• The funding provided by a new, undisclosed investor increases Group14’s Series D round to over $665 million
• Unlocks Group14’s third large-scale Battery Active Materials site (BAM-4) to be built in Spain
• BAM-3 in Korea is already operational and scaling, with BAM-2 in the US expected to come online in H1 2027  

WOODINVILLE, Wash., Oct. 29, 2026 — Group14 Technologies, the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of advanced silicon battery materials, today announced the close of a €150 million (~$169 million USD) Series D equity extension. As part of the funding, Group14 has committed to expanding its SCC55® production into Europe, selecting Sagunto, Spain, for its next industrial-scale manufacturing module with an initial 10 GWh capacity.

BAM-4 will bring Group14’s total near-term manufacturing footprint to 40 GWh of capacity, inclusive of one module at BAM-3 in Sangju, Korea (10 GWh) which is currently operational and scaling, and two modules at BAM-2 in Moses Lake, Washington (20 GWh) which are expected to start producing in 2027. Group14 has also operated a commercial-pilot facility in Woodinville, Washington (BAM-1) since 2021, from which it has delivered SCC55 to over 150 customers. Group14 has the vision to deploy hundreds of gigawatt-hours of manufacturing capacity over the next decade.

By establishing an operational base in Spain, Europe’s second-largest automotive manufacturing country, Group14 positions its battery materials directly adjacent to key European OEM supply chains. This expansion cements Group14 as the most geographically dispersed silicon battery material producer in the world—a strategic advantage that insulates global battery supply chains from regional disruptions, accelerates time-to-market, and ensures direct, localized support for key automotive, tech, and manufacturing partners across North America, Asia, and Europe.

This follow-on funding reinforces Group14’s leadership in the silicon battery sector. It also underscores the company’s expanding global footprint and its commitment to secure critical mineral supply chains on behalf of its customers. Group14’s innovations are backed by a global patent  portfolio of more than 200 patents. Leveraging this technology, its flagship SCC55 material delivers breakthrough battery performance, already earning commercial traction in applications such as smartphones, drones, hypercars, and eVTOLs.

“To truly transform the energy economy, battery material producers must be located where the batteries are made,” said Rick Luebbe, CEO and Co-Founder of Group14 Technologies. “Our expansion into Spain reflects our vision: staying nimble, building near key customer hubs, and maintaining secure, localized supply chains. The launch of BAM-4 gives us the springboard to accelerate our European footprint while simultaneously propelling our global growth trajectory across the U.S. and Asia.”

While the €150M investment anchors Group14’s European foothold, the capital serves a broader strategic catalyst: driving the company’s global expansion to scale manufacturing capacity, meeting demand from top-tier automotive, consumer electronics, datacenter, aerospace, and defense manufacturers.

About Group14 Technologies

Group14 Technologies is the leading global manufacturer of advanced silicon battery materials, accelerating the electrification of everything from electric vehicles and consumer electronics to AI-enabled technologies. Its flagship silicon-carbon material, SCC55®, delivers higher energy density and faster charging speeds for any battery chemistry. Supporting customers representing over 95% of global lithium-ion battery production, Group14 operates commercial-scale manufacturing facilities across the U.S., Europe, and Asia to power the worldwide transition to the silicon battery era.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. and DALLAS, Oct. 29, 2026 — Rochefort Asset Management (Rochefort), a U.S. national security-focused firm licensed under the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) and the Small Business Administration (SBA), today announced that it has co-led, alongside Advent International, the more than $150 million Series D financing of Firehawk Defense (Firehawk), a vertically integrated propulsion and energetics manufacturer serving the U.S. defense industrial base. The investment builds on the senior secured loan Rochefort provided to Firehawk in April 2026.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Firehawk produces solid rocket motor propellant and Hydra-70 rocket motors and is developing 155mm artillery base bleed motors, all using a continuous thermoplastic process that forms propellant in hours rather than weeks. The Series D proceeds will fund the continued build-out of Firehawk’s propulsion manufacturing, including its production facility in Lawton, Oklahoma, and its missile integration facility in Crawford, Mississippi, and will accelerate production of artillery motors, solid rocket motors, energetics, and propellant for U.S. and allied customers.

Meeting Allied Demand for Long-Range Fires

Sustained munitions expenditure in Ukraine and the Middle East has depleted U.S. and allied stockpiles of artillery and rocket propulsion, and replenishment demand now extends across Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific. Base bleed units, which extend the range of standard 155mm artillery projectiles, face supply chain constraints that have limited production. Through a teaming arrangement with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Firehawk is positioned to supply base bleed motors to meet growing international demand for extended-range artillery, with a parallel path to U.S. qualification.

Production Capacity and Partnerships in Place

Firehawk’s Crawford facility is operational and integrating Hydra-70 rockets today. Its Great Plains Arsenal propellant plant in Lawton, Oklahoma, is expected to commission in early 2027 and to produce 740,000 pounds of thermoplastic propellant per year, with installed capacity scalable to more than 3.1 million pounds. The company also holds a U.S. Air Force solid rocket motor development contract and, in August 2026, completed a six-for-six Hydra-70 live-fire test following a U.S. Army Other Transaction Authority award.

“Firehawk has the technology, facilities, and partnerships in place to supply the propulsion the United States and its allies urgently need,” said Jody LaNasa, Co-Founder of Rochefort Asset Management. “Rochefort first backed Firehawk with senior secured debt, and co-leading the Series D reflects conviction in a team positioned to deliver artillery and rocket propulsion to American and allied forces at a speed and cost legacy suppliers cannot match.”

“Allied militaries are competing for the same constrained supply of artillery and rocket propulsion,” said Alex Lemond, Co-Founder of Rochefort Asset Management. “Firehawk’s partnership with General Dynamics opens international markets for its base bleed technology, and its continuous manufacturing process provides the cost and speed advantage needed to win them.”

“This financing marks Firehawk’s transition from proving our technology to producing it at scale,” said Will Edwards, Chief Executive Officer of Firehawk Defense. “With the continued support of Rochefort, Firehawk will expand capacity at Crawford and Lawton and deliver propulsion solutions to the United States and its allies at the pace current demand requires.”

For more information, please contact:

Steele Schottenheimer – Rochefort Asset Management [email protected] | 214-347-8045

Shane Karp – Firehawk Defense [email protected] | [email protected]

About Firehawk Defense

Firehawk Defense is the propulsion company built for the age of volume. Our mission is to make American strength inexhaustible, ensuring that production, replenishment, and capacity never become the reason America and its allies have to compromise the mission.

We engineer past the material and manufacturing limits of legacy propulsion, replacing traditional cast-and-cure processes with a continuous thermoplastic manufacturing platform, then scale that advantage from propellant to motors to complete rounds. The company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas with a 320-acre propellant and motor production facility in Lawton, Oklahoma, and a DCMA-rated rocket system integration facility in Mississippi. Firehawk conducts R&D, static fire and flight testing at two West Texas sites, including a 30-square-mile launch range.

For more information, visit www.firehawkdefense.com.

About Rochefort Asset Management

Rochefort is a U.S.-based national security-focused firm co-founded by Kyle Bass, Jody LaNasa, and Alex Lemond. The firm operates as a licensed manager under the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). Rochefort invests in companies driving innovation across defense and the American industrial base, with a focus on transformative and disruptive technologies critical to U.S. national security.

For more information visit: www.rochefort.us 

SOURCE Rochefort Asset Management

Founded by investor Kim Moore, the firm has already backed nine AI-native engineering and security software startups, helping founders build products informed by enterprise demand while accelerating their path to market.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 29, 2026 — U&I Ventures today announced the oversubscribed final close of its $32.237 million debut fund to back seed-stage founders building AI-native infrastructure within security, engineering and IT. The firm is built around a community of 1,800 CIOs, CTOs and CISOs who understand where enterprise technology is breaking and help U&I-backed founders build what the enterprise needs.

The approach is already delivering results. U&I connected Pluto Security founder and CEO Shahar Bahat with 68 enterprise CISOs in less than 24 hours during the company’s oversubscribed seed round. Another portfolio company in stealth that tests and evaluates autonomous AI agents in production environments secured initial pilot deployments at Fortune 20 enterprises through U&I’s network.

“I spent years asking founders what they needed beyond capital, and the answer was always access to the right people,” said Kim Moore, Founder and General Partner of U&I Ventures. “That is the foundation for U&I. Our network has a seat at the investing table and helps us understand what enterprises need before we invest. This value-add flywheel gives founders direct access to the people who can shape, validate, and ultimately adopt what they’re building.”

Turning Enterprise Challenges Into Investment Opportunities

U&I’s investment model was years in the making. Before launching the firm, Moore spent more than a decade building relationships with enterprise technology leaders, learning firsthand about the infrastructure engineering gaps, security vulnerabilities and operational challenges they faced.

Today, U&I convenes weekly, closed-door discussions with technology leaders across San Francisco, New York, Tel Aviv and London. Its network includes nearly 650 CISOs and security executives, 850 CTOs and more than 300 CIOs, whose insights help inform investment decisions while giving founders access to product feedback, industry expertise and prospective customers.

These longstanding relationships give U&I an advantage at both ends of the investment process, helping the firm identify opportunities grounded in real-world needs while enabling startups to develop products with early input from potential customers.

Fund I plans to back 40 to 45 pre-seed and seed-stage companies, with initial checks ranging from $250,000 to more than $800,000. The firm has made nine investments across AI security, agent reliability, compliance and enterprise infrastructure, including:

• Pluto Security: Securing enterprise adoption of AI coding and application-building platforms (seed round led by TLV Partners). Pluto Security has raised a total of $42 million across two funding rounds as it emerged from stealth in October 2026.
• ZeroDrift: Real-time visibility and control for every AI compliance decision. Monitor, approve, block, and export evidence across all AI communication surfaces (backed by a16z speedrun).

Seven additional stealth investments address autonomous vulnerability remediation, agentic digital forensics, identity management, security operations, testing and evaluating autonomous AI agents in production environments, and AI data infrastructure.

“U&I has been by far our most helpful investor,” said Kumesh Armoogan, Founder and CEO of ZeroDrift.

“As companies deploy more autonomous AI systems, they’re facing security challenges that existing tools weren’t designed to handle,” said Alex Stamos, Chief Security Officer at Cognition and former Chief Security Officer at Facebook and Yahoo. “The technology leaders responsible for securing these systems know firsthand where the gaps are. By bringing those leaders together with founders early, U&I is helping turn real-world security challenges into solutions enterprises actually need.”

Before launching U&I, Moore spent over a decade at Glynn Capital and Innovation Endeavors, backing enterprise infrastructure companies including Chronosphere and Drata. She was employee No. 23 at Asana . Her earlier investments include security startups Fig Security and Mate Security, which subsequently raised Series A financing. Read more on why Moore founded U&I here.

About U&I Ventures

U&I Ventures is a San Francisco-based seed-stage venture capital firm investing in AI-native infrastructure across security, engineering and IT. Founded in 2025 by Kim Moore, the firm manages a $32.237 million debut fund and draws on a network of 1,800 CIOs, CTOs and CISOs to identify emerging enterprise needs and help portfolio companies build, validate and bring their technologies to market. Founding Operating Partner Kim Cooper leads the firm’s operator community and value creation platform. For more information, visit uandi.vc. Connect with us on LinkedIn at U&I Ventures.

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any interest in any fund or investment vehicle managed by U&I Ventures. Any such offer may be made only through definitive offering documents to qualified investors. References to portfolio companies are for illustrative purposes only, do not represent all investments made by U&I Ventures, and should not be considered an indication of future results.

Media Contact:
[email protected]

SOURCE U&I Ventures

SINGAPUR, 29 października 2026 r. — Ailytics, start-up zajmujący się technologią wizyjnej AI zmieniającej monitoring wizyjny w warstwę bezpieczeństwa i eksploatacji w czasie rzeczywistym, zebrał 7,4 mln $ w Rundzie A pod kierunkiem Tin Men Capital. Fundusz SEEDS, wchodzący w skład SG Growth Capital, Safie, największa japońska firma oferująca kamery z technologią chmury i jedna z największych japońskich firm budowlanych połączyły siły rodzinnych firm i dotychczasowych inwestorów.

Od momentu zakończenia prowadzonej przez Tin Men Capital rundy pre-A, w ramach której pozyskano 2,7 mln $, firma Ailytics rozwinęła się z poziomu 70 projektów w czterech krajach do ponad 400 realizacji w 15 krajach.

Od Singapuru na cztery kontynenty

Ailytics rozpoczął działalność od inwestycji obejmujących mieszkalnictwo społeczne w Singapurze (HDB), a obecnie ma na koncie duże projekty obejmujące NatSteel, PaxOcean, DHL, Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy im. Leonarda Da Vinci w Rzymie i budynek Terminala 5 Portu Lotniczego Changi.

„Ta runda umacnia nasze lokalne zespoły w USA, Japonii, Australii i w krajach Zatoki Perskiej, przy czym równocześnie koncentrujemy się na trudnych warunkach zewnętrznych środowiska przemysłowego. Budujemy międzynarodową firmę sektora technologii przemysłowej AI z siedzibą w Singapurze” – powiedział Lenard Tan, współzałożyciel i dyrektor generalny Ailytics.

Stworzone na potrzeby przemysłu w dowolnym miejscu

Zastrzeżony produkt firmy Ailytics o nazwie Ailyssa uzyskuje trójwymiarowe, przestrzenne zrozumienie z pojedynczego dwuwymiarowego materiału i działa nawet w warunkach deszczu, zapylenia, słabego oświetlenia i z kamerami wyprodukowanymi ponad dziesięć lat temu, zapewniając analitykę w czasie rzeczywistym, stanowiącą podstawę do podjęcia określonych działań. Najnowszy silnik rozumowania, AilyssaX, przetwarza kontekstowe sceny w ruchu i weryfikuje wieloetapowe procedury, umożliwiając bardziej precyzyjne i znaczące alerty.

„Runda ta pozwoli nam na stworzenie naszych własnych, dostosowanych do naszej dziedziny modeli rozumowania, przy równoczesnym utrzymaniu niskich kosztów pracy AI w warunkach rosnącego zapotrzebowania” – powiedział Prateek Manocha, współzałożyciel i dyrektor technologiczny Ailytics.

„Firma Ailytics dotarła na 15 rynków z mocnymi wskaźnikami ekonomii jednostkowej i odpływem klientów na poziomie poniżej 1 procenta. Chcemy wspierać i stać u boku zespołu w momencie ich globalnego rozwoju” – powiedział Jeremy Tan, współzałożyciel i partner zarządzający Tin Men Capital.

Ailytics

Ailytics przekształca istniejące systemy monitoringu w opartą na technologii AI warstwę bezpieczeństwa i eksploatacji na potrzeby przemysłu. Założona w Singapurze w 2021 roku firma ma na swoim koncie ponad 400 zrealizowanych projektów w 15 krajach. Szczegółowe informacje znajdują się na stronie ailytics.ai.

Kontakt:

[email protected] 
https://www.ailytics.ai/

-Tin Men Capital lidera una ronda de financiación Serie A de 7,4 millones de dólares para la startup de IA aplicada a la visión Ailytics, con el fin de expandirse por la región Asia-Pacífico, Estados Unidos y la región del Golfo

SINGAPUR, 29 de octubre de 2026 — Ailytics, una startup de IA aplicada a la visión artificial que transforma los sistemas de CCTV industrial existentes en una herramienta de seguridad y operaciones en tiempo real, ha recaudado 7,4 millones de dólares en una ronda de financiación de serie A liderada por Tin Men Capital. A esta ronda se sumaron SEEDS —parte de SG Growth Capital—, Safie (la mayor empresa de cámaras en la nube de Japón) y una de las principales constructoras japonesas, junto con diversas family offices e inversores que ya formaban parte de la compañía.

Desde una ronda pre-Serie A de 2,7 millones de dólares liderada por Tin Men Capital en abril de 2024, Ailytics ha pasado de 70 proyectos en cuatro países a más de 400 implementaciones en 15 países.

Desde Singapur hasta cuatro continentes

Ailytics comenzó en proyectos de vivienda pública (HDB) en Singapur y, actualmente, cuenta con implementaciones a gran escala en NatSteel, PaxOcean, DHL, el Aeropuerto Internacional Leonardo da Vinci de Roma y la construcción de la Terminal 5 del Aeropuerto de Changi.

«Esta ronda refuerza nuestros equipos locales en Estados Unidos, Japón, Australia y la región del Golfo, ya que nos centramos en entornos industriales exteriores hostiles. Estamos construyendo una empresa global de IA industrial desde Singapur», afirmó Lenard Tan, cofundador y consejero delegado de Ailytics.

Diseñado para industrias pesadas en cualquier lugar

Ailyssa, el producto exclusivo de Ailytics, obtiene una comprensión espacial tridimensional a partir de una única fuente de vídeo bidimensional; funciona incluso en condiciones de lluvia, polvo o escasa iluminación, e incluso con cámaras de hace décadas, proporcionando información práctica en tiempo real. Su motor de razonamiento más reciente, AilyssaX, procesa escenas contextuales en movimiento y verifica procedimientos de varios pasos, lo que permite generar alertas más precisas y relevantes.

«Esta ronda nos permite desarrollar nuestros propios modelos de razonamiento especializados en un ámbito concreto y mantener bajos los costes de ejecución de la IA a medida que crece la demanda», afirmó Prateek Manocha, cofundador y director de tecnología (CTO) de Ailytics.

«Ailytics ha llegado a 15 mercados con una economía unitaria muy sólida y una tasa de abandono de clientes inferior al 1 por ciento. Queremos brindar todo nuestro apoyo al equipo a medida que escala a nivel global», afirmó Jeremy Tan, cofundador y socio director de Tin Men Capital.

Acerca de Ailytics

Ailytics transforma los sistemas de CCTV existentes en una capa de seguridad y operaciones basada en inteligencia artificial en tiempo real para la industria pesada. Fundada en Singapur en 2021, cuenta con más de 400 implementaciones en 15 países. Para obtener más información, visite ailytics.ai.

Contacto para los medios

[email protected] 
https://www.ailytics.ai/

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 28, 2026 — Montage Partners, a people-first private equity firm with offices in Scottsdale and Salt Lake City, has been named to Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list for the sixth consecutive year. This year’s list recognizes 294 private equity firms, venture capital firms, and lenders with demonstrated track records of supporting founder-led companies.

“With the current funding environment and rapid changes facing growing companies, founders are looking for more than just capital from their investors. They want true partners who believe in their business, but who are also able to provide the critical advisement and strategic support they need to reach their potential,” says Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc. “The 2026 Founder-Friendly Investor awards celebrate those firms — the ones committed to partnership, excellence, and helping founder-led companies grow.”

“Six years on this list means a lot to us because of where it comes from,” said Jordan Tate, co-Managing Partner of Montage Partners. “Inc. asks the founders, and founders are the ones who see how we show up when a decision gets hard, long after the day we close. We try to be the same partner in year five that we were in the first meeting, and it’s gratifying that we’re living up to it.”

The recognition follows a strong stretch for the firm. In 2025, Montage Partners exited its investments in Equity Methods and Puroflux and received PE Hub’s Deal of the Year award (North America Small-Cap) for its 2024 exit of Southwest Data Products. In January 2026, the firm announced the sale of Advantco, a Charlotte-based integration software company, to Argano, a portfolio company of Trinity Hunt Partners. In May, the firm invested in Lighten Up, a Los Angeles-based provider of premium lighting design and technical production for high-profile live events. Montage made the investment in partnership with founder Nathan Megaw, who retained a meaningful ownership stake and continues to lead the company.

Since its founding in 2004, Montage Partners has invested in more than 20 founder-led businesses, guided by six core values: people, transparency, integrity, accountability, mutual respect, and excellence. Through its Montage Accelerate™ program, the firm provides hands-on support in strategy, marketing, operations, recruiting, and M&A, resources more common at much larger firms, tailored to founder-owned companies in the lower middle market. Management teams also have access to a network of proven operators, advisors, and service providers.

“This year was a good reminder that founder-friendly looks different for every company,” said Rob Wolfman, co-Managing Partner of Montage Partners. “With Advantco, it meant supporting a leadership transition and seeing it through to a strong next chapter. With Lighten Up, it meant earning Nathan’s trust that we understood the culture he and his team spent more than twenty years building. Recognition is nice, but the real measure is whether the founders we’ve worked with would choose us again.”

To compile the Founder-Friendly Investors list, Inc. went straight to the source: entrepreneurs who have sold to private equity and venture capital firms. Founders completed questionnaires about their experiences partnering with private equity, venture capital, or debt firms and shared data on how their companies have performed during these partnerships. The resulting list highlights investors that founders identified as strong partners throughout the investment process.

For more information or to view the complete list of honorees, visit https://www.inc.com/founder-friendly-investors.

About Montage Partners
Founded in 2004, with offices in Scottsdale, Arizona and Salt Lake City, Utah, Montage Partners is a people-first private equity firm dedicated to helping established businesses reach transformative growth. Managing $80M in capital, Montage Partners invests in companies headquartered in the U.S. or Canada with $1.5 million to $7 million in EBITDA in the technology and professional services, healthcare, industrial products and services, and consumer sectors. Above all other investment criteria, Montage Partners invests in exceptional people.

Media Contact: Brooke Ouvarov-Bancalero
VP, Communications
[email protected]
480-676-6657

SOURCE Montage Partners

Major New Clients Include Coachella, Stage Coach, Rapha, Swingers – The Home of Revelry, Boots in the Park, Defected, State of Play Hospitality, Bingo Loco and More

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2026 — Experience commerce platform Easol has just announced the raise of a $30 million Series A extension funding round with $20 million equity from Y Combinator, Tiger Global, Foundation Capital, FMZ Ventures, Notion Capital, Eight Roads and a $10 million debt facility with Viola Credit. Easol has now raised $60 million to date.

Easol was launched in 2021 by festival Co-Founders Ben and Lisa Simpson and has quickly scaled to become the go-to experience commerce platform for the leading experience businesses around the globe from festivals, wellness retreats, sports, adventure and location based entertainment venues. With offices in London, New York and Los Angeles, so far in 2026, Easol has powered experiences booked by 2.8 million guests in over 135 countries.

The funding allowed Easol to develop and launch the leading agentic tool, Teammates, for experience businesses globally. Easol’s evolution comes as the experience industries continue to see increased consumer demand, while encountering the challenges of tighter margins and rising costs. Despite this, drawing on multiple surveys of tens of thousands of customers worldwide, Live Nation’s recent Return To Real survey found that 93% of fans crave real experiences over digital ones, while 80% would rather spend on experiences than on things.

Easol was built to enable experience businesses to bring their technology in-house with full ownership to manage bookings, payments, marketing and support, and guest data through one-connected system. That one-stop solution now enables Easol customers to create their own AI agents, Teammates, that live and work directly inside the Easol platform, and understand the entirety of a business. Easol’s solution means Teammates can provide the tailored support, sales and operations expertise required to greatly increase client efficiency.

Many experience businesses operating with small central teams, means missed revenue – but with Easol’s Teammates they can now put their revenue on auto pilot. One major business’ Teammates Agent found hundreds of guests holding a booking with no upsells booked, around $50,000 of revenue opportunity, and produced the customer list and the outreach to go after it. Another business using Teammates identified $28,000 of recoverable payments in seconds, a job that had previously taken two days.

Eve Szlendak Head of Sales, State of Play Hospitality UK said “I used to spend up to three days building reports to capture every possible scenario. Now, the dashboards give me the information I need instantly.”

A differentiator since launching is how Easol gives experience creators full ownership of every aspect of their business, bringing their technology in-house and a commitment to ensuring a business’s data stays its own. Unlike many traditional marketplaces, ticketing companies and booking platforms, data has never been sold by Easol. All Teammates Agents run inside the existing Easol platform, behind the same single sign-on, SOCII compliance, audit logs, payments compliance and data residency controls customers already have.

“We built Easol to give experience businesses control over their entire business and bring their technology in-house. AI is now allowing us to do so much more, with rising costs and tighter margins we can now support experience creators in scaling their business growing revenue in ways we couldn’t have imagined when we first launched the platform in 2021 said Ben Simpson, Co-Founder and CEO of Easol. “We believe the experience businesses that adopt AI will have a competitive advantage that will be transformative. They’ll be able to look after every guest like never before, grow bookings with specialist agents working as an extension of their team using their live data to operate, analyse, provide insights and take action across and keep watch over their whole business, while their teams focus on their customer relationships and delivering world class experiences.”

About Easol

Easol is the AI platform for experience businesses. Enabling festivals, wellness retreats, sports and location based entertainment venues to bring their technology in-house, running bookings, payments, marketing, customer support and guest data through one connected system. Now with Teammates, experience businesses on Easol can build their own AI agents that use their live business data to handle support, sales and operations and identify and close missed revenue opportunities. Easol was launched in 2021 by Ben and Lisa Simpson, Co-founders of Rise Festival, who ran experience businesses with 2 million guests a year from the French Alps to the Sahara Desert. When they hit walls trying to scale and ran on too many tools that controlled their data – they built Easol to give experience creators full control of their business. Easol now powers businesses in 135 countries including Coachella, Stagecoach, Boots in the Park, Defected, Snowboxx, Afronation, Swingers – The Home of Revelry, The Cube, Hijingo and more. Easol has raised $60 million to date from investors including Y Combinator, Tiger Global, Viola Credit, Foundation Capital, Eight Roads and Notion Capital and Eight Roads. www.easol.com

SOURCE Easol

Formation Bio Drug Development Accelerator Fund pairs dedicated capital with the company’s AI-native development platform to scale its portfolio of clinical-stage medicines

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2026 — Formation Bio, an AI-native pharmaceutical company, today announced the Formation Bio Drug Development Accelerator Fund (the “Fund”), with $600 million in capital commitments. The Fund is designed to expand the company’s portfolio of clinical-stage medicines. Combining dedicated capital with Formation Bio’s AI-native development platform and clinical operating infrastructure, the Fund will support the company’s ambition to acquire 10–15 drug programs over the next 3–5 years and advance them through key clinical milestones.

The Fund’s limited partners include leading research foundations, institutional endowments, hospitals, and philanthropic organizations.

The Fund helps scale Formation’s hub-and-spoke model, exclusively financing the acquisition and development of drug programs within Formation Bio’s portfolio. Formation Bio serves as the Fund’s general partner through a wholly owned subsidiary and has committed its own capital alongside the Fund’s limited partners.

Each funded program is housed in a standalone corporate entity supported by Formation Bio’s established development organization, keeping the economics of each asset financially distinct, while allowing more capital to be directed toward clinical development rather than toward separate, redundant operating infrastructure within multiple companies. The Fund’s limited partners benefit from all of Formation Bio’s scientific, clinical and operational expertise and capabilities, both in evaluating programs and executing their development plans.

“This Fund gives our LPs access to an important and emerging investment category—individual drug assets—through a capital-efficient structure,” said Benjamine Liu, Co-Founder and CEO of Formation Bio. “For Formation Bio, it expands the number of promising drugs we can pursue, gives us strategic and financing flexibility, creates paths to liquidity without selling the parent company, and positions us to lower our cost of capital over time. Together, these advantages address structural challenges in our industry, allow us to develop more drugs for patients, and support our ambition to build this generation’s enduring pharma company.”

Formation Bio acquires or in-licenses Phase 1 and Phase 2 programs from pharmaceutical companies and biotechs, prioritizing assets with a clear path to clinical proof of concept. The company focuses on diseases with substantial unmet need but limited active development across the industry, targeting major clinical milestones within 2–4 years of acquisition, depending on the program.

Capital will be deployed according to each program’s development needs, allowing Formation Bio to concentrate resources on the most promising opportunities. As the portfolio grows, Formation Bio expects to continuously improve its technology and development capabilities, creating efficiencies that benefit future programs. Following meaningful clinical progress, the company expects to partner programs with pharmaceutical companies for commercialization or co-commercialization.

“As a biotech investor and founder, I’ve seen firsthand how promising medicines can get stranded in company pipelines,” said David Steinberg, Chief Business Officer at Formation Bio. “The Formation Bio Fund offers a new way to unlock their potential, leveraging the scale and sophistication of an AI-native drug developer.”

The Fund represents an important step toward the company’s broader ambition: developing more medicines, more efficiently and with a greater likelihood of success, so that more innovative therapies can reach patients.

“Few applications of AI have the potential to deliver as profound an impact on society as accelerating the development of new medicines,” said Michael Ehlers, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of R&D at Formation Bio. “This is a meaningful next step for real-world application of AI that expands our ability to bring innovative therapies to patients.”

About Formation Bio

Formation Bio is an AI-native pharmaceutical company building a more efficient model for drug development. The company combines deep pharmaceutical and clinical expertise with proprietary technology and AI systems designed to accelerate the development of medicines. Formation Bio acquires and in-licenses clinical-stage drug programs, then applies its technology, operational capabilities and development expertise to advance them toward clinical proof of concept and beyond. The company is headquartered in New York City, with a second office in Boston.

Media Contact

[email protected]

SOURCE Formation Bio

Massachusetts founders developing climate and energy technologies will receive $50,000 in non-dilutive funding and six months of hands-on support to advance from idea to prototype

SOMERVILLE, Mass., Oct. 28, 2026 — Applications are now open for the second year of Greentown Labs Boston’s First Valley Fellowship, a six-month program supporting early-stage climate and energy founders in Massachusetts as they advance their technologies from proof of concept to first prototype.

Building on a successful inaugural year of the program, year two of the Fellowship will deepen its support for early-stage founders with $50,000 stipends for selected Fellows, funded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). The program is also supported by the Barr Foundation.

The transition from proof of concept to a validated prototype is one of the most challenging phases for early-stage technical founders. Often referred to as the “First Valley of Death,” this stage requires founders to reduce technology risk, validate market demand, and prepare for fundraising while still securing the funding, prototyping space, and go-to-market support needed to move forward.

Since 2011, Greentown has specialized in helping startups navigate the “Second Valley of Death”: the capital-intensive transition from working prototype to first commercial pilot and early revenue. This support helps startups scale hardware, secure capital, build partnerships, and grow their teams.

Massachusetts is home to one of the strongest early-stage innovation ecosystems in the world. University commercialization programs, research fellowships, and early-stage accelerators help researchers develop breakthrough technologies, build entrepreneurial skills, and launch companies. The First Valley Fellowship is designed to complement that work, serving as a bridge between these labs and Greentown: a place where founders can physically build their prototypes alongside experienced peers and connect with Greentown’s network of industry partners and investors.

The inaugural cohort, which kicked off in May 2026, brought together six founders from five startups: CemCycle, Evidion Energy, Solas Capture, Aelun, and Thalon Materials. Over six months, Fellows received more than 60 hours of mentoring to refine their business models and engage potential customers. Four of the five Fellows surveyed reported greater readiness to fundraise, and three of the five startups have since joined Greentown as full members, including Evidion Energy, which completed its university spin-out.

“Since starting the Fellowship, we’ve refined our direction and are now preparing to fundraise,” said Trent Weiss, CTO of Evidion Energy. “We’ve completed extensive customer discovery, built our techno-economic and financial models, and refined our pitch, and access to Greentown’s resources and network was invaluable along the way. We would not be in the position we’re in today without this program.”

“Early-stage founders need access to a place to build and a community of entrepreneurs who have navigated these challenges before,” said Georgina Campbell Flatter, CEO of Greentown. “The First Valley Fellowship provides both, building on the strong foundation that universities and early-stage programs across Massachusetts have established. We are grateful to MassCEC and the Barr Foundation for helping us extend this support to more founders in year two.”

In year two, selected startups will receive $50,000 in non-dilutive funding, including a $25,000 living stipend and $25,000 in R&D support, along with six months of no-cost membership and workspace at Greentown Boston for up to two co-founders. Fellows will gain access to more than $1 million in in-kind resources, including free and discounted software, legal services, business support, and access to specialized facilities. Each Fellow will be matched with dedicated mentors in areas such as go-to-market strategy, customer discovery, technical development, finance, legal/IP, and product design. Greentown also provides investor readiness and fundraising support, with connections to equity and non-dilutive capital. There is no cost to apply or participate, and Greentown does not take equity.

“Massachusetts has some of the brightest minds and is exceptionally good at generating breakthrough climatetech ideas, which is why programs like the First Valley Fellowship are critical in turning that research into lasting companies,” said Dr. Jennifer Le Blond, managing director of emerging climatetech at Mass Clean Energy Center. “Through this partnership with Greentown, our state is providing the essential early support they need to move their technologies towards the market.”

The Fellowship is open to pre-seed or pre-funding startups at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 2–4 that have raised $1 million or less and plan to fundraise in the next 6–12 months. Fellows must reside in Massachusetts and operate their research or business activities in the state for the duration of the program. Eligible technologies address a challenge across the world’s foundational systems—Energy & Power; Manufacturing & Processing; Infrastructure & Construction; Transportation & Logistics; or Food, Water, & Land. Priority is given to founders who plan to engage in person at Greentown Boston nearly every week. Graduate students, postdocs, research scientists, solo founders, and early-stage teams are encouraged to apply.

“We are excited to support the First Valley Fellowship to help the region’s entrepreneurs advance climate solutions,” said Kathryn Wright, senior program officer for clean energy at the Barr Foundation.

Applications are due by February 19, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. ET. The Fellowship runs from May through October 2027 at Greentown Boston in Somerville, Mass. Learn more and apply at greentown.org/first-valley-fellowship.

About Greentown

Greentown is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping climate entrepreneurs build faster. As the world’s largest climatetech and energy startup incubator network, Greentown Labs provides startups mission-critical access to labs, equipment, customers, capital, talent, community, and resources to accelerate their growth and impact. Greentown Go, its open-innovation programs, inject momentum and scale into startup-corporate collaborations to propel new technologies to market faster. Greentown is home to more than 300 startups and has supported more than 700 since its founding in 2011; these startups, with a survival rate of 88 percent, have collectively created more than 16,600 jobs and raised more than $15B in funding. For more information, visit greentown.org or follow Greentown on LinkedIn.

About the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC)

The Mass Clean Energy Center is a state economic development agency dedicated to accelerating the growth of the clean energy and climatetech sector across the Commonwealth to spur job creation, deliver statewide environmental benefits, increase affordability, and secure long-term economic opportunities for the people of Massachusetts. Since 2010, MassCEC has awarded $990 million in programs and investments and attracted $3 billion in private and public funds.

About the Barr Foundation

The Barr Foundation’s mission is to invest in human, natural, and creative potential, serving as thoughtful stewards and catalysts. Based in Boston, Barr was founded in 1997 and works in partnership throughout New England with community leaders, nonprofits, and other foundations to elevate the arts, advance solutions for climate change, and equip all high school students to discover and actualize their unbounded potential. Barr is one of the largest charitable foundations in New England, with a 2026 grantmaking budget of $130 million. Learn more at barrfoundation.org.

Greentown Media Contact

Mark Lancaster
Head of Marketing and Technology
[email protected]

SOURCE Greentown Labs