SAN FRANCISCO, May 12, 2026 — GrubMarket, the AI-powered technology enabler and digital transformer of the American food supply chain industry, as well as one of the largest private food eCommerce companies globally, today announced the Spring 2026 product release for its software suite, the industry’s only fully integrated technology platform spanning ERP, AI, and eCommerce. This release introduces significant enhancements across WholesaleWare, Orders IO, and AI Orders, delivering new capabilities designed to help restaurant and foodservice distributors and produce wholesalers improve efficiency, elevate customer service, and drive profitability. All features are now available to both new and existing customers.

Key Highlights of the Spring 2026 Release:

WholesaleWare

• Automated Work Orders: Streamlines repacking and processing workflows with automated creation and management of work orders, including real-time inventory and cost updates.
• New Price Groups: Enables flexible, rule-based pricing segmentation with support for item- and category-level overrides, enhancing existing pricing capabilities, including customer-specific pricing and premium pricing for smaller units of measure.
• Automated FIFO Lot Allocation: Gives users the option to automatically allocate lots at shipment, common for just-in-time purchasing operations, in addition to pre-allocating lots and scanning lots to pick.
• Expanded EDI Integrations: New integrations with Produce Alliance and Restaurant365 enable seamless, automated order processing.
• New Reports: Empower the team with new, actionable reports such as purchasing guides, route summaries, and charge insights for accounting teams.
• Platform Enhancements: Includes notable improvements across sales orders, drop ship orders, inventory management, lot tracking, cost management, loads, and accounting.

AI Orders

• Multi-Language Order Processing: AI Orders now supports multi-language inbound orders, to better support the diverse customer bases that distributors serve.
• Match Confidence Indicators: Improves order review efficiency with visual cues representing the AI’s confidence in product and unit of measure matches.
• Customer Product Code Recognition: In addition to reading product names and descriptions, AI Orders now understands customer-specific product codes, streamlining orders for large retailers and foodservice contracts, and enabling EDI workflows without requiring integration.
• Customer-Specific AI Prompts: Allows tailored AI training for individual customers and their unique order formats.
• Enterprise Dictionary: Introduces configuration to help AI Orders interpret specialized terminology used by a company and its customer base.
• Additional Enhancements: Includes configurable product matching logic, enhanced UI displays, and improvements to historical order analysis.

eCommerce Platform (Orders IO)

• Automatic Product Suggestions: Increases order value through dynamic, customer-specific upsell recommendations.
• Advanced Delivery Management: Provides granular control over delivery scheduling with product- and customer-specific rules, along with built-in management of holidays and non-delivery days.
• Order Guide Tagging: Simplifies order guide management with customizable tags, such as those for seasonal menus.
• Streamlined Customer Onboarding: Introduces an improved workflow with automated welcome communications providing access to the online ordering platform and mobile ordering apps.
• User Experience Improvements: Enhancements across customer chat, product search, supplier portal, pricing management, and catalog browsing.

“GrubMarket’s Spring 2026 Release represents a major step forward across our ERP, AI, and eCommerce platforms,” said Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket. “These innovations reflect our commitment to equipping customers with powerful, AI-driven tools that unlock new efficiencies and elevate operational performance. We are proud to continue advancing our mission of driving technological innovation across the food supply chain as the only provider of fully integrated ERP, eCommerce, and AI solutions for our industry.”

“Driven by our ongoing commitment to help our customers become more effective in their operations and more successful in the market, we built this release around the most important challenges and opportunities that they shared with us,” said Genevieve Wang, Chief Software Product Officer. “We combined those insights with our deep technical expertise—particularly in AI—as their trusted technology partner to deliver powerful solutions that deliver immediate, positive impact to their businesses. This is a major release for us, and we are incredibly proud of what our teams have delivered.”

As foodservice distributors and produce wholesalers face increasing operational complexity and intensifying competition, GrubMarket continues to advance its software platforms to meet the industry’s evolving needs. The company’s solutions are built on a modern technology infrastructure, offering customers depth of functionality paired with world-class user experiences and intuitive design. Customers can adopt the capabilities that best fit their business needs today and expand over time as they grow. As a technology partner, GrubMarket ensures that customers gain ongoing access to the latest innovations, purpose-built for the unique needs of food wholesale and distribution.

This Spring 2026 Release equips GrubMarket software users with solutions to reduce manual effort, improve operational accuracy, and achieve greater profitability across their businesses. To learn more about GrubMarket software and its transformative capabilities, visit: https://www.grubmarket.com/hello/software/index.html

About GrubMarket

GrubMarket is the AI-powered technology enabler and digital transformer of the American food supply chain industry, as well as one of the largest private food eCommerce companies globally. As the enterprise AI solutions provider for the American food supply chain, a first mover in the tech-enabled B2B food eCommerce space, and a pioneer offering cutting-edge, AI-powered software-as-a-service solutions, GrubMarket uses technology to fundamentally transform the American and global food supply chain. GrubMarket has been named to the prestigious CNBC Disruptor 50 list for three consecutive years. In 2026, GrubMarket was named to TIME’s list of the TIME100 Companies Industry Leaders. GrubMarket operates in all 50 U.S. states and has a global presence in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Spain, with plans to expand further across the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe, Africa, and other parts of the world.

For Media Inquiries:
GrubMarket Media Team
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE GrubMarket

Cerberus’ General John W. “Jay” Raymond (Ret.), the first Chief of Space Operations of the United States Space Force, will join Star Catcher’s board, along with B Capital General Partner and Global Head of Energy Jeff Johnson and SHIELD Principal David Rothzeid. GreatPoint Ventures, Helena, Oceans Ventures, and MVP Ventures also participated in the round.

“This investment underscores the conviction that orbital infrastructure is now as fundamental as terrestrial infrastructure,” said Andrew Rush, co-founder and CEO of Star Catcher. “Every major application driving the space economy — connectivity, computing, security, sensing — is power-limited today. Star Catcher is lifting that ceiling — making it possible to build in orbit at the scale the next century of life on Earth will demand.” 

Founded less than two years ago, Star Catcher is developing a space-based energy infrastructure layer that delivers electricity on demand to satellites and other spacecraft using optical power beaming. Following an industry-leading seed round and exceptional customer traction, the company set the world record for optical power beaming, completed a critical on-orbit subsystem demonstration, and validated its end-to-end system architecture. The Series A positions Star Catcher to move from validated technology to scalable infrastructure.

“At B Capital, we focus on scaling technologies to enhance energy infrastructure, and the same dynamics we’re seeing on Earth are now playing out in orbit,” said Jeff Johnson, General Partner and Head of Energy at B Capital. “There is exploding demand, limited shared infrastructure, and a generational opportunity for the company capable of building the first in-orbit grid. We strongly believe Star Catcher is that company. The traction we’ve seen thus far speaks for itself, and we’re proud to lead this round in support of a team that brings unmatched operational depth to solve this critical challenge.”

Next Up: Accelerating Mission Cadence

Star Catcher will launch the first-ever space-based optical power beaming demonstration later this year. The mission marks a foundational step toward constructing the first energy grid in space — built to deliver up to 10x more power to satellites with no retrofit or custom receiver required — and the first of a series of flight missions designed to progressively retire technical risk and deploy operational capability.

As the company advances toward on-demand power availability, this investment accelerates a second orbital mission already in development and strengthens the engineering and operations capacity to drive scalable grid deployment.

“Star Catcher is solving the constraint that plagues every space-based mission: power,” said John Serafini, Partner at SHIELD. “They’ve moved from concept to world-record performance to flight hardware on a timeline almost no frontier-tech company achieves, and they’re building infrastructure with direct relevance to both commercial operators and the national security community. This is precisely the kind of company SHIELD exists to back.”

An Expanding Customer Base

Star Catcher’s customer base spans commercial space operators and U.S. Government stakeholders. The company has signed seven power purchase agreements, secured multiple government contracts, and is managing a qualified commercial pipeline representing more than $3 billion in projected annual recurring revenue. The Series A will fund continued commercial expansion alongside deeper engagement with U.S. national security customers.

“Energy and infrastructure resilience are core national and economic priorities on Earth, as in orbit,” said General Raymond, Senior Managing Director at Cerberus. “Persistent surveillance, resilient communications, and unhindered maneuverability are all constrained today by power. An on-demand power grid can change that, expanding critical capabilities across commercial and national security missions.”

About Star Catcher
Star Catcher is building the first power grid in space — beaming concentrated solar energy on demand to satellites in orbit with no retrofit required. By eliminating power as a constraint on spacecraft design and mission capability, Star Catcher is unlocking a new generation of space operations for commercial, civil, and national security customers. Learn more at www.star-catcher.com.

About B Capital
B Capital is a multi-stage global investment firm that partners with extraordinary entrepreneurs to shape the future through technology. With more than $11 billion in assets under management across multiple funds, the firm focuses on seed to late-stage venture growth investments, primarily in the Technology, Healthcare and Energy sectors. Founded in 2015, B Capital leverages an integrated team across nine locations in the US and Asia, as well as a strategic partnership with The Boston Consulting Group, to provide the value-added support entrepreneurs need to scale fast and efficiently, expand into new markets and build exceptional companies. Select investments include Perplexity (AI-powered search and answer engine), Precision Neuroscience (minimally invasive brain-computer interface technology), Axiom (AI- powered math reasoning platform) and Fervo Energy (next-generation geothermal power). For more information, click here .

About Shield Capital
Shield Capital is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage companies building technology in artificial intelligence, autonomy, cybersecurity, and space. SHIELD’s experienced team of company founders, investors, and national security leaders is mission-focused to support entrepreneurs addressing challenges and opportunities at the nexus of commercial industry and national security. At SHIELD, the Mission Matters. Learn more at www.shieldcap.com.

About Cerberus Ventures
Cerberus Ventures is an early-stage investor backing founders challenging assumptions to transform industries and society for the better. We believe the future will be shaped by bold breakthroughs across the critical domains of intelligence, energy and resources, digital infrastructure, computing, and biotech. As the venture arm of Cerberus Capital Management, a $70 billion global investment firm, we bring the full weight of experience, networks, and capital to help consequential companies tackle high-stakes problems. Learn more at: www.cerberusventures.com.

Media Contacts

Karen Sorenson
Valerie Christopherson GRC for
Star Catcher
[email protected]

Star Catcher Camille
Bergin, CMO
[email protected]

B Capital
Kate Thompson / Madeline Jones / Kate Kelley / Alex Wolfsohn
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
[email protected]
212-355-4449

Shield Capital
[email protected]

Cerberus Ventures
Torrey Leroy
[email protected]

SOURCE Star Catcher Industries, Inc.

Community investment program gives back to local farming communities in key growing regions

RALEIGH, N.C., May 12, 2026 — Golden Harvest has invested over $300,000 directly in local farming communities through its Harvest Roots program, reinforcing its commitment to providing meaningful localized support and strengthening agriculture throughout the Midwest.

A dedicated community investment program, Harvest Roots supports the organizations, events and causes that matter most across Golden Harvest growing regions. Since its launch in 2025, Harvest Roots has supported 28 community initiatives, representing approximately $300,000 in combined local investments. Golden Harvest is proudly continuing the Harvest Roots program in 2026, expanding its reach to additional growing regions and deepening its commitment to truly showing up for local communities.

The program invests in select Golden Harvest growing regions, funding causes close to home and celebrating farming communities throughout the Midwest — with initiatives chosen at the regional level based on local impact. Efforts the program has supported include donations to local Future Farmers of America chapters, youth sports teams and schools, farm rescue campaigns, food banks and other initiatives that uplift local communities, with supported activities varying by region.

“Harvest Roots is more than giving back; it’s about showing up where it matters most — in the places where farmers live and work,” said Andy Lee, Head, Golden Harvest. “By investing locally, we’re reinforcing our commitment to work together with farmers and deliver trusted, local service that helps create results in and out of the field.”

Follow Golden Harvest on Facebook to hear real stories from the communities Harvest Roots serves: facebook.com/GldnHarvest/.

About Syngenta

Syngenta is a global leader in agricultural innovation with a presence in more than 90 countries. Syngenta is focused on developing technologies and farming practices that empower farmers, so they can make the transformation required to feed the world’s population while preserving our planet. Its bold scientific discoveries deliver better benefits for farmers and society on a bigger scale than ever before. Guided by its Sustainability Priorities, Syngenta is developing new technologies and solutions that support farmers to grow healthier plants in healthier soil with a higher yield. Syngenta Crop Protection is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland; Syngenta Seeds is headquartered in the United States. Read our stories and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram & X.

Data protection is important to us. For more information about how we collect, use, disclose, transfer and store your information, you can review our Privacy Policy.

All photos and videos are either the property of Syngenta or are used with permission.

© 2026 Syngenta. Golden Harvest^® and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company.

SOURCE Golden Harvest

First institutional venture fund exclusively focused on MSP software announces final close, strong early performance, and first exit

VANCOUVER, BC, May 12, 2026 – Top Down Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage software and AI companies serving the Managed Service Provider (MSP) market, today announced the final close of its Founders Fund I at US$28 million (C$38 million), oversubscribing its original US$25M target. The fund held its first close in October 2024 and completed its final close in April 2026.

Founders Fund I is the first institutional venture fund dedicated exclusively to early-stage MSP software and AI companies. The fund has attracted over 100 LPs (limited partners), the majority of whom are founders, operators, and executives from across the MSP ecosystem, creating a strategic LP base that actively contributes to portfolio company growth. The fund also includes participation from Pax8 founder and chairman John Street, Upward Trajectory Fund, and a number of private family offices across Canada and the United States.

The MSP ecosystem has long been the invisible infrastructure of the global economy, powering the technology operations of over 100 million SMBs (small and mid-sized businesses) worldwide, and on track to reach US$1 trillion in annual spend by 2030. According to Top Down’s 2025 State of MSP Capital in the Age of AI report, 2026 marks a historic shift: for the first time, the total addressable market for SMB IT spend is projected to surpass that of Enterprise IT. What was once considered a niche market is crossing into the mainstream, and institutional capital is beginning to take notice. Top Down was built on the conviction that this moment was coming, that Main Street’s technology needs would eventually demand Wall Street’s attention.

Strong Early Performance

The fund’s first exit has already been realized: zofiQ, a portfolio company focused on agentic AI for MSPs, was acquired by ConnectWise, returning 5.3x to the fund just six months after the initial investment. A second portfolio company has completed its Series B at a 3.5x markup to Top Down’s entry.

Since beginning to invest in 2024, the fund has deployed capital into 12 portfolio companies. Based on early DPI and deployment metrics, the fund is tracking in the top decile of 2024 vintage venture funds (Source: Carta, Q4 2025 VC Fund Performance).

The firm’s general partners bring a hands-on track record in the MSP space, having founded and scaled companies including IT Glue (acquired by Kaseya), Fully Managed (acquired by TELUS), N-able (NYSE: NABL), and ScalePad. Their prior investments generated a 12.8x MOIC and 97% IRR.

“We’re proud to have built a fund that reflects the strength and alignment of the MSP ecosystem. Our LP base is not just capital, it’s a flywheel of operators, founders, and industry leaders helping the next generation of MSP software companies scale faster and smarter.”

– Joel Abramson, Managing Partner, Top Down Ventures

Investing in the AI-Native Generation

Top Down’s investment strategy has focused on backing a new cohort of AI-native SaaS companies, businesses built from inception with modern AI development tooling, resulting in faster product cycles, leaner teams, and differentiated capabilities tailored to the evolving MSP landscape. These are not companies that have bolted AI onto existing products; they were designed around it.

“We’re seeing a fundamentally different caliber of company. These are AI-native businesses built from day one with new tooling, new cost structures, and new expectations around speed and scale.”

– Chris Day, Founder & Chairman, Top Down Ventures

AI-native companies are doing to the MSP stack what cloud once did to on-premise software – not bolting on features, but rebuilding foundational workflows from the ground up, around intelligence, redefining what it means to deliver managed services. Just as cloud reshaped the economics and architecture of IT delivery a decade ago, AI is now doing the same, creating both urgency and opportunity for the MSPs and software vendors willing to move first.

A Platform Built on Deep Industry Specialization

Top Down combines capital with a hands-on platform approach, providing operational guidance, go-to-market support, and access to a deeply embedded industry network. The firm convenes CEO peer groups, hosts its annual Horizons investor summit, and publishes the MSP Outliers blog and podcast, resources that connect founders, operators, and investors across the ecosystem.

“In one of the most challenging fundraising environments, we are grateful for the support from institutions, family offices, and everyone from the MSP ecosystem who engaged with our vision in defining the new era of AI-first MSP software. We believe there has never been a more important time to invest at the early stage, especially in a category like MSP that remains underappreciated but critical to the global SMB market for managed IT, security and AI.”

– Mark Scott, General Partner, Top Down Ventures

What’s Next

Top Down will be active across the MSP and venture community through the rest of 2026, including its annual Horizons investor summit in November in Scottsdale, where it will showcase portfolio companies to LPs, founders, and industry leaders. The firm is also expanding the Outliers program with new research and content for the operators and institutional investors shaping the next decade of MSP software.

About Top Down Ventures

Top Down Ventures is the first early-stage venture capital firm focused on the MSP software/AI ecosystem. The firm partners with founders building automation, intelligence, and governance platforms for the global SMB market. Through its research, events, and investments, Top Down’s mission is to elevate the MSP industry from Main Street to Wall Street. For more information, visit www.topdown.com.

SOURCE Top Down

Lincoln-based Driive closes pre-seed funding from Nebraska Angels, Nelnet, Move Venture Capital, and CompanyCam founder Luke Hansen to scale Dot, its AI booking agent for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and other home service contractors.

LINCOLN, Neb., May 11, 2026 — Driive, the AI-native booking and scheduling platform built for the home service trades, today announced the close of its pre-seed funding round. The round includes investment from Nebraska Angels, Nelnet, Move Venture Capital, and Luke Hansen, founder and CEO of CompanyCam.

Driive is building the scheduling layer for the trillion-dollar U.S. home services industry. Roughly half of all inbound leads to home service contractors arrive after 5pm or on weekends, when most contractors are off the phones. According to industry research, 78% of homeowners hire the first contractor who responds. Contractors spend billions every year on lead generation, then lose those leads to voicemail.

Driive’s platform answers inbound calls, texts, and emails 24/7, qualifies the homeowner, checks technician availability against real drive time, and books the appointment in real time. The product is called Dot.

“This category has been waiting for someone to take it seriously,” said Quinn Small, Founder and CEO of Driive. “The trades are the largest sector of the economy still running on missed calls and sticky notes. Driive is the system of record for how a job actually gets booked.”

“Scheduling is a huge need in the industry, and I believe in this team to solve it,” said Luke Hansen, founder and CEO of CompanyCam.

“So impressed with the early momentum that Quinn Small has established with Driive, and excited to see what he accomplishes as he expands his team and brings on more customers,” said Charlie Cuddy of Move Venture Capital.

Early customers point to drive-time scheduling as the differentiator. “Finally. Someone gets it, and then built it. This tool has reduced the miles and dead time, increased the appointments we can do daily, and gets a higher book rate when our customers can book on their terms,” said Cody Stephens, Owner of a generator sales and installation company.

Funds will accelerate Driive’s engineering hires, the go-to-market motion through its partnership with CompanyCam, and the rollout of Dot.

About Driive

Driive is the AI booking and scheduling platform built for home service trades, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, pest control, and windows. Learn more at getdriive.com.

SOURCE Driive Inc.

SÃO PAULO, May 8, 2026 — Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP represented Enter, a Brazil-based artificial intelligence legal technology company, in connection with its Series B financing round. The financing raised more than $100 million and valued Enter at approximately $1.2 billion, making Enter the first AI unicorn in Latin America, according to the company press release.

The financing was led by Founders Fund, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Kaszek, Atlantico, and ONEVC.

Founded in 2023, Enter is the AI litigator for large companies such as Airbnb, Nubank, Mercado Libre, Latam Airlines and 40+ other enterprises. Every legal task in a litigation workflow — from evidence discovery to drafting an answer to negotiating a settlement — is autonomously performed by Enter’s AI agents before being shared for expert review by a lawyer in the Enter network.

The Greenberg Traurig deal team advising Enter in this transaction was led by Salt Lake City Corporate and Latin America practice Shareholder Matthew Squires and New York and São Paulo Corporate Associate Maurice Guttmann.

The team included L. Frank Cordero, Tax shareholder in the Miami office, Agata Jacqueline Paramesvari, New York Corporate associate, and Nathalya Zara, Fort Lauderdale Corporate Law Clerk/J.D.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has approximately 3,100 lawyers across 51 locations in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm’s broad geographic and practice range enables the delivery of innovative and strategic legal services across borders and industries. Recognized as a 2025 BTI “Best of the Best Recommended Law Firm” by general counsel for trust and relationship management, Greenberg Traurig is consistently ranked among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100, NLJ 500, and Law360 400. Greenberg Traurig is also known for its philanthropic giving, culture, innovation, and pro bono work. Web: www.gtlaw.com.

SOURCE Greenberg Traurig, LLP

PHOENIX, May 8, 2026 — Basata, the AI company rebuilding the operational layer of US healthcare, today announced a $21 million Series A led by Basis Set Ventures, with participation from Cowboy Ventures, PHX Ventures, Zenda Capital, and Victoria Treyger. The round brings total funding to $24.5 million.

Basata’s AI agents handle the administrative work still running on fax machines and phone calls, like referrals, intake, patient scheduling, and follow-up — end to end. A referral arrives by fax, Basata extracts the patient details and creates a chart in the EHR, an AI voice agent calls the patient, and the appointment is booked in minutes instead of weeks. The company has served more than 500,000 patients to date, including 100,000 in the past month, and works with providers some of the largest specialty groups in the country across cardiology, urology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, and growing.

Practices using Basata process 100% of incoming referrals the same day, unlock 50% more administrative labor capacity, and reduce time-to-first-patient-contact from weeks to minutes. Roughly 70% of new sales come from customer referrals.

“Healthcare administration is one of the most consequential and least supported workforces in America,” said Kaled Alhanafi, co-founder and CEO of Basata. “We didn’t build Basata to replace administrators. We built it for them. ‘Basata’ is Arabic for simplicity, and that is what these teams deserve.”

Basata’s founding team came together around a shared conviction that healthcare’s biggest failures aren’t clinical, they’re operational. The country’s clinicians and administrators are world-class; the tools they have been handed are not. CEO Kaled Alhanafi lost his mother as a young adult to a healthcare administrative error. Co-founder Chetan, a former principal engineer at Medtronic, watched his wife wait months to see a cardiologist. Co-founder Vivin, a Computer Science PhD, saw his wife endure the same broken referral process.

That conviction shapes how the company builds. “Our Forward-Deployed Engineer returned from two weeks onsite at a customer site, eyes bloodshot, after manually processing referrals and faxes all day,” said Chetan Patel, co-founder and president of Basata. “It proved that if you aren’t in the trenches, you’ll never grasp how intense this workload is. Building in a bubble fails. We design tech that works because we are on the ground with our customers. This is why so many practices are trusting us with their workflows.”

Customers feel the difference. “Before Basata, we regularly had a backlog of 500+ unprocessed referrals, some waiting for months,” said Rich Bondi, CEO of Southwest Cardiovascular Associates. “Once Basata came in, the backlog went to zero. We’ve seen an 18% boost in new patient conversions because patients are contacted right away. Basata truly transformed our patient care.”

The new funding will enable Basata to scale what’s already working in tackling the $1 trillion operational layer of US healthcare end to end, replacing the patchwork of point solutions practices have stitched together with a single system built alongside the administrators who use it every day.

“It’s 2026, self-driving cars can navigate my city, but patients still have to fight through hold music and fax machines to get care,” said Alhanafi. “That’s the disconnect we’re fixing. In the next decade, healthcare operations will become fully autonomous. Intake, scheduling, coordination, and billing will just happen in the background, and patients will finally experience what exceptional healthcare actually feels like.”

About Basata

Basata deploys specialty-specific AI agents that automate healthcare’s administrative workflows end-to-end. From faxes to referrals to call centers, our agents take on the repetitive tasks that slow down health systems and practices, so teams move faster and patients get better access. Learn more at www.basata.ai

SOURCE Basata

Antier Solutions secured $3M led by GVFL to scale blockchain platforms powering secure workflows, digital trust, and BFSI sector transformation

MOHALI, India, May 8, 2026 — India’s pioneer venture capital firm GVFL has led a $3 million investment in Antier Solutions Pvt. Ltd., marking a strategic investment in enterprise blockchain infrastructure as adoption expands across government systems, financial institutions, and enterprise workflows.

This is Antier’s first institutional capital after over a decade of bootstrapped growth. It comes at a time when blockchain is increasingly being evaluated as a foundational layer for digital trust, verification, and financial infrastructure — particularly across public sector and BFSI use cases.

Founded by Vikram R. Singh, Antier Solutions is an enterprise blockchain engineering firm focused on building infrastructure for secure transactions, verifiable workflows, and institutional-grade applications. Headquartered in Mohali, the company operates with a team of over 600 specialists and has delivered over 1,000 projects across enterprises, startups, and government institutions globally.

Commenting on the investment, Mihir Joshi, Managing Director at GVFL, said, “Enterprise adoption of blockchain is moving into real-world use cases across governance systems and financial infrastructure. We see strong potential in platforms that can deliver verifiable, secure, and scalable systems for institutional deployment, and Antier Solutions is well positioned in this space.”

Vikram R. Singh, Founder of Antier Solutions Pvt. Ltd., said, “This investment marks an important milestone in our journey as we transition from a bootstrapped organisation to one backed by institutional capital. Our focus remains on building trusted digital infrastructure for governments, financial institutions, and enterprises at scale.”

Shashi Pal, COO and Co-founder of Antier, a title earned, rather than allocated, added, “Years of bootstrapped execution have built the operational depth that institutional clients require — disciplined delivery, engineering rigour, and deployment certainty. With GVFL’s backing, we are ready to extend this depth across government and BFSI customers at scale, in India and beyond.”

The company’s leadership team also includes Ashish Pareek, Chief Financial Officer at Antier Solutions Pvt. Ltd., who is overseeing the company’s financial strategy and institutional growth roadmap following the investment. 

The capital will be used to scale Antier’s platform offerings, expand deployments across government and BFSI sectors, and strengthen its presence in key international markets, including the United States, MENA, and Asia-Pacific.

For more information, visit www.antiersolutions.com.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2975839/Antier_Solutions.jpg

Media Contact:
Devender Junas
+91 7889162751 
[email protected]

SOURCE Antier Solutions

NEW YORK, May 8, 2026 — Crown Affair, the modern haircare brand recognized for its clean, high-performing formulas and emphasis on thoughtful rituals, announced its Series C investment led by Stride Consumer Partners—marking an important milestone in the company’s ongoing growth.

The round consists primarily of secondary capital and reflects a long-standing relationship between Crown Affair and Stride. Stride Consumer’s Operating Partner, Nicole Fourgoux, has always been an admirer of Crown Affair, following the brand since its inception and waiting for the right moment to formally cement a partnership. Nicole added “This investment represents a shared belief in Crown Affair’s vision and a deep alignment in building a thoughtful, enduring brand within the haircare category. With its elevated, minimalist, and ritual-driven positioning, Crown Affair is particularly well suited to capture the shift toward the skinification of hair, where consumers are seeking more holistic efficacy, intention, and long-term care.”

The funding comes at a pivotal moment for Crown Affair, as the company deepens its relationship with Sephora following a recent expansion into all retail doors nationwide. This growth underscores the brand’s ability to not only launch but sustain high-performing hero products, demonstrating a commitment to creating timeless essentials, rather than chasing short-lived trends.

Crown Affair’s long time investment partner, True Beauty Ventures, has been instrumental throughout the brand’s growth and will continue to collaborate. Crown Affair remains focused on scaling deliberately and sustainably, guided by its mission, vision, and core philosophy. The company will continue to prioritize product integrity, community, and long-term brand building.  

With this new partnership, Crown Affair is well-positioned to build on its momentum while staying true to the principles that have defined the brand since day one.

Crown Affair CEO, Elaine Choi, notes “Who you partner with matters as much as what you build. What drew us to Stride was their genuine understanding of our vision and the category we’re helping define — and what’s been remarkable is how naturally aligned we’ve felt from the start, on vision, on values, on what it means to build something lasting. We’re excited to step into this next chapter together.” Founder, Dianna Cohen, adds “I started Crown Affair with a simple belief: that the way you care for your hair can be something you actually look forward to — a moment that’s yours, that transforms how you show up in the world. Watching that resonate with so many people, and now seeing Crown Affair reach them at scale through Sephora, has been one of the more rewarding parts of this journey. This partnership with Stride means we get to bring that ritual to even more people— and that’s exactly what we set out to do. We’re proud to have a partner who is as intentional about this as we are.”

Brittany Sperling, Principal at Stride Consumer Partners added, “We were immediately drawn to the strength of the Crown Affair team—an incredibly talented group that has built a timeless, beloved brand supported by deep customer loyalty and best-in-class products. We are excited to partner with Dianna and Elaine and the rest of the team at Crown Affair as they continue to elevate everyday haircare into a meaningful self-care ritual.”

Foley & Lardner served as the legal advisor to Crown Affair. Ropes & Gray served as the legal advisor to Stride Consumer Partners.

About Crown Affair

Crown Affair is a modern haircare brand redefining the relationship people have with their hair. With a focus on intentional rituals, high-performance clean formulations, and handcrafted tools, Crown Affair empowers individuals to create meaningful self-care routines. Founded by Dianna Cohen in 2020, Crown Affair is available online and in Sephora stores across the U.S., offering an elevated experience for consumers seeking mindful haircare solutions.

About Stride Consumer Partners

Stride is a private equity firm that specializes in partnering with talented and dynamic founders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to build the next generation of great consumer brands. Founded by a passionate group of experienced investor-operators, Stride’s unique approach brings together a fully integrated team of successful investors working alongside seasoned operators to assist high-growth and disruptive consumer products and services businesses to hit their stride. Together, Stride supports its partners on their journey as they take decisive steps toward delivering on their vision. Within consumer, the firm focuses on the following areas of expertise: beauty & personal care, food and beverage, active lifestyle and multi-unit consumer services. The Stride team has had the pleasure of working side-by-side with the founders and teams of Chomps, Crown Affair, Odele Beauty, Patrick Ta, Peachy, Serenity Kids, Skinfix and Truewerk. For more information, please visit Stride Consumer Partners website.

SOURCE Crown Affair