NEW YORK and LONDON, May 9, 2024 — Avenue Capital Group today announced the successful final closing of the Avenue Europe Special Situations Fund V (the “Avenue Europe Fund”). Together with separately managed accounts, over $1 billion of commitments have been raised for the Avenue Europe Fund from a broad range of existing and new investors, including public and corporate pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers and family offices.

The Avenue Europe strategy is focused on providing senior secured, asset-backed loans to structurally underserved borrowers across Northern Europe. As traditional lenders have reduced their lending in certain areas of the market, there is an attractive opportunity for alternative lenders with established capabilities. The Avenue Europe team leverages Avenue’s origination platforms and long-standing presence in Europe to generate a large volume of recurring lending opportunities in these market niches which are generally less competitive and have high barriers to entry.

Avenue is an established investor in Europe. The firm launched its dedicated presence in the region in 2004 and has since deployed more than $26 billion in European special situations and credit investments. Today, its Europe team of investment professionals operates from a London headquarters and offices throughout the region, overseeing close to $4 billion in investments across a range of investment vehicles focused on Europe.

“We are gratified to have received such strong support for the Avenue Europe Fund from our existing and new investment partners,” said Marc Lasry, CEO and Co-Founder of Avenue Capital Group. Jon Ford, Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Avenue’s Europe Strategy, added, “We are confident in our ability to deliver attractive and differentiated returns. Our pipeline of lending opportunities continues to significantly exceed our available capital.”

“The support from our investors will allow us to continue to target a compelling opportunity in European asset-backed lending,” said Padraig Moore, Senior Portfolio Manager. “We look forward to growing the Avenue Europe business as we see an incredible number of opportunities in our area of expertise in the market.”

The Avenue Europe Fund has drawn over 50% of committed capital and is expected to be fully committed within the next 12 months.

About Avenue Capital Group
Avenue Capital Group is a global investment firm focused primarily on making opportunistic credit and other special situations investments across the United States, Europe and Asia. Avenue, founded in 1995 by Marc Lasry and Sonia Gardner, draws on the skills and experience of over 60 investment professionals, and more than 180 employees worldwide operating from its headquarters in New York and three offices across Europe, four offices throughout Asia, an office in Silicon Valley and an office in Abu Dhabi. Avenue has assets under management of approximately $12.2 billion.

Media Contact: Todd Fogarty, Kekst CNC. [email protected] or +1 917 992 1170

SOURCE Avenue Capital Group

Series C financing led by Decheng Capital and supported by a syndicate of new and existing investors including Cormorant Asset Management, Surveyor Capital, SymBiosis, Tetragon Financial Group, Walleye Capital, Laurion Capital Management, LG Technology Ventures, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, Silver Arc Private Capital, The Prader-Willi Syndrome Association – USA, Vickers Venture Partners and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research

SAN DIEGO, May 9, 2024 — Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. announces an $85 million oversubscribed Series C financing led by Decheng Capital, with participation from Cormorant Asset Management, Surveyor Capital, SymBiosis, Tetragon Financial Group, Walleye Capital, Laurion Capital Management, LG Technology Ventures, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Silver Arc Private Capital, The Prader-Willi Syndrome Association – USA, and existing investors, including Vickers Venture Partners and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research.  

As part of the investment, Decheng Capital’s Managing Director, Victor Tong, Jr., joined Aardvark’s board of Directors. In August 2021, Aardvark announced its $29 million Series B preferred stock round led by Vickers Venture Partners.

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. acted as the sole placement agent for the Series C preferred stock financing.

Aardvark intends to use the proceeds from the financing to (1) complete the clinical trials required for regulatory approval of Aardvark’s lead asset, ARD-101, for the treatment of hyperphagia in patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome, (2) demonstrate ARD-101’s complementary mechanism of action to the current GLP-1 therapies in the treatment of obesity and (3) advance other Aardvark pipeline programs.

Aardvark Therapeutics CEO, Tien Lee, M.D., commented:

“We believe our lead compound, ARD-101, is a well-differentiated first-in-class drug candidate that is orthogonal and complementary to existing obesity drugs and reduces hunger through the selective induction of gut-brain signaling. The novel mechanism of action and gut-restricted nature of ARD-101 contribute to its encouraging safety and tolerability profile, as well as its broad-spectrum of activity. We are excited that our new and existing investors share our vision of ARD-101’s potential therapeutic impact and the relevance of TAS2R receptors as unique pharmaceutical targets.”

The ongoing support of The Foundation for Prader-Willi Research (FPWR) and PWS Association | USA (PWSA | USA) has been invaluable for the development of ARD-101.

Dr. Theresa Strong, Director of Research Programs at the FPWR, remarked, “We are truly encouraged by the early findings of the ongoing trial of ARD-101 in young adults with PWS, which have shown marked decreases in hunger and food-seeking behavior in several treated individuals. Based on these promising findings, the FDA has already granted ARD-101 Orphan Drug Designation and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation. With the FDA’s guidance and the now secured funds, our PWS community is looking forward to a rapid expansion of the clinical evaluation of ARD-101 in the hope of bringing this novel oral drug to patients in need”. 

Stacy Ward, CEO of PWSA | USA added: “Our Patient Advocacy members and the PWS families we serve are very excited to see the ARD-101 clinical trial programs move forward to address the need for safe and effective treatments for the intense and debilitating hunger experienced by many individuals with PWS”.

Decheng Capital noted:

“Decheng Capital is thoroughly impressed by Aardvark’s pioneering work with bitter taste receptor agonists to develop new targeted therapies for Prader-Willi Syndrome and other metabolic disorders. The Aardvark management team has laid a strong foundation for the ARD-101 program. We are excited to work closely with the Aardvark team to advance its clinical programs, aiming to overcome the challenges associated with Prader-Willi syndrome.”

About Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS)

PWS is a severe neuro-developmental disorder with an incidence of about 1 in 15,000-20,000 births. The disorder is caused by the loss of function of several genes located on chromosome 15. PWS impacts multiple organ systems and is characterized by metabolic, endocrine, and neurological dysfunction. One of the hallmark characteristics of PWS is hyperphagia-driven extreme and unrelenting hunger accompanied by developmental delays and musculoskeletal malformations. There are currently no approved therapies for the treatment of hyperphagia, which affects the health and quality of life of children and adults with PWS.

About Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. and ARD-101

Aardvark Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics to activate innate homeostatic pathways for the treatment of metabolic diseases, inflammation, and other indications. Aardvark’s lead compound, oral ARD-101, is a potent bitter taste receptor (TAS2R) pan-agonist that stimulates enteroendocrine cells of the digestive tract to release multiple gut-peptide hormones including GLP-1 and the satiety hormone Cholecystokinin (CCK), which activates gut-brain neurologic signaling to mediate hunger. ARD-101 has demonstrated an ability to reduce hunger when used alone or in combination with currently available GLP-1 therapies. Based on promising clinical data from an ongoing ARD-101 trial, the FDA has granted the drug both Orphan Drug designation and Rare Pediatric Rare Disease designation in PWS.

For more information visit www.aardvarktherapeutics.com.

About Decheng Capital

Decheng Capital is an investment firm that provides capital and strategic support to early-stage life science companies with revolutionary technologies and growth stage healthcare companies with strong market presence. We are a group of dedicated professionals with complementary expertise to build highly successful companies globally. Founded in 2012, Decheng continues to capitalize on a historic opportunity in the rapid growth of healthcare industry as well as breakthroughs in life science research. With over $2 billion in capital and the support from some of the most prestigious limited partners in the world, Decheng is poised to create value for our investors and entrepreneur partners. For more information, please visit https://www.decheng.com.

SOURCE Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc.

PINEVILLE, N.C., May 9, 2024 — Li Industries announced today the successful raise of a $36M Series B funding round to scale up its next-generation lithium-ion battery recycling technologies. The round was co-led by Bosch Ventures, Khosla Ventures and LG Tech Ventures with Formosa Smart Energy Tech Corp., Anglo American Decarbonization Ventures and Chevron Technology Ventures coming in as new investors. They join existing investors, Shell Ventures and Myriad Ventures, to back Li Industries’ mission of providing the most circular, cost-effective, and sustainable solution for lithium-ion battery materials, under the guidance of Nobel Laureate Dr. M. Stanley Whittingham. Given investors’ interest, Li Industries plans to expand the round to $42M, which would bring its total private funding to more than $50M.

This new round of funding solidifies Li Industries’ growth trajectory to meet its partners’ growing needs for battery recycling services and battery materials. The capital raised will be used to construct a 10,000 ton recycling facility powered by Li Industries’ proprietary Direct Electrode-to-Electrode (Direct E2E^TM) recycling technology.

This expansion builds on the company’s Series A funding, which enabled the development of a 500-ton battery recycling facility in Pineville, NC, and a 1,000-ton battery sorting facility in Charlotte, NC.

“We are thrilled to be backed by such a strong group of investors,” said Dr. Zheng Li, co-founder and CEO of Li Industries. “Our investors bring invaluable resources, experience, and commercial partnerships that are essential for us to successfully scale and commercialize our Direct E2E™ technology.”

Ingo Ramesohl, Managing Director at Bosch Ventures, commented on the investment: “Li Industries is poised to tackle significant challenges in the Li-ion battery’s circular supply chain with innovative, scalable solutions. They are the first and only company in the US capable of economically and sustainably recycling low/no cobalt batteries, such as Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFPs), at scale using their unique Direct E2E™ recycling technology.”

Anshul Agarwal, Managing Director of LG Technology Ventures, said: “Our investment signifies the beginning of a robust partnership with Li Industries aimed at developing a truly sustainable and efficient supply chain for lithium-ion battery manufacturing.”

“We invested in Li Industries early on and have watched them hit their technical and commercial milestones through the years,” said Rajesh Swaminathan, Partner at Khosla Ventures. “Their ability to scale and commercialize their technology lays a solid foundation for further growth, and we are excited to continue supporting their journey.”

For more information, please contact [email protected].

About Li Industries

Li Industries is an innovative and fast-growing climate tech company developing next-generation lithium-ion battery recycling technologies. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Pineville, NC, Li Industries has developed scalable direct recycling technologies for lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles and consumer electronics. Li Industries’ unique and patented direct recycling process can recycle all types of lithium-ion batteries and generate high purity commercial-grade battery materials faster, cheaper, and cleaner, enabling effective and sustainable recycling. For more information, please visit: https://www.li-ind.com.

SOURCE Li Industries

NEW YORK, May 8, 2024 — Greenboard, a new compliance and operations software company for financial services, announced today that the company has completed a $4.5 million Series Seed funding round led by Base 10 Partners, with participation from Y Combinator, General Catalyst, Wayfinder Ventures, Liquid2 Ventures, Twenty Two Ventures, Rogue Capital, Transpose Platform, and others. The funding will accelerate the company’s progress towards building a singular, AI-powered platform to handle management of the entirety of financial firms’ compliance programs, and eventually all back office processes. 

“We founded Greenboard after witnessing how cumbersome and outdated compliance software is at most financial firms,” said Dave Feldman, Co-founder and CEO of Greenboard. “This fundraise, along with our partnership with Base10, will help us enable financial institutions to operate their back office teams at a higher standard, with half of the headcount. We’re starting with compliance, where we see incredible need from an underserved set of users.”

Founded in June 2023 by Dave Feldman and Ed Schembor (CTO), Greenboard already allows financial institutions to replace outdated software with an AI-native compliance operating system for use cases such as Know Your Employee (KYE) and Communications Archiving. The pair met as freshman at Johns Hopkins, and have since gone on to lead teams at Amazon, Hive AI, and Guideline.

“The Greenboard team has been great to work with. The administrative benefits of the system are tangible, in that it helps us detect risk and automate more of our compliance program than previously possible. The software is also easy to use, which matters a lot in a world where we compete to attract the best financial advisors to our firm,” said Brook Powers, CEO, Fiduciary Financial Advisors, a Greenboard customer.

Greenboard’s core product thesis is that GPU-powered computational statistics will eliminate much of the tedium in back office financial work. “It wasn’t always the case that financial firms could count on cheap hard drives and cloud computing to keep records,” said Dave Feldman. “Not long ago when filing cabinets were the norm, financial recordkeeping required substantial resources. It turns out that computers are cheaper and better than humans at storing files by such a wide margin that there are no longer roles for file clerks in the economy.”

Similarly, Greenboard’s goal is to expand upon the past advances in financial recordkeeping via automating the preliminary analysis of information required to drive back office and compliance processes.

“Greenboard’s innovative approach to financial compliance and operations aligns perfectly with our investment philosophy at Base10,” said Rexhi Dollaku, Partner at Base10 Partners. “We believe in supporting visionary founders like Dave and Ed, who are revolutionizing how financial institutions manage their back office processes. With this investment, we are confident that Greenboard will continue to lead the way in delivering AI-powered solutions that drive efficiency and effectiveness in the financial services industry.”

To get in touch with the Greenboard team, reach out at [email protected].

About Greenboard

Greenboard, Inc. was founded in 2023 to build an all-in-one operating system for financial back-offices. Greenboard’s founding team consists of Dave Feldman (CEO) and Ed Schembor (CTO) who have a 10+ year relationship. The team participated in the Y Combinator Winter 2024 accelerator program, and now help protect billions in client assets. Visit www.greenboard.com for more information.

About Base10 Partners
Founded by Adeyemi Ajao and TJ Nahigian, Base10 is a San Francisco-based venture capital fund investing in founders who believe purpose is key to profits and companies that are automating sectors of the Real Economy, including transportation, retail, logistics, and construction. Through its program, The Advancement Initiative, Base10 aims to donate 50% of profits to underfunded colleges and universities to support financial aid and other key initiatives. Portfolio companies include Notion, Figma, Nubank, Stripe, Motive, Chili Piper, and Popmenu. Connect via base10.vc.

Media Contact: David Feldman, [email protected]

SOURCE Greenboard

Fieldbook, a studio operated by High Alpha Innovation, plans to launch five new startups over the next three years. These efforts will support long-term job creation and foster an environment where startups are not only positioned to succeed but also contribute significantly to the regional economy.

VentureWell, a nonprofit with a 29-year history of promoting innovation and entrepreneurship nationwide, has been awarded a $5.75 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation to establish Fieldbook in Arkansas. The Walton Family Foundation’s grant will be matched by an investment from the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). With the unique use of SSBCI grants into a venture studio, Arkansas is making a bold investment into the growth of the state.

“The launch of Fieldbook Studio represents a transformative step for the entrepreneurial landscape in Arkansas,” said Phil Weilerstein, President and CEO of VentureWell. “This initiative not only amplifies our commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship but also aligns with our mission to cultivate a vibrant ecosystem where diverse ideas and talents can thrive.”

This pioneering venture studio will leverage Arkansas’s growing potential within the retail value chain, a sector that includes 80% of the global workforce.

“There’s a convergence of unmatched expertise, resources, and entrepreneurial support in Arkansas right now, setting the stage for us to maintain our position on the Retail Value Chain throne for decades to come,” said Joshua Stanley, Managing Partner of Fieldbook. “Fieldbook seeks to capitalize on our inherent strengths, and nurture the next generation of Arkansas businesses poised to evolve and disrupt everything from the way products get created to getting them to their final destination in the hands of eager consumers.”

Ultimately, Fieldbook’s goal is to operate a proven new company creation model designed to identify and validate new venture opportunities, incubate startup concepts, form viable businesses, and prepare founders to successfully fundraise from private investors while achieving scale.

To position Fieldbook for success, the core Cartwheel Studio team has joined High Alpha Innovation, including co-founder Joshua Stanley, Kathryn Carlisle, Matt Casanova, Bri Suitt, and Courtney Ulrich-Smith. The Arkansas-based team joins High Alpha Innovation to utilize its venture building playbook and shared service model, as leveraged by more than 20 startups and four studios across the country, to support the portfolio of startups to be created by Fieldbook.

“The state of Arkansas has done a great deal to support a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, and its support of Fieldbook furthers that commitment,” said High Alpha Innovation CEO Elliott Parker. “The startup community in Arkansas has benefited from the fantastic work of the Cartwheel team. We are thrilled to have Josh, Matt, Kathryn, Bri, and Courtney join our team of venture builders at High Alpha Innovation. Together, through Fieldbook, we will bring a new wave of advantaged startups to life, creating new jobs and opportunities in the state.”

About High Alpha Innovation

High Alpha Innovation is an Indianapolis-based venture builder that partners with corporations, universities, and entrepreneurs to create and launch advantaged startups. Its dedicated team of company builders, strategists, and designers apply a proven playbook — pioneered by High Alpha — to help the world’s leading organizations innovate through systematic startup creation. For more information, visit highalphainno.com or check out @highalphainno on X.

About VentureWell

VentureWell supports the cultivation of an emerging generation of science and technology inventors and the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems that are critical to their success. Since its founding in 1995, VentureWell has funded or trained over 16,000 science and technology inventors and innovators, resulting in the emergence of nearly 3,900 ventures with ground-breaking technological advancements in fields like biomedicine and healthcare, sustainable energy and materials, and solutions for low-resource settings. The startups they have supported have raised subsequent funds totaling over $5 billion and are reaching millions of people in 50 countries. Visit venturewell.org to learn more.

About ADFA

ADFA is Arkansas’s primary source of low-cost financing for affordable housing, small industries, government, education, healthcare, and innovative startups. Through taxable and tax-exempt bonds, note issuance, and the administration of public grants, ADFA supports the state’s economic growth. Through the Arkansas Venture Capital Investment Trust, ADFA is committed to driving venture capital investments to create new opportunities and foster economic development in Arkansas.

Media Contact: Lauren Kellum, [email protected]

SOURCE High Alpha Innovation

LOS ANGELES, May 8, 2024 — Vance Street Capital (“Vance Street”), a Los Angeles-based private equity firm focused on investments in North America based companies which provide highly engineered solutions to their customers, announced its first and final close of Vance Street Capital IV (“Fund IV”).  Fund IV, which began marketing in January 2024 with a target of $550 million, was significantly oversubscribed and closed in April 2024 at its hard cap of $775 million.  With the inclusion of Fund IV, Vance Street has raised over $2 billion in total capital dedicated to investing in the lower middle market. 

Fund IV will continue Vance Street’s strategy of partnering with founder-owned companies, multi-generational family businesses, and corporate carve-outs in critical B2B manufacturing businesses across the medical, life science, industrial technology, and aerospace & defense sectors. 

“We sincerely appreciate the strong show of support from both our existing and new limited partners to enable us to achieve the speed and success of our Fund IV fundraise,” said Brian Martin, Managing Partner at Vance Street.  “Our sector focus, expertise in manufacturing and engineering, deep bench of operational professionals and commitment to the lower middle market resonated with investors. We are proud of the team we have built at Vance Street and our track record creating highly sought after strategic assets.”

Vance Street’s strategy is built on a repeatable value creation playbook, tailored to drive operational excellence and growth in the lower middle market.  “We pride ourselves in partnering with founders and management teams who have built established, market leading companies to support their continued growth through investments in people, processes and technologies,” said Mike Janish, Managing Partner at Vance Street. “Our expansive network of operators and executives help accelerate the implementation of our value creation initiatives, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them for years to come.”

Vance Street Capital also actively manages a portfolio across Vance Street Capital II, LP and Vance Street Capital III, LP in addition to VSC Extended Value funds EV1 LP, EV2 LP and EV3 LP.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor and M2O Private Fund Advisors served as the exclusive placement agent.

Media Contact:
Natalie Yates
Head of Business Development and Investor Relations
[email protected]

SOURCE Vance Street Capital

• Xona aims to accelerate the world’s adoption of automated systems by providing robust precision location services through their network of small satellites.
• Oversubscribed round led by space and deep tech investor Steve Jurvetson’s Future Ventures and Seraphim Space.

BURLINGAME, Calif., May 8, 2024 — Xona  – a company developing a network of small satellites to provide high-precision navigation services – today announced an oversubscribed $19 million Series A funding round led by Future Ventures and Seraphim Space. New investors NGP Capital, Industrious Ventures, Murata Electronics, Space Capital, and Aloniq also joined the round.

This funding will be used to accelerate the deployment of Xona’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network as they drive towards commercialization. With this round Xona will begin beta operations of their PULSAR™ satellite service which is aimed at providing the robust precision guidance needed for intelligent and autonomous technologies to scale beyond highly structured environments.

“A century ago, people looked to the North Star for trusted guidance when other methods were unavailable,” said Brian Manning, CEO and co-founder of Xona. “AI and automation are the future – our PULSAR™ service aims to be for these industries what the North Star was for humanity in previous centuries.”

Rob Desborough, General Partner at Seraphim Space, explains: “After half a century of use, our dependence on GPS is absolute. Outages could cause incalculable damage to the global economy, while enhancement opens up whole new industries. Waiting for GPS to fail, or for hostile powers to spoof it, is not an option for our security or commercial industries. Xona and the pioneering team are executing on building the GPS the modern era needs and we’re delighted to continue to support their transformative vision”.

Compared to GPS, PULSAR™ brings orders of magnitude improvements in accuracy, availability, and security which are crucial for a future filled with autonomous systems and for the protection of vital national infrastructure. Major industries such as agriculture, automotive, and defense are eager to transition to automation but are continuously plagued by the challenges of unstructured environments and inadequate GPS performance. Xona’s PULSAR™ allows these devices to expand beyond their current limits by enabling them to confidently determine their location to within a few centimeters even if they have never operated at that location before.

“We have been searching for over a decade for the next great space company that will have a transformational impact on the world,” said Steve Jurvetson, co-founder and managing partner at Future Ventures. “Xona is building a powerful, precise and protected platform for global geolocation services. Much of the economy, from autonomous vehicles to maps and asset tracking rely on GNSS from space. With current offerings, the signals are weak and thus, easily lost in buildings, urban areas, and areas with signal interference. Much like Starlink was for communications links, Xona’s LEO constellation of satellites can provide a more robust and powerful solution than current systems operating in higher orbits, while preserving compatibility with end user equipment. I am thrilled to be joining the visionary and talented team of Xona.”

The Xona team, made up of top navigation and space experts from SpaceX, Ford, NASA, and Blue Origin, has made remarkable progress recently in the key areas of satellite development, user equipment integration, and commercialization, with development kits now available for sale. Xona’s partners and customers span both US government agencies as well as industry giants including names such as the US Space Force and Spirent.

“Xona is a pioneer not only in precision LEO navigation but also the commercialization of satellite navigation itself,” added Brian. “This brings with it many new challenges across all aspects of the company. This round is a testament to our team’s ability to overcome these challenges, and has armed us with the resources we need to bring our vision to life.”

About Xona Space Systems, Inc.

Xona Space Systems is developing an independent high-performance satellite navigation and timing system to meet the needs of intelligent systems. Delivered via a secure, high-power signal from Xona’s low Earth orbit satellites, the patent-pending PULSAR™ service aims to enable the next wave of automated technology. Learn more at www.xonaspace.com or follow Xona Space Systems on X @XonaSpace.

SOURCE Xona Space Systems

Proprietary Transparency Engine to Deliver Provable Trust, Uncompromising Transparency and Risk Insights to Counterparties

NEW YORK, May 8, 2024 — Arbelos Markets, a principal liquidity provider in crypto derivatives markets, announced today that it has raised $28 million in a mix of seed equity and debt financing led by Dragonfly Capital to build transparency-based trading infrastructure and offer bilateral and on-exchange liquidity in options and futures products.  Investment firms Room40 Ventures, Selini Capital and Breed VC, corporate partners FalconX, Circle Ventures, Paxos, P2 Ventures (formerly Polygon Ventures), Deribit, Chorus One, StarkWare and Immutable, and angel investors at Aevo, Cega, Talos, Amberdata, and Framework also participated in the significantly oversubscribed round. Arbelos Markets was founded in 2023 by veteran industry operators and derivative traders Joshua Lim and Shiliang Tang.

The Crypto Derivatives Liquidity Crunch
The crypto industry has evolved from a retail-driven market to one dominated by sophisticated Wall Street firms. These institutional investors have outgrown basic spot transactions and are demanding the types of derivative instruments, hedging programs, and structured products that are employed in more traditional financial markets. At the same time, a continuous stream of DeFi innovation has created a category of passive liquidity pools and yield products that inherently embed optionality and duration risk.

However, the industry-wide credit crisis of the last two years has hollowed out crypto market structure and impaired many of the core players servicing derivatives liquidity. There is a growing and unmet need for a trusted principal dealer that can properly price, manage and distribute risk across centralized and on-chain venues and amongst the wide spectrum of bilateral market participants.

“With crypto assuming its role as an investable asset class in macro portfolio allocations, it needs a new type of capital markets firm: a smart principal risk-taker with a strong balance sheet and a flexible product set to underwrite the fast-moving crossover risk between the underlying technology and the financial markets built on top,” said Arbelos Markets co-founder and CEO, Joshua Lim. “Arbelos is replacing the pre-FTX, reputational-trust based bilateral trading system with one based on provable trust, powered by our proprietary Transparency Engine and built by traders and quants that are equally fluent in crypto market structure and traditional financial engineering.”

In its first six months since launch, Arbelos Markets has emerged as a top-five liquidity provider globally in options block liquidity with total derivatives trading volume exceeding $25 billion notional across bilateral, on-exchange and on-chain orderbook and RFQ channels. The company plans to use the new funds to further improve its quant trading infrastructure, hire top talent, and expand its access to new markets and its range of products. In April 2024, Bitcoin futures and perpetual swap aggregate open interest hit a record high of $29 billion, growing by over 160% from prior year (source: The Block).

Provable Trust 
The Transparency Engine is a proprietary technology that delivers real-time visibility into Arbelos Markets’ risk profile, balance sheet and counterparty exposures, providing provable trust to a marketplace that desperately needs it. Counterparties are increasingly demanding transparency and verifiability from their trading partners, largely as a response to major lapses in crypto‘s previous market cycle. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant: Arbelos’ push for greater transparency will force a higher standard of risk underwriting across the board. We hope to create new market conventions around bilateral trading and collateral management that will enable more efficient risk transfer in our asset class,” added Lim.

Arbelos Markets is led by a proven team with a strong network of client relationships and prior success scaling derivatives trading businesses at major crypto-native platforms like LedgerPrime, Galaxy Digital, Genesis and traditional financial services firms like Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and UBS. The team is composed of experienced traders and operators with coverage across high-touch franchise trading, electronic market making, exchange arb and quantitative risk modeling.

There is over $100 billion of institutional capital committed to crypto capital markets today.  Those assets need servicing in the form of customized hedging instruments, systematic strategies, structured products, and programmatic liquidity. Arbelos Markets will continue to fulfill this market need by providing transparent, global liquidity to its partners 24/7.

“Arbelos is the right team at the right time to build the next dominant crypto capital markets franchise and they are doing so with a unique focus on trust and transparency in a previously opaque market,” said Rob Hadick, general partner at Dragonfly Capital. “Josh, Shiliang and their team are combining their experience building wildly successful businesses in crypto derivatives with a modern best-in-class tech stack and a client-first approach that will allow them to compete and win against the biggest incumbents in the space.”

About Arbelos Markets 
Arbelos Markets is a principal liquidity provider in crypto derivatives markets. The company’s mission is to rebuild crypto capital markets based on provable trust and transparency. Its proprietary Transparency Engine enables real-time visibility and verifiability across its portfolio of risk. The firm provides liquidity 24/7 across centralized markets, on-chain protocols, and more bespoke hedging and yield generation solutions. The team has experience across high-touch franchise trading, financial engineering, and electronic market-making. For more information, visit https://arbelos.xyz/.

Contact:
Michael
[email protected]

SOURCE Arbelos Markets

$50M Grand Prize to be Awarded in 2025 to Finalist that Demonstrates Solution that Removes and Sequesters Carbon Dioxide from Atmosphere or Oceans

AMSTERDAM, May 8, 2024 — Kelp Blue, an innovative seaweed company that seeks to restore marine biodiversity and promote carbon sequestration to support a healthier ocean ecosystem, was today named as one of 20 finalists by the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition. The XPRIZE is a four-year $100 million global competition that is one of the largest incentive prizes in history. It is open to innovators and teams that can create and demonstrate solutions that pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or oceans and sequester it durably and sustainably. The 20 finalists will vie for a $50M grand prize to be announced in 2025.

Founded in 2020, Kelp Blue is at the forefront of developing innovative and sustainable solutions based on the cultivation of giant kelp. From its primary operations based in Luderitz, Namibia, the company is focused on addressing important global challenges such as climate change, marine biodiversity loss, and job creation—inspired by the global shift towards sustainable practices and environmental stewardship.

Kelp Blue’s cultivation approach requires no fertilizers, pesticides, land, or freshwater. As one of the fastest-growing organisms, Giant Kelp offers diverse applications in a multitude of products from pharmaceuticals to textiles, plastic replacements and more. These products are made by harvesting just the canopy of the kelp, leaving the rest of the forest in place to restore marine biodiversity, promote carbon sequestration and support a healthier ocean ecosystem. Kelp Blue’s most developed product is a biostimulant, StimBlue+, that boosts crop yields and increases crop resilience, reducing the need for chemical inputs. This empowers farmers to move towards regenerative agriculture and eliminates toxic byproduct from fertilizer run offs into the world’s oceans. 

Daniel Hooft, founder and CEO of Kelp Blue, commented, “We are thrilled to be named as one of the top 20 finalists for XPRIZE Carbon Removal’s grand prize out of 1,300 vetted submissions. Our project achieves a number of things: locking away carbon, restoring and enriching marine biodiversity, and bringing meaningful diverse employment opportunities to fragile coastal economies—thereby reducing extractive pressures on marine resources. And very significantly, these nature-positive and social impacts are a side-effect of an elegant, harmonious commercial activity—so do not require a single cent in additional investment. Our cost per ton of sequestering carbon is zero. As we move into the final stage of this prestigious competition, we are confident that we will be able to showcase Kelp Blue as a viable, proven, and sustainable solution to combating climate change while contributing to local economies and livelihoods. To make a positive change and impact on the environment, we need a collaborative effort and a diverse range of high-quality carbon removal solutions to avoid the worst effects of climate change and we are proud to be listed among the top 20 companies offering carbon removal solutions around the world.”

XPRIZE Carbon Removal is aimed at tackling the biggest threat facing humanity—fighting climate change and rebalancing Earth’s carbon cycle. A viable carbon negative solution is eligible to compete, whether its nature-based, direct air capture, oceans, mineralization, or an alternative that achieves net negative emissions, sequesters CO2 durably, and shows a sustainable path to achieving low cost at gigatonne scale. The grand prize from XPRIZE will be granted to the candidate that demonstrates a working solution at a scale of at least 1,000 tonnes removed per year; model their costs at a scale of 1 million tonnes per year; and can show a pathway to achieving a scale of gigatonnes per year in the future.

Nikki Batchelor, Executive Director, XPRIZE Carbon Removal: “This cohort of exceptional teams represents a diversity of innovations and solutions across a range of CDR pathways, and shows the significant progress the industry is making in a short period of time. Over the past three years, this competition has helped accelerate the pace of technology development for a whole new industry of high-potential solutions aimed at reversing climate change.”

Anousheh Ansari, CEO, XPRIZE: “For the world to effectively address greenhouse gas emissions, carbon removal is an essential element of the path to Net Zero. There’s no way to reverse humanity’s impact on the climate without extracting carbon from our atmosphere and oceans. We need a range of bold, innovative CDR solutions to manage the vast quantities of CO2 released into our environment and impacting our planet. The teams that have been competing for this Prize are all part of building a set of robust and effective solutions and our 20 teams advancing to the final stage of XPRIZE Carbon Removal will have an opportunity to demonstrate their potential to have a significant impact on the climate.”

Kelp Blue measures its success with “four returns” indicators: Return on Inspiration, driving transformative change and inspiring people of all ages and walks of life to take action to improve our world; Return on Natural Capital, where they prioritize planetary health and biodiversity; Return on Social Capital, ensuring positive impact in every operation; and Return on Financial Capital, aimed at exceptional shareholder returns to amplify their impact.

About Kelp Blue
Kelp Blue, founded in 2020, is at the forefront of sustainable innovation, specializing in the cultivation of giant kelp. With its primary operations based in Luderitz, Namibia, Kelp Blue is committed to addressing global challenges such as climate change, marine biodiversity loss and job creation. Kelp Blue recognizes the transformative power of inspiration in fostering positive change. By cultivating giant kelp, the company seeks to restore marine biodiversity, promote carbon sequestration, support healthier ocean ecosystems and inspire a global shift towards sustainable practices and environmental stewardship. Please visit our website for more information, at Kelp Blue.

About XPRIZE
XPRIZE is an established global leader in designing, launching, and executing large scale competitions to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. Our unique model democratizes innovation by incentivizing crowd-sourced, scientifically viable solutions to create a more equitable and abundant future for all. Donate, learn more or join a team at xprize.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS

XPRIZE PR Team
[email protected]

Kelp Blue PR and Media Relations
Anouk Bosman, Head of Marketing & Comms
[email protected]

SOURCE Kelp Blue