NOVATO, Calif., April 28, 2026 — Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel small-molecule therapies for neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases, today announced the closing of a $12 million Series A financing led by Double Point Ventures, with participation from both new and existing investors.

Proceeds from the financing will support advancement of Lighthouse’s lead program, LHP588, and continued pipeline expansion. Lighthouse is currently conducting the SPRING clinical trial, a Phase 2 study evaluating LHP588 in patients with P. gingivalis-positive mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The trial is also supported by a $49.2 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“Lighthouse is advancing a differentiated approach based on compelling scientific and clinical data. This financing, together with the support from the NIA, gives Lighthouse the resources to efficiently execute the SPRING trial and advance LHP588 toward late-stage development,” said Casey Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals. “By targeting a defined subset of Alzheimer’s disease, we aim to bring a more precise and effective therapeutic approach to patients.”

In connection with the financing, Campbell Murray, M.D., partner at Double Point Ventures, will join Lighthouse’s Board of Directors. Dr. Murray brings deep experience in life sciences investing, company building, and clinical-stage development strategy.

“Lighthouse is pursuing a distinctive and focused approach in Alzheimer’s disease,” said Campbell Murray. “With LHP588, the company is targeting an important and underexplored biological driver in a defined patient population. We believe the SPRING trial has the potential to generate clinically meaningful data and to further establish Lighthouse as an innovative company in neurodegeneration.”

The SPRING trial is a double-blind placebo-controlled study evaluating LHP588, an oral, once-daily small-molecule therapy targeting P. gingivalis, a bacterium associated with periodontal disease and increasingly implicated in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis and progression. The trial is currently enrolling participants across the United States. Additional information is available at www.springclinicaltrial.com.

About Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals

Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel small-molecule therapeutics for chronic neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases. The company’s lead clinical program is focused on Alzheimer’s disease, including the ongoing SPRING clinical trial. For more information, visit www.lighthousepharma.com.

Research reported in this release is supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AG088524. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals

MILWAUKEE, April 27, 2026 — Northwestern Mutual is taking another significant step to drive innovation in the financial services industry, announcing a new $150 million investment to support promising startups across the fintech and insurtech landscape. Awarded through Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures (NMFV), the funds will expand the company’s total venture capital allocation to $350 million – deepening its commitment to elevating the experience for clients and the advisors who guide them.

“This renewed commitment reinforces our belief in the power of innovation, and the exciting startups helping to transform how Americans achieve financial security,” said Michael Sias, vice president – corporate development and venture, Northwestern Mutual. “The funds expand our ability to partner with high-growth companies, delivering technology, collaboration, and value to our more than five million clients and our nationwide network of trusted financial professionals.”

The $150 million infusion to NMFV – known as Fund III – will target emerging and growth-stage firms in the fintech and insurtech space. The investments will enable Northwestern Mutual to forge new partnerships that enhance technology capabilities designed to strengthen client and advisor relationships. Fund III will also provide follow-on capital to propel portfolio companies through scaling and marketing expansion.

Since its inception in 2017 with a $50 million Fund I, NMFV has invested in more than 50 companies. In 2019, it launched Fund II, a $150 million vehicle with additional reserve capital, to enable strategic follow‑on support. NMFV pairs capital with strategic partnership, accelerating portfolio growth and, in some cases, enabling pilots and deployments of innovative solutions within Northwestern Mutual.

A standout from NMFV’s portfolio is fintech company Chime, which celebrated its landmark IPO in June 2025.

Among NMFV’s newest strategic partners is Levitate, an AI-driven relationship-marketing platform led by Jesse Lipson, founder of ShareFile (acquired by Citrix in 2011). Levitate is designed to seamlessly integrate with email, survey, and CRM workflows, automating routine tasks to boost operational efficiency and free teams to focus on strategic priorities.

For more information, visit www.nmfutureventures.com.

About Northwestern Mutual  

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 165 years. Through a comprehensive planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what’s most important. With more than $780 billion of total assets¹ managed across the company’s institutional portfolio as well as retail investment client portfolios, more than $40 billion in revenues, and $2.5 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than five million people with life insurance, disability income insurance, long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. Northwestern Mutual ranked 109 on the 2025 FORTUNE 500 and was recognized by FORTUNE® as one of the “World’s Most Admired” life insurance companies in 2026.   

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (investment brokerage services), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company® (NMWMC) (investment advisory and services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance). Not all Northwestern Mutual representatives are advisors. Only those representatives with “Advisor” in their title or who otherwise disclose their status as an advisor of NMWMC are credentialed as NMWMC representatives to provide investment advisory services.

¹ Includes investments and separate account assets of Northwestern Mutual as well as retail investment assets held or managed for clients.

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

Minority investment with path to full ownership underscores strong conviction in one of the category’s largest segments

LOS ANGELES, April 27, 2026 — Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH) today announced a $100 million investment in Sniffies, a cruising map and fast-growing platform serving non-heterosexual men. The investment represents a significant minority ownership stake and includes the option to acquire the remaining equity in the future.

This reflects Match Group’s focus on backing platforms with strong product-market fit that are authentic to their audience. The company has applied this approach in prior investments, including Hinge, where it first invested in 2017 before acquiring the business in late 2018, and now with its investment in Sniffies. Sniffies will continue to operate independently and remain founder-led, with Match Group supporting the team’s vision and growth.

“From the first time I met the Sniffies team a year ago, it was clear they had a deep understanding of their users and a strong point of view on how its community actually connects – in a way that’s honest and unapologetic,” said Spencer Rascoff, Chief Executive Officer of Match Group. “That conviction has only strengthened over time as we’ve seen how thoughtfully they’ve built the product. There’s also clear and growing demand in this space, and Sniffies feels genuinely different and authentic to its audience. We’re excited to support the founders as they continue to build on their vision.”

Sniffies has grown to an estimated 3 million monthly active users globally, with over 20 million messages sent daily. Its real-time, map-based experience offers a more dynamic way for men to discover and connect with other men, reflecting evolving user behavior and a growing demand for more flexible, low-pressure interactions.

“This investment allows us to keep building for our community while staying true to what makes Sniffies unique,” said Blake Gallagher, Founder and CEO of Sniffies. “From day one, our focus has been on creating a product that reflects what our users are looking for, and that won’t change. With Match Group’s support, we can move faster on improving the product and expanding our network, while continuing to invest in Trust & Safety and giving our users more of what they’re looking for.”

About Match Group
Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH), through its portfolio companies, is a leading provider of digital technologies designed to help people make meaningful connections. Our global portfolio of brands includes Tinder^®, Hinge^®, Match^®, Meetic^®, OkCupid^®, Pairs™, PlentyOfFish^®, Azar^®, BLK^®, HER^®, and more, each built to increase our users’ likelihood of connecting with others. Through our trusted brands, we provide tailored services to meet the varying preferences of our users. Our services are available in over 40 languages to our users all over the world.

About Sniffies
Sniffies is a map-based cruising platform that brings the spontaneous energy of queer meetup culture into the digital age. Built for immediacy, Sniffies connects you instantly with what you want, when you want it. The interactive map turns cruising into a real-time experience by prioritizing proximity and intent, helping cruisers scroll less and connect more. Beyond the platform, Sniffies has grown into a cultural movement, spanning sought-after apparel, global events, and original content like the award-winning Cruising Confessions podcast.

Wolfson Partners LLC served as the financial advisor to Sniffies.

SOURCE Match Group

Platform formed through the combination of Scruggs and Neil Technical Services (NTS); management team to continue under new ownership

AUSTIN, Texas, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Rox Capital Partners (“Rox”), a Texas-based private equity firm, today announced the successful sale of The Scruggs Companies (“Scruggs”) to The Sterling Group (“Sterling”). The company was formed through the combination of Scruggs and Neil Technical Services (“NTS”) and is a leading regional provider of municipal water infrastructure solutions.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Scruggs provides flow control products and maintenance services that support municipal water and wastewater systems across the Southern and Midwestern United States.

Rox partnered with management to execute a focused growth strategy. Initiatives included expanding the company’s product offering, enhancing service capabilities, and scaling operations across core markets, including the integration and growth of NTS. During Rox’s ownership, Scruggs strengthened its position with municipal customers and built a platform for continued growth.

The existing leadership team, including key members of legacy Scruggs and NTS management, will continue to lead the business in partnership with Sterling.

“We are proud of what the Scruggs and NTS teams have accomplished and grateful for our partnership with management,” said Al Cameron, Managing Partner at Rox Capital Partners. “This investment reflects our strategy of partnering with strong operators to build leading businesses in essential service sectors. We believe the company is well positioned for continued success in its next chapter with Sterling.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Rox Capital Partners
Rox Capital Partners is a Texas-based private equity firm focused on building and scaling lower middle market businesses. Rox partners with management teams to drive operational improvements, accelerate growth, and create long-term value across its portfolio. For more information, please visit www.roxcp.com.

SOURCE Rox Capital Partners

• Secures KRW 30 Billion (USD 20 Million) Valuation with Pantera Capital as Lead and Further Ventures as Anchor Investor
• Transitioning from Research to a Comprehensive Solutions Partner across Research, Institution, and Validated Units
• Strengthening Infrastructure to Bridge Structural Gaps Between Asia-Global and TradFi-Web3 Markets

SEOUL, South Korea, April 27, 2026 — Four Pillars, a blockchain research and technology company co-founded by Namwoong Kim, Jaehwan Jung, Heechang Kang, and Jinsol Bok, announced today at a press conference held in Gangnam, Seoul, that it has secured a Series A investment led by global investment firm Pantera Capital, with Further Ventures participating as the anchor investor.

Pantera Capital, the world’s first institutional asset manager focused on digital assets, led the round, while Further Ventures — backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ — joined as the anchor investor. Through this round, Four Pillars achieved an official post-money valuation of approximately KRW 30 billion (USD 20 million), demonstrating strong validation of its growth potential from leading global institutional investors.

“This investment represents more than capital; it reflects the data-driven trust we have built in the global market over the past three years,” said Namwoong Kim, CEO of Four Pillars. “It is especially meaningful to announce this milestone at Episode Gangnam — the symbolic location where our founding team first envisioned the company — as we take a significant step toward becoming a comprehensive Web3 solution partner.”

A representative from Pantera Capital commented, “Four Pillars is a well-balanced team of four co-founders, each bringing deep expertise across research, technology, strategy, and operations. Their multilingual research has already set a benchmark for technical credibility in the global market while helping reduce regional information asymmetry. The infrastructure they are building on top of this foundation has the potential to become a key driver of on-chain ecosystem expansion.”

Rebranding: Transition to a Web3 Solutions Company

Following the investment, Four Pillars is officially rebranding as a “Web3 Solutions Company,” marking a strategic shift from a research-focused organization to a full-stack infrastructure and solutions partner. The transition reflects the company’s view that the blockchain industry has entered a phase where real-world value creation is becoming more important than early-stage experimentation, and where structural inefficiencies continue to limit market development. To address these issues, the company has defined three strategic approaches: connecting Asia with global markets by acting as a trust-based interface (Bridge), bridging the gap between traditional finance and Web3 through specialized collaboration models (Translate), and scaling beyond research into a provider of tangible infrastructure and product execution (Expand).

Three Integrated Business Pillars: Research, Institution, and Validated

Moving forward, the company will center its operations around three core business pillars: Research, Institution, and Validated. The Research unit will continue to deliver global-standard technical analysis, while the Institution unit provides advisory services and seminars tailored for enterprises and institutional investors. The Validated unit, representing the company’s infrastructure arm, operates institutional-grade validator services led by veteran engineers with prior experience at leading blockchain organizations such as A41 and Lambda256.

In particular, as regulatory developments accelerate in areas such as KRW-based stablecoins and tokenization of traditional assets (including real estate, bonds, and funds), Four Pillars aims to strengthen its role as an infrastructure partner. The company seeks to enable institutions to integrate Web3 infrastructure into real-world financial services, facilitating meaningful collaboration between traditional finance and the decentralized ecosystem. Jaehwan Jung, Head of Validator at Four Pillars, emphasized that research has always served as a means of proving capability rather than an end in itself. He stated that as the crypto market enters a phase where execution defines success, the company will grow by organically connecting research, institutions, and infrastructure to deliver real value in the global market. 

Founded in 2023, Four Pillars currently holds a team of 10+ world-class researchers and over 600 research reports. Its infrastructure arm, Validated, consists of five veteran engineers with node operation experience at firms such as A41 and Lambda256, managing operations within SOC 2 and ISO-certified environments to ensure the highest standards of reliability.

About Four Pillars

Four Pillars is a Seoul-based blockchain research and technology company providing multi-lingual research, protocol strategy consulting, institutional networking, and validator infrastructure services. Over the past three years, the company has built a reputation as a trusted partner connecting Asia and the global blockchain ecosystem through over 100 collaborations and more than 600 research publications.

About Pantera Capital

Founded in San Francisco in 2013, Pantera Capital is the first institutional asset manager focused exclusively on digital assets. It operates a broad investment portfolio across the blockchain ecosystem and is widely recognized as a leading global Web3 venture capital firm.

About Further Ventures

Founded in Abu Dhabi in 2021, Further Ventures is a global venture capital firm backed by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ. The firm focuses on building institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure through strategic investments at the intersection of fintech and Web3.

SOURCE Four Pillars

Financing led by Sutter Hill Ventures; company names new Chief Business Officer, adds independent board member, and establishes Scientific Advisory Board

NEW YORK, April 27, 2026 — Fathom Therapeutics, formerly Atommap Corp., a company that uses quantum chemistry and AI to design novel drug molecules by predicting their behavior inside living cells, today announced an oversubscribed $47 million Series A financing. Sutter Hill Ventures led the round, with participation from Chemistry, Alexandria Venture Investments, and Empire State Development’s NY Ventures, among others.

Microcosmos, the company’s drug design engine, uses proprietary algorithms to simulate protein motion at atomic resolution, generating data on dynamic behavior that has been difficult to capture at scale. These algorithms accelerate modeling of protein dynamics by 10,000x without compromising accuracy. The simulations, based on physics, enable generative design of small molecules that reshape protein behavior for the desired therapeutic effect.

“Current drug discovery efforts are limited by reliance on static structures of isolated proteins,” said Huafeng Xu, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of Fathom Therapeutics. “Microcosmos is a world model of drugs in living cells that surpasses these limitations by translating accurate quantum mechanical calculations to measurable cellular outcomes.”

Microcosmos has demonstrated significant early momentum in guiding the discovery and optimization of molecules for multiple classes of targets and small molecule modalities. In one case, the Fathom discovery team used Microcosmos to generate novel degraders against an “undruggable” target. Within six weeks, the platform produced potent, highly selective candidates that are now being optimized for advancement into the clinic to address a major unmet medical need.

“We backed Huafeng because he wanted to rethink how machines understand molecules, combining the best of physics and machine learning to actually move the frontier in computational drug design,” said Keith Loebner, Managing Director at Sutter Hill Ventures.

“He and the world-class team he’s assembled have demonstrated that their approach not only works, but works better than we imagined. We’re proud to lead this round, turning Fathom’s field-defining molecular design capability into new medicines for patients.” Founded in 1962, Sutter Hill Ventures’ previous investments include NVIDIA, Snowflake, Pure Storage, Corcept Therapeutics, GRAIL, and Forty Seven.

The new funding will accelerate the scaling of Fathom’s lab-in-the-loop capabilities and the expansion of internal discovery programs in high-impact diseases. The company’s leadership has collectively advanced 19 drugs to the clinic, including seven FDA-approved medicines. Fathom has an active pipeline and multiple external discovery partnerships.

“We started Fathom to build a flywheel for new small molecule medicines that previously seemed impossible,” said Dr. Xu.

Fathom’s two other co-founders, Jesús Izaguirre, PhD, previously at Roivant Discovery and Silicon Therapeutics, and Yujie Wu, PhD, previously at Roivant Discovery and Schrödinger, are pioneers in building molecular models for drug discovery.

“Fathom stood out to us as a company tackling one of the most ambitious and technically difficult challenges in biotech — already showing the real ability to translate computational results into molecules with promising therapeutic profiles,” said Ethan Kurzweil, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Chemistry. “We’re excited to back Fathom as they work to build medicines that would be impossible to create any other way.”

New Appointments

Alongside the financing, Fathom announced two additions to its leadership.

Mandana Honu, PhD, has joined as Chief Business Officer. Dr. Honu is a strategic advisor to Sutter Hill Ventures and previously held roles as Head of Business Development at Protillion Biosciences, Chief Scientific Officer at Kaleidoscope Bio, and Head of Scientific Assessments and Corporate Business Development at Resilience.

Diala Ezzeddine, PhD, a seasoned biotech entrepreneur and executive, has joined the board of directors. Dr. Ezzeddine brings over 20 years of experience in founding and scaling biotech companies at the cutting edge of drug discovery innovation, including X-Chem Pharmaceuticals and Magnet Biomedicine.

Scientific Advisory Board

Fathom has established a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to guide the company’s drug design strategy and pipeline development. Members include Ian Taylor, PhD (former Chief Scientific Officer of Arvinas); Dimitris Agrafiotis, PhD, FRSC (Director at Arsenal Capital Partners, formerly Chief Information Officer Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research and Chief Digital Officer at Generate Biomedicines); and Bruce Zetter, PhD (Professor of Cancer Biology at Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital).

“I welcome this extraordinary team of scientific and business leaders to our internal leadership, board, and SAB, who bring deep expertise and complementary perspectives across biology, technology, partnering, and translational medicine,” said Dr. Xu. “Each of these leaders shares our ambitious goal of pushing the molecular frontier to deliver better therapies to patients, and their combined expertise will accelerate the process of taking each idea to regulatory approval.”

About Fathom Therapeutics

Fathom Therapeutics is a drug design company that uses physics-based simulations and AI to model protein motion and interactions at atomic resolution. Its Microcosmos platform simulates protein dynamics, producing the data needed to design small molecules with differentiated therapeutic effects and reduced off-target risk. The company has an active internal pipeline, multiple discovery partnerships, and has advanced its lead program into animal efficacy studies. Fathom was founded by the team behind the Anton supercomputer and the most widely used software for predicting protein-drug binding. The company is headquartered in New York, with a second office in Boston.

Media contact:
Ryan Flinn
In Like Flinn Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE Atommap Corporation

New venture-building program unites entrepreneurs throughout Appalachian Region with LG NOVA’s innovation ecosystem to create high potential growth businesses in Healthtech, Cleantech and Transformational Tech

News Summary:

• LG NOVA, LG Electronics’ North America Innovation Center, is launching “Elevate WV,” a structured venture-building program designed to transform startups and entrepreneurs across the region into the next-generation, globally scalable AI-first businesses.
• As a key program milestone, LG NOVA will host the Elevate WV Challenge Competition, a live pitch competition featuring five West Virginia entrepreneurs, during Bridging Innovation Week on April 29.
• Winners of the Challenge Competition may advance into LG NOVA’s full venture-building program, with a pathway to create new businesses with the potential opportunity to become an LG NOVA venture portfolio company.
• Elevate WV is a pillar of LG NOVA’s strategic initiative in West Virginia, aimed at building a thriving “Innovation Corridor” to support economic growth in throughout the region.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va., April 27, 2026 — LG NOVA, the North America Innovation Center for LG Electronics, today announced “Elevate WV,” a structured program designed to propel startups and entrepreneurs in the Appalachian region toward building next-generation AI-first companies competing and scaling on a global stage. To mark the official start of the program, LG NOVA is hosting a live pitch competition at Bridging Innovation Week on April 29, 2026. Five unique West Virginia entrepreneurs have been hand-selected to take the stage to present their ideas for new ventures, competing for the opportunity to advance into LG NOVA’s full venture-building program and the potential opportunity to become an LG NOVA venture portfolio company.

Selected challenge winners may have the potential opportunity to transition into LG NOVA’s structured incubation program,  a 9-to-12-month process designed to develop pre-seed startups into unicorn-scale AI-first businesses in high-impact sectors where AI creates significant value, drives major changes in industries and society and solves real-world problems across the fields of Healthtech, Cleantech and Transformational Tech, multi-sector disruption-ready markets in enterprise and consumer industries.

“West Virginia is home to passionate entrepreneurs who are ready to build the future and make a difference in their communities,” said LG NOVA head Dr. Sokwoo Rhee, Corporate Executive Vice President for Innovation at LG Electronics. “Elevate WV brings the full power of LG NOVA’s global ecosystem, including our advisors, our investor network, our technology resources and our proven venture-building model, directly to this community. Our challenge competition shows that West Virginia’s entrepreneurial talent is ready to compete on a global stage.”

Through the program, entrepreneurs may have access to:

• Non-Dilutive Funds: Selected startups/entrepreneurs may receive funds to continue developing their business and support PoC projects and MVP development, granted at specific stage gates.
• Access to Top-Tier Advisors: Hands-on coaching from industry experts with proven startup exit experience in AI, Cleantech and Healthtech.
• Silicon Valley Ecosystem Collaboration: Direct collaboration with LG NOVA’s global startup network to build scalable business models.
• Go-To-Market Support: GTM toolkit plus visibility at CES and LG NOVA Innovation Summit Program.
• West Virginia Ecosystem Integration: Active partnership with local organizations to support West Virginia founders from ideation to commercialization.

Elevate WV Challenge Competition: Celebrating WV Bridging Innovation Week
The challenge competition brings together five entrepreneurs who have spent the past several months developing and refining unicorn-scale business proposals. The event will serve as both a celebration of West Virginia’s growing startup ecosystem and a competitive pitch forum, with participants presenting their ventures to a panel of judges and stakeholders from across the innovation community. The winners will be announced at Bridging Innovation Week’s awards banquet the same evening.

A Strategic Partnership for Regional Transformation
Elevate WV is a core element of LG NOVA’s broader strategic collaboration with the State of West Virginia, which encompasses four core initiatives: the establishment of an LG NOVA Innovation Center in West Virginia, a global growth initiative to expand access to capital and pilot opportunities, driving high-tech job growth through commercial activity and strategic partnerships and an ecosystem expansion effort that includes the Elevate West Virginia Challenge Competition and  scale-up support for startups in the state and beyond. Together, these initiatives are designed to lay the foundation for a thriving “Innovation Corridor” across the Appalachian region – one that creates lasting, generational economic growth opportunities.

Eligibility for Elevate WV
Elevate WV is open to pre-seed-stage startups and entrepreneurs who are headquartered in or maintain a primary office in West Virginia and are building AI-first software solutions in Healthtech, Cleantech and Transformational Tech with the potential for global scale. Intellectual property brought into the program remains the participant’s property. For more information, please visit www.lgnova.com/elevate-wv.

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About LG NOVA
LG NOVA, the North America Innovation Center for global innovation leader LG Electronics, is a team focused on delivering new experiences powered by AI, built from collaboration with innovators across the ecosystem. LG NOVA is based in Santa Clara, Calif, with a branch office in Morgantown, WV. The center’s mission is to fuel innovation for LG and its partners by creating and launching new AI-first ventures to become the next growth engine for LG. Learn more about LG NOVA at www.lgnova.com.

About LG Electronics USA
LG Electronics USA Inc., based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics Inc., a smart life solutions company with annual global revenues of more than $60 billion. In the United States, LG sells a wide range of innovative home appliances, home entertainment products, commercial displays, air conditioning systems and vehicle components. LG is an 11-time ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year. www.LG.com.

Media Contacts:

LG Electronics USA
Linda Quach
+1 408 903 3045
[email protected]

SOURCE LG Electronics USA

Backed by Meritech, General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins, Amplify Partners, and Y Combinator, Avoca is on track to book $1B in jobs this year

NEW YORK, April 27, 2026 — Today, Avoca, the leading AI platform for America’s services economy, announced it has raised more than $125 million across Seed, Series A, and Series B funding at a $1 billion valuation. The Series B funding was led by Meritech and General Catalyst, and the Series A was led by Kleiner Perkins.

While most AI solutions today have focused on optimizing desk work and efficiency–email, docs, decks–the front office of the $1T+ services economy has lacked solutions tailored to specific industry needs. Avoca is transforming this narrative, powering 24/7 call handling, scheduling, custom marketing campaigns, and customer follow-ups, while giving service businesses the AI tools that match the quality of work they deliver.

“Every successful contractor already has a winning playbook. Answer every call. Follow up relentlessly. Fill the board before it empties. Provide the highest quality service,” said Apurva Shrivastava, co-founder of Avoca. “The reality is that execution breaks down when demand spikes or when teams are stretched thin.”

“Our AI is always on. It can answer a call and book a job directly at 3 a.m. It can autonomously revive that $15,000 unsold estimate from eight months ago sitting in your system. It creates and launches a new marketing campaign tailored to your customer. It turns the chaos of a seasonal business into a machine,” he added.

Avoca provides AI-powered voice and workflow automation that answers every inbound lead within a few seconds, books jobs directly into customer CRMs, relentlessly follows up on outstanding estimates, and dynamically drives new lead flow based on technician capacity. The result is higher utilization, faster response times, and revenue recovered for individual businesses every year.

“Home services is one of the last great underdigitized markets. Early on, it was hard to break into, as contractors were skeptical of AI,” said Tyson Chen, co-founder of Avoca. “Once we earned that trust, we uncovered an abundance of opportunity on the other side. Now, we’re leapfrogging the industry straight into the AI era alongside our customers.”

Avoca has established partnerships with ServiceTitan, Nexstar, and Clover, and its customers are some of the largest operators in the country, such as Turnpoint, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, and Goettl. In 2025, the company surpassed eight figures in annual recurring revenue and continues to see rapid adoption as contractors look to generate more demand without straining their existing systems.

“If you’re in this industry and you mention AI, the first word out of everyone’s mouth is Avoca,” said Bryan Enders, the owner of H.L. Bowman, a full-service HVAC and plumbing company based in Pennsylvania.

“Since we started using Avoca, our booking rates have jumped dramatically, and we’re capturing far more demand after hours and during peak storms. Additionally, our customers love speaking to the AI. It’s allowed us to make sure we never miss a customer in their time of need,” said Keith Chisholm, CTO of Sila Services, one of the largest HVAC, plumbing, and electrical operators in the country.

This year alone, Avoca is on track to book $1 billion in jobs. Customers achieve booking rates on par with their top CSRs, while capturing millions in additional annual revenue. Avoca’s AI consistently follows up on outstanding estimates and identifies new job opportunities within the existing customer base, automatically generating demand. 

“Three years ago, AI voice for home services wasn’t a category. Avoca created it,” said Alex Clayton, General Partner at Meritech Capital. “Today, every major contractor in America knows the name.”

“There’s no shortage of software built for software companies. Avoca is building an AI workforce for the people who actually keep America running–millions of service businesses across the country.” said Vedant Suri, Partner at General Catalyst. “We’re proud to partner with Apurva and Tyson as Avoca becomes essential infrastructure for the services economy.”

Looking ahead, Avoca is expanding beyond home services into every service-based business that depends on phones, technicians, and tight schedules, including moving, junk removal, automotive services, and property management.

“What excites me about Avoca is that they’re applying AI where execution is the real bottleneck,” said Leigh Marie Braswell, Partner at Kleiner Perkins. “Tyson and Apurva have built something that feels less like a tool and more like core infrastructure for how this industry operates.”

“The physical world still needs to be maintained,” said Chen. “The people who do that work deserve the same operational firepower that Fortune 500 companies have had for decades. We’re building that infrastructure and putting it in their hands.”

About Avoca

Avoca builds AI agents for service businesses, handling chat, email, voice calls, and SMS across the entire customer journey. From answering inbound conversations and booking jobs to running outbound campaigns and coaching CSRs, Avoca helps operators across HVAC, plumbing, automotive, moving, and other service industries capture every lead and convert more demand.

Avoca is headquartered in New York City and has an office in Santa Barbara. Follow Avoca on LinkedIn and X, and learn more at www.avoca.ai.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Avoca AI

LOS ANGELES, April 27, 2026 — Nervonik, Inc., a clinical-stage medical device company developing next-generation peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) technologies, today announced the closing of an oversubscribed $52.5 million Series B financing. The round was led by Amzak Health, with participation from Elevage Medical Technologies, U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), Lumira Ventures, Foothill Ventures, and Shangbay Capital.

The proceeds from the financing will support the continued development and commercialization of Nervonik’s PNS system, including further development of its proprietary sensing capabilities.

“Nervonik is building a fundamentally differentiated neuromodulation platform that integrates stimulation with advanced sensing to deliver more precise and personalized therapy,” said Aydin Babakhani, CEO and Founder of Nervonik. “This financing enables us to accelerate our clinical programs, prepare for commercialization, and bring a truly intelligent, next-generation therapy to the patients who need it most.”

The company’s technology incorporates real-time physiological feedback to enhance therapy personalization and efficacy. Early data demonstrate successful recording of evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) and other biomarkers using implantable leads, positioning Nervonik at the forefront of next-generation bioelectronic medicine.

“Peripheral nerve stimulation is at an inflection point, with expanding clinical evidence and growing adoption in the treatment of chronic pain,” said Anthony Natale, MD, Partner at Amzak Health. “Aydin and the Nervonik team have developed a highly differentiated technology platform that we believe has the potential to meaningfully improve the patient experience, and they are exceptionally well-positioned to capitalize on this opportunity. We are excited to lead this financing and to support the company through its next phase of growth.”

About Nervonik

Nervonik, Inc. is a medical device company focused on developing neuromodulation technologies. The company’s platform integrates stimulation and sensing to enable precision therapies for chronic pain and other neurological conditions. Nervonik is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

SOURCE Nervonik Inc.