The leading virtual clinic delivering insurance-covered, expert care for women perimenopause and menopause, Midi Health plans major expansion of national footprint

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 27, 2023 — Midi Health, the emerging digital leader in women’s midlife healthcare, today announced the close of a $25M Series A funding round led by GV (Google Ventures). Investors Frederique Dame and Cathy Friedman from GV are joined by current investors Felicis, Semper Virens, Icon, 25M and Operator Collective, bringing the company’s total funding raised to date to $40M.

In the year since the company officially launched to consumers, Midi Health has already helped tens of thousands of patients and provides care covered by all the major insurance carriers, expanding to 50 states by January 2024. The company will leverage the new capital to expand operations nationwide and to launch additional partnerships with some of the largest hospital systems in the country, as well as major U.S. employers. Midi Health recently announced a partnership with fertility benefits leader, Progyny, to bring midlife care to employers across the US. Current employer clients include Stanford University and ServiceNow, and agreements are in place with healthcare systems clients such as Lifepoint Health.

“Midi has seen meaningful traction since its launch and takes an innovative approach to address an unmet need for nearly half the global population,” said Frederique Dame, General Partner at GV. “Midi’s world-class executive and advisory team has decades of clinical and healthcare expertise and a vision for personalized, affordable, and accessible midlife care. GV is proud to back Midi as they modernize perimenopause and menopause care for women everywhere.”

Every day in the U.S. 6,000 women hit menopause, which is defined as starting 12 months after a woman’s last period. They reach that milestone, on average, at age 51, but perimenopause, the precursor to menopause, can occur much earlier. This lead-up period, when hormones can fluctuate wildly and symptoms may be at their worst and most unpredictable, lasts four to seven years. Symptoms, which may include hot flashes, insomnia, anxiety, depression, brain fog, memory loss, joint pain, and genitourinary problems, have a significant impact on women’s quality of life and career growth. In fact, a recent Mayo Clinic study found that 15% of women cut back on hours or missed work entirely due to their symptoms, costing them about $1.8 billion a year in lost wages.

“It’s clear that menopausal symptoms can derail women’s lives. With far too few practitioners trained in managing menopause, women are underdiagnosed, undertreated, and underserved,” said Midi Health CEO & Founder Joanna Strober. “Midi provides an insurance-covered solution that focuses on women’s unique needs, closing a major gap in health access, quality, and equity.”

To address that gap, Midi Health is rapidly expanding its team of clinicians trained in women’s health. They complete a rigorous training program and participate in ongoing education overseen by world class experts in perimenopause and menopause. The result: A patient CSAT score averaging 95 percent.

Every Midi Health patient receives a personalized care plan based on her health history (including any history of breast and other female cancers), genetic risk factors, ethnicity, and race. Care plans are holistic, combining hormonal and non-hormonal prescription medications, behavior change coaching, evidence-based supplements, and integrative therapy recommendations.

For images, logos and B-Roll please visit: https://www.joinmidi.com/press-room.

About Midi Health
Midi Health is the leading virtual care clinic focused exclusively on women navigating midlife hormonal transition. Our treatment protocols are designed by world-class experts in perimenopause and menopause, and delivered by a team of compassionate clinicians highly trained in women’s midlife health. Midi Health patients receive personalized care plans based on their unique symptoms and health history. Solutions include hormonal and non-hormonal medications, supplements, lifestyle coaching, and vital preventative health guidance. All services are covered by insurance, and conveniently accessible through telehealth visits and 24/7 messaging. With a patient satisfaction score of 95 percent, Midi Health is helping women reach their full potential in midlife and filling an immense gap in the healthcare system. To learn more, visit www.joinmidi.com.

About GV
GV supports innovative founders moving the world forward. We invest across the life sciences, consumer, enterprise, crypto, climate, and frontier technology sectors. With Alphabet as a sole limited partner, GV operates on long time horizons and deals in decades, not rounds. Our operating partners support startups at the earliest stages of company-building across design, equity, diversity & inclusion, talent, and engineering. We also help startups interface with Google, providing unique access to the world’s best technology and talent.

Launched as Google Ventures in 2009, GV has over $8 billion in assets under management and 400 active portfolio companies across North America and Europe. Notable investment outcomes include Uber, Nest, Slack, GitLab, Duo Security, Flatiron Health, Verve Therapeutics, and One Medical. GV is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices in Cambridge, New York, and London.

Media Contact:
Lindsay Stevens for Midi Health
Email: [email protected]; M: 213-200-9638

SOURCE Midi Health

MONTREAL, Sept. 27, 2023 – Starpax Biopharma Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing a groundbreaking cancer treatment platform technology, is pleased to announce the launch of its Regulation A+ capital raise. This raise will provide an opportunity for US accredited and non-accredited investors to participate in the company’s mission to revolutionize cancer treatment.

Starpax Biopharma Inc., a biopharmaceutical research and development company, has conceived an unprecedented platform technology to treat cancer using living self-propelled Starpax Magnetodrones^™ that are sensitive to magnetic fields, swim within interstitial spaces of tumor tissues, transport anticancer drug attached to their surface, are non-pathogenic and die approximately 60 minutes after injection. The Magnetodrones are injected directly into the tumor and transport an anticancer molecule used in an FDA-approved treatment that has been used on millions of humans for 20 years. The trajectory of the Magnetodrones is controlled by the Starpax PolarTrak^™ in which the patient is positioned, and that is designed to generate precise 3D guidance magnetic field vectors in order to trap the Magnetodrones inside the tumor and force them to spread and release the anticancer drug throughout the volume of the tumor, including hypoxic zones — without circulating in the bloodstream, thereby avoiding side effects usually resulting from systemic cancer treatments.

The proceeds from the Regulation A+ raise will primarily be used for Starpax Biopharma’s ongoing research and clinical trials on humans for six unmet medical need cancer indications in the following organs: pancreas, prostate, head and neck, breast, colorectal and vulva.

Michael Gareau, founding president of Starpax Biopharma, stated, “We are excited to launch our Regulation A+ capital raise, providing an opportunity for a broader range of investors to join us in our mission to change the way cancer is treated. With the support of our investors, we believe that our technology has the potential to improve the lives of millions of patients worldwide.”

This investment opportunity offers a unique chance to participate in a never-before-seen technology that aims to change the way cancer is treated.

Investors interested in participating in Starpax Biopharma’s Regulation A+ capital raise can get more information by downloading the offering circular and accessing the investor deck at investinstarpax.com 

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Please consult the offering circular for more information about these risks and uncertainties.  

Media Contact: [email protected] 

SOURCE Starpax Biopharma Inc.

• Financing led by M Ventures, with participation from GreatPoint Ventures, Riverine Ventures and existing investors Cota Capital, Dynamk Capital, Elm Street Ventures, Embark Ventures, EGB Capital and Khosla Ventures
• Novel microfluidics-based cell engineering platform for ex-vivo cell transfection enabling efficient, flexible, and consistent payload delivery, superior cell health and streamlined workflows for seamless scalability from research to manufacturing
• Funding to advance the development of CellFE’s technology platform and support the company’s market launch and continued growth initiatives

ALAMEDA, Calif., Sept. 27, 2023 — CellFE Inc., www.cellfebiotech.com, a life sciences tools company developing a microfluidics-based cell engineering platform dedicated to transforming the development and manufacturing of advanced cell therapies, today announced the completion of a $22 million Series A financing led by M Ventures, with participation from Great Point Ventures and Riverine Ventures as well as existing investors Cota Capital, Dynamk Capital, Elm Street Ventures, Embark Ventures, EGB Capital, and Khosla Ventures.

The continued clinical and commercial success of advanced biologic therapeutics, such as engineered cell and gene therapies, is driving substantial growth opportunities in this emerging segment of life sciences. Therapy developers are forging partnerships with technology providers, such as CellFE, to advance innovative solutions, with the aim to benefit patients seeking better therapeutic options. CellFE’s innovative, non-viral, microfluidic cell engineering platform, Infinity MTx™ system, performs complex genetic cell editing through streamlined, advanced workflows. The platform ensures gentle cell treatment, rapid cell recovery, and superior yield of healthy cells, enabling unparalleled scalability and significant time and cost efficiencies in development and manufacturing. CellFE empowers therapy developers to accelerate the ongoing evolution of advanced cell therapies across a spectrum of therapeutic areas, unlocking a groundbreaking shift towards true decentralized and point-of-care manufacturing in the cell therapy sector. The launch of the Infinity MTx system at the recent ASGCT 2023 Annual Meeting elicited broad interest from top innovative cell therapy developers globally.

“With our clear path to help redefine cell therapy manufacturing, we are excited to have the backing of such esteemed investors who recognize the potential of our technology and the strength of our team,” said Alla Zamarayeva, CEO of CellFE. “Our vision of advancing the platform to a decentralized and point of care application will expand access to cell therapies for millions of patients.”

“While viral cell engineering methods have been dominating the industry to date, high costs, limited editing capabilities, regulatory hurdles, and safety concerns are driving a shift to non-viral methods. CellFE presents a unique technology platform addressing key industry pain points across viral, but also other non-viral methods,” said Christian Uhrich, Principal at M Ventures. “Offering efficient, flexible, and consistent payload delivery, superior cell health, user-friendly workflows, and process scalability from development to manufacturing, we believe the company offers a compelling value proposition for the increasing number of therapy developers seeking novel solutions. We are delighted to join the company that Alla and the CellFE team have built at this exciting time and to support the company’s future development, growth, and overall vision.”

For further information
CellFE Inc.
Alla Zamarayeva PhD, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]

About CellFE

CellFE is an innovative microfluidics company, whose mission is to transform the development and manufacturing of lifesaving cell therapies to make them more accessible to patients. The company uses a microfluidic-based cell engineering platform with highest cell health and payload delivery, streamlined scalability and automated workflows. Platform benefits include increased cell yield and reduced expansion times that translate to drastically reduced vein-to-vein times and manufacturing costs currently associated with advanced cell therapies. CellFE is committed to enabling their partners’ success through close collaborations that aim to solve the challenges associated with the development and manufacturing of next generation cell therapies.
https://www.cellfebiotech.com/

About M Ventures

M Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. From its headquarters in the Netherlands and offices in Germany, USA and Israel, M Ventures invests globally in transformational ideas driven by innovative entrepreneurs. Taking an active role in its portfolio companies, M Ventures teams up with management teams and co-investors to translate scientific discoveries into commercial success. M Ventures focuses on identifying and financing novel solutions to some of the most difficult challenges, through company creation and equity investments in fields that will impact the vitality and sustainability of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s current and future businesses.
http://www.m-ventures.com/

SOURCE CellFE

Investment Paves Way for Salmon Farm to Expand in Upstate New York

AUBURN, N.Y., Sept. 27, 2023 — LocalCoho, a land-based aquaculture start-up that raises premium Coho salmon at an indoor farm, has secured significant new funding from Cuna del Mar. The impact investment fund invests in leading-edge aquaculture businesses with the potential to create positive disruption in the seafood industry and produce a sustainable and diverse supply of healthy, wholesome fish.

“We were impressed by the LocalCoho business plan, management team, and their approach to building supply of a great tasting fish close to market,” said Robert Orr, Managing Director of Cuna del Mar. “The intent of our investment is to enable them to properly prepare for full scale up and commercialization.”

LocalCoho grows Coho salmon indoors from egg to harvest using Recirculated Aquaculture Systems (RAS) technology. This emerging technology aims to optimize resource use and minimize impact on the local environment and wildlife and allows farms to be sited in areas local to the customers they serve.

The multi-million-dollar investment will allow LocalCoho to prepare for expansion of its pilot facility in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York and start mapping a plan for growth in other regions of the U.S., with a farm eyed for the Midwest. Its fish are already on the menus of Nobu in New York and Morimoto in Philadelphia.

“Cuna del Mar is a pioneer in supporting aquaculture companies helping to preserve the health of our oceans by using innovative approaches to growing fish. Their investment provides capital to advance our vision allowing us to get one step closer to expansion,” says LocalCoho CEO Michael Fabbro. “That such an industry leader vetted us thoroughly and believes in our strategy and team truly validates what we are doing.”

This is the second major investment for LocalCoho in the past year. The privately held company received significant funding in November 2022 from seafood industry veteran Rodger May of Peter Pan Seafood to increase harvest capacity and continue to improve husbandry practices. The company also received a $500,000 grant from New York State Development in 2022 to help commercialize its business.

LocalCoho is seeking to raise an additional $4 million by the end of 2023 to fund its next growth phase.

About LocalCoho
LocalCoho is an American salmon company raising Coho salmon in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. Salmon are grown indoors from egg to harvest using Recirculated Aquaculture Systems (RAS) technology. This cutting-edge technology aims to optimize resource use and minimize impact on the local environment and wildlife. The company’s aim is to innovate and produce healthy, delicious local food for a more sustainable future. LocalCoho has recently started supplying premium salmon to American chefs and consumers throughout the Northeast region. The company is BAP (Best Aquaculture Practices) certified and a Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch “Best Choice.” For more information, go to localcoho.com. For photos, click here.

About Cuna del Mar
Cuna del Mar explores, supports and develops open ocean aquaculture methods and other enabling technologies that are economically viable as well as environmentally and socially responsible. We invest in businesses that have the potential to create disruption in the industry by being positive change agents to produce a diverse supply of healthy, wholesome seafood. Learn more at cunadelmar.com.

Media Contact
Louise Kramer, [email protected] or 917-734-1563

SOURCE LocalCoho

• Novel machine learning technology dramatically accelerates compute-intensive simulations.
• First core application in analog semiconductor design, delivering instant prediction capability for integrated circuit design as a companion to existing tools and simulators.
• By 2026, Machine Discovery will cut the analog semiconductor product development cycle in half.

OXFORD, England and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 27, 2023 — Machine Discovery, a software company which uses machine learning technology to accelerate compute-intensive optimization and simulation tasks, has secured $6 million of funding.

The investment round was led by BGF, one of the UK’s largest investors, and East Innovate, alongside Foresight WAE Technology Funds, UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), independently managed by Future Planet Capital (Ventures) Ltd, and Oxford Technology.

This latest round of funding will allow the company to grow its engineering and business development teams in the UK and the USA, driving commercial adoption of its technology across the semiconductor design space and in other markets.

Bijan Kiani, CEO of Machine Discovery, said: “Machine Discovery is pioneering the use of machine learning to reduce product development cycles in a variety of sectors.

“We thank our partners for their continued support at a key stage of the company’s development, enabling us to expand the number of users utilizing our Discovery Platform and drive forward the company’s future innovations.”

Luke Rajah, investor at BGF, said: “With cutting-edge machine learning technology and a management team with deep industry expertise, we believe Machine Discovery is poised for rapid adoption and growth.

“Early customer results in analog semiconductor design have shown the potential of the technology to massively accelerate the time to develop new products, which will enable leading semiconductor players to differentiate themselves in the market.”

Machine Discovery was spun out of the University of Oxford by researchers in the physics department. Co-founder and CSO Muhammad Kasim invented the machine learning technology that underpins the company’s work, while co-founder and CTO Brett Larder developed the prototype of its Discovery Platform.

Other co-founders including Professor Gianluca Gregori and Professor Sam Vinko are continuing with their contributions in an advisory capacity. The company is led by its CEO Bijan Kiani and Non-Executive Chair Janet Collyer, who each have over 20 years of experience in the electronic design tools space.

Editorial Contacts:

SOURCE Machine Discovery Inc.

CLEVELAND, Sept. 26, 2023 — DigitalC, Cleveland’s choice for internet connectivity and digital training, is proud to announce that Cleveland City Council has approved $20 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to support the deployment of a citywide internet network and the facilitation of digital skills training, marking a historic investment in digital equity.

“We appreciate the collaborative effort to move this legislation forward; the support of this substantial funding by both Cleveland City Council and the Bibb Administration demonstrates a profound commitment from our civic leaders to ensuring that no resident is left behind in the digital age,” shared DigitalC Chief Executive Officer Joshua Edmonds.

Edmonds further added that recent initiatives have seen DigitalC enhance its organizational capacity, improve operational efficiencies, and refresh its brand, giving the organization a bold identity that aligns with its mission: to bridge the digital divide – for good.

“Thanks to our civic leaders and funding partners, DigitalC is well-positioned to achieve the goals outlined in the legislation,” said DigitalC Board Chair Lance Frew. “To accomplish this ambitious undertaking, the organization has made strategic hires, adopted efficient customer relationship management software to streamline operations, and harnessed the latest technology to offer a superior product and customer experience.”

In May, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s Administration selected DigitalC as the vendor to deploy this transformative network in response to a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process. The RFP requirements include connecting 23,500 households and reaching 50,000 individuals through digital skills training within four years.

“Ultimately, our community will benefit from expanded choices and an option that not only prioritizes people but also seamlessly balances affordability without compromising quality,” said Edmonds.

DigitalC anticipates launching the buildout of the citywide internet network in the coming months, with a detailed rollout plan and community engagement initiatives to be announced soon. Once started, the buildout is expected to take 18 months, covering the city in three major phases.

About DigitalC

DigitalC is a leading nonprofit technology social enterprise headquartered at the MidTown Tech Hive in Cleveland, Ohio’s Hough neighborhood. Since its founding in 2015, DigitalC has evolved into a dynamic force, creating a bold vision to create an equitable digital future and mission to bridge the digital divide – for good. Learn more at digitalc.org.

SOURCE DigitalC

• Cartwheel addresses the severe pediatric mental health crisis by working collaboratively with school districts, students, and families
• Embedded in communities as a true partner, Cartwheel provides evidence-based telehealth services with no waitlist, including individual therapy, group therapy, parent guidance and medication support
• Cartwheel accepts 99% of private and Medicaid insurance plans and is completely free for the uninsured and for students with Medicaid
• Active in 50 school districts and charter networks, Cartwheel will use the funding to expand to five new states and further enhance its proprietary Online Portal

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 26, 2023 — Cartwheel, a platform helping schools tackle the student mental health crisis by delivering affordable, evidence-based telehealth services with no waitlist, today announced that it has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Menlo Ventures. Reach Capital joined the round, as did earlier investors General Catalyst, BoxGroup and Able Partners. The funding will allow Cartwheel to expand mental health services to hundreds of thousands of new students in current service areas, as well as school districts in new states.

There is an unprecedented mental health crisis among kids and teens. Depression in teens has more than doubled in the past 10 years, and a third of high school girls have seriously considered suicide. Youth today lack access to high-quality care, with symptoms often left untreated for years. As a result of the shortage of mental health providers, limited insurance coverage, and long waits, schools are increasingly expected to take the lead in supporting student mental health.

Founded in 2022, Cartwheel has quickly become a trusted mental health partner to schools. The founding team, which includes Chief Medical Officer, Juliana Chen, MD, a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, had collectively spent decades working in schools and community mental health clinics and felt the need for stronger school-community partnership to improve accessibility, quality, and financial sustainability of mental health care.

Today, when a school district partners with Cartwheel, school counselors can refer students for clinical mental health services with no waitlists. Cartwheel’s in-house team of licensed clinicians delivers evidence-based telehealth services, including 1-1 therapy, group therapy, parent guidance, and medication support – all as an in-network benefit covered by the family’s insurance. Operating year-round, Cartwheel allows students to see a licensed clinician at home or at school and during evenings, weekends, school breaks, and summers.

“As a district, we’re committed to supporting our students’ social-emotional and mental health to set them up for success—in the classroom and in life,” said Kimberly Huffer, Director of Social-Emotional Learning in Cambridge Public Schools. “Cartwheel has been a game-changer for us, allowing our students and families to access evidence-based mental health care quickly. Cartwheel is collaborative and responsive to the needs of our students and families and empowers our social workers to have a true partner in the community.”

Throughout care, Cartwheel works hand-in-hand with school staff and families to ensure the student is appropriately supported. A clinically licensed Program Manager supports school administrators on student cases, parent engagement, and staff training throughout the year; and bilingual Care Coordinators help families with scheduling, insurance, and referrals for additional services. Parents can also schedule weekly guidance sessions with a licensed clinician to discuss ways to support their child, even if their child isn’t interested in therapy themselves. Parents can also join educational workshops on timely mental health topics, ranging from school avoidance to social media use.

“It is incredibly tough to be a kid today, and mental health is a critical issue for our youth and our future. We led this investment in Cartwheel because by working directly with schools, Cartwheel enables earlier intervention, improves student and family engagement throughout care, and supports better coordination among the trusted adults in a student’s life,” said Greg Yap, Partner at Menlo Ventures.

“We’ve reached a tipping point in a mental health crisis that is overwhelming parents, schools, and community-based providers,” said Steve Kupfer, Partner at Reach Capital. “Cartwheel’s model recognizes the hands-on support school systems need and the vital role of timely intervention. Through care coordination, parent engagement, and a versatile team of licensed clinicians, Cartwheel will provide indispensable relief to communities across the country.”

“We work with school counselors to reinforce the support they provide to students every day,” said Joe English, Co-Founder and CEO of Cartwheel. “If a counselor thinks a student might need a level of care that goes beyond the school’s own capacity, Cartwheel can initiate treatment with a licensed clinician—no waitlists. This speed and quality has helped save lives.”

“By combining funding from school districts and health insurers, we’ve helped superintendents ensure the long-term financial sustainability of these services,” added Daniel Tartakovsky, Co-Founder and COO of Cartwheel and previously a mental health policy advisor to the U.S. Surgeon General. “We believe our model will become a blueprint for districts across the country on how to build a long-term school-community partnership, especially as school budgets tighten with the expiration of federal COVID relief dollars.”

Cartwheel serves more than 50 school systems across five states, including Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, and Rhode Island, supporting thousands of students, families, and school staff.

About Cartwheel
Cartwheel is the trusted mental health partner to schools, delivering rapid access to care for students and helping schools build stronger mental health programs that catch kids before they fall. Our evidence-based mental health program is designed around the entire school community. Our licensed therapists and child psychiatrists are diverse, culturally sensitive, and committed to affordable care for everyone—including uninsured families and those covered by Medicaid. Kids shouldn’t just aspire to get out of bed and drag themselves to class. They should be able to experience joy. They deserve to envision and build a life they’re excited to live.

For more information or to join our team visit: https://www.cartwheelcare.org/

About Menlo Ventures
Menlo Ventures is a venture capital firm that strives to have a positive impact on everything we do. That’s why we support businesses including Carta, Chime, Harness, Poshmark, Pillpack, Roku, Rover, Uber, and Warby Parker that are reimagining life and work for the better. Over 46 years, we’ve grown a portfolio that includes more than 80 public companies, over 165 mergers and acquisitions, and currently have $5.5 billion under management. We invest at every stage and in every sector, with expertise in Consumer, Enterprise, and Healthcare. From developing market strategies to creating communities, we provide real impact where entrepreneurs need it most. When we’re in, we’re ALL IN.

About Reach Capital
Reach Capital is an educator-led venture capital fund on a mission to expand access to education and economic opportunities and inspire people to reach their full potential. With over 20 years of teaching experience across the team, Reach has backed over 100 education and workforce development companies, including market leaders ClassDojo, Desmos, Lovevery, Nearpod, Outschool, and Replit. Join us on this transformative journey and make a difference in the lives of countless students across the globe. Learn more at www.reachcapital.com.

SOURCE Cartwheel Care

$15M Series A will enable Kolena to accelerate development of its revolutionary AI testing and validation solution, helping developers build safe, reliable, and fair AI systems

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 26, 2023 — Kolena, a pioneering leader in AI and machine learning model testing, today announced that it has successfully secured $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Lobby Capital, bringing total funding for the company to $21 million. Returning investors SignalFire, Bloomberg Beta, 11.2 Capital, Zero Prime Ventures and others also participated. This significant investment will fuel Kolena’s mission to revolutionize the way AI systems are tested and validated, ensuring trustworthiness and reliability in an increasingly AI-driven world.

Kolena’s innovative platform allows enterprises and teams to rapidly assemble highly specific test cases from the data sets that power their AI models, enabling evaluation of each model’s effectiveness in key scenarios and applications. This ‘fine-grained’ testing approach allows teams to root out unexpected model behavior such as biased hiring algorithms, false positives or misclassifications in critical healthcare applications and a vast range of other failure modes.

The company’s solution also helps teams and enterprises launch their models more quickly by eliminating the need for time-consuming experimentation-based testing. The platform was designed for computer vision, generative AI, natural language processing, LLMs and multi-modal models.

Kolena co-founder and CEO Mohamed Elgendy said, “We are thrilled to have secured $21 million in funding to further accelerate our efforts to enable AI developers around the world to build reliable AI systems. This investment will allow us to invest in research and development to build a systematic and rigorous AI quality framework along with toolings that empower businesses to build AI systems that society can trust, thereby accelerating AI adoption.”

Companies worldwide have been hesitant to fully embrace AI without a comprehensive solution in place to test and validate the robustness, fairness, factualness, and bias of AI systems. Regular headlines featuring high-profile AI failures have further emphasized the critical need for Kolena’s standardized and rigorous framework for AI quality assurance, which provides unprecedented visibility into a model’s performance in the precise scenarios they’ll be entrusted to handle in the real world.

Lobby Capital Founder Eric Carlborg said, “It’s no secret that unpredictable behavior by AI and ML models is one of the key constraints holding back more widespread AI adoption. Enterprises cannot risk deploying a model as part of their tech stack – much less as part of a customer-facing application – without assurance that it is safe, reliable and fair. Traditional testing approaches, however, remain incredibly time-consuming and imprecise, relying on experimentation and guesswork. Kolena’s solution solves both of these fundamental challenges, bringing rigor and visibility to the testing process that goes far beyond ‘statistical accuracy’ while simultaneously transforming testing from an inefficient manual process into a true engineering discipline.”

Kolena has already demonstrated remarkable success with its revolutionary approach. Several Fortune 500 companies, leading AI startups, government organizations and European AI standardization institutes have adopted Kolena’s solution, experiencing improved AI system performance and enhanced trust among their customers. The company also supports AI testing for military applications around the world.

SignalFire Venture Partner Oana Olteanu said, “As an early investor in Kolena, we were immediately impressed with Mohamed and his vision. That vision has been the driving force behind attracting a very strong team, including engineers and leaders who have built AI products and infrastructure for Amazon, Rakuten and Palantir. Given the team’s deep insight into the pain points involved in model testing, we believe that Kolena’s platform will become the industry standard in the near future. By enabling enterprises and developers to reduce time spend by up to 50% versus experimentation-based testing while eliminating 60% – 80% of model failures in production within the first few weeks of adoption, Kolena is poised to become a foundational piece of the global AI ecosystem.”

Mr. Elgendy concluded, “As AI continues to transform various industries, Kolena is committed to leading the charge in the model testing space to contribute to the development and deployment of trustworthy AI systems. With the support of this significant funding, we will continue to innovate, improve, and revolutionize the way AI is built.”

About Kolena
Founded by machine learning engineers and executives, Kolena is on a mission to define new quality standards for ML testing. The company provides robust, end-to-end ML model testing for computer vision, generative AI, natural language processing, LLMs, and multi-modal models, with the goal of ensuring trustworthiness and reliability in an increasingly AI-driven world.

Media Contact
Chris Clemens
Nexios Communications Strategies
[email protected]

SOURCE Kolena

Funding Fuels Exciting New Destinations and Enhanced Customer Experiences for Leading Outdoor Hospitality Brand

NORTH BEND, Wash., Sept. 26, 2023 — LOGE Camps, the rapidly-growing lodging brand that enables travelers to effortlessly engage with the outdoors, has recently secured a capital investment to help fuel the Company’s continued growth and success. LOGE Camps will use the investment provided through DCA Family Office and other existing investors to grow the brand and expand its network nationwide. As part of this expansion, LOGE Camps plans to add exciting new destinations, experiences, and amenities to its current network of properties.

Moreover, LOGE plans to invest in an expanded management team, enhanced marketing campaigns, a more robust technology platform, and a broader property portfolio. The funding will be instrumental in helping LOGE Camps further its position as the leader in the outdoor hospitality industry and deliver experiences that allow guests to effortlessly immerse themselves into their surroundings and create meaningful memories. LOGE visitors experience a unique sense of community that caters to outdoor enthusiasts, nature lovers, and families alike.

“We are thrilled to partner with DCA Family Office to accelerate LOGE Camps’ growth and expand our unique outdoor hospitality experience across the country,” said Cale Genenbacher, CEO of LOGE Camps.” This investment will allow us to bring our community-driven approach to more people and places, while staying true to our mission of creating a space where people can connect with nature and each other.”

Brian Larson, Vice President of Hotels and Hospitality Investments at DCA Family Office, added, “We believe that LOGE Camps is well positioned to lead the outdoor hospitality industry with its innovative approach to creating unique and memorable experiences for guests. We are excited to support LOGE’s expansion and work together to bring its vision to life.”

With this partnership, LOGE Camps aims to create more opportunities for people to experience the wonder of the outdoors in comfort and style. LOGE Camps also invites interested parties to reach out for more information on investment and real estate partnership opportunities.

About LOGE
LOGE Camps is inspired by the outdoor travel culture of the 70’s, creating destinations that have the relaxed energy of a road trip with friends. More than a hotel, LOGE can help everyone make the most of the outdoors with gear on-site and experiences via our connections to local guides, and more. Offering a myriad of ways to stay – rooms, van hookups, tent spots, as well as group meeting spaces, LOGE Camps creates a lively and vibrant community around communal fire pits, live music and with other local happenings. Learn more on logecamps.com and on Instagram at @logecamps.

For LOGE media inquiries, please contact:
Garin Fons | VP of Communications | InGoodTaste | (952) 239-1422 | [email protected] 

About DCA Family Office
DCA Family Office provides institutional-quality capital delivered through a friendly, flexible and collaborative family-office platform. We seek to partner with the most experienced operators and industry experts in targeted sectors and geographies. The LOGE team exemplifies the type of operator we are attracted to.

For DCA media inquiries, please contact:
Barbara Urbani | Director of Marketing | DCA Partners | (916) 960-5350 | [email protected]

SOURCE LOGE Camps