Summer of St. Jude campaign supports the fight against childhood cancer

FORT WAYNE, Ind., Nov. 3, 2025 — Master Spas, a leading manufacturer of premium hot tubs and swim spas, is proud to announce that its Summer of St. Jude campaign raised $310,000, surpassing its original goal of $250,000.

The three-month campaign ran from July through September and culminated with Master Spas’ annual Global Sales Event. Participating dealers across the United States generated donations benefitting St. Jude through a wide variety of local fundraising efforts, coming together to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

“At Master Spas, our mission is to help people live life better,” said Kevin Richards, President of Master Spas. “We’re incredibly proud of what our dealers and employees accomplished together. The Summer of St. Jude campaign was a reflection of our shared values and commitment to giving back.”

Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food, allowing them to focus on helping their children live. Since opening in 1962, St. Jude has helped raise the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent and continues working toward its goal of curing childhood cancer worldwide.

“This remarkable fundraising milestone by Master Spas to support the lifesaving mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is truly inspiring,” said Steve Froehlich, Chief Revenue Officer of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “Because of generous donations from partners like Master Spas, St. Jude can continue to provide world-class care to children facing cancer and other life-threatening diseases here in the U.S. and around the world, regardless of their family’s ability to pay.”

The Summer of St. Jude campaign is part of Master Spas Cares, the company’s charitable giving initiative that supports nonprofit organizations and community programs.

For more information, visit www.MasterSpas.com/cares.

About Master Spas

Master Spas is based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Operating out of a state-of-the-art, 614,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on a 45-acre campus, Master Spas is the largest swim spa manufacturer in the world and the largest hot tub manufacturer that builds 100% of its spas in the USA using both domestic and foreign components. The company’s executive team brings together more than 150 years of spa manufacturing experience and has one of the strongest track records in the industry. For more information, visit www.MasterSpas.com

SOURCE MASTER SPAS

Bridge SAFE closed in one week for Apollo-1, AUI’s neuro-symbolic conversational AI foundation model.

NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2025 — AUI (Augmented Intelligence Inc.), the company behind Apollo-1, the world’s first neuro-symbolic foundation model for task-oriented conversational AI, has raised $20 million at a $750 million valuation cap, bringing total funding to nearly $60 million to date.

The round included participation from eGateway Ventures, existing shareholders, an investor group from New Era Capital Partners, and strategic partners. In September 2024, AUI disclosed $10 million at a $350 million valuation cap. At that time, the company announced a strategic go-to-market partnership with Google.

Developed over eight years by founders Ohad Elhelo and Ori Cohen, Apollo-1 introduces a new computational architecture that fuses neural and symbolic reasoning to guarantee deterministic, policy-compliant, and fluent task execution, addressing what many describe as the “missing half of conversational AI.“

While open-ended dialogue powered by large language models (LLMs) has dominated recent years, task-oriented conversations that lead to real-world actions such as bookings,    payments, cancellations, and registrations remain largely unsolved.

“There’s a reason everyone knows the names ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini,” said Ohad Elhelo, co-founder and CEO of AUI. “But there’s still almost no example of a major enterprise successfully deploying reliable conversational agents at scale. LLM-based agents work well in open dialogue, but they’re not reliable enough for serious task-oriented deployments.”

Unlike conventional deep-learning approaches that depend on extensive pre-training to approximate behavior, neuro-symbolic foundation models like Apollo-1 encode procedural knowledge directly while using neural modules for perception, language understanding, and generation.

“LLM-based open-ended dialogue represents the B2C framework of conversational AI, while neuro-symbolic task-oriented dialogue ushers in the B2B era, where reliability, determinism, and policy adherence matter as much as fluency,” said Gideon Argov, a Managing Partner of New Era Capital, one of the company’s earliest backers.

Apollo-1 is designed not to function as an agent itself, but to enable any organization to build its own domain-specific, policy-adhering conversational agents.

“I have seen some of today’s top AI leaders walk away with their heads spinning after interacting with Apollo-1,” said Chris Varelas, co-founder of private-equity firm Redwood Capital, an early investor in AUI and advisor to the CEO. “This was a small bridge financing that came together in under a week, ahead of major announcements planned for later this year.”

Apollo-1 is already deployed within Fortune 500 organizations. General availability will be announced separately following current enterprise deployments. The company was founded in 2017, employs 45 people, and counts among its early backers Vertex Pharmaceuticals founder Joshua Boger, UKG Chairman Aron Ain, and former IBM President Jim Whitehurst.

About AUI (Augmented Intelligence Inc.)

AUI builds neuro-symbolic foundation models for task-oriented conversational AI. Apollo-1 enables developers and enterprises to design policy-adhering agents that execute complex procedures with reliability, transparency, and control.

AUI is hiring for a number of positions that can be found at AUI.io.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2811779/AUI.jpg
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2811778/AUI_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Augmented Intelligence (AUI) Inc

Deals leveraged $86.9 million in outside capital in the first quarter of the fiscal year

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Nov. 3, 2025 — Connecticut Innovations (CI), Connecticut’s strategic venture capital arm, today announced that it invested approximately $11.3 million in 25 companies and venture funds during the first quarter of its fiscal year, ending September 30, 2025. CI’s investments leveraged $86.9 million in outside capital and generated $7.0 million in proceeds during the quarter.

CI invested approximately $1.5 million in climate tech companies over the quarter, and another $2.2 million in venture funds. More than half of the quarter’s investment dollars, $6.9 million, were invested in the healthcare sector. The remaining investments were in consumer and technology companies.

“With the launch of our new $50 million AI/Q Fund, CI is doubling down on the technologies shaping the future,” said Matt Storeygard, senior managing director of investments. “Bexorg, one of our largest healthcare investments this quarter and a new addition to the AI/Q Fund, shows how AI can drive real-world change in biosciences by combining artificial intelligence with a whole-human brain perfusion platform to accelerate breakthroughs in brain health.”

“CI began the new fiscal year with steady deal activity and strong participation across key sectors like healthcare, climate tech and AI,” said Peter Longo, senior managing director of investments. “It’s a promising start to the year and reflects the continued demand for capital among Connecticut’s growing companies.”

About Connecticut Innovations
Connecticut Innovations (CI) is Connecticut’s strategic venture capital arm and is the leading source of financing and ongoing support for innovative, growing companies. By offering equity and debt investments, strategic guidance and introductions to valuable partners, we help promising businesses thrive. For more information, please visit http://www.ctinnovations.com.

Media Contact
Lauren Carmody
Connecticut Innovations
860.258.7829
[email protected]

SOURCE Connecticut Innovations

Patient Conversation Intelligence Converts Healthcare’s Largest Patient Engagement Blind Spot into Action and Immediate Interventions

NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 3, 2025 — Popai Health, the Patient Conversation Intelligence company that transforms patient conversations into action, announced today that it has raised $11 million in funding led by Team8, NEA and additional strategic investors. The funding will strengthen Popai’s go-to-market efforts, drive faster adoption across health systems, medical groups, health plans, and ACOs, and enable the team to scale with increasing market demand.

Popai revolutionizes care coordination by leveraging Voice AI to eliminate healthcare’s largest patient engagement blind spot – the 65% of patient interactions that happen during phone calls. Traditional care coordination systems capture only a fraction of the information exchanged during 15M daily patient calls, limiting visibility into key clinical, operational, and social insights. With Popai, care coordination calls become one of healthcare organizations’ most valuable strategic assets, optimizing how care coordination teams operate and deliver patient care.

“After deep evaluation of voice capabilities across our healthcare portfolio, we view Popai’s solution as incredibly differentiated, with a use case that extends beyond pure administration in enabling automated workflow actions for healthcare organizations,” said Blake Wu, Partner, NEA. “Popai’s platform is designed to not only meet the needs of today’s risk-bearing healthcare organizations, but also to adapt and grow with them. We believe this makes Popai a strong strategic partner both now and into the future, and we are thrilled to support the company’s seed financing and mission to transform care through Voice AI.”

Popai’s Patient Conversation Intelligence platform, which is already in use by Essen Healthcare and Clover Health among others, captures and analyzes patient phone conversations using healthcare-specific AI trained on medical terminology and clinical context. The platform automatically generates compliant documentation aligned with organizational guidelines, enhancing both quality and efficiency, with proven performance gains of 20% or more, while maintaining healthcare-grade security and full HIPAA compliance.

“At Essen Healthcare, we’ve always believed that innovation should serve our mission of caring for underserved communities,” said Sumir Sahgal, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Essen. “After more than 25 years serving New York City’s most vulnerable populations, I’ve learned that many critical insights often come from the conversations we have with our patients. Popai’s conversation intelligence platform aligns perfectly with our ‘We Care for That’ philosophy, by allowing our care coordinators to even further focus on what they do best: providing compassionate, high-quality care.”

Beyond documentation, Popai converts insights into immediate action through real-time workflow triggers that escalate critical issues to physicians, schedule appointments, close care gaps, and address medication adherence problems. At the population level, the platform surfaces risk patterns across thousands of calls, enabling healthcare organizations to shift from reactive to proactive care management.

“Phone conversations are the largest patient engagement channel, yet healthcare executives, accountable for population health outcomes, lack deep visibility into this channel,” said Assaf Mischari, Managing Partner at Team8. “Population health management has been limited by what’s documented in EHRs, but Popai enables organizations to see risk patterns emerging across millions of daily conversations, transforming patient interactions into their most valuable data assets while eliminating documentation burden. We’re thrilled to be on this journey with Popai’s founding team.” 

Eyal Gurion, Popai’s CEO and co-founder shares that sentiment, “One of the most sophisticated patient insight tools in healthcare has always been a conversation with a patient. We’re finally giving healthcare organizations the ability to capture and act on those conversations at scale with a powerful tool for proactive care. We’re not building another data platform but an action platform, and we’re incredibly excited about our partnership with Team8 and NEA.”

Popai was founded in 2024 by Eyal Gurion, CEO, Michael Latar, Chief Product Officer, and Elad Levy, Chief Technology Officer. For more information about Popai, please visit https://www.popai.health/.

About Popai Health
Popai Health is the Patient Conversation Intelligence company that transforms patient conversations into actions through Voice AI. The company helps health systems, medical groups, health plans, and ACOs eliminate their biggest blind spot in population health management by capturing and analyzing the 65% of patient engagement that happens over the phone but remains untapped. Powered by healthcare-trained Voice AI, Popai automatically documents 100% of patient conversations and triggers immediate action through real-time workflows, enabling healthcare organizations to identify and act on rising risk patients before they become costly realities. By converting patient conversations into precision insights while reducing administrative burden, Popai drives better clinical outcomes, improved patient experiences, and enhanced operational efficiencies. For more information, visit www.popai.health.

About NEA
New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA)  is a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. Founded in 1977, NEA has more than $28 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2025 and invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm’s long track record of investing includes 284 portfolio company IPOs and more than 500 mergers and acquisitions. For more information, please visit www.nea.com.

About Team8
Team8 is a venture group that builds and backs the most innovative technology companies in the fields of cybersecurity, data, fintech, and digital health. Team8 leverages deep domain expertise, cutting-edge technology, and firsthand company-building experience to partner with entrepreneurs in founding globally successful companies. The Team8 Health foundry partners with entrepreneurs and leverages deep data and tech tools to build category-leading health companies that will improve the quality of care and delivery of services across the healthcare industry. The foundry will utilize Team8’s unique company creation process to bring together an in-house team of domain experts and operators and a community of C-level executives and thought leaders in the healthcare space to de-risk company building and maximize the success of portfolio companies through technology, market fit, and talent acquisition. Founded in 2014, Team8 is backed by notable companies including Microsoft, Walmart, Cisco, Barclays, and Moody’s, among others. For further information, visit www.team8.vc.

SOURCE Popai Health

Investment from Rittenhouse Ventures and Tech Council Ventures Supports Company’s Mission to Help Enterprise Organizations Transform Accounts Payable Operations

HAMILTON, N.J., Nov. 3, 2025 — TranscendAP, Inc., a leading provider of accounts payable (AP) automation software, today announced that it has secured venture funding to scale operations and support the company’s aggressive growth strategy. The funding round was led by Rittenhouse Ventures and Tech Council Ventures, supporting TranscendAP’s mission to drive innovation across AP operations for enterprise organizations.

TranscendAP will utilize the investment to enhance its AI-driven technology platform, accelerate market penetration, and build on its recent momentum, which includes notable customer wins across the healthcare, manufacturing, and higher education markets. Clients include Aspen Surgical, Loomis, George Mason University, Kaiser Aluminum, Powell Industries, and Arizona Arthritis & Rheumatology Associates, demonstrating the flexibility and configurability of the TranscendAP platform and its ability to meet the unique needs of diverse AP departments.

“AP automation has moved from being a back-office necessity to a true strategic advantage,” said Jeff Weinstein, Co-Founder and CEO of TranscendAP. “Securing this venture funding is a major milestone for us, empowering our team to accelerate AI innovation, expand our platform, and continue transforming how organizations across industries manage their accounts payable. It’s especially rewarding to be backed by two venture firms with a proven track record and a team that I’ve had great success with before.”

As organizations increasingly look to apply AI to streamline financial operations, TranscendAP’s platform stands out for its intelligent data capture, workflow automation, and exception handling capabilities, helping enterprise AP teams reduce manual processing, improve visibility, and lower invoice processing costs.

“The accounts payable automation market is undergoing a crucial transformation, shifting rapidly from outdated, first-generation systems, with over 90% of the market still lacking effective AP automation,” said David Nevas, General Partner at Rittenhouse Ventures. “Their cloud-based, AI-first platform leverages best-in-class technology, providing critical value propositions like a 70% reduction in per-invoice costs and robust fraud detection capabilities. We believe the time to strike this market is now, and TranscendAP is perfectly positioned to capture significant share in the mid-market segment. The company has proven product-market fit with impressive customer wins and strong capital efficiency.”

This investment milestone not only validates TranscendAP’s approach to intelligent AP automation but also fuels the company’s ongoing initiative and commitment to help organizations worldwide achieve smarter, more efficient accounts payable operations.

“We’re excited to invest for the second time in a leader like Jeff Weinstein, who now has a best-in-class solution for automating the accounts payable workflow,” said Steve Socolof, Managing Partner at Tech Council Ventures. “Having worked with Jeff and his team in the past, we’ve seen firsthand their ability to execute, scale quickly, and deliver real enterprise value through innovation. We’re confident TranscendAP has the right leadership and technology to redefine AP automation for a broad range of organizations.”

For more information about TranscendAP’s accounts payable automation solutions or to schedule a demo, contact [email protected].

About Rittenhouse Ventures

Rittenhouse Ventures is an emerging-growth venture capital firm that partners with capital-efficient B2B SaaS, AI, and tech-enabled services companies. With a strategic focus on the Mid-Atlantic region and other underserved markets, Rittenhouse invests in companies generating $2M-$10M in revenue, typically into rounds of $5M or less. The firm is dedicated to providing deep operational support and unique network access, collaborating with exceptional management teams to foster sustainable growth and market leadership.

About Tech Council Ventures

Tech Council Ventures invests in the most promising early-stage, rapid-growth technology companies in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Fund typically initially invests $500,000 to $3M, with up to $4-5M to support the company’s growth. The general partners are active investors, typically (but not always) a Board Director and lead investor.

About TranscendAP

TranscendAP, Inc. provides a flexible and scalable AI-driven accounts payable (AP) automation platform capable of supporting the most complex workflows and processes. Since 2018, enterprise organizations in healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, and other sectors have entrusted TranscendAP to manage millions of invoices and billions of dollars annually. For more information, visit www.transcendap.com.

Media Contact:
Domenick Cilea
[email protected]

SOURCE TranscendAP

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 3, 2025 — Verde Resources Inc. (OTCQB: VRDR) (Verde), a road materials company offering proprietary, environmentally sustainable solutions, today announced that Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc. (“Ergon”), the largest liquid asphalt marketer in North America, has completed a $2 million strategic common stock and warrant investment in Verde.

This investment follows the 10-year exclusive licensing agreement signed by Verde and Ergon in October, granting Ergon rights to commercialize Verde’s emulsion-based carbon sequestering BioAsphalt™ technology across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. BioAsphalt™ enables the use of 100% recycled asphalt materials in cold-mix applications that eliminate burners, heat, and solvents—lowering costs, extending paving seasons, and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions is a subsidiary of Ergon, Inc., a diversified global organization engaged in multiple industries. The privately held Ergon is an industry pioneer in asphalt innovation and supply, employing more than 4,000 people as it serves customers and partners in over 100 countries worldwide.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Ergon as a strategic shareholder of Verde,” said Jack Wong, CEO of Verde Resources. “This investment strengthens our balance sheet and reinforces our shared vision and long-term commitment. We’re honored that Ergon recognizes Verde as a trusted partner in advancing large-scale decarbonization of the road construction industry through an innovative yet pragmatic approach. With Ergon’s deep expertise and extensive nationwide infrastructure, they are the ideal partner to scale BioAsphalt™ across North America.”

Recent independent testing by the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) validated the performance of Verde’s next-generation BioAsphalt™—a 100% reclaimed asphalt pavement (known as RAP) cold mix enhanced with biochar. The results confirmed that the material not only meets but exceeds industry specifications, demonstrating strength, durability, and moisture resistance suitable for surface applications.

This milestone establishes a strong operational, technical and financial foundation for Verde’s commercialization efforts with Ergon, marking a pivotal step toward scalable, carbon-storing pavements that lower costs while decarbonizing road construction.

“Our partnership with Verde underscores Ergon’s commitment to leading the industry toward a more sustainable future,” said Patrick Nation, President of Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions. “Our investment reflects genuine enthusiasm to advance Verde’s proprietary technology and bring it to market. BioAsphalt™ provides a practical, scalable solution to decarbonize our sector without compromising quality or performance, and we’re proud to support Verde’s growth as both a commercial partner and strategic shareholder.”

Verde and Ergon have already hit the ground running, mobilizing joint teams and engaging major customers across Ergon’s network for large-scale projects. These initiatives aim to demonstrate BioAsphalt™ at full commercial scale, showcasing its superior performance, durability, and ease of installation, while generating verified carbon removal credits.

Biochar is fast emerging as a cornerstone of modern infrastructure, creating measurable value for taxpayers, contractors, producers, and Departments of Transportation alike by embedding reliable, traceable carbon removal directly into existing and new roads.

Today, 94% of US roads are paved with asphalt, a high performance but energy-intensive material produced and installed at high temperatures. Frontline workers face heat-related risks, communities endure frequent construction delays, and taxpayers bear the cost of deteriorating infrastructure and mounting environmental waste. Verde and Ergon are bringing practical, scalable solutions to address these long-standing challenges.

At a time when voluntary carbon markets face a credibility crisis, Verde and Ergon are proving that trust is earned through measurable results, not rhetoric. The solution is no longer theoretical; it’s right under our wheels. By integrating permanent carbon storage into materials society already consumes at massive scale, Verde and Ergon are redefining what sustainable road construction looks like: visible, verifiable, and built to last—with common-sense economics at its core.

Additional details regarding Ergon’s investment in Verde will be disclosed in a Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Verde Resources Inc.:

Verde Resources Inc. (OTCQB: VRDR) is an emerging leader in sustainable infrastructure, specializing in innovative and cost-effective solutions to help the industry seamlessly #TransitionToZero™. By integrating proprietary technologies with sustainable practices, Verde is at the forefront of creating low-carbon materials for infrastructure worldwide.

The company is driving transformation in a sector long overdue for change. Its approach reduces greenhouse gas emissions, sequesters carbon dioxide, optimizes the use of native soils and recycled materials, accelerates installation, and improves overall efficiency, all while lowering costs.

For more information, please visit https://www.verderesources.com

About Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc.:

Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc., a subsidiary of Ergon, Inc., is a leading provider of high-performance asphalt products and technologies. With decades of experience, Ergon specializes in delivering advanced emulsions, polymer modified asphalts, and other solutions that enhance pavement performance and sustainability. Through its state-of-the-art facilities and dedicated technical expertise, Ergon is committed to driving innovation in the asphalt industry.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release and statements of Verde’s and Ergon’s management made in connection with the matters addressed by this press release contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding Verde’s expectations, projections, and potential future developments. These statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Forward-looking statements involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “believe,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “intend,” “seek,” “potential” or similar expressions. In this press release, forward looking statements include those related to (i) the anticipated benefits to Verde of the license agreement with Ergon and Ergon’s $2 million investment into Verde, (ii) the anticipated attributes and advantages of Verde’s products and (iii) Verde and Ergon’s future commercial plans in general. These and other statements are based on current expectations and speak only as of the date of this release.

A non-exclusive list of risks and uncertainties that could cause the forward-looking statements herein to differ from future results include, without limitation: (i) the risk that Ergon will be unable to sell Verde-enabled products in the marketplace in sufficient volume so as to generate meaningful revenue for Verde, (ii) risks resulting from Verde’s dependence on Ergon as Verde’s exclusive North American distributor, and (iii) the risk that the commercial relationship between Verde and Ergon may face known or unknown challenges that result in material adverse effects on Verde. Other Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include those contained in the Verde’s filings with the SEC, which can be accessed here. 

Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein. Except as required by applicable law, Verde does not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether because of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

© 2025 Verde Resources, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Verde Resources Inc.

• AIP Secondary Fund II L.P., Aquilius’ second real estate secondaries flagship fund, closed on total capital commitments of over US$750 million. The fund was significantly oversubscribed at the hard cap, surpassing its original US$700 million target.
• The Firm raised US$1.1 billion in capital commitments for its second flagship fund and associated vehicles. The program attracted diverse global institutional investors, including leading sovereign wealth funds and pension funds.
• Aquilius seeks to capitalize on the region’s fast-growing, untapped real estate secondaries market, with the aim of building highly diversified, shorter duration portfolios across ‘new economy’ sectors at attractive, risk-adjusted return profiles.
• Founded in 2021 by ex-Partners Group and ex-Blackstone Asia private markets industry veterans Bastian Wolff and Christian Keiber, Aquilius has established itself as the largest real estate secondaries platform in Asia, with 30 on-the-ground professionals.

SINGAPORE, Nov. 3, 2025 — Aquilius Investment Partners (“Aquilius” or the “Firm”), a leading provider of secondaries solutions in the Asia Pacific region, completes fundraising of its second real estate secondaries flagship fund, AIP Secondary Fund II L.P. (“AIP SF II”).

AIP SF II was significantly oversubscribed at the hard cap and closed on over US$750 million in capital commitments, surpassing its original US$700 million target. In aggregate, the Firm has raised US$1.1 billion in capital commitments across its flagship fund and associated vehicles.

Aquilius’ Asia Pacific secondaries program attracted a wide range of global institutional investors, including leading sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, financial institutions, and family offices.

AIP SF II is Aquilius’ second real estate secondaries flagship fund targeting LP-led and GP-led transactions across Asia Pacific, with exposure to ‘new economy’ sectors supported by structural tailwinds including logistics, life sciences, data centers, hospitality and living. AIP SF II has already deployed approximately 50% of total commitments across eight secondaries transactions.

Bastian Wolff, Founding Partner at Aquilius, commented:  “We are actively capitalizing on a generational buying opportunity for secondaries in Asia. This milestone fundraise is a testament to our strong track record and highlights the continued and growing appetite for Asian real estate secondaries investments among LPs, as market volatility and the need for liquidity drives deal volume to record highs. It’s incredibly rewarding to see our Firm recognized and supported by such a broad and global group of high-profile institutional investors. We are deeply thankful for the trust of existing and new investors, whose partnership makes this milestone possible.”

Christian Keiber, Founding Partner at Aquilius, commented:  “The past 12 months marked a record-breaking year for secondaries volume. We are committed to being the leading provider of secondaries solutions in the Asia Pacific region — partnering with institutional investors and fund managers to deliver value through creative, efficient and scalable liquidity solutions while delivering compelling returns to our investors.”

ABOUT AQUILIUS 

Aquilius was founded in 2021 by Bastian Wolff (former Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific Real Estate for Partners Group) and Christian Keiber (former Managing Director for The Blackstone Group). Both Founders have invested in Asia for the past 15+ years, having collectively deployed over US$4 billion of equity across some of the region’s most complex LP-led and GP-led liquidity solutions, including LP interest transfers, single and multi-asset recapitalizations, strip sales, continuation vehicles, and structured equity.

Aquilius’ team consists of 30 dedicated professionals and collectively brings decades of experience in sourcing, investing and structuring secondaries transactions in the Asia Pacific region. Aquilius focuses on building long-term, scalable, and mutually beneficial partnerships with funds and their managers by providing customized liquidity solutions. The Firm’s independent nature and institutional backing enable Aquilius to transact with speed and certainty on a discreet and strictly friendly basis.

MEDIA CONTACT

Evelyn Tan, Partner, Aquilius Investment Partners
Email: [email protected]

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– Catalyx Space consigue una ronda de financiación inicial de 5,4 millones de dólares para prepararse para la próxima era de la logística orbitaria

•  Catalyx está construyendo la infraestructura completa para el espacio: hardware, software y operaciones que permiten que el lanzamiento y el regreso de la carga funcionen como logística programada, no como misiones puntuales.

•  El lanzamiento es predecible; el regreso de la carga no. Catalyx está convirtiendo el regreso en un servicio reservable para productos fabricados en microgravedad, investigaciones urgentes, devolución de componentes y logística de muestras, cerrando el ciclo que hace que la órbita se comporte como infraestructura.

SAN FRANCISCO, 1 de noviembre de 2025 —  Catalyx Space, Inc., empresa de infraestructura espacial que ofrece soluciones integrales para misiones orbitales en diversos sectores, anunció recientemente el cierre de su ronda de financiación semilla de 5,4 millones de dólares, liderada por la firma de capital riesgo Outlander VC, que superó las expectativas. Este anuncio se produce tras el éxito de su ronda pre-semilla de 1,7 millones de dólares en enero, la cual culminó con la primera prueba de lanzamiento exitosa de su cápsula en un plazo acelerado de seis meses. Los nuevos fondos se destinarán a comercializar su arquitectura de reentrada de última generación, fortalecer sus operaciones internacionales y ampliar su capacidad de captación de clientes a nivel global. En la ronda también participaron: Arka Venture Labs, Lex Reddy, KDX Management LLC, Together Fund, Higher Life Ventures, Nivesha Ventures, Prana Tech Ventures, Bria, HF0 Residency y Techstars.

“El espacio no es la próxima frontera, sino la próxima capa de infraestructura. Catalyx está haciendo que la órbita sea tan accesible y programable como la nube, y ese cambio impulsará industrias completamente nuevas. Nos enorgullece respaldar a un equipo que está construyendo la columna vertebral de esta transformación”, afirmó Paige Craig, fundadora y socia directora de Outlander VC.

“La historia de Rifath es un ejemplo de perseverancia. Desde la construcción de su primer satélite en la adolescencia hasta su liderazgo actual en Catalyx, nunca ha dejado de perseguir lo que otros consideran imposible. Conozco a miles de fundadores al año, y muy pocos se mueven con la velocidad y precisión de Rifath y su equipo. La capacidad de Catalyx para llevar la idea a la órbita a su propio ritmo está redefiniendo la forma en que se construye en la industria espacial”, añadió AJ Smith, socio inversor de Outlander VC.

La historia de Catalyx comienza con su fundador, Rifath Shaarook, quien, frustrado por los prolongados plazos de desarrollo y la compleja y fragmentada infraestructura de la industria espacial, fundó Catalyx en 2024. Veterano del sector espacial con docenas de misiones exitosas, Shaarook fue noticia a los 18 años cuando diseñó KalamSat, entonces el satélite más ligero del mundo y una maravilla de la ingeniería impresa en 3D.

“La misión de Catalyx es acelerar la comercialización del espacio al permitir un acceso orbital rápido, fiable y asequible en todas las industrias, incluidas la defensa, la fabricación avanzada y la biofarmacéutica. Este hito de financiación nos acerca a hacer realidad ese futuro”, declaró Shaarook.

Según Fortune Business Insights, el mercado mundial de infraestructura espacial se valoró en 146.000 millones de dólares en 2024 y se prevé que alcance los 308.000 millones de dólares en 2032. Catalyx pretende satisfacer esta creciente demanda con una solución integral y completa para aplicaciones espaciales de próxima generación.

Acerca de Catalyx Space

Catalyx está reinventando el acceso al espacio, construyendo laboratorios autónomos con capacidad de reentrada. Fundada por Rifath Shaarook, Clinton D. Antony, Keerthan Chand Aluvala y Saqib Hussain, la plataforma tecnológica de Catalyx abarca sistemas de reentrada y recuperación, plataformas ligeras para naves espaciales, software para estaciones terrestres y un estándar de despliegue sin contenedores para nanosatélites. Catalyx presta servicios a innovadores, investigadores y empresas de sectores clave, como defensa, fabricación avanzada y biofarmacia, permitiendo a sus clientes probar, construir e iterar en entornos de microgravedad de forma más rápida y económica.

Para aprender más, visite www.catalyx.space o siga a @CatalyxSpace en las redes sociales.  

Vídeo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JNfEdfbU2s
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• Catalyx met en place une infrastructure back-end pour l’espace, avec du matériel, des logiciels et des opérations qui permettent à la masse montante et à la masse descendante de fonctionner comme une logistique planifiée, non comme des missions ponctuelles
• Le lancement est prévisible, la masse descendante ne l’est pas. Catalyx transforme l’étape de retour en un service programmable pour les produits fabriqués en microgravité, la recherche chronosensible, les retours de composants et la logistique des échantillons, une approche qui permet à l’orbite de se comporter comme une infrastructure

SAN FRANCISCO, 31 octobre 2025 — Catalyx Space, Inc., une société d’infrastructure spatiale qui fournit des solutions clés en main pour les missions orbitales dans tous les secteurs, vient d’annoncer son financement de démarrage de 5,4 millions de dollars, mené par la société de capital-risque Outlander VC. Cette annonce fait suite à la levée de pré-amorçage de 1,7 million de dollars en janvier, qui a débouché sur un premier essai réussi de largage de capsule avec un calendrier de six mois. Les nouveaux fonds seront utilisés pour commercialiser son architecture de rentrée de prochaine génération, pour renforcer les opérations à l’étranger et pour développer ses capacités d’acquisition de clients à l’échelle mondiale. Le financement bénéficie également de la participation des sociétés suivantes : Arka Venture Labs, Lex Reddy, KDX Management LLC, Together Fund, Higher Life Ventures, Nivesha Ventures, Prana Tech Ventures, Bria, HF0 Residency et Techstars.

« L’espace n’est pas la prochaine frontière, c’est la prochaine couche d’infrastructure. Catalyx rend l’orbite aussi accessible et programmable que le nuage, et cette évolution donnera naissance à des industries entièrement nouvelles. Nous sommes fiers de soutenir une équipe qui constitue l’épine dorsale de cette transformation », déclare Paige Craig, fondateur et managing partner d’Outlander VC.

« L’histoire de Rifath est celle d’une volonté implacable. Depuis la construction de son premier satellite alors qu’il était adolescent jusqu’à la direction de Catalyx aujourd’hui, il n’a jamais cessé de poursuivre ce que d’autres considèrent comme impossible. Je rencontre des milliers de fondateurs chaque année, et très peu évoluent avec la rapidité et la précision de Rifath et de son équipe. La capacité de Catalyx à passer de l’idée à l’orbite à son rythme redéfinit la manière dont l’industrie spatiale se construit », ajoute AJ Smith, investing partner chez Outlander VC. 

L’histoire de Catalyx commence avec son fondateur, Rifath Shaarook, qui, frustré par les fenêtres de développement prolongées et l’infrastructure complexe et fragmentée de l’industrie spatiale, a fondé Catalyx en 2024. Vétéran de l’espace avec des dizaines de missions réussies, Shaarook a fait les gros titres à l’âge de 18 ans lorsqu’il a conçu KalamSat, alors le satellite le plus léger du monde et une merveille d’ingénierie imprimée en 3D.

« La mission de Catalyx est d’accélérer la commercialisation de l’espace en permettant un accès orbital rapide, fiable et abordable pour toutes les industries, y compris la défense, la fabrication de pointe et la biopharmacie. Cette étape de financement nous rapproche de la concrétisation de cet avenir », déclare Shaarook.

Selon Fortune Business Insights, le marché mondial des infrastructures spatiales était évalué à 146 milliards de dollars en 2024 et devrait atteindre 308 milliards de dollars d’ici 2032. Catalyx veut satisfaire cette demande croissante en proposant une solution unique et entièrement intégrée pour les applications spatiales de prochaine génération.

À propos de Catalyx Space

Catalyx repense l’accès à l’espace en construisant des laboratoires autonomes dotés de capacités de rentrée dans l’atmosphère. Créé par Rifath Shaarook, Clinton D Antony, Keerthan Chand Aluvala et Saqib Hussain, Catalyx dispose d’une pile technologique comprenant des systèmes de rentrée et de récupération, des engins spatiaux légers, des logiciels pour les stations au sol et une norme de déploiement non canalisé pour les petits satellites. Catalyx est au service des innovateurs, des chercheurs et des entreprises dans des secteurs clés tels que la défense, la fabrication de pointe et la biopharmacie, pour permettre aux clients de tester, de construire et d’évoluer dans des environnements de microgravité avec une rapidité accrue et un coût réduit.

Pour en savoir plus, visitez le site www.catalyx.space ou suivez @CatalyxSpace sur les réseaux sociaux.

Vidéo : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JNfEdfbU2s
Photo : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2809534/Catalyx_Space.jpg
Logo : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2809558/Catalyx_Space_Logo.jpg