Led by Cathay Innovation, the round will provide capital to expand its commercial and residential businesses across the Northeast and Texas

NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2024 — David Energy, a trailblazing gridtech company, announced today that it has secured $23 million in funding to transform the retail energy market and make a clean energy grid a reality. The investment was led by Cathay Innovation, with participation from prior investors Union Square Ventures, Keyframe Capital, Equal Ventures, and BoxGroup, among others. The new funds will support David Energy’s mission to run the grid 24/7/365 on clean energy.

Amidst a backdrop of an aging electrical grid, unprecedented weather volatility, frequent power outages, and rising electricity demand, the need for a cheaper and more resilient grid is accelerating. While clean energy sources like solar and wind are now the most affordable form of power, their intermittent nature makes it difficult to harness at scale. David Energy, named for empowering customers with distributed energy resources (DERs) to challenge today’s “Goliath” energy companies, is building the solution: a distributed network of connected devices – think batteries, solar panels, EVs, and smart thermostats – that can respond to the fluctuations of clean energy generation in real-time.

As a technology-driven retail electricity provider (REP), it’s also modernizing the consumer experience while doing so. The energy industry, notorious for being opaque and riddled with scams, can be hard for most to navigate. David Energy uses its vertically-integrated solution to drive transparency – clarifying what consumers need to know, advising on what they don’t know, and providing a platform that handles the complexities in between.

Since its founding in 2019, David Energy has launched residential and commercial electricity solutions. Following its Series A round of funding in March 2022, it scaled its commercial offering, an energy spend management platform for multi-unit businesses, from serving only New York to now include over 1,000 locations across New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Texas. Its commercial business has grown 198% Year-over-year and attracted more than 60 new brands, including Equinox, Wing Stop, Subway and Orangetheory. The company also launched its residential offering, which offers EV and battery owners more ROI and control over their devices, in Texas. The number of David Energy-connected devices has grown 10x since last year.

This latest funding round enables the company to continue scaling both business lines in its active states and begin expanding across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. David Energy’s growth strategy is underpinned by its larger 10-year vision: decarbonizing the energy sector – the largest contributor to climate change – by becoming the operating system of the 100% clean energy grid. By acquiring both residential and commercial customers, it is building a customer base that naturally aligns with when renewable sources are active as well as the controllable capacity to cover the fluctuations. Homes and businesses alike will ultimately benefit from greater ROI and control of their devices and cheaper, more reliable energy.

“The core challenge in operating modern grids is managing the volatility brought on by renewables,” said James McGinniss, CEO of David Energy. “No grid operator, retailer, or vertically integrated utility across the globe has solved this problem and that’s precisely what we intend to do. Since renewables are essentially free when they’re producing, there is a massive opportunity to supply structurally cheaper power to customers. This investment gives us the capital we need to validate this opportunity and our approach to decarbonizing the grid.”

“David Energy is completely redefining what it means to be a retail energy provider with a modern, tech-forward and vertically integrated approach designed for the clean energy era,” said Simon Wu, Partner with Cathay Innovation. “They’ve demonstrated strong, repeatable growth and stickiness, particularly with the underserved segment of small commercial businesses, led by a team that combines deep energy market expertise and technical product leadership which are critical elements for success. David Energy is primed to scale and we’re thrilled to support James and the team on the journey ahead.”

David Energy will be hosting an event about what it will take to run the grid on clean energy 24/7/365 today at Climate Week NYC. For more details go here: bit.ly/cleanenergygrid.

About David Energy
David Energy is a technology-driven retail energy provider (REP) with the mission of running the grid on clean energy 24/7/365. By building a network of connected devices that respond to the fluctuations of clean energy generation in real-time, it is decarbonizing the largest contributor to climate change – the energy sector. It currently serves the electricity needs of residents in Texas as well as multi-unit business owners in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Texas. Since its launch in 2019, David Energy has raised $50M from venture capital and strategic investors. For more information, visit davidenergy.com.

Media Contact:
David Energy
[email protected] 

SOURCE David Energy

• Funding Round: Kestra raised $8M in seed funding led by Alven, with existing investors ISAI & Axeleo doubling down, and notable technology leaders from dbt Labs, Airbyte, Datadog, Hugging Face, Talend, Algolia, Platform.sh.
• Growth and Adoption: Kestra is the fastest-growing open-source orchestration platform, having grown 10x from a year ago and rapidly expanding in North America and EMEA. Trusted by thousands of organizations, the platform orchestrates hundreds millions of workflows for mission-critical operations globally.
• Use of Funds: The funding will be used to support Kestra’s expansion, hiring efforts, and continued growth, with a focus on enterprise-grade functionality and supporting multiple cloud platforms through a vast plugin ecosystem.

PARIS, Sept. 23, 2024 — Less than a year after its $3M pre-seed round, Kestra, the unified orchestration platform, today announced it has raised $8M in seed investment. Kestra is currently the fastest-growing open-source orchestration product in the market, executing several hundred million workflows, a tenfold increase in one year. Thousands of organizations, including several global enterprises, have trusted Kestra as the most production-ready and user-friendly platform to automate their mission-critical workflows.

Kestra’s funding round will drive its continued expansion across North America and EMEA, as organizations increasingly rely on its robust, enterprise-grade orchestration platform built on a strong open-source foundation. This funding round is led by Alven, alongside ISAI, Axeleo Capital, and numerous founders and CEOs from leading technology companies who have invested in Kestra during this round, including Tristan Handy (dbt Labs); Michel Tricot (Airbyte); Olivier Pomel (Datadog); Clement Delangue (Hugging Face); Bertrand Diard (Talend); Nicolas Dessaigne (Algolia); and Frédéric Plais (Platform.sh). The new capital will accelerate hiring and fuel the company’s growth strategy across North America and EMEA.

“At Alven, we partner with visionary teams that are redefining industries, and Kestra embodies this by unifying and simplifying how companies orchestrate their most critical processes. In a world where reliability and scalability are essential, Kestra excels at managing mission-critical workflows at scale, streamlining everything from data pipelines to infrastructure operations. This makes them essential, especially for large corporations. We believe they are on the path to becoming the modern Enterprise Orchestrator, transforming operations, and we’re proud to support them,” said Victor Charpentier, Alven.

Kestra’s open-source community is thriving with developers contributing to the product in business automation, data pipelines, AI applications, microservice coordination, and more. Its versatility is driven by a vast plugin ecosystem connecting to over 500 tools (including Databricks, Snowflake, dbt, Airbyte, Terraform, etc.), orchestrating at scale across all major cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure, etc.). This broad approach and low barrier to entry make Kestra the only Unified Orchestration platform on the market, supporting all automation use cases and welcoming all user profiles. Kestra reduces tool proliferation, fosters internal knowledge sharing, and ensures future readiness.

“The orchestration market is fragmented with siloed solutions addressing specific job scenarios. Business leaders face challenges in unifying best practices and tools across data, infrastructure, business process management, microservices, and more. They seek a unified platform to streamline operations, and this is where Kestra excels. Our growing enterprise customers show there’s demand for an API-first, user-friendly product that unites teams, workflows, and pipelines of all types,” said Emmanuel Darras, CEO and Co-Founder of Kestra.

By supporting orchestration both as code and through an intuitive UI, Kestra appeals to all developers as well as non-engineers. It has also proven successful with IT teams that expect high performance and observability at scale. Kestra Enterprise’s purpose-built features, such as reliable remote execution, integration with third-party secrets manager, and high availability, currently power business-critical workflows and event-driven applications in production for some of the most innovative companies.

“Our focus on scalability, real-time processing, and security is delivering results. Large organizations—including banks, retail companies, software providers, and government entities—are executing millions of workflows with Kestra. The platform excels even in highly specialized cases like network monitoring and real-time fraud detection. Most importantly, configuring and scheduling these workflows remains effortless, thanks to a language-agnostic, declarative syntax combined with webhooks and event-driven triggers,” said Ludovic Dehon, CTO and Co-Founder of Kestra.

For more information on Kestra, watch the company’s introductory video or discover Kestra’s GitHub repository.

About Kestra

Kestra Technologies, founded in 2021 by Emmanuel Darras (co-founder of Ankama) and Ludovic Dehon (AKHQ.io), is behind Kestra, an event-driven orchestration platform designed to simplify orchestration for both engineers and business users. Focused on building reliable, business-critical workflows, Kestra stands out with its strong open-source foundation. While many tools are overly complex or limited, Kestra provides a unified, scalable platform that is enterprise-ready and easy to use. The company is actively expanding, with a focus on hiring and growing in North America and EMEA.

About Alven

Alven is an early-stage venture capital firm with a unique instinct to align itself with high-potential category-defining companies and guide entrepreneurs from seed to growth.

With over $2 billion under management, we operate from Paris and London and have backed over 170 teams across Europe & US in the last 2 decades, including many success stories such as Stripe, Algolia, Dataiku, Qonto, Datadog (Sqreen), Trainline (CaptainTrain), OpenClassrooms, Jobteaser, and Sézane.

About ISAI Venture
ISAI Venture invests €100,000 to €3 million in early-stage French Tech start-ups, from Pre-Seed to Post-Seed, as lead or co-lead. It also supports French entrepreneurs in the US, partnering with local investors. Notable successes include Blablacar, Cardiologs, Datadome, Evaneos, Malt, and 360Learning. ISAI Venture is part of ISAI Gestion, founded in 2009 by Tech entrepreneurs. It now has over 430 Entrepreneur-LPs and major institutional backers.

SOURCE Kestra

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HOUSTON, Sept. 23, 2024 — MetOx International, Inc. (MetOx), a leading U.S.-based developer and manufacturer of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wire, today announced the successful close of a $25 million Series B Extension. As part of this funding, we welcome several marquee investors including energy-focused family office, Centaurus Capital and premier climate and energy transition-focused venture firm New System Ventures (NSV). This investment signals strong investor confidence in the company’s rapid scale up of its Xeus™ HTS wire technology for key energy transition applications.

MetOx’s proprietary manufacturing technology enables production of HTS wire at commercial scale, positioning the company at the forefront of the energy transition. This investment will support the expansion of the company’s U.S.-based manufacturing capabilities, enabling MetOx to meet rapidly growing domestic and global demand for HTS solutions.

High temperature superconductors are revolutionizing critical sectors in energy such as highly efficient transmission and distribution – including for data center applications – as well as next generation wind turbines and interconnections, and the high field magnets required for magnetic containment fusion energy systems. By continuing to innovate and scale in HTS, MetOx aims to deliver transformational solutions that enhance this energy infrastructure and support emerging applications such as medical devices, aerospace and defense sectors where its lightweight, high-power solutions present unique advantages.

“This funding marks a pivotal step in our mission to revolutionize the energy and technology sectors with our advanced power delivery technology and accelerate delivery for our customers and partners. HTS is critical to enhancing the efficiency of our electric grid and enabling technological developments that, in many cases, would not be viable or even possible without superconductor technology,” said Bud Vos, CEO of MetOx. “Support from investors such as Centaurus and NSV not only provides the financial resources and strategic support required for accelerated scaleup, but also validates the broad reach of our technology across energy, data center, medical, and defense industries.”

John Arnold, Founder of Centaurus, added, “MetOx has developed a robust and highly scalable operation, and we are thrilled to partner with the Company as it enters this pivotal growth stage. The market for HTS is expanding at an unprecedented pace, with demand for HTS far outweighing supply. MetOx is poised to be the leading U.S. HTS producer, closing the supply gap and bringing dramatic capacity to high power innovations and applications. Their progress and potential are unmatched in the field, and we are proud to support their growth.”

“MetOx’s HTS technology aligns with our systems-level research and offers a unique opportunity to dramatically accelerate the energy transition,” said Ian Samuels, Founder and Managing Partner at NSV. “MetOx’s Xeus wire stands to be a force multiplier in clean energy generation and high-power transmission and distribution, enabling load growth and the deployment of power-dense data centers. NSV is excited to support MetOx as it scales domestic manufacturing capacity.”

About MetOx, Centaurus, and New System Ventures

MetOx is a developer and manufacturer of high-temperature superconducting wire. Leveraging proprietary production technologies, MetOx is accelerating its manufacturing scale up to provide HTS solutions for energy transmission, wind power, fusion energy, medical applications, aerospace and defense. MetOx is headquartered in Houston, Texas, USA. Learn more at www.metoxtech.com or connect with MetOx on LinkedIn @metox-international

Centaurus Capital
Centaurus is a family office focused on energy and infrastructure investments, with a focus on supporting companies that contribute to a sustainable energy future.

New System Ventures (NSV) invests in the world’s leading companies accelerating decarbonization and innovation across mobility, energy and industry.

Media Contacts:            

Naomi Le Bihan
[email protected]
www.metoxtech.com

Mathilde Beniflah 
[email protected] 
www.newsystemventures.com

SOURCE MetOx International, Inc.

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Global leader in legal AI scales up U.S. presence following $40 million funding round and more than 5x growth

LONDON, Sept. 23, 2024 — Luminance, the pioneer in Legal-Grade™ AI, is opening its doors in Dallas, Texas, to meet increasing U.S. customer demand. The move follows a recent expansion of the company’s New York headquarters and key hires across North America, including in San Francisco and Canada, to accommodate accelerated market capture in the region.

Founded by AI experts from the University of Cambridge, Luminance now generates over one-third of its revenue in the U.S. Recently recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies, the company achieved over 5x ARR growth in the past two years and saw a 225% increase in U.S. customers adopting its flagship product, Luminance Corporate, since January 2023. Today, the company’s customer base spans 700+ organizations in 70+ countries, from technology giants such as AMD and Hitachi, to food and beverage businesses including AB InBev and Panda Express, pharmaceutical giant LG Chem, and global manufacturers Koch Industries and Yokogawa.

Luminance’s strategic growth in the U.S. is bolstered by the company’s recent $40 million Series B funding round. The investment was led by Santa Monica-based venture firm, March Capital, with participation by National Grid Partners, GTM Capital and other existing investors, including leading law firm Slaughter and May.

Eleanor Lightbody, CEO of Luminance, shared: “Our recent financing is a testament to the strength of our technology, which is defining a new category of Legal-Grade™ AI. To date, Luminance has organically captured market share in the U.S. Now, we are doubling down in Dallas and New York as just the first steps of our U.S. expansion, enabling us to better serve existing customers and bring our specialized, proprietary AI to more organizations worldwide.”

In addition to expanding its U.S. footprint, Luminance will continue its focus on product innovation. Over the last 12 months, the company has released several industry firsts, including a Legal-Grade™ chatbot for instant Q&A and automated redrafting, ‘Self-Serve’ functionality for non-legal teams to review and negotiate third-party contracts, and ‘Auto Mark-Up’, which allows users to bring any agreement in line with company standards in one click.

George Niño, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Yokogawa Corporation of America, said: “Luminance has been a game-changer for our business and surpasses other solutions available today. As a multinational corporation, we’re excited to see how Luminance’s expanding, on-the-ground presence further enhances our deep partnership.”

About Luminance

Built on a proprietary legal Large Language Model (LLM), Luminance’s specialised legal co-pilot brings next-generation AI to every touchpoint a business has with its documents, from contract generation to negotiation and post-execution analysis. Developed by world-leading AI experts, validated by leading lawyers, and in use by over 700 customers in 70 countries, Luminance is the pioneer in Legal-Grade™ AI: wherever computer meets contract.

SOURCE Luminance

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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 23, 2024 — SeatBoost, a startup that is transforming the air travel experience through dynamic seat upgrade solutions, is pleased to announce an investment from International Airlines Group (IAG). This funding marks an important milestone in SeatBoost’s mission to bring joy to travelers’ experiences while generating incremental non-dilutive revenue for partner airlines.

SeatBoost’s platform facilitates live auctions on mobile in the airport environment, offering passengers the chance to bid for premium seat inventory made available by the airlines. The platform not only provides passengers with a unique engaging experience, but it also generates incremental non-dilutive revenue on seat inventory that would otherwise spoil. Current partners include IAG portfolio brand Iberia, TAP Air Portugal, Condor, Avianca and LATAM. With support from IAG through its corporate venture capital arm, SeatBoost plans to expand its capabilities and further improve the travel experience for passengers around the world.

Kevin Stamler, CEO of SeatBoost, shared his thoughts on the investment: “We’re excited to partner with IAG at this important stage in our journey. This collaboration not only supports our vision but also helps us accelerate our growth and innovation. Our aim is to enhance data-driven insights to create personalized experiences for travelers while maximizing revenue for airlines. The investment from IAG validates our business model and underscores the potential of SeatBoost and the positive impact we can achieve together in the travel industry.”

Raza Ali, IAG’s Vice President – Innovation, commented, “Innovation is a core function at IAG, and through innovation we can deliver better customer experiences, more efficient operations, more sustainable aviation and a better-performing business overall. That’s why we think the creative approach of SeatBoost to unlock meaningful revenue from new sources of demand is aligned with our view.”

The partnership with IAG will enable SeatBoost to leverage technology and innovation, improving its current offerings and paving the way for additional solutions that prioritize customer needs and operational efficiency. As SeatBoost expands, it remains committed to setting high standards in the travel sector, ensuring passengers enjoy a seamless, personalized airport and flying experience.

About SeatBoost
SeatBoost is a travel technology startup dedicated to enhancing simultaneously the air travel experience and airline profitability through innovation. Our highly scalable and highly configurable platform is built to leverage the outcome-efficient revenue generating capability of auctions through interactive user engagement.

Instagram – Facebook – LinkedIn

About International Airlines Group (IAG)
International Airlines Group (IAG) is one of the world’s largest airline groups with 585 aircrafts flying to over 250 destinations and carrying more than 115 million passengers in 2023. The Group was created in 2011 and includes the airlines British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL, and IAG Loyalty and IAG Cargo. It is a Spanish-registered company with its corporate office in London, United Kingdom. Its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and on the Spanish stock markets.

IAG’s vision is to be the leading airline group in sustainability. The group is proud to have been listed on the Carbon Disclosure Project’s A List for its commitment to sustainability and action on climate change.

Media contact
Marianna D’Amore
[email protected]

SOURCE SeatBoost, Inc.

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• Financing led by new investor TCGX, alongside Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Avoro Ventures and venBio
• Funding will support and accelerate development of next-generation multivalent respiratory virus vaccines using proprietary Molecular Clamp technology 
• Commenced Phase I clinical study of bivalent vaccine targeting both Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Human Metapneumovirus (hMPV)

LONDON, Sept. 23, 2024 — Vicebio Ltd (“Vicebio“), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel vaccines against life-threatening respiratory viral infections, today announces a $100 million Series B financing led by TCGX with investment from Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Avoro Ventures, venBio, and participation from UniQuest and founding investor Medicxi.

Vicebio is developing next-generation vaccines for respiratory viruses utilising its proprietary Molecular Clamp technology, discovered at The University of Queensland. This novel technology uniquely stabilises viral glycoproteins in their highly immunogenic ‘prefusion’ conformation, crucial for eliciting strong protective immune responses. This innovative approach enables the production of highly effective vaccines that are easy to manufacture and will be available in ready-to-use prefilled syringes. The Molecular Clamp technology is applicable to a wide range of viruses including Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Human Metapneumovirus (hMPV), Parainfluenza virus, Influenza and Coronaviruses, as confirmed by promising preclinical and clinical studies.

Vicebio has recently initiated a Phase I clinical trial with VXB-241, its bivalent vaccine targeting both RSV and hMPV viruses that cause a significant burden of disease in elderly patients and those with a weakened immune system. There is currently no commercially available vaccine targeting RSV and hMPV. Initial clinical readouts of the Phase 1 study are expected mid 2025. This financing will also support the acceleration and expand further development of Vicebio’s multivalent pipeline including VXB-251, a trivalent vaccine targeting RSV, hMPV and Parainfluenza Virus 3 (PIV3), a further valency that addresses a significant remaining medical burden in the elderly.

Dr Emmanuel Hanon, Chief Executive Officer of Vicebio, said: “The support from these high-calibre investors underscores the robust data package we have generated for VXB-241, highlighting the significant potential of our proprietary Molecular Clamp technology to develop next-generation vaccines against respiratory viruses.”

Cariad Chester, Managing Partner at TCGX, said: “At TCGX, we are dedicated to supporting the translation of cutting-edge science into transformative medicines and we are thrilled to partner with Vicebio. This is a highly experienced team with a breakthrough technology to address a critical public health need. Vicebio has a unique capability to advance vaccine products that simultaneously provide robust immune responses against multiple respiratory pathogens. We look forward to working closely with the team to bring these important vaccines to the market.”

Dr Giovanni Mariggi, Chairman of Vicebio and Partner at Medicxi, said: “Vicebio has made significant progress in developing its Molecular Clamp platform and successfully advanced VXB-241 which offers unmatched vaccine coverage against respiratory viruses. We are pleased to welcome TCGX, Goldman Sachs, Avoro Ventures and venBio to the syndicate to support the fight against life-threatening respiratory viral infections.”

In connection with the financing, the Vicebio Board of Directors will expand to include Cariad Chester, Managing Partner at TCGX, Colin Walsh, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and Mark Chin, Partner at Avoro Ventures.

About Vicebio
Vicebio is focused on developing next-generation respiratory virus vaccines using the Molecular Clamp Technology. The company was founded with investment from Medicxi and acquired the rights to the Molecular Clamp technology through a license from UniQuest, the commercialization arm of The University of Queensland, Australia. This proprietary technology was developed by Prof. Paul Young, Prof. Daniel Watterson, and Prof. Keith Chappell at UQ.
For more information, please visit: www.vicebio.com

About Medicxi
Medicxi is a healthcare-focused investment firm with the mission to create and invest in companies across the full drug development continuum. Leveraging deep expertise in drug development and company creation spanning over two decades, medicxi invests in early and late-stage therapeutics with a product vision that can fulfil a clear unmet medical need. For more information, please visit: www.medicxi.com

About UniQuest
UniQuest is the commercialisation company of The University of Queensland (UQ). In partnership with UQ researchers, UniQuest creates impact through the commercialisation of UQ intellectual property. Established in 1984, UniQuest’s commercialisation track record positions UQ as the leader of research commercialisation in Australasia. Notable successes include the blockbuster cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil® and start-up companies Spinifex Pharmaceuticals Inc and Inflazome Ltd, which were acquired in two of the largest university start-ups exits in Australian history. UniQuest has also established the Queensland Emory Drug Discovery Initiative (QEDDI), a world-class small molecule drug discovery and development group, dedicated to translating academic biomedical research into drug candidates for partnering. In 2024, UniQuest launched its AUD$32 million UniQuest Extension Fund, an investment fund dedicated to supporting the start-up eco-system at The University of Queensland. For more information, please visit: uniquest.com.au

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 pioneering healthcare companies led by exceptional entrepreneurs focused on developing better treatment options for patients. TCGX has investment teams in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and New York City. For more information, please visit www.tcgcrossover.com

About Goldman Sachs Alternatives
Goldman Sachs is one of the leading investors in alternatives globally, with over $450 billion in assets and more than 30 years of experience. The business invests in the full spectrum of alternatives including private equity, growth equity, life sciences, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds, and sustainability. Clients access these solutions through direct strategies, customized partnerships, and open-architecture programs. The business is driven by a focus on partnership and shared success with its clients, seeking to deliver long-term investment performance drawing on its global network and deep expertise across industries and markets. The alternative investments platform is part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which delivers investment and advisory services across public and private markets for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors, and individuals. Goldman Sachs has over $2.8 trillion in assets under supervision globally as of March 31, 2024.

About Avoro Ventures
Avoro Ventures is a global life sciences investment firm, and an affiliated company of Avoro Capital Advisors, an SEC-registered investment manager based in New York City, with over $6.5 billion in capital primarily focused on supporting emerging life sciences and biotechnology companies.
For more information, please visit: www.avorocapital.com

About venBio
venBio is a life sciences investment firm that partners with industry leaders to build innovative medicines and technologies, with a focus on novel therapeutics for unmet medical needs. For more information, please visit www.venbio.com.

SOURCE Vicebio

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PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 20, 2024 — HavocAI Inc., a leading innovator in autonomous uncrewed surface vessel technology, is excited to announce the successful closing of an $11 million Seed round of funding. The round was led by Scout Ventures, co-led by Trousdale Ventures, and saw additional participation from Outlander VC, The Veteran Fund, BV.VC, Decisive Point, Alumni Ventures, and New North Ventures. This strategic investment will fuel HavocAI’s mission to enable ultra low-cost autonomous surface vessels to operate at an unprecedented scale across both defense and commercial markets.

“We are thrilled to have such a distinguished group of investors who deeply understand our vision and are committed to supporting us on this journey,” said Paul Lwin, CEO of HavocAI. “This capital allows us to scale our production capabilities and grow our team to meet the increasing demand from both our existing and new customers.”

HavocAI is pioneering the technology needed to allow a single operator to command and control thousands of unmanned assets. The company’s innovative platform is designed to provide significant cost efficiencies, operational reliability, and scalable solutions for a wide range of applications, from defense missions to commercial ventures.

This latest funding will enable HavocAI to expand its production capacity, enhance product development, and accelerate customer acquisition, ensuring that the company remains at the forefront of autonomous uncrewed vessel technology.

“We’re excited to support HavocAI as they continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in USV technology,” said Brad Harrison, Managing Partner, at Scout Ventures. “Their technology has the potential to dramatically transform the industry, and we look forward to seeing the impact they’ll make.”

For more information on HavocAI and its groundbreaking technology, visit Havocai.com.

About HavocAI: HavocAI develops ultra low-cost uncrewed surface vessels and software that enable a single operator to command and control thousands of unmanned assets, providing scalable and efficient solutions for both defense and commercial markets.

SOURCE HavocAI

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SPRINGDALE, Ark., Sept. 20, 2024 — StartupNWA, an initiative of the Northwest Arkansas Council, is accepting applications for its October 2024 VC Immersions series. Scheduled for Oct. 29-30, this series connects startups with leading venture capitalists to secure early-stage funding, gain access to mentorship and build relationships. As the first and only initiative of its kind in the nation, the series aims to bridge the gap between investors and emerging startups, fostering innovation and growth in underserved markets.

“The VC Immersions series is poised to reshape the venture capital landscape by expanding opportunities beyond traditional coastal hubs,” said Serafina Lalany, executive director of StartupNWA. “With nearly 75% of venture capital concentrated in California, New York and Massachusetts, StartupNWA aims to open opportunities for early-stage startups in Arkansas and the Heartland.”

Expanding from the successful February pilot event, the series will feature one-on-one pitch meetings between startups and visiting VC firms. The 30 confirmed VC firms represent over $4 billion in assets under management, hailing from eleven states and Washington, D.C. The full list can be found here, but notable participants include:

All applicants will be added to StartupNWA’s deal database, reaching 100+ institutional investors nationwide.

Key dates for the program include the application deadline of Sept. 30, with selection announcements the second week of October.

Further details, including the full schedule and investor lineup, will be announced closer to the event.

How to apply:
Startups from all over the U.S. are encouraged to apply, with a particular focus on those in the Heartland. Location in Northwest Arkansas is not required.

Startups click here to apply.

About the Northwest Arkansas Council
Founded in 1990 by Sam Walton, J.B. Hunt, Don Tyson and several other business leaders, the Northwest Arkansas Council serves as a regional convener for economic and community initiatives. The Council excels at identifying challenges and championing solutions to enhance the prosperity of the Northwest Arkansas region. Key initiatives include work to advance quality of life, attract talent, improve the region’s workforce, create job opportunities, upgrade infrastructure and keep up with the region’s impressive growth. For more information, visit www.nwacouncil.org.

SOURCE Northwest Arkansas Council

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Audience targeting on ad platforms has become more algorithm-based and growth leaders know that creative is the #1 lever for success. This has led to the rise of the creative strategist—a new role responsible for bridging the gap between the analytical and creative sides of marketing. With Motion, creative strategists can research ad trends, analyze performance, and get inspired with new ideas to maximize the revenue impact from creative.

Since launching in 2021, Motion has been adopted by top performance advertisers in the ecommerce and direct-to-consumer space. Ecommerce brands like HexClad, Vuori, True Classic, Jones Road Beauty, and Ridge use Motion to analyze over $6B in media spend every year.

“Motion’s customers are the best-of-the-best in paid social and the creative strategist is at the core of their workflow. Our goal is to make the creative strategist role more approachable for everyone by building the tools they need to ship more winning ads,” said Reza Khadjavi, the CEO at Motion.

In the last year, Motion doubled its headcount from 25 to 50 employees and has grown to over 1,000 customers in the direct-to-consumer and ecommerce industry, as well as the B2B SaaS and consumer app verticals.

In addition to its creative analytics tools that help advertisers understand top-performing ads and visualize trends, Motion released today a new product called Creative Research that extends its utility deeper into the research side of ad production.

With Creative Research, brands can track competitors on paid social. This helps brands monitor new ads launched by competitors, build a swipe file with ads from Facebook and TikTok, and analyze the media mix, messaging, and landing pages of top competitors.

“Motion doesn’t just provide information—it actively helps teams make better decisions and fosters a pathway for innovation, rather than simply iterating on the same ideas,” says Inovia Partner Karam Nijjar. “The team’s experience uniquely positions them to become the command center for creative strategy within marketing organizations.”

Motion also announced today that the popular YouTube and advertising industry influencer Dara Denney is joining the company as its Chief Evangelist. In her role, Dara Denney will advise on product direction, create educational content for Motion’s customers, and help train the next generation of creative strategists.

Motion is hiring across the board for engineering, product management, marketing, customer success, and sales roles. Visit Motion’s careers page for more information. 

About Motion
Motion is the command center for creative strategists.

With Motion, creative strategists get help at every step of their workflow including visual analysis of top-performing ads, competitor tracking, research tools, and automated recommendations to help prioritize what to ship next.

Motion’s customers include some of the most prominent advertisers in paid social. Brands like HexClad, Vuori, True Classic, Jones Road Beauty, and Ridge use Motion to analyze over $6B in media spend every year.

For more information, visit motionapp.com.

About Inovia Capital
Inovia Capital is Canada’s leading full-stack software investor, partnering with founders to build impactful global companies. With three investment strategies—Discovery, Venture, and Growth—the team leverages an operator-led mindset to provide entrepreneurs with multi-stage support and access to a worldwide network. Inovia manages over US$2.5B with operations in Montreal, Toronto, Waterloo, Calgary, the Bay Area, and London. For more information, visit inovia.vc.

SOURCE Motion