This Private Placement Investment Comes in Addition to a $5 Million Investment from Core 4 Capital Corp Which Closed in April

JUPITER, Fla., June 28, 2024 — Safety Shot, Inc. (Nasdaq: SHOT) (the “Company) is pleased to announce that Safety Shot President Jordan Schur has invested in a $1 million private placement in the Company through his family investment group, Core 4 Capital Corp. The investment is in addition to the $5 million private placement from the investment group that closed in April of 2024 upon Schur’s appointment as President of the Company.

Safety Shot raised gross proceeds of $1 million from the issuance of 943,396 shares at a price of $1.06 per share, the closing price of the Company’s common stock with no discount. No warrants were attached in the terms of the Offering. Safety Shot paid no commissions in connection with the financing and incurred minimal expenses. This is compared to most offerings that result in less than 90% of the proceeds actually going to the Company.

“I’ve seen promise in this company from the very beginning and I’m excited about the progress that I’ve seen over the last four months,” said Schur. “Safety Shot’s growth trajectory is a testament to the innovation of our product and the demand for this type of solution in the market and I can’t see a better use of my family’s funds than to help the continued advancement of the Company in these early stages.”

About Safety Shot, Inc

Safety Shot, Inc., a wellness and dietary supplement company, has developed Safety Shot, the first patented wellness product on Earth that lowers blood alcohol content by supporting its metabolism, while boosting clarity, energy and overall mood. Safety Shot is available for purchase online at DrinkSafetyShot.com and Amazon. The Company is introducing business-to-business sales of Safety Shot to distributors, retailers, restaurants, and bars throughout 2024.

SOURCE Safety Shot

VICTORIA, Seychelles, June 28, 2024 — Leading Web3 wallet and DeFi platform Bitget Wallet has announced a joint investment with crypto investment firm Foresight X in Tomarket, a decentralized trading platform for emerging asset classes.

Developed by industry experts from prestigious firms with the likes of Binance and Microsoft, Tomarket is designed to address markets and user needs beyond those already provided for by conventional decentralized exchanges (DEXs). The platform facilitates the trading of Real World Assets (RWA), crypto asset yields swap, crypto points, pre-TGE assets, and other new asset types, thereby enhancing liquidity and value discovery in these sectors.

With an end goal of tapping into the immense trillion-dollar market occupied by these new narratives, Tomarket will first be available to users as a Telegram mini-app when it officially launches in July, providing users with a convenient and user-friendly entry point into this innovative platform.

The year 2024 marks a significant phase of growth for the crypto industry, catalyzed by the Bitcoin halving together with the Bitcoin ETF approval by the SEC. This period of growth also saw the emergence and burgeoning growth of various new asset classes and narratives, such as crypto project points trading, pre-TGE tokens, RWA assets, and interest rates on digital assets. These new assets possess substantial trading potential and demand, yet they face challenges such as poor liquidity and high transaction trust costs. Moreover, the current market lacks a comprehensive, one-stop platform to meet the trading needs of these new assets. Tomarket was specifically created to address these challenges and unlock the full potential of these assets.

Expressing enthusiasm for this collaboration, Alvin Kan, COO of Bitget Wallet, stated that “Trading has always been at the heart of the crypto industry. Beyond traditional token assets, new asset types such as RWAs and points deserve significant attention.”

He continues that Bitget Wallet will remain steadfast in its commitment to addressing the evolving needs of its users: “Through our investment and product collaboration with Tomarket, we aim to explore and develop markets beyond traditional DEXs, driving the growth of new crypto asset trading, thus cementing our dedication to catering to new user needs as they present themselves.”

In a strategic move earlier this year, Bitget Wallet announced the introduction of the Bitget Onchain Layer, an intermediary layer designed to help users navigate the complex Web3 ecosystem. This layer serves as an on-chain extension and a decentralized future of the entire Bitget ecosystem. As the first ecosystem partner of the Bitget Onchain Layer, Tomarket will be deeply integrated into Bitget Wallet. This development will also observe the additional expansion of use cases for BWB, the wallet’s own native token, as this strategic partnership with Tomarket marks the beginning of a series of sustained ecosystem growth and user engagement for all Bitget Wallet users.

About Bitget Wallet

Bitget Wallet is Asia’s largest and a leading global Web3 wallet with over 20 million users worldwide. It offers a comprehensive range of features, including asset management, intelligent market data, swap trading, launchpad, inscribing, NFT, DApp, and token earning center. Currently, it supports more than 100 major blockchains, hundreds of EVM-compatible chains, and over 250,000 cryptocurrencies. Bitget Wallet enhances liquidity by aggregating it across hundreds of top DEXs and cross-chain bridges, facilitating seamless trading on nearly 50 blockchains.

For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | Discord

SOURCE Bitget

The Venture Capital Firm Set to Expand Investments in Innovative Healthcare Companies

NEW YORK, June 27, 2024 — Zoi Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for healthcare, was founded by Mayo Clinic-trained cardiologist Dr. Ronald M. Razmi and Brian K. Beeler, former Executive VP and General Counsel of Horizon Therapeutics. The co-founders and Managing Directors share more than 50 years of experience in the medical technology field and have been responsible for more than $30 billion in exits via public markets and acquisitions. Announce their fundraising goal of $200 million for their Health AI Fund I.

Zoi Capital was conceptualized after a former G7 Nation Head of State reached out to Dr. Razmi for help in evaluating how AI can increase access to high-quality healthcare. The conversation illuminated the need for experts with deep health AI expertise to drive the selection of the best use cases for funding. In the United States, the stakes are especially high because if the U.S. healthcare sector were a country, its $4.5 trillion size would rank as the fourth largest in the world, surpassing Japan’s entire economy.

“Much of the investment in the emerging health AI sector has gone into use cases that have a hard time gaining traction,” said Dr. Razmi. “This is due to a myriad of issues such as unproven economic benefits to the buyers, use cases not being ready for prime time, and inadequately trained AI models. You now need a new breed of investors who have clinical and operating experience with these technologies in healthcare to direct capital to the best companies” Razmi notes.

Against a backdrop of the recent decline in fundraising by venture funds and startups, Zoi Capital’s founders believe that a new approach to private market investing is needed. Brian Beeler noted “We believe high returns on capital will be earned by specialist investors with a deep focus on one sector. To that end, Zoi has assembled a team of digital health operators and investors to pursue this opportunity.” Zoi leverages its deep relationships with the leading medical institutions to secure deal flow and uses a set of proprietary score-cards for selecting the best companies. The Zoi team utilizes its extensive past operating experience in supporting their portfolio companies to formulate the optimal commercialization strategy and scale up.

For more information, please visit: www.zoicap.com

About Zoi Capital

Zoi Capital is a thematic venture capital firm that specializes in the growing applications of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

Led by Brian K. Beeler, a former life science company executive that has been involved with managing multiple corporate venture funds and over $7 billion in transactions, and Dr. Ronald M. Razmi, former Cardiologist, McKinsey consultant, CEO of Acupera, and author of the new book, AI Doctor: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, the firm’s competitive advantages include cross-functional expertise in practicing medicine, operating successful digital health companies, and investing in medical technologies.

With the help of their proprietary investment platform, AI Doc, Zoi Capital is able to find and select companies with technologies that provide immediate benefit to healthcare stakeholders while solving for the unique friction points that usually derail or delay adoption. While relationships with top academic medical centers provide access to unique deal flow, Zoi plays an active role in improving the product road map, optimizing commercialization strategy, and facilitating faster exits.

Press Contact:

Michelle Moskowitz
917-597-0863

SOURCE Zoi Capital

MINNEAPOLIS, June 27, 2024 — Pear Commerce, the retail ecommerce enablement platform for omnichannel brands, announced today that it has closed a $10 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Stage 2 Capital, following exceptional 5x year-over-year growth and Pear’s role in powering the shoppable experiences for five of the top 20 CPG companies. Additional participation in the round includes Heartland Ventures, Homegrown Ventures, Dundee Venture Capital, M25, and Daren Cotter.

Modern consumers expect an omnichannel shopping experience that bridges channels, platforms, and devices. Pear builds all of a brand’s digital paths to purchase from brand.com and brand media to retail.com seamlessly. Pear’s technology uniquely creates shoppable experiences to over 3,000 retailers and 165,000 store locations–updating inventory daily–creating frictionless paths to purchase while capturing actionable insights on consumer behavior.

Owning the digital paths to purchase enables brands to understand the key drivers of performance and optimize their marketing budgets around crucial events such as clicks, retailer selections, and purchase confirmations. Plus, Pear integrates with all major ad platforms so brands can build owned custom audiences of these retail ecommerce shoppers, improving their return on ad spend.

The funding follows Pear’s most recent product launch, Pear Connect—a shoppable ad unit that integrates where-to-buy technology directly into the ad itself, bridging shoppers from CPG brands’ digital ads to retailer websites in a single click. Pear Connect enhances existing social and display ad creative by dynamically serving the in-stock product and retailer combinations most likely to be selected, using Pear’s daily inventory scanning technology and the ad platforms’ algorithms. Pear will continue to own the digital paths from brand to retailer with the introduction of its new recipe product, further solidifying its position on creating seamless shoppability for brands.  

“Our vision is to empower CPG brands with the same transparency and efficiency that direct-to-consumer brands enjoy,” said Eric Martell, Co-founder of Pear Commerce. “This funding will help us grow our team and enhance our technology to provide exceptional support and insights for our clients, ensuring that every marketing dollar is optimized for maximum impact.”

“Pear’s technology is fundamentally changing the way CPG brands engage with consumers, making it easier for them to meet their customers wherever they prefer to shop,” stated Alex Wyler, Co-founder of Pear Commerce. “With this investment, we’re excited to expand our product development and provide more brands with the comprehensive data and insights needed to drive meaningful growth.”

The Series A funding round aligns with Pear’s commitment to continue innovating and expanding its platform, in order to meet the evolving needs of CPG brands, retail partners, and their customers. New initiatives and product launches are on the horizon, poised to further enhance the retail ecommerce landscape.

“Pear Commerce is transforming how brands connect with consumers in the retail ecommerce space,” said Liz Christo, Partner at Stage 2 Capital. “Their cutting-edge technology and commitment to innovation are setting new benchmarks for the industry. We are excited to support Pear’s journey as they expand and redefine how the market thinks about shoppable media.”

The Series A investment will accelerate Pear Commerce’s mission to make everything shoppable and unlock the direct-to-consumer marketing playbook for CPG brands. The funding will be used for product development, market expansion, and hiring, including the addition of three key positions: Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Engineering, and Head of Customer Success.

About Stage 2 Capital

The first go-to-market venture capital firm, Stage 2 Capital combines capital and GTM execution expertise, leveraging its elite LP base of 600+ senior executives from unicorns and Fortune 500 firms to help portfolio companies scale revenue and accelerate growth. Co-founded in 2018 by Jay Po, former investor at Bessemer Venture Partners, and Mark Roberge, former Founding CRO at HubSpot, Stage 2 Capital invests in B2B software companies between seed and Series A.

For more information, visit: www.stage2.capital.

About Pear Commerce

Founded in 2018 by Eric Martell and Alex Wyler, Pear Commerce connects CPG brands to retailers, converting shoppable tools into actionable insights that fuel performance marketing. Today, Pear’s comprehensive suite of shoppable products includes: Pear Connect, Store Locators, Shoppable PDPs, Landing Pages, and Direct-to-Cart Links.

Learn more at www.pearcommerce.com.

For media questions or inquiries, please contact Pear Commerce at [email protected].

For more information on Pear’s open roles, please visit www.pearcommerce.com/careers.

SOURCE Pear Commerce

CHICAGO, June 27, 2024 — ProperXPM, the leader in tech-enabled experiential property management, is excited to announce a significant expansion backed by funding of up to $100 million. This strategic roll-up of multifamily property management companies aims to revolutionize the property management landscape across the United States.  The company has already completed multiple transactions since its inception in December of 2023. The initiative is supported by private equity firm TriSpan and powered by Livly^®, the industry-leading PropTech operating system.

Transforming Property Management with Technology and Efficiency

ProperXPM is dedicated to delivering low-cost, high-efficiency management solutions that free up time and resources for property owners. By leveraging advanced technology and centralized support, ProperXPM enhances the resident experience while significantly increasing net operating income.

“ProperXPM is setting a new standard in property management,” said Brian Duggan, CEO of ProperXPM. “Our tech-forward approach not only optimizes operations but also enriches the resident experience, creating value for property owners and investors alike.”

Key Benefits of ProperXPM’s Tech-Forward Approach:

• Higher Rent and Increased Resident Retention: Innovative solutions drive higher rental rates and foster a sense of community, leading to improved retention.
• Enhanced Efficiency and Additional Revenue Streams: Centralized back-office support and streamlined processes boost staff efficiency and unlock new revenue opportunities.
• Significant NOI Growth: Asset owners can expect a 5-10% increase in NOI through increased revenue and operational efficiency.

Nationwide Expansion with Proven Leadership

ProperXPM’s leadership team is committed to excellence and innovation, inspiring confidence and fostering resilience. The team’s proven track record is further strengthened by TriSpan’s history and successful backing of DHV Plus, Germany’s leading residential property management platform.

Opportunity for Property Management Companies/Asset Owners

Property management companies and asset owners with a management company arm interested in joining ProperXPM’s platform are offered unique opportunities for immediate liquidity and long-term value creation through an optional co-investment. For asset owners, ProperXPM values long term branding and offers a white-label marketing program to maintain consistent resident engagement under the property owner’s brand voice.

About ProperXPM
Founded in December 2023, ProperXPM is a private equity-backed consolidation platform in the multifamily property management sector. Committed to offering a unique resident experience, ProperXPM drives value by enhancing building operations and boosting Net Operating Income (NOI) for property owners through its experiential property management (XPM) services. Poised for national expansion through acquisition, ProperXPM provides selling business owners an opportunity for immediate liquidity as well as further upside and long-term value creation through a partnership model underpinned by shared ownership of the platform. Learn more at properxpm.com.

About TriSpan
Founded in 2015, TriSpan is a private equity firm with offices in New York and London that invests in lower middle market companies in North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom with annual revenues typically ranging from $20-100 million and/or EBITDA of $2-20 million. TriSpan is committed to creating value through using a combination of deep operational and financial resources to accelerate growth and drive improved performance. Since inception, the firm has completed 22 platform investments, as well as over 85 bolt-on acquisitions for its portfolio companies. For more information, please visit the firm’s website at www.trispanllp.com.

SOURCE ProperXPM

The platform acts as an intermediate layer that reconciles data silos and automatically adds context and meaning to data, enabling reliable and transparent AI initiatives

NEW YORK, June 27, 2024 — illumex, the Generative Semantic Fabric platform for structured enterprise data, announced today that it has raised $13M in seed funding. The round was led by Cardumen Capital, Amdocs Ventures, and Samsung Ventures, with participation from ICI Fund, Jibe Ventures, Iron Nation Fund, Ginossar Ventures, ICON Fund, Today Ventures, and renowned angel investors. illumex empowers organizations to overcome data challenges that hinder generative AI (GenAI) initiatives by automating the creation of a semantic layer that unifies data silos and adds business context, as well as generating a consistent vocabulary of domain-specific terminology. The company already has large enterprises, like Teva and Carson, leveraging illumex for their data AI readiness and has forged partnerships with Microsoft, Google Cloud, and AWS.

Adoption of generative AI has surged over the past year, with two-thirds of organizations now using the technology, according to a recent McKinsey survey. Importantly, GenAI is now driving significant business value, with some organizations reporting a contribution of upwards of 10% to bottom lines. However, concerns about the inaccuracy and the risks of GenAI have only grown, and nearly a quarter of organizations say they’ve already experienced negative consequences. Existing solutions like retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) enhance accuracy by providing enterprise data for AI models. However, RAG has drawbacks, especially with structured data: it demands continuous manual maintenance and doesn’t ensure a single source of truth or accurate LLM responses. Unstructured data, such as text documents, is semantically meaningful, but structured data lacks inherent context, needing manual labeling that often results in ambiguity and inconsistencies across enterprise data sources. This disorganized data, with issues like duplicate records and conflicting terminology, erodes trust in GenAI applications.

illumex solves this by using generative AI to automatically discover, map, and add semantic meaning to structured enterprise data. The platform analyzes metadata — without accessing the underlying sensitive information — to create a unified semantic knowledge graph. This graph acts as a single source of truth that aligns all data with consistent business terminology and context. By automatically constructing a domain-specific ontology, which formally defines the entities, properties, and relationships that represent an organization’s knowledge structure, illumex enables consistent, contextually relevant data interactions across the enterprise. This serves as a foundation that enables LLMs to reliably map user questions to the relevant data points that should be retrieved in order to deliver accurate results while ensuring proper governance.

“The key to enterprise generative AI success lies in solving the fundamental data challenges that have caused so many projects to fail,” said Inna Tokarev Sela, Founder and CEO of illumex. “Our Generative Semantic Fabric aligns organizational data with business meaning and domain-specific context, allowing organizations to finally trust the results of their AI initiatives. By enabling business users to interact reliably with data using natural language, without teaching them the precise technical definitions, we’re democratizing AI and empowering enterprises to make better decisions.”

“For enterprises in complex and regulated industries, adopting generative AI isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s an existential imperative,” said Gonzalo Martínez de Azagra, Founder and General Partner at Cardumen Capital. “However, they face the unique challenge of needing to balance AI-powered innovation with strict data governance and security requirements. illumex perfectly bridges this gap, enabling enterprises to maximize the GenAI opportunity while ensuring the integrity, lineage, and trustworthiness of the data fueling these applications. illumex plays a crucial role in both reassuring organizational data AI-readiness and enabling contextual and governed GenAI interactions.”

About illumex 

illumex empowers organizations to unlock the full value of their enterprise data through its Generative Semantic Fabric. The company’s turnkey platform automates the complex process of mapping data semantics and resolving terminological inconsistencies across business silos – a critical step for achieving AI and GenAI readiness. By enabling transparent and governed data interactions with LLMs, illumex opens up transformative enterprise use cases for generative AI. The company was founded by Inna Tokarev Sela, former AVP & Head of AI at Sisense and Senior Director of Machine Learning at SAP, who brings two decades of experience leading large-scale initiatives to leverage data for AI. illumex is an alumni of the Intel Ignite and ICON programs.

Gavriel Cohen
Concrete Media for illumex
[email protected]

SOURCE illumex

Company Builds on Momentum with New $3.6 Million NIH SBIR Grant to Fund U.S. Clinical Trial of Breakthrough Medical Device Showing Promise in Improving Dialysis Patient Outcomes

HOUSTON, June 27, 2024 — VenoStent, Inc., a clinical-stage medical device company developing a novel therapeutic device for improving dialysis patient outcomes, announced today that it closed an additional $4 million from Norwest Venture Partners to round out its Series A financing at $20 million with Good Growth Capital and IAG Capital Partners co-leading the deal. In addition, the company was awarded a $3.6 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which will help fund its multi-center, 200-patient, randomized controlled trial (RCT) in the US.

Norwest General Partner Dr. Zack Scott and Investor Dr. Ehi Akhirome are joining the company as board observers. Dr. Scott and Dr. Akhirome bring deep medtech expertise from previous experience as a surgeon and physician scientist, respectively.

“2024 has been a momentous year for VenoStent so far. In the span of a few months, we initiated our first clinical sites, enrolled the first patients in our large RCT and closed our Series A with Norwest,” said Tim Boire, Ph.D., VenoStent CEO and co-founder. “We also received the NIH grant, which enables us to execute our trial with the highest degree of quality and rigor to make it as scientifically robust and impactful to patients as possible. Each of these are major company milestones that collectively represent many years of intensive and fruitful R&D and collaboration. These recent milestones will propel our company forward to an exciting next phase.”

As a clinical-stage therapeutic medical device company, VenoStent has developed a bioabsorbable perivascular wrap, SelfWrap, that goes around arteriovenous (AV) access sites at the time of AV fistula creation surgery. The bioabsorable wrap is intended to accelerate the usability and increase the durability of the fistula sites for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients requiring hemodialysis. SelfWrap uses the body’s own healing mechanisms to mimic the arterial environment in veins, which experience a 10x increase in pressure and flow during AV creation and causes the veins to become unusable in dialysis.

In May 2023, SelfWrap was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin its U.S. Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) study, SAVE-FistulaS: The SelfWrap-Assisted ArterioVEnous Fistulas Study. The study is designed to show how SelfWrap can improve clinical outcomes for CKD patients requiring hemodialysis. Based on the compelling results from the company’s first-in-human clinical trial, the FDA granted SelfWrap a Breakthrough Device Designation in May 2022.

“Over half a million people in the U.S. rely on hemodialysis to survive and require an arteriovenous fistula creation surgery in order to receive the treatment. However, the AV fistula procedure has a one-year failure rate of more than 60%, which significantly impacts patients’ survival rates and quality of life,” said Norwest’s Dr. Scott. “VenoStent’s groundbreaking technology for AV fistula formation, SelfWrap, has the potential to significantly improve these odds. We look forward to working with the VenoStent team as it proves the efficacy of this breakthrough technology in order to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of CKD patients.”

“Norwest’s investment is tremendous validation for VenoStent, and we are thrilled to have both Zack and Ehi joining the company’s board,” said VenoStent COO and Co-Founder, Geoffrey Lucks. “Zack and Ehi have extensive knowledge in our space, and their added value will match the capital and cache of Norwest dollar-for-dollar.”

About VenoStent
VenoStent, Inc. (www.venostent.com) is a therapeutic medical device company developing a bioabsorbable wrap, SelfWrap, to transform outcomes in vascular surgery, starting with hemodialysis access. The device is intended to improve the usability and durability of arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs), the artery-vein connections that are surgically created in the arms of CKD patients to enable life-saving dialysis treatments. SelfWrap has been finely tuned through a decade of development to provide optimal mechanical support, improving hemodynamics and outward vein growth, and ultimately leading to improved quality and length of life for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, VenoStent is venture backed by Good Growth Capital, IAG Capital Partners and Norwest Venture Partners, amongst others.

About Norwest Venture Partners
Norwest Venture Partners is a global venture and growth equity investment firm managing more than $15.5 billion in capital. Since its inception, Norwest has invested in more than 700 companies and currently partners with more than 230 companies in its venture and growth equity portfolio. The firm invests in early- to late-stage businesses across key sectors with a focus on enterprise, consumer and healthcare. The Norwest team offers a deep network of connections, extensive operating experience, and a wide range of impactful services to help CEOs and founders scale their businesses. Norwest has offices in Menlo Park and San Francisco, Calif.; Mumbai, India; and Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information, please visit www.nvp.com.

SOURCE VenoStent

Capital infusion to fuel development of its industry-leading market intelligence platform which empowers brands and operators with CPG-level analytics capabilities

CHICAGO, June 27, 2024 — Hoodie Analytics (Hoodie), a leading U.S.-based cannabis data and technology firm delivering insights into market performance and competitive intelligence, today announced it has secured all of its $5 million Capital Raise (the “Capital Raise”). Under the terms of the Capital Raise, $5 million has initially closed, with another $1 million open for a follow-on raise. The proceeds will primarily be used to fund the market expansion of Hoodie’s newly launched cannabis market insights and product data management platform.

The Capital Raise was led by Measure 8 Partners with follow-on from Entourage Effect Capital (“EEC”) and Satori Investors. Early investors in the series A round also include Greenlight Investors and OlsonUbben via Tony Olson, Founder and Chairman of SPINS. Hoodie saw continued participation from insiders such as Arcview Ventures Seed Fund, Arcview Collective Fund, Greenlight Investors, and Tech Nexus.

Additionally, Hoodie further strengthened its leadership and governance structures with the appointments of David Navama, Co-founder of Vitamin Capital and former President and Chief Innovation Officer of SPINS. Timur Sultanov from Measure 8 Partners also joins the Board of Directors, as well as observers Andy Sturner, Partner at Entourage Effect Capital, and John Campbell of Satori Investors.

“We are immensely impressed by Hoodie’s innovative strides in developing a state-of-the-art analytics tool for the cannabis sector,” states Boris Jordan, Founder and Partner of Measure 8 Partners. “We are confident that the ability to make informed, data-driven decisions will become increasingly critical for cannabis industry stakeholders as the sector matures.”

“The cannabis industry serves such a large and diverse consumer base that overarching market demands and consumer trends cannot accurately predict customer behavior at a hyper-local level. Location, age, income and other factors all affect the decisions a customer makes at the register,” said Wes Shepherd, CEO and Chairman of Hoodie. “Only Hoodie provides granular market data down to individual dispensary level for brands and operators. We help them position their product in front of their target audiences to maximize sales and success. With the support of our incredible investors, Hoodie will continue to expand its dynamic suite of tools to best serve the industry we love.”

For more information regarding Hoodie Analytics’ data solutions, please visit https://www.hoodieanalytics.com/.

About Hoodie
Hoodie Analytics was founded on the belief that cannabis businesses need deep operational insights and applications to better compete. Our team has decades of experience with e-commerce intelligence & market measurement in markets like Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG). With Hoodie Analytics, you get an indispensable partner tracking the daily movements of the market. You get access to the best people, processes, and data which deliver the critical factor towards building a winning brand. You can focus on running your business. Hoodie delivers the insights needed to outgrow the pack. Please visit https://hoodieanalytics.com for more information.

SOURCE Hoodie Analytics

Rapid revenue growth and an oversubscribed financing round signal that both customers and investors are embracing disruption in the industry

SAN FRANCISCO, June 27, 2024 — KarmaCheck, a technology-based solution for background checks, credentialing, and compliance, announced today that it has raised $45 million in a Series B funding round led by Parameter Ventures, with participation from PruVen Capital, Velvet Sea Ventures, GC1 Ventures, and NextView Ventures. The company will leverage the funding to accelerate development of its proprietary technology platform, scale its exceptional service levels to more customers and candidates, and expand into new industry verticals.

KarmaCheck was founded by Eric Ly, one of the co-founders of LinkedIn. For over two decades, Ly has worked to remove barriers that stand between talent and professional opportunity. His commitment to this space led him to form KarmaCheck in 2019.

The Series B funding round follows a year of significant achievements and milestones for KarmaCheck including:

• Revenue growth of over 600%
• Expansion of its customer experience team by more than 300%
• Delivery of millions of screenings

“Background checks and credentialing have long been among the most frustrating steps of the hiring process for both candidates and hiring managers,” said Eric Ly, co-founder and CEO of KarmaCheck. “But that doesn’t have to be the case. KarmaCheck focuses heavily on both technology innovation and expert-led customer service. This combination, coupled with our AI-forward approach, is unique in the industry and enables us to deliver not only fast and accurate results, but also the industry’s best candidate experience.”

KarmaCheck’s platform offers the advanced technology that one would expect from such an industry pioneer. Staffing administrators benefit from intuitive, automated dashboards and built-in API integrations to applicant tracking systems. Candidates stay informed through a mobile-friendly interface and can easily schedule clinic-based screenings through the platform. These innovative features lead to faster results, lower costs, and a better experience for both candidates and employers. Head-to-head comparisons have shown that KarmaCheck returns results up to three times faster than competitors with no loss of accuracy. 

“As a healthcare staffing firm, there are several factors we need to consider when choosing our background check vendor, including accuracy, speed, scope, cost, and candidate experience,” said Pete Hietpas, CEO of PRN Healthcare. “KarmaCheck excels across all of these areas. Our administrators love the platform and the responsive support, candidates like the transparency and easy scheduling, and everyone appreciates the fast and accurate screenings. Switching to KarmaCheck has resulted in 85% faster background screenings and 12 hours per week saved for our team.”

The company has seen incredible demand for its solution in highly credentialed industries like healthcare, where speed-to-hire is a significant competitive advantage and traditional background check processes are arduous and time-consuming.

“KarmaCheck stands out as a leader in a critical sector ripe for new approaches. Its innovative product, experienced management team, and commitment to customer success aligns closely with our investment philosophy,” said Douglas Romanoff, Partner at Parameter Ventures. “We couldn’t be more excited to support KarmaCheck as it brings its transformative solutions to professional background checks, enabling greater speed, simplicity, and transparency fit for the modern workforce.”

About KarmaCheck
KarmaCheck is reimagining background checks and credentialing by combining the industry’s best technology with exceptional customer support. With powerful APIs and integrations, a mobile-friendly candidate experience, and rapid customer service response times, KarmaCheck delivers accurate background checks faster. Find out why companies across healthcare, staffing, and industrial sectors are switching to KarmaCheck at www.karmacheck.com.

Media Contact
Inkhouse for KarmaCheck
[email protected] 

SOURCE KarmaCheck