The company will use the follow-on seed to advance the development of its high-performance CPU microarchitecture designed for the surging compute demands of AI workloads

PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 21, 2026 — AheadComputing, Inc., the company pioneering breakthrough microarchitecture to deliver industry-leading CPU performance, today announced it has raised $30M in a Seed2 round, bringing the company’s total funding to $53M to date. The round was co-led by Eclipse, Toyota Ventures, and Cambium, with additional participation from Corner, Trousdale Ventures, EPIQ, MESH, and Stata.

AI workloads are reshaping compute across hyperscale data centers, workstations, PCs, and high-end embedded systems. While GPU performance is taking center stage, CPU performance remains essential for AI workloads, yet is often overlooked as a critical component of overall system capability. Industry forecasts predict that 70% of all data center workloads will be AI workloads by 2030, and a high-performance CPU is essential to the efficient execution of these workloads. The AI workload mix is shifting towards inference and agentic AI workloads, making higher per-core CPU performance an industry priority.

“Our team of system architects and engineers, with over 1000 years of combined CPU design experience, continues to push CPU performance forward and beyond the boundaries of traditional CPU innovation,” said Debbie Marr, CEO and co-founder of AheadComputing. “This additional funding will allow us to continue to challenge traditional rules and sustain a fast pace of transformation and develop the fastest high-performance, general-purpose CPU because everybody deserves better compute.”

Since its founding in 2024, AheadComputing has made rapid progress through product development, technical collaborations with semiconductor ecosystem partners, and customer design exploration with hyperscalers and compute providers. Its approach combines the extensibility of RISC-V with a breakthrough microarchitecture, demonstrating that open architectures can deliver top-tier performance for modern AI and Data Center applications. By collaborating deeply with technical partners across the ecosystem, AheadComputing is helping bring RISC-V into mainstream data-center and AI infrastructure.

“AheadComputing is shaping a massive addressable market at a time when the compute industry is undergoing a fundamental shift driven by surging AI workloads, escalating performance bottlenecks, and an urgent need for more scalable, high-performance CPU cores,” said Greg Reichow, Partner at Eclipse and AheadComputing Board member. “The team’s roadmap takes a novel approach by making CPUs more powerful than ever before. By leveraging RISC-V’s extensibility and pairing it with a breakthrough microarchitecture, the team is unlocking levels of performance and efficiency that the industry has been chasing for years and ultimately, setting a new bar for what modern CPUs can deliver.”

This new capital will support enhancing R&D, software innovation, and test chip development.  Additionally, AheadComputing continues to scale its team of nearly 120 people, which has collectively shipped 70+ products over the course of their careers. The team’s first product is currently in development, which is made possible by key collaborations with ecosystem partners, including Alchip, Cadence, Skyechip, and Tenstorrent.

For more information, visit aheadcomputing.com

Toyota Ventures:
“AheadComputing is focused on developing a ‘true performance CPU core’ that can break through the per-core performance limitations of today’s microarchitectures,” said Chris Abshire, principal, Frontier Fund at Toyota Ventures. “The company’s technology is addressing the growing demand for high-performance, energy-efficient processors by balancing raw processing power with superior power efficiency. We look forward to supporting the world-class team at Ahead Computing as they bring the most performant CPU to market.”  – Chris Abshire, principal, Frontier Fund, Toyota Ventures.

Cambium: 
“The RISC-V software ecosystem is large and rapidly expanding to meet the needs of the emerging AI workloads. AheadComputing will further accelerate the RISC-V ecosystem by giving software developers something they have lacked – a world-class CPU.” – Bill Leszinske, Partner at Cambium Capital

ALCHIP:
“The compute industry is at an inflection point. Alchip is delighted to collaborate with AheadComputing as they architect breakthrough CPU performance precisely when the industry needs it most. As AI workloads shift toward inference and agentic computing, AheadComputing is positioned to redefine what’s possible in high-performance computing.” – Dave Hwang, SVP and Alchip NA GM

Tenstorrent:
“The path to transformative CPU performance isn’t about chasing incremental gains—it’s about fundamental rethinking. You have to redesign core microarchitecture and goals. Debbie and her team at AheadComputing are approaching this problem with the kind of first-principles thinking that actually moves the industry forward. This team has collectively shipped over 70 products and holds hundreds of compute patents, representing both technical insight and execution capability. This is the caliber of engineering that delivers generational leaps, not evolutionary steps.” – Jim Keller, CEO of Tenstorrent and Board Member at Ahead

About AheadComputing
AheadComputing Inc. is an IP design house focused on developing, licensing, and supporting high-performance microprocessor cores and related technologies. With a leadership team boasting decades of experience in CPU architecture and innovation, the company is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of compute performance through cutting-edge RISC-V processors. AheadComputing’s solutions empower industries ranging from cloud computing to AI and edge applications, providing unmatched efficiency and scalability. Headquartered in Portland, OR, the company is poised to revolutionize the computing landscape by delivering breakthrough per-core performance and setting new industry benchmarks. For more information, visit www.aheadcomputing.com

Media Contact
[email protected] 

SOURCE AheadComputing

Led by Centana Growth Partners, the funding accelerates Benepass’ platform expansion to help employers better control healthcare spending and expand employee choice.

NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2026 — Benepass, a global benefits capital management platform, today announced it has raised $40 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Centana Growth Partners, with participation from FoW Partners and existing investors Portage Ventures and Threshold Ventures. The funding will support Benepass’ efforts to expand into larger, more complex employers with their pre- and post-tax benefit offerings. The platform will be positioned to support more specialized and cost-sensitive programs.

“Benepass has demonstrated strong momentum across customer adoption, and platform usage,” said Matthew Alfieri, Partner at Centana Growth Partners. “What stood out in diligence was the consistency of customer praise across flexibility, its user experience, and a highly collaborative support model, which reinforced our conviction that Benepass is well-positioned helping employers manage benefit dollars with greater precision and flexibility.”

Healthcare costs are projected to rise by as much as 10 percent this year, driven by increased utilization, chronic conditions, and specialty drugs such as GLP-1 medications.¹ At the same time, more than a quarter of employers are shifting costs to employees through higher premiums and deductibles², a strategy that is becoming less effective as inflation strains household budgets.

With the new funding, Benepass will expand its platform to give employers greater control over healthcare spending while increasing employee choice. This includes continued investment in its Health Savings Account offering. Employers gain greater control over their investment philosophy. Integrated enrollment and a $125 minimum investment threshold make it easier for employees to participate.

The company will also expand Specialty Health Reimbursement Accounts as a cost management option for employers, beginning with programs designed to support GLP-1 medications. These accounts allow employers to define eligible medications, restrict merchants, and tailor access to complementary interventions such as nutrition counseling, fitness programs, and behavioral therapy. The approach is designed to support weight management programs without necessarily increasing premiums, claims, or deductibles for the broader employee population.

Benepass will pair these offerings with enhanced employee outreach around eligible benefits, including items that may qualify under Health Savings Accounts as well as Flexible Spending Accounts.

Greater participation in pre-tax accounts lowers employees’ taxable income and out-of-pocket costs. Employers benefit from reduced payroll taxes, making these accounts a rare win-win as healthcare expenses climb.

“As benefits have multiplied, their value to employees have become fragmented,” said Jaclyn Chen, CEO of Benepass. “By consolidating benefits on a single platform and expanding employee choice, employers can turn benefits into something people actually understand, use, and value. This funding allows us to keep scaling that foundation.”

Benepass currently serves over 250 employers globally and has supported more than 4.5 million card transactions to date. Since January 2025, its revenue has more than doubled according to internal company data. The company is also a Workday Wellness partner for financial benefits, reflecting growing enterprise demand for flexible and compliant benefits infrastructure.

About Benepass

Founded in 2019, Benepass is a global benefits capital management platform that modernizes how employers deliver and manage benefits, pre and post tax. Powered by a proprietary financial ledger, Benepass ensures precise and compliant distribution of benefit dollars across local currencies and programs. Currently, the company has processed more than 4.5 million card transactions, and serves over 250 employers worldwide. Benepass is also a Workday Wellness strategic partner for financial benefits.

About Centana Growth Partners 

Centana Growth Partners is a specialized growth equity firm that invests in the future of finance. Centana collaborates with companies across the entire financial services ecosystem, from institutions to fintech disruptors, to add strategic and long-term value to their portfolio companies. Centana empowers entrepreneurs with a combination of capital, network, and expertise to accelerate their growth. The Centana team taps into decades of financial services expertise and insight to invest in companies that bring real value and innovation to the industry. Visit centanagrowth.com for more information.

__________________________

¹ Plier, R. (2025, August 14). Employers project 10% rise in health care costs for 2026. Word on Benefits Blog. International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. 

² Society for Human Resource Management. (2025, September 25). Employers project big jump in health care costs 2026. SHRM. 

Media Contact

Corey Goldman
[email protected]
416-322-2863

SOURCE Benepass

Collaboration breaks down barriers for DisabilityTech startups to get funding

WATERTOWN, Mass., Jan. 21, 2026 — Today, the Perkins Howe Innovation Center announced a new collaboration designed to solve a long-standing problem for the disability community: bringing more accessible products and services to market. The new collaboration with Adaptation Ventures will unite DisabilityTech innovators with early-stage investors, accelerating the development of accessible products and services that people with disabilities need.

“Investment in DisabilityTech companies is growing, but access to ‘first money in’ remains a barrier for founders,” said Sandy K. Lacey, Executive Director of the Perkins Howe Innovation Center. “Innovation doesn’t happen without resources. By formalizing this strategic relationship with Adaptation Ventures, we can help move more early capital into the sector and support companies at the moment it matters most.”

By aligning their complementary programs, the Perkins Howe Innovation Center and Adaptation Ventures create new pathways for promising DisabilityTech startups to succeed. Perkins will draw on its connections across the disability and startup ecosystems to identify and refer high-potential companies, while Adaptation Ventures – a pioneering pre-seed VC fund exclusively focused on DisabilityTech – will support founders with early capital, strategic guidance, and investor networks.

“Working closely with the Perkins Howe Innovation Center allows us to engage earlier and more meaningfully with founders who are solving real accessibility challenges,” said Brittany Palmer, Managing Partner at Adaptation Ventures. “Perkins’ longstanding leadership in disability innovation makes them a natural collaborator as we work to ensure early investments translate into meaningful impact.”

This announcement follows the release of Perkins’ latest market research, “Defining DisabilityTech, Volume II: The Accessible Innovation Opportunity,” unveiled earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show. Drawing on analysis from McKinsey research, the report highlights several defining trends shaping the sector, including:

• DisabilityTech Is Entering a Breakthrough Phase: Early-stage (through Series A) DisabilityTech investment grew from $818 million in 2022 to $1.1 billion in 2024, signaling rising mainstream momentum.
• Early Capital Is Still the Bottleneck: Despite growth, DisabilityTech founders continue to cite first-money-in funding as their biggest barrier.
• AI Makes Accessibility Non-Negotiable: As AI becomes foundational, accessibility must be built in early—or exclusion will scale with the technology.

Together, Perkins and Adaptation Ventures aim to attract new investors, support emerging founders, and reduce friction points that slow the path from idea to impact. By connecting innovators with aligned capital and expertise, the collaboration will help bring accessible products and services to market for the 1 in 4 people worldwide who live with a disability.

About the Perkins Howe Innovation Center
The Perkins Howe Innovation Center—recognized on the Forbes Accessibility 100 as one of the “biggest innovators and impact-makers in accessibility”—unlocks the power of entrepreneurs and the disability community to create solutions to real-world accessibility challenges. The Center serves as a convener and catalyst of innovation by bringing together people with disabilities, startups, investors, researchers, and industry leaders to spotlight lived experience and solve everyday accessibility challenges. Learn more at Perkins.org/Innovation.

About Adaptation Ventures
Adaptation Ventures is a pioneering pre-seed fund dedicated to fueling tech innovation in disability, neurodivergence, and accessibility. It backs mission-driven founders building venture-scalable solutions for the nearly 2 billion people who live with disabilities and control $18 trillion in annual purchasing power. Adaptation’s Managing Partners, Brittany Palmer and Rich Palmer, have been on all sides of the table – as exited founders, global operators, and leading early-stage investors – and offer personal insight as disability advocates with lived experience ranging from limb difference and traumatic brain injury to neurodivergence. Its portfolio companies represent a range of sectors and industries, and benefit from a robust community of investors, experts, and hands-on guidance to help them scale. The Managing Partners have also worked to make the fund more accessible to new and seasoned investors, with smaller investment minimums. Adaptation sees disability innovation as the catalyst for a new era of entrepreneurship – one that delivers both purpose and performance. Interested investors, founders, and others can learn more on the Adaptation Ventures website.

About Perkins School for the Blind
Perkins helps children with disabilities find their place in the world. For nearly 200 years, Perkins has been the global leader in education services for children and young adults with disabilities with visual impairments. From its renowned Massachusetts-based school, Perkins develops best-in-class teaching practices and shares them worldwide—through teacher training, sustainable education programs, and accelerating innovation for people with disabilities. With a mission to make quality learning accessible to the 240 million children with disabilities globally and reached almost two million children last year. Perkins is continually innovating to meet the evolving needs of children, families, and educators—breaking down barriers and building brighter futures, one student at a time. Perkins.org

Media Contact:
Perrin McCormick
[email protected]
617-972-7333

SOURCE Perkins School for the Blind

Investment will launch a new joint venture in Abu Dhabi to bring nutrition technologies for healthy aging and disease remission to the MENA region

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21, 2026 — L-Nutra Inc., the world’s first nutri-technology company advancing science-driven nutrition for longevity and nutrition as medicine, announced today a $36.5 million investment in its Series D funding round. The investment, led by Mubadala Investment Company “Mubadala”, an Abu Dhabi sovereign investor and one of the world’s most reputable global investment firms with more than $330 billion in assets under management, brings L-Nutra’s total Series D raise to $83.5 million.

As part of this investment, Mubadala and L-Nutra will establish a local joint venture in Abu Dhabi to produce best-in-class scientific medical nutrition therapies and longevity nutrition for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The two organizations have already begun delivering healthier nutrition and education programs across seven Abu Dhabi schools.

“We are on the cusp of enhancing human healthspan, adding years to our life and life to our years. As the world’s first nutri-technology company, we have spent decades advancing nutrition R&D and developing effective interventions that can be integrated within our healthcare system,” said Joseph Antoun, MD, PhD, Chairman and CEO of L-Nutra. “By reformulating food into clinically validated nutrition programs, we now can support patients and individuals seeking to embark on a healthy longevity journey.”

“This investment reinforces Abu Dhabi’s ambition to expand as a regional hub for longevity science, preventive health, and advanced nutrition technologies, and operates as a natural extension of the sector capabilities we are building across the UAE’s emerging life sciences ecosystem,” said Ismail Ali Abdulla, Executive Director of UAE Clusters, at Mubadala’s UAE Investment Platform. “In addition to Mubadala Bio, our biomanufacturing and biotechnology national champion, we continue to execute Mubadala’s life sciences strategy by investing in innovative solutions that advance human health and longevity. We look forward to supporting L-Nutra’s international expansion, including across the MENA region through localized development of its core technologies in Abu Dhabi, while further advancing the UAE’s economic diversification and knowledge-based economy.”

Mubadala’s investment complements a roster of exceptional, blue-chip investors that have long supported L-Nutra’s mission. This includes Brentwood Associates, a leading private equity firm dedicated to building long-term value in essential service sectors; Stéphane Bancel, a globally recognized biotech leader whose work at Moderna played a pivotal role in the fight against COVID; and 618 Ventures, a pioneering San Diego-based tech venture capital firm.

About L-Nutra

L-Nutra, the premier nutri-technology company, leads the discovery, design, and commercialization of Nutrition for Longevity and Nutrition as Medicine programs that enhance human healthspan and drive remission in chronic diseases. In partnership with 18 global university research centers, L-Nutra has developed breakthrough nutrition formulations inspired by precision nutrition and powered by cellular longevity science. Supported by 47 clinical trials, 137 granted patents, and a rapidly expanding global presence, L-Nutra is redefining the role of nutrition to treat aging and chronic disease. L-Nutra’s programs — including Prolon for longevity and its medical nutrition therapies for chronic conditions — are designed to maximize safety, nourishment, and therapeutic benefit while improving health outcomes across populations. For more information, visit www.l-nutra.com.

About Mubadala

Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio, aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for the Government of Abu Dhabi.

Mubadala’s US $330 billion (AED 1.212 trillion) portfolio spans six continents with interests in multiple sectors and asset classes. We leverage our deep sectoral expertise and long-standing partnerships to drive sustainable growth and profit, while supporting the continued diversification and global integration of the economy of the United Arab Emirates.  

For more information about Mubadala Investment Company, please visit: www.mubadala.com

SOURCE L-Nutra Inc.

Led by WestCap, the Series D Round Values the Company at $1.2 Billion and Marks the Next Chapter for Personalized, High-Quality Learning at Scale

NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2026 — Preply, the #1 global language learning marketplace, today announced the closing of its Series D round, securing $150 million in funding led by WestCap, a strategic operating and investing firm with over $6 billion in assets under management. Goldman Sachs International acted as sole placement agent in the transaction. The latest funding round values the company at $1.2 billion, marking a significant milestone in Preply’s mission to make transformative learning experiences accessible to people around the world.

A pioneer in online language learning, Preply’s platform connects more than 100,000 tutors with learners in 180 countries, facilitating one-on-one lessons in more than 90 languages. Powered by a unique combination of human-led instruction, paired with its AI-supported tutoring co-pilot suite, Preply is redefining how people learn through high-quality, flexible and tailored learning experiences designed to drive real progress with every lesson.

Preply’s Series D fundraise comes at a time when an estimated 1.8 billion people, or roughly one in every four people worldwide, are actively striving to achieve proficiency in a second language, according to global education data platform HolonIQ. It’s estimated that the global direct-to-consumer language learning market will reach $227 billion by 2035, and has already delivered 3X growth over the last five years, with long-term forecasts indicating sustained, exponential growth in years to come.

Since its Series C raise, Preply has more than tripled its number of bookable tutors and expanded its offering by adding over 40 new languages to the platform. In the last twelve months the company continued improving EBITDA and became EBITDA positive. 

With this capital, and the support of new and existing investors, including The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Horizon Capital, among others, Preply will strengthen its commitment to delivering the world’s most personalized learning experiences at scale. The company plans to advance its AI and data capabilities, expand its product and engineering teams to enhance the platform experience, and accelerate its global growth to reach more learners and tutors across the globe as it reshapes the traditional education system. The WestCap team, with its strong track record of building and scaling global marketplaces such as Airbnb and StubHub, will help Preply further deepen its impact worldwide.

“We feel extremely fortunate and deeply responsible for shaping how people will learn in the future,” says Preply co-founder and CEO Kirill Bigai. “Today, we connect people with the world’s best tutors, amplified by AI, bringing learning efficiency to a level that was previously unreachable. We are happy to partner with the WestCap team, who has deep expertise in helping founders to build legendary world-changing brands. This investment will help us to continue to innovate at the intersection of human tutoring and AI, creating opportunities everywhere for people to connect, belong, succeed, and ultimately to progress in their lives no matter where they are in the world.”

As other learning platforms increasingly turn to automation, Preply remains committed to the power of human connection, using AI to enable and enhance tutor-driven learning and support its tutoring co-pilot suite. In fact, Preply’s 2025 Efficiency Study, conducted in partnership with the nonprofit research organization LeanLab Education, revealed that 96% of learners consider learning with a human tutor and engaging in real conversations as essential to their progress, while 97% said these interactions were key to boosting their confidence.

The study also found that learners progressed up to 3x faster with Preply when compared to average benchmarks, with one in three learners moving up a full CEFR level in just 12 weeks. This indicates that human guidance remains a powerful driver of meaningful learning, and can be supercharged when paired with AI, like Preply’s tutoring co-pilot, which tracks progress, delivers actionable insights, and automates administrative tasks, enabling tutors to focus on teaching and learners to more quickly reach their goals.

“Preply is setting a new standard for personalized education at scale, and the opportunities are virtually limitless,” says Allen Mask, Partner at WestCap and former senior executive at Airbnb, who is joining the Preply board. “Data shows that learners thrive when real human instruction is supported by technology, and in today’s increasingly connected world, there is a real demand for democratizing access to high-quality learning in a modern and effective way. Preply has the market-leading product, the experienced leadership team, and the vision to shape how people communicate globally.”

This latest round brings Preply’s total funding to approximately $299 million to-date, underscoring long-term investor confidence in the company’s mission and growth trajectory. With continued momentum across its global marketplace, Preply is well positioned to expand its impact, build on its proven learning outcomes, and further establish itself as the category leader in human-led, AI-enabled learning.

For more information, visit Preply.com.

ABOUT PREPLY
Preply is the human-led, AI-enabled language learning platform building the future of learning. With a global network of more than 100,000 tutors teaching over 90 languages, we are the category leader and the largest online marketplace that brings human tutors together with learners from 180 countries, supporting them with always-on, AI-powered tools to deliver real progress with every lesson.

Our mission is to create life-changing learning experiences by powering real progress through personalized learning, motivation, and high-quality tutoring at scale. We believe that we are uniquely positioned to become the company that understands human learning better than anyone else on the planet.

ABOUT WESTCAP
WestCap is a strategic operating and investing firm that partners with visionary leaders to build generational businesses. Our team is comprised of seasoned industry leaders and entrepreneurs who guide companies through the most pivotal stages of growth. Some of our notable investments include Airbnb, StubHub, Klarna, Ipreo, Addepar, Hopper, iCapital and GoodLeap. The firm has offices in New York, San Francisco and London. For more information, please visit www.westcap.com.

CONTACT
Lauren Doyle
Global PR & Communications, Preply
[email protected] 

SOURCE Preply

De Serie D-ronde die geleid werd door WestCap, waardeert het bedrijf op $ 1,2 miljard en markeert het volgende hoofdstuk voor gepersonaliseerd, hoogwaardig leren op schaal

NEW YORK, 21 januari 2026 — Preply, de top wereldwijde marktplaats voor het leren van talen, kondigde vandaag aan dat het haar Serie D-ronde heeft voltooid. Hierbij werd $ 150 miljoen aan financiering verkregen onder leiding van WestCap, een strategisch opererende investeringsonderneming met meer dan $ 6 miljard aan vermogen onder beheer. Goldman Sachs International trad op als enige plaatsing agent in de transactie. De laatste financieringsronde waardeert het bedrijf op $1,2 miljard en markeert een belangrijke mijlpaal in Preply’s missie om transformatieve leerervaringen toegankelijk te maken voor mensen wereldwijd.

Het platform van Preply, een pionier op het gebied van online taalleren, verbindt meer dan 100.000 docenten met studenten in 180 landen en biedt één-op-één lessen in meer dan 90 talen. Dankzij een unieke combinatie van menselijke onderwijs, in combinatie met de AI-ondersteunde tutoring co-pilot suite, herdefinieert Preply de manier waarop mensen leren. Het doet dit door middel van hoogwaardige, flexibele en op maat gemaakte leerervaringen die zijn ontworpen om echte vooruitgang te boeken bij elke les.

De Serie D-fondsenwerving van Preply komt op een moment dat naar schatting 1,8 miljard mensen, of ruwweg één op de vier mensen wereldwijd, actief streven naar het beheersen van een tweede taal, aldus het mondiale onderwijs dataplatform HolonIQ. Naar schatting zal de wereldwijde markt voor direct-to-consumer taalleren in 2035 $ 227 miljard zal bedragen. In de afgelopen vijf jaar onderging de markt al een drievoudige groei, en langetermijnvoorspellingen wijzen op een aanhoudende, exponentiële stijging van dit aantal in de komende jaren.

Sinds de Series C-financieringsronde heeft Preply het aantal boekbare docenten meer dan verdrievoudigd en het aanbod uitgebreid met meer dan 40 nieuwe talen op het platform. In de afgelopen twaalf maanden bleef het bedrijf zijn EBITDA verbeteren en werd het EBITDA-positief.

Met dit kapitaal en de steun van nieuwe en bestaande investeerders, waaronder de Europese Bank voor Wederopbouw en Ontwikkeling (EBRD) en Horizon Capital, zal Preply zich nog meer inzetten om ‘s werelds meest gepersonaliseerde leerervaringen op schaal te leveren. Het bedrijf is van plan zijn AI- en datamogelijkheden te vergroten, zijn product- en engineering teams uit te breiden om de platform ervaring te verbeteren en zijn wereldwijde groei te versnellen om meer leerlingen en docenten over de hele wereld te bereiken terwijl het traditionele onderwijssysteem een nieuw jasje krijgt. Het WestCap team, met haar sterke staat van dienst in het bouwen en opschalen van wereldwijde marktplaatsen zoals Airbnb en StubHub, zal Preply helpen om haar impact wereldwijd verder te vergroten.

“We voelen ons zeer gelukkig en zeer verantwoordelijk voor de manier waarop mensen in de toekomst zullen leren”, zegt Kirill Bigai, mede-oprichter en CEO van Preply. “Vandaag de dag verbinden we mensen met de beste docenten ter wereld, versterkt door AI. Hierdoor wordt de leer efficiëntie naar een niveau gebracht dat voorheen onbereikbaar was. We zijn blij dat we kunnen samenwerken met het team van WestCap, dat veel expertise heeft in het helpen van oprichters bij het bouwen van legendarische merken die de wereld veranderen. Deze investering zal ons helpen om te blijven innoveren op het snijvlak van menselijke begeleiding en AI. “Zo kunnen we overal kansen creëren voor mensen om met elkaar in contact te komen, erbij te horen, te slagen en uiteindelijk vooruitgang te boeken in hun leven, waar ter wereld ze ook zijn.”

Terwijl andere leerplatforms zich steeds meer richten op automatisering, blijft Preply zich inzetten voor de kracht van de menselijke verbinding. Hierbij wordt AI gebruikt om tutor gestuurd leren mogelijk te maken en te verbeteren en om de tutoring co-pilot suite te ondersteunen. Uit de Preply 2025 Efficiency Study, uitgevoerd in samenwerking met de non-profit onderzoeksorganisatie LeanLab Education, blijkt dat 96% van de leerlingen het leren met een menselijke tutor en het aangaan van echte gesprekken als essentieel voor hun vooruitgang beschouwt, terwijl 97% zegt dat deze interacties essentieel zijn voor het vergroten van hun zelfvertrouwen.

Uit het onderzoek bleek ook dat met Preply leerlingen tot 3x sneller vooruitgang boekten in vergelijking met de gemiddelde benchmarks, waarbij een op de drie leerlingen een volledig CEFR-niveau hoger kwam in slechts 12 weken. Dit geeft aan dat menselijke begeleiding een krachtige drijfveer blijft voor betekenisvol leren, en dit kan worden versterkt wanneer het wordt gecombineerd met AI. Preply’s tutoring co-pilot houdt de voortgang bij, levert bruikbare inzichten en automatiseert administratieve taken, zodat tutoren zich kunnen richten op het lesgeven en leerlingen sneller hun doelen bereiken.

“Preply zet een nieuwe standaard voor gepersonaliseerd onderwijs op schaal en de mogelijkheden zijn vrijwel onbeperkt”, zegt Allen Mask, Partner bij WestCap en voormalig senior executive bij Airbnb, die toetreedt tot het bestuur van Preply. “Uit gegevens blijkt dat leerlingen het goed doen als echt menselijk onderwijs wordt ondersteund door technologie. In de steeds meer verbonden wereld van vandaag is er een echte vraag naar het democratiseren van de toegang tot leren van hoge kwaliteit op een moderne en effectieve manier. Preply heeft het marktleidende product, het ervaren managementteam en de visie om vorm te geven aan de manier waarop mensen wereldwijd communiceren.”

Deze laatste ronde brengt Preply’s totale financiering op ongeveer 299 miljoen dollar tot nu toe, wat het vertrouwen van investeerders op lange termijn in de missie en het groeitraject van het bedrijf ondersteunt. Met een voortdurend momentum op de wereldwijde markt is Preply goed gepositioneerd om zijn impact uit te breiden, voort te bouwen op zijn bewezen leerresultaten en zich verder te vestigen als categorieleider op het gebied van door mensen geleid, AI-gesteund leren.

Ga voor meer informatie naar Preply.com.

OVER PREPLY
Preply is het door mensen geleide, AI-gebaseerde platform voor taalbeheersing dat de toekomst van leren mogelijk maakt. Met een wereldwijd netwerk van meer dan 100.000 docenten die lesgeven in meer dan 90 talen, zijn wij de categorieleider en de grootste online marktplaats die menselijke docenten samenbrengt met studenten uit 180 landen en hen ondersteunt met always-on, AI-gestuurde tools om echte vooruitgang te boeken bij elke les.

Het is onze missie om levensveranderende leerervaringen te creëren door echte vooruitgang te stimuleren via gepersonaliseerd leren, motivatie en tutoring van hoge kwaliteit op grote schaal. Wij geloven dat we in een unieke positie verkeren om het bedrijf te worden dat het menselijk leren beter begrijpt dan wie dan ook ter wereld.

OVER WESTCAP
WestCap is een strategisch opererend investeringsbedrijf dat samenwerkt met visionaire leiders om generatie bedrijven op te bouwen. Ons team bestaat uit doorgewinterde industrie leiders en ondernemers die bedrijven door de meest cruciale groeifasen loodsen. Enkele van onze opmerkelijke investeringen zijn Airbnb, StubHub, Klarna, Ipreo, Addepar, Hopper, iCapital en GoodLeap. De onderneming heeft kantoren in New York, San Francisco en Londen. Ga voor meer informatie naar www.westcap.com.

CONTACT
Lauren Doyle
Global PR & Communications, Preply
[email protected] 

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The company’s unique approach is built around making AI the foundation of the CFO’s Office, while enabling finance teams to continue using Excel – by far their core software of choice. The new funding will be used to accelerate Datarails’ geographic expansion across North America and EMEA, further increase investment in R&D, and open up the possibility of acquiring other players in the sector in the coming months.

Led by One Peak, a specialist growth equity investor, new and existing investors participating in the round include Vertex Growth, Vintage Investment Partners, Zeev Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Joey Low, Qumra Capital, and Claltech. The investment comes as Datarails’ platform saw 70% year-over-year revenue growth, with its team nearly doubling to over 400 employees globally in 2025.

The company’s growth reflects strong demand for its Excel-native approach. This has seen Datarails quickly emerge as the leading FP&A platform for finance teams seeking AI-native planning and analysis without leaving Excel. It comes as research indicates that 99% of financial professionals spend more than three hours a day in Excel and 89% of Gen Zers and Millennials believe it will remain “as important” or “more important” in the next decade. Yet critical workflows – from FP&A and month-end close to spend control – still often exist in siloes, forcing finance teams to waste time on manual spreadsheet and data tasks, instead of strategic analysis.

Datarails solves this by allowing finance teams to maintain the familiarity and flexibility of Excel, while ending the pain of piecing together fragmented financial data, freeing them to drive strategic decisions instead. Datarails’ FinanceOS operating system serves as the decision engine of the CFO’s Office, with its multi-product platform covering FP&A, month-end close, cash management, spend control, and other core finance functions. Further products are set to launch this year.

“AI is the great equalizer for finance teams, which is why we’ve been working to make it the foundation of the CFO’s Office, rather than just a feature,” said Didi Gurfinkel, CEO and Co-founder of Datarails. “CFOs are asking: ‘How can I transform our processes and workflows in the AI era?’ By giving them a single source of truth that powers AI-driven insights across every critical workflow, we’re not only answering that question but also transforming their entire function.”

Demonstrating Datarails’ evolution from FP&A leader to complete finance platform, more than 50% of the company’s growth in 2025 came from product solutions launched in the past 12 months. These include Month-End Close, a tool to help CFOs visualize, streamline, and manage the entire close process, and Cash Management, which connects to company bank data in real time, enabling finance teams to monitor cash position, forecast liquidity, and manage cash flow with accuracy and ease.

New Strategy, Planning, and Reporting AI Finance Agents launching today allow finance professionals to ask questions and instantly generate board-ready PowerPoint slides, PDF, and Excel files based on unified ERP, CRM, HRIS, and Excel data. Key capabilities include:

• Profitability Analysis: “What’s driving our profitability changes this year?”
• Predictive Forecasting: “What happens if revenue grows slower next quarter?”
• Budget Variance: “Why did Marketing go over budget last month?”

Purpose-built around each company’s internal data, the new agents are significantly more private, secure, accurate, and expedient than generic AI tools.

“Datarails has cracked the code of what finance teams actually need from AI: not flashy features, but trustworthy intelligence built on clean, consolidated data,” added David Klein, Co-founder and Managing Partner at One Peak. “Their Excel-native approach is brilliant because it meets CFOs where they already work, while their multi-product strategy demonstrates the kind of ambitious, category-defining vision we look for. With their exceptional growth trajectory and clear product-market fit, we’re thrilled to partner with the whole team as they transform the CFO’s Office into a true strategic nerve center for modern businesses.”

The Strategy, Planning, and Reporting AI Finance Agents are now available to new and current Datarails customers.

About Datarails

Datarails is the only AI-native financial platform providing a single source of truth for the CFO’s Office across FP&A, cash management, spend control, and month-end close. Through seamless data consolidation, uniting financial and operational data, Datarails is the unified finance platform where all workflows and data come together to deliver actionable insights for businesses. As the most flexible and scalable solution, Datarails lets you stay within Excel and our web-based platform, transforming the CFO’s Office into the home of business insights for any business, in any sector, at any stage.

About One Peak

One Peak is a leading growth equity firm with $4bn in assets under management that invests in technology companies in the scale-up phase. One Peak provides growth capital, operating expertise, and access to its extensive network to exceptional entrepreneurs, with a view to help transform innovative and rapidly growing businesses into lasting, category-defining leaders. In addition to Datarails, One Peak’s investments include Akur8, Ardoq, Cymulate, Deepki, Docplanner, emnify, iplicit, Keepit, Lucca, Neo4j, PandaDoc, Sparta, and many others. To learn more, visit www.onepeak.tech.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Jan. 21, 2026 — Secomea, a global leader in secure remote access for industrial OT environments, today announced a significant expansion of its product and technology organization, doubling its investment in product development to accelerate innovation, scalability, and long-term category leadership.

The move reflects Secomea’s growing customer base and increasing demand for secure, compliant, and easy-to-use remote access solutions purpose-built for manufacturing and industrial ecosystems.

“Secure remote access has become critical infrastructure for modern manufacturing,” said Michael Ferdinandsen, CEO of Secomea. “As cyber risk, regulatory pressure, and global collaboration all accelerate, manufacturers and machine builders need solutions that are purpose-built for OT, not adapted from IT. Doubling product investment ensures we stay ahead of these demands and continue to deliver long-term value to our customers.”

As part of this expanded investment, Secomea is strengthening its leadership by elevating exceptional internal talent and welcoming strong players. Together, this team will spearhead Secomea’s product strategy, accelerate the execution of breakthrough technologies, and advance a long-term platform vision to redefine the industrial connectivity landscape.

Knud Kegel has extended his role from Chief Product Officer (CPO) to Chief Technology & Product Officer (CTPO).
In this expanded role, Kegel brings product management, engineering execution, and platform architecture under one strategic umbrella, ensuring even tighter alignment between customer needs, product innovation, and engineering delivery.

“Our customers rely on Secomea for something mission-critical: secure remote access to their cyber physical systems (CPS) without slowing down operations,” said Knud Kegel, CTPO at Secomea.
“By unifying product and technology leadership, we can move faster, scale smarter, and continue to deliver a platform that’s built for the realities of OT.”

To further strengthen engineering leadership, Secomea has appointed Thomas Have as Vice President of Engineering.
Have, brings extensive leadership experience from senior technology roles, including recently as SVP Engineering at LogPoint, with a strong track record in building and scaling enterprise-grade security platforms in regulated environments.

“Secomea operates at the intersection of cybersecurity, compliance, and operational continuity,” said Thomas Have, VP of Engineering. “That combination demands both technical rigor and a deep understanding of how customers actually work. I’m excited to help scale a platform that’s clearly designed for real-world industrial use.”

In parallel, Secomea is establishing a dedicated product marketing function to sharpen positioning, clarify customer value, and reinforce category leadership in Secure Remote Access for OT.

The new function will be led by Ingrid Arem Gundersen, a long-term Secomea product leader, who will focus on strengthening the connection between customer needs, product capabilities, and market communication.

“As the category matures, clarity matters more than ever,” said Ingrid Arem Gundersen.
“Our mission is to make it unmistakably clear why Secomea exists, who it’s built for, and how it delivers value, whether you’re responsible for OT security, uptime, or global service operations.”

As manufacturers face rising cyber risk and regulatory pressure, and machine builders scale global service operations, Secomea continues to invest where it matters most: a secure, reliable, and easy-to-use platform that defends the factory floor while enabling collaboration across the industrial ecosystem.

About Secomea

Secomea is a Secure Remote Access (SRA) solution purpose-built for industrial networks and OT equipment. Founded in 2008, Secomea helps manufacturers and machine builders secure remote access to machines and production facilities, without compromising uptime or usability.

Today, 8000+ customers worldwide rely on Secomea to reduce cyber risk, meet compliance requirements, and keep operations running smoothly.

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HONG KONG, Jan. 21, 2026 — Recently, the world’s leading index company, FTSE Russell, announced Fosun International Limited (HKEX stock code: 00656) (“Fosun International”) Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating, with the latest score rising to 4.2. At the same time, Fosun International announced it has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series for the fifth consecutive time.

Based on the latest results, Fosun International’s FTSE Russell ESG performance surpasses both industry and Chinese corporate averages across all three dimensions—governance, environment, and social issues. Fosun International continued to maintain a full score of 5.0 in Environmental Supply Chain, Anti-Corruption and Risk Management. It also achieved a full score of 5.0 for the first time in Social Supply Chain and Corporate Governance. Notably, Fosun International’s overall Governance Score reached a full score of 5.0. Meanwhile, Fosun International recorded high scores of 4.0 or above in multiple dimensions, including Labour Standards, Health & Safety, Customer Responsibility, and Human Rights & Community.

In recent years, Fosun International’s ESG ratings have continued to excel, underscoring its outstanding sustainability performance. As of now, Fosun International maintained an MSCI ESG rating of AA and an HSI ESG rating of AA-. It was once again included in S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook 2025 and was selected as the top 1% in S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook 2025 (China Edition). Continued recognition from multiple internationally authoritative institutions not only demonstrates Fosun International’s solid foundation in systematic ESG management, but also further enhances its reputation in global capital markets and strengthens market confidence in its long-term value creation capabilities.

Since its establishment, Fosun has remained committed to its original aspirations of “Self-improvement, Teamwork, Performance, and Contribution to Society”. While ensuring strong business performance, Fosun will continue to strengthen its sustainable development management, proactively fulfil corporate social responsibilities, and further advance its ESG efforts. Leveraging the resources and advantages of Fosun’s global industrial ecosystem, Fosun will accelerate the implementation of relevant principles and practices. With higher standards and stronger execution, Fosun will continue to create impact for the world.

About FTSE4Good Index Series

Created by the global index and data provider FTSE Russell, the FTSE4Good Index Series is designed to measure the performance of companies demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The FTSE4Good indexes are used by a wide variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds and other products. FTSE Russell evaluations are based on performance in areas such as Corporate Governance, Health & Safety, Anti-Corruption and Climate Change. Businesses included in the FTSE4Good Index Series meet a variety of environmental, social and governance criteria.

About Fosun

Fosun was founded in 1992. After more than 30 years of development, Fosun has become a global innovation-driven consumer group. Adhering to the mission of creating happier lives for families worldwide, Fosun is committed to creating a global happiness ecosystem fulfilling the needs of one billion families in health, happiness, and wealth. In 2007, Fosun International Limited was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX stock code: 00656). As of 31 December 2024, Fosun International’s total assets amounted to RMB796.5 billion and it received an AA MSCI ESG rating.

SOURCE Fosun