• SK leads Series D to accelerate the scale and global delivery of SCC55®.
• Group14 also acquires the 75% balance of the South Korea joint venture with SK, taking direct control over the manufacture of the company’s silicon battery material in Asia.

WOODINVILLE, Wash., Aug. 20, 2025 — Group14 Technologies today announced that it has closed a US$463M round led by SK, Inc., with strong participation of other existing investors, including Porsche Investments, ATL, OMERS, Decarbonization Partners, Lightrock Climate Impact Fund, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, and others. The funds will be used to continue scaling the manufacture of Group14’s silicon battery material, SCC55, in the U.S. and South Korea, and help meet overwhelming demand amid surging requirements for energy storage worldwide.

In addition, Group14 obtained full ownership of its joint venture with SK Inc., located in Sangju, South Korea. Formed in 2021, the joint venture’s battery active materials (BAM) factory produces Group14’s flagship technology, SCC55, at EV scale to support the global battery manufacturing industry.

“This is a defining moment for Group14 and a clear signal that the future of high-performance energy storage, powered by our silicon battery material, is already here,” said Rick Luebbe, CEO and Co-Founder of Group14. “We’re strengthening regional battery supply chains and safeguarding our customers from global trade uncertainty.”

As Group14’s third commercial battery active materials factory, BAM-3 is strategically located in Asia, home to the world’s largest battery manufacturers. In September 2024, the 10-gigawatt-hour factory began delivery of SCC55 to over 100 electric vehicle and consumer electronics battery manufacturing customers worldwide.

“Group14 technology is already integrated into millions of ATL batteries powering AI-enabled smartphones,” said Joe Kit Chu Lam, Executive Vice President at ATL, a subsidiary of TDK Corporation. “We support even broader delivery of their silicon anode material to power the next generation of high-performance silicon batteries.”

Group14’s first and second BAM factories are located in Washington state. The company is expanding silicon battery infrastructure in Europe with a state-of-the-art silane gas factory in Germany, which will supply a critical precursor for next-generation energy storage technologies.

Following the Series D round, Group14 has raised over US$1B of equity to fund its growth.

About Group14 Technologies
Group14 Technologies is a global leader in advanced silicon battery materials, transforming the future of rechargeable energy storage. Group14’s material, SCC55®, delivers unparalleled performance to any battery and any application – powering millions of devices from EVs to AI-enabled technologies. With commercial-scale factories in the U.S. and Asia, and customers representing 95% of global lithium-ion battery production, Group14 is accelerating the global transition to electrification and ushering in the silicon battery era.

Visit us at www.group14.technology.

SOURCE Group14 Technologies

SynergySuite Secures $12 Million to Lead the AI-First Future of Restaurant Operations

SANDY, Utah, Aug. 20, 2025 — SynergySuite announced it has raised $12 million to accelerate the next phase of its AI-powered back-of-house platform, built for restaurant operators ready to simplify operations and scale smarter. The funding will be used to support global expansion, drive continued product innovation, and meet the growing demands of enterprise and multi-unit restaurant brands.

The round was led by Oyster Capital (Dublin), with continued support from First Analysis (Chicago) and an expanded multi-year credit facility from Lago Innovation (Chicago), a clear vote of confidence in SynergySuite’s category-defining technology and consistent performance.

“Operators don’t need more dashboards and apps—they need answers,” said Jared Neilsen, CEO of SynergySuite. “This funding lets us expand our AI engine that’s already transforming operations, delivering faster decisions, smarter forecasting, and stronger margins, scaling that across thousands more locations.”

SynergySuite’s proprietary AI engine, leverages machine learning and large language models to solve the operational inefficiencies that cost restaurants time and margin every day.

Designed for true scalability, SynergySuite is virtually unique in its ability to manage large restaurant chains at both the individual outlet level and across complex franchise networks—whether corporate-owned, franchisee-owned, or a hybrid. The platform streamlines critical workflows for shift teams, general managers, and franchise leaders, while also providing franchise rollup tools that give corporate teams and individual franchise owners clear, actionable insights across thousands of locations. Core capabilities include real-time inventory tracking, AI-powered forecasting and dynamic ordering, intelligent labor planning, and enterprise-grade tools like automated royalty tracking—all unified in a single AI-driven system.

By reducing waste, optimizing labor costs, and increasing efficiency across every location, SynergySuite helps brands drive consistent profitability and operational excellence at scale. Most importantly, it frees up managers to focus on delivering better guest experiences and accelerating growth.

What sets SynergySuite apart is not just the breadth of it’s suite, but the AI that powers them, and the depth of its integrations.

The platform offers deeper, more robust integrations with leading POS, payroll, accounting, and vendor management systems than any other competitor, giving restaurant brands the flexibility to plug into their existing tech ecosystem without sacrificing performance or visibility.

“Too often, operators are forced to choose between best-in-breed tools and true integration,” Neilsen said. “With SynergySuite, they don’t have to choose. They get a unified platform that actually works together—and works well.”

Founded in Dublin and now headquartered in the U.S, SynergySuite is trusted by top-performing brands like Pollo Campero, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, and Shipley Do-Nuts, and maintains one of the industry’s highest customer retention rates. With global teams across the U.S., Ireland, the UK, and Montenegro, the company is supporting rapid adoption from fast-growing concepts and large global franchises alike.

In 2025, SynergySuite has been recognized for its innovation and customer impact, earning Stevie Awards for Company of the Year (Food & Beverage and Hospitality & Leisure), Titan Awards for Restaurant and Business Technology, a BRIX Holdings Vendor Award for Best Customer Service, and finalist recognition in the SaaS Awards for ERP and HR & Workforce Management.

This capital will accelerate SynergySuite’s growth strategy as it continues to deliver on its promise: powerful automation, practical AI, and a connected platform designed by operators, for operators.

“Our customers don’t ask us for tech,” added Neilsen. “They ask us for smarter, simpler ways to run their business. That’s what our AI is built for, and now we’re scaling it even faster.”

SOURCE SynergySuite

At a Glance

• Fund Size: $60M, 20% oversubscribed — 3× Fund I
• Focus: Veteran-led, dual-use national security tech
• Market Tailwinds: Record defense budgets; surge in A&D IPOs/M&A
• Core Sectors: Space, counter-UAS & autonomy, quantum sensing, robotics, edge computing, AI/ML, cyber
• Capital Efficiency: $250M+ in non-dilutive funding secured by portfolio companies; Fund I achieved >10:1 leverage
• HQ: McLean, VA — near DoD, policymakers, and defense venture ecosystem

MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 19, 2025 — Veteran Ventures Capital (VVC), a venture capital firm investing in dual-use national security technologies, today announced the final close of Veterans Fund II at $60 million, oversubscribed due to strong investor demand. Across both funds, VVC-backed companies have already secured more than a quarter billion dollars in non-dilutive government funding—clear evidence of the capital efficiency and impact of the firm’s model. The fund is triple the size of VVC’s inaugural $20 million Fund I and positions the firm to accelerate mission-critical innovations at a moment of historic opportunity for the defense and aerospace sectors.

Historic Tailwinds
U.S. defense spending has reached record highs—over $900 billion in FY2025, with $145 billion allocated to research, development, test, and evaluation [1]. Budgets are expected to keep rising, driven by priorities in unmanned systems, AI integration, and the rapid fielding of advanced hardware solutions [2]. PwC reports that investment in space is also surging, as national security priorities converge with commercial opportunities—accelerating innovation across the sector [3].

Capital markets are reflecting this momentum. Objective IBV notes that aerospace and defense deal volume jumped ~20% in Q1 2025—the highest since 2022—with transaction multiples reaching 13.2× EBITDA [4]. Recent acquisitions—AeroVironment + BlueHalo, Applied Intuition + EpiSci, and Anduril + Dive Technologies—underscore a robust exit environment in the very sectors VVC targets.

For VVC and Fund II, these forces translate into a rapidly expanding addressable market and an urgency to deploy solutions faster. As defense and aerospace agencies commit greater resources to modernization, demand is surging for exactly the kind of dual-use, mission-critical technologies we back—especially in space situational awareness, in-space propulsion, counter-UAS, and autonomous systems.

Investor Confidence
Fund II drew strong support from institutional investors—including the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, the State of Tennessee, and university endowments—alongside Hersh Family Investments, prominent family offices, and leading wealth management firms. This diverse LP base reflects deep confidence in VVC’s differentiated model: sourcing and scaling mission-critical, veteran-led companies; leveraging our team’s unmatched blend of defense, operational, and venture expertise; and unlocking substantial non-dilutive government capital.

“VVC has consistently proven that veteran leadership at our portfolio companies paired with deep domain expertise can generate outsized returns while meeting urgent national-security needs,” said Derren Burrell, Founder and Managing Partner of Veteran Ventures Capital. “Our ability to marshal private capital alongside significant non-dilutive government funding creates a powerful flywheel—one that accelerates the fielding of urgent dual-use technologies and helps our portfolio companies successfully bridge the much-feared valley of death within defense acquisition.”

Proven Leadership for a Historic Opportunity
VVC’s partners bring more than a century of combined experience in military leadership, strategic contracting, business development, M&A execution, and venture capital. They have managed multi-billion-dollar defense programs, driven billion-dollar business development pipelines, advised senior policymakers, and scaled frontier technologies in both government and commercial markets. This rare combination of mission experience, operational clarity, and capital markets expertise gives VVC unmatched access and insight to identify, fund, and scale the dual-use technologies most critical to U.S. and allied security.

“Our team invests with discipline, but we operate with urgency,” said Josh Weed, VVC General Partner. “This oversubscribed Fund demonstrates the trust LPs have placed in our investment thesis, our team and most importantly the founders we support —mission-focused leaders who are building for the frontlines, whether in orbit, at the tactical edge, or across critical infrastructure. Fund II allows us to back more of them, and with more meaningful capital.”

Early Portfolio Highlights
Fund II is already deploying capital into companies solving high-consequence problems in space, sensing, autonomy, and defense infrastructure. Early investments include:

• Agile Space Industries — chemical in-space propulsion leader addressing the global shortage of high-thrust systems via additive manufacturing and vertical integration. Backed by Lockheed Martin Ventures and national security space customers, enabling U.S. and allied orbital capabilities.
• Turion Space — proprietary DROID satellite architecture delivers high-throughput non-earth imaging and real-time space domain awareness at a fraction of industry cost. Backed by $30M+ in STRATFI/TACFI awards and integrated with the U.S. Space Force Unified Data Library.

“Our job doesn’t stop at investment,” said Steve Kiser, General Partner. “We work alongside our companies to unlock non-dilutive capital, scale defense go-to-market strategies and build resilient operations. That’s how we deliver returns, and that’s how we deliver national impact.”

About Veteran Ventures Capital
Veteran Ventures Capital (VVC) is a veteran-owned investment firm dedicated exclusively to backing veteran-led companies at the nexus of national security and commercial technology. We focus on dual-use sectors where mission alignment and market opportunity intersect—defense, aerospace, advanced sensing, robotics, cyber, and emerging fields such as quantum sensing and edge computing.

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in McLean, Virginia, VVC’s team combines decades of military command, defense acquisition, and venture investing experience. We leverage this operational expertise and deep national security connectivity to identify, fund, and scale mission-critical technologies, delivering national impact alongside competitive returns for our investors.

For more information, visit www.veteranventures.us or contact [email protected]

[1]: U.S. Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Overview, March 2025.
[2]: Deloitte, 2025 Aerospace & Defense Industry Outlook, January 2025.
[3]: PwC, Aerospace & Defense Review and Forecast, June 2025.
[4]: Objective IBV, Q1 2025 Aerospace & Defense Industry Report, May 2025.

SOURCE Veteran Ventures Capital

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 19, 2025 — YL Ventures, a global venture capital firm focused on Israeli cybersecurity innovation, has been named one of America’s Top Venture Capital Firms for 2025 by TIME and Statista. This acknowledgment follows the firm’s inclusion in PitchBook’s 2024 Global Manager Performance Score League Tables, where it was ranked #10 out of 350 global venture capital fund families, marking the third consecutive year YL Ventures has been named among the top 10 performing VC managers worldwide.

The firm received a gold badge, reserved for the top decile of performers in each category. YL Ventures is the only cybersecurity-focused VC in this global top tier and one of the only two Israeli-focused firms in the top 10. PitchBook’s methodology is grounded in fund-level returns, assessing both realized distributions (DPI) and total value (TVPI), as well as IRR and vintage year benchmarking, making this recognition a credible indicator of long-term value creation for limited partners.

The TIME and Statista 2025 ranking offers a complementary perspective, evaluating over 10,000 VC firms based on operational and financial performance metrics across three core pillars: fundraising strength, investment capacity, and exit outcomes. This accomplishment reflects not just name or brand visibility, but actual performance rooted in real firm behavior, portfolio execution, and capital efficiency.

“These rankings are based on realized results, not just projections on paper,” said Yoav Leitersdorf, Managing Partner at YL Ventures. “They reflect the value we create for our limited partners, founders, and co-investors through focus, technical conviction, and disciplined execution that delivers measurable outcomes. We invest at inception, shape the path to market, and stay actively involved as companies grow. This is how lasting cybersecurity powerhouses are built, and it is the model we are committed to.”

With $800M in assets under management across five funds, YL Ventures partners with cybersecurity founders at the very beginning. The firm provides early validation through its network of leading CISOs, sharpens product-market fit through real-world feedback, and helps secure initial design partners and enterprise traction. Its hands-on approach includes helping founders validate ideas with real buyers, build scalable go-to-market strategies, shape messaging, and attract top talent through its in-house team and global network.

YL Ventures’ portfolio includes leading cybersecurity startups such as Aim Security, Orca Security, Minimus and MIND, as well as past portfolio successes including Axonius, Medigate and Twistlock. Collectively, they have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in follow-on funding from top global investors, built deep enterprise adoption, and achieved highly successful outcomes, including sustained category leadership and strategic acquisitions.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2749660/PilotAI_Alpha_Games.jpg

SOURCE YL Ventures

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19, 2025 — Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Group 11 has been named among America’s Top Venture Capital Firms of 2025 by TIME — an inaugural ranking published by TIME and Statista recognizing the most exceptional firms shaping the U.S. venture capital landscape.

Developed in collaboration with Statista, the TIME ranking evaluated firms across three key performance pillars: fundraising strength, investment capacity and activity, as well as exit and fund performance. Group 11’s inclusion affirms its position as a catalyst for innovation, a partner to entrepreneurs, and a builder of the next generation of category-defining leaders.

Dovi Frances, Founding Partner of Group 11, said:

“To be recognized by TIME in its first-ever ranking of America’s top venture capital firms is an incredible honor. For over a decade, Group 11 has stood apart by being agile, pursuing bold opportunities, and heavily investing in Israeli-related technology. This marks the third consecutive year that Group 11 has received prestigious recognition from top-tier global evaluators- rankings based on rigorous, industry-relevant metrics where our performance speaks for itself.”

This honor adds to Group 11’s growing list of accolades, including being named the #1 Top Performing Venture Capital Fund Manager in America by Preqin (2024) and #3 Globally in the HEC Paris–Dow Jones Global Venture Capital Performance Ranking (2023).

Recent portfolio highlights include Dream Security becoming a unicorn in Q1 2025, Next Insurance‘s $2.6 billion sale to MunichRe, and Navan’s pending IPO. Several other portfolio companies are on track to join the unicorn ranks or secure significant markups later this year or in early 2026. This continued success reflects Group 11’s ability to identify category-defining companies time and again, and to be the partner of choice for the world’s most exceptional entrepreneurs.

About Group 11
Founded in 2012 by Dovi Frances, Group 11 invests in visionary entrepreneurs using the unstoppable momentum of technology and AI to reshape industries across cybersecurity, enterprise software, digital infrastructure, and beyond.

Since inception, the firm has deployed $700 million across seven funds and SPVs in category-defining companies such as Navan, Next Insurance (sold to MunichRe for $2.6 billion), Tipalti, HomeLight, Sunbit, Dream Security, Masterschool, Venn City, AeroPay, Healthee, and BridgeWise. This track record reflects Group 11’s ability to repeatedly back category leaders and serve as a trusted partner to exceptional entrepreneurs.

Group 11 typically invests early, leading or co-leading rounds with the clear goal of becoming the largest investor on the cap table for the long term. The firm remains deeply engaged with founders well beyond the initial investment, leveraging its global LP network, strategic introductions, and operational expertise to help portfolio companies dominate their categories.

For more information: www.group11.vc

SOURCE Group 11

Convoke’s platform turns raw data into deliverables, helping drug developers accelerate the path from idea to market

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 19, 2025 — Today, Convoke, the AI-native operating system for biopharma, announced it has raised $8.6 million in seed capital. This financing was led by Kleiner Perkins and Dimension Capital, with participation from ACME, Comma Capital, Liquid2, Not Boring Capital, Audacious, Lux Capital, and angels including Qasar Younis, Erik Torenberg, and other leaders in AI and biotechnology.

The funding comes as biopharma companies are under pressure to reduce development cycle times and improve efficiency. New drugs spend ~45% of their development time (5 or 6 years) on planning and preparation (so-called ‘white space’), and each day of delay is $500,000 in lost sales and time patients are waiting for critical medicines.

“A surprising amount of time is lost to manual, repetitive, or burdensome tasks that could be automated with language model-based systems,” said Alex Telford, CEO and co-founder of Convoke. “Our goal with Convoke is to build software that applies recent advances in AI to unlock capacity and increase the ‘clock speed’ of biopharma organizations.”

Convoke serves as the “information factory” for biopharma knowledge work. Its platform takes in raw data and turns it into the finished work products that drive critical drug development decisions. Customers, from small biotechs to top 20 pharma teams across competitive intelligence, medical affairs, and portfolio strategy, use Convoke to:

• Bring all their information into one place: Ingest and structure internal files, proprietary databases, and external research into an ontology that’s easy to search and reason over.
• Build automations on top of that data: Create custom agents and workflows that apply decision logic, perform analysis, and transform scattered data into the outputs teams need.
• Generate critical deliverables: From manuscripts and competitive intelligence briefs to submission-ready regulatory documents, Convoke’s platform is built to fit industry workflows.

By codifying decision-making and automating repetitive, manual tasks, Convoke enables biopharma teams to complete work in-house that might otherwise require spending hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on outsourced vendors.

“The pharmaceutical industry faces enormous pressure to get more medicines to patients as fast as possible, all while operating in one of the most complex, regulated environments in the world,” said Leigh Marie Braswell, Partner at Kleiner Perkins. “From our first conversation, it was clear that the Convoke team was building with both deep domain expertise and the technical ambition to redefine how biopharma knowledge work gets done. Their platform has already shown it can unlock capabilities for teams that would have been unimaginable even a year ago, and we’re excited to see them bring this new era of AI-native workflows to life sciences.”

To date, Convoke has rapidly grown its customer base, as biopharma organizations look for ways to compete in a tighter, more global market. “The pace of scientific and technological development in life science has never been greater, but the industry faces stiff competition from China, a shifting regulatory environment, and challenging capital markets that demand that companies do more with less,” said Nan Li, Managing Partner at Dimension. “Today’s biotechs need to be laser focused on making the right pipeline decisions and driving efficiency in internal processes. The agentic software that Convoke develops allows companies to shift towards a model where one person acts as a ‘manager of software systems’ instead of relying on sheer headcount and manual workflows.” By replacing these outdated workflows with automated processes, Convoke is already giving teams back significant time savings, which they can reinvest in getting life-saving medicines to patients faster.

Added Telford, “Every automation we build brings us closer to a world of truly ‘self-driving’ biopharma organizations, and we’re excited to see what our customers achieve with their extra time.”

About Convoke
Convoke is the AI-native operating system for biopharma companies, offering software tools that unify internal and external data, codify decision logic, and generate critical deliverables across the drug lifecycle, helping teams move from idea to market faster. Founded by Alex Telford, Maged Ahmed, and Vikas Velagapudi — veterans of the pharmaceutical industry, Applied Intuition, and early-stage healthtech — the company’s platform has helped customers rapidly accomplish in-house what once required large teams or costly consultants.

The company has raised $8.6M to date from top investors including Kleiner Perkins, Dimension Capital, ACME, Comma Capital, Liquid2, Not Boring Capital, Audacious, Lux Capital, and angels including Qasar Younis, Erik Torenberg, and other leaders in AI and biotechnology.

Media Contact
[email protected]

SOURCE Convoke Holdings, Inc.

ISTANBUL, Aug. 19, 2025 — Midas, Turkey’s leading investment platform, has raised $80 million in its Series B funding round, the largest investment ever secured by a Turkish fintech company. This brings Midas’ total funding to date to more than $140 million.

Midas serves 3.5 million investors by providing access to Borsa Istanbul, U.S. stock markets, mutual funds, and cryptocurrencies through a single platform. The company will use the new capital to further strengthen its security infrastructure to international standards and to accelerate the launch of advanced products designed for active traders.

Global Fintech Investors Back Midas’ Vision

The round was led by QED Investors, one of the world’s most respected fintech funds. New investors include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), HSG (formerly Sequoia China), QuantumLight (founded by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky), Spice Expeditions LP, and George Rzepecki. Existing backers Spark Capital, Portage Ventures, Bek Ventures, and Nigel Morris also joined the round, reaffirming their confidence in Midas.

The participating funds are known for early-stage investments in global technology leaders such as TikTok, Alibaba, Coinbase, Nubank, Revolut, Twitter, and Slack. The record-breaking raise highlights international investor confidence in Midas and its pioneering role in reshaping Turkey’s fintech landscape.

Yusuf Özdalga, Partner at QED Investors, said: “Midas has unlocked access to vast domestic and global investment opportunities for Turkish users, utilising cutting edge fintech tools. As QED, we are proud to lead Midas’ Series B round, and are incredibly excited to partner with Egem and his team that have created an exceptionally strong product and performance culture. We look forward to being part of this growth journey in Turkiye, the wider region, and beyond in the coming years.”

Transforming Investing in Turkey

Since its founding in 2020, Midas has fundamentally changed how individuals in Turkey access financial markets. With a commission-free, seamless, and user-friendly experience, millions of people have made their first investments through Midas. Collectively, Midas users have saved nearly $50 million in transaction fees, and half of them began their investing journey on the platform.

Midas has set new industry standards by dramatically lowering costs. After cutting U.S. trading fees by 90%, the company permanently removed all Borsa Istanbul commissions in 2025. Today, Midas offers free live market data, and instant, fee-free transfers—making it the go-to platform for Turkish retail investors.

Growth Through New Products and Security Investments

Having democratized investing for the masses, Midas is now expanding into tools for more sophisticated investors. Following the launch of margin investing, advanced analytics, and Midas Pro, the company will use its Series B funding to introduce derivatives trading in both Turkish and US equities. 

The rollout begins in September with U.S. options trading, providing investors with free real-time data, competitive pricing, and intuitive interfaces—bringing the “Midas Standard” to derivatives markets. 

In parallel, Midas is increasing its investments in security and operational resilience. With infrastructure built to meet global standards, the company remains committed to providing a safe, reliable, and uninterrupted investing experience.

“Making Investing More Accessible and Secure in Turkey“

Egem Eraslan, CEO of Midas, said: “From day one, our mission has been to make investing accessible, affordable, and seamless for everyone. Today, millions of people manage their investments through Midas. With this new funding, we are building a comprehensive ecosystem that unifies all investment needs on one platform, while further strengthening our security and technology infrastructure. This will enable us to keep growing as a fintech company that serves the needs of individual investors both in Turkey and globally.”

About Midas

Founded in 2020, Midas is Turkey’s leading investment platform. It offers access to Turkish and U.S. equities, mutual funds, and cryptocurrencies through a single platform. Since launch, Midas has grown rapidly and now serves more than 3.5 million investors.

Midas enables trading on U.S. exchanges at a competitive flat fee of $1.50 per transaction, while permanently eliminating all commissions and account-related charges, including clearing and custody fees, for Borsa Istanbul. In addition, the platform provides real-time market data at no cost to its users.

To date, Midas has raised over $140 million from global investors including QED Investors, International Finance Corporation (IFC), HSG, Spark Capital, QuantumLight, Spice Expeditions LP, Portage Ventures, Bek Ventures, and Revo Ventures.

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Contact: [email protected] 

SOURCE Midas

MIAMI LAKES, Fla., Aug. 19, 2025 — Yourway Learning, a leader in AI-powered K-12 education, has closed a $9 million equity round to accelerate growth and advance its mission of transforming teaching and learning with trusted, educator-first technology. This investment follows a $6 million equity round and is backed by leading EdTech and growth-stage investors, underscoring the rising demand for purpose-built AI that addresses schools’ most pressing challenges.

The funding will:

• Accelerate the rollout of Yourway Spark, the real-time AI student environment for K-12 classrooms, now in limited district pilots
• Deepen integrations with district systems for efficient, policy-aligned implementation
• Expand targeted Yourway professional development and customer success to deliver measurable impact—eschewing technology for technology’s sake

Fueling the Next Level of Growth in K-12 Education

Over 53% of educators in recent state pilots reported AI reduced workload and supported high-dosage tutoring. More than half of U.S. states are advancing policies for responsible AI integration, emphasizing both equity and educator support.

Education leaders increasingly reject generic, one-size-fits-all technology in favor of solutions built for real classroom challenges, such as limited time, diverse student needs, policy complexity, and administrative and operational demands.

“Purposeful innovation—rooted in what helps teachers and students—is what separates Yourway from the crowd,” said Jerry Weissberg, CEO of Yourway Learning. “We’re committed to putting pedagogy before hype. That’s why the nation’s most forward-thinking districts are choosing Yourway as their partner for scalable impact.”

The Yourway Learning AI platform, which includes the recently announced Yourway Spark for students, addresses top educator pain points:

• Streamlining lesson planning, differentiation, grading, and communications
• Personalizing learning at scale with research-backed frameworks like the Learner Variability Navigator
• Providing adaptive, real-time instructional support by enhancing—not replacing—the human connection between teacher and learner

Sasha Kovriga, Managing Partner at Greybull Stewardship, one of Yourway’s committed investment partners, notes, “Districts aren’t just checking the AI box—they want results that improve learning and engagement.”

The AI-Driven Education Movement

As districts nationwide seek to do more with less, Yourway Learning stands ready as a strategic partner—not just another vendor. The company is inviting additional districts to apply for fall pilots and early access opportunities, helping education leaders confidently integrate AI for teaching, learning, and system-wide coherence to drive impact at scale.

Relevant Resources:

About Yourway Learning
Yourway Learning, the leader in AI-powered K-12 education, empowers joyful, limitless learning through educator-first, research-backed AI solutions. Follow Yourway Learning on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

About Greybull Stewardship
Greybull Stewardship is a private investment firm supporting established, small businesses on their way to scalable and sustainable success. With decades of operational experience and financial acumen, their team of multi-disciplinary operators provides a suite of tailored resources and strategic guidance extending beyond just capital. Greybull proudly cultivates partnerships with motivated entrepreneurs to realize their full potential and confidently navigate the complexities of expansion. Founded in 2010, Greybull is headquartered in Jackson, Wyoming, with team members located throughout the U.S. to effectively support the firm’s investments. To learn more about Greybull, visit www.greybullstewardship.com.

SOURCE Yourway Learning

The AI-powered household assistant also debuts their revolutionary School Calendar Upload integration this back-to-school season

NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2025 — Ohai.ai, the AI-powered household assistant founded by Care.com’s Sheila Lirio Marcelo, today announced a new round of strategic funding led by Muse Capital. The round, co-led by Muse Capital’s founding partners Rachel Springate and Assia Grazioli-Venier, brings together a powerhouse group of high-profile backers and investors including Wisdom Ventures; Olivia Munn, actress and producer; Monique and Melvin Rodriguez, Co-Founders of Mielle Organics; Mindy Kaling, writer and actress; Abby Wambach, Olympian and entrepreneur; Sarah Harden, CEO of Hello Sunshine; Hannah Bronfman, influencer and wellness entrepreneur; Jenny Mollen, writer and actress; Lavinia Errico, Co‐founder of Equinox; and Abby Miller Levy, Co‐Founder of Primetime Partners. This funding builds on Ohai’s strong foundation of support from early supporters, including NEA, Eniac Ventures, Bright Ventures, and LifeX Ventures, and leading women investors like Amy Griffin of G9 Ventures, all of whom participated in the company’s seed round.

Founded by Sheila Lirio Marcelo, a pioneer in the caregiving and famtech space for over a decade, Ohai.ai powers your day by helping your whole household run smoothly — from syncing schedules to managing everyday to-dos and reminders — so you can do less juggling and spend more time living. The platform is designed to be the operating system for busy households with both AI-powered assistance and human-in-the-loop design.

“As a mom, caregiver, and entrepreneur, I know the crushing mental load of running a family — especially during back-to-school season — so our mission at Ohai is to reduce the cognitive overload families experience every day,” said Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Founder and CEO of Ohai.ai. “When we make invisible work visible, we can then make it disappear. This new funding allows us to move faster on building the tools families need, starting with something as simple but powerful as instantly syncing your child’s school calendar.”

This latest investment will fuel product development and accelerate Ohai.ai’s mission to reduce mental overload for families, beginning with the launch of a new, first-of-its-kind feature that allows parents to automatically upload and sync school calendars from across the U.S. into their Ohai app, saving time and eliminating the hassle of manually entering school breaks, holidays, early dismissals and special events. No more copying dates from a paper flyer into your phone at midnight. Parents can find their school by zip code or upload a flyer or PDF, and Ohai will automatically add the events to their calendar. With one click, they can share it with a spouse, grandparent, or babysitter so everyone stays on the same page

“Our goal at Muse Capital has always been to back visionary companies building for the modern household, and Ohai.ai is doing exactly that,” said Rachel Springate, Founding Partner at Muse Capital. “Sheila [Lirio Marcelo] and her team are not only reimagining the future of household productivity, but doing so with a deep understanding of the emotional and logistical realities of care. We’re thrilled to support a female-founded company with such an important mission.”

The round’s high-profile backers also reflect Ohai.ai’s growing cultural momentum. The high-profile investor group backing this round reflects Ohai’s growing cultural relevance and momentum. Since launching in beta, Ohai.ai has helped thousands of families streamline their day-to-day lives, scheduling hundreds of thousands of calendar events and reminders. In preparation for the back-to-school season, Ohai.ai has built a database of over 67,000 school calendars and more than 27 million local events, allowing parents to easily sync relevant events to their calendars.

“Ohai.ai has genuinely changed the way I manage family life with two kids,” said Olivia Munn. “It means fewer calendar conflicts and more space in my brain in my day for what matters.”

With Muse Capital’s investment and the support of their growing network of high‐profile investors, Ohai is positioned to become a must‐have for every parent, caregiver, and household manager looking for more time, less stress, and better coordination.

For more information, visit www.ohai.ai. For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].

About Ohai.ai

Ohai.ai is the smart helper that powers your day. Founded by serial entrepreneur Sheila Lirio Marcelo, who previously founded and took Care.com public, Ohai.ai was born out of her deep experience in caregiving and her mission to ease the invisible labor that families, especially women, carry every day. Ohai.ai combines the power of artificial intelligence with thoughtful human design to help families coordinate calendars, to-dos, logistics, and reminders. Whether it’s syncing multiple school schedules, managing appointments, or planning everyday routines, Ohai’s goal is to reduce mental load and give families back time for what matters most. With a vision to become the personal operating system for every household, Ohai.ai is building a future where care, connection, and productivity can thrive together. @ohaidotai

About Muse Capital
Muse Capital is a Los Angeles–based early-stage venture firm co-founded by Assia Grazioli-Venier and Rachel Springate. The firm focuses on identifying overlooked investment opportunities across how we Care, Play, and Live, with core areas including parenting, elder care, women’s sports, and a long-standing emphasis on women’s health. With deep operating experience, the team brings hands-on expertise in go-to-market strategy, commercialization, and strategic partnerships, helping portfolio companies secure brand-defining deals with Fortune 500s, influencers, sports teams, major tech platforms, and more. Since launching in 2016, Muse Capital has invested in over 50 companies, including category-defining startups like Midi Health, Eli Health, CoFertility, Future Family, Conceivable Life Sciences, GoHenry, and Beekeeper’s Naturals. Through their advisory arm, Muse Sport, the firm has also made direct early investments in sports assets such as the NWSL’s Washington Spirit and SailGP Italy, where they hold a majority ownership stake.

SOURCE Ohai.ai