PARIS, Nov. 29, 2023 — With its unique eco-friendly liquid-liquid direct lithium extraction (DLE) process, ADIONICS has once again captivated investors, raising $27 million in its Series B funding round. Adionics’ historical stakeholders took part in this operation, along with newcomer strategic investor SQM, a mining leader in lithium production from brines. This move is supported by returning investors, including Bpifrance, via the PSIM funds managed on behalf of the French state as part of the France 2030 program, Supernova Invest, Céleste Management and Ovive, who are reaffirming their trust in Adionics.

Founded in 2012, Adionics has been developing a DLE process that improves global lithium production. This technology not only increases the productivity of lithium mining but also streamlines the associated value chain and allows a significant reduction of the overall environmental footprint of Li-ion battery manufacturing and the recycling industry. Adionics is confirming its ambition to become the leader in DLE technologies.

“We are delighted to welcome SQM as a strategic investor in Adionics. This partnership marks a significant milestone in our development and is a testimonial to the quality of Adionics’ technology and the dedication of our team. With SQM’s investment, we are ready to execute the exciting phase of industrialization. Our three pre-industrial pilots are already making an impact and we look forward to scaling-up to serve an even broader global customer base. Importantly, this partnership with SQM, leader in lithium production from brines, enhances our capabilities while we maintain our independence in the marketplace. This autonomy is critical as we continue to partner with other mining companies and innovate in the lithium extraction industry to be the DLE leader.”, – Gabriel Toffani, Adionics CEO.

“Our partnership with Adionics is a strategic step in the development of our «Salar Futuro” project. We look forward to working together with the Adionics team on further development and industrial testing of their breakthrough technology, which has already demonstrated outstanding results in lithium yield and purity” – Carlos Diaz, SQM Executive-VP Lithium.

From R&D Excellence to Global Industrialization

Adionics has led a successful deployment of pre-industrial size pilots with major actors of the Lithium world and checked, in real conditions, the validity of its process, as well as the purity of lithium salt directly extracted from brine (up to 99 % of Li purity & yield). With the completion of its Series B financing, Adionics is now ready to make the critical leap from an R&D-focused company to an industrialization-focused company. This shift is not just a new chapter in the business development, but also the embodiment of the company’s core mission.

The secured funding will fuel Adionics’ ambitious strategy, including:

• Commercial expansion – with a particular focus on the lithium triangle of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, as well as extending our reach to North America and Europe.
• R&D continuation – to ensure continuous improvement in product quality and environmental performance. This increased focus on innovation is designed to further reduce energy and freshwater consumption, underscoring the company’s commitment to sustainability.
• Workforce growth – Growing the team from 50 to 80 employees by 2024 to complement its R&D efforts in new applications and to go further. Adionics is embarking on a robust hiring plan to strengthen its business and project development capabilities to fulfill the requirements of the industrialization phase.

Revolutionizing Global Mining Performance

Adionics is transforming the mining industry with a technology that significantly improves the operational efficiency and promotes environmental sustainability. The company’s proprietary process can recover up to 99% of lithium chloride from brines – a leap forward in resource valorization.

Adionics remains committed to an environmentally friendly process, with following guidelines:

• A significantly lower freshwater consumption.
• A lower energy requirement.
• A lithium depletion of brine without any other change in the brine composition.
• A smaller environmental footprint for extraction facilities.

Looking to the future, Adionics plans to expand the reach of its technology into additional applications over the next three years.

ABOUT ADIONICS

ADIONICS is at the forefront of lithium extraction advancements, offering a revolutionary approach that meets the needs of today’s mining professionals. Our company specializes in a closed-loop, liquid-liquid extraction process that efficiently and sustainably recovers lithium salts from various brines, including continental, geothermal or produced water. What sets our technology apart is the use of our proprietary Flionex^® system, a highly customized fluid that acts like a key to unlock and extract lithium without the need for traditional reagents. This patented process not only achieves high lithium recovery rates but does so with minimal water usage and environmental impact, marking a new era in resource recovery. Our commitment to reagent-free, sustainable technology ensures a cleaner, greener approach to lithium mining.

About SQM

SQM is a global company that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Santiago Stock Exchange (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A). SQM develops and produces diverse products for several industries essential for human progress, such as health, nutrition, renewable energy and technology through innovation and technological development. We aim to maintain our leading world position in the lithium, potassium nitrate, iodine and thermo-solar salts markets.

Contact press: Khloé Lewis – [email protected]

SOURCE Adionics

• Investors in oversubscribed financing include Synergy Ventures, Life Science Angels, and AlwaysraiseVC
• SavageMed’s groundbreaking ColoSeal System™ enables minimally invasive colorectal tumor removal, eliminating the need for 2 open surgeries in today’s standard of care
• Founding team former Spiracur executives who raised $76M from Kleiner Perkins, New Leaf Ventures and others prior to being successfully acquired (now 3M Science)

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 28, 2023 — Savage Medical, Inc. (“SavageMed”, “Company”, “We”, or “Us”), a San Francisco Bay Area-based, clinical-stage medical technology company enabling minimally invasive colorectal tumor removal, today announced a launch out of stealth with over $3 million in total funding, including oversubscribed financing from leading early-stage medical technology investors including Synergy Ventures, Life Science Angels and AlwaysraiseVC. Capital raised contributes to SavageMed’s ongoing clinical trial of its groundbreaking ColoSeal™ System. SavageMed’s ColoSeal™ has been successfully tested in human clinical trials with positive results.

“Today, surgery for colorectal tumors frequently requires up to 3 surgical procedures to remove the tumor and avoid the side effects of the tumor removal, including the dreaded need for a temporary ostomy bag,” said Ankit Sarin, M.D., M.H.A., Chief, Division of Colorectal Surgery, Vice Chair of Robotics & New Technologies, Department of Surgery, UC Davis Health. “ColoSeal allows a one-time, minimally invasive procedure after the tumor removal that potentially eliminates the need for the additional surgical procedures and avoids need for an ostomy.”

“Every year, there are 1.9 million people diagnosed with colorectal cancer. 35% of these patients have localized tumors which require surgery to remove,” said Kenton Fong, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Savage Medical, Inc. “We are thrilled to close this latest financing to continue advancing the ColoSeal System through clinical trials. Our vision is to replace the multiple surgical procedures and complications that hundreds of thousands of colorectal patients endure each year with a minimally invasive solution.”

About Savage Medical, Inc.
Savage Medical, Inc (“SavageMed”) is a clinical-stage, San Francisco Bay Area-based medical technology company founded by former Spiracur (now 3M Science) executives developing the ColoSeal™ System to enable minimally invasive colorectal tumor removal. SavageMed has been selected as a UCSF Rosenman Innovator company, a MedTech Innovator company, and has been the recipient of both U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) and U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants. Existing investors include Synergy Ventures, Life Science Angels, and AlwaysraiseVC. To learn more, visit www.savagemed.com.

Contacts:
Kenton Fong, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected] 
510-206-0549

SOURCE Savage Medical, Inc.

Every.io launches out of stealth with the first all-in-one back office stack for startups

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 28, 2023 — Every.io (dba Every), the all-in-one back office stack for startups, today announced its coming out of stealth alongside $9.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Base10, with participation from Y Combinator, Formus Capital and Rex Salisbury’s Cambrian Ventures. Every provides bank accounts, corporate cards, bill payments, corporate treasury, HR, payroll, benefits, accounting, and taxes all in one platform, allowing founders to save time and money. Following their successful launch in YC’s S23 batch, Every hit $1M ARR in 6 months and grew to 75 customers.

Every was founded by serial entrepreneur, Rajeev Behera, who previously raised $100M for his last venture, Reflektive, in the HR B2B SaaS space, scaling it to 250 employees.

The inspiration came from Behera’s experience as the founding CEO at Reflektive, noting “When I started my last company, I made a lot of costly errors setting up my back office. Founders just want to focus on building. They don’t have time to learn complex subjects like payroll, taxes and accounting.”

For this reason, on top of being a platform, Every provides not just a great suite of products, but also top notch professional services. Founders get a dedicated accountant and payroll specialist for expert guidance, who can provide support filing state taxes, choosing the best healthcare plan and creating a custom treasury management plan that maximizes yield and fund safety.

“We had some complicated situations with paying our contractors, and Every handled them super well. We were literally set up within an hour for contractors and within a day for W2 payroll,” George Wang, Co-Founder and CEO at Stellar Sleep (YC S23).

“As a founder, the last thing I need is to be thinking about all these details. Finding a single trusted source to handle all of them (well + efficiently), so I can focus on our customers & product is so valuable.” – Luke Groesbeck, Co-Founder and CEO at Foundation (YC S23).

Every’s AI automates workflows across it’s highly integrated product suite saving founders time and money while delivering a superior experience. For example, Every’s in-house general ledger sits across banking, payroll and treasury allowing the Bookkeeper AI to seamlessly pull and automatically categorizes transaction data, delivering bookkeeping at 50% the cost of competitors.

“We are thrilled to lead this seed funding round and are excited how Every is leveraging AI to reimagine the full back office stack to simplify complex workflows so they are more founder friendly,” said Rexhi Dollaku, General Partner at Base10 Partners. “We look forward to partnering with Every as they continue to save founders hundreds of hours managing Finance and HR.”

To learn more or sign up for a demo, check out the website at every.io.

About Every
Every is the first all-in-one finance and HR suite that combines Banking, Cards, Bill Payments, Corporate Treasury, Bookkeeping, Tax, HR, Payroll, and Benefits in one platform. Every saves founders time by consolidating all their back office work in one place with 10x better workflows using AI. With funding by Base10 and Y Combinator, Every has over 75 customers.

About Base10
Founded by Adeyemi Ajao and TJ Nahigian, Base10 is a San Francisco-based venture capital fund investing in founders who believe purpose is key profits and companies that are automating sectors of the Real Economy, including transportation, healthcare, retail, logistics, and construction. The Advancement Initiative, Base10’s growth-stage fund, donates 50% of profits to Historically Black Colleges and Universities to support financial aid and other key initiatives. Portfolio companies include Notion, Figma, Nubank, Nowports, Motive, Chili Piper, and Popmenu. Connect via base10.vc.

SOURCE Every, Inc.

The seed funding will support the launch of OCEAN [link], the first of many mining decentralization projects for Bitcoin. Long-time Bitcoin Core developer and Mummolin co-founder Luke Dashjr said, “The role of mining pools must change for Bitcoin to exist as a truly decentralized currency.” Put differently, “OCEAN is a new type of pool that enables miners to be truly miners again. We are launching as the most transparent pool and also the only non-custodial pool where miners are the recipients of new block rewards directly from Bitcoin.”

“Traditional Bitcoin mining pools take exclusive custody of block rewards and transaction fees before splitting them up amongst miners. This gives them the ability to withhold payment from individual miners, whether by their own choice or by legal requirement. OCEAN‘s non custodial payouts directly to miners from the block reward remove this risk and the pool’s undue influence over miners,” added Mummolin co-founder and President Mark Artymko.

OCEAN’s Global Head of Sales, the pseudonymous Bitcoin Mechanic, said this: “The intention is to disintermediate to the greatest extent possible. Pools have become trusted third parties whose permission we have required for activating soft forks and deciding what gets into the blockchain in addition to taking custody of all newly generated coins.” “By offering transparency and a mechanism for miners to be paid directly by bitcoin itself, we make the network radically more robust. The name OCEAN intentionally contrasts with the restrictive, permissioned nature of legacy pools.”

“Our contribution to OCEAN comes out of a deep respect for their mission,” says Jack Dorsey. “I think it’s a phenomenal team. I know Luke; I’ve interacted with him for some time, and I was inspired by the vision and most importantly the execution.”

Mr. Dorsey noted, “OCEAN is solving a problem for Bitcoiners that I think all of us feel – further centralization of pools and mining pools that could plague Bitcoin, and how that risks a bunch of Bitcoin attributes that we hold dear.” As part of the launch, Mr. Dorsey noted,“when I see a project that is good for Bitcoin broadly, and that‘s also good for me and my companies personally, it becomes a simple decision for me and I‘m happy to be a part of it.”

OCEAN’s first customer, Barefoot Mining, said the following via its co-founder & CEO, BobBurnett,
“In my opinion, this is the most significant new company announcement in the Bitcoin world over the past few years. The new pool will bring new features and some badly needed diversity to the mining world.”

OCEAN made its announcement from the Future of Bitcoin Mining Conference in the shadows of Barefoot Mining’s 150-year-old hydroelectric dam in rural South Carolina, completely repurposed, which has converted excess energy to Bitcoin mining at scale. OCEAN expects to launch additional phases of Bitcoin decentralization improvements and upgrades in 2024.

About OCEAN
OCEAN empowers miners to take back control of the intelligent parts of mining, and is designed to be non-custodial, transparent, and permissionless—the first of hopefully many projects of its parent company Mummolin, Inc., a Wyoming corporation, and a successor to the Eligius Bitcoinmining pool which operated from 2011-2017. Learn more at www.ocean.xyz and follow us on X@ocean_mining.

SOURCE Mummolin Inc

PRAGUE, Nov. 28, 2023 — Vrgineers, a US-Czech company, has announced a Series A investment of 6 mil. USD that promises to accelerate the company’s growth.

We are thrilled to announce that Vrgineers has secured an impressive investment of 6 million dollars, led by Taiwania Capital. This investment is a testament to our vision and shared commitment to driving transformative change within the technological industry. We are proud to be the first company in the Czech Republic to receive investment from Taiwania Capital. What’s more, our current investors, have also participated in this round, with Nation 1 increasing its share by 0.5 million USD.

Mitch Yang, Managing Partner of CEE Fund at Taiwania Capital

“We are impressed by how Vrgineers integrated the most advanced VR/MR headsets with cutting-edge flight simulation software to deliver uniquely positioned pilot training simulators. The Vrgineers’ systems offer a fully immersive training experience with improved quality that is also very cost-effective. Although its first application is for aviation, the company’s technology could be used in industries where training for heavy equipment operation is essential.  This is our first investment in the Czech Republic.  We look forward to working closely with Vrgineers and to connect them with Taiwan’s aerospace industry as they enter the phase of rapid growth.”

Marek Polcak, Vrgineers CEO

“We are proud and feel honored that Taiwania has chosen to invest strategically in our company. This investment is not just about the necessary funds to boost our activities and products, but it also brings a great deal of overlap. This strategic investment has connected us with the leaders in the electronics development and manufacturing industry. With this connection, we can now improve our technology to the highest level possible.”

Marek Moravec, Nation 1 Managing Partner

“We have a strong belief in the success of Vrgineers and all the other companies in our portfolio. We are fully committed to supporting them in their growth and providing the necessary resources for their success. Our goal is to help these companies achieve their full potential and make a positive impact in their respective industries. “

With the newly acquired investment, Vrgineers plans to expand its product portfolio with the announcement of a new version of the XTAL headset later this year and secure growth in new markets.

SOURCE Vrgineers

Software company helping contractors and engineers design, plan, and sell EV charging installation faster raises from Base10 Partners, others.

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 28, 2023 — Monterra, a software company automating the design and planning of EV charging installations, has raised a $2.5M Pre-Seed round. The company will leverage the funds to accelerate its work of speeding up the deployment of EV charging installations with automation and AI.

The round was led by Base10 Partners, and with participation from Future Climate Venture Studio, Very Serious Ventures, and a handful of other angel investors, including some of Monterra’s early customers.

In the US alone, nearly 30 million EV chargers will be needed to support 33 million EVs on the road by 2030. That is 20 times the current installed base.

Monterra is building design & proposal software for EV charging installers. By using Monterra to build virtual estimates in a matter of minutes, installers reclaim many hours wasted on manual work and win more sales. Monterra also helps installers digitize the on-site data collection process with its mobile app. Since their launch in August, Monterra has onboarded a number of electrical contractors and EV charging providers onto its platform.

David Kim, CEO and co-founder at Monterra, comments:

“Electrifying transportation is a key pillar of decarbonization, and the demand for EVs is booming. Swiftly expanding charging infrastructure is crucial to keep up the pace of transition. In recent years, the industry has seen a lot of innovation across vehicle, battery, and charging technologies but not enough to support the installers, who are at the forefront of constructing and deploying charging stations. That’s where Monterra comes in – to help electricians, developers, and engineers work more efficiently, build faster, and grow their business.”

Monterra believes that software can transform how chargers are planned & installed.

“Large EV charging projects can get complex – from selecting the right conduits and wires to verifying sufficient cell signal. But, well-designed software and AI can bring down the ‘soft costs’ for these projects and drive a step-change improvement in efficiency.” noted Kelson Reiss, CPO and co-founder.

Monterra’s vision is resonating with their early customers. Brian Morales, President & CEO of ProCal, a San Diego based engineering, design & installation firm specializing in lighting, electric vehicle solutions and clean energy projects, comments:

“It’s truly impressive to witness how Monterra is revolutionizing the game for ProCal in the EV charging industry. The integration of Monterra’s toolkits equipping our salesforce is a game-changer. This efficiency boost allows us to not only handle a higher volume of proposals but also pursue a greater number of EV charging opportunities. This means we’re casting a wider net and positioning ourselves as leaders in this rapidly growing market. Moreover, the platform acts as a crucial bridge between the immense market potential and our business development team. With Monterra, our BD now have a powerful tool at their disposal to actively chase after EV charging projects. This seamless connection ensures that we’re tapping into billions of dollars worth of opportunities that might have otherwise been overlooked.”

Monterra plans to use this round of funding to grow its team and accelerate product development – to streamline installers’ workflows across different stages of EV charging projects, from initial design and planning to post-installation maintenance.

Monterra was co-founded by David Kim, who worked with utilities and energy companies to design EV charging programs, deploy smart grid infrastructure, and plan energy efficiency programs, and Kelson Reiss, who brings product and technical expertise from his work shipping software to millions of users at leading tech companies.

“With increasing consumer demand for electric vehicles, favorable regulations, and OEM commitments, the market for EV charging has been growing rapidly. We believe there is considerable opportunity to bring speed and efficiency to EV charging deployment as this market grows, and expect it to play out as it has in industries like solar,” noted Rexhi Dollaku, General Partner at Base10 Partners. “When we met David and Kelson, we were blown away by their obvious excitement for the opportunity and the space. Their tenacity and vision for the product combined with the business’s obvious fit with our Real Economy Automation focus made for a great partnership between Monterra and Base10.”

About Monterra

Monterra Technology Inc. was founded in 2022 to help EV charging installers design and plan projects faster. With Monterra, EV charging contractors speed up site walks, build virtual quotes in minutes, and automatically generate customer-ready sales proposals. Learn more at: monterra.ai.

About Base10 Partners

Founded by Adeyemi Ajao and TJ Nahigian, Base10 is a San Francisco-based venture capital fund investing in founders who believe purpose is key profits and companies that are automating sectors of the Real Economy, including transportation, retail, logistics, and construction. The Advancement Initiative, Base10’s growth-stage fund, donates 50% of profits to underfunded colleges and universities to support financial aid and other key initiatives. Portfolio companies include Notion, Figma, Nubank, Nowports, Motive, Chili Piper, and Popmenu. Connect via base10.vc.

SOURCE Monterra Technology Inc.

FRISCO, Texas, Nov. 28, 2023 — California-based Plug and Play announced today it will open an office in Frisco, Texas, bringing a series of startup business accelerator programs specific to Frisco’s innovation ecosystem.

“We are so proud to launch Plug and Play Frisco in an effort to build the world’s most impactful Sportstech program. By identifying, investing, and accelerating the most promising startups, we will build a robust ecosystem of local and global stakeholders to engage with us and the rest of the community,” said Saeed Amidi, Founder and CEO of Plug and Play.

This expansion comes as a strategic partnership with the Frisco Economic Development Corporation (EDC). In October, the Frisco EDC’s Board of Directors approved a performance-based incentive agreement with Plug and Play. In the first year, Plug and Play Frisco will run a Sportstech accelerator program focused on human potential and performance. In future years, Plug and Play Frisco plans to add additional cohorts reflective of the North Texas innovation ecosystem focused on areas such as health, fintech, cybersecurity, and smart city technologies.

“As Sports City USA, Frisco is an epicenter for innovation focused on maximizing human potential and performance,” said Jason Ford, Frisco EDC President. “This collaboration with Plug and Play will attract more investors to Frisco and strengthen our partnerships across many business technology verticals that help support local employers and corporates that continue to innovate in our own backyard.” 

Frisco, one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. for the past decade, is now home to more than 500 tech firms, including 350 startups. Since 2020, there has been a growing demand for an innovation center in Frisco to provide services to scale startups.

“Frisco has big ambitions when it comes to fostering innovation as our goal is to be the Venture Capital Capitol of the Central U.S. by 2040,” said Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney. “This partnership with Plug and Play directly supports that effort. The services and corporate connections Plug and Play brings to Frisco also helps bridge a gap in support for entrepreneurs in the local startup community by providing access and education to early-stage companies looking for funding and corporate involvement.”

Frisco’s partnership with Plug and Play directly aligns with the Frisco City Council’s goals. Frisco EDC has been instrumental in developing and implementing a strategy to attract venture capital and support innovation, including partnering with Plug and Play to bring their programming and platform for startups, investors, and corporate innovation to Frisco. This partnership will provide resources and support to help scale businesses in Frisco’s innovation ecosystem, bridging the gap between startups and potential partners, corporates, and investors. 

In August this year, Plug and Play announced their expansion to Cedar Park, Texas, making Frisco their second location in the state and first in North Texas. 

“We are excited at the opportunity to see our model flourish in Frisco. The foundation for their innovation ecosystem has already been built and has strong support from the public and private sector,” said Michael Olmstead, Chief Revenue Officer of Plug and Play. “Our model will serve as a multiplier and a vehicle that builds bridges to global ecosystems and creates vibrancy locally in an effort to support all stakeholder ambitions.”

With over 50 locations worldwide, Plug and Play is a global leader in bringing together an ecosystem of startups, corporations, venture capitalists, governments, and universities to drive innovation forward. Plug and Play brings their partners to the forefront of industry trends and assists them in every phase of their innovation journey. 

For more information on how to get involved with Plug and Play Frisco, please visit: pnptc.com/join.

About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we’re present in 50+ locations across five continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we’ve invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/. 

About the Frisco EDC
The Frisco Economic Development Corporation operates as a Texas non-profit corporation and is governed by a seven-member board of directors appointed by the Frisco, Texas City Council. Our mission is to create new jobs and improve the economic opportunities and quality of life for all Frisco residents. The Frisco EDC is one of the leading public economic development agencies in the State of Texas, closing $333 million in new development, and generating more than 5,600 Frisco-based jobs from multiple fortune and tech headquarter relocations in 2022. For more information, visit FriscoEDC.com. 

Plug and Play Media Contact
Allison Romero
[email protected] 

Frisco EDC Media Contact
Emily Pollard
[email protected]

SOURCE Plug and Play

NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 — LO3 Capital, a private investment firm committed to providing lower-middle market companies with transformative capital, announced today that it provided a debt and equity investment to support the acquisition of CDE Services, LLC (CDE) by Milestone Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in tec-enabled services and financial solutions.

CDE Services is a leading provider of payment processing solutions for convenience stores, grocery stores, and pharmacies. The Company announced that it has been acquired by Milestone Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in technology-enabled services and financial solutions. The acquisition is expected to enable CDE to expand its market share and product offerings in the fast-growing integrated payments space.

CDE provides merchants with fully integrated solutions that address a multitude of payment processing needs. The Company’s wide breadth of ancillary products and its proprietary technology stack offer clients a premiere service at superior pricing relative to its industry peers. The Company’s omnichannel platform capabilities offer full end-to-end support to a growing recurring revenue base of 24,000 merchants and retailers. CDE also provides customized point of sale device encryption, deployment and activation services for industry leading strategic partners.

Milestone’s acquisition of CDE was supported by a strategic capital investment from an experienced group of investors, including LO3 Capital, Tecum and Navigate Capital.

Joe Cohane, CEO of CDE said: “Given Milestone’s targeted sector focus on financial technology companies, we are confident that together we will rapidly grow through providing superior merchant payment solutions to our valued customers.”

“CDE and its management team have a proven ability to develop and implement industry leading payment solutions. We are excited to partner with Milestone and CDE as they continue to expand their product offerings and market share during this next phase of growth and innovation” – said Glenn Harrison, LO3’s managing partner.

About LO3 Capital
LO3 Capital is a minority owned private investment firm committed to helping lower-middle market companies grow. The firm has offices in Nashville, New York and Dallas and targets business with over $3 million of EBITDA across a variety of industries. LO3 Capital partners with management teams, business owners, and private equity firms to finance organic growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations, and ownership transitions. LO3 Capital was previously a division of Live Oak Growth Capital and continues to manage the Live Oak Growth Capital funds. For more information, please visit lo3capital.com.

SOURCE LO3 Capital LLC

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., Nov. 28, 2023 — Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC (Patriot), one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing insurance agencies, announces it has secured a new $500 million round of financing to support its aggressive organic growth and acquisition strategy. The additional capital raised represents a significant expansion of Patriot’s existing debt facility. The raise was led by Golub Capital and jointly arranged by Antares Capital, both existing lenders to Patriot.

Founded in 2019 by Chairman and CEO Matt Gardner and backed by private equity firms GI Partners and Summit Partners, Patriot is based in Fort Washington, Penn., and was recently ranked as the 26th largest insurance broker in the United States by Business Insurance magazine. Patriot has differentiated itself in an intensely competitive marketplace through its unique and highly entrepreneurial operating model, partnering exclusively with thriving, high-growth property/casualty and employee benefits insurance agencies. Patriot fosters thoughtful collaboration among all partner agencies, enabling greater client connectivity and enhanced career opportunities for its 1,700+ employees in 130 offices across 26 states.

“Despite the current economic turbulence throughout the U.S., and worsening geopolitical conditions abroad, Patriot continues to attract the best and fastest-growing agencies in the country,” said Matt Gardner, Chairman and CEO of Patriot. “Our business model is truly unique, and the capital raised in this round of funding validates our approach to building a national insurance services platform. We appreciate the continued support of our lending partners in helping us exceed our aggressive growth goals.”

“We have a deep partnership with Patriot and GI Partners and are delighted to once again support Patriot’s continued growth,” said Spyro Alexopoulos, Co-Head of Direct Lending at Golub Capital. “The flexibility we can provide to growing companies like Patriot further demonstrates the strength and scalability of the Golub Capital platform.”

About Patriot Growth Insurance Services

Founded in 2019, Patriot is a growth-focused national insurance services firm that partners with employee benefits and property and casualty agencies across the United States. Patriot is ranked as the 26th largest broker in the U.S. by Business Insurance and has been named to the 2023 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies. With more than 1,700 employees operating in over 130 locations across 26 states, Patriot’s collaborative model delivers resources and strategic support to its agencies, whose leaders continue to operate with a high degree of autonomy in their local markets. Patriot creates true alignment with its partner agencies, and its operating philosophy fosters enhanced career opportunities for its dedicated and professional team. Patriot is backed by GI Partners and Summit Partners. For more information, please visit patriotgis.com or contact Tammy Cameron at [email protected].

About Golub Capital

Golub Capital is a market-leading, award-winning direct lender and experienced credit asset manager. We specialize in delivering reliable, creative, and compelling financing solutions to companies backed by private equity sponsors. Our sponsor finance expertise also forms the foundation of our Broadly Syndicated Loan and Credit Opportunities investment programs. We nurture long-term, win-win partnerships that inspire repeat business from private equity sponsors and investors.

As of October 1, 2023, Golub Capital had over 850 employees and over $60 billion of capital under management, a gross measure of invested capital including leverage. The firm has lending offices in New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, and London. For more information, please visit golubcapital.com.

Media Contacts:

SOURCE Patriot Growth Insurance Services