Exclusive offer provides select SVB clients access to private company ratings and intelligence relied on by the world’s leading companies

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 17, 2026 — CB Insights, the authority on private technology companies, today announced a new partnership with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank.

Market and competitive intelligence can create a significant advantage. But trustworthy, comprehensive data about the private markets is challenging to find, validate, and monitor. Many growing companies lack dedicated strategy and research teams to analyze the data. And the innovation economy moves quickly.

Through the SVB Offers program, SVB startup banking clients can now address these challenges and gain a competitive edge.

CB Insights ranks and rates the private companies that matter, drawing on proprietary interviews with operators and rich, validated intelligence about more than 12 million private companies, public companies, and investors. They track company performance, competitive networks, emerging technology markets, funding activity, commercial deals, hiring trends, and movements by operators and technical talent. Their “ChatCBI” AI agent and model context protocol (MCP) tools power market analysis and target sourcing with analyst expertise and nonpublic data.

“For founders, every second counts. They need not only data they can trust, but also perspective on what it means,” said Karl Kong, CEO of CB Insights. “We take a position on which markets, competitors, customers, and operators to pursue. Our partnership with SVB puts that intelligence in founders’ hands from the start when it can have the most impact.”

These capabilities will help SVB clients target prospective partners and customers, build investor relationships, find exit opportunities, spot top talent, and anticipate new competitors. SVB clients can also share their perspective with CB Insights analysts directly, elevating their visibility with leading companies and investors.

“As a multi-exited founder, investor, and mentor who has supported hundreds of founders, I believe founder success is all about creating more opportunities for them to win; to provide more shots on goal and the added firepower they need to compete in today’s market,” said Ben Maitland-Lewis, Director, Startup Banking & Founder Success at Silicon Valley Bank. “The insights that CB Insights provides can help founders better understand their competitive landscape, identify opportunities earlier, and make more informed strategic decisions as they scale.”

SVB clients can visit the dedicated landing page to learn more.

About Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank, is the bank of some of the world’s most innovative companies and investors. SVB provides commercial banking to companies in the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity and venture capital industries. SVB operates in centers of innovation throughout the United States, serving the unique needs of its dynamic clients with deep sector expertise, insights and connections. SVB’s parent company, First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCNCA), is a top 20 U.S. financial institution with more than $225 billion in assets. First Citizens Bank, Member FDIC. Learn more at svb.com.

Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank, will rebrand as First Citizens Innovation Banking in Q4 2026. For more information, visit firstcitizens.com/rebrand.

‍About CB Insights

CB Insights is the authority on private technology companies. Six of the Mag 7 and 26 of the top 30 banks use us to build conviction in their next investment, acquisition, partner, or customer. We rank and rate the companies that matter, drawing on proprietary interviews with operators and rich, validated intelligence on 13 million companies. Built for leaders and their AI agents. Learn more at cbinsights.com.

SOURCE Silicon Valley Bank

Ravel’s Purification Recycling™ technology was intentionally designed to address the industry’s biggest unsolved challenges: valorizing hard-to-recycle blends that make up the vast majority of modern clothing, and avoiding disruption and angst in existing supply chains. Ravel does this with feedstock flexibility and a market-based product offering that is ‘drop-in ready.’ 

“There are countless advantages to blended fiber materials for clothing, blends are what make clothing durable, functional, and affordable. But blends are not recyclable with existing infrastructure. That’s where Ravel comes in. We’re solving a huge problem that other technologies fail to address.” says Zahlen Titcomb, CEO of Ravel.

Ravel’s process is able to isolate inseparable mixtures like poly-elastane, a popular combination for performance clothing, and purify waste into mono material fiber, using non-destructive and low energy processes. Ravel optimizes for cost, environmental impact and drop-in ready quality.

Jack Wielebinski at One Small Planet explained that “Ravel offers a rare opportunity in recycling: a clear pathway to producing recycled materials that are cheaper than their virgin counterparts. The logic is elegant on a first-principles basis, positioning Ravel to solve one of the most pressing problems in the circular economy. The company’s technology transforms complex material blends into virgin-quality feedstock, creating a transparent, low-carbon, cost-effective supply chain, and opening the door for more global industries to adopt circular models.”

Textile waste is not a simple feedstock. About 85% of textiles are made up of the top four material categories, and very commonly blended together for products (based on Textile Exchange’s recent annual market report). Because Ravel accepts blended materials as the inputs for their process, they have an unprecedented tolerance for feedstock, unblocking the logistically complex and costly problem of isolating pure streams of textile waste. At any scale, this is yet another major hurdle that existing legacy technologies face.

Helen Lin, Partner at At One Ventures, commented: “The biggest driver of success for any recycling business is feedstock. How much of the waste stream that is being utilized is actually usable? How pure does it need to be for the processing to work viably? How far does it need to be transported? Those factors determine unit economics, operational complexity, and ultimately scalability. What impressed us about Ravel is that the team recognized this early and designed their technology specifically around scalability and the feedstock challenge. The result is a solution with broad feedstock flexibility while still producing the high-purity output materials at low cost. In our view, this is the combination of characteristics to enable mass adoption.”

By prioritizing industrial and economic feasibility, Ravel has designed its process to be drop-in ready for manufacturers in the existing textile supply chain. A key pillar of this design philosophy is offering a recycled output material that doesn’t force unnecessary “green premiums” on the system, or rely on subsidies to cover costs.

As Ravel expands from its Seattle pilot plant to commercial scale operations, the company is focused on validating its technology across the textile supply chain and demonstrating its performance at production scale. With Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation increasing the responsibility of brands and manufacturers for textile waste, Ravel is actively seeking industry partners to validate blended textile waste as a feedstock and to integrate Ravel’s materials into existing manufacturing supply chains.

About Ravel

Ravel is a textile-to-textile recycling company specializing in Purification Recycling™ based in Seattle, Washington. Ravel transforms complex blended fiber waste into high-purity raw materials that achieve price parity with existing textile materials. By closing the loop on post-industrial and post-consumer waste, Ravel is building the infrastructure necessary for a truly circular fashion economy. Visit: www.ravelfuture.com

About One Small Planet

One Small Planet invests in companies where positive environmental impact is fundamental to how they scale. The firm backs founders across climate tech who create genuine ecological benefit alongside strong unit economics, rather than treating impact as a secondary outcome. For more information, please visit www.onesmallplanet.org

About At One Ventures

At One Ventures invests in deep-tech startups catalyzing a world where humanity is a net positive to nature. The firm is highly technical and was founded by Tom Chi, former Head of Experience and founding member at Google X. At One Ventures finds, funds, and grows companies that are using disruptive deep tech to upend the unit economics of established industries while dramatically reducing their planetary footprint. To date, At One Ventures has invested in 49 companies, including Colossal Biosciences, Blue Energy, and CUBY Technologies. For more information, please visit https://www.atoneventures.com/.

Media Contact: Kristen Albrecht – [email protected] 

SOURCE Ravel

The limited 7mg THC / 7mg CBD single-serve sold out in pre-orders and is available mid-September on the company’s site and at Sprouts Farmers Market stores in Texas and Florida, with backing from Listen Ventures.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Sept. 17, 2026 — Magic Cactus, the functional beverage brand built around a microdose of hemp-derived THC, today announced the release of Higher Desert Edition, a limited-edition, higher-potency single-serve of its sparkling cactus water.

The product was initially made available exclusively to Sprouts stores and Magic Cactus subscribers, a community the brand calls The Cactus Club. After the first batch of the limited SKU sold out from pre-orders alone, the company announced a restock shipping mid-September.

The limited launch follows a year of grocery expansion anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market, where Magic Cactus ranked #1 in the retailer’s hemp THC beverage set for the first half of the year (SPINS, H1 2026), and a follow-on investment from Listen Ventures, which led the company’s Seed round in early 2025.

INTRODUCING: HIGHER DESERT EDITION

Higher Desert Edition arrives in a single flavor, Mojave Berry, with 7mg of hemp-derived THC and 7mg of CBD per 12-ounce can, a 1:1 ratio designed for a fuller, still clear-headed experience built as a slow-sipping, single-serve occasion rather than the sessionable nature of the brand’s micro-dosed core products. Like the core lineup, each can is built on a sparkling prickly pear cactus base with real fruit juice and premium functional ingredients like L-theanine and magnesium, and stays at only 20 calories with no added sugar.

• Price: $19.99 per 4-pack
• Where: All Sprouts Farmers Market stores in Texas and Florida, and online at magiccactus.com
• Availability: Limited run. The first batch sold out on pre-order; a restock ships mid-September.

“Our entire value proposition since launch has been what we call approachable feel-ability, built for the mainstream consumer. The cannabis connoisseur already had plenty of options and didn’t need another potent product. The gap was a feel-able one, a can you can have two or three of on a Friday night and feel it come on gradually, instead of the zero-to-a-hundred approach that pushed a lot of people away from this industry in the first place,” said Jonny Locarni, Founder and CEO of Magic Cactus. “Higher Desert Edition is a different job. Our community kept asking for a single-serve with a bit more to it, one can that does the work of a strong cocktail for our core consumer. It’s still less than the standard 10mg serving that outsells everything else in most retail channels, and it’s a true one-and-done rather than something you session.”

ALL IN ON GROCERY

Magic Cactus launched in roughly 120 Sprouts Farmers Market stores across Texas and Florida in mid-January 2026, followed by The Fresh Market in North Carolina and Florida in February. The focused grocery rollout, now representing about 40 percent of the brand’s total door count, reflects a deliberate choice to build the brand in the everyday grocery aisle rather than in smoke shops, convenience, and other channels in which potency is the focus.

The strategy is working. Year to date, wholesale revenue is up more than 200 percent over the same period in 2025, with all four core flavors, Lavender Raspberry, Spiced Peach, Wild Black Cherry and Watermelon Hibiscus, now on shelf alongside Higher Desert Edition at Sprouts.

“Grocery is where Magic Cactus resonates most,” Locarni said. “Sprouts shoppers already read labels, they already care about what’s in the can, and they’re already looking for a better option for a Tuesday night or a backyard hang. We’re not asking anyone to walk into a new kind of store. We’re just showing up where they already shop.”

EXPANDING THE OCCASION

Locarni is quick to clarify what Magic Cactus is not: an anti-alcohol brand.

“We’re not trying to replace alcohol or only reach people who’ve stopped drinking entirely,” he said. “We’re trying to give people optionality in drinking environments, to broaden what it means to ‘have a drink’ for the next generation. Sometimes that’s a cocktail. Sometimes that’s a Magic Cactus. The point is to blur the line between drinking and not drinking so there’s a conscious choice available at the same occasions.”

That positioning sets the brand apart on two fronts: from the wave of non-alcoholic brands leaning heavily into sober-curious messaging, and from the high-potency THC products that dominate much of the hemp market. Rather than asking consumers to choose sides, or chasing milligram counts, Magic Cactus is betting the bigger opportunity is expanding the occasion itself, making a THC beverage a normal part of a night out rather than a replacement for one.

BUILDING BRAND AT A CATEGORY TURNING POINT

The expansion comes as the hemp beverage category awaits regulatory clarity. Federal legislation passed in November 2025 capped finished hemp products at 0.4mg THC per container, a limit the industry views as impractical. Congress has since delayed the effective date to December 11, 2026, creating space for a more workable framework.

Magic Cactus supports a regulated hemp beverage market with clear dosing standards, age gating and third-party testing, and believes its low-dose, grocery-first approach is exactly the kind of product responsible regulation should protect.

“We built this brand for a world where we’re regulated differently than traditional cannabis products, similar to the bifurcation between beer and wine versus liquor and spirits. We’ve always operated like we’d be regulated the way a beer is,” Locarni said. “Whatever the final framework looks like, we want to be the example of what a responsible THC beverage brand looks like on a grocery shelf.”

BACKED BY LISTEN VENTURES

Listen Ventures, the Chicago-based consumer venture firm behind brands like Calm, Factor, Angel’s Envy, and many more, led Magic Cactus’s Seed round in early 2025 and made a follow-on investment in the company in 2026. Magic Cactus has also raised capital from Tonic Ventures and other consumer-focused investors.

“There is a sea of hemp THC beverages in the market but very few brands. Magic Cactus has built a cult following, a brand that people want to be seen drinking. That badge value is what sets it apart. And once you taste it, it’s easy to see why people keep coming back,” said Jeff Cantalupo, Founder and Managing Partner at Listen Ventures.

LOOKING AHEAD

Over the coming months Magic Cactus is focused on deepening its grocery footprint and launching additional products built for the grocery channel.

FOLLOW ALONG

ABOUT MAGIC CACTUS

Founded in 2023 and headquartered in North Scottsdale, Arizona, Magic Cactus is a functional beverage brand that gives adults a clear-headed option for social occasions. The brand’s core products contain a base of lightly sparkling prickly pear cactus water, and combine a microdose of hemp-derived cannabinoids with functional ingredients like magnesium and L-theanine. Magic Cactus sells direct-to-consumer at magiccactus.com, and is available at various retailers including Sprouts Farmers Market, The Fresh Market, Total Wine, and more. Magic Cactus donates 10 percent of profits to organizations treating substance abuse, a commitment rooted in founder Jonny Locarni’s experience losing his father to alcohol.

CONTACT

Taylor Foxman
The Industry Collective
609-432-2237
[email protected] 

SOURCE Magic Cactus

Participation in one of America’s top-ranked startup accelerators and incubators will support commercialization, manufacturing scale and market adoption of Iron Rain™

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif., Sept. 17, 2026 — ARCYN Defense Corp., a U.S. defense technology company developing next-generation counter-drone systems, today announced its selection for the 2026 MassChallenge Security & Resiliency Traction Program.

Selected through a competitive application and pitch process, ARCYN joins a select cohort of companies developing technologies for defense, national security, critical infrastructure and resilience.

MassChallenge is one of the nation’s leading startup accelerators and incubators and was recently ranked No. 2 on TIME and Statista’s 2026 list of America’s Best Incubators & Accelerators. Its programs connect high-potential companies with experienced business leaders, industry experts, government stakeholders, prospective customers, strategic partners and investors.

“Selection by MassChallenge is an important validation of ARCYN’s team, technology and market opportunity,” said Dr. Aaron Poynton, Chief Executive Officer of ARCYN Defense. “The program will help us accelerate Iron Rain’s path to market, strengthen our manufacturing strategy and build the partnerships needed to scale.”

ARCYN will use the program to advance manufacturing readiness, sharpen its commercialization strategy, expand customer and partner engagement and strengthen relationships across the investment community. The company is entering an important stage of growth as it prepares Iron Rain for continued development, testing, integration and scalable production.

Iron Rain is a configurable counter-drone platform that combines artificial intelligence, advanced sensors and high-speed, non-explosive kinetic technology. Designed to defend against individual drones and coordinated swarms, the system is intended to provide military forces, critical infrastructure operators and other high-value assets with a precise, scalable and cost-effective layer of protection.

The need for effective counter-drone technology continues to grow as inexpensive unmanned systems become more capable, more widely available and increasingly difficult to defeat using traditional methods. ARCYN is developing Iron Rain to help close that gap with a flexible system designed for real-world operational environments.

ARCYN’s selection for MassChallenge builds on the company’s growing momentum, including its Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center and its ongoing engagement with government and industry partners.

Together, these milestones support ARCYN’s strategy of advancing Iron Rain from development toward field-ready capability while building the manufacturing, commercial and strategic foundation required for long-term growth.

About ARCYN Defense
ARCYN Defense Corp. is a U.S. defense technology company developing next-generation systems to protect military forces, critical infrastructure and other high-value assets from drones and emerging aerial threats. Its flagship Iron Rain platform combines artificial intelligence, advanced sensing and kinetic technology to deliver precise, scalable and cost-effective counter-drone protection.

Learn more at www.arcyndefense.com

About MassChallenge
MassChallenge is a global startup accelerator and incubator that helps high-potential companies overcome barriers to growth and bring important new technologies to market. Its programs connect founders with mentors, business leaders, government stakeholders, customers, strategic partners and investors.

Learn more at www.masschallenge.org

Media Contact
ARCYN Defense Corp.
(949) 414-9961
[email protected]
www.arcyndefense.com

SOURCE ARCYN Defense

Small Buyout Opportunities Fund VI Targets a Market of Over 500,000 Small and Lower Middle Market Companies, Representing Approximately 96% of All Businesses in America

NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2026 — Siguler Guff & Company, LP (“Siguler Guff” or the “Firm”), a multi-strategy private markets investment firm with $19 billion of assets under management, today announced it has raised more than $3 billion for its small buyout strategy, with over $2.3 billion for commingled vehicles, including Small Buyout Opportunities Fund VI (“Fund VI” or the “Fund”), and nearly $700 million in separately managed accounts. The fundraise further highlights Siguler Guff’s standing as one of the nation’s largest and most active investors across the small and lower middle market and received strong support from existing and new investors.

Siguler Guff believes the size and fragmentation of the U.S. small and lower middle market can create opportunities to access established businesses and support value creation through active ownership. Fund VI will continue the Firm’s approach of partnering with experienced private equity sponsors through fund commitments and select direct equity co-investments.

The Fund’s strategy continues to target established companies with less than $200 million in annual revenue and typically up to $50 million in annual EBITDA, with an emphasis on businesses holding leading positions in niche markets. Its investments in portfolio companies are often founder or family-owned providers of products and services with long operating histories and resilient fundamentals across economic cycles.

Since the launch of the small business investment strategy in 2006, Siguler Guff has committed more than $10 billion across over 1,000 U.S. companies with an aggregate employee base of more than 400,000; completed more than 300 equity co-investments; served as the largest LP for more than 87 sponsors; and backed 46 first-time funds. Through its combination of fund investments and co-investments, the strategy seeks to provide differentiated exposure to lower middle-market opportunities while benefiting from deep sponsor relationships and diversified deal flow.

“We are pleased to have completed the largest fundraising in the history of our small buyout strategy. The small and lower middle market is a vital part of the U.S. economy, with more than 500,000 businesses and approximately 96% of all U.S. firms,” said Kevin Kester, Partner, and Co-Managing Partner of Small Business Investments at Siguler Guff. “We believe supporting family-and founder-owned American businesses as they professionalize and grow continues to offer an enduring investment opportunity.”

“In this market, deep relationships and specialized expertise can create a meaningful advantage,” said Jonathan Wilson, Partner, and Co-Managing Partner of Small Business Investments at Siguler Guff. “Our experience has given us the insight and network to identify compelling opportunities and partner with high-quality sponsors and companies.”

“This record close reflects the scale, maturity and success of the small buyout franchise our team has built over more than two decades,” said Drew Guff, Co-Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of Siguler Guff. “We are grateful to our existing and new investors for their confidence and partnership in this important and growing strategy.”

Editor’s Note
References to the size and composition of the U.S. small and lower middle market are based on the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. 

About Siguler Guff
Siguler Guff is a multi-strategy private markets investment firm with approximately $19 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2025. With 30 years of experience investing in private markets, Siguler Guff seeks to focus opportunistically on market niches globally. The Firm’s core investment strategies include Small Business Buyout, Emerging Markets, Opportunistic Credit, Real Estate and Small Business Credit. Siguler Guff’s institutional investment knowledge, sector immersion approach and longstanding relationships can provide access to compelling investment opportunities within each of its targeted strategies. The Firm serves institutional clients, including corporate and public employee benefit plans, endowments, foundations, government agencies, and financial institutions, along with family offices and high net worth investors. For further information, please visit www.sigulerguff.com

Media Contact
Gabrielle Mwangi
Siguler Guff & Company
T: 212-634-5939
[email protected]

SOURCE Siguler Guff

Disco Cow earns $20,000 in funding to scale dairy innovation.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., Sept. 17, 2026 — Illinois startup Disco Cow has been crowned grand prize winner of the second annual Midwest Dairy Accelerator, following a live pitch competition yesterday at the Green Acres Event Center, a historic barn event venue near Minneapolis in Eden Prairie, Minn. Founder Kate Colehour earned $20,000 in prize funding to help scale dairy-based innovation for her growing brand.

The competition marked the finale of the Midwest Dairy Accelerator, an intensive 10-week virtual program designed by Midwest Dairy in partnership with innovation advisory firm VentureFuel, to help emerging food and beverage brands scale innovative products that use Midwest dairy as a key ingredient.

Throughout the program, founders gained access to workshops, one on one mentorship and direct collaboration with leaders across the dairy ecosystem, including ingredient experts, processors, manufacturers, retailers, academics and food industry executives. Programming covered consumer insights, ingredients and innovation, manufacturing, distribution, retail strategy, marketing and business pitching.

“The Midwest Dairy Accelerator has connected Disco Cow with an incredible network of experts, resources, and people who are genuinely excited about the future of dairy, said Disco Cow founder Kate Colehour. The $20,000 grand prize is going to help us move from founder-led production to scaled manufacturing, which supports our growing retail presence and gets whipped cottage cheese into the hands of more consumers!”

“Dairy farmers have a long-standing legacy of innovation, and that commitment continues to shape the future of our industry,” said Corey Scott, CEO of Midwest Dairy. “It has been a pleasure to equip emerging dairy brands with the expertise, connections and resources to strengthen the dairy category and create new opportunities for consumers.”

“The vision and execution demonstrated by Disco Cow represents the kind of innovation that drives meaningful commercial impact,” said Fred Schonenberg, CEO of VentureFuel. “We’re proud to have partnered with Midwest Dairy for a second year to accelerate breakthrough ideas and support entrepreneurs innovating with real dairy.”

For more information on the program and this year’s winner, visit MidwestDairyAccelerator.com.

About Midwest Dairy

Midwest Dairy represents 3,600 dairy farm families and works on their behalf to build dairy demand by inspiring consumer confidence in dairy products and production practices. Midwest Dairy is committed to Bringing Dairy to Life! by giving consumers an excellent dairy experience and is funded by farmers across a 10-state region, including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. For more information, visit MidwestDairy.com and follow Midwest Dairy on Facebook and YouTube.

About VentureFuel

VentureFuel helps established organizations accelerate growth through strategic startup partnerships. Powered by its repeatable Innovation Engine™, VentureFuel identifies, validates and commercializes emerging technologies, transforming innovation into measurable business outcomes in months instead of years. The company has facilitated more than 100 corporate-startup partnerships, unlocking more than $1 billion in enterprise value creation for clients. Learn more at venturefuel.net and listen to The VentureFuel Visionaries podcast wherever podcasts are available.

Media Contact:
Anna Walsh
917-969-7081
[email protected]

SOURCE Midwest Dairy

NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2026 — CyboPal today announced that its first product, CyboPal ONE, will launch on Kickstarter on Sept. 22, 2026. The campaign will be open to backers worldwide and has already attracted more than 6,000 followers. Until Sept. 22, early supporters can lock in their launch offer with a $30 deposit at cybopal.com.

From a Static Desktop to a Responsive Robotic Terminal

Computers have become dramatically more capable with the rise of AI, but the physical desktop has remained largely unchanged. Screens remain fixed, while users continue to adjust their posture and position around them.

CyboPal ONE is a Desktop Robotic Terminal (DRT) that combines a display with robotic movement, voice and gesture interaction, allowing the computer to respond more naturally to how and where people work.

Users can call the screen closer when leaning back, adjust it for different working positions, and switch between landscape and portrait orientations using voice and gestures. They can also use voice commands to interact with AI agents and perform computer tasks without relying entirely on a keyboard and mouse.

“AI is changing what computers can do. We believe it should also change what a computer is,” said Frederic Peng, Founder and CEO of CyboPal. “With CyboPal ONE, we want to make the computer come alive — able to move, respond, and adapt to the way people work.”

Built for a More Adaptive Workflow

• Professionals: change working positions without repeatedly readjusting the screen.
• Creators and developers: switch between viewing positions, screen orientations and tasks.
• AI power users: interact with AI agents and perform computer tasks by voice.

Since its debut at CES 2026, CyboPal ONE has been demonstrated at industry events including IFA 2026, where creators, media and technology professionals experienced its robotic movement, gesture control and voice interaction firsthand.

Follow CyboPal ONE on Kickstarter ahead of its Sept. 22 launch: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cybopal/cybopal-worlds-first-active-tracking-ai-robotic-monitor

About CyboPal

CyboPal is a Hong Kong-based robotics and AI company rethinking how people interact with computers. Built on the belief that the physical interface should evolve with the AI era, CyboPal develops adaptive computing experiences that combine intelligence, movement, and natural interaction. Its first product is CyboPal ONE, a Desktop Robotic Terminal. Learn more at cybopal.com.

SOURCE CyboPal

CodeTogether will showcase to investors and industry leaders how its proprietary approach helps software organizations scale AI without losing control.

ATLANTA, Sept. 17, 2026 — CodeTogether is selected as one of the Southeast’s most promising tech companies to be showcased at Venture Atlanta 2026, the Southeast’s premier technology innovation event and one of the nation’s leading venture capital conferences. Venture Atlanta brings together the region’s fastest-growing technology companies with top-tier investors, corporate innovation leaders, and potential strategic partners from across the country.

Chosen through a highly competitive application process, CodeTogether joins a select group of emerging companies recognized for their innovation, market opportunity, leadership team, customer traction, and growth potential. This year’s showcase companies span sectors including AI, enterprise software, fintech, healthcare, cybersecurity, climate technology, robotics, manufacturing, defense technology, and other emerging markets.

“AI is fundamentally changing the economics of software development. Companies can create more software, faster than ever before, but that also means more spend, more output and more risk moving through engineering organizations at a pace traditional management systems weren’t built to handle,” said Alison Silverstein, CEO of CodeTogether. “Being selected for the Venture Atlanta Showcase gives us an opportunity to introduce CodeTogether to investors and industry leaders at exactly the moment this problem is becoming impossible for companies to ignore. We’ve spent four years building the visibility and intelligence layer engineering organizations need, and AI has made that foundation more important than ever.”

CodeTogether helps software organizations scale AI without losing control. Its platform gives leaders visibility into how AI is being used, what it costs, what it produces, and whether it is actually creating value. By connecting AI investment to delivered software value, CodeTogether helps leaders see what’s working, what isn’t, and where to redirect investment while it still matters.

As in previous years, Venture Atlanta 2026 is anticipated to be a sold-out event.

“Venture Atlanta is where promising companies get discovered and where the right connections can change what comes next,” said Allyson Eman, CEO of Venture Atlanta. “This year’s companies represent some of the Southeast’s strongest and most ambitious founders and technologies. Being selected in such a competitive field is a significant achievement, and we’re excited to give these companies a platform to connect with hundreds of investors and influential leaders who can help turn visibility into capital, partnerships, and growth.”

Each year, Venture Atlanta brings together hundreds of venture capital firms, corporate venture groups, private equity investors, and Fortune 500 innovation leaders seeking the next generation of high-growth technology companies. Venture Atlanta alumni include some of the Southeast’s most successful technology companies, including Bark, CallRail, Car360, Flock Safety, Florence Healthcare, ParkMobile, Salesloft, Kabbage, Bitcoin Depot, PrizePicks, Stax, SingleOps, Pindrop, and Terminus.

To learn more about CodeTogether, visit www.codetogether.com. For more information about Venture Atlanta, visit www.ventureatlanta.org.

About CodeTogether
CodeTogether is the control layer for AI-powered software development, helping software organizations scale AI without losing control. Its platform gives leaders visibility into how AI is being used, what it costs, what it produces, and whether it is actually creating value. By connecting AI investment to delivered software value, CodeTogether helps leaders see what’s working, what isn’t, and where to redirect investment while it still matters. Built on four years of production technology, CodeTogether helps organizations take control of AI and compound the return.

About Venture Atlanta
Venture Atlanta, the Southeast’s technology innovation event, is where the region’s most promising tech companies meet the country’s top-tier investors. As the Southeast’s largest investor showcase helping launch more than 1,000 companies and raise over $8.8 billion in funding to date, the event connects the region’s top entrepreneurs with local and national investors and others in the technology ecosystem who can help them raise the capital they need to grow their businesses. The annual nonprofit event is a collaboration of the Atlanta CEO Council, Metro Atlanta Chamber, and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG).

Contact:
Alison Silverstein
CEO & Founder
[email protected]
202-355-4141

SOURCE CodeTogether

Six-time entrepreneur Frank Addante’s new company gives each user their own digital twin, not just an assistant, and private memory graph across phone, text, email, voice, web, and app.

PARK CITY, Utah, Sept. 17, 2026 — Hello Haven, a personal AI company founded by serial entrepreneur Frank Addante and Duc Chau, emerged from stealth today with Haven, your digital twin, powered by its personal AI operating system, designed as your own private, persistent AI. A user’s Haven builds a memory graph of that individual user, learns how they make decisions, remembers everything and completes tasks on the user’s behalf across phone, text, email, voice, web, and the app. Haven also announced a $15 million pre-seed funding round led by Mayfield.

Large language models are trained on data drawn from many sources and many people. Users often have to repeat their history, preferences, and constraints before the model can provide a useful response. Haven gives each user a private memory graph that grows with every interaction, learning that person’s preferences, relationships, history, and decisions, then drawing on it to interpret a request, make a choice, select the right model(s) or tool(s), and act the way that individual would. Two Havens can respond differently to the same request because each reflects its individual user.

There are no two Havens alike.

“Haven is your true digital twin. While a personal assistant knows what you asked it to do, Haven knows what you would do and proactively does it for you,” said Frank Addante, founder and CEO at Haven. “Your Haven remembers the choices you have made and the boundaries you have set, so it can act without asking you to start over each time.”

Haven can prepare a daily briefing, triage your inbox, send follow-ups, process returns, place orders, and make calls. Users can also create recurring autonomous tasks in plain language, such as asking Haven to send a reminder text or call before appointments and meetings.

Since opening its private beta last month, people have interacted with their Havens more than 2 million times.

An Operating System for Your Life

Haven is designed as an operating system for a person’s life. Each user’s private memory graph feeds into a hyper-personalized orchestration layer that holds their identity, memory, judgment, permissions, and intent. As an operating system, Haven chooses the model or combination of models best suited to the task and connects it to the necessary tools and applications. Because a person’s context lives in that layer rather than inside any one model, Haven becomes the layer everything else connects into.

Users can reach Haven by phone, voice, text, email, web or the Haven app. Memory and context carry across every channel, so a task can begin in one place and continue in another.

“The first wave of AI gave us chatbots that could answer almost any question. The next wave will know you, remember what matters, and do the work. Personal AI that works persistently for you is the ultimate AI product,” said Navin Chaddha, managing partner at Mayfield. “Decades after backing Frank at Rubicon Project, we’re excited to partner with him again at the inception stage of building this next wave of Personal AI.”

A Digital Twin, Everywhere You Go

Haven plans to open a developer platform allowing creators and developers to build code and “no code” apps that connect to an individual’s Haven. The company will also make a user’s digital twin portable across products and devices, extending into applications, televisions, automobiles, connected devices, and robotics.

“The interface will keep changing. A person’s context should not have to,” said Duc Chau, co-founder of Haven. “You’ll be able to sign in with Haven, and your memory, your permissions, and your judgment come with you.”

Haven is now available today at my.hellohaven.ai, on the Apple App Store, and on Google Play.

See a “Day in a Life” with Haven: https://my.hellohaven.ai/meethaven

About Hello Haven

Hello Haven is the creator of the world’s first personal AI digital twin. Hello Haven’s vision is to empower every person on the planet with a digital twin, so they can be human beings, not human doings.  Drawing on more than 500 AI models and more than 100 app integrations, a user’s Haven learns about them over time, remembers everything and does things for them. All data is stored in a user’s private personal memory graph, owned and controlled solely by the individual. Haven is available on iPhone via the Apple App Store, on Android via the Google Play store, and at my.hellohaven.ai. 

Media Contact
Haven Media Team
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SOURCE Hello Haven, Inc.