SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 12, 2024 — Outbuild, a construction scheduling and planning software company, today announced it has raised $11 million in Series A Funding. The round was led by Sway Ventures with participation from Hilti Venture, Trimble Ventures, and venture capital firms BGV and Zacua Ventures. This investment will help drive a targeted 100% increase in Outbuild’s commercial growth by Fall 2025, support significant team expansion, and advance a product roadmap that includes artificial intelligence.

“We are honored to partner with such a strong group of investors who share our goal of advancing the construction industry through holistic, yet simplified, scheduling and cross-team collaboration,” said Franco Giaquinto, CEO, Outbuild. “This investment marks a significant step forward in delivering improved project outcomes for the dedicated construction professionals and end users we serve.”

The construction industry faces significant challenges in meeting project timelines, with KPMG reporting that 75% of construction projects experience delays. These setbacks are reported to lead to costly overruns and late project completions. According to Giaquinto, Outbuild was founded as the first startup in the space to address these critical issues by consolidating scheduling, lookaheads, weekly plans and analytics into one unified solution.

With the support of Hilti and Trimble, two prominent leaders in the construction technology industry, Outbuild aims to integrate advanced functionalities to improve real-time project planning and construction management. Additionally, Sway Ventures, BGV, and Zacua Ventures bring expertise in scaling enterprise technology startups. According to Giaquinto, their involvement will contribute to expanding market presence and driving ongoing and future innovation.

“Outbuild is helping to solve one of the most persistent challenges in construction—keeping projects on time and on budget, while minimizing risk,” said Brian Nugent, Founding General Partner Sway Ventures. “Their solution to scheduling and team collaboration will fundamentally transform how the industry approaches project planning and execution.”

Outbuild is currently being implemented on over 4,000 projects throughout 10 countries. Select general contractors across the country leveraging Outbuild include Greystar, Andres, McAlvain, Skender and Warfel.

“The reason we really like Outbuild is that it brings everything together,” said Ben Stocker, Senior Construction Technologist, Skender. “The schedule and the look-ahead plan communicate with each other, and there’s mobile access, making it easy to share with people.”

About Outbuild:
Founded in 2021, Outbuild is a cutting-edge scheduling and planning software solution designed to enhance project management in the construction industry. As the only platform that allows users to build their schedules, lookaheads, and weekly work plans within one integrated ecosystem, Outbuild offers a holistic approach to project planning. With a focus on Last Planner® principles, Outbuild streamlines workflows and improves collaboration among teams. The platform provides real-time insights and project analytics through customizable dashboards, empowering construction professionals to optimize scheduling, increase efficiency, and reduce delays. Outbuild’s user-friendly interface and robust features make it an essential tool for achieving better project outcomes.

About Sway Ventures:
Sway Ventures is a US-based venture capital firm investing in early to mid stage technology companies. They invest in high performing teams creating the next enterprise or consumer category. Sway Ventures is the venture capital arm of Sway Capital, a global platform for alternative investments. Sway transforms capital into catalysts, investing in tomorrow’s breakthroughs by harnessing entrepreneurial innovation and institutional expertise to build a new paradigm in asset management. Their multi-strategy approach spans private equity, private credit, impact, media and advisory. From their venture studio to growth equity investments, they are not just funders – they are partners in industry transformation and category creation.

CONTACT: 
Ashley Greybar
Outbuild
[email protected]

SOURCE Outbuild

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Vatn Systems’ cost-effective, modular autonomous underwater vehicles enable customers to deploy effects at scale against undersea and surface targets

Founded in 2023, the company is already actively testing in military exercises with key defense organizations including the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps

PORTSMOUTH, R.I., Nov. 12, 2024 — Vatn Systems, a leading defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles for the US military and allies, today announced it has raised an oversubscribed $13 million seed round, bringing total funding to $16.5M. The round was led by DYNE Ventures with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, RTX Ventures, In-Q-Tel (IQT), Propeller Ventures, SAIC Ventures, Cubit Capital, Fortitude Ventures and existing investors that include Centre Street Partners, The Veteran Fund, Blue Collective, and Decisive Point.

“Vatn Systems is on a journey to redefine naval warfare by building low-cost, high-speed, autonomous underwater vehicles that can be deployed at scale as force multipliers,” said Nelson Mills, co-founder and CEO of Vatn Systems. “This funding enables us to advance our strategy to expand our team and set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to bring our autonomous underwater vehicles to market next year.”

“Vatn’s rapid progression from concept to high-tech working prototype in just six months is an impressive feat that speaks to the strength of the winning team they’ve built,” said Matthew Kibble, co-founder and Managing Partner of DYNE Ventures. “We’re also confident they can replicate their early success with the Department of Defense to address commercial needs in sectors such as law enforcement, aquaculture, and search & recovery across the U.S. and our AUKUS partners.”

Vatn Systems’ cost-effective, modular autonomous underwater vehicles enable customers to deploy effects at scale against undersea and surface targets. Bridging the gap between AUVs and torpedoes, Vatn’s flexible design and in-house Inertial Navigation System enable precision delivery of a wide range of effects at ranges of almost 1,000 miles. A core differentiator is the company’s advanced navigation software that is effective in GPS, vision, and communication-compromised environments. Vatn vehicles use applied AI to make decisions in real-time, and the systems also leverage Machine Learning to enhance navigation algorithms.

“Lockheed Martin Ventures’ investment in Vatn Systems aligns with our strategy to invest in cutting-edge technologies that have the potential to provide innovative deterrence solutions to the U.S. and its allies,” said Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures. “The development of autonomous underwater vehicles that collaborate in cooperative swarms, especially in challenging environments with limited communication, could be a game changer in completing sea domain missions.”

“Vatn’s dynamic platform and advanced software are enhancing naval technology and redefining navigation capabilities,” said Daniel Ateya, president and managing director of RTX Ventures. “Our investment will help Vatn to progress autonomous underwater vehicles, delivering transformative capabilities that are essential for military and law enforcement operations.”

Founded in April 2023, Vatn Systems has quickly proven its technology, growing from founding to launching its first drones in the water within six months. The company is actively testing in military exercises with key defense organizations including the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

About Vatn Systems
Vatn Systems is a leading defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles that can be deployed at scale for the US military and allies. Founded in 2023 by a team of maritime experts and military leaders, Vatn Systems is on a mission to be the next underwater defense prime in a world where autonomous systems dominate naval battlefields. For more information, visit www.vatnsystems.com.

Media Contact
[email protected]

SOURCE Vatn Systems

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LONDRES, 12 novembre 2024 — H.I.G. Bayside Capital Europe (« Bayside »), la filiale européenne de situations spéciales et de solutions de capital de H.I.G. Capital (« H.I.G. »), une société d’investissement alternatif mondiale de premier plan avec 65 milliards de dollars de capital sous gestion, a le plaisir d’annoncer son financement d’Oliver James (« Oliver James » ou la « société »), le spécialiste du recrutement international et des solutions de talents en pleine croissance. Bayside a fourni une facilité de 31 millions GBP pour refinancer la dette existante et financer la croissance future de la société.

Oliver James a été fondé en 2002 à Manchester, en Angleterre, par Oliver Castle et James Rogers. Il s’agit aujourd’hui d’un spécialiste du recrutement et des solutions pour les talents qui a reçu de nombreuses récompenses et qui possède 14 bureaux dans le monde, en se concentrant sur des secteurs verticaux spécialisés. Depuis sa création, Oliver James a connu une croissance organique significative grâce à son modèle opérationnel sophistiqué et technologique, à sa connaissance des marchés spécialisés et à l’importance qu’il accorde au développement et à la fidélisation de son personnel.

Bayside a fourni à Oliver James une solution de financement sur mesure et flexible qui permet à la société de continuer à investir dans ses activités et de poursuivre son développement. La solution de financement comprend également des facilités non utilisées pour soutenir la croissance future.

Graeme Edwards, directeur financier d’Oliver James, déclare : « Nous sommes ravis de nous associer à Bayside pour la prochaine phase de notre croissance et de nos investissements. L’équipe de Bayside a excellé par ses connaissances et sa flexibilité et a été en mesure d’adapter le financement à nos besoins. »

Florian Kawohl, directeur général de Bayside, déclare : « L’approche, la stratégie et l’exécution impressionnantes d’Oliver Castle et de James Rogers ont abouti à une reconnaissance exceptionnelle de leur entreprise sur le marché. Notre prêt Capital Solutions nous permet de refinancer la dette existante et de fournir des fonds flexibles pour soutenir l’entreprise dans sa prochaine phase. Nous nous réjouissons de travailler avec l’équipe d’Oliver James et de soutenir la croissance continue de l’entreprise. »

À propos d’Oliver James

Oliver James est spécialisé dans les services de recrutement et de solutions pour les talents. La société dispose de 14 bureaux au Royaume-Uni, en Europe, en Asie-Pacifique et aux États-Unis, pour un chiffre d’affaires de 351 millions GBP en 2023. Pour en savoir plus, visitez le site oliverjames.com.

À propos de Bayside Capital

Bayside Capital est la filiale de H.I.G. Capital spécialisée dans les situations spéciales. Axé sur les entreprises du marché intermédiaire, Bayside investit dans plusieurs segments des marchés primaires et secondaires des capitaux d’emprunt en mettant l’accent sur les rendements à long terme. Avec huit bureaux aux États-Unis et en Europe et plus de 500 professionnels de l’investissement, Bayside dispose de l’expérience, des ressources et de la flexibilité nécessaires pour générer des rendements supérieurs ajustés au risque. Pour plus d’informations, veuillez consulter le site web de Bayside bayside.com.

À propos de H.I.G. Capital

Basée à Miami et disposant de bureaux à Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York et San Francisco aux États-Unis, ainsi que de filiales internationales à Hambourg, Londres, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogota, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Dubaï et Hong Kong, H.I.G. est spécialisé dans la fourniture de capitaux d’emprunt et de capitaux propres aux entreprises du marché intermédiaire, en utilisant une approche flexible et axée sur les opérations et la valeur ajoutée :

• Les fonds d’actions de H.I.G. investissent dans des rachats par la direction, des recapitalisations et des scissions d’entreprises rentables ou sous-performantes dans les secteurs de la fabrication et des services.
• Les fonds de créances de H.I.G. investissent dans le financement de la dette senior, unitranche et junior d’entreprises de toutes tailles, à la fois sur une base primaire (émission directe) et sur les marchés secondaires. H.I.G. gère également une société de développement des affaires cotée en bourse, WhiteHorse Finance.
• Les fonds immobiliers de H.I.G. investissent dans des biens à valeur ajoutée, qui peuvent bénéficier d’une amélioration des pratiques de gestion des actifs.
• H.I.G. Infrastructure se concentre sur les investissements à valeur ajoutée et les investissements « core plus » dans le secteur de l’infrastructure.

Depuis sa création en 1993, H.I.G. a investi dans, et géré, plus de 400 entreprises dans le monde entier. Le portefeuille actuel du cabinet comprend plus de 100 entreprises dont le chiffre d’affaires cumulé dépasse les 53 milliards de dollars. Pour plus d’informations, veuillez consulter le site web de H.I.G. hig.com.

*Basé sur le capital total levé par H.I.G. Capital et ses affiliés.

Contact presse :

Duncan Priston
Co-directeur de Bayside Europe
[email protected]

Andrew Scotland
Co-responsable de Bayside Europe
[email protected]

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Investment Propels Shiru’s Mission to Transform Ingredient Innovation Across Food, Personal Care, Agriculture and Advanced Materials

• Series B funding quickly follows the launch of ProteinDiscover.ai, Shiru’s groundbreaking AI-powered ingredient discovery platform.
• Global companies now contract with Shiru to discover and develop high-value, sustainable proteins.
• The new investment will support Shiru’s expansion as more partners realize the benefits of AI-driven ingredient innovation.

BERKELEY, Calif., Nov. 12, 2024 — Shiru, the pioneer in AI-powered ingredient discovery, has secured a $16 million investment round as it leads a revolution in how ingredients are discovered and developed across multiple industries.

Shiru’s flagship platform, ProteinDiscovery.ai, hosts the world’s largest database of natural proteins from plants and microbes. The AI-driven platform enables corporate partners in food, personal care, agriculture and advanced materials to swiftly identify and test highly functional, natural ingredients. The results include dramatically reduced R&D and product development costs, accelerated time to market and high functional capabilities from nature-identical products.

“AI-powered discovery isn’t only the future of ingredient innovation – it’s here today, and we’re eager to expand our capabilities across flavor, skincare and agriculture,” said Dr. Jasmin Hume, Founder and CEO of Shiru. “Our technology dramatically reduces development timelines and costs, empowering R&D teams to revolutionize products, categories and industries through our platform, enabling valuable innovation and competitive advantage.”

The round, bringing Shiru’s total funding to $36 million, was led by longtime investor S2G Ventures, with participation from CPT Capital, Lux Capital, Nourish Ventures, and Meach Cove Capital. This investment will fuel Shiru’s ambitious growth plans, expanding its ingredient portfolio and enhancing ProteinDiscovery.ai through new commercial partnerships and expanded offerings.

Shiru’s recent advancements underscore its leadership position in ingredient innovation:

1. A joint partnership with Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition to develop and scale sweet proteins, a long-sought goal in the food industry.
2. The introduction of OleoPro™, a high-performance, structured fat alternative that recently received a USPTO patent; and uPro™, the active protein ingredient in OleoPro.
3. Confirmed partnerships with global leaders including Griffith Foods to discover, pilot and scale sustainable food ingredients.

“While we’re starting with proteins, our vision extends far beyond,” Hume added. “ProteinDiscovery.ai is just the beginning. We’re building a comprehensive platform that will revolutionize ingredient discovery across multiple molecular classes, driving innovation that benefits both industry and consumers.”

About Shiru, Inc.
Shiru, The Ingredient Discovery Company, is accelerating the limitless potential of nature-inspired ingredients through AI-powered discovery and high-performance, sustainable products. Shiru’s groundbreaking approach, powered by its patented Flourish™ technology, is transforming the landscape of ingredient innovation. Its flagship platform, ProteinDiscovery.ai, offers an interactive marketplace and discovery suite featuring 33 million molecules, setting a new standard for applications across food, personal care, agriculture, and advanced materials. Led by a team of seasoned technologists and industry veterans, Shiru is based in Berkeley, California, and is backed by leading venture capital firms, including S2G Ventures, Nourish Ventures, and CPT Capital. For more information, visit http://www.shiru.com and ProteinDiscovery.ai.

Media contact
[email protected]

SOURCE Shiru, Inc.

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The real-time resource management platform fully automates cloud resources in production environments, resulting in up to 80% cloud cost savings, increased application reliability, and improved performance through AI-powered algorithms.

NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 12, 2024 — ScaleOps, the leader in real-time automated cloud resource management, today announced $58 million in Series B funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from returning investors NFX and Glilot Capital Partners, and new investor Picture Capital. The round comes just one year after its series A, following tremendous business growth for the company, bringing its total funding to $80M. Alongside the funding, ScaleOps is launching two new capabilities: AI-powered real-time predictive scaling and intelligent pod placement, which together can deliver up to 50% in additional cloud cost savings and improve application performance.

Cloud-native application adoption is growing exponentially, and it’s predicted that by 2029, over 95% of companies will be using containers in production.^[1]

In cloud-native production environments, there are hundreds, sometimes thousands, of different applications. Every application has specific business requirements and dynamic resource consumption patterns, requiring continuous manual adjustments to meet changing demands. Companies fail to efficiently align cloud resources with application demands, leading to millions of dollars in wasted resources and performance and reliability issues.

This causes painful friction between the different application owners, who are in charge of manually tuning resources, and DevOps teams, who must constantly intervene to maintain proper resource allocation.  

ScaleOps solves these challenges with its fully automated, real-time cloud resource management platform powered by AI. By providing its customers with a context-aware platform that leverages the holistic view of the cluster and considers every application’s needs, ScaleOps removes the organizational friction between application owners and DevOps teams by fully automating resource allocation to meet real-time demand.

“We realized that no one in the market was solving the problem; they were just providing visibility and bringing awareness to it. The process of resource allocation was still completely broken. The only way to solve the problem was to provide a solution that would seamlessly automate cloud resource management in real-time.” said Yodar Shafrir, ScaleOps co-founder and CEO. 

The ScaleOps platform is self-hosted and runs on any cloud provider, on-premise, or air-gapped environment. Installation takes just two minutes. It audits your cloud infrastructure, in read-only mode to instantly reveal potential cost savings before activating automation with a single click of a button.

Today, ScaleOps introduces two new capabilities: predictive horizontal pod auto-scaling, which uses AI to forecast application loads for real-time scaling, ensuring peak performance and efficient scaling down during low demand. Additionally, intelligent pod placement that optimizes resource allocation by considering application constraints and cluster status, reducing the number of active nodes required. Together, these innovations deliver an estimated 50% additional cost savings and improved application performance.

“Using our real-time automation, we are empowering companies to free their R&D teams to focus on innovation while reducing their cloud costs dramatically and improving their application’s performance and reliability, a win-win situation,” said Shafrir. “We’re rapidly evolving to additional fields, and this funding will enable us to accelerate our mission, scaling our platform and team to meet the growing needs of organizations managing cloud-native resources worldwide.”

In less than a year since the product was first launched, ScaleOps has experienced rapid growth worldwide. Today, ScaleOps automatically manages the production environments of Fortune 100 companies and industry leaders like Wiz, Outreach, SentinelOne, Maxar, Playtika, Orca Security, Cato Networks, and dozens more.

“ScaleOps is positioned as the clear category leader in cloud resource management, tackling head-on what we see as the most critical challenge in the cloud-native landscape,” said David Gussarsky, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. “As the only real-time, fully automated solution trusted by large enterprises in their production environments, ScaleOps addresses one of the most pressing challenges in cloud-native infrastructure today. With organizations facing pressure to control cloud costs while also improving performance, ScaleOps’ automation is a breakthrough, and their rapid growth this past year underscores the critical need they are fulfilling in the market.”

Media Contact

Lazer Cohen
[email protected]
347-753-8256

^[1] https://www.gartner.com/document/5361263?ref=soirAll&refval-407955430&

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SOURCE Scaleops Labs Ltd.

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A Proven Investment Strategy For Institutional Investors, Endowments, and Family Offices With An Estimated 40% IRR Through Diverse-Focused Innovation

SAN MATEO, Calif., Nov. 12, 2024 — Portfolia, the premiere investing fund designed for the world’s most powerful community of women investors, announces the launch of its latest venture capital fund, Rising America III, expanding on its legacy as the highest-performing fund for people of color (POC) in the United States.

Building on the success of Rising America Fund II, which launched last year and had a first close in under 24 hours, Rising America III stands out as one of the most active and successful accredited funds dedicated to backing diverse founders who are reshaping industries. Rising America Fund I is a top-performing fund with an estimated 40% IRR. As one of the most active investors in this space, it has backed 27 companies across all sectors and stages, from pre-seed to pre-IPO. It is the only venture capital fund led by five women of color—three African American and two Latina—with an average of 16.4 years of investment experience, including Karen Kerr, Noramay Cadena, Juliana Garaizar, and Lorine Pendleton.

Rising America III will also mark as the first qualified fund with Portfolia’s unique investment strategy targeting family offices, strategic investors, foundations, and endowments. Its mirrored accredited fund will continue to provide individual investors access to invest in traditionally overlooked markets that are brimming with potential.

“Our third fund represents a crucial opportunity for investors to engage in transformative change at a pivotal moment in our society,” says Juliana Garaizar, Fund Partner at Rising America Fund III. “Today’s African American, Hispanic, and LGBTQ+ buying power is projected to be $6.6 trillion combined in 2024. This fund embodies our commitment to driving innovation that reflects the rich diversity of our communities, paving the way for a new era where diverse leadership is not just an aspiration, but a reality that fuels economic growth and societal progress.”

Rising America III represents a breakthrough moment for institutional investors seeking impactful investment opportunities. With over $70 million raised across its previous funds, Portfolia continues to outperform its peers by combining the power of women’s networks with a laser focus on underrepresented founders. Key investments have included minority & female-owned Canela, the leading Hispanic media company and home of streaming platform Canela. TV. Mobility Capital Finance (“MoCaFi”), an early-stage fintech company that offers a mobile-first, full-complement banking platform to the 80 million financially underserved in the US; Maven Clinic, the largest women’s and family telemedicine network in the US, dramatically improving health outcomes during pregnancy and childbirth and Goal Setter, a family saving, financial literacy and smart spending app that makes it easy for the whole family to go cashless and learn how to be money-smart. Goalsetter is Nickelodeon meets Fintech – it combines the best of Fintech companies like Acorns and CashApp with financial education and gaming that appeals to the whole family.

“The Portfolia model redefines venture investing by filling critical gaps and capturing high-potential opportunities traditionally overlooked by uniform VC firms,” says Trish Costello, Founder & CEO of Portfolia. “Through strategic partnerships, Portfolia unites ‘dream team’ investors with access to high-impact sectors—such as women’s health and POC-led companies—where their expertise can drive meaningful change. By handling operational responsibilities, we enable our partners to focus on securing the best deals in these underserved markets. This approach represents innovation in venture capital at the highest performance level—a model distinctly effective and not replicable beyond Portfolia.”

About Portfolia
Portfolia is the world’s most powerful investing community of women. With over 2,000 members in 18 countries and 46 states, Portfolia is directing over $70M AUM across 26 funds/SPVs, which have made over 150 investments in Pre-Seed to Pre-IPO companies. Portfolia venture funds aggregate assets for change, using experience, knowledge, and influence to advance innovations in aging and longevity. To learn more about Portfolia’s investment model or our open funds, visit https://www.portfolia.co or follow us on LinkedIn for updates.

SOURCE Portfolia

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Scalable, innovative GenAI solutions will support the largest AI models at unprecedented per-user performance while driving down energy demands and improving accuracy

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 12, 2024 — Juniper Networks® (NYSE: JNPR), a leader in secure, AI-Native Networking, and Recogni, the Generative AI Inference company, have jointly announced  Juniper’s investment in Recogni and an ongoing collaboration. Juniper has participated in Recogni’s $102 million Series C funding round, which has been co-led by Celesta Capital and GreatPoint Ventures.

The collaboration will focus on AI inference compute and will address the growing demand from hyperscalers, compute service providers and enterprises for a cost-effective, scalable, energy-efficient solution to run increasingly complex AI models across cloud environments and data centers. The innovation will leverage Recogni’s patented AI inference accelerator, based on Pareto math, which is designed from the ground up to optimize energy efficiency and model accuracy.

“The market for multimodal GenAI inference is accelerating rapidly and Recogni is at the forefront of exploring power efficiency without compromising performance or accuracy,” said Rami Rahim, CEO of Juniper Networks. “In this phase of inference innovation, cost-effectiveness and power efficiency—aligned with scalable fabric and network solutions—are extremely important. We were impressed with the team’s expertise and ability to approach complex issues with new ideas, so providing venture funding and collaboration made a great deal of sense.”

“Juniper’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of networking aligns perfectly with Recogni’s mission to make AI more economical and accessible,” said Marc Bolitho, CEO of Recogni. “We are collaborating on a solution that will allow the world’s largest models to run at unprecedented speed, accuracy, and efficiency—drastically lowering total cost of ownership for our customers.”

With new capital and a vision shared with innovative organizations such as Juniper, Recogni will be well-positioned to drive AI innovation forward, empowering hyperscalers, cloud service providers and enterprises to scale AI economically and responsibly.

About Recogni

Recogni is building the highest-performance, most energy-efficient Generative AI inference systems to accelerate the world’s AI ambitions. Headquartered in San Jose, California, with a global presence in North America and Europe, Recogni is leading the AI revolution with a focus on delivering fast, accurate, and cost-effective systems. To learn more, visit www.recogni.com.

About Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks believes that connectivity is not the same as experiencing a great connection. Juniper’s AI-Native Networking Platform is built from the ground up to leverage AI to deliver exceptional, highly secure and sustainable user experiences from the edge to the data center and cloud. Additional information can be found at Juniper Networks (www.juniper.net), or connect with Juniper on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook. 

Juniper Networks, the Juniper Networks logo, Juniper, Junos, and other trademarks listed here are registered trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Statement of Product Direction. Juniper Networks may disclose information related to development and plans for future products, features or enhancements, known as a Statement of Product Direction or Plan of Record (“POR”).  These details provided are based on Juniper’s current development efforts and plans. These development efforts and plans are subject to change at Juniper’s sole discretion, without notice.  Except as may be set forth in a definitive agreement, Juniper Networks provides no assurances and assumes no responsibility to introduce products, features or enhancements described in this website, presentation, meeting, or publication, nor is Juniper liable for any loss arising out of reliance on the POR.  Purchasing decisions by third-parties should not be based on this POR, and no purchases are contingent upon Juniper Networks delivering any feature or functionality described in this website, presentation, meeting, or publication.

SOURCE Recogni

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Partnership with NovaWell Expands Fort Health into Texas and Illinois; Funding Round Led by Twelve Below and Vanterra Brings Total Amount Raised to $16M 

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2024 — Fort Health, a leader in integrated behavioral health, today announced that it has raised $5.5 million to expand mental health care into more pediatricians’ offices. The funding round was led by Twelve Below and Vanterra bringing the total amount raised to $16M. Since launching, Fort Health has expanded into NJ, NY and PA, and secured large commercial contracts with payers and provider groups to provide access to evidence-based youth mental health care services. The latest round of funding will enable the expansion into Texas and Illinois through a partnership with NovaWell. 

The United States is experiencing an extreme teenage mental-health crisis. From 2009 to 2021, the share of American high-school students who say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26 percent to 44 percent, according to a 2022 CDC study. As such, there is a pressing need to enhance access to mental healthcare where the challenges are exacerbated by alarming statistics. Texas ranks as the worst state for mental healthcare, with the highest youth suicide rates in the nation and a significant shortage of mental health professionals. Shockingly, 75% of Texas youth suffering from depression do not receive necessary services. In Illinois, one in five youth is affected by a mental health condition, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), reflecting national trends. 

“Pediatricians are the most trusted relationship in family healthcare, yet they are overwhelmed by patients with mental health issues and very few have completed a child and adolescent psychiatry rotation or have the training to treat these conditions,” says Natalie Schneider, founding CEO of Fort Health. “We have built our model to ensure that the pediatrician is central to the care team. Importantly, integrating behavioral health with primary care not only streamlines the experience, but also makes sense from a cost perspective. According to Milliman, integrated behavioral healthcare can reduce total medical healthcare expenses per patient by 9% to 17%.”

How it Works

Once the pediatrician makes a referral, the patient is matched with a Fort Health provider based on preference, and the clinical team completes an evaluation and creates a personalized care plan. The pediatrician is kept apprised of clinical progress throughout the care journey, and informed regarding changes to medications. Fort Health also provides training to parents to better equip them to support their children at home. 

Through its partnership with NovaWell, Fort Health will work directly with pediatric provider groups and hospitals in Texas and Illinois to provide evidence-based therapy, psychiatry, and parent coaching – all covered by insurance. 

“We are excited to bring Fort Health into our comprehensive suite of integrated, evidence-based services that help patients thrive,” said Suzanne Kunis, president and CEO, NovaWell.

The funding round was led by Twelve Below and Vanterra bringing the total amount raised to $16M. Redesign Health, Blue Venture Fund, and True Wealth Ventures also participated in this funding round, further boosting confidence in Fort Health’s team and model.

“Investing in Fort Health means supporting a transformative platform that prioritizes accessible, evidence-based care for children and adolescents,” said Ellis Fried, vice president at Vanterra. 

“Many solutions exist for families who can pay out of pocket, but we wanted to help democratize access for those families who cannot afford cash-pay,” said Taylor Greene, partner at Twelve Below. “Fort Health is making this possible.”

About Fort Health

Fort Health is an in-network, virtual, pediatric mental health company that opens more paths to better care for more children and families by integrating primary and behavioral health care. Fort Health was built in partnership with the Child Mind Institute, an independent non-profit dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health, mental illness and learning disorders. Fort Health partners with pediatricians, nurses, and school staff to provide evidence-based therapy, psychiatry, and parent coaching – all covered by insurance. Fort Health operates in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania with plans to enter additional states later this year. Visit Fort Health on our website and on LinkedIn.

About NovaWell

NovaWell, an affiliate of Horizon Healthcare Services, Inc., is led by behavioral health industry professionals with deep clinical and administrative expertise. Driven by the fundamental idea that the traditional silos between physical and behavioral health have increased costs and delivered sub-optimal care, NovaWell believes the true path to better health is through an integrated model that connects physical, behavioral, social determinants of health and pharmacy programs to treat a whole person, not just a set of conditions. Powered by advanced analytics and predictive modeling, and utilizing a consumer-friendly digital interface to connect members to care, NovaWell offers health plans and health systems a suite of solutions that drive transformation. NovaWell’s core product offerings have demonstrated significant improvements in access and speed to care, high member engagement and satisfaction, reduced behavioral health symptoms, reduced emergency department and inpatient utilization, and reduced total cost of care. Learn more at www.novawell.com.

About Twelve Below

Twelve Below is a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage technology companies that are poised to disrupt traditional industries. With a portfolio spanning healthcare, fintech, and AI, Twelve Below partners with visionary founders to accelerate growth and drive innovation.

About Vanterra

Vanterra is a venture capital firm that invests in disruptive companies in consumer health across products, services, and technologies. Vanterra focuses on companies with the potential of revolutionizing categories and redefining paradigms in consumer health.

SOURCE Fort Health

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“Founding Divi was deeply personal for me. I wanted to create something that truly made a difference,” said Dani Austin, the company’s founder. “Welcoming Norwest into the Divi family is a huge milestone, and I’m both proud and excited about what’s ahead. Together, we are going to continue our focus on new product innovation while keeping our customer number one.”

Divi has been a cult favorite since its launch in 2021, predominantly due to founder Dani Austin’s deep focus on product innovation, strong mission-driven storytelling, and authentic understanding of the consumer’s desires on the topic of scalp and hair health. Dani Austin and her husband, Jordan Joseph Ramirez, who served as CEO and now holds the role of chairman, both plan to remain actively involved in the next chapter of the Divi story as the brand scales to a household name.

Jordan Joseph Ramirez shares the same sentiment: “Just as we remain focused on the efficacy of our ingredients and product formulations, we are also prioritizing assembling a team of industry veterans,” he said. “Dani and I believe that to execute well on the next chapter of our brand story, we must find people smarter than us in various areas of the business. Creating a dream team is a core focus for us moving into 2025, and Norwest and their industry relationships will be instrumental in helping us in this area.”

Sonya Brown, Norwest general partner and co-head of the firm’s Growth Equity team, will join the Board of Directors. Sonya and the Norwest team bring unique expertise in scaling strong founder-led brands into global powerhouse names, including Kendra Scott, Vuori, and Ritual.

“At Norwest, we are passionate about partnering with founders like Dani Austin, who are solving real problems for consumers,” said Sonya Brown, General Partner at Norwest. “Dani transformed her personal journey with hair loss into a fast-growing, science-based product line focused on the skinification of scalp and hair health. She has also fostered an engaged community where members participate in discussions, provide feedback, share stories, and make authentic connections. We look forward to working with Dani, Jordan, and the Divi team on this next phase of growth.”

Divi debuted with its now-iconic Scalp Serum in 2021, which sold out in two hours and earned the brand almost $40M in revenue in its first year. The first-of-its-kind hair and scalp health brand has expanded over the past three years, and today Divi offers a wide range of breakthrough, scalp-first products, including shampoos and conditioners, a treatment mask, and a record-breaking dry shampoo. Divi launched at Ulta Beauty in late 2022, with immediate consumer praise and 5-star reviews. In July 2024, the brand deepened that relationship, expanding its distribution to include all Ulta Beauty at Target doors. 

About Divi
Divi was founded in 2021 by Mega Influencer Dani Austin after she experienced significant hair loss. Today, Divi offers a range of effective, scalp-first products to promote healthy and happy hair. Divi’s lineup includes its heralded Scalp Serum, new “It” product Dry Shampoo, shampoos & conditioners, and treatments that are backed by science and loved by all. Price points for Divi products range from $20 for the shampoos and conditioners to $136 for the 3-month supply of the best-selling hair serum. Beyond developing innovative products, Divi provides support and fosters community with its members as they navigate their hair health journeys. Divi is always #RootingForYou. The Divi collection is currently available at diviofficial.com, Ulta Beauty, Ulta Beauty at Target and Amazon.com.

About Norwest 
Norwest is a global venture and growth equity investment firm managing more than $15.5 billion in capital. Since its inception, Norwest has invested in more than 700 companies and currently partners with more than 250 companies in its venture and growth equity portfolio. The firm invests in early- to late-stage businesses across key sectors with a focus on enterprise, consumer and healthcare. The Norwest team offers a deep network of connections, extensive operating experience, and a wide range of impactful services to help CEOs and founders scale their businesses. Norwest has offices in Menlo Park and San Francisco, Calif.; Mumbai, India; and Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information, please visit www.nvp.com.

About Dani Austin:
Dani Austin is an innovative entrepreneur who has earned a spot on the Forbes Top 50 Creators list three times. With a loyal following of over 3 million across her social platforms, she is a leading voice in the beauty, fashion and lifestyle industry. Dani is the founder of the scalp and hair care brand Divi, which is sold at Ulta Beauty and Ulta Beauty at Target nationwide. Alongside her husband, Jordan Ramirez, she co-hosts the hit podcast “De-Influenced,” which garners 400,000 monthly downloads. They are proud parents to Stella and Stratton and are expecting their third child in 2025.

SOURCE Divi Scalp & Hair Health