Artifact Lab, a Next-Generation In-Game User Profile and Monetization Platform, Joins Forces with Leading Web3 Investors to Fuel Rapid Expansion

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 16, 2023 — Artifact Lab, a cutting-edge platform revolutionizing how mobile games monetize players in an era driven by privacy, proudly announces the successful completion of its $2 million pre-seed funding round. RW3 Ventures and IOSG Ventures are the co-leaders in this funding round, accompanied by Raptor Group, Cypher Capital and HerculesDAO to round out the investors’ group.

Sony Joseph, CEO, and co-founder of Artifact, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “This funding underscores our commitment to envisioning a privacy-centric future, wherein users maintain full control over their in-game identity and data. With Artifact, they become true partners with game publishers and advertisers in the monetization process. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our investors for sharing in our vision as we redefine the advertising landscape through a decentralized audience network.”

“We are thrilled to support the Artifact Lab team in their pursuit of a game changing solution for mobile advertising,” said David Saunders, Principal at RW3 Ventures. “Artifact’s novel Web3-powered digital identity solution has great potential to reshape the advertising industry by aligning incentives across all stakeholders. Sony and his team bring the perfect experience to build the next integral layer of the adtech stack and we’re excited to help them on this journey.”

Jocy Lin, founding partner at IOSG Ventures, added, “We are impressed by Artifact’s innovative approach toward Web3 UA. We strongly believe for super apps and killer games to flourish in Web3, UA must be done in a scientific way and mass audience in Web2 must be reached. Team Artifact definitely demonstrates their expertise in in-game ads and ability to build strong partnerships with Web2 mobile game powerhouses making them the UA expert for Web3 games and potentially other dapps.”

“We believe that Artifact Lab’s decentralized audience network is a groundbreaking solution for modern ad monetization. We are excited about its potential to revolutionize monetization for mobile apps and gaming, opening up numerous opportunities for publishers facing privacy hurdles.”  shared Karan Gandhi, CFA, Senior Investment Associate at Cypher Capital

This funding infusion will serve as a catalyst for platform development, team expansion and growth acceleration.

Established in 2023, Artifact Labs introduces an innovative approach to monetizing users in games and other mobile apps. The platform empowers players with unified, user-owned profiles, addressing the challenges posed by privacy restrictions and geographical regulations, thus enabling publishers to significantly boost CPM rates. It facilitates meaningful one-on-one interactions between brands and gamers during pivotal gaming moments, all while respecting user privacy. Major AAA game publishers, as well as mid-sized and smaller ones, are rapidly embracing Artifact’s solutions. Web3 games are increasingly leveraging this platform for efficient user acquisition, targeting approximately four billion web2 gamers. Brands are also exploring the platform’s potential for fostering deeper brand affinity among gamers through engaging in-game advertising.

RW3 Ventures focuses its investments on the infrastructure, protocols, and applications driving the growth of blockchain technologies, decentralized finance, and the long-term evolution of web3.

IOSG Ventures is a community-friendly, research-driven early-stage venture firm with a diverse portfolio spanning L1/L2 (Polkadot, NEAR, Arbitrum, Starkware), DeFi (1inch, 0x, UMA), GameFi (Bigtime, Illuvium), and SocialFi (Roll, Galaxy, Cyberconnect).

Cypher Capital stands as a prominent early-stage venture firm dedicated to investing in Web3 infrastructure and applications that will shape the digital economy for years to come.

HerculesDAO represents a Web3 collective focused on value creation through the extensive experience, networks, and unwavering commitment to ecosystem growth among its members.

Media Contact:
Ricardo Rodrigues
VP, Biz Dev & Partnerships
Email : [email protected]
Website : https://www.gotartifact.com/

SOURCE Artifact Lab, Inc.

VERO BEACH, Fla., Nov. 16, 2023 — As 2023 closes, Clear Current Capital, a US-based impact VC firm focused on early-stage investments in sustainable food companies, is excited to highlight various strategic partnerships being formed between its portfolio companies and industry stakeholders to accelerate positive change in the food system.

“Shifting to a sustainable food system cannot be done on a standalone basis. It’s great to see the founders within our portfolio collaborating with others in the industry to speed up progress,” says CCC Principal Steve Molino.

• Co-founders Tim Fronzek and Felipe Lino’s Berlin-based Nosh.bio Foods develops ingredients from fungal biomass for animal-free food products. It has partnered with Gingko Bioworks, leveraging strain optimization to produce a mycoprotein that delivers a savory and meaty taste in food products.
• Eldad Arnon, and Daniel Lock co-founded Berlin-based Tupu, which specializes in the production of gourmet mushrooms through a decentralized farming system combining bioscience, robotics, and AI. Tupu is partnering with renowned wholesalers and Michelin-starred chefs.
• New School Foods, founded by Chris Bryson, creates a whole-cut plant-based salmon that cooks and performs like salmon. The Toronto startup has received grants from Canadian government agencies.
• San Diego-based BlueNalu, led by Lou Cooperhouse, develops cultivated seafood products. The company is a UN Global Impact member supporting ocean sustainability and diversity. It recently secured strategic alliances with the Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan, Pulmuone Co., Ltd. in South Korea, Thai Union in Thailand, and NEOM in Saudi Arabia.
• Co-founded by Beth Zotter and Amanda Stiles, Umaro Foods produces bacon from seaweed protein. The Berkeley startup has received a grant from the US Department of Energy to explore critical mineral extraction from ocean microalgae.
• Founder David Bucca’s Change Foods produces bioidentical cheese through precision fermentation. The San Francisco company partners with the KEZAD Group, designing a dedicated commercial manufacturing plant producing its animal-free dairy in Abu Dhabi. Change Food will host “The Power of Precision Fermentation as a Climate Solution” session at COP 28 in Dubai.

“These companies bring solutions for sustainably feeding the planet’s growing populations for future generations. Great to see these founders leading the way for meaningful change in our food system,” says CCC GP and Founder Curt Albright.

About Clear Current Capital:

Visit www.clearcurrentcapital.com.

Media Contact:
Curt Albright
[email protected]
704-363-9140

SOURCE Clear Current Capital

The seed funding round was led by prominent industry VCs, Galileo, Semantic Ventures, Tioga Capital, and Nascent

DOVER, Del., Nov. 16, 2023 — Union Labs, the team creating a hyper-efficient, zero-knowledge interoperability layer, has successfully raised $4 million in seed funding to build the first fully trustless bridge that connects appchains, layer 1, and layer 2 networks. Capital secured is also earmarked for the expansion of Union’s seasoned team, comprised of leaders from Composable Finance; Consensys; Tokensoft; and Polygon; in anticipation of its upcoming mainnet launch. Other notable investors in the round include Lightshift and Chorus One.

Karel Kubat, Founder of Union Labs, commented: “This support signifies trust in Union and the team, while also showing strong support from the industry for projects focussed on sovereignty and decentralization: the keys to an equitable digital economy. The most prominent hacks are bridge hacks, yet bridges remain critical infrastructure for almost all projects, showing the need for better, more resilient products. It is our responsibility to innovate new ways to protect these assets and further the adoption of ZK technologies to realize a secure and interoperable, cross-chain future.”

With over $1.6 billion stolen in bridge hacks in 2022, the need for a razor-sharp bridging stack to secure the Web3 space is critical in future-proofing the industry. Developed to be the first fully trustless and censorship-resistant powerhouse enabling horizontal scalability, Union’s infrastructure layer addresses the growing need for efficient and secure data transfer and interaction between various blockchains. Its unique consensus engine allows the transfer of any asset natively to any chain and prioritizes efficiency, security, scalability, and interoperability, without relying on third parties, oracles, multi-signatures, or MPC (Multi-Party Computation). Unlike other contemporary bridging solutions, Union does not grant relayers a special authority. This way, private keys are not a target for hackers, as they cannot take control of the protocol. Instead, messages are verified using zero-knowledge proofs.

David Feiock, Founder at Galileo, commented: “Secure, reliable, cost-efficient communication between networks and dApps, facilitated by ZK infrastructure, ultimately means more use cases and more users. The advent of Union represents a watershed moment for the entire crypto industry: trust-minimized interoperability between Ethereum and IBC-connected blockchains. As a core contributor to the multichain movement, Union will unlock new, unforeseen opportunities for all Web3 users.” 

Union’s ZK bridges architecture includes two key components that allow the project to enable IBC on Ethereum; CometBLS, the prover mechanism, and Galois, providing consensus verification. CometBLS, developed by Union Labs, is an augmentation of Tendermint—a core contributor to the Cosmos network—that reduces both state growth and light client verification costs. It will replace current systems which are unequipped to adequately scale with the required amount of validators in space-restricted chains such as Ethereum. Galois focuses on consensus verification, emphasizing fast execution, low operational costs, and decentralized infrastructure.

Dan Elitzer, Co-Founder at Nascent, concluded: “During a period where many projects are making small iterations on existing protocols, Union Labs is building genuinely new infrastructure that enables improvements to UX and security that will be necessary for the next phase of crypto adoption.”

This investment will also support Union’s commitment to providing a user-friendly experience through its high-level API, ensuring developers from various ecosystems can easily integrate and utilize its technology. Collectively, these objectives serve as a solid springboard in helping Union Labs achieve its ultimate mission: trustless financial infrastructure.

To learn more about Union Labs, visit union.build.

About Union Labs:

Union is the interoperability layer built for the next century. Union’s trustless bridge uses zero-knowledge proofs to connect any appchains, L1s, and L2s without depending on trusted third parties, oracles, multi-signatures, or MPC. Union is building ZK solutions that remedy the cost and security issues plaguing the industry to unlock a horizontally-scaled future, where thousands of chains can permissionlessly connect, communicate, and prosper.

SOURCE Union Labs

• Application Period Opens Today, November 16, 2023

NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2023 — J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Life Sciences Private Capital and Blue Horizon Advisors announce the launch of the inaugural J.P. Morgan Asset Management: Life Sciences Innovation Summit, which seeks to attract top caliber, early stage entrepreneurs in life sciences to both compete for top prizes and seed the growth of the emerging scientific innovation hub in Abu Dhabi. The two-day Summit will take place in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week on May 14^th – 15^th, 2024.

J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital and Blue Horizon Advisors are collaborating with Lyfebulb, an innovation accelerator that sources the most impactful solutions addressing true patient needs, to conduct the event. Entrepreneurs with therapies to better manage and care for diseases that are prevalent in the Emirati region are invited to submit applications. Examples of these diseases include, but are not limited to, diabetes, obesity, cardiometabolic disease, oncology, sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, lysosomal storage disease, and rare monogenic disorders.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Blue Horizon to really shine the light on the opportunities for emerging growth biopharma companies in Abu Dhabi,” stated Dr. Stephen Squinto, Chief Investment Officer, J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital. “We see potential for Abu Dhabi to become another major hub of biotech innovation, and we look forward to showcasing the next generation of life science entrepreneurs and hearing from some of the world’s most renowned scientists and business leaders as summit speakers.”

The challenge is currently accepting applications here through January 22, 2024. After a 10-week application period and a thorough analysis by expert scientists and investors, 10 applicants will be shortlisted as finalists and will receive an invitation to listen to industry-esteemed speakers and pitch their business solutions over the course of a two-day summit, which will take place at the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

The following expert panel of judges who will assess the innovators include:

• Laurie Glimcher, MD, President and CEO at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
• Jorge Guzman, MD, CEO at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
• David Hung, MD, Founder, President and CEO at Nuvation Bio
• Anya Schiess, Managing Partner at J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital
• Abu Dhabi Department of Health Representative
• Blue Horizon Life Sciences Representative

Upon review and selection by the judges, winners will be announced. Importantly, all finalists will be afforded the opportunity to present a detailed business plan to the J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital team, Blue Horizon Advisors and other regional investment organizations for investment opportunities.

“We are excited to partner with J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital to conduct this innovation summit in Abu Dhabi,” said Nabil Kobeissi, Chief Executive Officer, Blue Horizon Advisors. “We fully believe in the potential of life sciences, in terms of talent and development, and we will continue to be a driving force to enable the region to achieve its full potential. Partnering on this inaugural event will be one of many initiatives that we are implementing to achieve our goal of seeding a thriving life sciences ecosystem in Abu Dhabi, the UAE and the broader region.”

Applicants may submit information now through January 22, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. EDT by visiting: https://lyfebulb.com/innovation-challenges/j-p-morgan-asset-management-life-sciences-innovation-summit-application/ 

The competition is free to enter from anywhere in the world. Applications must come from registered companies rather than individuals. Official eligibility criteria, and terms and conditions, can be found at https://lyfebulb.com/terms-amp-conditions-life-sciences-innovation-summit/ 

Finalists will be selected and notified in February, 2024.

About J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital
J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital is a venture capital and growth equity investment team within J.P. Morgan Asset Management Alternatives, founded in late 2022. Life Sciences Private Capital launched its first early-stage biotechnology venture capital fund in early 2023, focused on building “move-the-needle” innovations that will ultimately improve quality of lives worldwide. The group aims to leverage J.P. Morgan’s market position in healthcare investment banking and business banking, robust relationships with the largest pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, and the tenure of the Life Sciences Private Capital investment team and strategic advisors to form, capitalize, and support leading, innovative life sciences companies.

For more information: J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital press release.

About Blue Horizon Advisors
Blue Horizon Advisors is the independent private investment arm of a leading, multi-billion dollar single United Arab Emirates (UAE) family office. Blue Horizon Advisors comprises of leading investment professionals in Europe and the UAE and undertakes global strategic investments in public markets, private markets and real estate.

Most recently, Blue Horizon Advisors established a Life Sciences vertical (“BHLS”), with a mission to becoming a prominent and influential force within the MENA region’s thriving life sciences sector.

BHLS is committed to enhancing health through research and development of innovative therapies and diagnostic tools to improve and prolong lives. BHLS is poised to execute its strategic vision through a multifaceted approach, encompassing strategic acquisitions, robust in-house development initiatives, dynamic joint ventures with global industry leaders / innovators to foster knowledge exchange, and pivotal collaborations with key stakeholders in our ecosystem, including esteemed hospitals, renowned universities, regulatory authorities as well as local and global investment houses.

Material ID: 3ffce23f-8231-11ee-943d-5f978ab4f411

SOURCE J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Top Health Food Franchise Announces New Fundraiser to Fight Childhood Obesity

WILMINGTON, N.C., Nov. 16, 2023 — Clean Eatz, America’s leading health food restaurant and online meal plan franchise, recently announced a new fundraiser in conjunction with the brand’s latest partnership with Camp Pocono Trails, the country’s premier health and wellness camp. The fundraiser, aimed at financing the cost for kids to attend the camp, amassed an incredible $45,000, which will be enough to give 10 kids the Camp Pocono Trails experience.

Camp Pocono Trails has welcomed tens of thousands of kids from across the country since opening in 1999. While the directive of the camp has altered over the years, its intent has always been on the personal development of campers. It is one of the few remaining health-oriented summer camps in the United States, teaching kids’ lifelong lessons and instilling habits for weight management, self-esteem, nutrition, and technology usage.

The lion’s share of the funds were raised through an auction event held during Clean Eatz 2023 National Franchise Convention. Franchisees stepped up and purchased items to help drive the CE Foundation’s greater push against childhood obesity. Cafes also raised money by donating proceeds from smoothie sales during September, which is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

“We’ve been exploring various ways to introduce Clean Eatz and our community culture to younger generations for years now, since they don’t typically have health and wellness brands that are specifically geared towards them,” said Evonne Varady, Co-founder of Clean Eatz. “Our work with Camp Pocono Trails will be instrumental in that effort; providing us a springboard to introduce the franchise, it’s meals, and proven impact on personal health to a new audience.”

With 94 franchise locations operational in communities across the country, and an additional 87 currently under development, Clean Eatz is becoming a household name for millions. This is as access and affordability for nutritious, health-conscious meal options worsen from coast to coast; further motivating the franchise to make its menu and services as available to all people and age groups as humanly possible.

“It’s not often we enter into any kind of an arrangement with an outside party; but the directive and guiding principles of Clean Eatz are as closely aligned to our own goals as can possibly be,” said Tony Sparber, Owner of Camp Pocono Trails. “This partnership will do more than offer our campers nutritious meals while they’re here, it’ll give them unique insight on a brand that can aid them in their continuing health journey even once they’ve returned home.”

The Clean Eatz Foundation raised more than $87k, with $45k of that earmarked to send 10 kids to Camp Pocono Trails this summer and the remainder of the funds being put toward a scholarship program for individuals entering the health and wellness academic fields. 

For more information on the Clean Eatz franchise, please visit https://cleaneatz.com/.

ABOUT CLEAN EATZ
Clean Eatz, which launched in 2011 and started franchising in 2015, was co-founded by husband-and-wife duo Don and Evonne Varady, as a means of helping individuals and families change their lives by providing them with better nutrition options, a steady dose of health and wellness education, and a diverse support community that’s committed to helping each other in becoming their best selves. By supplying such healthy alternatives, the Clean Eatz brand has continued to win over communities with their dine-in, grab-n-go, catering, marketplace, and weekly online meal plan selections. With 94 locations operational and 87 in development, the franchise will likely be coming to an address near you soon.

SOURCE Clean Eatz

The round, valuing the company at over $200M, will be used to fuel R&D, product development and hiring new talent to help bring business owners the tools that help develop lasting, successful companies 

PARK CITY, Utah, Nov. 16, 2023 — Ninety, the leading all-in-one cloud-based platform supporting many of the world’s leading Business Operating Systems (BOSs), today announced that the company has raised a $35 million Series B round of funding, led by Blue Cloud Ventures with participation from Catalyst Investors and existing investor Insight Partners.

Ninety is a platform built for small to mid-size businesses (SMB) leaders wrestling with growth challenges to provide them with clear strategies and accountability structures to empower their teams to find success in the modern business environment. Valuing the company at over $200 million, this new round of investment will be used to provide impactful enhancements to what has already become an industry-leading platform.

Currently, Ninety’s platform is being used by over 10,000 businesses and helping thousands of their coaches, like those associated with the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®), master the art and science of building a great organization. Since its inception in 2016, Ninety’s average customer has consistently experienced more than 20% annual growth rates, as compared to the 2–5% annual growth rate associated with the average small to midsize business in the US.

“It is incredibly exciting to see a platform unleash the potential of small businesses and entrepreneurs,” said Blue Cloud Ventures Principal, Eric Guardiola. “The opportunity to join Ninety in reshaping the way work is done — locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally — is extremely compelling for us. We believe Ninety and its partnerships with some of the world’s leading coaching communities, is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of the ever-evolving world of work, and we couldn’t be more happy to partner with them to make this happen.”

Fueled by the increased demand for tools that make it easier for teams to successfully work from anywhere, Ninety has experienced over 80% year-over-year growth since the company was launched. This has brought the company to nearly $25 million in annual recurring revenue with net dollar retention that positions it in the upper quadrant of all software providers, not just those in SMB.

“What we are seeing today at Ninety is the evidence of how a relatively small collection of time-tested concepts, tools, and disciplines; a not inconsequential amount of technology; some great support from our coaching partners; and our world-class educational materials, can dramatically help owners transition from simply operating a business into having a lasting company that is built for the next age of work,” said Founder and CEO of Ninety, Mark Abbott. “This round of funding comes at a crucial time as we are now developing additional tools that will help empower leaders and teams to cut through all of the static that exists in today’s economy and create collective clarity among all their ideal stakeholders so they can help us all get a bit closer to achieving our true potential. For the ambitious leaders who are currently wrestling with growth challenges, we are the perfect companion to help them capture core data, document core processes, and instill humane based accountabilities that are essential for creating lasting success.”

About Ninety

Founded in 2016, Ninety is currently helping more than 10,000 companies, and hundreds of thousands of their employees, harness the power of people and teams working as one. Ninety’s simple, intuitive, fully integrated and secure suite of company-building tools has become the world’s most sophisticated and comprehensive platform supporting business operating systems for SMBs. Ninety’s expanding array of tools and features helps people run great meetings; build and monitor insightful scorecards; set, track, and achieve 90-day goals (aka Rocks); build, document, and share their organizational chart, vision, and core processes; and conduct quarterly and annual feedback sessions that are built around the data that’s pulled from all the other tools. Ninety’s fully integrated platform makes (as its founder loves to share) it easier for the employees of small to mid-size companies to work extraordinarily well together from wherever they are. For more information, visit ninety.io.

About Blue Cloud Ventures

Blue Cloud Ventures (BCV) is a software-focused growth stage venture capital fund headquartered in New York City. BCV targets best-in-breed companies globally across business application, infrastructure, and open source software companies. Some of BCV’s past and present portfolio companies include Arctic Wolf Networks, Clari, Cloudbees, Druva, Go1, Iterable, NGINX, Pax8, and Wrike. For more information on BCV and our portfolio companies, please visit www.bluecloudventures.com.

About Catalyst Investors

Catalyst Investors is a growth equity firm based in New York. The firm’s mission is to earn superior returns by helping entrepreneurs build great growth companies. Over the past 20 years, Catalyst has invested in rapidly-growing companies across the SaaS, tech enabled services, and internet infrastructure sectors, and has established a successful track record of partnering with entrepreneurs and helping companies scale. Recent investments and exits include Pax8, LinkSquares, Ekos, Weave, Clinicient, ChowNow, EDB, and PresenceLearning. For more information, visit www.catalyst.com.

About Insight Partners

Insight Partners is a global software investor partnering with high-growth technology, software, and Internet startup and ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. As of June 30, 2023, the firm has over $80B in regulatory assets under management. Insight Partners has invested in more than 800 companies worldwide and has seen over 55 portfolio companies achieve an IPO. Headquartered in New York City, Insight has offices in London, Tel Aviv, and Palo Alto. Insight’s mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with tailored, hands-on software expertise along their growth journey, from their first investment to IPO. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners.

Media Contact
Jono Andrews, [email protected]

SOURCE Ninety

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 16, 2023 — SGNL.ai, an industry-defining Continuous Access and Authorization Management company, announced today that Cisco Investments has joined its strong syndicate of investors that includes Costanoa Ventures, Fika Ventures, Moonshots Capital, and Resolute Ventures.

The investment comes at a time when continuous access management is becoming increasingly important. As organizations adopt more cloud-based applications and services – more than 90% of companies currently use some cloud services – their security postures are becoming more complex. Traditional identity and access management (IAM) solutions are unable to keep up with the demands of modern organizations as demonstrated by the monthly cadence of security breaches.

SGNL’s platform helps companies achieve a Zero Standing Privilege (ZSP) security posture by continuously and contextually evaluating user access and authorizing access only when needed. This reduces the risk of data breaches and security incidents caused by compromised accounts or misuse.

“SGNL is the first company to address authorization challenges that enterprises experience at scale through Continuous Access Management and specifically by leveraging the industry standard Continuous Access Evaluation Protocol (CAEP). With increased frequency of session hijacking and credential theft, it is critical for companies to take a zero standing privilege approach across all surfaces, including application and data layers,” said Scott Kriz, CEO of SGNL. “We are thrilled to have Cisco Investments with us as we embark on the next phase of our growth.”

“Cisco continues to identify and support emerging security solutions to keep modern enterprises, their employees, and their data safe,” says Iva Blazina Vukelka, vice president, Cisco Security Business Group. “We view an investment in a Continuous Authorization Platform, like SGNL, as complementary to our overall posture in Identity Security, which already includes industry-leading solutions such as Duo Security and Oort.”

Built for the Enterprise

SGNL has deployed its platform for customers as a SaaS solution and in Azure and AWS VPCs globally. The enterprise grade platform enables customers to:

• Mitigate the risk of data breaches and other security incidents: SGNL’s zero standing privilege approach minimizes the blast radius of an attack.
• Reduce costs: Reduced security incidents translate to lower incident response costs, operational disruption, regulatory fines, and reputational damage.
• Expand revenue: SGNL’s customers have been able to open new markets through establishing zero standing access.
• Improve compliance with security standards and regulations: Businesses can better adhere to regulatory requirements, such as GDPR and HIPAA, by ensuring precise control and monitoring of user privileges.
• Increase operational efficiency: SGNL’s platform simplifies access management, making it easier for organizations of all sizes and industries.

About SGNL.ai, Inc
With an initial team of security experts and executives who formerly worked at Google, Microsoft, Okta and Salesforce, SGNL is working to modernize enterprise authorization. SGNL’s continuous access management platform provides zero standing access, protecting access to sensitive data and guarding against potential security compromises. SGNL was founded in 2021 with venture backing from Costanoa Ventures, Fika Ventures, Moonshots Capital, and Resolute Ventures. For more information about SGNL visit https://sgnl.ai.

SOURCE SGNL.ai, Inc.

Alongside the investment, company adds Annesley Wallace and Sam Duboc as Independent Board Directors

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 16, 2023 — Deep Sky, a Montreal-based carbon removal project developer, today announced it has raised a total of $75M CAD in its Series A funding to support gigaton-scale carbon removal in Canada. The round includes conversion of its $17.7M seed note and $57.5M in new capital co-led by Brightspark Ventures and Whitecap Venture Partners, with major participation from Investissement Québec ($25M), as a mandate of the government of Quebec, OMERS Ventures, and Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)’s Climate Tech Fund. The fresh capital will be used to begin planning and construction of its first commercial facility; grow the team; build corresponding carbon removal software for selling carbon credits; and fund its Alpha research facility, the world’s first carbon removal research center.

Alongside the fresh capital, Deep Sky has added two prominent independent board members, Annesley Wallace and Sam Duboc. Annesley Wallace is an Executive Vice President (EVP) at TC Energy, where she oversees the organization’s power generation and unregulated natural gas storage businesses, as well as corporate strategy, corporate development and capital allocation. Previously, Annesley served as EVP and Global Head of Infrastructure at OMERS, overseeing a global team and portfolio of approximately C$34 billion in assets across sectors including energy, digital, transportation and government-regulated services. Before that, Annesley was Vice President, Operations at SNC-Lavalin, focused on its energy and infrastructure business.

Sam Duboc is President and CEO of Elkland Capital Inc., a family-owned investment firm with a portfolio covering health services, clean energy, marketing services and technology. Mr. Duboc is a former Chair & CEO of MindBeacon, a group of behavioral health companies. And as a co-founder and CEO, Sam successfully built EdgeStone Capital Partners, one of Canada’s leading private equity firms which has managed in excess of $2 billion. Previously, he was a managing director at CIBC Capital Partners and co-founder of the Loyalty Group Inc. (now called LoyaltyOne), the parent company of the AIR MILES Reward Program. Mr. Duboc has also served on the boards of numerous companies including as chair of Business Development Bank of Canada (Chair, 2014-2018), Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. and Stephenson’s Rental Services Inc., MindBeacon Holdings Inc. (Chair, 2016-2022) and Avante Logixx Inc. (Chair, 2019-2022).

“Never before have I seen an industry in its infancy with so many tailwinds, capital infusions, and Fortune 500 and government buy-in,” said Damien Steel, Deep Sky CEO. “Our capital raise is about advancing the multi-trillion-dollar carbon removal industry and providing a platform everyone can benefit from. We’re committed to making Canada the carbon removal capital of the world and offering the highest quality carbon emission offsets.”

“Deep Sky is attacking the massive challenge of scaling carbon removal to a level that can make an immediate impact,” said Sophie Forest, Brightspark Ventures Partner. “We have full confidence in their team’s ability to scale a successful company that helps tackle a long overdue climate crisis. Our support extends not only to the initiative but to a repeat founder with whom we have built a strong foundation of trust and success for over 17 years – Frederic Lalonde.”

“At Whitecap, we invest in fast-growing startups led by exceptional founders with tremendous potential,” said Shayn Diamond, Partner at Whitecap Venture Partners. “In searching for Canada’s next big bet and upon learning about Deep Sky, it became clear that this is a team and a technology worth supporting. Climate change is the biggest challenge of our lifetime, and we need to back founders tackling the problem head-on.”

Deep Sky is the world’s first carbon removal project developer deploying the best carbon capture technology from around the world under one roof. Tech agnostic, Deep Sky brings together the most promising direct air and ocean capture technologies from around the world. Powered by renewable energy, Deep Sky’s facilities are strategically located in Quebec, a region with an abundance of hydroelectric power, immense wind power potential and a vast territory with the rich geological makeup required for carbon capture.

About Deep Sky:
Montreal-based Deep Sky is building the world’s first gigaton-scale carbon removal company, aiming to remove billions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere and permanently store it underground. Deep Sky brings together the most promising direct air and ocean carbon capture companies under one roof to bring the largest supply of high quality carbon credits to the market and commercialize carbon removal and storage solutions like never before. For more information, visit: www.deepskyclimate.com.

SOURCE Deep Sky

Investment cements Upway as the top certified electric bike provider in the United States following their launch earlier this year

NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2023 — Today, leading e-bike marketplace Upway, announced a $30 million Series B investment led by Korelya Capital bringing the brand’s total funding to $60 million. In 2022, Upway closed a $25-million Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital and Exor Ventures, who also participated in this round alongside the European Climate Fund Transition. Upway’s latest round of funding is an up round, proving the potential for the industry, and will be used to further Upway’s extensive consumer offerings as well as supporting the brand’s continued growth in the United States, specifically to the West Coast.

“E-Bikes rapid penetration represents a pivotal shift towards clean mobility, benefiting both urban and rural areas. We foresee that a streamlined, circular, and affordable ecosystem would propel this market’s growth and magnify its positive impact,” said Paul Degueuse, Partner at Korelya Capital. “In such a fast-growing market and with tens of thousands of refurbished e-bikes already sold, Upway stands out as the emerging global category leader. We are proud to back Upway and its visionary team leading the charge of this revolution.”

Pillared on accessibility, cost effectiveness and sustainability, Upway is on a mission to improve mobility and enable riders to get in the saddle without overpaying for a high-quality e-bike. The first-of-its-kind marketplace offers new and veteran electric bike riders a trusted one-stop-shop to buying, selling, and educating about the various types of electric bikes.

E-bikes have become a leading transportation choice for many Americans, with the potential to decrease a person’s carbon footprint by about 750 kilograms per year, expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5 percent from 2022 to 2030. Not only do e-bikes help with carbon emissions, but they offer time efficiency and economic benefits such as saving on gas prices. Whether riders are buying or selling, Upway acts as a resource to learn more about the positive environmental impacts of electric mobility. 

“Since our launch two years ago and our U.S. launch this March, we have been on a continuous mission to provide our customers with an unparalleled selection of certified electric bikes from leading brands,” said Toussaint Wattinne, CEO and Co-Founder of Upway. “We are excited to announce this latest round of funding, amidst a tough economic market, proving the rise of e-bikes as an alternative transportation method. We’re incredibly lucky to have partnered with investors like Korelya and Sequoia who believe in us. 2023 was a very important year for us and looking ahead to 2024, we will continue to be the leading e-bike marketplace, furthering our presence in the United States and across the globe.”

Since the company’s launch in the United States, Upway has rapidly attracted a highly engaged online community. The brand launched here just 18 months after their first launch in France, and less than 12 months after their launch in Germany – which is currently Europe’s largest e-bike market. In the U.S. alone, the brand has grown their sales >20% month over month, effectively doubling business every quarter in addition to processing and giving a new life to more than 2000 e-bikes. With a dedicated community of consumers who know and love the brand, Upway is setting its sights on the West Coast, aiming to expand its U.S. footprint with a new warehouse in the coming year.

“The Upway team have built on their incredible momentum in Europe to successfully launch in the U.S. as they take the marketplace global,” said Luciana Lixandru, Partner at Sequoia. “We’re proud to support their mission of sustainability, reliability and better mobility for all.”

Upway currently operates in France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and the U.S., with this round supporting the brand’s continued fast expansion on both sides of the Atlantic. Upway delivers across the continental U.S. and carries models across several categories including City/Hybrid, Road, Mountain, Cargo, and Folding. The marketplace also features electric bikes from top tier American brands like Specialized, Cannondale, and Rad Power and allows customers to discover brands like Gazelle, Riese & Müller or Stromer that have already proven their value overseas.

Upway sets the handlebars high on quality and expertise. All their e-bikes go through a rigorous inspection process, making sure each one is as close to new as possible. Once certified, Upway extends a one-year warranty for each of their products, with the major components also guaranteed for one year confident that customers have made a choice they won’t backpedal on.

To learn more about Upway please visit https://upway.co/ or follow along on Instagram at @upway.usa. 

About Upway
Upway was founded in 2021 by Toussaint Wattinne and Stéphane Ficaja. Offering certified electric bikes from a large selection in a convenient way, Upway delivers electric bikes directly to homes at an affordable price, after a careful certification process by a team of professional mechanics. Upway offers consumers the opportunity to purchase a used electric bike under a one-year warranty – supporting a mission of sustainability, reliability, trustworthiness and mobility for the masses. Currently, the certified electric bikes are delivered to homes in just a few days, available in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and the United States, are sold via the company’s own online store and offer free 14 day returns

About Korelya Capital
Founded in 2016 by former Digital and Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin, Korelya Capital aims to help European technology champions emerge. The fund also supports them in their development in Asia, where it has a strong presence on the ground and a solid network, particularly in South Korea. To date, Korelya Capital has raised 750 million euros invested in 23 European companies (BtoC, Fintech and SaaS). Korelya Capital’s ESG strategy has earned its K-Fund II and K-Brands funds Article 8 status. Its latest fund, Korelya Brands, will invest in the lifestyle sector.
The fund is based in Paris, with offices in London, Seoul and Singapore.
Its LPs include NAVER, Korea’s leading search engine.

SOURCE Upway