Three Roots Capital update | Six Months, six innovative start-up investments
Each one of the six companies is based in Tennessee.
According to the most recent newsletter update from Three Roots Capital (3Roots), in the first half of this year, the team has invested in six innovative and impactful start-ups: SmartRIA, Entac Medical, Shift Thermal, ATS Innovations, Blank Beauty, and TriesD.
Teknovation interviewed 3Roots President and Chief Executive Officer, Grady Vanderhoofven, in July.
“We feel really good and positive about what we’re doing, but we know we’re not doing it in a vacuum,” Vanderhoofven said. “We’re doing it with stakeholders and our bank partners. We do it in a community that’s supporting startups — the Knoxville community is far better at supporting startups today than it was 20 years ago. The impacts that we do make, we make because others are supporting us.”
Learn more about the 3Roots Startup investments (so far) in 2025
SmartRIA
Based in Knoxville, provides a leading software platform that helps Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and their consultants efficiently manage compliance programs. The TennesSeed Fund first invested in the company in 2019 when it was an early-stage start-up. Since then, Three Roots Capital has made several follow-on investments in SmartRIA, most recently in January 2025.
Entac Medical
Entac Medical is a digital health company based in Memphis, developing wearable devices that use acoustic signals and predictive analytics to detect adverse conditions in patients. The company is built on technology licensed from the University of Tennessee. Three Roots Capital has supported Entac with multiple investments, most recently in February 2025.
Shift Thermal
Based in Oak Ridge, the start-up is the developer of FLEX™ technology, an advanced thermal storage system designed to reduce energy consumption. The company originated as part of the Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The TennesSeed Fund first invested in Shift Thermal in 2019 during its start-up phase, and Three Roots Capital has since provided continued support through multiple follow-on investments, most recently in March 2025.
ATS Innovations
ATS Innovations is the creator of the MetaFlex® Glove, which combines compression and grip-strengthening technology to optimize hand health and performance. Founded by a former Y-12 Plant engineer, the company is woman-owned and innovation-driven. Three Roots Capital invested in the Cookeville-based company in March 2025 and provided a follow-on loan in May 2025.
Blank Beauty
The Knoxville-based company is a fast-growing beauty-tech company that combines science, software, and robotics to create personalized cosmetics. The company recently closed a $6 million Series A funding round to expand its headquarters and production facility in downtown Knoxville. Three Roots Capital invested in Blank Beauty in May 2025, joining a group of strategic investors that includes EPSON, Kirker Enterprises, and Evolution Venture Capital Partners.
TreisD
Headquartered in Knoxville, Treis D develops advanced 3D image capture, display, and printing technology that delivers solutions across multiple applications, including supply chain security and brand protection. Three Roots Capital provided a loan to the company in June 2025, followed by an equity investment in July 2025. In addition to its headquarters, TreisD is establishing production operations in East Tennessee.
“When we started Three Roots Capital about nine years ago, we had about $125,000 of deployable assets. So we had a big vision of what we might be able to do, but we didn’t have a lot of capital,” Vanderhoofven said. “Today we have $200 million of capital under management, and we have deployed more than $200 million in the last nine years, and that doesn’t include $95 million worth of new markets tax credit transactions that we have supported.”
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