchase policies within minutes. Through its white label solutions, Covr helps financial institutions deliver a great experience under an existing brand their customers already trust. Covr currently serves over 25,000 financial advisors and over 20 million customers across over 30 financial institutions.
Multi-carrier, digital life insurance platform that is white-labeled and distributed through financial institutions
Raised $53,000,000.00 from Allianz Life Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, Commerce Ventures, Fairview Capital Partners, Sony Innovation Fund, Stone Point Capital, Contour Venture Partners, Tribeca Early Stage Partners and Aflac Global Ventures.
Investor
2022
Born at MIT and raised in New York, Waffle is an all-in-one consumer InsurTech solution that meets all of your insurance needs in one easy-to-use platform. Available in all 50 States, Waffle provides customers nationwide with top-rated insurance products many of which have limited to no exclusions. Investors include Sony Innovation Fund, Barclays, BetterLabs Ventures, Verve Ventures, Techstars, and others. To learn more, please visit www.waffleinsurance.com.
Waffle Labs operates an insurance platform that offers customizable insurance plans.
Raised $5,417,383.00 from Goodwater Capital.
Education
Master's Degree
2003 - 2005
Master's Degree
2001 - 2005
Strategic Licensing: Advanced Skills & Tools
2014 - 2014
IP Licensing
2011 - 2011
Classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles
1999 - 2001
High School
1996 - 1999