Ex-Cockroach Labs Engineers Raise $3.5M in Seed Funding to Build a High-Performance CI Cloud for the AI Age

SAN FRANCISCO, May 1, 2025 — Blacksmith, the high-performance CI cloud designed to compete with industry goliaths like GitHub and AWS in an AI world, today announced $3.5M in seed funding led by GV (Google Ventures) and Y Combinator, with participation from notable angel investors including Spencer Kimball, CEO of Cockroach Labs; Peter Mattis, CTO of Cockroach Labs; and Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of WePay by J.P. Morgan.

“Existing CI platforms often act as a bottleneck rather than an accelerator. Blacksmith is tackling this head-on by rethinking CI from the ground up, delivering the performance necessary for companies to innovate rapidly, particularly as AI transforms development workflows,” said Erik Nordlander, General Partner at GV.

In an AI world where agents and code generation tools exponentially increase the amount of code that exists, these existing CI challenges will only worsen, and companies—from startups to enterprises—will have to ditch old workarounds and adapt quickly.

“Instead of watching companies slow down as they awkwardly try to force legacy CI technologies into an AI mold, our goal is to reinvent from first principles,” said Aayush, Co-founder of Blacksmith.

What makes Blacksmith unique is that the platform isn’t just another AWS, GCP, or Azure wrapper (like GitHub); instead, it’s a hardware-software stack that makes numerous purpose-built optimizations for CI–trade-offs that hyperscaler platforms, which must support general workloads, cannot make.

Blacksmith is already working with over 600 organizations, including Ashby, Veed, Finch, Pylon, and Plex. Their technology has been critical in allowing their customers to unlock tremendous amounts of growth.

About Blacksmith

Blacksmith is a high-performance CI cloud designed from first principles to provide best-in-class compute, storage, observability, and security for CI workloads in an AI world. Blacksmith was built by a team behind the data distribution and disaster recovery systems in CockroachDB, the world’s most powerful and reliable distributed SQL database, which is used by some of the world’s largest enterprises, including Comcast, JPMorgan, Netflix, and DoorDash. The company, which is based in San Francisco, was founded in 2024. For more information, visit https://www.blacksmith.sh.

SOURCE Blacksmith

Firm exceeds target capital, signaling strong market demand for its operator-led investment strategy

NEW YORK, May 1, 2025 — Smith Point Capital Management, LLC, an operator-led venture capital firm shaping the intelligent enterprise, today announced the final closing of its inaugural fund, Smith Point Capital Fund I, L.P., with more than $360 million in aggregate commitments, exceeding its target of $300 million.  

Smith Point Capital’s operator-led investment approach attracted significant interest from emerging technology companies as well as institutional investors, foundations, endowments, family offices, and strategic investors. As of the final closing, the Fund already holds six portfolio investments representing $145 million of invested capital – a testament to both the strength of the Firm’s strategy and the market’s appetite for its differentiated value proposition.

“The new intelligent enterprise will be built through experienced partnerships and execution – not just capital,” said Keith Block, Founder & CEO of Smith Point Capital. “We launched Smith Point Capital to build a firm that provides the critical support founders need from trusted operators who have been in their shoes and can deliver actionable guidance based on real-world experience. At Smith Point Capital, we’ve assembled a team that has built and scaled some of the world’s most successful enterprise software companies. This means we’ve experienced the challenges firsthand, developed the strategies that work, and cultivated the networks and partnerships that can open doors. We’re not just providing capital; we’re providing the navigational tools to drive sustainable growth and create lasting value.”

The Firm’s careful curation of investors, operators, and its Precision Advisory Network makes it a distinctive player in the investment space, offering a blend of operational expertise and investment acumen that sets it apart from traditional investment firms. Unlike many investment firms that primarily bring financial expertise to the table, Smith Point unites world-class operating executives from industry vanguards like Salesforce, Oracle, Expedia, Celonis, and Snowflake with seasoned investment professionals from Vista Equity Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Morgan Stanley, and RCL Capital.

This dual expertise creates a powerful advantage: portfolio companies don’t just receive funding – they gain access to operators who have successfully navigated the enterprise software landscape at the highest levels. Smith Point Capital’s approach isn’t just different; it’s essential for success in today’s enterprise landscape where intelligence is reshaping every aspect of how businesses operate.

Fund I focuses on investing in enterprise software companies that deliver mission-critical technologies that reshape business processes, operations, and customer experiences. Leveraging an operator-led model, the Fund is designed to capitalize on emerging opportunities and guide portfolio companies through the complexities of growing and scaling across the enterprise software landscape. The Fund’s goal is to deliver sustainable value for both investors and entrepreneurs by combining deep operational expertise with a commitment to innovation and strategic partnerships to shape the companies who are building the intelligent enterprise.

“Smith Point’s experience and networks transcend the traditional funding models of venture capital firms, making them the perfect partner for founders and CEOs,” said Michael Amori, Co-founder and CEO of Virtualitics. “Through their Precision Advisory Network, I get the additional benefit of building relationships with a curated group of industry leaders, providing tailored guidance that accelerates our company’s growth and success.”

Smith Point Capital’s Fund I close comes at a pivotal time in the market. Founders are increasingly demanding more than just capital from their investment partners – they are actively seeking firms that will engage deeply in scaling their business and strengthen their networks. Pitchbook data shows that venture capital firms who take an active role in company-building – and who leverage powerful, deeply rooted and relevant networks – experience failure rates that are 50% lower than their peers and generate returns that are 3x-4x higher than industry averages. Having a hands-on lead investor is no longer a luxury – it has become crucial for startup survival and success.

“Smith Point Capital has been a transformative partner for AssemblyAI,” said Dylan Fox, Founder & CEO of AssemblyAI. “They truly understand the enterprise landscape and have helped us accelerate our ability to unlock an entirely new class of AI applications for our customers. In today’s market, having investors who contribute strategic expertise alongside capital isn’t just beneficial—it’s critical for companies like ours that are building the intelligent enterprise of tomorrow.”

With its first fund closed, Smith Point Capital is poised to expand its portfolio and deepen its engagement with category-defining founders across the enterprise software landscape. The Firm’s distinct blend of operational experience and strategic capital positions it to help build the next generation of intelligent, durable, and high-performing enterprise technology companies.

About Smith Point Capital

Smith Point Capital Management, LLC is a venture capital firm redefining growth equity for the intelligent enterprise. We invest in mission-critical enterprise software at the convergence of data, AI, edge computing, and precision applications. Our operator-led approach combines Fortune 500 executive experience with deep investment expertise, providing both hands-on operational support and strategic capital to help companies accelerate growth and maximize market impact. For more information, visit www.smithpointcapital.com.

SOURCE Smith Point Capital Management, LLC

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., May 1, 2025 — Coinciding with its 25th anniversary, Mission Wealth has announced a minority investment from Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm that invests in high-growth companies. The partnership will fuel Mission Wealth’s industry-leading organic growth, enhance its client service offering, and support the firm’s national expansion plans. Mission Wealth remains proudly independent and will be majority owned by its employees. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Mission Wealth is a leading wealth management firm based in Santa Barbara, California, with 35+ offices across the United States. Founded in 2000, the firm provides comprehensive financial services, including financial planning, investment management, estate planning, tax planning, retirement planning, asset protection, charitable giving, and support for personal life goals. Mission Wealth offers holistic wealth management services to over 4,100 high-net-worth individuals and families across the country, providing specialized guidance through major life events with a service-oriented culture focused on helping clients lead more fulfilled lives.

“As we celebrate our silver anniversary, we are thrilled to welcome Great Hill as a key partner in our mission to help our clients realize true wealth,” said Matthew Adams, CEO of Mission Wealth. “This partnership brings vital resources and additional intellectual capital to our firm, enabling us to serve clients in new ways, accelerate our organic growth initiatives, bolster our mergers and integrations team, and further invest in our technology stack. Great Hill’s partnership is a strong endorsement of our business model, culture, and team, and their track record of collaborating with founders and management teams will be instrumental in driving our ambitious growth trajectory.”

Matthew Vettel, Managing Director of Great Hill, commented, “We are excited to embark on this journey with Mission Wealth. They have an exceptional leadership team, strong culture and a comprehensive platform to support their advisors and clients. Mission Wealth is a recognized leader in the wealth management industry with an unwavering commitment to superior client service and innovation which has fueled their impressive growth. We look forward to supporting their strategy to expand both organically and through strategic mergers, while helping them build on their legacy of excellence.”

As part of the transaction, Matthew Vettel will join the Mission Wealth Board of Directors. Seward & Kissel acted as legal counsel to Mission Wealth on the transaction. Great Hill was advised by Ardea Partners LP who served as exclusive financial advisor and Goodwin Procter LLP who served as legal counsel.

About Mission Wealth
Mission Wealth is a nationally recognized RIA that manages over $10.7 billion in assets under management. Known for its comprehensive service model driven by a world-class technology stack, Mission Wealth offers financial planning, investment counsel, tax planning, tax preparation, estate planning, philanthropic advice, and asset protection solutions tailored to each client’s individual goals. 

About Great Hill Partners
Founded in 1998, Great Hill Partners is a private equity firm targeting investments in high-growth companies across the software, financial services, healthcare, consumer, and business services sectors. With offices in Boston and London, Great Hill has raised over $12 billion of commitments and invested in more than 100 companies, establishing an extensive track record of building long-term partnerships with entrepreneurs and providing flexible resources to help middle-market companies scale. Great Hill has been recognized for its industry leadership, being ranked in the top five of HEC Paris-Dow Jones’ Mid-Market and Large Buyout Performance Ranking lists from 2021-2024. For more information, including a list of all Great Hill investments, visit www.greathillpartners.com.

MISSION WEALTH IS A REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISOR. 00751909 05/25

SOURCE Mission Wealth Management, LP

– T1D Fund Joins Financing Syndicate –

– Proceeds to Fund Remainder of Phase 2a ‘ZONE’ Trial and Nonclinical Development of a Once-Weekly Version of ZT-01 –

TORONTO, May 1, 2025 – Zucara Therapeutics Inc., (“Zucara” or the “Company”) a diabetes life sciences company developing ZT-01, the first once-daily therapeutic to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels) in people with diabetes, today announced that it has completed the second and final closing of its US$25 million Series B Financing (the “Financing”).

The T1D Fund: A Breakthrough T1D Venture and other new investors invested a combined US$5 million to complete the Financing. As previously announced, strategic investor, Sanofi, and existing investor, The Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund (“PXV Fund I”), invested a combined US$20 million as part of the Financing’s first closing.

“We are thrilled to close our Series B financing, which will enable us to complete our Phase 2a clinical trial and the nonclinical activities to support a once-weekly version of ZT-01,” said Michael Midmer, CEO of Zucara. “As one of the largest disease-focused impact investing funds in the world, the T1D Fund focuses on funding therapies that have significant potential for clinical impact in Type 1 diabetes, so we are delighted to have their support.”

T1D Fund Managing Director, Sylvia Tobé, commented, “Our investment builds on funding that our parent organization, Breakthrough T1D, previously granted to Zucara to support the discovery and clinical development of ZT-01. Having followed Zucara for some time, we are excited to support the further advancement of this promising candidate that has the potential to address a common and potentially life-threatening complication of Type 1 diabetes.”

In connection to the Financing, Dr. Tobé will join Zucara as a Board Observer. Dr. Tobé is an experienced biotech industry professional with over a decade of experience in the sector. Prior to joining the T1D Fund, she was a Principal on the investment team at Omega Funds, where she focused on early-stage investments and company creation in various therapeutic areas. She also previously served at publicly traded Ra Pharmaceuticals, a peptide drug discovery company, where she provided scientific leadership for multiple discovery programs within its internal pipeline and in collaboration with Merck. Dr. Tobé is a Board Director at DiogenX and a Board Observer at various biotech companies across the auto-immune and regenerative spaces.

Proceeds from the Financing are expected to fund the remainder of Zucara’s ongoing Phase 2a trial of the effect of ZT-01 On Nocturnal hypoglycemia Events in Type 1 diabetes (“T1D”) mellitus (“ZONE”), and the nonclinical development of a once-weekly version of ZT-01.

About The T1D Fund

The T1D Fund is an impact investment fund focused on accelerating life-changing solutions to treat, prevent, and ultimately cure type 1 diabetes (T1D). Launched in December 2016, the T1D Fund is a unique, evergreen construct that is the first scaled, mission-driven venture fund established to catalyze the development of T1D cure-oriented therapies through equity investments. By partnering with additional sources of capital, including venture capital, corporations, and foundations, the T1D Fund is able to attract and effectively deploy capital towards disease-modifying therapies and potential cures for T1D.  Managed by a dedicated team of investment professionals and supported by its foundational partners – including Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) and the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the leading global organizations funding T1D research – the T1D Fund continues to pursue innovative approaches that have the curative potential to make a significant impact for people living with T1D. For more information, visit t1dfund.org or follow the T1D Fund on LinkedIn.

About ZT-01

ZT-01 is designed to prevent potentially dangerous low blood glucose by restoring the body’s ability to counterregulate hypoglycemia. In people without diabetes, α-cells secrete glucagon that signals the body to release its own glucose stores to prevent or reverse hypoglycemia. However, in people with insulin-dependent diabetes – including those with T1D and insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes – evidence suggests that elevated secretion of pancreatic somatostatin suppresses glucagon release from α-cells. Zucara has demonstrated that, in people with T1D, the glucagon response can be increased with ZT-01, a first-in-class SST receptor 2 antagonist.

About Zucara Therapeutics Inc.

Zucara Therapeutics is developing ZT-01, a first-in-class, once-daily therapeutic to prevent hypoglycemia in people with T1D and insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes. ZT-01 is designed to inhibit somatostatin, a pancreatic hormone that impairs the glucagon response to hypoglycemia in people with these conditions. ZT-01 is designed to restore glucagon secretion to prevent hypoglycemia, which could dramatically change diabetes disease management and improve both patient health and quality of life. For more information, visit www.zucara.ca.

SOURCE Zucara Therapeutics Inc.

GUANGZHOU, China, May 1, 2025 — EnChannel Medical, a breakthrough innovator in cardiac electrophysiology, today announced the successful completion of an oversubscribed Series B financing, raising $82.2M (600M RMB). The round was co-led by Dragonball Capital and existing investor Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV), with continued strong support from Lapam Capital.

This financing marks one of the largest private investments in China’s medical device sector since 2023. EnChannel’s previously completed its Series A round of $27.8M (195M RMB) in August 2023. Proceeds from the Series B round will accelerate product development and advance clinical registration trials both in China and internationally.

“EnChannel’s platform integrates full-chamber action-potential mapping with pulsed-field ablation to address long-standing unmet needs in atrial fibrillation treatment,“ said Jun Feng, CEO of EnChannel Medical. “We’re grateful for the strong support from new and returning investors and encouraged by early clinical data from our ongoing studies. Key results were presented at the Heart Rhythm Society Meeting in San Diego, held April 24-27.“

About EnChannel Medical
Founded in 2020 by a team of seasoned electrophysiology innovators from both the United States and China, EnChannel is developing a holistic platform that unifies magnetic-impedance navigation, intracardiac echocardiography, full-chamber 5D action-potential mapping, and mid-voltage (<1000 V) pulsed-field ablation to deliver safe and personalized treatment for patients with atrial fibrillation.

Headquartered in Guangzhou, with an R&D subsidiary in Irvine, California, EnChannel is well positioned to expand its global innovation and advance its mission to transform AF care through data-driven, patient-specific therapy solutions.

For more information, visit http://www.enchannel.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

The DePolar® Mapping System and the NanoAblate® PFA System are investigational devices and are limited by federal (or United States) law to investigational use.

Media Contact
Bradley Wegrzynowicz
(610)462-0197
[email protected] 

SOURCE EnChannel Medical Ltd.

By embedding instant crypto-to-stablecoin conversion into Apple Pay, Mesh makes spending crypto as simple as any tap-to-pay fiat transaction

DUBAI, UAE, May 1, 2025 — Mesh, the first truly global crypto payments network, today unveiled its Apple Pay integration live on stage at Token2049 during Co-Founder and CEO Bam Azizi’s keynote address. This marks the first public demonstration of the new capability – available later in Q2 – that will enable merchants partnered with Mesh to accept crypto payments through Apple Pay without building their own crypto infrastructure.

The new Apple Pay integration leverages Mesh’s proprietary SmartFunding technology, which allows users to pay with the crypto of their choice, such as BTC, ETH, or SOL, while merchants settle in the stablecoin of their choice, such as USDC, USDT, PYUSD, and others. Breaking down this inherent misalignment of incentives between consumers and merchants topples the largest barrier preventing crypto payments from becoming a mass market product to date. Users simply select the Apple Pay option at checkout, authenticate with Face ID, and complete the transaction as they would with any fiat payment.

“We believe that as soon as crypto payments are as seamless as fiat payments, nothing is left to stop the mass migration of global commerce onto blockchain rails. Crypto already offers countless benefits over fiat, and Mesh is solving the UX and convenience pieces,” said Bam Azizi, CEO and Co-Founder of Mesh. “With our Apple Pay integration, we’re solving crypto‘s existential last-mile problem, bringing to life a plug-and-play solution that turns on global crypto payments through our existing partners.”

As demonstrated live moments ago by Azizi, Merchants with physical retail locations will now be able to leverage Apple Pay’s NFC capabilities, offering customers the same frictionless experience in-store as they experience online. And this innovation isn’t limited to point-of-sale terminals  – it extends to e-commerce, too.

Mesh’s latest innovation comes on the heels of its $82 million Series B fundraise, led by Paradigm, with participation from Consensys, QuantumLight Capital, Yolo Investments, and others.

With over 300 integrations – including Coinbase, Binance, MetaMask, Phantom, and more – Mesh’s infrastructure ensures broad access and seamless connectivity across the crypto payments ecosystem.

For more information about Mesh, visit https://meshconnect.com/.

About Mesh

Founded in 2020, Mesh is building the first global crypto payments network, connecting hundreds of exchanges, wallets, and payment service providers (PSPs) to enable seamless crypto payments and stablecoin conversions. By unifying these platforms into a single network, Mesh is pioneering an open, connected, and secure payments ecosystem. For more information, visit https://www.meshconnect.com/.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Mesh

New funding will accelerate Plenful’s platform expansion to enhance operational efficiency and deepen adoption across top healthcare systems

SAN FRANCISCO, April 30, 2025 — Plenful, the leading AI workflow automation platform modernizing healthcare operations, today announced a $50 million Series B funding round. The round is co-led by Mitchell Rales, co-founder of Danaher Corporation, who also joins Plenful’s board and Arena Holdings, with participation from Notable Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, TQ Ventures, Susa/Kivu Ventures, and other leading investors. This brings Plenful’s total funding to $76 million and will accelerate product development and go-to-market efforts to meet growing demand across the healthcare ecosystem.

“Healthcare teams have long been under immense strain from the sheer volume and complexity of their work. The need for change has never been more urgent,” said Joy Liu, founder and CEO of Plenful. “Plenful was built by healthcare operators for healthcare operators, and as such, we deeply understand the mission-critical work these teams do every day. By partnering closely with our customers and automating workflows, we’re offering a better way for healthcare staff to work. One that improves compliance, drives revenue, saves time, and supports their teams and the patients they care for.”

Solving Healthcare’s $1 Trillion Admin Problem

The U.S. healthcare system spends nearly $1 trillion each year on administrative tasks — a burden that contributes to labor shortages, employee burnout, and a growing crisis in access to quality care. A Google Cloud/Harris Poll survey found that 81% of medical staff and 77% of claims staff say that administrative work contributes to burnout, with two-thirds of providers expressing serious concern over human error in these processes. Yet most healthcare organizations still rely on outdated systems, complicating workflows with siloed, messy data across multiple formats and touchpoints. Critical institutional knowledge often lives only in the heads of a few overburdened employees, creating additional risk and fragility in day-to-day operations.

Plenful’s platform automates these workflows using AI purpose-built for healthcare. It handles messy, disparate workflows across formats, systems, and departments, reducing errors and streamlining operations while providing real-time reporting and task management for healthcare staff. Leading healthcare organizations like Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Cencora, Renown Health, Shields Healthcare Group, and Samaritan Health use Plenful to decrease time and costs, drive compliance, and unlock new revenue.

Expanding Across Use Cases and Markets

Plenful’s most widely adopted use cases include prior authorization, 340B compliance and missed opportunity auditing, and order and referral data entry. With this new funding, the company will expand its platform to address more unmet needs across healthcare, deepening its presence in the pharmacy, health systems, provider groups, and payor markets where it’s already seeing strong traction.

“Plenful is tackling some of healthcare’s toughest challenges with an AI platform that’s already driving meaningful, measurable results for their customers,” said board member and Danaher Corporation Co-Founder Mitchell Rales. “And what truly gets me excited is the team. Joy is a visionary leader with remarkable learning agility and deep healthcare expertise, supported by a team whose execution and creativity are exceptional.”

“The healthcare market is ripe for transformation, and Plenful is positioned to lead that shift,” said Chelcie Taylor, investor at Notable. “Their ability to deliver immediate ROI and drive efficiency at scale gives them a significant edge as healthcare organizations increasingly turn to AI to solve entrenched administrative challenges.”

Trusted by Industry Leaders, Proven at Scale

Plenful has experienced over 4x year-over-year growth and is now trusted by more than 60 leading U.S. healthcare organizations, underscoring strong market demand for proven, AI-driven automation in healthcare.

“What could take a large team many hours only takes seconds with Plenful, and the reporting they provide is more accurate than our previous solution,” said Savannah Randolph, pharmacy services analyst at Samaritan Health Services. “We’ve reduced our time spent by 96%; it’s incredible. Plenful has enabled us to redeploy staff to higher-value tasks and operate more efficiently overall. And with their scalable platform, we’re excited to expand into other use cases to continue unlocking value.”

“Plenful’s team has been a true pleasure to work with,” shares Adam Porath, vice president of pharmacy at Renown Health. “They come from pharmacy operations themselves; they just get it. We’re expanding our use of the platform this year and looking forward to realizing even more operational efficiencies.”

“We couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead,” Liu shares. “This funding allows us to invest deeply in our team as we scale, especially across machine learning, engineering, product, partnerships, and customer success. We’re building for the long term, and that starts with growing a world-class team to support our customers and deliver on our vision.”

About Plenful

Plenful is the leading AI workflow automation platform transforming how healthcare teams work. Built to empower healthcare operators and the patients they serve, Plenful enables healthcare organizations to scale operations with speed, precision, and intelligence. By combining deep human expertise with purpose-built AI, Plenful automates complex workflows to eliminate inefficiencies, enhance compliance, and unlock critical revenue. Trusted by top pharmacies, health systems, providers, and payors, Plenful powers smarter, faster, and more affordable healthcare operations. To learn more, visit Plenful.com.

Media Contact:
Abby McAdams, ASM Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE Plenful

Round led by True Ventures; Company Founded by PhD Researchers

SAN FRANCISCO, April 30, 2025 — Pallie AI, a technology company developing an AI-powered companion supporting health and wellbeing, today announced it has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm True Ventures, with participation from the health-tech investor Palta known for backing the unicorn Flo. The funding will accelerate the development of Pallie’s AI companion, who acts as a friend, confidant, and wellness coach providing users with their Apple Health data analysis and personalized wellness support in their favorite messaging app.

Pallie’s technology combines AI with an empathic, highly personalized, human-like interaction to address two critical challenges in modern society: loneliness and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Pallie engages with users like a good friend to provide social and emotional support through natural conversation. It further delivers personalized health recommendations — informed by advanced AI algorithms and Apple Health data — designed to boost the user’s motivation for wellbeing.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, a Gallup report found the rate of loneliness among U.S. adults to be on the rise again at 20% after a temporary downward trend following the COVID-19 pandemic. Global reports on loneliness from the pandemic pointed even higher. The Gallup report cites social wellbeing specifically as a key factor in reducing feelings of loneliness. 

To combat loneliness, Pallie seamlessly integrates into users’ daily lives through existing messaging platforms, requiring no additional app downloads or sign-ups. “Pallie is a pro at maintaining engaging, natural conversations that foster genuine connection and a sense that someone’s looking out for your best interests,” commented Ivan Zolotukhin, CEO and founder of Pallie. “Pallie is powered by advanced AI agents designed not just to assist, but to connect. Unlike most AIs, which can feel robotic, Pallie is so natural and relatable that users chat with it for hours about movies, books, and memorable meals — just like they would with a friend.”

Pallie’s features include a growing collection of long-term wellbeing programs that help users increase physical activity, improve sleep quality, connect with new people, and make better nutrition choices. Its guidance becomes progressively intelligent through discovery and interpretation of patterns in user’s health data, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the user through contextual awareness of their daily life — incorporating calendared events, relevant news, weather, and local spots of interest aligned with their wellbeing goals and preferences.

“We’ve long been captivated by the future of human-computer interfaces, and we are certain that AI will become an even more ambient presence in our lives in the very near future,” said Jon Callaghan, co-founder at True Ventures. “When we met Ivan and his team at Pallie, we were amazed by their creation and how effortlessly their personalized agents integrated into the daily routines of their users. Experiencing it offers a glimpse into the future — Pallie exemplifies the incredible potential of AI to adapt to human behavior (in this case, by texting) and deliver meaningful value. We are thrilled to partner with Pallie to support their vision of the future of AI in our daily lives.”

“Our team of PhD researchers, top-tier data scientists, and health industry veterans has created something truly unique,” added Zolotukhin. “Imagine having the world’s most intelligent AI right by your side constantly thinking about you — one that truly gets you and is there for life’s daily challenges. That’s what we’ve created with Pallie. It’s not just about tracking health metrics; it’s about having a supportive presence that nudges you toward better choices, celebrates your wins, and offers a steadying hand during tough times — all while keeping safety and privacy at the core.”

The funding will be used to enhance the AI’s capabilities, expand its range of wellness programs, and scale the platform to reach more users globally. Start talking with Pallie and explore its capabilities in beta, no app download required.

About Pallie AI

Pallie AI, a product from AI Companions, Inc., is an AI friend and health buddy focused on supporting emotional and social wellbeing. Led by PhD researchers and esteemed data scientists, Pallie is both a friend and health coach that communicates naturally with its users through popular messaging platforms while leveraging Apple Health data for personalized guidance. Pallie AI’s mission is to combat loneliness and promote healthier lifestyles through accessible, intelligent, and empathetic AI interaction. Learn more athttps://pallie.ai.

About True Ventures

Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early stage technology startups. With more than $3.8 billion under management, True provides pre-seed, seed, and Series A financing to founders in some of today’s fastest growing markets. To learn more, visitwww.trueventures.com.

SOURCE AI Companions, Inc.

Latest funding reflects growing urgency to know the identity behind every digital interaction — without compromising privacy, user experience, or security

SAN FRANCISCO, April 30, 2025 — Persona, the leading verified identity platform, today announced a $200 million Series D funding round, bringing the company’s valuation to $2 billion. The round was co-led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital, with participation from existing investors including BOND, Coatue, First Round Capital, and Index Ventures.

AI, fraud, and fragmentation are redefining online identity

“We’re facing an identity authenticity crisis, where the line between real and synthetic has become increasingly blurred,” said Rick Song, CEO and co-founder of Persona. “Identity in an AI-driven world isn’t about ticking a box, and the question is no longer ‘is this a bot or not?’ but rather ‘who is the bot acting on behalf of, and what is their intent?’ Identity is the linchpin: it reveals who is behind each action, provides context around their intent, and ultimately builds trust in a future where AI mediates more of our interactions.”

Automated traffic eclipsed human traffic on the internet for the first time in 2024 — and with the advancements in AI, it’s projected to account for over 90 percent of all internet traffic by 2030. AI systems have also surpassed human performance on all major CAPTCHA systems, further blurring the line between humans and machines online. But not all AI-driven traffic is malicious — it’s simply unidentified. As we move into this new era, the question is shifting from whether an interaction is automated to understanding who is behind it and what their intent is.

At the same time, organizations face a deeply fragmented regulatory environment with ever-evolving compliance demands across jurisdictions, verticals, and identity use cases. Meanwhile, fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated, leveraging AI to create synthetic identities, generate deepfakes, and launch automated attacks at scale. And consumers are demanding greater privacy and control, pressuring companies to deliver seamless experiences without compromising on data protection.

Together, the rise of AI agents, increasingly sophisticated fraud, regulatory fragmentation, and growing privacy expectations have created a far more complex — and constantly evolving — identity landscape. As new identity verification technologies and frameworks emerge to meet these challenges, businesses need more than static solutions. They require a dynamic, configurable identity platform that can adapt to diverse use cases, keep pace with shifting risks, and scale trust wherever and however it’s needed.

Infrastructure for today’s challenges — and tomorrow’s unknowns

Persona’s platform was built for this complexity. Unlike rigid, one-size-fits-all solutions, it provides a configurable, privacy-first foundation that adapts to businesses’ needs as regulations shift, fraud evolves, and use cases expand.

“Identity is a foundational mega-trend driving digital transformation, and we’ve believed from day one that Persona would power this shift through its software-native solution,” said Thomas Laffont, co-founder of Coatue. “With the rise of AI agents, it’s critical to verify the identity — whether person or bot — behind every online interaction. Rick and the Persona team have both the vision and the ambition to build the platform that will help to lead this transformation.”

In addition to doubling its customer base, Persona has achieved a number of key milestones over the past year, including:

Building the verified identity layer for any business

To help organizations keep pace with the rapidly evolving identity landscape, Persona is building a verified identity layer — secure infrastructure that helps businesses verify individuals and entities across contexts while giving people control over their personal information.

For companies, this means a flexible foundation that supports evolving regulations, risk models, and user journeys. For individuals, it means a reusable identity they can carry across services — eliminating the need to repeatedly enter sensitive information while keeping privacy and consent at the core.

“Identity has become the foundation of every digital interaction, and in the age of AI, we believe solving identity will be more pivotal than ever,” said Nick Shalek, Partner at Ribbit Capital. “We’ve long admired Persona’s ambition to build a verified identity platform and have been impressed by the diversity of industries, use cases, and geographies of their customers. Their rapid growth and adoption by leaders like OpenAI, LinkedIn, Etsy, Twilio, and Block are clear validation that they’re solving real problems at scale.”

About Persona

Persona offers a unified identity platform that gives businesses the building blocks they need to securely collect, verify, manage, and make decisions about individuals’ and businesses’ identities — along with automation and orchestration tools to streamline the entire process from end to end.

Founded in 2018, Persona is headquartered in San Francisco and is available in 200+ countries and territories and 20 different languages. Persona serves any business that needs to verify its customers online, including AI platforms, retail, fintech, marketplace, delivery services, real estate and hospitality, HR, edtech, legal services, home and childcare services, and more. For additional information, please visit https://withpersona.com/

SOURCE Persona