Connext is building the HTTP of Web3, allowing developers to build applications that are accessible by any user, on any chain, using any token.

SAN FRANCISCO , June 14, 2023 — Connext, the pioneering blockchain interoperability protocol, today announced the closure of its strategic fundraising round of $7.5 million at a $250 million valuation. The latest round brings Connext’s total funding to $23.2 million. This capital will fund the setup and operation of the Connext Foundation. The foundation will play a critical role in the success of Connext, stewarding the development of the protocol and ensuring robust long-term growth of the ecosystem through development grants and funding of community-led initiatives.

The strategic round saw participation from Polychain Capital, NGC Ventures, Polygon Ventures, IOSG Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, KXVC, a_capital, No Limit Holdings, Factor, and Dokia Capital. Other Connext investors include Coinbase Ventures, Ethereal Ventures, 1k(x), #Hashed, and Scalar Capital.

Similar to how HTTP enabled the creation of the interconnected web that is widely used today, Connext makes it possible for developers to build interchain applications that can be accessed from any network and interact with funds and data on every blockchain, all at once. The underlying technology acts as a communication layer on top of existing, battle-tested infrastructure, giving users the best possible security, regardless of the chain they are on.

“In 2020, we realized that the future of web3 was going to look a lot like the internet does today: thousands of independent blockchain networks communicating with one another to create a single interconnected experience,” said Connext founder Arjun Bhuptani. “We pivoted our focus towards building this future as a public good. Today, Connext enables a new era of decentralized applications that, similar to applications on the web, can interact with users, data, and funds on many blockchains all at once.”

To date, over 1.2 million crosschain transactions have gone through Connext’s network. Since the launch of its V2 in late February 2023, the network has grown rapidly, adding over 20,000 new users in the last month, and 35 companies actively building on top of the protocol, including Metamask, Planet IX, and DODO.

Since its formation in 2017, Connext Labs has had a long history of pioneering critical blockchain infrastructure. In 2018, Connext built the first payment-focused Layer-2 scalability system on Ethereum, used by Metamask, The Graph, and others. In 2019, the team helped create one of the first widely used DAO frameworks, MolochDAO, which garnered support from Vitalik Buterin and Joe Lubin, among others. MolochDAO has since been used as the framework for hundreds of DAOs, governing millions of dollars in value.

“The Connext protocol not only revolutionizes how developers build Web3 applications but also addresses one of the most pressing issues in the blockchain landscape – security across chains,” said Joseph Lubin, Chairman at Ethereal Ventures and ConsenSys Mesh. “We firmly believe in Connext’s vision and are confident they have the right team and technology to create an interconnected future for all blockchain networks.”

For more information, please visit: https://connext.network/

About Connext

Connext is the HTTP of Web3.

Users of decentralized applications currently face a complex and fragmented experience. To use Web3, they need the knowledge and skills necessary to connect to, bridge funds, and move data between different blockchain networks. This process is completely opaque for users and, as we’ve seen from over $1.5B in crosschain bridge hacks in the past two years, exposes them to unprecedented security risks.

As a public good, Connext aims to build an open and accessible future where users can reap the benefits of blockchains without specialized knowledge, or exposure to unnecessary risk. The Connext protocol paves the way for developers to easily create entirely new classes of blockchain applications that look and feel just like Instagram, Wikipedia, or other applications we use today.

Resources:
Website: https://connext.network/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/connextnetwork
Blog: https://blog.connext.network/

Media Contact:
[email protected]

SOURCE Connext

Tracer doubles its Series A target, co-led by Progress Ventures and Bertelsmann’s BDMI with participation from S4S Ventures and Arbour Way Investors

NEW YORK, June 14, 2023 — Tracer, the leading data intelligence platform, announced today the appointment of Obele Brown-West to President of Tracer. With her award-winning experience and expertise in integrated marketing, Brown-West will spearhead Tracer’s strategic growth initiatives, further solidifying the company’s position as a revolutionary force in the industry.

Brown-West brings 20 years of experience in leading domestic and global initiatives to Tracer where she will oversee all revenue and operations activities. As she assumes the role of President, Tracer is set to scale new heights under her leadership. The company closes its Series A round co-led by Progress Ventures and BDMI, part of Bertelsmann’s corporate venture arm Bertelsmann Investments, with participation from S4S Ventures, the venture capital firm investing in early-stage companies focused on transforming the marketing and advertising sector through digital innovation, and Arbour Way Investors. Along with the Series A leads, Sanja Partalo of S4S Ventures is joining the Board of Directors.

“I was impressed by Tracer’s ability to drive value and insights regardless of where a business is on its data journey by harnessing the power of data,” said Brown-West. “Throughout my career, I have come across numerous solutions, but Tracer stands out as the only one effectively addressing the technical complexities that brands encounter in today’s reporting ecosystem.”

Tracer is backed by Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore’s VCP Ventures, Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s Thirty Five Ventures, Stephen Ross and Matt Higgins’ RSE Ventures, and Gary Vaynerchuk. Tracer was initially incubated within VaynerX, the umbrella company led by Vaynerchuk, until its launch in 2018.

“We at VCP Ventures are proud to see other investors recognize Tracer’s opportunity to become a billion-dollar company and congratulate them on completing their Series A round,” said Rodriguez.

“Over the past two years, Tracer’s value has only grown more evident as the company continues to grow its client base, scale its team and innovate the product. We perceive an unparalleled investment opportunity with Tracer through our persistent trust in the capabilities of this world-class team and the relentless pursuit of their vision,” said Lore.  

As it becomes increasingly more difficult to effectively leverage data, the Tracer product solves both the technical and business complexities that companies face. Tracer empowers brands to analyze performance within the context of what actually matters, while removing the friction to answer questions through data.

The technology seamlessly integrates and contextualizes cross-platform data. The solution’s differentiation lies in its flexible product design, user interface and the ability to create automated reporting and analytics across any data source without unnecessary overhead. Automated rules configure how data sources talk to each other and data is organized into constructs relevant to each business. Tracer’s use of data strategy elements – people, process, product – make its approach to data aggregation unique and results more significant.

Tracer’s Co-Founders CEO Jeff Nicholson and CTO Leighton Welch remain steadfast in their commitment to scaling the company. 

“Obele’s hiring and the caliber of talent she represents marks the beginning of an exciting growth phase for Tracer,” said Nicholson. “We’re extremely humbled by the group of partners that have participated in our Series A and the level of interest we’ve received. We are thankful for the continued support of our past investors who helped make this opportunity possible.”

Since its initial seed funding in 2021, Tracer has doubled its team and added to its impressive client roster which includes Condé Nast, Headspace, January Digital, Media.Monks, Sanofi, and VaynerMedia.

“Data is the new oil in all new technologies and there is no data intelligence platform like Tracer,” said S4S Investment Committee member and Executive Chairman of S4Capital Sir Martin Sorrell of the decision to back the business. “Media.Monks is a client and it’s been invaluable to us to have Tracer as a single source of truth on client accounts. Investing was a natural next step.”

With a comprehensive suite of agnostic technology, Tracer offers unparalleled transparency into business performance and provides brands customized answers to specific needs.

ABOUT TRACER
Tracer is a data intelligence platform that revolutionizes modern data stack management by eliminating technical complexity. Tracer empowers global brands, data partners and agencies to make strategic decisions by seamlessly consolidating data sources and enriching it with business insights. By leveraging its comprehensive and flexible suite of technologies, Tracer provides unparalleled transparency into business performance and delivers a centralized source of truth.

SOURCE Tracer

AUSTIN, Texas, June 14, 2023 — Propertymate, a proptech startup that simplifies the homebuying experience of new construction homes, announced today that they raised $5.5M in seed funding. With given investments, the company aims to expand to new markets in the US and rebrands as NewHomesMate. The new brand name reflects the focus on the new construction homes market and the mission to help homebuyers get the best experience of navigating and buying newly built homes.

Dan Hnatkovskyy and Sofia Vyshnevska launched NewHomesMate (formerly Propertymate) in 2020. In 2021 the company raised $1M in the pre-seed round led by Pragmatech Ventures, who joined as investors in this round as well. 

In this seed round, the company has raised $5.5M from Gaingels, Geek Ventures, Asymmetry Ventures, Unpopular Ventures, Flyer One Ventures, U.Ventures, Verras Capital, SID Venture Partners, and Pragmatech Ventures. Amongst angel investors in this round: David Morrison (ex-CEO Oliver Wyman), Adrian Slywotzky (American economist), Jonathan Wasserstrum (founder SquareFoot), John Gu (Norwest Venture Partners), Benny Czarny (founder Opswat).

“We were lucky to be the first investor in this round and witness the company growing over 11X within the last year while delivering a huge positive impact to local communities” – Ihar Mahaniok, Managing Partner at Geek Ventures. 

The United States is experiencing an accelerating housing shortage crisis. According to an analysis from Realtor.com, the gap between single-family home constructions and household formations grew to 6.5 million homes between 2012 and 2022.

The pandemic changed the way how people think about their homes and where they want to live. In many markets, new constructions very often were the only option to buy a home, avoiding bidding wars that were hiking the housing prices up. With growing interest rates, the picture changed completely. But the Builders who were scaling their production in the past few years had no option but to adapt to changing market landscape, providing different options and incentives to make new builds more attractive.

But still, finding information about new construction homes and navigating the home-buying process is very confusing for home buyers.

NewHomesMate (ex-Propertymate) launched a new construction home marketplace to serve this specific cause. Since the last fundraising round company has scaled to 9 new markets: Dallas, Houston, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, San Antonio, Miami – Ft. Lauderdale, Raleigh-Durham, and Ocala–Gainesville, in addition to the first market – Austin, TX. With its new capital, NewHomesMate’s immediate priority is to expand its service to another eight markets.

“These investments give our team a great opportunity to expand to new markets and deliver more value to homebuyers and builders. Propertymate rebrands as NewHomesMate to better reflect the focus on our mission to make the new construction home buying process a lot better. Also, within the next year, we plan to launch another eight markets, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Charlotte, Charleston, and Denver. ” – Dan Hnatkovskyy, Propertymate CEO and Co-founder.

Even though the startup operates in the US, both founders are Ukraine-born and managed to grow the business despite the war and being part of the team in Ukraine. The main headquarter of the startup is based in Austin, with a team of 91 people that they plan to extend.

About Propertymate

Propertymate is an Austin-based startup that helps homebuyers to search, compare, and buy new construction homes. The platform aims to digitize and simplify the new construction home-buying process by matching buyers with home builders. Propertymate was founded by Dan Hnatkovskyy and Sofia Vyshnevska. In 2020, the startup graduated from the acceleration program Techstars in Austin. In 2023 raised a 5.5M  seed round.

Team photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PBRnRLlo_GwL9oOeB24hxPeTI0qnusgs?usp=sharing

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2101636/Propertymate.jpg
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2101637/NewHomesMate_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Propertymate

MUSIC led $15 million pre-growth investment to unlock the $40 billion background music opportunity, facilitating B2B music subscriptions as a core driver of ARPU improvements worldwide

STOCKHOLM, N.Y., June 14, 2023 — Soundtrack Your Brand, the leading global music streaming service for businesses, today announced its $15 million pre-growth round led by MUSIC, a holding company led by Matt Pincus in partnership with Liontree, JS Capital Management and Schusterman Family Investments.

The round also included funding from leading music investors Dundee Partners and was supported by all major existing Soundtrack investors including Balderton Capital, Fuel Venture Capital, Industrifonden, Telia and DIG.

“It’s hard to believe but, before Soundtrack Your Brand, business owners had no legitimate option to play music on demand for their customers,” says Pincus. “Almost every business has some need for music – and most business owners believe that music creators should be paid for their work. It sounds obvious, but it took a mountain of technological and business innovation to bring on demand music to enterprise and Soundtrack nailed it.”

Soundtrack’s current ARPU is $33 and growing, compared to the B2C average of around $5, so the industry should be really motivated to support Sars’ ambition to digitize the legacy background music market. Soundtrack Your Brand unlocking the B2B market represents one of few tangible solutions to increasing ARPU for streaming worldwide.

The investment enables Soundtrack Your Brand to double down on its successful go-to-market strategy, delivering 60% YoY revenue growth in 2022, unlocking EBITDA profitability in Q1 2023 and reaching $25 million in ARR closing April 2023.

“Our mission to bring transparency and accountability to the dysfunctional background music market is gaining momentum,” Soundtrack Your Brand CEO Ola Sars said. “Our financial performance and operational efficiency are both already very strong, but with this investment Soundtrack Your Brand can expand our growth model into M&A, consolidating the fragmented background music market and ensuring continued premium ARPU and fair compensation to music creators.”

In conjunction with MUSIC’s investment, Pincus will join Soundtrack Your Brand’s board and support the company’s mission.

Moving into 2024, the company will raise in an additional growth round to fund the further consolidation of the global background music market.

For more information about Soundtrack Your Brand, visit soundtrackyourbrand.com.

ABOUT SOUNDTRACK YOUR BRAND:
Soundtrack Your Brand helps thousands of businesses strengthen relationships with customers through music. Supported by its leading AI platform powering music selection for brands, Soundtrack Your Brand provides a beautiful, all-in-one solution for streaming music to stores, hotels, restaurants, and other commercial settings. Soundtrack Your Brand was founded in 2013 by Ola Sars as a joint effort with Spotify, as Spotify for Business. Soundtrack Your Brand is the world’s fastest-growing B2B music streaming service. Clients include iconic brands such as McDonald’s, Lululemon, Uniqlo, Joe & The Juice, Aesop and Tag Heuer, to name a few. Learn more at soundtrackyourbrand.com and @soundtrackyourbrand on social media.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Elle Welch
[email protected] 
(423) 605-5553

SOURCE Soundtrack Your Brand

• Fund led by Marcelo Claure as Executive Chairman and Managing Partner alongside Shu Nyatta as Managing Partner
• Bicycle Capital is one of the largest first-time venture funds since market correction of 2022, with anchor commitments from Claure Group, Marcelo Claure’s Family Office, and Mubadala Investment Company
• Fund will be distributed to accredited investors in Brazil through BTG Pactual’s investment products platform

MIAMI and NEW YORK and SAO PAULO, June 14, 2023 — Bicycle Capital, a new growth equity firm focused on Latin America, has announced the launch of its first fund, Bicycle I with initial commitments of approximately US$440M, targeting a total fund size of US$500M. The firm will be led by Marcelo Claure as Executive Chairman and Managing Partner alongside Mwashuma (“Shu”) Nyatta as Managing Partner.

Marcelo Claure is the Founder & CEO of Claure Group, a multi-billion-dollar global investment firm. He has made a commitment to focus his time, capital, and expertise to Latin America over the next several years. As part of this commitment, in January 2023 Claure invested US$100 million in SHEIN, a leading, global on-demand fashion company, where he now serves as Chairman of Latin America. He is well known in Latin America generally and to founders in the region, having built Brightstar from a small distributor to the world’s largest global wireless distribution and services company. In addition, Claure led the turnaround of US wireless telecommunications company Sprint and helped orchestrate its US$195 billion merger with T-Mobile, creating what is now the most valuable telecommunications company in the world, with a market cap of nearly US$200 billion. Claure is also the former CEO of SoftBank Group International where he launched SoftBank’s $8B Latin America Funds.  

Shu Nyatta is a former Managing Partner at SoftBank Group International where he, under the leadership of Claure, was a co-founder of SoftBank’s Latin America Funds as well as the SB Opportunity Fund for under-represented founders in the US. Prior to that, Nyatta was a Partner at SoftBank’s Vision Fund and a founding member of SoftBank’s growth investment team in San Francisco, starting in 2015. While at SoftBank, Shu invested in a broad range of industries and geographies, from semiconductors, AI and genomics in the US and Europe to marketplaces and fintechs in China, India and Latin America. Shu was previously an investment banker with JPMorgan and a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

Bicycle I is anchored by Mubadala Investment Company, an Abu Dhabi based sovereign investor, and Claure Group, Marcelo Claure’s family office. Additional capital commitments for the initial closing come from prominent global tech investors and founders.

Bicycle’s strategy is to partner very selectively with the best founders in the region, helping them scale their startups into resilient and valuable companies. Beyond capital, Bicycle will seek to work hand-in-hand with founders, sharing extensive experience gained from operating, scaling, transforming and exiting companies across geographies and industries. In addition, Bicycle will provide access to a global network of mentors, talent and commercial partners. Although Bicycle is focused primarily on founders in Latin America, the fund may also invest opportunistically in leading global growth-stage companies with meaningful business in Latin America.

Bicycle Capital represents a significant bet on Latin America, in particular Brazil and Mexico. These two countries have large, young populations with meaningful purchasing power, and are experiencing attractive geopolitical and macro-economic tailwinds; both are expected to be among the top 6 economies in the world by 2050¹. The new firm is founded on the conviction that Latin America is home to exceptional founders who are addressing large and attractive markets yet lack the reliable capital needed to achieve durable scale. This thesis has been reinforced by the team’s four years of experience working with startups across the region, during which time annual venture capital invested in Latin America initially increased from $3B in 2018 to a high of $16B in 2021², but then collapsed back down to less than $1B per quarter in 2023³. This spike in capital attracted global talent and sparked bold new ideas, resulting in more early-stage companies being created in Latin America than ever before⁴. However, even in booming 2021, venture capital funding was only 0.3% of GDP in Latin America, compared to 0.7% in China, 1.1% in India and 1.5% in the United States⁵. As capital has dried up after the 2021 peak, many startups have been left stranded, especially at Series B and beyond. Bicycle’s strategy is to partner with a select number of these growth-stage companies, at fair prices, and help them scale into resilient, world-class businesses.

“This fund will be the cornerstone of my commitment to and focus on Latin America“, said Marcelo Claure. “Latin America has a unique combination of excellent founders, a digitally savvy population, and more opportunities than capital. Through Bicycle Capital, I am looking forward to deploying not only capital, but also my experience and connections to positively alter the trajectory of exceptional companies in the region.”

Shu Nyatta added, “The combination of talented founders and committed capital is a proven recipe for building great companies, but capital tends to be unevenly distributed. We get particularly energized when we find exceptional founders solving big problems in places that have been largely ignored by big pools of global capital, like Latin America. We believe these rare situations create the potential for outsized returns.”

Faris Sohail Al Mazrui, Head of Ventures and Growth at Mubadala, added: “We are excited to anchor Bicycle Capital’s first Latin America-focused fund. The startup ecosystem in Latin America is rapidly evolving, and we believe that there is significant potential to create value by supporting exceptional companies and founders in scaling their businesses. Mubadala has been investing in Brazil for more than a decade, and we look forward to broadening our exposure across the region through this partnership.”

Bicycle Capital is actively investing capital starting today.

About Claure Group
Claure Group is a multi-billion-dollar global investment firm founded by Marcelo Claure that spans multiple high growth sectors including tech, telecom, media, real estate, sports and others.  The Claure Group portfolio includes investments in companies like T-Mobile, the world’s most valuable telecommunications company where Claure is the largest individual shareholder; SHEIN, the world’s fastest growing on-demand fashion company, where Claure advises the CEO as Chairman of Latin America; TelevisaUnivision, the leading Spanish-language media and content company; Nubank, one of the world’s largest digital financial services platforms; and Form Energy, an innovative energy storage technology and manufacturing company. Marcelo Claure is a beneficial owner of Bicycle Management Company, L.P. and will receive a portion of carried interest generated by the fund and thus has an incentive to recommend the fund, including over similar vehicles that may have lower fees.

About Mubadala
Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio, aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for the Government of Abu Dhabi.

Mubadala’s $284 billion (AED 1045 billion) portfolio spans six continents with interests in multiple sectors and asset classes. We leverage our deep sectoral expertise and long-standing partnerships to drive sustainable growth and profit, while supporting the continued diversification and global integration of the economy of the United Arab Emirates. Mudabala is a beneficial owner of Bicycle Management Company, L.P. and will receive a portion of any carried interest generated by the fund and thus has an incentive to recommend the fund, including over similar vehicles that may have lower fees.

For more information about Mubadala Investment Company, please visit: www.mubadala.com.

¹ PWC report “The World in 2050”; excludes Russia.
² Pitchbook.
³ CB Insights.
⁴ LAVCA.
⁵ Pitchbook for VC investments; World Bank for GDP.

SOURCE Bicycle Capital

RESTON, Va., June 14, 2023 — Silent Push, a detection-focused threat intelligence company, announced today the company’s launch with a total of $10M in seed funding led by global cybersecurity specialist investor Ten Eleven Ventures.

Silent Push takes a unique approach to identifying emerging cyber threats by providing the most comprehensive view of global internet-facing infrastructure available and applying deep analysis to reveal new attacker infrastructure and campaigns. Customers can now understand emerging threats before launch, be prepared, and proactively solve problems.

As cyber threats continue to grow, organizations have traditionally focused on detecting threats by using intelligence feeds with indicators of compromise (IOCs). Silent Push’s approach goes beyond that by providing the capability to understand what attackers are doing prior to an attack, delivering detailed analysis of the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) employed by threat actors. This information provides insights into their capabilities and targets – Silent Push acts like a threat radar, allowing organizations to see what attackers are doing. Silent Push can be used stand-alone or integrated via an API into commonly used security tools, such as a SIEM.

Ken Bagnall (CEO) and John Jensen (CTO) are well-known veteran co-founders who have worked together for over 15 years, most recently at FireEye, Inc., who acquired their previous company, The Email Laundry.

“Our unique ability lies in knowing the attacker’s TTPs –  what they are doing to prepare for an attack or campaign,” said Ken Bagnall, CEO of Silent Push. “A good example of this is where we recently observed attackers using legitimate websites to redirect to threat actor-controlled intermediate ‘cushion servers’, which leads to phishing URLs with fake Microsoft logins.”

The company currently has over 500 organizations on the free community edition (https://www.silentpush.com/community-app ), including commercial and government organizations, and security researchers. The paid Enterprise edition has already been adopted by security teams of some of the world’s largest organizations. Customers can use the solution via the Silent Push browser interface, or tightly integrate into existing security solutions using the Silent Push API, allowing enrichment of any security event and replacing multiple existing products.

“At Ten Eleven Ventures, we always seek truly innovative solutions that provide more effective cyber defense. By taking a totally new approach to how signals are gathered and analyzed, Silent Push is dramatically elevating the impact that threat intelligence can have in protecting enterprises worldwide,” said Dave Palmer, General Partner at Ten Eleven Ventures and formerly one of the founders of Darktrace, a global leader in cyber security artificial intelligence. Palmer also has 13 years of experience in government intelligence operations, including at UK intelligence agencies GCHQ and MI5. “Silent Push’s detection-focused intelligence platform, which maps out the entire Internet-facing infrastructure daily to identify attackers setting up campaigns before they launch attacks, is one of a kind. It allows operators to dramatically enrich their defense decision making with proactive knowledge of the most relevant threats, and is already replacing multiple products in customer’s security stack.”

To join the Silent Push community, please visit:   https://www.silentpush.com/community-app

Resources:
Twitter – @silentpush, @silentpush_labs
Blog – https://www.silentpush.com/blog
Community Edition – https://www.silentpush.com/community-app
Knowledge Base – https://help.silentpush.com/docs

About Silent Push:

The Silent Push platform identifies emerging threats by providing the most comprehensive view of global internet-facing infrastructure available and applying deep analysis to reveal attacker infrastructure and campaigns. The platform also detects rogue assets, configuration drift, and other changes in any organization’s internet-facing infrastructure. Customers can now understand emerging threats before launch, be prepared, and proactively solve problems.

About Ten Eleven Ventures

Ten Eleven Ventures is the original cybersecurity-focused, global, stage agnostic investment firm. The firm finds, invests, and helps grow top cybersecurity companies addressing critical digital security needs, tapping its team, network, and experience to help build successful businesses. Since its founding, Ten Eleven Ventures has raised over $US 1 billion and made over 40 cybersecurity investments across stages worldwide, including KnowBe4, Darktrace, Axis Security, Twistlock, Verodin, Cylance, and Ping Identity. For more information, please visit www.1011vc.com or follow us on Twitter @1011vc.

Media Contact:
Danielle Ostrovsky
Hi-Touch PR
410-302-9459
[email protected]

SOURCE Silent Push

LONDON, June 14, 2023 — NewComma, a groundbreaking social media platform empowering African and Black creatives, has successfully closed its pre-seed funding round in partnership with SFC Capital, the UK’s leading early-stage investment firm. The funding will accelerate NewComma’s tech development, and empower African/Black creatives to reshape the global creative industry.

With thousands of users on the platform, NewComma provides them a digital space to showcase their portfolios, connect with professionals, and explore job opportunities. Employers can discover exceptional talent while ensuring diversity in global companies with budget-friendly data-driven recruitment tools.

“NewComma presents a unique opportunity to transform the African creative industry,” says Ed Stevenson, Investment Executive at SFC Capital. “We were impressed by NewComma’s innovative approach and passion for empowering African/Black talent, combined with their understanding of the market’s potential, it convinced us to support their vision.”

By 2030, young Africans are projected to comprise 42% of the global youth population, necessitating the establishment of supportive structures. Especially as Africa’s digital economy expands and remote work becomes more prevalent.

Natalie Narh, CEO and Co-Founder of NewComma, asserts, “When people talk about Africa today, they often refer to immense opportunities that lie ahead. We believe Africa is now.” Nigel Atta-Mensah, NewComma’s COO and Co-Founder, adds, “African governments need to create 18 million new jobs annually to accommodate the ambitious population entering the workforce; by nurturing creatives into the formal sector, we can provide countless opportunities.”

To learn more about NewComma and hire diverse creative talent, visit newcomma.com.

Boilerplate:

NewComma empowers African creatives through a disruptive social media platform that offers showcasing, networking, and job opportunities. With digital portfolios and data-driven recruitment tools, it revolutionises hiring globally. By fostering connectivity and growth in the African creative industry, NewComma empowers talent and drives innovation across the continent and its diaspora.

SFC Capital is the UK’s most active seed-stage investor, providing seed capital and support to promising British startups. By combining our leading investment funds with our angel syndicate, we have created a unique model that provides investors with diversified exposure to high-potential SEIS and EIS-qualifying businesses. Since 2012, SFC has invested in over 450 startups and partnered with the likes of British Business Investments to support innovation across all UK regions. To learn more about what we do and see our portfolio, visit sfccapital.com.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2096765/NewComma.jpg

SOURCE NewComma

• East Ventures Sustainability Report 2023 provides an in-depth illustration of East Ventures’ sustainability journey of catalyzing impact within its ecosystem
• Serving as the second report, East Ventures Sustainability Report 2023 reinforces East Ventures’ unwavering commitment to transparency and its role in forging the path toward a sustainable future

East Ventures Sustainability Report 2023

JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 13, 2023 — East Ventures, a pioneering and leading sector-agnostic venture capital firm in Indonesia, launched East Ventures Sustainability Report 2023. This report demonstrates East Ventures and its ecosystem’s continued commitment to integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks and practices in creating sustainable value for society.

“The second East Ventures Sustainability Report aligns with East Ventures’ mission to not only deliver strong financial returns but also to make a meaningful and lasting impact on the environment and society. By adhering to the ESG standards, we believe we can maximize the impact creation of our investment and initiatives. We enable high potential companies to grow sustainable market propositions, thereby empowering a more inclusive society and the region’s economy to prosper,” said Willson Cuaca, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at East Ventures.

As a sustainable investor, East Ventures has made the principles and standards for ESG and impact management part of its investment decision. The firm takes a practical approach to generate and catalyze positive impacts by prioritizing the creation of a solid core business as the foundation for sustainable development. East Ventures supports promising founders and their teams in developing innovative products and robust business models. By enabling these businesses to grow more substantially and sustainably, East Ventures fosters collaboration to create more focused strategies that generate sustainable value for society and the environment.

The report features East Ventures’ sustainable investment and ESG initiatives, providing transparent information on the firm’s sustainability performance. It summarizes the milestones achieved, including the impacts created through the investment, impacts led by East Ventures, and impacts in the workplace.

“It is our great pleasure to launch the second East Ventures Sustainability Report 2023 and to highlight how our commitment and impact have grown steadily since our first sustainability report released last year. We take pride in our achievements and remain committed to creating more positive impacts based on our sustainable investment strategy that focuses on Doing Good and Avoiding Harm. We believe this report shows our determination to drive more positive change, create lasting value, and contribute to a better society,” said Avina Sugiarto, Partner at East Ventures.

East Ventures Sustainability Report 2023 also showcases East Ventures’ proactive measures towards its climate action; It is enriched with a section of “Spotlight on climate technology”, as well as the disclosure of firm’s greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory as the concrete steps towards net-zero targets.

The English version of East Ventures Sustainability Report 2023 can be downloaded at east.vc/sustainability-report. The Bahasa Indonesia version will be released soon.

About East Ventures

East Ventures is a pioneering and leading sector-agnostic venture capital firm. Founded in 2009, East Ventures has transformed into a holistic platform that provides multi-stage investment, from Seed to Growth stage investments, for over 300 tech companies across Southeast Asia.

As an early believer in the startup ecosystem in Indonesia, East Ventures is the first investor of Indonesia’s unicorn companies, namely Tokopedia and Traveloka. Other notable companies in East Ventures’ portfolio include Ruangguru, SIRCLO, Kudo (acquired by Grab), Loket (acquired by Gojek), Tech in Asia, Xendit, IDN Media, MokaPOS (acquired by Gojek), ShopBack, KoinWorks, Waresix, and Sociolla.

East Ventures was named the most consistent top performing VC fund globally by Preqin, and the most active investor in SEA and Indonesia by various media. Moreover, East Ventures is the first venture capital firm in Indonesia to sign the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) supported by the United Nations (UN). East Ventures is committed to achieving sustainable development and bringing positive impacts to society through its initiatives and ESG-embedded practices.

SOURCE East Ventures

MINNEAPOLIS, June 13, 2023 — Brown Venture Group LLC, a venture capital firm formed to fund Black, Latino and Indigenous technology entrepreneurs, announced today that The Huntington National Bank (Huntington) made a $3 million commitment to its inaugural fund.

Brown Venture Group, which is a majority Black-led organization, was founded in 2018 with the goal of raising $50 million to invest in entrepreneurs of color who in the past have not had access to venture capital and have experienced economic barriers to contribution.

Huntington’s commitment to Brown Venture Group was led by its Corporate Ventures team, which is focused on developing and executing partnerships, investments and new ventures that accelerate the momentum of Huntington’s business segments. Huntington has a long history of supporting small businesses and is the nation’s largest originator by volume of Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) loans for the fifth consecutive year.

“We are excited to partner with Huntington as they support underfunded and undervalued minority entrepreneurs,” said Brown Venture Group Co-Founder and Managing Partner Dr. Paul Campbell. “We look forward to unlocking the upside opportunity for a group of under-resourced innovators and founders who are still getting less than 1% of venture capital dollars three years after the racial reckoning that started right here in Minneapolis.”

“A key part of our purpose at Huntington is helping businesses thrive, so we are honored to partner with Brown Venture Group and support its mission to help minority tech entrepreneurs bring their vision to life,” added Darrel German, Minnesota regional president for Huntington. “All of our collective efforts are about building more vibrant, diverse and successful communities for all.”

Brown Venture Group has invested in 26 technology startups in various industries including clean energy, fintech, health tech and software across the country. In addition, the venture capital fund has forged important inclusive collaborations with NASA, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (a partnership driven by the Pro Bono Advisory Council) and tribal governments nationwide. 

About Brown Venture Group

Launched in 2018, Brown Venture Group, LLC, is a venture capital firm exclusively for Black, Latino and Indigenous technology startups. Brown Venture Group is writing a new playbook for both those interested in launching a minority-owned technology startup and those interested in investing in new technologies. For more information go to brownventuregroup.com.

About Huntington

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (Nasdaq: HBAN) is a $189 billion asset regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1866, The Huntington National Bank and its affiliates provide consumers, small and middle–market businesses, corporations, municipalities, and other organizations with a comprehensive suite of banking, payments, wealth management, and risk management products and services. Huntington operates more than 1,000 branches in 11 states, with certain businesses operating in extended geographies. Visit Huntington.com for more information.

SOURCE Brown Venture Group