HONG KONG, Sept. 17, 2026 — D-Robotics, a leading provider of robotics development infrastructure, today announced the closing of a US$400 million Series C funding round. The round attracted strategic investment from a leading global internet company, alongside with top-tier investment institutions, and continued follow-on investments from existing shareholders.

The funding aims to enhance Sunrise™ Chip product portfolio across all computing levels, and to develop a software platform spanning the entire robot development chain. Together, they form an integrated hardware-software infrastructure for AI robots, supporting every development scenario, from mature robot categories to general-purpose humanoid robots.

In the first half of 2026, D-Robotics’ revenue grew several times year-over-year, cumulative shipments of the Sunrise™ series chips exceeded 8 million units, its embodied AI business entered the mass production stage, and its hardware-software integrated AI infrastructure completed large-scale validation.

The Sunrise™ S600, the company’s embodied AI computing chip launched in November 2025, has been adopted by more than 20 leading embodied AI customers within six months — including TARS, Spirit AI, X Square Robot, UBTECH, PaXini Tech, Astribot, FOURIER and Booster Robotics. These partners span humanoid robots, industrial wheeled robots, flexible consumer electronics manufacturing, embodied foundation models and omni-modal perception with the majority already in mass production.

The newly upgraded D-Robotics Gravity Program (DGP) provides robotics innovators with end-to-end support, spanning product development and supply-chain selection to GTM strategy and fundraising roadshows. To date, the program has backed more than 500 robotics innovators across 10 frontier categories — including open-source humanoids, AI sports coaching, embodied AI models, AI imaging and home companion robots — with multiple products becoming breakout successes now shipping at scale.

Today, more than 500 universities and over 100,000 developers from more than 20 countries have created hundreds of types of intelligent robots based on the D-Robotics’ platform, serving millions of users worldwide.

About D-Robotics

D-Robotics is a leading provider of robotics development infrastructure, spanning high-performance computing platforms, operating systems, and applications. Powered by its Sunrise™ chips and RDK™ robotics developer kits, its platforms drive a broad range of AI robots, from humanoids and quadrupeds to home-service, companion, and logistics AMR robots. To date, more than 500 universities and over 100,000 developers across 20+ countries have created hundreds of AI robot on the D-Robotics’ platform, serving millions of users worldwide. Learn more at en.d-robotics.cc

*Effective TOPS with 1/2 Sparsity, TPP(Total Processing Performance)<4800

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., Sept. 16, 2026 — Rapta^®, a company transforming precision manufacturing through AI-powered quality assurance and process intelligence, today announced the closing of an $8 million funding round. The round was co-led by Voyager Capital and Access Venture Partners, with participation from DeepWork Capital, LongKnife, Elevate Capital, Ringbolt Capital, Portland Seed Fund, BVC, and other existing investors.

The investment will accelerate deployment of Rapta’s Manufacturing Intelligence Platform across defense, aerospace, and other high-precision production environments.

As part of the financing, Diane Fraiman, Managing Director at Voyager Capital, and Kirk Holland, Managing Director at Access Venture Partners, have joined Rapta’s Board of Directors.

“The biggest hurdle to optimizing manufacturing operations isn’t ambition – it’s proprietary, siloed data architectures that scatter production data across systems and make harmonizing processes, scaling, or integrating new technology far harder than it should be,” said Aaron Brown, CEO of Rapta. “Rapta unifies that data into a single, traceable production record so manufacturers can modernize without re-platforming. Diane and Kirk join us at a critical moment in that work, and their experience will help ensure we deliver on our commitment to transform manufacturing in a dramatically changing marketplace.”

Trusted by five of the top ten U.S. defense primes, Rapta builds computer vision and manufacturing intelligence technology that helps keep America’s most critical production lines operating efficiently and reliably.

“Manufacturing has lagged in automation, but robotics, AI/ML, and computer vision are now delivering on the assembly line at scale. By targeting quality – a leading cause of delays and cost overruns – Rapta delivers immediate ROI,” said Diane Fraiman. “The company’s strong growth, experienced team, and ability to deliver measurable value in complex manufacturing environments give us tremendous confidence in its potential. We are excited to support Rapta as it expands its platform and helps strengthen the future of American manufacturing.”

Rapta helps these manufacturers scale production while improving quality, traceability, and workforce performance. Legacy data architectures and proprietary controls limit the automation and agile, modular processes that manufacturers need to meet modern production demands.

For high-precision manufacturers and industries with strict compliance requirements, process traceability is critical. Rapta automates the tracking of parts, process steps, tools, operators, and quality evidence while connecting traceability across production lines. This approach reduces manual documentation, limits human error, and replaces fragmented tracing procedures with a unified production record.

“Rapta provides work instructions and quality verification, in real time as the work happens, to error-proof the manufacturing process. We contextualize data across IT and OT systems to provide complete execution visibility, traceable build intelligence, and real-time decision making,” said Matthew Thornton, Co-Founder and CMO of Rapta.

“As a leading Tier 2 manufacturer of RF microwave and antenna solutions for mission-critical defense programs, TRAK TECOM knows that manufacturing excellence is built on precision, technical expertise, and uncompromising quality,” said Carole Hutchins, President of TRAK TECOM. “Rapta provides our teams with real-time visibility throughout the manufacturing process, helping us capture critical manufacturing knowledge and make it readily available across our organization. That allows our employees to complete complex builds more efficiently, shortens the learning curve for new team members, and strengthens first-pass quality. The result is greater operational efficiency, increased manufacturing confidence, and a trusted digital record that supports our customers and supply chain.”

About Rapta
Rapta helps aerospace, defense, space, electronics, advanced manufacturing, and sustainment organizations improve production readiness, quality, traceability, and workforce performance. Its Manufacturing Intelligence Platform delivers real-time guidance, verification, and operational decision support where work happens, helping manufacturers accelerate ramp-rates, expand capacity, standardize expert workforce performance, and generate trusted evidence for qualification, certification, and audit requirements. Rapta deploys on premises within the customer’s existing network, keeping production data on the customer’s infrastructure.

Learn more at rapta.ai

Mission: Systematically reduce the barriers to trusted, scalable manufacturing.

Small Business | CAGE 9DL78

For more information, visit www.rapta.ai or contact [email protected]

Rapta^® is a registered trademark of Rapta, Inc.

SOURCE Rapta

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2026 — Haymaker Acquisition Corp V (the “Company”) announced today the pricing of its initial public offering of 25,000,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units are expected to be listed on The New York Stock Exchange LLC (“NYSE”) and begin trading on September 17, 2026, under the ticker symbol “HYACU.” Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant, each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to certain adjustments. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. An amount equal to $10.00 per unit will be deposited into a trust account upon the closing of the offering. Once the securities constituting the units begin separate trading, the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are expected to be listed on NYSE under the symbols “HYAC” and “HYACW,” respectively. The offering is expected to close on September 18, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. The Company has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,750,000 units at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotments, if any.

The Company is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The Company may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business or industry or at any stage of its corporate evolution. The Company’s primary focus will be on companies in the industrial, consumer and consumer-related products and services industries.

The Company’s management team is led by Christopher Bradley, its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The Board includes Christopher Bradley, Brian Shimko, Harris Heyer, Walter McLallen, William Heyer and James Heyer.

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and William Blair are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Roth Capital Partners is acting as co-manager of the offering.

The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. When available, copies of the prospectus may be obtained from Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, 499 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022, or by email at [email protected]; William Blair & Company, L.L.C., Attn: Prospectus Department, 150 North Riverside Plaza, Chicago, Illinois 60606, by telephone at 1-800-621-0687 or by email at: [email protected]; or by accessing the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. 

A registration statement relating to the securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and became effective on September 16, 2026. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements,” including with respect to the expected closing of the proposed initial public offering and search for an initial business combination. No assurance can be given that the offering discussed above will be completed on the terms described, or at all.

Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s registration statement and prospectus for the Company’s initial public offering filed with the SEC. Copies of these documents are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

Investor Contacts
Haymaker Acquisition Corp V
[email protected] 
Attn: Christopher Bradley

SOURCE Haymaker Acquisition Corp. V

QUÉBEC CITY, Sept. 16, 2026 — Linearis Labs has been selected to receive funding in two of the 14 pan-Canadian project teams announced today by the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) under its Digital Health Innovation Fund, a program led by TFRI’s Digital Health & Discovery Platform (DHDP). The 14 funded projects represent a combined investment of $40.9M and bring together 55 partners across Canada to advance AI-driven health data sharing for precision medicine.

In its announcement, TFRI President and Scientific Director Dr. Jim Woodgett said the initiative reflects “research and enterprise coming together to drive innovation.” (Full release: www.dhdp.ca)

Linearis Labs’ two funded projects are:

Multi-Omics Data to AI Disease Signature Discovery. In association with MRM Proteomics, Simmunome, the Jewish General Hospital/CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, and Nova Scotia Health. The project applies AI to integrated genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data to predict which treatments are most likely to work for patients with lung, breast, or colorectal cancers.

AI-Enabled Biomarker Discovery and Therapeutic Monitoring in Neurodegenerative Disease. In collaboration with Nanil Therapeutics, the project uses secure, standardized health data and AI to identify biological signals that can improve how neurodegenerative diseases are studied and monitored.

“Cancer and neurodegenerative diseases are complex, and no single type of data can capture them holistically. By combining genomics, proteomics, and TMIC’s 1,780 metabolomics GigaKit™ panel with our AI reasoning layer, we can finally see the whole picture of a disease, not just a fragment, so patients can be diagnosed sooner and treated with what actually works for them,” said Alexandre Le Bouthillier, CEO, Linearis Labs.

Both projects will draw on the DHDP’s federated learning infrastructure, allowing researchers to analyze data across institutions without moving it, preserving privacy while enabling AI-driven discovery and creating new investment opportunities.

More information on funded projects and participating organizations is available at www.dhdp.ca/projects

About Linearis

Linearis, with its tandem Ventures Fund and Laboratory, is pioneering and supporting discoveries to prevent, detect, and cure diseases through direct investments in innovative AI-powered life sciences companies. To learn more about Linearis, visit www.linearis.com

SOURCE Linearis

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 16, 2026 — Lincoln Avenue Communities (“LAC”), one of the nation’s largest owners, private investors, and developers of affordable housing, today announced the launch of the ~$260 million Wilshire Core Plus Housing Impact Fund LP (the “Fund”). The national fund will be managed by an affiliate of Lincoln Avenue Communities and has received an anchor investment from Morgan Stanley.

“The launch of the Wilshire Core Plus Housing Impact Fund supports our long-term strategic vision for impact investing across multiple platforms with the broader ambition of addressing affordable housing needs across the country,” said Co-Founder and CEO Jeremy Bronfman. “For more than a decade, LAC has worked to deliver high-quality, affordable homes in communities that have been impacted by the nationwide housing crisis. This Fund allows us to scale that work in a meaningful way, creating lasting returns for residents, neighborhoods and investors alike.”

As the Fund’s investment manager, LAC will draw on its years of experience developing, rehabilitating and operating affordable housing communities across the country. LAC currently owns affordable housing assets with a total value of more than $7 billion across 33 states and has been recognized as the nation’s leading developer of affordable housing for the past two years in a row by Affordable Housing Finance. As the Fund’s anchor investor, Morgan Stanley is continuing its commitment to help drive meaningful impact in underserved communities nationwide.

The Wilshire Core Plus Housing Impact Fund will leverage LAC’s institutional approach toward impact investing, drawing on industry knowledge, relationships and scale to purchase income restricted multifamily communities nationwide. By preserving the affordability of existing homes and improving the quality of housing in underserved neighborhoods, the Fund aims to provide lasting benefit to the residents and communities it serves.

The Fund further builds on LAC and Morgan Stanley’s long-term partnership to invest in and strengthen communities. For the past six years, LAC and Morgan Stanley have collaborated with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on a landmark multi-year educational outreach program, hosting after-school programs using award-winning Hall of Fame curriculum for students living in LAC affordable housing communities.

“Together with LAC we are working to generate much needed quality affordable housing in this country,” said Mike Mantle, Head of Community Development Finance, Morgan Stanley. “This fund will also support residents through programs such as educational outreach in collaboration with the Baseball Hall of Fame, furthering our broad efforts to help communities thrive.”

Together, LAC and Morgan Stanley are committed to addressing the nation’s housing crisis by investing in communities and supporting the residents who call our properties home. The Wilshire Core Plus Housing Impact Fund will expand that reach, delivering quality, affordable homes to thousands of families, seniors and individuals nationwide.

About LAC: Lincoln Avenue Communities (LAC) is one of the nation’s leading developers, investors, and operators of affordable and workforce housing, providing high-quality, sustainable homes for lower- and moderate-income individuals, seniors, and families nationwide. LAC is a mission-driven organization with a presence in 33 states and a portfolio of 200+ properties comprising 35,000+ units housing over 100,000 residents.

SOURCE Lincoln Avenue Communities

With $5 million in seed funding from True Ventures, Wicklow Capital, and angels, the voice-first tutoring platform serves students ages 13–18.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 16, 2026 — Aristotle, a voice-first AI tutoring platform, today announced $5 million in seed funding. The round was led by True Ventures with participation from Wicklow Capital and angel investors from Anthropic, OpenAI, Sierra, Ramp, Cognition, and others to build the tutoring product that actually helps students learn.

The company is launching nationwide after a closed beta in which over 1,000 students completed over 1,500 hours of one-on-one tutoring.

Aristotle grew out of its founders’ own tutoring practice. Shan Reddy, Jaiden Reddy, and Vivek Vajipey — all Stanford alumni — spent nearly a decade tutoring students on platforms like Wyzant and Varsity Tutors. Shan and Jaiden grew up in Clark County, Nevada, a district that ranked among the lowest in the nation for per-student funding; they taught themselves through Khan Academy and continued that pattern through college and into their careers.

Shan, previously was an early product hire at Cometeer and early-stage investor at True Ventures, then went on to watch edtech underwhelm for years — a category with outsized importance but historically meager outcomes. Tutoring in particular remained a services business that technology had barely touched. He saw AI as the first real opportunity to change that: not another chatbot, but a product that could actually replicate and ultimately surpass what a great human tutor does.

“A tutor for every child in the world is one of the holy grails of AI,” said Mike Montano, partner at True Ventures. “When Shan first walked me through the idea, the framing was simple: we’re not reinventing learning, we’re putting great teachers into software and giving one to every kid.”

When LLMs went mainstream, the founders encouraged their students to try them. The results were consistent: students got answers, but they didn’t learn. Vivek, who had been researching LLM reasoning at Noah Goodman’s Computation and Cognition Lab at Stanford, recognized the pattern from a different angle: the models were optimized to resolve questions, not to hold students in the productive struggle where learning actually happens.

“Learning happens when you’re held right at the edge of your understanding – struggling, but not stuck,” said Shan Reddy, co-founder and CEO. “Great tutors allow you to sit in that discomfort and guide where most helpful. Even best-in-class LLMs today are incapable of doing this.”

Aristotle’s voice-first experience is designed to feel like a Zoom call with a tutor who remembers past sessions, adapts to each student’s learning style, and knows when to push and when to wait.

“My son told me yesterday that we should cancel his human tutor, because Aristotle is doing a better job,” said Kim L., a parent in Milwaukee whose son Andy, 13, has used Aristotle since May. “The human tutor was $250/hour.”

The funding will be used to expand the product, grow the team, and bring Aristotle to general availability.

About Aristotle

Aristotle (heyaristotle.com) is a voice-first AI tutoring platform that delivers the high-quality caliber of a premium human tutor to students ages 13–18. Founded in 2025 by Stanford alumni Shan Reddy, Jaiden Reddy, and Vivek Vajipey, Aristotle serves families across STEM, standardized testing, language learning, and more. The company is based in San Francisco, CA.

About True Ventures

Founded in 2005, True Ventures manages $4 billion in committed capital across over 450 teams spanning AI, software, hardware, and more. Notable investments include Veza, Enveda, Iceye, Handshake, Peloton, Duo Security, and HashiCorp. Learn more at trueventures.com.

Full Angel Investor List

Puneet Agarwal — GP, True Ventures
Mike Montano — Partner, True Ventures
Rohit Sharma — Partner, True Ventures
Dan Tierney — Founder, Wicklow Capital
Tom Duterme — GP, Wicklow Capital
Kian Katanforoosh — CEO/Founder, Workera; Adjunct Lecturer, Stanford
Ben Broca — CEO/Founder, Polsia.ai
Andy Wang — Head of Network, World
Armaan Goel — Agents, Anthropic
Angela Winegar — SVP of Marketing, Invisible
Mayank Mehta — CEO/Co-founder, BeHeard Labs
Marco Lorenzon — VP, Stripes Growth
Justin Quan — CEO/Co-founder, Tomo.ai
Theo Strauss — Incubations, BCV
Advait Marathe — Agent Engineer, Sierra
Brandon Gell — COO, Every
Santiago Hernandez — Research, OpenAI
Veeral Patel — Founding Engineer, Ramp
Bryce Hunt — Founding GTM, Cognition
Anant Gupta — CTO, Mixpanel
Michelle Qin — Product, OpenAI
Miles McCain — Impacts, Anthropic
Austin Petersmith — CEO/Co-founder, Howie
Kush Pandey — Head of Ops, Crosby.ai
Drew Wadsworth — Research, Together AI
Chetan Patil — Data Engineering, Roku
John O’Connell — Investor, Proof Group
Advay Pal – Engineering, Modal Labs
Max Digiacomo-Castillo – Engineering, Latent Health
Takao Yatagai – Engineering, Crusoe
Mani Vajipeyajula – Founder, Banyan Nation

SOURCE Aristotle

BlockTower, Centrifuge, and J.P. Morgan executives raise from Blockchain Capital, Janus Henderson, and Apollo to transform the process of loan creation and distribution

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2026 — Tare announced today the completion of $13.25 million in seed financing to launch a unified system for originating, managing, and financing credit assets.

The financing was led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Strobe Ventures, Janus Henderson, Apollo Global Management, The Venture Dept, Neoclassic Capital, and the Avalanche Foundation. Additional support came from Stani Kulechov, CEO of Aave; Phil Potter, co-founder of Tether; Henri Stern, CEO of Privy; Nik Milanovic, CEO of This Week in Fintech and Stablecon; and Mark Phillips, co-founder of Steakhouse Financial, among others.

Asset Backed Finance (ABF) is a pillar of private credit portfolios, with the U.S. TAM (total addressable market) alone estimated at between $6 to $8 trillion dollars. Investors rely on timely and accurate data to manage risk, yet recent AIMA studies found that 69% of asset managers lack sufficient data management capabilities. The result is slower execution and higher operating costs, limiting how efficiently capital can move through the credit market.

Tare connects asset originators and investors through a shared asset ledger, enabling buyers and sellers to source opportunities and transact with greater control and trust. Built on Avalanche, the Tare network is managed through three vertically-integrated applications:

• Loan Origination System, a modern decisioning engine that writes standardized loan data into the shared asset registry
• Loan Management System, an end-to-end servicing and securitization engine to allocate and settle funds on an ongoing basis, and
• Digital Investor Hub, a first-of-its-kind platform for investors to source, analyze, purchase, monitor, and sell credit assets

“Credit is one of the largest markets in the world, yet the infrastructure supporting it remains fragmented and inefficient,” said Kevin Miao, CEO of Tare. “Tare closes that gap by bringing origination, servicing, and capital markets into one unified system. Credit can move faster and with less friction when lenders and investors work from the same information, reducing the layers between the asset and the capital financing it.”

Designed to be a developer-friendly, self-serve experience for capital markets participants, Tare’s platform aims to drive operational efficiencies that lower costs and fees for borrowers. Tare is also putting the platform to work in its own business: Tare Credit LLC, a licensed consumer lending subsidiary that will begin originating unsecured personal loans to U.S. borrowers this month.

“Private credit has grown enormously, but the data and settlement infrastructure behind it hasn’t kept up,” said Nick Cherney, Head of Innovation at Janus Henderson. “Currently, investors are paying the price in terms of complexity, lack of transparency, and lower yields. We invested in Tare because the team deeply understands the problems in the existing markets, how to solve those problems with superior technology, and has a track record of execution from global financial institutions to cutting-edge blockchain innovation. We believe Tare can finally implement the promise of blockchains to drive better outcomes for all borrowers, originators, and investors”

Tare was founded by Kevin Miao, Keerthi Moudgal, and Lucas Vogelsang, who bring experience across private credit, financial infrastructure, and digital assets. Miao previously ran a $2 billion private credit portfolio at BlockTower, Moudgal led product development at J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys, and Vogelsang founded Centrifuge, the pioneer of tokenized securitizations.

“Tare is going after a generational opportunity to modernize how loan originators and investors connect, automating complex capital markets around a single source of truth,” said Aleks Larsen, General Partner at Blockchain Capital. “With deep experience tackling hard problems both in private credit and onchain finance, the Tare team is uniquely suited for this mission, and we’re thrilled to work closely with them as they drive towards a far more efficient and transparent credit system.”

The new capital will support Tare’s continued product development and hiring, as the company expands the platform to more lenders and institutional investors.

Lenders and investors interested in originating, financing, or managing credit through Tare can contact [email protected].

Open positions are listed at tare.ai/careers.

About Tare
Tare connects loan originators and investors through an end-to-end suite of tokenization applications, dramatically lowering the cost and complexity for credit capital markets operations. Tare’s Loan Origination System, Loan Management System, and Investor Hub connect stakeholders across the entire loan lifecycle. Tare’s infrastructure is being proven in regulated financial markets through its subsidiary, Tare Credit LLC, a licensed U.S. lender that originates unsecured personal loans. Tare’s vision is to build the next-generation credit exchange, returning value to borrowers and investors alike through lower costs and higher risk-adjusted returns.

SOURCE Tare

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Sept. 16, 2026 — CGF Holdings announced a strategic investment in MediPro Direct, a nationwide provider of mobile diagnostics services. The partnership brings the Grant family back into the diagnostics services space, an industry in which the family has deep historical roots, and positions MediPro Direct for its next phase of growth.

Founded in 2006, MediPro Direct connects clinical trial sponsors, life insurers, pharmaceutical companies, specialty labs, senior care, and healthcare organizations with a nationwide network of more than 15,000 background-checked, experienced mobile medical providers. Through its proprietary Quality First rating system and innovative case management software, MediPro Direct coordinates specimen collection, health screenings, paramedical examinations, and related services across all 50 states, with a focus on reliability, professionalism, and exceptional patient experience. The company’s stated mission centers on connecting essential medical and genetic services with the most efficient, professional delivery network in the industry, in service of improving outcomes for the millions of patients and organizations it touches.

“We’re excited to be back in the diagnostics services space,” said Joey Grant, Managing Partner of CGF Holdings. “Our family has a long history in this industry, and MediPro Direct’s team, network, technology, and reputation for exceptional quality make it exactly the kind of platform we want to partner with.”

“The CGF team brings operating experience and a strategic understanding of this industry to the table,” said Ryan Janeway, CEO of MediPro Direct. “With the rising demand for home-based services, the mobile market is growing rapidly. This partnership will help MediPro expand its provider network, enhance its technology platform, and pursue new partnerships across the clinical trial, life insurance, specialty lab, senior care, and wellness markets it serves today.”

www.cgfholdingsco.com

Media Contact:
Kendall Thurlow
[email protected]

SOURCE CGF Holdings

Financing supports Lioness’s growth while advancing a commitment to women-led, better-for-you CPG companies

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2026 — JPalmer Collective (JPC), an asset-based lending (ABL) firm focused on women-led and high-growth consumer brands, today announced the closing of a $1 million asset-based line of credit line – expandable up to $5 million – to Lioness, the first functional fruit snack made specifically for women, with functional ingredients designed to support every part of her day. The partnership brings together two women-led companies, and both leaders point to that shared perspective as central to why the deal came together. The facility funds working capital, debt reduction and growth initiatives.

Transaction at a Glance

• Borrower: Lioness
• Lender: JPalmer Collective
• Facility: $1 million asset-based line of credit, expandable up to $5 million
• Use of proceeds: Working capital, debt reduction and growth initiatives
• Sector: Food and beverage
• Strategic focus: Women-led, better-for-you CPG
• Leadership: Jennifer Palmer, founder and CEO of JPalmer Collective, and Nicky Jackson, founder and CEO of Lioness

Now in Target and Sprouts Stores

Lioness was founded by Nicky Jackson, a former senior executive at Kellogg’s and PepsiCo and founder of RangeMe, the platform that transformed how CPG brands are discovered by retailers across the U.S. Lioness launched in June 2026, in more than 1,900 Target locations and online at Target.com, Amazon, and TikTok Shop, and launched in 330 Sprouts stores in August. The single-serve functional fruit snacks include Energy, PickMeUp, and Calm, designed to serve specific moments in a woman’s typical day.

Why JPC Backed Lioness

“Our business is deeply relationship focused. Yes, we look at balance sheets and projections, but just as important, we have to believe in the team and genuinely want to work alongside them. Nicky is a rock star, an experienced entrepreneur who knows how to build a brand, a woman and mom passionate about creating something women need, and a founder who saw a gap in the market and is solving it,” said Jennifer Palmer, founder and CEO of JPalmer Collective. “We got in early with Lioness, right as it was hitting shelves, and we broke a few of our own rules to make it happen. This deal didn’t fit into our traditional box. But when we see something special, we trust our gut and figure out how to make it happen. Having spent years working with female founders and CPG companies, I knew immediately Lioness was one of those moments, and we got creative so we could be the partner that helps Nicky take the brand as far as it can go.”

Why Lioness Chose an Asset-Based Line of Credit

Launching in 1,900+ Target stores and 330 Sprouts locations demonstrates the product’s viability and demand, but it also increases the need for working capital to fulfil orders.

“While the amount of venture capital you can raise can seem tantalizing, there are trade-offs: the time it takes, the control you give up, and even the risk of raising more than you need. I knew I wanted to retain control of Lioness and have access to flexible financing that would support our growth and scale with us,” said Nicky Jackson, founder and CEO. “JPC’s focus on supporting women founders paired with their deep knowledge of the better-for-you CPG space sealed the deal. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jenn and I were connected three separate times by people in our network who all suggested we had similar philosophies and should work together.”

JPC’s Commitment to Women-Led CPG Brands

Since inception, JPC has committed to at least 50% of its portfolio being women-owned and -led businesses. The firm has a specific focus on natural products and CPG companies.

About JPalmer Collective

JPalmer Collective is a specialty asset-based lending (ABL) firm providing customized commercial finance solutions to high-growth companies that fall outside traditional lender criteria. Founded in 2023 by Jennifer Palmer, a commercial finance veteran, former president of the Secured Finance Network (SFNet), and an honoree on Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders 500 list, JPC delivers white-glove service and a consultative approach to women-led businesses, high-growth consumer brands, and companies focused on conscious consumers, sustainability, and inclusivity. The firm is a leading voice on women’s access to capital and on financing strategies for emerging consumer, food, and beverage brands.

Learn more at jpalmercollective.com.

About Lioness

Lioness™ is the first functional fruit snack made for women, with functional ingredients designed to support every part of her day.

Learn more at dailylioness.com.

SOURCE JPalmer Collective