LONDON, Feb. 28, 2024 — In a significant move for fintech, NayaOne announces a $4.7 million funding round led by EJF Capital, with Valley Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Valley Bank and Carthona Capital also on board. This investment is a testament to NayaOne’s growth and potential to transform financial services with its innovative sandbox-as-a-service platform.

NayaOne’s proven platform enables a radical reduction in technology adoption cycles within the finance sector.  Financial institutions can now swiftly navigate the fintech landscape, fostering partnerships that were once hindered by traditional, slow-moving processes. This is particularly relevant today, as a mere 5% of banks choose to develop tech in-house, highlighting the growing reliance on external fintech innovations for strategic advancements.

The timing of NayaOne’s platform aligns perfectly with the industry’s urgent shift towards digital transformation, offering flexibility and speed for revenue growth, customer retention, or crisis recovery.

Karan Jain, CEO of NayaOne, emphasises the significance of this funding round, it’s a nod to the opportunity and magnitude of the challenge we’re tackling in financial services. “It’s about more than just growth; it’s about setting the pace in a sector that’s fundamentally rethinking how it evolves”

Echoing Jain’s sentiment, EJF Ventures’ Michael Cherepnin points to the strategic inflection point: “We’re still in the early stage of a tech revolution in banking and capital markets, and NayaOne stands out as the critical infrastructure enabling the next big leap forward.”

Valley Ventures’ Managing Partner, Neal Kapur sheds light on the tangible edge NayaOne provides: “Our collaboration has dramatically streamlined how we vet fintech vendors, positioning us well ahead in the Digital Transformation and AI race.”

Dean Dorrell of Carthona Capital, reflecting on their early bet with this being their second round with NayaOne, adds, “Watching NayaOne’s journey from an early-stage hopeful to a fintech trailblazer has been nothing short of inspiring. This round is a launchpad for what’s next.”

With its latest funding, NayaOne is poised to redefine finance services. As everything moves to being digital first, NayaOne’s technology enables FIs to achieve their strategic outcomes by successfully navigating through the chaos and complexity of vendor technology.

About NayaOne

NayaOne’s mission is to help organisations navigate the complex financial technology ecosystem. Our Sandbox as a Service platform and marketplace of vetted Fintechs accelerates the adoption of emerging technologies and streamlines vendor collaboration. We help institutions to foster strategic partnerships and deliver exceptional customer experiences – delivering on our commitment to make technology more accessible and create a more innovative and inclusive financial ecosystem. To learn more please visit https://nayaone.com.

About EJF Capital

EJF Capital LLC is a global alternative asset management firm headquartered outside of Washington, D.C. with offices in London, England and Shanghai, China. As of December 31, 2023, EJF manages approximately $6.0 billion¹ across a diverse group of alternative asset strategies. The firm was founded in 2005 by Manny Friedman and Neal Wilson. To learn more, please visit http://ejfcap.com/ and please read additional Risks and Limitations located here. ¹ Firm AUM includes $3.0 billion in CDO assets through affiliates and $165.3 million of uncalled capital.

About Valley Ventures

Valley Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Valley National Bank, invests in and partners with companies that represent the future of finance. Valley National Bank is a regional bank with nearly $62 billion in assets. Valley operates many convenient branch locations and commercial banking offices across New Jersey, New York, Florida, Alabama, California, and Illinois, and is committed to providing the most convenient service, the latest innovations and an experienced and knowledgeable team dedicated to meeting customer needs.

About Carthona Capital 

Carthona Capital is a venture capital firm based in Sydney, Australia. Carthona Capital invests in early and growth stage companies across a range of sectors, with a focus on fintech, healthtech, and deeptech. Carthona Capital has a global perspective and a hands-on approach, providing strategic guidance and operational support to its portfolio companies. Carthona Capital has backed some of the most successful and innovative fintech companies in Australia and beyond, such as Afterpay, Athena, and Nura. 

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2349483/NayaOne_Logo.jpg

SOURCE NayaOne

HuLoop to Expand Its Unified Automation Platform and Financial Services, Retail/CPG Customer Base

AUBURN, Calif., Feb. 27, 2024 — HuLoop Automation, a leader in AI-powered intelligent automation, today announced the successful closing of its $5M seed round. The round was led by Moneta Ventures, with participation from Rebellion Ventures, Growth Factory, Vibranium VC, Nurture Ventures, Insta VC and others. This funding will fuel HuLoop’s mission to revolutionize automation, making it simpler, faster, and more affordable for its growing roster of clients in financial services and retail/CPG.

HuLoop’s approach to automation offers a radical departure from first-generation solution providers. Traditional automation solutions provide point solutions like Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Business Process Management (BPM), or Software Test Automation, which are too complex, involve time-consuming implementations, and are prohibitively expensive. In contrast, HuLoop combines cutting-edge technologies and human-in-the-loop processes to augment RPA, BPM and Test Automation to deliver faster results with unprecedented ease of use.

“Our goal at HuLoop is to democratize automation, making it accessible to non-technical professionals and to companies of all sizes,” said Todd P. Michaud, CEO of HuLoop Automation. “With this funding, we are excited to further enhance our platform and bring the benefits of AI-driven automation to more businesses, enabling them to achieve new levels of productivity and efficiency.”

“We have been active in the enterprise AI space for many years and believe HuLoop is poised to lead the next round of innovation in the automation industry,” said Lokesh Sikaria, Managing Partner at Moneta Ventures. “Their innovative approach and commitment to customer success sets them apart, and we are excited to be part of their journey.”

The additional capital will enable HuLoop Automation to expand its team, accelerate product development, and scale its operations to meet growing demand. For more information about HuLoop Automation and its platform, visit www.huloop.ai.

About HuLoop Automation:

HuLoop Automation offers AI-powered intelligent automation solutions that are radically simple, fast, and affordable, for companies of all sizes to boost their productivity. The platform caters to two primary industry sectors: financial services and consumer commerce.  HuLoop’s no-code solution provides a digital workforce that automates mundane, repetitive work, enabling employees to concentrate on more valuable work. By leveraging an array of innovations like AI-based intelligent agents, robotic process automation (RPA), intelligent document processing (IDP), generative AI, and human-in-the-loop employee experiences, HuLoop helps companies achieve new levels of productivity and efficiency.

Media Contact:
Erin Leventhal
(619) 800-3040
[email protected]

SOURCE HuLoop Automation, Inc.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 27, 2024 — Rhombus, a leader in cloud-managed physical security, is excited to announce securing $26M+ in equity investments co-led by Tru Arrow and Cota Capital, and $17M in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank, with existing investors Caden Capital and Uncorrelated Capital participating.

With over 100,000 cameras, sensors, and access control devices deployed, Rhombus is proud to protect over 30,000 locations across the globe. Rhombus’ scalable infrastructure, advanced analytics, and plug-and-play integrations continue to solve for the modern-day security needs of businesses and organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to school districts and cities. “We continue to be impressed by the growth and the capital efficiency presented by Rhombus and are excited to continue to strengthen our relationship,” said Julian Nash, Managing Director with SVB’s Frontier Tech Group. 

Additionally, in the last year, Rhombus has made outstanding progress in augmenting its ecosystem while continuing to focus on growth and optimization. Highlights include:

As Rhombus continues to grow, they remain focused on producing innovative approaches to security infrastructure at scale. Pete Ignatowicz, Senior Manager of Security Services at Ameriprise Financial, praised Rhombus for its transformative impact, stating, “Pivoting to Rhombus for over 100+ locations throughout the US, EMEA, and APAC has increased our situational awareness, freed up resources and reliance on a bulky server footprint, allowing us to focus our resources on other enhancements. In short, we’ve gained a valuable partner in Rhombus.” Rhombus offers a comprehensive suite of security solutions including advanced AI analytics, access control, and alarm monitoring. However, it is the platform’s swift search and data insight tools that make Rhombus the ideal choice for large-scale deployments.

“We believe Rhombus is building a leading next-generation cloud-managed physical security platform. Most of the market has yet to transition to a modern solution supplied by a US-based vendor, presenting a substantial opportunity for Rhombus’s open architecture approach,” said Adam Silverschotz, Co-Founder of Tru Arrow Partners. “We are encouraged by Rhombus’s portfolio extension beyond cameras into Access Control, as well as the company’s continued expansion across Western markets. This investment is the beginning of a long-term partnership.”

The platform’s simplified management features enable efficient multi-camera investigations and smart searches, saving time and enhancing security. Advanced analytics, powered by machine learning, deliver real-time notifications for faces, vehicles, and more. The company also emphasizes a customer-centric approach, providing custom solutions, industry-leading support, and a long-term partnership commitment. Rhombus values innovation, integrity, and simplicity, aiming to make physical security stress-free while maintaining high ethical standards.

“This capital infusion is a testament to the trust and confidence our investors and customers place in our vision. With this funding, Rhombus is poised to continue our trajectory of rapid growth” said Garrett Larsson, CEO of Rhombus. “The opportunities are vast, and we are committed to leveraging this capital to pioneer innovative solutions, forge strategic partnerships, and further solidify our position as a leader in the industry.”

About Rhombus

Rhombus is a unified, cloud-based physical security platform that brings security cameras, access control, sensors, alarms, and integrations together under a single pane of glass. Backed by Cota Capital, Caden Capital, Tru Arrow Partners, Lemnos Labs, and Promus Ventures, Rhombus is on a mission to make the world safer with simple, smart, and powerful physical security solutions. To learn more, visit rhombus.com.

About Cota Capital

Cota Capital backs the bold. Cota is a technology investment firm that partners with exceptional teams to build and grow timeless companies that enable the future. Cota delivers Knowledge Capital, a differentiated combination of deep operational expertise, know-how, impactful and data-driven market insights and intelligence, and a vast industry network. Together, these elements are put to work to empower Cota entrepreneurs to execute their vision, unlock scale, minimize risk, and bring enduring ideas to life. For more information, please visit www.cotacapital.com 

About Tru Arrow Partners

Tru Arrow Partners is an investment firm based in New York, formed specifically to partner with leading families from around the world. The firm’s focus is on private growth technology companies primarily in the global internet, software, consumer, and fintech industries. The firm was founded by Glenn Fuhrman, James Rothschild and Adam Silverschotz. Prior to launching Tru Arrow, Glenn co-founded MSD Capital, L.P., the private investment firm for Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, and from 1998 through 2019 served as its Co-Managing Partner. James was co-founder and Managing Partner of West Arrow, a Partner at Lepe Capital and has directed his family investment vehicles for over 15 years. Adam was previously a Partner at TCV, and before that a Managing Director at Coatue based in Hong Kong.

Contact Information:
Rhombus
Sarah Lathe
[email protected] 
(650) 826-2764

SOURCE Rhombus

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2024 — Campfire, the Y Combinator-backed startup modernizing accounting software for startups and midsize companies, today announced it closed a $3.5 million seed funding round led by Foundation Capital and joined by Y Combinator and Twenty Two Ventures. Campfire will use the funding to attract world-class talent and further support its flagship products, which provide a modern general ledger and automate revenue processes.

Powering the accounting for modern teams
While legacy accounting solutions designed for sole proprietors or huge conglomerates across industries, Campfire is focused on serving startups and mid-size technology companies. These companies require user-friendly software, modern APIs for building custom workflows and integrations, and features that bridge the gap between basic functionality and enterprise-level complexity. Campfire is both simple and scalable, offering two distinct yet synergistic products: Revenue Automation and Core Accounting.

Campfire’s Revenue Automation software is a comprehensive suite of tools for revenue recognition, invoicing, billing, and insightful KPI reporting. Its Core Accounting product, which was publicly announced today after an extended private beta with customers of various sizes, includes core accounting features such as financial reporting, a general ledger that supports multi-entity and currency consolidation, and treasury management, all complemented by seamless integrations and scalable to millions of transactions. Together, these products form a powerful combination that makes accounting and financial reporting more efficient, intuitive, and impactful.

“Our mission is to give accounting and finance teams superpowers to do their best work by automating mundane tasks so they can focus on high-value, strategic work,” said John Glasgow, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Campfire.

Angus Davis, General Partner at Foundation Capital that led the funding round said, “I invested in Campfire because the founders have the deep industry experience to pull it off, the product is very impressive, and the team is shipping new features at an unbelievable pace. Campfire is the ERP I wish I had when my last company outgrew QuickBooks.”

Campfire is headquartered in San Francisco, and currently hiring. For more information, visit www.meetcampfire.com.

About Campfire
Founded in 2023, Campfire is a San Francisco-based company specializing in modern accounting software for startups and midsize companies. Leveraging its experience from the Y Combinator startup accelerator, Campfire is dedicated to transforming the traditional accounting software landscape with its user-friendly, AI-powered platform. Positioned as a modern alternative to legacy accounting software, Campfire focuses on providing intuitive, customizable, and efficient financial management software. For more information, please visit www.meetcampfire.com. The company can be reached at [email protected].

SOURCE Campfire

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Feb. 27, 2024 — Volvo Group Venture Capital AB has invested in Zacua Ventures Builders Fund I, L.P. – a global venture capital fund focused on early-stage technology for the construction industry.

Zacua Ventures was established in 2022 and focuses on start-ups working with emerging technologies that address decarbonization in the construction industry. The Zacua fund invests in companies working with at least one of three primary investment themes: productivity, sustainability, and urbanization.

“Zacua Ventures provides us with early access to leading start-ups in the construction industry. Through the co-operation we look forward to connecting with more players at the forefront with innovative solutions that can make the construction industry more efficient and sustainable,” says David Hanngren, Investment Director at Volvo Group Venture Capital.

Operating globally in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, Zacua Ventures has  access to the latest technology development in each region and its sub-sectors of construction technology, creating possibilities to invest in the most impactful solutions in for example sustainability, robotics and digitization.

“Volvo CE has the ambition to lead the transformation of the construction industry towards more sustainable site solutions and through Zacua Ventures we cover a broader technology portfolio, while also creating relationships to potential partners needed to meet future customer demands and target new value pools”, says Carolina Diez Ferrer, Head of Future Solutions at Volvo CE.

Zacua Ventures has gathered several corporate partners, with a total of 19 companies from across the globe with ties to the construction sector and Volvo Group being one of them.

“We are excited to have Volvo Group on board with their large experience and ambitions to decarbonize the construction industry. We believe that our corporate network and the internal team’s understanding of both the construction and investment landscapes, makes Zacua Ventures uniquely positioned to act as a bridge between startups and corporate investors, unlocking new possibilities for collaboration and growth,” says Juan Nieto, Founding Partner at Zacua Ventures.

Volvo Group Venture Capital was founded in 1997 and invests globally in venture companies. The aim is to drive transformation by facilitating the creation of new services and solutions and to support collaborations between start-ups and the Volvo Group. The market trends shaping the future of transportation and infrastructure solutions and the strategic priorities of the Volvo Group define the investment focus areas: Logistics Services, Site Solutions, Electrification, and Sustainability.

The transaction has no significant impact on the Volvo Group’s earnings or financial position.

February 27^th, 2024

Journalists wanting further information, please contact:
Claes Eliasson, Head of Media Relations
+46 73 553 7229
[email protected]

For more information, please visit volvogroup.com  For frequent updates, follow us on X: @volvogroup 

The Volvo Group drives prosperity through transport and infrastructure solutions, offering trucks, buses, construction equipment, power solutions for marine and industrial applications, financing and services that increase our customers’ uptime and productivity. Founded in 1927, the Volvo Group is committed to shaping the future landscape of sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions. The Volvo Group is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, employs more than 100,000 people and serves customers in almost 190 markets. In 2023, net sales amounted to SEK 553 billion (EUR 48 billion). Volvo shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.

The following files are available for download:

SOURCE AB Volvo

The firm’s winning track record is on course for another successful fund to fuel better-for-you brands across food & beverage, personal care, and business services

BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 27, 2024 — BFG Partners, a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage consumer products, today announces the activation of its third fund, “BFG Fund III”, with commitments already approaching 70% of the $125 million target fund size. This Fund will be used to propel the growth of emerging brands in the food, beverage, and personal care categories. Staying true to the firm’s mission, BFG Fund III will champion brands that prioritize consumer wellness and sustainability.

Since its formation ten years ago, BFG Partners has made notable investments including early support for some of today’s top trending consumer packaged goods such as OLIPOP, Mid-Day Squares, Athletic Greens, and Vacation.  BFG Partners’ success is underscored by multiple exits, including the acquisition of Chameleon Cold Brew by Nestle, Birch Benders by Sovos Brands, and Curlsmith by Helen of Troy.

“We’re fortunate to have the opportunity to continue to support the health and wellness ecosystem with Fund III,” said Tom Spier, Founder and Managing Partner of BFG Partners. “We know first-hand what a difference growth capital can make for young companies competing for market share, and we’re honored to share our learnings from the past decade with the founders that we partner with in the future.”

Committed to profit and purpose, BFG Partners’ mission is to drive positive change by working closely with exceptional entrepreneurs to foster sustainable growth and outperformance. “Fund III will help us provide hands-on strategic support while staying focused on innovative early-stage companies,” said Dayton Miller, Managing Partner of BFG Partners. “We’re currently exploring investments in a variety of categories with compelling value propositions for today’s evolving consumer.”

For more information, please visit www.bfgpartners.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

About BFG Partners

Established in 2014, BFG Partners is a venture capital firm that seeks partnerships with early-stage consumer brands whose products do better for people and the planet.  The BFG team is composed of former founders and CEOs with more than 30 years of industry experience in consumer goods. Operating from offices in Boulder and Los Angeles, the team is positioned in some of the biggest consumer hubs in the country.  BFG goes beyond financial backing and helps support operational strategy, tactical marketing, channel development, organizational design, and capital planning. BFG Fund III follows the success of Fund I ($54 million) and Fund II ($108 million).  For more information on BFG Partners, visit www.bfgpartners.com.

Media Contact
Gianna Parenti
[email protected] 

SOURCE BFG Partners

Oversubscribed Growth Round Based on Proven Technology Platform and Strong Market Traction With Utility, Transportation and Infrastructure Leaders Around the Globe

TEL AVIV, Israel and PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 27, 2024 — Exodigo, the artificial intelligence (AI) innovator modernizing underground mapping, today announced the close of a $105 million Series A round, converting $30 million previously secured in SAFEs, for a total of $118 million in funding since its launch in 2022. Greenfield Partners and existing investor Zeev Ventures co-led the Series A with participation from existing investors SquarePeg, 10D VC, JIBE and National Grid Partners. Exodigo continues to lead a complete reinvention of underground mapping and plans to use the new capital to further build out its global team, accelerate the development of a self-service product line, and support its expansion into new markets.

“Exodigo is one of those rare companies that has managed to revolutionize a large market that is difficult to innovate in, by combining breakthroughs on both the software and hardware side in order to create unparalleled technology for non-intrusive underground mapping,” said Raz Mangel, Partner, Greenfield Partners. “The company operates with a unique intensity, leading to incredible market and product velocity. We’re thrilled to partner with Jeremy and the entire Exodigo team to play a part in the next phase of their global expansion as the company makes underground mapping and exploration a reality for the mass market.”

With more than 20 million miles of buried pipelines, cables and wires, the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) estimates more than $30 billion in costs due to hundreds of thousands of utility strikes each year across the United States alone and Exodigo calculates that companies spend more than $100B each year on unnecessary, and heavy-equipment-dependent, excavation and exploratory drilling. Meanwhile, the built environment constitutes almost half of annual global CO2 emissions, making solving the underground both an economic and environmental priority. Already helping dozens of customers around the world make capital projects safer, greener and more efficient, Exodigo has changed how and when companies seek out subsurface intelligence. Exodigo customers, including AECOM, Colas Rail, GRDF, HNTB, Houston METRO, HS2, Israel Electric Corporation, LA Metro, National Grid, PG&E, SEPTA, Tel Aviv Metro and VINCI, can now accelerate and derisk their entire project lifecycle – avoiding unneeded emissions, risks, delays and budget overruns.

“Exodigo has taken the underground mapping market by storm and established its platform as the gold standard in comprehensive underground intelligence in just two short years. There was absolutely no question that I would want to double down on my investment based on the overwhelming demand it has been able to rally from top leaders across the utility, transportation and infrastructure communities,” said Oren Zeev, Founding Partner, Zeev Ventures. “Exodigo helps companies see risks underground; meanwhile, I see no ceiling to the potential for Exodigo as it continues to unearth enormous opportunities for growth by expanding its solution offerings and proving its value across new markets.”

Exodigo provides the only complete, accurate picture of what lies beneath the surface to mitigate financial, environmental, and safety-related risks. Combining multiple types of powerful sensors, 3D imaging, cloud computing simulations and a proprietary AI platform, Exodigo fuses massive amounts of data into one, easy-to-read map so companies can see risks and assets underground. In fact, Exodigo typically locates 20-30 percent more utility lines than premium locators and reduces preliminary digging/drilling by up to 90 percent, so construction teams only excavate where necessary.

“We want to transform the entire built world and are committed to making underground exploration safer, faster, and more sustainable so our customers can design, dig and build safely with confidence. As the only subsurface imaging company to put AI-interpreted signal processing into practice, Exodigo solves a massive, longstanding problem for industries where what lies underground matters,” added Jeremy Suard, Co-Founder and CEO of Exodigo. “Some companies crawl before they can walk, but we’ve been sprinting consistently since day one and have no plans to stop the race. Thanks to the support of such dedicated investors and advisors, our team will be able to keep meeting increasingly complex customer needs as we dive deeper into the unknowns of the underground.” 

Collecting over 500 GB of data per scanned acre and continually evolving its algorithms to more accurately identify and categorize underground hazards and assets, Exodigo also plans to use the funding to increase the depth accuracy and precision of its scans as it readily integrates the latest advances in physics and sensor technology. Exodigo is currently deepening its stronghold in Europe, specifically in the UK, France and Italy, while continuing its leadership position in Israeli and U.S. markets and exploring potential partnerships in new markets.

Timed with the investment, Raz Mangel, Greenfield Partners, and Philippe Schwartz, SquarePeg, will join Oren Zeev, Zeev Ventures, and Yahal Zilka, 10D, on the Board of Directors. Exodigo’s Advisory Board includes internationally recognized leaders, including Danny Glotter, Barak Kirschner, Peter Rogoff, Michael Schneider, Lou Shipley, and Simon Wright.

Learn more about recent projects and how Exodigo solves the underground.

About Exodigo
Exodigo offers groundbreaking solutions for mapping the underground accurately and efficiently. Combining advanced multi-sensing technology with proprietary artificial intelligence, Exodigo empowers transportation, energy, utility, and construction leaders to design, dig and build safer, smarter, and faster by providing accurate subsurface intelligence to derisk the underground. Featured on Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech, TIME’s Best Inventions and CB Insights’ AI 100, Exodigo is backed by top industry partners and headquartered in Tel Aviv and Palo Alto. Learn more at www.exodigo.com.

Media Contact:
Erica Camilo
Connexa Communications for Exodigo
+1.610.639.5644
[email protected] 

SOURCE Exodigo

A suite of new and improved features will revolutionize AI photo-editing for businesses with greater quality, control and ease.

PARIS, Feb. 27, 2024 — Photoroom, the world’s most popular AI photo editor, has successfully closed a $43 million Series B funding round. The funding round, led by previous investor, Balderton Capital and new investor, Aglaé, with YCombinator participating, brings Photoroom’s total funding to $64 million.

“Photoroom shattered all expectations,” says Cameron Curtis, EVP of Worldwide Digital Marketing at Warner Bros. “Its unparalleled ease of use became the catalyst for propelling the Barbie Selfie Generator into the digital spotlight, and captivating audiences worldwide.”

As one of the few companies in the world that has trained a model from scratch, Photoroom will use this funding to accelerate its innovation in generative AI: expanding its model capabilities by investing in more GPUs, securing imagery from leading image providers and photographers, and doubling the size of the team by the end of 2024 by hiring the best AI talent.

“Balderton has witnessed Photoroom’s remarkable journey from its inception, and we are continually impressed by their ability to lead and execute on their user-centric vision,” said Bernard Liautaud, Managing Partner at Balderton. “Photoroom’s generative AI capabilities are unparalleled, and we have no doubt that they will continue to lead the way in this rapidly evolving landscape.”

The announcement comes as Photoroom launches its first foundation model tailor-made for product photography, Photoroom Instant Diffusion (Photoroom ID for short). The first of its kind, Photoroom’s foundation model is trained to master product photography, ensuring that images from different sources look consistently styled, as if shot in the same setting.

“The foundation model is the next step in empowering businesses to create amazing product photos without the need to be an expert at prompt engineering or photography,” said Matthieu Rouif, co-founder and CEO at Photoroom. “Our model has been trained to excel at product photography and can quickly adapt to user needs and feedback.”

Having control over a custom model means that Photoroom’s machine learning team will be able to incorporate new research as soon as it is released. Photoroom’s custom architecture will also increase the speed of image generation by up to 40%. This means users will be able to generate and iterate on its images much faster than on any other visual AI model.

“We are not only increasing the speed of our model, but also optimizing for quality, through higher resolution, more detailed images, and a larger training dataset than ever before,” said Rouif. “As a user-centric AI company, we designed the architecture to make sense for our users.”

Photoroom is also launching a suite of new AI photo-editing tools that give businesses more creative control over their product images, including:

• AI Backgrounds (formerly Instant Backgrounds): Generate improved-quality AI backgrounds for product photographs
• AI Expand: Use generative AI to realistically expand the scene around an existing image
• AI Images: Create custom images from scratch using text prompts
• AI Fill: Customize an item or area of your image with AI for more creative control
• Auto-rotate: Correct the camera angle with AI for more professional images
• AI Upscale: Enhance the resolution of images for higher quality photos
• Image Editing API: Businesses can use Photoroom’s API to generate and edit hundreds of images in seconds

For small businesses, Photoroom’s new foundation model and features help them create professional-quality product images, by giving users more creative control and flexibility. The company’s collaboration with photographers and image providers around the world also ensures a diverse dataset, using images to train the model that have been used with the provider’s consent.

For businesses that create and edit a high volume of images, Photoroom has focused on automating photo-editing workflows for teams. Photoroom’s Image Editing API already lets teams like Smartly, Printify, Faire, Bulgari, and Netflix edit images by the thousands or millions. The API can be integrated into almost any system and brings Photoroom’s capabilities directly into its customers’ workflows. Over the coming months, Photoroom will also make its newest generative AI features available through the API.

“We were immediately drawn to Photoroom’s disruptive approach to photo-editing for businesses,” said Kristina Chvilova, Partner at Aglaé. “Their dedication to craftsmanship and their ability to attract top-tier brands like Bulgari and Warner Bros. to their platform underscored their potential for long-term success. We believe Photoroom’s innovative technology will continue to revolutionize the way businesses engage with visual content, and we are proud to be a part of their journey.”

The foundation AI model and subsequent investment marks a significant milestone in Photoroom’s journey to revolutionize AI photo-editing for businesses, and cements Photoroom’s position as a leader in visual AI. Since launching in 2019, Photoroom has been downloaded more than 150 million times worldwide, is used by thousands of businesses, ranked among the top 6 generative AI products.

About Photoroom
Photoroom was founded in 2019, and over the past 4 years has carved out a niche in the commerce photography space. Photoroom first found success with its best-in-class background remover. It has now expanded its offering to include a batch photo editor, and generative AI offerings: AI Backgrounds and AI Shadows. Processing over 5 billion images a year, and downloaded over 150 million times, Photoroom is now the world’s #1 AI photo-editing app, available across mobile, web and via an API in over 180 countries. Photoroom is headquartered in Paris with a global team of over 50 employees.

For more information on Photoroom, visit www.photoroom.com

About Balderton Capital
Balderton Capital is a multistage venture firm with more than two decades of experience supporting Europe’s best founders from Seed to IPO. We have both early and growth funds and invest across the technology sector, with a proven track record backing fintech, B2B SaaS, digital health, mobility, gaming and marketplace companies. Previous investments include Darktrace, Depop, Flywire, Kobalt, MySQL, Nutmeg, Peakon, Recorded Future, Talend and THG. Balderton’s current portfolio includes Aircall, Beauty Pie, Contentful, Dream Games, GoCardless, JOKR, Lendable, Matillon, Merama, Revolut, Tibber, Vestiaire Collective, Wayve and Writer. 

About Aglaé
Aglaé Ventures is a global investment firm based in Paris, New York and Los Angeles backed by Agache, the holding company of the Arnault family and the controlling shareholder of LVMH, the world leader in luxury. For nearly 30 years, Agache has backed fast-growing innovative companies at all stages of their development including Airbnb, Automattic, Back Market, Dataiku, eToro, Slack and Spotify. The team has developed expertise in marketplaces, software and content platforms. Aglaé Ventures brings long-term capital, deep expertise in international deployment and unique access to a network of leading experts and entrepreneurs.

About YCombinator
YC helps founders launch, build, and scale the great technology companies of the next 100 years. Since 2005, we’ve funded over 3,000 companies. Today, over a dozen YC companies are public, more than 60 are valued at over $1B, and the combined valuation of YC alumni is over $600B. YC was designed, created, and is run by startup founders (including many YC alumni) who have built the best platform for supporting startups as they grow. Our flagship YC batch program runs twice a year. We give companies seed funding ($500,000) and work with founders intensively for 3 months.

Media Contact:
Nicole Gauci
[email protected] 
212.999.5585

SOURCE Photoroom

• Funding co-led by Greylock (early investor in Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Musical.ly (now TikTok), Roblox, and Discord) and DST Global Partners, with participation from existing investors GV (Google Ventures), Octopus Ventures and Speedinvest
• App sky-rocketed in popularity in 2023, organically reaching #1 in the US and UK app stores
• 100 million memories are captured every month on Lapse, as it quickly becomes the camera of choice for young people
• Greylock General Partner Jacob Andreou (Former Snap Inc. Senior Vice President of Product & Growth) joins Lapse Board of Directors

LONDON, Feb. 27, 2024 — Lapse, a friends-focused photo-sharing app inspired by the experience of disposable cameras, has closed an oversubscribed $30 million Series A round. Co-led by Greylock and DST Global Partners, preeminent investors in the Internet technology sector, existing investors GV (Google Ventures), Octopus Ventures, and Speedinvest returned to participate alongside high-profile angel investors Naveen Gavini (former Chief Product Officer at Pinterest), Soleio (designer and investor), Nima Khajehnouri (former VP of Engineering at Snap Inc.), and Praveen Murugesan (former Director of Engineering at Uber).

The raise validates a year of exponential growth for Lapse, which became the most downloaded app in the Apple US & UK app stores. Lapse’s unique interface allows users to capture and share authentic, unedited photos with friends, and stay in the moment rather than obsess over how their content will be received. This approach has helped the app to grow an engaged following rapidly. Today, millions of consumers use Lapse as their camera to capture and share memories with their friends.

Launched in 2021, Lapse was inspired by Co-founder Ben Silvertown’s experience using a point-and-shoot film camera whilst backpacking in Vietnam to capture priceless moments that would become some of his most treasured photographs. When he returned, he teamed up with his brother Dan, and the two built an app to help people live in the moment when taking and sharing photos. As more and more young people make an active decision not to partake in the traditional game of “likes and followers” that rules social media, Lapse aims to become the authentic outlet for memories by becoming the default camera.

“Lapse doesn’t let you upload or edit in ways that other platforms encourage,” says Co-founder Ben Silvertown. “Everyone on Lapse plays by the same rules, which creates a space where it’s OK to share all moments, not just the glamorous.”

As Lapse has grown, Co-founders Ben and Dan have prioritized evolving the app to meet the needs of its community. With this fundraise, the team will continue to prioritize product updates guided by user feedback, and plan to expand the company’s engineering and technical teams.

“Lapse has captured the hearts and minds of a generation who isn’t sharing their lives with friends on other social platforms,” said Jacob Andreou, General Partner at Greylock. “This is a testament to Lapse’s Founders Ben and Dan, who are a unique blend of art and science, and obsessed with building an authentic experience for young people to capture moments and share memories.”

“We’re humbled that what we have built has resonated so strongly with so many. We’ve only scratched the surface of our grander vision: To build a new kind of social media,” says Co-founder Dan Silvertown. “As we enter this next chapter, we are grateful to our partners for their ongoing support and belief in this company.”

For more information about Lapse and its pioneering approach to capturing and sharing photos, please visit lapse.com.

About Lapse 
Lapse is a photo-sharing app created for friends, not followers. Founded in 2021 by serial entrepreneurs Ben and Dan Silvertown, Lapse emulates the experience of using a point-and-shoot film camera to capture priceless moments in their truest form. Our mission is to become the default outlet for sharing authentic memories. To learn more about Lapse, please visit lapse.com.

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