SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 22, 2026 — Superpower today announced a new partnership with Sequoia to bring a more proactive model of preventive health to employers and their teams. The partnership will begin with Sequoia’s own 800+ employee workforce, giving Sequoia firsthand experience with Superpower while simultaneously making the solution available to eligible client organizations across its employer ecosystem.

Employer healthcare often starts after something has already gone wrong. Symptoms appear. A diagnosis is made. Risk shows up as a claim. Superpower is working to shift that experience earlier, helping people better understand their health before issues become more serious and helping employers support preventive care in a more meaningful way.

The partnership with Sequoia is designed to make that model easier for employers to evaluate and adopt. Sequoia works with more than 2,500 companies and reaches more than 600,000 people, giving it a broad view into the challenges employers face as they manage rising healthcare costs, fragmented benefits, and growing demand for more personalized employee support.

Many people want to be more proactive about their health, but the current system can make that difficult. Annual visits often rely on limited testing and provide only a snapshot in time. Health records may be spread across providers, apps, and systems. New technology can make guidance more personalized, but it works best when connected to comprehensive data and clinical support.

Superpower turns a simple blood draw into an ongoing preventive health experience. Members receive 150+ biomarker testing at home, at thousands of lab locations, or onsite. They also receive a longitudinal health profile that can combine labs, health records, and wearable data, along with a personalized action plan, 24/7 Health AI, licensed clinical support, proactive outreach, and retesting to track progress over time. When the data points to care or a benefit an employer already offers, Superpower helps the member understand where to go next.

By partnering with Sequoia, Superpower can bring this experience to an employer audience that is actively looking for more proactive, integrated ways to support workforce health. Sequoia will begin by offering Superpower to its own employees, then use that experience to advise eligible clients that are evaluating comprehensive preventive health as part of their broader benefits strategy.

“Most people are trying to make health decisions with limited information and a fragmented view of their health. Superpower brings together comprehensive testing, technology, and clinical support so people can better understand what is happening in their bodies and take action earlier. Partnering with Sequoia helps us bring that model to employers in a thoughtful, credible way, starting with Sequoia’s own team,” said Max Marchione, Chief Executive Officer at Superpower.

Sequoia’s decision to begin with its own workforce reflects the way many employers are approaching new health solutions: they want to understand the employee experience, the operational requirements, and the potential value before recommending or scaling them more broadly.

“Employers have made significant investments in healthcare, but much of that support begins after a condition is already known. We see an opportunity to help people engage earlier, with better information and clearer next steps. By offering this to our own team, we can learn firsthand what this experience delivers and help clients evaluate whether it fits into their broader preventive health strategy,” said Christina Sullivan, Chief Client Officer at Sequoia.

Health costs continue to rise, and employers often have limited visibility into health risks before they become more serious and more expensive. Through this partnership, Superpower and Sequoia aim to help employers move upstream, supporting people earlier, connecting them with appropriate care, and making better use of the benefits already available to them.

Eligible Sequoia client organizations should reach out to their Sequoia representative for more information.

About Superpower

Superpower has quickly become one of the most trusted names in preventive healthcare. The company has raised more than $40 million in funding, with its Series A led by Forerunner Ventures. Its membership combines comprehensive lab testing across 150+ biomarkers, AI-powered insights, personalized protocols, and 24/7 access to a clinical care team. The platform brings together each member’s test results with their broader health context – including previous labs, real-time wearable data, family history, and conversations with Superpower AI – to uncover trends, surface potential risks, and deliver ongoing guidance that evolves alongside them. For further information, visit www.superpower.com.

About Sequoia

Sequoia is the strategic partner helping investor-backed companies of all sizes achieve their business goals through smarter people spend. For over 25 years, we’ve guided the most innovative employers to navigate growth and get the most out of their global people investment. With our expert advisory team and integrated platform, we help clients drive business impact through their total comp and benefits, improving executive decision making, controlling costs, protecting the business, and elevating the employee experience. Visit Sequoia.com or follow us on LinkedIn to learn more.

SOURCE Superpower

Appointment strengthens Grafine’s leadership team and supports the firm’s continued growth and commitment to investors

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2026 — Grafine Partners, a principal investment firm focused on generating alpha in the lower middle and middle market, today announced that Suzanne Flannery has joined the firm as Managing Director, Head of Strategic Initiatives. In this newly created role, Ms. Flannery will work across the investment, capital formation and operations teams to further institutionalize Grafine as it continues to attract capital from sophisticated global investors and increase its direct investment activity.

Since founding Grafine in 2019, Founder and Managing Partner Elizabeth Weymouth has built a distinctive investment firm around seeking to identify exceptional sector-specialist private equity investors launching new firms and investing alongside them in high-alpha opportunities.

“We are delighted to welcome Suzanne to Grafine,” said Ms. Weymouth. “She brings a unique and valuable combination of investment experience, strategic perspective, and operating discipline to our growing platform. Her experience will strengthen our ability to serve our investors as we grow, helping us scale thoughtfully while continuing to provide the performance and high level of engagement that are central to Grafine.”

Ms. Flannery brings more than two decades of experience spanning alternative investments, business strategy and institutional asset management. Most recently, she served as Managing Director and Head of Product Marketing Platform at Neuberger Berman, where she led a global team supporting the firm’s investment offerings. Previously, she spent nine years at Goldman Sachs in senior roles across portfolio management, client solutions and hedge fund investing. Earlier in her career, she worked at J.P. Morgan and Monitor Group.

Ms. Flannery holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an Honors Business Administration degree from Ivey Business School at Western University.

About Grafine Partners

Grafine Partners is a principal investment firm focused on generating alpha in the lower middle and middle market – segments offering some of private equity’s most compelling risk-adjusted return opportunities. The firm pursues this opportunity by partnering with sector-specialist investors launching new firms whose proprietary deal flow, deep domain expertise, and demonstrated track records of outperformance create what Grafine believes is a differentiated and repeatable sourcing advantage.  

Zach Kouwe
Dukas Linden Public Relations
[email protected] 

SOURCE Grafine Partners

The combined investment will support WIOCC Group’s long-term growth strategy, including the expansion of its terrestrial and subsea networks, data centre capacity and broader digital infrastructure platform

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2026 — WIOCC Group, Africa’s leading carrier-neutral digital infrastructure platform, today announced that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) intends to join Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) (www.AfricaFC.org) and Vision International Investment Company (Vision Invest) as an investor in the company. The announcement was made following a roundtable hosted by AFC on the sidelines of Unstoppable Africa’s Global Africa Business Initiative, held alongside the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The combined investment will support WIOCC Group’s long-term growth strategy, including the expansion of its terrestrial and subsea networks, data centre capacity and broader digital infrastructure platform, helping strengthen connectivity, digital access and local hosting capacity across the continent.

The investment comes at a pivotal moment for Africa’s digital development as demand for data, cloud services and artificial intelligence continues to grow. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), only 35.7% of Africa’s population was using the internet in 2025, compared with a global average of 73.6%, highlighting the scale of the continent’s digital infrastructure needs and growth potential. Meanwhile, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) projects the global AI market will reach US$4.8 trillion by 2033, while warning that access to AI capabilities and digital infrastructure remains concentrated in a limited number of countries and companies. These trends underscore the importance of investing in resilient, high-capacity infrastructure that can expand digital access, support cross-border data flows and help narrow the digital divide.

Operating in more than 30 African countries, WIOCC Group is a key enabler for further expansion, having established one of the continent’s most extensive, open-access digital infrastructure platforms that supports its clients in accessing new markets and delivering reliable digital services at scale.

With DFC, WIOCC Group brings together an expanded group of investors combining African, Saudi Arabian and U.S. development finance perspectives, reflecting the growing international consensus around the strategic importance of open-access digital infrastructure to Africa’s economic transformation. DFC’s investment is subject to further steps before commitment and closing, including congressional notification.

Conor Coleman, DFC’s Chief of Staff and Head of Investments, commented, “DFC’s investment in WIOCC Group will help build the next generation of trusted, resilient digital infrastructure needed to power Africa’s economic growth. This platform will not only provide the connectivity that businesses and communities need to participate in the digital economy, but it will also support American and allied partner companies seeking to grow in one of the world’s most dynamic markets, including U.S. hyperscalers and the broader American technology ecosystem.”

Commenting on this investment, Samaila Zubairu, President & Chief Executive Officer of AFC, said, ‘The Africa we build must be connected, competitive and equipped to create value from the digital economy, not only consume it. Just as transport corridors enable trade and energy networks power industry, fibre, data centres and subsea cables are now essential infrastructure for growth, innovation and AI. Our investment in WIOCC will expand the open-access digital backbone African businesses and communities need to integrate, innovate and compete globally.’

President & Chief Executive Officer of Vision Invest, Omar N. Al-Midani, added, ‘WIOCC Group has built one of Africa’s leading digital infrastructure platforms, and we are proud to partner together with DFC, AFC and WIOCC’s existing shareholders as the company enters its next phase of growth. Home to the world’s youngest population and expected to account for more than one-quarter of the global population by 2050, demand for digital services in Africa will continue to rise, necessitating impactful investments in connectivity and digital ecosystems to unlock new opportunities for innovation, economic diversification and sustainable growth as well as opportunities for businesses, innovators and communities across Africa.’

Chris Wood, Group Chief Executive Officer of WIOCC Group, further explained, ‘Africa is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the next phase of global digital growth. As demand for cloud, AI and digital services accelerates, robust and scalable infrastructure will be essential to unlocking the continent’s potential. This additional investment increases WIOCC Group’s ability to execute its long-term growth strategy by accelerating data centre deployment and consolidation, expanding the continent’s open-access terrestrial fibre footprint and investing strategically in new subsea assets, strengthening Africa’s digital infrastructure platform and enhancing connectivity between the continent and key international markets.’

Joshua Smythwood, Group Chief Strategy and M&A Officer of WIOCC Group, concluded, ‘The successful completion of this additional investment marks another important step in WIOCC Group’s evolution, further enhancing the Group’s financial strength and enabling the management team to strengthen our market position, accelerate growth, enhance our ability to meet the evolving needs of customers across Africa, and generate long-term value for investors and stakeholders.’

The combined investment brings together AFC’s long-standing commitment to advancing Africa’s economic development, Vision Invest’s experience in developing strategic and impactful infrastructure investments, and DFC’s mandate to mobilise private capital to address development challenges. Together with WIOCC Group’s established digital footprint and extensive market relationships, the partnership will support the continued expansion of Africa’s digital ecosystem and the continent’s growing participation in the global digital economy.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

Download Image (1): https://apo-opa.co/4hg1Hrb (Representatives of WIOCC Group, AFC, Vision Invest and the U.S. DFC at the AFC-hosted roundtable in New York, where DFC announced its intention to join as an investor in WIOCC Group (1))

Download Image (2): https://apo-opa.co/4rq9Yfu (Representatives of WIOCC Group, AFC, Vision Invest and the U.S. DFC at the AFC-hosted roundtable in New York, where DFC announced its intention to join as an investor in WIOCC Group (2))

Download Image (3): https://apo-opa.co/4iCU8fb (Representatives of WIOCC Group, AFC, Vision Invest and the U.S. DFC at the AFC-hosted roundtable in New York, where DFC announced its intention to join as an investor in WIOCC Group (3))

Download Image (4): https://apo-opa.co/4Aqp5td (Representatives of WIOCC Group, AFC, Vision Invest and the U.S. DFC at the AFC-hosted roundtable in New York, where DFC announced its intention to join as an investor in WIOCC Group (4))

Media Contacts:
Greg Sellars
Director Global Brand & Communications
WIOCC
Email: [email protected]

Yewande Thorpe
Communications
Africa Finance Corporation
Mobile: +234 1 279 9654
Email: [email protected]

Suha Matar
VP Corporate Communications
Vision Invest
Email: [email protected]

DFC Press
Email: [email protected]

About DFC:
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is the international investment arm of the United States Government and central to U.S. economic statecraft. DFC mobilizes private capital to advance U.S. foreign policy and economic development. Our investments deliver strong returns for American taxpayers, drive meaningful economic development for our allies and partners, and secure supply chains to counter and outcompete our adversaries.   

About Africa Finance Corporation (AFC):
AFC was established in 2007 to be the catalyst for pragmatic infrastructure and industrial investments across Africa. AFC’s approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development, and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth.

Nineteen years on, AFC has developed a track record as the partner of choice in Africa for investing and delivering on instrumental, high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of energy, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. AFC has 48 member countries and has invested over US$19 billion in 36 African countries since its inception.

About Vision Invest:
Vision Invest is a leading Saudi Arabian infrastructure investment and development company at the forefront of public and private sector partnerships in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and beyond. Contributing to sustainable economic development and growth, the company operates across a wide range of vital sectors, including energy transition, advanced digital infrastructure, resource recovery and preservation, transport and logistics, and social and economic infrastructure. Its portfolio footprint spans five continents, including Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America.

About WIOCC:

Africa’s Digital Infrastructure Leader

WIOCC Group is Africa’s leading digital infrastructure platform, building and operating the critical infrastructure that enables intra-African and international connectivity.

Through strategic investments in subsea assets, terrestrial networks, metro infrastructure, hyperscale data centres and digital platforms, WIOCC Group underpins the expansion and scalability of digital services across the continent.

Its carrier-neutral, open-access approach connects businesses, communities and digital ecosystems, supporting connectivity, cloud, AI, content delivery and the continued growth of Africa’s digital economy.

End-to-End Enabler of Africa’s Interconnected Digital Ecosystem

Trusted in Africa since 2008, WIOCC Group delivers reliable, scalable and future-ready digital infrastructure that strengthens connectivity, expands access and creates the foundations for sustainable digital and economic growth across the continent.

SOURCE Africa Finance Corporation (AFC)

NORWALK, Conn., Sept. 22, 2026 — Heartwood Partners is pleased to announce that, on May 29, 2026, in partnership with the management team who will continue to lead the Company, it made a growth investment in The Xtreme Group (“TXG” or the “Company”).

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, TXG has built a leading independent, full-service aviation MRO platform with capabilities spanning airframe heavy maintenance, engine MRO, line maintenance, aircraft on ground (AOG) services, and the sale and lease of aircraft and engines, serving primarily cargo and commercial operators. The Company serves a marquee customer base from its headquarters in Miami, Florida, with line maintenance stations across major U.S. airports.

“We are delighted to partner with Carlos and the entire TXG team as they enter this exciting next chapter of growth,” said Ed Tan, Managing Partner, Heartwood Partners. “We first met Carlos at the annual MRO show, and we are proud to have fostered that relationship into today’s partnership. TXG has built an exceptional reputation in aviation MRO through over a decade of consistent, high-quality execution for some of the industry’s most demanding cargo and commercial operators. Heartwood’s growth-oriented, low-leverage approach is well-suited to support TXG’s expansion into new geographies, service lines, and additional capacity, and we look forward to partnering with Carlos and the team to accelerate that trajectory.”

“The Xtreme Group exemplifies the type of founder-led, operationally excellent business that Heartwood is built to back,” said James Jang, Managing Director, Heartwood Partners. “Carlos and the TXG team have created a differentiated platform in a large and growing MRO market, and we see significant opportunity to build on that foundation — both organically and through strategic add-on acquisitions. We are excited to bring Heartwood’s full resources to bear in support of that vision.”

“Since founding Xtreme Aviation in 2013, our singular focus has been on delivering the highest-quality MRO services to our customers — on time, on budget, and to the safety standards they demand,” said Carlos Cock, Chief Executive Officer, The Xtreme Group. “Partnering with Heartwood marks an exciting new chapter for TXG. Their growth-oriented investment approach and in-house value creation capabilities give us the resources to expand our capacity, broaden our service lines, and extend our geographic reach — all while maintaining the quality and customer relationships that define who we are. We look forward to what we will build together.”

About Heartwood Partners
Heartwood Partners, a middle market private equity firm, is differentiated by a unique lower-leverage, current cash yield approach designed to create partnership with continuing management. Our approach combines a conservative capital structure with strategic execution to support long-term growth, including organic and acquisition-driven expansion into new products, services, and end markets. In addition, we support each management team with our in-house Value Creation team who provide deep, subject-matter experience in strategic areas such as eCommerce and digital marketing, human capital and organizational design, IT improvement, and acquisition integration. We manage over $1.4 billion (as of 12/31/25) in investments and commitments, and our principals have invested in more than 100 platform and add-on acquisitions. Heartwood is currently investing from Heartwood Partners IV, LP, and is focused on founder, family and management-held businesses serving the building products, commercial and industrial services, distribution, environmental services, niche manufacturing, packaging, specialty chemicals/materials, food/agriculture/nutrition markets. For additional information about Heartwood, please visit www.heartwoodpartners.com.

About The Xtreme Group
The Xtreme Group (TXG) is a leading independent, full-service aviation MRO platform headquartered in Miami, Florida. Founded in 2013, TXG operates through three primary subsidiaries: Xtreme Aviation LLC, an FAA Part 145 certificated MRO provider delivering airframe maintenance, repair, modification, and line maintenance services across major U.S. airports; Ignite Aero Engines, specializing in CFM56 and CFM34 turbine engine MRO and overhaul services; and Aventus Air Leasing II, focused on the acquisition, refurbishment, and sale and leasing of aircraft and engines. TXG serves a global customer base of cargo, commercial, and charter operators. With a track record built on safety, quality, and on-time performance, TXG provides its airline and cargo customers with a comprehensive, single-source MRO solution. For more information, please visit www.txg.aero.

SOURCE Heartwood Partners

GREENWICH, Conn., Sept. 22, 2026 — Hunt Scanlon Ventures, a leading M&A advisory firm focused on the human capital markets, announced today that it has completed an investment in millionways, a New York-headquartered frontier lab building a behavioral intelligence layer of AI.

millionways pioneered the development of a proprietary Large Psychology Model, Thorsten-4, designed to understand human signals, motives, communication patterns, and behavior. The platform has applications across AI governance, executive hiring, talent management, leadership assessment, and enterprise environments. The company is led by co-founders Martin Cordsmeier and Max Weidemann.

“millionways is a trailblazer in behavioral intelligence,” said Scott A. Scanlon, CEO and co-founder of Hunt Scanlon Ventures. “As investors, we see behavioral intelligence as a new layer of AI infrastructure, giving artificial intelligence a missing layer—the ability to interpret the human dynamics behind communication and decision-making.”

“The next leap in AI isn’t another model that knows more. It’s AI that understands people better,” said Max Weidemann, co-founder and CTO of millionways. “We built millionways to give AI that missing layer: a scientifically grounded, explainable understanding of human motives, behavior and context. Hunt Scanlon immediately understood why that becomes critical as humans and AI agents increasingly work together.”

The investment comes as artificial intelligence moves deeper into environments where decision quality, leadership, trust, and human interaction matter as much as workflow efficiency. For Hunt Scanlon Ventures, behavioral intelligence represents an opportunity to bring greater structure and intelligence to decisions that have historically depended heavily on observation, experience, and intuition.

Underlying Thorsten-4 is more than a decade of proprietary psychological research and development and 35 million tagged words of behavioral data. That scientific and data foundation supports millionways’ ability to identify behavioral patterns and translate human interactions into structured, explainable intelligence.

The technology is already proven and validated in the human capital sector, with applications spanning executive hiring, leadership assessment, succession planning, talent management, and organizational decision-making. As humans increasingly work alongside intelligent agents, Hunt Scanlon believes the ability to understand motives, communication patterns, and behavioral context will become increasingly important to both talent decisions and broader enterprise performance.

“We see the ability to translate human behavior into actionable business intelligence as increasingly important across the human capital markets,” said Mr. Scanlon. “Those are not small efficiency gains. Those are enterprise value levers.”

For Hunt Scanlon Ventures, the investment also reflects a broader strategy of backing data-driven and AI-powered platforms positioned to reshape how organizations assess talent, evaluate leadership, and make critical business decisions.

“As foundational AI models become increasingly commoditized, the ability to understand the human context behind an interaction becomes more valuable, not less,” said Mr. Scanlon. “Behavioral intelligence—and millionways’ approach to the category—represents an important step in that evolution.”

To learn more about millionways and its behavioral intelligence platform, visit millionways.ai.

About Hunt Scanlon Ventures

Hunt Scanlon Ventures is a leading M&A advisory firm focused exclusively on the global human capital market. The firm represents both buy-side and sell-side clients across a wide range of human capital verticals, including executive search, culture and leadership consulting, interim and on-demand talent solutions, RPO, HR technology, and executive coaching.

Hunt Scanlon Ventures advises strategic acquirers and private equity sponsors on their acquisition strategies while supporting founders and leadership teams seeking to exit, scale, or recapitalize. In addition to advisory services, Hunt Scanlon Ventures invests in top-tier talent platforms as a limited partner, often co-investing alongside venture capital managers in the sector.

Contact:
Drew Seaman
Managing Director
(602) 622-1392
[email protected] 

SOURCE Hunt Scanlon Ventures

As Venture Partner, Paul will support founders, convene strategic partners, and bring perspective and relationships that help portfolio companies expand their reach and impact. The role builds on his longstanding focus on mentorship, leadership development, and expanding opportunity across communities, while deepening his work with founders and businesses beyond sports.

With more than $2.2 billion in committed capital, three global offices, and over 100 investments, Owl Ventures backs companies helping people learn, prepare for work, advance in their careers, and build skills throughout life. Owl’s portfolio companies collectively reach more than 700 million users globally.

“Education is where real change starts,” said Chris Paul. “That can happen in a classroom, through a trade, with a mentor, or through the lessons you learn from family and community. My upbringing was rooted in placing value on work ethic, ownership, and opportunity and how access to those things can change a person’s life. Owl shares that same belief in helping build companies that can have real impact and give more people access to the tools and opportunities they need to move forward.”

As president of the National Basketball Players Association for eight years, Paul represented players through major business and labor issues, built consensus across the league, and helped advance player empowerment and economic opportunity. That experience directly informs the perspective he brings to founders at Owl.

“Chris Paul has spent his career doing what great point guards do: seeing the floor, recognizing potential, and helping others succeed,” said Ian Chiu, Managing Partner of Owl Ventures. “That instinct has always extended beyond basketball. As a leader, entrepreneur, and community builder, Chris has used his platform to expand opportunity and help people move forward. We are thrilled to welcome him to Owl as Venture Partner as we continue backing companies that help people learn, build skills, and reach their potential.”

As AI reshapes how people learn, work, and build careers, lifelong learning and the ability to turn new skills into opportunity are becoming essential. We believe the companies defining this next era will pair technology with an even greater emphasis on real-world context, trusted relationships, and human insight.

“From the beginning, Owl Ventures has been built around a simple belief: learning is one of the most powerful drivers of human potential and economic progress,” said Tom Costin, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Owl Ventures. “Our approach has always been to bring more than capital to the founders building transformative companies in education and workforce innovation. In a rapidly changing landscape, deep sector insight, relationships, and practical support in reaching the people they serve matter more than ever. Chris adds a powerful new dimension to that work.”

About Owl Ventures

Owl Ventures is the world’s largest venture capital firm focused on education and workforce innovation. With more than $2.2 billion in committed capital, the firm partners with transformative companies helping people learn, prepare for work, advance in their careers, and build skills throughout life. Owl Ventures leverages its global network, sector expertise, and strategic relationships to help founders scale category-defining companies that expand access, improve outcomes, and create economic opportunity. Owl’s portfolio companies collectively serve more than 700 million users worldwide. Learn more at www.owlvc.com.

About Chris Paul

Chris Paul is an NBA legend, entrepreneur, investor, and community leader whose impact extends well beyond basketball. He served eight years as president of the National Basketball Players Association, representing players through major business, labor, and organizational issues during a transformative period for the league. Off the court, Paul has built and invested in businesses across sports, media, and consumer products. For more than two decades, Paul and his family have created opportunities for young people through the Chris Paul Family Foundation. His education work includes establishing the Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports course at several HBCUs with Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse and creating Club 61, a youth leadership program focused on financial literacy, education and technology, civic responsibility, and leadership development.

Media Contact:
Malvika Bhagwat
[email protected]

SOURCE Owl Ventures

The award-winning design and innovation studio’s hardware accelerator returns with its latest class of early-stage founders, culminating in an invite-only Demo Day this December.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 21, 2026 — Whipsaw, the award-winning design and innovation firm behind products including Tonal, Owala, and Brita, this week announced the launch of the newest cohort of The Workshop, its accelerator program built specifically for early-stage hardware founders. The 10-week cohort kicked off earlier this month, bringing together a new class of startups developing bold products across health, wellness, and home.

Investors, operators, and partners interested in attending this December’s invite-only Demo Day (or founders interested in applying to an upcoming cohort) can visit www.whipsaw.com/the-workshop-hardware-startup-accelerator or request details by emailing [email protected].

Since launching in 2025, The Workshop has taken a different approach from a typical accelerator. Rather than a lecture-and-pitch model, it is built around direct, hands-on collaboration with Whipsaw’s multidisciplinary team of industrial designers, experience designers, engineers, strategists, and brand experts. Founders get access to the same product development expertise behind some of the world’s most recognizable consumer products, helping them move from product vision to investor-ready reality with clarity, momentum, and design leadership.

Over the 10-week program, founders get hands-on support across:

• Weekly cohort seminars and pitch practice
• 1:1 design sessions with the Whipsaw team
• Leadership, fundraising, and communication coaching led by Whipsaw Principal Advisor Cristina Georgoulakis
• Access to Whipsaw’s trusted engineering and go-to-market networks
• A growing alumni community of hardware founders

The curriculum is structured to deliver an aligned product concept, brand story, and investor-ready pitch deck by the end of the program. The 10-week program culminates in Demo Day, an invite-only showcase at Whipsaw’s San Francisco studio in December 2026, where each founder presents their product to a curated audience of early-stage hardware investors, operators, and partners.

Founders describe that momentum firsthand. “The speed of this 10-week program is moving us further than a year of working alone,” Founder, Workshop Fall 2025.

The Workshop’s operating team spans Whipsaw’s leadership across industrial design, experience design, strategy, brand, and business development:

• Dan Harden — CEO, Principal Designer
• Walker Harden — Director of Experience Design
• Cole Derby — VP Industrial Design
• Anne Van Itallie — VP Client Relations & Growth
• Laura Ogle — Lead Strategist
• Cristina Georgoulakis — Principal Advisor, Growth and Capital Strategy

Additional advisors and mentors bring depth in fundraising, storytelling, and hardware go-to-market execution.

Whipsaw runs The Workshop several times per year. To apply or express interest in an upcoming cohort, visit www.whipsaw.com/the-workshop-hardware-startup-accelerator. To request a Demo Day invitation or for media inquiries, contact [email protected].

About Whipsaw

Whipsaw is an award-winning design and innovation firm that partners with companies to imagine, design, and build category-defining products. Its work spans industrial design, experience design, engineering, brand, and go-to-market strategy, behind products including Tonal, Owala, and Brita. Through The Workshop, Whipsaw extends that expertise to early-stage hardware founders. Learn more at www.whipsaw.com.

Media Contact:

Anne Van Itallie

VP of Client Relations & Growth

Whipsaw

[email protected]

(408) 297-9771

SOURCE Whipsaw, Inc.

Publicly playable at mora.fun, Mora combines coding agents, 3D generation and real-time video; Meshy also introduces finer geometric detail with Meshy 7.1

SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 21, 2026 — Meshy, the AI-powered 3D generation platform, recently detailed Mora (Multimodal Open-world Real-time Architecture), its answer to one of the most ambitious goals in AI: generating complete worlds that people can explore, play and interact with in real time. Mora 1, an early demonstration available at mora.fun, features playable experiences ranging from spatial puzzles and multiplayer platforming to building, racing and sports, with switchable visual styles.

Much of the industry has approached this goal by asking a single video model to simulate an entire world end to end — an approach that continues to struggle with consistent spaces and complex interaction. Mora is built on a different conviction: a world should be constructed, and only then rendered. The architecture assigns each part of world generation to the layer best equipped for it: coding agents write the logic and mechanics that make a world run; Meshy’s 3D generation builds its spatial structure and assets; and a real-time video model turns that structure into final imagery and audio.

The result is a foundation on which game rules hold, spaces persist, and visual quality rises with every generation of video models. Because the layers advance independently, progress anywhere in AI — stronger coding agents, richer 3D generation, faster video models — compounds inside Mora.

For creators, the longer-term opportunity is to bring the elements of an interactive world into a more connected creative process. A change to how a game works could be developed alongside changes to how it looks, with agents helping to build and refine both. Because Mora separates these functions, advances in coding agents, 3D generation and video models can contribute to the architecture’s development individually.

Mora 1 is an early research demonstration focused on validating this architecture. Its public demos let visitors experience the approach through gameplay; a general-purpose world creation tool is a longer-term goal. Development of Mora 2 is underway as Meshy continues its research into richer AI-generated interactive experiences.

Meshy 7.1: the first generative 3D model to reach 4096³ geometric resolution

Alongside its research into interactive worlds, Meshy continues to advance the 3D generation models at the core of its platform. On September 16, the company launched Meshy 7.1, the new version of its flagship image-to-3D model, now available to all registered users. Meshy 7.1 introduces two high-detail generation modes, Ultra 2K and Ultra 4K.

At its Ultra 4K setting, Meshy 7.1 generates geometry at 4096³ voxel resolution, with raw meshes reaching up to 80 million triangles before simplification. This makes Meshy 7.1 the first generative 3D model to reach 4096³ geometric resolution. Fine features such as stitching, woven fabric and individual scales can be generated as part of the mesh itself. These geometric details matter in workflows such as 3D printing and digital sculpting, where surface structure must be carried by the model.

In internal evaluations using Meshy’s newly developed Detail Richness Benchmark, Meshy 7.1 ranked first among five tested image-to-3D models across all three evaluated rendering resolutions. The benchmark measures geometric surface detail, providing a focused assessment of this aspect of model quality. Methodology and results are available in Meshy’s technical report, and the company plans to release the benchmark as a standalone tool.

Ultra 2K and Ultra 4K modes, along with downloads of models generated by Meshy 7.1, require a paid subscription. Ultra 2K supports single-view and multi-view generation; Ultra 4K currently supports single-view generation.

FAQ:

• What is Mora?

Mora (Multimodal Open-world Real-time Architecture) is a research architecture developed by Meshy for creating AI-generated interactive worlds that people can explore, play and interact with in real time. Mora 1 is an early, publicly playable research demonstration, while a general-purpose world creation tool remains a longer-term goal. Development of Mora 2 is underway as Meshy continues its research into richer AI-generated interactive experiences.

• How does Mora generate interactive worlds?

Mora assigns different parts of world generation to specialized layers. Coding agents generate game logic and mechanics, Meshy’s 3D generation provides assets and spatial structure, and a real-time video model generates the final imagery and audio.

• What is the purpose of Mora’s layered architecture?

The architecture gives game rules and spatial relationships an explicit foundation in code and 3D graphics, allowing the video model to focus on visual presentation. The approach is designed to address challenges in maintaining consistent spaces and supporting complex interactions.

• Where is Mora 1 available?

Mora 1’s playable research demonstrations are available at mora.fun. Current experiences include spatial puzzles, multiplayer platforming, building, racing and sports, with switchable visual styles.

• What is Ultra 4K?

Ultra 4K is one of two high-detail generation modes introduced in Meshy 7.1, alongside Ultra 2K. It generates geometry at 4096³ voxel resolution, the highest setting available, so fine features such as stitching, woven fabric and individual scales are built into the mesh itself rather than painted on as textures. Ultra 4K currently supports single-view generation and requires a paid subscription.
 

About Meshy

Meshy builds foundation models for AI-powered 3D generation, helping people turn text and images into 3D assets for games, film, design and 3D printing. Founded by Ethan Hu, who holds a Ph.D. from MIT, Meshy serves more than 12 million registered users worldwide. In July 2026, the company announced nearly $400 million in Series B funding at a $1.5 billion valuation. Learn more at meshy.ai.

SOURCE Meshy

Working-capital facility supports extended payment terms and continued growth in warehouse automation demand.

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Sept. 21, 2026 — Gateway Commercial Finance, LLC, a nationwide provider of invoice factoring and asset-based lending solutions, announced today that it has provided a $1.25 million invoice factoring facility to AGV America, a Texas-based provider of autonomous robotics and warehouse automation solutions.

Founded in 2020, AGV America has experienced rapid growth as manufacturers and distributors increasingly invest in automation to improve efficiency, productivity and labor utilization. The company is technology-agnostic and has extensive experience integrating equipment from many of the industry’s leading manufacturers. Its capabilities include autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), automated storage and retrieval systems, collaborative robots, picking and sorting technology, conveyor systems, cranes and goods-to-person solutions.

“We made a strategic decision not to be captive to a single equipment manufacturer,” said Michael Jones, President of AGV America. “That independence allows us to recommend and integrate the technology best suited to each customer’s operation. As a result, we have become a one-stop automation resource for manufacturers and distributors throughout our region.”

Gateway’s factoring facility replaced a traditional line of credit from a local bank that provided limited borrowing availability against invoices carrying payment terms of up to 90 days. Although AGV America serves several large, creditworthy companies, the extended payment cycle created a working-capital gap as the company continued to grow.

“Many of our customers are Fortune 500 companies, but the strength of those customers did not materially increase the availability under our bank line,” Jones said. “Gateway understood our business model and recognized the value of our receivables.”

“This transaction demonstrates how invoice factoring can supplement or replace an inadequate bank credit line and provide meaningful additional liquidity to a growing company,” said Marc J. Marin, Managing Director of Gateway Commercial Finance. “By providing funding availability on eligible invoices with payment terms of up to 90 days, we were able to unlock working capital that had previously been unavailable. The new facility will help AGV America maintain consistent day-to-day cash flow while continuing to pursue larger opportunities.”

For additional information, visit www.gatewaycfs.com.

SOURCE Gateway Commercial Finance, LLC