BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Sept. 30, 2025 — Openstream.ai, the leader in multimodal, plan-based neuro-symbolic AI, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted the company a new patent covering multimodal collaborative plan-based dialogue systems. This patent strengthens Openstream.ai’s intellectual property portfolio and underscores its leadership in building hallucination-free, goal-driven AI experiences for enterprises.

The newly granted patent covers methods and systems that allow AI to:

• Interpret and integrate multimodal inputs such as speech, text, gestures, facial expressions, body language, and eye gaze.
• Infer user goals and dynamically develop hierarchical plans of communicative actions.
• Maintain collaborative, goal-oriented dialogues until objectives are achieved.
• Incorporate emotional cues, proactive communications, and explanations to ensure trust, transparency, and user understanding.
• Enable robots and virtual agents to interact seamlessly through multimodal content and reasoning.

This invention uniquely positions Openstream.ai to enable next-generation conversational agents that go far beyond today’s prompt-response models by combining reasoning, context-awareness, and collaboration to achieve complex user goals in domains such as healthcare, insurance, financial services, and enterprise automation.

Dr. Lucian Galescu ( Head of dialogue systems research) said, “This patent represents a major step forward in creating AI systems that can truly ‘think’ with users rather than just respond to them. By integrating multimodal perception, reasoning, and planning into one collaborative framework, we are enabling agents that understand intent, adapt to context, and act with purpose. This is the foundation of safe, reliable, and enterprise-grade AI.”

“Enterprises today demand more than chatbots or scripted interactions. With this patent, Openstream.ai reinforces its leadership in delivering trustworthy AI experiences that are logical, transparent, and effective across industries. This milestone highlights our ability to create AI agents that are not just conversational but genuinely collaborative partners in driving business outcomes,” said David Stark, CMO of Openstream.ai.

This patent adds to the momentum of a series of notable achievements for Openstream.ai, including a recent patent for Breakthrough Patent Sets New Standard for Trustworthy AI, being named to KMWorld magazine’s Trendsetting Products of 2025 list, named a 2025 KMWorld 100 Companies that Matter in Knowledge Management, an International Innovator in the Aragon Research Globe™ for AI Agent Platforms, 2025, an AI Visionary on the eWeek Top AI Companies in 2025 list, and other recent innovative patents including Multimodal AI-Driven Digital Twins of Humans and Multimodal AI Agents That Can Plan, Reason, And Explain.

About Openstream.aI

Openstream.ai is the leading provider of neuro-symbolic multimodal Collaborative Agentic and Conversational AI solutions for visionaries. The company’s Eva™ (Enterprise Virtual Assistant) platform delivers hallucination-free AI experiences through advanced knowledge ingestion, processing, and activation capabilities. Eva’s neuro-symbolic architecture ensures accurate, grounded responses across multiple modalities and languages, enabling enterprises to deploy AI with confidence. Headquartered in Bridgewater, N.J., Openstream.ai serves enterprises worldwide with AI solutions that transform how organizations interact with their knowledge assets.

For more information about Openstream.ai, visit www.openstream.ai or follow the company on LinkedIn.

Media Contact
(908) 685-5844
[email protected]

SOURCE Openstream.ai

RED BANK, N.J., Sept. 30, 2025 — When disaster strikes, REVA PROJECTS LLC offers more than just shelter; it offers dignity, safety, and hope. Inspired by personal challenges, founder Mariya Reva-Tamburrino turned crisis into purpose, designing innovative, rapidly deployable shelters that prioritize people’s needs – and their humanity.

REVA PROJECTS LLC provides temporary shelters for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Reva shelters are designed to address homelessness, refugee crises, extreme weather occurrences, and other emergency situations.

“The concept was born in 2012 after Superstorm Sandy when my parents were stuck in an apartment building in Brooklyn, New York for a week,” said Reva-Tamburrino. “They had no heat, no power, and were sharing food with their neighbors. They could not evacuate because they had pets, and other neighbors had medical conditions that would have made it impossible to live in a group housing setting. That’s when the idea clicked of building shelters that ensure privacy and personal needs are met in times of emergency.”

The REVA PROJECTS team designed modules that can be installed as individual lodgings or combined into multiple-unit dwellings. Each structure was carefully planned to allow assembly by two people in under three hours. The Reva Cold Shelter, designed by Max Borshchevskiy for REVA PROJECTS, is the company’s inaugural product.

“The modules can be assembled with gloves on in arctic settings,” Borshchevskiy said. “The applied aluminum grade ensures the frame remains durable yet lightweight. The material is recyclable, temperature- and corrosion-resistant, radiation-protected, and easy to clean. The front door of the structure can even be used as an emergency floatation device in case of a flood. We’re proud to say all materials used are sustainably sourced from NATO countries.”

The structure can endure temperatures as low as -22 degrees F/-30 degrees C. The sloped roof is aerodynamically shaped to withstand winds up to 180 mph/290 kph and to shed heavy snow loads. This design maximizes headroom inside the shelter, allowing for bunk beds to be placed along the south wall, where maximum natural light and heat are expected.

The top of the Reva Cold Shelter is shielded by marine-grade PVC vinyl. The soft cover also features waterproof zippers.

In extreme cold and high-altitude climates, the structure must be elevated and secured against winds. There are four footing options: rock, sand, mud/clay, and ice. Reva shelters can be deployed using any international power grid or generator and are capable of off-grid use. The Reva Cold Shelter supports add-on heating and air conditioning units and is operated by a power load center of 35 amps or more. Solar panels and battery systems are also available for sustainable off-grid power. Shelters feature interior LED lighting, which illuminates interior areas, while the reflective exterior offers visibility from evacuation vehicles.

The standard three-module configuration fits six people, has a 165-square-foot/15.329-square-meter interior, and weighs 1,940lb/880kg. REVA PROJECTS LLC developed a system that enables the frame to be flat-packed to fit within common shipping container sizes.

REVA PROJECTS LLC is a woman-owned international design studio and manufacturer of transitional architecture structures and emergency shelters, including the revolutionary Reva Cold Shelter, a customizable housing unit that adapts to the diverse requirements of those who need it most. Traditional disaster relief and temporary shelters often overlook the unique challenges of individuals in crisis. Many require space for pets, medical care, or mental health support – needs that demand privacy and adaptability. REVA PROJECTS LLC addresses these needs with a sustainable, environmentally conscious approach. The Reva Cold Shelter is built on cutting-edge design principles for enhanced thermal efficiency and structural integrity in arctic conditions. To learn more, visit RevaProjectsLLC.com.

Media Contact:
Shanna Schmidt
7324252429
[email protected]

SOURCE REVA PROJECTS LLC

Hughes Growth Equity Fund II, L.P. closes at $260 million – exceeding original target

CHICAGO, Sept. 30, 2025 — Hughes & Company, a private equity firm focused on healthcare software and technology-enabled services companies, announced the closing of its second private equity fund, Hughes Growth Equity Fund II, L.P. (the “Fund” or “Fund II”), at its hard cap of $260 million, exceeding its original target of $200 million.

“We are deeply grateful for the confidence shown by our existing investors and our new partners who joined Fund II,” said Travis Hughes, Managing Partner and Founder. “With their commitment comes a great responsibility to be thoughtful stewards of capital. For the last 15 years, we’ve been singularly focused on helping grow companies that improve our healthcare system. We are only scratching the surface with respect to the need and opportunity, and we are committed to our investors and portfolio leadership teams to continue building valuable companies that lower cost and improve efficiency within healthcare.”

The Hughes & Company investment team is comprised of healthcare industry experts, operators, and thought leaders, who have demonstrated an ability to create substantial value.

“To keep delivering strong results, we need to invest in more than just companies; we need to invest in our team and culture,” said Naile Kovuk, Managing Partner. “We’ve expanded our capabilities and will continue to deepen our bench so we can partner even more effectively with management teams as we aim to create lasting value.”

Founded in 2010, Hughes & Company has built a successful track record investing in healthcare software and technology-enabled services companies. The firm’s first fund, Hughes Growth Equity Fund I, L.P. closed in 2021 at $116 million and backed multiple growth-stage companies, including its most recent exit, Azara Healthcare, a population health management software provider, which was sold to Insight Partners in late 2024.

Hughes & Company recently made its first investment from Fund II in a merger of Curvo and BroadJump, which together offer a unified spend management and analytics platform for hospitals and health systems. The newly combined organization delivers a powerful suite of tools designed to reduce costs, increase sourcing efficiency, and improve outcomes.

About Hughes & Company. Hughes & Company is a private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in software and technology-enabled services within the healthcare sector. The firm aims to partner with companies to drive growth and innovation, pairing strategic guidance and capital to scale solutions that improve patient outcomes and operational efficiency.

For More Information:
John Gonda
616-309-4888
[email protected]

SOURCE Hughes & Company

With shared services, coaching, and peer connection, the 18 funds in the 2025-2026 program will gain support to accelerate their success in market

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30, 2025 — Recast Capital, a platform dedicated to investing in and supporting next-generation managers in venture, today announced the third cohort of Recast Accelerate, a catalytic program designed to drive the success of women and nonbinary-led early stage US funds in venture capital. Launched in early 2023 with the mission to help more next-generation managers raise and operate institutional-quality funds, Accelerate blends unique support, knowledge, and community to unlock lasting impact. Participants gain access to essential firm-building resources, a network of key service providers, peer learning, complimentary executive coaching, and capital in support of each fund’s backend operations.

The Fall 2025 cohort welcomes GPs from 18 funds; 28% have at least one GP who is Black, 17% Asian, 11% LatinX, 6% LGBTQ, and 28% first generation US citizens. The participating funds are headquartered across the US, and over half of the managers are raising a Fund I. Sectors of fund focus vary across verticals including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence, climate tech, enterprise, fintech, future of work and health & wellness.

The third cohort of Recast Accelerate includes:

A selection committee of limited partners with experience working with next-generation managers in venture supported the review process, including Ashlie Tyler of Bank of America, Geoffrey Abrahams of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Margot Kane of Spring Point Partners, Matt Rho of Avivar Capital, Regina Cho of Crewcial Partners, and Akobe Sandy of MassMutual.

Building upon the success of and learnings from the first two cohorts, Cohort III participants will have expanded access to Recast Capital’s network of shared service providers. Accelerate covers the cost of critical functions, including investor relations, AI and automations support for operational efficiencies, pitch refinement, and sales workshops.

“Every new Accelerate cohort is a reminder of why this work matters. Each manager brings an extraordinary blend of talent, grit, and vision; qualities our industry needs now more than ever,” says Courtney McCrea, Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “Since day one, our mission has been to break down barriers that have historically limited access for next-generation managers and to demonstrate that investing in diverse perspectives strengthens returns and the ecosystem as a whole. Accelerate is integral to our driving lasting change in venture.”

“Over the past two cohorts, we’ve seen how this program accelerates the success of stellar managers, helping them build highly competitive firms with staying power,” says Sara Zulkosky, Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “With this third cohort underway, I’m grateful for the managers who have trusted us as partners in their journey and so appreciative of the LPs, advisors, coaches, and partners who have rallied behind Accelerate. Still, this is only the beginning. Reshaping the venture capital ecosystem takes persistence and collective action. I encourage the LP community to connect with us, meet these remarkable managers, and find ways to be part of this momentum.”

Recast launched Accelerate to test the hypothesis that increasing female representation in VC general partner positions will increase VC funding to women and other underrepresented founders. As such, Recast is collaborating with the Milken Institute to study the impact of this program. After two years of gathering quantitative and qualitative data from the first two Accelerate cohorts, Milken recently published The Missing Billions, Analyzing the Impact of Women-Led Fund Managers.

The results in the report are powerful. Nearly half of the companies funded by Accelerate participants have at least one female-identifying founder or CEO, well above the industry average of 25%. Further, a third of these companies include a first-generation US citizen in their leadership, 17% include one or more women of color, 9% include LGBTQIA+ persons, 3% include disabled persons, and 2% include veteran founders or CEOs. Notably, Accelerate participants reported not having challenges identifying startups with diverse founders, pointing to their networks and overwhelming dealflow of this kind.

The challenge that venture faces is not a talent shortage but disproportionate capital allocation. The report highlights how firms led by women manage less than 2% of global assets under management despite delivering performance equal to or better than their peers. By supporting women and nonbinary-led next-generation managers, Accelerate helps to spur investment activity in high-potential areas by providing the resources and support that help talented managers build enduring franchises.

Early support for Accelerate comes from Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company. The Accelerate participant experience is also supported in 2025 by our partners Strut Consulting, Gunderson Dettmer, Sydecar, Mercury, Antares Capital, Banc of California, Standish Fund Management, Frank, Rimerman & Co., and Withum.

Recast Accelerate is a fiscally sponsored project of New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Recast is looking to bring additional funders on board to broaden the program’s reach, include more managers in future cohorts, and provide more funding to the managers.

To learn more about Recast Accelerate and explore how you can get involved, visit: https://recastcapital.com/accelerate/ and reach out to us via email at [email protected].

About Recast
Recast Capital is a 100% women-owned venture capital platform that invests in and supports top-tier next-generation funds, focusing on managers with compelling backgrounds outside the norm. The platform was built to drive returns and create substantive change in the venture industry.

Founded by seasoned, institutionally-trained fund investors Courtney McCrea and Sara Zulkosky, Recast Capital leverages its deep network and exceptional track record to provide its limited partners diversified exposure to top-performing next-generation managers, as well as access to a pipeline of the future’s industry-leading franchises.

Recast’s GP Programs serve as a powerful complement to its fund investment strategy, providing learning and development opportunities for next-generation managers in venture. These efforts underscore Recast’s commitment to supporting the growth of a venture community that includes investors from a range of backgrounds that are identifying the industry leading companies of tomorrow.

Learn more at www.recastcapital.com.

Media Contact
Frank Spence
[email protected]
(415) 294-1157

SOURCE Recast Capital

ATLANTA, Sept. 30, 2025 — “Authentic AI is the future of marketing. If you add your own voice, your humanity, your authenticity to AI, you can finally connect with every customer in ways that matter. This is a once-in-a-generation moment where authenticity and scale collide—and AdPipe exists to make that possible.”
— Andrew Levy, CEO & Co-Founder, AdPipe

Funding Announcement
We’re thrilled to announce our $12 million Series A funding to help enterprise brands bring their authentic stories to life at scale with AI.
This round was led by LGVP, with participation from Emery Wells (Founder of Frame.io), Atlanta Ventures, Tom Noonan, Engage VC, and leading voices in SaaS, enterprise AI, and video innovation.

“In five years, no global brand will operate its content workflows without a platform like AdPipe. The team has solved the speed-to-market and personalization challenges that have held enterprise video back for decades.” — Itai Tsiddon, LGVP, Co-Founder of Lightricks

“AdPipe is unlocking a new era of enterprise video by marrying creativity with automation. Their approach makes video scalable without losing authenticity.” — Emery Wells, Founder of Frame.io

Why Video at Scale Matters
The enterprise video market will hit $48B by 2030, yet most captured footage sits unused. AdPipe unlocks this dormant value by turning video libraries into brand-compliant, personalized content pipelines.

Across industries, customers are seeing measurable results:

• Cost per video down 88%
• Output up 10x
• Video utilization up 80%+
• Conversions increased by up to 600%

Scale Without Losing Soul
Enterprise brands across healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing are discovering new ways to forge authentic customer connections through video. By partnering with AdPipe, they unlock the power to:

• Personalize and localize content that resonates with specific audiences and markets
• Fill organic and paid channels with a steady stream of optimized, high-performing video content
• Democratize access to brand-safe video creation across teams and departments

What’s Next
With this funding, AdPipe will:

• Accelerate AI innovation for personalization and video efficiency
• Grow engineering and go-to-market teams
• Open a new headquarters in South Downtown Atlanta

See It Live: Modular AI Summit — October 22, 2025, Atlanta
We’ll showcase our next wave of AI capabilities at Modular AI, a one-day strategy summit featuring Casey Neistat, Andrew Huberman, and leaders from UPS and other top global brands.
Learn more at www.adpipe.com/modular-2025

About AdPipe
Founded by two filmmakers who saw wasted footage firsthand, AdPipe is the AI-powered video platform that helps enterprises localize and personalize video at scale. Built for enterprise speed, security, and brand compliance, AdPipe enables teams to deliver more with less—while driving measurable ROI.

SOURCE AdPipe

NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2025 — Notable, the market leader in pay-at-close financing for home sale prep, today announced it raised a $6 million Series A funding round led by W. R. Berkley Corporation, with participation from Second Century Ventures. As part of the investment, Clare Tokheim of W. R. Berkley Corporation will join Notable’s Board of Directors.

Every year, U.S. homeowners spend an estimated $75 billion preparing properties for sale—yet many sellers cut corners or delay improvements because of upfront costs. At the same time, buyers rank move-in ready as their #1 priority. This mismatch leaves agents in a bind: their listings risk sitting on the market longer or their sellers leave money on the table.

Notable solves this problem by offering sellers a simple line of credit that’s repaid at closing. Through partnerships with more than 100 leading brokerages—including Compass, Redfin, and The Agency—Notable has already helped 35,000+ homeowners unlock over $1 billion in credit to maximize their sale. In the process, Notable’s white-label programs have become a real estate agent’s secret weapon in empowering their clients to present their homes in the best light. On average, homes prepared with Notable sell 31% faster and for 9% more than market benchmarks.

“We’re creating the infrastructure for a modern, optimized real estate transaction,” said Austin Lane, CEO and co-founder of Notable. “Buyers want move-in ready homes, and agents want a way to win listings and deliver results. Notable gives them a clear way to do exactly that. We’re excited to welcome W. R. Berkley Corporation as a partner and thrilled to have Clare joining our board.”

The new capital will accelerate Notable’s expansion across its rapidly growing network of agents and service professionals, while fueling development of new homeowner products that will extend Notable’s value beyond the transaction to every stage of ownership.

“Notable is exactly the kind of business we look to back: one with real adoption, embedded distribution, and the discipline to scale sustainably,” said Clare Tokheim of W. R. Berkley Corporation. “They’re building something with staying power—and we’re excited to be part of the journey.”

Second Century Ventures, the strategic investment arm of the National Association of REALTORS^®, brings additional industry reach. “Offering pay-at-close financing has quickly become table stakes for top agents. Notable is setting the standard,” said Tyler Thompson, Managing Partner.

Despite broader real estate headwinds, Notable grew its agent footprint by more than 400% in the past year and is on track to accelerate that pace into 2026.

To learn more about Notable’s loan programs and their terms, visit https://notablefi.com/help.

About Notable

Notable is the market leader in pay-at-close financing for home sale preparation, helping homeowners unlock the full value of their properties without upfront cost. Through partnerships with more than 100 top brokerages—including Compass, Redfin, and The Agency—Notable has enabled over 35,000 homeowners to access more than $1 billion in credit for improvements like staging, painting, and repairs. Through its growing network of real estate agents and service professionals, Notable is creating the infrastructure for a modern, optimized real estate transaction and building new financial tools to support homeowners at every stage of ownership. For additional information, visit www.notablefi.com

Media Contact
Briana Olshock
[email protected]

SOURCE Notable

Announces launch and $5m pre-seed round led by General Catalyst and Cherry Ventures

NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2025 — Lunos AI, a fintech startup building AI agents for accounts receivable (AR), today announced its public launch along with a $5 million pre-seed funding round led by General Catalyst and Cherry Ventures.

Lunos AI is tackling one of the most entrenched inefficiencies in the modern economy: the way businesses get paid. While most consumers pay upfront with seamless checkouts, roughly $100tn of B2B trade is settled after goods and services are provided. Despite decades of advances in software and payments, this system still runs on the manual labor of millions of people in finance teams around the world. It’s an endless stream of emails and PDFs.

“This isn’t a payments problem… it’s a communication and negotiation problem,” said Duncan Barrigan, Founder and CEO of Lunos AI and former Chief Product Officer of European payments unicorn GoCardless. “Finance teams still spend countless hours chasing people over email, answering questions, updating spreadsheets, finding new contacts, and reconciling payments with incomplete information. This human approach is required because every customer and invoice is different – but it isn’t scalable, and it can’t be optimized the way a consumer checkout flow can.”

Lunos AI replicates the traditional approach to accounts receivable with an AI worker that finance teams can interact with via Slack and email, as well as through its web application. It connects to data sources such as QuickBooks and Netsuite, analyzes every customer interaction to decide how best to proceed, and handles two-way conversations with customers about their balances and invoices.

“Business payments shouldn’t feel like the Wild West,” Barrigan added. “Our vision is to provide AI workers that power agent-to-agent B2B commerce. This creates a network of AI agents that communicate amongst each other on behalf of businesses to ensure faster and more efficient payments. Cash flow is often the primary reason businesses fail and by having trained AI agents to handle this for them, and ensure they get paid faster, this traditional barrier becomes easier to overcome.”

The pre-seed round was co-led by General Catalyst and Cherry Ventures, with participation from a select group of angel investors including current and former CFOs and executives from companies such as Eli Lilly, Trustly, Deliveroo, Typeform and GoCardless. “When I worked in finance, I could only dream of a coworker that automated receivables, chased invoices, and managed the admin. With Lunos, that’s now a reality,” said Dinika Mahtani, Partner at Cherry Ventures. “We’re excited by Duncan and the team’s ambitious vision to redefine receivables and payments for B2B commerce, leveraging AI in a way that’s both practical and transformative.”

Lunos AI is now available for all businesses and offers white-glove service as well as an easy-to-use self-serve platform. The company will use the funds to expand the team and build out the capabilities of its AI agents, adding reconciliation, payment orchestration, and end-to-end cash flow optimization. Lunos will also develop an agent that accounting, invoicing, and CRM providers can embed directly into their own financial products.

“From day one, we wanted our worker to be accessible,” Barrigan said. “Businesses shouldn’t need a six-month integration process just to modernize receivables. With Lunos, you can sign up, start running, and see value right away.”

About Lunos AI
Lunos AI is a fintech startup on a mission to tame the “Wild West” of accounts receivables. By combining AI-driven communication analysis with smart payment structuring, Lunos helps businesses reduce friction, improve cash flow, and save valuable time. Backed by General Catalyst and Cherry VC, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves businesses across industries. For more information or to sign up, visit www.lunos.ai.

Media Contact
Ryan Walker
R.J. Walker & Co.
[email protected]

SOURCE Lunos AI

Series B, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, will turbocharge company’s rapid growth and extend their lead role in using AI to transform the patient experience—eliminating the stress tied to doctor’s appointments, lab tests, prescription renewals, physician referrals, and beyond—putting an end to the dreaded hold music

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30, 2025 — Assort Health, the most comprehensive patient experience platform powered by specialty-specific agentic AI, today announced the close of a $76 million Series B financing round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with investments by Felicis, First Round Capital, Chemistry, A*, Liquid2, and Quiet Capital. Galym Imanbayev, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, will join the board, and Paul Ricci, founding CEO of Nuance will be joining as a board advisor. Following a recent Series A round just four months prior, the company has raised $102 million to date and plans to use these funds to expand Assort Health’s growing team and accelerate the development of a comprehensive platform—Assort OS—that has handled tens of millions of patient interactions across thousands of providers. Beyond the challenge of scheduling doctor’s appointments, Assort Health has improved the patient experience across every touchpoint including care navigation, lab tests, prescription renewals, and physician referrals.

Today, Assort solves a universal problem—it’s a nightmare to schedule a doctor’s appointment. A patient calls their provider and gets put on endless hold, or worse, is disconnected and has to start over in the queue. If they’re lucky and reach an operator, there are often multiple transfers involved and constant resharing of intake data. Missed calls, wrong doctors, no response on weekends and holidays, call centers overseas—it’s an endless list of barriers and frustration people face that result in missed appointments and ultimately, incomplete care. According to the American Academy of Physician Associates, each month, U.S. adults devote the equivalent of an entire workday to navigating healthcare needs for themselves and their families.

“At Assort Health, we are leveraging agentic AI to revolutionize the way provider practices and hospitals engage with patients to remove barriers to care,” said Jon Wang, founder and co-CEO of Assort Health.

“Launching our comprehensive platform, Assort OS, we are bringing customers an opportunity to up-level operations and making it easier to get patients in the door,” said Jeffery Liu, founder and co-CEO of Assort Health.

Part of Assort’s success is driven through an intense, execution-focused culture committed to patient and customer experience; sources show Assort engineers at the 100th percentile of velocity.

“What drew me to Assort Health was the team’s relentless focus on the patient and their dedication to becoming 1% better each day,” said Apolo Ohno, eight-time Olympic champion and Assort Health investor. “I am proud to be a part of Assort Health’s journey as they simplify the healthcare experience for patients and providers.”

Providers are facing  reduced reimbursements, increasing costs, and persistent shortages of healthcare workers. At the same time, front office operations teams are overburdened, managing multiple sites, several physicians and towering call volumes. With patient access as the top priority, healthcare facilities are in need of technology-driven solutions to ensure timely and dependable patient experience.

“Getting the first impression right during a scheduling call is critical for a good patient experience,” said Dr. Titus Abraham, physician at Annapolis Internal Medicine, whose practice handles thousands of inbound calls a month. “Assort’s AI agent easily manages inbound calls and conducts patient outreach as needs change. The new OS platform has also simplified care navigation and internal operations to ensure consistent quality care. Today’s healthcare system is reactive, but with Assort, we can move towards a proactive patient centric system.”

Assort Health’s AI agents get patients in front of doctors faster through a seamless and pleasant experience. Leveraging Assort’s technology, customers have seen 89% shorter patient call wait times and fewer delays to care. By developing a system of reliable omnichannel AI solutions tailored to providers’ specialization and practice, Assort Health has moved far beyond traditional telemedicine platforms that assist patients in finding and scheduling appointments with healthcare providers. Rather than occupying medical call center teams with routine calls and having patients in need of care left on hold, Assort Health integrates itself into EHR and PM workflows with the use of AI and natural language processing to create ease for the patient and resolve any inquiries.

“Patient engagement is the vital heartbeat of healthcare organizations both clinically and administratively. We are thrilled to back Assort Health as it leads the re-platforming of patient engagement into the AI-native era with superior experience for patients and unprecedented outcomes for the organizations that care for them,” stated Galym Imanbayev, MD of Lightspeed Venture Partners, the leader of Assort’s Series B round.

About Assort Health
Assort Health is the most comprehensive patient experience platform powered by specialty-specific agentic AI. With tens of millions of patient interactions across thousands of providers, Assort’s omnichannel AI agents seamlessly integrate with EHR/PMS and complicated provider preferences to eliminate lengthy hold times and inefficiencies that stand in the way of patients getting the care they need. Hundreds of leading healthcare organizations, from Orthoindy to Chesapeake Healthcare, achieve PSAT scores above 94% and see 98% resolution rates using the company’s platform. Assort was recently recognized on the 2025 Forbes Cloud 100 list, alongside companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. To learn more, visit www.assorthealth.com.

Media Contact: 120/80 MKTG, [email protected]

SOURCE Assort Health

Novo Holdings, SR One and Catalys Pacific co-led the financing

Company emerges from stealth to advance lead asset, dotinurad, through global Phase 3 clinical trials

Dotinurad is a next-generation, once daily oral, URAT1 inhibitor with  potential for best-in-class safety and efficacy, as supported by extensive clinical data from Japan, China and other Asian markets where the drug is approved

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 30, 2025 — Crystalys Therapeutics Inc., (‘Crystalys’ or ‘the Company’), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, is announcing its launch with a $205 million Series A financing to support its mission of addressing the significant unmet medical needs of people living with gout. The financing round was co-led by Novo Holdings, SR One and Catalys Pacific with participation from a broad syndicate of investors, including Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds, Lightstone Ventures, AN Venture Partners, funds managed by abrdn Inc., KB Investments, Pontifax, Longwood Fund, Alexandria Venture Investments, Wedbush Healthcare Partners and Prebys Ventures Fund. 

The financing round will support the advancement of global Phase 3 clinical studies evaluating the company’s lead asset, dotinurad, a next-generation, once daily oral, URAT1 inhibitor with potential best-in-class safety and efficacy for the treatment of gout. Dotinurad has already demonstrated robust efficacy and a well-defined safety profile across multiple clinical studies, supporting its approval in Japan, China, Philippines and Thailand.

“Crystalys was built to bring forward a new therapeutic option for the millions of people struggling with gout,” said James Mackay, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Crystalys Therapeutics. “Our lead asset, with its proven efficacy and well-defined safety profile, has already demonstrated its ability to provide meaningful relief for people living with gout. Thanks to the support of our investors, our experienced team is now well-positioned to accelerate dotinurad’s development in the US and Europe as a much needed second-line therapy for patients who do not respond adequately to first-line treatments.”

Led and co-founded by James Mackay, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, a veteran biotech leader with over 40 years of drug development experience, six drug approvals, and a history of founding and leading innovative companies while contributing to San Diego’s life sciences ecosystem, Crystalys brings together a world-class team with a proven record in gout drug development and deep regulatory success with URAT1 inhibitors. Fellow co-founders of Crystalys include Dr. Nihar Bhakta, Dr. Ashwin Ram and Ms. DeAnne Reid. Dr. Bhakta, Chief Medical Officer at Crystalys, has extensive clinical and regulatory experience in immunology and inflammation, having led the team that secured the most recent small molecule FDA and EU approvals for hyperuricemia associated with gout. Dr. Ram, Chief Operating Officer, has extensive experience as an investor and operator, having managed multiple new company creations as a Partner at Catalys Pacific. Ms. Reid, Executive Director of Operations and Business Development, has significant biotech and gout drug development experience from her roles at Ardea Biosciences and Aristea Therapeutics.

“Since its inception, Crystalys has been guided by a singular vision: uniting a world-class gout drug development team with Japan’s excellence in pharmaceutical innovation to deliver transformative therapies for patients with gout,” said BT Slingsby, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Crystalys Therapeutics. “We are proud to continue to support Crystalys as it advances dotinurad into two global Phase 3 trials.”

“The clinical effectiveness of dotinurad for treating hyperuricemia associated with gout has already been well validated across 22 trials involving 1,300 subjects, and since its approval in Japan in 2020, more than 1.2 million patients have been treated with dotinurad, consistently achieving target serum uric acid levels linked to meaningful clinical benefits,” said Nihar Bhakta, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Crystalys Therapeutics. “Our upcoming Phase 3 trials are designed to highlight the superior efficacy of dotinurad in reducing serum uric acid levels, gout flares and tophus area.”

About Gout

Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis. It is a condition which is very debilitating for patients and characterized by sudden, severe attacks of pain, swelling, redness and tenderness in one or more joints. This disease arises from excess uric acid in the body, known as ‘hyperuricemia,’ which causes buildup of uric acid crystals and inflammation, leading to tophaceous gout in people with chronic or undertreated disease. Despite available therapies that aim to reduce uric acid levels below the target 6 mg/dL, a major treatment gap remains between first-line xanthine oxidase inhibitors (XOIs) and last-line uricase therapy. Currently, no suitable second-line options exist in the U.S. or E.U., leaving a critical unmet need for patients who fail to respond to first-line treatments.

About Crystalys Therapeutics

Crystalys Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company transforming the treatment of gout. Headquartered in San Diego, California, and co-founded by Catalys Pacific and Novo Holdings, Crystalys brings together a world-class team with deep expertise in gout drug development, dedicated to delivering more effective options for people living with gout. The company’s lead candidate, dotinurad, is a next-generation, once daily oral, URAT1 inhibitor in clinical development as a second-line therapy aimed to reduce uric acid, gout flares and tophi. Dotinurad was invented by Fuji Yakuhin and has obtained regulatory approval in Japan, China, Philippines and Thailand. With best-in-class potential for both safety and efficacy, dotinurad is supported by clinical data from multiple Asian markets where it is approved. Crystalys is advancing dotinurad in global Phase 3 trials toward regulatory approval and commercial launch.

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SOURCE Crystalys Therapeutics