Seed Round Led by Zero Infinity Partners (ZIP) and CIV; Industry and Financial Veterans Added to Board of Directors

HOUSTON, Aug. 26, 2025 — AiGent, Inc., a leading developer of AI-driven distributed power plants (DPP), announced it has raised $6 million in seed funding from ZIP and CIV, in record time, to integrate 185 GW of the highest reliability set of existing generation assets into American power markets.

AiGent’s AI-based technology platform aggregates, orchestrates, and monetizes distributed generation infrastructure at commercial, industrial, and mission-critical facilities, including AI data centers, to deliver rapidly dispatchable, highly-reliable DPPs. By tapping into existing behind-the-meter distributed generation assets during system stress, AiGent helps keep the lights on, lowers costs, and provides new revenue streams to asset owners, all without the need, cost, delays, and dislocation required to build new power plants or energy infrastructure.

“Backup generators are an untapped reliability resource sitting idle across the grid,” said Stephanie Hendricks, CEO and Co-Founder of AiGent. “AiGent turns liabilities into assets, at scale, to improve grid reliability and reduce consumer costs. This support so quickly from leading investors at ZIP and CIV validates both the urgency of the problem and our team’s approach to solving it.”

Patrick Maloney, Co-Founder and CEO at CIV, added, “AiGent is unlocking a massive, underutilized fleet of 185 GW with AI-based software, controls, and market integration. The team is executing with incredible velocity and we believe their model can deliver reliability at a lower cost while creating meaningful value for generator owners and the grid.”

“At ZIP, we love backing repeat founders who know what it takes to go from zero to one, and we don’t know a better team than AiGent in that regard. Together with our friends at CIV, we’re excited to support their bold vision, in an era where satisfying power demands, increasing grid resiliency, and bringing AI to the physical infrastructure world are among the greatest imperatives,” said John Kwaak, Founder and Managing Partner at ZIP.

In addition to securing its seed funding, AiGent has added Dan Leff and Alex Demeulenaere to its board of directors. Leff is an industry veteran with more than 40 years of leadership and experience in energy and technology, and will help guide AiGent’s leadership team and strategic vision. Alex Demeulenaere joins the AiGent board as an investor and Managing Director at ZIP.

About AiGent, Inc.

Using its AI-based technology platform, AiGent aggregates, orchestrates, and monetizes distributed generation resources in power markets, delivering significant reliability, economic, and sustainability benefits to large energy users, utilities, and grid operators. To learn more visit www.aigent.energy.

About Zero Infinity Partners

ZIP is pioneering the infra-tech investing category. ZIP invests in founders and companies looking to deploy innovative technologies and business ideas in the global infrastructure sectors, including energy, power, mobility, logistics, data, water, and waste. Learn more at www.zeroinfinitypartners.com.

About CIV

CIV is an investment firm that backs and builds technology companies in critical industries. Founded by serial entrepreneurs and investors, CIV unites deep operating expertise, catalytic capital, and a unique global network to help founders create enduring companies that shape the future. CIV was founded on a simple belief: the future belongs to those who build it. Learn more at www.civ.co.

Media Contact
[email protected]

SOURCE AiGent, Inc.

• Series A co-led by Xora Innovation and Capricorn marks OpenLight’s transition from a Synopsys subsidiary to a high-velocity, venture-backed company
• Covered by more than 360 patents, OpenLight’s PDK gives customers access to a library of passive and active components
• Foundry-validated PDK accelerates time-to-market and enables scaled manufacturing of heterogeneously integrated III-V photonics

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 26, 2025 — OpenLight, a leader in custom Photonic Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (PASIC) chip design and manufacturing based on heterogeneous integration, today announced the close of its oversubscribed $34M Series A. The round is co-led by Xora Innovation and Capricorn Investment Group. Other participants include Mayfield; Juniper Networks, now part of HPE; Lam Capital, the corporate venture arm of Lam Research Corporation; New Legacy Ventures; and K2 Access.

This round of financing completes OpenLight’s transition from a Synopsys subsidiary to a high-velocity, venture-backed company positioned to address the growing demand for faster and more energy-efficient data movement in AI data center networks. As the shift from electrical to optical interconnects accelerates to support AI-scale workloads, integrated photonics is emerging as a core enabler of next-generation data center infrastructure. Additional applications for OpenLight’s technology include telecom, automotive and industrial sensing, IoT sensing, healthcare and quantum computing.

OpenLight’s Process Design Kit (PDK), based on the heterogeneous integration of indium phosphide and silicon photonics, gives customers access to a library of passive and active components covering integrated lasers, modulators, amplifiers and detectors. This PDK has been validated at the leading photonics foundry, Tower Semiconductor, ensuring designs are production-ready from day one. This enables customers to create custom PASICs using proven building blocks, simplifying advanced chip development and accelerating time-to-market. OpenLight currently holds more than 360 patents covering its PDK and the manufacturing of heterogeneously integrated III-V photonics. The OpenLight PDK is already being used by over 20 companies to design and fabricate PASICs across a wide spectrum of applications.

With the new capital injection, OpenLight will expand its PDK library of active and passive photonics components, including its leading-edge 400Gb/s modulator and indium phosphide heterogeneously integrated on-chip laser technology. OpenLight will also ramp up its standard-based reference PICs at 1.6Tb/s and 3.2Tb/s to provide customers with the most flexible and leading-edge component design library available in the market. In addition, the company will scale its team to support customers as they transition to volume production over the next 12 months.

“As we enter this next phase of our company’s growth, we are excited to be adding such strong investors with deep roots and expertise in the semiconductor and photonics industry,” said Dr. Adam Carter, CEO of OpenLight. “With this strong syndicate of investors, we can push the boundaries of innovation and deliver transformative solutions to our customers. This funding will allow us to scale our operations, deepen our R&D efforts and bring our groundbreaking products to market faster. We believe heterogeneous integrated silicon photonics will transform the way data is processed and transmitted, and we’re excited to be at the forefront of this revolution.”

“Xora has conviction that the field of photonics is going to see exponential growth in the coming years, and III-V heterogeneous integration is one of the foundational capabilities that will enable this growth,” said Phil Inagaki, Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Xora. “We see OpenLight not only as a technology leader in this field, but also as a company positioned to quickly scale manufacturing with foundry partners. One of the critical challenges for the photonics industry in the back half of this decade will be achieving scale, and we see OpenLight’s PDK as an important part of the solution.”

“Optical connectivity in data centers has become critical for next-generation scale-up and scale-out AI architectures. OpenLight’s heterogeneous integration delivers on all three axes of performance, reliability and cost, which will enable the explosive growth of optical IO,” said Dipender Saluja, Managing Partner at Capricorn’s Technology Impact Funds. “With the industry’s leading team, open PDKs, strong foundry and customer relationships, OpenLight is best positioned to meet the scale of demand that is needed for next-generation AI hardware.” 

About OpenLight
OpenLight is the world leader in custom PASIC design. OpenLight’s PASIC technology integrates all the components of silicon photonics devices, both active and passive components, into one chip. Our executive and engineering teams deliver the world’s first open silicon photonics platform with integrated lasers, modulators, amplifiers and detectors to improve the performance, power efficiency and reliability of designs for datacom, AI, high-performance computing, telecom, automotive and industrial sensing, IoT sensing, healthcare and quantum computing applications. With over 360 patents, OpenLight is bringing optical solutions to places it has never been before and enabling technologies and innovation that weren’t previously possible. The company is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, with offices in Silicon Valley. Read more at www.openlightphotonics.com.

About Xora Innovation
Xora provides capital and commitment to exceptional entrepreneurs transforming essential industries and powering the AI revolution. The firm invests across three key sectors: Compute & Communications, Energy and AI in Physical Industries. Xora supports its portfolio companies for the long term through its expertise and by leveraging the extensive network of its anchor LP, Temasek. For more information, visit xora.vc.

About Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund
The Technology Impact Fund (TIF) is a venture capital partnership that invests in companies developing and scaling novel engineering-based solutions to global challenges. TIF’s investment process is grounded in comprehensive perspectives on long-term, global trends in technology, transportation, power, storage, efficiency, semiconductors, aerospace, sensors, earth data and analytics. TIF is an early investor in iconic companies including Tesla, Joby Aviation, SpaceX, QuantumScape, Redwood, Planet Labs, Saildrone, Helion, Nuvia, Innovium, and Raxium.

Capricorn Investment Group is an investment firm founded to demonstrate that it is possible to invest profitably while driving sustainable positive change. Capricorn manages about $12B in assets for investors who strive for extraordinary investment results by leveraging market forces to accelerate large scale impact.
Learn more at www.capricornllc.com 

About Mayfield 
Mayfield partners with founders from day zero who see limitless possibilities where others see constraints. Drawing on our 55-year legacy of company building and people-first philosophy, we bring founder-to-founder expertise because we’ve built and scaled companies ourselves. We don’t just write checks — founders say our unwavering commitment sets us apart. We’ve celebrated over 120 IPOs and 225+ acquisitions, including breakthrough companies like HashiCorp, Lyft, Mammoth Biosciences, Marketo, Nuvia, Poshmark, ServiceMax and SolarCity. From our Silicon Valley home, with $3 billion in assets under management, Mayfield is more excited than ever to back founders building the AI future where potential knows no bounds. Join us at mayfield.com.

About HPE
HPE (NYSE: HPE) is a leader in essential enterprise technology, bringing together the power of AI, cloud and networking to help organizations achieve more. As pioneers of possibility, our innovation and expertise advance the way people live and work. We empower our customers across industries to optimize operational performance, transform data into foresight and maximize their impact. Unlock your boldest ambitions with HPE. Discover more at www.hpe.com.

About New Legacy Ventures
New Legacy Ventures is the venture arm of New Legacy Group, a multifaceted investment firm spanning direct investments, public equities, wealth advisory and fund allocation. The firm invests across industries and stages, focusing on founders who see uncommon opportunity and pursue it with purpose. For more information, please visit www.newlegacy.com.

About K2 Access
The K2 Access Fund invests in early-stage startups, primarily alongside Tier-1 venture firms, and provides hands-on support with product-market fit, customer acceleration and strategic growth. With a focus on high-growth sectors including AI, cybersecurity, cloud and advanced enterprise technologies, the fund helps startups scale faster, build market traction and position for long-term success.

SOURCE OpenLight

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Aug. 25, 2025 — Roadrunner Venture Studios, a leading venture studio for deep tech innovation, today announced its selection by the New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD) to lead a $25 million initiative to accelerate quantum innovation and commercialization in the state.

The Roadrunner-led Coalition will bring together premier quantum researchers, funders, and innovators to create a quantum campus in Downtown Albuquerque’s Innovation District. This campus will include a multi-node quantum network, dilution refrigerators, a quantum testbed, quantum packaging and demonstration facilities, and a rapid prototyping facility. This infrastructure will create conductive circumstances and valuable resources for the next generation of quantum companies.

Roadrunner has pledged to match this build with a new quantum branch of its venture studio. At the center of this effort will be a flagship Founder-in-Residence program designed to identify and recruit the best entrepreneurial talent in the country to launch quantum companies in New Mexico. In parallel, Roadrunner will bring the most promising quantum startups from around the U.S. to establish operations in New Mexico and work closely with the studio — a process already underway with pioneering startups like Qunnect, QuEra, and Maybell. To support these efforts, Roadrunner will stand up a dedicated capital network explicitly for investing in New Mexico-based quantum startups that engage with the studio.

“New Mexico has long lived in the public imagination. It’s a place that has led America in the most important times with the most critical innovations — a fulcrum for national endeavor,” said Adam Hammer, Co-Founder and CEO of Roadrunner Venture Studios. “In this pivotal moment of technological  change, we are stepping forward to help lead the coming quantum revolution. To win in something as high-stakes as quantum, we need to find exceptional people, forge breakthrough companies, and fuel the second wave of great American quantum companies for global scale.”

Roadrunner’s coalition comprises nearly a dozen official partners, including Elevate Quantum, national laboratories (Sandia, Los Alamos), pioneering quantum startups (QuEra, Maybell, Qunnect, and Resonance), academic centers (University of New Mexico), and top-tier venture capital firms (DCVC, Playground Global, Quantonation). The effort will make Albuquerque a national launchpad for quantum startups—deepening the state’s growing emergence as a hub for advanced technology commercialization.

“Quantum technology will reshape the future, and New Mexico is ready to lead that transformation,” said Nora Sackett, Director of the Technology and Innovation Office at EDD. “By creating an environment where the top scientific minds have the tools and collaboration they need, New Mexico is backing the bold quantum startups and partnerships that will fuel breakthroughs.”

A request for proposal (RFP) was published by the EDD on May 27, 2025. The EDD designed the RFP “for the procurement of operational support for a quantum venture studio … and for a physical space or facility accessible to multiple entities that enables and accelerates the maturation and commercialization of quantum technologies” in New Mexico. The bid and negotiation process was competitive and included a comprehensive application. Finalists engaged in multiple interviews and a site visit by a state-appointed evaluation committee.

Roadrunner and its coalition intend to announce new initiatives and the details of the quantum campus and studio in the coming months.

“Quantum technology represents a once-in-a-generation chance to bring a touch of the Jetsons age into our time,” said Zach Yerushalmi, CEO of Elevate Quantum. “While New Mexico has pioneered world-class research for decades, this venture-studio and infrastructure strategy positions the state to unlock broad economic opportunity for all New Mexicans. Elevate Quantum is excited to partner with Roadrunner and a broad coalition of stakeholders from the national labs, industry, and academic communities to realize what many are coming to call ‘the quantum state.'”

“With a $25 million investment from the State Economic Development Department and the leadership of Roadrunner Venture Studios, we’re at the forefront of the next wave of critical technology right here in Albuquerque,” said Tim Keller, Mayor of Albuquerque. “By uniting our labs, universities, venture capital, investors, and innovators, Albuquerque can be the global leader in quantum computing and all the companies, good jobs, and long-term economic growth that come with it.”

The global market for quantum technologies is expected to reach nearly $200 billion by 2040, according to a 2024 McKinsey report, with the steepest growth experienced in defense, telecommunications, and enterprise computing. What once seemed theoretical is now a race to build quantum science as critical infrastructure that will underpin the next era of computing and communications.

To remain competitive, the U.S. must move from leadership in science to leadership in execution. New Mexico’s initiative provides a blueprint that links world-class research to real-world company formation and commercial infrastructure.

About Roadrunner Venture Studios
Roadrunner Venture Studios is the nation’s first venture studio purpose-built for hard science commercialization. Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Roadrunner identifies breakthrough research with national importance and transforms it into scalable, venture-backable companies. With deep ties to the national labs, leading research institutions, and top-tier venture capital firms, Roadrunner specializes in spinning out companies in advanced energy, robotics, precision manufacturing, and now quantum. The studio combines founder development, operational mentorship, and early-stage capital to accelerate company creation at the frontiers of American innovation. For more information, visit www.roadrunnerventurestudios.com.

Media Contact: [email protected]

New Mexico EDD <> Roadrunner Quantum Initiative Public Press Kit

SOURCE Roadrunner Venture Studios

With $10.7M in funding from Founders Fund and Coatue, early aerospace wins, and support from Siemens, Dirac has built the first automated work instruction platform to drive Context-Aware Production Planning and build the bridge from engineering to manufacturing execution.

NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2025 — As factories return home and reshoring accelerates, one truth becomes clear: you can’t ship know-how as easily as you can ship machines. Dirac is rebuilding the operational backbone of American manufacturing, one work instruction at a time. Earlier this year, Dirac announced the general launch of BuildOS, the first automated platform for creating and managing model-based work instructions. This release comes alongside a swell of momentum for the company, including $10.7M in funding and a new strategic partnership with Siemens to accelerate digital transformation for manufacturers around the world. Tomás Klausing, Siemens Director for Technology Partnerships put it best: “Dirac has built the first and only automated work instruction platform.”

America Has Forgotten How to Build Great Things: Dirac Remembers

Dirac’s mission is simple: to rebuild the memory of American manufacturing. Across aerospace, shipbuilding, and defense manufacturing, many frontline operations still rely on printed PDFs, outdated SOPs, and manual walkthroughs for training and task execution. Critical process knowledge—how to torque a joint, how to set up for a test, which sequence to follow when things go wrong—lives almost entirely in the heads of senior technicians. As retirement rates surge and production targets climb, defense and Tier 1 suppliers face a growing bottleneck: engineering files exist, but they’re unusable without extensive onboarding.

This isn’t just inefficient. It’s strategically dangerous. While the U.S. produces just 1.5 submarines per year, China produces over 10 per month. Modernizing U.S. manufacturing isn’t just an economic priority. It’s a national security imperative.

“We don’t have a labor crisis; we have a context crisis,” said Dirac CEO and founder Filip Aronshtein. “You can’t reshore production if nobody remembers how to build. That’s what BuildOS is for. It turns engineering intent into repeatable execution and tribal knowledge into institutional knowledge, automatically.”

Jogging America’s Memory: CAD to Clarity in Minutes

Artificial Intelligence alone is not always the solution. BuildOS replaces static documentation with automated, animated, physics-aware, interactive, and dynamically updated work instructions. The platform automatically translates CAD files and BOMs into shareable step-by-step build instructions, complete with 3D models, tools, and embedded tribal knowledge.

What CAD did for mechanical engineers, BuildOS is now doing for manufacturing engineers: giving them tools to encode, standardize, and scale their processes across a new generation of builders. Early adopters like Ancra Aircraft, which supplies cargo loading systems to more than 60% of the global freighter fleet, have already seen major gains:

• Work instruction creation time dropped from 3 days to 2 hours, a 95% time savings
• Quality errors dropped due to increased process standardization
• Tacit knowledge from senior technicians was preserved and distributed to new hires in a single session

“America is investing billions in industrial capacity—but without platforms like Dirac’s BuildOS, we’re just recreating the same bottlenecks that made offshoring attractive in the first place. BuildOS gives manufacturers the intelligence layer they’ve never had to make reshoring successful,” said Trae Stephens, Partner at Founders Fund. “We backed Dirac because they’re giving manufacturers the tooling to compete on intelligence, not just incentives, and re-architecting American manufacturing from the ground up.”

BuildOS isn’t tech designed in a vacuum. The co-founders recruited a team with hardware backgrounds from industry—building planes, cars, and submarines—who experienced the problem first-hand. Dirac didn’t build a platform for Silicon Valley’s idea of manufacturing. They built it for the shop floors that form the foundation of American prosperity.

As a result, the platform is already being adopted across aerospace, defense, automotive, agriculture, and heavy industrial equipment, supporting companies navigating low-volume, high-mix production with increasing complexity and compliance burdens.

Dirac x Siemens: Closing the Loop Between Design and Production

Siemens and Dirac have established a partnership to optimize the connection between product design and physical manufacturing. Dirac’s technology creates a bridge between PLM and CAD systems on one side and ERP and MES solutions on the other.

“The partnership with Dirac enables us to provide additional efficiency to our customers,” explains Klausing. “Initial implementations of our integrated products have already led to improvements in work instructions generation, optimized manufacturability and more agile production planning. Based on these results, we will expand the partnership and deepen the integration of the Dirac platform into our digital manufacturing portfolio.”

The partnership supports Siemens’ strategic objectives to bring emerging technologies to market faster and to assist manufacturers in their digital transformation through flexible partnerships.

A Smart Labor Future, Not a Cheap Labor One

As the manufacturing industry transitions from mass to smart labor, BuildOS offers a bridge: a way to take the best of experienced operators’ knowledge and make it accessible to every new hire from day one. In the face of a workforce transition and mounting geopolitical pressure, the most valuable asset a factory can protect is its memory and its ability to learn faster than it forgets.

“Our edge isn’t just speed. It’s repeatability,” said Aronshtein. “BuildOS gives every engineer, technician, and team the ability to build something once, and then build it right every time after that.” In doing so, Dirac aims to relight an industrial engine that’s missing its wiring diagram.

About Dirac

Dirac is a leader in assembly automation software, dedicated to advancing American industry through innovative solutions that streamline and enhance the production process. Its flagship product, BuildOS, automatically generates precise assembly work instructions directly from CAD files, enabling companies to quickly transition from design to production. Dirac is committed to strengthening America’s manufacturing sector by providing tools that enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure the highest levels of productivity. 

All press inquiries should be directed to [email protected]

SOURCE Dirac, Inc.

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 25, 2025 — Nest Health, the nation’s leading in-home, whole-family care provider for families on Medicaid, today announced its $12.5M+ Series A funding. The round was co-led by returning investors 8VC and Blue Venture Fund, alongside new investor Amboy Street Ventures, with participation from Alumni Ventures, Health 2047, Nicholas Jarboe, and others.

This investment comes at a defining moment for Medicaid. The rollout of H.R. 1, known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill”, is reshaping eligibility, work requirements, and coverage renewal processes while states face growing budget pressures. Managed Medicaid organizations need proven, scalable solutions that can deliver better outcomes for lower cost. Nest Health’s model has proven to do exactly that by serving the whole family in the home with integrated medical, behavioral, and social care.

Nest also helps families maintain coverage, reducing churn in half by navigating enrollment and access timely care. Even as eligibility rules narrow, Nest focuses on the areas that states still prioritize and protect, including children’s health, maternal care, and addiction treatment.

“Care starts at home, where trust is built,” said Dr. Rebekah Gee, Founder and CEO of Nest Health. “Our care model meets families where they are and walks with them through every step of their health journey, so no one is left behind.”

The approach is already showing results. In partnership with AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana, Nest reduced emergency room visits, doubled vaccination rates, completed 91 percent of postpartum visits within 30 days, and achieved a two-to-one return on investment. Nest expanded its footprint through a new partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona’s Health Choice, providing 18,000+ Medicaid enrollees in Maricopa and Mohave counties access to its integrated in-home and virtual care.

Nest’s model stands apart by offering a comprehensive solution for the entire household, avoiding the need to juggle between pediatric, adult, or mental health and other point-based care providers. Every family receives in-home visits aligned with ages and stages of development, supplemented with virtual care when that is the best fit. Services include primary care, mental health and substance use treatment, social support such as help with housing or utilities, 24/7 access to clinical support, and care coordination with specialists.

With the Series A funding, Nest plans to expand its family-focused clinical products, using AI to automate care at the right time for the right need, and to grow both in current states and into new geographies through additional payer partnerships. The round officially closes on October 5.

About Nest Health
Nest Health is the first value-based healthcare provider built for families. Nest is making comprehensive medical, social, and behavioral care radically accessible to America’s highest-risk families through in-home visits and wraparound virtual care.

Nest’s multidisciplinary and diverse care team delivers longitudinal care at the right time and place to the entire family, from birth to post-partum women, addressing the root cause of unnecessarily high hospital utilization and poor-quality outcomes. Increasing member satisfaction and appropriate engagement, Nest’s comprehensive care model ultimately reduces the cost of care and improves quality measures. Learn more at www.nesthealth.com. To learn more about the Nest care model, watch this video by Katrina Babies filmmaker Edward Buckles, Jr.

Media Contact: Catherine Sanderson; [email protected]

SOURCE Nest Health

From Term Sheets to Git Commits: Investment Yields 7-14x Exits, 20–34% Faster Funding for Founders, and 27% More Community Builders

AMSTERDAM, Aug. 25, 2025 — Open Source Summit Europe – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, in partnership with Serena, a leading European venture capital fund, and the Commercial Open Source Startup Alliance (COSSA), today released The State of Commercial Open Source 2025 Report, which shows the connection between open source community indicators and venture capital activity. According to the report, the aggregate funding for commercial open source (COSS) startups totalled $26.4 billion in 2024 and these startups average 7x greater valuations at IPO and 14x at M&A, as compared to closed-source peers.

COSS companies consistently outperformed their peers in fundraising velocity, early-stage valuation and liquidity outcomes. For example, the report found that the median IPO valuations for COSS companies were $1.3 billion (vs. $171 million for closed-source peers), and M&A valuations were $482 million (vs. $34 million for closed-source peers). The report demonstrates that open source is not only a viable strategy for startups and investors, it is a superior one, particularly for companies building infrastructure software.

Among the report’s key findings:

• Greater Valuation: COSS firms average 7x greater valuations at IPO and 14x at M&A, as compared to closed-source peers
• Greater Graduation Rates: COSS likelihood of progressing from Seed to Series A nearly twice as high as their closed-source counterparts
• Higher Valuations: COSS companies raise at higher valuations, with median multiples of 1.6x at Series A and 1.23x at Series B compared to closed-source peers, and secure larger rounds, especially at Seed (1.45x) and Series A (1.33x)
• Fund Faster: COSS companies move through the funding funnel more quickly, with shorter time gaps between rounds, 20% faster to Series A and 34% faster to Series B
• Exits are Real: 12% of COSS companies in the venture funnel have reached IPO or acquisition
• Established Investment Category: COSS accounts for an average of 250 deals per year and about $9 billion deployed yearly by investors from 2019-2024
• Open Source Companies Focused on the Backbone of Modern Software: Around 90% of COSS companies operate in infrastructure software rather than business applications
• Commercial Open Source is Heavily Concentrated in the US: The United States (65%) and the European Union (25%) provide the bulk of the COSS IPO supply
• Commercial and Community Value Coincide: Project community measures like distinct contributors and OpenSSF Criticality Score are strong correlates of pre-money valuation
• Both Companies and Communities Benefit from Venture Funding: COSS projects experience a 27% increase in distinct contributors, an 8x increase in dependent projects, and a 7x increase in package downloads on average following funding rounds

“For years, open source founders have had to defend their business model. This report flips the narrative,” said Matthieu Lavergne, partner at Serena. “The best performing startups in infrastructure are not hiding their source code—they’re sharing it. What we see in this report is open source emerging as the rule rather than the exception for success in infrastructure software.”

“Commercial open source is not just an alternative to proprietary software, it is the foundation of a higher-performing venture model,” said Matt Trifiro, founder & executive director at COSSA. “The data confirms that investment in commercial open source accelerates community health, software quality, economic return and ecosystem growth. Open source is a vital part of the commercial market.”

“COSS startups are not only highly valuable companies but essential to open source ecosystems,” said Frank Nagle, Chief Economist at the Linux Foundation and Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “The data is clear: commercial open source companies not only compete with proprietary models, they often outperform them — reaching higher valuations with greater efficiency. When capital and community are aligned, investment can fuel their growth, adoption, and long-term impact of open source projects.

The findings draw from two significant datasets of over 800 venture-backed companies and 13 open source community indicators, making this study the most comprehensive view to date of the financial dynamics shaping commercial open source (COSS) businesses. Read the full report at: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/research/2025-state-of-commercial-open-source

Methodology
This report draws on two important strands of data. The first dataset tracks over 800 VC-backed COSS companies globally, exploring their financial journey using 25 years of data from 2000 through 2024. The second dataset adds a layer of open source community indicators to the financial  analysis. Exploring nearly three years (June 2022 through May 2025) of data on open source community indicators covering all public GitHub repositories managed by the COSS companies in the sample. Community data collected to evaluate the correlation between community and commercial OSS initiatives was scored using the Open Source Security Foundation’s (OpenSSF) Criticality Score. These metrics include factors like project age, commit and release cadences, diversity and contributor growth.

As the premier publication from the newly formed Commercial Open Source Startup Alliance (COSSA), the State of Commercial Open Source report represents the culmination of work begun in late 2024 under Linux Foundation incubation. COSSA intends to contribute to this report annually to track the evolving landscape of commercial open source.

About COSSA
The Commercial Open Source Startup Alliance (COSSA) is dedicated to strengthening the discipline of commercial open source. The organization delivers shared data, mentorship, and best practices to support entrepreneurs, investors and communities building the next generation of open source companies. Learn more at https://cossa.io.

About Serena
Serena is one of Europe’s leading venture capital funds, with €1 billion under management. Focused on AI, SaaS, Climate Tech, and Deep Tech, Serena has invested in more than 100 startups, including Dataiku, Malt, and Electra. Learn more at serena.vc.

About the Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, hardware, standards, and data. Linux Foundation projects are critical to the world’s infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, ONAP, OpenChain, OpenSSF, OpenStack, PyTorch, RISC-V, SPDX, Zephyr, and more. The Linux Foundation is focused on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users, and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page: www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Media Contact
The Linux Foundation
[email protected]

SOURCE The Linux Foundation

DUBLIN, Aug. 25, 2025 — ProVerum Limited, the developer of the ProVee® System for BPH, a minimally invasive solution for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), announced today the closing of an $80 million Series B equity financing.  The financing was led by MVM Partners, who were joined by new investors OrbiMed and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), and included participation from existing investors Gilde Healthcare Partners, Lightstone Ventures, Atlantic Bridge and Enterprise Ireland amongst others.

The ProVee System uses a nitinol stent designed to gently re-shape the enlarged BPH prostate and alleviate the associated lower urinary tract symptoms. It is deployed through a low profile, flexible, steerable delivery system with integrated imaging, which is the same size as the office-based endoscopes routinely used for diagnosing BPH. Proceeds from the financing will be used to prepare for commercialization.

“I’m delighted to welcome MVM, OrbiMed and ISIF to the ProVerum team,” said Paul Bateman CEO of ProVerum Ltd. “This is an exciting time for the company as we prepare to commercialize our novel treatment for men with BPH.”

The Company also welcomed Hugo Harrod, Partner at MVM Partners, and Dina Chaya, Partner at OrbiMed, to its Board of Directors.

MVM partner Hugo Harrod commented: “ProVerum exemplifies MVM’s focus on disruptive medical products addressing areas of true unmet need. We look forward to applying our experience in commercial stage medical technology to support the Company through its next phase.”  

OrbiMed Partner Dina Chaya said, “ProVerum has an innovative minimally invasive treatment for BPH and is led by a first-class team. We are delighted to be supporting the Company through the next stage of its growth.”

About ProVerum

ProVerum Ltd. is an innovative Dublin based company focused on the development of novel minimally invasive technologies to treat BPH.  Our first product offering, the ProVee® System for BPH is an investigational device, limited by federal law to investigational use and not available for sale within the United States.  For more information visit www.proverummedical.com or connect with us on X or LinkedIn.

About MVM Partners

MVM has invested in high-growth healthcare businesses since 1997. With teams in Boston, London, and the San Francisco Bay Area, MVM has a broad, global investment outlook spanning medical technology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, contract research and manufacturing, digital health, and other sectors of healthcare. More information can be found at www.mvm.com.

About OrbiMed

OrbiMed is a leading healthcare investment firm, with over $17 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the healthcare industry, from start-ups to large multinational corporations, through private equity funds, public equity funds, and royalty/credit funds. OrbiMed seeks to be a capital provider of choice, providing tailored financing solutions and extensive global team resources to help build world-class healthcare companies. OrbiMed’s team of over 130 professionals is based in New York City, London, San Francisco, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Herzliya, and other key global markets.

About the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund

The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) is a sovereign development fund which has a mandate to invest on a commercial basis in a manner designed to support economic activity and employment in Ireland. ISIF is controlled and managed by the National Treasury Management Agency, a State body which provides asset and liability management services to the Irish Government.

SOURCE ProVerum

NEW YORK, Aug. 24, 2025 — InvestN.AI, a fintech company revolutionizing the trading industry, announced the launch of its advanced AI-driven trading technology designed to make financial markets accessible for everyone – whether they are seasoned traders or complete beginners.

With a proven track record and high performance in both futures and forex markets, InvestN.AI’s proprietary software integrates seamlessly with regulated brokers across the globe, giving users the freedom to trade with their preferred platforms. The company also offers a suite of TradingView-compatible indicators, empowering those who prefer to trade manually with tools that provide real-time market intelligence and precision.

“At InvestN.AI, our mission is to level the playing field,” said Brandon Rangel, CEO of InvestN.AI. “Whether someone has years of experience or is completely new to trading, our technology provides a pathway to potential earnings from the markets—without the steep learning curve or emotional pitfalls that cause most traders to fail.”

Automated Trading for All

InvestN.AI’s automated solutions are designed for maximum flexibility:

• Trade with Personal Capital – Users can connect their own accounts with regulated brokers and allow the algorithm to manage trades hands-free.
• Trade Without Capital – For those without significant funds, InvestN.AI helps clients access prop firm funding programs, guiding them through evaluations to unlock up to $6 million in trading capital provided by proprietary trading firms.

This dual approach gives investors and traders at every stage of their journey the opportunity to participate in the financial markets with confidence.

Transparency and Global Reach

“Our vision is to create financial freedom through technology,” added Brandon Rangel. “By combining AI, automation, and funding opportunities, we’re building an ecosystem where anyone, regardless of background, can thrive in the trading space. We also love the fact that we never have control or custody of a client’s funds — our technology simply integrates with their own trading accounts. That transparency builds trust and gives people confidence that they remain in full control at all times.”

Currently, InvestN.AI supports clients across the USA, UK, Canada, and Europe, with expansion underway in other regions worldwide.

Bridging Technology and Opportunity

Beyond automation, InvestN.AI equips traders with a comprehensive toolkit of AI-powered indicators, strategies, and community support. These tools not only improve decision-making for manual traders but also serve as a valuable educational resource for those looking to deepen their market knowledge.

About InvestN.AI

InvestN.AI is a global fintech company specializing in AI-powered trading technologies for forex, futures, and digital assets. The company’s software is designed to integrate with virtually any broker or platform, offering both automated trading solutions and advanced indicators for manual traders. Through partnerships with leading proprietary trading firms, InvestN.AI also provides clients with access to significant trading capital, making market participation possible for all. The company currently serves clients across the USA, UK, Canada, and Europe, with plans for global expansion.

For more information, users can visit: www.investn.ai

Contact

CEO
Brandon Rangel
InvestN.AI
[email protected]

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2756651/InvestNAI_Logo.jpg

SOURCE InvestN.AI

BFF recognized by The Global Banking & Finance Awards

SINGAPORE, Aug. 22, 2025 — Blockchain Founders Fund (BFF), a leading early-stage venture capital firm backing blockchain and emerging technology startups, has been named “Venture Capital Firm of the Year Singapore 2025” by the Global Banking & Finance Awards.

The Global Banking & Finance Awards, established in 2011, evaluate firms across 190+ countries based on investment performance, portfolio growth, and ecosystem contributions. BFF received the 2025 recognition in the Fund & Asset Management category.

With an active portfolio of over 160 companies representing more than 200 investment rounds worldwide, the firm has built a diverse portfolio spanning decentralized finance, digital assets, fintech infrastructure, and frontier technologies.

“We are honored to receive this award, which reflects the hard work of our team and the vision of the incredible founders we support,” said Mansoor Madhavji, Managing Partner at Blockchain Founders Fund. “Our mission remains the same, backing bold entrepreneurs building meaningful, real-world applications that advance the blockchain industry.”

Aly Madhavji, managing partner at BFF, added, “Singapore continues to be a vital hub for blockchain innovation, and this award reflects the strength of our local ecosystem as much as our own work. We’re proud to play a part in building the infrastructure and networks that help transformative ideas reach global markets.”

Recent portfolio highlights include NodeOps (validator infrastructure), Kredete (AI credit platform), HiFi (fixed-rate DeFi lending platform), and Velvet Capital (DeFi asset management platform), demonstrating BFF’s diversified approach to emerging technology sectors.

Founded in Singapore with a global investment mandate, Blockchain Founders Fund collaborates with institutional investors, family offices, and corporate venture arms to foster sustainable growth in the decentralized economy.

About Blockchain Founders Fund
Blockchain Founders Fund is a leading early-stage (seed and pre-seed) Venture Capital fund that invests in top-tier founders globally. Our backers comprise a strategic mix of leading firms in the cryptocurrency and traditional finance sectors.

We invest in exceptional founders building next-generation technology companies, providing strategic capital alongside hands-on operational expertise. Beyond funding, BFF delivers comprehensive support, including go-to-market strategy, strategic partnerships, talent acquisition, and follow-on fundraising. Our team of proven builders and operators, with experience scaling leading technology companies, helps portfolio founders navigate complex markets and achieve rapid, sustainable growth.

Press Contact:
Mansoor Madhavji, Partner
Blockchain Founders Fund
60178799291
[email protected]

SOURCE Blockchain Founders Fund