HOPE HYDRATION RAISES $20M IN ITS AIM TO BUILD THE WORLD’S LARGEST FREE WATER NETWORK

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

MIAMI, July 16, 2025HOPE 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

Quant Insight Secures Series A Investment from 7RIDGE’s Ecosystem Impact Fund to Accelerate Global Expansion of its Macro Factor Risk Models and Analytics Platform to Asset Managers.

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

Puna Bio Secures New Funding to Advance Climate-Resilient Agriculture and Strengthen Global Food Security

Support includes the Gates Foundation’s first investment in an Argentine startup

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, July 16, 2025 — A month ago, Puna Bio announced its Series A round, led by Corteva Catalyst and backed by other global investors focused on climate and agricultural innovation.

Today, the company announces the closing of that investment round with the participation of the Gates Foundation.

This investment—the foundation’s first in an Argentine startup—reflects a commitment to advancing locally led innovation that can strengthen sustainable food systems and help smallholder farmers access to microbial-based bioinputs in places where there is limited affordability and accessibility.

The funding will accelerate the development, production, and distribution of Puna Bio’s biofertilizers and biostimulants, which are based on extremophile bacteria. These solutions are designed to enhance crop yields even under stress, by providing crops with nutrients and this collaboration aims to bring these benefits to smallholder farmers in developing regions across Africa.

As part of this partnership, Puna Bio will work closely with the Gates Foundation to test and adapt its technologies to local conditions and co-develop new targeted solutions to support food security at a global scale.

“We believe this partnership is deeply aligned with Puna Bio’s mission of ensuring food security at a global scale. Our science-backed biological inputs, already in use in South America can boost crop yields in a reliable and cost-effective manner, even in challenging weather conditions. By expanding our efforts to Africa, we aim to scale our impact, improve lives, and contribute to the long-term sustainability of global agriculture,” explains Franco Martínez Levis, CEO and co-founder of Puna Bio.

With this new strategic investor, Puna Bio successfully closes its Series A round, alongside At One Ventures, SP Ventures, Dalus Capital, Glocal LATAM, Builders VC, and Grid Exponential.

About Puna Bio

Puna Bio is advancing agricultural resilience by harnessing extremophiles. Their innovative biological inputs help farmers boost yields, reduce fertilizer use, and grow crops on degraded soils.

With operations across USA, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, their two current commercial products – Kunza (for soybeans, cotton, and beans) and Kanzama (for wheat and barley) have already been deployed on over 800,000 acres in just three commercial seasons. Through strategic partnerships and relentless innovation, Puna Bio is shaping a more sustainable future for global agriculture.

For more information, please visit https://www.puna.bio/ or contact us at [email protected]

SOURCE Puna Bio

Firestorm Labs Announces $47 million Series A Funding to Accelerate Growth and Innovation in Defense Technology

SAN DIEGO, July 16, 2025 — Firestorm Labs, Inc., the expeditionary manufacturing company that’s redefining distributed, point-of-need production has secured $47 million in Series A funding. The new round was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and includes participation from prominent defense-focused investors, including Lockheed Martin Ventures, Decisive Point, Washington Harbour Partners, Booz Allen Ventures, and others. The total includes $12 million in venture debt from J.P. Morgan. The new capital, rapid growth, and multiple U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contracts secured by Firestorm, signal investor confidence and build upon the initial $12.5 million seed round.

These investments enable Firestorm to advance its additive-manufacturing platform, by adding engineers, opening a larger production facility, and broadening its partnership program. The new funds will also accelerate in-theater production of versatile, affordable UAS and other mission-critical platforms to meet the evolving needs of U.S. and allied defense organizations.

In alignment with Executive Order 14307, “Unleashing American Drone Dominance,” Firestorm will use its Series A funding to scale xCell, an expeditionary factory-in-a-box that produces modular airframes, mission-specific payloads and replacement components at the point of need. This investment fulfills the President’s directive for rapid field production and sustainment of unmanned systems.

Combat units must be able to replenish losses and adapt their drone fleets in contested environments, without returning systems to centralized facilities or waiting for spare parts. The xCell platform enables operators to produce a complete Tempest UAS on site and then reconfigure it for ISR, electronic warfare, or strike missions, thereby providing multimission readiness wherever the fight moves.

“We’re thrilled about this milestone, because it empowers Firestorm to deliver critical, battlefield-ready solutions faster and at scale,” said Dan Magy, CEO of Firestorm. “Our unique ability to 3D print modular airframes on-site dramatically reduces production timelines, costs, and logistical constraints, giving the U.S. and allied forces the adaptive technology they urgently need in complex and contested operational environments.”

Aaron Jacobson, partner at NEA, expressed the firm’s strategic commitment to Firestorm Labs stating, “Firestorm’s pioneering use of distributed, additive manufacturing for low-cost, adaptable, and open-architecture UAS solutions is critical for keeping our troops out of harm’s way and establishing the US at the forefront of unmanned systems. Their agility, unique capabilities, and focused approach align with our vision for transformative defense technologies. We are proud to be supporting them in their mission.”

In addition to NEA’s focus on technological agility, defense industry leaders reinforced the operational importance of Firestorm’s capabilities. “Our military needs technology it can trust to be ready when the circumstances demand it,” said Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures. “Deployable, on-site 3D drone printing is a powerful tool that further extends the warfighter’s ability to secure the battlespace, while advancing U.S. leadership on the frontiers of defense technologies.”

That focus on trusted, mission-ready capability is shared by other investors who recognize Firestorm’s role in shaping the future of autonomous systems. “Firestorm continues to deliver ground-breaking innovations, building the future of autonomous systems to meet the needs of full-spectrum combat operations,” said Thomas Hendrix, general partner at Decisive Point. “The combination of edge manufacturing, modularity in vehicles and payloads, and high-volume/low-cost production pathways has been quickly recognized as a force multiplier and operational necessity by various organizations across the DoD.”

In addition to modularity and edge production, investors underscored the importance of building industrial capacity to meet defense needs at scale. Mina Faltas, founder and chief investment officer of Washington Harbour Partners, said, “One of the most pressing constraints to our military’s readiness and operational reach is our manufacturing capacity. Firestorm is filling that void by providing critical additive manufacturing capabilities that will contribute to the entire defense ecosystem, from the front line to the industrial base. Washington Harbour Partners is proud to back Firestorm and looks forward to working together into the future to deliver for warfighters and the mission.”

This focus on strengthening America’s defense industrial base was echoed by Brian MacCarthy, managing partner of Booz Allen Ventures, “Sustaining a competitive advantage means investing boldly in technologies that match the pace and complexity of modern threats. Firestorm is delivering breakthrough technology designed for speed, scale, and survivability in the world’s most challenging environments. Their ability to move fast and solve hard operational problems is exactly what the U.S. and its allies need to stay ahead in the battlespace.”

Alongside investor perspectives, military leaders also recognize the operational impact of Firestorm’s capabilities. U.S. Army Gen. Richard D. Clarke (Ret.) recently toured Firestorm’s San Diego facilities and commended the team of innovators for easing supply-chain burdens through their determination and collaboration. He remarked, “As a former senior commander focused on supply chains and reducing long logistics tails, I know amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics. Firestorm’s innovation is really helping that logistics chain to operate more efficiently.”

Justin Krauss, Head of Applied Technology within J.P. Morgan’s Innovation Economy business said, “J.P. Morgan is thrilled to work with Firestorm as they enter their next phase of growth and work to develop affordable, modular and open-architecture drones. Our support for their company demonstrates J.P. Morgan’s commitment to supporting founders and next-generation defense companies that are actively helping to keep service members safe.”

With the funding, Firestorm will also enhance its modularity suite by uniting an onboard computer, tactical software, developer tools, and mission planning into one plug-and-play ecosystem. Unlike brittle lab prototypes, this operator-first solution is field-proven and delivers autonomy, adaptability, and control at the edge without vendor lock-in or reliance on GPS or communications.

This investment supports the prioritization by senior DoD leaders of logistics resilience including modularity, point-of-need manufacturing, and seamless planning to production workflows. This integration empowers non-technical personnel to launch complete build cycles in contested environments and shifts sustainment control back to front-line units.

This infusion of capital propels Firestorm to the front of the defense-tech pack, equipping the company to field affordable, mission-ready airpower at the speed of need while empowering a team that has lived the frustrations of legacy procurement to finally fix it at scale.

About Firestorm Labs
Firestorm Labs specializes in advanced additive manufacturing technologies, developing modular, open-architecture unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for rapid deployment in expeditionary and combat environments. By integrating Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR), Electronic Warfare/Signals Intelligence (EW/SI), and kinetic payload capabilities into highly customizable and cost-effective solutions, Firestorm is driving innovation to support warfighters with mission-critical tools directly on the battlefield.

Website: https://www.launchfirestorm.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/firestorm-labs
X: @launchfirestorm

SOURCE Firestorm Labs, Inc

Chariot Defense Emerges from Stealth to Bridge the Military’s Critical Battlefield Energy and Power Gap

Founded by a team with experience from Anduril, Uber, and the U.S. military, Chariot Defense brings a next-generation power platform designed to support modern warfighting at the edge

SAN FRANCISCO, July 16, 2025 — Chariot Defense, a venture-backed defense technology company, emerged from stealth mode today, announcing their company’s bold mission: to transform how energy is controlled and distributed as power across the modern battlefield. 

Founded in late 2024 and already fielded by the Department of Defense in multiple large-scale military exercises, Chariot Defense has established itself as the leader in battlefield power. Chariot’s systems enable resilient, low-signature power at the tactical edge and define a new paradigm for increasingly distributed, electronic, and autonomous warfare.

“Chariot Defense provides a solution to a crucial problem: battlefield power infrastructure is not keeping pace with the speed of threats and development of new systems,” says Adam Warmoth, Chariot Defense Founder and CEO. “We are bringing the high-voltage commercial power revolution to defense, enabling operators to sustain everything from radios and drones to electronic warfare, directed energy, and edge AI compute infrastructure; quietly, reliably, anywhere, anytime.”

The company has raised $8 million in seed funding from top defense technology investors, led by General Catalyst and XYZ, with participation from Cubit Capital, Ravelin, Forward Deployed VC, Pax, New Vista, D3, and Brave Capital.

“Chariot Defense embodies the values-driven, mission-aligned companies that we seek to support, building a critical infrastructure layer that directly strengthens national security,” says Paul Kwan, Managing Director at General Catalyst. “Their ability to go from concept to fielded systems in under six months, work alongside operators, and solve real-world challenges at the edge has been remarkable. We are excited to support Chariot as they build what we believe to be a foundational platform to power next-gen defense innovation.”

Today’s military still powers its ever-expanding suites of sensors, drones, autonomous systems and AI-driven command posts using noisy generators based on decades-old technologies that can’t handle the demand. Chariot’s technology bridges that gap.

“While everyone focuses on building smarter weapons, Chariot is building the intelligent power systems that makes them all work,” says Ross Fubini, Managing Partner at XYZ Venture Capital. “Chariot sees this more clearly than anyone and is building the distributed power infrastructure that will define how future conflicts are fought. This isn’t just better batteries or quieter generators—it’s positioning to become the power prime contractor for modern warfare.”

A New Infrastructure Layer for Modern War

Today’s warfighters are increasingly reliant on high-tech systems, from autonomous drones and mobile command posts to advanced sensors and Counter-UAS platforms. But these systems are only as effective as the power sources behind them. Modern military operations require scalable, modular power, ensuring continuous, adaptable operation for forces in contact.

Built specifically for the needs of the modern warfighter, Chariot Defense’s Amphora power systems extend operational independence for resilience during supply disruption, adapt to unit needs during distributed, expeditionary missions, and sustain rugged, quiet, all-weather operations. Amphora is silent, lightweight, and modular, providing reliable power with minimal signature, addressing major gaps in legacy generator-dominated systems.

Driven by Defense Experts, Informed by the End User

Chariot Defense’s leadership team brings deep experience from Anduril, Tesla, Apple, Uber, Archer, and frontline military veterans. Warmoth brings a background in engineering at Stanford, problem and customer expertise from Anduril, and technical knowledge from cutting-edge aerospace companies to deliver much-needed disruption to the military power market. Their approach blends commercial agility with a defense-first mindset, rapidly fielding, iterating, and refining solutions based on real-world feedback.

“We’re building for real-world needs, side-by-side with the people who will use and benefit from our platform,” says Warmoth. “Our goal isn’t just to provide better power systems—it’s to become the power backbone that enables a new class of warfighting capabilities and makes next-generation military operations possible.”

About Chariot Defense
Chariot Defense is a defense technology company pioneering next-generation power distribution systems built for the demands of modern warfare. Its Amphora platform provides modular, high-voltage, and low-signature power at the tactical edge—powering everything from radios and drones to sensors and directed energy systems. Founded in 2024, Chariot is backed by leading national security investors and led by a team with deep experience across defense, technology, and government. Learn more at https://www.chariotdefense.com/.

Media Contact:
Stephen Reiff
[email protected]

SOURCE Chariot Defense

Function Ushers in the Era of Bitcoin Yield With Galaxy Digital as Investor in $10M Seed Round

Backed by Galaxy Digital, Antalpha, and Mantle, FBTC Reaches $1.5B in TVL—Establishing the Gateway for Institutional Bitcoin Productivity.

NEW YORK, July 16, 2025Function (formerly Ignition) today announced that Galaxy Digital (NASDAQ/TSX: GLXY) has joined as a core contributor and investor in its $10M seed round alongside Antalpha and Mantle. With strategic support from Galaxy, Mantle, and Antalpha (NASDAQ: ANTA), Function is transforming Bitcoin from a passive store of value into a productive, composable financial asset that can flow seamlessly across decentralized and traditional markets. 

FBTC—a fully reserved Bitcoin asset with over $1.5B in Total Value Locked—serves as the flagship asset, establishing Function as the definitive gateway for corporate treasuries and institutions seeking to deploy Bitcoin productively while maintaining security and sovereignty.

Activating Bitcoin as a Yield Generating Asset

Bitcoin‘s financial utility has reached a critical inflection point. With growing attention on strategic crypto reserves with the United States and Pakistan, and regulatory clarity enabling publicly traded companies like Microstrategy and MetaPlanet to adopt the Bitcoin Standard for corporate treasury, the question is no longer whether Bitcoin should evolve beyond a passive store of value, but how to unlock its productive potential at institutional scale. The Bitcoin Growth story needs to have utility in its next phase.

“At Function, we’re not just wrapping Bitcoin—we’re building the infrastructure and routing it into productive capital flows,” said Thomas Chen, CEO of Function. “We’re establishing the gateway for institutional Bitcoin yield, starting with FBTC as our standardized omnichain asset. This represents a structural shift in how Bitcoin participates in the global financial system, enabling corporate treasuries to optimize their Bitcoin holdings while preserving the asset’s core properties.”

Galaxy Strengthens Institutional Foundation

Galaxy joins Mantle and Antalpha as core contributors to FBTC, enhancing the institutional infrastructure through:

  • Enhanced Liquidity: Supporting the development of institutional-quality liquidity rails for seamless capital deployment
  • Security Council Leadership: Contributing to governance, risk framework development, and security standards
  • Strategic Investment: Accelerating the development of FBTC’s standard infrastructure for Bitcoin‘s integration into global financial markets

“Galaxy’s partnership validates our vision of Function as the gateway for Bitcoin productivity,” said Chen. “Their institutional expertise strengthens our mission to build the standard infrastructure that enables Bitcoin to flow freely across global financial markets.”Jason Urban, Global Head of Trading at Galaxy, added: “I believe Function represents the next evolution in Bitcoin‘s journey toward becoming a productive financial asset. We’re excited to contribute to the infrastructure that Function is building to establish Bitcoin as a capital-efficient reserve asset for global markets.”

Building on a Foundation of Trust and Security

FBTC is a fully reserved, 1:1 Bitcoin-backed asset already integrated with over 8 major protocols and over 25 leading dApps, including Ethereum, Mantle, Aave, and Babylon. Purpose-built to meet the needs of institutions, DeFi protocols, and sophisticated participants, the platform is anchored by three foundational pillars:

  • Institutional Trust & Security: Multi-layer security architecture, comprehensive risk management, and rigorous audit standards designed for institutional adoption
  • Sustainable Yield & Liquidity: Smart contract architecture that maintains Bitcoin‘s 1:1 backing alongside transparent yield strategies and liquidity provisioning
  • Omnichain & Composable Infrastructure: Seamless integration with major blockchain ecosystems—including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Mantle—and emerging institutional DeFi networks

To learn more about Function and FBTC, users can visit https://www.fxn.xyz.

About Function

Function is pioneering a new standard for Bitcoin yield, transforming BTC into a secure, composable, and institutionally trusted asset across decentralized finance. FBTC represents the first omnichain Bitcoin yield asset, enabling BTC holders to participate in structured, risk-managed yield strategies. Function is supported by Galaxy Digital, Mantle, Antalpha Prime, and leading institutions.

For more information, users can visit: Website | X/Twitter | LinkedIn 

About Galaxy 

Galaxy Digital Inc. (NASDAQ/TSX: GLXY) is a global leader in digital assets and data center infrastructure, delivering solutions that accelerate progress in finance and artificial intelligence. Our digital assets platform offers institutional access to trading, advisory, asset management, staking, self-custody, and tokenization technology. In addition, we invest in and operate cutting-edge data center infrastructure to power AI and high-performance computing, meeting the growing demand for scalable energy and compute solutions in the U.S. The Company is headquartered in New York City, with offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

About Antalpha

Antalpha (NASDAQ: ANTA) is a leading fintech company specializing in providing financing, technology, and risk management solutions to institutions in the digital asset industry. As the primary lending partner of Bitmain, Antalpha offers Bitcoin supply chain and margin loans through the Antalpha Prime technology platform, which allows customers to originate and manage their digital asset loans, as well as monitor collateral positions with near real-time data.

About Mantle 

Mantle is building the largest sustainable hub for on-chain finance. Through its core products — Mantle Network, mETH Protocol, and FBTC — Mantle is unlocking the future of finance by blending institutional expertise with the transformative power of blockchain. Anchored by the Mantle Treasury, the largest community-owned treasury in the ecosystem, Mantle ensures robust liquidity and financial stability. With over $4.3 billion in assets, it actively funds core product development and fosters the growth of asset partners, such as Agora AUSD, Ethena USDe, Ondo USDY, and EigenLayer restaking, enhancing sustainable yield, deep liquidity, and financial utility on the Mantle Network. 

For more information, users can visit: Website | X/Twitter 

Contact:
Erina Penkovsky
[email protected] 

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732264/Function_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Function

OpenEvidence, the Fastest-Growing Application for Physicians in History, Announces $210 Million Round at $3.5 Billion Valuation

OpenEvidence also announces the wide release of OpenEvidence DeepConsult™—the first AI agent purpose-built for physicians

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 15, 2025OpenEvidence, the most widely used medical search and AI application among verified U.S. clinicians, today announced a $210 million Series B round at a $3.5 Billion valuation. Google Ventures and Kleiner Perkins co-led the Series B round. Sequoia Capital, which led OpenEvidence’s Series A round earlier in 2025, followed on in this round. The round also included investments from Coatue, Conviction, and Thrive. OpenEvidence has raised more than $300 million since its founding.

OpenEvidence helps clinicians make high-stakes clinical decisions at the point of care. 
OpenEvidence is redefining evidence-based medicine in real-time and transforming how frontline healthcare providers access, evaluate, and apply the world’s medical knowledge. OpenEvidence is actively used across more than 10,000 hospitals and medical centers nationwide and by more than 40% of physicians in the United States who log in daily to make high-stakes clinical decisions at the point of care. OpenEvidence continues to grow by over 65,000 new verified U.S. clinician registrations each month. In July of 2024, OpenEvidence supported approximately 358,000 logged-in, verified U.S. physician consultations in one month. One year later, OpenEvidence now handles that many each workday—and supports over 8,500,000 clinical consultations by logged-in, verified U.S. physicians per month—a 2,000%+ year-over-year growth rate. More than 100 million Americans this year will be treated by a doctor who used OpenEvidence.

Clinicians are overwhelmed by information overload, with the volume of medical research published annually doubling every five years. Traditional medical evidence databases are slow, fragmented across multiple platforms, and require extensive manual searching that pulls physicians away from patient care. Through an array of strategic content partnerships (including the American Medical Association, The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and all eleven JAMA specialty journals—such as JAMA Oncology and JAMA Neurology) OpenEvidence gives clinicians the power to search once, skip the scavenger hunt, and surface the science in seconds. Clinicians using OpenEvidence (which is HIPAA compliant) can input clinical questions or patient case details and receive point-of-care answers grounded in the latest research, complete with references and even follow-up suggestions. OpenEvidence rapidly surfaces relevant medical knowledge, synthesizes medical research, and gives clinicians the power to make faster, more evidence-based decisions—accelerating both medical literature review and clinical decision support. By reducing the lag between new evidence and bedside application, OpenEvidence enables improved patient outcomes.

“At a time when U.S. healthcare faces the dual challenges of clinician burnout and a projected physician shortfall of nearly 100,000 by 2030, the question of AI’s role in bridging the gap is paramount,” says Daniel Nadler, founder of OpenEvidence. “When physicians’ lives are hard, patients’ lives are harder. OpenEvidence’s commitment to building an AI copilot for clinicians is rooted in the belief that AI will be a force for good in the world, ultimately benefiting both healthcare professionals and the patients they serve. Physicians are superheroes, and OpenEvidence is giving these superheroes new superpowers.”

Daniel Nadler is a magnet for talent, attracting top AI researchers and a world-class medical advisory board,” said Sangeen Zeb, General Partner at Google Ventures. “As a firm with a life sciences team largely composed of physicians and scientists, we deeply understand the challenges clinicians face with traditional tools. Physicians are drowning in information but starving for timely insights. OpenEvidence changes that equation, bringing clinicians into the modern era. As early investors in Daniel’s first company, Kensho, GV has been privileged to know him for over a decade. He is a once-in-a-generation founder building one of the fastest-growing technology applications ever seen.”

Legendary investor and Kleiner Perkins Chairman John Doerr—who co-led Google’s original Series A and has served on its board since 1999—said, “It’s hard to imagine a better use for AI than OpenEvidence. Daniel Nadler and his world-class team are building what I believe will become an AI-era treasure, a life-saving resource for doctors, patients, and their families. I can’t imagine the future without it.”

“It’s exceptionally rare to see a product reach this level of adoption—let alone among physicians, who are notoriously hard to win over and exacting in what they trust—and the fact that 40% of all physicians in the United States log in daily to OpenEvidence’s software is a staggering signal of both trust and utility,” said Mamoon Hamid, Managing Partner at Kleiner Perkins. “OpenEvidence is not just building a company, they’re setting a new global standard for how evidence-based medical decisions are made. We’re proud to support a mission with this kind of generational ambition.”

OpenEvidence has announced key strategic content partnerships with the American Medical Association (JAMA) and The New England Journal of Medicine so that full-text content and multimedia from the global gold standards of medical knowledge are used to inform answers in OpenEvidence—giving physicians, medical researchers, and healthcare professionals faster access to clinically relevant evidence to improve patient outcomes and save lives.

Robert M. Wachter, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF and author of the upcoming book, A Giant Leap: How AI is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future, said, “Thus far, the digital transformation of healthcare has mostly fallen short in its efforts to deliver trusted, evidence-based clinical decision support to clinicians when they need it most. The partnership between the American Medical Association, a cornerstone of medical research and analysis for more than a century, and OpenEvidence, my preferred platform for AI-powered clinical insights, represents a significant step toward fulfilling that promise. I’m confident that both clinicians and patients will benefit.”

OpenEvidence, founded by Harvard– and MIT-trained PhDs, also today announced the wide release of OpenEvidence DeepConsult™, the first AI agent purpose-built for physicians. DeepConsult empowers every physician with a personal, private team of PhD-level, medically-specialized AI agents built by OpenEvidence—capable of conducting advanced medical research while the physician steps away, whether to see the next patient, take a lunch break, or get some rest. OpenEvidence DeepConsult agents use advanced reasoning models to autonomously analyze and cross-reference hundreds of peer-reviewed medical studies in parallel—surfacing not just direct answers, but novel, cross-cutting connections across the literature that might otherwise go unnoticed. The result is an evidence-based synthesis: An integrative, interdisciplinary understanding distilled from hundreds of peer-reviewed medical studies—what would otherwise take a human researcher months of painstaking effort to produce for a single clinical topic.

While OpenEvidence’s core search product is designed for speed—returning precise, evidence-based answers in the 5–10 seconds physicians often have between patients—DeepConsult addresses a different kind of clinical use case: when physicians have more time to ramp up on a new body of knowledge. A physician can pose a complex question before heading to lunch—and return to a comprehensive PhD-level research report in their inbox by the time they get back. This marks a new era of medical productivity: tireless, agentic assistants—PhD-level research intelligence, never tired, never off-duty—reasoning at unprecedented scale, uncovering insights, unlocking new knowledge, and reshaping the future of care.

Each DeepConsult run requires over 100 times the compute and cost of a standard OpenEvidence search. Some leading foundation model companies have publicly speculated about charging tens of thousands of dollars per month for their envisioned PhD‑level agents that are still under development. Yet as part of its mission to support physicians at the point of care, OpenEvidence is offering DeepConsult entirely free to all verified U.S. clinicians—regardless of their institution or workplace.

OpenEvidence will use the funding to expand strategic content partnerships that enhance its library of advanced medical knowledge. OpenEvidence was founded by serial entrepreneur Daniel Nadler, founder of Kensho. Kensho became the most valuable artificial intelligence company of the 2010s when S&P Global acquired it for $700 million in 2018. Google Ventures was the first major investor in Kensho, funding the company while Daniel Nadler was completing his PhD at Harvard University. In 2025, OpenEvidence founder Daniel Nadler was named to the TIME100 Health list of the 100 Most Influential People in global health.

About OpenEvidence

OpenEvidence is the fastest-growing clinical decision support platform in the United States, and the most widely used medical search engine among U.S. clinicians. Trusted by hundreds of thousands of verified physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, OpenEvidence is actively used across more than 10,000 hospitals and medical centers nationwide and by over 40% of physicians in the United States who log in daily to make high-stakes clinical decisions at the point of care.

OpenEvidence continues to grow by over 65,000 new verified U.S. clinician registrations each month. Aside from Google itself, there has never been a piece of technology adopted by clinicians as quickly as OpenEvidence. OpenEvidence is transforming how frontline healthcare providers access, evaluate, and apply the world’s medical knowledge. More than 100 million Americans this year will be treated by a doctor who used OpenEvidence.

OpenEvidence was founded by Daniel Nadler and Zachary Ziegler. Founded with the mission to organize and expand global medical knowledge, OpenEvidence is redefining evidence-based medicine in real-time. In recognition of this impact, in 2025, OpenEvidence founder Daniel Nadler, PhD, was named to the TIME100 Health list of the 100 Most Influential People in global health.

SOURCE OpenEvidence

Virtual Compute Corporation Launches $350 Million Raise to Expand Data Center Footprint

Founded in 2003, vCompute was among the first U.S. companies to offer dedicated and on-demand cloud-based HPC services. Today, the company serves mission-critical workloads across industries such as energy, manufacturing, geophysics, life sciences, and climate research. The planned expansion will increase hosting capacity and support demand for advanced AI and HPC infrastructure solutions.

“We’re seeing exponential demand growth,” said Edward Hawes, CEO of vCompute. “This capital raise marks a strategic inflection point. With proven infrastructure designs, extreme automation, and strong financial discipline, we’re positioned to scale quickly and profitably — both through organic buildouts and potential acquisitions.”

vCompute operates two debt-free data centers in Houston, engineered for cost-efficiency and operational resilience. Automation and intelligent monitoring systems minimize labor requirements, resulting in a lean expense profile and strong margins.

“We’ve remained conservative and profitable since the beginning,” Hawes continued. “Now, with operational risk minimized and market validation firmly established, we are accelerating our growth. This expansion represents a rare opportunity for investors to participate in a high-margin infrastructure play with substantial upside.”

Key Investment Highlights

  • Established Operator: 20+ years of HPC infrastructure expertise with a global client base.
  • Debt-Free Platform: Houston facilities fully owned and optimized for efficiency.
  • High Growth Market: AI, big data, and HPC workloads are growing rapidly across industries.
  • Capital-Efficient Expansion: Proprietary automation reduces capex and opex burden.
  • Scalable Architecture: Proven designs support rapid cluster deployment and client onboarding.

Shawn Stephens, Chief HPC Architect, added:

“Our team has decades of experience in building and managing large-scale HPC clusters. We help clients choose the best technologies, optimize application performance, and reduce total cost of ownership — whether on-premises or in hybrid environments.”

Investor Inquiries

vCompute welcomes accredited investors and institutional partners interested in participating in this raise. 

SOURCE vCompute

Drake Real Estate Partners Announces Final Close of DREP Fund V, Surpassing Target at $515+ Million

Drake Real Estate Partners has closed its fifth flagship fund, building on long-term partnerships and fostering new relationships across the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Middle East & Asia.

NEW YORK, July 15, 2025 — Drake Real Estate Partners (“Drake”), a real estate investment manager pursuing a value-add strategy focused on under the radar opportunities, announced the closing of its fifth flagship fund, Drake Real Estate Partners Fund V (“DREP Fund V” or the “Fund”) with more than $515 million in commitments, exceeding its $500 million target in one of the most challenging fundraising environments in recent history.

Drake’s investor base has evolved and diversified from its original roots in large LatAm based family offices to a predominantly U.S. institutional capital base in DREP Fund V. “We surpassed our $500 million target raise with $515 million, plus co-investment allocations” said Nicolas Ibanez, co-founder and President of Drake. “This outcome is a testament to the long-term relationships we’ve built and our deliberate expansion into the U.S. and European institutional landscape, which complements our longstanding ties in Latin America. Achieving this scale of fundraising in the current environment is not only a major milestone, it’s a strategic advantage as we deploy capital in a heavily dislocated environment.”

The year and a half fundraising period required persistence and focus, Ibanez noted. “It was a constant dance requiring us to amplify our message among existing and prospective investors who were seeking differentiated access to U.S. real estate,” he said. “Drake focuses on niche real estate sectors, and smaller, under-the-radar opportunities that are often overlooked. In a market undergoing a structural reset, managers with flexible capital are able to pivot amid this shift and play with a big advantage. I think that really resonated with smart investors who saw the opportunity, and put us in this favorable position to take advantage of the environment.”

Founded in 2012, Drake implements a value-add approach by acquiring income-producing real estate assets, generally at a significant discount to replacement cost, and driving value through repositioning, leasing and improving operations. The Firm focuses predominantly on smaller transactions – generally between $5-25 million of equity – benefiting from the less efficient market dynamics in that target range. Drake frequently acquires its assets from long-time, non-institutional owners, overseeing capital improvements that these assets were previously lacking, and assembling them into attractive, scalable portfolios for future buyers.

“This fund vintage presents one of the most compelling risk/return profiles we’ve seen since the Firm’s inception,” said David Cotterman, Drake co-founder and Chief Investment Officer. “We’re creating value-add to opportunistic type returns while taking core plus to light value-add risk, in longstanding themes we’ve researched and invested in for more than 13 years.”

Over the past five years, Drake has increasingly pursued fragmented sub-sectors within industrial and residential themes, such as industrial outdoor storage (“IOS”), small bay industrial, and manufactured housing (“MH”), while opportunistically accessing more traditional property types, such as multifamily and data centers. The firm sources most acquisitions directly from owners, bypassing intermediaries and broadly marketed processes. “Drake’s growing focus on smaller assets allows us to create programmatic platforms with our partners and efficiently deploy capital in less liquid markets,” Cotterman said. “We aggregate portfolios of assets that are individually too small for most institutional investors. This marriage of institutional expertise and smaller assets in niche property types creates a unique edge for Drake.”

To date, IOS represents one of Drake’s highest conviction playbooks in DREP Fund V. The sector benefits from sustained demand across the broader industrial and logistics ecosystem, coupled with extremely limited new supply. These dynamics have driven rental growth that consistently outpaces traditional industrial assets, drawing increased institutional interest, particularly for larger portfolios such as the one Drake is actively assembling.

Within the residential space, Drake’s primary playbook in DREP Fund V has been manufactured housing (“MH”), where Drake executes what is mostly a land-lease model in which the firm owns and leases the land beneath residents’ homes. This approach is capital expenditure-light compared to traditional multifamily strategies, and targets a niche market defined by a persistent supply/demand imbalance. New development remains rare due to widespread NIMBY opposition, even as rental demand and growth fundamentals remain strong – driven by a sustained systemic housing shortage and rising construction costs.

Another notable opportunistic investment in the Fund includes a GP interest in a 1,000+ megawatt hyperscale data center development platform anchored by top tier tenants.

About Drake Real Estate Partners
Founded in 2012, Drake Real Estate Partners is a New York-based real estate investment manager with a track record of identifying and executing on under-the-radar opportunities across the U.S. The firm focuses on value-add strategies in income-producing assets, generally acquired at a significant discount to replacement cost. Drake has completed over $3.0 billion in transactions, leveraging its flexible capital and long-term mindset to invest across sectors and geographies.

Drake is a proud member of 1% For The Planet, committing 1% of the firm’s revenues to environmental nonprofits in the communities where it operates, and it represents its anchor initiative withing DREP BUILDS, Drake’s holistic approach to sustainability and real estate resilience.

For further information, visit www.drakerep.com.

Contact
Drake Real Estate Partners
[email protected]

SOURCE Drake Real Estate Partners