Wonder – Balance – Truth – Courage – Justice – Wisdom – Beauty

HALIFAX, NS, Nov. 1, 2023 — Lead investor, Unilever Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Unilever Group, has joined forces with True Beauty Ventures, a US based investment firm specializing in scaling beauty and wellness brands to complete the first institutional financing round for The 7 Virtues. This is the first time either investor has chosen to invest in the fragrance category reflecting their confidence in The 7 Virtues and the growing beauty and wellness industry. 

The 7 Virtues stands as a beacon of social and environmental consciousness pioneering the clean and sustainably sourced fragrance category. Founded in Canada in 2010 by entrepreneur, author and activist Barb Stegemann, the brand is the thesis of her best-selling book – The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen – a woman’s guide to living and leading in an illogical world. The 7 Virtues crafts perfumes that transcend the conventional, exuding benevolence to both our planet and the human soul. With a high 22% fragrance oil concentration, their long-lasting aromatherapy fragrances are meticulously designed to harness the power of scent to propel clients toward their aspirations. The brand’s mantra is Make Perfume Not War, and they do this by advancing period equity in North America and globally. The company is pending B-Corp certification.

The 7 Virtues’ contemporary fragrance collection includes a sought-after mix of heroes, Vanilla Woods, Coconut Sun, Cherry Ambition, Lotus Pear and Santal Vanille, which are available exclusively on the brand’s website and at Sephora in 18 countries including Canada, US, UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Ingredients are sustainably sourced from around the world. The fragrances are also cruelty-free, hypoallergenic, and free of phthalates, parabens, formaldehyde, and sulfates. The brand has earned the Clean + Planet Positive seal from Sephora, awarded only to the most ambitious clean and planet-positive brands.

Notably their perfume Vanilla Woods has established incredible loyalty as the sought-after favorite at Sephora. Vanilla Woods is so loved it is being bundled with a copy of The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen book during holiday, the first book ever sold at Sephora US & Canada online and in stores.  

The 7 Virtues global sales outpaces the fragrance industry’s growth with year-on-year revenue growth of over 80 % in FY 2023. 

“We are thrilled to partner with Barb Stegemann and The 7 Virtues for Unilever Ventures’ first investment in fragrance. The 7 Virtues has cracked the code on creating long-lasting, perfumes using sustainable ingredients that their loyal customers love, along with their empowering and authentic story,”  says Anna Ohlsson-Baskerville, Partner at Unilever Ventures. “Driven by its philosophy, The 7 Virtues is elevating from an exciting indie brand to a legacy brand and we’re delighted to be a part of its growth journey.”

The joint investment from Unilever Ventures and True Beauty Ventures will equip The 7 Virtues with the resources to open a New York office to bolster their team and magnify its global expansion with Sephora to create significant inventory to keep up with the rapid demand and open a “Maison” in Nova Scotia, Canada, where clients can come visit and create their own bespoke perfume with classics like Vanilla Woods and Cherry Ambition.

This partnership is emblematic of not only a strong business collaboration but also a shared mission to drive positive transformation within the fragrance industry and the communities to which The 7 Virtues supports through its social enterprise. 

“We set out to change the world through fragrance, to sow the seeds of prosperity over conflict, and now our perfumes are peace. When Sephora took a chance on our little known brand in 2018, they told us they loved that we take on serious world issues, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” says Stegemann, CEO of The 7 Virtues. “Our goal to advance period equity as a means to build peace by empowering women at home and abroad and giving them back control over their reproductive rights is the path to lasting change.”

Cristina Nuñez, True Beauty Ventures Co-Founder and Partner, says “True Beauty Ventures takes immense pride in this partnership as our investment mirrors our shared aspiration for a beauty industry that is both responsible and transparent.” Additionally, Rich Gersten, True Beauty Ventures Co-Founder and Partner, shared True Beauty Ventures’ excitement about the fragrance brand’s projected growth:”When an indie brand like The 7 Virtues outpaces brands with million dollar budgets, they prove the revenue potential is explosive with the right type of support, which we are excited to provide as this team takes The 7 Virtues to the next level. We were incredibly impressed by the brand’s strong productivity in fragrance, due in part to the most innovative, authentic guerilla marketing tactics that resonate with clients.”

Barb Stegemann remains the majority shareholder with this significant and timely financial investment. 

Piper Sandler represented The 7 Virtues in the transaction. 

High-resolution images related to this announcement can be downloaded here.

Note to editors: Additional information is available upon request.

About Unilever Ventures: Unilever Ventures, the venture and growth capital arm of Unilever, empowers a new breed of forward-thinking entrepreneurs with ground-breaking ideas and ambitions to transform the world. Our mission extends beyond mere capital provision; we enable these visionaries to cultivate distinctive brands and innovative technology solutions that resonate on a global scale. Unilever Ventures brings unrivalled expertise and leadership in the consumer goods industry, from the factory to the end user. Our investment focuses on early-stage opportunities that lie at the fascinating crossroads of consumer goods, commerce, and technology, primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia. For further information, please visit www.unileverventures.com.

About True Beauty Ventures: True Beauty Ventures is a prominent investment firm focused on identifying and supporting emerging beauty and wellness brands. With a commitment to funding and nurturing fast growing beauty brands and the indie beauty community at large, in particular female and diverse founders, True Beauty Ventures seeks to drive positive change within the beauty industry. Please visit www.truebeautyventures.com.

About The 7 Virtues: Clean fragrance brand The 7 Virtues makes long-lasting aromatherapy perfumes that are good for the world and good for your soul, designed with scent association to empower its clients to advance to their goals. The brand is distributed globally with Sephora, having earned the retailer’s highest standard, Clean + Planet Positive logo. The 7 Virtues is a socially and environmentally conscious brand that sustainably sources ingredients from around the world. Their mantra is Make Perfume Not War and they do this by advancing period equity in North America and globally. The company is pending B-Corp certification. Please visit https://the7virtues.com/

For media inquiries, please contact: Allison Davis, Content & Community Director, [email protected] 

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2263684/The_7_Virtues_Beauty_inc__Unilever_Ventures_and_True_Beauty_Vent.jpg 

SOURCE The 7 Virtues Beauty inc.

Company’s care-driven marketplace platform streamlines the connection between patients and best-fit pharmacies to optimize cost and quality of care.

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 1, 2023 — Free Market Health, a healthcare technology company transforming the specialty pharmacy ecosystem with a care-driven marketplace platform, today announced a $20M Series B fundraise led by Questa Capital, a leading healthcare venture capital firm that invests in breakout growth companies, with participation from existing investors Alta Partners, Highmark Ventures, and 653 Investment Partners. New funds will be used to execute on significant business growth, launch channel partnership opportunities, and scale the company’s care-driven marketplace platform. Ryan Drant, Founder and Managing Partner at Questa Capital, will join the company’s Board of Directors.

A growing number of patients are taking specialty medications, and specialty drugs are becoming more expensive, with per member per year specialty drug costs anticipated to increase nearly 50% from 2022 to 2025, according to Pharmaceutical Strategies Group’s 2023 State of Specialty Spend and Trend Report. With drug pricing under increasing regulatory and consumer pressure, the specialty drug management landscape is evolving rapidly.

“The specialty pharma industry is at a tipping point, and payers are seeking more control over how they manage their specialty pharmacy programs. We believe Free Market Health is a proven platform that adds significant value through price transparency, access, and individualized care. We are excited to partner with this experienced team and their solution which benefits everyone in the specialty pharmacy ecosystem, including and most importantly the patient managing serious and/or chronic disease,” says Drant.

Free Market Health partners with payers on a new approach to their specialty drug management program. The Free Market Health platform drives efficiency, facilitates transparent and equitable access to specialty drug prescriptions for specialty pharmacies, ensures members are serviced by a pharmacy equipped to meet their unique needs, and lowers overall specialty drug spend through real-time market competition.

Since launching with Free Market Health in April 2021, leading managed care organization Highmark Wholecare has seen increased member access to their any willing specialty pharmacy network of varying types, sizes, and care models, with an even mix of health system pharmacies, community pharmacies, pharmacies that specialize in certain disease states, and large specialty pharmacies servicing its members. This diversity widens the spectrum of care models and pharmacy choices available to Highmark Wholecare members, who benefit from access to high quality specialty drug providers best suited to care for them. Driven by Free Market Health’s technology orchestration and service model, the program is also improving member engagement. This value to members is best demonstrated by the 40% reduction in member abandonment of payer-authorized prescriptions. In addition, the relationship has generated an associated program savings of more than $2 PMPM. Free Market Health also partners with Highmark Wholecare parent company, Highmark Health, to support Highmark Health’s commercial members on specialty medications.

“Free Market Health was founded with a mission to never let the process fail the patient, and our results to date coupled with this latest investment are validation that we are making a real difference,” said Joe Cardosi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Free Market Health. “Our model stands out as a flexible solution operating at scale and well-positioned to help current and future innovative payer clients succeed in the evolving specialty pharmacy landscape.”

Led by specialty pharmacy industry veterans, Free Market Health deeply understands the complexities of the specialty drug channel and is committed to improving the specialty pharmacy experience for all stakeholders. The company’s platform currently manages more than 200,000 specialty drug claims annually, representing nearly a 400% increase year over year, through its partnerships with payers.

About Free Market Health
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Free Market Health partners with forward-thinking payers and specialty pharmacies of all sizes to streamline the complex and opaque specialty medication fulfillment process to ensure patients have prompt access to lifesaving and life altering medications. Free Market Health opens up a dynamic, care-driven marketplace that empowers its stakeholders to optimize resources and maximize opportunities with the goal of balancing the cost of care and the value that care provides. The company is supported by Questa Capital, Alta Partners, Highmark Ventures, and 653 Investment Partners. Learn more at www.freemarkethealth.com.

SOURCE Free Market Health

8,0 MRD. US-DOLLAR KPS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND VI UND
1,7 MRD. US-DOLLAR SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND II 

NEW YORK, 1. November 2023 — KPS Capital Partners, LP („KPS”) gab heute die endgültigen Abschlüsse des KPS Special Situations Fund VI („Fund VI”) und des KPS Special Situations Mid-Cap Fund II („Mid-Cap Fund II”) bekannt, die am 25. Oktober 2023 gleichzeitig stattfanden. Fund VI und Mid-Cap Fund II, mit einem Gesamtkapital von 9,7 Mrd. US-Dollar, werden den bereits seit über 25 Jahren bestehenden Fokus von KPS auf kontrollierende Investitionen in hochkomplexe Unternehmensausgliederungen, Umstrukturierungen, Sanierungen und andere Sondersituationen fortsetzen.

Fund VI und Mid-Cap Fund II waren überzeichnet und hatten insgesamt Kapitalzusagen, die um mehr als 36 % höher lagen als die 7,1 Mrd. US-Dollar Kapitalzusagen ihrer Vorgängerfonds.

Michael Psaros und David Shapiro, Mitbegründer und geschäftsführende Partner von KPS, sagten: „Wir sind beeindruckt von der Nachfrage internationaler Investoren nach dem Fund VI und dem Mid-Cap Fund II. Wir danken den vielen weltweit führenden institutionellen Anlegern für ihr Vertrauen und die Unterstützung unseres Unternehmens.

Der Erfolg dieser Kapitalaufnahme ist Ausdruck der langfristigen Partnerschaften, die wir über Jahrzehnte mit unseren Investoren aufgebaut haben. Wir freuen uns über die anhaltende Unterstützung durch unsere bisherigen Kommanditisten und über die vielen neuen Kommanditisten. Unsere Investorenbasis mit Anlegern aus 30 Ländern spiegelt den globalen Charakter unseres Unternehmens und seiner Portfoliounternehmen wider.

Wir sind stolz auf unsere Fähigkeit, echten Mehrwert zu schaffen, indem wir Wert dort identifizieren, wo andere Investoren das nicht können, die richtigen Kaufentscheidungen treffen und Unternehmen besser machen – über Jahrzehnte, Branchen, Finanz-, Geschäfts- und Wirtschaftszyklen hinweg. Wir sind davon überzeugt, dass wir unseren Erfolg und unsere hohen Anlagerenditen über 25 Jahre hinweg der Beständigkeit und Kontinuität unserer Partnerschaften, der Stärke unseres Kerninvestitionsteams und unserer betriebsorientierten Anlagestrategie zu verdanken haben.”

Raquel Palmer, die mithandelnde Partnerin und Vorsitzende des KPS-Investitionsausschusses, führte weiter aus: „Wir verfügen heute über 13,6 Mrd. US-Dollar an Eigenkapital, das wir über unsere KPS-Plattform investieren können. Wir haben den Fund VI und den Mid-Cap Fund II genau zum richtigen Zeitpunkt und im richtigen Markt aufgelegt und freuen uns darauf, die enormen Investitionschancen der nahen Zukunft energisch zu nutzen.”

Das Investmentteam des Fund VI wird von den mithandelnden Partnern Michael Psaros, David Shapiro und Raquel Palmer sowie den Partnern Jay Bernstein, Ryan Baker, Kyle Mumford und Rahul Sevani geleitet, die gemeinsam ein Team erfahrener und talentierter Experten anführen.

Der Mid-Cap Fund II wird sich auf Investitionen im unteren Bereich des mittleren Marktes konzentrieren, die in der Regel weniger als 200 Mio. US-Dollar an Beteiligungskapital erfordern. KPS Mid-Cap verfolgt dieselbe Art von Investitionschancen und nutzt dieselbe Anlagestrategie wie die Vorzeigefonds von KPS seit über 25 Jahren. KPS Mid-Cap nutzt die globale Plattform, den Ruf, die Erfolgsbilanz, die Infrastruktur, die bewährten Verfahren, das Wissen und die Erfahrung von KPS. Das Investmentteam des Mid-Cap Fund II wird von den Partnern Pierre de Villeméjane und Ryan Harrison geleitet, die ein Team erfahrener und talentierter Profis anführen.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP fungierte als Rechtsberater für den Fund VI und den Mid-Cap Fund II.

Informationen zu KPS Capital Partners, LP

KPS verwaltet über seine angegliederten Verwaltungsgesellschaften die KPS Special Situations Funds, eine Familie von Investmentfonds mit einem verwalteten Vermögen von ca. 21,6 Mrd. US-Dollar (Stand: 30. Juni 2023, pro forma für den endgültigen Abschluss von Fund VI und Mid-Cap Fund II).¹ Seit mehr als drei Jahrzehnten bemühen sich die Partner von KPS intensiv um die Erzielung signifikanter Kapitalgewinne durch kontrollierende Kapitalbeteiligungen an Fertigungs- und Industrieunternehmen in einer Vielzahl von Branchen, darunter Grundstoffe, Markenkonsumgüter, Gesundheits- und Luxusprodukte, Fahrzeugteile, Investitionsgüter und allgemeine Fertigung. KPS schafft Mehrwert für seine Investoren, indem es konstruktiv mit talentierten Managementteams zusammenarbeitet, um Unternehmen zu verbessern. Es erzielt Investitionsrenditen, indem es die strategische Position, die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und die Rentabilität seiner Portfoliounternehmen strukturell verbessert, anstatt sich in erster Linie auf finanzielle Hebelwirkung zu verlassen. Die Portfoliounternehmen der KPS Funds erwirtschaften derzeit einen Gesamtjahresumsatz von ca. 20,4 Mrd. US-Dollar, betreiben 223 Produktionsstätten in 26 Ländern und beschäftigen direkt und über Joint Ventures weltweit ca. 48.000 Mitarbeiter (Stand: 30. September 2023). Die Investmentstrategie und das Portfolio von KPS werden auf www.kpsfund.com ausführlich beschrieben.

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1023167/4374275/KPS_Logo.jpg

SOURCE KPS Capital Partners, LP

FONDO VI PARA SITUACIONES ESPECIALES DE KPS POR USD 8.000 MILLONES Y
FONDO MID-CAP II PARA SITUACIONES ESPECIALES DE KPS POR USD 1.700 MILLONES

NUEVA YORK, 1 de noviembre de 2023 — KPS Capital Partners, LP (“KPS”) anunció hoy que los cierres finales del Fondo VI para Situaciones Especiales de KPS (“Fondo VI”) y del Fondo Mid-Cap II para Situaciones Especiales de KPS (“Fondo Mid-Cap II”) se realizaron simultáneamente el 25 de octubre de 2023. El Fondo VI y el Fondo Mid-Cap II, con USD 9.700 millones en compromisos globales de capital, continuarán el enfoque de KPS durante más de 25 años en realizar inversiones de control en escisiones corporativas de alta complejidad, reintegros, reestructuraciones y otras situaciones especiales.

El Fondo VI y el Fondo Mid-Cap II se suscribieron en exceso con compromisos globales de capital en más de un 36 %, superiores a sus fondos anteriores, con USD 7.100 millones en compromisos totales de capital.

Michael Psaros y David Shapiro, cofundadores y socios directivos de KPS, expresaron: “Nos sentimos honrados por la demanda de la comunidad global de inversión del Fondo VI y del Fondo Mid-Cap II. Agradecemos a muchos de los principales inversionistas institucionales del mundo por su confianza y apoyo a nuestra empresa.

El éxito de esta recaudación de fondos demuestra la alianza a largo plazo que establecimos con nuestros inversionistas durante décadas. Nos complace contar con el apoyo continuo de nuestros socios limitados que regresan y dar la bienvenida a muchos nuevos socios limitados. Con inversionistas de 30 países, nuestra base de inversionistas refleja la naturaleza global de nuestra firmas y sus empresas de cartera.

Estamos orgullosos de nuestra capacidad de crear valor real al ver el valor donde otros inversionistas no lo ven, comprar correctamente y mejorar las empresas a lo largo de décadas, industrias y ciclos financieros, comerciales y económicos. Creemos que nuestro éxito y nuestros sólidos retornos sobre la inversión durante 25 años son atribuibles a la antigüedad y continuidad de nuestra sociedad, a la fortaleza de nuestro equipo central de inversión y a nuestra estrategia de inversión enfocada en las operaciones”.

Raquel Palmer, socia cogerenta y presidenta del Comité de Inversión de KPS, agregó: “Hoy tenemos USD 13.600 millones de capital accionario para invertir en nuestra plataforma de KPS. Recaudamos el Fondo VI y el Fondo Mid-Cap II precisamente en el momento correcto, precisamente en el mercado correcto y esperamos aprovechar agresivamente la inmensa oportunidad de inversión que tenemos por delante”.

El equipo de inversión del Fondo VI será administrado por los socios cogerentes Michael Psaros, David Shapiro y Raquel Palmer, y los socios Jay Bernstein, Ryan Baker, Kyle Mumford y Rahul Sevani, quienes lideran juntos un equipo de profesionales experimentados y talentosos.

El Fondo Mid-Cap II se enfocará en inversiones en el segmento más bajo del mercado medio que en general requieren menos de USD 200 millones de capital inicial. El Mid-Cap de KPS apunta al mismo tipo de oportunidades de inversión y utiliza la misma estrategia de inversión que tienen los fondos insignia de KPS hace más de 25 años. El Mid-Cap de KPS aprovecha la plataforma, la reputación, la trayectoria, la infraestructura, las mejores prácticas, el conocimiento y la experiencia a nivel global de KPS. El equipo de inversión del Fondo Mid-Cap II será administrado por los socios Pierre de Villeméjane y Ryan Harrison, quienes liderarán un equipo de profesionales experimentados y talentosos.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP se desempeñó como asesor jurídico del Fondo VI y del Fondo Mid-Cap II.

Acerca de KPS Capital Partners, LP 

KPS, a través de sus entidades de gestión afiliadas, administra los Fondos para Situaciones Especiales de KPS, una familia de fondos de inversión con aproximadamente USD 21.600 millones de activos bajo gestión (al 30 de junio de 2023, pro forma para el cierre final del Fondo VI y del Fondo Mid-Cap II).¹ Durante casi tres décadas, los socios de KPS han trabajado exclusivamente para lograr una importante revalorización de capital al realizar inversiones en capital accionario de participación mayoritaria en empresas industriales y de fabricación en una amplia gama de industrias, incluidas las de materiales básicos, productos de consumo de marca, productos de la salud y de lujo, piezas automotrices, bienes de capital y fabricación en general. KPS crea valor para sus inversionistas al trabajar de manera constructiva con equipos directivos talentosos para mejorar los negocios, y genera rendimientos de inversión al mejorar estructuralmente la posición estratégica, la competitividad y la rentabilidad de las compañías de su cartera, en lugar de depender principalmente del apalancamiento financiero. En la actualidad, las empresas de la cartera de KPS Funds generan ingresos anuales totales de aproximadamente USD 20.400 millones, operan 223 plantas de fabricación en 26 países y cuentan con aproximadamente 48.000 empleados, directamente y a través de empresas conjuntas en todo el mundo (al 30 de septiembre de 2023). La estrategia de inversión de KPS y las empresas de su cartera se describen en detalle en www.kpsfund.com.

Logotipo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1023167/4374275/KPS_Logo.jpg

FUENTE KPS Capital Partners, LP

SOURCE KPS Capital Partners, LP

End-to-end automated ad platform starts with creator-led sponsored content ad reads on YouTube, attracting leading advertisers and top creators

NEW YORK, Nov. 1, 2023 — Agentio, the first-of-its-kind AI-powered ad platform for sponsored creator content, launched today with $4.25M in seed investment funding. The round was co-led by Craft Ventures & AlleyCorp, with participation from additional institutional investors including Antler, Protagonist, and Permanent Capital.

Other strategic investors include Neal Arthur (Global CEO of Wieden+Kennedy); Cody Ko (Mega-creator); Rory Paterson (Global Vice President of Media, Expedia Group); Jeff Ragovin (Co-Founder Buddy Media /Salesforce); Michael Sugar (Academy Award-winning producer); Steven Galanis (Co-Founder of Cameo); and Elizabeth Cutler (Co-Founder, SoulCycle and Peoplehood) in addition to other leading creators and marketing leaders.

Agentio was co-founded by Arthur Leopold, former President and first employee at Cameo, who led all go-to-market functions and scaled the celebrity talent marketplace that drove $500M in sales, and Jonathan Meyers, a former engineer and manager at Spotify who led the Automated Content Marketing team that drove multi-million monthly active user outcomes using AI/ML. The duo has now launched the first automated ad platform for creator content, starting with YouTube creator-led sponsored content ad reads, leveraging the team’s firsthand experience with the pain points that both creators and marketers face.

Until today, the process of connecting creators to marketers has been manual and labor intensive, and has largely been conducted offline at great expense to both sides. Agentio’s platform now makes it as easy to buy sponsored content as buying Facebook and Google ads. By automating a previously unscalable process, Agentio aims to shift a meaningful percentage of the $300B digital ad spend market to highly-performant, creator-led ad reads. Agentio is launching with 30+ second creator-led ad reads on YouTube, capitalizing on an underpriced and under-monetized ad unit with abundant inventory from top creators. The team will then rapidly expand to other ad channels.

“Marketers need a performant and scalable ad channel more than ever, and we’re unlocking humanized and authentic content, in a programmatic way through our first-of-its-kind technology,” says Arthur Leopold, Co-Founder & CEO at Agentio. “We’re thrilled to partner with leading VCs, marketers, and creators to finally scale this ad unit and drive real, measurable business outcomes through underserved and undervalued attention on YouTube.”

The Agentio ad platform offers marketers direct access to a premium network of creators with bespoke and highly engaged audiences. Its patent-pending AI technology automates creator and brand matches relevant to a brand’s audience by giving marketers a superhuman understanding of a creator. Agentio also offers more liquidity and revenue to creators, enabling them to list their inventory in real-time, so that brands can auto-bid on available ad inventory, in seconds. Agentio’s first-of-its-kind technology enables brands to significantly scale their creator campaigns, without additional bandwidth constraints.

“Agentio’s platform is an industry-first, utilizing predictive models to match creators and brands seamlessly,” says Jonathan Meyers, Co-Founder & CTO of Agentio. “With access to first-party ad performance data and a machine level understanding of creator content, our product’s ability to deliver authentic and performant ad reads through end-to-end automation, is highly-contrarian and will completely transform the way sponsored ad content occurs across various social channels.”

“Creator-led marketing is one of the most effective ways to advertise, but the challenge is scaling these programs across platforms,” said Bryan Rosenblatt, partner at Craft Ventures. “Agentio is building a standardized, scalable platform that combines the easy, modern ad buying experience marketers have come to expect with the magic of pairing the right creator with the right advertiser. This is something that many of our portfolio companies have been asking for, and that the broader advertising industry needs.”

Agentio has already launched a beta-version of the platform with leading spenders of YouTube sponsored content and top creators. The funding will be used to accelerate Agentio’s product development and go-to-market strategy with creators and brands.

“We are thrilled to back Agentio and firmly believe that the Agentio team is poised to reinvent how sponsored content is built, bought, and sold,” says Susannah Shipton, Partner at AlleyCorp. “In the same way that DoubleClick revolutionized display advertising (and ultimately built the infrastructure for ad content on the internet), we expect that Agentio will build the new infrastructural engine for sponsored content – a far bigger market opportunity. Just as importantly, we believe that using Agentio will be a massive unlock for creators and marketers in terms of time and expense, meaning they can spend more time doing what they do best: creating enduring content that engages audiences around the world.”

About Agentio:
Agentio is the first-of-its-kind ad platform for sponsored creator content – making the purchase of creator content as easy for brands as buying Facebook and Google ads. Agentio is enabling a new level of scale, measurement, and efficiency through its ad platform while giving brands the ability to share their message through the most authentic and trusted voices. For more information, visit https://www.agentio.com/.

SOURCE Agentio

BOSTON, Nov. 1, 2023 — Toposware, a pioneer in zero-knowledge technology, is proud to announce the successful completion of its $5 million strategic seed extension round.

The round was led by Evolution Equity Partners and featured participation from prominent investors such as Triatomic Capital, K2 Access Fund, Polygon’s Founder and Chairman Sandeep Nailwal, as well as key leaders across global insurance, finance, manufacturing, healthcare, consulting and tech. The key highlights of this raise include the following:

Strategic Partners: This latest funding round was purposefully constructed to bring key VCs and industry leaders on board with direct experience in building global standards, scaling ubiquitous products to massive market share, and aligning access and utility within target market sectors.

Enterprise Scalability: With a focus on addressing challenges related to interoperability, privacy, and scalability, Toposware is poised to bring zero-knowledge to the enterprise ecosystem. This investment will further enable the company to engage leading enterprise clients with the launch of its Enterprise Early Access Program.

Topos Builders Program: Toposware’s recently launched Testnet and the Topos Builders Program which are driving increased adoption and developing the next generation of zero-knowledge infrastructure. The first Topos Builders Program cohort is currently oversubscribed by 500% and is on track to attract projects and talent into the ecosystem from day one.

Core Infrastructure: The Toposware team’s growth plans continue with the recruitment of world-class talent to fulfill its goals of building disruptive technology for a trustless connected future. With a current emphasis in the Americas and Europe, Toposware is focused on further building out its engineering team to deliver core zero-knowledge infrastructure and community roles for ecosystem adoption.

Taher Elgamal, Evolution Equity Partner and “Father of SSL”, commented on the significance of Toposware’s technology, “creating infrastructure that fundamentally changes the way parties digitally interact is a daunting undertaking, however, the opportunities are massive. Evolution Equity Partners is excited to support Toposware as they lead from the front – propelling zero-knowledge innovation to mainstream utility. We believe the team has the passion and expertise to set zero-knowledge proofs as a core component of the next generation of global technology infrastructure.”

Toposware’s CEO, Theo Gauthier, expressed his enthusiasm for the company’s future, stating, “Toposware is entering a new phase of growth and development where we are laser-focused on applying the differentiated utility of zero-knowledge to real-world use cases. We couldn’t be more excited to be supported by this world-class investor group and look forward to leveraging their collective experience to accelerate the execution of our goals – bringing developers, product teams, organizations, and users together to create novel value.”

About Toposware 
Toposware is a research and engineering company building disruptive technology for a trustless, connected future. Our team takes a collaborative, academic approach to innovating and engineering infrastructure, protocol standards, and products to enable inclusive value creation within a decentralized future. We are committed to solving the hardest problems in cryptography and distributed systems to advance novel open internet standards.

SOURCE Toposware

$8.0 BILLION KPS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND VI AND
$1.7 BILLION KPS SPECIAL SITUATIONS MID-CAP FUND II

NEW YORK, Nov. 1, 2023 — KPS Capital Partners, LP (“KPS”) announced today final closings of KPS Special Situations Fund VI (“Fund VI”) and KPS Special Situations Mid-Cap Fund II (“Mid-Cap Fund II”) were simultaneously held on October 25, 2023. Fund VI and Mid-Cap Fund II, with $9.7 billion in aggregate capital commitments, will continue KPS’ over 25-year focus on making control investments in highly complex corporate carve-outs, turnarounds, restructurings and other special situations.

Fund VI and Mid-Cap Fund II were oversubscribed with aggregate capital commitments over 36% greater than their predecessor funds with $7.1 billion in aggregate capital commitments.

Michael Psaros and David Shapiro, Co-Founders and Managing Partners of KPS, said, “We are humbled by the demand from the global investment community for Fund VI and Mid-Cap Fund II. We thank so many of the world’s leading institutional investors for their trust and support of our firm.

The success of this fundraise demonstrates the long-term partnership we established with our investors over decades. We are pleased to have the continued support of our returning limited partners and to welcome many new limited partners. With investors from 30 countries, our investor base reflects the global nature of our firm and its portfolio companies.

We are proud of our ability to create real value by seeing value where other investors do not, buying right and making businesses better – across decades, industries, and financial, business and economic cycles. We believe our success and strong investment returns over 25 years are attributable to the tenure and continuity of our partnership, the strength of our core investment team and our operations-focused investment strategy.”

Raquel Palmer, Co-Managing Partner and Chair of KPS’ Investment Committee, added, “We have $13.6 billion of equity capital to invest across our KPS platform today. We raised Fund VI and Mid-Cap Fund II at precisely the right time, in precisely the right market and look forward to aggressively capitalizing on the immense investment opportunity to come.”  

The Fund VI investment team will be managed by Co-Managing Partners Michael Psaros, David Shapiro and Raquel Palmer, and Partners Jay Bernstein, Ryan Baker, Kyle Mumford and Rahul Sevani, who together lead a team of experienced and talented professionals.

Mid-Cap Fund II will focus on investments in the lower end of the middle market that generally require less than approximately $200 million of initial equity capital. KPS Mid-Cap targets the same type of investment opportunities and utilizes the same investment strategy that KPS’ flagship funds have for over 25 years. KPS Mid-Cap leverages KPS’ global platform, reputation, track record, infrastructure, best practices, knowledge and experience. The Mid-Cap Fund II investment team will be managed by Partners Pierre de Villeméjane and Ryan Harrison, who lead a team of experienced and talented professionals.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Fund VI and Mid-Cap Fund II.

About KPS Capital Partners, LP

KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $21.6 billion of assets under management (as of June 30, 2023, pro forma for the final close of Fund VI and Mid-Cap Fund II).¹ For over three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds’ portfolio companies currently generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $20.4 billion, operate 223 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and have approximately 48,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of September 30, 2023). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.

SOURCE KPS Capital Partners, LP

Company Backed by $60M Series A Financing from Versant Ventures, a16z Bio + Health, ARCH Venture Partners, and GV

BRISBANE, Calif., Nov. 1, 2023 — Gate Bioscience, a biotechnology company creating a new class of medicines called Molecular Gates, today unveiled the company and its scientific platform. Founded in 2021, Gate is emerging from stealth with a novel scientific platform; a world-class management and advisory team with a significant track record of success; and $60M in Series A funding led by Versant Ventures and a16z Bio + Health, with participation from ARCH Venture Partners and GV.

Molecular Gates are small molecules that eliminate disease-causing extracellular proteins. Extracellular proteins are drivers of many human diseases, ranging from inflammatory conditions to neurodegenerative disease to several cancers. Gate’s novel approach targets a ubiquitous mechanism in human biology: the way in which these proteins are secreted and emerge from cells.

Human cells make over 4,000 different extracellular proteins, including secreted and membrane proteins, which, as they are produced, must cross a membrane to move from inside a cell to the outside. The vast majority of these proteins make that journey through a single channel in the endoplasmic reticulum called the secretory translocon. This channel is the only gateway for both beneficial and disease-causing proteins to exit the cell and act in the body. Molecular Gates drug this channel to stop disease-causing proteins at their source: inside the cell. 

“More than 1,000 extracellular proteins are implicated in a wide range of diseases, yet all of these conditions have one mechanism in common: the secretion of a disease-causing protein through the secretory translocon,” said Jordi Mata-Fink, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO of Gate. “Gate’s chemistry, platform, and expertise are laser-focused on this molecular process. For diseases caused by extracellular proteins, our aim is to restore the harmful proteins to normal levels or even, in the case of some conditions, to eliminate the disease-causing proteins entirely. We are inventing a new class of medicines that can bring hope to patients with devastating diseases that are not treatable, or not well treated, today.”

Inventing a New Class of Medicines

Gate has the capability to selectively block specific proteins from passing through the secretory translocon. Molecular Gate medicines bind to the secretory translocon and set up a “gate” that recognizes and stops a specific, disease-causing protein from exiting. Other, non-targeted proteins are able to move through the secretory translocon normally. With nowhere to go, the blocked protein is redirected to be degraded instead of secreted.

“Molecular Gates are unique since they harness the power of small molecules, enabling them to be taken orally and to access the whole body, including the brain,” said Clare Ozawa, Ph.D., Managing Director at Versant Ventures and a Gate board member. “By blocking disease-causing proteins at their source rather than tackling them in a complex extracellular environment, Gate’s approach is both straightforward and powerful.”

Gate’s novel approach is fueled by the company’s proprietary Molecular Gate Discovery Platform^™, which combines a privileged library of Molecular Gates; a suite of bespoke, secretion-focused assays and technologies; and deep insights into the biology and structural biology of the secretory pathway. This platform enables high-throughput screening of small molecule libraries alongside comprehensive, quantitative profiling of the entire secreted protein universe in order to develop selective therapies.

“The next generation of small molecule therapeutics is expanding into new and diverse biochemical functions. Molecular Gate medicines have the potential to change how we treat important diseases by adding an entirely new mechanism of action to our arsenal,” said Vineeta Agarwala, M.D., Ph.D., General Partner at a16z Bio + Health and a Gate board member. “With its powerful discovery engine, cutting-edge technologies, and leading team, Gate is poised to realize the potential of this new modality.”

A World-Class Team of Company Builders and Drug Developers

Gate is led and supported by an experienced team of company builders and drug developers with an extensive track record of creating innovative new medicines in pharma and biotech. Collectively, Gate’s leadership team has been at the vanguard of drug development in multiple important modalities, including molecular glues, PROTACs, splice modulators, and covalent inhibitors.

Gate is led by:

• Jordi Mata-Fink, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
• Pat Sharp, Ph.D., Scientific Co-Founder and Vice President of Discovery Science
• Raman Talwar, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
• Brian Cathers, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer

Gate’s Board of Directors includes:

• Tom Daniel, M.D., Chairman of the Board for Gate and former President of Global Research and Early Development at Celgene
• Clare Ozawa, Ph.D., Managing Director at Versant Ventures
• Vineeta Agarwala, M.D., Ph.D., General Partner at a16z Bio + Health

Gate’s management team is complemented by highly accomplished advisors in the fields of drug development, new chemical modalities, and protein secretion. Key advisors include Scott Biller, Ph.D., Executive Venture Partner at GV (Gate board observer); Jay Parrish, Ph.D., Venture Partner at ARCH Venture Partners (Gate board observer); and James Winkler, Ph.D. (Chief Scientific Advisor), among others. Please visit Gate’s website for additional information on the company’s scientific advisors.

“I’ve been involved with the advancement of many modalities throughout my career, and I am truly impressed with the broad potential offered by Gate’s approach,” said Dr. Daniel. “Molecular Gates remind me of the early days of molecular glues, where we combined new chemistry, the right technology, and deep mechanistic focus to create a whole new type of medicine. This team and platform are uniquely enabled to unlock this novel therapeutic class.”

To learn more about the secretory translocon, Molecular Gates, and the company, please visit Gate at www.gatebio.com or follow us on LinkedIn. 

About Gate Bioscience
Gate Bioscience is a venture-backed, preclinical biotech company creating a new class of medicines called Molecular Gates. Our therapeutics are small molecules that aim to cure diseases by selectively eliminating harmful extracellular proteins at their origin: inside the cell. Every extracellular protein—of which there are more than 4,000—must pass through a single channel in the cell before it can be secreted into the body. Molecular Gates bind to this channel, setting up a “gate” that recognizes and blocks a specific, disease-causing protein from exiting. With nowhere to go, the protein is redirected to be degraded by the cell’s natural cleanup mechanism instead of being secreted. By eliminating the harmful protein at the source, Gate aims to eliminate the disease for patients. Founded in 2021, Gate’s mission to create this new class of medicines is backed by Versant Ventures, a16z Bio + Health, ARCH Venture Partners, and GV. Learn more at www.gatebio.com.

About Versant Ventures

Versant Ventures is a leading healthcare venture capital firm committed to helping exceptional entrepreneurs build the next generation of great companies. The firm’s emphasis is on biotechnology companies that are discovering and developing novel therapeutics. With $5.4 billion under management and offices in the U.S., Canada and Europe, Versant has built a team with deep investment, operating and R&D expertise that enables a hands-on approach to company building. Since the firm’s founding in 1999, more than 95 Versant companies have achieved successful acquisitions or IPOs. For more information, please visit www.versantventures.com.

About Andreessen Horowitz 
Founded in Silicon Valley in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz (known as “a16z”) is a venture capital firm that backs bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology. We are stage agnostic: We invest in seed to venture to late-stage technology companies, across bio + healthcare, consumer, crypto, enterprise, fintech, games, and companies building toward American dynamism.

SOURCE Gate Bioscience

Chainguard–the leader in software supply chain security–announced it has completed a $61 million Series B round of funding led by Spark Capital, bringing the company’s total fundraising to $116 Million alongside accelerated growth for its Chainguard Images solution

KIRKLAND, Wash., Nov. 1, 2023 — Chainguard, the leader in software supply chain security, today announced it has completed a $61 million Series B round of funding led by Spark Capital and existing investors Sequoia Capital, Amplify Partners, The Chainsmoker’s Mantis VC, and Banana Capital.

Over the past six months alone, the company’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) has tripled and its hardened, secure container image solution is now used by Fortune 500 companies and technology providers, including GitGuardian, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Sourcegraph, Snowflake and Replicated. 

“The future is clear – if you adopt open source software you are responsible for securing it. Chainguard is on a mission to be the safe source for open source that every organization building software today can rely on to build right, build safe and build fast,” said Dan Lorenc, CEO and Co-founder of Chainguard. “Open source adoption across the industry has grown dramatically over the last several years, but the gap in doing so securely is widening. Enterprises and governments are struggling to remain compliant and secure while the pace of software development is increasing.”

Chainguard has expanded its Images solution to include a growing inventory of secure container images with over a million image builds, giving developers the freedom to build safe software with the tools and applications they know and love. The solution also includes a comprehensive API for customers to understand changes in vulnerability status from Image version to version and critical software supply chain security requirements like Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) and software signatures.

“Enterprises do not want another software security tool, they want secure software,” said Clay Fisher, General Partner at Spark Capital. “Chainguard has fundamentally re-imagined open source security by not just alerting customers of possible vulnerabilities, but also proactively fixing them, giving developer and security teams peace of mind and time back to do what they do best – build. There is nothing like Chainguard in the market today and we could not be more excited to support them on their important mission to be the safe source for open source software.”

“Snowflake is on a mission to help organizations scale their cloud businesses securely,” said Brandon Sterne, Senior Manager, Product Security at Snowflake. “Adoption of Chainguard Images has transformed the way our team builds securely with open source software across the organization and has helped to streamline and strengthen our FedRAMP certifications by providing fast open source vulnerability remediation.”

Recently, Chainguard hired its first President Ryan Carlson, former Chief Marketing Officer at Okta and Wiz. Dustin Kirkland also joined as the company’s first Vice President of Engineering following product and engineering leadership roles at Goldman Sachs, Google and Canonical.

The company, founded two years ago in October 2021, plans to use the new funding to support growth by expanding the global go-to-market team, investing in product research and innovation and expanding customer support services.

About Chainguard

Chainguard was founded by the industry’s leading experts on open source software, supply chain security and cloud native development and is backed by Sequoia, Spark Capital, Amplify Partners, the Chainsmokers and more. The team has worked together to build and deliver large-scale software products and enterprise services in high-growth environments like Google, Microsoft and VMWare. Core to the Chainguard offering is Chainguard Images, a comprehensive collection of minimal container images which have 97.6% fewer vulnerabilities than industry alternatives. Chainguard is trusted by Fortune 500 companies in the financial services and technology sectors to cutting-edge startups and SBMs. Its customers include the Department of Homeland Security, GitGuardian, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Snowflake, Sourcegraph, Replicated and more. For more information, please visit: https://www.chainguard.dev/.

Media Contact
Sarah O’Rourke
[email protected]
773-870-0329

SOURCE Chainguard