The award-winning design and innovation studio’s hardware accelerator returns with its latest class of early-stage founders, culminating in an invite-only Demo Day this December.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 21, 2026 — Whipsaw, the award-winning design and innovation firm behind products including Tonal, Owala, and Brita, this week announced the launch of the newest cohort of The Workshop, its accelerator program built specifically for early-stage hardware founders. The 10-week cohort kicked off earlier this month, bringing together a new class of startups developing bold products across health, wellness, and home.

Investors, operators, and partners interested in attending this December’s invite-only Demo Day (or founders interested in applying to an upcoming cohort) can visit www.whipsaw.com/the-workshop-hardware-startup-accelerator or request details by emailing [email protected].

Since launching in 2025, The Workshop has taken a different approach from a typical accelerator. Rather than a lecture-and-pitch model, it is built around direct, hands-on collaboration with Whipsaw’s multidisciplinary team of industrial designers, experience designers, engineers, strategists, and brand experts. Founders get access to the same product development expertise behind some of the world’s most recognizable consumer products, helping them move from product vision to investor-ready reality with clarity, momentum, and design leadership.

Over the 10-week program, founders get hands-on support across:

• Weekly cohort seminars and pitch practice
• 1:1 design sessions with the Whipsaw team
• Leadership, fundraising, and communication coaching led by Whipsaw Principal Advisor Cristina Georgoulakis
• Access to Whipsaw’s trusted engineering and go-to-market networks
• A growing alumni community of hardware founders

The curriculum is structured to deliver an aligned product concept, brand story, and investor-ready pitch deck by the end of the program. The 10-week program culminates in Demo Day, an invite-only showcase at Whipsaw’s San Francisco studio in December 2026, where each founder presents their product to a curated audience of early-stage hardware investors, operators, and partners.

Founders describe that momentum firsthand. “The speed of this 10-week program is moving us further than a year of working alone,” Founder, Workshop Fall 2025.

The Workshop’s operating team spans Whipsaw’s leadership across industrial design, experience design, strategy, brand, and business development:

• Dan Harden — CEO, Principal Designer
• Walker Harden — Director of Experience Design
• Cole Derby — VP Industrial Design
• Anne Van Itallie — VP Client Relations & Growth
• Laura Ogle — Lead Strategist
• Cristina Georgoulakis — Principal Advisor, Growth and Capital Strategy

Additional advisors and mentors bring depth in fundraising, storytelling, and hardware go-to-market execution.

Whipsaw runs The Workshop several times per year. To apply or express interest in an upcoming cohort, visit www.whipsaw.com/the-workshop-hardware-startup-accelerator. To request a Demo Day invitation or for media inquiries, contact [email protected].

About Whipsaw

Whipsaw is an award-winning design and innovation firm that partners with companies to imagine, design, and build category-defining products. Its work spans industrial design, experience design, engineering, brand, and go-to-market strategy, behind products including Tonal, Owala, and Brita. Through The Workshop, Whipsaw extends that expertise to early-stage hardware founders. Learn more at www.whipsaw.com.

Media Contact:

Anne Van Itallie

VP of Client Relations & Growth

Whipsaw

[email protected]

(408) 297-9771

SOURCE Whipsaw, Inc.

Publicly playable at mora.fun, Mora combines coding agents, 3D generation and real-time video; Meshy also introduces finer geometric detail with Meshy 7.1

SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 21, 2026 — Meshy, the AI-powered 3D generation platform, recently detailed Mora (Multimodal Open-world Real-time Architecture), its answer to one of the most ambitious goals in AI: generating complete worlds that people can explore, play and interact with in real time. Mora 1, an early demonstration available at mora.fun, features playable experiences ranging from spatial puzzles and multiplayer platforming to building, racing and sports, with switchable visual styles.

Much of the industry has approached this goal by asking a single video model to simulate an entire world end to end — an approach that continues to struggle with consistent spaces and complex interaction. Mora is built on a different conviction: a world should be constructed, and only then rendered. The architecture assigns each part of world generation to the layer best equipped for it: coding agents write the logic and mechanics that make a world run; Meshy’s 3D generation builds its spatial structure and assets; and a real-time video model turns that structure into final imagery and audio.

The result is a foundation on which game rules hold, spaces persist, and visual quality rises with every generation of video models. Because the layers advance independently, progress anywhere in AI — stronger coding agents, richer 3D generation, faster video models — compounds inside Mora.

For creators, the longer-term opportunity is to bring the elements of an interactive world into a more connected creative process. A change to how a game works could be developed alongside changes to how it looks, with agents helping to build and refine both. Because Mora separates these functions, advances in coding agents, 3D generation and video models can contribute to the architecture’s development individually.

Mora 1 is an early research demonstration focused on validating this architecture. Its public demos let visitors experience the approach through gameplay; a general-purpose world creation tool is a longer-term goal. Development of Mora 2 is underway as Meshy continues its research into richer AI-generated interactive experiences.

Meshy 7.1: the first generative 3D model to reach 4096³ geometric resolution

Alongside its research into interactive worlds, Meshy continues to advance the 3D generation models at the core of its platform. On September 16, the company launched Meshy 7.1, the new version of its flagship image-to-3D model, now available to all registered users. Meshy 7.1 introduces two high-detail generation modes, Ultra 2K and Ultra 4K.

At its Ultra 4K setting, Meshy 7.1 generates geometry at 4096³ voxel resolution, with raw meshes reaching up to 80 million triangles before simplification. This makes Meshy 7.1 the first generative 3D model to reach 4096³ geometric resolution. Fine features such as stitching, woven fabric and individual scales can be generated as part of the mesh itself. These geometric details matter in workflows such as 3D printing and digital sculpting, where surface structure must be carried by the model.

In internal evaluations using Meshy’s newly developed Detail Richness Benchmark, Meshy 7.1 ranked first among five tested image-to-3D models across all three evaluated rendering resolutions. The benchmark measures geometric surface detail, providing a focused assessment of this aspect of model quality. Methodology and results are available in Meshy’s technical report, and the company plans to release the benchmark as a standalone tool.

Ultra 2K and Ultra 4K modes, along with downloads of models generated by Meshy 7.1, require a paid subscription. Ultra 2K supports single-view and multi-view generation; Ultra 4K currently supports single-view generation.

FAQ:

• What is Mora?

Mora (Multimodal Open-world Real-time Architecture) is a research architecture developed by Meshy for creating AI-generated interactive worlds that people can explore, play and interact with in real time. Mora 1 is an early, publicly playable research demonstration, while a general-purpose world creation tool remains a longer-term goal. Development of Mora 2 is underway as Meshy continues its research into richer AI-generated interactive experiences.

• How does Mora generate interactive worlds?

Mora assigns different parts of world generation to specialized layers. Coding agents generate game logic and mechanics, Meshy’s 3D generation provides assets and spatial structure, and a real-time video model generates the final imagery and audio.

• What is the purpose of Mora’s layered architecture?

The architecture gives game rules and spatial relationships an explicit foundation in code and 3D graphics, allowing the video model to focus on visual presentation. The approach is designed to address challenges in maintaining consistent spaces and supporting complex interactions.

• Where is Mora 1 available?

Mora 1’s playable research demonstrations are available at mora.fun. Current experiences include spatial puzzles, multiplayer platforming, building, racing and sports, with switchable visual styles.

• What is Ultra 4K?

Ultra 4K is one of two high-detail generation modes introduced in Meshy 7.1, alongside Ultra 2K. It generates geometry at 4096³ voxel resolution, the highest setting available, so fine features such as stitching, woven fabric and individual scales are built into the mesh itself rather than painted on as textures. Ultra 4K currently supports single-view generation and requires a paid subscription.
 

About Meshy

Meshy builds foundation models for AI-powered 3D generation, helping people turn text and images into 3D assets for games, film, design and 3D printing. Founded by Ethan Hu, who holds a Ph.D. from MIT, Meshy serves more than 12 million registered users worldwide. In July 2026, the company announced nearly $400 million in Series B funding at a $1.5 billion valuation. Learn more at meshy.ai.

SOURCE Meshy

Working-capital facility supports extended payment terms and continued growth in warehouse automation demand.

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Sept. 21, 2026 — Gateway Commercial Finance, LLC, a nationwide provider of invoice factoring and asset-based lending solutions, announced today that it has provided a $1.25 million invoice factoring facility to AGV America, a Texas-based provider of autonomous robotics and warehouse automation solutions.

Founded in 2020, AGV America has experienced rapid growth as manufacturers and distributors increasingly invest in automation to improve efficiency, productivity and labor utilization. The company is technology-agnostic and has extensive experience integrating equipment from many of the industry’s leading manufacturers. Its capabilities include autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), automated storage and retrieval systems, collaborative robots, picking and sorting technology, conveyor systems, cranes and goods-to-person solutions.

“We made a strategic decision not to be captive to a single equipment manufacturer,” said Michael Jones, President of AGV America. “That independence allows us to recommend and integrate the technology best suited to each customer’s operation. As a result, we have become a one-stop automation resource for manufacturers and distributors throughout our region.”

Gateway’s factoring facility replaced a traditional line of credit from a local bank that provided limited borrowing availability against invoices carrying payment terms of up to 90 days. Although AGV America serves several large, creditworthy companies, the extended payment cycle created a working-capital gap as the company continued to grow.

“Many of our customers are Fortune 500 companies, but the strength of those customers did not materially increase the availability under our bank line,” Jones said. “Gateway understood our business model and recognized the value of our receivables.”

“This transaction demonstrates how invoice factoring can supplement or replace an inadequate bank credit line and provide meaningful additional liquidity to a growing company,” said Marc J. Marin, Managing Director of Gateway Commercial Finance. “By providing funding availability on eligible invoices with payment terms of up to 90 days, we were able to unlock working capital that had previously been unavailable. The new facility will help AGV America maintain consistent day-to-day cash flow while continuing to pursue larger opportunities.”

For additional information, visit www.gatewaycfs.com.

SOURCE Gateway Commercial Finance, LLC

WHEATON, Ill., Sept. 21, 2026 — T2 Capital Management, a fully integrated private equity real estate investment firm with $1.6 billion+ in AUM, today announced the launch of Base Living, the firm’s wholly-owned, tech-enabled property management company. At launch, Base Living manages more than 850 multifamily units across three properties, as well as a 1 million-square foot-industrial property within T2’s portfolio. Moving forward, Base Living will systematically expand operations across T2’s entire portfolio including student housing, building on T2’s proven track record and expertise in the sector.

With the launch of Base Living, T2 welcomes Tyler Yates as Director of Property Management, where he is responsible for operational and financial performance of T2’s property portfolio, ensuring high standards of service and maximizing returns. Tyler manages Base Living’s 24 new team members across Illinois, Indiana, and Florida, and is supported by eight members of T2’s corporate team. He reports to Aaron Tink, Principal of T2, who oversees the firm’s asset management division and leads Base Living. Tyler brings more than a decade of residential operating experience across student housing and multifamily. He most recently served as Vice President of Central Operations and Asset Management at Kairos Living, where he oversaw a national portfolio of 5,000+ homes, 125+ full-time employees, and more than 350 vendors.

“Tyler’s deep industry experience and proven track record make him the right leader to drive this venture forward,” said Aaron Tink. “Base Living brings institutional expertise, technology-enabled execution and hands-on decision-making to every aspect of property management, strengthening T2’s fully integrated real estate platform from ownership through operations.”

Base Living utilizes Entrata as its core property management platform, providing one integrated system for leasing, communications, payments, maintenance, accounting, renewals, and reporting in order to eliminate duplications and disconnected handoffs. The firm also utilizes best in class artificial intelligence platforms spanning the full resident journey from prospect engagement and tour scheduling to maintenance coordination and lease renewals.

“At T2, we have always believed that successful real estate ownership requires a deep understanding of the assets and communities we serve”, said Jeff Brown, CEO and Co-Founder at T2 Capital Management. “Base Living serves as a direct bridge between our ownership strategy and daily, on the ground execution. By leveraging real time information and company wide accountability, Base Living enables us to optimize the resident experience while maximizing value creation across our portfolio.”

Base Living is headquartered at 100 N. Main Street, Wheaton, Illinois, alongside T2’s office.

ABOUT T2 CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois with a second location in Nashville, T2 was founded in 2011. As a fully integrated real estate investment firm, T2 provides multiple investment strategies that cover each aspect of the capital stack within commercial real estate. T2 actively pursues acquisition and development opportunities in the student housing, multifamily, and build-to-rent space within select domestic growth markets. Through a separate business line, the firm also acts as a balance sheet lender having capitalized hundreds of projects totaling over $1.5 billion nationwide.

SOURCE T2 Holdings, LLC

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Generate Capital (“Generate”), a leading investor, owner and operator of critical infrastructure today announced the 100% sale of Generate Upcycle “Upcycle“, its global anaerobic digestion platform, through two separate transactions in North America and the UK.

Pinta Energy, a UK-based renewable energy platform and part of the ABIO Group of companies, a leading pan-European biogas platform backed by Asterion Industrial Partners, has acquired Upcycle’s seven UK facilities.

Vanguard Renewables, a leading U.S. environmental services platform and producer of biomethane from organic waste, has signed an agreement to acquire Upcycle’s five North American facilities in Ontario, Canada and upstate New York. The transaction is expected to close on October 1, 2026.

The transactions position the businesses with strategic operators to support their next phase of growth.

“We have spent the past decade building Upcycle into a scaled organic waste platform with strong businesses across three countries,” said David Crane, CEO of Generate Capital. “Pinta Energy and Vanguard Renewables bring the experience and capabilities to support these businesses as they continue to grow. For Generate, the transactions allow us to recycle capital toward our strategy of delivering reliable power to large energy users in an increasingly constrained grid.”

Upcycle is a renewable natural gas and electricity production platform that provides integrated organic waste solutions to public and private-sector partners across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2025, Upcycle processed more than 871,000 tons of food and agricultural waste, and generated more than 365,000 MWh of renewable energy, including 1.1 billion cubic feet of renewable nature gas. As a result, the company avoided 609,739 MTCO2e tons of harmful emissions from escaping into the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking approximately 132,552 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles off the road for a year.

Generate has invested in anaerobic digestion since 2016, building Upcycle into one of the largest pure-play organic waste platforms, with 12 facilities across three countries. Through sustained investment in the platform, its management team and operations, Generate helped build businesses with strong operating track records that are well positioned for continued growth in their respective markets.

About Generate Capital

Generate Capital is an investor and operator providing reliable and affordable energy solutions to customers for over a decade. Founded in 2014, Generate focuses on accelerating the energy transition by helping large energy users access power and connection faster in a grid constrained world. The firm supports data centers and other power-intensive facilities with multi-technology scalable energy infrastructure solutions, combining deep investment expertise with hands-on operating capabilities. Since inception, Generate has raised more than $16 bn in capital and built a proven track record across critical infrastructure assets. 

For more information, visit www.generatecapital.com.

About Vanguard Renewables

Vanguard Renewables is a leading U.S. environmental services company and producer of biomethane from organic waste. Headquartered in Weston, Massachusetts, the company builds, owns, and operates on-farm anaerobic digesters that convert food, beverage, and agricultural waste into pipeline-ready renewable natural gas. Vanguard Renewables is rapidly scaling its footprint, operating sites across the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast while developing additional facilities nationwide. By diverting organic waste streams from landfills, the company is reducing greenhouse gas emissions at scale while supporting critical domestic energy infrastructure and regenerative agriculture for America’s farms. Vanguard Renewables is a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), part of BlackRock.

Learn more at www.vanguardrenewables.com

SOURCE Generate Capital

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2026 — Lazard, Inc. (NYSE: LAZ) announced today that Matt Spence joined the firm as Head of Defense Technology and Emerging Technology in the Technology Group, based in San Francisco.

Matt will advise defense, security, and other cutting-edge technology companies on M&A transactions as well as financings. He joins Lazard with a blend of government service, venture investing, and banking leadership.

“Few bankers can speak to defense and dual-use technology from multiple angles the way Matt can,” said Mark Dolins, Head of the Technology Group at Lazard.  “His arrival at the firm strengthens the coverage we can offer across defense and emerging technology and gives our clients a partner who deeply understands the industry.”

Most recently, Matt was Managing Director and Global Head of Venture Capital Banking at Barclays, where he built and led the firm’s defense-tech and dual-use technology investment banking franchise. He previously held senior roles at Guggenheim Partners and as a Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and spent seven years in senior national security positions within the U.S. government, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy and on the White House National Security Council.

“Defense and dual-use technology are being reshaped by capital, policy, geopolitical forces, and innovation all at once, and Lazard’s platform is uniquely built to advise companies through that shift,” said Matt Spence. “I’m thrilled to join a firm with this level of expertise and relationships, and I look forward to helping clients across the full lifecycle of defense and emerging technology transactions.”

Matt holds a Doctorate in International Relations from Oxford University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and a B.A. and M.A. in International Policy Studies from Stanford University. Matt is a cofounder of The Truman National Security Project and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Founded in 1848, Lazard is the preeminent financial advisory and asset management firm, with operations in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Lazard provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and capital solutions, restructuring and liability management, geopolitics, and other strategic matters, as well as asset management and investment solutions to institutions, corporations, governments, partnerships, family offices, and high net worth individuals. Lazard is listed on the New York Stock Exchange as Lazard, Inc. under the ticker LAZ. For more information, please visit Lazard.com and follow Lazard on LinkedIn.

Media Contacts

Shannon Houston, +1 212-632-6880
[email protected]

Jessica Francisco, +1 212-632-6571
[email protected]

Investor Contact        

William Murdock, +1 212-632-1564
[email protected] 

SOURCE Lazard

Breakthrough High Efficiency Fiber Technology Enables Uranium Adsorption from Seawater Rather Than Mined from Rock

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21, 2026 — Fluxnium, Inc. (Fluxnium), a pioneer of domestic uranium supply adsorbed from seawater, today announced a $7 million seed round led by Congruent Ventures, with participation from Constellation Technology Ventures, the venture investing organization within Constellation (NASDAQ: CEG), the nation’s largest producer of reliable and clean energy, and Active Impact Investments, Canada’s largest climate technology seed fund. The funding catalyzes the commercialization of a new secure source of uranium, the critical mineral that underpins both the civilian nuclear fuel cycle and the defense supply chain. Proceeds will go towards further development, pilot testing and scale-up of Fluxnium’s technology platform.

The largest uranium supply on Earth is not underground; it is dissolved in the ocean. Seawater holds centuries’ worth of supply for the global uranium market — roughly a thousand times more than all currently identified terrestrial deposits combined. The challenge is that dissolved uranium exists at very low concentrations. Fluxnium addresses this challenge through its proprietary high-surface-area fiber, recently developed with a leading U.S. national laboratory, that passively adsorbs uranium as seawater moves past it.

“The United States imports more than 90% of its uranium supply at a time when nuclear power is increasingly seen as a solution to growing demand for electricity driven by economic growth,” said Jeff Green, CEO and Founder of Fluxnium. “Fluxnium is developing a new domestic and sustainable supply of uranium, passively adsorbed from seawater on proven offshore infrastructure — at a cost projected to compete with conventional mining, with no tailings or ground water concerns.”

Fluxnium’s fiber deploys on longline systems in open water — the same passive marine infrastructure proven by seaweed and mussel farms — then is retrieved, processed, and redeployed. With accelerating demand for nuclear power, plant operators are very interested in cost-competitive and sustainable fuel supply beyond uranium mining.  Traditional uranium production projects can require significant time, capital investment and regulatory review before reaching commercial operation. Adsorption from seawater addresses those concerns, and the approach expands production by deploying additional fiber rather than developing a new mine.

“With the current uranium market dynamics, there is a new path to making the ocean one of the lowest-cost sources in the world,” said Kevin Kopczynski, Partner at Congruent Ventures. “Congruent is excited to support Fluxnium as it unlocks the ocean’s potential as a major contributor to a diverse and robust domestic nuclear fuel supply chain.”

“Innovations that could expand domestic sources of uranium are important areas of research for the nuclear energy industry,” said Jason Murphy, Vice President of Nuclear Fuels, Constellation. “Fluxnium’s technology has the potential to broaden future fuel supply options and support growing demand for clean, reliable nuclear energy.”

“With global nuclear power generation projected to increase 2.5X in the next 15 years, Fluxnium is the future of uranium supply with clean, lower cost ocean adsorption displacing the environmental damage from mining and tailings,” said Tom Boddez, General Partner at Active Impact Investment. “We have strong conviction that Jeff and co-founder Jim McDermott, with their prior successes taking hardtech ideas to commercial reality, are the ideal team to seize this opportunity.”

About Fluxnium

Fluxnium is building a new domestic supply of uranium — adsorbed from seawater rather than mined from rock. Using high-efficiency adsorbent fiber developed with a leading U.S. national laboratory, Fluxnium passively adsorbs uranium already dissolved in seawater at a cost projected to match conventional mining. With the ocean containing centuries of uranium supply, capacity grows by deploying more fiber — becoming a production decision rather than a long-term capital investment for mine construction. And because there is no mine, there are no tailings or ground water concerns, which eliminates the slowest and most contested steps of conventional permitting. Deployed on the same infrastructure proven in offshore aquaculture, Fluxnium’s mission is to make the ocean the lowest-cost source of uranium in the world. For more information, visit https://fluxnium.com

About Congruent Ventures

Congruent Ventures is an early-stage, climate-focused venture capital firm founded in 2017. The firm backs North American founders from formation through Series A across five sectors: Energy Abundance, Agriculture + Food, Industry + Efficiency, Mobility + Built Environment, and Resilience + Restoration. Congruent manages over $1B in AUM across three early-stage funds and one later-stage fund, and has backed 60+ companies to date. Learn more at congruentvc.com.

About Constellation Technology Ventures

Constellation Technology Ventures (CTV) is the venture investing organization within Constellation, the United States’ largest producer of clean, carbon-free energy and a leading supplier of energy products and services to businesses, homes, community aggregations and public sector customers. CTV invests in companies exploring innovative energy technologies and business models, building a portfolio that represents a broad range of development stages and technology types. CTV’s participation represents a venture investment in the continued development of Fluxnium’s technology and does not constitute a fuel-purchase commitment at this time.

About Active Impact Investments

Active Impact Investments is Canada’s largest climate tech seed fund, managing three funds and $180M in assets from Vancouver, British Columbia. We are helping build the future of production and consumption by investing in early-stage companies that solve the most urgent environmental challenges while achieving venture scale. We look for capital-efficient, market-ready businesses that deliver cheaper, better solutions with immediate customer ROI. Beyond capital, we dedicate our time to the areas founders need most: sales, talent and fundraising, supported by a global network of operators and investors. Active Impact is a Certified B Corp.

Media Contact

Jeff Green

CEO & Founder

[email protected]

SOURCE Fluxnium Inc.

SINGAPORE, Sept. 20, 2026 — 01F Group through its growth-stage fintech private equity arm, 01Fintech, today announced its investment in DANA, Indonesia’s leading digital financial platform. The investment reflects 01F Group’s commitment to supporting resilient, locally rooted technology infrastructure that advances financial inclusion and supports Indonesia’s real economy. It also strengthens the Group’s presence in Asia’s fintech sector and reflects its conviction that Indonesia remains one of the region’s most dynamic digital-payments markets, underpinned by high digital adoption, a large consumer base and growing demand for technology-enabled financial services.

As Southeast Asia’s largest digital economy evolves, digital payments have become an essential part of everyday commerce for consumers and small businesses. Indonesia’s digital economy continues to expand rapidly, with digital payments projected to approach USD1 trillion by 2030.

DANA is a leading Indonesian digital e-wallet and digital financial services platform that serves consumers, merchants and financial institutions through a single, integrated ecosystem. Its scale and reach underscore the strength of its platform, including metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions and supports millions of users and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), especially across Tier 2 to Tier 4 regions.

01F Group invests in category-defining platforms distinguished by sustainable unit economics, strong local execution, and meaningful utility for the communities they serve. Through this partnership, 01F Group leverages 01Fintech’s sector expertise and regional network to support DANA’s continued growth and the expansion of its financial-services offering.

Kenny Man, Founder and Managing Partner of 01F Group, stated:

“Our investment in DANA is grounded in three core convictions: the platform’s exceptional operational discipline, its essential role in empowering local MSMEs, and the team’s unwavering resilience. We are not just capital providers; we look forward to being a long-term partner to DANA as it continues to strengthen Indonesia’s digital financial infrastructure and broaden access to trusted financial services.”

Vince Iswara, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of DANA, said:

“We are pleased to welcome 01Fintech to DANA’s journey. Beyond capital, 01Fintech brings specialized fintech expertise, strategic regional connectivity, and a shared commitment to sustainable growth. Together, we remain focused on strengthening our core platform, supporting everyday merchants, and providing trusted financial tools to communities across Indonesia.”

Unlocking Ecosystem Value & Strategic Synergy

The investment strengthens 01F Group’s footprint in the regional fintech value chain. 01Fintech and DANA will explore opportunities to create value across the broader ecosystem, including:

• Expand Credit & Capital Access: Connect MSMEs on the DANA platform with scalable lending and working capital solutions.
• Broaden access to financial services: Supporting access to products such as micro-insurance, digital savings and wealth-building tools for underserved users.
• Support regional connectivity: Leveraging 01F Group’s network to explore more efficient cross-border payment solutions for Indonesian merchants and consumers

01F Group and DANA share a commitment to using technology to support the real economy and create durable value for Indonesian businesses and consumers.

About 01F Group

01F Group is a global investment platform that backs visionary founders and CEOs building next generation technology leaders. The Group combines specialised capital with deep operational partnership to help companies bridge innovation and execution, making digital ecosystems more accessible and scalable. Through a family of focused funds, 01F Group supports companies at different stages of their growth journey: 01Fintech, a growth-stage, Asia-focused private equity strategy that empowers fintech entrepreneurs to innovate and scale, with a particular emphasis on digital financial inclusion; 01F GPS (Global Partner Solutions) scales proven technologies into global market leaders through execution-focused partnerships and joint ventures; and the 01F Intelligence Fund, an investment platform focused on trusted AI systems for the global economy.

Together, 01Fintech, 01F GPS and the 01F Intelligence Fund reflect the Group’s long-term approach to technology value creation: backing category‑defining companies, commercialising proven technologies globally and participating in the next wave of growth across fintech, AI and the wider digital economy.

For more information, please visit www.01fgroup.com.

About DANA

DANA (PT DANA Digital Group) is Indonesia’s leading digital financial platform, playing a pivotal role in advancing financial inclusion and accelerating the country’s digital economy through secure, trusted, and innovative financial services. Since 2018, DANA’s integrated ecosystem, including digital payments, QRIS, money transfers, and AI-powered financial solutions, empowers millions of users, businesses, and financial institutions. DANA continues to advance AI innovation, cybersecurity, and fraud prevention, delivering secure financial experiences while helping improve the financial wellbeing of Indonesians.

SOURCE 01F Group

During this past week, South Korea and Kazakhstan signed commercial agreements worth US$18.95 billion. Kazakhstan is a country of 20 million people with its core industries being oil and gas, and among the highest producers of iron and silver in the world. Uzbekistan is a country of 39 million people, and they are the largest electricity producer in Central Asia.

Qazaqstan Investment Corporation (QIC) is Kazakhstan’s national fund of funds and are anchor investors along with IT Park Ventures, the venture capital arm of the country’s state technology park. The new venture capital fund will back Central Asian startups at the Series A and later, which are businesses with a proven model that are ready to scale beyond the region. The fund is sector-agnostic but focuses on AI-native companies, where artificial intelligence is core to the product and business model.

“Higgsfield becoming Kazakhstan’s first unicorn was a turning point. It showed that a world-class AI company can be built in Central Asia. And it won’t be the last with more than half of the region’s population is under 30, growing up digital and our governments actively investing in AI. Yet the region is still largely overlooked by international investors, and that’s the opportunity this fund is built for,” explained Aslan Sultanov, Co-founder and General Partner at SparkLabs Mirae Silk Road.

Former Coinbase CTO and Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Balaji Srinivasan, reopened his Network School in Kazakhstan last month. Telegram launched an AI lab and opened their first regional office in Kazakhstan this past year.

Beyond capital, portfolio companies will gain access to the SparkLabs and Mirae Asset’s global networks, along with hands-on support in expanding into South Korea, the United States and the MENA region.

About the Partners

SparkLabs Group is a network of startup accelerators and venture capital funds that has invested in over 600 startups across 6 continents since December 2013. These companies include OpenAI, SpaceX, Vectara, Kneron, Anthropic, Nex Team, Kraken, GenG, Lyft, MetAI, and others.

Mirae Asset Venture Investment is the venture capital arm of Mirae Asset Financial Group, one of Asia’s largest independent financial groups with over US$845 billion in assets under management. The company operates worldwide across 18 markets, and manages a fully diversified global investment platform encompassing ETFs, alternative investments, and traditional strategies.

Qazaqstan Investment Corporation (QIC) is Kazakhstan’s national fund of funds and part of Baiterek National Managing Holding. QIC invests in private equity and venture capital funds alongside international and private partners, with the goal of attracting long-term capital into Kazakhstan and developing the country’s investment ecosystem. QIC participates in 19 funds with a combined capitalization of $2.8 billion.

IT Park Ventures is the venture capital arm of IT Park Uzbekistan, the country’s state technology park and the main platform supporting Uzbekistan’s IT industry and tech exports. IT Park Ventures invests in startups from Uzbekistan and Central Asia and co-invests with international funds, connecting regional founders with global capital and markets.

SOURCE SparkLabs Group