Continues BV’s 40-year History of Investing In The North American Middle Market

BOSTON, Sept. 12, 2023 — BV Investment Partners (BV), a private equity firm focused on the tech-enabled business services, software and IT services sectors, announced today that it has completed fund raising for BV Investment Partners Fund XI at its hard cap of $1.75 billion, exceeding its target of $1.5 billion.

Consistent with its predecessor funds, Fund XI will continue BV’s proven strategy of investing alongside founders, management, and families to grow businesses. The Fund has committed to seven platform investments to date. Since its founding in 1983, the firm has generated over $9.8 billion of total value and invested in 117 platform companies across 11 funds. BV raised Fund X in 2020 with $1.1 billion of commitments.

Vikrant Raina, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of BV, said, “We are grateful to our existing and new investors for their exceptionally strong support. We also want to thank the thousands of portfolio company stakeholders who are collaborating with us every day to build impactful technology solutions businesses. As we begin our fifth decade we look forward to leveraging our deep industry experience to capitalize on exciting tech-driven middle market opportunities. Fund XI is already off to a great start with seven exceptional platform investments committed in the portfolio and several exciting new opportunities in the pipeline.”

Fund XI’s investor base includes a broad range of leading global sovereign wealth funds, foundations, public and corporate pension plans, financial institutions, family offices and individual investors, including management of portfolio companies.

Maggie Carter, President and Chief Operating Officer, said, “Faced with strong headwinds in the current fundraising environment, I believe the successful outcome of the Fund XI capital raise is a testament to the Firm’s consistency in strategy, team and performance. We are thrilled almost all of our existing investors have chosen to invest with BV again in our latest fund, with nearly 75% of the capital raised in Fund XI coming from existing relationships. We also continued to diversify our LP base with the addition of new high quality institutional investors across the globe. We are a Firm that highly values its partnerships with our management teams and investors. Our goal now is to deliver on the performance expected of us in Fund XI. With a strategy that has succeeded through multiple economic cycles coupled with significant investments to the team over the last year, we believe we are in a great position to achieve this goal.”

Evercore served as Placement Agent for the fund and Ropes & Gray LLP provided legal counsel.

About BV Investment Partners

BV Investment Partners is one of the oldest and most experienced sector-focused private equity firms in North America. Since its founding in 1983, the firm has invested approximately $4.8 billion, actively targeting investments in the tech-enabled business services, software, and IT services industries. BV was ranked in Inc. magazine’s 2022 list of Founder-Friendly Investors. For more information, visit www.bvlp.com.

Contact: Chris Tofalli
Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC
914-834-4334

SOURCE BV Investment Partners

Co-led by Greenfield Partners and 83North, the new funding will further accelerate the company’s growth in delivering unparalleled global connectivity solutions

LONDON, Sept. 12, 2023 — floLIVE, creator of the world’s first and largest hyperlocal global cellular network and a leading provider of global connectivity, network and Connectivity Management Platforms for IoT, announced today that it has raised $47M in a Series C round of funding. The round was co-led by Greenfield Partners and existing investor 83North, with Qualcomm Ventures, Dell Technologies Capital, Saban Ventures, and Hazelnut Partners participating in the round.

floLIVE will use the funds to increase its global footprint by partnering with additional MNOs, expand its unique multi-IMSI over eSIM technology, launch an integrated satellite connectivity offering and introduce new and innovative solutions to the market such as advanced location-based applications, network-based cybersecurity services, secure data routing and more.

The global connectivity market has dramatically changed over the last few years, with OEMs and global enterprises becoming more knowledgeable and more demanding in their global IoT connectivity needs. The need for a modern, highly available global connectivity solution that enables real-time visibility, customization of network behaviour, cybersecurity protection and regulatory compliance has become a mandatory requirement.

At the same time, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) who relied on legacy, consumer-oriented platforms are now seeking modern, cloud-based solutions that will not only adhere to the requirements introduced by those global enterprises in a cost-effective way but will also turn their IoT business into a profitable one by generating new business opportunities and achieving better unit economics. Furthermore, they are looking for ways to move away from an over-reliance on roaming agreements, which do not suit all IoT use cases and may be challenged by the wide eSIM adoption.

floLIVE’s unique hyperlocal global network spans across all continents and offers localized connectivity in a streamlined manner. This one-of-a-kind globally distributed and API-driven cellular data network serves as the underlying infrastructure for enterprises, OEMs, IoT Service Providers and MNOs – all who benefit from a modern carrier-grade, secure, robust platform that allows them to build a profitable IoT business while introducing new revenue sources and sophisticated value-added services.

floLIVE’s solutions are based on a unique, advanced, cloud-native software architecture that reduces time to market, guarantees low TCO and provides an unprecedented degree of flexibility. These offerings facilitate high performance and prolonged battery life for LPWA and broadband use cases.

“We look for highly differentiated infrastructure technologies that can support a robust and modern technology stack on top of them”, said Avery Schwartz, Partner at Greenfield Partners. “After tracking the company and space for some time, floLIVE’s rapid growth adds to our conviction that the company has developed a unique solution that elegantly solves for the full matrix of pain points traditionally plaguing the IoT connectivity market. This solution lays the foundation for new and innovative services that will dramatically change the IoT space as we know it; we are delighted to join floLIVE’s promising journey.”

“The value of floLIVE’s offering becomes increasingly clear when global enterprises are looking for a truly unified, sophisticated global connectivity solution and MNOs are searching for more robust and profitable technology partners,” said Yoram Snir, Partner at 83North.

With floLIVE, clients enjoy full management, control and visibility of every network element while supporting all use cases – from one carrier-grade global platform.

“This is a really strong vote of confidence from our existing investors as well as new investor Greenfield Partners, reiterating the value of our solution, especially during a tough economic climate where technology investments have been decreasing substantially,” said Nir Shalom, CEO, floLIVE. “We have already transformed the landscape of global IOT connectivity with our hyperlocal, global platform that addresses the needs of both OEMs and MNOs. We’re excited to use this investment to increase our global footprint and deliver more value to our customers.”

About floLIVE
floLIVE operates the first and largest hyperlocal global cellular data network, based on local POPs in dozens of locations worldwide. With the largest global connectivity library of its kind, we provide centrally managed, localized connectivity for any device, anywhere. Global means no limits on where you do business; local means low latency, high performance, and full compliance. Our network has been designed to comply with the emergence of privacy acts, data regulations and roaming restrictions. Best of all, we provide direct access to our network, that lets you control your connectivity as if you were the carrier. Monitor your devices, access real-time network events and usage, switch operators remotely, and troubleshoot failures ahead of time, so your devices never miss a beat. For more information, visit www.flolive.net.

About Greenfield Partners
Greenfield Partners is an investment firm focused on exceptional early growth stage technology businesses. With a dual presence in Tel Aviv and New York, the Greenfield team fuses deep local Israeli roots and an expansive global network to support entrepreneurs in their quest to build thriving technology companies. For more information, please visit http://greenfield-growth.com.

About 83North
83North is a global venture capital firm with over $2.2B under management. The fund invests across all stages, in exceptional entrepreneurs, whose focus is to build global category leading companies.

For more information visit www.83north.com and follow us on Twitter @83NorthVC.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2207021/flolive.jpg
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2202905/4265979/floLIVE_Logo.jpg

SOURCE floLIVE

VICTORIA, Seychelles, Sept. 12, 2023 — Bitget, top crypto derivatives and copy trading exchange, has announced the establishment of the Bitget EmpowerX Fund. The new fund will be dedicated to fostering the platform’s ecosystem development, which will seek investment opportunities in regional exchanges, data analytics firms, media organizations and other entities that contribute to the growth of its ecosystem.

The EmpowerX Fund will invest with a capital base of $100 million, signaling Bitget’s ambitious vision. These resources will be strategically and selectively invested to maximize the company’s long-term impact in the digital assets space and its ecosystem. Bitget believes that the key to expanding the native ecosystem lies in diversifying services to cater to the varied demands of the global user base. From a strategic perspective, Bitget aims to broaden its business horizons, creating a comprehensive trading ecosystem encompassing trading, investment, research, DeFi, media, and other functions.

“The CEX landscape is continually evolving amid influences of tightened regulations, rapid growth of Layer 2 and DeFi technologies, and we are expecting that more investment, meager and acquisition will happen in the following months. Our vision goes beyond the present. With the launch of the Bitget EmpowerX Fund, we take another major step in our mission to develop Bitget into a truly comprehensive platform for all needs. Through strategic, targeted investments that foster long-term growth, we aim to continually expand our ecosystem of services to better serve the evolving needs of users. We also want to empower other people in our industry, because a rising tide lifts all boats.” as Gracy Chen, the Managing Director of Bitget, commented on the launch of the EmpowerX Fund.

For years now, Bitget has been on a relentless journey to evolve alongside the ever-changing crypto world. As both an industry and community, we have remained dedicated to supporting the development of the next generation of innovation, the latest being the launch of the $100 Million Web3 Fund in April of 2023. The fund focuses on identifying VCs and projects globally, while prioritising Asia-based partners with a clear roadmap and innovations driven to solving real-world problems. The VCs the Bitget Web3 Fund has invested in are Foresight Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, SevenX Ventures, Gitcoin Fund, DAO Maker, and ABCDE Capital.

Bitget is actively pushing forward its decentralized strategies. Bitget announced a $30 million investment in the decentralized BitKeep multi-chain wallet in March, which was later rebranded into the Bitget Wallet. This move makes Bitget the controlling stakeholder in the wallet, marking a significant step forward in the decentralized space.

On the other hand, Bitget is also strengthening its competitive edges in the centralized domain. It continuously optimizes trading experience, enriches product matrix and steps up membership cultivation efforts. The new “Trade smarter” rebranding philosophy now underpins Bitget’s market direction, emphasizing its dedication to empowering individuals with intuitive tools for a secure, user-friendly, and efficient financial future. The exchange intends to continue developing its native ecosystem, adding new products and features to maintain user interest and drive new engagements.

About Bitget

Established in 2018, Bitget is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange that offers Copy Trading services as one of its key features. Serving over 20 million users in more than 100 countries and regions, the exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter by providing a secure, one-stop trading solution. Bitget inspires individuals to embrace crypto through collaborations with credible partners, including legendary Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi and official eSports events organizer PGL.

For more information, visit: Website  |  Twitter  |  Telegram  |  LinkedIn  | Discord

SOURCE Bitget

Scala develops algorithms that dramatically improve the activity, stability, and cost of proteins 

TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 11, 2023 — Scala Biodesign exited stealth today, revealing $5.5M of funding for their solution to dramatically improve and speed up the development of proteins into biotech products. The seed round was led by TLV Partners. 

Custom antibody therapies, vaccines, food products, and clean production of chemicals: proteins are revolutionizing multiple industries. But developing and mass-producing custom proteins is a long, expensive, and uncertain process because natural proteins are almost never suitable for industry — they are often unstable, costly to manufacture, and insufficiently active.

Protein engineering can modify a protein into an industrial-grade product, but current engineering methods rely on iterative trial-and-error testing of thousands and often millions of versions in the lab. This process can take years, cost millions, and often fails.

Scala makes it possible to engineer and improve proteins immediately and in one shot. Fusing physics-based modeling, AI, and biological data analysis, Scala enables companies to develop new medicines, green production processes, and foods radically faster and cheaper, allowing the creation of entirely new applications of biotechnology that weren’t possible using traditional methods.

Scala was founded by Dr. Ravit Netzer (CEO) and Dr. Adi Goldenzweig (CTO), who researched the challenges of protein engineering in Prof. Sarel Fleishman’s laboratory at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The team developed algorithms for protein design that became the state-of-the-art among academic protein engineers, with over 100 peer-reviewed papers based on the team’s technology.

“Researchers, students, and companies, everyone wanted to use our technology,” said Dr. Goldenzweig, CTO and co-founder of Scala. “We realized that there was a huge need. Quickly optimizing vaccine immunogens, enzymes, antibodies, and more, opens so many doors for advancing technology and the wellbeing of humanity and the environment”.

As one example, Dr. Goldenzweig used her method to improve a malaria vaccine that is now in Phase II clinical trials in W. Africa. Another application of the technology generated wood-degrading enzymes for biofuel production.

Dr. Netzer and Dr. Goldenzweig founded Scala with Prof. Fleishman as Chief Scientist in order to address the demand from major pharma and biotech companies. The team’s mission is to provide a one-stop shop for efficient and economical protein engineering. They named the company Scala to highlight that protein engineering can now be applied at scale to solve myriads of biotechnology challenges.

“The answers to some of the greatest challenges that modern society faces are out there in nature, but until now it was extremely difficult to apply these answers at global, industrial scales,” said Dr. Ravit Netzer, co-founder and CEO of Scala. “Scala makes the impossible easy, and will lead to the next wave of innovation in biotech.”

Shahar Tzafrir, Managing Partner at TLV Partners, said “Alphafold’s impact on biology was profound, catalyzing science and startups. The next complex challenge — translating protein structure into function and determining which properties can be ‘edited’ for a specific desired outcome — is beyond the reach of AI alone. It requires a unique blend of AI, physics, biology, and chemistry. Scala’s founders successfully tackled this in academia, where scientists and the industry widely and enthusiastically embraced their breakthroughs. Recognizing the tremendous potential, they’re now pivoting their academic success into a company, set to redefine how proteins are designed with purpose.”

Scala is now working with a small group of early customers, including top-tier pharmaceutical companies, taking part in some of the most exciting protein engineering projects in the world.

Media Contact
Lazer Cohen
[email protected]
347-753-8256

SOURCE Scala Biodesign

For the 3 in 5 small business owners that will seek a sale over the next decade, Common Trust offers a streamlined approach for selling owners to access liquidity by exiting to their employees

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 11, 2023 — Common Trust, an employee ownership buyout platform that enables small business owners to access liquidity by exiting to their employees, today announced $2.6 million in seed funding. Crossbeam Venture Partners led the round with participation from Schmidt Futures and additional funding from leading investors in the space.

Common Trust is a financing platform that supports small business owners to exit to their employees. The company equips selling owners and management to design a customized employee ownership trust, access aligned capital to finance the buyout, and implement a successful transition.

Across every region and sector in America, there is a growing wave of business owners approaching retirement, with millions of small businesses on the verge of a sale over the next decade. However, many owners are becoming progressively skeptical of traditional exit options, like private equity and private buyers, as they often lead to a sale that neglects employees and long-established company culture and values. As a result, 75% of owners regret their sale within a year.

Employee ownership offers a compelling, legacy-aligned exit strategy for selling business owners, but the cost and complexity of more traditional options have often prevented businesses from pursuing it. Common Trust provides an alternative exit strategy to transition to employee ownership by presenting small- and mid-sized business owners with a simple, attractive, and affordable exit solution using employee ownership trusts, a novel approach for businesses to become employee owned.

“Employee ownership can be transformational for businesses, its workers and local communities,” said Zoe Schlag, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Common Trust. “For many founders who are preparing to retire, exiting through employee ownership offers a pathway to get a fair value out while also ensuring that their people and community will continue to benefit from the company’s growth, even long after the sale.”

“With 40% of small business owners in the U.S. on the verge of retirement, three in five small businesses will seek a sale over the next decade, and only a small fraction of them are likely to be absorbed by buyers,” said Ryan Morgan, Partner at Crossbeam. “Common Trust’s unique, employee-centric exit strategy is transforming the space and creating positive social impact by providing small business owners an inclusive and mission-driven exit solution.”

Founded in 2022, Common Trust was built on co-founders Zoe Schlag and Derek Razo’s work in the shared ownership space respectively at Schmidt Futures, an initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, and at Purpose Foundation, a leading think tank supporting alternative ownership and financing structures to protect mission and build community wealth.

About Common Trust
Common Trust is an employee ownership buyout platform that enables small business owners to access liquidity by exiting to their employees. Working directly with selling owners, management teams and investors, Common Trust helps business owners design, finance and execute an employee ownership buyout. https://www.common-trust.com.

About Crossbeam Venture Partners
Crossbeam Venture Partners (Crossbeam) is a venture capital firm that invests in Pre-Seed to Series A startups building tomorrow’s economy. Focused on the themes of platform economies, fintech, new forms of media, and alternative sources of income, Crossbeam is built to back companies of the next-generation economy utilizing unique structures, credit, or novel business models. For more information, visit https://crossbeam.vc.

SOURCE Common Trust

NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2023 — Hadrius has secured $2m in seed funding to automate SEC compliance for RIAs and broker-dealers, by running everything from communications review, marketing review, archiving, to trade monitoring and more with AI while doing it all in one modern platform.

The round included participation from world-acclaimed startup accelerator Y Combinator, Lynett Capital, Singularity Capital, Dorm Room Fund, Unpopular Ventures, and the founders of Arrived, SmartAsset, FutureAdvisor, among others.

Already automating compliance for dozens of firms, part of the new funding will be used to extend the startup’s compliance coverage across more communications channels, improving their “ComplianceGPT” model, and growing the number and diversity of firms they serve. The company aims for a world where “compliance is the effortless state of financial firms, rather than constant worry requiring expensive vigilance to maintain”.

The startup, currently headquartered on Wall Street, was founded in 2023 by Thomas Stewart (serial founder with multiple exits under his belt), Som Mohapatra (portfolio manager and chief compliance officer), and Allen Calderwood (ex-Google, ex-Chime senior software engineer). The 3 of them founded and scaled SEC-registered robo-advisor Quantbase for 2 years, where they became deeply familiar with the burdensome state of SEC compliance.

“SEC compliance is necessary for ensuring a mutually beneficial relationship between firm and client, but it requires dozens of hours of effort to meet those obligations, and that time is taken away from providing a better client experience in other ways. We’re very familiar with this after running our own asset manager, and Hadrius developed out of our first-hand experience with this challenge.”

Part of this new funding will go towards product development. The startup’s ferocious, talented engineering team has a number of accolades, including senior software engineers with almost a decade building full-stack consumer products at Google and Amazon, automation engineers at leading fintech firms, and engineers and advisors at firms like Chime, Robinhood, and OpenSea, as well as at firms Citadel and Goldman Sachs.

Hadrius is modernizing a compliance industry full of decades old technology and options.

“We’re finding that, similar to our experience, the existing software and options aren’t effectively removing a lot of the time and pain of meeting these SEC compliance obligations. The industry has been largely stagnant for decades, and firms have been delighted to learn how much more effortless, time-saving, and cost-effective Hadrius is compared to alternatives.”

According to the team, the long-term vision goes beyond the SEC, to run financial compliance for firms from asset managers to banks, where clients can be sure their firms are meeting their duties and firms can free up more resources towards meeting client needs across the industry. The firm is live at hadrius.com.

SOURCE Hadrius

The secured capital will allow DetraPel to scale its industrial pillar, Impermea Materials, that revolutionizes PFAS-free and plastic-free platform coatings for food packaging and textiles.

BOSTON, Sept. 11, 2023 — DetraPel, the advanced materials company that manufactures sustainable coatings announced the completion of its $7.6M Series A funding led by Material Impact. Additional investors in this round include multi-billion dollar packaging ink manufacturer, INX International, along with Touchdown Ventures, FitzGate Ventures, Boro Capital, Icebook Investments, and others. The newly raised funds will allow DetraPel to build on the market traction of the company’s recently rebranded industrial arm, Impermea Materials. DetraPel has also rebranded its consumer operations to ProofPlus. The capital is earmarked for scale up of its commercial coatings production to meet the demand of customers. Current industrial customers include four of the largest paper suppliers in the world and industry-leading consumer packaged goods companies who are aiming to offer premium and environmentally friendly packaging options to their increasingly eco-conscious customer bases.

Impermea Materials provides various industries including paper & paperboard packaging, textiles, healthcare, etc., with better performing products for everyday use with its patented protective coatings that are made from PFAS-free and Fluorine-Free, bio-based chemistries. The barrier coatings, which are being produced at scale, address the complex challenges facing businesses around product performance, while addressing environmental concerns by maintaining recyclability, repulpability & compostability. Recent pieces of legislation banning PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’, in industrial manufacturing processes have fueled interest in alternative chemistries like those from Impermea to mimic the performance of PFAS without the harmful effects on the environment and human health.

“INX and Impermea Materials both serve the paper & paperboard packaging markets with a commitment to sustainable solutions,” said Shane Bertsch, INX Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Innovation. “We see Impermea’s product offering as highly complementary, and we are excited to partner with DetraPel in accelerating sustainable barrier coating solutions to market.”

In textiles, Impermea’s protective coatings provide the industry the ability to repel liquids, resist stains, prevent fading from UV, and flame retardancy. In food packaging, Impermea’s barrier coatings provide best-in-class oil & grease resistance, address moisture sensitivity, provide release properties, and withstand temperature fluctuations allowing companies to transition to plastic-free options without making compromises. Impermea also offers coatings to protect against viruses with antimicrobial coatings in healthcare.

“Since our inception a decade ago, we have been developing PFAS-free (100% fluorine-free), water-based chemistries that outperform their fluorinated counterparts. Our team is now at the forefront of the industrial manufacturing transition currently underway to remove toxic chemicals from the everyday products we come into contact with,” said David Zamarin, Founder and CEO of DetraPel. “For brands looking to accelerate the transition to safer solutions and match performance goals, our team at Impermea works directly with manufacturing teams to remove the chemicals and plastics without sacrificing the everyday performance of the products, and creating new efficiencies across their supply chain.”

The recent round of funds will be used to continue to expand Impermea Materials production processes to fulfill the growing demand for safer protective coatings in manufacturing, including ongoing product development, a new state-of-the-art synthesis laboratory, an application and commercialization laboratory, sales, marketing, and more.

“Businesses across the country and the globe are facing mounting pressure to deliver both plastic-free and PFAS-free products and coatings. Until now, finding solutions that meet the unique high-performing standards each business and applications require has been a significant challenge,” said Adam Sharkawy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Material Impact. “DetraPel has a platform and proven record of delivering the necessary and customized solutions their customers require, with safer chemistry and formulations for human health and the environment. We look forward to continuing our partnership with DetraPel to address this growing need.”

Adam’s belief in DetraPel goes beyond Material Impact’s financial investment, as he is also serving on the Board of Directors starting in July 2023.

To learn more about Impermea Materials and its offerings, please visit: www.impermeamaterials.com
To learn more about ProofPlus and its protector and stain removers, please visit: www.proofplus.co

About DetraPel, Inc:
DetraPel is a clean-tech advanced materials company that specializes in synthesizing and manufacturing PFAS-free protective coatings. Along with its patented and award-winning PFAS-free chemistries, DetraPel’s technology platform introduces a new way of blending and dispersing immiscible particles into water-based systems. These unique products and processes help remove cancerous PFAS chemicals with non-toxic, sustainable, PFAS-Free alternatives that outperform traditional legacy fluorinated chemistries.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Valerie Amenta
[email protected]
(781)-858-3345

SOURCE DetraPel

NASHVILLE, Sept. 11, 2023 — Writerly, a leader in AI-enabled software for marketing and e-commerce, proudly announces its groundbreaking partnership with Northwestern University’s MBAi (Master of Business Administration, Artificial Intelligence) program. This strategic collaboration underscores Writerly’s commitment to fostering forward-thinking innovation and developing future leaders in the generative AI space.

As part of this collaboration, capstone graduate students from Northwestern’s joint program between McCormick School of Engineering and Kellogg School of Management will join members of Writerly’s leadership for an intensive semester-long engagement. These students, selected from diverse backgrounds in science, engineering, and business, will gain exposure to real-world applications of AI technology, hands-on mentoring, and the opportunity to shape the future of a fast-growing startup pioneering generative AI’s frontier.

The MBAi capstone students will benefit from direct access to Writerly’s cutting-edge natural language AI platform as they tackle complex challenges at the intersection of business and technology. By actively collaborating with Writerly’s experienced data scientists and engineers, students will acquire in-demand skills and have the chance to implement innovative AI solutions with measurable business impact.

“We are excited to embark on this journey with Northwestern’s MBAi program,” said Jon Ricketts, CEO of Writerly, the parent company of EKOM. “This partnership not only showcases our commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI, but also exemplifies our dedication to providing meaningful experiences that empower our organization as well as students who will be leading AI initiatives of their own in the future.”

The selected capstone students will work closely with EKOM’s team to research and model novel use cases for generative AI needs at the enterprise level. Writerly’s technical expertise, combined with the students’ unique perspectives, promises to catalyze innovation that creates unique value for everyone involved. The partnership resonates deeply with Writerly/EKOM’s ethos of growth and substantiates its status as a formidable player in the AI landscape.

“The opportunity to work with startups like Writerly at the leading edge of generative AI is exactly the kind of experience we aspire to provide for our students,” stated the Program Director of MBAi, Andy Fano.

The collaborative endeavor will unfold through a series of planned phases, commencing with the Fall 2023 Capstone Kickoff. This multifaceted journey will encompass introductions, project work, presentations, and culminate in a grand showcase event hosted at the Kellogg Global Hub.

Media Contact:
Bob Hutchins
(615) 994-7696
[email protected] 

SOURCE Writerly AI

Plans for US expansion bolstered with new strategic partnerships, including Interlock Partners, and board additions

LONDON, Sept. 8, 2023 — Tradeteq, the pioneering technology provider for securitisation-as-a-service and bank asset distribution, today announces the completion of its $12.5 million A Plus funding round. Tradeteq connects trade finance and private credit originators with institutional investors to help address the pressing global lending shortfall.

The round is led by US-based MS&AD Ventures, with significant investment from fellow venture capital firm Interlock Partners. Both add invaluable industry insights and will aid Tradeteq in establishing its US operations, transforming issuance infrastructure to cater for the demands of US-based investors. Interlock was joined by Victor Ganzi, one of its investors and advisors, whose former roles included CEO of The Hearst Corporation and Chairman of Willis Towers Watson, among others. Mr. Ganzi will join Tradeteq as an advisor.

This strategic investment signifies a bold step in Tradeteq’s mission, ahead of its entry into the US, the world’s largest private credit and securitisation market. Since its inception, the company has provided a platform for banks to securitise and distribute their trade finance assets to investors. Earlier this year, Tradeteq extended its primary issuance platform to cover private credit, making it easier for the leading global banks and alternative lenders to connect, interact and transact with institutional investors, such as pension funds and insurance companies.

Furthermore, Jon Soberg, Managing Partner at MS&AD Ventures, and Harry Hawks, Venture Partner at Interlock, will be joining the board as observers.

Christoph Gugelmann, Tradeteq CEO, commented: “We are delighted to have the backing of our new partners. The strategic alliance with MS&AD Ventures and Interlock Partners will be vital as we lay the groundwork for our US operations and we are extremely pleased to gain the insights and expertise of Victor Ganzi. We were gratified with the participation and continued support of existing investors LGGP and Niya Partners to complete the funding round.”

Jon Soberg, MS&AD Ventures, commented: “Tradeteq is an incredibly exciting business with significant potential to grow and scale. We believe in Tradeteq’s vision and mission and look forward to collaborating closely as they expand into the US market and beyond.”

SOURCE Tradeteq