Clever Real Estate is on track to achieve profitability in the second half of the year, demonstrating its commitment to financial discipline and long-term success.

ST. LOUIS, May 10, 2023 — Clever Real Estate, a fast-growing real estate technology company, has raised an additional $2 million in funding from venture capital firm Cultivation Capital and EssentVentures LLC, a subsidiary of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT).

The financing round also includes real estate tech strategist Mike DelPrete and builds on the company’s previous $11 million in equity capital, signaling continued belief from industry insiders during a time of market uncertainty.

“Clever has been a company that always exceeds expectations,” said Clifford Holekamp, co-founder and managing director of Cultivation Capital. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to support them again in this funding round.”

This strategic investment comes as Clever launches a title and escrow closing solution in the second quarter of 2023 and continues to grow its lender partnerships channel, which has grown 700% year-over-year and is on pace to transact over $750 million in real estate this year.

“Clever has built the No. 1 online education platform in real estate,” Clever’s Co-Founder and CEO Luke Babich said. “In Clever’s next chapter, we’re using that platform as a springboard to launch new solutions for both consumers and real estate professionals. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome these new partners to the table, who bring additional capital and expertise to help Clever achieve our mission.”

The news follows the company ranking No. 65 on Inc.’s List of Fastest-Growing Companies in the Midwest, as well as the company bolstering its leadership team with recent hires: VP of Content, Rachael Maier, from Healthline; SVP of Partnerships, Tony Chahal, from HomeLight; and Head of Finance, Bryant Gonzales, from Invitation Homes and Sundae.

Clever’s main content business, which generated over 70% of Clever’s $3.25 billion in real estate sales in 2022, has experienced 50% year-over-year growth. This growth has been driven by the company’s emphasis on educational content, which attracts 10 million readers annually, and its ability to help Realtors and mortgage lenders increase revenue in a challenging environment.

About Clever Real Estate
Clever Real Estate is on a mission to connect people with the most trustworthy advice and the best solutions for every step of their real estate journey. Clever’s primary offering is a realtor matching platform that helps home sellers and buyers compare personalized realtor matches and save up to 50% of the typical fees. Clever’s network spans 19,000 agents across all 50 states.

About Cultivation Capital
Cultivation Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in software technology, life sciences, agriculture technology, and geospatial technology companies. Since its founding in 2012, the firm has invested in over 150 companies and is recognized as one of the most active early-stage investors in the United States.

Please contact Kristen Herhold at [email protected] with any questions or to arrange an interview.

CONTACT:  
Kristen Herhold
Clever Real Estate
[email protected] 

SOURCE Clever Real Estate

Investment will advance smart farming technology to empower growers with real-time portable lab data and to support the carbon credit industry with scientifically accurate measurements

MONTREAL, May 10, 2023 — ChrysaLabs, a leading innovator at the forefront of soil science, announced today a 15 million Canadian dollar ($11 million) financing round, including investments from Leaps by Bayer, TELUS Ventures and BDC Capital. Existing investors Ecofuel, Emmertech, Anges Québec, AQC and Koan Capital are also participating in this financing.

A ChrysaLabs Probe™ combines three cutting-edge and patented technologies with AI machine learning to deliver real-time insights straight to the field. The sampling probe analyzes 40 different soil parameters to provide a precise overview of what is happening in the soil, at a lower cost than traditional soil testing. Within 30 seconds of inserting the probe into the ground, users will have a complete soil analysis – including macronutrients, micronutrients, pH, organic matter, CEC, organic carbon, bulk density, moisture and more – at their fingertips.

“Our spectroscopy-based soil probe delivers ground truth soil information, which can empower farmers to make a real impact on climate change while advancing their financial opportunities,” said ChrysaLabs Co-Founder and CEO, Samuel Fournier. “This investment round comes at an important time for us and the industry, which is greatly in need of accurate data, and will propel our expansion into the carbon verification market and onto more farmers’ fields.”

Today, the rapidly growing ag carbon market is missing an accurate, scalable and low-cost solution to deliver trustworthy soil data. ChrysaLabs’ carbon quantification solution establishes a reliable method to verify nature-based carbon credits. The unique ability to gather information on how soil evolves over time unlocks land’s potential like never before.

With a product at the intersection of technology and sustainable agriculture, investors are enthusiastic about the potential of ChrysaLabs.

“ChrysaLabs’ breakthrough innovation will transform how we look at soil and carbon,” said Juergen Eckhardt, EVP and Head of Leaps by Bayer. “Now, for the first time, we can unearth near-real time data that is both accurate and actionable – improving overall sustainability. This is a significant advance over the status quo of mailing soil samples to a lab, which delays the grower’s ability to manage their soil as a dynamic input and inform a wide range of decisions. These insights align and accelerate economic and sustainable outcomes.”

“ChrysaLabs’ technology has the potential to revolutionize the world of agronomy and precision farming,” said Mario Mele, Vice President at TELUS Ventures. “Their technology not only helps growers save time and reduce their reliance on traditional wet soil labs, but also provides them with a comprehensive digital twin of their land, allowing for more precise, and efficient fertilizer management. We see a tremendous potential to make an impact on the future of agronomic services globally and are excited to be a part of their journey.”

“We’re committed to helping Canadian farmers improve profitability while making their business more environmentally friendly and sustainable over time,” said Joseph Regan, Managing Partner, Industrial Innovation Venture Fund at BDC Capital. “Real-time data empowers growers to make decisions that improve yield while optimizing fertilizer applications.”

To date, ChrysaLabs technology has been used on more than two million acres across seven countries, six Canadian provinces and 25 U.S. states.

About ChrysaLabs
Better soil intelligence for better decisions. ChrysaLabs is a fast-growing ag tech company at the intersection of agriculture and science. We believe that fast and accurate soil data are key components of precision ag. ChrysaLabs’ unique solution uses Cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence, and machine learning to extract real-time data from its patented spectroscopy technology providing precious information within seconds, and allowing field managers to take the best actions minutes after sampling. Our technology enables producers and agronomists to sample the soil as many times as they want: more data leads to more precise actions, higher yield, and optimized costs.

www.chrysalabs.com
www.linkedin.com/company/chrysalabs/

Media Contact
Philippe De L’Étoile
[email protected] 

SOURCE ChrysaLabs

WARSAW, Poland, May 10, 2023 — TS2 Space, a satellite communications operator, has recently started investing in artificial intelligence (AI) startups, with a specific emphasis on projects related to satellite communication. Nevertheless, their investment strategy encompasses a broader range of industries, acknowledging the potential of AI-powered innovations in various fields.

TS2 Space’s investment activities in satellite communication primarily focus on the following AI applications:

1. Satellite Image Processing & Analysis: AI algorithms enhance satellite image processing and analysis accuracy. These techniques apply to agriculture, climate monitoring, disaster management, and urban planning.
2. Satellite Constellation Management: AI optimizes management of complex satellite constellations, improving reliability and performance while reducing latency.
3. Autonomous Satellite Operations: AI-driven systems increase satellite autonomy, minimize human intervention, and enable faster responses, safeguarding satellite functionality and safety.
4. Enhanced Communication Security: AI-based cybersecurity solutions strengthen satellite communication networks, protecting sensitive data and preventing unauthorized access.
5. Predictive Maintenance & Resource Optimization: AI-enabled algorithms assess satellite performance, identify potential problems, and suggest maintenance actions, reducing downtime and extending satellite lifespans.
6. Data Compression & Transmission Optimization: AI refines data compression and transmission, allowing satellite communication systems to adapt to fluctuating conditions and optimize data throughput.

All existing TS2 Space customers currently benefit from advanced AI-based systems in Enhanced Communication Security and Data Compression & Transmission Optimization. Satellite service users enjoy additional protection for transmitted data, sophisticated cryptography services, and faster data transfers due to AI-driven compression and transmission optimization. This holds particular significance for government and military sectors, ensuring secure and efficient communication.

TS2 Space has recently been added to the official list of key entities responsible for the operation of critical infrastructure in the Republic of Poland. Our activities involving AI technologies will extend to services catered to government organizations and state administration, further demonstrating our commitment to enhancing public sector operations through advanced AI solutions.

According to a recent TS2 Space report, over 70% of venture capital investors believe the AI sector will experience the most significant growth among all technology sectors. As a venture capital investor, TS2 Space is committed to supporting teams with well-developed AI project ideas, offering the necessary resources for further development.

TS2 Space is now expanding its AI investment portfolio, focusing on areas such as:

1. Natural Language Processing (NLP): Enhancing chatbots, voice assistants, and text analysis through advanced language comprehension.
2. Computer Vision: Boosting image recognition for applications in autonomous vehicles, security, and healthcare.
3. Reinforcement Learning: Advancing robotics, gaming, and recommendation systems through environmental interaction.
4. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs): Generating realistic content for art, entertainment, and data augmentation.
5. AI in Healthcare: Revolutionizing diagnostics, personalized medicine, and telemedicine.
6. Edge AI: Streamlining response times and reducing data transmission costs on edge devices.
7. AI for Cybersecurity: Protecting businesses and individuals from cyber threats using machine learning.
8. AI Ethics and Regulation: Addressing ethical concerns, transparency, and privacy in AI applications.
9. AI-powered Automation: Optimizing processes and efficiency across industries.
10. AI in Finance: Transforming finance with fraud detection, algorithmic trading, and personalized services.

TS2 Space’s investment strategy underscores the vital role of venture capital funds in fostering innovation across diverse industries. By providing financial support and resources to AI-focused projects, TS2 Space contributes to the realization of groundbreaking ideas, promoting growth and advancing AI technology development.

For additional details and inquiries, visit: https://ts2.space/en/ts2-space-invests-in-ai-startups/

Media Contact:
Marcin Frackiewicz
+48601284795
[email protected]

SOURCE TS2 Space Sp. z o.o.

The IIA will be the first National Advisory Board in Indonesia to help unlock capital, spur investment, and catalyze a market that will benefit people and the planet

JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 10, 2023 — Ford Foundation President Darren Walker joined members of the Indonesian government and business community to celebrate the launch of the Indonesia Impact Alliance (IIA). As a founding member of the IIA and an impact investor on a global scale, Ford Foundation will support the IIA to bring together investors, entrepreneurs, and government to develop an impact investing ecosystem in Indonesia that allows businesses to gain financial returns while solving social and environmental problems.

This builds upon Ford’s work to support the broader global impact investing movement, which strives to center positive outcomes in social, economic, and environmental impact alongside financial returns in investment decisions.

“Throughout the world, we’re continuing to see that the growing field of impact investing is a powerful approach that creates effective, scalable solutions for the public while generating positive financial returns. In Indonesia, the IIA will be unlocking a major opportunity,” said Ford Foundation President Darren Walker. “With cross-sector collaboration and strong partnerships, we can leverage private capital to strengthen economies and reshape the way we use our markets to invest in our communities.”

“The power of Impact Investing has been leveraged throughout the world, and we’re excited to expand this methodology here in Indonesia,” said Indonesia Impact Alliance Chair and CEO of Instellar Romy Cahyadi. “The Indonesia Impact Alliance will play a critical role in connecting investors both foreign and domestic to opportunities that will provide growth, opportunity, and innovation that will benefit shareholders and society.” 

The IIA’s main goal after the initial launch will be to increase direct investment into early-stage high-impact companies by scaling up Indonesian and foreign investors, as well as the Indonesian diaspora communities. The IIA will also function as a convener, information center, and partner to support the development of impact investing policies in Indonesia. The IIA is also supported by the Ministry of National Development Planning for the Republic of Indonesia and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Indonesia.

Ford Foundation launched its $1 billion Mission Investments program in 2017 and has been a longtime supporter of impact investing domestically and abroad. Ford Foundation served as an incubator for the first-ever National Advisory Board in the United States, which now represents more than $8 trillion worth of impact investments. The foundation also supports the Global Steering Group on Impact Investment, which supports the development of National Advisory Boards around the world, as well as the National Advisory Boards for impact investment in South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana.

“Impact investing as a global movement has grown, in part, through learning and partnership across markets and geographies,” said U.S. Impact Investing Alliance President Fran Seegull. “I am excited to work with our colleagues at the Indonesia Impact Alliance, to share our experiences in the United States, and together to build a movement that places social, economic, and environmental impact at the center of investment decisions.”

“The Nigerian impact investing ecosystem is rapidly evolving with the Ford Foundation being at the forefront of supporting the growth of the market. Through its seed grant to the Impact Investors Foundation (IIF) to facilitate the establishment of the Nigeria National Advisory Board for Impact Investing (NABII), the NABII is positioned to address market barriers and bridge information and data gaps for impact investors,” said Ibukun Awosika, Chairperson, Nigerian National Advisory Board for Impact Investing. “Ford Foundation has proven to be more than a funder but also a true partner who learns and offers to foster collaborations through its local and global network, and it’s encouraging to see these efforts expanding in Indonesia.”

For more information on Ford Foundation’s impact investing work, please visit our website.

THE FORD FOUNDATION
The Ford Foundation is an independent organization working to address inequality and build a future grounded in justice. For more than 85 years, it has supported visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. Today, with an endowment of $16 billion, the foundation has headquarters in New York and 10 regional offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

SOURCE Ford Foundation

New funding from MK Capital, Joint Effects, Hub Angels and existing investors to drive geographic and digital expansion of its mission to deliver Production Intelligence for the Next Generation™ 

NASHUA, N.H., May 10, 2023 — Datanomix the leading production intelligence platform for precision manufacturers, announced it has raised $12M in new growth capital. The round was led by MK Capital and Joint Effects, with investment participation from Hub Angels, multiple Datanomix customers, and previous investors Gutbrain Ventures, PBJ Capital, and CEAS Investments. Mark Koulogeorge of MK Capital will be joining the company’s Board of Directors.

“Over the last two years, Datanomix has taken the market by storm with significant customer growth and product leadership,” said John Joseph, CEO and Co-founder of Datanomix. “Our No Operator Input™ approach to production monitoring, which does not burden operators with any data entry, frankly awoke a sleeping market that has been waiting for innovation. We are proud that our brand has been recognized by leading customers, partners and investors for the differentiation and impact we are providing to industrial manufacturers.”

Production monitoring as a category has been largely focused on asset utilization and downtime reason code collection. Datanomix pioneered a new methodology, the aforementioned No Operator Input approach, which takes downtime reason codes, the overburdening of operators, and complex data integration requirements completely off the table.

“When Datanomix arrived on the scene, production insight had stagnated,” said Kylan Hastreiter, Vice President at Hastreiter Industries. “ERP systems had not evolved, and still only gave high level job stats after the fact, when it was too late to make improvements. Some monitoring systems had their user interfaces slightly updated, but the methodology was unchanged from the last decade where raw data is collected, operators are tasked with tedious data entry and tagging, and interpretation is left to manufacturing personnel who are already overloaded. Real-time, zero-burden insights were the gap that needed to be closed, and Datanomix has delivered that.”

Greg McHale, Co-Founder and CTO at Datanomix, added, “We spent hours with manufacturers who were using prior-generation monitoring systems, and saw exactly why operator input, complex integrations, and asset utilization alone were not transforming how they ran their businesses. While the category is called production monitoring, this is really about production management. Monitoring is a passive word, and people get into monitoring not to be passive, but to actively manage their operations better. What the market was missing was a vendor who believed it was their responsibility to provide context, insight, and impact that causes people to get out of their chair and respond because of what has been uncovered in their production data.”

Datanomix counts customers large and small in its success stories. From a handful of machines to hundreds in the same or multiple facilities, Datanomix serves operations ranging from household OEM’s to major tier 2 suppliers to job shops. Datanomix has had particular success displacing legacy vendors, as showcased on its dedicated site where customers share their tales of making the switch to Datanomix after giving up on other monitoring solutions.

Datanomix has similarly caught the attention and trust of several major partners such as Hexagon, Vallen, Caron Engineering, ProShop ERP, and Flexxbotics. These partnerships span from deep technical integrations to resale, and broaden the reach and ability to serve customers and geographies who need access to critical production insights to drive their company forward.

“Onshoring is a major investment theme of ours,” said Mark Koulogeorge, Founder and Managing Partner of MK Capital, “and we have an obligation, even beyond the capital, to contribute to American competitiveness, especially in manufacturing. Datanomix is clearly the transformational technology in this rapidly emerging category, with a product foundation that puts them in position not only to lead today, but to continue to acquire, analyze, and provide insight into additional digital and operational assets on the manufacturing floor. John and Greg are experienced veterans to start-ups and new markets, and I am honored to be joining the Board to help implement the vision of Datanomix and be part of this massive opportunity to transform manufacturing.”

The growth capital will fuel deeper product development and data source integrations in key production areas such as tooling and quality, and further investment in the industry-leading customer success and training programs Datanomix has built.

About Datanomix
Founded in 2017, the Datanomix mission is to deliver Production Intelligence for the Next Generation™ by providing high quality, high impact, low burden operational insights to industrial manufacturers. Its flagship offerings include its No Operator Input™ Production Monitoring platform and Digital GEMBA Boards™. Learn more at www.datanomix.io and follow us @DatanomixInc

Press Contact:
Lisa Saunders
[email protected]
1-866-488-4369

SOURCE Datanomix

New findings from Inscribe show that the most commonly manipulated documents include tax forms and bank statements from top financial institutions

SAN FRANCISCO, May 10, 2023 — Inscribe, the leader in AI-powered document fraud detection, today released its 2023 Document Fraud Report, which examines global document fraud trends and tactics affecting fintechs and financial services companies. This year’s report revealed a 3x increase in document templates (fraudulent documents purchased online) detected in 2022. Report findings also show that first-party fraud is prevalent: 50 percent of fraudulent SMB loan application documents matched the pattern of first-party fraud rather than third-party fraud in 2022, and over 30 percent of fraudulent personal loan application documents matched the pattern of first-party fraud. Because these applicants are using their real identities (but inflating their income and creditworthiness), this type of fraud is difficult to detect.

“The availability of fake document generators and ‘novelty’ document sellers online—combined with the widespread use of sophisticated image-editing software like Adobe Photoshop—have made document fraud easier than ever to accomplish, and also more difficult to catch,” said Inscribe CEO and co-founder Ronan Burke. “But that’s not all: Social media platforms like Reddit, Telegram, and TikTok have made it easier for fraudsters to sell document templates and share forgery techniques. This almost effortless access to fraud-as-a-service makes it easy to understand how the number of document templates detected by Inscribe tripled in 2022.”

Less than 10 percent of document fraud is visible to the human eye. Many adjustments to names, account numbers, balances, and transactions simply can’t be seen. As a result, countless cases of fraud and credit abuse go undetected. Inscribe processes millions of documents every month and analyzed data across its global customer base to compile these trends. Other key takeaways from Inscribe’s 2023 Document Fraud Report include:

• First-party fraud is just as prevalent as third-party fraud. 12 percent of fraudulent documents have only the identity details edited (a sign of third-party fraud), while 42 percent have only financial details edited (a sign of first-party fraud). And 46 percent of fraudulent documents show alterations to both identity and financial details.
• Fake documents are easier than ever to acquire. Document templates (counterfeit, fake, or forged documents purchased online) have become an increasingly popular tool for fraudsters, with 2022 seeing a 3x increase in unique document templates detected.
• The most frequently manipulated documents include tax forms, business filings and bank statements. Specifically, W-2s and CP-575s, along with bank statements from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, TD Bank, PNC, and Navy Federal Credit Union.

Fraud is a tax on economic progress, with the cost often being passed down to consumers. Inscribe is dedicated to helping companies outsmart fraudsters with AI. The venture-backed company, which raised $25M in Series B funding earlier this year, has an experienced team of data scientists and engineers who operate like investigators and use the latest advancements in AI technology to unlock invisible document fraud signals. Because Inscribe was first in the document fraud space and has spent years working with such a wide range of customers, it has the largest document network in the industry.

Download the full 2023 Document Fraud Report here. For more information on Inscribe, please visit our website.

About Inscribe

Inscribe helps companies fight document fraud with award-winning AI technology. By automating manual reviews, Inscribe customers can reduce fraud and credit losses while increasing customer win rates and employee efficiency, as well as protect their reputation. Founded in 2017, Inscribe is trusted by leading fintechs like TripActions, Plaid, Bluevine, and Ramp. Inscribe is backed by Threshold Ventures, Uncork Capital, Y Combinator, Crosslink Capital, and Foundry, and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Learn more at inscribe.ai.

SOURCE Inscribe

 , May 10, 2023 — Alpha Impact 8 Ventures (AI8 Ventures), a venture capital firm that invests in women and minority-led startups, today announced the appointment of Nikolas Schrobenhauser as Co-Managing Partner. Mr. Schrobenhauser, who will sit on the firm’s management and investment committees, will focus on expanding the firm’s overall growth in the United States and abroad and will co-manage day-to-day business operations.

“We are delighted to welcome Nik to the AI8 team,” said Carlos Ochoa, Founder and Managing Partner of AI8. “For over 16 years, Nik has successfully led business teams across corporate development, strategy, and sales. His expertise and leadership will help guide AI8 as we usher in our next growth phase as an organization.”

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with the team here at AI8 to help grow our business and cement our standing in the venture capital community,” said Mr. Schrobenhauser. “AI8 is uniquely positioned within the industry as it emphasizes impactful investing through diversity and inclusion. I am confident that our past success and future goals will resonate with investors seeking seasoned operators who can provide differentiated investment exposure while delivering prudent capital management.”

Mr. Schrobenhauser’s appointment to the position highlights a broader growth initiative for AI8 as it focuses on expanding its investor base globally and broadening its fund offerings. Mr. Schrobenhauser joins AI8 after spending 16 years in leadership positions at Och-Ziff Capital Management and K2 Advisors, among others. He began his career in management consulting and later spent time as a US equity trader before moving into alternative asset management.

About AI8
AI8 is a minority-owned venture capital firm with Future of Work, Fintech, Digital Education, and Impact and Sustainability investing expertise. The firm was founded in 2017 by Carlos Ochoa and Dion DeLoof after founding and leading multiple startups to successful exits. The firm has offices in San Francisco, California, and employs a remote workforce with colleagues across the US and Latin America. For more information, please visit www.alphaimpact8.com.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Alpha Impact 8 Ventures

$3 Million Series A Extension Continues Validation of Company’s Commercial Strategy.

ATLANTA, May 10, 2023 — Micron Biomedical, a life science company developing first-in-class dissolvable microarray-based products that are simplifying and advancing the delivery and administration of drugs and vaccines, today announced it has secured an additional $3 million investment from J2 Ventures, bringing its total Series A funding to $17 million. Announced originally in November 2022, the Series A was led by Global Health Investment Corporation (GHIC) and LTS Lohmann with participation from GRA Venture Fund.

The Series A extension will further support efforts to bring the company’s dissolvable microarray-based drug and vaccine products to markets globally, providing convenience and access in high income markets, including a focus on national health security, and meeting the needs of under-served populations in low- and middle-income countries. J2 Ventures Partner and former Chief Medical Officer of the Defense Innovation Unit, US Department of Defense, Dr. Matt Goldman, will join Micron’s board as an observer.

Micron’s patented microarray technology allows drugs and vaccines that today require cold storage and administration through injection to be self-administered or caregiver administered within minutes, without the need for refrigeration or administration by a skilled health professional. The technology significantly expands access by simplifying transport, storage and administration and eliminates traditional injection sharps waste. Completed trials show clinical efficacy and strong patient preference for Micron’s technology over injections.

“We’re excited by J2 Ventures’ support of our commercial strategy to bring important drug and vaccine products to markets globally,” said Micron CEO, Steven Damon. “We’ve been speaking with the team since they learned about us after our initial financing, and their participation coincides with significant commercial interest from their network, helping to further our goal of making this technology widely available to patients.”

“Our fund specializes in working with best-in-class deep technology that is primed to scale with government and Micron Biomedical is an obvious fit,” said Alexander Harstrick, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at J2 Ventures. “We are thrilled to support Micron’s efforts that have the potential to radically disrupt the most significant logistical obstacles in delivering pharmaceutical and vaccine products to both private sectors and the government. Products that utilize the Micron technology have the potential to accelerate positive global impact including national security and veteran health.” 

About Micron Biomedical 
Micron Biomedical is the leader in the field of dissolvable microarray-based, drug and vaccine administration technology. Micron Biomedical is a clinical stage life science company on a rapid path to commercializing its proprietary applicator-free, dissolvable, microarray technology. Micron’s technology is designed to improve access and achieve better health outcomes globally through injection free, painless, and simple and/or self administration of drugs and vaccines, and by eliminating or reducing the need for cold chain transport and storage, enhancing safety and efficacy, and improving patient compliance. Micron has partnered with or received funding from private and public pharmaceutical and biotech companies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, PATH and the Georgia Research Alliance. For more information visit www.micronbiomedical.com 

About J2 Ventures
J2 Ventures is an early-stage venture-capital firm that specializes in companies looking to bring transformational technologies to the private sector while also serving the unmet needs of the U.S. government. The firm focuses on areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, healthcare and material science. Formed in 2020 by Alexander Harstrick and Jonathan Bronson, J2 Ventures has had a meteoric rise in the VC landscape, known for building strong relationships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and creating value by leveraging the firm’s significant resources and network. The firm’s partners have invested over $4 billion in venture, private equity and defense, and approach each investment with a “whole-firm” mindset that ensures the firm brings the best to the entrepreneur. J2 Ventures is based in Boston, Massachusetts with additional presences in Washington, DC, San Francisco, California and London, England. Learn more at www.j2vp.com.

Media Inquiries:
Micron Biomedical, Inc
Public Relations
[email protected]

SOURCE Micron Biomedical, Inc.

Raises $4.5M Seed round, led by Pear VC and NEA, to reshape how work gets done

SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 10, 2023 — Today Orby AI (“Orby”) has announced that it emerged from stealth to further develop its AI platform designed to democratize the use of Generative AI to automate repetitive human processes. The company also announced that it has raised $4.5M in seed funding from lead investors Pear VC and New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA), with additional investment from Wing VC. The funding will be used to continue growing the team and further the research and development. Through its beta-stage development thus far, Orby has partnered with some of the world’s largest tech enterprises and other medium-sized companies.

According to a McKinsey Future of Work report, 60% of jobs have at least 30% of the work that is repetitive and automatable¹. Much of that work entails processing payments across finance and accounting departments, ticket resolution for customer support, and inputting lead management data for sales teams. Orby provides a unique “observe, learn, and automate” end-to-end experience. Orby observes a user’s activities, identifies repetitive work steps, and automatically generates code that ultimately automates these tasks. Moreover, Orby works behind the scenes to continuously learn from human feedback, becoming smarter over time with no coding involved whatsoever.

“If we think about an abacus, a computer, or any software, we have always learned to use tools to help us do our work,” shared Bella Liu, Orby AI’s Co-Founder and CEO, and Will Lu, Orby AI’s Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer. “What if AI can learn from us and then just do the work for us?”

They continued, “With the continual breakthroughs in AI, especially foundation models, and Orby’s world-class AI/ML talent team, we are excited to push the boundaries of what AI can do to revolutionize how people interact with AI.”

“Upon meeting Orby AI’s team, our views on AI automation’s potential found a perfect match. Our partnership has led to a world-class team that exceeds expectations, forging the future of AI observation and actions. Orby’s technology, already trusted by large enterprises, enables robust workflow automation at the speed of innovation for both enterprises and end users — a game-changer. We’re thrilled to partner with Orby AI, ushering in this transformative future.” said Arash Afrakhteh, Partner at Pear VC who also joined Orby’s board of directors.

“The Orby AI founding team has a clear vision, deep domain knowledge, and technical expertise in building state-of-the-art AI systems. We are impressed with their lightning speed to productize AI research capability and iterate based on real customers’ feedback. We are excited to partner with this team to see them fundamentally change how people get their work done.” said Scott Sandell, Managing General Partner at NEA. 

Orby AI’s founding team has spent the last decade in the AI automation industry and deeply understands the problem and solution space firsthand. Bella Liu led the AI product team at UiPath, a leading software automation company, from the early stage to post-IPO. Will Lu led the engineering team at Google Cloud AI and built state-of-the-art AI systems from scratch, including Knowledge Service, Doc AI, and Enterprise Knowledge Graph. Working with Liu and Lu at Orby is a deeply knowledgeable team consisting of world-class AI/ML researchers and engineers from Google, Stanford, and other leading AI startups.

About Orby AI

Orby AI is building the next-generation AI platform to bring the “auto-complete” experience to everyday business users and automate all mundane and repetitive tasks. Orby AI is backed by top-tier VCs with a track record of investing in category-defining companies. The company is founded by and employs a strong team with deep AI domain expertise. The Orby AI team is creating a future in which everyone can use AI to save time and achieve their full potential. To learn more, please visit www.orby.ai.

To sign up for the private beta waitlist, please fill in a short form here. The team is growing and open to hiring more talent to join the mission. Please visit the link here for more details or directly reach out to the team.

Orby AI Contact:

[email protected]

Sources:

1. McKinsey Global Institute. “A Future That Works: Automation, Employment and Productivity” January, 2017.

SOURCE Orby AI