Firmament backs Navitrans to Drive Growth and Innovation in European Transportation and Warehouse Management Solutions

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 — Firmament, a provider of structured equity capital solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises, announced today its majority investment in Navitrans (“Navitrans”), a Kortrijk, Belgium based provider of logistics software solutions for transport service providers across Europe. This partnership underscores Firmament’s continued commitment to providing growth capital and strategic advisory to support product development, management, and new solutions to businesses in the supply chain sector.

Firmament’s strategic investment in Navitrans is intended to support both supply chain technology product development and strategic acquisitions. Navitrans will continue to prioritize client satisfaction and to improve the customer experience, with the goal of strengthening its market position as a leading technology provider within the carrier-centric transportation and warehousing management system vertical. The executive management team at Navitrans, including CEO Bart Beeckmans, will remain in place. Valsoft Corporation, which specializes in the acquisition and development of vertical market software businesses, will continue as a minority shareholder alongside Firmament. 

Beeckmans stated, “We are delighted for this new chapter in the story of Navitrans. Firmament’s expertise and strategic vision in supply chain investing align well with our growth ambitions to become a leading technology provider in Europe. This next step reflects our shared commitment to excellence, innovation, and sustained growth. We are poised and ready for even greater achievements with this new partner.”

Ted Wong, who leads supply chain investing at Firmament, remarked, “Congratulations to the Navitrans management team for this next growth phase. We are excited about this journey with Bart and his talented team. Firmament enthusiastically looks to Europe as a fertile ground for investment in the supply chain vertical.”

Joining Navitrans as a board member, supply chain thought leader Larry Cuddy stated, “This deal marks the beginning of a new, exciting chapter for Firmament, the Navitrans team, and the supply chain industry. Firmament is assembling a team of thought leaders and industry-leading acquisition targets with the goal of improving the quality and service of transportation and warehouse management systems across Europe. With Firmament’s backing, Navitrans has a stalwart capital partner to continue fueling product development growth and attracting global talent.”

About Navitrans: Navitrans provides mission-critical transportation management software and warehouse management software for logistics service providers in Europe, primarily across Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland. Their products support shippers and carriers with order collection, logistics planning, fleet monitoring and communication, reporting, integrated accounting solutions, tariff calculation, automated invoicing, and warehouse planning, among other functions. The company is headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium.

About Firmament: Firmament (www.firmament.com) provides structured equity capital solutions to small- and medium-sized enterprises. Firmament is a value-added partner to entrepreneurs, management teams, and business owners and curates solutions by deploying versatile capital in a user-friendly way. Firmament concentrates on software and services businesses with significant scaling potential in the healthcare, logistics, wellness, and environmental sectors. With offices across the United States, Firmament is focused on turning small business into big business.

Contact: Allie Reitman, [email protected]

SOURCE Firmament

As Lumotive enters its next growth phase, CEO will present how the company is changing the 3D sensing game and revolutionizing optics  

SEATTLE, Jan. 16, 2024 — Lumotive, a pioneer in optical semiconductor technology, today announced that CEO Dr. Sam Heidari will deliver a presentation at this year’s prestigious Needham Growth Conference (NGC), one of the largest growth stock investing events in the country. Now in its 26^th year, the annual event unites hundreds of leading businesses with top-flight investors eager to explore the latest technological innovations and emerging growth company ecosystem.

Conference: 26th Annual Needham Growth Conference 
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024
Time: 10:15 AM ET
Location: Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York City

Lumotive’s breakthrough Light Control Metasurface (LCM™) technology enables incredible advancements in optical 3D sensing by delivering a truly solid-state beam steering solution via precise, reliable, mass-produced silicon chips. Compared with traditional mechanical lidar systems, LCM-powered sensors deliver dramatically reduced cost, significantly smaller size, and markedly improved reliability.

This technology has entered into a rapid roll-out and full production phase following the successful launch of Lumotive’s LM10 product, the world’s first commercially available digital beam steering chip that can be effortlessly integrated into a wide range of sensors and platforms. This continued growth stage is marked by an expanding network of global partners and customers leveraging LM10 for diverse applications in automotive, industrial automation, smart infrastructure, and more.

During this session, attendees will learn about Lumotive’s ambitious plan for growth and bold vision for the future. By tapping into the transformative power of metamaterials to manipulate light in previously unimaginable ways, Lumotive’s multi-patented LCM technology is poised to revolutionize not just 3D sensing, but also the realms of optical communications, networking, and power delivery by enabling unprecedented precision and efficiency across these interconnected sectors.

About Lumotive
Lumotive’s award-winning optical semiconductor solutions enable advanced sensing and perception capabilities in next-generation consumer, mobility, and industrial automation products such as mobile devices, autonomous vehicles, and robots. The company’s patented Light Control Metasurface (LCM™) beam steering chips deliver an unparalleled combination of high performance, exceptional reliability, and low cost — all in a tiny, easily integrated solution. Lumotive has received measurable industry acclaim including Fierce Electronics’ 2021 Startup of the Year award, CES Innovation Awards in 2022 and 2024, Fast Company’s Next Big Thing in Tech 2023, a 2022 SPIE PRISM Award, and a prestigious Edison Award. Investors include Gates Frontier, MetaVC Partners, Quan Funds, Samsung Ventures, and Uniquest.

SOURCE Lumotive

The funding will enable Blueshift to expand its sales and marketing operations for its patented AI-powered customer engagement platform.

MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 16, 2024 — Runway Growth Capital LLC (“Runway”), a leading provider of growth loans to both venture and non-venture-backed companies seeking an alternative to raising equity, announced today a $40 million debt commitment to Blueshift, a San Francisco-based company that helps brands automate and personalize engagement across every marketing channel, using a unique combination of Customer AI & Generative AI.  

Runway’s financing will be used to refinance existing debt and provide Blueshift with the ability to expand sales, marketing, and operations of its customer engagement platform, which uses patented AI technology to unify, inform, and activate the fullness of customer data across all channels and applications.

“We are thrilled to partner with Runway Growth Capital,” said Vijay Chittoor, Co-Founder and CEO of Blueshift. “Runway’s funding will enable us to scale our operations and reinforce our commitment to deliver unparalleled personalized experiences for brands across the globe.”

“We are excited to support Blueshift’s innovative approach to marketing automation and customer engagement,” said Jeff Goldrich, Managing Director of Technology at Runway. “This funding highlights our commitment to fostering the growth of companies at the forefront of technological innovation. We believe Blueshift’s unique capabilities to leverage customer data will set a new standard in personalized marketing, and we’re proud to be a part of their growth story.”

Union Square Advisors LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to Blueshift in the transaction.

Blueshift is headquartered in San Francisco, and has offices in London, UK, and Pune, India.

About Runway Growth Capital LLC
Runway Growth Capital LLC is the investment advisor to investment funds, including Runway Growth Finance Corp. (Nasdaq: RWAY), a business development company, and other private funds, which are lenders of growth capital to companies seeking an alternative to raising equity. Led by industry veteran David Spreng, these funds provide senior term loans of $10 million to $100 million to fast-growing companies based in the United States and Canada. For more information on Runway Growth Capital LLC and its platform, please visit our website at www.runwaygrowth.com.

About Blueshift
San Francisco-based Blueshift helps brands deliver relevant, connected experiences across every customer interaction. The Blueshift platform uses patented AI technology to unify, inform, and activate the fullness of customer data across all channels and applications. Through unified data, omnichannel orchestration, intelligent decisioning, and unmatched scale, Blueshift gives brands all the tools to seamlessly deliver 1:1 experiences in real-time across the entire customer journey. For more information, visit https://blueshift.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included herein may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance, condition, or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in Runway’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Runway undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.

SOURCE Runway Growth Capital LLC

JPMorgan Chase, Mitsui, Amgen and Honeywell make investment to support Quantinuum’s growth and innovation

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 16, 2024 — Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) today announced the closing of a $300 million equity fundraise for Quantinuum, the world’s leading integrated quantum computing company, at a pre-money valuation of $5 billion. The round is anchored by Quantinuum’s strategic partner JPMorgan Chase, with additional participation from Mitsui & Co., Amgen and Honeywell, which remains the company’s majority shareholder. This investment brings the total capital raised by Quantinuum since inception to approximately $625 million.

This capital raise represents Quantinuum’s first equity funding round since Cambridge Quantum Computing and Honeywell Quantum Solutions merged in November 2021. The funds will be used to accelerate the path towards achieving the world’s first universal fault-tolerant quantum computers, while also extending Quantinuum’s software offering to enhance commercial applicability.

JPMorgan Chase has one of the world’s most highly regarded specialist teams working on quantum technologies within the financial services industry and has been working with Quantinuum and its predecessor companies since 2020. The company was one of the earliest experimental users of Quantinuum’s H-Series quantum processor and is also one of the most active corporate partners that employs Quantinuum’s software development kit, known as “TKET.”

Lori Beer, Global Chief Information Officer at JPMorgan Chase said: “Financial services has been identified as one of the first industries that will benefit from quantum technologies. As such, we have been investing in quantum research and our team of experts – led by Dr. Marco Pistoia – have made groundbreaking discoveries, partnering with quantum computing leaders like Quantinuum. We look forward to continuing to work together to positively impact our businesses, customers and the industry at large.”

Toru Matsui, Chief Digital Information Officer of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. said: “We are pleased with our capital contribution to support Quantinuum’s new ventures in fault-tolerant quantum computing and quantum software development, which are ushering in the Quantum Era. Mitsui is committed to teaming to promote the introduction of Quantinuum’s solutions in Japan and the Asia-Pacific markets.”

Rajeeb Hazra, CEO of Quantinuum added: “The confidence in our business demonstrated through this investment by our longstanding strategic partners and industry leaders is a clear indication of the value we will continue to create with the world’s highest performing quantum computers, groundbreaking middleware to accelerate the developer ecosystem and innovative application software to revolutionize fields like cryptography, computational chemistry, and AI.”

Darius Adamczyk, Executive Chairman of Honeywell and Chairman of the Board of Quantinuum concluded: “The successful completion of this investment round is a testament to Quantinuum’s evolution and maturation in the quantum space. Today’s news signals the extent to which Quantinuum is uniquely positioned to commercialize its innovation and continue their leadership in a rapidly growing market. We look forward to welcoming these partners as investors in Quantinuum, as we all look forward to the tremendous opportunities in the years to come.”

Quantinuum’s technologies are used today by leading companies, including Airbus, BMW Group, Honeywell, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Mitsui and Thales. In collaboration, these organizations are exploring how to engineer and scale quantum capabilities to help solve some of world’s most challenging problems – from designing and manufacturing hydrogen cell batteries for transportation, to developing materials to sequester carbon safely from the atmosphere to support the world’s energy transition. Quantinuum is also at the forefront of developing Quantum Natural Language Processing, which will help enable the next generation of AI to be scalable and fit for purpose.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as exclusive placement agent to Quantinuum in connection with the financing. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US acted as external legal counsel.

About Honeywell
Honeywell is an integrated operating company serving a broad range of industries and geographies around the world. Our business is aligned with three powerful megatrends – automation, the future of aviation and energy transition – underpinned by our Honeywell Accelerator operating system and Honeywell Connected Enterprise integrated software platform. As a trusted partner, we help organizations solve the world’s toughest, most complex challenges, providing actionable solutions and innovations through our Aerospace Technologies, Industrial Automation, Building Automation and Energy and Sustainability Solutions business segments that help make the world smarter, safer and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With almost 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.

The Honeywell trademark is used under license from Honeywell International Inc.

Honeywell makes no representations or warranties with respect to this service.

SOURCE Honeywell International Inc.

Phase 2 FLAVOR clinical trial currently enrolling 150 patients to assess the safety and effectiveness of CYR-064 in treating patients with chronic smell loss following recovery from a viral infection (post-viral hyposmia)

No FDA-approved drug therapy available for this increasingly prevalent and serious chronic sensory condition

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Jan. 16, 2024 — Cyrano Therapeutics, Inc., a regenerative medicine company pioneering the development of treatments for smell loss, announced today that it has secured a $9.0 million Series B financing to advance the development of CYR-064 as a potential first-ever treatment for post-viral smell loss (hyposmia). Co-lead investors participating in the financing include the Florida Opportunity Fund managed by DeepWork Capital and existing investors Lumira Ventures and Remiges Ventures.

Cyrano intends to use the proceeds from its Series B financing to advance FLAVOR, its Phase 2, double-blind, randomized clinical trial of CYR-064, an intranasal theophylline spray therapy to treat patients who have lost their sense of smell following recovery from a viral infection. The FLAVOR Phase 2 trial will be conducted at up to 15 sites in the US and the Series B financing is to fund the trial through data readout.

“This Series B financing enables us to advance what we believe to be a first-of-its-kind treatment for patients suffering from long-term smell loss due to a viral infection,” said Rick Geoffrion, President and CEO of Cyrano Therapeutics, Inc. “Smell loss correlates to functional loss of taste, which can both diminish quality of life and present significant health and safety risks, thus underscoring the urgency in advancing this important therapeutic. We also plan to conduct exploratory research for patients with Parkinson’s disease, 95 percent of whom often experience loss of smell and flavor as the first symptom of the disease.”

Jackson Streeter, MD, Venture Partner at DeepWork Capital, stated: “Cyrano Therapeutics represents an important investment for DeepWork and the Florida Opportunity Fund as we seek to identify and cultivate emerging biotechnology companies in Florida that combine executive and scientific expertise with therapeutic opportunities that offer the potential to address significant, unmet medical needs. We look forward to supporting the entire Cyrano team as the company advances CYR-064 through the FLAVOR Phase 2 trial.”

The number of patients experiencing long-term smell and flavor loss has increased 10-fold in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to more than 40 million patients in the US and Europe. Thirty percent of those suffering from smell loss will experience a hazardous event such as food poisoning or the inability to detect hazardous fumes. There is currently no FDA-approved drug therapy to treat smell loss from any cause.

About Hyposmia
Hyposmia, including post-viral hyposmia, is an increasingly prevalent and serious chronic sensory condition for which there is no approved drug therapy and limited treatment options. Hyposmia causes significant impairment in quality of life for many sufferers. Moreover, in older individuals, hyposmia is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and mortality. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 8 million individuals in the US and Europe suffered from long-term post-viral hyposmia. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in dramatically increased prevalence, with an estimated 40 million individuals in the US and Europe currently suffering from long-term post-viral hyposmia.

About Cyrano Therapeutics
Cyrano Therapeutics is a private, venture-backed clinical stage regenerative medicine company. Since our foundation, we have been working diligently to develop therapies for people struggling with the loss of smell and taste. To learn more, please visit cyranotherapeutics.com.

About the FLAVOR Trial
The Phase 2 FLAVOR trial is a 150 subject randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multi-dose, multi-site clinical trial of CYR-064 for the treatment of post-viral hyposmia. For more information, please visit ClinicalTrials.gov

About DeepWork Capital
DeepWork Capital invests professionally managed committed venture capital in growth-oriented, early-stage companies in the technology and life science sectors. We partner with visionary entrepreneurs building disruptive companies. DeepWork works closely with other investment groups and takes a hands-on approach with its portfolio companies. For additional information, please see www.deepworkcapital.com

Media Contacts:
Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.

Dave Schemelia
[email protected]
+1 609-468-9325

Eric Reiss
[email protected]
+1 802-249-1136

SOURCE Cyrano Therapeutics

BOSTON, Jan. 16, 2024 — Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS), a pioneer in virtual reality healthcare training, is excited to announce the successful completion of a $12.6 million USD Series A funding round. The investment, led by Frog Capital with follow-on capital from ACF Investors, existing shareholders and strategic partners, marks a significant milestone in OMS’s mission to revolutionize healthcare education, training, and assessment.

OMS is dedicated to training the next generation of nurses, doctors, and allied healthcare professionals. With 91% of graduating nurses feeling unprepared for clinical practice, OMS stands at the forefront of addressing this critical gap, offering immersive training experiences that enable healthcare professionals to practice any place, any time, without risk. This ensures that the first time they encounter a medical emergency, have a difficult conversation or perform a procedure, they have already experienced it in OMS – streamlining workforce training, enhancing preparedness for practice and improving patient safety.

In addition, adoption of OMS leads to a 74% reduction in staffing and equipment costs vs traditional training methods, helping relieve the burden on educational institutions and health systems when they need it most.

OMS has developed a category-defining training platform, 240+ simulations and a deep performance data and analytics system. Following the successful launch of OMS Create, their client-facing VR authoring platform, OMS is perfectly positioned to scale.

The Series A funding will enable this expansion, allowing OMS to scale its offering across learner groups, expand the use of AI across its solutions, and further support clients in building their own content. The investment will also supercharge R&D efforts, ensuring that OMS remains at the forefront of innovation in healthcare training.

Founded in 2017, OMS works with the world’s best institutions to support the healthcare workforce at every stage – from their first lesson in nursing school through clinical training and continuing professional development. Currently delivering over 35,000 simulations per month, OMS has proven to be as effective as the leading physical training methods, saving 74% on costs compared to traditional training.

“Recruitment, training and retention of healthcare professionals at scale is key to address the workforce crisis within healthcare,” commented Konstantin Koenig, Principal at Frog Capital. “We have been impressed with the team at OMS and how they are addressing this issue using cutting-edge software. Their immersive healthcare training solution drives a step change in quality, productivity and cost efficiency for healthcare systems and patients worldwide. As a purpose-driven investor, we’re excited to support them with our scale-up experience on this journey.”

“This investment marks a milestone for OMS,” said Michael Wallace, co-founder and CEO of OMS. “It allows us to rapidly scale the team whilst staying true to our vision and values. Frog’s experience in helping scale impact-focused software companies, combined with the significant expertise of our healthcare advisory board, will facilitate this expansion at a critical time for OMS and the healthcare workforce. But these innovations are not just about technology; they’re about people – training healthcare professionals more effectively to improve patient care, and this funding isn’t just an investment in Oxford Medical Simulation; it’s an investment in every healthcare professional we train. Our journey so far has been incredible, and it’s only just beginning.”

Additional Information

For more information or media inquiries, please contact [email protected] or visit www.oxfordmedicalsimulation.com/press/.

About Oxford Medical Simulation

Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS) drives clinical competency by combining healthcare education, training and assessment through dynamic virtual reality simulations.

Using its award-winning learning platform, OMS bridges theory and practice with immersive simulation scenarios. Offering in-depth insights into clinical performance, OMS allows world-leading healthcare systems and academic institutions to scale their education, training and assessment.

Video: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2317368/Oxford_Medical_Simulation.mp4
Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2317346/OMS_CT1.jpg
Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2317344/OMS_Examination_Cardiac.jpg
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2317345/Oxford_Medical_Simulation_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Oxford Medical Simulation

Investment to Accelerate the Production and Commercialization of Carbon-Neutral e-Fuel 

KARLSRUHE, Germany, Jan. 16, 2024 — INERATEC, a pioneering e-Fuel company, announced it has raised over $129 million in its Series B funding round, led by Piva Capital with additional participation from HG Ventures, TDK Ventures, Copec WIND Ventures, RockCreek, Emerald, Samsung Ventures as well as the increased support from current investors, including global corporates like ENGIE New Ventures, Safran Corporate Ventures and Honda.

“This financing round is a major milestone for INERATEC as well as the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable e-Fuels,” said Tim Boeltken, CEO of INERATEC. “With the new capital, we are positioned to catalyze a paradigm shift in the energy sector. Our focus is to scale-up e-Fuels enabled by this new investment. By transforming 1GW of renewable energy into 125 million gallons of sustainable e-Fuel by 2030, we are taking solid steps in creating a viable alternative to fossil fuels.”

RENEWABLE ALTERNATIVES NEEDED FOR HARD-TO-ABATE SECTORS
Every year, more than 4,000 million tons of fossil crude oil are processed into fuels and chemical products. Much of the demand comes from hard-to-abate industries, such as aviation, shipping, and the chemical industry. These sectors currently rely heavily on fossil fuels and are desperately seeking renewable alternatives to achieve carbon-neutral goals. As such, the demand for ‘drop-in’ e-Fuels, or synthetic fuels for use in combustion engines that require little to no adjustments relative to existing fuel infrastructure, is expected to triple by 2030, reaching $13.6 trillion by 2050, expanding at a CAGR of 19.0% over the forecast period 2023-2050.

INERATEC’S PIONEERING TECHNOLOGY 
As the world moves towards cleaner energy solutions, INERATEC is poised to lead this shift and drive the future of transportation and energy. INERATEC’s technological advancement is a scalable patented technology that enables the production of ‘drop-in’ e-Fuels. The process involves two main steps: first, turning CO₂ and hydrogen into synthesis gas, then using a second reactor to turn the synthesis gas into liquid and solid hydrocarbons. The e-Fuels are compliant with standards targeted for industries heavily relying on fossil fuels, such as aviation, shipping, road transport, and the chemical industry.

Since it was founded in 2016, INERATEC has built and operated numerous pilot plants and is engaged with over 30 customers in the respective fields of application. Additionally, the company has been recognized with several key awards, including the German Founders Award, the Next Economy Award, and the EARTO Award and was recently selected as Top Innovator by UpLink, the Innovation platform of the World Economic Forum.

EXPANDING GLOBAL FOOTPRINT 
The new capital will be used to start the mass production of INERATEC’s industrial-scale Power-to-X plants worldwide and advance the production of e-Fuels made from recycled CO₂ and renewable energy. Additionally, INERATEC has begun construction of its largest plant to date in Frankfurt and is expanding through international projects in the Netherlands and Chile. This expansion will yield a 1,500 x increase in production, recycling over 12,000,000 metric tons of CO₂ annually – the equivalent of what 1,125,000,000 trees would store. Beyond that, the technology will be implemented globally – wherever CO₂ and renewable energy are available.

“INERATEC’s pioneering technology is the most promising e-Fuel solution we’ve seen to date in addressing the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors such as aviation, shipping, and chemicals,” said Adzmel Adznan, Co-founding Partner at Piva Capital. “The company is doing more than just creating e-Fuels; their proprietary reactors are more efficient and scalable, re-imagining how industry can transform waste CO₂, green electrons and hydrogen to meet various needs, from fuel to power cars, planes, and ships to green chemicals for our everyday consumptions. We believe that INERATEC has the winning solution to transform industries and help the world meet its collective goal to transition away from fossil fuels for energy.” 

The investment consortium for the Series B funding round consists of: Planet A Ventures, MPC, High-Tech Gründerfonds, FO Holding, Safran Corporate Ventures, Honda, ENGIE New Ventures, HG Ventures, TDK, Copec WIND Ventures, RockCreek, Emerald, Samsung Ventures, Piva Capital.

About INERATEC
INERATEC is a pioneer in the field of Power-to-Liquid applications. The company supplies sustainable e-fuels as well as chemical products. Modular chemical plants for Power-to-X and gas-to-liquid applications use hydrogen from renewable electricity and greenhouse gases such as CO₂ to produce e-kerosene, CO₂-neutral gasoline, clean diesel or synthetic waxes, methanol or SNG. Founded in 2016, INERATEC has already implemented industrial-scale power-to-liquid plants at German sites to boost the availability of sustainable fuels and chemicals in various transportation sectors, such as aviation. Further information can be found at www.ineratec.com

About Piva Capital
Piva Capital is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm investing in visionary entrepreneurs solving the world’s critical industrial challenges with breakthrough technologies and innovative business models. For more information, please visit us at Piva.vc, on LinkedIn and Medium.

Media contacts

INERATEC GmbH

Isabel Fisch

+ 49 1621852663

[email protected]

SOURCE Piva Capital

• New investment from DRW Venture Capital LLC and Tolmar International Ltd
• Funds will be used to advance its proprietary, silica-based, drug delivery technology platform towards the clinic and further build DelSiTech

TURKU, Finland, Jan. 16, 2024 — Clinical-stage drug delivery and development company DelSiTech, today announces the successful completion of a EUR 10 million financing round, the largest single financing round in the Company’s history. The financing was co-led by new investors DRW Venture Capital LLC, headquartered in Chicago, IL, USA, and Tolmar International Ltd, based in Dublin, Ireland, which together contributed more than EUR 9 million. The remaining financing was funded by existing DelSiTech shareholders.

The proceeds from the financing will be used to further build the Company and advance its unique, in-house, silica-based, drug delivery technology platform into clinical development, as well as expanding its in-house manufacturing capability to support the development programs of multiple partners.

“We welcome DRW and Tolmar to DelSiTech as new investors and strategic partners at an important time of growth and development.” Said Lasse Leino, Chief Executive Officer at DelSiTech. “This financing marks a significant milestone on our journey as one of the world’s leading drug delivery technology providers, with an attractive internal pipeline of controlled release drug products based on Silica Matrix. This investment, together with our increasing revenues from our own drug development, will help us to reach our strategic business goals and objectives over the next couple of years, as we continue to address high unmet clinical and commercial needs for the benefit of patients.” 

The new investors offered the following comments regarding their commitment to supporting DelSiTech.

David Nelson, Partner at DRW, commented: “We have seen the tremendous importance of strengthening our world’s capabilities to bring new treatments online to address viruses and diseases. We have been impressed by the work DelSiTech is doing in this area and by the innovative technologies its team has developed, and we are pleased to join this round to help them accelerate this work.”

Anil D’Souza, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tolmar, remarked: “This investment further advances Tolmar’s overall business strategy to develop therapies for the benefit of patients around the globe. In addition, we are confident that this investment will lead to profitable growth by further leveraging DelSiTech’s differentiated technology platform.”

About DelSiTech:

DelSiTech Ltd., located in Turku, Finland, is the leading technology specialist in biodegradable silica-based controlled release of small molecule drugs, biologics, and vaccines. It develops and commercializes its proprietary drug delivery technology in collaboration with a number of pharmaceutical and biotech companies to turn their ideas into novel drug products. For more information, see www.delsitech.com.

About DelSiTech^TM Silica Matrix

Silica Matrix is an advanced delivery technology platform for parenteral and local administration of injectable and implant dosage forms as well as eye drops. The proprietary technology is based on silica (SiO₂) matrix into which the molecule or therapeutic agent of interest is embedded using a process called sol-gel. The resulting Silica Matrix is non-porous, biocompatible and it can be designed to biodegrade by matrix dissolution at the desired rate to ensure a tightly controlled release of the active substance over periods of days up to many months or a year.

About DRW Venture Capital, LLC:

DRW is a diversified trading firm with decades of experience bringing sophisticated technology and exceptional people together to operate in markets around the world. Headquartered in Chicago, USA, with offices around the globe, we trade a number of asset classes, including Fixed Income, ETFs, Equities, FX, Commodities and Energy. For over a decade, we also have been a trusted investor in exciting new projects through DRW Venture Capital, which operates as a subsidiary of DRW. DRW VC is a stage-agnostic investor focused on financial and enterprise technology companies that benefit from the combination of our capital and expertise. For more information, please visit www.drw.com.

About Tolmar International Ltd

Tolmar is a fully integrated pharmaceutical company focused on the innovative development, manufacturing, and commercialization of specialty pharmaceuticals across multiple therapeutic areas, including Urology. Tolmar’s product development and manufacturing facilities are based in Northern Colorado and its executive offices and commercial headquarters are based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. For more information about the company, please visit www.tolmar.com.

SOURCE DelSiTech

SINGAPORE, Jan. 15, 2024 — OKX Ventures, the investment arm of leading Web3 technology company OKX, today announced an investment in Renzo, a new DeFi Liquid Restaking Protocol, that is live on EigenLayer’s Mainnet, allowing users to restake their ETH and bypass Eigenlayer Liquid Staking Tokens (LST) caps.

The investment is OKX Ventures’ first in projects that utilize EigenLayer, the protocol built on Ethereum that enables users to restake their ETH, secure new networks and capture offering additional higher yields. EigenLayer can also be used to restake Liquid Staking Tokens (LST) like stETH.

Renzo successfully launched its Beta Mainnet on December 18th 2023, attracting USD $20 million in deposits from over 2,000 users, making it the fastest growing Restaking Protocol on EigenLayer.

OKX Ventures Founder Dora Yue said: “One of the most interesting and fast-growing sectors of the DeFi world is the EigenLayer ecosystem, which is opening up new frontiers for those who want options for better yield via re-staking. Renzo is an outstanding project with incredible potential to be on the leading edge of this revolution. Our investment in Renzo will pave the way to support the team’s growth and build technical compatibility between our large, DeFi-savvy user base and Renzo’s services.”

Renzo Founding Contributor Lucas Kozinski said: “OKX Venture’s investment in Renzo is a testament to the potential of the protocol and the innovation that is happening every day as we contribute to the future of decentralized finance. As Renzo scales and prepares for the launch of EigenDA, relationships with leading exchanges like OKX will ultimately help to make Renzo the most accessible and easy-to-use ETH restaking solution in the crypto space.”

For further information, please contact: [email protected]

About OKX Ventures

OKX Ventures is the investment arm of global leading crypto exchange and Web3 technology company OKX, with an initial capital commitment of USD100 million. It focuses on exploring the best blockchain projects on a global scale, supporting cutting-edge blockchain technology innovation, promoting the healthy development of the global blockchain industry, and investing in long-term structural value.

Through its commitment to supporting entrepreneurs who contribute to the development of the blockchain industry, OKX Ventures helps build innovative companies and brings global resources and historical experience to blockchain projects.

Find out more about OKX Ventures here.

Disclaimer

SOURCE OKX Ventures