Led by Jahez Group, funds will accelerate geographic expansion into Saudi Arabia, Europe and the UK

DUBAI, UAE, May 28, 2024 — Grubtech, a leading SaaS integration and unified commerce platform that empowers F&B and Quick Commerce enterprises, announced it has raised $15 million as part of its Series B and a Series A extension round.  The Series B round was led by the VC arm of Jahez Group, a leading online food and quick commerce marketplace listed in Saudi Arabia, with the participation of existing investors Addition and Oryx Fund, the MENA-dedicated fund of Hambro Perks.

Grubtech was founded in 2019 to address the F&B sector’s gap in technology solutions for omnichannel operations.  Its flagship solution, gOnline, provides users a true unified commerce engine by integrating a wide set of online and in-store ordering channels into downstream systems like POS, ERP, Inventory, 3^rd party logistic and loyalty solutions.  Grubtech also has solutions to streamline in-store operations, fulfillment, and AI driven data analysis. 

Grubtech’s customer base across 18 markets has evolved beyond F&B to include other quick commerce category leaders such as groceries and pharmacies. The Company plans to use the proceeds to accelerate geographic expansion and establish offices in Saudi Arabia, Europe and the UK.

“Online F&B and quick commerce sales continue to grow at a rapid pace.  Our products empower our customers to continue using elements of their tech stack, like a POS, while adopting new sales channels and digital solutions seamlessly, getting rid of silos within operations and data,” said Mohamed Al Fayed, Grubtech’s Co-Founder & CEO.  “We are excited to continue our push into different markets where we’ve identified strong demand and growth potential.”

Through Grubtech’s solutions, customers are able to increase sales volumes substantially across multiple channels while also improving fulfillment time and accessing an abundance of real time data accessible for operational and strategic decision making.  After adopting Grubtech’s solutions, operators can easily double sales per square meter and improve speed of service by 25% while saving on operating expenses and reducing wastage.

Abdulaziz Alhouti, Jahez Group’s Chief Investment Officer said, “Having invested in multiple technology solutions across the F&B and Quick Commerce sector, we’ve seen firsthand the value of Grubtech’s integration platform across our merchant base.  We’re excited to back the team at Grubtech as they continue to innovate with new products and push into new geographies.”

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2421654/Grubtech.jpg

SOURCE Grubtech

Leading provider of non-dilutive financing for consumer subscription apps commits to expanding growth partnerships with top-tier brands

NEW YORK, May 28, 2024 — Braavo Capital Inc. (“Braavo”), the leading financing partner for consumer subscription apps, announced today the successful closing of a $5 million Series B funding round. Led by existing insiders with participation from Series A lead investor Headline, and accompanied by a new $30 million debt fund with Upper90, this capital injection marks a significant milestone for Braavo’s continued expansion.

Established in 2015, Braavo has emerged as the global leader in financing solutions for founders seeking to scale their app businesses without resorting to unnecessary equity raises. Having facilitated over $1 billion in financing since inception, the company’s profitability in its core financing operations underscores its commitment to empowering the subscription app economy.

Mark Loranger, CEO & Co-Founder of Braavo, commented, “This new round of equity will fuel Braavo Growth Ventures, an initiative aimed at fostering innovation in the consumer subscription market. While we continue to grow our financing business, we are also excited to apply our years of experience and extensive relationships in the market to embark on this new venture.”

Operating as a distinct division within Braavo Capital, Growth Ventures focuses on strategic partnerships with app businesses to drive subscriber growth through web monetization (commonly known as web2app). Loranger elaborated, “Adding capabilities for web monetization in addition to in-app purchases presents a significant opportunity for subscription app businesses. However, for many, this transition can be daunting and costly.”

After operating in stealth mode for over a year to assemble a skilled team and develop its proprietary growth platform, Growth Ventures is now poised to unveil its web2app offering to a wider audience. Billy Libby, Founder & Managing Partner at Upper90, remarked, “Upper90 was an early credit partner and has been impressed with Braavo’s disciplined approach to underwriting and customer acquisition. We are excited to continue to partner with Braavo on their next phase of growth.”

Beyond web2app, Braavo envisions a broader investment strategy for Growth Ventures, as Loranger noted, “Our focus extends beyond subscriber acquisition. Over time, we aim to forge deeper partnerships with our most successful portfolio companies.”

The Growth Ventures team invites new app partners to join its latest cohort until June 30, 2024. To learn more and submit an inquiry, visit Braavo Growth Ventures.

About Braavo Capital
Founded in New York City in 2015, Braavo Capital now boasts offices across North America, with a European hub in Warsaw, Poland. Since its inception, the company’s technology-driven financing platform for subscription app businesses has facilitated over $1 billion in financing and supported over 8,000 apps. Offering a range of products, from on-demand receivables financing to multi-million dollar bespoke credit facilities, Braavo has cemented its position as the premier funding partner for the world’s most successful app businesses.

CONTACT
Alanna Harvey
[email protected]
Head of Partner Experience
Braavo Growth Ventures

SOURCE Braavo Capital

Curt Jaimungal Will Use His $100,000 O’Shaughnessy Fellowships Grant to Develop an Interdisciplinary Research Platform and Grow His Podcast, “Theories of Everything”

GREENWICH, Conn., May 24, 2024 — O’Shaughnessy Ventures LLC (“OSV”), an investment firm that empowers creators, has awarded an O’Shaughnessy Fellowship to Curt Jaimungal, a podcast host and mathematical physicist based in Toronto.

Jaimungal will continue to build his podcast, “Theories of Everything,” which fuses rigorous scientific analysis with profound philosophical inquiry. He will also advance AI, consciousness, and theoretical physics research by expanding “Theories of Everything” into an interdisciplinary research platform and educational hub. This platform will foster collaboration within and between disciplines by producing specialized video series, initiating collaborative research projects with experts and institutions, and hosting events and conferences.

Jaimungal, who holds a degree in mathematical physics from the University of Toronto, launched “Theories of Everything” in 2020. The podcast explores the frontiers of conventional knowledge by engaging with theories across quantum mechanics, consciousness, artificial intelligence, and cosmology. It demystifies complex scientific ideas while maintaining a high degree of technical rigor. Past guests include Noam Chomsky, Bryan Johnson and Scott Aaronson.

OSV’s founder and CEO, Jim O’Shaughnessy, commented, “Curt’s deep domain knowledge, ability to simplify complex topics, relentless work ethic, and high standards together mean he is exactly the kind of creator we believe will thrive in our changing media landscape. We’re delighted to be able to support him in taking “Theories of Everything” to the next level.”

Jaimungal said; “Being granted this Fellowship is both a valued recognition of where I’ve got to and a powerful motivator to keep on building. It will allow me to explore the mysterious realms of physics and philosophy more deeply, aiming to enhance our shared understanding of the universe. It’s an honor and a privilege, and I won’t squander the opportunity.”

About the Fellowship Program

OSV launched the O’Shaughnessy Fellowships in 2023. It is a one-year program for ambitious people who want to build something great. Fellows receive a $100,000 grant and access to OSV’s network of founders, investors and experts to support them in bringing their projects to life. More information about last year’s Fellows is available on OSV’s website.

In 2024, OSV will award ten $100,000 Fellowships. Applicants for the Fellowships will also be considered for its sister program, the O’Shaughnessy Grants. Under this program, OSV will make twenty additional $10,000 grants to promising creators, who will also be provided with access to OSV’s network.

OSV is accepting late applications for the 2024 Fellowships until May 31, 2024. Creators interested in applying can do so via OSV’s website.

About O’Shaughnessy Ventures

OSV is a creative investment firm that empowers and inspires creators to bring their ideas to life. Founded by Jim O’Shaughnessy, a pioneer in quantitative investing, founder of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management, and author of four books on investing, OSV aims to provide financial support and to partner in growing the next life-changing creative ideas.

OSV combines Jim’s deeply rooted interest in all things art, science, investing, and tech with his long-held desire to establish scenarios designed to help promising creators and their inspiring ideas succeed, regardless of age, location, job history, or level of education. For more information, visit https://www.osv.llc.

Media Contact:
Ena Gong
O’Shaughnessy Ventures LLC
(917) 355-7420
[email protected] 

SOURCE O’Shaughnessy Ventures

LONDON, May 24, 2024 — Titans of Tech:  Unrivalled era of A.I. led innovation for European Tech –  No more excuses.
GP Bullhound is proud to announce the release of its Titans of Tech 2024 report. For the tenth year in a row, GP Bullhound has released its annual Titans of Tech report, highlighting and analysing the growth trends in Europe’s tech ecosystem. This comprehensive analysis underscores the resilience and growth of Europe’s tech sector, setting the stage for a new era of innovation and investment.

Key takeaways from our report include:

• The funding frenzy is over, but the new normal is very healthy: Funding levels have normalised, averaging €15Bn per quarter over the last year, which is ~50% higher than 2019.
• The value of the ecosystem is growing despite the failures: 14 new unicorns were created in the last 12 months. Europe and Israel now have 323 unicorns, up from 311 a year ago and 283 the year before. The ecosystem’s total valuation has grown to $1.2Tr, an ~11x increase in billion-dollar companies and a ~14x increase in aggregate valuation since our first report in 2014.
• Megarounds are fewer but larger and still accessible: Access to capital rounds exceeding $50 million has tightened, but investors remain interested in supporting innovators. The deal count dropped 68% over the last two years due to a focus on profitability and conservative planning. Only 17% of European unicorns raised capital in 2023, as 93% had already raised funds during the 2021-2022 bull market.
• Software innovation continues, shaping the way we live and work: Despite funding challenges, technological developments, especially in artificial intelligence, continue to drive automation and cost savings. European AI companies received over €11Bn in funding in the last year, with 36% of new unicorns being AI/ML businesses.
• Category leaders and geographies: This year, the UK and France lead the startup arena with three unicorns each. The UK’s unicorns are valued at $3.4Bn, with significant contributions from AI leaders Synthesia and Builder.ai. France’s trio reaches a collective valuation of $7Bn, highlighted by innovators like Mistral AI. Germany, Israel, and the Netherlands each added two unicorns, while Sweden and Italy added one unicorn each.
• Europe’s most promising startups: GP Bullhound has analysed more than 100 European startups for scale, velocity, and sentiment, and ranked the top 50 companies with the most potential to become one-billion-dollar companies. The top 10 include Agicap, Brevo, Typeform, Homa, AMBOSS, Akeneo, Form3, Flo Health, Aidoc, and ConnexOne.

Manish Madhvani, Managing Partner at GP Bullhound, said: “After ten years of issuing our Titans of Tech report, we have witnessed the highs and lows of the European tech ecosystem. A year ago, the situation was less encouraging for the fundraising environment, with macro uncertainty and with businesses more focused on layoffs than on growth and innovation.

Today, against the backdrop of negative headlines, we have cemented the building blocks for the next wave of innovation. Funding levels have stabilised, and are amazingly 50% higher than pre bull market levels.

With Europe’s maturing base of engineering talent and the world’s fascination in its potential productivity gains, artificial intelligence offers a unique opportunity to create global leaders in record time. There is no shortage of funding for the best entrepreneurs and companies, as evidenced by the record $220m seed round for Paris based H announced this week. What was noticeable about the round was the range of the investor syndicate : from strategics such as Amazon, Samsung and UI Path, household names such as Bernard Arnault, Eric Schmidt and Xavier Niel, and leading VC’s.Looking ahead, we expect the next few years to represent an era of unprecedented innovation in the European ecosystem. Innovation is flowing, vast amounts of capital are available for the strong and the talent pool is expanding. No more excuses Europe!”

Expert interviews
What does it take to build a billion-dollar company? What are the critical success factors for European tech? How to remain resilient in a challenging market and benefit from economic downturns? This year’s report features expert views from leading founders and CEOs, including Synthesia, Quantexa, SEON, Flo Health, Zappi and CoverManager.

Download full report: www.gpbullhound.com/articles/titans-of-tech-2024

Enquiries
For enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

About GP Bullhound
GP Bullhound is a leading technology advisory and investment firm, providing transaction advice and capital to the world’s best entrepreneurs and founders. Founded in 1999 in London and Menlo Park, the firm today has 12 offices spanning Europe, the US and Asia. For more information, please visit www.gpbullhound.com.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2421454/GP_Bullhound.jpg
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2421453/GP_Bullhound_Logo.jpg

CHICAGO, May 23, 2024 — Dream Exchange, the first minority-controlled stock exchange in the United States, is thrilled to announce that Harvey Catchings, a former NBA player and successful entrepreneur, has joined as an investor. 
Harvey Catchings has an impressive career spanning over four decades. After being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1974, Mr. Catchings enjoyed an 11-year NBA career before transitioning into the business world. Mr. Catchings’ entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to excellence have made him a respected figure in the Chicago business community. His career continued in Houston, Texas, where he pursued numerous sales opportunities in the mortgage and real estate development industry, he also advanced to a Business Manager role in the restaurant industry, and eventually transitioned into the reverse mortgage sector.

When asked about his decision to invest in Dream Exchange, Mr. Catchings shared, “The idea of starting a minority-led stock exchange, comparable to giants like NASDAQ and the American Stock Exchange, is not only historical but thrilling. Dream Exchange is particularly promising due to its expansive growth potential and a deeply fulfilling step towards building a legacy. I encourage all to consider the Dream Exchange seriously, as it offers a chance to generate wealth that can span across several generations.”

Joe Cecala Founder and CEO of Dream Exchange, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “We are thrilled to welcome another visionary investor into our community, further strengthening our resolve to expand the financial landscape for entrepreneurs of all backgrounds. Mr. Catchings shares our unwavering belief that we can create a more equitable and prosperous future for all through the power of our public capital markets.”

About Dream Exchange

The Dream Exchange is preparing its application and operations to become the first minority-controlled company to operate a licensed stock exchange in the history of the United States. In addition, Dream Exchange is championing the creation of a new type of stock exchange called a venture exchange, which will list and trade the securities of smaller, early-stage companies. Dream Exchange’s mission is to create equal access to a marketplace that instills ethics, humanity, and fairness into finance.

Visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn for more.

MEDIA CONTACT
Vanessa Jean-Louis
Vice President of Public Relations
1-773-914-1182

SOURCE Dream Exchange

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, May 23, 2024 — ZeroPoint Technologies AB today closed a EUR 5.0 million Series A, led by European Deep Tech fund Matterwave Ventures. Additionally, Nordic Deep Tech fund Industrifonden served as the local lead for this round. Other existing investors participating include Climentum Capital and Chalmers Ventures. The new capital will be used to scale sales of existing products, bring additional hardware-accelerated memory products to market, and grow the company’s existing teams in Sweden and the United States.

“ZeroPoint Technologies’ customers include some of the biggest semiconductor companies in the world and our products are in demand by data center operators looking to overcome the mounting challenge of memory bottlenecks,” said Klas Moreau, CEO of ZeroPoint Technologies. “In fact, leading hyperscalers, such as Meta and Google, are now specifically calling for hardware-based compression technologies related to CXL-connected memory.”

“We are thrilled to back ZeroPoint Technologies and its world-class team on their mission. Their sophisticated memory compression and compaction technology has immense potential to improve performance and resource efficiency across many categories of devices. We have been impressed by the ZeroPoint team’s ability to engage with industry leaders and are excited to support their further growth and impact,” said Silviu Apostu, principal at Matterwave Ventures.”

“Industrifonden has proudly supported ZeroPoint Technologies over the last three years and we are pleased to continue that support as they accelerate through commercialization,” said Tobias Elmquist, senior investment director at Industrifonden. “With market trends such as the rapid expansion of AI, we believe that the memory bottleneck issue is more urgent today than when we made our initial investment in ZeroPoint.”

Typically, up to 70% of data stored is redundant. ZeroPoint’s products dramatically reduce that waste, which frees up memory capacity and increases bandwidth. This is accomplished by the company’s first of its kind hardware-accelerated compression and compaction solution. It combines lossless ultra-fast data compression with real-time data compaction and transparent memory management.

Given the exponentially increasing memory demands of today’s applications, partially driven by the explosive growth of generative AI, ZeroPoint addresses the critical need of today’s hyperscale and enterprise data center operators to get the most performance and capacity possible from increasingly expensive memory. ZeroPoint’s solutions are proven to increase memory capacity by 2-4x while also delivering up to 50% more performance per watt. In combination, these two effects can reduce the total cost of ownership of data center servers by up to 25%.

ZeroPoint’s technology is 1,000x faster than other compression technologies on the market, which allows ZeroPoint to compress data across the entire memory hierarchy – all the way from Cache to Storage. ZeroPoint’s technology is agnostic to data load, processor type, architectures, memory technologies and processing node, and the company’s IP has already been proven on a TSMC 5nm node.

About ZeroPoint Technologies AB

ZeroPoint Technologies is a spinout from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, and has over the years developed an impressive IP Portfolio in the memory compression domain. Their patented compression technology is based on 15 years of research. The company was founded by Professor Per Stenström and Dr. Angelos Arelakis, with the vision to deliver the most efficient memory compression available, in real-time, based on state-of-the-art research. Today the company works with industry leaders on product implementation projects and technical evaluations. In April 2024, ZeroPoint joined the Intel Ignite global startup accelerator program for early-stage deep tech startups.

About Matterwave

Matterwave Ventures is a Munich-based venture capital firm specialized in deep tech innovations with industrial applications and investing throughout Europe. Matterwave focuses on the early development stages of technology companies, including hardware- and software-based business models. The goal is to back world-leading companies that drive the future of industrial value creation. Matterwave invests “full stack”, from materials and components to complete systems and software solutions. Over the past 20+ years, the team has invested in more than 60 companies. With over EUR 200 million of capital under management, Matterwave typically participates in Seed and Series A financing rounds across Europe with initial investments of up to EUR 4 million. 

About Industrifonden

Industrifonden is Sweden’s Venture Capital Fund looking for unique, scalable innovation that has a meaningful impact on our society. Industrifonden manages more than SEK 5 billion and invests in early-stage companies, from seed to A-round funding with a reach across the Nordics. The investment focus includes specialized technologies and businesses within Deep Tech, Life Science, and Transformative Tech. Industrifonden has an evergreen structure that allows a long-term focus on value creation. Learn more at industrifonden.com.

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2419475/ZeroPoint_Logo.jpg

SOURCE ZeroPoint Technologies AB

Brings Total Series B Funds Raised to Nearly $100 Million

Proceeds to Support Broadening Scope of Ongoing Clinical Trial of GRWD5769; First Clinical Data to be Reported at ASCO 2024

Company to Expand R&D Efforts to Develop Disease-Modifying Therapies for Autoimmune Disorders

OXFORD, UK, May 23, 2024 — Grey Wolf Therapeutics (“Grey Wolf” or “the company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging first-of-its-kind antigen modulation therapies to address the source of immune dysfunction in oncology and autoimmunity, today announced the closing of an oversubscribed $50 million Series B financing expansion, bringing the total amount of Series B funds raised to $99 million. The Series B expansion round was led by ICG’s Life Sciences team and included further investment from existing investors Pfizer Ventures, Andera Partners, Canaan, Earlybird Venture Capital, Oxford Science Enterprises and British Patient Capital. Proceeds from the round will be leveraged to broaden the scope of the company’s ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of its lead immuno-oncology candidate, GRWD5769, in a range of solid tumour types. The funding also enables the company to expand research and development (R&D) for its versatile antigen modulation approach into treatments for autoimmune disease indications.

“The funds raised as part of this Series B expansion round allows us to enrich our ongoing clinical trial of GRWD5769 to include patients with a wider variety of tumour types and evaluate new combination treatment cohorts. In addition, the new capital enables us to more fully explore the breadth of potential therapeutic applications for our antigen modulation technology,” said Peter Joyce, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Grey Wolf Therapeutics. “There is a wealth of supportive recent clinical research and compelling human genetic associations pointing to the potential for antigen modulation driven by ERAP inhibition to open the door for disease-modifying therapies in the field of autoimmune disease. As such, we are expanding our R&D efforts and evaluating these broader therapeutic applications for our unique technology.”

Initial data on the ongoing adaptive Phase 1/2 trial of the lead asset GRWD5769, a first-in-class ERAP1 inhibitor will be presented at the upcoming 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. A second ERAP1 inhibitor focussed on autoimmune disease is being advanced through IND-enabling studies with the goal of entering the clinic in 2025.

Tracy Weightman, Associate Director, Life Sciences at ICG, added, “Grey Wolf is an exciting growth stage UK biotechnology company with a novel and differentiated approach that has the potential to transform the lives of millions of patients globally. This investment demonstrates our commitment to building leading biotechnology companies and enabling them to compete on a global stage. We are pleased to support Grey Wolf through the next stage of its growth journey, enabling the company to advance its clinical development strategy and expand into new therapeutic areas.”

In conjunction with the financing, Grey Wolf has announced that Ms. Weightman has been appointed to the company’s board of directors.

About ERAP Inhibition
Grey Wolf has developed and is advancing a unique therapeutic strategy that leverages the ability to effectively modulate the presentation of target antigens to the human immune system to upregulate or downregulate immune cell activity for specific therapeutic outcomes. This is achieved through the targeted inhibition of the endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidases (ERAP1 or ERAP2), proteins that play a key role in the antigen presentation pathway. In cancer, inhibiting ERAP1 or ERAP2 drives the generation and presentation of novel and potent antigens to elicit targeted immune activity. Additionally, this mechanism works to block the production of disease-causing auto-antigens to prevent pathogenic immune responses that drive autoimmune diseases.

About Grey Wolf Therapeutics
Grey Wolf Therapeutics is a clinical-stage, UK- and Australian-based drug discovery and development biotechnology company spearheading a new therapeutic approach based on a first-of-its-kind antigen modulation platform. The company’s lead clinical development candidate, GRWD5769, is a potent and selective oral ERAP1 inhibitor that has shown the potential to elicit a powerful and differentiated immune response against tumours. A second ERAP1 inhibitor, GRWD0715, is advancing through preclinical development as a potential treatment for autoimmune disease. The company is also leveraging its leadership in neoantigen creation with an ERAP2 drug discovery program and by therapeutically targeting novel ERAP1 inhibitor generated cancer antigens with MHC Class I directed therapies, such as soluble T cell receptor (TCR) and TCR mimic bispecifics.

For more information, please visit: www.gwt.bio

About ICG
ICG provides flexible capital solutions to help companies develop and grow. We are a leading global alternative asset manager with a 35-year history, managing $86.3bn of assets* and investing across the capital structure. We operate across four asset classes: Structured and Private Equity, Private Debt, Real Assets, and Credit.

ICG develops long-term relationships with its business partners to deliver value for shareholders, clients and employees, and uses its position of influence to benefit the environment and society. ICG is committed to being a net zero asset manager across our operations and relevant investments by 2040.

ICG is a member of the FTSE 100 and listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: ICG). Further details are available at www.icgam.com. You can follow ICG on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Instagram.

*as at 31 December 2023

Contacts:
Grey Wolf Therapeutics
Peter Joyce, CEO
+44 (0) 01235 644 970
[email protected]

Vida Strategic Partners (on behalf of Grey Wolf)
Tim Brons (media)
415-675-7402
[email protected]

ICG
Catherine Armstrong
Interim Head of Corporate Communications
+44 20 3545 1850
[email protected]

SOURCE Grey Wolf Therapeutics

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 23, 2024 — Startup World Cup is back in Silicon Valley! The Silicon Valley Regional Competition is scheduled for August 1st, 2024, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.

Startup World Cup is looking for the best and the brightest startups to apply to compete. The selected Top 15 applicants will present on stage on August 1st. The winner of this event will join the 75+ other global finalists at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale series, in which they will have the opportunity to win a $1,000,000 investment prize in San Francisco on October 4th, 2024.

Startup World Cup 2024 Silicon Valley Regional: Apply and Win $1 Million Investment Prize
Startups apply here: https://www.startupworldcup.io/silicon-valley-app-2024

The application deadline is June 30! Do not miss your chance!

For more details on the Silicon Valley Regional event: https://www.startupworldcup.io/silicon-valley-regional. Check out the 2023 Silicon Valley Highlights Video.

Register for the event here.

Here are the Judges and Speakers confirmed to attend:

• Jihong Kim (Managing Director at Samsung Ventures)
• Rashmi Gopinath (General Partner at B Capital Group) 
• Abhishek Shukla (Managing Director at Prosperity7 Ventures)
• Arpan Shan (Partner at Pear VC)
• Nuno Goncalves Pedro (Founder and Managing Partner at Chamaeleon)
• Holly Wu (North America Tech M&A, Venture and Partnerships at Mercedes-Benz)
• Eric Rosenblum (Managing Partner at Foothill Ventures)
• Bill Reichert (Partner at Pegasus Tech Ventures)
• And others!

The Silicon Valley Regional Competition is part of the Startup World Cup global competition, with regional events in 75+ cities around the world, including thousands of entrepreneurs and hundreds of investors. The mission of Startup World Cup is to highlight the best technology startups around the world, and to connect those startups into the global innovation ecosystem.

Entrepreneurs who are not in the Silicon Valley region should check out regional competitions in their part of the world and the Series of Grand Finale events here: https://www.startupworldcup.io/grand-finale.

Worldwide Regional Competitions: https://www.startupworldcup.io/

About Pegasus Tech Ventures
Pegasus Tech Ventures is a global venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley with $2 Billion in assets under management. Pegasus offers intellectual and financial capital to emerging technology companies around the world. In addition to offering institutional investors a top-tier venture capital investment approach, Pegasus also offers a unique Venture Capital-as-a-Service (VCaaS) model for large, global corporations that wish to partner with cutting-edge technology startups. For more information about Pegasus, please check out https://www.pegasustechventures.com.

SOURCE Pegasus Tech Ventures

SINGAPORE, May 23, 2024 — With a commitment to broadening the reach and usability of blockchain technologies, HTX Ventures, the global investment arm of the cryptocurrency exchange HTX, has announced a strategic investment in Kelp DAO, a triple-income re-pledge protocol based on EigenLayer.

Kelp DAO has secured $9 million in its latest round of strategic private sales, which will support its vision to reshape the DeFi and restaking ecosystem. This funding will enable Kelp DAO to further develop its cutting-edge technology, expand its offerings, and refine its liquid restaking solutions. Currently, Kelp offers liquid restaking across the Ethereum mainnet and nine Layer 2 solutions, including Arbitrum, Blast, Linea, Base, and Scroll.

“We are excited to support Kelp DAO,” said Edward, Managing Partner at HTX Ventures. “Their focus on enhancing user experience and driving developer experimentation is pivotal to the early success of restaking. We believe Kelp’s innovative approach will transform the DeFi landscape, and we are thrilled to be part of their journey.”

Dheeraj Borra, Co-founder at Kelp, shared, “This fundraise not only fuels our operational capabilities but also validates the vision we have for Kelp, which is now shared by our investors. We’re excited to scale our solutions and enhance user experience even further with their support.”

HTX Ventures is thrilled to support innovative projects like Kelp DAO, which offers a much-needed, user-friendly, and scalable solution. Users can stay connected with Kelp DAO through their official website and social media channels for the latest product updates.

About HTX Ventures

HTX Ventures, the global investment division of HTX, integrates investment, incubation, and research to identify the best and brightest teams worldwide. With a decade-long history as an industry pioneer, HTX Ventures excels at identifying cutting-edge technologies and emerging business models within the sector. To foster growth within the blockchain ecosystem, we provide comprehensive support to projects, including financing, resources, and strategic advice.

HTX Ventures currently backs over 200 projects spanning multiple blockchain sectors, with select high-quality initiatives already trading on the HTX exchange. Furthermore, as one of the most active Fund of Funds (FOF) investors, HTX Ventures collaboratively forges the blockchain ecosystem alongside premier global blockchain funds, including Figment Capital, Dragonfly, Bankless Ventures, Animoca, Shima, and IVC.

Contact Details
Michael Wang
[email protected]

Company Website
https://www.htx.com/en-us/ventures

SOURCE HTX