Fellowship Spotlight: Amenti Capital
“In the future, we could face the danger of creating transportation deserts in the same way we’re creating food deserts,” says Jason Miles, Founder of Amenti Capital, an investment firm investing in digital ecosystems at the intersection of transportation, financial services, interactive content, and data. “I have a young daughter,” he adds, “and when I think about her future, sustainable transportation is going to become more and more important.”
The Importance of Connected Mobility
“Connected mobility is all about invisible data and transactions – tracking how we move,” Miles explains, “It encompasses the movement of goods and people and the information that supports it. The movement of goods and people has been happening since the beginning of humankind. So focusing on mobility and the impact of data and transactions within the context of our planet becoming more sustainable came to the forefront.”
“That’s why this market is important; it’s invisible, but it’s needed. When I started exploring, it became abundantly clear how impactful transportation is on our daily lives. We’re doing it all the time, but we don’t notice its impact.” Connected mobility can help bring transparency when it comes to transportation, according to Miles.
“Connected mobility makes data and transactions more transparent which breeds trust, and in the future, we’ll be able to use the information for other purposes.” When speaking to the value of connected mobility on an individual level, Miles offers, “I want to know what my carbon footprint really is.” And when speaking to the value for corporations, he says, “Loyalty, promotions, tax credits, and other operations will be driven by the ability to monitor transportation behavior.”
Driving Convergence at the Intersection of Transportation, Finance, Data & Sustainability
Amenti Capital partners with founders committed to innovation, integrity, inclusion, and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The firm aims to contribute to the creation of a powerful global digital ecosystem delivering sustainable social and economic value. It is working to become the leading capital provider to entrepreneurs who seek to drive convergence among transportation, finance, data, and sustainability. “Our hypothesis is that the world will continue to become more connected,” says Miles, “with a variety of ways to access powerful insights that improve our lives, whether it’s through our phones, vehicles, computers, televisions, or the infrastructure around us.”
“At the highest level, Amenti Capital is focused on sustainable digital ecosystems,” Miles explains. The first digital ecosystem that the firm is investing in is connected mobility. The San Francisco-based firm is raising a fund to invest in seed-stage startups that leverage data and transactions from emerging transportation networks.
“The seed stage emphasizes operational readiness. I feel the companies that are going to be successful in this sector will embrace and endure longer sales cycles. Connected mobility startups are small; they require network effects; and they have high dependencies on corporate partners. The founders I’m looking for have some industry expertise, a clear view on building scalable technology, and an understanding of the enterprise sales cycle,” Miles clarifies. “And they need help getting access to corporate partners. Amenti Capital can help founders clarify their perspective on product-market fit as they enter the rollout phase to get their product to end customers.”
A High-Level and High-Leverage Focus
Rather than engaging in each connected device market, Miles focuses on what he believes offers the highest leverage: the data and transactions that are coming from all of these different devices. “A global operating system will be developed at some point,” he says with clarity. “But it hasn’t gotten there yet, and that’s why I’m investing in these emerging companies now.”
Connected Mobility on a Larger Scale
Miles points out that connected mobility allows for more streamlined, efficient, and trackable experiences, both personal, individualized experiences, and at the enterprise level. For example, when shipments make their way across the globe, they’re shipped out of ports, all of which have their own technologies, operating systems and, in many cases, languages.
“If shipments come from another country to the United States,” Miles explains, “many of the invoices throughout the journey have to be translated manually.” The manual nature of this type of process creates delays.
Incompatibility between systems is a common problem that causes these delays. “In the future, all of it will be digital,” says Miles, referencing the positive impact that connected mobility will have. He mentions KlearNow.AI as an example of a connected mobility company working on this solution, and clarifies that data is important not only for the end consumer, but also for operations relative to emissions targets and regulations.
One company that Amenti has invested in is Atmo, whose AI technology is poised to revolutionize the outdated weather forecasting industry. “Atmo is reducing the technology footprint necessary for weather prediction,” Miles shares, “and using it to improve forecasting - even in places that you wouldn’t think weather prediction is important, but where it drives global supply chains.” The data that comes from a company like Atmo impacts the movement of goods and people, which lands it in the space of connected mobility.
How Amenti Adds Value
In Egyptian mythology, “Amenti” symbolizes the gateway to renewal, growth, and transformation in the soul’s journey to enlightenment. “I named my firm Amenti because the term mirrors our mission to guide early-stage startups toward their market potential. We help founders through the process to establish product-market fit,” Miles says. Amenti supports the process by leveraging their global investor relationships; depth of experience in transportation and fintech; and expertise in private capital markets, which spans VC, M&A, and partnership deals.
Since starting his career as an investment banker in 1998, Miles has helped fund, build, buy, and sell numerous emerging growth companies. He’s also worked in the transportation industry at the corporate level. He recently led fintech venture investing for Volvo Group, which clarified his vision for what original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other large corporate players need from startups. He’s also been an entrepreneur himself.
His combined experience provides Miles the unique set of insights that connected mobility startup founders need. “My industry knowledge, relationships, and transaction experience – specifically within fintech, data, and transportation – is what differentiates me,” he says. “I’ve ensured that I gathered direct OEM experience for my investment thesis to have the greatest impact and probability for successful investing in the space.”
Amenti Capital adds further value by helping startups self-evaluate and effectively prepare for success, including early assessments around alignment with UN SDGs. “Startups typically don’t consider SDGs until later in their life-cycles. It’s not just about revenue growth,” Miles asserts. “It’s also about operating capacity within the global frameworks that corporations and other organizations are using to assess value.”
Getting an Early Start in Investment
Miles attended Morehouse College for his undergraduate studies, and was the first in his immediate family to go to college. He majored in finance and, while enrolled as a student, he established the school’s first investment club, which allowed students to manage a small portion of the college’s endowment.
This gave him his first insights into investing, and allowed him to be introduced to the senior executive team at Bank of America. When it was time to think about jobs, Bank of America’s CEO inquired about what he was doing after school and helped him secure a position at Robertson Stephens investment bank in San Francisco. “That experience showed me that there are opportunities out there,” Miles reflects, “and while we can do a lot on our own as people from diverse communities, we have to identify, support and appreciate our allies that are willing to connect us to growth opportunities.”
Miles is happy to see more people in the finance industry who “look like him” than there were when he began his career over 25 years ago, and he still finds ways to push forward the conversation. “Thinking about diversity not only in terms of who you invest in, but also in terms of who you are as an investor, is important. I’ve been traditionally trained in this asset class,” he acknowledges, “so I’m not one to think that generating alpha is a simple task. I’ve been focused on building an investment firm with true capability and an edge in what I’m investing in.” He’s put a great deal of time, energy, and care into getting to where he currently is – to understand what he’s investing in, why, and what the potential returns in this particular context could be. “And now the market’s right for it,” he says with assurance and enthusiasm.
Participating in the VC Include Fellowship
“In order to be successful, a VC has to have operational wherewithal, a wide network, and technical investment expertise,” Miles proposes. “What VCI has been really great about is adding value to the network bucket. As diverse managers, we all have common threads, and I believe the VCI network will continue to add value in the future as we pursue our work as practitioners in this asset class.”
He found it affirming and powerful to hear the insights from other diverse and emerging fund managers, helping him trust that he’s not alone on his journey. “VCI provides a safe space to ask questions and share experiences and contacts amongst ourselves,” he says. “Having that space provides comfort to be able reflect on our decisions, and share resources.”
We look forward to seeing the ways in which Jason leverages the VC Include network and all the other tools, resources, and relationships at his disposal to advance the mission of Amenti Capital.
