HONG KONG, July 17, 2025 — KUN, Asia’s leading stablecoin-based payment and embedded finance platform, has successfully completed its Series A funding round with significant oversubscription. Existing investors BAI Capital and GSR Ventures doubled down on their commitments, and two new strategic investors— a Hong Kong-listed conglomerate and Eternium Global—joined the round. Since its inception 20 months ago, KUN has raised over USD 50 million in total, reinforcing its early-mover advantage and leadership position in the industry.

This financing marks a key milestone in KUN’s ongoing efforts to build a global infrastructure for stablecoin cross-border payments and financial services, while empowering real economies’ international expansion with compliant, secure, and efficient solutions.

Through its compliance-first approach and tech-driven solutions, KUN has sustained hypergrowth with a 200% MoM transaction surge over the past 12 months, serving thousands of enterprise and institutional clients. With its strong security, reliability, and seamless transaction experience, KUN has become the go-to stablecoin payment and settlement platform for cross-border businesses.

Meanwhile, KUN is making steady progress in expanding its ecosystem. In June 2025, KUN signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with TradeGo, a digital services platform for global commodity trade. The partnership will focus on integrating blockchain-based electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) technology, cross-border compliance capabilities, and stablecoin settlement infrastructure to jointly deliver a “three -in-one” solution—uniting logistics, information, and capital—to enhance the efficiency and compliance of large-scale trade transactions.

Eternium Global, with diversified assets across logistics, insurance, commodities, energy, and healthcare, will partner with KUN to build a Web3-powered payment ecosystem for cross-sector global applications.

Kent Cai, CEO and CIO of Eternium Global, commented:
“We look forward to unlocking synergistic flywheel effects through this collaboration with KUN. We will bring stablecoin-based payment solutions that are more efficient, transparent, and compliant to our existing global business network, especially in markets with explosive growth potential (Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa). We believe that cross-border payments is the current killer application of Web3 and blockchain technology. We are fully onboard with KUN’s long-term vision and are excited to build a sustainable Web3 ecosystem together.”

William Zhao, Partner at BAI Capital, remarked:
“What we predicted last year—the transition from SWIFT to stablecoin-based cross-border transfers powered by real-time blockchain clearing—is becoming reality. As the first-mover advantage of licensed stablecoin issuers gradually diminishes, the real opportunity lies in building decentralized financial infrastructure and digital FX circulation networks. KUN is leading the way in Asia, innovating at the intersection of blockchain settlement, e-BL, and stablecoin payments for commodity trade. This will fundamentally reshape the future of global trade and payments.”

Jefferson, Partner at GSR Ventures, emphasized:
“KUN’s foresight in compliance and its obsessive focus on product experience are redefining how stablecoins can be used in cross-border transactions. We believe KUN has the potential to become Asia’s Bridge—a foundational layer in the global stablecoin settlement and payment network.”

Chen Yu, Co-Founder of YeePay and Chief Advisor of KUN, stated:
“KUN is building next-generation digital financial infrastructure anchored in stablecoins. By reconstructing the cross-border payment stack and trust mechanism, KUN is paving the way for emerging markets and global enterprises to scale. This funding marks another milestone in KUN’s journey toward globally compliant, intelligent, and unified financial solutions..”

Louis Liu, Founder and CEO of KUN, said:
“KUN will leverage the proceeds from this round to deepen R&D investments in cross-border transaction security, underlying blockchain infrastructure, and wallet technologies, while accelerating upgrades of AI-driven intelligent risk control systems and compliance stacks (KYC/AML/KYT). 

Simultaneously, we will synergize our existing Hong Kong and Singapore licensing frameworks with global regulatory applications and institution network expansions. By collaborating with ecosystem partners worldwide, KUN aims to build a seamless Web2-Web3 hybrid digital payment network, strengthening its global operational foundation. We will also continue expanding our team globally to support this ambitious growth.”

About KUN

KUN is an innovative technology company focused on stablecoin-based payments and financial services. Built on a compliance system with licenses in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Europe, KUN primarily serves emerging markets, including the Greater Bay Area, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.

KUN has established three core business lines — Payments, Asset Management, and Card Issuing — offering a comprehensive range of products, including enterprise accounts, asset management, on/off-ramp solutions, and card issuing solutions. It provides secure, convenient, and efficient one-stop cross-border payment, remittance, and financial services for B2B cross-border e-commerce, commodity trade, entertainment, advertising, Web3 enterprises. KUN is building the next-generation global digital payment network to accelerate cross-border transactions.

Learn more at: https://www.kun.global/

SOURCE KUN

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., July 16, 2025 — Kilsar, a dual-use AI software company specializing in tribal knowledge capture and maintenance training, today announced the close of a $3.7 million Seed round led by Lightbank and Cotulla Capital, with participation from Techstars and Scalewolf. The company also unveiled a new strategic partnership with the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM) to help address the growing crisis in aviation maintenance training and workforce readiness.

The aviation maintenance industry—and the broader skilled trades sector—is in urgent need of revitalization. With experienced technicians aging out of the workforce and student interest in trades declining, technical schools and MROs face unprecedented knowledge loss. Across the country, organizations are seeing their most valuable asset—tribal knowledge—retire without a replacement.

Kilsar’s AI-powered Orion platform helps bridge that gap by capturing expert insights from veteran technicians and transforming complex maintenance procedures into interactive, step-by-step digital workflows. The platform empowers both new learners and active maintainers to upskill faster, reduce time-to-diagnose, and operate with greater confidence and precision.

“Our mission is to preserve and scale what’s been traditionally trapped in the heads of retiring maintainers,” said Brendan Lawlor, CEO of Kilsar. “We’re proud to partner with AIM, one of the nation’s largest aviation training institutions, to modernize the training pipeline and ensure the next generation of technicians is prepared for the evolving demands of the industry.”

The funding will be used to expand Kilsar’s engineering and deployment teams, accelerate onboarding across defense and commercial maintenance organizations, and further develop Orion’s real-time AI assistant that replaces static manuals with searchable, enriched content—from videos to pro-tips to annotated diagrams.

With mounting demand across defense, aerospace, infrastructure, and industrial sectors, Kilsar is positioning itself as a critical enabler of workforce transformation. The company’s unique approach integrates legacy data, technician wisdom, and next-generation AI to deliver tools that scale with both complexity and need.

www.kilsar.com

Contact:
Brendan Lawlor
[email protected]

SOURCE Kilsar, Inc.

Backed by Markd, Loro offers the only no-code platform with a free tier for up to $100K in GWP annually—empowering a new generation of insurance builders

DOVER, Del., July 16, 2025 — Loro, the modern platform powering specialty insurance distribution, today announced the successful close of its $1.1 million seed funding round. The round was led by Markd, a prominent insurtech-focused investor, with participation from strategic angels across the insurance ecosystem.

Loro enables carriers, MGAs, and program managers to build and distribute insurance products at unprecedented speed, while maintaining full underwriting control and unlimited distribution flexibility. The platform is also the only insurtech solution that offers a completely free tier for up to $100,000 in gross written premium (GWP) annually, with no minimum commitment. This bold move removes the traditional financial barriers that prevent new entrants from launching and scaling insurance programs.

“This investment is a vote of confidence in our mission to unlock a better future for insurance builders,” said Peter Tilbrook, CEO and Co-Founder of Loro. “We’ve grown to over 25 clients globally, connected more than 600 brokers, and powered meaningful premium volume, all without compromising on speed, affordability, or flexibility. This new capital allows us to double down on building the infrastructure the specialty market has been waiting for.”

Loro’s no-code product builder lets users replicate their existing underwriting rules, logic, and pricing models– whether from spreadsheets or APIs– without needing to overhaul what works. Users can configure dynamic forms, set up complex document generation logic, and automate rating, invoicing, tax, and renewal flows in days. Built-in integrations with Stripe, ePayPolicy, DocuSign, Turris,  and other tools allow for seamless quote-to-bind workflows.

Unlike legacy systems, Loro is designed for multi-layered distribution, enabling users to assign and manage downstream brokers, retail agents, and partners in a fully digital environment. Every participant gets access to quoting, portals and performance insights, while the owner retains control of pricing, rules, and brand experience.

“Loro is doing something few others dare to do: empowering the people closest to risk to move faster, yet without them sacrificing any control,” said Parker Beauchamp, of Markd. “The team understands the nuances of specialty insurance and is building with deep empathy for MGAs and carriers. We’re proud to back them as they shape another chapter of insurance distribution.”

Loro’s “speed to data” advantage provides real-time visibility into every quote, bind, and payment across the network. Clients can generate custom bordereaux, track commissions, automate Lloyd’s reporting, and integrate all data points via API enabling true operational intelligence without delay.

With this funding, Loro will accelerate its product roadmap, grow its global team, and invest further in connectivity, ensuring carriers, MGAs, brokers, and agents can work together on one unified, modern infrastructure.

About Loro
Loro is a no-code, multilingual platform purpose-built for specialty insurance. Designed to launch and distribute products in weeks, not months, Loro gives users full underwriting control, multi-level distribution, and real-time data access, all from a single interface. Loro is the only insurtech solution that’s free up to $100K in GWP annually, with no minimum commitment.

About Markd
Markd is a venture capital company focused on funding and partnering with transformative insurtechs. It pays homage to the insurance industry’s legacy while helping design its future. Markd’s mission is to power substantial work and continually inspire more ideas to prevent hurt and loss.

SOURCE Loro Insurtech Inc.

Investment positions Nuqleous to accelerate growth and further expand leadership position in the retail analytics software market

BENTONVILLE, Ark., July 16, 2025 — Nuqleous, a provider of space planning and retail analytics software solutions, announced that it has secured a strategic majority investment from Rubicon Technology Partners (“Rubicon”) designed to accelerate product innovation and support the company’s long-term growth objectives. In conjunction, Nuqleous has appointed Ben Cronin, a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience in the retail and supply chain software sector, as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Founded initially as Rock Solid Retail, Nuqleous provides enterprise solutions to transform retail data into actionable insights that enable intelligent decision-making for leading consumer packaged goods companies. Nuqleous’ market position is based on its data accuracy, ability to normalize multiple sources of complex data streams, and a comprehensive suite of tools for data discovery and business intelligence serving category managers, retail sales, and supply chain teams.

Garrett Levey and Bill Kloza, who served as co-CEOs of Nuqleous since 2023, said “This investment marks a powerful endorsement of the platform, people, and purpose we’ve built together. We couldn’t be prouder of our team — their relentless focus on customer success and innovation has brought us to this milestone. With Rubicon’s partnership and Ben’s leadership, we’re poised to scale our impact and deliver even greater value to the brands and retailers we serve.” Levey and Kloza will both continue to serve on the Board of Directors.

Ben Cronin joins Nuqleous with a distinguished track record of scaling enterprise software businesses and partnering with major retailers, including prior experience as SVP of CPG at e2open. He added “I am incredibly excited to lead Nuqleous through the next phase of its growth journey as we continue to build on the market-leading platform that Bill, Garrett, and our talented team has developed. Our goal remains to deliver powerful, innovative tools that enable our customers to harness retail data and drive smarter, faster insights as a strategic partner to drive their growth objectives.”

“Our investment in Nuqleous represents the continuation of Rubicon’s long-standing commitment to backing innovative technologies and support CPG brands and retailers,” said Evan Howell, Principal at Rubicon Technology Partners. “We’ve had the opportunity to get to know Ben Cronin and deeply respect the leadership, experience, and strategic vision he brings to Nuqleous. We have a strong conviction in what we can accomplish together as we embark on this next chapter of growth.”

Raymond James served as the exclusive financial advisor to Nuqleous.

About Nuqleous

Nuqleous provides mission-critical data analytics and space planning automation software for over 180 consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands globally. With deep expertise in retail data systems, Nuqleous’ suite of applications – including Shelf IQ, Retail Analytics, and Presentation Builder – enables sales, category management, replenishment, logistics, and enterprise IT teams to derive insights faster and more efficiently, optimize retail execution, and accelerate growth. To learn more about Nuqleous, please visit www.nuqleous.com.

About Rubicon Technology Partners

Rubicon Technology Partners is a middle-market private equity firm that invests in enterprise software companies with innovative products and talented management teams to help grow and scale their businesses. Rubicon utilizes a collaborative approach to enable companies to adapt to the changing requirements of their businesses as they grow and scale using a set of proprietary processes, best practices and a portfolio-wide engagement model. Rubicon has over $4 billion in assets under management and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado with additional offices in New Haven, Connecticut and San Mateo, California. To learn more about Rubicon, please visit www.rubicontp.com.

Media Contact: [email protected] | (833) 687-5368

SOURCE Nuqleous

HOUSTON, July 16, 2025 — Amperon, a leading provider of AI-powered energy forecasting and analytics solutions, today announced a strategic investment from Acario, the corporate venture capital and innovation division of Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (“Tokyo Gas”). This additional backing reflects continued investor confidence in Amperon’s technology and vision and will support the company’s continued customer growth and strategic initiatives across North America, Europe, and beyond.

Amperon’s AI-powered forecasting solutions now support customers in the United States, Canada, Australia, and across 15 countries in Europe. The company has seen rapid international growth since its 2024 expansion into markets such as the UK, France, Germany, and Spain. Through continuous advancements in machine learning, physics-based modeling, and weather ensemble features, Amperon continues to raise the bar in forecasting performance and reliability for energy market participants worldwide.

“Bringing Tokyo Gas and Acario on board as investors is a meaningful step in Amperon’s global trajectory,” said Sean Kelly, CEO and Co-Founder of Amperon. “Their strategic focus on decarbonization and innovation aligns with our mission to modernize energy forecasting worldwide. This investment strengthens our position as we scale internationally while continuing to build from our base in Houston.”

Tokyo Gas is Japan’s largest gas utility, typically meeting one third of the country’s total demand every year. Its innovative history includes becoming the first company in Japan to import LNG and it was the first company in the Japanese energy industry to announce its intent to achieve net zero by 2050. Acario accordingly focuses on supporting forward-looking technology companies making a high impact on the energy industry and its future. In addition to decarbonization, optimization and resilience, this includes diversification into new services and solutions.

Tokyo Gas and Acario have been steadily expanding a global portfolio of partners through strategic collaborations and investments aligned with this long-term vision. A recent example of these efforts includes a 2019 investment in Octopus Energy which led to the creation of a joint venture to operate the brand locally in Japan, where Tokyo Gas has also become a major electricity provider serving over 3.8 million customers.

“As global energy systems evolve, the imperative for precise, real-time insights has never been clearer,” said Kenji Maeda, CEO of Acario. “Amperon’s AI-powered forecasting technology is unique in its accuracy and scalability. We see it playing a vital role in helping both utilities and a diverse set of stakeholders navigate the energy transition with greater stability. This investment reflects our commitment to supporting new solutions that enable smarter, more sophisticated energy trading worldwide.”

Amperon’s AI models—which combine real-time weather, consumption, and market data—have consistently outperformed traditional forecast providers, and the company has established itself as a trusted partner for energy retailers, utilities, and independent power producers, such as Ørsted, Axpo, AES, and Rhythm Energy, delivering AI-powered forecasts that enable real-time, data-driven decision-making.

This strategic investment from Acario follows a March 2025 investment from National Grid Partners, underscoring continued momentum and global confidence in Amperon’s technology and market strategy. By providing precise insights, Amperon helps its customers manage resources more effectively and stay ahead in a rapidly evolving energy landscape. Learn more in Amperon’s first annual Impact Report.

About Amperon

Amperon is the leading energy forecasting company, positioned at the intersection of energy data and AI. Founded in 2018, Amperon has become a trusted partner to power and utility companies, delivering demand, renewable generation, and price forecasts. With cutting-edge predictive analytics, seamless data integrations, and premium customer support, Amperon enables customers to enhance grid reliability and optimize asset performance. Committed to grid modernization, Amperon is the forecasting company of the energy transition.

For more information about Amperon, visit www.amperon.co.

About Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.

Founded in 1885, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. is Japan’s largest provider of city gas primarily in the Tokyo metropolitan area and surrounding Kanto region. Since the liberalization of Japan’s electricity market, it has also been providing electricity in the same area. As of its group’s management vision “Compass2030,” Tokyo Gas promotes the challenge of achieving “Net-Zero CO₂” and will lead the transition to a decarbonized society.

For more information about Tokyo Gas, visit www.tokyo-gas.co.jp.

About Acario Innovation LLC.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Silicon Valley, Acario Innovation LLC is the corporate venture capital and open innovation division of Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. The name “Acario” comes from the word “Akari,” which means “light” in Japanese. Acario is focused on funding market leading companies in the new energy economy, sustainability and digital transformation sectors, including mobility, energy storage, and next-generation customer and energy services. As a dedicated subsidiary of Tokyo Gas, Acario plays a key role on the path to Compass 2030, as outlined by Tokyo Gas.

For more information about Acario, visit www.acarioinnovation.com

SOURCE Amperon

“For decades, decisions have been driven by instinct. But gut calls are expensive — and in today’s market, they’re dangerous,” said Joseph Rutakangwa, Co-Founder & CEO. “This raise lets us put a real-time AI copilot in the hands of every decision-maker — so teams can move faster, smarter, and with total clarity.”

Unlike most AI systems built on scraped content, passive signals, or modeled behavior, Rwazi captures real-time consumer activity — shared directly and voluntarily at a massive scale. That precision powers a new kind of intelligence system: one that helps teams detect shifts early, simulate outcomes, and act with speed and confidence.

The system sharpens constantly — learning from patterns to refine how it understands markets, predicts shifts, and guides action. Rwazi already analyzes billions of behavioral signals across demographics, markets, and products. The result: decision-making that’s not just faster, but surgically precise. Teams move with clarity, leaders with conviction — and businesses finally operate at the speed of change.

Already trusted by Fortune 100 teams, Rwazi helps enterprises:

• Grow market share by spotting opportunities before competitors
• Reduce customer acquisition costs by understanding what resonates, where, and why
• Increase customer lifetime value by aligning product, pricing, and channel decisions with real-time demand

The funding will be used to deepen Rwazi’s simulation capabilities, expand its global data infrastructure, and enhance its AI copilot’s ability to contextualize and recommend next best moves across functions. As economic volatility rises, companies are realizing that delayed reporting is no longer enough.

“Gut instinct might’ve worked when things moved slowly. But today, the teams that win are the ones with systems that see early and act fast,” Rutakangwa added. “That’s exactly what we’re building.”

Learn more at Rwazi.

Rwazi is an AI company delivering decision intelligence that helps enterprise teams drive growth, cut waste, and act with clarity. Fortune 100 companies use Rwazi to support strategic decisions across marketing, product, and operations.

SOURCE Rwazi, Inc.

Ex-Waymo leaders deploy heavy machinery equipped with autonomous technology to address America’s building crisis as demand for new infrastructure surges

SAN FRANCISCO, July 16, 2025 — Bedrock Robotics, the company developing advanced autonomous systems for the $13 trillion global construction industry, emerged from stealth today with $80 million in Seed and Series A backing. Rather than design and sell costly new machinery, Bedrock upgrades customers’ existing heavy equipment fleets with reversible, same-day hardware and software installs to enable fully autonomous operations.

With reindustrialization of the United States accelerating, Bedrock’s technology bridges the expanding gap between rapidly rising domestic infrastructure needs and shrinking workforce capacity. In 2024, investment in U.S. manufacturing facilities alone reached a record $238 billion. Despite a painful shortage of 500K construction workers, 1.25 billion hours are spent annually on operating heavy equipment. With 40% of construction workers expected to retire in the next decade, the case for automation that enhances availability and flexibility of labor for the industry has never been stronger.

Founded by three former Waymo leaders – including the former head of its trucking program – and a fourth co-founder who previously led teams at Segment, the Bedrock Robotics leadership team brings extensive experience across machine learning, system architecture, and operation of autonomy technologies in complex, safety-critical environments. Now, the company’s executives are applying their expertise to construction to improve cost, schedule, safety, and predictability of labor-intensive projects. Laurent Hautefeuille, previous EVP at Uber Freight responsible for building the business from inception to $5B in revenue, has recently joined Bedrock as COO.

By integrating with existing construction machines and workflows, the Bedrock Operator powers machines with expert capabilities, empowering builders with the ability to work around the clock, accelerate project schedules, increase profitability and safety, and track progress on jobs. Bedrock’s systems are running on machines, starting with excavators, across active customer construction sites in Arizona, Texas, and Arkansas. The latest funding rounds, Series A led by 8VC and Seed led by Eclipse, will help Bedrock grow its engineering, operations, and commercialization teams, and deepen partnerships to reach its target of initial operator-less deployment in 2026.

“The construction industry is facing so much pressure with the soaring demand for new factories and data centers, the housing crisis, and the mandate for re-industrialization in the U.S.,” said Boris Sofman, CEO and co-founder of Bedrock Robotics. “The only way to rise to the occasion is by empowering construction teams with advanced automation they can trust. Together with our partners in the industry, we’re ushering in a new era where autonomy and intelligence supercharge building, which will benefit both contractors and society.”

Companies like Sundt Construction, a Phoenix-based general contractor with whom Bedrock collaborates closely on field testing and product improvements, are looking for ways to expand operational capacity. “At Sundt, we pride ourselves on being one of the most forward-thinking builders in the country. Staying at the forefront of innovation means continuously exploring technologies that can improve how we work,” said Eric Cylwik, Director at Sundt Construction. “From our earliest conversations with Bedrock, it was clear they had a strong grasp on the challenges we were trying to solve with robotics. Their thoughtful approach to safety and deployment made it an easy decision to partner and pilot their system on our projects. When a technology proves its value in the field, this industry will pick it up fast.”

Bedrock Robotics has also recently teamed with three Texas firms, Zachry Construction, Champion Site Prep, and Capitol Aggregates.

Bedrock’s fundraising has also included participation from Two Sigma Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), Crossbeam Venture Partners, Raine Group, Tishman Speyer, Atreides Management, Al Rajhi Partners, and Samsara Ventures.

To learn more about Bedrock Robotics, visit https://bedrockrobotics.com.

Additional Quotes 

“There are only a small handful of people who can introduce autonomy to a new industry with real credibility — and Boris and the Bedrock Robotics founding team are those people,” said Aidan Madigan-Curtis, partner at Eclipse. “We’re at a unique moment in technology history where autonomy can be productized for industries that truly need it. When I met Boris and the team, it was clear to me that their grit and experience could address the massive market demand for innovation in construction.”

“I’ve long been a robotics skeptic, but Bedrock Robotics was the first company I saw that had it all: the right team, a truly compelling problem that can uniquely be solved today, and a massive market opportunity. Bedrock’s founding team helped pioneer road autonomy at Waymo, and now they’re breaking new ground in construction. At a time when rebuilding America is front and center, Bedrock Robotics’ automation platform is poised to be the workhorse of the new American economy — boosting productivity, driving resilience, and raising wages where it matters most,” said Alex Kolicich, Founding Partner at 8VC.

“What Bedrock is doing is truly next level. While others are focused on moving dump trucks from point A to B, Bedrock is using advanced AI to actually shape the earth itself. Led by one of Waymo’s original technical leaders — someone who helped bring full autonomy to public roads —they are now applying that experience to revolutionize how we build the world,” said John Krafcik, former CEO of Waymo and early Bedrock investor.

About Bedrock Robotics
Founded in 2024, Bedrock Robotics is an autonomous construction technology company with headquarters in San Francisco and active deployment sites across the United States. Led by engineers who helped pioneer autonomous driving at Waymo, Bedrock brings proven autonomy systems to heavy equipment fleets, enabling builders to improve safety, reduce risk, expand capabilities, and accelerate critical project timelines. For more information, visit https://bedrockrobotics.com.

About Eclipse
With ~$5 billion in assets under management and a team of investors with deep operating expertise in technology, manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, healthcare, transportation, and more, Eclipse is a leading U.S. investment firm. Its leadership team has the experience necessary to create and scale complex operations. Eclipse partners with exceptional companies that make physical industries more efficient, resilient, and profitable. For more information, visit https://eclipse.capital.

About 8VC
8VC is a leading technology investment firm, backing visionary teams and industry-transforming companies. The partners have an extensive track record as founders, builders, and operators of companies including Palantir, Addepar, Resilience, and OpenGov. 8VC manages over $7 billion in committed capital, investing primarily in defense, logistics, and other sectors. 8VC’s Build program creates transformative new companies addressing critical gaps in each of the above sectors, providing seed funding, strategic guidance, and extensive operational support.

For more information, visit https://8vc.com.

About Sundt
Sundt Construction, Inc. (www.sundt.com) is one of the country’s largest and most respected general contractors. The 135-year-old firm specializes in transportation, water and wastewater, advanced facilities, heavy industrial and mining, building, concrete and renewable power work and is owned entirely by its 4,000 employees. Sundt is distinguished by its diverse capabilities and experience, unique employee-ownership culture and depth of self-perform expertise in multiple trades. Much of Sundt’s workforce is comprised of skilled craft professionals who, together with the company’s administrative employees, enable Sundt to fulfill its mission to be the most skilled builder in America. Sundt has 13 offices throughout California, Arizona, North Carolina, Texas, Washington, Utah and Florida and is currently ranked the country’s 46th largest construction company by ENR, the industry’s principal trade magazine.

Media Contact
[email protected] 

SOURCE Bedrock Robotics

Series A Financing to Support Global Expansion of Tech-Enabled HydroStations™

MIAMI, July 16, 2025 — HOPE Hydration, the company which delivers free filtered water through its digitally connected water refill HydroStations™, today announced the successful completion of a $20 million Series A funding round, led by Pentair plc, with additional participation from Burnt Island Ventures. The new capital is expected to fuel the company’s growth into additional markets, scale manufacturing, accelerate product innovation, and strengthen strategic partnerships to help expand its impact worldwide.

Founded by Forbes ’30 Under 30′ alumnus Jorge Richardson, cultural strategist Cristina Gnecco, and hardware engineer Dave Tigue, HOPE Hydration (“HOPE”) is a tech-enabled company that believes water is a human right and is focused on its mission to reduce single-use plastic waste and promote sustainable hydration.

“People are traveling and enjoying outdoor activities more than ever before, and are also more mindful of the impact they have on the world around them, but public access to water hasn’t kept up,” said Jorge Richardson, CEO and Co-Founder of HOPE Hydration. “We built HOPE to fix that. This investment will help enable us to scale a new kind of infrastructure – one that is built for health, for exploration, and for the planet.”

HOPE develops and distributes HydroStations™ utilizing Everpure filtration technology from Pentair Water Solutions to bring free, high-quality, and chilled drinking water to cities, stadiums, airports, and commercial spaces.

“Our partnership with HOPE aligns with our mission to help the world sustainably improve water, life’s most essential resource,” said Adrian Chiu, EVP and President, Pentair Water Solutions. “We are excited to contribute our filtration technology, expertise and resources to help HOPE accelerate their growth strategy, broaden their impact and ultimately help to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic water bottles.”

A Smarter Approach to Water Refill Stations
Featuring proprietary IoT technology, each HydroStation™ is able to provide real-time data updates, including the number of refills and the amount of plastic and carbon dioxide (CO2) saved, as well as monitor water output in real time to support proactive maintenance. Each station is also equipped with 55″ LED screens that display digital ads, creating a unique out-of-home (OOH) advertising experience and impactful brand partnerships that allow the company to install HydroStations™ at no cost to the venue.

Since 2023, HOPE has provided over 2 million refills and has partnered with some of the world’s most notable events and major Fortune 500 brands, as well as international airports, stadiums, and city centers. HOPE’s expansion through this financing will help the company reach its goal of 10 million refills by the end of the year.

HOPE is also backed by industry leaders including Boost VC, Spice Capital, Grayson Allen (Phoenix Suns), and more.

To find a HydroStation™ near you and learn more about the company and its mission, visit HOPEHydration.com. 

About HOPE Hydration:
HOPE Hydration (“HOPE”) is an award-winning Certified B Corporation revolutionizing how people access clean drinking water in urban environments, with a mission to make clean water more accessible and reduce single-use plastic waste. Founded on the belief that water is a human right, the company’s mission is to develop solutions to bring clean water without waste around the world through a technology solution, the HydroStation™.

Media Contact: Kacy Shaw, align Public Relations, [email protected], (805) 689-0845

SOURCE HOPE Hydration

LONDON, July 16, 2025 — Quant Insight, the breakthrough macro factor analytics company serving institutional investors globally, announced completion of its Series A funding round led by 7RIDGE.

The investment will accelerate Quant Insight’s global expansion, enhance its unique macro factor risk models, and strengthen its position as the leading provider of macro intelligence for modern investment management.

Solving the Hidden Macro Risk Challenge
Quant Insight addresses a critical gap in portfolio management: the inability to quantify macro exposures that drive over 50% of equity returns during market stress. While traditional risk models focus on equity style factors, macro risks drive returns during market volatility.

“Macro factors increasingly challenge equity investors’ ability to generate alpha, yet they remain hard to quantify,” said Mahmood Noorani, CEO of Quant Insight. “Our platform provides this critical missing piece—quantifiable macro factor intelligence that complements traditional style factor models.”

Strategic Partnership for Fintech Excellence
7RIDGE brings exceptional domain expertise with a proven track record scaling enterprise-facing technologies for trading, capital markets, and investment management. The firm’s portfolio includes Digital Asset Holdings, Trading Technologies, and Raft Technologies.

“Quant Insight represents exactly the type of transformative technology that makes the global financial system more robust and efficient,” said Carsten Kengeter, CEO of 7RIDGE. “Quant Insight’s macro risk analytics fill a genuine market need with rigorous quantitative methodology. We’re excited to leverage our capital markets expertise to help scale their platform globally.”

Proven Technology
Quant Insight’s platform provides three core solutions:

• Macro Factor Equity Risk Model (MFERM): Decomposes portfolio returns into explainable macro components and provides clarity on macro exposure
• Cross-Asset Valuation Engine: Identifies macro dislocations and fair value gaps across asset classes
• Asset Management Solutions: Construction of active ETFs and risk hedging products

The technology covers 13,000+ global assets with API integration and partnerships with leading risk platforms.

Growth and Innovation

The Series A funding will enable global expansion, enhanced platform capabilities with machine learning, scaled operations, and new applications for macro intelligence.

About Quant Insight
Quant Insight delivers analytics revealing hidden macro influences in portfolios, serving global institutional clients. Visit: www.quant-insight.com

About 7RIDGE
7RIDGE is a private markets asset manager focused on transformative financial services technology, headquartered in London. Visit: www.7ridge.com

Media Contact: Stephen Baldwin email: [email protected]

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2731592/QUANT_INSIGHT_LIMITED_Logo.jpg

SOURCE QUANT INSIGHT LIMITED