SINGAPORE and LONDON, July 18, 2023 — MODIFI, the global cross-border business payments company, has secured a $100 million debt facility with HSBC Innovation Banking UK to further growth.

The partnership with HSBC Innovation Banking is a key component of MODIFI’s refinancing strategy, aimed at diversifying its funding sources with world-class capital providers. This comes on the heels of a  $75 million debt facility MODIFI recently closed with another leading global financial institution.

Nelson Holzner, CEO and Co-Founder of MODIFI, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership with HSBC, stating, “We are excited to partner with a top-notch financial institution like HSBC Innovation Banking to meet the growing demand of our customers for higher liquidity.”

“There is a growing need for innovative solutions that remove barriers, increase transparency and enable small and midsize businesses to trade on a par with larger corporates. We are incredibly excited at HSBC Innovation Banking to support MODIFI as it continues on its trajectory to become a leading provider of trade finance products,” said Conor Sheehy, Head of Fintech Warehouse Finance at HSBC Innovation Banking UK.

About MODIFI:

MODIFI is a global business payments company that helps exporters and importers to facilitate their business internationally. Through its digital platform, the company enables suppliers to receive instant payments while offering buyers the option to defer payments for up to 180 days. Founded in 2018, MODIFI has a presence in 11 locations worldwide, including Amsterdam, Berlin, New York, Mexico-City, Delhi, Mumbai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Dhaka with over 1,500 buyers and sellers across more than 50 countries.

About HSBC Innovation Banking:

HSBC Innovation Banking offers flexible banking solutions for start-ups, scale-ups, growth businesses, investors and those working towards IPO. From comprehensive banking to managing cashflow to plans for buyouts to Global Funds Banking, we fuel ideas at every stage of their journey.

For additional details please contact:
Alyona Povarova
Director of global marketing, MODIFI
[email protected]

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2154649/MODIFI_HSBC.jpg
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2080100/Modifi_Logo.jpg

SOURCE MODIFI B.V.

Round led by investment funds Highland Europe, Energize Ventures and existing investor Elephant underscores critical need for disruptive technology solutions to propel rapidly growing demand for new solar projects

VILNIUS, Lithuania, July 17, 2023 — PVcase, the global leader in solar project design software, announced today it has secured a joint investment of $100 million, bringing the company’s total funding to over $123 million. Highland Europe, Energize and existing investor Elephant all participated in the round.

Despite considerable resources already invested in the solar market, the solar engineering industry lacks the digitization needed to keep pace with demand. As the leading solar design solution PVcase is making solar project design faster, more efficient, and precise while solving the solar industry’s growing problem of “data risk.”

Data risk arises from a chain of factors. Utility-scale solar’s rapid global growth has made qualified designers and engineers scarce, growing developers’ use of software to automate tasks in design and ongoing operations. Yet data sources for that software – particularly in Europe – are in older formats, such as PDFs and hard copy records. And most solar software platforms were designed independent of each other, built to automate only a handful of tasks.

As a result, developers must now use as many as 70 different data sets, most with fields of data that must be manually matched when moving from one software platform to the next. These multiple, time-consuming and customized transfers inevitably degrade data quality, creating data risk.

“Data risk is a technical problem that has become an industry-wide constraint,” said PVcase CEO David Trainavicius. “We plan to use this investment to drive more cost and time savings by offering a one-stop solar design platform.”

PVcase aims to cover every step in the design and operations process in a single platform and this investment comes on the heels of the company’s recent acquisition of solar siting leader Anderson Optimization. The two platforms’ data fields have already been matched, enabling transfer with a few mouse clicks. PVcase also introduced Anderson Optimization software to the European market, first covering Germany, Spain and the UK. PVcase estimates that European developers will be able to cut their project design process from weeks to roughly 20 minutes.

The merged product line carries a significant number of benefits. Trainavicius said the biggest is ensuring developers only spend time and resources on viable sites

“Good, streamlined data across the design and construction lifecycle is the fuel we need to keep the renewable energy transition moving toward a cleaner future. We need to advance solar operations fully into the digital age by reducing data risk. We’re making this investment so PVcase can lead the industry to a solution,” said Irena Goldenberg, Partner at Highland Europe.

“The utility-scale solar industry is poised for explosive global growth in the coming years, yet it currently lacks the digital tools needed to meet the demand of the market,” said John Tough, managing partner of Energize Ventures and now a member of the PVcase board of directors. “Software solutions aimed at automating solar workflows and increasing data integrity are required for the market to become profitable and scalable. After getting to know the PVcase team, product and customers over the last two years, Energize is confident that PVcase is the software the industry needs to unlock its growth potential.”

All three investment funds said they invested in PVcase because its strong financial performance has positioned it to acquire other software platforms in pursuit of its long-term goal of being a one-stop solution for the solar engineering community.

The company has operated almost exclusively from its revenue stream while expanding into 75 countries. This enabled it to build earlier investments into a significant cash reserve to use in upcoming acquisitions.

“In utility-scale solar design and construction, the physical output can only be as good as the software and data inputs. PVcase is building the leading end-to-end solution in the category, allowing its customers to more effectively design and develop scaled solar projects,” said Peter Fallon, General Partner at Elephant. “The Company is growing rapidly and capital efficiently, and we are excited to continue to back the team.”

“For solar data, there are no standards for how much to collect, when and how often to collect it, and what the data should cover,” said PVcase Chief Commercial Officer Douglas Geist. “PVcase’s momentum won the confidence of these investors that we can address this challenge.”

About PVcase

PVcase is a next-generation PV software-as-a-service company. Driven by world-class engineering and a cutting-edge development team, PVcase is helping power the energy transition by making solar project design faster, more efficient and more precise. 

We give design teams the confidence that they can manage the risk to data quality as they use different software platforms for individual tasks in the design process – what we call “data risk.” That’s why PVcase products are the top choice of solar design professionals and development companies in 75 countries. Apart from the acclaimed Ground Mount tool, the company also offers PVcase Roof Mount and Yield software.

Website: www.pvcase.com / LinkedIn: PVcase / Twitter: @wearepvcase / Instagram: @wearepvcase

SOURCE PVcase

Unveils Operators Consortium with Industry Giants Maersk, DHL Supply Chain, SCI, Ryder System Inc., and More to Propel Global Adoption of Recommerce Management Technology

SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 17, 2023 — Arrive Recommerce, Inc., the technology company that powers Returns to Recommerce™ for brands and retailers, announced today that it has raised $16M in Series A funding. The funding will be used to expand the platform to more brands and operators as Arrive Recommerce continues to grow in the booming recommerce industry.

Additionally, Arrive Recommerce is announcing the launch of the Arrive Recommerce Operators Consortium, a group of top operators and retailers interested in recommerce. Maersk, DHL Supply Chain, SCI, Ryder System, Inc, and others have joined the consortium, which will help promote and expand the use of recommerce management technology worldwide.

A sophisticated recommerce solution is becoming an essential component of a brand or retailer’s ecommerce strategy and reverse logistics technology solution. Arrive’s modular and easy to implement Recommerce Management Technology allows brands and retailers to launch a profitable, branded and sustainable resale channel in less than 8 weeks.

The Series A funding was co-led by Javelin Venture Partners and Climatic VC, with participation from other funds including Maersk Growth, Sidekick VC, Cosmic Venture Partners, 444 Capital, Freestyle VC, Animo VC, Banana Capital, Alpaca VC, Regeneration VC and Wedbush Ventures. The total funding for the company now stands at $25.1M.

Arrive Recommerce is leading the resale market with a profitable, sustainable and scalable branded resale channel. Returns to Recommerce™ focuses on turning a cost center into a profit center by helping brands and retailers direct their products such as non-new returns, excess inventory, and damaged inventory into a fully-branded revenue generating resale channel.

Arrive Recommerce powers recommerce for brands and retailers ranging in size and industry and is live with brands offering apparel, outdoor products, and hard goods. Arrive continues to expand with additional brand, retail, and operator partners in 2023. The company recently launched a partnership with YETI to offer their non-new returned products for resale (YETI.Rescues.com).

“Recommerce should be a core pillar of a brand or retailer’s strategy,” says Rachelle Snyder, CEO & Co-founder of Arrive Recommerce. “Our investors and brand partners share our enthusiasm about the evolution of this space, and this funding will allow us to expand our platform, continuing to lead this space with innovation and brand protection.”

“Recommerce is a trend that is exploding with demand from both the brand and consumer side. By providing a profitable sustainable program with our returns based resale offering we have hit a sweet spot in the market,” says Ross Richmond, COO and Co-founder. “It’s great to be solving a problem that brands have been unable to solve effectively to date and create an opportunity for consumers to buy like-new products directly from the brands they love.”

Jed Katz, Managing Director at Javelin Venture Partners, said, “We are excited to co-lead this round and support Arrive Recommerce in their mission to power the recommerce industry. The growth around recommerce is undeniable, and Arrive’s technology is at the forefront of this trend.”

The resale market provides a profitable new revenue stream for brands, and implementing sustainable practices will reduce waste and operational costs and help companies achieve their net zero goals. Recommerce is becoming a staple of every brand and retailer’s product offering.

“Arrive’s focus on sustainability and technology that enables brands to reduce waste and drive profitability aligns with the growing importance of resale and sustainability in today’s market. Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable practices from the brands they support, and investing in recommerce and sustainability can help brands meet these demands while improving their bottom line,” said Josh Felser, Partner at Climatic VC.

Arrive Recommerce has also garnered the attention of and established relationships with operators and logistics partners as Arrive’s Recommerce Management Technology allows them to easily implement and launch recommerce to their existing brand and retailer clients.

“As a company committed to sustainability and responsible business practices, Maersk Growth is proud to invest in Arrive Recommerce’s mission to reduce waste. Arrive’s technology offers a profitable solution for brands to manage their non-new returns while also reducing their environmental impact. By supporting Arrive Recommerce, we are driving innovation and positive change in the retail industry,” said Peter V Jorgensen, Partner at Maersk Growth.

For more information, please visit https://thearriveplatform.com/.

About Arrive:

Arrive Recommerce is leading the resale market with a profitable, sustainable and scalable branded resale channel. Returns to Recommerce™ focuses on turning a cost center into a profit center by helping brands and retailers divert products such as non-new returns, excess inventory, and damaged inventory into a fully-branded revenue generating resale channel.

Arrive’s Recommence Management Technology, Recommerce Storefront Technology and Analytical Tools allow brands to drive more revenue, more customers and improve operational efficiency. Arrive collaborates with companies in adjacent verticals such as returns management, logistics, and ecommerce enablement to increase margin and value for our brands.

Arrive was named the 4th Most Innovative Retail Company by Fast Company in 2022. Notable partners include brands like YETI and Burton Snowboards.

SOURCE Arrive Recommerce

Company is backed by leading investors including Bessemer Venture Partners and Health Velocity Capital

NEW YORK , July 17, 2023 — Torch Dental, the digital all-in-one dental supply partner for dental practices, announced its latest funding round of $28M which brings total funding since inception to approximately $40M. The Series B investment was led by Health Velocity Capital with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, which led previous financing rounds, FJ Labs, Felicis Ventures, Tectonic Ventures, Raga Partners, Town Hall Ventures among other investors.

The investment allows Torch to accelerate the digitization of procurement for dental practices across the United States, continue to grow a world class team and explore additional opportunities to partner with dental practices.

Khaled Boukadoum and Yassine Boukadoum started Torch when they found their dentist sister, Meriem Boukadoum, frustrated with the process of keeping track of her dental products and constantly needing to negotiate to get reasonable prices. As immigrants from Algeria, they found it odd that this sort of haggling and lack of transparency still existed in the modern U.S. healthcare system. They joined forces with software engineer Drew Werner, the son of a dental hygienist, who shared a similar passion for finding a better solution.

“We’re motivated to help dentists discover, order and pay for everything they need to run their practice. It’s rare to find an opportunity to accelerate the transition from analog to digital in such a large and important supply chain,” said Khaled Boukadoum, co-founder and Torch Dental board member. 

A New Take on the B2B Marketplace Approach
The Company has been at the tip of the spear when it comes to B2B marketplace innovation. Unlike consumer marketplaces, B2B marketplaces tend to engage with incumbent supply chains which can have its advantages but also adds the complexity of needing to align the goals of existing stakeholders. Practices currently use a mix of pen and paper, phone calls and emails to track and place billions of dollars of annual orders, which armies of vendor sales reps accept and process.

“I met the Torch team years ago and was surprised to learn that dental practices were still manually ordering supplies with limited price transparency. It seemed to make sense that the future would involve a digital ordering platform and a bit more price transparency,” said Kent Bennett, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and Torch Dental board member.

Torch has taken a hyper customer centric approach with the goal of empowering dental practices to take control of their supply ordering and back-office operations digitally. Torch offers custom dashboards for practices to discover new products, manage existing supply preferences, easily centralize ordering, and control spend by getting high quality products at fair prices. This saves practices dozens of hours monthly and materially decreases costs. The team is also using artificial intelligence to drive more supply chain efficiencies and better serve customers in their mission of transitioning the space from analog to digital.

“We’ve been impressed with how customer focused the team has been in building, which is delivering great results for their customers – we’re excited to see the adoption continue to grow in the industry.” said Saurabh Bhansali, partner at Health Velocity Capital and Torch Dental board member.

Torch is now partnered with over 2,000 dental practices and supported by industry experts and entrepreneurs such as Jeffrey Slovin (Former CEO of Dentsply Sirona), Joshua Zable (Former Vice President at Dentsply Sirona), Gerard Moufflet (CEO of Acceleration International), Steve Fredette (President, Founder of Toast), Jonathan Vassil (CRO of Toast), Brian Sheth (CEO of Haveli Investments), Geoff Donaker (Former COO of Yelp), Rob Krolik (Former of CFO Yelp) among others.

About Torch Dental
Torch is the digital all-in-one supply partner for dental practices. Torch has partnered with over 2,000 dental practices across the US and is continuing to grow quickly. The team has professional experience from Blackstone, SmartAsset, Datadog, Dropbox and personal ties to the dental industry through family and previous investing and operating experience. The Company is backed by leading investors such as Bessemer Venture Partners, Health Velocity Capital, FJ Labs, Felicis Ventures, Tectonic Ventures, Raga Partners, Town Hall Ventures among other investors. Torch is building a world class, close‑knit team that is energized by solving real‑world problems. 

About Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs lay strong foundations to build and forge long-standing companies. With more than 145 IPOs and 300 portfolio companies in the enterprise, consumer and healthcare spaces, Bessemer supports founders and CEOs from their early days through every stage of growth. Bessemer’s global portfolio has included Pinterest, Shopify, Twilio, Yelp, LinkedIn, PagerDuty, DocuSign, Wix, Fiverr, and Toast and has $20 billion of assets under management. Bessemer has teams of investors and partners located in Tel Aviv, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York, London, Hong Kong, Boston, and Bangalore.

About Health Velocity Capital
Health Velocity Capital invests exclusively in innovative healthcare software and services companies. The firm’s partners have more than 90 collective years as investors, entrepreneurs, and executives helping to finance and build innovative companies that created important new healthcare markets and that became market leaders, including successful companies such as Teladoc, Livongo Health, Change Healthcare, MDLive, Contessa Health, Headspace Health, Aspire Health, Zipari, IVX Health, Artera (fka Well Health), Compassus, Aperio, The Advisory Board Company, Healthways (Tivity Health), US Renal Care, Spero Health, OnShift, and many others.

Media Contact:
[email protected]com

SOURCE Torch Dental

BREA, Calif., July 17, 2023 — ThreatHunter.ai, a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions, is excited to announce the appointment of David “Dave” Maynor as an advisor and the Keeper of Secrets role. Maynor will work closely with James McMurry, the founder of ThreatHunter.ai, to revolutionize the visualization and tracking of live threat intelligence through a new innovative BirdWatcher platform to be released in Q4 2023.

With an impressive background in the cybersecurity industry, Maynor brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the ThreatHunter.ai team. Prior to joining ThreatHunter.ai, Maynor served as the Senior Director of Threat Intelligence at Cybrary. He has held key positions at renowned organizations including Cisco Talos, Internet Security Systems at IBM, and SecureWorks.

James McMurry, the Founder of ThreatHunter.ai, expressed his enthusiasm about Maynor joining the team, stating, “We are thrilled to welcome Dave Maynor as an advisor and as the Keeper of Secrets. His deep knowledge and extensive experience in the cybersecurity field will be instrumental in advancing our capabilities and driving innovation. Together, we are creating BirdWatcher, a groundbreaking platform that will revolutionize the visualization and tracking of live threat intelligence.”

Maynor’s role as the Keeper of Secrets will involve collaborating with the ThreatHunter.ai team to develop BirdWatcher. This platform aims to transform the way threat intelligence is visualized and tracked, providing organizations with actionable insights to better detect, analyze, and mitigate cyber threats.

“I am excited to join ThreatHunter.ai and contribute to the development of BirdWatcher,” said David Maynor. “The opportunity to work with James and the talented team at ThreatHunter.ai is truly inspiring. BirdWatcher has the potential to revolutionize how organizations leverage threat intelligence, enabling them to stay one step ahead of cyber threats in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.”

ThreatHunter.ai continues to push the boundaries of cybersecurity innovation, investing in top talent and cutting-edge technologies to deliver comprehensive solutions. With Maynor’s addition to the team, ThreatHunter.ai is poised to further strengthen its position as a leader in the industry.

For more information about ThreatHunter.ai and its advanced cybersecurity solutions, please visit https://threathunter.ai.

About Threathunter.ai

ThreatHunter.ai, a 100% Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, is a leading provider of AI-driven threat hunting solutions. Its advanced machine learning algorithms and expert analysis help organizations detect, identify, and respond to cyber threats. Its solutions are designed to supplement existing security resources and provide a fresh perspective on how to address today’s complex cyber threats.

Don’t miss the opportunity to safeguard your organization with the unparalleled cybersecurity protection offered by ThreatHunter.ai. Visit our website at www.threathunter.ai to explore our unique approach, learn more about our cutting-edge solutions, and discover how we can empower your business to stay ahead of cyber threats. To speak with our experts or schedule a personalized demo, reach out to our sales team at [email protected] or call 714.515.4011. Take action today and ensure the security and resilience of your digital infrastructure.

Media Contact:

Lydia Coulter
714-515-4011
[email protected] 

SOURCE ThreatHunter.ai

Company Secures Financing to Accelerate Growth

EAST HARTFORD, Conn., July 17, 2023 — HyAxiom, Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of fuel cell and electrolyzer solutions (“HyAxiom” or the “Company”), announced today the completion of a private placement of convertible preferred stock in an aggregate amount of approximately $150 million (the “Private Placement”), led by three Korean investment firms – Korea Investment Private Equity, KDB Investment–Hana Securities and KB Asset Management.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Private Placement for capital expenditure, research and development, as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes, as HyAxiom focuses on expanding its U.S. and global business as well as developing and launching new products, including the expansion of production and continued research and development of its PEM electrolyzer (PEMEC) system, which was launched this year.

“This investment comes at a critical juncture, as we finalize the development of new clean energy solutions and move towards commercializing these offerings, including our first electrolyzer system. The funds will help expedite our growth and take full advantage of the impetus provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the recently announced ‘U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap’,” said CEO Jeff Hyungrak Chung.   

The securities sold and issued in the Private Placement have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements.

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security and does not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale of any security in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About HyAxiom, Inc.

HyAxiom develops, manufactures, installs and services reliable and innovative energy solutions, including stationary fuel cells and electrolyzers, for utility, industrial and commercial customers who seek cleaner and more sustainable sources of energy. The world’s first and largest stationary fuel cell power plant (50 MW) running on direct hydrogen, which entered commercial service in 2020 in Korea, is powered by a hydrogen-fueled variant of HyAxiom’s flagship product, the PureCell^Ⓡ M400.

In the U.S., HyAxiom has deployed around 50MW of total generation capacity between 2010 and 2022, amounting to more than 117 PureCell^Ⓡ M400 units. HyAxiom is continuing to expand its presence in the U.S. by working with a variety of customers and partners in the Microgrid, Utility, and C&I (Consumer and Industrial) sectors, including by participating in port authority projects and government sponsored regional clean energy generation initiatives such as Connecticut’s Shared Clean Energy Facility (SCEF) projects, one of which was recently awarded to HyAxiom.

Formerly known as Doosan Fuel Cell America, Inc. (DFCA), the Company was established in 2014 by uniting two industry powerhouses, UTC Power, a division of United Technologies Corporation, and Doosan Group. Known for technological innovation, UTC Power developed and supplied the fuel cells used aboard the Apollo spacecrafts in the late 1960s. With a history dating back to 1896, Doosan Group is the oldest and one of the most prominent conglomerates in Korea, with a focus on power generation, desalination, infrastructure development and compact construction equipment manufacturing (including Bobcat, the U.S.-based leader in the compact construction equipment space). In 2022, the Company rebranded as HyAxiom, a portmanteau signifying the axiomatic role that hydrogen-based energy systems are expected to play in meeting the ever-growing demand for cleaner energy.

The PureCell^Ⓡ M400, HyAxiom’s proprietary phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), is credited with solidifying the company’s strong foothold in the fuel cell industry. With features that include an expected 10-year maximum stack life, 90 percent efficiency in combined heat and power applications, load-following capabilities, fuel flexibility (natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and hydrogen), high versatility in installation (including indoors, outdoors, rooftops and in multiple stacks), and environmental, social and governance (ESG) benefits with CARB (California Air Resources Board) certification, HyAxiom fuel cells have become a favored choice for a wide range of users and applications, including municipalities, educational institutions, electric utilities, industrial facilities and microgrids, to name a few.

Leveraging the technical expertise and know-how acquired through decades of designing, developing, and manufacturing fuel cell systems, HyAxiom is developing a 300-kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) product, which will further increase the Company’s product portfolio for the stationary fuel cell market.

In the mobility sector, HyAxiom is developing a PEMFC powerpack that can provide clean energy to power buses, heavy to medium-duty trucks and other industrial vehicles. Simultaneously, HyAxiom is developing a SOFC product that will be engineered for use as a propulsion system in the maritime sector. Last year, HyAxiom entered into an agreement with Shell, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and DNV to develop and deploy a SOFC-propulsion system for use in Shell’s LNG tankers and other maritime applications.

Contact Information

Linda M. Colón
Marketing Communications Manager
M: 860.338.8781
E: [email protected]

SOURCE HyAxiom, Inc.

SINGAPORE and LONDON, July 17, 2023 — Thunes, the global B2B payment infrastructure platform, today announced the addition of three prominent investors – Visa, a world leader in digital payments, EDBI, a Singapore-based global investor and Endeavor Catalyst, a San-Francisco co-investment fund of Endeavor – to its Series C funding round, supporting its mission to address the inefficiencies of moving money internationally and create a next-generation payment system that is secure, instant and transparent.

This investment brings the total Series C funding to USD $72m, coming shortly after Thunes announced an investment of $60m led by London-based hedge fund Marshall Wace with support from Bessemer Venture Partners and Southeast Asian private equity firm 01Fintech.

Thunes already has an ongoing global partnership with Visa. In October 2022, Visa and Thunes announced a strategic collaboration to extend Visa Direct’s reach to 1.5 billion digital wallets. Through this partnership, Thunes B2B payments platform offers a send-to-wallet capability to 78 digital wallet providers globally. Using an API integration with Visa Direct, Visa’s customers – financial institutions, governments, neobanks and money transfer operators – can enable consumers and small businesses to send funds to eligible digital wallets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, powered by the Thunes global network.

Peter De Caluwe, CEO, Thunes, says: “We’re proud to close Series C with such a strong roster of influential investors. Support from Visa, EDBI and Endeavor is a powerful endorsement of our strategy and capabilities, providing us with additional resources to develop innovative solutions to face industry challenges. By leveraging the insights and support of our investors, we will expand our network and offer businesses and consumers an unparalleled cross-border payments experience. I’m delighted to see an even deeper collaboration with Visa. Together, we will pave the way towards a global payment ecosystem that is inclusive, efficient and ubiquitous.“

“And as a Singapore-based company, EDBI’s backing is also incredibly important to us. Though our business has a global nature, Singapore continues to serve as our home-base and we are proud to be deeply embedded in this dynamic global Fintech hub. This supportive ecosystem provides us great benefits, with a market for top talent, an excellent infrastructure, and a progressive regulator at the forefront of financial innovation.”

Ruben Salazar Genovez, Global Head of Visa Direct, adds: “Digital wallets play a key role in providing underserved communities with greater economic empowerment and financial inclusion by penetrating previously unreached regions. Visa is proud to take part in Thunes’ Series C investment round and we look forward to continuing our collaboration aimed at providing more customers around the world with quick and simple access to the financial system through digital wallets.”

Paul Ng, CEO of EDBI, adds: “Thunes’ commitment to addressing the business challenges of international money movement aligns well with our mission to strengthen Singapore’s position as a global innovation and financial hub. As strategic investors, we deeply appreciate the significance of nurturing Singapore-based companies like Thunes throughout their growth journey, and we are excited to provide our support in expanding their local and regional presence. We anticipate a close collaboration with Peter and his team as we work together to achieve even greater milestones.”

About Thunes: Founded in 2016, Thunes is a global B2B payment infrastructure platform that powers payments for the world’s fastest-growing businesses – from gig economy giants such as Uber and Deliveroo and Southeast Asia’s super-app Grab to global fintech leaders such as PayPal, Remitly, Finastra and Revolut. Through a single, simple connection, consumers and businesses can send payments to – and get paid in – every corner of the world. Thunes currently supports 80 currencies, enables payments to 132 countries and helps to accept 300 payment methods. In April 2022, Thunes acquired a controlling stake in a leading anti-money laundering and compliance platform company Tookitaki, which now enables the company’s advanced compliance, anti-fraud and anti-money laundering capabilities, setting an international benchmark for sustainable compliance. The company is headquartered in Singapore, with regional offices in London, Paris, Shanghai, Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Miami and Nairobi. Current investors include Visa, EDBI, Endeavor Catalyst, Marshall Wace, Bessemer Venture Partners, 01Fintech, Future Shape, Insight Partners, Checkout.com, Helios Investment Partners and GGV Capital. For more information, visit www.thunes.com

SOURCE Thunes

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 17, 2023 — Figure, an AI Robotics company building general purpose humanoid robots, today announced a $9 million equity investment made by Intel Capital. This funding from Intel Capital helps strengthen Figure’s balance sheet and will accelerate the development of Figure 01 (the company’s autonomous humanoid robot), build out Figure’s AI data pipeline for autonomous operations, and drive the Company towards commercialization. This announcement follows the Company’s most recent achievement of the Figure 01 robot taking its first steps.

Intel Capital is a notable addition to Figure’s Series A funding round and is joining other top-tier investors such as Parkway Venture Capital, Brett Adcock, Aliya Capital, Bold Capital Partners, Tamarack Global, FJ labs, and former KUKA Robotics CEO Till Reuter.

In addition to this capital investment, Figure 01 entered the testing phase a few months ago and reached many technical milestones led by a best-in-class engineering team. Most notably, the robot took its first walking steps in May – less than one year from the Company’s inception. This is a momentous achievement for Figure and is one of the quickest turnarounds in humanoid history. 

“Intel Capital is at the forefront of making big, bold frontier bets and we are excited to share the same vision of a better future,” said Brett Adcock, Founder and CEO of Figure. “This investment along with the global resources and expertise of the Intel team will help accelerate the growth and success of Figure.”

“Intel Capital is constantly searching for companies that push the boundaries of innovation, and we believe that Figure has the potential to shift the way the world thinks about artificial intelligence,” said Mark Lydon, Managing Director at Intel Capital. “Figure’s focus on enhancing the labor economy is an essential part of our future, and we look forward to being at the forefront to support humanoid development.”

About Figure

Figure is an AI Robotics company developing autonomous general purpose humanoid robots. Our Humanoid is designed for initial deployment into the workforce to address labor shortages, jobs that are undesirable or unsafe, and to support supply chain on a global scale. Figure is a team of 50 employees based in Sunnyvale, California. 

For more information about Figure, visit www.figure.ai.

SOURCE Figure AI Inc.

Firm’s oversubscribed third fund brings total raised to $1.3 billion since founding in September 2018

David Allison, Ph.D., joins Beth Seidenberg, M.D., and Mira Chaurushiya, Ph.D., as managing directors

LOS ANGELES, July 17, 2023 — Westlake Village BioPartners (“Westlake”) today announced the launch of its third fund of $450 million to incubate and grow early stage next-generation biotechnology companies in the Los Angeles region and beyond. The new fund will be managed by founding managing director Beth Seidenberg, M.D., managing director Mira Chaurushiya, Ph.D., and David Allison, Ph.D., who was recently appointed managing director.

“This new fund will enable us to continue to do what we do best­ – build great companies from the ground up that make a difference for patients and generate outsized returns for investors regardless of market conditions,” said Dr. Seidenberg. “Our investors recognize our strategy is working and have demonstrated their commitment through this new investment.”

Westlake will use the funds to continue to incubate and build early stage companies, by matching promising next-generation technologies with world-class talent to create transformative therapies that will change patients’ lives.

Building a Venture Capital Firm to Last
Westlake announced the appointment of Dr. Chaurushiya as a senior partner in early 2022, and with the start of the new fund her promotion to managing director, and today announced Dr. Allison’s appointment as managing director. Along with Seidenberg, Chaurushiya and Allison will lead the new fund.

“Our goal is to build a venture capital firm for the long term,” said Dr. Seidenberg. “Adding Mira and David to our leadership team allows us to leverage their deep scientific, business, and investing expertise across our entire portfolio, while also building Westlake’s next generation of leaders.”

“Working with Beth and reuniting with Mira at Westlake is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Dr. Allison. “The firm has a focused, disciplined, and consistent investing strategy, which aligns with my approach throughout my investing career. Having created more than 20 high-quality companies since Westlake’s founding in September 2018 is an impressive record by anyone’s standards and I am thrilled to continue this work as we launch the new fund.”

Dr. Allison has spent the past 15 years in biotechnology venture capital, including most recently as a partner at 5AM Ventures. While at 5AM, he was involved in investments including CinCor Pharma (acquired by AstraZeneca), Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Impel Neuropharma, Inipharm, Neurogastrx, and Radionetics. Prior to 5AM, Dr. Allison was a principal at Versant Ventures and held previous roles at Split Rock Partners and PTV Healthcare Capital. He received a Ph.D. from Rice University and a B.S.E. from The University of Iowa. 

Dr. Chaurushiya was most recently at 5AM where she was a partner and involved in investments including Precision Nanosystems (acquired by Danaher), Enliven Therapeutics, Purigen Biosystems (acquired by BioNano), Escient Pharmaceuticals, Novome Biotechnologies, and TMRW. Dr. Chaurushiya is a fellow of the Society of Kauffman Fellows. She received a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in conjunction with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where she was awarded the Martin Kamen Thesis Prize in Biochemistry, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Genentech. She received a B.A. from Carleton College.

Catalyzing the Los Angeles Biotech Hub
Westlake pioneered the creation of the Los Angeles Biotech Hub and has so far established eight companies in the region. “Los Angeles has a culture of innovation that is underappreciated in the biotech world,” said Dr. Chaurushiya. “We have outstanding entrepreneurial and industry-experienced talent, world-class academic institutions, and sufficient venture capital with expertise in building biotech companies. Along with the wonderful Southern California lifestyle, this is a recipe for success.”

About Westlake Village BioPartners
Westlake Village BioPartners is a Los Angeles area-based venture capital firm focused on incubating and building life sciences companies with entrepreneurs who have the potential to bring transformative therapies to patients. Westlake manages more early-stage venture capital solely from the greater Los Angeles area than any other firm. The Westlake model is built on the founding team’s unique experience in successfully identifying and developing breakthrough therapies and building organizations, based on their extensive R&D, investing and company-building experience. For more information, please visit www.westlakebio.com.

SOURCE Westlake Village BioPartners