PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., May 31, 2023 — Creditly Corp., dba Credit Genie, a digital personal finance platform that has helped more than one million Americans, announced today that it has raised $4 million in Series A financing. The funding round was led by Tippet Ventures and Khosla Ventures, with participation from Gabriel Investments. Credit Genie’s innovative use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning helps to revolutionize risk management and personalized budgeting for the financial middle class, providing them with accurate and individualized financial insights that can help improve their financial well-being.

With the new funding, Credit Genie will expand products and hire top talent to scale its innovative approach to behavioral finance, budgeting and cash/credit management. The company aims to help millions of consumers access efficient credit at fair rates, using cutting-edge technology that analyzes diverse data points such as behavior, chat and qualitative indicators. This collective analysis identifies a person’s desire to elevate their lifestyle and financial well-being, providing more accurate predictions and insights than traditional credit scoring methods.

“We believe Creditly Corp’s innovative approach to delivering financial insights and credit-related services has the potential to play a leading role in the mobile financial services space,” said Andy Sheehan of Tippet Ventures. “Their technology has already demonstrated impressive results, and we are excited to support their continued growth and expansion.”

Credit Genie’s mobile platform delivers financial insights and credit-related services that use personal transaction data instead of traditional credit data to extract financial intents and desires behind the transactions. By doing so, it provides a more comprehensive view of creditworthiness. The platform also utilizes home-grown machine learning and AI algorithms as well as “Open AI” to identify patterns and predict credit risk, resulting in more accurate credit scores and better lending decisions. In connection with the Series A financing, Credit Genie has also secured a credit facility with affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, to help it finance its cash advance and credit card receivables.

“We are thrilled to have the support of such a distinguished group of investors as we work to transform the personalized finance industry,” said Founder Ed Harycki. “Our mission is to provide accessible financial products and services that help consumers improve their financial wellness. The company aims to provide a more inclusive and fair credit system, regardless of their income level or credit history, that empowers individuals to achieve their financial goals.”

About Creditly Corp:
Credit Genie is a mobile financial membership platform that empowers people to take control of their finances. Since its launch in 2022, Credit Genie has engaged with over 1 million hard-working Americans and has earned its members’ trust by building a full-service digital platform to deliver financial alerts and insights, personalized budgeting, and credit-building solutions. From a single app, members can get a 360-degree snapshot of their financial lives and have access to personalized tips and products to build and improve their credit.  Credit Genie is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, PA., and is comprised of veteran banking and payments professionals determined to build products and services that are better suited for consumers who are often overlooked by mainstream banks.

For more information, visit www.creditgenie.com

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Creditly Corp

LOS ANGELES, May 31, 2023 — EVCS, one of the largest electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging network operators on the West Coast, announced today that it has been awarded $1.9 million from the California Energy Commission (CEC) Rural Electric Vehicle (REV) program. The funds will support the installation of 30 DC fast chargers and 8 Level 2 chargers in Northern and Central California, with the aim of expanding EV infrastructure access to rural, low-income, and disadvantaged communities.

The REV program seeks to increase access to EV charging in areas that are underserved or not served at all. In addition to expanding access, the grant funding received by EVCS will be instrumental in ensuring the reliability and accessibility of the chargers through comprehensive support and maintenance services.

EVCS is continuing to rapidly expand its charging network, with plans to double its charger count to over 1,500 and to enter more than 35 new cities by the end of the year. Thanks in part to the CEC funds, this expansion includes new markets such as Mendocino County, Butte County, and San Joaquin County.

“EVCS is thrilled to partner with the CEC on this important initiative,” said Gustavo Occhuizzo, CEO and Co-Founder at EVCS. “This funding will allow us to install more chargers in rural areas and in interstate corridors, while we also engage local communities to promote EV adoption. We continue to be committed to helping California lead the charge towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.”

“The Energy Commission is pleased to support EVCS in its efforts to expanding electric vehicle infrastructure access to rural, low-income, and disadvantaged communities in California,” said Commissioner Patty Monahan of the California Energy Commission. “Companies like EVCS are helping California meet the state’s goals for zero emission transportation. We are excited to partner with EVCS and look forward to seeing charging sites go live in the near future.”

About EVCS:

EVCS was founded in 2018 and has quickly become one of the largest and fastest-growing electric vehicle fast charging networks on the West Coast. Powered by 100% renewable energy, EVCS is disrupting the mobility power industry through a turn-key approach that utilizes public and private funding sources to encourage the installation of fast-charging locations. EVCS has secured over $75M in government funding and engaged nearly 150 partner sites to build and grow its net zero carbon network. EVCS’ mission is to cut emissions while simultaneously improving air quality by enabling the rapid adoption of zero-emission electric vehicles. For more information, visit www.evcs.com.

About California Energy Commission

The California Energy Commission is leading the state to a 100 percent clean energy future. It has seven core responsibilities: developing renewable energy, transforming transportation, increasing energy efficiency, investing in energy innovation, advancing state energy policy, certifying thermal power plants, and preparing for energy emergencies.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Justin Arita
Growth Manager, EVCS
[email protected]

SOURCE EVCS

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., May 31, 2023 — Builder Prime, an all-in-one CRM, estimating, and project management platform for home improvement contractors, today announced its Series A funding led by Blueprint Equity, with participation from existing investor TinySeed. In conjunction with the investment, Sheldon Lewis, Managing Partner at Blueprint Equity, will join the Board of Directors.

“It was a natural fit to partner with Blueprint Equity given their experience in the construction-tech industry,” said Jonathan Weinberg, Founder and CEO of Builder Prime. “From our first conversation, I was impressed with Blueprint’s depth of industry knowledge. I’m excited to leverage Blueprint’s go-to-market expertise as we invest in product development and expand our world-class customer support team.”

Builder Prime’s mission is to provide every core feature that specialty trade contractors need to run their business in a single easy-to-use platform – eliminating the need for multiple, expensive disparate solutions. The Company will use the additional funds to accelerate growth, enhance product functionality, and further invest in client support.

“Specialized home improvement contractors make up a significant portion of the residential construction industry, but have been underserved by incumbent software solutions,” commented Lewis. “After speaking with customers, it became evident that Builder Prime is serving a market absent of modern software. We are thrilled to partner with Builder Prime and continue providing provide best-in-class software to specialty trade contractors.”

About Builder Prime

Builder Prime is an all-in-one CRM, estimating, and project management platform for residential specialty-trade contractors. Its comprehensive platform encompasses customer relationship management, production management, scheduling, estimating, inventory management, communication, and payments, enabling residential specialty-trade contractors to manage all their operations in a single, unified platform. Builder Prime serves contractors across North America and more than 25 trades. To learn more, please visit builderprime.com.

About Blueprint Equity

Blueprint Equity provides expansion capital to high-growth, capital-efficient enterprise software and technology-enabled services businesses worldwide. Blueprint has $275 million of assets under management and is based in La Jolla, CA. For more information, please visit www.onblueprint.com.

SOURCE Builder Prime

BOSTON, May 31, 2023 — Nexamp, a national clean energy leader paving the way for a just, secure, and resilient energy future, today announced more than $400 million in tax equity and debt commitments led by U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance and Mitsubishi UFJ Finance Group (MUFG), respectively. This latest round of financing will support the creation of 49 solar and battery storage projects in six states spanning the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest and enable more than 25,000 households to receive a combined $6.5 million in estimated annual electricity bill savings. As Nexamp works to develop these community solar facilities across all six states, this investment will also create a total of 2,390 construction and operations jobs to support local economic growth in addition to expanding solar access for rural and underserved communities. As the U.S. continues to build its solar supply chain, these jobs will help accelerate the nationwide transition to a greener economy.

Community solar, or shared solar, enables any local resident to subscribe to a solar farm and receive credits on their monthly utility bill to reduce their annual electric costs. The projects, which have a total generating capacity of nearly 250 MWdc and can power up to 40,000 households, are sited in predominantly rural communities in Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota, and Illinois, to help eliminate barriers associated with installing solar panels.

“In order for the U.S. to overcome its reliance on fossil fuels and an outdated power grid, we must invest in affordable and sustainable clean energy solutions that are accessible to all Americans, no matter where they live,” said Nexamp CEO Zaid Ashai. “Nexamp is expanding its reach to meet the critical needs of communities, especially those that are historically underserved, ensuring they’re represented in the transition to a resilient, dynamic and clean energy grid.”

Nexamp’s financing effort was bolstered by the Inflation Reduction Act, which extended and expanded the investment tax credits for clean energy resources, and sets the stage for accelerated solar growth in the coming decade. Beginning in 2023, newly established bonus credits will ensure that low-income and other traditionally marginalized communities will more equitably share in the direct benefits and economic growth spurred by the IRA, the Biden Administration’s landmark climate bill.

“We believe everyone has a role to play in creating a sustainable future and investing in projects like these is one of the ways we can support the transition to a greener economy,” noted Jacob Gibson of U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance. “We’re excited for the opportunity to expand our relationship with a leader in the community solar space, and look forward to the social, environmental and economic benefits these projects will provide in and around the communities where they’re located.”

“We are very pleased to have successfully closed these recent financings for Nexamp. Community solar projects are playing a vital role in the energy transition, providing a diverse set of communities with access to participate in this societal effort. Nexamp is a recognized market leader with a robust commitment to its customers, and we look forward to continuing to support its impactful growth,” said Takaki Sakai, Managing Director of MUFG.

As the largest U.S. owner of community solar assets, Nexamp has been at the forefront of efforts to make clean energy affordable, accessible, and profitable for all Americans. By handling all aspects of a projects’ lifecycle in-house—from development, engineering, and construction through operations and customer management—Nexamp is able to bring rapid renewable energy deployment and high-quality jobs to the communities it serves. In 2015, Nexamp launched the first open-to-all community solar program that eliminates credit checks, up-front fees, and long-term commitments to help customers save an average of 10-20% on annual electricity costs. Today, Nexamp services over 60,000 customers and has a portfolio of more than 1 gigawatt of generating capacity capable of powering over 155,000 households, with several more gigawatts of capacity in development across approximately 20 states.

SOURCE Nexamp

New growth capital will help expand Hyro’s platform, featuring both conversational and generative AI, across key channels in healthcare and other regulated industries

NEW YORK, May 31, 2023 — Hyro, the leader in plug-and-play conversational artificial intelligence (AI), today announced that it has finalized a $20 million Series B funding round led by Macquarie Capital, with participation from new investors Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, Black Opal Ventures, and K20, as well as existing investors Hanaco Ventures, Spero Ventures, and Mindset Ventures—bringing the company’s total funding to $35 million. With this capital raise, Hyro will continue to meet the healthcare sector’s critical demand for conversational AI and automation, enabling large organizations to streamline access to digital services for their patients and staff while drastically improving operational efficiencies.

Hyro plans to hire top talent across all departments as it continues to build out its no-code platform for AI-powered call center, web, and mobile solutions, while also expanding strategic partnerships, integrations and use cases across key industries where it is already experiencing strong traction. Hyro has grown annual recurring revenue by over 100% year over year since launching in 2020, delivering stellar conversational experiences to over 30 million enterprise consumers resulting in tens of millions in operational savings. Hyro anticipates that the funding round, coupled with the surge in popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard and other large language model (LLM) applications, will catalyze another fiscal year of doubled growth in these categories.

With 47% of the current US-based workforce in healthcare planning to exit the industry by 2025, Hyro is in pole position to capitalize on soaring demand for AI and natural language understanding (NLU) solutions. As digital expectations for health services continue to rise, health systems will need to compete for patient acquisition and satisfaction with a depleted staff, leaving Hyro’s AI-powered communications as a natural bridge for that growing labor gap.

“In an age of generative AI, labor shortages and economic struggle, healthcare organizations will look to eliminate low-level tasks to further drive efficiency,” said Israel Krush, CEO and Co-Founder of Hyro. “Automation is no longer simply nice to have–we’re poised to capture unprecedented demand for AI assistants as health systems continue trusting us to scale interactions surrounding critical workflows. The x-factor in this market will be the solutions provider that most responsibly and effectively blends key components of conversational AI together, including emerging technologies such as large language models, and we’re best positioned to accomplish that here at Hyro.”

Named a 2022 Gartner Cool Vendor for its unique natural language processing (NLP) and knowledge graph technologies, Hyro specializes in plug-and-play chat and voice interfaces that resolve up to 85% of routine tasks which would otherwise strain already overloaded healthcare organizations. Unlike intent-based solutions built through machine learning (ML), Hyro requires zero training data and eliminates client-side maintenance efforts, updating information in real time as content changes. AI assistants easily layer on top of existing omnichannel workflows to help centralize communications, improve access to services and care, and reduce operational costs. The skills automated by Hyro, including patient registration, routing, scheduling, IT helpdesk ticketing, frequently-asked-questions, and prescription refills, constitute roughly 60-70% of all inbound calls and messages and include inquiries from both patient and staff populations.

Beyond automating interactions, the key differentiator for Hyro is Conversational Intelligence. Distinguished from typical conversational AI solutions, including those based on LLMs, Hyro’s analytics dashboard includes “voice of the consumer” performance metrics, popular trends and explainability surrounding AI outputs, promoting full visibility as well as a constant feedback loop for organizations to further optimize their data.

Widely adopted across the provider segment, with clients like Mercy Health, Baptist Health and Intermountain Healthcare, Hyro is well positioned for significantly increased market share as enterprises continue to prioritize efficiency and proven ROI through automation. Hyro has recently released Spot™, a GPT-powered assistant capable of instantly generating answers to FAQs and search queries using customized enterprise data, all while maintaining explainability. With the ability to harness the power of LLMs without sacrificing security and control, Spot™ is already generating high demand as health systems selectively seek out generative AI implementation partners with a strong track record. Spot™ is already deployed in three large healthcare organizations.

“Consumers increasingly expect to communicate with companies via voice 24/7 and in a way that genuinely reflects human behavior,” said Dan Phillips, Executive Director at Macquarie Capital’s venture group who joins Hyro’s board as a director. “Hyro has been at the forefront of this technology and its operation in regulated environments like healthcare. With the advent of large language models, we believe these businesses will thrive as expectations and reality meet. Macquarie Capital is thrilled to partner with Hyro on its exciting journey.”

ABOUT HYRO

Hyro, the #1 Adaptive Communications Platform, enables enterprises to automate workflows and conversations across their most valuable platforms, services and channels—including call centers, websites, SMS, mobile apps and more. Top-performing organizations trust Hyro’s plug-and-play approach, including an award-winning natural language engine, to help them recapture time and investment lost to building and maintaining chat and voice solutions. With Conversational Intelligence, Hyro delivers omnichannel analytics, including engagement metrics, trending topics and knowledge gaps, that offer industry-leading explainability, control and optimization. Headquartered in New York, Hyro delights clients like Intermountain Healthcare, Baptist Health, and Novant Health with AI assistants that are 60x faster to deploy, easy to maintain and simple to scale—generating better conversations, more conversions, and revenue-driving insights. Hyro was founded in 2018 by Israel Krush and Rom Cohen. Learn more at www.hyro.ai.

MEDIA CONTACT 
Aaron Bours 
Hyro 
+972 52-555-3675 
[email protected]

SOURCE Hyro

The new additions will feature an engaging fireside chat along with closing remarks to round out the inaugural event

SAN DIEGO, May 31, 2023 — Drata, a continuous security and compliance automation platform, today announced Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and Former Segment and Twilio CISO Coleen Coolidge will join the guest speaker lineup for the company’s inaugural user and compliance summit: Drataverse. The event will be held at The Midway in San Francisco, California on June 22, 2023.

Widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver in football history, Jerry Rice spent 20 years in the NFL, earning incredible accolades such as three Super Bowl championships and Super Bowl MVP recognition, and currently holds a myriad of league-leading records, including most career receptions and touchdowns. Rice will join Drata Co-Founder and CEO Adam Markowitz in a fireside chat at Drataverse, for a conversation on what it takes to drive success and create a legacy.

Coleen Coolidge is a powerhouse in the Information Security space with decades of experience leading holistic security programs, especially building security and GRC teams from the ground up. She’s previously served as CISO for notable companies such as Segment and Twilio, and is now an investor with Silicon Valley CISO Investments (SVCI), as well as an advisor to early startups. Coolidge will deliver a presentation as part of the event’s closing remarks, focused on the future of Information Security’s accessibility and transparency to all.

“The inaugural Drataverse summit is our way of bringing together the many faces of security, GRC, and IT, and we wanted presentations and keynotes that will galvanize this community,” said Adam Markowitz, Co-Founder and CEO of Drata. “Attendees can anticipate insightful and inspiring conversations from our guest speakers for what we see as a momentous event for Drata’s customers.”

To register and find out more information on Drataverse, please visit: drataverse.com.

About Drata
Drata is the world’s most advanced security and compliance automation platform with the mission to make compliance effortless and accessible. With Drata, thousands of companies streamline over 14 compliance frameworks—such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and more—through continuous, automated control monitoring and evidence collection, resulting in a strong security posture, lower costs, and less time spent preparing for annual audits. The company is backed by ICONIQ Growth, GGV Capital, Alkeon Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, S Ventures, Leaders Fund, Okta Ventures, SVCI, SV Angel, Intuit Ventures, and many key industry leaders. For more information, visit drata.com.

Media Contact
Sophia Hatef
Drata
[email protected] 

SOURCE Drata Inc.

Aperture to sponsor Shift VC 2023 annual event, explore other collaboration.

NEW YORK, May 31, 2023 — Aperture Venture Capital, a seed stage venture firm that invests in diverse and female founders building the future of financial innovation, announced its strategic partnership with VC Unleashed, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting racial diversity in the global VC and startup ecosystem.

To kick off the partnership, Aperture will sponsor the VC Unleashed annual event, Shift VC, to be held in New York City from June 22-24 2023. Shift VC is a one of its kind in-person event dedicated to diversifying the VC and startup ecosystem. Attendees will learn from current investors, upskill their industry & VC-specific knowledge, and connect with investors and founders alike. Based on previous event attendance, Shift VC 2023 is expected to draw hundreds of investors, founders and MBA students in person and online. Aperture VC co-founder William Crowder will address attendees at the event. Future plans for the partnership include MBA forums, internship programs, and research on capital allocation trends for BIPOC fund managers.

“We are excited to partner with VC Unleashed on the 2023 Shift VC annual event,” said Garnet Heraman, co-founder of Aperture VC. “Their mission and methods align well with Aperture’s unique vision of what the future of VC looks like for diverse investors and founders of the Multicultural Mainstream™.”

Tanvi Lal, co-founder of VC Unleashed and an investor at Intuit Ventures, commented, “I am thrilled to have the support of the mission-aligned team at Aperture VC as we work to reimagine a more inclusive VC and startup landscape around the world.”

About Aperture Venture Capital

Aperture Venture Capital is a new investing paradigm developed to back diverse founders across the US who are using financial innovation to build the next generation of game-changing tech companies. Aperture VC’s investors include leading Fortune 1000 corporations committed to building an inclusive economy through partnership and collaboration. These corporate partners, along with other mission-aligned investors, provide support, resources, and expertise that accelerate growth, increase distribution, and enhance the funding options for Aperture VC’s portfolio companies. For more information, visit aperturevc.com.

Press Inquiries: Philip McKenzie, [email protected], 949 414 7884.

About VC Unleashed

VC Unleashed is a non-profit dedicated to increasing BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) representation in the venture capital and startup ecosystem by providing education, sharing resources, and building community. For more information, visit https://vcunleashed.xyz/.

Press Inquiries: Tanvi Lal, [email protected], 512-318-2199.

SOURCE Aperture VC

Integrum will deploy capital across technology-enabled service companies in the insurance, business services, fintech and payments, and traditional financial services sectors.

NEW YORK, May 31, 2023 — Integrum, an investment firm focused on partnering with technology-enabled service companies, today announced it has completed fundraising for its inaugural fund, Integrum Capital Partners LP (or the “Fund”) at $1.1 billion, exceeding the Fund’s original target. This amount excludes related co-investment vehicles that provide the Fund capacity to invest additional capital.

The fund received strong support from an international group of high-quality institutional investors, including pension funds, wealth managers, insurance companies, consultants, family offices, foundations, and funds of funds.

“The tremendous demand for our inaugural fund reflects the excellent relationships we have built with our limited partners across the globe,” said Richard Kunzer, co-founder of Integrum. “We truly value the support, confidence, and trust that our investors have placed in us, particularly in an uncertain economic period and in a challenging fundraising environment.”

Investments in the Fund will advance Integrum’s partnerships with leading companies in the financial and business services sectors. Integrum is led by a proven team of professionals who bring together diverse and complementary skillsets, experiences, and relationships. The firm is powered by the team’s conviction that partnering with management teams to invest behind technology and talent can create meaningful and differentiated opportunity.

“Our vision to bring together a group of experienced executives to drive value through a focused investment approach has resonated with investors and with management partners. Our early success in identifying and investing behind great managers and well-positioned companies gives us confidence in our ability to continue to deliver strong returns for our investment partners,” said Integrum co-founder Tagar Olson.

The new funding will allow Integrum to continue executing on its differentiated approach to value creation, investing behind innovation and talent to produce sustainable organic growth, and establishing strong partnerships with management teams. Since 2022, the Fund has announced investments in four companies: USI Insurance Services, Evertree Insurance, Strategic Risk Solutions, and MerchantE. MerchantE was sold to a strategic acquirer in November 2022.

“We look forward to leveraging decades of combined investing and operational sector expertise to craft and maintain a high-conviction portfolio of resilient, successful, durable businesses across priority sub-sectors,” said Ursula Burns, co-founder of Integrum. “We came together as friends and peers to build an investing firm we feel good about. With a team of 22 talented individuals and the support of our LPs, we are now poised and ready for the future.”

About Integrum
Integrum is an investment firm focused on partnering with technology-enabled services companies in the financial and business services sectors. The firm was founded by a team of proven leaders with a vision to build a different type of investing platform benefiting from their diverse and complementary backgrounds and vast relationship network.

Integrum’s approach is to build a concentrated portfolio of high-conviction investments leveraging the team’s deep sector expertise and relationships.

Integrum aims to accelerate growth through investments in technology and other forms of innovation, and by partnering with management teams to enhance access to talent, relationships, and capabilities.

For more information on Integrum please visit www.integrum.us.

Media Contacts
Prosek Partners
[email protected]

SOURCE Integrum Holdings LP

NESS ZIONA, Israel , May 31, 2023 — Pashoot Robotics, a leading provider in contextual robotics for manufacturing, has announced the successful completion of its pre-seed funding round, raising $1.5 million from private investors and the Israeli Innovation Authority grant. The funds will be used to further develop the company’s innovative technology and make robotic automation accessible to a broader range of users.

Co-founders Ron Fridental (CEO) and Dr. Mica Arie-Nachimson (CTO) bring decades of experience in Edge AI and Computer Vision. Fridental is a serial entrepreneur with a proven track record, that co-founded Sightic Vista, a camera chip maker whose clients included Samsung, LG, and Fujitsu. The company was later acquired by Broadcom. Fridental has also served as the CTO of a large international technology center (Yi), managing global teams. Mica Arie-Nachimson, holding a PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science in computer vision and AI, focused on 3D reconstruction from 2D images in her thesis. Dr. Arie-Nachimson has developed computer vision AI technology that has been implemented in millions of consumer cameras worldwide.

Pashoot Robotics aims to tap into a market of over $600 billion by using AI to replace manual engineering automation processes, removing its entry barrier. The company’s focus is on developing flexible, fast, and affordable robotic automation solutions that cater to SMEs and high-mix production that currently have no real answer.

“We’re excited to have secured this funding to continue developing our disruptive technology and make automation accessible to everyone, everywhere,” said Ron Fridental, CEO of Pashoot Robotics.

For more information about Pashoot Robotics and its mission, visit www.pashoot-robotics.com or visit our official YouTube and LinkedIn channels

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Pashoot Robotics