“Real estate is mostly still operating on 1970s-1990s technology. Revenue management was no exception — until now,” said Dave Eisenberg, co-founder of Zigg Capital. “Rentana’s advanced, modern AI technology is propelling the industry into the digital era, providing real estate leaders the tools to make smarter, faster decisions that drive growth and efficiency.”

AI-Powered Revenue Optimization for Smarter, Faster Decisions

Rentana’s AI-powered platform transforms how property managers set their pricing and portfolio strategy. Their cutting edge AI technology analyzes public market trends alongside each customer’s private rental data to provide customized insights exclusively for that customer’s individual use. This intelligent pairing enables Rentanta to deliver real-time pricing recommendations, anticipate lease turnover, and predict revenue opportunities that are specifically aligned to each customer’s business, thereby empowering stakeholders to make more informed decisions, maximize occupancy, and stay ahead of market shifts in seconds.

Unlike legacy revenue management systems, Rentana does not share competitively sensitive information across multiple customers. Each Rentana customer’s private rental data is confidential, and can only be used for the benefit of the customer that provided it.

“Multifamily demand is booming in the U.S., but owners and operators are facing new pricing pressures — from inflation to rising interest rates,” said Julie Blanc, Co-Founder and CEO of Rentana. “Rentana gives customers the most complete picture of their portfolio and delivers tailored insights to help drive immediate and sustainable growth.”

A Team Built to Disrupt Legacy Systems

Rentana’s co-founders have a proven track record of transforming traditional workflows through technology. From helping to reimagine payments at Stripe to modernizing databases at Airtable and developing proptech that now powers Airbnb and Appfolio, the team saw an opportunity to replace the industry’s outdated revenue management software with an AI-driven solution designed for the future.

“Rentana’s team has built groundbreaking products that redefine industries, and they are bringing AI-powered innovation, fresh thinking, and world-class execution to a community that deserves more,” said Ken Chenault Jr., Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Benchstrength. “Rentana is the all-in-one revenue optimization tool that sets multifamily leaders up for success.”

John Monagle, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Benchstrength added, “Legacy revenue management systems simply aren’t keeping pace with today’s market realities. Rentana is delivering a long-overdue solution — one that finally gives property owners the speed, intelligence, and adaptability they need to compete effectively.”

Designed for Speed, Simplicity, and Scalable Growth

Rentana eliminates manual processes and empowers real estate leaders to make more strategic, data-driven decisions. Onboarding to the platform takes minutes, price recommendations update in less than a second, and customers that use Rentana save up to 10 hours of manual pricing per property each week.

Despite being one of the most data-rich industries, 80% of real estate professionals still rely on spreadsheets for critical decisions — leading to inefficient processes and wasted time. Other revenue management systems are slow, clunky, difficult to navigate, and often charge premiums for basic features without delivering meaningful insights.

Robert Waz, VP of Revenue & Strategic Initiatives at 29th Street Capital, underscored Rentana’s advantage over existing software: “Other revenue management platforms feel like Windows 95. Rentana feels like 2025. Its intuitive interface and seamless data accessibility set it apart, and any property owner that wants to optimize revenue and scale faster should be using Rentana.”

In a click of a button, Rentana serves up personalized performance benchmarks, actionable pricing insights, and dynamic dashboards to help customers optimize every unit from rent and renewals to specific amenities.

The Future of Revenue Optimization in Real Estate

AI-driven pricing has already transformed industries like airlines, hotels, and e-commerce. Real estate is next.

Rentana is redefining how property owners maximize efficiency, scale strategically, and future-proof their pricing strategies in an increasingly competitive market. Book a demo with Rentana today.

About Rentana

Rentana is an AI-powered revenue intelligence platform built for multifamily owners and operators. By delivering real-time insights and pricing recommendations, Rentana helps real estate leaders optimize revenue, streamline operations, and stay ahead in an evolving market. Founded by a team with experience at Stripe, Airtable, and Airbnb, Rentana is reimagining the future of real estate pricing with intelligent automation.

Media Inquiries

Please contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Rentana

Company founded by former Google AI Executive secures backing from lead RRE Ventures

PITTSBURGH, May 6, 2025 — Lovelace AI, a Pittsburgh-based artificial intelligence company pioneering real-time data fusion, announced the successful closing of its seed round investment. The round, led by RRE Ventures, will fuel product development, talent acquisition, and deployment of Lovelace’s core technology across both defense and commercial applications.

Andrew Moore, Lovelace’s founder, is the former General Manager of Google Cloud AI, and former Dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

“This investment marks a meaningful milestone in our journey,” said Andrew. “Can AI combined with careful mathematical statistics make sense of hopelessly complex situations quickly and accurately enough to keep humans safe? That’s what the Lovelace team has been relentlessly working on, and with this new RRE partnership we will be able to significantly accelerate.”

“Lovelace AI is not just building another AI company, it’s solving one of the most fundamental bottlenecks in modern computing: the ability to synthesize data across environments at operational speed,” said Will Porteous, General Partner and COO at RRE Ventures. “We’re proud to support this exceptional team as they bring foundational infrastructure to the future of AI.”

SOURCE Lovelace AI

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 6, 2025 — True Global Ventures (TGV) is proud to announce its continued and increased support for BookitnGo, participating in the company’s latest Series A funding round led by Claritas Capital, a leading growth equity investor. This milestone marks a new chapter for BookitnGo as it solidifies its position at the forefront of AI-powered travel and hospitality innovation.

Claritas’s leadership in the round brings strategic firepower and deep operational expertise to support BookitnGo’s continued expansion. For TGV, this was an opportunity to double down on conviction: the firm joined with a super pro rata investment, reinforcing its strong belief in the company’s momentum, vision, and execution.

Since TGV’s initial investment, BookitnGo has scaled rapidly growing nearly 8x year-over-year and transforming from a promising disruptor into a high-performance platform reshaping the $1.6 trillion global travel industry. Monthly growth has averaged over 15%, and current projections indicate this pace will continue throughout 2025.

The company has surpassed $5.5 million in gross merchandise value (GMV) and crossed $1 million in net revenue, outpacing internal expectations and placing it on track to reach profitability by Q3 2025.

This funding will enable BookitnGo to deepen its investment in AI-driven travel technology—technology that not only powers seamless, intelligent travel experiences for end users, but also empowers other travel tech companies to leverage BookitnGo’s infrastructure and innovation. As legacy systems struggle to keep pace, BookitnGo is building a flexible, forward-looking platform designed to unlock new efficiencies across the travel ecosystem.

Konrad Wawruch, Founding Partner at TGV

“This is a business delivering real traction at a remarkable pace, and one that is turning AI innovation into tangible outcomes,” Konrad said. “With Claritas joining the journey, BookitnGo is poised to scale faster, expand its partner network, and set new standards for the future of travel.”

Claritas Capital – Theresa Sexton, Managing Partner

“Bookit N Go is delivering transformative travel infrastructure in some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. By bringing intelligent automation and real time optimization to markets like India and the Middle East, they are enabling a new standard of access and efficiency for travel agents. At Claritas, we are proud to support a company scaling globally with such clear velocity.”

Bookit N Go – Aman Mohindra CEO

Bookit N Go is excited to have Claritas lead this round and appreciate TGV for doubling down with their continued conviction and partnership. We’re building AI-powered travel tech that’s built to scale—making travel simpler and more intuitive for consumers, while helping travel businesses around the world tap into smarter tools to grow and compete.

In addition to product development, the new capital will also support expansion of go-to-market initiatives, onboarding of B2B partners, and margin optimization through predictive demand insights and inventory strategies. In an industry marked by fragmentation and legacy tools, BookitnGo is demonstrating what’s possible when AI, speed, and simplicity come together.

With this round now complete, BookitnGo enters its next phase of growth—one defined by intelligent scale, smart execution, and leadership in redefining how the world experiences travel.

About True Global Ventures

True Global Ventures is a global venture capital firm investing in serial entrepreneurs building category leaders in AI and blockchain. With a focus on scalable, revenue-generating platforms, True Global Ventures has two funds: TGV 4 Plus Fund (early stage) and TGV Opportunity Fund (late stage). The firm focuses on technology-driven businesses like late-stage AI applications, with a strong track record in Enterprise AI and blockchain investments, supporting ventures that drive transformative change.

About Claritas Capital

Claritas Capital is a Nashville-based investment firm focused on supporting innovative growth-stage companies in technology and healthcare. With a strong track record of partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs, Claritas brings strategic guidance and long-term capital to help businesses achieve scale and industry leadership.

About Bookit N Go

Bookit N Go is a fast-growing BtoB AI-powered travel platform redefining how modern travelers discover, plan, and book their journeys. By leveraging predictive inventory management, intelligent recommendations, and seamless user experiences, the platform delivers personalized travel solutions with unmatched efficiency.

For more information, visit www.tgv4plus.com

SOURCE True Global Ventures

NEW YORK, May 6, 2025 — Today, Siegel Family Endowment, a foundation focused on shaping the impact of technology on society, announced over $12 million in grants to forward-thinking organizations equipping people and places to thrive in a tech-driven future. Rather than viewing AI and innovation as standalone end goals, this set of grants approaches them as catalysts—opportunities to reimagine how we learn, build, and collaborate. The investments span future-ready learning environments, community-designed digital infrastructure, and evolving philanthropic models that prioritize partnership, experimentation, and impact at scale.

“We’re experiencing a remarkable period of technological transformation that calls for fresh approaches to how we prepare learners, strengthen communities, and build inclusive digital systems,” said Joshua Elder, Vice President and Head of Grantmaking at Siegel Family Endowment. “This funding cycle represents our commitment to putting people at the center of technology development, ensuring communities have meaningful opportunities to co-design the digital infrastructure they rely upon and fostering diverse talent to drive the next wave of technological progress.”

Organizations receiving grants include:

Redesigning Infrastructure to Center Learners and Communities
Siegel Family Endowment’s support for a more inclusive and responsive digital infrastructure is reflected in grants to organizations helping ensure that critical systems serve a broader range of communities. Break Through Tech at Cornell University is expanding access to high-impact technology careers for students from underrepresented backgrounds. BetaNYC will receive a two-year grant to launch its PiTech/AI workforce program and deepen its leadership in stewarding New York City’s open data ecosystem.

To foster cross-sector innovation in economic development, general operating support is going to the New Growth Innovation Network. Meanwhile, the University of Washington’s Tech Policy Lab will host a new postdoctoral Siegel Research Fellow to explore the societal impacts of emerging technologies and develop policy frameworks that reflect community values and concerns.

Advancing Student-Centered and Future-Ready Learning
A thriving future demands learning systems that are both innovative and designed with learners at the center. To help guide philanthropic capital toward such models, Siegel is supporting LearnerStudio in the development of a new education taxonomy and finance tracker that will help funders and practitioners better understand, evaluate, and invest in student-centered learning approaches.

Innovative Growth Models
Siegel’s work envisions a future where both public and private sector organizations are empowered to scale impact intentionally—rooted in the needs of the communities they serve—rather than pursuing growth for its own sake. This vision is exemplified by ICA Fund’s continued development of propagation models and organizational learning, now advancing through a new case study series exploring how innovative funding approaches can scale while preserving deep community connection. 1Up Coaching will extend its personalized career coaching model through a train-the-trainer initiative, embedding sustainable student support structures within college career services offices.

The City University of New York’s Computing Integrated Teacher Education (CITE) program will receive three years of support to fund a strategy fellow. This role will guide 15 CUNY schools of education in integrating computational thinking and digital literacies into teacher preparation programs—an effort poised to directly impact the next generation of educators and the students of New York City Public Schools, where CUNY graduates make up roughly one-third of new teachers.

Supporting Place-Based Innovation and Local Capacity
In cities across the country, community-rooted organizations are redefining what local innovation looks like. Rebuild by Design will receive general operating support as it concludes its work on climate resilience through community-centered infrastructure design. Opportunity AI, launched in partnership with Renaissance Philanthropy and Digital Harbor Foundation, will begin its first phase as an initiative that equips underserved communities with tools to navigate and shape the evolving AI economy.

In Atlanta, MakerUSA is deepening its collaboration with STE(A)M Truck, supporting a program manager role to enhance STE(A)M Truck’s leadership capacity and expanding community engagement in maker education through new strategic partnerships, outreach tools, and data infrastructure.

Together, these investments and others approved in quarter one reflect a belief that systems-level change must be built on trust, creativity, and a shared sense of responsibility—across disciplines, sectors, and communities. From public education to digital infrastructure to the evolving practice of philanthropy itself, these efforts aim to shape a more inclusive and participatory future for technology.

About Siegel Family Endowment:
Siegel Family Endowment employs an inquiry-driven approach to grantmaking that is informed by the scientific method and predicated on the belief that philanthropy is uniquely positioned to address some of the most pressing and complex issues facing society today. Our grantmaking strategy positions us to be society’s risk capital. We support high quality work that will help us derive insights to timely questions and has high potential for future scale. Our focus is on organizations doing work at the intersection of learning, workforce, and infrastructure. We aim to help build a world in which all people have the tools, skills, and context necessary to engage meaningfully in a rapidly changing society. Siegel Family Endowment was founded in 2011 by David Siegel, co-founder and co-chairman of financial sciences company Two Sigma.

SOURCE Siegel Family Endowment

ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, May 6, 2025 — IntoTheBlock, a recognized leader in institutional DeFi solutions and Trident Digital, a renowned digital assets financial services firm, today announced their merger to form Sentora, an institutional DeFi platform combining yield strategies, risk management, and financial services. At launch, Sentora is securing up to a $25 million Series A round of funding led by New Form Capital, with backing from Joint Effects, Tribe Capital, and strategic ecosystem investors including Ripple, Curved Ventures, Flare, and Bankai Ventures.

A New Institutional Gateway to DeFi

Institutions have long circled DeFi, intrigued by yields but wary of market risks, technical exploits, Intimidating complexity, regulatory uncertainty and lack of institutional offerings in general. Sentora aims to close that gap by offering an end-to-end institutional platform that provides the key building blocks to make institutional DeFi a reality.

Sentora combines IntoTheBlock’s battled tested yield and risk management platform with Trident’s structured finance expertise, creating a multi-product offering for institutions of all size, crypto and traditional finance, to interact with DeFi. Sentora’s capabilities include yield strategies, capital formation, risk monitoring, structured financing and many others. Sentora’s vision is to work on the hardest problems to unlock the potential of institutional DeFi:.

“At Sentora, we believe that DeFi is the future of finance, but that future must be built with the needs of institutions in mind. Through our strategic partnerships with industry leaders we are developing a suite of products that address the key blockers preventing institutional adoption of DeFi. ” Anthony DeMartino, Co-Founder of Trident Digital and CEO at Sentora

“Both IntoTheBlock and Trident share that institutional DeFi will be a key pillar of future financial systems. Sentora is our way to play a role in that future” added Jesus Rodríguez, Co‑Founder of ITB & CTO at Sentora.

Why It Matters

The merger brings together over $3 billion in historical DeFi institutional deployments in the IntoTheBlock Institutional DeFi platform and major liquidity programs structured by Trident for major crypto ecosystems. With that solid foundation, Sentora plans to rapidly expand building new financial primitives for institutional DeFi solutions. 

“Institutional capital won’t move into DeFi without strong risk management and compliance frameworks. Sentora provides both — without sacrificing performance,” said Alex Marinier, Founder and General Partner at New Form Capital. “The future of finance is decentralized and Sentora provides the infrastructure that gives institutions confidence to operate at scale.”

Looking Ahead

With the Series A funding secured, Sentora will accelerate its technology roadmap, expand global partnerships, and continue developing solutions that address the growing complexities of institutional DeFi. By leveraging diverse expertise across finance, technology, DeFi and Risk management, Sentora aims to set new standards for institutional access to DeFi.

About Sentora

Sentora   is a newly formed entity born from the merger of IntoTheBlock and Trident, committed to delivering best-in-class institutional DeFi solutions. The company provides an end-to-end suite of services, from advanced DeFi strategies, risk management to digital asset management and advisory.

About IntoTheBlock and Trident Digital

IntoTheBlock (ITB)  brings deep expertise in blockchain software, finance, AI, data science, and risk management, elements that have enabled over $3 billion in DeFi deployments through ITB’s technologies. This foundation of data-driven insights, combined with rigorous security protocols, positions Sentora to help institutions deploy capital confidently in DeFi markets.

Trident Digital is a leading provider of digital asset management services, recognized for structuring major liquidity programs, including initiatives for the industry leaders. Its background in lending, advisory, and corporate finance further enriches Sentora’s ability to serve a broad spectrum of institutional needs.

https://sentora.com/

SOURCE Sentora

Investment fuels expansion of breakthrough platform that lets brands test and validate pricing in minutes, not months

STOCKHOLM, May 6, 2025 — Priceagent, the platform rewriting the rules of pricing strategy, has raised $550,000 in seed funding backed by its founders, expert consultants, and notable angel investors including former Cint executives. The funding will accelerate hiring, and expand sales and the global rollout of its intuitive self-serve platform, built to arm brands with the urgent pricing insights they need to thrive. This is especially critical as economic volatility, supply chain disruption, and the introduction of new tariffs have made it more difficult for companies to price effectively.

“Too many brands are still pricing by habit, by hope, or by copying competitors,” said Robert Tinterov, CEO and co-founder of Priceagent. “That doesn’t cut it anymore. We’re here to put an end to ‘hope-and-copy’ pricing and show companies exactly what they should charge, based on real customer willingness to pay, not guesswork. As trade wars intensify, this information is needed more than ever.”

Priceagent was born out of a simple but urgent truth: pricing is the single most powerful lever for profit, yet most companies treat it like a shot in the dark. In a global economy rocked by tariffs, inflation and supply chain shocks, waiting months for consultants or POS data is too slow, and too risky.

The Priceagent platform gives teams the ability to run price sensitivity tests in minutes, using real consumer feedback. With a full view of the demand landscape, demand plateaus, price walls, and everything between, brands can design pricing strategies that grow revenue, demand, or market share with confidence. It’s fast, intelligent, and puts pricing control back in the hands of companies – even for those that have previously lacked the tools or processes to handle it themselves.

Seasoned tech entrepreneur Emanuel Lipschütz, who invested in this latest round in addition to a previous round, spoke of his continued commitment to the company and his belief in Priceagent’s unique offer: “Having worked in the business of designing and securing critical IT infrastructure within a wide range of sectors, turning complex challenges into scalable solutions and leading high-stakes digital transformation projects, I’m keen to support this venture. Priceagent is set to transform the modern-day landscape of pricing intelligence, solving a real business problem at a critical time.”

The seed round closed ahead of schedule due to strong interest from investors who saw both the market need and early traction. Priceagent is already being used by more than 1,500 brands across 45+ countries, including Ticketmaster, Electrolux, Circana, Tripadvisor, Skanska, Marley Spoon, and Bridgestone Golf.

“We’re turning years of consulting expertise into scalable tech,” added Tinterov. “And we’re just getting started. This funding lets us bring that power to more teams, more quickly.”

About Priceagent
Priceagent is a self-serve pricing platform that helps SMEs and global enterprises confidently set prices by showing exactly how many customers would buy at each price, and how demand shifts across factors like product feature, sales channel, competitor positioning, and more.

Headquartered in Stockholm with an office in Los Angeles, Priceagent gives brands real-time access to buyer willingness-to-pay across 130+ markets, drawn from a pool of over 300 million verified consumers worldwide. Its proprietary algorithm, perfected over 10 years, reveals safe price plateaus, sharp demand drop-offs, and competitor benchmarks. Enabling faster, cheaper, and repeatable pricing decisions without relying on slow, costly traditional research methods.

Learn more at www.priceagent.com.

Media contact: Robert Tinterov, [email protected], +46702407790

SOURCE Priceagent

SAN FRANCISCO, May 6, 2025 — Intercept Music, a leader in technology-driven independent music distribution and marketing, has fortified its commitment to reshaping the industry with the completion of a $50 million private partnership for strategic music catalog purchases. Founder and chairman, Ralph Tashjian and CEO, Tod Turner, have announced that the new funding, earmarked for the acquisition of U.S. and Latin music catalogs, is in alignment with the company’s vision to be the go-to portal and resource for independents around the globe, and will significantly uplift streaming, sync, and licensing revenues post-acquisition.

The partnership includes provisions for flexible deal structuring, allowing Intercept to acquire full or partial rights while maintaining synergy with original creators and rights holders.  By acquiring catalogs with untapped or under-leveraged revenue potential, Intercept aims to use its proprietary technology, predictive analytics and targeted marketing portal to amplify both earnings and audience reach across streaming and digital channels. The designated funding will drive catalog acquisitions and enable Intercept Music to expand catalog management operations, furthering its mission of empowering rights holders with transparent, data-driven tools.

“This is more than just a funding deal—it’s a commitment to restructuring music rights management,” cites Tod Turner, CEO of Intercept Music. “This partnership is a significant endorsement of our platform and strategy allowing us to combine capital with cutting-edge technology to unlock more value for artists, songwriters, and catalog owners, while accelerating our growth into the Latin and U.S. markets.”

“This is a bold statement about Intercept’s vision for the future of music catalog management,” notes Intercept Music founder and chairman Ralph Tashjian, a co-investor and strategic advisor in the partnership. “By pairing institutional-grade funding with our technology driven distribution and marketing platform, Intercept is establishing a new standard for how catalogs are valued, managed, and monetized.”

Intercept’s catalog management division will begin deploying capital immediately, with several initial acquisitions already under review.

About Intercept Music Inc.

Intercept Music empowers independent artists and labels with innovative entertainment technology. The company provides cutting-edge tools and services for premium distribution, dynamic social media, targeted marketing, impactful merchandising, and customizable promotional services. Intercept’s technology grants artists access to a wealth of AI-powered features, enabling them to use predictive marketing to optimize their promotional efforts and directly connect with their target audiences. Designed specifically for the booming independent music sector, Intercept Music helps artists grow their audiences and generate revenue.

Discover more at interceptmusic.com or visit Intercept Music on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Contact:

Makeda Smith / Jazzmyne Public Relations/ 661-212-7655

SOURCE Intercept Music

Led by Brighton Park Capital, the investment will fuel further development of autonomous maritime technology, driving operational efficiency and sustainability across the global shipping industry

LONDON, May 6, 2025 — Orca AI, a leader in maritime technology, today announced it has closed an investment of $72.5 million in Series B funding. Brighton Park Capital led the round with participation from existing investors Ankona Capital and Hyperlink Ventures. The investment will enable Orca AI to further its autonomous platform, add new capabilities and enter new categories, including defense and security. The funding will also strengthen the company’s position as the market leader in autonomous shipping. The completion of this round brings Orca AI’s total funding raised to $111 million with OCV Partners and Mizmaa Ventures also participating in previous rounds.

Founded in 2018 by CEO Yarden Gross and CTO Dor Raviv, Orca AI is revolutionizing the traditionally opaque, conservative shipping industry with AI-powered decision making and autonomous shipping capabilities. The company has the world’s largest marine visual dataset, built from over 80 million nautical miles. Powered by advanced AI and computer vision, this dataset forms the foundation for unmatched situational awareness capabilities in ocean navigation, helping captains and crew members identify risks and targets that cannot be spotted with the human eye. By delivering AI-based alerts and recommendations, Orca AI is able to significantly reduce the probability of collisions that have a severe economic and human impact, so crews can focus their attention on the most critical parts of their voyages.

Orca AI’s technology delivers significant improvements in operational decision-making and voyage safety. A 2024 analysis of Orca AI’s alerts system showed a 54% reduction in close encounter events, which improved overall safety and reduced associated accelerations. In turn, this led to an average of $100,000 savings in fuel per vessel per year – translating to a total estimated reduction of 195,000 tons in CO2 emissions in 2024. 

“At Orca AI, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible when AI supports human decision-making at sea,” said Yarden Gross, CEO and Co-Founder of Orca AI. “Over the past two years, ships have become increasingly connected to the cloud, enabling large-scale data collection and unlocking the potential of AI. Orca AI is leading this transformation, deploying advanced AI technologies that make vessels smarter, safer, and more automated. We are grateful to have forward-thinking investors who, like us, can see how the advancements in AI and connectivity are opening up new opportunities to enhance autonomous shipping, which will define the future of maritime operations.”

“By combining innovation and deep maritime industry expertise, Orca AI is setting a new standard for the shipping industry, driving remarkable advancements to dramatically improve nautical safety and operations, while charting the course towards autonomous shipping,” said Ezra Berman, Vice President at Brighton Park Capital.

Sam Kentor, Partner at Brighton Park Capital, continued, “At Brighton Park, we are proud to support founder-led companies like Orca AI that harness frontier technology to address complex challenges and deliver real impact. We look forward to collaborating with the Orca AI team as they build a more resilient global supply chain.”

Orca AI’s platform is already trusted by major global shipping companies, including MSC, NYK, Scorpio, and Seaspan. By helping mitigate accidents and operational issues, Orca AI enables hundreds of vessels to save billions of dollars in potential damage each year. The significant improvement in connectivity in remote waters, driven by satellite-based services like Starlink, allows real-time data to be transmitted to Orca AI for mapping routes, traffic monitoring, and sharing critical information. This capability is key to developing autonomous navigation, providing an unprecedented level of precision in vessel monitoring.

For more information about Orca AI and its autonomous maritime technology, visit www.orca-ai.io.

About Orca AI

Orca AI is the leading maritime operations platform utilizing artificial intelligence and computer vision to achieve the most significant change across the shipping industry in centuries. The Orca AI platform empowers shipping companies to maximize operational efficiency and voyage safety for ships and fleets. With Orca AI, crew can now make rapid, data-driven decisions in congested waters or low visibility conditions, while fleet managers and operators gain unprecedented insights into their fleets’ performance.

Orca AI brings autonomous mobility to the shipping industry, having powered the world’s first commercial autonomous voyage in 2022, in partnership with Designing the Future of Full Autonomous Ships (DFFAS) and The Nippon Foundation.

Headquartered in London, UK, Orca AI is trusted by global leaders including Maran Tankers, MSC, Seaspan and NYK, with more than 1,200 vessels booked with the platform.

https://www.orca-ai.io/

About Brighton Park Capital

Brighton Park Capital is a New York-based investment firm focused on entrepreneur-led, growth-stage software, healthcare and tech-enabled services companies. The firm invests in companies that provide highly innovative solutions in partnership with great management teams. Brighton Park brings purpose-built, value-add capabilities that match the unique requirements of each of its companies. For more information about Brighton Park Capital, please visit www.bpc.com.

Media Contacts

Orca AI 

Mushkie Meyer
[email protected]
US: +1 914 336 4035
UK: +44 203 769 4034

Brighton Park Capital

FGS Global
[email protected] 

SOURCE Orca AI

• Pioneering a first-in-class drug-targeting approach that leverages hormone analogues to deliver small-molecule neuroplasticity modulators directly to the brain’s appetite control centers
• Financing will support the development of a dual-incretin-NMDA receptor antagonist conjugate through preclinical and early clinical development for the treatment of obesity

In conjunction with this financing, Prof. Sir Mene Pangalos, former Executive Vice President of BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca and current Omega Funds Venture Partner, as well as Dr. Elisabeth Bjӧrk, former Senior Vice President of Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolism R&D at AstraZeneca, and Dr. Otello Stampacchia, Founder and Managing Director of Omega Funds, will join Ousia’s Board of Directors

COPENHAGEN, Denmark and BOSTON, May 6, 2025 — Ousia Pharma, a next-generation biotech company pioneering a novel drug class for obesity, today announced the successful closing of a significant Seed financing round. The round, led and financed exclusively by Omega Funds, will support the preclinical and clinical development of Ousia’s innovative once-weekly, dual-incretin-NMDA receptor antagonist conjugate. Additionally, the funding will drive the expansion of Ousia’s proprietary technology, designed to target NMDA receptor small molecule modulators to specific neuronal populations.

While GLP-1-based multi-agonists are transforming obesity management, significant challenges remain, including tolerability issues, variability in patient weight loss response, and weight regain. These hurdles underscore the urgent need for more effective pharmacological approaches.

Ousia Pharma’s innovative targeting concept is founded on the groundbreaking discovery that NMDA receptor antagonism holds promise for sustained weight loss. By ingeniously overcoming the challenge of non-specific targeting, Ousia has developed a novel strategy that conjugates small-molecule modulators to incretin hormones (Petersen et al., 2024, Nature). This pioneering work began in the research lab of Associate Professor Christoffer Clemmensen at the University of Copenhagen, culminating in the founding of Ousia Pharma in 2022 by Christoffer Clemmensen, Anders B. Klein, and Jonas Petersen. The company secured its initial pre-seed investments from the BioInnovation Institute in Copenhagen.

“We are excited to enter the next phase of Ousia Pharma’s journey, advancing our groundbreaking platform towards clinical development,” said Anders B. Klein, PhD, CEO of Ousia Pharma. “The strong support from Omega Funds enables us to accelerate the preclinical and clinical validation of our peptide-drug conjugate program, bringing us closer to a transformative treatment for obesity. With a unique mechanism designed to enhance efficacy while addressing key challenges like tolerability, we believe our approach has the potential to set a new standard in obesity therapeutics.”

“We are thrilled to support Ousia Pharma as they advance a truly innovative approach to obesity treatment,” said Otello Stampacchia, founder and Managing Director at Omega Funds. “Their novel dual-incretin-NMDA receptor antagonist conjugate represents a promising breakthrough in tackling several of the limitations of existing obesity treatments. We believe Ousia’s pioneering science and accomplished team position the company for meaningful impact and value creation, and we are excited to be part of their journey.”

Otello Stampacchia, along with pharmaceutical industry veterans Dr. Elisabeth Björk and Prof. Sir Mene Pangalos, will join the Ousia Pharma board. Pangalos was previously Executive Vice President of BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca, and Bjork was previously SVP of Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolism R&D at AstraZeneca, where she led the company’s GLP-1 drug development efforts. They will join existing board members Ian Laquian, CEO of Kariya Pharmaceuticals, and Christoffer Clemmensen, Associate Professor within the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research at the University of Copenhagen and Chief Scientific Officer at Ousia Pharma.

Prof. Sir Mene Pangalos said, “Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry for decades and witnessed many targets emerge and fade in the cardiometabolic space, I can confidently say that the approach taken by Ousia Pharma is one of the most innovative I have encountered. I am extremely excited to contribute to bringing Ousia Pharma’s technology to patients.”

About Ousia Pharma
Ousia Pharma, a private biotech company spun out from the University of Copenhagen, is developing innovative peptide-drug conjugates to treat obesity and metabolic diseases. The company has pioneered a first-in-class drug-targeting approach that leverages incretin hormone analogues to deliver small-molecule neuroplasticity modulators directly to the brain’s appetite control centers. This groundbreaking strategy aims to provide transformative treatments for patients suffering from obesity and its associated cardiometabolic conditions. For more information, please visit www.ousiapharma.com.

About Omega Funds
Founded in 2004, Omega Funds is a leading international venture capital firm that creates and invests in life sciences companies that target our world’s most urgent medical needs. Omega focuses on identifying and supporting companies through value inflection points across the full arc of innovation, from company formation through clinical milestones and commercial adoption. Omega Funds’ portfolio companies have brought over 50 products to market in multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, rare diseases, precision medicine and others. Please visit www.omegafunds.com for additional information.

Contacts

Ousia Pharma
Anders Bue Klein
Co-founder & CEO, Ousia Pharma
E-mail: [email protected]

Omega Funds
Otello Stampacchia
Managing Director, Omega Funds
E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Ousia Pharma and Omega Funds