NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2026 — Aurachain, the system of action for compliance, risk and fraud, today announced a strategic growth investment from Evolution Equity Partners, a leading technology investment firm specializing in cybersecurity, AI and enterprise software.

The investment will accelerate Aurachain’s expansion in the United States, spanning its core enterprise platform, partner ecosystem and Fraud.Watch, its collaborative fraud intelligence network for financial institutions.

Aurachain provides the execution layer where regulated institutions turn obligations, risk signals, intelligence and AI into governed, auditable action across client lifecycle compliance, financial crime, fraud investigations, third-party risk and operational resilience.

Over the last few years, Aurachain has built this foundation alongside regulated enterprises, developing the governance, auditability and operational depth required to run high-value processes at scale. Today, that foundation supports deployments across enterprise and Fortune 500 environments in North America and Europe and provides the base for the company’s next phase of growth.

Fraud.Watch shows what that foundation can also enable. The network allows banks and credit unions to share fraud intelligence across institutions, identify emerging patterns earlier and turn that intelligence into governed action. Strategic distribution partnerships are putting Fraud.Watch in front of hundreds of financial institutions across the U.S. community banking and credit union market, creating a network whose intelligence becomes more valuable as participation grows.

The initiative extends Aurachain’s capabilities beyond complex operations within individual institutions to coordinated action across financial ecosystems.

“This investment marks an important next chapter for Aurachain,” said Adela Wiener, Founder and CEO of Aurachain. “It allows us to scale much more aggressively in the U.S., across compliance, risk and fraud, while continuing to invest in our platform and AI capabilities. We see a significant opportunity as regulated institutions move from experimenting with AI to putting intelligence into governed operational action. Fraud.Watch demonstrates what becomes possible when that capability extends beyond a single institution and across an entire financial ecosystem.“

“Aurachain has built a compelling platform at the intersection of AI, regulated operations and financial crime,” said Dennis Smith, Managing Partner at Evolution Equity Partners. “Its combination of enterprise-grade execution and initiatives like Fraud.Watch creates a strong foundation for growth. We look forward to supporting Adela and the team as they expand in the U.S. and internationally.”

The investment will support the expansion of Aurachain’s U.S. go-to-market organization and partner network, the growth of Fraud.Watch, and continued product and AI development across compliance, risk and fraud.

About Aurachain

Aurachain is the execution layer where regulated institutions turn obligations, risk signals, and fraud alerts into governed, audited action. Financial institutions and other regulated enterprises use the platform to run their core regulated processes, with AI inside the work and a full audit trail around it. Headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, with the United States as its primary commercial and operating hub, Aurachain serves clients across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Learn more at aurachain.com.

SOURCE Aurachain

The company will scale toward producing the first pharmaceuticals made in space for patients on Earth.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Sept. 30, 2026 — Varda Space Industries announced a Series D fundraising round today, bringing the total amount of capital raised by the microgravity-enabled life sciences company to $598 million. The $251 million fundraise was led by Lux Capital and Natural Capital, with participation from Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, 8090 Industries, Giant Step, and Also Capital.

The first product made in space for use on Earth will be a pharmaceutical. Due to the absence of gravity, materials such as the active pharmaceutical ingredients in medicines can be crystallized in ways that would be impossible on Earth, enabling novel drug formulations that can benefit patients.

The company is transforming in-space pharmaceutical processing to be a normal, reliable part of the drug development pipeline.

“In-space manufacturing means building what space needs, in space, and making what Earth can’t. Varda is making life-saving drugs impossible to make under gravity. It’s the first and only company delivering a real cadence of launches and re-entries, with capsules built to manufacture the impossible and return it home,” said Shahin Farshchi, Partner at Lux Capital.

Building Toward the First Medicine Made in Space

Decades of ISS research have demonstrated microgravity’s potential to produce drug formulations that are impossible to achieve on Earth, and Varda is now the only company with the launch cadence, reentry capability, and pharmaceutical science team to bring that potential to market.

“We started Varda with the conviction that the first product manufactured in space and consumed on Earth would be a pharmaceutical,” said Varda co-founder and President Delian Asparouhov. “This round gives us the resources to increase our cadence, deepen our pharmaceutical partnerships, get closer to delivering the first medicine made in space.”

Since its first mission launched in 2023, Varda has rapidly increased its flight cadence, completing six successful reentry missions with over a dozen more launches and reentries planned through 2028. Varda’s W-Series vehicles, which reach Mach 25 on their reentry from orbit, offer government and commercial partners a reliable, repeatable, and economical way to return materials and data from space to Earth.

As launch cadence across the industry continues to increase, the ability to bring things back will become as foundational as the ability to send them up.

About Varda

Varda Space Industries is building the infrastructure for a thriving orbital economy, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical hypersonic reentry capsules. The company operates out of El Segundo, California with office and industrial production space and has office space in Washington, D.C. and Huntsville, Alabama. Follow Varda on X (@vardaspace), Instagram (@vardaspaceindustries), and LinkedIn.

Alex Pearlman, Head of Communications and Marketing: [email protected]

SOURCE Varda Space Industries Inc.

The private capital network for family offices has been in the hands of its 100 Founding Members since March and has already closed two of Mondevo Group’s own acquisitions.

ABU DHABI, UAE and GENEVA, Sept. 30, 2026 — In November 2025, Mondevo Group announced its vision: to create a private capital network for global family offices, with AI at its core. Four months later the platform was live, ahead of plan. It is now open beyond its founding group.

Ittikar is where family offices analyse deals, invest and raise capital. Behind it sits a family office with a 25-year investment track record and relationships across 500 family offices. Mondevo Group used the platform to acquire Caruso, the Italian menswear house, in February, and Underscore District, the Milan-based brand accelerator behind Magliano, GR10K and the multi-brand retailer WOK Store, in August. Ittikar’s due diligence engine carried both deals from analysis through to completion.

“We did not launch Ittikar with a demonstration. We launched it on our own deals, with our own capital. The Group bought Caruso and Underscore District with the same engine our members use: the whole data room read and graded in days, every finding sourced, the investment committee memorandum drafted before the advisers would normally have finished their first pass.”
Fabio Brambilla, Co-founder, Ittikar and Mondevo Group

Mondevo Tech, the Group’s technology division, builds Ittikar in-house: more than 50 engineers directing 120 AI coding agents. It is developed in alignment with GDPR, NIS 2 and the EU AI Act. Each member family holds its data in its own sovereign Data Pod, in a jurisdiction of its choice, under its own encryption.

“A family’s data is the family’s. That principle determined the architecture, and it is why we built to the strictest European standards rather than the most convenient ones.”
Cristiano Motto, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Ittikar and Mondevo Group

The intelligence behind the platform is vertical. Every member has their own assistant, Itti, and the specialist agents behind it work in one domain: private markets. They are calibrated to each family’s investment profile, its Capital DNA™, and built on how a deal team reads a data room, how an investment committee weighs risk, and how a raise is structured and matched.

“Generic AI can summarise a document. It cannot take a family office through a transaction. Ittikar’s AI was built by people with experience executing real transactions and applying institutional investment standards. The AI does the analysis. Ittikar’s investment team reviews every deal before it is published on the platform. The family decides.”
Chris Shann, Head of Investment and AI Enablement, Ittikar

The Founding Members are deliberately diverse: founding families, single family offices, multi-family offices, entrepreneurs and family conglomerates, across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America, and across industries from consumer and luxury to real estate, finance, industry and Technology. With the first release complete, Ittikar now opens at tiered levels of membership. Details are at ittikar.com.

“Ittikar is a business enabled by AI. It analyses data at a depth no single family office could resource, and shortens the deal cycle from months to days. It is a buy-side platform, built for family offices, not a place where deals are sold to investors. Members see only what matches their Capital DNA™, rather than the unfiltered deal flow the market is used to.”
Hussam Otaibi, Founder, Ittikar and Mondevo Group

Development of the second release began in September. Like the first, it will run for nine months, with capabilities delivered progressively up to June 2027: portfolio analysis, monitoring and reporting in early 2027, negotiation tools in the second quarter, and by mid 2027 the ability for members to tokenise assets and settle co-investments on distributed ledgers, delivered through licensed partners. A first tokenisation proof of concept is planned before the end of this year.

Notes to editors

About Ittikar. Ittikar is the private capital network for global family offices, built by a family office and enabled by AI. It is where family offices analyse deals, invest and raise capital: institutional-grade due diligence, curated co-investment and direct capital raising on one buy-side platform, where every member sees only what matches its Capital DNA™. Live since March 2026. Part of the Mondevo Group.
www.ittikar.com

About Mondevo Group. Mondevo Group is a global private holding company operating at the intersection of investment, technology and luxury. It harnesses AI-native capabilities and a worldwide network of ultra-high-net-worth families to build enduring businesses in sectors with high barriers to entry and strong long-term growth. www.mondevogroup.com

Media contact
Roberta Callegari, Head of Media and Communications, Mondevo Group and Ittikar
[email protected]

This press release is for general information purposes only and does not constitute, and should not be construed as, an offer, invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity, or a solicitation to buy, sell or subscribe for any security or other financial instrument. It is not investment, legal, tax or other professional advice and should not be relied upon in connection with any investment decision. Membership numbers, network figures and references to transactions completed with the support of the platform are stated as at the date of this release, may be approximate, and are provided as illustration only; past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. References to licences, authorisations or certifications described as in process, expected or being finalised indicate an intention only, with no assurance that they will be obtained or obtained on the timetable indicated. Statements about future platform capabilities are forward looking and subject to change; actual outcomes may differ materially. Regulated services, where offered, are provided only by an appropriately licensed entity, in the jurisdictions where it is permitted to do so, under separate agreement. This release is not directed at, and must not be acted upon by, any person in a jurisdiction where doing so would be contrary to applicable law or regulation.

Co-led by Long Journey Ventures and Abstract Ventures, the round follows a January launch and rapid growth that now has OuterSignal powering thousands of consumer businesses and hundreds of millions of orders.

NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2026 — OuterSignal, the agentic customer intelligence platform that tells brands who their customers actually are and activates them 1:1, today announced a $22M Series A co-led by Long Journey Ventures and Abstract Ventures, with participation from BAM Ventures, Top Shelf Ventures, SuperAngel.Fund, and Jerry Yang’s AME Cloud Ventures. As angels, participation included Dave Heath, Rohan Shah, Alex Haro, Emery Wells, Kim Perell, Michael Preysman, Michael Perry, Ken Nguyen, Raad Mobrem, Zach Sims, Sahil Bloom, Steve Carroll, Michael Loeb, Rich Vogel, Troy Ossinoff, Sahil Bhaiwala, James Beshara and Nik Sharma, along with dozens of executives from OuterSignal’s customer base.

Every day, hundreds of millions of consumers are treated like strangers. The gym buff, the new mom and the retiree get the same email, see the same products and load the same homepage because brands know almost nothing about who they are. OuterSignal transforms that, using public context to build a full picture of the person behind the purchase. From there, OuterSignal’s agents put that to work.

That changes the work of nearly every team:

• Influencer and partnerships teams learn when a notable customer buys and can reach out while it matters.
• Lifecycle marketers build audiences around real personas, so college students and busy executives each get bespoke flows and campaigns written for them.
• Acquisition teams send precise segments to media platforms and run ads that speak to the people who actually buy.
• Product and merchandising teams see who is behind every SKU and category they manage.

OuterSignal customers report measurable lift across retention, acquisition, conversion and influencer marketing. Brands on the platform include AG1, HexClad, Jones Road Beauty, True Classic, Jomashop, Lucy, Gratsi, Magic Mind, and thousands more.

“We built OuterSignal to solve the very problem I had running consumer businesses over the last 15 years,” said Zach Zelner, co-founder and CEO of OuterSignal. “Generative AI finally makes truly 1:1 experiences possible, but only if you understand each person on the other end. This round allows us to continue building best-in-class intelligence that drives person-level personalization across billions of touchpoints.”

“OuterSignal’s platform unlocks a new paradigm for agentic personalization. Their growth has been remarkable and we’re proud to back them as they power delightful marketing and experiences for all consumer businesses,” said Ramtin Naimi, Founder & General Partner, Abstract Ventures.

“OuterSignal is building something no consumer brand will want to run without. Technology like this is rare, and so is a company that moves this fast. We’re thrilled to partner with them,” said Lee Jacobs, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Long Journey Ventures.

“As a retention team, everything starts with really knowing our customers, and OuterSignal has given us a clearer picture of who they are than we’ve ever had. It’s also uncovered something we didn’t expect: a huge number of creators and influencers who already cook with HexClad and love it. OuterSignal has become integral to how we build influencer partnerships, because the best voices for our brand are the ones already in our kitchens,” said Noah Pine, Director of Retention at HexClad.

“We launch innovation designed to reach new customer targets, and OuterSignal shows us just how distinct those audiences are — data we use to sharpen our messaging and targeting. It’s also uncovered creators already engaged with our community, from micro-influencers to major names, that we’d never have found otherwise. We’re now building partnerships with people who already know and use the product. That’s the difference,” said Leala Francis, SVP of Customer Strategy, Product, and Member Experience Innovation at AG1.

“We thought we knew who our customer was, but OuterSignal showed us a much fuller picture of the real people buying from us. That changes how we think about everything, from the creators we partner with to how we talk to our community,” said Cody Plofker, CEO of Jones Road Beauty.

OuterSignal will use the funding to deepen its research engine, build personalization that generates a version of every message for every customer, and grow the team across engineering, go-to-market, operations and customer experience. Brands can try OuterSignal free at outersignal.com.

About OuterSignal

OuterSignal is the agentic customer intelligence platform that tells brands who their customers actually are and activates them 1:1. It connects to a brand’s commerce platform or CRM, builds a full picture of every customer, and powers the segments, VIP alerts, personalized campaigns and ad audiences that follow. OuterSignal launched in January 2026, works with thousands of consumer businesses, and is headquartered in New York. Learn more at outersignal.com.

Media contact: Donna Felix, [email protected]

SOURCE OuterSignal

Enrollment Complete in STARFAST Sports-Related Concussion Trial; Topline Results Expected This Winter

GROTON, Conn., Sept. 30, 2026 — Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals Inc., a pioneering clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class cerebroprotective therapies for concussion, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke, today announced the completion of a $9.5 million Series B financing round. The capital will advance the continued Phase 2 clinical development of AST-004, including completion of the company’s STARFAST trial in sports-related concussion in Australian Rules Football.

The financing was led by DeepWork Capital, with continued support from existing investors and participation from new investors MintPharma Capital, Waterstar Capital, Dynagrow Capital and Angel Star Ventures. The Series B round brings the total invested in Astrocyte to $40 million including financing and grants to date.

AST-004 is a novel cerebroprotective therapy that targets astrocytes, the brain’s primary caretaker cells, enhancing their natural ability to protect neurons and preserve brain function during the metabolic stress that follows an acute injury. This approach intervenes early in the injury process, protecting vulnerable brain tissue from secondary damage to improve recovery and avoid lasting neurological deficits. AST-004 addresses enormous unmet medical need for concussion and other traumatic brain injuries, as well as acute ischemic stroke.

“Astrocyte has the potential to develop the first therapeutic drug specifically approved to treat concussion and TBI,” said Jackson Streeter, M.D., Venture Partner at DeepWork Capital. “We have continually been impressed by the team, the consistency of the science and the progress of the clinical programs. We are pleased to support Astrocyte and the advancement of AST-004 for the major unmet medical condition of brain injury.” 

AST-004 has completed two Phase 1 clinical safety studies and has advanced into Phase 2 development, with enrollment now complete in its first Phase 2 trial. Its development is supported by extensive preclinical data demonstrating cerebroprotective activity across multiple models of acute brain injury, as well as multiple federal research awards supporting continued development.

The Phase 2 STARFAST trial is evaluating AST-004 in athletes who experience a concussion during competitive Australian Rules Football. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial is assessing the safety of AST-004 and its effects on objective blood biomarkers of brain injury and clinical measures of concussion recovery. Topline results are expected this winter.

“This is an exciting time for Astrocyte as we reach one of the most important value inflection points in the company’s history,” said William Korinek, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals. “We have built substantial scientific evidence demonstrating the potential of AST-004 and we’re about to see crucial Phase 2 data from patients. With STARFAST, followed by clinical results from our trials in complicated mild TBI and acute ischemic stroke, we expect to build a comprehensive understanding of AST-004’s ability to protect the brain across multiple types of acute brain injury.”

Astrocyte is led by a deeply experienced senior executive team, a world-class scientific and clinical advisory board and a distinguished board of directors. The company’s non‑clinical advisory board, comprised of national leaders in sports, marketing, media and strategic business operations, will be announced this fall.

About Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class cerebroprotective therapies that target astrocytes to enhance the brain’s intrinsic ability to protect and repair itself. The company is advancing AST-004 across multiple acute neurological conditions, supported by a growing body of clinical, translational and preclinical research. For more information, visit www.astrocytepharma.com or email [email protected]. 

Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding, among other matters, the development, potential benefits, clinical and preclinical evaluation, and future development plans for AST-004. These statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, development timelines or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The information in this release is provided as of the date hereof, and Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals undertakes no obligation to update these statements except as required by applicable law.

Media contact:
Charles Upchurch
919-395-1588
[email protected] 

SOURCE Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Former healthcare investment banker to lead sponsor and industry partnerships; available for meetings at CAP26 in Las Vegas, Oct. 3–6

SHREVEPORT, La., Sept. 29, 2026 — Pathology Ventures, LLC (PVL), a physician-founded network representing more than 500 pathologists, has named Dominic Stockey executive vice president. Stockey will lead PVL’s partnerships with pharmaceutical, diagnostic and research sponsors as the company expands its biomarker standards and industry programs across pathology practices.

Stockey oversees business operations, strategic partnerships and enterprise development, including sponsor and partner relationships, commercialization and contracting, and program execution. He joins PVL after seven years in investment banking, where he was a Vice President and worked on more than 15 closed transactions across diagnostics, life sciences and healthcare, including mergers and acquisitions, capital formation and industry partnerships.

“Pathologists are central to getting patients the right biomarker testing, and gaps in that testing have real consequences for treatment,” said Sam Caughron, MD, President. “Our physicians have done the clinical work of defining what good testing looks like. Dominic brings the business leadership to turn that work into programs industry partners can invest in, while making sure our member practices stay independent.”

PVL gives pathology practices a way to collaborate on biomarker programs and industry projects without giving up ownership of their groups. The company was founded in 2025 by Samuel K. Caughron, MD, Eric F. Glassy, MD, and Vivek K. Khare, MD.

“Pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies want to work with pathology practices, but they need a partner that can bring those practices together around consistent standards and deliver programs at scale,” said Stockey. “PVL’s physicians have built that foundation. My job is to build partnerships around it that work for sponsors, for our member practices and, ultimately, for patients.”

Stockey and PVL leadership will attend CAP26, the College of American Pathologists annual meeting, at the Wynn Las Vegas, Oct. 3–6. To schedule a meeting, contact Dominic at [email protected].

About Pathology Ventures, LLC

Pathology Ventures, LLC is a physician-founded company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. It connects pathology practices with pharmaceutical, diagnostic, technology and research organizations on biomarker standardization, implementation, quality improvement, digital pathology and data programs. Learn more at www.pathologyventures.com.

Media Contact:
Dominic Stockey
Executive Vice President
Pathology Ventures, LLC
[email protected] 

SOURCE Pathology Ventures, LLC

Jeeves’ revenue has grown 4x in 14 months and volume has tripled year-over-year, crossing $5 billion in annualized volume. Stablecoin volume has gone from zero to $1.5 billion annualized in eight months as Jeeves expands its stablecoin card and payment offering to 10 new countries.

MIAMI, Sept. 29, 2026 — Jeeves, the stablecoin-native banking platform for global enterprises, today announced $110 million in equity funding and the launch of its proprietary stablecoin wallet with payouts to 190 countries.

The round was led by CoinFund, with participation from AllianceBernstein, Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, CRV, GIC, Global PayTech Ventures, ParaFi, Vista, Wintermute, Y Combinator and others.

Saving global enterprises time and money, Jeeves is the financial operating system for thousands of businesses in sectors such as technology, mobility, financial services, retail, and e-commerce, including industry leaders like BMW, H&M, Lululemon, Burger King, Kavak and XP. Over 80% of customers utilize multiple products, including corporate cards, accounts payable and treasury payments, spend management, and agentic workflows, positioning the company as the default stablecoin-native platform for financial operations among global businesses.

The raise comes as Jeeves surpasses $5 billion in annualized total platform volume across its card and payments products. Stablecoin is the fastest-growing part of that volume. Eight months ago, stablecoin-settled activity on Jeeves was effectively zero. It is now running at $1.5 billion annualized platform volume, driven by enterprises that use Jeeves to move money between markets where correspondent banking is slow or expensive.

Jeeves is expanding its stablecoin card offering from 25 to 35 countries, including Argentina, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Paraguay and Uruguay. That expansion means Jeeves covers nearly every market in Central and South America. Combined with its existing coverage across North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe, Jeeves’ stablecoin card and spend management platform now reaches 35 countries in total. As part of the announcement, Jeeves is opening an office in Madrid to expand its core stablecoin-native cards and payments offering globally.

“The enterprises that choose Jeeves are global by default, requiring corporate cards, accounts payable, treasury payments, and financial automation that span continents, and every one of them is tired of legacy infrastructure that wasn’t built for that. We built Jeeves as a banking platform on stablecoin rails because that’s the only way to give companies the same speed and cost structure moving money between São Paulo and Berlin that they get transacting within one country. That is what a stablecoin-native banking platform for global business actually looks like,” said Dileep Thazhmon, Founder and CEO of Jeeves.

Alongside the raise, Jeeves is launching a proprietary stablecoin wallet with instant payouts to 190 countries, a global AI spend tracking solution, and an accounts receivable (AR) module. Together, they give companies a single system to move money, track spend, and get paid, without stitching together banks, spreadsheets and point solutions across every market they operate in.

“Stablecoins are fundamentally changing finance for enterprises, but thus far, very few companies have created robust stablecoin-based infrastructure ideally suited to enterprises. Jeeves has built a full enterprise stack that allows enterprises to run their day-to-day operations, corporate cards and invoice payments atop stablecoins, bringing speed, modern money capabilities and much lower costs to their customers. Jeeves has real distribution among companies already operating across Latin America, the United States and Europe, and that combination of technology and adoption is why we led this round.” said David Pakman, Managing Partner and Head of Venture Investments at CoinFund.  

With this round, Jeeves moves from a payments tool used by finance teams to the banking infrastructure enterprises use to move money everywhere they do business.

About Jeeves

Jeeves is the global financial operating system for enterprises that do business in multiple countries. Jeeves gives businesses physical and virtual corporate cards, accounts payable and treasury payments, and a spend management platform on a single piece of infrastructure, running on stablecoin rails that settle in minutes instead of days. AI agents handle reconciliation and financial automation, and accounts receivable and other financial workflows run on the same foundation. Thousands of enterprises worldwide, including BMW, Lululemon, Burger King, XP, and Kavak, use Jeeves to move billions of dollars a year.

SOURCE Jeeves

Strong application demand highlights Maryland’s academic strength and growing company interest in regenerative medicine

COLUMBIA, Md., Sept. 29, 2026 — The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission announced over $4.8 million in awards through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) during the first funding cycle of fiscal year 2027, supporting innovative stem cell and regenerative medicine research across Maryland.

This funding supports 15 investigators from Maryland-based research institutions and companies working on diverse medical conditions and diseases ranging from blindness, Huntington disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, acute myeloid leukemia, cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, muscular dystrophy, osteoarthritis, viral infections and other neurological, psychiatric and developmental disorders.

The awards come amid strong and growing demand for MSCRF funding, with high-quality applications and requested funding continuing to significantly exceed the resources available for the current cycle. The level of interest reflects not only the strength of Maryland’s research community, but also the growing number of technologies progressing beyond early discovery into validation, commercialization, clinical development and manufacturing—stages that typically require substantially greater capital.

“This funding cycle demonstrates just how much Maryland’s regenerative medicine ecosystem has grown,” said Rachel Brewster, Ph.D., chair, Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission. “We continue to see highly competitive proposals from researchers and companies working at different stages of development, from emerging ideas to technologies moving closer to patients. The strength of the applicant pool speaks to the scientific talent and innovation that Maryland has built over many years.”

For MSCRF, the increase in demand also reflects the maturation of research supported through earlier MSCRF investments. As discoveries advance, the need for funding does not diminish; in many cases, it grows as projects require more extensive validation, regulatory preparation, clinical studies, manufacturing capabilities and commercialization activities.

“What we are seeing is not simply more applications—it is a maturing pipeline,” said Ruchika Nijhara, Ph.D., executive director, MSCRF. “Research that began in laboratories is progressing toward new technologies, companies, clinical applications and manufacturing. That is exactly the progression we want to see, but these later stages are also increasingly capital-intensive. The level of funding requested this cycle shows both the opportunity in front of us and the importance of continuing to provide a pathway for the strongest projects to move forward.”

MSCRF has increasingly focused on supporting that continuum, providing funding mechanisms that allow promising discoveries to advance without losing momentum between traditional stages of research and commercialization. The Fund currently offers seven programs spanning discovery, postdoctoral fellows training, validation, commercialization, clinical translation and manufacturing.

Since its establishment under the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006, MSCRF has supported 770 research and commercialization projects with more than $250 million in funding, helping build a statewide regenerative medicine ecosystem that includes academic research, emerging biotechnology companies, clinical programs and manufacturing capabilities.

The Commission expects to release Requests for Applications for the next MSCRF funding cycle in late October or early November 2026. Additional information on MSCRF programs and funding opportunities is available through the MSCRF’s website (https://www.mscrf.org/funding-opportunities).

The first round of MSCRF awards for the 2027 fiscal year includes the following:

• Launch: These awards are to encourage new and new-to-the-field faculty to bring innovative research and technology to the regenerative medicine field. Totaling $3,084,250, the Launch Award recipients are Drs. Leonardo Parra-Rivas, Saima Riazuddin, Christopher Ward, and Mary Kay Lobo from the University of Maryland – Baltimore, Dr. Taeyoung Hwang from the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, as well as Drs. Anthony Leung, Hyeoncheol Park, Yang Ding, and Hungoo Lee from Johns Hopkins University.
• Commercialization: These awards are for companies to develop new human stem cell-based products in Maryland. Totaling $399,575, the Commercialization Award recipient is SereNeuro Therapeutics, Inc. (Dr. Tea Soon Park).
• Validation: This award supports faculty at Maryland-based academic institutions with intellectual property for human stem cell-based technologies that require additional validation. Totaling $1,349,999, the validation award recipients are Drs. Michal Zalzman and Alexandros Poulopoulos from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, as well as Drs. Ludovic Zimmerlin, Elias Zambidis, and Hee Cheol Cho from Johns Hopkins University.

More information about all current MSCRF awardees is available at: https://www.mscrf.org/awardees.

About the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission and Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund 

The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission, through Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund supports innovative stem cell and regenerative medicine research, development, commercialization, clinical translation and manufacturing in Maryland. The Fund supports academic researchers, companies and other organizations working to advance stem cell-based technologies and treatments from scientific discovery toward patient and commercial impact.

About TEDCO

TEDCO, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, enhances economic empowerment growth through the fostering of an inclusive entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. TEDCO identifies, invests in, and helps grow technology and life science-based companies in Maryland. Learn more at www.tedcomd.com.

MSCRF Contact
Ruchika Nijhara, PhD, MBA, Executive Director, MSCRF, [email protected]

Media Contact
Tammi Thomas, President, TEDCO, [email protected]
Rachael Kalinyak, Associate Director, Marketing & Communications, TEDCO, [email protected] 

SOURCE Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission

140 startups from 20 countries join 13 programs, with AI moving deeper into industry-specific applications

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 29, 2026 — Plug and Play, the ultimate innovation platform that accelerates over 2,500 startups annually, has selected 140 startups across 13 programs for its Silicon Valley Fall batches of 2026. The founders will pitch to investors, corporations, and industry leaders at the Silicon Valley Summit, Nov. 3–5, 2026.

The participating programs include:

• Agtech
• Animal Health
• Brand & Retail
• Enterprise & AI
• Fintech
• Food & Beverage
• Global Overseas Acceleration & Learning (GOAL)
• Health & Longevity
• Insurtech
• New Materials & Packaging
• Travel & Hospitality

The batch also includes startups participating in the Mobility & Advanced Hardware: Korea to U.S. program and the XDC AI Agents & Blockchain Accelerator. View the full list of participating startups here.

Startups were selected based on program fit, traction, and direct interest from Plug and Play’s partners, many of whom participated in the final screening process. Across programs, that demand increasingly centers on technologies that can move beyond experimentation and into real industry workflows.

“A year ago, founders came to us with AI products that companies wanted to test. Now they arrive with customers already in production,” said Saeed Amidi, founder and CEO of Plug and Play. “That changes what our partners need from us. The work is less about proving the technology and more about moving fast enough to deploy it.”

AI is the strongest industry theme in this batch, but its applications vary significantly by sector. Startups are developing autonomous systems for enterprise workflows, financial services, insurance, commerce and travel, while others are applying AI to physical systems in agriculture, mobility and advanced hardware.

The shift reflects changing priorities among Plug and Play’s partners. Insurers are exploring AI agents for claims, customer service, and policy administration, as well as new approaches to insuring autonomous vehicles, robotics, and drones. Financial institutions are looking at agentic finance, payments, and commerce, while retailers are exploring agentic commerce, in-store intelligence, and automated creative operations. In travel, the focus is increasingly on putting agentic AI into production, improving operational efficiency, and identifying new revenue streams.

Other programs reflect industry-specific priorities beyond AI. Food and beverage startups are working across crop nutrition, athlete recovery, and emerging ingredient platforms, while new materials and packaging companies are developing technologies to improve the performance and sustainability of materials used across industries.

The batches also reflect Plug and Play’s global network. The 140 startups come from 20 countries, with 55% based outside the United States. South Korea represents the largest group outside the U.S., accounting for approximately 30% of the companies in the batches. Other startups join from markets across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America.

For founders, the programs provide direct access to corporations seeking technologies that address their priorities. Jerold Zwas, CEO of PakItGreen, joins Plug and Play’s New Materials & Packaging Batch 21. The Michigan-based company develops eco-friendly coating technologies for packaging.

“The Plug and Play team went above and beyond to facilitate highly targeted introductions, connecting our cohort with invaluable partners and industry leads,” Zwas said.

Over three months, participating startups receive mentor-led workshops, private dealflow sessions and curated introductions to corporate partners. Plug and Play’s accelerator programs are equity-free, offering startups opportunities to pursue pilots, proofs of concept, and potential investment from its in-house venture arm.

The programs will culminate at the Silicon Valley November Summit, where founders will pitch to investors and corporate partners across industry sessions. The three-day event will also feature keynotes, expos, and dealflows facilitated through Plug and Play’s global network.

Plug and Play will also use the Summit to announce new developments across its global platform, including corporate partnerships and locations.

To meet the startups and attend the Silicon Valley November Summit, visit the website or contact Plug and Play at [email protected].

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we’re present in 60+ locations across 25+ industries. We offer corporate innovation programs, helping our partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also run startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC where we’ve invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit Plug and Play.

Plug and Play Press Contact
Jacky Tsang
Senior Communications & PR Associate
[email protected]

SOURCE Plug and Play