SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 19, 2024 — Kintsugi AI, a cutting-edge tax automation platform, announced today that it has extended its Series A with an additional investment from Airwallex, bringing the total funding to $10 million. Previous investors include GSRVentures, WestWave Capital, Link Ventures, Venture Highway, KyberKnight, Plug and Play and DeVC. This funding will focus on new hires for Kintsugi, particularly the engineering team. 

“For the last four months, we have been moving at the speed of light. We have quadrupled our revenue and doubled the number of customers,” said Co-Founder Pujun Bhatnagar. “In the coming weeks we will announce recent integrations that will establish Kintsugi as the leader in the tax management solution space.”  

Co-founded by Pujun Bhatnagar, Barkin Doganay, and Jeff Gibson, Kintsugi AI aims to automate sales tax compliance with its comprehensive platform, covering real time nexus monitoring, AI-enabled product categorization, rooftop-level tax calculation and validation, sales tax registration, filing, exemption certificates handling, and back-tax compliance.

“We are excited to be partnering with Kintsugi, a leading innovator in the sales tax industry. Their application of AI towards tax will revolutionize how sales tax is managed and together, we aim to drive forward solutions that empower businesses to navigate the ever-evolving payments and tax landscape with ease and efficiency.” said Christopher Cheng on behalf of Airwallex.

“Paying taxes is a critical part of managing and growing your business, but doing it right is complicated. Our platform takes the worry out of sales tax and lets you put your sales tax compliance on autopilot, delivering high performance, reliability, and flexibility as you scale,” said Jeff Gibson. “At Kintsugi we are changing the way the world thinks about sales tax through innovation and AI.”

About Kintsugi 

Based in San Francisco and founded in 2022, Kintsugi knows that paying taxes is a critical part of managing and growing an ecommerce business, but doing it right is complicated. The Company’s platform takes the worry out of sales tax and lets businesses put sales tax compliance on autopilot, delivering high performance, reliability, and flexibility as you scale. Kintsugi is secure, encrypted, GDPR-compliant and SOC 2 Type II compliant. The Company complies with the Trust Services Criteria’s advanced protocols for Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy.

SOURCE Kintsugi AI

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Groundbreaking anti-inflammatory approach targets root cause of alcohol-induced morning-after symptoms, supporting greater vitality and productivity worldwide.

HUNTINGTON, N.Y., Nov. 19, 2024 — Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical announced recently the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial for SJP-001, positioning it to become the first FDA-approved therapeutic specifically targeting alcohol hangover prevention. The trial, conducted by a leading clinical research organization in Australia, marks a pivotal milestone in addressing a significant global health and productivity challenge.

SJP-001, supported by Sen-Jam’s robust portfolio of 23 patents, represents a paradigm shift in understanding and treating alcohol hangover symptoms. The novel combination therapy targets the inflammatory cascade triggered by alcohol consumption, rather than focusing solely on hydration or other approaches that have shown limited efficacy.

This clinical trial is made possible through Sen-Jam’s novel and inclusive funding model. By leveraging crowdfunding and the sale of Fractional Royalty Rights (FRR) on its patent portfolio, Sen-Jam has democratized investment in cutting-edge pharmaceutical innovation. The company has successfully engaged over 960 investors, 24% of whom have reinvested, demonstrating the strong community belief in the potential of SJP-001 and its mission to advance global health. 

“Our FRR offering allows everyday people to directly support innovation while creating an opportunity for financial returns. It also enables us to return capital to our investors soon after licensing deals are in place,” said Jim Iversen, CEO of Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical.

This funding approach ensures that Sen-Jam remains agile and focused on delivering safe, effective, and accessible therapeutics while empowering a global network of supporters to share in its success.

“Pre-clinical studies of SJP-001 have demonstrated remarkable promise in reducing both the severity and duration of morning-after symptoms,” said Jackie Iversen RPh MS, Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer at Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical. “Our approach is grounded in cutting-edge international research that has identified inflammation as the primary driver of these alcohol related symptoms.“

The therapeutic’s development aligns with Sen-Jam’s commitment to cellular and tissue protection against acute and chronic inflammatory responses. “This innovative solution is about promoting human health and maximizing productivity by supporting individuals who choose to consume moderate levels of alcohol. Our focus is on enhancing well-being, fostering resilience, and empowering people to thrive in both personal and professional spheres.” explained Iversen.

In a marketplace saturated with unproven remedies, SJP-001 stands apart through its rigorous clinical validation process. The global market potential reflects the billions of adults worldwide who occasionally consume alcohol, with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimating that alcohol consumption costs the US $180 billion annually in lost productivity.

About Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical

Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical is a drug innovation company dedicated to improving societal wellbeing by developing novel solutions for pain and inflammation. The company’s mission is to forge a new path to better health by creating safe and efficacious therapies for some of the world’s most widespread health challenges. Sen-Jam’s innovative approach of repurposing small molecules and dedication to responsible drug development position it at the forefront of life-enhancing pharmaceutical breakthroughs. Using patented proprietary technology and the accelerated 505(b)2 pathway, Sen-Jam is on a mission to revolutionize inflammatory pain treatment and its unwanted side effects. Investor information available at Wefunder. Learn more at www.sen-jam.com. 

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical
Christine Leonard
[email protected]
781-913-1902

SOURCE Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical

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Funding led by Moneta Ventures, and includes participation from Fintech investors SixThirty Ventures, Altari Ventures, Tacoma Venture Fund, and Sigmas Group Family Office.

SEATTLE, Nov. 19, 2024 — Osyte (pronounced O-Sight), developers of an AI-powered multi-asset portfolio management technology, today announced the closing of its $4 million seed round. This additional capital will enable Osyte to expand its go-to-market capabilities, accelerate its AI product roadmap, and scale its client management team to meet growing demand. 

Osyte’s mission is to create more structure, transparency, and operational efficiency for the roughly 50,000 Single Family Office, Multi-Family Office, and Institutional fund managers who are increasingly struggling to manage the trillions of dollars moving from traditional to alternative investments.

“Osyte significantly reduces the complexity, risk, and cost tied to managing multi-asset portfolios with public and private assets. With Osyte, Asset Managers can leverage AI to automate many portfolio management decisions and re-focus their time on the most high-value investment functions,” said Charles Anselm, CEO and co-founder of Osyte.

Private assets under management are projected to reach over $15 trillion, experiencing nearly 20% annual growth over the next 5 years.  Osyte’s technology enables liquidity management of hedge funds and private market commitments, AI/ML powered portfolio optimization, risk and exposure analytics, rebalancing, and streamlines trading of multi-asset portfolios with both liquid and illiquid securities. Osyte’s customers can expect an 80% reduction in operational overhead tied to managing multi-asset portfolios when using the Osyte platform.

“When investment managers today look to deliver true multi-asset portfolios, they have to support greater complexity at both the level of the client portfolio and their own operations. Osyte’s founders have created a platform that embraces portfolio and operational complexities natively, so that institutions can manage these portfolios, scalably,”  said Atul Kamra, Managing Partner at SixThirty Ventures.

The Osyte team has significant portfolio management expertise at one of the industry’s largest outsourced CIOs, previously managing billions of dollars for endowments, foundations, pension funds, and other institutional investors.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Osyte; their end-to-end platform, backed by a team with deep industry experience, empowers asset managers with a scalable, robust solution for managing both public and private assets in a total portfolio approach,” said Ashu Bhalla, Partner at Moneta Ventures. “We believe Osyte’s approach will transform portfolio optimization across the investment industry.” Ashu, will be joining Osyte’s Board of Directors.

For more information about Osyte and its multi-asset investment technology platform, visit www.osyte.com

MEDIA CONTACT:
Dan Kuppersmith
(703) 585-8379
[email protected]

SOURCE Osyte Inc.

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HOUSTON, Nov. 19, 2024 — MetOx International, Inc. (MetOx), a U.S. leader in High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) technology, has announced the closing of its Series B funding round, securing an additional $15 million from a strategic syndicate of investors, including Duquesne Family Office, LLC, Piedmont Capital, Crosscut Ventures, New System Ventures, John Doerr’s Family Office together with Ryan Panchadsaram, among others. This investment completes the Series B extension, bringing a total of $40M in expansion capital to the company, and bolstering MetOx’s growth momentum as it scales to meet surging market demand and expand out its domestic production of this vital technology.

The strategic capital injection will contribute to the buildout of additional high-capacity HTS manufacturing facilities in the U.S., establishing a new benchmark for production efficiency, scale, and security. As HTS technologies becoming increasingly critical to advancing renewable energy generation, grid expansion and modernization, and powering energy-intensive industries such as hyperscale data centers, AI and fusion energy – MetOx’s expansion is poised to play a key role in strengthening the nation’s infrastructure.

“We are thrilled by the confidence our strategic investors have placed in MetOx, particularly as we accelerate our efforts to scale HTS manufacturing capacity here in the U.S.,” said Arthur (Bud) Vos, President and CEO of MetOx. “This critical new funding allows us to continue building a robust supply chain for HTS technology, ensuring the U.S. becomes a global leader in advanced superconducting solutions.”

Robert Long of Piedmont Capital commented, “MetOx’s vision to revolutionize the HTS market aligns well with our commitment to transformative technologies and infrastructure. We believe MetOx is uniquely positioned to meet the growing demands of the U.S. market, and we’re proud to support them in this next phase of their journey.”

Ian Samuels of New System Ventures, a prominent investor in energy transition technologies, added, “MetOx is addressing a crucial gap in domestic clean energy supply chains, and we are excited to continue to support the team as they drive forward with cutting-edge HTS technology and domestic manufacturing. This partnership strengthens our commitment to sustainable, scalable innovation in the United States including in clean energy generation and high-power transmission and distribution, enabling load growth and the deployment of power-dense data centers.”

This latest funding comes on the heels of an announced $80 million Department of Energy (DOE) grant awarded to MetOx, aimed at advancing clean technology manufacturing. This dual infusion of capital positions MetOx to significantly expand its domestic HTS production capabilities, fostering innovation, high quality skilled job creation, and a more resilient HTS supply chain.

About MetOx International

MetOx International is a Houston-based leader in High Temperature Superconducting technology, dedicated to advancing clean energy solutions and establishing a resilient HTS manufacturing base in the United States. Through partnerships with the U.S. Department of Energy and strategic investors, MetOx is driving innovation and strengthening supply chains for critical superconducting applications across multiple industries.

Learn more about MetOx at www.metoxtech.com and connect with us on LinkedIn.

About High Temperature Superconductors: 
HTS is advanced power delivery technology, capable of transmitting extremely high power at low voltage with zero heat generation or energy loss. This breakthrough technology is revolutionizing critical energy sectors, including power transmission, distribution, and grid expansion, while uniquely meeting the high-power demands of AI-driven applications and hyperscale data centers. HTS is also pivotal in enabling high-field magnet applications such as next-generation wind turbines, motors, and generators for clean aviation and aerospace, advanced defense systems, and magnetic containment for fusion energy. HTS technology presents solutions to enhance global energy infrastructure and unlocks new opportunities in sectors where its lightweight, high-power properties provide unparalleled advantages.

Media Contact:

Naomi Le Bihan, Director of Communications
MetOx International, Inc.  Email: [email protected]

SOURCE MetOx International, Inc.

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Agentio Clients Such as DoorDash, Mint Mobile, Bombas, Notion, MasterClass & Mejuri Have Unlocked A Newly Scalable Performance Marketing Channel Through the Platform’s Automated Brand-Creator Partnerships, Making Creator-Led Ad Buys as Simple as Buying Google or Meta Ads

NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2024 — Agentio, the first ad platform that scales, measures, and streamlines creator content advertising, has raised a $12M Series A led by Benchmark (investments include Cerebras, HeyGen, 11x, Fireworks AI, eBay, Instagram, Uber and Twitter), in addition to investments from existing investors Craft Ventures and AlleyCorp, as well as industry-leading marketing executives and creators. Agentio’s ad platform uses proprietary AI technology to seamlessly connect brands with leading creators, enabling scalable, efficient ad buys on YouTube. This empowers innovative brands like DoorDash, Bombas, Mint Mobile, MasterClass, Mejuri, Notion, HelloFresh, and others to buy creator ad read integrations from YouTube’s leading creators, like Nick DiGiovanni, Matty Matheson, Rhett & Link, and Chad Chad. With this funding, which brings the total capital raised to $16M, Agentio––already profitable––will expand its brand and creator network, scale its platform capabilities, and introduce integrations with additional social channels, beginning in 2025.

Agentio’s pioneering ad platform makes purchasing advertising integrations within creator content as simple as buying ads on Meta or Google, with end-to-end automation powered by its proprietary AI-powered matching, auto-bidding, and brand safety technology. Agentio’s customers are seeing 4-15x better performance and return on ad spend (ROAS) through YouTube creator integrations compared to other social video channels. With Agentio’s capabilities, brands automate tedious workflows, transforming processes that once took weeks or months into minutes and effectively scaling paid media budgets. This innovation eliminates the manual processes and negotiations traditionally required to bring brand and creator partnerships to life, making it possible for marketers to focus on strategy and optimization.

“We believe that the future of advertising is creator-led – creators authentically telling a brand’s story to their highly engaged audiences,” said Arthur Leopold, co-founder and CEO of Agentio. “On Agentio, brands can buy the most performant and efficient content – creator integrations – as easily as they buy Meta or Google ads. That’s the future of marketing. It’s not more banner, display, or skippable video ads. Until Agentio, this future hasn’t been possible. We’re excited to shift paid media budgets to creators for the first time – unlocking exponentially larger budgets than creators have historically tapped into.”

For brands, Agentio offers a direct line to a network of top creators, empowering marketers to purchase ads that blend organically within creator content. The platform’s next-generation analytics allow advertisers to measure performance in real-time, optimizing campaign strategies to maximize results. For creators, Agentio opens a new era of monetization, providing them with an intuitive platform to manage ad slots and consolidate brand demand. Agentio creators and brands are closing mutually beneficial six-figure deals with a single click.

“We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of the potential that Agentio can and will have on the advertising industry,” said Jonathan Meyers, co-founder and CTO of Agentio. “Brands are working 10x as fast and seeing as much as 15x better return on ad spend by using Agentio. Offering more ad units on other social platforms will exponentially increase not just the creators we’re able to work with but the brands, and agencies, that can drive value using our platform.”

“Agentio’s ad platform has unlocked a massive market thanks to its use of AI, creating a huge opportunity by increasing efficiency in a category overlooked by incumbents,” added Sarah Tavel, General Partner at Benchmark and Agentio Board Member. “Marketplace businesses can be tough to get right, but Arthur’s deep knowledge of the creator economy, and Jonathan’s experience building predictive advertising technology, have enabled them to solve the biggest pain points, and we’re already seeing the flywheel effect take off.”  

Agentio is poised to become the go-to platform for brands investing in creator content, driving the future of marketing. The Series A funding will enhance the platform’s capabilities and expand offerings beyond YouTube to other major channels. Backed by an impressive roster of investors—including Benchmark, Craft, and AlleyCorp, along with several advertising and marketing technology veterans—Agentio is transforming how brands connect with audiences through creator content. Its brand users can see over 1 Billion YouTube ad views per month at any given time.

To learn more about Agentio, visit www.agentio.com.

To access the media kit, click here.

About Agentio
Agentio is the first-of-its-kind ad platform for sponsored creator content, making the purchase of creator content as easy for brands as buying Meta and Google ads. Through its programmatic ad platform, Agentio is enabling a new level of scale, measurement, and efficiency while giving brands the ability to share their message through the most authentic and trusted voices. For more information, visit https://www.agentio.com/.

SOURCE Agentio

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With this new funding, Levanta will scale its business development team to support the growing demand from Amazon sellers, brands, and creators. The company will also invest heavily in product development to enhance user experience and drive even more dynamic, revenue-generating partnerships between sellers and creators. Levanta’s goal is to create a seamless, high-impact marketplace ecosystem that powers growth for brands while meeting the needs of creators and publishers.

The Growing Opportunity in Creator-Driven Commerce
The affiliate marketing space is poised for substantial growth, projected to reach $12 billion globally by 2025, as more e-commerce brands turn to performance-based partnerships to drive incremental revenue.(1) Levanta’s platform uniquely positions marketplace sellers to capture this growth by enabling direct partnerships with creators, one of the most trusted and high-impact channels for consumers today. This shift towards creator-driven commerce reflects changing consumer behaviors, with nearly half of all consumers making purchases based on influencer posts.(2)

As more brands seek to tap into the power of influencer marketing, Levanta is at the forefront of this transformation, offering sellers a scalable, performance-based solution to drive sales, expand into new markets, and build long-term partnerships with creators.

A Proven Leader in Marketplace Affiliate Marketing
Founded in 2023, Levanta has quickly gained traction as a trusted partner for Amazon sellers. With thousands of vetted creators and publishers, Levanta’s platform is projected to generate $286 million in annualized gross merchandise value (GMV) for its sellers, based on its recent 30-day performance. Trusted by top-tier Amazon brands such as HexClad, Kitsch, MaryRuth, Caraway and MANSCAPED, Levanta has proven to deliver significant returns, especially during peak sales events like Amazon Prime Day. Levanta is expanding rapidly, already supporting five major Amazon markets—U.S., U.K., Canada, France, and Germany—and with plans to launch in Spain and Italy in early 2025.

“Levanta is perfectly positioned to capitalize on the massive growth opportunity in the affiliate marketing and creator-driven commerce space,” said Larry Cheng, Managing Partner at Volition Capital. “The platform’s strong traction with Amazon sellers, its innovative approach, and its ability to deliver results for brands make it a game-changer in the e-commerce ecosystem. We’re excited to partner with Levanta’s talented team as they accelerate their growth and further expand their platform capabilities.”

A Proven Leadership Team with a Track Record of Success
Levanta’s founding team brings extensive experience in the affiliate marketing and technology sectors. Co-founders Ian Brodie (CEO), Rob Schab (Chief Marketplace Officer), and Spencer McKenney (Chief Technology Officer) previously launched and scaled Grovia, an affiliate recruitment software and service provider. In May 2022, Grovia was acquired by Acceleration Partners, a global leader in affiliate marketing. Building on this success, they launched Levanta in March 2023, disrupting the retail media space by enabling Amazon sellers to increase sales through high-impact, direct affiliate partnerships and unlocking the full potential of this powerful marketing channel.

“This funding is a pivotal moment for Levanta. With the support of Volition Capital, we’re primed to take our platform to the next level and offer even more value to marketplace sellers and creators,” said Ian Brodie, Co-Founder and CEO of Levanta. “The affiliate marketing landscape is evolving rapidly, and we are committed to driving innovation and providing an ecosystem where brands, creators and influencers can collaborate in meaningful ways to grow their businesses and reach new audiences.”

What the Investment Means for Levanta

Levanta will use the funding to:

• Accelerate Team Growth and Market Reach: Expanding Levanta’s business development team to support brands and creators, enabling deeper engagement across diverse verticals and strengthening the platform’s market presence.
• Advance Platform Capabilities and User Experience: Investing in product development to elevate the seller and creator experience, enhance platform functionality, and create an even more dynamic, revenue-generating marketplace.
• Strengthen Market Leadership in Creator-Driven Commerce: Solidifying Levanta’s role as the top platform for Amazon sellers, meeting the growing demand from retail brands expanding onto Amazon.

Levanta invites interested Amazon sellers, agencies, and creators to contact us or create a free account.

About Levanta
Levanta is a leading affiliate marketing platform designed to help Amazon sellers unlock growth through creator-driven commerce. By connecting sellers with a network of vetted creators, Levanta enables performance-based partnerships that drive revenue, increase customer acquisition, and build brand loyalty. Launched in 2023, Levanta has quickly become a go-to platform for sellers seeking to capitalize on the growing power of creators and influencers in digital commerce. Levanta’s co-founders previously founded and sold Grovia Partners, a leading affiliate marketing technology-enabled services company, to Acceleration Partners in 2022.

For more information about Levanta, visit www.levanta.io.

About Volition Capital
Volition Capital is a Boston-based growth equity firm that principally invests in high-growth, founder-owned companies across the software, Internet, and consumer sectors. Founded in 2010, Volition has over $1.7 billion in assets under management and has invested in and/or provided sub-advisory advice to more than 50 companies in the United States and Canada. The firm selectively partners with founders to help them achieve their fullest aspirations for their businesses.

For more information about Volition Capital, visit www.volitioncapital.com.

(1) eMarketer, Affiliate Marketing, September 2024
(2) Sprout Social, The Influencer Marketing Report, April 2024

Media Contact
Richie Carreon
VP, Marketing
[email protected] 

SOURCE Levanta

Fortune 100 companies turn to Distyl’s integrated software and services to power their most ambitious AI initiatives

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 19, 2024 — Distyl has raised $20 million in Series A funding to supercharge its growth and to meet the accelerating demand from its Fortune 100 customers. This round adds Lightspeed Venture Partners, who led the round, and Khosla Ventures, early investors in OpenAI. Existing investors Coatue, Dell Technologies Capital and Nat Friedman also joined, along with strategic and angel investors. This funding will accelerate Distyl’s efforts to build the best-in-class AI engineering and research team to meet increasing customer demand.

Solutions purpose-built for enterprise outcomes

Large enterprises have a mandate to adopt AI to accelerate their business, but many are struggling to make it past experimentation. Their systems are complex and require bespoke solutions with high reliability needs. These organizations typically engage large consulting firms who have only recently added AI to their capabilities, resulting in failed pilots and costly, slow rollouts.

Distyl unites AI-native software with a premier engineering and research team that customizes AI building blocks for rapid implementation and results at enterprise scale. The company is trusted to deliver transformative outcomes by Fortune 100 leaders across healthcare, telecommunications, CPG, retail and manufacturing industries. For example, one Fortune 500 company estimated a 47% increase in resolution time around daily tasks after partnering with Distyl to deploy AI in their supply chain.

Brad Lightcap, COO of OpenAI, said: “Distyl enables enterprises to seamlessly integrate OpenAI technologies so that they can maximize the impact of their AI investment. We’re excited to deepen our partnership as enterprises continue to lean into AI use cases”.

Software purpose-built for reliability

“We built Distyl to solve a critical business problem — helping enterprises adopt AI and gain a true competitive edge in speed and efficiency, without sacrificing reliability or quality,” said Arjun Prakash, co-founder and CEO of Distyl. “Our goal is to help our customers deeply change how their businesses operate, not settle for minor productivity enhancements or experiments. Our unique combination of research leadership, precision-engineering and our reusable AI software base is designed to drive business results that used to take years in as little as six weeks.”

Distyl’s success stems from a world-class engineering and research team from leading software and solutions innovators like Palantir and Apple, and leading research laboratories. Unlike traditional SaaS models, Distyl builds solutions tailored to the unique reliability, workflow and data considerations of the most complex organizations – all while using their proven software accelerants, Distillery, to drive rapid value against the most exigent needs. The team’s research and engineering efforts focus on developing technologies that enable AI systems and agents to transform organizational knowledge into AI-native processes, automating business tasks with high reliability. This shifts the human role from routine tasks to decision-making and providing feedback, leading to 10x faster decisions and increased capacity.

“While traditional consulting firms and integrators often struggle to move beyond proof of concepts, Distyl stands out by successfully scaling and productionizing generative AI in the world’s largest and most complex enterprises,” said Raviraj Jain, Partner at Lightspeed. “When you talk to Distyl’s customers, it’s clear their tech and approach are driving real innovation. They are becoming an essential partner for any large company aiming to stay competitive in this AI-driven market.”

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 Distyl

Distyl partners with Fortune 500 companies to drive $100M+ mission-critical initiatives through AI-powered automation of their core operations. In collaboration with OpenAI on their top accounts, they deliver transformative outcomes, already impacting F50s in telecom, manufacturing, healthcare and retail. The team comprises deeply accomplished researchers and engineers in AI systems, and is backed by top investors like Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla and Coatue. Learn more at distyl.ai.

SOURCE Distyl

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Former Bain Capital Ventures and Forgepoint investors bring their expertise to Canapi, strengthening its focus on growth-stage companies

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2024 — Canapi Ventures, the venture capital fund investing in early to growth-stage enterprise software and fintech companies, today announced that Kristie Han and Connie Qian have joined the firm as Principals. Han will be based in the firm’s Washington D.C. office, while Qian will join Canapi’s San Francisco office. Both will focus on growth-stage enterprise software investment opportunities.

Han brings more than a decade of diverse investment experience to Canapi. Her background spans growth equity and venture capital, with a focus on software and technology investments at leading firms like Bain Capital Ventures, PSG, and Riverside. At Bain Capital Ventures, she honed her expertise in Series B to pre-IPO growth-stage companies, including enterprise and AI applications. Han’s experience also includes providing growth capital and executing buy-and-build strategies at PSG and Riverside. She holds a BA in Economics and Psychology from Harvard College.

“Kristie’s experience across various sectors and stages of investing is an ideal match for the Canapi platform,” said Walker Forehand, president and general partner of Canapi Ventures. “As companies continue to invest in AI applications, we’re seeing a surge of interest across our LP base of leading financial institutions looking to tap into these technological advancements. Kristie’s background and strong network will help Canapi further its mission of backing the best entrepreneurs across software and fintech.”

Qian brings a decade of experience in fintech and enterprise software to Canapi, spanning both operational and investment roles. She joins from Forgepoint Capital, where she focused on early and growth-stage investments in cybersecurity and infrastructure software. Before Forgepoint, she cultivated her skills at Block (formerly Square) across strategic finance, business operations, and corporate development. Qian began her career in equity research at Goldman Sachs and Robert W. Baird, covering the IT and communications technology sectors. She holds a BS in Applied Economics & Management from Cornell University and an MBA from The University of Pennsylvania.

“Connie’s unique blend of operating and investing experience across various technology sub-sectors is a perfect fit for our team as we build out our San Francisco presence,” said Canapi General Partner, Tom Davis. “Her deep understanding of fintech and enterprise software, developed through operating and investor roles, will be invaluable as we partner with innovative companies across these sectors. She is ideally suited to identify and support the next generation of tech founders and companies.”

Late last year, Canapi announced its Fund II, totaling $750M, bringing its total assets under management to over $1.4B.

About Canapi Ventures
Canapi is a B2B software and financial technology venture and growth equity platform investing in early to growth-stage companies offering disruptive alternatives to outdated business models and technologies. Backed by the Canapi Alliance – a network of over 70 of the leading financial institutions across the United States – Canapi’s partners have decades of hands-on experience in financial services. Canapi brings unmatched sector experience and best-in-class knowledge, connections, and credibility to founders.

SOURCE Canapi Ventures

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Partnership announced with Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to drive rare disease drug development

With its leading consumer health AI platform, Citizen Health will help patients navigate their conditions and accelerate novel therapies

SAN MATEO, Calif., Nov. 19, 2024 — Citizen Health, an innovative AI-powered consumer health platform designed to support over 400 million individuals managing rare and complex conditions, has announced the successful closing of a $14.5 million seed round. The funding round was led by Transformation Capital, with participation from Wavemaker 360 and prominent angel investors. This fundraise is further strengthened by a strategic program investment and partnership with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI).

Navigating healthcare, especially for rare diseases, presents significant challenges. With more than 10,000 rare diseases and 95% lacking approved therapies, patients often struggle to find effective care pathways. Citizen Health addresses this gap by building a comprehensive knowledge base that captures each patient’s complete health journey, including clinical data, genetic information, imaging, and patient-reported outcomes. This extensive repository enables patients to access answers based on others’ experiences and assists researchers in accelerating drug development by providing immediate access to critical information, potentially reducing the time to develop new therapies by years.

“With our collective experience and expertise, we’re working together to drive a future where any patient, at any stage, of any condition, has immediate access to exceptional guidance on the best action to take,” said Farid Vij, CEO and co-founder of Citizen Health. “Through our AI-powered platform, we are giving people agency over their health data to help themselves and each other, while shaving years off the drug development process for these critical diseases.

“As precision medicine evolves, understanding patients at an individual level is crucial for developing tailored therapies and care options,” added Nasha Fitter, co-founder and chief business officer, who is inspired by her youngest daughter who suffers from an ultra-rare disease. “This shift in empowering patients and caregivers is the path to a true consumer-led health system for every patient across every condition, and in no area is this more amplified than in rare and complex conditions.”

Rare diseases play a significant role in this paradigm, highlighting the limitations of traditional healthcare approaches. A study by the EveryLife Foundation revealed that 379 rare diseases impose an economic burden of $1 trillion annually in the U.S., underscoring the urgent need for innovative solutions like Citizen Health.

Citizen Health’s launch is bolstered by a strategic investment and collaboration with CZI’s Rare As One Project, which supports patient-led organizations working to accelerate research and improve the lives of people affected by rare disease. Citizen Health founders’ personal experiences navigating the healthcare system as patients and caregivers inspired them to partner with CZI. CZI’s support aims to help rare disease groups and scientists better understand rare diseases, accelerate the launch of clinical trials and advance drug development.

“Rare diseases are not as rare as they seem, and empowering patients to direct their data to research opportunities can accelerate biomedical research for everyone,” said Tania Simoncelli, vice president of Science in Society at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. “Citizen Health’s expertise in AI, healthcare, and commitment to patient centricity is opening new avenues for rare disease patients to drive research forward and advance the development of new treatments.”

Citizen Health plans to announce additional key partnerships and new product features in the coming months, further benefiting patients and advancing their mission to transform the healthcare landscape for those with rare and complex conditions.

About Citizen Health
In 2023, Citizen Health was founded to fundamentally flip the healthcare system on its head: empowering patients to take charge of their own care through individual health data, as well as driving industry research to accelerate treatments for those who need it most. 

Inspired by personal experiences and an incredible bench of passionate leadership with expertise spanning tech, healthcare and business, Citizen Health’s mission is to use the power of shared experiences to provide relief to patients, caregivers, and families navigating rare and complex conditions.

Citizen Health sees a future where any patient, at any stage, of any condition, has immediate access to exceptional guidance on the best personalized actions to take at that point in time.

About the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our communities. Through collaboration, providing resources and building technology, our mission is to help build a more inclusive, just and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit chanzuckerberg.com.

Media Contact:
Rachel Ford Hutman
Ford Hutman Media
[email protected] 

SOURCE Citizen Health

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