ZUG, Switzerland, Feb. 27, 2024 – In a significant stride towards revolutionizing Web3 infrastructure, Validation Cloud has proudly announced the successful closure of its first external investment round, amassing $5.8 million. Spearheaded by San Francisco-based Cadenza Ventures, this funding round exceeded expectations with contributions from an impressive roster of international investors, including Blockchain Founders Fund, Bloccelerate, Blockwall, Side Door Ventures, Metamatic, GS Futures, and AP Capital.

Alex Nwaka, Co-Founder of Validation Cloud, expressed enthusiasm about the funding, “This investment marks a pivotal moment for Validation Cloud as we aim to address the urgent demand for scalable and compliant Web3 infrastructure. We’re honored to collaborate with our investors who are instrumental in propelling the global adoption of our platform among cutting-edge networks, developers, and asset managers.”

Validation Cloud is at the forefront of Web3 technology, having developed an innovative system architecture that paves the way for significant advancements in the sector. Known as the “Cloudflare of Web3,” the company offers a robust, scalable, and intelligent platform providing Staking, Node API, and Data services, drawing inspiration from Cloudflare’s transformative impact on Web2 infrastructure.

Founded by veterans in the Proof-of-Stake domain, Validation Cloud boasts a team of highly experienced professionals from renowned organizations such as Uber, Workday, Deloitte, Citadel, Morgan Stanley, Binance, Crypto.com, Figure, R3, and more, emphasizing a talent-first approach with a worldwide workforce.

Kumar Dandapani, Managing Partner at Cadenza Ventures, highlighted the strategic vision behind their investment, “At Cadenza, we do not invest in just any company; we invest in the future of transformative technologies. Validation Cloud’s pioneering role in Proof-of-Stake and their relentless pursuit of next-generation Web3 infrastructure have set them apart as leaders in the Web3 space.”

Aly Madhavji, Managing Partner at Blockchain Founders Fund, shared his thoughts on the investment, “We believe in the transformative power of Web3 and its ability to redefine how businesses operate. Investing in Validation Cloud aligns perfectly with our vision of supporting innovative platforms that are ready to lead the next wave of digital transformation.”

Validation Cloud has earned a reputation for its close partnerships with networks from their nascent stages, supporting a wide array of ecosystems from established ones like Chainlink, Hedera, and Stellar to emerging networks such as Aptos, Eigenlayer, and Berachain. Their platform lays the groundwork for the enterprise adoption of networks, positioning Validation Cloud as a key player in the Web3 infrastructure landscape.

For further details on Validation Cloud and its offerings, please visit www.validationcloud.io.

SOURCE Validation Cloud

New Female Entrepreneur Competition Series from Emma Grede and Ashley Graham to air on Roku Channel on March 1st, 2024

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2024 — Powerhouse investor and entrepreneur Jesse Draper has joined the new Roku Channel competition series Side Hustlers, and will appear as a guest star in the series that premieres on March 1st, 2024. As the founding partner of Halogen Ventures, the first solo female General Partner in Los Angeles, and a 4th generation venture capitalist and gender advocate, Draper brings her killer track record for investing in women entrepreneurs who are building billion dollar businesses to the show.

Draper has been a leading voice in technology and entertainment for well over a decade and started her non-traditional career as a Nickelodeon star on ‘The Naked Brothers Band’. In 2008, she created and hosted the first technology talk show of today, the Emmy nominated television series, The Valley Girl Show where she interviewed some of the most prolific technology entrepreneurs of our time including Elon Musk, Eric Schmidt, Jessica Alba, Marc Cuban, Ted Turner, Sheryl Sandberg and Bryan Armstrong from Coinbase. Draper saw the huge gender disparity happening in venture capital and technology during this time through the show and set out to interview 50 percent female founders. She quickly proved there was no lack of women starting companies and today sees 10,000 deals a year come through her inbox, there’s only a lack of Venture Capital funding going to female founders.

Draper saw the massive potential to invest in female founders and in 2015, she followed in her father Tim Draper’s footsteps with a female twist and founded Halogen Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund investing in consumer technology companies led by women. Among Draper’s 75+ portfolio companies, are Babylist, ThirdLove, Ellevest, The Skimm, HopSkipDrive, The Flex Company, Squad (acquired by Twitter), Eloquii (sold to Walmart) and This is L (sold to P&G). 

Roku Channel’s Side Hustlers is a docu-follow series where savvy investors mentor aspiring entrepreneurs in a first-of-its-kind format. The investors guide the side hustlers through a high-stakes boot camp aimed at transforming their side hustles into sustainable main hustles that could potentially make millions. The investor decides if they want to put a large amount of cash into the business. And the side hustlers decide if they are going to walk into their boss’s office and finally quit their day job. The series is produced by Hello Sunshine in association with Ally. Reese Witherspoon and Sara Rea executive produce for Hello Sunshine. Emma Grede, Co-Founder and CEO of Good American and Founding Partner of Skims as well as model and entrepreneur Ashley Graham co-host the series. 

About Jesse Draper
Jesse Draper is a mother of 3 boys and founding partner of Halogen Ventures focused on early stage investing in consumer technology companies led by female and co-ed teams. Draper, the first solo female GP in Los Angeles is also a 4th generation venture capitalist, the creator and host of Emmy nominated television series, The Valley Girl Show, and host of the MOMumental Podcast. She is a fierce advocate for investing in women and the opportunity for using technology and innovation to solve some of the biggest issues facing women and families today. Among her 75+ portfolio companies, are the Skimm, Babylist, ThirdLove, HopSkipDrive, The Flex Company, Squad (acquired by Twitter), Eloquii (sold to Walmart) and This is L (sold to P&G).

Selected as one of the top 10 early stage female investors by Business Insider, Draper was also listed by Marie Claire magazine as one of the ’50 Most Connected Women in America’, nominated by the NRF as a DealMakeHers, Variety’s Holly’s New Leaders, and Refinery29 30 Rising Stars.” Draper has been a contributor to Marie Claire, Forbes, and is a regular investor and tech personality showcased on Cheddar, CNBC, CNN.

Following Jesse’s viral Medium piece, Investing in Women Isn’t a Fucking Charity, she’s become a leading voice of women in technology. Draper is also a Kauffman Fellow.

She proudly sits on the board of directors of Trust & Will, Flex and the non-profit board Project Glimmer. Draper supports the Parkinson’s Institute and is very involved with growing UCLA’s female entrepreneurship community. She and her team also created the ‘Halogen Fellowship in Venture Capital’ to increase diversity and inclusion in the industry.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Halogen Ventures

Series B funding round led by Blue Heron Capital, with participation from North Coast Ventures, Refinery Ventures, Mutual Capital Partners, Rev1 Ventures and M25 

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 28, 2024 — Redi Health today announced that it has closed $14 million in Series B funding. The funding round was led by Blue Heron Capital, with participation from North Coast Ventures and existing investors Refinery Ventures, Mutual Capital Partners, Rev1 Ventures and M25. Redi Health will use the financing to foster innovation, develop and launch new products, expand its unique network and accelerate overall growth. The funding underscores Redi Health’s success in reaching millions of patients across the country, solidifying its position as a leader in the digital health space.

Luke Buchanan, Co-Founder, and CEO of Redi Health stated, “We are at a pivotal moment in healthcare, where technology integration can significantly enhance patient care and outcomes. This new financing is a testament to the hard work of our team and the support of our investors. With Blue Heron Capital’s backing, we are poised to bring new products to market, expand our reach, and continue to innovate at the intersection of technology and healthcare. Our goal is to make comprehensive, patient-centered care accessible to millions more across the country.”

Current Patient Support Programs (PSPs), which are typically provided by pharma to patients who are taking their complex, high-cost medications, have proven to make a significant impact on patients, but they are outdated and extremely challenging to access. PSPs require a large number of full-time employees, rely primarily on phone and fax communication, and need a healthcare provider (HCP) to enroll patients using a physical enrollment form. This results in a non-adherence rate of approximately 70%, resulting in an estimated annual revenue loss of $637 billion for the pharmaceutical industry.

Redi Health bridges the gap between consumer technology and clinical health and support, connecting Pharma, providers, and patients in one platform. Redi Health engages patients daily and offers medication reminders, symptom management, diet and nutrition advice, weight and activity tracking, and health literacy and education. Uniquely integrated pharma support provides brand-specific content, condition-focused trackers, and digitally accessible financial assistance, as well as enrollment into Patient Support Programs.

Redi Health creates a fully connected ecosystem that efficiently informs all involved parties of access status. This is the first pharmaceutical platform that enables the free flow of real-time information with Redi Health’s unique compliance architecture. Furthermore, it offers significant efficiency in a traditionally labor-intensive market.

As part of the Series B funding Blue Heron Capital OA Collaborative member Jim Clair, who has extensive pharmacy tech experience, will join Redi Health’s Board of Directors. Jim expressed enthusiasm for the investment, stating, “Redi Health’s innovative approach to digital healthcare sets them apart in today’s rapidly evolving industry. We are impressed by Redi Health’s commitment to improving patient outcomes and their ability to scale effectively.”

Gordon Crenshaw, Partner at Blue Heron Capital, added, “Our investment in Redi Health reflects our confidence in the vision of the leadership team. The digital health sector presents a tremendous opportunity for innovation, and Redi Health is at the forefront of this transformation. We look forward to being a part of the company as they continue to innovate and positively impact the lives of patients nationwide.”

About Blue Heron Capital

Blue Heron Capital is an early-stage growth equity firm funding big ideas in healthcare and enterprise technology industries. Using a powerful combination of financial and human capital through their OA Collaborative, they build businesses that make big impacts. To learn more, go to www.blueheroncap.com.

About Redi Health

Redi Health empowers patients with chronic conditions to understand, manage and track their total health through digital pharma support. Combining health management technology and pharmaceutical manufacturer support into one tool, Redi Health provides a mobile platform that allows patients to manage everything from multiple medications and symptoms to diet and exercise. By delivering a pathway for pharmaceutical companies, providers and patients to connect and engage, Redi Health customizes the complete health journey to drive better health outcomes and adherence.

Media Contact:
Angelique Faul
513-633-0898
[email protected]

SOURCE Redi Health

LanzaJet Plans to Support Southwest Airlines with U.S. SAF Production and with Development of Ethanol from Agriculture Residue with SAFFiRE Renewables

CHICAGO, Feb. 28, 2024 — LanzaJet, Inc. (LanzaJet) a leading sustainable fuels technology company and sustainable fuels producer, today announced a $30 million investment by Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) in LanzaJet. As part of the agreement, LanzaJet and Southwest intend to work toward the development of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production facility and collaborate to advance the operations of a corn stover to ethanol technology company in which Southwest is invested: SAFFiRE Renewables, LLC (SAFFiRE).

LanzaJet plans to undertake project development efforts for the SAF production facility in the United States, with Southwest as the anchor SAF offtaker. The biorefinery is expected to utilize LanzaJet’s pioneering technology, which is capable of scaling production to the levels needed to decarbonize aviation through widely available and sustainable feedstock, emerging commercial residue-based feedstock solutions, and promising economics. LanzaJet will also support Southwest’s efforts to commercialize SAFFiRE’s technology that processes corn stover into ethanol.

“The U.S. is an incredibly important market for us – it’s our home, where our technology originated and scaled, the site of our and the world’s first commercial ethanol-to-SAF plant, and an important opportunity to support the existing U.S. biofuels and ethanol industries with our leading ethanol-to-SAF technology,” said Jimmy Samartzis, Chief Executive Officer of LanzaJet. “The alignment of Southwest and LanzaJet is a powerful combination that has the potential to integrate the SAF value chain and to double-down on the US ethanol, aviation, and biofuel industries. Our work together will lead us closer to meeting aviation’s decarbonization goals by continuing to scale SAF production in the United States, while also tapping into the U.S. ethanol industry’s potential to catalyze the next generation of SAF production.”

The U.S. facility to be developed by LanzaJet is also intended to enable the opportunity to convert SAFFiRE’s cellulosic ethanol into SAF.

“We’re taking the next step in our sustainability journey toward our goal of net zero by 2050,” said Bob Jordan, President & CEO of Southwest Airlines. “We look forward to working with LanzaJet, which is developing potentially important technology that could create more opportunities for Southwest to obtain scalable SAF, a critical component in the success of our environmental sustainability goal to replace 10% of our jet fuel consumption with SAF by 2030.”

Southwest’s investment comes on the heels of the opening of LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels – the world’s first commercial-scale ethanol-to-SAF plant. Located in Soperton, Georgia, the historic plant is anticipated to produce SAF and renewable diesel from low-carbon and sustainable ethanol which has International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC). LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels serves as a blueprint for utilizing first-of-its-kind innovation to scale SAF production and enables LanzaJet’s aspiration for 1 billion gallons of SAF production by 2030.

Southwest joins LanzaJet’s portfolio of investors and funders that includes shareholders British Airways, LanzaTech, Mitsui & Co., Shell, and Suncor Energy and funders such as Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, Breakthrough Energy, and All Nippon Airways (ANA).

ABOUT LANZAJET

LanzaJet is a leading sustainable fuels technology company dedicated to accelerating the clean energy transition. As a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) technology provider and producer with patented ethanol-based alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology, LanzaJet is creating an opportunity for future generations by accelerating the deployment of SAF and other clean technologies critical to addressing the climate crisis and transforming the global economy. Further information is available at https://www.lanzajet.com/

SOURCE LanzaJet

NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2024 — Lionize, an innovative AI-driven influencer search tool and influencer marketing platform, today announced the initial closing of a funding round of up to $2M led by Cultivation Capital. This investment marks a significant milestone in Lionize’s mission to revolutionize influencer marketing through the use of AI.

In the evolving landscape of digital marketing, managing a high volume of influencer partnerships has traditionally been a resource-intensive endeavor, often requiring substantial time and financial investment to scale effectively. Lionize’s platform addresses this challenge head-on, providing an all-encompassing solution that manages every aspect of influencer marketing. The additional support from Cultivation Capital will further fuel the development of Lionize’s groundbreaking platform as the company aims to make influencer marketing a more manageable and effective strategy for any brand or agency regardless of their expertise in the space.

“Our platform isn’t just about connecting brands with influencers; it’s about redefining the management of influencer relationships,” said Chris Buetti, CEO of Lionize. “We take the heavy lifting out of the process – from sourcing and recruitment to contracting, tracking, reporting, and even payment. This comprehensive approach is especially crucial when dealing with large numbers of micro-influencers, where the complexity can escalate quickly. We are grateful for Cultivation Capital’s support as we continue to expand our product capabilities and drive value for clients.”

Heather Wood, Partner at Cultivation Capital, commented, “Lionize is not just innovating; they are solving a significant pain point in the influencer marketing industry. Their approach to managing micro-influencer communities efficiently is what sets them apart, and we’re excited to support their growth.”

Lionize’s value proposition is clear: it addresses the significant pain points marketers face in activating and managing micro-influencers. The platform’s proprietary search engine automates the sourcing and qualification process, enabling the efficient management of influencer partnerships at scale and even turning non-influencers into influential voices for brands. By tackling the time-intensive recruitment and communication challenges with micro-influencers, Lionize ensures genuine interest and collaboration. Moreover, its systematic approach streamlines diverse processes across the industry, overcoming the inefficiencies of traditional influencer marketplaces and simplifying complex marketing campaign setups. Leveraging experience from over 600 influencer campaigns, Lionize offers a data-driven, automated setup for optimal campaign outcomes, making it a budget-friendly option that allows working with larger quantities of influencers.

This news follows the launch of Lionize’s self-service model and will further democratize the influencer marketing space by allowing businesses of all sizes to effortlessly tap into the power of influencer networks. This innovation is a direct response to the industry’s demand for scalable, efficient, and cost-effective influencer marketing strategies.

About Lionize

Lionize is leading the evolution of influencer marketing with its innovative AI-driven platform, designed to simplify and enhance the efficacy of influencer campaigns, especially in managing large communities of micro-influencers. Founded in 2021, Lionize is headquartered in New York City. For more information about Lionize and its revolutionary approach to influencer marketing, visit www.lionize.ai.

About Cultivation Capital

Cultivation Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in software technology, life sciences, agriculture technology, and geospatial technology companies. Since its founding in 2012, the firm has invested in over 150 companies and is recognized as one of the most active early-stage investors in the United States. For more information, visit https://cultivationcapital.com.

Media Contact:
Austin Rosenthal
Co-founder
Lionize
[email protected]

SOURCE Lionize

Serving as a co-pilot for CFOs, the platform enables issuing equity to teams anywhere, staying in compliance locally, and protecting employees from tax penalties; Reducing a costly process that normally takes several months into minutes

WILMINGTON, Del. and TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 28, 2024 — Slice, the only global equity platform utilizing AI for continuous compliance, announced today it has emerged from stealth with a $7 million seed funding round led by TLV Partners, with participation from R-Squared Ventures, Jibe Ventures, leading international law firms Wilson Sonsini, Fenwick & West and notable angel investors.

Workforces have become truly global, and as the job market becomes more competitive, equity makes up a significant part of the talent compensation package. But issuing equity is a minefield riddled with complex and ever-changing tax laws and regulations that greatly differ from country to country making it extremely challenging for companies to avoid compliance risks and financial penalties, which can significantly impact employee retention.

Slice’s mission is to help CFOs and companies issue and manage equity to their international employees while navigating the complexity of ever-changing regulations and tax codes across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously and at scale. The AI-powered platform automatically ensures that all global equity operations are compliant and tax-optimized to maximize and protect the benefits of equity plans, both for employers and employees.

Slice is the first to apply LLMs to the world of equity compliance, enabling its pre-trained platform to quickly learn and apply country-specific tax codes and regulations that impact equity awards. Actively monitoring, analyzing and implementing the latest changes across multiple countries concurrently, the end-to-end platform uniquely covers all types of employee stock options, addressing compliance and tax-code challenges to avoid the potential risk of financial penalties facing both employers and employees.

“Having spent 13 years as a corporate lawyer, I saw companies struggle to grant and manage equity to their international employees. I recognized the almost impossible task they faced of understanding and applying the complex and constantly changing law and tax regulations in various countries, and know of individual fines reaching well over $200K due to mistakes being made,” says co-founder and CEO Maor Levran. “We’ve built a co-pilot for CFOs for equity management that is capable of handling months of complex work they’d normally request from local lawyers and tax advisors in a matter of minutes. This equates to a substantial saving on time and costs, and also helps avoid distress employees may experience over potential penalties. Slice is the first equity compliance platform that empowers companies and their employees to optimize the value of global equity without fear of compliance or tax issues, a problem that nearly all companies will encounter when issuing stock options.”

Shawn Lampron, a partner in Fenwick & West, one of America’s leading technology law firms, and co-author of “Executive Compensation for Emerging Companies” had this to say after experiencing the capabilities of Slice platform first hand, “I’ve worked for more than three decades on compensation and benefits programs with global companies so seeing Slice’s international compliance capabilities in action was thrilling. Slice simplifies the massive complexities associated with global compensation, automating an ever-changing process where the stakes for making a mistake are high. I’m so excited for what this will mean for our industry.”

“We were excited about Slice from day one as there’s a massive gap in the Global CFO stack around equity,” says co-founder and managing partner of TLV Partners Eitan Bek. “It’s still extremely complicated to grant equity to international employees from a compliance and tax perspective. Existing solutions do not fully address the global complexities of equity grants. Slice is going after this precise area with a unique combination of talent and a top-notch legal, engineering, and product management team. We firmly believe they will quickly be able to deliver a new standard for global equity management and compliance.”

“Slice is uniquely positioned to solve a long-standing problem in the equity space and they’re poised to make a similar impact that Papaya has with payroll,” added Eynat Guez, CEO, Papaya Global and angel investor in the company. “For finance and HR teams dealing with equity for global teams, take a look at Slice. Their solution deals with all the nitty-gritty details surrounding legal and tax issues to save others from doing so.”

Slice was co-founded by Maor Levran (CEO), a lawyer repeatedly ranked as Top Tech Attorney by The Legal 500, Aviram Berg, (CTO), a highly skilled data scientist, engineer and entrepreneur formally of Dataloop, and the Weizmann Institute of Science), and Yoel Amir (CPO), an AI Product Management executive formerly at Salesforce, Google and two acquired startups.

Slices’s Global Equity Assurance Platform capabilities include:

• AI-based compliance engine that continuously analyzes changes in equity regulation and taxation
• Optimizes tax for all types of equity grants, including qualified and non-qualified
• Sends pre-emptive actionable alerts to employers and employees, enabling them to steer clear of legal and tax exposure
• Provides fully customizable equity workflows that are easy to add and modify with no code, off-the-shelf templates
• Supports 23 countries including the US, UK, France, India, Australia, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan and Brazil
• Scaling to over 100 countries by the end of 2024

Slice is using the funding to further develop its platform and implement go-to-market strategies across the US and Europe.

About Slice

Slice is a Global Equity Assurance Platform incorporating AI-driven continuous compliance to safeguard employers and employees from the risk of financial penalties resulting from ever-changing equity regulations. Scaling across multiple countries simultaneously, Slice eliminates the need to hire local lawyers and tax advisors, making equity ownership simpler than ever before. Visit sliceglobal.com for more info.

SOURCE Slice

Valisure Secures Strategic Investment, Announces Appointment of New CEO, & Expansion of Executive Leadership Team to Accelerate its Growth in Enterprise Healthcare

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 28, 2024 — Valisure, a healthcare industry pioneer for independent quality assurance in pharmaceutical drugs, has recently received substantial investments from leading healthcare venture capital firms to accelerate Valisure’s rapid growth and impact. Concurrently, the company is pleased to announce key leadership developments, including appointing a highly experienced healthcare leader as CEO and additional expansion of its executive team.

The venture funding is led by AlleyCorp, a New York-based venture capital firm that invests in transformative companies across dedicated verticals for Healthcare, Diversified Technology, Robotics, and Social Impact. This strategic investment will provide Valisure with the financial resources needed to accelerate its research and development efforts, expand its team of experts, and further strengthen its position as a market leader in the critically needed, independent pharmaceutical quality assurance space. Valisure has gained global recognition for its commitment to ensuring the safety and quality of medications through its highly impactful, independent testing. Valisure’s expanding services are being increasingly adopted by major public and private health systems.

Continuing in its pursuit of expanding within the healthcare industry, Valisure is proud to introduce Chip Phillips as the new Chief Executive Officer–an accomplished healthcare executive with a strong focus in the pharmacy service space. He brings a wealth of experience, having served as President of ANDA, a subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, and was an executive leader at CVS Health. At CVS, he spent time leading the Medicaid business, TheraCom, Inc., and Minute Clinic. This appointment underscores Valisure’s strategic commitment to being an integral part of the pharmaceutical ecosystem, contributing to the continued improvement of product safety and quality through the provision of independent quality assurance.

“I am pleased to join Valisure as the Chief Executive Officer at a time in the industry when supply chain concerns, drug shortages, fiscal pressures, and quality issues appear to be at an all-time high,” states Chip Phillips, Valisure’s newly appointed CEO. “I look forward to collaborating with the talented team and enabling Valisure to expand its work with the industry to strategically address these issues.”

With Chip’s appointment as CEO, Valisure’s Co-Founder David Light assumed the role of President, enabling him to focus on continuing to grow the company’s thought leadership and overall mission through its broad network of government, industry, and academic partners.

“As President, I am eager to expand Valisure’s existing leadership in the independent pharmaceutical quality assurance space that we’ve rapidly created in the United States since we founded the company in 2015. I’m also looking forward to nurturing existing partnerships and strengthening strong relationships with leaders throughout healthcare,” says David Light, President of Valisure. “These endeavors are aimed at further growing our impact on pharmaceutical quality and safety and overall improving public health.”

Likewise, Wolfgang Hinz, Ph.D., has assumed a pivotal leadership position as the Chief Scientific Officer of Valisure. Formerly a technology co-founder at Ion Torrent, Wolfgang led chemistry Research and Development resulting in a globally commercialized DNA sequencing platform acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific. He boasts an impressive portfolio of over 100 granted patents, reflecting his extensive success in technology development across chemistry, biology, and engineering. Wolfgang conducted his graduate studies at the University of Cape Town and post-graduate studies at Yale University.

Further strengthening the executive team, Valisure welcomes Adam Clark-Joseph, Ph.D., as Chief Analytics Officer, leveraging his expertise as a former finance professor focusing on algorithmic trading. Adam completed a dual bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics at Yale University, a master’s degree in economics at Cambridge University as a Gates Scholar, and a Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University.

Additionally, Jill Nailor, R.Ph., a pharmacist by training, has advanced to the position of Chief Business Development Officer at Valisure. Leveraging her extensive industry experience, including time at Walgreens and Pfizer, she is dedicated to building Valisure’s client portfolio.

In this transformative chapter marked by new strategic venture partnerships and appointments of visionary leadership, Valisure is poised to broadly integrate its novel approach to independent quality assurance for pharmaceuticals into the healthcare industry at a time when it has never been more needed.

About Valisure:
Valisure is a pioneering technology company at the forefront of addressing a critical gap in the healthcare supply chain through independent quality assurance. Our mission is to revolutionize the broken supply chain by providing a critically missing element: transparency to quality and independent certification through chemical analysis. At a time when transparency and reliability have never been more critical, Valisure addresses a significant unmet need, reshaping the future of the healthcare supply chain. Explore collaboration opportunities with us to advance the quality assurance standard in healthcare at www.valisure.com.

SOURCE Valisure

Investment to strategically expand leading dental service organization’s footprint and modern dentistry offering

CHICAGO, Feb. 28, 2024 — GTCR, a leading private equity firm, announced today that its management partnership with Kelly McCrann, Avryo Health Services, LLC (“Avryo Healthcare”), has completed a strategic investment in 7to7 Dental (“7to7” or “the Company”) in partnership with Justin Coke, Chief Executive Officer, and Tiffany Winburn, DMD, Chief Clinical Officer, who retained substantial ownership in the Company. Kelly McCrann has joined 7to7 as Executive Chairman alongside the existing management team who will continue in their current roles.

Founded in 2008 and based in San Antonio, Texas, 7to7 is a leading dental service organization (DSO) with nine locations in the area. Providing a comprehensive suite of dentistry services, including general and specialty dentistry, specialty endodontic and oral surgery services, orthodontics, cosmetic dentistry and emergency dentistry, 7to7 delivers unique customer service by offering extended hours seven days a week, better accommodating busy patients’ schedules and dentistry needs.

Avryo Healthcare is a Leaders Strategy™ partnership formed with Kelly McCrann in 2022 with the intention of partnering with companies in the multi-site healthcare services industry as part of a strategy to build a market-leading company, with a focus on utilizing new technologies and operating strategies to enhance patient access and experiences. Mr. McCrann has over 35 years of experience in the healthcare services industry, including spending significant time operating in the DSO space.

This strategic partnership will strengthen 7to7’s offering and position the Company to build on its unique model in the dental services industry. GTCR expects to make additional investments in the business to fund future organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions.

“We are thrilled about the partnership between Avryo and the 7to7 team,” said Sean Cunningham, Managing Director and Co-Head of Healthcare at GTCR. “Kelly, Justin, and Tiffany bring together complementary strengths with a shared vision of advancing the dental care industry. We look forward to being part of the journey and leveraging GTCR’s experience building successful multi-site healthcare services companies.”

“7to7 was founded to create a more accessible and convenient patient experience and to provide flexibility for hardworking dental professionals. We’re excited to partner with Kelly and the team at GTCR to advance that vision and bring high quality dental experiences to more patients,” said Justin Coke, CEO of 7to7.

Kelly McCrann, Executive Chairman of 7to7, added “Justin and Tiffany have built a very special company that truly puts patients first by providing exceptional convenience and offers a differentiated opportunity to continue expansion throughout Texas and beyond. I look forward to working with the 7to7 team to build on their successes to create a patient-centric, modern dental platform.”

“The dental services industry has been a focus area for Avryo, and 7to7 has a team and a brand that patients trust. We appreciate their partnership and are excited to strategically pursue the growth opportunities we collectively see ahead of the business,” added John Kos, Managing Director at GTCR.

About GTCR

Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm that pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. GTCR is focused on investing in transformative growth in companies in the Business & Consumer Services, Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare and Technology, Media & Telecommunications sectors. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $25 billion in over 270 companies, and the firm currently manages $40 billion in equity capital. GTCR is based in Chicago with offices in New York and West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

GTCR Media Contact

Andrew Johnson

212.835.7042

[email protected] 

SOURCE GTCR

• Pittsburgh-based firm closes $50 million fund to invest in pre-seed and seed companies.
• Focuses on Black and diverse-led technology startups, with over 10 investments already made in companies including EMTECH, Goodfynd, The Folklore, and Kloopify.
• Senior team has many decades of collective experience in the industry, and the fund is backed by iconic LPs including Alphabet, Bank of America, and Mark Cuban.

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 28, 2024 — Black Tech Nation Ventures (referred to as “BTN.vc” ), a Pittsburgh-based venture firm, today announced the close of a $50 million inaugural fund. BTN.vc invests in software startups led by founders from diverse backgrounds that have historically been overlooked by venture funding. The fund believes these Black, Latinx, female, indigenous and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs have the potential to generate outsized returns within the venture industry as a whole.

“We set up BTN.vc to equip and train a new generation of more diverse entrepreneurs and investors,” said David Motley, one of three general partners. “We are committed to providing intellectual as well as financial capital to help our founders navigate growing a successful company and opening up opportunities for future venture capitalists who are Black or diverse to participate in the industry.”

BTN.vc is investing in high-potential founders at the seed and pre-seed stage who are building companies with technology that is driving change and unlocking outsized value, in sectors including fintech, edtech, health tech, climate tech, and AI and machine learning. 

The firm has already invested in 10 companies in cities including Atlanta, Boston, District of Columbia, Indianapolis, New York, and Pittsburgh. These include; EMTECH, a fintech infrastructure company; Goodfynd, an enterprise solutions provider for food truckers and mobile vendors; The Folklore, an e-commerce platform connecting brands from the African continent to premium retailers in the US; and Kloopify, provider of supply chain sustainability analytics. Multiple investments have already secured up-round follow on funding.

BTN.vc expects to back 20-30 companies from its inaugural fund, typically seeking entry at the pre-seed and seed stages with checks in the $250,000 to $1M range. The firm has led, co-led and or helped complete funding rounds. The team has built a unique deal funnel to match its investment focus, which includes diverse professional development groups, top tier research universities, and historically Black colleges and universities.

BTN.vc was co-founded in 2020 by three serial entrepreneurs united by a commitment to building and enabling a diverse technology ecosystem.

• Kelauni Jasmyn is a former software developer and the founder and CEO of Black Tech Nation, which is building community and resources to bridge the gap between the Black community and the tech community in Pittsburgh and across the US.
• David Motley brings extensive experience with technology and innovation driven companies having led a corporate venture fund and co-founded a prior private venture fund.  He also co-founded the African American Directors Forum (AADF), which strives to increase representation of African American executives at the public company board level.
• Seán Sebastian previously founded Birchmere Ventures, a $300m AUM seed-stage investor that led investments in almost 100 portfolio companies attracting more than $4bn in follow-on capital and achieving over $18bn in market value.  Included in that portfolio were 25 diverse-led startups and some of the firm’s strongest performers.

BTN.vc is backed by a range of blue chip LPs including Alphabet, First National Bank (FNB Corp), Mark Cuban, First Close Partners, and Bank of America.

Jeremiah Gordon, General Counsel at CapitalG who co-led Alphabet’s investment in BTN.vc as part of its $100 million investment in initiative into black-led capital firms, startups and organizations supporting black entrepreneurs added: “By focusing on founders from underrepresented groups and geographies, BTN.vc is tapping into a rich vein of entrepreneurship largely unexplored by traditional venture groups.”

For more information, please visit https://btn.vc/.

Contact: Abby Vare / Olachi Ihekwaba, [email protected], +1 (631) 408-0791

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2348091/BTN_vc.jpg

SOURCE Black Tech Nation Ventures (BTN.vc)