Eggscape Entertainment is a new venture founded by the creative minds behind 3DAR, an animation powerhouse out of Buenos Aires, Argentina. They are best known for Little Dicky’s viral music video EARTH with over a decade of creating immersive VR experiences like Gloomy Eyes featuring Colin Farrell, and Paper Birds featuring Edward Norton. Co-founders German Heller, Federico Heller, and Jorge Tereso are on a mission to deliver a new class of mixed-reality games to consumers. The Eggscape team recently welcomed co-founder Brandon Maseda, who brings extensive startup experience in building breakthrough consumer experiences with new hardware technologies.

Eggscape is designed as a playful and social experience where players explore vibrant interactive environments integrated with the real world. The game also packs humor and exciting gameplay that appeals to gamers of all ages. Ensuring infinite replayability for Eggscape and the continued expansion of the Eggverse, players get access to an innovative world-building tool that allows for creating and sharing new creations with friends.

“Mixed reality is the perfect medium to bring fun, social gaming experiences to life. It adds a layer to reality where the imagination has no limits. It’s key to be able to play with friends online or side by side, without isolating oneself from the world outside. You’ll see fun, animated characters running around and surviving wacky situations overlaid on your actual surroundings. It was important for us to create a game with an equal level of innovation and a sense of humor. From the character design to the story, the animation style, and the world; they all share the same tone of absurdity, playfulness, and a sort of happy insanity,” said German Heller, CEO.

“Eggscape isn’t just a single game; we believe that the Eggscape team is helping define the future of social gameplay for mixed reality,” said Andrew Sheppard, a partner at Transcend Fund. “The fusion of mixed reality, Pixar quality animation, and social interactions that Eggscape brings to the table create a new gaming experience we have not seen before. We are beyond excited to support Eggscape Entertainment in this venture.”

“Entertainment in mixed reality requires a fresh and novel approach to combine spatial awareness with fun and engaging gameplay. The Eggscape team has already demonstrated a compelling vision to build such a platform” said Tipatat Chennavasin, co-founder and General Partner at The Venture Reality Fund.

With multiple expansion packs already under development, like Zombie Castle, Rally Racer, and World Cup, the Eggverse is constantly growing, offering players endless possibilities to extend the gameplay and engage the brand. With this new investment, Eggscape Entertainment is set to deliver something new to the world of mixed reality gaming.

About Eggscape Entertainment

Eggscape Entertainment is a mixed reality game studio founded by animation and immersive entertainment veterans from 3DAR. We want to bring fun and entertaining social games to the world, leveraging new technologies like AI, mixed reality, spatial computing, and beyond. www.eggscape.com

About the Transcend Fund

Transcend Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm that partners with some of the most ambitious and talented founders in the game industry to collaboratively build the future of digital entertainment. www.transcend.fund

About The Venture Reality Fund

The Venture Reality Fund (The VR Fund) is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in the Future of the Internet driven by innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR). As a founding member of the Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance (VRVCA), The VR Fund invests globally in startups in both consumer and enterprise sectors. https://www.thevrfund.com/about

SOURCE Eggscape Entertainment Inc

Surpasses $1M revenue in first 18 months, secures $1M SBA funding

SpiritMedia.us

RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 1, 2024 — Spirit Media, a full-service publishing, branding and marketing company, is poised for rapid growth in 2024 and beyond thanks to the organization’s international business dealings and new funding secured through the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The company’s robust financial position within its first 18 months of operations paired with its international business reach helped secure $1 million of SBA funding and puts the company on target to become profitable in 2024. The new funding, which closed Dec. 7, 2023, is part of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 7a Government Guaranteed International Trade Export Loan Program. The money will primarily be used in 2024 to build a robust sales team including seven new, full-time marketing specialists.

“Spirit Media’s international presence and proven track record, in addition to projected growth and desire to achieve, resulted in a significant loan that will lead to new jobs and business growth, both domestically and abroad,” said Chet Schultz, vice president, and SBA relationship manager for SouthState Bank.

In 2023, Spirit Media published over 100 books and websites, secured $1 million in funding, increased its team from 21 to 46 individuals, and marked $1 million in revenue with only two sales team members. Momentum created by initial funding from friends and family in 2022, led Spirit Media to represent authors in Canada, Australia, India and Ukraine, as well as the United States, during its first year. 

“I believe Spirit Media is on the cusp of something revolutionary,” said Kevin White, chief executive officer of Spirit Media. “Our ultimate goal as a faith-led business is to deliver God’s message to all 195 nations worldwide, and early financial success is crucial to fulfilling that mission.”

Spirit Media turns writers into micro publishers, equipping and empowering them to establish their own businesses by which to sell their books. The company also publishes websites, social media posts, live podcast shows, digital marketing ads, and magazine articles. Through its distinctive storytelling marketing strategy and elevated SEO techniques, Spirit Media accelerates sales and scales profits for clients while providing them with measurable results. It is currently developing its own proprietary database featuring verified contacts from 350,000 American churches.

The company has earned the trust of such businesses and nonprofits as Brad and Susanne Dacus of Pacific Justice Institute, MedPsych Integrated, iAdvantage Software, Fellowship of Companies for Christ International, and more.

“When I evaluated the publishing landscape for a faith-based publisher that could ‘do it all,’ options were scarce,” said Pastor Chase Gardner. “That’s why we signed with Spirit Media—they do it all, but they do it all in alignment with their mission to carry forth the gospel, and they do it with excellence.”

Spirit Media currently has nearly 50 books in production. Each book is published in paperback, hardback, ebook and audiobooks formats. English books are translated into the top 20 spoken languages, expanding their market and impact to 75 percent of the world. The company serves 73 marketing clients monthly, 32 of which are non-literary businesses.

The company has moved into a new, larger office in Brier Creek Corporate Park in Raleigh, N.C., Feb. 1, 2024.

For more details, please see Spirit Media’s media kit here.

About Spirit Media
Spirit Media is a full-service publishing, branding and marketing company. The organization aims to spread God’s message to all 195 nations worldwide, a commission fulfilled with a commitment to its threefold focus on publishing, branding, and marketing. Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., the results-driven, international company includes individuals from the U.S., India, Ukraine, Lithuania, the Philippines and Nigeria. As an authority in church marketing, Spirit Media has published over 100 books and websites working with nearly 75 clients worldwide. For more information, visit SpiritMedia.us or follow @spiritmedia.us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or Instagram.

About Kevin White, Spirit Media CEO 
Kevin White is a serial entrepreneur, international bestselling author, pastor, and international speaker. Throughout his career, White has helped to start hundreds of businesses, NPOs, and churches around the world. After becoming an author he was confronted with the void between publishing and marketing. White founded Spirit Media in 2022 to address large gaps in the publishing industry related to measurable results. Through creating accelerated book sales, audience growth and increased profits for clients, White continues to apply his giftings and skill sets at Spirit Media and in his roles as a volunteer board member for organizations like Global Hope India and SM Gives.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Lorin
1-888-800-3744
[email protected]

SOURCE Spirit Media Inc.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2024 — Strategic Cyber Ventures (SCV), a D.C. based venture capital firm that focuses on cybersecurity technology investing, announced that it is promoting one of its top investors to partner. Chris Ahern, a graduate of the University of Virginia and the Georgetown University MBA program, sees his promotion come as the firm accelerated its investing in the past year. Joining the firm in 2017 not long after it was founded, Chris quickly became the lead investor behind several of SCV’s strongest investments.

“Chris has an eye for unique technology companies and the teams that know how to successfully build them,” stated Hank Thomas, Managing Partner and Founder of SCV. Thomas went on to say “Chris has grown a passion for cybersecurity that makes him a perfect fit for our firm.” 

In his new role as partner, Chris will continue to play a pivotal role in sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities, developing the firm’s strategy, and leading due diligence efforts. He will also take on more board seats as he actively collaborates with portfolio companies offering strategic guidance and support to foster their growth. SCV plans to continue accelerating its investment in Series Seed and A cybersecurity startups in 2024.

ABOUT STRATEGIC CYBER VENTURES

Cybersecurity is national security, and we’re a D.C.-based venture capital firm on a mission to find cutting-edge startups that help us make an impact. We go beyond the check to help our founders win by leveraging our industry connections and experience as cybersecurity veterans to fuel their companies from inception to exit.

To learn more about our investment strategy and portfolio, explore www.scvgroup.com or connect with us on X @SCV_Cyber to be part of our mission in shaping the future of cybersecurity.

Media Contact: info@scvgroup.com

SOURCE STRATEGIC CYBER VENTURES

• Forming a joint fund with the globally renowned VC, Bow Capital
• Focusing on early-stage tech startups in the field of AI, Web3, Digital Transformation (DT), healthcare
• Holds significance in attracting external LPs… leaping into an independent VC and enhancing investment expertise

SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 1, 2024 — SK Networks, through its US affiliate, which has expanded direct and indirect investments in early-stage companies home and abroad, harnessing its global network and investment management processes, has successfully attracted external limited partners (LPs), a rare move in the world of corporate venture capital (CVC). This was done through a joint fund formed in partnership with Bow Capital, a globally influential venture investment firm. According to Pitchbook, the global market research firm, the global venture capital (VC) investment market experienced significant decline of nearly 35% compared to 2022. Considering the market condition, it is considered a remarkable achievement.

SK Networks (CEO : Hojeong Lee) announced on February 1 that Hico Management and Bow Capital Management formed a joint fund. This joint fund was formed by Hico Management in collaboration with Bow Capital Management. Hico Management is an investment management subsidiary of Hico Capital that leads SK Networks’ operation in the U.S. The two management firms closed the first round at the end of last year with the participation of external investors. A final round is scheduled to be completed soon.

As for fund management, both companies are looking for investment opportunities in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

The joint fund 1^st closing ceremony, held on January 31 at Walkerhill Wavehill, was attended by Samuel Kim, Managing Director of Hico Management, and Vivek Ranadivé, Managing Director of Bow Capital and owner of the Sacramento Kings, among other representatives from both companies. Sunghwan Choi, SK Networks President & COO, also attended. Before this, on January 30, President Sunghwan Choi and Managing Director Ranadivé signed a MOU for the ‘SK Networks Renaissance Project’ and expressed to strengthen their cooperation.

Bow Capital operates various investment portfolios based on its close partnership with University of California (UC) system that includes the 10 campuses, 6 medical facilities and hospitals, and 3 national laboratories.

With the new joint fund created by the partnership between Hico Management and Bow Capital, the industry now recognizes Hico Management for its business competency built upon SK’s continuous investment in early-stage companies for years as the joint fund helped attract even external LPs this time.

This leads to the expectation that Hico Management will evolve into a competitive independent venture investment firm with its unique and distinct strategy. This will allow Hico Management to strengthen its investment and business capabilities in cutting-edge technologies such as AI and accelerate the business growth through close collaboration.

An official of Hico Management said, “Even amidst the downturn in the investment market, we were able to attract external LPs and achieve a first closing with raising a significant amount of funds,” also added “We plan to continue to grow the fund size by appealing to various global investors and accumulate achievements through managing joint fund, in an aspiration to become a competitive independent VC.”

SOURCE SK Networks

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 1, 2024 — Today EverSmith Brands announced the acquisition of U.S. Lawns, a franchised provider of commercial landscaping and snow removal services for U.S. commercial properties. This investment is the latest add-on to EverSmith Brands’ portfolio of B2B service-based franchise companies.

U.S. Lawns was acquired from BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BV), a leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Orlando, FL, U.S. Lawns has over 200 locations operating across 35 states. U.S. Lawns brings a strong reputation and decades of experience in providing landscape and snow management services to key commercial market verticals to the EverSmith Brands platform.

“U.S. Lawns represents an ideal fit for EverSmith Brands as we pursue our vision of building the industry-leading franchise platform for commercial property services,” said EverSmith Brands’ CEO, Rob Gannett, in a statement. “We are eager to partner with the U.S. Lawns team and franchise owners in writing the next chapter of the brand’s growth story.”

U.S. Lawns joins Clintar, Canada’s largest commercial landscaping and snow management franchise, in the EverSmith Brands portfolio. The acquisition brings together two of the largest and most experienced industry powerhouses in outdoor property care services.

“Today marks a significant milestone in the continued evolution of U.S. Lawns,” commented Ken Hutcheson, President, U.S. Lawns. “This strategic move aligns with our current vision for growth and innovation, and together with Clintar, EverSmith Brands, and the Riverside Company, we’re excited to accelerate our growth and continue adding value to the lives of our franchisees, employees and customers.”

With the acquisition, Ken Hutcheson, the current President of U.S. Lawns, is appointed as President, Landscaping and Snow Services, for EverSmith Brands. Ken’s expanded responsibilities will include bringing together the U.S. Lawns and Clintar teams to leverage both businesses’ unique strengths.

“We could not be more excited to welcome U.S. Lawns to EverSmith Brands! They have long been one of the strongest landscape and outdoor services companies with tremendous brand equity,” said Stephen Schiller, Chief Growth Officer of EverSmith Brands. “With Clintar Commercial Outdoor Services being Canada’s strongest landscape and snow services companies, we look forward to advancing the synergies and collaboration of both great organizations to better serve our valued national and international customers.”

EverSmith Brands

EverSmith Brands, a platform of strong and growing franchised brands, and portfolio company of The Riverside Company, is uniquely focused on the commercial facilities sector including the Clintar, KitchenGuard, MilliCare, and U.S. Lawns brands.

Stacy Leger
EverSmith Brands and Clintar
[email protected]

SOURCE EverSmith Brands

The announcement comes as the company continues to more than double its revenue year-over-year while seeing a third of its customers return for support for their second child

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 1, 2024 — Perelel, the first and only female OB/GYN-founded vitamin company offering clean, targeted nutrition for various distinct stages of a woman’s hormonal journey, today announced the completion of a $6 million Series A financing round, led by Unilever Ventures, Willow Growth, and Selva Ventures. The company has now raised a total of $12.1 million in funding to fuel their mission of advancing the future of women’s reproductive care.

Propelled by constant new product development – the brand launched 19 new products in three years – and category expansion – their Synbiotic Greens Power has become a bestseller – this year, Perelel continued to experience rapid growth as the business accelerated to serve more women through key hormonal life stages. The business has grown over 200%, continues to more than double its revenue YoY, and is on the path to profitability. On average, nearly 3,500 Perelel capsules are consumed per hour and in the last 12 months alone, the brand sold nearly 31 million capsules with a third of its customers returning for prenatal support through second and third pregnancies. Continuing to expand in retail locations, Perelel is now in over 250 Doctor’s offices, Erewhon, Revolve.com, and FreePeople.com.

“Women’s health remains a chronically under-funded, under-researched, and, consequently, under-served area. We saw in Perelel an opportunity to back a brand offering women high quality, carefully targeted solutions in a space that has traditionally lacked transparency and investment. Since then, the brand has consistently demonstrated its ability to resonate and support women throughout different stages of their reproductive journey,” said Rachel Harris, Partner at Unilever Ventures. “We are delighted to continue partnering with Victoria and Alex and remain excited about the future ahead for Perelel as it builds on its position as a trusted authority for its ever-growing community of women,” added Izzy Hemington, Principal at Unilever Ventures.

“As women in the healthcare industry, we’ve pushed aggressively against the status quo to demonstrate that we can do better for women both by creating a better product offering bolstered by a mission to address the larger gaps in women’s health and research,” said Alex Taylor Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Perelel and mother of two. “As a rapidly-growing female- and medically-founded business, we have committed ourselves to creating a more fiscally responsible business model by raising smart capital from partners who are experienced in consumer packaged goods and the direct-to-consumer space. There has been a belief (and an old boys club) that success meant the highest raise and valuation, which has just not worked out. We fundamentally want to do business differently by raising what’s needed for us to have a successful outcome for everyone,” added Victoria Thain Gioia, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Perelel and soon-to-be mother of four.

With this latest round of funding, Perelel will continue to grow its team to develop new products to support women through additional life stages and will continue to invest in research and development. Committed to uplifting female leadership talent, Perelel keeps adding to its majority female investor group:

This raise comes at a time of intensified focus on women’s health as efforts start to reach new levels, including the first White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. Perelel is proud to help lead the charge with meaningful action. The World Economic Forum and the McKinsey Health Institute McKinsey report that for every $1 invested in women’s health, about $3 is projected in economic growth.

As part of Perelel’s Health Initiative Fund launched in 2020, they have provided $2.5 million in product donations to underserved communities through its 1:1 giveback initiative. In 2023, Perelel reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for increased and improved research in women’s health by partnering with The HOPE Project, the largest research initiative to-date led in part by Stanford University School of Medicine to uncover the causes of pregnancy loss; and launched the Hormonal Hotline tapping into Perelel’s Medical Co-Founder Dr. Banafsheh Bayati to answer questions many want to know but are too embarrassed to ask. The brand also initiated an educational hub called the Menstrual Knowledge Gap to advocate for bodily literacy since sex-ed has failed us.

“As the only female OB/GYN founded women’s supplement company Perelel is committed to ensuring that all women have access to medically backed care. Some of the groups most vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies are pregnant and lactating women, primarily because they have a relatively greater need for vitamins and minerals and are more susceptible to the harmful consequences of deficiencies,” added Dr. Banafsheh Bayati MD, OB/GYN, Medical Co-Founder of Perelel, and mother of two.

For more information about Perelel please visit www.perelel.com. 

About Perelel
Perelel is the first and only female OB/GYN-founded vitamin company offering clean, targeted nutrition for distinct stages of women’s hormonal journeys. In 2018, Victoria Thain Gioia and Alex Taylor, both pregnant, found themselves navigating the wildly unregulated world of prenatals. Their paths to parenthood were marked by confusion, frustration, and loss (Victoria endured four miscarriages and is now pregnant with her fourth child). The realization about how incredibly complex women’s bodies are and yet how overly reductive and simple most of the products on the market were, led to a search for superior solutions. The lack of information on what to consume during pregnancy and when to do so – along with a lack of industry regulations, inspired them to introduce a more precise and transparent approach to prenatal vitamins.  Still today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not hold vitamins to the same standards as conventional foods or drugs, so manufacturers are responsible for handling safety testing, labeling, and quality standards themselves. This leaves consumers vulnerable to misinformation, predatory marketing, and a lack of control over their bodies. Launched in 2020 along with Medical Co-Founder Dr. Banafsheh Bayati, the company includes a line of 19 individual skus not including bundles with a focus on targeted nutrition for women at various hormonal life stages including prenatal, postpartum care, and general women’s wellness. Each formula is meticulously developed in collaboration with a panel of certified OB/GYNs and multidisciplinary women’s health experts, and consciously made to support women through key stages of their hormonal journey. As part of their ongoing Health Initiative Fund, Perelel supports improved research in women’s health and more accessible education to fuel bodily empowerment and literacy – and has provided $2.5 million in product donations to underserved communities through its 1:1 giveback initiative.

Contact:
WLDFLWR PR
Catherine Cuello-Fuente at [email protected]

SOURCE Perelel

VESPECON: Transforming Veterinary Care Amidst the Pet Ownership Surge- On-demand expertise, concierge support, and impactful partnerships for stress-free success.

CARROLLTON, Texas, Feb. 1, 2024 — In the ever-evolving landscape of veterinary care, VESPECON emerges as the catalyst for transformative change, addressing the challenges posed by the burgeoning pet ownership boom where nearly 70% of all U.S. households own a pet. With a commitment to reshaping the future of pet care through vet care, VESPECON introduces a groundbreaking approach that provides unparalleled value to veterinarians through memberships, masterclasses, and investment partnerships.

VESPECON: Streamlined Concierge Support for Veterinarians in the Pet Boom
The pandemic-induced pet boom has overwhelmed veterinary professionals, prompting the need for immediate and streamlined support. VESPECON, a startup committed to advancing veterinary excellence, offers virtual specialist assistance, allowing veterinarians to manage increased and complex caseloads effectively.

“By partnering with VESPECON, veterinarians and hospitals can finally focus on delivering exceptional specialty pet care. I knew overwhelmed veterinarians didn’t have access to a solution they needed most when facing unique pet health challenges, and the gap in the incoming specialty vet workforce proved that the pet care industry needed VESPECON’s services more than ever. I wanted to show vets a simple path to specialized care without additional cost to them and the pet parent.”

VESPECON provides exclusive memberships with on-demand expertise, concierge support, and invaluable resources for those looking to elevate their practice. These memberships include masterclasses that enable veterinarians to enhance their clinical skills and business acumen, delving into industry trends and cutting-edge techniques, and empower veterinarians to stay at the forefront of their field to provide the highest quality pet care to their furry patients.

Investment Partnerships: Why VCs Want ‘In’ On This Opportunity
VESPECON isn’t just transforming veterinary care; it’s also capturing the attention of savvy investors. Venture capitalists recognize this groundbreaking venture’s immense potential as VESPECON paves the way for innovation and sustainable growth in the booming pet care industry, projected to grow from $246.66 billion in 2023 to $368.88 billion by 2030.

Upcoming Events and Podcast Interviews
As VESPECON spearheads the revolution in pet care, we invite veterinarians, investors, and media professionals to join us in shaping the future of veterinary excellence.

Stay tuned for VESPECON’s participation in upcoming events and podcast interviews, where our experts are helping audiences by sharing their expertise.

To learn more about VESPECON and its upcoming announcements, including on-demand pet care, memberships, events and the latest innovations in veterinary care, visit www.VESPECON.com and follow the company on LinkedIn and Instagram.

About VESPECON:
VESPECON is a groundbreaking veterinary consultancy startup dedicated to Transforming Veterinary Care, offering on-demand expertise, concierge support, and impactful partnerships for stress-free success.

About Dr. Kenneth Pierce
Dr. Kenneth Pierce DVM, MS, DACVO, is the Founder and CEO at VESPECON. With VESPECON, he is transforming the veterinary industry by bridging specialty vet consultants to overwhelmed veterinary practices, driving an increase in positive results. Leading an amazing team of top veterinary specialists, Dr. Pierce reduces the learning curve for general practicing veterinarians by sharing specialized expertise to elevate patient outcomes and revenue. With VESPECON, intricate medical challenges veterinarians face globally are a thing of the past. Beyond his role at VESPECON, Dr. Pierce is an experienced veterinary ophthalmologist whose academic and private practice career continues to educate, empower, and improve the health of the general public, the veterinary community, and animals across the nation, respectively.

Learn more at VESPECON.com.

Investment Partnerships | Contact Founder & CEO Dr. Kenneth Pierce DVM, MS, DACVO

For Media Inquiries, contact The Impact Kind at 734-812-9032 or [email protected]

SOURCE VESPECON

LEHI, Utah, Feb. 1, 2024 — Consensus, the global leader in demo automation, launched its online education program, Consensus Academy, today. This first-of-its-kind program gives revenue leaders and individual contributors access to content and training dedicated to enabling buyers through demo automation.

Mark Green, Director of Presales & Buyer Enablement at Consensus, said, “Consensus Academy will help revenue teams transform the way they view their relationships with buyers. As leaders and individual contributors access the modules, they will learn how to fix the broken buying process with methodologies that go beyond what tools and technology bring. While these problems are largely solved using our platform, we want sellers and their leaders to find more success in their roles by being able to remove obstacles from their buyers.”

Consensus Academy includes courses, media, and training meant to improve how presales, sales, marketing, and customer success teams understand and improve their impact on the buying process. Participants learn how to use demo automation in their role and how the Consensus DEEP-C methodology improves the way they interact with buyers at every stage of their journey. As a result, those who gain certifications and accolades upon completion of courses will be better equipped to solve the problems modern B2B buyers face.

“Consensus Academy shows which individuals and leaders are taking the time to understand the impact of becoming a buyer coach,” said Tony Francetic, Sr. Manager of Solutions Consulting at Thomson Reuters. “Gaining certifications and a deeper understanding of tools like Consensus shows a commitment to guiding buyers through complex journeys and knowing where you can make the biggest impact on your organization.”

The curriculum in Consensus Academy takes what the company launched last fall in its certified administrator certification and adds context that connects demo automation users and enthusiasts to the places buyers feel the most friction, regardless of their role in the buying process.

Because Enterprise buying is complex, it is imperative the entire revenue team becomes educated on where buyers feel the most friction and how they can alleviate it individually and collectively. “We feel immense pleasure in the fact that many top organizations are finding success using demo automation to shorten sales cycles by focusing on what buyers need most,” said Doug Johnson, CEO of Consensus. “We want to give all members of the revenue team access to our knowledge of buying to make them more effective at their jobs.”

Interested parties can learn more about the Consensus Academy here.

ABOUT CONSENSUS:
Consensus, the Intelligent Demo Automation Platform, scales presales instantly with interactive video demos. Presales and technical sales teams automate repetitive product demos which allows them to reallocate that time to higher value activities. Buyers get a better experience— one that guides them with digital, interactive and on-demand video demos. This uncovers stakeholders automatically and eliminates unqualified demos, which in turn dramatically shortens sales cycles by 29% up to 68% and improves close rates by up to 44%. Market leaders like Salesforce, SAP, Oracle, Autodesk, Sage, Trintech, Coupa and many others trust Consensus to scale. For more information, visit www.goconsensus.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Contact:
Garrett Erickson
562-991-3702
372219@email4pr.com

SOURCE Consensus

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Feb. 1, 2024 — Swedish hybrid-electric airplane maker Heart Aerospace today announced it raised a total of $107 million in Series B funding, representing another significant stepping stone toward sustainable regional air travel.

The new round brings the total financing raised by Heart Aerospace since its inception to $145 million.

Among new investors is Sagitta Ventures, a Danish investor focused on early-stage companies. Other investors include Air Canada, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, European Innovation Council Fund, EQT Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Norrsken VC, United Airlines, and Y Combinator.

‘We couldn’t be more excited about this round,” said Anders Forslund, co-founder, and CEO of Heart Aerospace. “This investment furthers our mission to decarbonize and democratize air travel. Air travel is globally its infancy. Billions of people around the world are looking to be connected to this amazing infrastructure over the next decade. Meanwhile, the industry has committed to net zero emissions by 2050. The only way forward is to decouple the tremendous growth in aviation from its emissions, and we believe ES-30 is the first stepping stone. Moreover, because of the superior economics of electric aircraft over their fossil-fuel counterparts, the ES-30 will bring back service to communities that have lost connectivity and open many new markets. This upcoming year is an exciting one for Heart Aerospace as we prepare to unveil our full-scale aircraft demonstrator.”

In addition to announcing new funding, Heart Aerospace said EQT Ventures partner Ted Persson will be joining the company’s Board of Directors.

“As someone said, the stone age didn’t end because we ran out of stones and the fossil fuel age won’t end because we run out of fossil fuels. Heart Aerospace is taking decarbonization to the skies and we’re proud to be funding technology that will fundamentally change the aviation industry,” said Ted Persson. “We believe that sustainable industrial and electrification solutions are not just the future; they are the present, and our investment strategy reflects our unwavering commitment to driving positive change in these critical sectors.”

“Ted brings to Heart Aerospace’s Board a wealth of expertise in product design, user experience, storytelling and branding,” said John Slattery, Chairman of Heart Aerospace’s Board of Directors. “We are delighted to have him on our team.” 

Heart Aerospace intends to use the funds to further build its business and make progress toward type certification of the company’s first hybrid-electric airplane, the ES-30. The ES-30 is a regional airplane with a seating capacity of 30 passengers that offers lower emissions, lower noise pollution and lower operating costs on short haul routes than current conventionally fueled airplanes.

The ES-30 is currently the only clean sheet hybrid-electric airplane of its size with an active type certification application with European Union Aviation Safety Agency, EASA. The focus in the upcoming year will be on the development of Heart Aerospace’s hybrid- electric powertrain.

“United’s goal of net zero emissions requires bold solutions and that’s why we’ve invested in a broad portfolio of low-carbon technologies including hybrid-electric aircraft,” said United Airlines Ventures Managing Director Andrew Chang. “Once operational, we believe Heart’s ES-30 aircraft have the potential to reduce our carbon footprint, while serving regional markets across the country.”    

“Air Canada has adopted a multi-pronged approach to addressing its ambitious net zero emissions by 2050 climate change goal, from advocating for commercial scaling of Sustainable Aviation Fuels to active investment in a range of revolutionary new technologies. Further to our initial equity position in Heart Aerospace to support the development of the ES-30 hybrid-electric regional aircraft which could be deployed in Air Canada’s regional markets, we recently strengthened our financial investment in Heart Aerospace with an additional US$5 million to advance the ES-30 aircraft towards type certification,” said Michael Rousseau, President & Chief Executive Officer at Air Canada.

Heart Aerospace has 250 orders for the ES-30, with options and purchase rights for an additional 120 planes. The company also has letters of intent for a further 191 airplanes.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2331961/Heart_Aerospace_AB.jpg

SOURCE Heart Aerospace AB