LITTLE ROCK, Ark., May 21, 2024 — High Street Equity Partners (HSEP), a leading venture capital firm committed to investing in innovative technology companies within emerging innovation hubs across the United States, proudly announces its selection by the Arkansas Development Finance Authority (ADFA) for the Arkansas State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program.
Reauthorized and expanded under President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, the SSBCI is a nearly $10 billion initiative aimed at supporting small businesses and entrepreneurship across the United States. The program provides essential capital and technical assistance to promote small business stability, growth, and success. Administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, SSBCI funds are allocated to states, the District of Columbia, territories, and Tribal governments to support capital programs that encourage lending and investment in small businesses, build entrepreneurial ecosystems, and create high-quality jobs. Arkansas has been approved for up to $81.6 million in SSBCI funding. Through its partnership with High Street Equity Partners, the State of Arkansas aims to catalyze high-growth companies based in Arkansas.
Mark A. Conine, President of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, stated, “This partnership represents a significant vote of confidence in our state’s innovation ecosystem, creating new opportunities for local talent to thrive and redefine the success stories of tomorrow. High Street Equity Partners is well-positioned to leverage their expertise and experience to fuel the growth of visionary entrepreneurs and strengthen the state’s economic landscape.”
Mitch Brooks, Founding Managing Partner of High Street Equity Partners, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “We are thrilled to enter into this investment partnership and to have ADFA amplify our mission to support resilient founders building remarkable companies in emerging innovation hubs like Arkansas. We believe that extraordinary talent exists beyond traditional tech hubs such as Silicon Valley, which have historically captured the majority of seed capital. After sharing our vision with ADFA’s leadership and board, it is gratifying to see their alignment and shared goals. Together, we will invest in, support, and scale the next generation of promising technology companies in the state.”
Arkansas has a rich history of entrepreneurial spirit, from its robust agricultural sector to its growing high-tech community. Over the past decade, the state has seen a surge in startup activity, with the establishment of numerous co-working spaces, incubators, and accelerators. The SSBCI program is designed to catalyze private capital and provide crucial support to this entrepreneurial ecosystem.
4,000 binding pre-orders from customers including Bimbo Bakeries USA; the world’s largest RV manufacturer, THOR Industries; postal service operator, Mail Management Services; leading North American commercial vehicle dealers; and more.
Harbinger formally announces it raised one of the hardware industry’s largest-ever Series A rounds, which closed at $73 million in Q4 2023.
The company announces its North American network of premier dealers, which is already positioned to serve 78% of the population in the U.S. and Canada, and continues to grow.
The new orders and funds are catalyzing rapid growth around the manufacturing and commercialization of Harbinger’s innovative electric vehicle chassis.
LAS VEGAS and LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2024 — Harbinger, a Southern California-based electric truck manufacturer, announced today at ACT Expo its order book, which includes 4,000 binding vehicle pre-orders from customers and is valued at more than $400 million. This includes a substantial multi-year order from Bimbo Bakeries USA, the U.S. business of Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest baking company, and producer of iconic brands including Sara Lee Bread®, Thomas’®, Entenmann’s® and more. Harbinger also received orders from the world’s largest recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturer, THOR Industries, known for its operating companies which include Airstream, Jayco, Tiffin and Thor Motor Coach. Additionally, commercial vehicle dealers have placed significant orders including two of Freightliner’s largest dealers Doggett Equipment Services Group (500 units) and Campbell Supply (125 units); as well as other dealers, GATR Truck Center (500 units); ETHERO Truck + Energy (200 units); Electric Commercial Vehicles (ECV), an affiliate of Smyrna Truck (50 units) and more. Postal service operator, Mail Management Services has also placed an order for 40 units, among others.
A Harbinger medium-duty electric walk-in van. Walk-in vans are also commonly referred to as “step vans.”
The company has also announced it closed an additional $13 million in Series A funds in Q4 of 2023 from venture and strategic investors, including additional funding from the Coca-Cola System Sustainability Fund, managed by Greycroft. Previously, the companyannounced it had raised $60 million in Series A funds, bringing the new Series A total to $73 million and marking one of the largest Series A rounds for a hardware company. Harbinger will use the additional funds to continue expanding its manufacturing capacity and launch its commercial start of production in Q4 of 2024.
“While other new entrants struggle to fill their order pipelines, we have extensive pre-orders and backed-up demand for our medium-duty electric vehicles,” said John Harris, CEO, Harbinger. “We are laser focused on the medium-duty vehicle segment, where there is a huge variety of vehicles built on chassis like ours including walk-in vans, box trucks, recreational vehicles, delivery vans, school buses, emergency and disaster response vehicles and more. Today, most manufacturers are adapting gasoline or diesel vehicles to electrification, rather than building a ground-up electric platform. This compromised approach leads to concerns with vehicle safety and durability as well as higher production costs, which is why we chose to start fresh with a clean sheet design.”
A Premier Network of Partners and Dealers
Part of Harbinger’s strategy is to build a holistic network to support the launch of its electric medium-duty trucks, including a nationwide network of service providers, charging and infrastructure development partners, and premier dealers. The company’s premier dealer network, which already serves 78% of the population in the U.S. and Canada and continues to expand, includes the following among others:
“Demand outstrips supply for the entire medium-duty category as we have a multi-year backlog for electric, diesel and gasoline vehicles,” said Scott Campbell, Owner, Campbell Supply. “Electric vehicles have a big place in the market and that segment is only going to continue to grow. Harbinger’s electric trucks are a true industry changer. They offer superior acquisition and operating costs, enhanced safety features, and a driver-friendly design, all while delivering zero tailpipe emissions.”
Seasoned Team, Clean Slate Design
Harbinger is led by a management and technical team that hails from Tesla, Rivian, Ford, Anduril, SpaceX, Toyota, Honda, Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks, and more. Harbinger has created a proprietary electric platform, also known as an electric vehicle stripped chassis, from the ground-up. It includes all major vehicle systems, which the company designs and assembles in house, including the powertrain, high voltage (HV) battery system, steering, brakes, and more. This vertically integrated approach keeps costs low and provides a higher-performing, safer and more durable solution than electric vehicles built upon existing diesel and gasoline platforms, which is common in the industry. Harbinger is the only electric truck maker that manufactures its own motors and battery packs, which is a more cost effective and tailored solution than integrating off-the-shelf systems.
Harbinger Business Model
Once Harbinger assembles its electric vehicle stripped chassis, the company sells them to a dealer, a specialty upfitter, or directly to large fleet customers. From there, the dealer or customer works with a third party to upfit the chassis with a commercial or specialty body. Selling medium-duty stripped chassis separately from the body is standard practice for the large gas and diesel incumbents such as Ford and Freightliner.
One Platform, Many Possibilities
The majority of the vehicles in Harbinger’s 4,000-unit order, including those for Bimbo Bakeries USA, are intended for upfit into walk-in vans, which are commonly referred to as “step vans” and are the typical large package delivery trucks seen on roads today. The others will be upfit into various vehicle types such as class A motorhomes, emergency vehicles and cutaway cabs, which are vehicles where only a cab is provided and an upfitter provides a custom-built payload area to create box trucks, shuttle buses, and more. Harbinger is working with body partner Sevna to upfit the chassis into cutaway cabs. Harbinger’s electric chassis is available in three different wheelbases, including 158 inches, 178 inches, and 208 inches, and in four different gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWRs), ranging from class 4 through 6.
Other specifications include:
800V liquid cooled battery system, with capacity scalable in 35kWh increments up to a 200+ mile range, which serves 90% of truck use cases
Designed for 20-year, 450,000-mile service life
Segment-leading safety and driver assistance features
One-hour DC fast charging capability
Passenger vehicle-like handling and ride comfort
“Aligned with Grupo Bimbo’s Purpose of Nourishing a Better World, Bimbo Bakeries USA has multiple carbon reduction strategies to meet their commitment of achieving Net-Zero emissions by 2050,” said Christopher Wolfe, Senior Director of Sustainability, Bimbo Bakeries USA. “Partnering with Harbinger to expand our robust fleet of alternatively fueled vehicles is an important step in reducing our carbon emissions and dependencies on fossil fuels.”
Early Orders Being Manufactured Today
Harbinger’s manufacturing efforts are led by a world-class team including Tesla’s former Vice President (VP) of Manufacturing, Gilbert Passin, who serves as Harbinger’s Chief Production Officer. Passin, who spent nearly a decade at Tesla and led the launch and ramp-up of the Tesla Fremont factory, also held prior VP and General Manager-level roles with Toyota, Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks, and Renault. Former Rivian VP of Supply Chain and Tesla executive Steve Gawronski serves as Harbinger’s Vice President of Supply Chain and Logistics.
Under Passin and his team’s leadership, the company has already produced and delivered a limited number of pre-production vehicles to key customers, including the first customer delivery to THOR in March of this year. Harbinger will begin producing and delivering its first production vehicles starting at the end of 2024.
“The THOR executives were amazed by the clean design of Harbinger’s electric chassis, and most had a hard time believing this was a pre-production vehicle,” said Jim Kane, Director of eMobility at THOR Industries. “Harbinger’s product is so much better than anything else we have seen from the industry.”
Government Incentives are a Game Changer for the Industry
Government regulations are accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles into fleets across the nation. The U.S. federal government’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is providing up to $40,000 per vehicle in tax incentives to buyers or lessors of commercial electric vehicles; either 30% of the original purchase price of the vehicle minus the credit, or the price difference between the electric vehicle and an equivalent gas or diesel vehicle. This incentive is valid from Jan. 1, 2023 through Dec. 31, 2032 with no limit on the number of vehicles sold or amount of money disbursed through this incentive. Additionally, state and local zero-emissions grants introduce substantially more cost savings directly to customers. For example, California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emissions Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) provides buyers with approximately $30,000 – $85,000 worth of grants to purchase clean vehicles.
“Harbinger was founded on the principle that for commercial electric vehicles to become ubiquitous, they should be just as affordable to purchase as their gas and diesel counterparts,” said Harris. “The medium-duty truck market will quickly move to clean, economical electric power over the next few years, especially as government tax incentives and grants make all-electric trucks more affordable. There is a huge need for electrification in this market, and Harbinger is filling that gap.”
Price Parity with Gasoline and Diesel Vehicles
Most electric vehicles are only cost competitive with gasoline and diesel vehicles when factoring in the total cost of ownership, which takes into account the fuel and maintenance savings over many years. Harbinger takes a different approach. The company’s vehicles are sold at price parity with equivalent gas and diesel models after federal government tax incentives.
Harbinger at ACT Expo
Harbinger is exhibiting at this year’s Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo. With one of the largest booths (#1271), they are showcasing a Bimbo Bakeries USA walk-in van, a cutaway cab developed by Harbinger partner Sevna, and the full suite of Harbinger’s proprietary vehicle technologies, including a complete electric stripped chassis and advanced safety systems demonstrations. On Wed., May 20 at 2:15 p.m. PT, Harbinger CEO John Harris will speak on a panel titled Vehicle Innovation, where he will discuss transformative innovations in vehicle technology for fleet applications. The expo floor opened on Mon., May 20, in Las Vegas, Nevada and ends on Thurs., May 23.
About Harbinger Harbinger is a commercial electric vehicle (EV) company on a mission to transform an industry starving for innovation. Harbinger’s best-in-class team of EV, battery, and drivetrain experts have pooled their deep experience to support the growing demand for medium-duty EVs. Leveraging a foundation of proprietary, in-house developed vehicle technologies designed specifically for commercial and specialty vehicle applications, Harbinger is bringing a first-of-its-kind EV platform to market, priced at parity to gasoline and diesel vehicles. Harbinger: familiar form, revolutionary foundation.
Funding will accelerate Expressable’s market leadership and growing partnerships with leading health plan and provider groups
AUSTIN, Texas, May 21, 2024 — Expressable, the market leader in research-based, family-centered speech therapy care, announced today it raised $26 million in Series B funding led by global investment firm HarbourVest Partners, with participation from Digitalis Ventures and existing investors F-Prime Capital and Lerer Hippeau.
Expressable’s novel speech therapy solution integrates virtual services with its comprehensive education and technology platform.
The financing will support efforts to enhance the company’s technology-enabled care delivery platform, expand their clinical network of W2-employed speech-language pathologists, and accelerate a growing roster of health plan and provider partnerships across the country.
“Speech therapy has transformational impacts on a child’s life, yet too many children today are left severely underserved risking delayed outcomes and cost-intensive care,” said President and Chief Clinical Officer Leanne Sherred, M.S. CCC-SLP. “We’re grateful to HarbourVest and all of our investors for sharing in our mission of reinventing the current standard of care, a critical endeavor given speech therapy’s tremendous impact on healthy childhood development.”
Decades of research support family-centered care as the gold standard in improving pediatric speech outcomes, yet millions of children in the United States remain untreated or undertreated. Children with speech and language impairment suffer increased risk of learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, poor academic achievement, and impacts on socio-emotional health.
Expressable integrates virtual services with its comprehensive education and technology platform, empowering caregivers to incorporate therapy techniques into the home for faster positive outcomes and more cost-effective care.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Expressable as they continue to scale their category-defining speech therapy solution for this growing market need,” said Michael Guiness, Principal at HarbourVest. “Generating better outcomes through their novel care model is a win-win for patients, payers, and providers that aligns incentives and addresses disparities in access.”
Since 2020, Expressable has been leading the way in developing a better care model that improves the patient experience, with over 90% of patients achieving clinical progress towards their established care plans and thousands of 5-star reviews.
Expressable has partnered with hundreds of health plans nationwide, including Medicaid, to make high-quality therapy more accessible to everyone in need. Their therapy platform is now available in all 50 states to millions of families and individuals with timely, in-network coverage.
To learn more about Expressable and its offerings visit www.expressable.com.
About Expressable
Expressable is a virtual speech therapy provider committed to expanding access to quality services for everyone in need. Expressable has pioneered a family-centered and research-based care model that uses technology and education to integrate speech therapy techniques into children’s daily lives, improving outcomes and experiences. For more information, please visit www.expressable.com.
About HarbourVest
HarbourVest is an independent, global private markets firm with over 40 years of experience and more than $125 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2023. Our interwoven platform provides clients access to global primary funds, secondary transactions, direct co-investments, real assets and infrastructure, and private credit. Our strengths extend across strategies, enabled by our team of more than 1,150 employees, including more than 230 investment professionals across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Across our private markets platform, our team has committed more than $59 billion to newly-formed funds, completed over $53 billion in secondary purchases, and invested over $39 billion in direct operating companies. We partner strategically and plan our offerings innovatively to provide our clients with access, insight, and global opportunities.
About Digitalis
Digitalis Ventures backs founders solving critical problems in health. The firm invests in early-stage companies across life sciences, health technology & services, and animal health with the goal of supporting them through multiple rounds of financing. Digitalis is headquartered in New York City.
The newest round of investment comes as SamaCare has demonstrated its ability to streamline patient access to treatments, having started with the frustrating experience of prior authorizations, a manual, paper-heavy process that health plans often require before a patient can use a specific drug. Since no commercial plan standards currently exist to regulate prior authorization requirements and processes, prior authorization management is fragmented, inconsistent, and often analog. As a result, it can delay or stop treatment for patients while creating unnecessary burdens for providers, patients, health plans, and other stakeholders.
“By digitizing the current manual paper-and-fax-heavy process, our platform reduces the administrative burdens that harm patient care, drive healthcare providers crazy, and raise costs for the system,” said Syam Palakurthy, founder and CEO of SamaCare. “The support of Questa Capital and our current investors will help us accelerate much-needed change to a cumbersome system.”
SamaCare will use the investment to build the comprehensive Script-to-Therapy Operating System™. It will enhance the platform’s capabilities to better serve patients, providers, and pharmaceutical companies in several ways, including:
Expanding beyond prior authorizations for a seamless digital experience to create a single connected post-prescription workflow.
Enhancing collaboration among healthcare teams within and between provider offices.
Leveraging AI to cut administrative delays and tedious paperwork.
Creating a data insights engine for a faster and more effective Script-to-Therapy journey.
“We live in a time of medical miracles, but administrative and financial barriers to care are becoming more painful and time-consuming, impacting patients during their most challenging moments,” Palakurthy said. “The Script-to-Therapy Operating System aims to address these obstacles and provide treatments at the moment of need.”
“As a physician, I’ve navigated various administrative processes to secure vital medications for patients,” shared Dr. Aabed Meer, Partner at Questa Capital. “Our team’s extensive experience with investments within the specialty pharmaceutical ecosystem has deepened our appreciation for SamaCare’s pivotal role in helping patients start and stay on their treatment regimens, ultimately leading to better outcomes.”
Vive Collective CEO Cheryl Cheng has been working with Palakurthy and his team since leading their Series A. “The complex, targeted, and expensive nature of novel therapeutics creates friction in the system. SamaCare is a prime application of software and data intelligence that delivers clear ROI and benefit to all parties in the network,” said Cheng. “Vive Collective remains committed to supporting SamaCare’s journey to improve patients’ access to essential medications.”
SamaCare partners with over 15,000 providers and has helped some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Pharmaceutical clients partnering with SamaCare have seen abandonment rates drop by 24%, time-to-approval cut by over 84%, and a reduction in unnecessary administrative prior authorization denials by up to 42%.
About SamaCare SamaCare helps pharmaceutical manufacturers, providers, payors, and other stakeholders quickly and cost-effectively deliver life-changing therapies to patients. The company provides a cloud-based workflow automation platform for medical practices to streamline specialty drug prior authorization, enrollment, and benefit verification. In addition, SamaCare delivers premium services and data analytics for pharmaceutical brands to improve access to therapy. SamaCare currently works with retina, oncology, neurology, and rheumatology practices that account for over $20 billion in annual specialty drug spend and continues to grow quickly. For more information, visit https://www.samacare.com.
About Questa Capital Management
Questa Capital is a venture growth equity firm focusing on investments in expansion-stage healthcare companies. Questa seeks technology-enabled business models that help improve patient lives and address market inefficiencies. The firm partners with superior management teams to help build innovative market leaders in the healthcare technology, services and medical devices sectors. Questa is led by industry veterans in healthcare investment and operations who have invested in and advised more than 60 growth-stage companies. More information is available athttps://questacapital.com.
About Vive Collective Vive Collective™ is a new investment platform to build, fund and scale the next generation digital health and healthtech companies. Vive provides a flexible partnership approach to back high-growth, disruptive digital health companies with a network of healthcare and technology experts and partners. More information is available at www.vivecollective.com.
LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2024 — InfinitForm is proud to announce the public launch of its innovative software which promises to transform the engineering design process for manufacturing. This software enables mechanical engineers to establish new standards for speed, efficiency, and performance through extensive GPU-accelerated design simulation and optimization tools, improved collaboration features, and an intuitive user interface. InfinitForm raised seed funding led by Schematic Ventures in December 2023 and has swiftly progressed from a beta version to a commercial product.
InfinitForm Capabilities
InfinitForm Statement
The existing Design-for-Manufacturing process is challenged by silos, intricate workflows, and time-intensive procedures. This process can take weeks to months, involve a multitude of expensive software tools, workflows, and require highly skilled personnel with cumbersome coordination. InfinitForm’s software reduces the time this complex process takes down to minutes.
The platform integrates seamlessly into existing workflows, offering engineers and manufacturers unparalleled capabilities. From concept to production, users benefit from advanced GenAI design, simulation and optimization tools, streamlined collaboration features, and an intuitive user interface, all aimed at accelerating product development.
“At InfinitForm, we believe in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Dr. Michael Bogomolny, Founder and CEO of InfinitForm. “Our mission is to empower engineers with the tools they need to innovate and excel. With this new software platform, we’re not just facilitating product development; we’re revolutionizing it.”
“We are thrilled to lead the seed round for InfinitForm. I have known Michael for a long time and there is no better team to tackle this problem. I am incredibly excited about the unlimited potential of this new technology.” said Julian Counihan, General Partner of Schematic Ventures.
About InfinitForm
Founded by pioneers in computational geometry and design, FEA, HPC manufacturing, and software architecture, InfinitForm stands at the forefront of engineering GenAI software. The company specializes in transformative software that streamlines the design-to-manufacturing process, integrating seamlessly with various manufacturing methods to optimize cost, speed, efficiency, and performance. For more information, please visit InfinitForm’s website.
About Schematic Ventures
Schematic Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital fund focused on investing in companies that make and move the world.
Contact Information:
Michael Bogomolny, Founder and CEO InfinitForm Email: [email protected] Phone: +1-(949)-903-6523
SEATTLE, May 21, 2024 — Tangibly, the leading AI powered trade secret management platform, is proud to announce that it has entered into a partnership with Arad-Ophir, a leading provider of innovative intellectual property solutions. This strategic collaboration marks a significant milestone in safeguarding intellectual property within the Israeli market.
Under this partnership, Arad-Ophir will integrate Tangibly’s state-of-the-art trade secret platform into its suite of offerings, delivering unparalleled IP protection to businesses operating within Israel. Tangibly’s expertise in safeguarding trade secrets combined with Arad-Ophir’s extensive reach and market presence together with its extensive knowledge in intellectual property, promises to revolutionize how Israeli businesses secure their confidential information.
Trade secrets constitute a critical form of intellectual property, yet they are often left susceptible to theft and unauthorized disclosure. The partnership between Arad-Ophir and Tangibly aims to address this challenge head-on by providing comprehensive protection solutions tailored to the unique needs of Israeli enterprises across various industries.
“We are thrilled to join forces with Tangibly to introduce an innovative trade secret protection solution to the Israeli market,” said Rina Arad, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Arad-Ophir. “As a company committed to driving technological advancement and safeguarding intellectual property, this partnership aligns perfectly with our mission. Together, we will empower businesses to protect their valuable trade secrets and maintain a competitive edge in today’s dynamic landscape.”
Tangibly’s advanced platform offers smart features to take ‘reasonable steps’ to manage and protect trade secrets, such as cataloging, compliance workflow, online training, and automatic trade secret prediction, resulting in lowering risk of trade secret loss and positioning companies to enforce their rights successfully. By leveraging Tangibly’s expertise, Arad-Ophir is poised to deliver unparalleled value to its clients in protecting trade secrets as the critical assets that they are.
“We are excited to partner with Arad-Ophir to bring our industry-leading trade secret identification and management platform to the vibrant Israeli market,” said Tim Londergan, CEO of Tangibly. “With new legislation around Trade Secret protection, and a weakening global patent system, protecting your innovations and confidential information as trade secrets is more relevant than ever. Together with Arad-Ophir, we look forward to empowering businesses across Israel to safeguard their trade secrets and drive innovation with confidence.”
The partnership between Arad Ophir and Tangibly underscores a shared commitment to innovation, security, and client success. By combining their respective strengths, the two companies are poised to set a new standard for trade secret protection in Israel and beyond.
About Arad-Ophir Arad-Ophir is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the field of information retrieval: marketing, support, training, help-desk, consulting and outsourcing. With a focus on driving technological advancement and safeguarding intellectual property, Arad-Ophir delivers cutting-edge products and services.
About Tangibly Tangibly is a global leader in trade secret protection. Leveraging advanced technology and industry expertise, Tangibly helps businesses safeguard their confidential information and mitigate the risks of intellectual property theft.
SAN JOSE, Calif., May 21, 2024 — Vantis Vascular, Inc. (Vantis), a pioneering medical technology company founded by physicians with a passion to revolutionize vascular interventions, announced today the successful closing of a $5 million SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) financing round, which is convertible upon Vantis’ future Series C preferred round. This financing, which follows a total raise of $24 million to date from high-net-worth individuals and NIH grants, marks a significant milestone in Vantis’ journey to advance the field of interventional cardiology and improve patient outcomes.
“At Vantis, we’re on a mission to transform the way the medical community navigates and treats complex and calcific arteries,” said Jason Turner, Chief Executive Officer at Vantis. “This financing underscores the confidence of our investors in our vision, experienced management team, and the potential of our technologies to drive innovation and make a lasting impact in vascular interventions. This round will aid to accelerate our development efforts, while supporting the near-term commercial launch of our CrossFAST system.”
Vantis’ flagship products in development include the CrossFAST™ Integrated Microcatheter Guide Extension System and the CrossSHOCK™ Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) System. These innovative, next-generation solutions aim to enhance the delivery, safety and efficacy of vascular interventions, ultimately improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
“Coronary interventions are becoming increasingly more challenging, requiring specialized tools to deliver lifesaving therapies,” stated Tim Fischell, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Vantis. “We are excited about the potential of our purpose-built, next-generation products to address these critical challenges. Physicians express a significant need to improve existing catheter-based technologies given anatomical challenges and the fact that we are treating more complex cases. Providing an integrated catheter system that will enhance procedural efficiency from start to finish will be game-changing.”
The CrossFAST Integrated Microcatheter Guide Extension System, with 2-in-1 DuoPro™ Interlocking Technology, provides interventionalists with enhanced control and maneuverability to traverse the most calcific and tortuous anatomies, while the CrossSHOCK IVL System utilizes a low profile, micro electrode design to optimize the IVL experience, while striving for a safer, faster and more efficient approach to treating calcified arteries. Both products serve large and growing cardiovascular markets, including the multibillion IVL opportunity.
Products are currently in development and are not commercially available for sale in any geography. For more information about Vantis and its groundbreaking technology, visit www.vantisascular.com.
About Vantis Vascular:
Vantis Vascular, Inc. is a medical technology company dedicated to revolutionizing vascular interventions. Founded by physicians, Vantis develops performance-driven technologies that aim to provide faster, safer and more effective treatments to patients. With a focus on innovation and patient-centric solutions, Vantis is committed to advancing the field of interventional cardiology and improving patient outcomes worldwide.
Dedicated Investment Program II Will Further Eir Partners’ Strategy of Partnering with Companies Across the Healthcare Technology & Technology Enabled Services Marketplace
MIAMI, May 21, 2024 — Eir Partners Capital, LLC (“Eir”, “Eir Partners” or the “Firm”), a middle market private equity firm focused on healthcare technology and tech-enabled services, today announced the final closing of Eir Partners Investment Program II with $496 million in capital commitments. Eir previously raised $255 million in capital commitments for its inaugural program, Eir Partners Program I, which closed in 2021 and invested in five platform investments.
The oversubscribed program was raised in less than four months and secured commitments from a diversified range of investors including leading financial institutions, insurance companies, family offices, funds-of-funds, endowments and foundations, and seasoned industry executives.
“We are thrilled to receive support from a distinguished group of investors to continue our strategy of partnering with exceptional businesses and teams,” said Brett Carlson, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Eir Partners. “Their commitment will help grow and establish Eir as a leading health-tech investment firm in the market.”
Eir Partners Investment Program II will continue to invest in disruptive companies that have proven market fit and scale demonstrating outsized organic growth potential coupled with accretive M&A opportunities. Eir seeks to partner with businesses where the firm’s operating experience and executive advisor network can make an impact across all aspects of the business including technology, finance, sales, and human capital.
Lazard Frères & Co. LLC acted as the exclusive placement advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel in the formation of Eir Partners Investment Program II.
About Eir Partners
Eir Partners Capital, LLC is a Miami-based private equity company focused exclusively on healthcare technology and tech- enabled services. Eir combines its operational expertise with bottoms up thematic sourcing efforts to accelerate value creation. Since inception, Eir has completed transactions across payer, provider, employer and pharma tech, including leading industry names such as Apixio, Capta, GiftHealth, Helpware, and ReviveHealth. Targeted stages of investment include growth equity through control buyouts and equity check sizes range from $25 – $100 million.
Financing led by TCGX, including new investment from BVF Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners (Lightspeed) and Perceptive Advisors
Three first-in-class ADC assets funded through clinical proof of concept
LONDON, May 21, 2024 — Pheon Therapeutics (Pheon), a leading Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) specialist developing next generation ADCs for a wide range of hard-to-treat cancers, today announces the completion of a $120m Series B financing to fund the development of its pipeline of differentiated ADCs. The financing was led by TCGX with participation from other new investors BVF Partners, Lightspeed and Perceptive Advisors, alongside existing investors Atlas Venture, Brandon Capital, Forbion, and Research Corporation Technologies.
The new financing will be used to further advance Pheon’s differentiated ADC pipeline through clinical proof of concept. The first three assets are aimed at an undisclosed novel target which is highly overexpressed in a wide range of solid tumors. The first program has demonstrated an unprecedented preclinical therapeutic index while utilizing a DAR8 Topoisomerase-1 inhibitor linker-payload, whereas the next two ADCs utilize other linker-payload technologies to mine the broad potential of this target. The company expects to start its first Phase 1 clinical trial in 2024 and rapidly advance towards dose expansion cohorts. The capital will also enable the expansion of Pheon’s suite of in-house technology platforms to generate optimized ADC constructs.
Cyrus Mozayeni MD, Chief Executive Officer of Pheon, said: “This raise is a critical step as we transition into a clinical-stage company. The proceeds will fund a robust clinical development pathway for our first three ADC assets, which are based on an exceptional novel target. We are excited to be working on these promising candidates and look forward to sharing their potential therapeutic benefits with patients.”
Cariad Chester, Managing Partner of TCGX, commented: “The recent clinical successes of optimized ADC constructs validate the promise of this therapeutic modality to treat solid tumors. Continued progress against cancer is predicated upon innovative approaches to new targets. Pheon has an exciting pipeline of first and best-in-class ADC programs and I look forward to working with the company as it enters into the next stage of growth and development.”
As part of the financing, Cariad Chester, Managing Partner of TCGX, will join the board of directors.
Notes to Editors
About Pheon Therapeutics
Pheon Therapeutics is an Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) specialist developing a pipeline of ADCs, based on novel targets and novel linker payloads, to treat solid tumors. Pheon’s lead program is a first-in-class ADC against a novel target that is highly overexpressed in solid tumors across a broad range of hard-to-treat cancer types. Pheon is backed by expert, specialist healthcare investors TCGX, Atlas Venture, BVF Partners, Brandon Capital, Forbion, Lightspeed Venture Partners (Lightspeed), Perceptive Advisors, and Research Corporation Technologies. Pheon has a world class, proven leadership team that brings together the best of ADC engineering, clinical and managerial expertise, and track record. For further information, please visit www.pheontx.com
About.TCGX TCGX is a healthcare investment firm dedicated to advancing disruptive medicines and supporting companies that can improve the lives of patients. TCGX invests in both private and public companies led by exceptional entrepreneurs focused on developing better treatment options for patients. TCGX has investment teams in Palo Alto and New York City. For more information, please visit www.tcgcrossover.com
About BVF Partners
BVF Partners is a San Francisco-based investment management firm with a 30 year history of investing in public and private biotechnology companies. For more information, please visit: www.bvflp.com
About Lightspeed
Lightspeed Venture Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm focused on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in the Enterprise, Consumer, Health, and Fintech sectors. Over the past two decades, the Lightspeed team has backed hundreds of entrepreneurs and helped build more than 500 companies globally including Affirm, Carta, Cato Networks, Epic Games, Faire, Forty Seven, Guardant Health, Mulesoft, Navan, Netskope, Nutanix, Rubrik, Sharechat, Snap, Udaan, Ultima Genomics and more. Lightspeed and its global team currently manage $25B in AUM across the Lightspeed platform, with investment professionals and advisors in the U.S., Europe, India, Israel, and Southeast Asia. www.lsvp.com
About Perceptive Advisors
Founded in 1999 and based in New York, NY, Perceptive Advisors is an investment management firm focused on supporting the progress of the life sciences industry by identifying opportunities and directing financial resources to the most promising technologies in healthcare. For more information about Perceptive, visit www.perceptivelife.com
