DENVER, Feb. 21, 2024 — Varana Capital, an asset management platform specializing in venture capital, private equity, and public markets, proudly announces the successful first close of their Chai 10x Fund. With over $20 million secured and more than $10 million of additional commitments, this marks the largest first closing for emergency Israel funds to date.
As part of Varana’s commitment to Israel, The Chai 10x Fund (the “Chai Fund” or the “Fund”) operates with heavily discounted fees, ensuring maximum impact and contribution to the growth and success of Israeli tech enterprises. Varana Capital’s commitment to this mission is further demonstrated by the personal engagement of their team, who, since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th, 2023, have traveled to Israel repeatedly to meet with CEOs, government officials, and senior executives from Israeli financial institutions.
Ezra Gardner, Co-Founder of Varana Capital, recently delivered a keynote address to the Knesset Finance Committee, shedding light on the urgent matter of the $10 billion deficit in foreign investments in Israel. This proactive involvement underscores Varana Capital’s dedication to advocating for Israel’s economic prosperity and global competitiveness.
Looking ahead, Varana Capital intends to exceed their $50 million target for investment in Israeli tech. Subsequent to the oversubscription in investor spots in the initial Chai 10x Fund, Varana Capital plans to introduce a parallel fund (the “Parallel Fund”), providing investors with the same unique opportunity to support the immediate fundraising needs of Israel, while making exceptional investments. Mirroring the Chai Fund, the Parallel Fund will maintain heavily discounted fees for investors and align its portfolio to support the same companies.
Ezra Gardner, Varana Capital CIO and Chai 10x Fund Portfolio Manager, expressed optimism for his beloved country stating, “I am very pleased with our first closing and our commitment to the Chai Fund mission: making outstanding investments, while supporting the Israeli economy, particularly during these challenging times. I believe this is truly an opportunity to redefine what ‘doing well by doing good’ means. Please, join us in our mission!”
To learn more about the Varana Capital Chai 10x Fund and the opportunity to invest in the new Parallel Fund, please email [email protected].
About Varana Capital. Founded by Philip Broenniman and Ezra Gardner in 2012, Denver-based Varana Capital, LLC invests in and cooperatively engages with public and private companies, partnering with visionary leaders to create a global impact. For more information, visit Varana Capital’s Website, or visit Varana Capital’s LinkedIn page.
The U.S. initiative is backed by UBS and the Annenberg Foundation and centers on an innovative form of capital raising called equity crowdfunding
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2024 — The ARC Fund launched three Community Rounds today to support underrepresented impact entrepreneurs raise growth capital between $250,000 and $5,000,000 over a three-month “equity crowdfunding” campaign using the Wefunder platform in response to the scarcity of capital as venture capitalists hold on to funds due to the uncertain economy, banks lend less, and interest rates remain high, forcing startups led by underestimated founders to find alternative sources of capital to survive and grow.
The Kauffman Foundation reported that nearly two-thirds (65%) of new businesses will use personal and/or family savings to cover their startup costs. Without an innovative source of capital to provide a “bridge” round to get startups through this tough economic period over the next few years, many overlooked entrepreneurs will close their doors.
By the end of 2022, adverse market conditions led to a 36% drop in overall venture capital dollars, but Black entrepreneurs saw a 45% decrease in financing.
Women-only teams secured only 2.8% of venture capital in 2023, the lowest in four years.
In 2020, Black and Latinx founders only represented 2.6% of all venture capital funding ($2.3BN).
Nearly 20% of all startups have raised money at a lower valuation than they had previously, up from 5% in 2021, according to Carta.
More startups shut down in the third quarter of 2023 since Carta began tracking the data almost five years ago; more than 543 startups on Carta’s platform have shuttered.
Wefunder empowers entrepreneurs to crowdfund capital from individual investors due to a provision in the 2012 JOBS Act which allows unaccredited investors to purchase equity in early-stage private companies in the United States for as low as $100 per person.
The ARC Fund has launched Community Rounds with the following underrepresented impact entrepreneurs:
Nopalera is a Chicana-owned clean collection of bath and body products made from the Nopal cactus, an ancient symbol of Mexican heritage and one of the most nourishing plants in the world.
EQL Finance is committed to democratizing financial wellness through the innovative use of technology, expanded access to financial services, and compassionate care. The company’s goal is to provide individuals and families from all backgrounds and circumstances with the resources and tools they need to achieve their financial objectives and improve their overall financial health.
Maxam Hotels is a hospitality venture that is building an off-grid resort in Belize using electric car batteries. The company just completed five units on their newest project in the Finger Lakes, documented for a TV show that airs on the Design Network.
One of the most significant issues in the startup world is the underrepresentation of women and entrepreneurs of color in venture capital funding. Studies have consistently shown that these groups face systemic biases that hinder their ability to secure investment. Equity crowdfunding helps close this gap by providing these founders with a more accessible path to capital.
When looking at equity crowdfunding success percentages, campaigns run by women-only founders had an 87.5% success rate compared to 41% for men-only founders. Minority-only founders also had a higher success rate (46%) than men-only founders.
Startups with female founders represent between 10% and 15% of all investor crowdfunded deals since 2020, and startups with founders of color represent between 10% and 28% of all investor crowdfunded deals since 2020.
For underrepresented impact entrepreneurs accepted into the program, the ARC Fund will prepare the crowdfunding online campaign page seen by investors, write a video script, lead a launch-day investor webinar, provide strategy sessions and coaching to the entrepreneur, build a campaign calendar, work with Wefunder on administrative steps, and more. Hatchet Ventures will also provide hands-on advisory support to founders facing startup challenges tied to operations, product development, pricing, customer acquisition, and marketing strategy, among others.
An equity crowdfunding round means that a startup lets thousands of its customers, users, and fans invest alongside venture capitalists and angel investors. Crowdfunding rounds leverage Regulation CF, where an entrepreneur can raise a maximum of $5,000,000 per year from unlimited investors. Anyone can invest, not just accredited investors. All investors in a Crowdfunding Round are rolled up into a Special Purpose Vehicle and thus represented by one line on a cap table.
About The ARC Fund
The ARC Fund (www.sisomni.com/arcfund) is an alliance of companies, foundations, and organizations supporting underestimated entrepreneurs and proximate founders through equity crowdfunding campaigns (community rounds) on Wefunder. The ARC Fund addresses the growing need for alternative sources of capital in this challenging economy, especially for entrepreneurs who often face barriers accessing traditional venture capital, while strengthening pathways to democratize investing by giving all people the ability to purchase equity in early-stage private companies in the United States for as low as $100 per person. UBS and the Annenberg Foundation are funding partners of the ARC Fund, with additional partnerships with Wefunder and Hatchet Ventures.
Disclaimer: We are gauging investor interest in an offering under Regulation Crowdfunding. No money or other consideration is being solicited. If sent, it will not be accepted. No offer to buy securities will be accepted. No part of the purchase price will be received until a Form C is filed and only through Wefunder’s platform. Any indication of interest involves no obligation or commitment of any kind.
Funds will be used to expand its advanced college counseling services, build out its artificial intelligence and machine learning optimizations, scale its team of admissions experts, and enhance its data team
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21, 2024 — Empowerly, a data-driven education technology company that provides personalized college and career guidance, today announced it has raised a $15 million financing round led by Conductive Ventures. The new funding will be used to continue expanding Empowerly’s college counseling services with a focus on building out its artificial intelligence and machine learning product optimizations, such as the AI-powered Empowerly Score’s predictive capabilities, scaling its team of admissions experts and data analytics, and preparing for the launch of a mobile app. To date, Empowerly has raised $30 million from investors, including Conductive Ventures, Goodwater Capital, FJ Labs, Scrum Ventures, Translink Capital, American Student Assistance, Spero Ventures, and Mentors Fund.
Empowerly co-founders Changxiao Xie and Hanmei Wu
Since its launch in 2018, Empowerly has built a network of over 100 world-class college counselors with over 720 collective years of academic guidance and admissions experience. With over 122,550 college applications read and reviewed, the company has helped thousands of students get accepted into their dream schools. The Empowerly Score — the only predictive technology that can also quantify subjective material — provides students with a 360-degree view of how to be competitive against other applicants. During the latest admissions cycle, an Empowerly student was admitted to every Ivy League college, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Brown. To date, 94% of Empowerly students with a 3.6+ GPA have been accepted into a top 50 school, including all eight Ivy League colleges plus Stanford, MIT, UChicago, Duke, Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, and many others.
“Empowerly remains committed to providing every student with the resources, guidance, and expertise to navigate an incredibly challenging college admissions landscape,” said Hanmei Wu, co-founder of Empowerly. “The average college application process can take up to 200 hours and is notoriously overwhelming for students and parents alike. We’re excited to use this latest funding to further scale our counseling services to help even more students, lessening the pressure on families so they can focus on the excitement around this pivotal time in their lives.”
In July 2023, Empowerly joined the Sequoia marketplace to offer their college and career counseling services as an employee benefit – providing working parents with a valuable resource to navigate the complexities of the college admissions process and make informed financial decisions. In November 2023, the company released its first book, “Empowerly Expert’s Handbook to College Admissions,” a compelling how-to providing insights, anecdotal case studies, and expert advice from admissions experts and former admissions officers to help parents and students navigate the American higher education system. The company’s long-term vision is to continue scaling its college counseling services in order to give every student the resources and expertise they need to navigate the college admissions process and achieve their dream of personal academic success.
“The past year has been challenging for the entire startup ecosystem, and some are saying this has been one of the worst funding environments in the past decade,” said Changxiao Xie, co-founder of Empowerly. “This round is a testament to the platform and services we’ve created, from our recruitment of former Ivy League admissions officers to the ways we’ve leveraged data and machine learning to evaluate and improve students’ outcomes from high school to college and beyond. We’re working with more students and families than ever before and seeing fantastic outcomes year over year, and are excited to keep up the momentum.”
“Empowerly continues to prove itself as the leader in technology-powered college counseling, and we are honored to work with them to continue democratizing the college admissions process for all,” said Carey Lai, Founding Member and Managing Director at Conductive Ventures. “The passion that the entire Empowerly team has for student success, paired with their immense wealth of knowledge and experience, has created a truly unique, valuable, and highly effective product. As a parent, customer, and investor, I look forward to being a part of this journey to evolve and elevate the college and career landscape.”
About Empowerly Empowerly is a data-driven education technology company that provides personalized college and career guidance to students and their families. To date, Empowerly has raised $30 million from investors, including Conductive Ventures, Goodwater Capital, FJ Labs, Scrum Ventures, Translink Capital, American Student Assistance, Spero Ventures, and Mentors Fund. The company’s mission is to empower students to become the most successful version of themselves. From college preparation, landing internships, and beyond, Empowerly supports students in achieving their academic and career goals. To learn more, visit www.empowerly.com.
Firsthand’s applied generative AI technology allows brands and publishers to easily create and distribute their own AI agents to engage directly with consumers everywhere online – while retaining full control of their data and content.
Seed round led by AI fund Radical Ventures
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2024 — Firsthand, a company enabling brands and publishers to build and distribute AI agents anywhere their consumers are, emerged from stealth today announcing a Seed round led by AI-focused Radical Ventures. The company’s innovative platform empowers brands and publishers to create their own AI agents that are embedded with their own protected knowledge and tasked with and measured by their own goals. These agents can conduct 1:1 personalized conversations and content presentation with consumers in their moment of need, anywhere they’re seeking information online. This represents a seismic shift in how companies can control how, when, and where their content appears in front of consumers, onsite and beyond their own digital properties – all powered by intelligent, AI-directed interactions. Firsthand was founded in 2023 by Jonathan Heller, Michael Rubenstein, and Wei Wei, pioneers of digital advertising who built industry-leading platform companies including DoubleClick, AppNexus, and FreeWheel – companies that were built to support an open digital ecosystem.
The Rise of AI Agents
Until recently, there has been no feasible way for brands and publishers to engage in real-time, one-to-one exchanges with consumers on and off their digital properties — where they can fully control how, when, and where their data and content assets are surfaced to consumers. The introduction of AI agents presents an unparalleled opportunity for companies to connect and interact with their audiences directly at scale through AI exchanges and consumer-directed actions.
For decades, powerful algorithms have dictated traffic, monetization, and representation, diverting value away from both brands and publishers. As consumers rush to navigate this new AI landscape, tech giants are seeking to aggressively exploit this unprecedented AI wave by ingesting data and serving AI applications fronting the data and content assets created by brands and publishers, directly to consumers. In this scenario, companies continue to see their most prized assets get summarized, diluted, and even misrepresented by tech giants. This dependency not only erodes vital brand-consumer relationships but also prevents them from fully realizing their potential in the new AI era.
Firsthand: AI-Powered Conversational Campaigns
Firsthand’s AI platform allows brands and publishers to harness the full potential of generative AI to engage in direct conversations with consumers, using their own proprietary data and content to drive more engaging and accurate interactions. Its platform is the only solution that allows companies to engage with their consumers wherever they are by distributing their agents, in context, across any partner’s site in a mutually-beneficial, rights-controlled process.
Firsthand’s platform consists of dual solutions: First, Lakebed, the company’s AI rights and data management layer, gives content owners full ownership of their knowledge assets and control over where, when, and by whom their content is used by AI. Second, the company’s generative marketing agents use approved content to enable 1:1 conversations personalized to consumers’ in-moment needs.
Through Firsthand’s platform:
Brands benefit from explicit questions and feedback coming directly from their consumers that drive campaign outcomes, richer first-party audience data to strengthen marketing and product strategy, and confidence to safely navigate the new AI landscape;
Publishers see greater audience engagement with their knowledge, unlocking new, premium monetization opportunities whilst retaining full ownership and control of their greatest assets; and
Consumers get direct access to the information they’re seeking from the most trusted sources.
AI specialists Radical Ventures led the Seed round, with David Katz leading the investment and serving on the Board. Additional participation included Brian O’Kelley (Scope3, AppNexus), David Rosenblatt (1stDibs.com, DoubleClick), and other leading technology entrepreneurs.
“The current digital ecosystem leaves publishers vulnerable: their data is exploited, their access controlled, and their voice diluted,” said David Katz, Partner at Radical Ventures. He continued: “In a landscape poised for AI-driven disruption, Firsthand’s infrastructure empowers them to take back control, unlock data value, and thrive in the future as new and exciting AI innovation changes the way we interact through devices.”
Firsthand is currently conducting a pilot program with a select group of brands and publishers.
About Firsthand Firsthand is the AI agent platform purpose-built for brands and publishers. The company’s innovative platform allows brands and publishers to protect, control, and deploy their data and content across direct conversational campaigns that are powered by custom AI agents, and distributed anywhere a consumer is seeking information online. Founded by digital advertising veterans and funded by AI pioneers, Firsthand is focused on building the data and agent infrastructure that will power consumer interactions in the AI era. For more information and to see open roles, visit firsthand.ai.
New investment is led by Sands Capital, with participation from Comcast Ventures, and follows enterprise health system expansions.
MIAMI, Feb. 21, 2024 — HealthSnap, a Miami-based Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and Chronic Care Management (CCM) solution for healthcare providers, today announced its Series B financing totaling $25 million. The round was led by Sands Capital, with new investments from Comcast Ventures, Acronym Venture Capital, and Florida Opportunity Fund. Existing shareholders, Asclepius Growth Capital, Florida Funders, MacDonald Ventures, and TGH Ventures also participated in the round. Scott Frederick, a Managing Partner at Sands Capital, will join HealthSnap’s board of directors.
The investment will be used to help launch new markets and accelerate product roadmap to further patient care in the home.
“Over the last 18 months, HealthSnap has grown as quickly and efficiently as any company we’ve seen in years, and this is coupled with their ability to demonstrate significant improvements in patient outcomes. Innovative, interoperable, and patient-centric solutions like HealthSnap are essential as the number of individuals living with chronic conditions, unfortunately, continues to rise,” said Scott Frederick, Managing Partner at Sands Capital. “HealthSnap’s suite of solutions is a win-win for healthcare providers, who continue to show their conviction in providing the programs for their patients. We are proud to lead this round of funding.”
This latest financing brings HealthSnap’s total funding to $48.5 million to date. In the last 18 months, HealthSnap has grown exponentially, bolstered by the successful expansion of its market-leading Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) platform with the addition of a comprehensive Chronic Care Management (CCM) solution. This new financing enables HealthSnap to continue assembling its national clinical team, accelerate its product roadmap to meet increasing market demand for care in the home, and begin building its AI-powered population health and analytics solution.
“HealthSnap is leveraging emerging technologies to deliver accessible and personalized health solutions to better meet the needs of an expanding global aging population,” said Ryan Lee, Principal at Comcast Ventures. “We are excited to see how their team continues to utilize connectivity in order to increase access to personalized care in the home.”
During 2023, HealthSnap announced health system partnership expansions with UnityPoint Health and Prisma Health, supported by significantly improved clinical outcomes data across various chronic conditions such as hypertension, heart failure, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes. Last fall, HealthSnap’s clinical outcomes data were recognized at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions, where the company presented its published Hypertension Patient Outcomes in partnership with Prisma Health and Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists. Positive patient and provider experiences have driven over 300% growth in patient programs in the last year.
“We continue to be encouraged by the clinical outcomes of HealthSnap’s RPM and CCM programs in areas notoriously below the national standards of healthcare outcomes and look forward to expanding our reach to high-risk, high-cost chronic populations across South Carolina,” said Angela Orsky, Senior Vice President, Value-Based Care & Clinical Integration at Prisma Health.
HealthSnap’s RPM and CCM programs shift the patient chronic care delivery paradigm from one that is reactive, episodic, and delivered in the clinic to a model that is proactive, ongoing, and delivered in the home. As a result, tens of thousands of patients are experiencing more personalized and proactive care, leading to accelerated adoption and long-term sustainability by health systems and physician groups across the country.
“Nearly half of the United States population is living with a chronic condition that requires ongoing monitoring and care beyond the walls of the physician’s clinic. We created HealthSnap to bridge that gap in care and we are pleased that our patient outcomes data demonstrate meaningful improvements,” said Samson Magid, Co-Founder & CEO of HealthSnap. “Our team is focused on a common goal to shift the paradigm of chronic condition management and improve the lives of patients every day, and this new financing enables greater program accessibility for patients across the country.”
HealthSnap is actively hiring for care navigator nurse positions, customer success managers, and patient enrollment specialists. For a complete list of open positions, please visitwww.healthsnap.io/careers.
ABOUT HEALTHSNAP
HealthSnap is an integrated virtual care management platform that helps healthcare organizations improve patient outcomes, reduce utilization, and diversify revenue streams. From chronic disease-agnostic Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and Chronic Care Management (CCM) to AI-guided care coordination, virtual care delivery, patented billing tools, population analytics – and so much more, HealthSnap is the simplest way to manage chronic conditions remotely. Visit www.healthsnap.io or follow us on LinkedIn for more information.
Sands Capital is an active, long-term investor in leading innovative growth businesses, globally. Our approach combines analytical rigor and creative thinking to identify high-quality growth businesses that are creating the future. Through an integrated investment platform spanning venture capital, growth equity and public equity, we provide growth capital solutions to institutions and fund sponsors in more than 40 countries.
An independent, staff-owned firm founded in 1992 and headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with offices in London and Singapore, Sands Capital managed more than $52 billion in client assets as of December 31, 2023.
ABOUT COMCAST VENTURES
Comcast Ventures is the venture capital arm of Comcast Corporation, with a 20+ year history of partnering with entrepreneurs to accelerate their businesses. They support founders in creating significant businesses by providing capital as well as by leveraging the unique resources of Comcast’s operating businesses. Comcast Ventures invests in early to growth stage companies across a select set of themes. For more details, visit https://comcastventures.com.
ABOUT ACRONYM VENTURE CAPITAL
Acronym is an opportunistic fund investing into B2B software with a focus on Fin Tech, Hospitality Tech, Prop Tech, Workflow, E-commerce Infrastructure and Omni-channel consumer brands that have achieved at least $1m in ARR. We lead, co-lead, and participate in rounds, only investing in companies where we can leverage our network for significant post-investment value add.
ABOUT FLORIDA OPPORTUNITY FUND
Launched in 2008, the Florida Opportunity Fund provides venture capital to emerging Florida companies, leverages additional capital resources, builds relationships with experienced entrepreneurs to lead growth companies, and partners with other organizations to strengthen the early-stage finance ecosystem in Florida. The mission of FOF is to identify and invest in a diversified, high-quality portfolio of seed and early-stage companies and venture capital funds that target early-stage companies in areas of strategic importance to Florida.
SAN CARLOS, Calif., Feb. 21, 2024 — Novity®, the provider of the TruPrognostics™ AI, a truly predictive maintenance AI for process industry clients, is pleased to announce the successful closure of $7.8 million in financing. The investment will accelerate Novity’s mission to transform how industries manage and optimize their maintenance operations. On the heels of Novity’s commercial traction, which includes Fortune 1000 (F1000) customers, the investment was led by WERU Investment in a global consortium of investors including Myriad Venture Partners and METAWATER, Co., Ltd.
Unplanned downtime costs industrial manufacturers more than one trillion dollars per year, according to Siemens’ True Cost of Downtime report, and predictive maintenance has long been considered a potential solution to this problem. Developing high-performing predictive AI models requires large amounts of relevant historical data, which is often lacking in industrial environments. Novity’s TruPrognostics AI is a breakthrough solution to this problem, implementing a novel combination of machine learning and physics-based models of equipment, enabling failure prediction accuracies of better than 85% in production at customer locations.
“This investment marks a significant milestone for Novity and reaffirms the value of our unique approach to truly predictive maintenance,” said Markus Larsson, co-founder and CEO of Novity. “The results from our commercial installations are extremely encouraging, with prediction accuracy of better than 85%. We are proud of the commercial traction we have already achieved and look forward to using this funding to continue innovating and delivering value to our clients.”
After spinning its team and technology out of Xerox PARC in 2022, Novity is now serving a growing number of Fortune 1000 clients who recognize the transformative potential of truly predictive maintenance. The TruPrognostics AI has been instrumental in reducing unplanned downtime, maintenance costs, and operational disruptions across various industries, including manufacturing, oil and gas, and chemicals.
Tadashi Takiguchi of WERU Investment, Chris Fisher of Myriad, and Shigematsu Nobuyuki of Metawater, all expressed their enthusiasm for Novity’s future. Takiguchi stated, “Based on our extensive research of this domain and the broad industrial needs that drive it, we see tremendous value in the combination of Novity’s technological DNA and the deep industrial foundation of its origin. We are proud to support Novity following their spinout and look forward to continuing to work closely together with them and the other investors to bring a fundamentally new era in operational technology to the broader industry.”
“With factories losing billions of dollars annually due to unplanned downtime, cost reduction is crucial.”, said Fisher. “Myriad seeks out visionary companies strategically positioned to drive meaningful change in critical sectors. We eagerly support Novity’s journey in democratizing predictive maintenance for process industry operators, enabling them to avert unplanned downtime, enhance productivity and elevate safety and environmental performance.”
Shigematsu concluded, “Novity’s TruPrognostics enabling truly predictive maintenance is of key strategic value for any industrial vertical. As Japan’s leading water treatment company, we are excited to participate in this investment.”
Following early success with commercial installations in the energy sector, Novity will leverage WERU’s expertise in industrially critical deep tech ventures, Myriad’s extensive network of large US industrial companies, and Metawater’s expertise in water and environmental businesses to rapidly replicate that success in the wider chemicals, manufacturing, and water/environmental sectors.
The $7.8 million in funding will be used to further enhance Novity’s TruPrognostics AI, acquire additional customers, and improve its software product. The company is fully dedicated to its mission of enabling process industry clients to operate more predictably, more efficiently, and more cleanly.
About Novity:
Founded in 2022, Novity, Inc. is a spin-out from Xerox PARC, drawing on its decades of breakthrough innovation in AI, prognostics and health management, and the Internet of Things (IOT). The Novity TruPrognostics™ AI provides industrial manufacturers peace of mind and exceptional accuracy in predicting the health of their plant assets and equipment. Learn more at www.novity.us.
The Digital Healthcare Platform Aims to Close the Care Gap for Women’s Health in Menopause & Beyond via Evidence-Based Care, Education & Community
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2024 — Elektra Health, a digital health platform that empowers women navigating the menopause journey via evidence-based education, medical care, and community, announced $3.3M in new financing led by UPMC Enterprises, the innovation, commercialization, and venture capital arm of UPMC, with participation from Wavemaker 360, and existing investors Flare Capital Partners and Seven Seven Six Fund. This brings the total amount of equity finance raised to $7.6M. Kathryn Heffernan from UPMC Enterprises and Dr. Monica Jain from Wavemaker 360 have joined Elektra’s Board of Directors.
Elektra Health is dedicated to improving women’s health outcomes in menopause, and the decades that follow. Today, 50 million women are currently navigating menopause in the U.S. However, around 20% of OB/GYN residency programs offer menopause training, resulting in a care gap1. Recent research underscores the connection between menopause and the risk and prevalence of chronic conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, and osteoporosis, among others. Elektra’s Actuarial Study (2023) revealed that women diagnosed with menopause incur significantly increased healthcare spend (45%), and often suffer poorer outcomes.
Elektra’s proprietary, evidence-based menopause care model combines telemedicine care with dedicated 1:1 ongoing support from women’s health experts (“menopause doulas”), 100+ hours of evidence-based education, and private community support from peers. A clinical study conducted in partnership with the University of Rochester in 2023 revealed that 92% of respondents reported improvements in their knowledge, awareness, and access to trusted menopause experts after utilizing the Elektra platform.2
Elektra is bringing women’s post-reproductive healthcare into the 21st century in partnership with world-renowned physicians, payers, and healthcare systems, including Mass General Brigham Health Plan and EmblemHealth. Elektra’s goal is to empower health plans and organizations to invest in population health via inclusive support for women’s health and wellbeing across the lifespan – according to Elektra’s data, 87% of women report a more favorable opinion of their health plan for offering Elektra.3
“Elektra Health’s three core pillars – education, care, and community – lay the foundation for women to not only understand menopause, but to also take actionable steps to optimize their long-term health and wellness,” says Alessandra Henderson, Co-Founder. “We’re thrilled to have UPMC joining as lead investor for this round. They are exemplary in their dedication to holistic care for women across the lifespan, including menopause and the intersecting health needs of an aging population that has been wildly underserved to date,” adds Co-Founder, Jannine Versi.
“UPMC is interested in investing in solutions that focus on empowering women and Elektra proved to have all the elements UPMC values in this space: evidence-based education and care that prioritizes women’s health needs and drives outcomes,” said Heffernan, Senior Director of Strategic Product Management at UPMC Enterprises. “The goal of the Elektra platform is to fill a gap and provide innovative opportunities to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship as women move through the menopause transition.”
This new round of funding will be used to expand its evidence-based care delivery platform across payers, self-insured employers, and new markets. For more information, visit elektrahealth.com.
ABOUT ELEKTRA HEALTH Elektra empowers the 50+ million women currently navigating menopause with a holistic, evidence-based care model. Elektra’s unique platform combines personalized support from experts, MD-vetted education, and virtual care from board-certified clinicians. With strong engagement and clinical outcomes, Elektra cares for women in menopause and the decade that follow. Backed by leading investors such as UPMC, Wavemaker 360, Flare Capital Partners, and Alexis Ohanian’s 776 fund, Elektra works with leading top employers and health plans across the U.S. including Mass General Brigham Health Plan and EmblemHealth to reimagine women’s health, starting with menopause.
1 Christianson M, et al. Menopause education: needs assessment of American obstetrics and gynecology residents. Menopause. 2013;20(11):1120-5. doi:10.1097/GME.0b013e31828ced7f. 2 Roy, N., Giannelli, J., Barbieri, A. M., Versi, J., Rattanasirivilai, P., Stratte, L., & Doyle P.J. (2023, September 28). Investigating the effect of exposure to a novel digital menopause-focused education, care, and community platform on mid-life women [Poster presented]. North American Menopause Society Annual Meeting 2023/Philadelphia, PA, USA. 3 Company data, 2023.
Funding will further strengthen Qloo’s leadership in commercializing new AI applications and foundational models around consumer taste.
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2024 — Qloo, a pioneer in cultural AI, has secured $25M in Series C funding, highlighting the significant contributions Qloo continues to make to the rapidly evolving AI ecosystem. The round was led by AI Ventures, with participation from AXA Venture Partners, Eldridge, and Moderne Ventures.
Qloo Taste AI
Qloo operates a sophisticated AI-powered insights engine composed of highly-accurate behavioral data from consumers around the globe, which includes over half a billion attributes such as consumer brands, music, film, TV, podcasts, dining, travel, and more. Qloo’s proprietary AI models are capable of identifying trillions of connections between these entities, assisting major brands, including Netflix, Michelin, Samsung, and JCDecaux, in understanding and acting on customers’ tastes and preferences.
Without the use of any personally identifiable information, Qloo helps brands drive revenue through product innovation and enhanced customer engagement. These privacy-friendly advancements are increasingly relevant in the financial services, media and publishing, technology, and automotive sectors, where the demand for truthful and privacy-compliant AI-powered answers is skyrocketing.
“Qloo has always been at the forefront of merging cultural knowledge with advanced AI to create a reliable source of truth for insights into consumer tastes and our world,” states Alex Elias, Founder and CEO of Qloo. “For over a decade, we have been committed to refining our cultural data science, and we are now entering an exhilarating phase of expansion, fueled by the growing importance of privacy and the democratization of AI technology.”
With this latest funding, Qloo is poised to broaden access to AI, preparing to introduce an accessible, self-service interface later this year to make consumer and taste analytics available to small and mid-sized enterprises and individuals. Qloo excels in making accurate taste predictions even from limited data, marking a significant shift in how AI understands our world and anticipates consumer tastes.
“Qloo has been a pioneer in harnessing the power of AI to help companies and brands understand and predict consumer tastes,” said Liza Benson, Partner at Moderne Ventures. “We’re enthusiastic about supporting their expansion into our industries, including real estate, finance, insurance and more. It’s an exciting phase of growth, and we’re proud to be part of Qloo’s journey.”
Qloo is the leading AI platform on culture and taste preferences, providing completely anonymized consumer taste data and recommendations for leading companies in the tech, entertainment, publishing, retail, travel, hospitality and CPG sectors. Qloo’s proprietary API predicts consumers’ preferences and tastes across over a dozen major categories, including music, film, television, podcasts, dining, nightlife, fashion, consumer products, books, and travel. Launched in 2012, Qloo combines the latest in machine learning, theoretical research in Neuroaesthetics, and one of the largest pipelines of detailed taste data — and makes all of this intelligence available through an API. By allowing companies to understand and connect with their target customers more effectively, Qloo helps its clients solve real-world problems such as driving sales, saving money on media buys, choosing real estate locations, and building brands. Qloo is the parent company of TasteDive, a cultural recommendation engine and social community that allows users to discover what to watch, read, listen to, and play based on their existing unique preferences.
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2024 — Neuberger Berman, an employee-owned, private, independent investment manager, announced that Neuberger Berman Private Markets has completed a significant minority investment in The Benecon Group (“Benecon” or “the Company”). Neuberger Berman Private Markets will join existing investor TA Associates (“TA”), a leading global private equity firm, who remains the majority owner of the Company.
Founded in 1991 by Samuel Lombardo and headquartered in Lititz, Pennsylvania, Benecon develops and administers self-funded medical benefit programs for small-and-medium sized businesses, offering a full suite of actuarial, compliance, finance and producer services to thousands of employers and hundreds of thousands of employees across the United States. Benecon’s offering allows employers to effectively manage benefit plan expenditures and design programs that meet both the strategic needs of the employer and the personal needs of the employees. Benecon’s subsidiary, ConnectCare3, provides wellness consulting and clinical services, including patient advocacy, nurse navigation and chronic disease management.
“We are delighted to partner with management and TA to support a shared vision for the Company’s next phase of growth. Rising healthcare benefits costs and lack of transparency present a significant challenge for small and mid-sized employers and Benecon has pioneered a unique and compelling approach to address these issues,” said Michael Smith, Managing Director, Neuberger Berman Private Markets. “We have long been impressed by Matt Kirk and his team and believe Benecon will continue to capitalize on a tremendous growth opportunity in an underserved market,” addedAndrey Borisovskiy, Principal, Neuberger Berman Private Markets.
“Benecon’s growth is a testament to the performance of our talented team and to our reputation as a leader in developing and managing self-funded medical benefit programs,” said Matthew Kirk, President & CEO of Benecon. “We continue to execute on our expansion strategy, delivering industry-leading, self-funded healthcare solutions and are excited to continue furthering this mission with Neuberger Berman. We look forward to working with TA Associates and Neuberger Berman. Their investment affirms the strength of the platform and our future growth potential.”
Latham & Watkins served as legal advisor to Neuberger Berman.
About Neuberger Berman Neuberger Berman is an employee-owned, private, independent investment manager founded in 1939 with 2,800 employees in 26 countries. The firm manages $463 billion of equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and hedge fund portfolios for global institutions, advisors and individuals. Neuberger Berman’s investment philosophy is founded on active management, fundamental research and engaged ownership. UNPRI named the firm a Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in environmental, social and governance practices. Neuberger Berman has been named by Pensions & Investments as the #1 or #2 Best Place to Work in Money Management for each of the last ten years (firms with more than 1,000 employees). Visit www.nb.com for more information. Data as of December 31, 2023.
About Neuberger Berman Private Markets Neuberger Berman Private Markets is a leading global private equity investor with over 35 years of experience and has managed over $120 billion of commitments since inception through September 30, 2023 across primary funds, co-investments, secondary investments, private credit and specialty strategies. Its dedicated team of over 300 private markets professionals has a global presence with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia as of September 30, 2023. Neuberger Berman Private Markets has committed over $28 billion over the past three years across primaries, co-investments and secondaries. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.
About TA TA is a leading global private equity firm focused on scaling growth in profitable companies. Since 1968, TA has invested in more than 560 companies across its five target industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services. Leveraging its deep industry expertise and strategic resources, TA collaborates with management teams worldwide to help high-quality companies deliver lasting value. The firm has raised $65 billion in capital to date and has over 150 investment professionals across offices in Boston, Menlo Park, Austin, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA can be found at www.ta.com.
All Neuberger Berman information is as of December 31, 2023, unless otherwise indicated and is subject to change without notice. Firm data, including employee and assets under management figures, reflects collective data for the various affiliated investment advisers that are subsidiaries of Neuberger Berman Group LLC. Firm history/timeline includes the history of all firm subsidiaries, including predecessor entities and acquisitions.
PRI grades are based on information reported directly by PRI signatories. The underlying information submitted by signatories is not audited by the PRI or any other party acting on its behalf. Neuberger Berman pays a fee to be a member of PRI and the grades are only available to PRI members. Ratings referenced do not reflect the experiences of any Neuberger Berman client. Awards and ratings are not indicative of the past or future performance of any Neuberger Berman product or service.
