IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 18, 2024 — KDAN, a leading SaaS provider, today announced a strategic investment of USD4 million led by Japanese real estate giant APAMAN Group (Apaman Co., Ltd.）Combined with a recent multi-million-dollar B+ round from South Korea’s Hancom Group, this latest investment brings KDAN’s total funding to over USD 30 million. APAMAN, along with its subsidiary SystemSoft Corporation (TSE: 7527) and strategic partner Riverfield, will serve as KDAN’s primary distributors in Japan, enabling comprehensive business and technical collaboration.
KDAN provides AI-driven workflow and data solutions, including digital document management, eSignature, and data analytics services. The partnership will focus on transforming Japan’s real estate sector by implementing KDAN’s eSignature service, DottedSign, across APAMAN’s network of direct and franchise locations. Through an alliance with the All Japan Real Estate Association, KDAN’s solutions will be available to real estate professionals nationwide. To boost visibility, APAMAN has launched an extensive marketing campaign featuring DottedSign on over 2,000 outdoor billboards throughout Japan.
The technical partnership between KDAN and APAMAN will integrate KDAN’s digital document management services with advanced AI technologies. This collaboration aims to accelerate product innovation and enhance competitiveness, addressing market needs of and establishing new digital benchmarks for Japan’s real estate industry.
This partnership comes at a crucial time, as Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) previously identified “2025 Digital Cliff,” warning of potential annual losses up to ¥12 trillion (approximately USD79.8 billion) without transformation. The Japanese government has since accelerated digitalization initiatives, including a 2022 amendment to the Real Estate Transaction Act enabling electronic contracts.
“This collaboration enhances APAMAN’s operational efficiency while accelerating the digitalization of Japan’s real estate sector,” said Koji Omura, CEO of APAMAN. “We believe this partnership will create greater business value and foster a mutually beneficial relationship with KDAN.”
This partnership demonstrates the market’s confidence in KDAN,” said Kenny Su, Founder & CEO of KDAN. “As we progress toward the capital market, this investment marks a new growth chapter. We remain focused on driving digital innovation and delivering superior digital solutions globally.”
For more information and updates, please visit KDAN’s official website at www.kdan.com.
About KDAN
KDAN is committed to providing a diverse range of AI-driven workflow and data solutions, including digital document management, eSignature, and data analytics services. We empower global businesses to enhance operational efficiency and organizational agility, enabling them to create more business value through secure and innovative digital solutions while pursuing the vision of sustainable development.
Headquartered in Taiwan, KDAN operates across China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, and is supported by over 14 million members worldwide, including 50,000 business members. KDAN has been recognized as one of the Top 500 High-Growth Companies in the Asia-Pacific region by the Financial Times, leading in the IT and Software category in Taiwan.
About APAMAN Group（Apaman Co.,Ltd.）
APAMAN Co., Ltd. oversees the APAMAN Group, which comprises more than 30 companies. The company contributes to society through three segments: Platform, which manages and mediates rentals; Technology, which generates AI, RPA (Robotic Process Automation), and other systems to support real estate services; and Other, which operates co-working spaces, shared bicycles, and shared parking.
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 18, 2024 — Simulation Theory Inc., a start-up dedicated to reducing waste by optimizing compute resources, has successfully raised $2 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Larry Russ, managing partner at Russ, August & Kabat with individual investors including Ryan Peterson, former CEO of Finger Food Advanced Technology Group and Robert Wallace of Strategic Alternatives. The funding will be used to support further development of Simulation Theory’s innovative software development kit (SDK) designed to maximize applications’ ability to optimize existing resources to help companies save billions in overspending on hardware and cloud usage each year.
In today’s digital landscape with the widespread adoption of generative AI and complex simulations, many businesses increasingly rely on cloud services, yet struggle with the skyrocketing prices associated with inefficient hardware usage. Simulation Theory’s technology allows businesses to leverage their existing infrastructure more efficiently, reducing cloud compute costs by up to 40 percent by dramatically increasing application performance.
“The Digital Revolution is over. Welcome to the Age of Optimization,” said Anthony Castoro, chief executive officer and co-founder of Simulation Theory. “As the demand for computing resources continues to skyrocket, we cannot simply build our way out of the problem. Simulation Theory is a deep technology company founded to address the fundamental computing challenges this new age presents. The Simulation Theory SDK allows customers to maximize the compute resources they already have, driving down costs, accelerating business results and promoting sustainable practices that can dramatically reduce our carbon footprint.”
“We understand that creating software that scales on modern CPUs is challenging and as a result the solution has been to throw more expensive hardware at the problem,” said Randy Culley, chief technology officer at Simulation Theory. “Our technology makes it simple for application developers to take full advantage of multi-core CPU architectures on every popular operating system. Some of our early clients have already increased their compute performance by several orders of magnitude, reducing time to completion by as much as 90 percent on the same hardware.”
Customers including Secur3D, Encant AI, Perception Grid and Gameye are among Simulation Theory’s initial partners evaluating the benefits of a Simulation Theory technology integration in terms of future cost savings and performance gains.
Secur3D, a company that moderates and safeguards UGC, is transforming how platforms, creators, and brands protect their 3D assets from infringement and unauthorized use. By leveraging Simulation Theory, Secur3D is poised to scale its operations rapidly. “Integrating Simulation Theory will allow us to expand in ways we thought would take years,” said Nigel Metcalf, Head of Product at Secur3D. “We anticipate increasing our asset intake capacity by at least 20x and believe this technology will change how people anticipate, compute, and meet customer demand.”
Simulation Theory has also recently launched a pilot program to test the technology’s effectiveness for enterprise applications across various industries.
About Simulation Theory Simulation Theory’s mission is to solve the most complex compute problems to save companies billions. Founded in 2023 by Anthony Castoro and Randy Culley, Simulation Theory’s proprietary SDK uniquely empowers businesses to leverage existing resources efficiently and sustainably for maximum reduction in cost, increased performance and minimized impact on the environment.
New funding to accelerate application development of SandboxAQ’s Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) and AI solutions
PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 18, 2024 — SandboxAQ today announced a round of more than $300 million from Fred Alger Management, LLC, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Mumtalakat, Parkway Venture Capital, Breyer Capital, Rizvi Traverse, S32, US Innovative Technology Fund, Ava Investments, Eric Schmidt, Marc Benioff, David Siegel, Yann LeCun, IQT, and other prominent investors. The funding round valued the company at $5.3 billion on a pre-money basis.
The company raised new funding to accelerate the development of its Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) and other AI applications in drug discovery, materials science, chemistry, cybersecurity, navigation, and medical devices.
“Large Quantitative Models are the next wave of AI as they provide a powerful ability to solve science and business problems for large industries including aerospace, biopharma, chemicals, defense, energy, finance, and more. The capital raise we are announcing today gives us additional resources to drive deep impact at scale,” said Jack D. Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ. “LLMs and LQMs are complementary platforms that are both needed in the world of B2B applications. We are pleased to see the commitment of so many long-term investors in SandboxAQ.”
“Leading global enterprises are realizing that they must look beyond the capabilities and limitations of LLMs and embrace LQMs in order to maximize the ROI from their AI investments,” said Eric Schmidt, Chairman of SandboxAQ. “Jack Hidary and his team at SandboxAQ have shown the ability to create significant customer value across key industries such as biopharma, chemicals, and financial services. Jack is a world-class, high-integrity CEO leading a deeply technical team. With this round, SandboxAQ can move even faster to its goals and impact.”
“We see significant growth potential and opportunity for LQMs across a broad range of industries, which is why investing in SandboxAQ is an investment in AI’s future,” said Jim Breyer, Breyer Capital. “Through SandboxAQ, Breyer Capital has a front-row seat to a generation-defining company with some of the most inspiring uses of AI technology. Jack is both a visionary and a high-performance CEO, uniting science and AI in bold and meaningful ways to address the world’s most pressing challenges.”
“I am investing in SandboxAQ because of their industry-leading approach to quantitative AI,” said Yann LeCun, a leading AI scientist and one of three Turing Award winners for deep learning. “While LLMs are very helpful tools for consumers, it is quantitative AI that will define work in large sectors of the economy including biopharma, chemicals and financial services. I am impressed by the technical depth of Jack and his team and am excited to support their work. SandboxAQ has emerged as a leader in novel applications of AI that solve the most pressing challenges in the world and their technical success is impressive.”
Customers Across Industries and High-Impact Research Output SandboxAQ is completing 2024 with achievements that underscore its leadership in AI-driven innovation and scientific research. SandboxAQ’s Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) and other technologies have set a new standard in AI, tackling computationally complex challenges in healthcare, energy, chemicals, aerospace, defense, and other industries.
Advancing Drug Discovery with AQBioSim SandboxAQ’s AQBioSim division made significant strides in accelerating new therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative diseases in 2024, signing deals to leverage its AI capabilities with two top academic research institutions.
SandboxAQ also expanded its relationship with large biopharma companies, leveraging LQMs to identify new biomarkers and optimize clinical development for investigational medicines. It launched a new generative AI application, IDOLPro, which can rapidly design drug molecules with specific properties to accelerate further drug discovery R&D. Several leading organizations joined SandboxAQ’s innovation network, extending AQBioSim’s cutting-edge AI-driven drug discovery.
Innovating Materials Science with AQChemSim SandboxAQ’s AQChemSim division achieved significantly upgraded capabilities in material design, breaking new ground with customers and partners. Through its ongoing collaboration with NVIDIA, SandboxAQ boosted its computational chemistry capabilities by 80x and doubled the size of molecules the platform can calculate. Leveraging high-quality battery data from NOVONIX, AQChemSim reduced lithium-ion battery life prediction time by 95%, increasing accuracy 35x with 50x less data. In addition, SandboxAQ advanced battery design and testing. SandboxAQ software helped a global chemical manufacturer quantitatively predict catalytic activity to help it produce more advanced chemicals.
Revolutionizing Cardiac Diagnostics with CardiAQ SandboxAQ launched its AQMed division. The first product, CardiAQ, is a magnetocardiography (MCG) investigational device under development designed to capture and analyze magnetic signals from the heart, with the potential to provide more precise and timely assessments. The company also announced a new clinical research study with The Mayo Clinic, supplementing its ongoing collaboration with Mount Sinai Medical Center and a successful feasibility study with the UCSF Medical Center.
Transforming Navigation with AQNav SandboxAQ’s AQNav successfully gained traction with aerospace leaders to further explore its applications. The AQNav system uses quantum sensors to detect the Earth’s magnetic field and feeds that info to a quantitative model which compares the data to magnetic maps of the Earth to determine location. AQNav achieved new milestones with the U.S. Air Force (USAF), advancing navigation of aircraft without GPS. This milestone led to a US Air Force TACFI contract extension to explore additional AQNav configurations for a wider range of aircraft. SandboxAQ was named to TIME’s Best Inventions of 2024, Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech, AI Trailblazers, and other awards.
Securing Digital Infrastructure with AQtive Guard In 2024, SandboxAQ expanded its Accenture partnership to deploy its cryptography management solution, AQtive Guard, across verticals such as financial services and life sciences.
J.P. Morgan advised SandboxAQ on the financing.
About SandboxAQ SandboxAQ is a B2B company delivering solutions at the intersection of AI and quantum techniques. The company’s Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) deliver critical advances in life sciences, financial services, navigation, and other sectors. The company emerged from Alphabet Inc. as an independent company backed by a growth capital round of $500 million, funded by leading investors including funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., IQT, US Innovative Technology Fund, Eric Schmidt, Breyer Capital, Guggenheim Partners, Marc Benioff, Thomas Tull, Paladin Capital Group, and others. For more information, visit http://www.sandboxaq.com.
Plume aims to bring real world tokenization onchain to build out RWAfi ecosystem
NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2024 — Plume, the first fully integrated modular Layer-1 blockchain focused on Real World Asset Finance (RWAfi), today announced the closing of a $20M Series A funding round from Brevan Howard Digital, Haun Ventures, Galaxy Ventures, Lightspeed Faction, Superscrypt, Hashkey, Laser Digital (Nomura Group), A Capital, 280 Capital, SV Angel, Reciprocal Ventures, and others, showcasing strong industry conviction from crypto-native and traditional finance investors in Plume’s vision of an onchain RWAfi ecosystem.
Since its seed round, Plume has seen explosive growth with over 180 protocols building in its ecosystem, representing over $4B in assets. The network’s recently concluded 8-week testnet boasted over 18M wallets, 3.75M actives, and over 280M transactions. Additionally, Plume’s recent pre-deposit campaign was oversubscribed with more than $30M filled in less than 90 minutes, building momentum ahead of its mainnet launch.
At the helm of RWAfi, Plume builds infrastructure that makes it easy to interact with the real world onchain. Plume is both the easiest place to bring real world assets from the real world onchain with products like Plume Arc (modular tokenization engine), Plume Nexus (real world data provider), and as well as interact with those assets on Plume’s EVM blockchain. On Plume, users can seamlessly swap, trade, and speculate on real world assets just as easily as they can when interacting with crypto native assets. Whether it’s earning real yield from holding oil royalties, putting that into a lending market to loop against it, or putting those tokens into a perps dex – Plume is the only place where users can permissionlessly access the real world via crypto rails.
“RWAs have always had tremendous onchain demand, but historically the infrastructure to bring these assets onchain just hasn’t existed,” said Chris Yin, cofounder and CEO of Plume. “Just look at the original RWA, the stablecoin – it’s one of the best products in crypto for onboarding new users. But the key to adoption, however, is the ecosystem and user experience – while stables have nailed it, the rest of RWAs have not. So now with Plume, asset issuers of all kinds can become crypto native builders. Through our technology and ecosystem, we plug them directly into our community, ecosystem, and liquidity and all in an open, permissionless, and composable way.”
The funds raised in this round will accelerate Plume’s commitment to creating the first L1 RWA blockchain for crypto-natives and institutions while supporting new applications and products in emerging markets built on Plume, furthering its mission of bringing the real world onchain for everyone from crypto natives to the largest financial institutions.
“The Plume approach to RWA leverages the unique capabilities of DeFi-native blockchain rails and combines it with their deep understanding of the incentives that drive traditional financial institutions and net new users to come onchain, especially in emerging markets. It’s exciting to see alternative investment classes such as carbon credits, specialty finance products, and GPUs brought onchain via Plume that are not easily accessible to investors today,” said Will Nuelle, General Partner of Galaxy Ventures.
Plume aims to unlock the untapped potential of physical assets and economic data to create opportunities for real yield, sustainable growth, and global accessibility. Users will be able to access Plume on mainnet launch starting early next year.
About Plume
Plume is the first fully integrated L1 modular blockchain focused on RWAfi, offering a composable, EVM-compatible environment for onboarding and managing diverse real-world assets. With 180+ projects on its private devnet, Plume provides an end-to-end tokenization engine and a network of financial infrastructure partners, simplifying asset onboarding and enabling seamless DeFi integration for RWAs. Learn more at https://www.plumenetwork.xyz/ or contact [email protected].
$17M Series B Round Led by Aquiline to Fuel Scripta’s Growth into Health Plan and Medicare Advantage Markets
BOSTON, Dec. 18, 2024— “Consumerism in healthcare” is a popular catch phrase, but when it comes to prescription drugs, Americans are lacking the transparency, clinical expertise and navigation tools needed to make informed decisions. That’s the problem that the AI-powered pharmacy navigation platform, Scripta Insights, is on a mission to solve, starting with the 105 million Americans who are on self-insured plans. The company announced today that it has closed $17 million in Series B funding led by Aquiline, a private investment specialist in financial services and related technologies, bringing Scripta’s total funding to date to $42 million and demonstrating strong support of its mission from the investor community. This strategic investment comes on the heels of Scripta’s revenue surging more than 100% in 2024, capping a milestone year for the business.
Scripta’s easy-to-use Rx Navigation solutions include Rx Navigator for members, and Rx Monitor for plan sponsors. With Rx Navigator, employees and enrolled dependents on the health plan receive Personalized Savings reports, via app, web portal and mail, revealing all their prescription options. Rx Monitor supports Rx Navigator clients by providing unique analytics and insights for payers to monitor their Rx benefit costs.
“Scripta has pioneered the pharmacy navigation category, bringing unprecedented transparency to the market, empowering members to comparison-shop for Rx for the first time and enabling plan sponsors to contain their skyrocketing benefit costs–without disrupting the existing PBM infrastructure,” said Max Chee, Partner and Co-Head of Venture at Aquiline. “CEO Eric Levin and team have made huge strides in filling a critical gap in the benefits offering of America’s largest employers, while gaining the trust of the broker community.”
The B round financing will be used to fuel Scripta’s continued adoption and scaling of its platform in the self-insured market and TPA / PEO channels, as well as provide a capital infusion in support of the company’s expansion in the health plan and Medicare Advantage markets. The round includes additional investment from existing investors Contour Venture Partners and Eastside Partners, as well as ReMY Investors. As part of the financing, Avery Klinger from Aquiline will be joining the Scripta Board of Directors.
“We are changing the way people shop for prescription drugs in America,” said Eric Levin, CEO, Scripta Insights. “That may sound like a bold statement, but in the last year alone we’ve generated 78,000 prescription switches that have resulted in $29M in prescription savings. We’re creating an America where access, affordability and adherence to necessary medicines are no longer barriers to positive health outcomes. There is no greater proof point than the fact that 93 percent of the drug switches driven by our clinical recommendations stay switched even after 12 months.”
Levin is a serial entrepreneur who has created or managed products that have sold well in excess of $5 billion, and has been involved in more than 32 mergers and acquisitions. He was part of the executive management team, under “Shark Tank’s” Kevin O’Leary, who was responsible for growing The Learning Company from $60 million to over $1.2 billion in sales in just six years, ultimately selling to Mattel for $3.6 billion. In 2019, after meeting co-founder Dr. Paul Bradley, he turned his energy and expertise toward solving America’s prescription drug affordability crisis by co-founding Scripta Insights.
Rising pharmacy benefit costs are crushing consumers and self-insured plan sponsors:
Americans are expected to spend a staggering $800 billion, approximately, on Rx this year alone
Thirty percent of patients report cost-based non-adherence
Doctors want to help their patients afford their medications, but 79 percent of them do not know the cost of a drug when they write the script
Rx costs represent roughly 30 percent of plan benefit spend, and they’re rapidly rising
The Series B investment comes at a time when the market is also experiencing heightened scrutiny from legislative, regulatory and legal entities related to the lack of consumer choice in the prescription selection process. Adding fuel to the fire is the increased focus on the fiduciary duties of self-insured employers driven by ERISA lawsuits like the high-profile Lewandowsky v. Johnson & Johnson case.
Levin explains, “In this environment, it is more important than ever to have an unbiased third party who can credibly provide transparency tools and pricing analysis in support of ERISA-based fiduciary duty responsibilities and ACA compliance regulations. We are a completely independent company with unmatched clinical strength, a flexible platform and trusted results. Employers really appreciate the fact that our only business is helping plan sponsors optimize their pharmacy benefits and our client data is only used to help our clients.”
Scripta’s easy-to-use Rx Navigation solutions include Rx Navigator for members, and Rx Monitor for plan sponsors.
With Rx Navigator, employees and enrolled dependents on the health plan receive Personalized Savings reports, via app, web portal and mail, revealing all their prescription options. Saving could be as easy as using a coupon, filling at a cheaper pharmacy or switching to a proven therapeutic alternative if their doctor agrees. Members choose how to save. Scripta provides concierge support guiding members through savings opportunities and alternatives, as well as seamless onboarding and member engagement campaigns.
Scripta’s Rx Monitor supports Rx Navigator clients by providing unique analytics and insights for payers to monitor their Rx benefit costs. Plan sponsors are able to contain their Rx benefit spend, optimize their benefits and support plan decision-making.
The company’s Rx Navigation solutions are driven by its software platform made up of two key components: Scripta’s Med Mapper™, a doctor-driven, proprietary clinical data set and rules engine that maps 17,000 medicines and medical devices to cost-efficient alternatives, considering clinical efficacy and focusing on health outcomes; and Scripta’s Savings Mapper™, a proprietary recommendation engine that runs a payer’s benefit plan, PBM formulary, and Scripta’s Med Mapper against patient claims to identify savings opportunities and issue recommendations.
Scripta’s solutions integrate seamlessly with existing benefits systems. They work within a client’s existing plan design and formulary, with all PBMs, and alongside any other Rx benefit cost containment solutions they may have in place.
Scripta’s more than 80 clients have innovated their benefits offering, giving their members access to more affordable prescription options, guided support to understand their medication choices, and helping to lower their out-of-pocket costs. Customers include self-insured health plans and employers, ranging from 3,000 lives to the Fortune 500 across industries, from energy and transportation, to technology and healthcare, to professional service firms and more. Clients average a lifetime 4.2x ROI.
The company also has go-to-market relationships with five of the top seven U.S. benefits brokers, including Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., McGriff Insurance Services, LLC/Marsh McLennan, NFP, and WTW, as these thought-leaders in employee benefits have embraced the role of Rx Navigation in filling a key gap in the market.
Strategic partnerships have also propelled Scripta’s product innovation to integrate cutting-edge solutions, including discounted pricing from Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company and precision couponing capabilities through SingleCare. Scripta’s proprietary pharmacy data and insights also power pharmacy cost-containment programs for Healthcare Bluebook (Bluebook Rx) and Lightbeam Health Solutions, lowering prescription costs for the millions of member lives they collectively serve.
About Scripta Insights Scripta Insights, a venture-backed digital health company, is a leader in developing pharmacy navigation solutions for self-insured employers, health plans and their members. The company was founded in 2019, following nearly a decade of work by doctors, pharmacists and data analysts who helped build Scripta’s proprietary software platform. For more information about Scripta, visit www.scriptainsights.com and follow the company on LinkedIn.
About Aquiline Aquiline Capital Partners LP (“Aquiline”) is a private investment firm based in New York, London, and Philadelphia, that is dedicated to financial services and technology. As of September 30, 2024, Aquiline has approximately $11.3 billion of assets under management and has deployed approximately $7.0 billion of capital across the firm’s three strategies in private equity, venture, and credit. For more information about Aquiline, its investment professionals, and its portfolio companies, visit www.aquiline.com.
CONTACT: Linda Krebs, LKPR, Inc. for Scripta Insights, [email protected], 646-824-5186
The new capital will be used to accelerate the adoption of Mojave’s groundbreaking Dedicated Outdoor Air System (DOAS) solution, ArctiDry, which sets new a new standard for energy efficiency, and began shipping earlier this year. The funding will support the company’s sales and marketing expansion, new ArctiDry product launches, electrochemical regeneration research, and the completion of its Department of Energy manufacturing scale-up efforts. This latest round brings Mojave’s total funding to $25.6 million.
“We are grateful for the ongoing support of our investors as we transition into this next phase, focused on accelerated adoption, product line expansion, and new market development,” said Phil Farese, CEO, Mojave. “This latest round validates our market leadership and proven success in achieving unprecedented levels of energy efficiency with our liquid desiccant DOAS, while delivering the reliability, performance, and ease of operation that customers need.”
In the past year, Mojave signed 19 firms to its Sales Partner Network that are actively representing Mojave ArctiDry in their regions. Mojave will continue to expand coverage across the U.S. in 2025. The company launched the ArctiDry in January 2024 and is manufacturing and shipping units from its Anderson, South Carolina facility to customer sites.
“Mojave’s ArctiDry is a no-brainer for buildings, allowing owner-operators to precisely meet the temperature and humidity requirements of their assets, while providing energy savings and thereby lowering emissions,” shared Anastasia Istratova, Principal at Fifth Wall. “We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Phil and his market-leading team to drive forward advanced features and new technologies that will further revolutionize the industry.”
“Mojave has proven that its all-electric energy-saving liquid desiccant dehumidification cooling system is the greenest air conditioner on the market,” said Dilip Goswami, Venture Partner, At One Ventures. “We have great confidence in the Mojave team, and their ability to make a difference for the planet by reducing HVAC energy consumption.”
ArctiDry is a patented, easy-to-install, liquid desiccant HVAC system with an unparalleled ISMRE2 efficiency rating of up to 11 lbs/kWh that dramatically lowers electricity consumption by up to 50 percent. Its ability to efficiently dehumidify the air without overcooling makes it ideal for many commercial building applications such as healthcare, education, hospitality, manufacturing, and more.
“There is a critical need to dramatically reduce the climate impact of HVAC while delivering on enterprise demand for reliability and energy savings,” said Tim Chiang, Co-founder and Partner, Myriad Venture Partners. “Mojave is reshaping how we think about cooling commercial buildings by setting new benchmarks for energy efficiency in our built environments. We are proud to have been part of Mojave’s journey from the start and look forward to continuing to work with the team as they redefine what’s possible in the HVAC industry.”
In addition to accelerating the adoption of ArctiDry, Mojave is focused on developing the next generation of its advanced technology. This winter, Mojave will launch ArctiDry HP, making it the first company to integrate liquid desiccant with a reversible heat pump. Meeting new state regulatory requirements for energy efficiency, the integration will enable electricity savings and zero-carbon wintertime operation.
Additionally, Mojave has begun its phase two execution of its Department of Energy project to demonstrate the energy efficiency and reliability of ArctiDry in the field on a variety of building types and applications. This project includes additional field tests that build on Mojave’s previous field tests that began in 2022.
About Mojave Energy Systems Mojave produces novel liquid desiccant systems designed to change the nature of air conditioning by dramatically increasing energy efficiency and reducing the climate impact of AC. Mojave’s patented technology cools and dehumidifies the air, enabling the independent control of dew point and dry bulb. By focusing on dehumidification, lowering energy consumption, reducing refrigerant use, and improving indoor air quality for commercial buildings, Mojave’s ArctiDry product is an ideal solution for Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems (DOAS). When compared to other alternatives on the market, ArctiDry offers a highly reliable, lowest-cost-of-ownership product that reduces energy use by 40 to 60%.
Market context takes back seat to success metrics while “window shopping” VCs look for proven skill set and traction
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 18, 2024 — DocSend, a secure document sharing platform and Dropbox (NASDAQ: DBX) company, released new data showing venture capital (VC) investors spent 40% more time on seed stage Team slides, and 30% more time on pre-seed Team slides in 2024 compared to the previous year. As interest in dealmaking has returned, investors are prioritizing proven progress such as traction, product and financials over market context and competition.
Investors “window shop” for potential investments as their engagement with pitch decks reached record highs, but their interest isn’t translating into dollars. Global early-stage fundraising trended flat YoY.
People Behind the Pitch Deck
Data from both of DocSend’s early-stage reports reveals a common theme: investors are increasingly focused on the team behind a startup. Backgrounds and expertise are pivotal in building investor confidence in a disruptive time.
VCs are investing in new technology and looking for teams that will drive innovation. The most money raised went to teams with members in their 20s, and teams with two founders. Geographically, the West had a redemptive increase in startups, indicating a bounce back from the SVB collapse.
Mixed-gender teams received the most funding, an average of $770K for seed and $660K for pre-seed, demonstrating investors showed progress in recognizing the value diverse viewpoints bring to the table.
Investors have a growing interest in how startups can demonstrate expertise, success metrics, and a growth plan, rather than just demonstrating market fit. The pre-seed Market Size slide received 19% less investor attention and the seed Competition slide received 48% less investor attention, on average.
Pitching Process: Sped-Up Investor Decisions
Founders are also closing rounds quicker – fundraising time averaged 12 weeks for pre-seed rounds and the majority of successful seed companies closed rounds in 12 weeks or less. With investors cutting down the time they spend analyzing each deck, founders need to capture and keep VCs’ attention by being concise and impactful in their presentations.
Both sides of the funding process are focused on efficiency. However, pre-seed founders averaged fewer meetings set with investors and seed founders averaged more.
The full 2024 Dropbox DocSend Pre-seed and Seed reports can be found here.
About DocSend DocSend enables companies to share business-critical documents with ease and get real-time actionable feedback. With DocSend’s security and control, startup founders, investors, executives, and business development professionals can build business partnerships that have a lasting impact. Over 34,000 customers of all sizes use DocSend today. Learn more at docsend.com.
About Dropbox Dropbox is one place to keep life organized and keep work moving. With more than 700 million registered users across 180 countries, we’re on a mission to design a more enlightened way of working. Dropbox is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. For more information on our mission and products, visit dropbox.com.
SINGAPORE, Dec. 18, 2024 — Zoth, a real-world asset (RWA) ecosystem delivering institutional-grade, fixed-yield opportunities on-chain, has partnered with Singularity Finance to introduce Zoth Tokenized Liquid Notes Prime (ZTLN-P). Backed by U.S. Treasury ETFs and money market funds (MMFs) managed by reputable asset managers and securely custodied with Doo Group, ZTLN-P provides institutional investors with a secure and compliant solution to manage their treasury assets on-chain, delivering consistent and dependable returns.
Zoth and Singularity Finance Launch ZTLN Prime to Bring Institutional Grade Funds On-chain
A Strategic Partnership Driving Smarter On-Chain Treasury Solutions
Singularity Finance (SFI) joins Zoth in launching ZTLN-P, combining strategic treasury management expertise with an innovative tokenization framework. This partnership aims to bridge the gap between decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional finance (TradFi), delivering a solution that improves institutional investors’ liquidity, safety, and compliance. Zoth’s expertise in go-to-market strategies and SFI’s focus on compliant tokenized financial products provide a streamlined pathway for institutional adoption.
ZTLN-P ensures low-risk yields without lock-in periods, enabling institutions to unlock consistent returns. Built on SFI’s tokenization framework, ZTLN-P adheres to global regulatory standards under the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) and the Mutual Funds Act (2021 Revision).
“ZTLN Prime exemplifies the shift towards integrating TradFi’s stability with DeFi‘s efficiency,” said Aly Madhavji, Managing Partner at Blockchain Founders Fund. “This collaboration provides institutional investors with a much-needed solution that balances security, compliance, and consistent returns.”
TradFi-Backed Security for On-Chain Treasury Management
ZTLN-P’s strength lies in its asset backing. By leveraging BlackRock-managed iShares Treasury ETFs and MMFs, the product delivers predictable, low-risk returns with unparalleled liquidity, addressing concerns around the volatility associated with DeFi.
Unlike speculative DeFi strategies, ZTLN-P emphasizes safety, transparency, and regulatory compliance, setting a new benchmark for institutional-grade DeFi solutions. Its focus on robust legal structures and secure custody provides institutional investors with confidence that their capital is deployed in strategies prioritizing capital preservation and steady yields.
Mario Casiraghi, Co-founder of SingularityDAO and Singularity Finance, commented, “ZTLN Prime is a transformative step toward bridging the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance. By combining Zoth’s expertise in tokenizing high-quality real-world assets, we’re delivering an institutional-grade product that embodies safety, liquidity, and transparency for the global web 3.0 ecosystem. This partnership sets a new standard for on-chain financial solutions, ensuring that institutional investors can confidently navigate the DeFi space while enjoying consistent, low-risk returns.”
Elevating Standards in DeFi
“ZTLN-P is an industry-driven product that aligns institutional-grade short-term investments such as Blackrock iShares Treasury Bond ETF with the efficiency and transparency of blockchain,” said Pritam Dutta, CEO of Zoth. “With Singularity Finance’s one-of-a-kind expertise, this partnership marks the beginning of a new era where DeFi is no longer a speculative market but a legitimate alternative to traditional finance.”
Cloris Chen, CEO of Singularity Finance added, “One of the core pillars of Singularity Finance is to build an ecosystem that serves as a home for RWA projects, enabled through the SFI tokenization framework. This partnership with Zoth represents an important milestone for SFI, and the launch of ZLTN Prime unlocks a new & innovative way for the global web3.0 ecosystem to manage and grow its treasury, unlocking new opportunities in the DeFi ecosystem while maintaining the highest standards of compliance and trust.”
About Zoth
Zoth is a retail-focused RWA ecosystem connecting traditional finance and blockchain through institutional-grade fixed-income offerings. The ZothFi marketplace provides seamless access to alternative assets for accredited investors, fostering a globally inclusive financial system.
Singularity Finance is the first AI-centric EVM-compatible L2 blockchain, tokenizing and monetizing the AI value chain. As part of the SingularityNET ecosystem, it is a fully compliant RWA tokenization platform for AI and real-world assets, aiming to become the financial backbone for AI-driven economies.
The grant represents Catalyst’s first-ever support of both a Canadian and Direct Air Capture (DAC) project
MONTRÉAL, Dec. 18, 2024 — Deep Sky, the Quebec-based carbon removal project developer, today announced that it has secured a USD $40 million grant commitment from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst (“Catalyst”). The funds, subject to the satisfaction of funding conditions, will be allocated to the construction of Deep Sky Alpha (formerly Deep Sky Labs) and its associated research and testing of direct air capture (“DAC”) technologies. Deep Sky Alpha will deploy multiple innovative DAC technologies to test and identify the most promising technologies, as part of Deep Sky’s aggressive initiative to lower the cost of large-scale commercial carbon removal. This marks Catalyst’s first-ever investment in both a Canadian and Direct Air Capture (DAC) project.
Deep Sky Secures $40M Grant from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst to Scale Direct Air Capture
The Catalyst program funds large demonstration projects and invests in first-of-a-kind commercial projects that use emerging climate technologies. It prioritizes projects with high-impact and scalable climate tech that need additional capital to reach commercial scale. Alpha is Deep Sky’s first facility and is scheduled to be operational and delivering carbon removal credits by Spring 2025.
With this grant commitment, Catalyst is supporting Deep Sky’s efforts to build large-scale carbon removal and storage infrastructure in Canada. As a project developer, Deep Sky is working to bring together the most promising direct air and ocean capture technologies to accelerate delivery of high-quality carbon removal credits to the market. Powered by renewable energy, Deep Sky’s facilities are strategically located in Canada, a region with all of the natural resources to become a world leader in carbon removal. Hydroelectric power, wind power potential, and a rich geological makeup make it an ideal place for engineered carbon removal and storage.
“Securing support from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst marks another milestone for our company and for the DAC industry,” said Damien Steel, Deep Sky CEO. “The financial backing from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst will play a crucial role in helping Deep Sky realize its ambitious goals. However, the partnership with Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and their expertise into what it takes to build projects at scale has already been transformative to Deep Sky.”
“We’re proud to support Deep Sky Alpha because it offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate several direct air capture technologies and gain a deeper understanding of their potential to lower costs and scale – all while delivering permanent carbon removal,” said Mario Fernandez, Head of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst. “The world will ultimately need many approaches to carbon removal at prices far lower than is achievable today, but Deep Sky’s platform will enable and accelerate the kind of real-world innovation that could make affordable DAC achievable.”
Together, Deep Sky and Catalyst are committed to developing and deploying cutting-edge carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies. High-quality CDR is essential for achieving net-zero emissions goals and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
“In 2025, Deep Sky will deliver on our promise to rapidly scale carbon removals, and we remain unapologetically ambitious as we look to the future,” Steel added.
About Breakthrough Energy Breakthrough Energy is committed to accelerating the world’s journey to a clean energy future. The organization funds breakthrough technologies, advocates for climate-smart policies, and mobilizes partners around the world to take effective action, accelerating progress at every stage.
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is a novel platform that funds and invests in first-of-a-kind commercial projects for emerging climate technologies. By supporting these opportunities, Catalyst seeks to accelerate the adoption of these technologies worldwide and reduce their costs.
Catalyst currently focuses on five technology areas: clean hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, direct air capture, long-duration energy storage, and manufacturing decarbonization. In addition to capital, Catalyst leverages the team’s energy-infrastructure-investing and project-development expertise to work with innovators on advancing their projects from the development stage to funding and ultimately, to construction. Learn more about Breakthrough Energy and Catalyst at breakthroughenergy.org.
About Deep Sky Montreal-based Deep Sky is the world’s first tech-agnostic carbon removal project developer aiming to remove gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere and permanently store it underground. As a project developer, Deep Sky brings together the most promising direct air and ocean carbon capture companies under one roof to bring the largest supply of high quality carbon credits to the market, commercializing and catalyzing carbon removal and storage solutions like never before. With $130M in funding, Deep Sky is backed by world class investors including Investissement Québec, Brightspark Ventures, Whitecap Venture Partners, OMERS Ventures, BDC Climate Fund, Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, BMO, National Bank of Canada, and more. For more information, visit deepskyclimate.com.
