GNL’s Board has Refused to Commit to Important Governance Enhancements Unless Shareholders Approve the Proposed Merger

NEW YORK, July 20, 2023 — Orange Capital Ventures, LP (“Orange Capital”), a New York-based investment firm, today issued the following statement outlining its serious concerns about what it believes are blatantly coercive tactics employed by the Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE: GNL) (“GNL” or the “Company”) Board of Directors (the “Board”) regarding the proposed merger (the “Merger”) with Necessity Retail REIT (Nasdaq: RTL) (“RTL”). 

We are alarmed that to date the Board has failed to commit to enacting its own proposed governance enhancements absent shareholders approving what we believe will be a highly contested vote on the proposed merger with RTL. It is our judgement that the Board is deploying coercive tactics in an attempt to force long-suffering GNL shareholders to approve the Merger to gain access to much-needed and long-overdue governance reform.

Even GNL’s Chair of the Board has been publicly enthusiastic about the proposed governance changes, stating “GNL Post-closing’s enhanced corporate governance is highlighted by a majority-independent, declassified Board, as well as other enhancements that we are proud to institute.”

To our knowledge, if and only if GNL shareholders approve the Merger, upon closing the Board has committed to enact certain governance improvements, including: declassify the Board so that seven of the nine directors would stand for election to annual terms at the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, opt out of the Maryland Unsolicited Takeover Act, repeal the Company’s Stockholder’s Rights Plan (Poison Pill), and amend the bylaws to delete the requirement that up to two Board members be “managing directors.”

Orange Capital strongly believes there are far better value creating alternatives for shareholders than the Merger, and that GNL shareholders should be afforded the opportunity to vote on the Merger based solely on the strategic merits of the combination with RTL.

Orange Capital believes the Board should have made these governance changes long before the announcement of the Merger instead of using the promise of better corporate governance practices as leverage in what we believe will be a highly contested vote. Given these coercive actions, along with the enrichment of Blackwells Capital in its settlement agreement in June, we believe the Board anticipates significant shareholder challenges to the Merger as well.

Once again, we call on the Board to publicly commit to making these governance changes – regardless of the outcome of the Merger vote.

Orange Capital delivered a formal inquiry to the Board on July 14, 2023 seeking clarity on its commitment to governance reform regardless of the outcome of the Merger vote, to which the Board has failed to respond. The full text of the letter can be found here.

Orange Capital is being advised by LDG Advisory, LLC and represented by Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.

About Orange Capital

Orange Capital Ventures GP, LP is a New York based investment manager in private and public equity and debt. Orange Capital LLC was founded in 2004. Mr. Daniel Lewis is the founder and Managing Partner.

Contacts:
Daniel Lewis
[email protected]

Media Contacts
ASC Advisors
Steve Bruce / Taylor Ingraham
[email protected] / [email protected]
203 992 1230

SOURCE Orange Capital Ventures, LP

Seasoned investors Ross Berman and Randall Winn are welcomed to HealthBird’s cap table as early bridge-round investors as the company continues to focus on growth.

MIAMI, July 20, 2023 — The growth of Miami-based HealthBird, a rising InsurTech startup, has reached a new plateau. The company will soon close its Bridge Round and has added Ross Berman and Randall Winn as early-stage investors. 

This important milestone continues to add credence from the investment community as a recognition of HealthBird’s fast growth and tremendous growth potential, as the company keeps adding new users and driving more sales through its platform for end consumers to shop and buy health insurance.

“Along with the additional investments we were able to secure through this Bridge Round, we are truly delighted to announce that these two very prominent investors and highly experienced business minds have joined our company as investors. Their confidence in the future of HealthBird, backed by their capital, makes us feel very proud of what we are accomplishing, and even more committed to keep developing the work that we are doing for health insurance consumers,” said CEO and Co-founder Ariel Dominguez.

Ross Berman’s background includes over 25 years in public and private capital markets, along with deep experience in direct-to-consumer business models. Randall Winn has founded and been part of the growth of a series of successful companies in the business services and data and analytics space.

“Gaining the confidence of these two investors is yet another testament to the incredible momentum HealthBird has gained in its first year, as it continues to disrupt and redefine the health insurance experience for the customer,” adds HealthBird’s Board Member Davor Rom.

The Expedia of Health Insurance has a unique value proposition that draws increasing attention from users and investors. In a universe that may easily feel overwhelming, HealthBird helps health insurance consumers to make the most efficient and beneficial use of their insurance, assisting them as they navigate this complex world and extract all the value that insurance can offer.

Through its desktop version and mobile app available on the App Store and Google Play, HealthBird is using data analytics, AI, and other advanced technology to streamline how people browse, compare and purchase health insurance. 

HealthBird focuses on individuals aged from 26 to 64 who do not have health insurance provided by the company they work for, or from a family member. 

HealthBird is on a mission to provide a seamless and cost-effective service to health insurance consumers in the United States. 

With a strong emphasis on simplicity, efficiency, and user-friendliness, the platform offers an intuitive interface that enables every consumer to make informed decisions about their health insurance coverage, tailored to their specific needs.

Press Contact
Irena Tigranyan
COO & Co-founder
[email protected]
17867418265

https://wefunder.com/healthbird/
https://www.healthbird.com/

SOURCE HealthBird

KYIV, Ukraine, July 20, 2023 — Horizon Capital, a U.S. private equity firm investing primarily in fast-growing tech and export oriented companies in Ukraine, announced an investment into Ukrainian-founded Preply, a leading global online language learning platform. This transaction marks the first investment from Horizon Capital’s latest fund, Horizon Capital Growth Fund IV (HCGF IV), which reached $254 million at its Interim Closing on April 28, 2023.

Founded in 2012 by three Ukrainian founders Kirill Bigai, Serge Lukyanov, and Dmytro Voloshyn, Preply has become a global e-learning powerhouse, connecting 35,000 tutors with the world’s largest live language learning community. Preply revenues have grown tenfold over the last three years, largely due to significant enhancements in product experience for both tutors and learners. The B2B business has also accelerated, with over 200 new deals signed this past year. 

Horizon Capital led Preply’s $70 million capital raise, also backed by Reach Capital, Hoxton Ventures, and other existing investors. The new investor bench will provide a valuable balance of growth stage experience and Edtech expertise to help power the next leg of Preply’s journey.

Lenna Koszarny, Horizon Capital’s Founding Partner and CEO, said: “We are excited to partner with Preply’s exceptional founders and superb leadership team in delivering on their mission of unlocking human potential through learning. Preply fits perfectly into our investment thesis of backing Ukraine’s new generation of visionary entrepreneurs, while paving the way for others inspired to create their own global champion powered from Ukraine that the entire nation can take pride in. We believe the best is yet to come and are delighted that our capital will fuel future R&D, driving growth as well as high impact by creating jobs, promoting entrepreneurship, supporting tech sector development, and contributing to Ukraine’s ongoing economic resilience.”

Kirill Bigai, Co-founder and CEO of Preply, said: “It is a great achievement to have secured this capital injection while we still have plenty of runway and the majority of the previous raise in the bank; a result of rigorous capital efficiency and a laser focus on performance. The additional funds will enable us to extend our leadership in the category through AI-powered human tutors, providing a learning experience which is quickly becoming a game changer.  Though the team today is truly global, as a Ukrainian founded company with significant R&D in Ukraine, this is a milestone to be celebrated. One that echoes the resilience and determination of the Ukrainian tech sector and all Ukrainians.”

Dmytro Boroday, Partner at Horizon Capital, added: “I first met Kirill in 2012 at the start of Preply’s journey, beginning from a 10-page Powerpoint presentation and now a world-class educational technology company, fueled by bold vision and unwavering determination. Kirill, Dmytro, and Serge have executed meticulously on their vision, and a decade after our first meeting, we are proud to back Preply as a leading global edtech platform in the language learning space. We look forward to our long-term partnership resulting in Preply reaching new heights, grounded in their strong culture of operational excellence and superb performance.”

About Preply
Preply is an online language learning marketplace, connecting tutors to hundreds of thousands of learners in 180 countries worldwide. More than 35,000 tutors teach over 50 languages, powered by a machine-learning algorithm that recommends the best tutors for each learner. Founded in the United States in 2012 by three Ukrainian founders Kirill Bigai, Serge Lukyanov, and Dmytro Voloshyn, Preply has grown from a team of 3 to a company of almost 500 employees of 60 different nationalities. With offices in Barcelona, New York, and Kyiv, employees work across 30 countries in Europe, USA, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

About Horizon Capital
Horizon Capital is the leading private equity firm in Emerging Europe with $1.4 billion in assets from investors with a capital base exceeding $630 billion, raising over $700 million in growth capital to back visionary entrepreneurs from Ukraine and Moldova in just over 5 years. Horizon Capital-managed funds have invested in over 160 companies employing more than 77,000 people in the region.

Media Contact – Alona Kotsiubynska, [email protected], +380932979487

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1906660/3678499/Horizon_Capital_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Horizon Capital

LONDON, July 20, 2023 — Greenbrook, the specialist communications advisor to the investment industry, with particular expertise in private equity, venture capital, private debt, hedge funds and special situations, is pleased to announce that it has been ranked the #1 communications advisor by number of M&A transactions completed in the UK and EMEA, by Mergermarket for H1 2023.

Greenbrook successfully advised on 67 M&A transactions, collectively valued at nearly $15 billion, in the first half of 2023. The volume of deals also secured Greenbrook 5^th spot on the global league table.

Andrew Honnor, Managing Partner of Greenbrook, commented: “We are delighted to see Greenbrook ranked #1 for M&A deals in the UK and EMEA. It is a testament to the strength of our team and the reputation we have built advising on some of the most complex cross-border M&A situations. This momentum has continued into the early part of 2H23 giving us confidence in delivering another strong year.” 

Mergermarket’s Global & Regional League Tables 1H23 derive their data from its M&A deal database, including transactions valued at over $5 million.

Contact details

Demi Kurban
Greenbrook
+44 20 7952 2000 / [email protected]

SOURCE Greenbrook

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 19, 2023 — IronGate Capital Advisors, a venture capital investment firm focused on dual-use national security technologies, announced today the final closing and full allocation of its first discretionary fund with $25mm of commitments.

These funds enable IronGate’s mission to invest private capital into early-stage companies and venture capital partnerships to support technologies which are dual-use and dual-benefit. These technologies strengthen the national security of the U.S. and its allies while creating industries, jobs, and innovative civilian applications that are reshaping every facet of society.

The fund has been successfully deployed into direct and partnership investments in IronGate’s six target investment segments: (i) robotics, unmanned systems, and hypersonics; (ii) ISR and integrated sensors; (iii) cybersecurity; (iv) artificial intelligence, advanced processing, and human-machine interface; (v) space; and (vi) critical infrastructure and key resources protection.

Hon. Tidal McCoy, Co-Founder and Chairman at IronGate (Washington, DC), said:

“IronGate was conceived and built upon the premise that nations which ignore the competition paradigm for new technologies will be overtaken by adversaries. Such awareness must be achieved through a rigorous process of discovery, then organized, funded, and executed in an agile fashion so as to ensure that the most advanced dual-use technologies will safeguard security and prosperity. IronGate is leading the way in renewing this vital process through our public statements, discovery, and funding of advanced technologies.”

Andrew Magliochetti, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at IronGate (Chicago, IL), said:

“The successful closing and deployment of our first discretionary fund further establishes a strong foundation for IronGate’s future. We intend to build upon this foundation to the benefit of our investors, our nation, and our allies. Private investment in cutting-edge, dual-use technologies enhances our intelligence and warfighting capabilities, protects our nation and allies, and strengthens our economic future.”

Ryan Morfin, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at IronGate (Dallas, TX), said:

“This important milestone enables us to broaden our mission of ensuring that the United States and its allies can achieve peace through strength, and strength through innovation. The nations that achieve primacy in developing and deploying the most effective and advanced technologies will not only guide the geopolitical future, but also reap economic benefits on a massive scale. It is imperative that we not allow our adversaries to outflank us in the battle for transformational science and technology.”

Hamlet Yousef, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at IronGate (West Palm Beach, FL), said:

“Since 2018, we’ve been a leading voice in calling for private capital investment in dual-use technologies that enhance our national security and economic interests. In the face of nation-states that are growing increasingly adversarial and hostile towards the U.S. and its allies, it is essential that we create and support strategic innovation.”

About IronGate

Founded in 2018, IronGate’s mission is to direct capital to the highest-performing ventures in the advanced technology arena, with a specific focus on innovations in aerospace, defense and intelligence, and national security that have dual-use applications in the civilian economy. IronGate is managed by a multidisciplinary team of experts in finance, national security, and technology. IronGate’s investment approach provides investors with a diversified venture capital portfolio while supporting the early-stage companies that are poised to meet the most demanding national security requirements. For more information, visit IronGateVC.com.

Contact 
[email protected]com

SOURCE IronGate Capital Advisors

• Company has evolved from a technology platform company to a full-service technology-enabled care delivery enterprise
• Digital clinical trials and care delivery programs to drive U.S. expansion and a focus on growth, profitability and mission of access to care, anywhere

BOSTON, July 19, 2023 — Biofourmis, a leading global technology-enabled care delivery provider, is marking the first anniversary of the close of its $320-million Series D funding round with a look back at its major business and clinical milestones as well as a go-forward plan focused on an agile growth strategy across its digital clinical trials and care-at-home verticals.

Biofourmis, following its Series D funding last year, continues to build out its Biofourmis Care and Connect verticals with the expansion of health system, hospital, provider group and biopharma customers. The company has deployed its solutions with over 65 customers, including multi-year collaborations and strategic partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies, health systems, hospitals and risk-based organizations.

At this stage in Biofourmis’ growth trajectory, company leaders recognize that continuing to scale requires an agile approach and the right infrastructure.

“In a report last week, Rock Health indicated that ‘digital health’s course-correction is proving challenging but necessary to right-size the sector toward a sustainable future,’ ” said Kuldeep Singh Rajput, Biofourmis CEO and founder. “While Biofourmis remains well-capitalized and is positioned for success with a strong pipeline of new solutions and customers, we are executing our new strategic growth plan with an eye on the current market environment and a commitment to being good stewards of our funding.”

In the year ahead, Biofourmis will be laser-focused on achieving key strategic objectives: optimizing its market-leading solutions; driving deeper market penetration within biopharma and healthcare; and increasing the volume of patients supported by the company’s connected solution that spans the continuum from drug life cycle development to care-at-home.

“We will be intensely focused on growth, profitability and our mission of access to care, anywhere,” Rajput said. “Additionally, we have assessed our organizational structure and strategically redesigned key areas to position us for growth. This next step in our corporate evolution will enable us to execute even more strongly in delivering innovative and value-added solutions to our life sciences and healthcare customers and their patients.”

Well-Positioned for Accelerated Growth
Looking back at Biofourmis’ milestones since last year’s Series D as well as the overall trajectory since its inception in 2015, Rajput says his focus has always been on “solving problems no one else solves.” The company does this with the market’s only singular, connected platform that spans the full continuum from drug development to commercialization with the ability to scale as life science and healthcare partners grow their programs.

Since 2022, Biofourmis has:

• Evolved from a technology platform company to a full-service technology-enabled care delivery enterprise
• Launched a technology-enabled, scalable clinical research platform that supports trial decentralization, precision participant recruitment, and equitable access to treatment options
• Launched a comprehensive in-home services ecosystem to enable clinical trials at home and to help health systems build and scale care-at-home programs or discharge patients more promptly by continuing care in the home
• Begun offering 24/7 virtual clinical care teams comprised of nurses, health navigators and other providers to help extend care where labor shortages exist
• Expanded the development of care pathways that now apply to 70+ clinical conditions and include intervention protocols such as care team outreach, vital sign checks, and symptom-specific feedback
• Built out an expansive library of digital biomarkers and expanded and optimized AI-driven, FDA-cleared algorithms to treat broader conditions
• Enabled electronic health record (EHR) connectivity for Cerner, Epic and other systems for an embedded and seamless workflow experience
• Built out a virtual care delivery network across 25 states that fully integrates remote management tools into the care model
• Reached a milestone of enabling technology-enabled remote care for more than 100,000 patients worldwide, with a robust data lake fueled by the capture of more than 4 million data points per patient per day (for continuously monitored patients) to drive precise, personalized care

Biofourmis has also continued to work closely with its partners to deliver clinical and financial ROI, including: 

• A 48% decrease in 30-day readmission rates, a 66% decrease in 90-day COPD readmission and a significant reduction in clinician resource demand¹
• 3.7-day reduction in average length of stay²
• 64% lower Emergency Department (ED) utilization rate³
• 46% reduction in ICU admissions⁴
• 53% reduction in hospital days⁵
• $70.6 million saved in patient bed-day costs and 38% in overall cost reduction for patients enrolled in a hospital-level care-at-home program

The company also has prioritized expanding care access and reducing health disparities among underserved populations. Evidence of this dedication can be found in Biofourmis’ involvement in the nationwide Rural Home Hospital Project, a multi-year clinical trial that will serve as a model for rural care in the home in the future.

“Biofourmis has remained focused on our vision to create a healthful future where equitable access to care is a reality for all,” Rajput said. “Health equity, clinical validation, and making a difference for clinicians and patients are just as important as our business successes. As we focus on our path forward, I have never been more confident in our future and our team. Our success as a company relies on our ability to work together to deliver the right care to every patient—no matter where they are—and we are well-positioned to do that.”

¹ As of 12/12/22 all-time patients on Biofourmis platform. Data on file.
² Outcomes data using Biofourmis solution, from health plan administrator providing managed care services to over 3.5 million beneficiaries
³ Outcomes data using Biofourmis solution, from health plan administrator providing managed care services to over 3.5 million beneficiaries
⁴ Outcomes data from health system partner that has used Biofourmis’ remote patient management solution to manage 23,000 patients in their homes to decrease the risk of adverse health events for transitional care or complex conditions
⁵ Outcomes data from health system partner that has used Biofourmis’ remote patient management solution to manage 23,000 patients in their homes to decrease the risk of adverse health events for transitional care or complex conditions

About Biofourmis

Biofourmis brings the right care to every person, no matter where they are. The company’s AI-driven solution collects and analyzes patient data in real time and identifies shifts that require proactive interventions. This vital innovation provides people everywhere with connected access to hospital-level services, virtual provider networks for remote care, and life-changing clinical trials—all without leaving their homes. Trusted by leading health systems, payers, biopharma companies and patients alike, Biofourmis’ connected platform improves patient outcomes, prevents hospital readmissions, accelerates drug development, and closes critical gaps in care—ultimately making science smarter, healthcare simpler, and patients healthier. Biofourmis is a global technology company enabling care delivery, with headquarters in Boston and key offices in Singapore and India. For more information, visit biofourmis.com and follow Biofourmis on LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

Media Contact:
Tara Stultz
Amendola Communications for Biofourmis
440.225.9595
[email protected]

SOURCE Biofourmis

BEIJING, July 19, 2023 — Origin Agritech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SEED) (the “Company” or “Origin”), an agriculture technology company, announced today that it has been awarded a grant of RMB 2 million (approximately $280,000 USD) from the Xinjiang government. The grant aims to support Origin’s efforts to build a local Germplasm Bank in Xinjiang and the Company’s contract growing of Nutritionally Enhanced Corn (NEC) in the region.

Dr. Gengchen Han, Chairman of Origin Agritech, expressed his gratitude for the government’s support and endorsement of the Company’s efforts. “We are deeply grateful for this show of support from the Chinese government. This grant not only provides valuable resources for our work, but also serves as a significant validation of our efforts to modernize agriculture in China and contribute to regional food security,” Dr. Han stated.

The Company believes that the grant signifies the government’s commitment to modernizing the agriculture sector and signals the potential for future support for initiatives aimed at improving the agricultural landscape in China.

About Origin Agritech Limited

Origin Agritech Limited, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Zhong-Guan-Cun (ZGC) Life Science Park in Beijing, is a leading Chinese agricultural technology company. In crop seed biotechnologies, Origin Agritech’s phytase corn was the first transgenic corn to receive the Bio-Safety Certificate from China’s Ministry of Agriculture. Over the years, Origin has established a robust biotechnology seed pipeline including products with glyphosate tolerance and pest resistance (Bt) traits. For further information, please visit the Company’s website at www.originagritech.com. The company also maintains a twitter account for updating investors on company and industry developments, which is @origin_agritech.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and contain words like “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “will,” “would,” “target,” and similar expressions and variations. Forward-looking statements address matters that are uncertain. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on assumptions and expectations which may not be realized. They are based on management’s current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry in which the Company operates but involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company’s control. Some of the important factors that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those discussed in forward-looking statements are: failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles; ability to respond to market acceptance, rules, regulations and policies affecting our products; failure to appropriately manage process safety and product stewardship issues; changes in laws and regulations or political conditions; global economic and capital markets conditions, such as inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; business or supply disruptions; natural disasters and weather events and patterns; ability to protect and enforce the company’s intellectual property rights; and separation of underperforming or non-strategic assets or businesses. The company undertakes no duty or obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments, or new information or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.

Joe Ramelli

VP of Business Development
Phone: 310-845-6238
Email: [email protected]

Kate Lang (Mandarin/English)
Phone: +86 186-1839-3368
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Origin Agritech Limited

Transactions allow iGo to build next-generation platform for home inspectors to unlock the full value of inspections for homeowners and single-family investors

 TYRONE, Pa., July 19, 2023 — InspectionGo (iGo), the leading provider of cutting-edge technology and services that helps independent home inspection companies be successful by unlocking the full value of home inspections for homeowners and real estate investors, today announced it has closed a $5.5 million Series A funding round. The company also announced the strategic acquisitions of Repair Pricer and HomeBinder, moving iGo closer to its vision of providing home inspectors with a seamless platform to manage their business and extending the value of a home inspection throughout home ownership.

The Series A was led by existing investor Wasatch Equity Partners. The acquisitions were all-stock transactions, reinforcing the confidence of Repair Pricer and HomeBinder’s investors in the partnership iGo has forged with the inspector community and the company’s long-term vision.

In addition to enhancing iGo’s service offerings to its growing community of home inspectors who perform an estimated one million home inspections annually, the capital raise and acquisitions will bring hundreds of jobs to Central Pennsylvania by 2026.

“We are thrilled to welcome Repair Pricer and HomeBinder to the iGo family. The addition of their product offerings accelerates our strategy of giving the inspection community the ability to provide homeowners with valuable tools for managing their home for as long as they own it,” iGo Co-Founder and CEO John Russell said.

Russell added, “We also couldn’t be more appreciative of the confidence that Wasatch and our other investors have placed in us. They not only share our vision for giving home inspection a new meaning, but they also are committed to bringing more employment and economic opportunities to our local community and putting Tyrone on the map as an emerging tech hub.”

Repair Pricer leverages artificial intelligence and national language processing to turn any inspection report into an accurate home repair estimate. Since 2016, homeowners in nearly 42,000 ZIP codes throughout the U.S. have used Repair Pricer to generate more than 1.1 million home repair estimates to gain assurance they are receiving a fair price on their home purchase.

Offered by a network of 9,000 professionals to more than 950,000 homeowners nationwide, HomeBinder is a residential home management platform that allows homeowners to manage their home at their fingertips. With HomeBinder, homeowners have a centralized location to store valuable home documents, set up home improvement projects and maintenance reminders, stay up to date on appliance recalls, access a network of recommended service providers and maintain records of their single largest asset.

As part of the acquisitions, iGo strengthened its leadership team. Repair Pricer CEO Christian Adams will serve as iGo’s Chief Revenue Officer and Jack Huntress, CEO of HomeBinder, joins the company as Head of Consumer Products. Both are newly created positions.

Since its founding in 2019, iGo has focused on building a community that empowers inspectors to operate more efficiently while ensuring that they offer buyers and their agents a better experience. The acquisitions of Repair Pricer and HomeBinder add to iGo’s comprehensive suite of existing solutions. These offerings include Keystone, a plug and play back-office platform; access to coaching, marketing and management resources through the iGo Community; and iGo Academy, which provides a steady stream of highly trained home inspectors to the inspector community.

“With this new series of funding we are unlocking new opportunities to impact a growing market in a unique way. Through these newly announced strategic acquisitions we anticipate an offering of services like never before seen in the space that captures AI technology and tools that brings home inspection services to the forefront of innovation for homeowners. Our commitment to the growth and future of the business remains stronger than ever,” Scott Stettler, Managing Director, Wasatch Equity Partners said.

The Series A raise brings iGo’s total funding to $10.3 million. In addition to Wasatch, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Allegheny Angel Fund, The West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust, Twenty Five Ventures, Mountain State Capital, and Hamilton Ventures have shown their commitment to iGo through early stage investments. Like Wasatch, they share iGo’s commitment to creating opportunities for underserved communities by bringing technology-based companies to the region.

About InspectionGo

Founded in Tyrone, Pa. in 2019, iGo is on a mission to revolutionize the home inspection experience by uniting and equipping the community of home inspection companies with a modern technology platform. Through strategic investments and acquisitions, iGo empowers home inspectors to deliver exceptional customer experiences and become industry leaders. Learn more at inspectiongo.com

Press Contact:

Janice McDill
312-307-3134
https://www.inspectiongo.com

SOURCE InspectionGo

New product line enables users to build unified customer profiles directly within the cloud data warehouse

SAN FRANCISCO, July 19, 2023 — Hightouch, the leading Data Activation company, announced today $38 million in additional funding to launch and grow its Customer 360 offering. The round, led by Bain Capital Ventures, was used to create a new Customer 360 Toolkit that enables data analysts to build unified customer profiles on top of their raw customer data without months of engineering effort.

For years, businesses have struggled to deeply understand their customers and communicate with them in a personalized way. One of the biggest challenges has been resolving a single identity in a sea of disorganized and disjointed data. Customer data is often incomplete and spread across multiple systems and dozens to thousands of tables.

With Hightouch Customer 360 Toolkit, the common work that data teams are tasked with is simplified and provides the ability to complete that work faster with built-in best practices. It works by sitting directly on top of data warehouses like Snowflake, Databricks, Redshift, or Google BiqQuery and allows companies to quickly and easily prepare their customer data for activation. The new product is the first warehouse-native solution that lets analytics and marketing teams handle customer data preparation without engineering support. It includes:

• Visual schema builder to organize data with an intuitive visual UI
• Warehouse enrichment to add additional or missing attributes the business needs
• Identity resolution to transparently gather the data into actionable user profiles and write them back to the customer’s data warehouse

The product was born out of Hightouch’s rapid growth, supporting the data needs of enterprise customers like Chime, Petsmart, Warner Music, Spotify, and the NBA.

“Over the last three years, we’ve helped hundreds of large brands activate their customer data for sales and marketing. Along the way, we studied how companies clean, organize, and prepare their customer data for activation. In every industry, we found teams spending time on repetitive work, like identity resolution algorithms and data enrichment,” said Kashish Gupta, co-CEO of Hightouch. “This new funding allows us to build out the product and engineering team necessary to embark on this large endeavor and to shoot for the stars with a larger vision.”

More than 400 enterprise analytics and marketing teams now use Hightouch to quickly and efficiently activate their customer data. Many see this new capability as a game changer for their marketing initiatives.

“The Hightouch team just ‘gets it’ when it comes to customer data activation in the real world,” said Jason Feng at Zeplin. “The ROI from our partnership with Hightouch is the highest amongst our marketing and data investments. This new customer 360 capability is exactly what we need to move even faster on our data activation journey.”

The launch of Customer 360 Toolkit builds on a year of industry-leading product innovation. Hightouch recently launched its 200th connector for platforms like CRM, e-mail, customer support, and advertising. In the last six months, the company also launched a real-time Personalization API, a Match Booster advertising product, and an upgraded no-code audience builder product Customer Studio.

Bain Capital Ventures led this investment round, joined by existing investors ICONIQ Capital and Amplify Partners.

“As investors since the Series A, we’ve had front-row seats as Hightouch pioneered the Reverse ETL category, becoming in just a few years an essential component of modern data infrastructure,” said Kevin Zhang, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. “Hightouch is taking their market opportunity to the next level with Customer 360 Toolkit. Even in a difficult market for software, we’ve seen exceptional customer adoption from business teams confident in Hightouch and eager to personalize and enrich campaigns without needing expensive, time-consuming integration work.”

Hightouch plans to use this additional funding to scale its engineering and go-to-market teams throughout 2024 and actively seeks additional teammates. Interested individuals are encouraged to view open roles and apply.

About Hightouch
Hightouch is a leading provider of Data Activation and Customer Data Platform (CDP) solutions, enabling marketing and data teams to activate customer data directly from their data warehouse to over 200 destinations like ad platforms and CRMs. Hightouch is used by leading organizations like Cars.com, Spotify, TripAdvisor, PetSmart, and GameStop to unlock a fast, flexible, and scalable CDP alternative by enabling them to activate audiences and other customer data points directly from their organization’s single source of truth – the data warehouse – out to the many business tools it is needed in.

SOURCE Hightouch