Funding will accelerate deployment of AI pilots to different classes of aircraft
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 29, 2023 — Shield AI, the defense technology company building the world’s best AI pilot for aircraft, today announced the expansion of their Series F funding round to a total of $500 million. An additional $100M in equity, raised at the Series F price, and $200M in debt from Hercules Capital were added to the initial $200M in equity closed in November.
“The defense and investment communities are seeing the profound impact AI pilots will have on national security and global stability. AI pilots solve the electronic warfare (GPS- and communications-jamming) problem that’s devastating 10,000 drones per month in the Russia-Ukraine War, and they enable the operating concept of intelligent, affordable mass, where swarms of affordable aircraft can accomplish missions normally reserved for expensive, exquisite aircraft.”
“AI pilots are becoming a strategic conventional deterrent in class with our aircraft carriers and guided missile submarines. But interestingly, it’s the first strategic deterrent that is software-defined and has only recently become possible because of advances in AI and compute power. That’s a huge paradigm shift for aerospace and defense,” said Ryan Tseng, Shield AI’s CEO and Cofounder.
“The defense and investment communities are seeing the profound impact AI pilots will have on national security and global stability. AI pilots solve the electronic warfare (GPS- and communications-jamming) problem that’s devastating 10,000 drones per month in the Russia-Ukraine War, and they enable the operating concept of intelligent, affordable mass, where swarms of affordable aircraft can accomplish missions normally reserved for expensive, exquisite aircraft,” said Brandon Tseng, Shield AI’s President, Cofounder, and former Navy SEAL.
Shield AI’s flagship product, Hivemind, is an AI pilot that enables teams of intelligent aircraft to operate and complete missions autonomously in high-threat environments, without the need for remote operators or GPS. Hivemind is an aircraft agnostic autonomy stack similar to the self-driving technology found in cars. It has flown quadcopters, the MQ-35A V-BAT, and the F-16. Next year it will fly Kratos’ XQ-58 Valkyrie. Shield AI has accumulated more autonomous flight hours executing fighter jet maneuvers, like dogfighting, than any company in the world.
Recently, Shield AI introduced V-BAT Teams, a first-of-its-kind software product powered by Hivemind that enables teams of V-BATs to execute missions, autonomously reading and reacting to each other and the environment just as a team of humans would normally pilot them.
About Shield AI
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company whose mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. In pursuit of this mission, Shield AI is building the world’s best AI pilot. Its AI pilot, Hivemind, has flown a fighter jet (F-16), a vertical takeoff and landing drone (V-BAT), and a quadcopter (Nova). The company has offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and abroad. Shield AI’s products and people are currently in the field actively supporting operations with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. allies. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn,Twitter, and Instagram.
UBTech is the first humanoid robot company to go public on HKEx
Qiming is UBTech’s early institutional investor, exclusively investing in its Series A round in 2015
UBTech’s listing is Qiming’s eighth IPO in 2023
SHANGHAI, Dec. 29, 2023 — Qiming Venture Partners’ portfolio company UBTech, a humanoid robot leader in China, successfully debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today. The first humanoid robot company to list on the exchange, UBTech (SEHK:9880)’s issue price was HK$90.00 per share, valuing it at HK$37.60 billion.
At the listing ceremony, Panda Robot Youyou took to the stage and presented a mallet to Zhou Jian, Chairman, Executive Director, and CEO of UBTECH. In a pioneering move, Zhou Jian and UBTECH’s newest generation of industrial humanoid robot Walker S, holding another mallet, jointly hit the ceremonial gong, which has made a footnote in history and symbolically ushered an era of human-robot synergy.
As an early institutional investor in UBTech, Qiming has been a key supporter since exclusively investing in its Series A financing in 2015. The successful listing also marks the eighth IPO for Qiming in 2023.
Established in March 2012, UBTech is one of the few market players in the global humanoid robot industry. The company is dedicated to the research and development of humanoid robots, and design, production, and commercialization of smart service robot solutions. Notably, UBTech was among the first to commercialize while the sector was still at a nascent stage.
From 2020 to the first half of 2023, UBTech’s R&D expenditures account for an average of 56.5% of total revenue. The company holds over 1,800 registered robotic and AI-related patents as of June 30, 2023, including more than 900 invention patents and over 380 overseas patents. UBTech’s full-stack technology combines robotic technologies (robotic motion planning and control technology and servo actuators) and AI technologies (computer vision and voice interaction technologies), powering a range of integrated robotic and AI technologies (SLAM and autonomous technology, visual servo operation, and human-robot interaction), controlled through the self-developed Robot Operating System Application Framework (ROSA).
Leveraging advanced humanoid robot technologies, UBTech offers products and services across five main areas in AI education, smart logistics, smart wellness and elderly care, commercial services, and consumer-level robots. As of December 10, 2023, UBTech has served a broad customer base primarily in China and over 50 other countries and regions globally, with more than 900 corporate clients and over 760,000 units of robotic products sold during its track record period.
“In the field of hard & core technology, it’s essential for entrepreneurs to strike a balance between what’s technically possible and what the market needs. I am deeply convinced of the substantial and real market need for humanoid robots. Regardless of whether it takes ten or thirty years, we are committed to realizing our goals.” Said Zhou Jian, “Therefore, it is crucial for entrepreneurs to collaborate with investors who share a similar vision and focus on fostering long-term value. In this regard, Qiming Venture Partners has made a worthy example.”
Duane Kuang, Founding Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners, said, “Mr. Zhou’s commitment to the humanoid robot industry and his entrepreneurial drive to overcome challenges have impressed us from the start. We are proud to have supported UBTech’s journey to the IPO. Qiming is optimistic about the future of AI and humanoid robots, and we are bullish on Chinese entrepreneurs and companies who dare to innovate and break new grounds in these sectors.”
About Qiming Venture Partners
Founded in 2006, Qiming Venture Partners is a leading China venture capital firm with offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Hong Kong in China and Singapore.
Currently, Qiming Venture Partners manages eleven US Dollar funds and seven RMB funds with $9.5 billion in capital raised. Since our establishment, we have invested in outstanding companies in the Technology and Consumer (T&C) and Healthcare industries at the early and growth stages.
Since our debut, we have backed over 530 fast-growing and innovative companies. Over 200 of our portfolio companies have achieved exits through IPOs at the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, Shanghai Stock Exchange, or Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or through M&A or other means. There are also over 70 portfolio companies that have achieved unicorn or super unicorn status. Many of our portfolio companies are today’s most influential firms in their respective sectors, including Xiaomi, Meituan, Bilibili, Zhihu, Roborock, Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals, Tigermed, Zai Lab, CanSino Biologics, Schrödinger, APT Medical, New Horizon Health, Sanyou Medical, AmoyDx, Berry Genomics, SinocellTech, UBTech, Yuanxin Technology, Caidya, Belief BioMed, WeRide, Biren Technology, among many others.
Fasal, acknowledged as a trailblazer in Precision farming, plans to utilize the funds to propel research and development, accentuating innovation in their proprietary farm IoT-crop intelligence technology, and development of advanced cross-industry data products to foster carbon-negative agriculture value chain.
Fasal’s commitment extends globally, utilizing the funds for business expansion in India, Southeast Asia and Africa reinforcing its dedication to promoting sustainable agriculture practices worldwide.
The company aims to expand and diversify its B2B brand, Fasal Fresh, procuring sustainably grown, fully traceable, and high-quality produce from its extensive network of growers covering 75,000+ acres of Farmland enabled by Fasal’s IoT-crop intelligence technology
TDK Ventures and British International Investment partners with Fasal to scale their game-changing innovations to market, representing a perfect example of technological progress to improve humanity
SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 28, 2023 — TDK Corporation (TSE: 6762) announced today that TDK Ventures, Inc. has invested in India’s full-stack agriculture pioneer Fasal, in an INR 100cr round co-lead by British International Investments to foster its innovative full-stack horticulture optimization solution and bring it to market. Fasal’s solution has already proven to improve crop yield and reduce operational costs at an affordable price to the individual farmer. This financing round provides further ammunition to Fasal in its mission to transform the Indian agriculture industry with its full-stack platform anchored on top of its patented IoT-crop intelligence technology and expand further to Southeast Asia markets.
TDK Ventures and British International Investment invests in Series-A round of agri-tech innovator Fasal and its full-stack precision farming solution
Since the commercialization of its technology, Fasal has worked with horticulture farmers spanning more than 75,000+ acres growing crops like grapes, pomegranates, bananas, apples, chili, cardamom, etc. by enabling them to grow more and grow better with its patented IoT-crop intelligence technology. Fasal’s farmers have reduced irrigation water consumption by 82.8 billion liters, pesticide reduction by 127,426 kgs, curbed GHG emissions by 54,965 MT, and have increased their yields and quality by up to 30% with the help of technology. Fasal has gone deeper into the value chain by building technology to predict the exact harvesting time, yield, and tentative quality and is utilizing this intelligence to bring this sustainably grown, traceable, and high-quality produce to the consumers via its B2B brand ‘Fasal Fresh’.
The company highlights that its technology platform has a traceable supply of over half a billion USD worth of produce, connecting seamlessly with demand across various consumption markets in the supply chain, ensuring 10x more efficient procurement thereby reducing wastages significantly. This technology platform empowers the company to synchronize supply with the most appropriate demand directly at the farm gate before the harvest itself.
Nicolas Sauvage, President of TDK Ventures commented on the alignment, “Partnering with Fasal represents a perfect example of two organizations with the passion for enacting positive change coming together to do good in the world. The Fasal team has created something incredible that addresses the critical needs of the Indian agricultural market and does so in a way that’s an equal-win for everyone. It’s a pleasure to get to work with them and help in even a small way to accelerate their solution.”
Shailendra Tiwari, Founder/CEO of Fasal, mentioned “We are delighted to welcome our new investors to the Fasal Family, with TDK Ventures and British International Investments (BII) co-leading this round. Their participation strongly validates the depth of innovation in our patented IoT-crop intelligence technology and its impact on making the horticulture value chain resilient to climate change and carbon-negative. We extend our gratitude to our existing investors for their unwavering faith and support as we reform the horticulture ecosystem. With this capital infusion, we plan to expand Fasal’s presence from 75,000 acres to 500,000 acres and enable our technology to deliver more to our farmers by providing them access to sustainable crop inputs, farm-level crop insurance, and working capital at lower interest rates. We will provide our buyers with sustainably grown, high quality, and traceable horticulture produce by further diversifying and strengthening our B2B brand ‘Fasal Fresh’.
In the race towards global food system resilience, we acknowledge our responsibility, and drawing confidence from our successful track record in India, we are excited to play a pivotal role in it.”
Ananda Verma, Founder of Fasal, stated, “With this funding, we’re on the brink of a technological revolution in horticulture. As the driving force behind our innovation, I perceive this as venturing into new frontiers, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in horticulture. These funds will amplify our exclusive farm IoT-Crop intelligence technology, reshaping the farming landscape. We envision a data driven behavioral change where each byte contributes to sculpting the future of agriculture. We’re not just enhancing crops; we’re orchestrating a symphony of innovation in the very roots of agriculture. From predicting optimal harvest times to establishing a sustainable, traceable supply chain, this investment propels us into a future where science, technology, and agriculture seamlessly intertwine. It’s not just a financial boost; it’s the catalyst for a technological metamorphosis that will redefine how we perceive, practice, and sustain horticulture in the digital age.” “In addition, we would to thank our investors such as, British International Investment (BII), the United Kingdom’s development finance institution and impact investor, TDK Ventures with contribution from ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, Navam Capital and Aureolis Ventures. The round also saw participation from all existing investors including 3one4 Capital, Omnivore, Wavemaker Partners, Genting Ventures, and The Yield Labs Asia Pacific.”
The essence of TDK’s mission, both as a global corporation and TDK Ventures, is defined by progressing technology for the well-being of all people. Fasal represents an exemplary case of entrepreneurial vision that is doing just that. Investing and partnering with Fasal, TDK Ventures is committing to bring their entire network and expertise to the disposal of impact scaling Fasal technologies, and together making the world a better place.
About TDK Corporation TDK Corporation is a world leader in electronic solutions for the smart society based in Tokyo, Japan. Built on a foundation of material sciences mastery, TDK welcomes societal transformation by resolutely remaining at the forefront of technological evolution and deliberately “Attracting Tomorrow.” It was established in 1935 to commercialize ferrite, a key material in electronic and magnetic products. TDK’s comprehensive, innovation-driven portfolio features passive components such as ceramic, aluminum electrolytic and film capacitors, as well as magnetics, high-frequency, and piezo and protection devices. The product spectrum also includes sensors and sensor systems such as temperature and pressure, magnetic, and MEMS sensors. In addition, TDK provides power supplies and energy devices, magnetic heads and more. These products are marketed under the product brands TDK, EPCOS, InvenSense, Micronas, Tronics and TDK-Lambda. TDK focuses on demanding markets in automotive, industrial and consumer electronics, and information and communication technology. The company has a network of design and manufacturing locations and sales offices in Asia, Europe, and in North and South America. In fiscal 2023, TDK posted total sales of USD 16.1 billion and employed about 103,000 people worldwide.
About TDK Ventures TDK Ventures Inc. invests in startups to bolster innovation in materials science, energy/power and related areas typically underrepresented in venture capital portfolios. Established in 2019 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of TDK Corporation, the corporate venture company’s vision is to propel the digital and energy transformations of segments such as next-generation transportation, robotics and industrial, mixed reality and the wider IoT/IIoT markets. TDK Ventures will co-invest and support promising portfolio companies by providing technical expertise and access to global markets where TDK operates. Interested startups or investment partners may contact TDK Ventures: www.tdk-ventures.com or [email protected].
About Fasal Founded in 2018, Fasal is a precision horticulture pioneer that leverages AI, Crop-sciences, and IOT to provide farm-level, crop-specific & crop-stage-specific intelligence enabling resource optimization (water, pesticides, etc) and higher farm productivity while procuring the high quality, traceable produce for an end-to-end optimized value chain play. At its core, Fasal’s mission is to empower farmers by solving for guesswork in farming. The full stack offering doesn’t stop at data analysis and imparting intelligence for growing better; it takes a step further. Under its B2B brand Fasal Fresh, it procures farm produce to secure the best market rates for farmers while optimizing the supply chain play. Fasal’s overarching brand mantra is simple but impactful: “Grow More, Grow Better, and Sell Better.” https://fasal.co/
DETROIT, Dec. 28, 2023 — According to a report Pessimism and Hope: A Survey of the Financial Status and Aspirations of Black Americans, by the Joint Center for Political and Economic studies, 75 percent of Black Americans could NOT handle an unexpected expense of $1,000. Change that dynamic in 2024 with the Life Culture Audit vision board app.
Ida Byrd-Hill 2023 Life Culture Audit Vision Board
Ida Byrd-Hill Photo
The Life Culture Audit app embodies the principles of Kwanzaa – Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity and Faith. These principles are needed to grow the spending power of Black communities from 1.6 trillion annually. While that figure is slowly increasing, many Black people, even those earning above $100,00, are not economically stable.
After investors refused to invest in the startup of Automation Workz, a tech training firm that assists low-income people of color acquire certifications in cybersecurity ops, AI & data analytics, tech project management and IoT, Ida Byrd-Hill sold her downtown Detroit residence, car and retirement funds. Ida believes economic stability comes with increased income and a positive mindset. Almost 4 years later of living in voluntary poverty, she has trained 100+ to move into a tech career and achieved her goal of affluence, again. Her secret weapon – Her 1-page Life Culture Audit vision board on her phone screen saver.
“I look at my phone 100 times a day. The vision board drives me to complete the mundane ‘little’ tasks to achieve my goal. It keeps me ‘fabulous,’ my favorite greeting response and excited at all times. In 2023, my goal was to double the revenue of Automation Workz and finance my vision,” exclaims Ida Byrd-Hill.
Ida created the Life Culture Audit vision board app to focus her learners on improving their lifestyle goals, daily. Her tech training completion rates are 75% with many of her learners having doubled or nearly doubled their salaries.
Here are learner success stories –
Kay from $35,000 to $130,000 as a Technology Engineer.
Jah from $50,000 to $130,000 for a Cybersecurity job.
Jordan from $45,000 to $92,000 as a Tech Trainer.
Miranda from waitress to Tech Support Engineer at $65,000.
Willie from $30,520 to $81,120 Robotic Restaurant Manager.
Demetrius from $50,000 before layoff to $85,000 as wealth tech analyst.
Timera from $40,000 to $70,000 as Cybersecurity Sales.
Stefan from $41,600 as Factory Worker to $64,708 as IT Analyst
The Life Culture Audit vision board app utilizes the power of visualization. What people reflect upon and speak, they attract like a magnet. If you see yourself as broke, you speak in broke language, you remain broke. If you see yourself with abundance, you speak in abundance terms and abundance is attracted to you. Ida knows this first hand as she has been using a vision board since the age of 15 where she matriculated from a Flint housing project to the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
In 2024, Ida plans a 10x revenue growth to train even more Black people for tech careers in multiple states.
Join her in 2024. Use the Life Culture Audit vision boarding app to create a pictorial vision of your desired income and lifestyle so the math adds up. Download the Life Culture Audit app from the Apple App store and Google Play for FREE. Share with your friends and colleagues. Attend one of our Vision Boarding Parties. www.autoworkz.org/life
Ida Byrd-Hill is CEO of Automation Workz. Ida has 30+ years of professional business experience, including management of $620 million as a wealth manager, $40 million as a mortgage loan officer, a headhunter placing tech executives and now the founder of a cybersecurity post-secondary school. Ida Byrd-Hill is a graduate of University of Michigan – Ann Arbor with a BA Economics and Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University with an MBA specializing in People Management/Strategy. She is author of 8 books, including Breakin’ Out of Your Financial Funk and Invisible Talent Market.
The company has trained DNN foundation models to make predictions about the behavior of vehicles and pedestrians in complex urban scenarios, as well as to predict the path an autonomous vehicle would take in those situations, which are critical ingredients of the decision-making capabilities for self-driving cars. Helm.ai leveraged its industry-validated surround view full scene semantic segmentation and 3D detection system as the core representation to enable training intent prediction and path planning capabilities. Additionally, the foundation models are trained using the company’s proprietary Deep Teaching technology to achieve broad predictive capability in a scalable way.
Helm.ai’s technology learns directly from real driving data and uses the company’s highly accurate and temporally stable perception system to capture information about complex behaviors of vehicles and pedestrians and the surrounding driving environment, leading to DNNs that automatically learn subtle yet important aspects of urban driving. The foundation models powering Helm.ai’s intent and path prediction gather input from a series of observed images and generate predicted video sequences that represent the most likely possible outcomes of what happens next. The models also provide a predicted path for the autonomous vehicle that is consistent with the intent prediction. Both the intent prediction and path prediction capabilities are essential for planning the safest optimal action by the autonomous vehicle.
Importantly, the Helm DNN foundation models for intent prediction and path planning are trained in the highly scalable Deep Teaching paradigm, enabling unsupervised learning about complex urban driving scenarios directly from real driving data. This approach circumvents cumbersome physics-based simulators and hand-coded rules, which are insufficient to capture the full complexity of driving in the real world. In particular, the Helm.ai development and validation pipeline, while optimized for high end ADAS L2/L3 mass production software, can also be directly applied to L4 fully autonomous applications. Moreover, the Helm.ai scalable AI approach readily generalizes to robotics domains beyond self-driving vehicles.
Helm.ai is building an AI-first approach to autonomous driving that is designed to seamlessly scale from high-end ADAS L2/L3 mass production programs all the way to large scale L4 deployments. The company’s software-only platform is hardware-agnostic and vision-first, addressing the critical perception problem for vision yet also incorporating sensor fusion between vision and radar/lidar as needed. The technology advancements announced today accelerate the value of Helm.ai’s software offering by paving the way for scalable development and validation of AI-based intent prediction and path planning software for autonomous vehicles.
“At Helm.ai we are pioneering a highly scalable AI approach that addresses high end ADAS L2/L3 mass production and large scale L4 deployments simultaneously in the same framework,” said Helm.ai CEO Vladislav Voroninski.
“Perception is the critical first component of any self-driving stack. The more comprehensive and temporally stable a perception system is, the easier it is to build the downstream prediction capabilities, which is especially critical for complex urban environments. Leveraging our industry-validated surround-view urban perception system and Deep Teaching training technology, we trained DNN foundation models for intent prediction and path planning to learn directly from real driving data, allowing them to understand a wide variety of urban driving scenarios and the subtleties of human behavior without the need for traditional physics based simulators or hand-coded rules.”
Helm.ai closed a $55 million Series C funding round in August 2023. The round was led by Freeman Group and includes investments from venture capital firms ACVC Partners and Amplo as well as strategic investments from Honda Motor, Goodyear Ventures, and Sungwoo Hitech. This financing brings the total amount raised by Helm.ai to $102M.
About Helm.ai Helm.ai is building the next generation of AI software for high-end ADAS, L4 autonomous driving and robotics. Founded in November 2016 in Menlo Park, CA, the company has re-envisioned the way AI software is built to make truly scalable autonomous driving a reality. For more information on Helm.ai, including its products, SDK and open career opportunities, visit https://www.helm.ai/ or find Helm.ai on LinkedIn.
SHANGHAI, Dec. 25, 2023 — Recently, Panlin Capital announced that Hangzhou Panlin Xukang Fund, a venture capital fund focusing on innovative biopharmaceuticals, innovative medical device and biotechnology, has completed its second closing. This is the first fund that Panlin Capital has established in Hangzhou and the second VC fund that Panlin Capital has raised this year. In March this year, Panlin Capital announced the closing of its Chengdu Panlin Xiangxu Fund, which invested in the To B & tech sectors. In the past two years, Panlin Capital has raised over RMB 1.5 billion in total which is remarkable as the VC is going through a cold winter.
As one of the funds in which Panlin put a focus on healthcare investment, Panlin Xukang Fund was supported by a wide range of new institutional investors including Hangzhou Science and Technology Innovation Group and Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Venture Capital（Hangzhou industry guidance funds at municipal and district levels) , Chengdu Science and Technology Innovation Investment Group (a state-owned funder), listed companies such as HitGen（688222.SH）, LEO Group (002131.SZ）, I-Mab (IMAB.US）, and market-oriented financial institutions Zhongyuan Trust (self-owned capital), and Chasestone Group etc. In addition, because of the trackrecord, the re-investment rate of Panlin’s existing LP is over 40%. The fund has obtained strong support from Panlin’s existing LPs as cornerstone investors represented by high-net-worth individuals and entrepreneurs.
At the same time, Panlin Xukang Fund also shows high investment efficiency. Up till now, the fund has completed the investment settlement of near 20 high-quality companies. Based on its previous research on the policy direction and industry cluster of Hangzhou, especially Xiaoshan District, Panlin has invested in a number of local companies: Codon, a DNA data storage technology development platform; Levinthal, a protein rational design company; TinkerBio, a total solution provider focusing on R&D and manufacturing of microfluidic chips; DNano MetaBio, a biotechnology development company designing self-assembled nucleic acid nanocarriers; Leadbio, a small-caliber regenerative blood vessel R&D company; and Innoforce, a CDMO company specializing in cell and gene therapy. Also, Panlin has contributed to help companies move their headquarters to Hangzhou. In light of Xiaoshan District’s plan to build a biopharmaceutical industry in the local airport industrial park, Dushi Pharmaceutical Supply Chain,a cold-chain intelligent service platform has successfully settle its headquarter in Xiaoshan. As the lead investor of that platform, Panlin has helped the industrial park to make early preparations for the sales and transportation part of its biopharmaceutical industry chain.
In addition, Panlin Xukang Fund has invested in early- stage companies like Real & Best Biotech, a rAAV gene therapy drug R&D company. Also, considering the needs for quicker investment returns by LPs, Panlin has made additional investments in the subsequent financing rounds of pre-invested star companies, such as Ribo Life Science, a leading siRNA drug R&D company; GenFleet, a global novel drug developer; Virogin Biotech, a global oncolytic virus company; and Kingstron Bio, a high-end medical device R&D company committed to treating structural heart disease, etc.
The performance of the fund is tremendous, four companies, namely, Ribo Life Science, GenFleet, Virogin Biotech, and Virogin Biotech, will gradually enter into the IPO filing process, and near 10 companies have completed a new round of financing within one year after Panlin’s investment, with the amount of financing exceeding RMB 1 billion.
Mr. Li Yuhui, Founding Managing Partner of Panlin Capital, said, “We are grateful for the long-term attention and trust of new and existing investors, which has enabled Panlin Capital to run forward in small steps despite the sluggish market environment. This not only demonstrates the solid recognition of Panlin’s professionalism by the investors, but also shows the long-term confidence of Panlin in China’s healthcare and biopharmaceutical industry. As an RMB fund focusing on technology innovation since its inception, Panlin Capital has gone through two full investment cycles and has forged a mature methodology for investing in early to mid-stage tech startups. In recent years, Panlin has entered a new phase of growth that is driven by a ‘double-wheel engine’ of healthcare and To B & tech, setting up multiple new funds in many cities. Currently, in the context of the country’s full efforts to promote sci-tech innovation, we will continue to make breakthroughs with our established professionalism and track record. In this way, we will contribute to the country’s sci-tech innovation with the strength of market-oriented VC, continue to deliver high returns to our investment institutions and investors, and actively support the development of sci-tech innovation at the local level.”
Convenience-focused compact makeup brand Subtl Beauty announces close of series A funding round with substantial investment from CULT Capital
NEW YORK, Dec. 22, 2023 — Rachel Reid, founder of Subtl Beauty (https://subtlbeauty.com/), a pioneer in compact, convenient makeup, has just closed a Series A funding round with a substantial investment from consumer investment firm, CULT Capital. CULT Capital’s $5mm investment is a strong vote of confidence in Subtl Beauty’s mission to redefine consumers’ beauty routines and challenge the industry’s status quo. The funding round comes on the heels of Subtl debuting its refreshed, award-winning stackable makeup packaging with cutting-edge bezel technology.
Subtl Beauty Founder & CEO Rachel Reid With Subtl Stak’s
Subtl Stak Refills
CULT Capital brings a wealth of experience building and scaling consumer brands, and has a proven track record in beauty with brands including Supergoop!, LAWLESS Beauty, and Act+Acre. With the recent close of their second fund, CULT Capital is dedicated to backing the rare and remarkable few brands that are poised to revolutionize the consumer industry. Known for their selective investment approach, CULT Capital evaluates hundreds of companies annually but chooses to invest only in a handful, demonstrating Subtl’s extraordinary allure and potential as a game-changer in the beauty industry. CULT Capital solely considers brands for investment with a minimum of 2 million in revenue, which Subtl substantially exceeded.
“In a sector brimming with choices and complex beauty routines, Subtl stands out with its uniquely convenient and compact stackable beauty solutions,” said Sarah Woelfel, Partner at CULT Capital. “The remarkable scale of the brand, with over 300,000 Staks sold since launch, underscores its strong connection with today’s beauty enthusiasts. This success not only reflects Subtl’s deep understanding of consumer needs but also highlights a significant, unmet demand in the beauty sector.”
Subtl launched in 2018 and has been disrupting the cosmetics industry with revolutionary compact products that meet the evolving needs of beauty consumers. Inspired by her own experiences of the hustle of modern life and the desire to look put together effortlessly, founder Rachel Reid ingeniously designed a compact, stackable, and customizable solution to meet real makeup needs in the midst of everyday life. Subtl’s products are packaged in a convenient, travel-friendly stackable format for on-the-go consumers with all products being vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, and fragrance-free formulas. Their new Stak 2.0 packaging recently won a BeautyMatter NEXT award and includes a refillable design with cutting-edge bezel technology. Alongside its fresh repackaging, Subtl reimagined its makeup formulas in response to consumer insights, ensuring clean beauty standards and introducing new skin-conditioning ingredients like Bayberry Fruit Wax and Vitamin E. The significant series A investment funding round comes as no surprise as the beauty brand has grown a notable cult following, and growth has exceeded 170% year over year.
“The partnership with CULT Capital marks a pivotal moment for us; it is a testimony not only to our product but also to our business trajectory,” said Reid, Founder and CEO of Subtl Beauty. “CULT Capital’s network and experience scaling beauty brands is exactly what we need to take our business to the next level. “
Reid chose to partner with CULT Capital due to the firm’s strong track record of success in the beauty category, having most recently sold a majority stake in Supergoop! to Blackstone Growth for a significant outcome. CULT Capital is excited to partner with Reid on key growth initiatives, including team development, marketing strategies, and securing broader retail distribution.
For media inquiries related to Subtl Beauty and their CULT Capital Series A funding round, please contact BPM-PR Firm at (877) 841-7244 or email [email protected].
About CULT Capital Founded by Sarah Woelfel and John Kenney in 2015, CULT Capital’s investment philosophy is grounded in identifying and partnering with companies led by passionate entrepreneurs who offer distinctive products with proven product-market fit. The firm is committed to providing capital and strategic support to help emerging consumer brands achieve cult status. Armed with deep expertise and a genuine passion for brand building, CULT Capital has successfully collaborated with a portfolio of consumer brands, including Supergoop!, LAWLESS Beauty, Act+Acre, Miyoko’s Kitchen, and Jaanuu. Notably, CULT Capital recently closed its second investment fund.
About Subtl Founded by Rachel Reid in 2018, Subtl has been redefining beauty with simplicity, personalization, and authenticity. Their stackable makeup solutions cater to the modern, fast-paced lifestyle, offering compact, travel-friendly, and customizable products. Subtl perfects every formula, ensuring efficiency, ease of application, and long-lasting wear. Their essentials align with conscious consumer values: clean, vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, and fragrance-free. For more information on Subtl visit https://subtlbeauty.com/.
BANGALORE, Indien und LONDON, 22. Dezember 2023 — Kitchens@, ein führender Akteur in der dynamischen Cloud-Küchen-Branche, meldet den erfolgreichen Abschluss einer Finanzierung in Höhe von 65 Millionen US-Dollar von Finnest, einer aufstrebenden Wachstumsinvestitionsfirma mit Sitz in London. Bezeichnenderweise spielte Swiggy als Hauptinvestor von Kitchens@ bei der Serie-B-Finanzierungsrunde eine ausschlaggebende Rolle. Finnest (ein Unternehmen von BNP) wurde von zwei visionären indischen Investoren und Unternehmern, Dr. Biswanath Patnaik und Arun Kar (Ex-Militär), gegründet. Finnest hat bereits strategische Investitionen in verschiedenen Sektoren getätigt, darunter erneuerbare Energien, Wasserstoff-Elektrofahrzeuge, Sport und Unterhaltung, intelligente Städte, Luft- und Raumfahrttechnologien, Hotels und Gastgewerbe. Der leitende Geschäftsführer von Finnest, Arun Suraj, war der federführende Partner in dieser Investitionsrunde und der Katalysator beim ersten Vorstoß des Unternehmens in die sich ständig weiterentwickelnde Lebensmittel- und Getränkeindustrie.
Two visionaries forging a path to redefine the future of dining and investment – Dr. Biswanath Patnaik and Junaiz Kizhakkayil
Dr. Biswanath Patnaik äußerte sein Vertrauen in Kitchens@ und erklärte: „Kitchens@ hat eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Gestaltung des Cloud-Küchen-Segments in Indien gespielt und sich als wichtiger Akteur im Bereich der Lebensmittel- und Versorgungsdienstleistungen etabliert. Dank der cleveren Führung unseres Gründers und Vorstandsvorsitzenden Junaiz Kizhakkayil ist unser Vertrauen in die Zukunft dieses Unternehmens ungebrochen. Wir erwarten in den kommenden Jahren einen erheblichen geschäftlichen Umschwung, insbesondere durch strategische Partnerschaften mit großen Unternehmen wie Swiggy und Beenext.”
Junaiz Kizhakkayil (JK), der Gründer und Vorstandsvorsitzende von Kitchens@, kommentiert den Weg des Unternehmens wie folgt: „Unser Entwicklungsprozess in den letzten Jahren ist wirklich bemerkenswert. Wir sahen uns zahlreichen Herausforderungen gegenübergestellt, haben aber an unserer Vision und unseren Zielen unbeirrt festgehalten. Es ist äußerst befriedigend, das Vertrauen bedeutender Investoren wie Finnest gewonnen zu haben. Ich bin Dr. Biswanath Patnaik, Herrn Arun kar und Herrn Arun Suraj zutiefst dankbar, dass sie an unsere Wachstumsstrategie geglaubt haben.”
JK erläuterte den Einführungsplan für Restaurants und betonte den großen Markenwert, der auf dem indischen Markt vorhanden ist. Er erklärte: „Der Aufbau dieser Marken war ein mühsamer Weg, in den engagierte Menschen ihre hart verdienten Ressourcen, ihre Zeit und ihren unermüdlichen Einsatz investiert haben. Heute gibt es mehrere solcher Marken, die das Potenzial haben, nicht nur den indischen Markt zu beherrschen, sondern auch auf der Weltbühne eine bedeutende Rolle zu spielen.”
Vor dem Hintergrund seiner drei Jahrzehnte umfassenden Erfahrung in der Branche betonte JK die Bedeutung der Gründer-DNA und des Glaubens an das Produkt für den Erfolg einer Marke. Er fügte hinzu: „Unser Einführungsplan für Restaurants basiert auf diesen Grundsätzen, und ich bin stolz darauf, dass wir mit fast allen großen Marken starke Partnerschaften eingegangen sind. Dies bietet uns und unseren Investoren eine bedeutende Gelegenheit, etwas wirklich Außergewöhnliches zu schaffen.”
Er wies ferner darauf hin, dass die beschafften Mittel für die Erweiterung des Hybridmodells Dinerium verwendet werden. JK beschrieb Dinerium als eine transformative gastronomische Erfahrung, die nahtlos Offline- und Online-Elemente kombiniert und eine vielfältige Auswahl erstklassiger Marken direkt an den Tischen der Gäste bietet. Er betonte, dass nun Geschäftstreffen und bedeutungsvolle Kontakte bei exquisiten Mahlzeiten gepflegt würden, was eine Abkehr von konventionellen Normen darstellt.
In einer beeindruckenden Entwicklung zu Beginn dieses Jahres hat Kitchens@ Swiggy Access Kitchen erworben, seine Präsenz auf sechs Großstädte und 45 Standorte erweitert und kann nun stolz auf ein Netzwerk von 700 Küchen verweisen.
Mit der Unterstützung von Finnest begibt sich Kitchens@ auf einen spannenden Weg und sieht in der Tat einer vielversprechenden Zukunft entgegen.
Informationen zu Finnest:
Finnest (ein Unternehmen der BNP-Gruppe) ist eine britische Wachstumsinvestitionsgesellschaft, die sich auf Frühphaseninvestitionen spezialisiert hat und Technologie-Start-ups in Bereichen wie Bankwesen, Gesundheitswesen, Konsumgüter, Finanztechnologie, erneuerbare Energien und Unternehmen, die sich für eine bessere Zukunft einsetzen, unterstützt. Finnest wird von einem Team erfahrener Gesellschafter mit einschlägigem Fachwissen und globalen Kontakten geleitet. Finnest legt Wert auf Selektivität und wird zu einem strategischen Partner, der einen über das reine Finanzkapital hinausgehenden Mehrwert bietet.
Finnest spezialisiert sich auf Frühphaseninvestitionen und unterstützt Technologie-Start-ups in Bereichen wie Bankwesen, Gesundheitswesen, Konsumgüter, Finanztechnologie, erneuerbare Energien und Unternehmen, die sich für eine bessere Zukunft einsetzen. Das Unternehmen legt Wert auf Selektivität und wird zu einem strategischen Partner, der einen über die reine finanzielle Unterstützung hinausgehenden Mehrwert bietet. Zu den Schwerpunktbereichen gehören erneuerbare Energien, intelligente Städte, Elektrofahrzeuge, Gesundheitswesen, Deep Tech, Finanztechnologie und Verbrauchermärkte. Finnest ist bestrebt, Innovationen und den Fortschritt in der unternehmerischen Landschaft voranzutreiben.
TAIPEI, 22 dicembre 2023 — Term Structure, una società creatrice dell’omonimo protocollo per reddito fisso che non contempla la custodia e che offre servizi di indebitamento e prestito peer-to-peer, a tasso fisso e a tempo determinato nel settore della finanza decentralizzata (DeFi), ha raccolto 4,25 milioni di USD in un round di finanziamento seed iniziale.
Questo round di finanziamento seed – guidato da Cumberland DRW con la partecipazione di Decima Fund, HashKey Capital, Longling Capital e MZ Web3 Fund – aumenta i fondi totali raccolti da Term Structure a oltre 8 milioni di dollari a tutt’oggi. Cumberland DRW ha così spiegato il motivo che l’ha spinta a finanziare il round: “I prodotti a reddito fisso sono un elemento base della tradizionale struttura del mercato finanziario e la richiesta di questi prodotti nei mercati DeFi costituisce un segnale importante della sempre maggiore maturità in questo settore del mercato. Term Structure, che è guidata da veterani del settore, è un investimento molto interessante per noi e rispecchia il nostro impegno a investire in soluzioni innovative che risolvano esigenze reali del mercato”.
Nella finanza tradizionale (TradFi), i prodotti a reddito fisso consentono a istituti e singole persone di prevedere i flussi di cassa e valutare il valore relativo di varie opportunità d’investimento. Tuttavia, tali prodotti attualmente sono assenti nella DeFi. Grazie al protocollo Term Structure, gli utenti possono utilizzare prodotti a reddito fisso per riscuotere interessi periodici allo scopo di ottenere un flusso di reddito affidabile o tassi fissi per controllare i costi di un finanziamento. Inoltre, una volta creati prodotti a reddito fisso fondamentali, questi accelerano lo sviluppo completo di sofisticati prodotti finanziari – forward, futures e opzioni. Questo strumenti sono utilizzabili per strategie di hedging e di valutazione nonché per la determinazione dei prezzi di strumenti finanziari.
Il testnet del protocollo Term Structure è già in funzione su https://app.testnet.ts.finance/ su Ethereum Goerli. Questo protocollo attualmente presenta due mercati essenziali sulla sua piattaforma. Nei mercati principali, gli utenti possono effettuare ordini per prendere o dare in prestito token con tassi di interesse fissi e date di scadenza fisse. Una volta abbinati gli ordini, gli utenti che prendono in prestito riceveranno token corrispondenti e dovranno ripagare i debiti prima della data di scadenza per recuperare i collaterali. Gli utenti che danno in prestito riceveranno token a reddito fisso, riscattabili alla scadenza per recuperare il capitale oltre agli interessi. Nei mercati secondari, gli utenti possono acquistare e vendere token a reddito fisso attraverso il sistema di contrattazione basato sull’elenco degli ordini.
Per proteggere gli asset degli utenti, viene attuata la soluzione scalabile zkTrue-up, un rollup ZK personalizzato, per ottenere la disponibilità dei dati e consentire agli utenti di effettuare e annullare ordini senza dover pagare commissioni di transazione (le cosiddette gas fee). Gli utenti possono inoltre iniziare un “prelievo forzato” (Forced Withdrawal) sul contratto zkTrue-up per prelevare fondi direttamente in caso di censura o di qualsiasi problema. Se la richiesta di prelievo non viene accettata, gli utenti possono attivare la modalità di “evacuazione” ed eseguire l’evacuazione sul contratto L1 per proteggere i loro asset.
Il 4 dicembre 2023 si terrà su YouTube un seminario di presentazione del protocollo, mentre il giorno successivo vi sarà una sessione interattiva AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) nel corso della quale i partecipanti potranno fare domande di vario genere. Inoltre dopo il lancio del testnet sarà organizzata una competizione di trading. I premi per i vincitori includeranno 10.000 USDC. Non solo: presto saranno disponibili per operatori professionali kit di sviluppo software (SDK) e API per contrattazioni programmatiche. Per aggiornamenti visitare il sito ufficiale Term Structure, https://ts.finance/.
