Oversubscribed Series C financing round will accelerate the company’s next phase of growth, vertical integration, facility expansion, product development and implementation

CENTENNIAL, Colo., April 30, 2025 — True Anomaly, Inc. today announced its $260 million fundraise. The Series C financing was led by Accel, with participation from Meritech Capital and existing investors Eclipse, Riot Ventures, Menlo Ventures, 645 Ventures, ACME Capital, Space VC, Champion Hill Ventures, and Narya. Debt capital is being provided by Stifel Bank.

True Anomaly was founded to develop advanced autonomous defense products for U.S. and Allied space superiority. In the three years since its founding, True Anomaly has built and launched its Jackal spacecraft, designed and deployed Mosaic software, secured multiple government contracts, opened four offices and two production lines, raised $400M in capital, and built a rapidly growing world-class team. In December, True Anomaly executed its Mission X-2 campaign, and recently announced the launch of its Jackal spacecraft for development in GEO and cislunar orbits, representing critical domains within the space superiority mission set. Jackal’s balance of performance, flexibility, and adaptability will allow True Anomaly to effectively counter threats as fast as they can change.

“The threat to our Armed Forces and way of life from adversary capabilities in, from, and through space demands the complete focus of an innovative industrial partner,” said Even Rogers, CEO and co-founder of True Anomaly. “We are uniquely positioned to partner with the U.S. Government and its allies to place asymmetric, viable deterrence options into the hands of warfighters on record timelines. We’re thrilled to partner with investors who share our vision and confidence in our modular, software-centric approach, and whose support accelerates our mission to deliver resilient, affordable space capabilities that keep our nation and its allies ahead of acute emerging challenges.”

The Series C financing will support True Anomaly’s next phase of growth, vertical integration, facility expansion, product development and implementation. Over the next 18 months, True Anomaly is launching four missions across three different orbits, delivering on new product offerings, and growing its talent pool to more than 250 employees.

“True Anomaly has the right vision, products and leadership to address the critical need to defend U.S. superiority in space. Innovation in space defense is at an early stage, but True Anomaly is a clear frontrunner,” said Jonathan Turner, Partner at Accel. “Building leading capabilities in space is a difficult challenge, but we are impressed with the experience and technical expertise of the True Anomaly team. We have followed True Anomaly for some time, and we feel now is the right moment to support and accelerate their vision and product roadmap.”

In addition to product advancements and milestones, True Anomaly recently expanded its leadership and advisory team by bringing on critical industry experts Stephen Kitay as SVP of Space Defense and Frank Calvelli to the Board of Directors. In February, the company reached opened its 90,000 ft² Long Beach facility.

Full details on the round and how the funds will be used can be found on the company’s blog.

About True Anomaly 

True Anomaly is building the future of space security and resilience at the intersection of spacecraft, software, and autonomy. Our vision is to enable a secure, stable, and sustainable space environment for the US, Allies, and Partners by designing, building, selling, and fielding the solutions required to achieve space superiority.

Founded in 2022, True Anomaly is headquartered in Centennial, CO, with offices in Colorado Springs, CO, Washington, D.C., and Long Beach, CA. For more information, please visit www.trueanomaly.space and connect on LinkedIn.

About Accel Ventures
Accel is a global venture capital firm that is the first partner to exceptional teams everywhere, from inception through all phases of private company growth. The firm helps ambitious entrepreneurs build iconic global businesses. For more information, visit https://www.accel.com/ 

SOURCE True Anomaly

Latest funding reflects growing urgency to know the identity behind every digital interaction — without compromising privacy, user experience, or security

SAN FRANCISCO, April 30, 2025 — Persona, the leading verified identity platform, today announced a $200 million Series D funding round, bringing the company’s valuation to $2 billion. The round was co-led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital, with participation from existing investors including BOND, Coatue, First Round Capital, and Index Ventures.

AI, fraud, and fragmentation are redefining online identity

“We’re facing an identity authenticity crisis, where the line between real and synthetic has become increasingly blurred,” said Rick Song, CEO and co-founder of Persona. “Identity in an AI-driven world isn’t about ticking a box, and the question is no longer ‘is this a bot or not?’ but rather ‘who is the bot acting on behalf of, and what is their intent?’ Identity is the linchpin: it reveals who is behind each action, provides context around their intent, and ultimately builds trust in a future where AI mediates more of our interactions.”

Automated traffic eclipsed human traffic on the internet for the first time in 2024 — and with the advancements in AI, it’s projected to account for over 90 percent of all internet traffic by 2030. AI systems have also surpassed human performance on all major CAPTCHA systems, further blurring the line between humans and machines online. But not all AI-driven traffic is malicious — it’s simply unidentified. As we move into this new era, the question is shifting from whether an interaction is automated to understanding who is behind it and what their intent is.

At the same time, organizations face a deeply fragmented regulatory environment with ever-evolving compliance demands across jurisdictions, verticals, and identity use cases. Meanwhile, fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated, leveraging AI to create synthetic identities, generate deepfakes, and launch automated attacks at scale. And consumers are demanding greater privacy and control, pressuring companies to deliver seamless experiences without compromising on data protection.

Together, the rise of AI agents, increasingly sophisticated fraud, regulatory fragmentation, and growing privacy expectations have created a far more complex — and constantly evolving — identity landscape. As new identity verification technologies and frameworks emerge to meet these challenges, businesses need more than static solutions. They require a dynamic, configurable identity platform that can adapt to diverse use cases, keep pace with shifting risks, and scale trust wherever and however it’s needed.

Infrastructure for today’s challenges — and tomorrow’s unknowns

Persona’s platform was built for this complexity. Unlike rigid, one-size-fits-all solutions, it provides a configurable, privacy-first foundation that adapts to businesses’ needs as regulations shift, fraud evolves, and use cases expand.

“Identity is a foundational mega-trend driving digital transformation, and we’ve believed from day one that Persona would power this shift through its software-native solution,” said Thomas Laffont, co-founder of Coatue. “With the rise of AI agents, it’s critical to verify the identity — whether person or bot — behind every online interaction. Rick and the Persona team have both the vision and the ambition to build the platform that will help to lead this transformation.”

In addition to doubling its customer base, Persona has achieved a number of key milestones over the past year, including:

Building the verified identity layer for any business

To help organizations keep pace with the rapidly evolving identity landscape, Persona is building a verified identity layer — secure infrastructure that helps businesses verify individuals and entities across contexts while giving people control over their personal information.

For companies, this means a flexible foundation that supports evolving regulations, risk models, and user journeys. For individuals, it means a reusable identity they can carry across services — eliminating the need to repeatedly enter sensitive information while keeping privacy and consent at the core.

“Identity has become the foundation of every digital interaction, and in the age of AI, we believe solving identity will be more pivotal than ever,” said Nick Shalek, Partner at Ribbit Capital. “We’ve long admired Persona’s ambition to build a verified identity platform and have been impressed by the diversity of industries, use cases, and geographies of their customers. Their rapid growth and adoption by leaders like OpenAI, LinkedIn, Etsy, Twilio, and Block are clear validation that they’re solving real problems at scale.”

About Persona

Persona offers a unified identity platform that gives businesses the building blocks they need to securely collect, verify, manage, and make decisions about individuals’ and businesses’ identities — along with automation and orchestration tools to streamline the entire process from end to end.

Founded in 2018, Persona is headquartered in San Francisco and is available in 200+ countries and territories and 20 different languages. Persona serves any business that needs to verify its customers online, including AI platforms, retail, fintech, marketplace, delivery services, real estate and hospitality, HR, edtech, legal services, home and childcare services, and more. For additional information, please visit https://withpersona.com/

SOURCE Persona

Round led by True Ventures; Company Founded by PhD Researchers

SAN FRANCISCO, April 30, 2025 — Pallie AI, a technology company developing an AI-powered companion supporting health and wellbeing, today announced it has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm True Ventures, with participation from the health-tech investor Palta known for backing the unicorn Flo. The funding will accelerate the development of Pallie’s AI companion, who acts as a friend, confidant, and wellness coach providing users with their Apple Health data analysis and personalized wellness support in their favorite messaging app.

Pallie’s technology combines AI with an empathic, highly personalized, human-like interaction to address two critical challenges in modern society: loneliness and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Pallie engages with users like a good friend to provide social and emotional support through natural conversation. It further delivers personalized health recommendations — informed by advanced AI algorithms and Apple Health data — designed to boost the user’s motivation for wellbeing.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, a Gallup report found the rate of loneliness among U.S. adults to be on the rise again at 20% after a temporary downward trend following the COVID-19 pandemic. Global reports on loneliness from the pandemic pointed even higher. The Gallup report cites social wellbeing specifically as a key factor in reducing feelings of loneliness. 

To combat loneliness, Pallie seamlessly integrates into users’ daily lives through existing messaging platforms, requiring no additional app downloads or sign-ups. “Pallie is a pro at maintaining engaging, natural conversations that foster genuine connection and a sense that someone’s looking out for your best interests,” commented Ivan Zolotukhin, CEO and founder of Pallie. “Pallie is powered by advanced AI agents designed not just to assist, but to connect. Unlike most AIs, which can feel robotic, Pallie is so natural and relatable that users chat with it for hours about movies, books, and memorable meals — just like they would with a friend.”

Pallie’s features include a growing collection of long-term wellbeing programs that help users increase physical activity, improve sleep quality, connect with new people, and make better nutrition choices. Its guidance becomes progressively intelligent through discovery and interpretation of patterns in user’s health data, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the user through contextual awareness of their daily life — incorporating calendared events, relevant news, weather, and local spots of interest aligned with their wellbeing goals and preferences.

“We’ve long been captivated by the future of human-computer interfaces, and we are certain that AI will become an even more ambient presence in our lives in the very near future,” said Jon Callaghan, co-founder at True Ventures. “When we met Ivan and his team at Pallie, we were amazed by their creation and how effortlessly their personalized agents integrated into the daily routines of their users. Experiencing it offers a glimpse into the future — Pallie exemplifies the incredible potential of AI to adapt to human behavior (in this case, by texting) and deliver meaningful value. We are thrilled to partner with Pallie to support their vision of the future of AI in our daily lives.”

“Our team of PhD researchers, top-tier data scientists, and health industry veterans has created something truly unique,” added Zolotukhin. “Imagine having the world’s most intelligent AI right by your side constantly thinking about you — one that truly gets you and is there for life’s daily challenges. That’s what we’ve created with Pallie. It’s not just about tracking health metrics; it’s about having a supportive presence that nudges you toward better choices, celebrates your wins, and offers a steadying hand during tough times — all while keeping safety and privacy at the core.”

The funding will be used to enhance the AI’s capabilities, expand its range of wellness programs, and scale the platform to reach more users globally. Start talking with Pallie and explore its capabilities in beta, no app download required.

About Pallie AI

Pallie AI, a product from AI Companions, Inc., is an AI friend and health buddy focused on supporting emotional and social wellbeing. Led by PhD researchers and esteemed data scientists, Pallie is both a friend and health coach that communicates naturally with its users through popular messaging platforms while leveraging Apple Health data for personalized guidance. Pallie AI’s mission is to combat loneliness and promote healthier lifestyles through accessible, intelligent, and empathetic AI interaction. Learn more athttps://pallie.ai.

About True Ventures

Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early stage technology startups. With more than $3.8 billion under management, True provides pre-seed, seed, and Series A financing to founders in some of today’s fastest growing markets. To learn more, visitwww.trueventures.com.

SOURCE AI Companions, Inc.

Kennedy delivers 9% interest rate for the land loan

ENGLEWOOD, N.J., April 30, 2025 — One of the fastest-growing metro areas in the United States is about to get much-needed new housing, thanks to a loan from Kennedy Funding.

The direct private lender closed a $1.66 million loan for borrower OFS Ventures to acquire 9.32 acres of raw land in McKinney, Texas, part of the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. OFS Ventures intends to develop 69 townhomes on the site. Proceeds of the loan will be used toward acquiring the $3.3 million property.

“Securing a 9% interest rate is a feat in the current market, especially for funding projects as untouchable as raw land,” said Mark Falzone, executive loan officer at Kennedy Funding. “Our ability to secure such favorable rates for OFS Ventures is a testament to our decades of relationship-building and experience working with borrowers to secure raw land deals.”

The broker on the transaction was Alex Caragiannides, a Melville, N.Y.-based veteran real estate lending expert. According to Caragiannides, he reached out to Kennedy Funding because of the firm’s reputation for successfully closing land deals.

“I’m always on the lookout for ways to creatively structure financing solutions across the U.S., and working with Kevin and Mark was refreshing,” Caragiannides said. “Kevin, Mark, and all the professionals at Kennedy Funding make it look easy!”

Caragiannides cited the firm’s “sound process and methodology” for funding land loans as his reason for calling Kennedy first on the OFS Ventures opportunity.

“Kennedy Funding is virtually the only lender out there that will fund raw land loans and do so successfully,” Caragiannides said. “No one touches land loans except for Kennedy. They are the experts.”

According to Kevin Wolfer, President/CEO of Kennedy Funding, the firm’s flexibility to work with borrowers on an individual, personalized basis is key to funding deals other financial institutions won’t touch.

“Nearly all banks and conventional lenders have blanket policies that automatically refuse to consider any deal that involves raw land,” Wolfer said. “However, we’re able to investigate the merits of each deal and see the opportunity from the borrower’s point of view. Through that lens, we can assess the entirety of the deal. That includes the economic circumstances and trends that influence a project’s success, as they do in this deal involving building housing in a very popular major metro area.”

The Dallas-Fort Worth area has experienced the most growth among all major United States metro areas. The population boomed from 7.6 million in 2020 to 8.1 million in 2023. Major companies, such as CBRE, AECOM, and Frontier Communications, have moved their corporate headquarters to Dallas in recent years. As a major metropolitan area, Dallas is a hub for culture, sports, and a thriving culinary scene, attracting residents from both within and outside the U.S. to the area.

“As the Dallas-Forth Worth population grows, the need for quality, well-located housing grows, too,” said Wolfer. “The OFS Ventures project will turn this vacant space into a place that dozens of families can call home. Supporting their vision to build housing in this bustling area is a financially wise use of raw land.”

For more information about Kennedy Funding, visit www.KennedyFunding.com.

About Kennedy Funding
Kennedy Funding is a global direct private lender specializing in bridge loans for commercial property and land acquisition, development, workouts, bankruptcies, and foreclosures. Kennedy Funding has closed more than $4 billion in loans to date. Their creative financing expertise provides funding up to 75% loan-to-value, from $1 million ($3 million international) to more than $50 million in as little as five days. The company has closed loans throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, Canada, and Central and South America.

www.kennedyfunding.com

SOURCE Kennedy Funding

Ad Operations Orchestration Startup Secures Backing Led by Both New and Existing Investors, Tribeca Venture Partners and Ardent Venture Partners, in Oversubscribed Round

NEW YORK, April 30, 2025 — PilotDesk, a no-code AI workflow automation platform for advertising operations and account management, today announced it has raised $5.8 million in Series A funding led by Tribeca Venture Partners and Ardent Venture Partners. The raise comes one year after the company’s seed round and coincides with its rebrand from PilotDesk to Swivel.

“We started with a simple goal: eliminate repetitive work in ad operations,” said Joseph Hirsch, CEO, Swivel. “In just over a year, we’ve helped major CTV and adtech players boost efficiency and performance for their clients. Our rebrand to Swivel signals the next chapter — building more intelligent systems that prevent the need for staff to ‘swivel-chair’ between multiple ad platforms and enable powerful automation in revenue operations at scale. We’re here to free up teams to focus on the work that actually moves the needle.”

The oversubscribed round includes new investors Tribeca Venture Partners and Motley Fool Ventures, alongside existing investors Ardent Venture Partners, Roster Capital, and AperiamVentures, all of whom increased their commitment.

“We’re backing a team that understands both the pain and the potential in ad operations,” said Chip Meakem, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Tribeca Venture Partners. “Swivel is solving a clear problem with clear ROI, and they’re doing it in a way that doesn’t require ripping and replacing what’s already there. That’s a powerful combination.”

“We invest in companies that become long-term platforms, not just short-term tools,” said Phil Herget, Co-Founder and General Partner, Ardent Venture Partners. “Swivel has the right product, the right team, and the traction to scale. We’re impressed with what they’ve done in a year since our seed investment, and we know they’re just getting started.”

The funding will support team growth and accelerate product development, including deeper AI-driven orchestration, unified analytics, and seamless integrations with ad servers, demand-side platforms (DSPs), supply-side platforms (SSPs), order management system (OMS) platforms, and more.

Swivel’s automation engine is already delivering measurable results. In a deployment with LG Ad Solutions, the platform performed over half a million automated actions, equating to an impressive 25,000 hours of manual ad operations productivity time created, and transitioned from a pilot to a long-term partnership.

“This team has always had a nose for real pain points in adtech – that is because they have created some of the most successful companies in adtech – and they’ve built for scale from day one,” said Mike Shehan, Board Member and Co-Founder of Roster Capital. “Swivel is where the industry is heading — not theoretical, not five years out — right now.”

The rebrand marks the next phase of the company’s evolution while staying grounded in its mission: to remove operational friction and help revenue teams move faster, with fewer resources.

Swivel was co-founded by Joe Hirsch, Matt Dearborn, and Rich Lin, the team behind SpringServe, the leading video ad server acquired by Magnite in 2021. They’re joined by President Frans Vermeulen, a veteran of TransUnion, TruOptik, and FreeWheel, and CTO Geir Magnusson Jr., formerly of AppNexus, fuboTV, and SourcePoint. Together, they bring a rare mix of deep adtech experience and technical leadership, building automation tools grounded in real operational pain points — and proven at scale.

To learn more about Swivel please visit https://www.swivel.ai.

About Swivel
Swivel provides no-code automation, AI, and machine learning, to support ad operations — enabling teams to focus on strategy, growth, and performance as opposed to repetitive tasks. As revenue and media spend increase across the ecosystem, the operational burden has historically scaled with it. Swivel’s vision is to break that pattern. The platform drives improved yield for sellers and greater media efficiency for buyers, without increasing headcount or complexity.

Media Contact
Michael Vaughan
[email protected]
(813) 210-1706

SOURCE Swivel

The company bridges the efficiencies of AI with the local expertise of real people to manage the complexities of daily life.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 30, 2025 — Faye, the tech platform connecting households with trusted Family Advisors, has raised $2.5 million in pre-seed funding to make high-quality personal assistant support radically more accessible. The round was led by Unusual Ventures, with participation by Springbank and a strategic group of angel investors from Nextdoor, Roblox, Square, and Doordash.

This raise reflects growing conviction that modern households deserve more than apps and automation — they also need compassionate, human-centered support to manage the complexity of daily life.

Founded in 2023 by consumer technology veterans Emily King and Kip Kaehler, Faye is pioneering a new category of service: peer-to-peer support for the mental load of home life. Faye provides working households with a trusted Advisor to handle tasks such as event and travel planning, home services, personal shopping, vendor management and decision-making — personalized, multi-step tasks where AI alone falls short.

“Technology should elevate human connection, not replace it. While AI is useful for basic asks, we don’t think AI alone will be able to solve complicated, highly nuanced tasks,” said Emily King, CEO and co-founder of Faye. “For example, your chatbot can pull up summer camps near you, but it can’t gather community-vetted resources, relay sensitive information, or navigate gated portals. By blending tech with the talents of experienced, local professionals, we’re building a marketplace that improves lives and creates economic opportunity.”

Family Advisors are carefully matched with households based on location and firsthand experience. They are not overseas or anonymous shift workers but peers with context, judgment, and strong professional skills. Advisors are supported by AI software to help them deliver high-trust, high-touch service at scale.

Faye’s AI-powered platform enables Advisors to support clients from start to finish: researching providers, gathering quotes, communicating with vendors, and creating frameworks to simplify decision-making. This approach saves households time, money, and stress and unlocks earning potential for an overlooked labor force.

“Faye is creating an entirely new category by bridging the gap between thoughtful technology and trusted local expertise,” said Sarah Leary, Venture Partner at Unusual. “AI alone can’t get it done — real-world tasks need real-world work. Faye’s Advisors are using AI as a force multiplier, not a replacement.”

“This is the future of work — giving smart, capable people a way to earn real income by doing the kind of behind-the-scenes work every household needs. Faye is building the infrastructure to make that work visible, respected, and scalable,” added Courtney Leimkuhler, co-founder and Managing Partner at Springbank. 

This funding will accelerate product development, expand Faye’s national network of Advisors, and support growth in existing markets including New York, Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Denver.

Faye memberships start at $169/month. For less than $6 per day, members gain access to flexible, personalized support for tasks like managing calendars, booking travel, sourcing services, and coordinating family logistics — all areas where trust, timing, and context matter.

To learn more about Faye, visit findfaye.com.

SOURCE Faye

JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 30, 2025 — Flash Coffee, the Indonesia-based coffee chain, today announced an additional $3 million in funding to fuel its expansion across the country. The round was led by TA Ventures, a global early-stage venture capital firm, and supported by long-term existing investor White Star Capital.

Flash Coffee has secured this new round of investment to accelerate its national expansion, following a year of strong performance & profitability. This funding is a direct vote of confidence in the business, driven by a clear demonstration of healthy unit economics and an impressive average store-level EBITDA of 22%, while our new stores are even stronger at 36% EBITDA, which is well above industry benchmarks.

The capital will be used to fuel Flash Coffee’s growth trajectory, supporting its goal of surpassing 70 stores across Indonesia in 2025 & launching in two new cities. With revenues per store having doubled in the past year, all stores are now operating profitably, Flash Coffee is well-positioned to scale while continuing to deliver standout, design-forward lifestyle experiences.

“The past year has been about discipline. We’ve focused on getting the fundamentals right; profitable stores, stronger teams, better menus, and spaces that reflect the modern Indonesia. We didn’t chase growth; we earned it,” said Jakob Angele, Executive Chairman of Flash Coffee. “This latest investment will help us scale what works: beautifully designed stores, high-performing teams, and a product that speaks to today’s Indonesian consumer.”

Flash Coffee’s bold new store design, featuring natural textures, regional materials, and lush greenery, sets a new standard for Indonesia, encouraging customers to stay longer and connect more deeply with the brand. With the introduction of our refreshed logo and the ‘Kebanggaan Indonesia’ (‘Proudly Indonesian’) watermark, Flash Coffee is going back to its Indonesian roots by blending local craft, culture & community into every detail.

Designed entirely in-house, this identity isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s a strategic driver of profitability and loyalty, reinforcing Flash Coffee’s deep connection to both customer and country as they expand deeper into existing cities and new locations across Indonesia.

“We spent significant time analysing the opportunities of this category in Southeast Asia, as a result we’re excited to join Flash Coffee’s journey,” said Richard Armstrong, Venture Partner & SEA Lead, TA Ventures.  “Today’s Indonesian consumer is cross-generational, seeking experiences that are meaningful and personal.  Flash Coffee has perfectly adapted, responding to this shifting consumer behaviour.”

For photos of Flash Coffee’s redesigned stores, click here.

About Flash Coffee

Flash Coffee is redefining coffee culture for Indonesia’s young-minded generation, those who value craft, connection, and a strong sense of place.

Focused on sit-and-stay environments, Flash Coffee delivers handcrafted barista-quality coffee at scale within spaces that are thoughtfully designed to reflect Indonesian identity: modern, warm, and proudly local. Every store is designed to wrap around the consumer, inviting lingering, conversational and communal, bringing together the best of local flavor and global quality in a way that resonates deeply with today’s customers.

About TA Ventures

TA Ventures is a global early-stage venture capital firm backing visionary founders across the US, Europe, Southeast Asia, and MENA. Since 2010, TA Ventures has backed 250+ startups, including SumUp, DeepL, Impress, and other breakout category leaders.

SOURCE Flash Coffee

LONDON, April 30, 2025 — Cocoon Capital, one of Southeast Asia’s top-performing early-stage venture capital firms, announces the first close of its third fund, securing USD 30 million towards a USD 50 million target. Fund III continues Cocoon’s strategy of investing in high-conviction early-stage, enterprise and deep tech startups in overlooked but critical sectors across Southeast Asia.

Cocoon’s hands-on, founder-first approach aims to build not the largest portfolio, but the most resilient and transformational. The fund will target 20 pre-seed and seed-stage investments, with ~55% of capital reserved for follow-ons to sustain support for its strongest companies.

“We’re not chasing buzzwords,” said Michael Blakey, Managing Partner at Cocoon Capital. “We back founders solving hard, often unsexy problems, whether it’s modernising manufacturing, healthcare, or financial infrastructure.”

Proven Track Record, Disciplined Strategy

In a region where investor returns are hard to come by, Cocoon Capital’s performance stands out. Fund I and Fund II are actively returning capital to investors and achieving leading Distributed to Paid-In Capital (DPI) in the region. According to data insights firm Alternatives.pe, the second fund ranks among the top three performing VC funds in Southeast Asia by Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Cocoon’s track record of achieving DPI across all of its funds, clearly demonstrates its winning strategy of building businesses from Southeast Asia and exiting them globally.

Deep Engagement at Every Stage

Cocoon leads every seed round, takes a board seat, and applies a 10-step due diligence framework covering governance, technical depth, and founder aptitude. Post-investment, founders gain access to Cocoon Academy—a platform offering governance playbooks, financial fundamentals, coaching, and a curated network of domain experts and follow-on investors.

With a target of only five investments per year, the team is deeply engaged with each portfolio company, providing not just capital, but true partnership and support.

Focused on Industrial Transformation

“The digital transformation of Southeast Asia’s traditional industries is still in its infancy,” said Carol Cheung, Partner at Cocoon. “We’re backing founders modernising sectors underserved by innovation—those solving long-term challenges that require long-term capital and commitment.”

Portfolio companies reflect this vision. Aprisium enables micron-level industrial contamination detection. Augmentus, a no-code robotics platform, is used by global manufacturers. Others include BuyMed (Vietnam’s leading B2B pharmaceutical distributor), TransTRACK (fleet optimisation), and Shomvob (Bangladesh-based job-tech platform with embedded fintech).

“These are not regional plays—they’re solving universal challenges, with Southeast Asia as their launchpad to global markets,” added Zongxi Sia, Investment Director.

Strong LP Support and Global Backing

Fund III’s first close includes a strong base of returning limited partners (LPs)—many increasing commitments—and new backers from Asia, Europe, and North America, including institutional investors, successful founders, and family offices.

“In today’s environment, finding a fund like Cocoon is rare,” said Gregoire Baudin, a returning LP. “Their focus on deeply technical, transformational companies and their proven ability to achieve exits made it an easy decision to continue supporting them.”

Building Companies That Matter

“We’re not just delivering returns,” added Blakey. “We’re helping build companies that survive downturns, redefine industries, and put Southeast Asia on the global innovation map.”

Cocoon Capital Fund III remains open to new commitments, with a final close targeting USD 50 million.

About Cocoon Capital®
Cocoon Capital® is a Singapore-based VC investing in early-stage enterprise software and deep tech startups across Southeast Asia. Founded in 2016, Cocoon has over USD 90 million assets under management. With its “Dare to Change™” ethos, Cocoon leads early and works hands-on with founders. www.cocooncap.com

Media Contact
[email protected] 

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Business Highlights

• First quarter of 2025 sales decreased 13% Q/Q and decreased 12% Y/Y
  • SSD controller sales: 1Q of 2025 decreased 10% to 15% Q/Q and decreased 20% to 25% Y/Y
  • eMMC+UFS controller sales: 1Q of 2025 decreased 15% to 20% Q/Q and decreased 0% to 5% Y/Y 
  • SSD solutions sales: 1Q of 2025 decreased 20% to 25% Q/Q and decreased 35% to 40% Y/Y
• Announced new $50 million share repurchase program

Financial Highlights

* Please see supplemental reconciliations of U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) to all non-GAAP financial measures mentioned herein towards the end of this news release.

TAIPEI and MILPITAS, Calif., April 30, 2025 — Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NasdaqGS: SIMO) (“Silicon Motion,” the “Company” or “we”) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. For the first quarter of 2025, net sales (GAAP) decreased sequentially to $166.5 million from $191.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. Net income (GAAP) decreased to $19.5 million, or $0.58 per diluted American depositary share (“ADS”) (GAAP), from net income (GAAP) of $21.6 million, or $0.64 per diluted ADS (GAAP), in the fourth quarter of 2024.

For the first quarter of 2025, net income (non-GAAP) decreased to $20.3 million, or $0.60 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), from net income (non-GAAP) of $29.4 million, or $0.87 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), in the fourth quarter of 2024.

All financial numbers are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

First Quarter of 2025 Review

“Despite the challenging macro environment in the first quarter of 2025, we executed our plan and delivered quarterly revenue at the high end of our guided range and delivered another quarter of gross margin expansion,” stated Wallace Kou, President and CEO of Silicon Motion. “Our industry leading PCIe Gen 5 controller experienced stronger than expected demand during the quarter, partially driven by growing AI inference demands from white box server makers leveraging more mainstream hardware components. Our eMMC and UFS controllers also experienced better than expected demand given a rebound in the smartphone market and our ongoing market share gains. While the near-term remains challenging given the broader economic challenges associated with tariffs and potential trade wars, we remain focused on delivering strong, sustainable long-term growth through product diversification; expanding into new markets; and growing market share across our portfolio of consumer, enterprise, automotive, industrial and storage solutions.”

Key Financial Results

Other Financial Information

During the first quarter of 2025, we had $11.7 million of capital expenditures, including $7.0 million for the routine purchases of testing equipment, software, design tools and other items, and $4.7 million for building construction in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

Returning Value to Shareholders

On February 6, 2025, we announced that our Board of Directors had authorized a new program for the Company to repurchase up to $50 million of our ADSs over a six-month period. In the first quarter of 2025, we repurchased $24.3 million of our ADSs at an average price of $56.96 per ADS.

Business Outlook

“We are rapidly expanding our market opportunities as we invest in new products and enter new markets, which we anticipate will drive improved revenue and profitability for many years to come. In 2025, we expect to benefit from the introduction of several new products, including our 8-channel PCIE Gen 5 controller, our 4-channel PCIe Gen 5 controller targeting the mass market that will be introduced in late 2025, our higher-end UFS 4.1 and new low-cost  UFS 2.2 controllers that will ramp in the second half of 2025. We introduced our first MonTitan enterprise/AI-class products at the end of 2024, and we expect these to ramp-up production with our first customers in the second half of 2025. Additionally, we continue to expand our automotive product portfolio and our market share across multiple applications. While the near-term environment remains challenging given the macro environment, including the potential impact of tariffs and potential trade wars, we continue to believe we will see a strong rebound in the consumer markets in the second half of 2025, enhanced by our new product introductions, and we continue to target a revenue run rate of $1 billion as we exit the year.”

For the second quarter of 2025, management expects:

* Projected gross margin (non-GAAP) excludes $0.1 million of stock-based compensation.
** Projected operating margin (non-GAAP) excludes $3.1million to $4.1 million of stock-based compensation and dispute related expenses.

Conference Call & Webcast:

The Company’s management team will conduct a conference call at 8:00 am Eastern Time on April 30, 2025.

Conference Call Details
Participants must register in advance to join the conference call using the link provided below. Conference access information (including dial-in information and a unique access PIN) will be provided in the email received upon registration.

Participant Online Registration:
https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI5c69a4c2d96041b59a2bf8a51cec1881

A webcast of the call will be available on the Company’s website at www.siliconmotion.com.

Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company’s unaudited selected financial results calculated in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), the Company discloses certain non-GAAP financial measures that exclude stock-based compensation and other items, including gross profit (non-GAAP), gross margin (non-GAAP), operating expenses (non-GAAP), operating profit (non-GAAP), operating margin (non-GAAP), non-operating income (expense) (non-GAAP), net income (non-GAAP), and earnings per diluted ADS (non-GAAP). These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with or an alternative to GAAP and may be different from similarly-titled non-GAAP measures used by other companies. We believe that these non-GAAP measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all the amounts associated with the Company’s results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP and that these measures should only be used to evaluate the Company’s results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP measures. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measure. We compensate for the limitations of our non-GAAP financial measures by relying upon GAAP results to gain a complete picture of our performance.

Our non-GAAP financial measures are provided to enhance the user’s overall understanding of our current financial performance and our prospects for the future. Specifically, we believe the non-GAAP results provide useful information to both management and investors as these non-GAAP results exclude certain expenses, gains and losses that we believe are not indicative of our core operating results and because they are consistent with the financial models and estimates published by many analysts who follow the Company. We use non-GAAP measures to evaluate the operating performance of our business, for comparison with our forecasts, and for benchmarking our performance externally against our competitors. Also, when evaluating potential acquisitions, we exclude the items described below from our consideration of the target’s performance and valuation. Since we find these measures to be useful, we believe that our investors benefit from seeing the results from management’s perspective in addition to seeing our GAAP results. We believe that these non-GAAP measures, when read in conjunction with the Company’s GAAP financials, provide useful information to investors by offering:

• the ability to make more meaningful period-to-period comparisons of the Company’s on-going operating results;
• the ability to better identify trends in the Company’s underlying business and perform related trend analysis;
• a better understanding of how management plans and measures the Company’s underlying business; and
• an easier way to compare the Company’s operating results against analyst financial models and operating results of our competitors that supplement their GAAP results with non-GAAP financial measures.

The following are explanations of each of the adjustments that we incorporate into our non-GAAP measures, as well as the reasons for excluding each of these individual items in our reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures:

Stock-based compensation expense consists of non-cash charges related to the fair value of restricted stock units awarded to employees. The Company believes that the exclusion of these non-cash charges provides for more accurate comparisons of our operating results to our peer companies due to the varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types. In addition, the Company believes it is useful to investors to understand the specific impact of share-based compensation on its operating results.

Restructuring charges relate to the restructuring of our underperforming product lines, principally the write-down of NAND flash, embedded DRAM and SSD inventory valuation and severance payments.

Dispute related expenses consist of legal, consultant, other fees and resolution related to the dispute.

Foreign exchange loss (gain) consists of translation gains and/or losses of non-US$ denominated current assets and current liabilities, as well as certain other balance sheet items, which result from the appreciation or depreciation of non-US$ currencies against the US$. We do not use financial instruments to manage the impact on our operations from changes in foreign exchange rates, and because our operations are subject to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, we therefore exclude foreign exchange gains and losses when presenting non-GAAP financial measures.

Realized/Unrealized loss (gain) on investments relates to the disposal and net change in fair value of long-term investments.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation
Consolidated Statements of Income
(in thousands, except percentages and per ADS data, unaudited)

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation
Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Operating Results
(in thousands, except percentages and per ADS data, unaudited)

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheet
(In thousands, unaudited)

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands, unaudited)

About Silicon Motion:

We are the global leader in supplying NAND flash controllers for solid state storage devices. We supply more SSD controllers than any other company in the world for servers, PCs and other client devices and are the leading merchant supplier of eMMC and UFS embedded storage controllers used in smartphones, IoT devices and other applications. We also supply customized high-performance hyperscale data center and specialized industrial and automotive SSD solutions. Our customers include most of the NAND flash vendors, storage device module makers and leading OEMs. For further information on Silicon Motion, visit us at www.siliconmotion.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology.
Although such statements are based on our own information and information from other sources we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on them. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual market trends or our actual results of operations, financial condition or business prospects may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the unpredictable volume and timing of customer orders, which are not fixed by contract but vary on a purchase order basis; the loss of one or more key customers or the significant reduction, postponement, rescheduling or cancellation of orders from one or more customers; general economic conditions or conditions in the semiconductor or consumer electronics markets; the impact of inflation on our business and customer’s businesses and any effect this has on economic activity in the markets in which we operate; the functionalities and performance of our information technology (“IT”) systems, which are subject to cybersecurity threats and which support our critical operational activities, and any breaches of our IT systems or those of our customers, suppliers, partners and providers of third-party licensed technology; the effects on our business and our customer’s business taking into account the ongoing U.S.-China tariffs and trade disputes; the uncertainties associated with any future global or regional pandemic; the continuing tensions between Taiwan and China, including enhanced military activities; decreases in the overall average selling prices of our products; changes in the relative sales mix of our products; changes in our cost of finished goods; supply chain disruptions that have affected us and our industry as well as other industries on a global basis; the payment, or non-payment, of cash dividends in the future at the discretion of our board of directors and any announced planned increases in such dividends; changes in our cost of finished goods; the availability, pricing, and timeliness of delivery of other components and raw materials used in the products we sell given the current raw material supply shortages being experienced in our industry; our customers’ sales outlook, purchasing patterns, and inventory adjustments based on consumer demands and general economic conditions; any potential impairment charges that may be incurred related to businesses previously acquired or divested in the future; our ability to successfully develop, introduce, and sell new or enhanced products in a timely manner; and the timing of new product announcements or introductions by us or by our competitors. For additional discussion of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please see the documents we file from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 30, 2024. Other than as required under the securities laws, we do not intend, and do not undertake any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release.

Silicon Motion Investor Contacts:
Tom Sepenzis                                                                                             Selina Hsieh
Senior Director of IR & Strategy                                                                Investor Relations
[email protected]                                                                 [email protected]

SOURCE Silicon Motion Technology Corporation