NEW YORK, Feb. 12, 2025 — Keragon, an AI-powered, HIPAA-compliant automation platform for healthcare, has raised $7.5 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round led by Upfront Ventures, with early investors Afore Capital, Focal, and 25m Health doubling down. This brings Keragon’s total funding to $10.5 million. Six months since product launch, the company has already surpassed 100 paying customers, is growing at a 30% month-over-month rate, and has successfully executed more than 2 million workflow automations.

“Healthcare providers, front and back office staff are weighed down by a long tail of point solutions that don’t talk to each other and slow down patient care. Keragon turns this fragmentation into a connected ecosystem, and is already beloved by numerous clinics saving hours of manual work,” said Kevin Zhang, Partner at Upfront Ventures.

Keragon enables healthcare professionals to seamlessly integrate over 300 popular software tools — including electronic health records (EHRs) like athenahealth, Healthie, Elation Health and Canvas Medical, scheduling platforms, referral management systems, AI medical scribes etc – without any engineering required. This streamlines real-time data exchange, reduces administrative burdens, and safeguards patient data. Recently, Women’s Mental Health Specialists, a clinic serving over 1,000 patients, has cut 5 hours of administrative work per week using Keragon, enabling faster referrals while increasing revenue by 15%. Other common use cases include:

• Patient intake and appointment scheduling
• Patient marketing and communication
• Internal notifications and team coordination

“With Keragon behind the scenes, we’ve been able to improve our processes and expand our operations. Plus, their support is next-level. In a nutshell, Keragon is like Zapier for healthcare, but HIPAA-compliant and way faster,” said Kevin Bundy, CEO of Alive IV and Wellness, a Keragon customer.

Looking ahead, Keragon is doubling down on AI-powered automation. “Integrations are Keragon’s backbone. Connecting complex systems at scale and bringing all the tools our customers use into one unified & compliant ecosystem is our top priority,” said Conno Christou, CEO & Co-founder of Keragon. “With the comprehensive best practices gleaned across these tried and true workflow automations, we are now adding an agentic AI layer to guide and personalize any existing and new automation to each healthcare professional and organization.”

About Keragon
Keragon is an AI-powered healthcare automation platform that enables healthcare professionals to easily connect 300+ popular software and build powerful automations  in a HIPAA-compliant way — no coding required! Learn more at  https://keragon.com

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Keragon

Reinsurance Capacity Grows with Added A+ Rated Partners

CHICAGO, Feb. 12, 2025 — High Definition Vehicle Insurance (HDVI), a technology-driven commercial auto insurance provider, has secured $40 million in growth capital, bringing its total funding to over $87 million. The round, co-led by existing investors 8VC, Autotech Ventures, Munich Re Ventures, and Weatherford Capital, will support the enhancement of HDVI’s telematics-driven products, expanded coverage, and improved tools for insurance agents as the company scales nationwide.

“HDVI’s innovative use of real-time telematics is reshaping commercial trucking insurance,” said Will Weatherford, managing partner at Weatherford Capital. “This latest fundraise underscores the confidence we have in HDVI’s leadership and ability to deliver profitable growth.” 

Following this funding round, Alexei Andreev of Autotech Ventures and Jake Medwell of 8VC will join HDVI’s Board of Directors, alongside existing members Jacqueline LeSage of Munich Re Ventures, Will Weatherford, and HDVI’s Reid Spitz and Chuck Wallace.

HDVI also announced key leadership transitions. After seven successful years as CEO, co-founder Chuck Wallace will become a strategic advisor and continue supporting the company’s long-term vision. Co-founder Reid Spitz, appointed president in January 2024 to prepare for this shift, will now serve as CEO and guide HDVI’s next phase of profitable growth.

“With the infusion of capital, HDVI is well positioned to continue leading the industry in leveraging technology in commercial auto insurance,” said Spitz. “Our team remains committed to continued innovation using telematics and other data sources along with new AI tools throughout the commercial auto policy lifecycle to drive risk reduction and efficiency at scale.”

Wallace added: “I look forward to supporting my co-founder Reid in his new role. Reid is the right person to lead HDVI as it continues its strong growth and innovation in the future.” 

Reinsurance Capacity Expanded with Addition of New A+ AM Best Rated Reinsurers

To support its growth strategy, HDVI has expanded its reinsurance panel to include some of the world’s largest and most financially secure reinsurers. This expansion diversifies HDVI’s reinsurance support and increases HDVI’s underwriting capacity to meet the rising demand for its data-driven insurance solutions.

“We’re excited to have the backing of global leaders in reinsurance who chose to partner with HDVI due to our preeminent use of telematics in underwriting and data-driven approach,” said Chief Underwriting Officer Adam Barnett. “Their support strengthens our ability to protect insureds and serve the increasing demand for innovative transportation insurance.”

Telematics-Driven Growth and Performance 

The company’s flagship product, HDVI Shift™, leverages telematics to help customers reduce risk and save up to 20% upfront and on monthly premiums based on safety performance.

In 2024 alone, HDVI customers logged nearly one million miles of safe driving daily and saved $3.2 million, triple the previous year’s savings.

“We’ve harnessed over 7.5 billion miles of telematics data to enhance our understanding of risk models, refine our pricing models and underwriting process, and improve how we manage claims in-house to deliver a more streamlined, efficient, and customer-centric experience,” said Spitz. “These insights allow us to be highly price competitive while attracting fleets that prioritize safety and operational efficiency.”

Since the launch of HDVI Shift in 2021, HDVI has experienced significant, sustained growth, achieving a 107% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and a loss ratio well below the industry average.

Improved Safety Modeling

HDVI has revised pricing and underwriting, enhancing traditional methods with approaches that base premiums on actual driving behaviors. This results in fairer, more personalized pricing.

HDVI’s telematics models also continue to improve. In addition to leveraging telematics, HDVI integrates data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and other sources to enhance risk assessment and pricing. Nearly 90% of customers see safety improvements within their first policy term.

About HDVI 

HDVI is a technology-first commercial auto insurance provider. The company assesses risk using historical and real-time telematics data and provides tools and services that help fleets increase safety, reward safe driving, and benefit from efficient and fair claims processing. HDVI is headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in Greenville, South Carolina, and Columbus. High Definition Vehicle Insurance, Inc. is a licensed property casualty insurance agent with products underwritten by various insurance companies. For more information, visit https://hdvi.com.

SOURCE High Definition Vehicle Insurance (HDVI)

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 12, 2025 — Early stage venture capital firm True Ventures welcomed two new full-time Partners to its team: Kevin Rose and Mike Montano. Both Rose and Montano entered the True Ventures ecosystem as founders in the firm’s portfolio. Rose was funded in 2011 and Montano in 2009. Both have previously worked as Venture Partners at True. As long-time repeat entrepreneurs and large-scale operators, they bring deep experience and expertise across multiple sectors, including artificial intelligence, consumer and B2B software, and health and wellness.

Kevin Rose: A Longstanding Partnership With True

Rose’s relationship with True Ventures traces back to his early entrepreneurial days. His new role as Partner is the next step in an illustrious journey as both a multi-time founder and seed investor.

In 2004, Rose launched social news platform Digg, pioneering online content aggregation and virality. Digg attracted 38 million monthly users, becoming a mainstay of internet culture. In 2011, True backed Rose to start Milk, acquired by Google in 2012. In 2014, True funded Rose’s app incubator North, which later merged with Hodinkee, where Rose served as CEO.

Rose’s entrepreneurial streak continued when True backed his longevity and meditation apps Zero and Oak, which later became Zero Longevity Science in 2019. In 2022, True backed Rose again (for the fourth time), to start PROOF, a web3 media and technology company, which was acquired in 2024 by Yuga Labs.

Rose is also a seasoned investor, having angel-funded companies including Twitter, Square, Nextdoor, Wealthfront, and Facebook. He previously served as General Partner at Google Ventures. His work as an entrepreneur and investor has been featured on ABC Nightline News, The Jimmy Fallon Show, The Joe Rogan Experience, and The Tim Ferriss Show, and he’s appeared on the covers of Businessweek and Inc. Magazine. Rose hosts three podcasts exploring technology trends, longevity, financial well-being, and internet culture: The Kevin Rose Show, The Random Show, and Diggnation Rebooted.

Rose is now fully focused on investing at True, particularly in the sweeping AI innovation across health, consumer, and enterprise technologies and markets.

“I’m thrilled to dedicate my full attention to investing at True – this firm has played such a big role in my own journey as a founder, graciously encouraging me to tinker and build different businesses through the years,” said Rose. “Being a founder is all about riding the ups and downs of building a company, and the True team gets how to support in the most challenging moments with the kind of unconditional belief that makes all the difference. The right investors can be transformational and I’m eager to be that kind of partner for today’s builders as I put all my chips in at True.”

Mike Montano: From Founder and Engineering Leader to Investor

For Montano, returning to True is a kind of homecoming. True invested in Montano’s first startup, a social media analytics platform called BackType, in 2009. When Twitter acquired BackType in 2011, Montano joined Twitter and spent a decade scaling its engineering team, rising through leadership roles from Director to Vice President to Head of Engineering, ultimately leading a team of 3,000 and overseeing everything from mobile applications, machine learning, and data center operations.

While Montano led the engineering team, Twitter usage and revenue doubled. Additionally, he was proud to serve as the executive sponsor of Twitter’s Black Employee Resource Group, Blackbirds. As an angel investor in dozens of companies including biotech R&D platform Benchling and open source LLM platform Ollama, Montano has helped founders with product, hiring, and scaling engineering culture.

“My experience has taught me the importance of building a world-class team,” said Montano. “At Twitter I learned how to deliver at massive scale, but I also really enjoyed the early days at BackType when I worked with a small team of builders. There’s a magic that happens at that size and I’m happy to jump back into the trenches of that really early stage with founders.”

In 2023, Montano joined True as a part-time Venture Partner, and now as a full-time Partner he is particularly keen on the firm’s increase in AI investments. True has over 60 AI companies in its portfolio, and in Q4 2024, 75% of True’s new investments were AI-native.

“The pace at which technology is moving right now is something I’ve never seen before,” said Montano. “There’s a flood of talent building never-before-imagined products, and it’s a joy to work with these really hungry founders working on the biggest ideas. Our recent AI investments have spanned tools that make developers and other professionals multiply their ability and completely rethink the ways we interact with technology and devices.”

Headquartered in Palo Alto with a second office in San Francisco, True Ventures has 49 team members, including an investment team of 29, alongside finance, operations, and a platform team dedicated to community-building and portfolio support. The firm, which remains committed to pre-seed and seed-stage investments, manages over $3.8 billion, with $3.3 billion invested across more than 475 teams since True’s founding in 2005.

SOURCE True Ventures

The investment will enable Jscrambler to expedite PCI DSS v4 compliance for customers while supporting advanced client-side protection innovations and groundbreaking research

PORTO, Portugal, Feb. 12, 2025 — Jscrambler, a pioneer in client-side protection, today announced the completion of a $5.2M investment round subscribed to exclusively by Iberis Capital. This latest investment builds upon a previous $15 million Series A funding round led by Ace Capital Partners with participation from Sonae IM and Portugal Ventures, which also led the company’s initial Seed round.

Despite the continued growth in client-side threats, many businesses continue to lack the tools needed to keep user data safe. According to the 2024 Jscrambler report, only 36% of respondents’ companies have policies and tools to prevent data skimming. Now, with this latest investment, Jscrambler will further accelerate its efforts to help companies securely and cost-effectively achieve PCI DSS v4 compliance ahead of the  March 31, 2025 deadline. PCI DSS v4 requirements 6.4.3 and 11.6.1, are designed to prevent digital skimming attacks on websites that capture payment card data. In addition to PCI compliance, this round of funding will also support Jscrambler’s commitment to ongoing research and solution innovation.

“Merchants accepting payments face escalating threats like digital skimming, yet many lack the client-side protection tools that are vital to securing customer cardholder data,” said Rui Ribeiro, CEO and co-founder of Jscrambler. “With the PCI compliance deadline rapidly approaching, the urgency for effective client-side protection solutions has never been greater. This funding round from Iberis Capital will enable us to address this immediate pressing need while accelerating our investments in innovation and research to ensure our clients are always prepared for the challenges of tomorrow.”

João Henriques, Partner at Iberis Capital, stated: “Jscrambler delivers a world-leading technological solution that empowers businesses to protect their websites, meeting the increasing demand for robust digital security. Supported by a leadership team with extensive industry knowledge, Jscrambler is uniquely positioned to lead in client-side security. Iberis is proud to be part of Jscrambler’s journey toward success.”

Jscrambler is transforming application security, becoming an essential solution for businesses seeking to protect their applications and web pages while ensuring user trust. By enabling organizations to monitor and safeguard their front-end JavaScript code in real-time, Jscrambler is designed to make client-side security easier to implement, scalable, and focused on threat prevention.

About Jscrambler

Jscrambler is the leader in Client-Side Protection and Compliance. Jscrambler is the first to merge advanced polymorphic JavaScript obfuscation with fine-grained third-party tag protection in a unified Client-Side Protection and Compliance Platform. Jscrambler’s integrated solution ensures a robust defense against current and emerging client-side cyber threats, data leaks, misconfigurations, and IP theft, empowering software development and digital teams to innovate securely online with JavaScript. Jscrambler’s Code Integrity product safeguards first-party JavaScript through state-of-the-art obfuscation and exclusive runtime protection. Jscrambler’s Webpage Integrity product mitigates threats and risks posed by third-party tags, all while ensuring compliance with the new version 4 of PCI DSS. With Jscrambler, businesses adopt a unified, future-proof client-side security policy, all while achieving compliance with emerging security standards.  Jscrambler serves a diverse range of customers, including top Fortune 500 companies, online retailers, airlines, media outlets, and financial services firms whose success depends on safely engaging with their customers online.

For more information, visit www.jscrambler.com, or follow Jscrambler on LinkedIn or X.   

About Iberis Capital

Founded in 2017, Iberis Capital is a venture capital and private equity fund manager based in Lisbon. Iberis Capital invests in Venture Capital, Mid-Market growth and buyout, Yielding Investments and Sustainable Investments with flexible investment structures adapted to the needs of companies. With close to 600 million euros in assets under management and a base of more than 1,200 investors, Iberis Capital establishes partnership relationships and has contributed to the development of some of Portugal’s most promising technology companies, being able to support them at different stages of their growth. Find out more about Iberis Capital: www.iberiscapital.com

CONTACT:
For Jscrambler:
Doug Fraim
Guyer Group for Jscrambler
[email protected]

For Iberis Capital:
[email protected]

SOURCE Jscrambler

NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2025 — Cambridge Wilkinson (“CW”) a leading global investment bank, has announced the growth and enhancement of their team that is focused on raising capital for data centers, power, and digital infrastructure. This strategic initiative underscores the bank’s commitment to supporting the rapid growth and transformation of the digital economy, which is driving unprecedented demand for critical infrastructure assets worldwide.

This team will leverage CW’s investor network’s expertise in infrastructure finance, energy transition, and technology sectors to provide tailored capital solutions for clients. With a focus on innovation and sustainability, the team will work closely with institutional investors, family offices, insurance companies, private equity firms, and corporate clients to fund projects that are essential to the global digital ecosystem, including data centers, renewable energy-powered facilities, and next-generation telecommunications networks. Capital raises will include debt, equity, sale-leasebacks, and merger and acquisition advisory for private and public companies. Capital raises range from $50MM-$5BLN+ per raise.

The digital revolution is fundamentally reshaping the global economy, and data centers, power, and digital infrastructure are at the heart of this transformation. CW is committed to being at the forefront of this shift, providing our clients with the expertise and capital solutions they need to succeed in this dynamic environment. In line with CW’s broader sustainability practice, the team will prioritize investments that align with the transition to a low-carbon economy.

“We have seen a significant uptick in demand for data center and digital infrastructure investment opportunities from some of the largest investors in our network. We have therefore, added significant resources in the space to raise capital for both public and private companies in the digital economy, that have track records and / or portfolios who are looking for customized capital solutions or M&A opportunities”, said Rob Bolandian, Co-Founder and Global Head of Investment Banking at Cambridge Wilkinson.

www.cambridgewilkinson.com

About Us:

Cambridge Wilkinson is a leading global investment bank with the speed, connections, and the confidence to get transactions done. With a focus on middle-market companies, we arrange debt and equity capital raises from $25 million to $5 billion and advise on mergers and acquisitions. In addition, we also provide flexible and scalable leverage facilities and credit facilities for private equity funds and alternative credit funds which range from $25 million to $2 billion. We bring deep experience working with specialty finance institutions, real estate entities, funds as well as businesses spanning a variety of other industries. We offer unique access to a broad network of capital sources including large family offices, credit funds, banks, non-bank credit groups, insurance companies, private equity, sovereigns, and endowments.

Securities offered through Finalis Securities LLC Member FINRA / SIPC. Cambridge Wilkinson LLC and Finalis Securities LLC are separate, unaffiliated entities.

Rob Bolandian, Co-Founder & Global Head of Investment Banking
[email protected]

Howard Chernin, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
[email protected]

SOURCE Cambridge Wilkinson

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 12, 2025 — HPI, a leading Texas-based real estate investment firm specializing in self-storage, industrial, office and multifamily assets, today announced the successful final closing of HPI Self Storage Fund IV (“Fund IV”) with total capital commitments in excess of $58MM. The fund received strong support from many of HPI’s legacy investors as well as new investors, demonstrating continued confidence in HPI’s investment strategy and track record.

Fund IV will be targeting 10-12 institutional grade self-storage assets throughout the United States via acquisition, development, preferred equity, debt or other instruments. The fund seeks to deliver attractive, risk-adjusted returns through strategic asset selection, optimized property management, and prudent leverage, while offering limited partners the tax benefits of depreciation.

“The successful closing of Fund IV reflects the strong relationships we’ve built with our investor base and their confidence in our ability to execute in the self storage sector,” said Jon Erickson, Strategic Investments Partner at HPI. “With nearly $300 million raised across four funds and several direct investments, we continue to demonstrate our ability to identify and capitalize on compelling opportunities in this resilient asset class.”

HPI’s investment strategy focuses on:

• Acquiring Class A self storage facilities in high-growth, undersupplied markets
• Maintaining conservative debt levels to manage risk
• Creating value through strategic positioning and operational improvements
• Providing tax-efficient returns through depreciation benefits

HPI Real Estate Services & Investments brings 33 years of comprehensive commercial real estate expertise to every client engagement. As a full-service firm Texas based real estate firm specializing in development, property management, leasing, tenant representation and investment, we leverage our 360-degree industry perspective to maximize property value and overcome complex real estate challenges. Our veteran 200+ person team has built enduring client relationships through proven performance, unwavering integrity, and best-in-class service.

Please reach out to Rich Bouchner, Senior Director of Investor Relations at [email protected] with any questions or to inquire about HPI’s upcoming multifamily development investment opportunities in Fort Worth, Texas and Austin, Texas.

SOURCE HPI Real Estate Services & Investments

Pulse Fund and Social Capital lead the funding round as Mast launches a first-of-its-kind biomass burial and reforestation project, creating a new class of restorative carbon removal credits to drive ecological recovery

SEATTLE  , Feb. 12, 2025 — Mast Reforestation, North America’s leading post-wildfire reforestation company, today announced a $25 million Series B funding round to scale its expansion into biomass burial—also known as Biomass Carbon Removal & Storage (BiCRS)—an emerging durable and scalable carbon removal solution that Mast is integrating with its restorative reforestation services. Co-led by new investor Pulse Fund and existing investor Social Capital with participation from the Series A co-lead Seven Seven Six, the investment accelerates Mast’s work to restore forestland lost to high-severity wildfires across the Western United States. 

Mast is launching its first restorative biomass burial project, Mast Wood Preserve MT1, in central Montana. The company will generate carbon removal credits from the onsite burial of unmerchantable, fire-killed trees that would otherwise release stored carbon as they are piled and burned. The project also includes Mast’s restoration of approximately 900 acres of forestland that experienced severe burns during the 2021 Poverty Flats Fire, offering a unique opportunity for organizations to finance post-wildfire restoration while locking in durable credits that can be retired by 2030. To provide additional third-party validation of this new carbon removal pathway, Mast has submitted the project for a BeZero rating in addition to undergoing registration and future verification with Puro.earth. Mast plans to begin burial activities in 2025 and the project is expected to generate up to 30,000 tonnes of removal credits through 2026–now available for presale. 

After severe wildfire, landowners face hazardous landscape conditions and limited options for reforestation. With no alternative uses or value for the burned trees, many clear and pile burn in order to reduce wildfire fuel on their property. This releases greenhouse gases and has demonstrated impacts to local air quality during seasonal windows of burn opportunity. The MT1 project, located hundreds of miles from facilities that could repurpose the burned wood for lumber, biochar, or energy production, provides the most efficient and immediate pathway to carbon sequestration. Protected under a 100-year easement and rigorous monitoring, reporting, and verification requirements, the geotechnically designed, anoxic (oxygen-limited) ‘chamber’ is designed to halt the decomposition of the buried wood. This prevents the release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) for a minimum of 100 years, with research and modeling indicating preservation for as long as 3,000 years. Conservative accounting under Puro.earth ensures appropriate baseline, additionality, leakage, and operational emissions are addressed.

The company estimates that Montana alone contains 2.3 million tonnes of dead trees from wildfires in the last four years—demonstrating a significant opportunity to permanently remove this tonnage from the carbon cycle—a challenge that many other carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies are pursuing as a long-term goal.

This innovative approach aligns seamlessly with Mast’s expertise in reforestation, ensuring optimal site conditions for replanting resilient forests where high-severity wildfires have caused irreversible loss. The first and most expensive step in post-wildfire recovery is removing dead, burned trees to mitigate risks to replanting crews and make way for new seedlings. Mast’s reforestation operations for this property will include the restoration of native species cultivated from wild-collected seed, grown in-house, and matched to the project area’s elevation and climate to re-establish ecological function, biodiversity, and resilience.

“Wildfire-destroyed trees pose both a hazard and an opportunity,” said Grant Canary, CEO of Mast Reforestation. “By burying this biomass, we lock away additional carbon, clear the way for new seedlings to thrive, and reduce the risk of these trees fueling future wildfires. This advancement, coupled with Mast’s progress in expanding the wild seed and seedling supply for urgent reforestation needs across the West, takes us to the next frontier of the challenge of scaling responsible reforestation and carbon removal in a way that’s never been done before.”

“With wildfires worsening and communities being devastated faster than recovery has been able to keep pace, supporting Mast’s work was a clear choice for the Pulse Fund,” said Tenzin Seldon, Founder and Managing Partner of the Pulse Fund. “We are committed to restoring the most vulnerable ecosystems through Mast’s ambitious and holistic approach to forest restoration.”

“Mast Reforestation has consistently demonstrated resilience and innovation amidst the complexities of the carbon market,” said Katelin Holloway, Founding Partner at Seven Seven Six. “The company’s introduction of restorative carbon credits enables companies to achieve durable carbon removal while actively contributing to forest ecosystem recovery. Mast’s mission aligns perfectly with Seven Seven Six’s commitment to supporting founders who are leveraging innovation to change the world for the better.”

“I don’t believe in every carbon credit, but I believe in the work Mast is doing,” said Chamath Palihapitiya, Founder and CEO at Social Capital. “In a market full of uncertainty, Mast’s projects deliver real, measurable impact.”

Additional investors in the Series B round include Elemental Impact; Spero Ventures, with Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning as board observer; Thistledown Capital; Julius Genachowski, former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, and Resilience Reserve. Mast also welcomes reinvestment from several investor groups, including LGBTQ+ investors Gaingels, as well as sector-focused Climate Avengers and Climate Capital; and longtime supporters from Mast’s beginning days in Techstars, Drone.vc, Asymmetry Ventures and Massive Capital Partners also participated in the round.

Mast has been specializing in carbon-financed reforestation in the U.S. and Canada since 2020 with buyers such as Shopify and TIME CO2. Carbon buyers are invited to connect with us at [email protected] and individuals can invest in Mast’s reforestation here.

About Mast:
As intensifying wildfires destroy more forestland every year, Mast Reforestation is scaling post-wildfire reforestation in Western North America. Mast pioneers restorative carbon removal that combines resilient forest restoration with durable biomass burial to remove carbon from the atmospheric cycle. Mast owns and operates two of the largest wild tree seed and seedling nurseries in the West, 150-year-old Silvaseed and Cal Forest, which are crucial hubs in the U.S. forestry supply chain essential for wildfire recovery. Mast grows the majority of seedlings for California and manages the majority of seed for the 11 western states. Since its founding, Mast has restored thousands of acres across California, Montana, and Oregon. Producing an average of 36 million seedlings annually, Mast continues to cultivate and protect the biological legacy of Western conifer forests for future generations. Learn more or invest in reforestation today.

Media Contact:
[email protected]

SOURCE Mast Reforestation

Strategic Investment to Drive Technological Innovation and Fuel Pathify’s Continued Rapid Growth in the Higher Education Sector

DENVER, Feb. 12, 2025 — Pathify, a leading digital engagement hub for higher education, today announced it has raised $25 million in a minority investment from Five Elms Capital, a leading software investment firm.

The funding will fuel Pathify’s technology innovation including rapidly expanding its critical vendor agnostic integration library and further accelerate its remarkable 544% growth trajectory in the past three years. In addition, the company plans to leverage the new funding to enhance its platform capabilities as well as add new products, expand its customer base and drive broader adoption across the higher education landscape.

“This latest round of funding marks the beginning of a pivotal period for Pathify as institutions increasingly prioritize technology solutions that deliver measurable ROI while enabling meaningful experiences for students, faculty and admin,” said Chase Williams, CEO and co-founder of Pathify. “Partnering with Five Elms positions us to continue redefining the campus digital engagement experience and solidifying Pathify as a category leader.”

Five Elms Capital, known for its investments in high-growth B2B software companies, is excited to support Pathify’s mission. “Pathify is revolutionizing the way higher education institutions engage their constituents, driving deep customer connections and long-term platform stickiness,” said Stephanie Schneider, Partner, Five Elms Capital. “Their growth reflects the increasing demand for more connected, user-centric digital solutions that enhance engagement while replacing multiple point solutions at an institution. We are thrilled to partner with Chase and the Pathify team as they scale their platform and redefine digital engagement.”

As the most widely-used, non-Student Information System (SIS), system-agnostic student portal and digital experience hub, the platform now serves over 2 million unique lifetime users across nearly 200 global institutions. Pathify has also experienced significant team expansion, growing its workforce by 25% over the past year to support its rapid scaling efforts and commitment to delivering highly effective digital engagement solutions for higher education institutions.

About Pathify
Obsessed with making great technology while developing incredible long-term relationships with customers, Pathify remains hyper-focused on creating stellar experiences across the entire student lifecycle — from prospect to alumni. Delivering cloud-based, integration-friendly software designed to drive engagement, Pathify pushes personalized information, content, and resources to the right people, at the right time — on any device. Led by former higher ed executives, entrepreneurs, and technology leaders, the team at Pathify focuses every day on the values Impact, Wit, Contrast, Technique and Care.

Learn more at pathify.com.

About Five Elms Capital

Five Elms is a growth investor in software businesses that users love, providing capital and resources to help companies accelerate growth and further cement their role as industry leaders.

With $3 billion in assets under management and a global team of over 75 professionals, Five Elms has invested in more than 70 software platforms globally. The firm’s operational value creation team supports the portfolio, working alongside companies to accelerate growth, build out executive teams, increase customer retention, improve sales & marketing efficiency, upgrade analytical infrastructure, and expand into new markets.

For more information, visit fiveelms.com.

SOURCE Pathify

NEW YORK, Feb. 12, 2025 — Lingopal.ai, a leader in real-time speech-to-speech translation, has announced it has raised $14 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by global venture capital firm DCM Ventures, with participation from Scrum Ventures, Marquee Ventures, and prominent angel investors across multiple sectors. This investment will fuel the company’s expansion into new markets and further development of its cutting-edge technology. Lingopal.ai’s innovative platform offers a no-code, plug-and-play solution, enabling companies to instantly translate the audio of any live stream into over 120 languages in seconds.

High Cost and Inaccessibility of Traditional Translation Services Hinders Global Reach
Currently, organizations face significant challenges in effectively communicating with global audiences. The high cost of hiring human translators presents a substantial financial barrier, and the impracticality of relying on human translation for 24/7 content feeds further complicates the issue. The lack of a simple, plug-and-play solution for broadcasting in multiple languages has left a void in the market, hindering businesses’ ability to connect with diverse audiences and expand their global reach.

Using AI to Expand Sports Audiences 
Enter Lingopal.ai, a company that leverages six foundational AI models built in-house to translate any live stream. Given the popularity of sports broadcasts—87 of the top 100 most viewed programs were sports in 2024—Lingopal is partnering with customers in the sports industry, representing a $56B market opportunity.

Lingopal.ai’s speech-to-speech engine has extremely low latency and outperforms human translators’ accuracy. As Lingopal is a plug-and-play solution, live sporting events can be heard instantly in any language with the click of a button, allowing for seamless globalization.

“Lingopal.ai has allowed us to translate live German commentary into English for broadcast in North America in real-time for our DEL hockey team from Germany, The Berlin Eisbären, said Kelly Cheeseman, COO AEG Sports, LA Kings. “We have been highly impressed by Lingopal’s capabilities and look forward to future capabilities.”

Unmatched Accuracy and Speed: Setting a New Standard in Translation
This groundbreaking technology is already making waves globally. Lingopal’s high-performance infrastructure boasts quantized models capable of translating with remarkable accuracy and minimal latency—less than two seconds on its smallest models. The platform’s unique ability to preserve emotion, understand nuanced languages like slang and idioms, and process information rapidly sets it apart. Several customers have already implemented Lingopal’s technology, including global sports properties, high-profile rights-holders and media networks.

“Lingopal.ai’s impressive technology, coupled with its rapid growth and exceptional team, made this a compelling investment for DCM,” said Hurst Lin, General Partner at DCM. “Their real-time, high-accuracy translation across 120+ languages is transforming global, live content industries like news and sports. We look forward to partnering with Deven and the team as they grow.”

The company was started in 2023 by Deven Orie and Casey Schneider, whose backgrounds at Microsoft and Tesla gave them the experience to develop infrastructure that allows hyper-quantized AI models to speak to each other with low latency while being able to process and translate human speech in seconds.

“This funding will accelerate our mission to break down language barriers and connect the world in real time,” said Deven Orie, founder and CEO of Lingopal.  “We envision a future where language is no longer a barrier to communication, and Lingopal is at the forefront of making that a reality.”

Lingopal’s technology offers several key advantages:

• High Accuracy and Low Latency: Translations are completed with exceptional precision and speed.
• Emotional Nuance Preservation: The system retains the emotional tone of the original speech.
• Contextual Understanding: LingoPal handles slang, idioms, and industry-specific jargon effectively.
• Ease of Use: The no-code, plug-and-play system is incredibly fast to set up and user-friendly.
• Extensive Language Support: The platform supports translation to over 120 languages.

With this new capital, the company plans to invest in research and development to enhance its product offerings, focus on its real-time infrastructure, and accelerate its growth into new markets. The company has experienced phenomenal growth, doubling its workforce in the past three months and projecting to grow 2x by April 2025.

About Lingopal.ai:
Lingopal.ai is a New York-based AI startup with offices throughout the US. Lingopal.ai specializes in real-time speech-to-speech translation, essentially allowing any live stream’s audio to be instantly translated into over 120 languages in real-time while preserving the tone of each speaker. Its founders Deven Orie & Casey Schneider, with a background in Cloud/AI at Microsoft & Tesla have created an AI ecosystem that optimizes for speed and accuracy. Their models can be deployed on-prem and in the cloud with no integration, purely plug-and-play.

About DCM:
DCM is a Silicon Valley-based global venture capital firm with offices in the US and Asia and with over $4.2 billion under management. DCM has invested in more than 400 early-stage technology companies globally and provides hands-on operational guidance and a global network of business and financial resources. DCM has backed industry-leading companies, including 51job, 58.com, Bill.com, BitAuto, BitTorrent, Careem (Uber), Dangdang, Fortinet, Freee, FuboTV, Happy Elements, Hims & Hers, Houchebang (ManBang), Gigacloud, Kakao Talk, Kuaishou, Matterport, Musical.ly (TikTok), Quantasing, Sling Media, Sansan, SoFi, TanTan, UCloud, Uxin, Vipshop, YSB, and Wrike. DCM has also led investments in rising startups, such as Assured, Brigit, Cherry, DXY, EvenUp, Figure Technologies, Hauto, Litmatch, Magic Moment, Opus Clip, Plenty, Zaihui, and YunQuNa. For more information, visit https://www.dcm.com.

Contact:
[email protected] 

SOURCE Lingopal.ai