Funding will support a randomized Phase 2B study of the novel sonodynamic therapy in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma 

CHANHASSEN, Minn., May 15, 2025 — Alpheus Medical, Inc., a private, clinical-stage oncology company pioneering sonodynamic therapy (SDT) for the treatment of solid body cancers, today announced the closing of an oversubscribed $52 million Series B financing round. The funds will support a Phase 2B randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the efficacy of SDT in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) – one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer.

Backed by leading healthcare investors, the round was co-led by HealthQuest Capital and Samsara BioCapital with participation from existing investors OrbiMed and Action Potential Venture Capital. In addition, venture investors committed to transforming cancer care participated, including BrightEdge, the impact investment and innovation arm of the American Cancer Society, the Brain Tumor Investment Fund, a subsidiary of the National Brain Tumor Society, and Sontag Innovation Fund, a subsidiary of The Sontag Foundation.

“The complex and diffuse nature of glioblastomas has long hindered therapeutic innovation,” said Conrad Wang M.D., Partner at HealthQuest Capital. “Alpheus’ sonodynamic therapy represents a novel, non-invasive whole brain approach with compelling early data. This investment reflects our commitment to advancing transformative technologies that seek to fill critical gaps in patient unmet needs.”

Alpheus’ platform delivers non-thermal, tumor-selective therapy activated by low-intensity diffuse ultrasound (LIDU™) with oral 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA). Without the need for imaging or sedation, this combination selectively targets and destroys cancer cells across the entire brain hemisphere. This novel treatment option is performed in an outpatient setting. Promising early results from two studies highlight the potential of SDT therapy in both newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma patients.

“This investment is a key inflection point for Alpheus and the glioblastoma community – advancing sonodynamic therapy from promise to clinical validation,” commented Vijay Agarwal, MD, FAANS, FCNS, President and CEO of Alpheus Medical. “With this support, we are poised to generate pivotal evidence that could help establish a new standard of care for newly diagnosed brain tumors.”

About Alpheus Medical, Inc.

Alpheus Medical is a private, clinical-stage oncology company developing a groundbreaking, non-invasive treatment for solid tumors utilizing sonodynamic therapy (SDT). Its proprietary platform combines Low-Intensity Diffuse Ultrasound (LIDU™) with oral 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), a sensitizing agent that selectively accumulates in tumor cells. This targeted approach aims to destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. Alpheus collaborates with global leaders in neuro-oncology and is supported by top healthcare investors and the venture vehicles of nonprofit organizations focused on cancer. Learn more at www.alpheusmedical.com.

About HealthQuest Capital

HealthQuest Capital is a private asset firm that provides capital to transformative healthcare companies. HealthQuest Capital focuses on commercial prospects that drive enhanced patient outcomes and elevate the efficiency of healthcare delivery. With approximately $2 billion in capital under management, the firm focuses on fostering innovation across the healthcare spectrum, including medical technologies, diagnostics, digital health, and innovative services. The HealthQuest Capital team combines decades of investing experience with domain expertise in the various aspects of the healthcare industry. For more information, visit www.healthquestcapital.com.

About Samsara BioCapital

Founded in 2017, Samsara BioCapital is a leading biotech investment firm focused on identifying opportunities across public and private markets. Samsara invests across the full spectrum from early-stage start-up to late-stage clinical assets with a focus on companies that will have a significant impact on patients and address high unmet medical needs. Samsara works with entrepreneurs and top-tier management teams that they believe will have a meaningful impact on innovative therapeutics. The Samsara team has deep expertise in biotech with significant experience working together prior to founding the firm. The team is led by Srinivas Akkaraju, who has over twenty-two years of industry experience and has an MD and a PhD in Immunology from Stanford University.

Media Contact
Carla Benigni
[email protected]

SOURCE Alpheus Medical

Series A funding led by AE Ventures; Margo de Naray joins Solestial as CEO

TEMPE, Ariz., May 15, 2025 — Solestial, Inc. (“Solestial”), the solar energy company for space, today announced a significant milestone with the closing of its $17M Series A funding round led by AE Ventures. The round welcomed new investors Crosscut Ventures, Zeon Ventures, and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation’s ME Innovation Fund (general partner: Global Brain Corporation), with participation from existing investors Airbus Ventures, General Purpose Venture Capital, Industrious Ventures, Stellar Ventures, and Techstars.

The Series A funding enables Solestial to continue scaling its manufacturing capacity of silicon photovoltaics to 1 megawatt per year, a rate comparable to the estimated annual manufacturing capacity of all US and EU III-V space solar companies combined.

Alongside the raise, Solestial also announced the appointment of Margo de Naray as Chief Executive Officer. De Naray, formerly Senior VP & GM of Space Products and Services at Astra, brings 20 years of extensive commercial and operations management experience in growth and high-tech environments. Founding CEO, Stanislau Herasimenka, will assume the role of Chief Technology Officer to focus on advancing the company’s product roadmap and rapidly scaling operations technology.

“We are thrilled to welcome Margo to lead Solestial into its next chapter,” said Herasimenka. “This transition allows me to continue developing our cutting-edge technology, while Margo brings additional strategic leadership and operational experience to deliver at scale.”

De Naray joins Solestial amid strong momentum. “We’re seeing tremendous market demand, and we are focused on delivering high-quality products,” she said. “We’re hiring, scaling production, and qualifying our technology, which is already deployed on multiple missions in space.”

“Space solar is a critical bottleneck in a rapidly growing industry with an ever-expanding set of missions—from national security to lunar exploration,” said Beckett Jackson, Partner at AE Ventures. “Solestial is uniquely positioned to serve spacecraft manufacturers with mass production of a lightweight, radiation-hardened solution at lower cost and a fraction of the lead time of the current standard.”

The only space solar manufacturer with demonstrated ability to self-heal radiation damage, Solestial offers spacecraft manufacturers the ability to significantly reduce cost and weight without sacrificing energy needs or performance.

“Solestial continues to revolutionize low-cost, lightweight solar power for space. Stan’s continued focus on the technical breadth of Solestial products and Margo’s new addition as a leader of the team are the ingredients to unlock the next phases growth and success,” said Mat Costes, Partner at Airbus Ventures. “We are also thrilled to welcome new investors and see investors from the seed round returning, collectively signifying what we all know—the market applications for this technology are robust, fast accelerating, and Solestial is ready to meet market demand.”

“Our colleagues at Mitsubishi Electric Corporation have been working with Solestial for a number of years to evaluate the potential of Solestial’s technologies,” said Komi Matsubara, Executive Officer (Associate), Vice President, Business Innovation at Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. “We see tremendous potential in Solestial’s technology and are pleased to deepen the relationship and support their development.”

With strong customer demand, Solestial has prioritized scaling production. Since opening its Tempe, Arizona manufacturing facility in 2023, the company has added square footage each year, more than doubled its workforce, and delivered commercial products to dozens of companies.

About Solestial

Solestial exists to deliver abundant energy in space. The company’s breakthrough technology is a silicon solar cell engineered for space to self-cure radiation damage under sunlight at operating temperatures as low as 65°C. Solestial solar cells are packaged in an ultrathin, low-mass, flexible solar power module designed to withstand up to 10 years in a variety of destinations in space. The flexible solar power modules can be produced on automated machines resulting in costs lower than traditional III-V multijunction solar products.

From today’s satellite constellations and research projects to tomorrow’s lunar settlements and services in space, Solestial’s innovative technology represents a paradigm shift for space solar; an affordable, scalable solution to power sustained development. Solestial is a US company manufacturing solar cells and flexible solar power modules in Tempe, Arizona. To learn more, visit the Solestial website and follow Solestial on social media.

About AE Ventures

AE Ventures is the venture capital platform of AE Industrial Partners, a private investment firm with $6.4 billion of assets under management, focused on highly specialized markets including national security, aerospace and industrials. AE Ventures has completed over 50 investments in early-stage companies that benefit from the deep industry knowledge, operating experience, and network of relationships across the sectors where the firm invests.

About Airbus Ventures

Airbus Ventures operates in service of deeptech entrepreneurs who are inspired to design, build, and service complex engineering products capable of unlocking entirely new economies.

About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

With more than 100 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment. Mitsubishi Electric enriches society with technology in the spirit of its “Changes for the Better.” The company recorded a revenue of 5,257.9 billion yen (U.S. $34.8 billion*) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024. For more information, please visit www.MitsubishiElectric.com.

*U.S. dollar amounts are translated from yen at the rate of ¥151 = U.S. $1, the approximate rate on the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market on March 31, 2024.

SOURCE Solestial, Inc.

Row Zero, The Enterprise Spreadsheet, Raises $10M in Seed Funding

SEATTLE, May 15, 2025 — Row Zero, the enterprise spreadsheet built for big data and security, announced a seed round of $10M, led by IA Ventures, with participation from Trilogy Equity Partners, Founder’s Co-op, Ludlow Ventures, K9 Ventures, Functional Capital, and Wes Mckinney. The company had previously raised $3M, bringing its total funding to $13M. Founded by former AWS employees, Breck Fresen and Nick End, Row Zero was born out of their frustration doing data analysis on big datasets while working at Amazon. Row Zero opens billion row datasets (Excel has a 1,048,576 row limit), automatically updates from connected data warehouses, and supports enterprise security controls.

According to CEO, Breck Fresen, “for 20 years BI tools have been selling the promise of self-serve analytics but the first thing business teams do when visiting Tableau or PowerBI dashboards is click ‘export to CSV’ so they can open the file in Excel. The spreadsheet is still the number one data analysis tool but data set sizes have outgrown the capabilities of traditional spreadsheets, data has moved to the cloud, and locally stored data is a huge security risk.”

While their website touts customers ranging from small startups to large corporations, Row Zero says most of their use comes from fortune 500 companies who need a spreadsheet for their business teams and want to eliminate the security risk of CSV exports from BI tools. Marc Millstone, Director of Platforms, Infrastructure, and Security at Flexport says “Row Zero is a simple, easy to use spreadsheet-based interface for working across multiple Snowflake tables, containing millions of rows each. We no longer need to manually copy data between systems and have shifted our weekly reporting from Google Sheets. Flexport is a leader in global logistics, and sophisticated big data analytics are a big part of our culture.”

Unlike traditional spreadsheets that run on a user’s laptop, Row Zero runs in the cloud, making use of the larger compute, memory, and connectivity resources. The spreadsheet connects directly to data warehouses, like Snowflake, Databricks, Redshift, and BigQuery, enforces row level security, and has the ability to restrict data export, eliminating locally stored data. “Row Zero instantly performs analytical operations that would take minutes or hours in Excel and Tableau, enabling business teams in finance, operations, sales, and marketing to work with large datasets in a spreadsheet they already know how to use” explained Fresen.

The Row Zero team plans to use the new funding to accelerate product development—namely, by expanding its connector surface to support additional business applications such as ERPs and CRMs, integrate AI into the spreadsheet, and enhance support for Python-based workflows. To accelerate growth, Row Zero is hiring for positions in its Seattle headquarters and Pittsburgh satellite office.

SOURCE Row Zero Inc.

This Series B round led by General Catalyst, with investments from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and other prominent investors, will enable Sprinter Health to scale its tech stack, broaden its scope of services and engage more people in communities across the country

MENLO PARK, Calif., May 15, 2025 — Sprinter Health today announced the close of a $55 million Series B financing round led by General Catalyst, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio + Health and other existing investors including the Regents of the University of California, Google Ventures, and Accel. Sprinter Health’s mission is “healthcare untethered.” They specialize in engaging hard to reach populations, utilizing a technology-first approach paired with in-person clinical staff to increase access to care. Since its founding in 2021 by Max Cohen and Cameron Behar (both formerly of Oculus and Google), Sprinter Health has now raised over $125 million.

In a crowded market of traditional providers and digital health companies, Sprinter has distinguished itself by creating a system that pairs virtual and in-home care. Sprinter couples its in-home W-2 staff, cross-trained as medical assistants, community health workers, and phlebotomists, with a virtual team of nurse practitioners and specialists. “Meeting patients where they are” often means a virtual-only solution, which fails to actively connect with those least engaged in the healthcare system. Most significant care pathways require an in-person component. When Sprinter Health’s staff (known as Sprinters) arrive at patients’ doorsteps, the human touch makes a big difference in delivering impactful, high-quality care and ensuring patients are drivers on their health journey, not just passengers. Since Sprinters are hired from the communities they serve, healthcare is delivered by people that patients see at the grocery store or the movie theater, creating a sense of comfort and trust right from the start.

With a laser-like emphasis on routing, logistics, and engagement, Sprinter Health is making “last-mile healthcare” not just possible, but delivered efficiently. With the patient experience at its core (manifesting in a 90+ Net Promoter Score), Sprinter’s technology innovation and proprietary full-stack approach extends the normal geographic area that Sprinters can cover, helping them see more patients, cover more regions, and provide access to people whose location is often a barrier to receiving care.

“Sprinter Health’s advanced technology ensures that our Sprinters’ schedules are optimized to be with the right patient, at the right location, at the right time,” said Max Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Sprinter Health. “For example, our Sprinter Platform enables the average Sprinter to engage with and provide services for up to twelve people a day. It could be lead screening for a child in one location, an eye exam for a patient with diabetes in another, and a comprehensive assessment with care planning through a hybrid visit with a nurse practitioner for a Medicare Advantage member in the afternoon. This level of service and scale is possible only because of Sprinter Health’s technology and artificial intelligence that account for a long list of variables including traffic and weather patterns, location-based parking considerations, individualized patients’ needs and appointment times and region-specific idiosyncrasies.”

As chronic disease continues to be a burden to patients and the healthcare system alike, identifying gaps in care and taking action on them become more critical to reducing the massive increases in healthcare costs. Sprinter’s own research has shown that over 30 percent of American adults have known unattended care needs to manage their chronic health issues. Their approach doesn’t stop with closing a gap, but rather is designed around closing the loop. Sprinter reconnects these patients with their existing care team or with a team of navigators to connect them with the clinical and community resources they need. This ensures that the activation of these previously unengaged patients can result in positive longitudinal outcomes, not just a transactional encounter.

Since they first launched in California, Sprinter Health has expanded from five states in 2023 to 18 today, with plans to reach 22 by the end of summer 2025. They have completed nearly 100,000 visits to people in their homes, on behalf of national health plans. Sprinters follow a customized checklist to ensure that they administer the proper tests and provide the appropriate care that matches patients’ needs, improving quality and reducing error and wasted spend. Sprinter Health prioritizes a holistic approach to care; Sprinters are able to identify unmet social needs in patients’ homes, from fall risks to an empty fridge, and ensure that the proper referrals are made to address those issues. Sprinter Health addresses up to 20 quality measures with an 80 percent gap closure rate, and impacts 45% of the requirements to achieve a 4 Star rating or better for plans.

“We believe Sprinter Health is emerging as a category-defining company in home-based care,” said Holly Maloney, Managing Director of General Catalyst, who also led Sprinter’s seed round. “They’ve built the technological infrastructure to make care both scalable and impactful for the people who need it most. Max, Cameron, and the team have reimagined how care reaches patients — expanding access, improving outcomes, and delivering real value to health plans and providers.”

About Sprinter Health

Sprinter Health is a mobile healthcare provider that combines technology and a full-stack medical practice to reimagine care at home. We partner with healthcare organizations to drive engagement with proactive, preventive care by combining convenient in-home visits for hands-on diagnostics with support from virtual clinicians to close care gaps, develop care plans, and reconnect patients back into longitudinal care. For more information, visit www.sprinterhealth.com.

Media Contact: 120/80 MKTG, [email protected]

SOURCE Sprinter Health

InsurTech Startup Supports Over 35 Customers and has Successfully Launched More Than 60 Innovative Products and Programs in Just Two and a Half Years

SOLEBURY, Pa., May 15, 2025 — Sproutr, a boutique insurance product design and build firm, today announced the close of its seed round led by Altai Ventures, one of the leading specialist fintech venture capital firms.

Built by insurance operators, Sproutr exists to bridge one of the industry’s most pressing challenges: the gap between innovation and execution. By helping MGAs/MGUs, program administrators, and carriers navigate complex regulatory processes and internal structures, Sproutr empowers them to launch new P&C products and programs faster, smarter, and more efficiently — seizing market opportunities before they’re lost.

“Within virtually every entity that sells insurance products lies a team that is often not spoken about – a department responsible for developing policy language, drafting endorsements, and by doing so, one that defines the very promises that insurers make to their policyholders and without which they would not be able to operate,” explained Oleg Ilichev, Managing Partner, Altai Ventures. “Developing effective product language comes from program management experience. Leading with outcome-based insurance insights, Sproutr has built a method that enhances these existing workflows and offerings by combining the best insurance product experts with modern technology to design insurance products and programs in a more efficient and strategic manner,” said Ilichev.

Sproutr addresses a critical industry challenge, which is the gap between insurance innovation and execution. For new and existing MGAs/MGUs and program administrators, translating early-stage ideas into viable, carrier-backed programs involves navigating complex regulatory processes, internal carrier structures, and uncertain timelines. All of these factors can hinder innovation.

On the carrier side, rigid workflows and siloed responsibilities can also slow down decision-making, leading to missed market opportunities by launching products too late or chasing ill-defined business cases.

Sproutr’s mission is to redefine the standards in insurance program and product design by simplifying the process of bringing regulated products to market. Sproutr achieves this through its tech-forward approach, proprietary frameworks & processes, and deep industry expertise, helping new and established MGAs/MGUs, program administrators, and others capitalize on market opportunities and avoid missteps.

Sproutr is comprised of experienced insurance operators who have successfully launched and scaled insurance programs across the P&C spectrum. The firm delivers end-to-end advisory, authoring, and execution support across all stages of development, including:

• Market Validation
• Underwriting Guidelines
• Form & Rate Development
• Regulatory Filings
• Carrier Paper Strategy
• Post Launch Audits and More

“At Accelerant, we pride ourselves on helping our Members move with agility and purpose,” said Mike McAuliffe, President at Accelerant Underwriting Managers. “Sproutr has been instrumental in delivering on this promise, sharing our Member-centric worldview and helping them build products and programs that meet real market needs,” noted McAuliffe.

Sproutr’s team of insurance professionals (CUOs, Product Managers, Compliance Experts, etc.) has over 300 years of combined experience building products and programs. Currently, the firm supports over 35 customers and has successfully launched over 60 products and programs in just 2.5 years. Some of the customers that trust Sproutr include: Accelerant, Blitz Insurance, Boost, District Cover, Everspan, MGT Insurance Company, and Sertis, among others.

“Having built, launched, and managed programs at AIG, Hippo, Hanover, and Attune, I know firsthand how hard it is to bring new insurance products to market even when you have access to the required parts (paper, capacity, & product), ” said JoAnne Artesani, CEO & Founder, Sproutr. “I founded Sproutr to direct my experience towards building a practice dedicated to propelling founders and program writers in executing their visions using smart, cost-effective, and pragmatic approaches. At Sproutr, we call this “Seeing Beyond”. Today, we operate these principles at scale with a technology-driven, customer first approach and a growing team of incredible talent, which drove my decision to bring strategic capital into Sproutr,” explained Artesani.

Sproutr, a profitable insurtech startup with over 35 customers, plans to use its funding to create more value for its growing customer base by accelerating the firm’s execution of its technology roadmap and scaling its growing team. The firm is a proud partner program member of AAIS and an approved service provider of TMPAA. For more information about Sproutr, visit: https://www.sproutr.com/ 

About Sproutr
Sproutr is an insurance product design & build firm. Moving beyond advisory services, Sproutr exists to support start-up and legacy insurance providers in leading core insurance functions to validate, design, and author new or expanding product launch efforts. Their team has deep experience and credibility in leading underwriting, process, and product design and implementation within Fortune 500 companies and unicorn insurtechs. Choosing Sproutr means gaining the strength and credibility of a multi-disciplinary team that has navigated real industry obstacles. 

About Altai Ventures
Altai Ventures is a specialist venture capital firm with a focus on backing and incubating early-stage startups in financial services. Altai’s mission is to empower extraordinary founders to reinvent financial services by using its operating expertise, deep industry knowledge, and strategic LPs to drive immediate, meaningful value creation.

Media Contact:
JoAnne Artesani
[email protected]
215-867-9277

SOURCE Sproutr Holdings LLC

PITTSBURGH, May 15, 2025 — Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Arm and SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG) today announced that Arm and SBG will contribute USD 15.5 million to CMU to support its partnership with Keio University (Keio), a collaboration to accelerate the global advancement of AI.

A year ago, the United States and Japan launched a research partnership to accelerate advancements in AI on a global scale. The partnership will bring the two countries closer together as international leaders in AI by pairing up CMU with Keio and, in a related effort, the University of Washington with the University of Tsukuba. Several global companies — including Amazon, Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA and SBG — and a consortium of Japanese companies pledged USD 110 million in contributions to support these collaborations.

Arm, the company that is building the future of computing, and SBG, a global investor in breakthrough technologies, will provide CMU with USD 15.5 million to support the university’s efforts in this partnership. The funding will give CMU scientists access to cutting-edge commercial tools and models and support fundamental research in areas where AI will have a transformative effect. 

“Carnegie Mellon is thankful for the support of Arm and SoftBank Group Corp. to further the development of transformative technologies powered by artificial intelligence. AI is pushing scientific discovery in fields like robotics and biomedicine, helping researchers understand complex systems and predict outcomes with increased accuracy,” said Martial Hebert, Dean, CMU’s School of Computer Science. “The CMU and Keio partnership will unlock research potential across the globe. Together, with generous and expert industry backing, we will blaze the new path charted by pioneering breakthroughs made possible through AI.”

As a key feature of the partnership, Arm will provide CMU researchers with access to their hardware and software IP and tools through the company’s Academic Access model, allowing researchers to innovate, evaluate, design and manufacture with the latest technology from Arm. The company’s funding will also support research collaboration, capstone projects, internships and other student experiences between CMU and Keio.

“At Arm, we see the future of AI at the intersection of cutting-edge research, world-class engineering and practical application. Our partnership with the SoftBank Group and Carnegie Mellon University accelerates AI innovation while empowering the next generation,” said Khaled Benkrid, Senior Director, Education and Research, Arm. “By uniting academia and industry, we’re not just advancing technology, we’re also investing in its future architects.”

SBG will establish the SoftBank Group–Arm Fellowship with its contribution. The fellowship will support CMU’s Ph.D. students in AI research. The funding will also support student-focused academic programs, such as summer research opportunities for undergraduate students, capstone projects and internships.

“AI’s true potential emerges at the nexus of diverse ideas, rigorous scholarship and strategic international alliances,” said Tim Mackey, Corporate Officer, CLO & GCO, Head of Legal Unit of SoftBank Group Corp. “Through our support for the Carnegie Mellon–Keio initiative, we seek not only to catalyze innovation but also to strengthen the foundational bonds between Japan and the U.S., building a robust pipeline of visionary AI talent prepared for global leadership.”

With support from Arm and SBG, researchers at CMU and Keio will embark on work in four main areas: multimodal and multilingual learning, embodied AI for robotics, autonomous AI symbiosis with humans, and life sciences and AI for scientific discovery. Collaborations between CMU and Keio have begun. Researchers from Keio visited CMU in the fall of 2024. CMU researchers visited Keio in the spring of 2025.

CMU and Keio researchers in a current project in embodied AI are developing systems that will allow robots to better understand their own abilities, making them more effective at completing tasks around the home. Anticipated research in multimodal, multilingual learning will look at methods to reduce hallucination problems in large language models when they are used to analyze images or other multimodal data. Projects in AI symbiosis could include research into understanding non-verbal communication, interaction with robotics arms and social navigation. Researchers looking at the use of AI for scientific discovery will investigate AI-controlled experimentation and data analysis, including biomedical image analysis, lab automation and AI-enabled interpretation of molecular measurements.

About Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon, cmu.edu, is a private, internationally ranked research university with acclaimed programs spanning the sciences, engineering, technology, business, public policy, humanities and the arts. Our diverse community of scholars, researchers, creators and innovators is driven to make real-world impacts that benefit people across the globe. With an unconventional, interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial approach, we do the work that matters.

About Arm
Arm is the industry’s highest-performing and most power-efficient compute platform with unmatched scale that touches 100 percent of the connected global population. To meet the insatiable demand for compute, Arm is delivering advanced solutions that allow the world’s leading technology companies to unleash the unprecedented experiences and capabilities of AI. Together with the world’s largest computing ecosystem and 22 million software developers, we are building the future of AI on Arm.

All information is provided “as is” and without warranty or representation. This document may be shared freely, attributed and unmodified. Arm is a registered trademark of Arm Limited (or its subsidiaries or affiliates). All brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. © 1995-2025 Arm Limited.

About SoftBank Group
The SoftBank Group invests in breakthrough technology to improve the quality of life for people around the world. The SoftBank Group is comprised of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO: 9984), an investment holding company that includes stakes in AI, smart robotics, IoT, telecommunications, internet services, and clean energy technology providers, as well as a majority stake in Arm, which is building the future of computing; and the SoftBank Vision Funds, which are investing to help transform industries and shape new ones. To learn more, please visit https://group.softbank/en.

SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University

PALO ALTO, Calif., TORONTO and DUBAI, May 15, 2025 – Raiven Capital, a global early-stage venture capital firm, is pleased to announce its membership in the Middle East Venture Capital Association (MEVCA)—the premier organization supporting the growth of venture capital and innovation across the region.

This milestone marks Raiven’s continued commitment to investing in startups in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), following the launch of its second Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) licensed fund based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

“Raiven is honored to join MEVCA, the leading platform for VCs in the region,” said Paul Dugsin, Co-Founder of Raiven Capital. “We believe in building ecosystems, not just portfolios. MEVCA gives us a platform to collaborate with like-minded investors, founders, and changemakers driving the region’s future.”

“We’re delighted to welcome Raiven Capital to the MEVCA community. Their global perspective, combined with deep operational expertise, adds tremendous value to the region’s growing VC landscape. Raiven’s commitment to supporting founders and fostering collaboration aligns perfectly with MEVCA’s mission to connect and strengthen the venture ecosystem across the region.” 
— Omar AlKhawaja, Vice Chairman, MEVCA

Raiven’s expansion into the Middle East complements its global footprint. The firm’s first fund, launched in Toronto and Silicon Valley, was ranked in the top 10% of North American funds, in a 2025 survey of 1,800 VC firms by Carta Fund Services.

“We’re seeing world-class founders and breakthrough ideas across the Middle East,” said Supreet Manchanda, Co-Founder. “Our operator-investor team is deeply engaged in helping startups achieve product-market fit, scale efficiently, and create long-term value. MEVCA is a key enabler in that journey.”

As Raiven builds strong relationships across the GCC, the firm is focused on its core mission: investing in bold founders building the future with AI, IoT, and other new technologies.

Check out our new and improved website at raivencapital.com that reflects our market and fund expansion.

About MEVCA

The Middle East Venture Capital Association (MEVCA) aims to serve the Middle East’s entrepreneurial and investment community through a concerted effort to advance the region’s venture capital industry and greater entrepreneurial ecosystem.

About Raiven Capital

Raiven Capital is a global VC, investing at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, and operational transformation. With hubs in Silicon Valley, Toronto, and Dubai, Raiven has delivered multiple successful exits since 2020. Its portfolio spans AI, IoT, deeptech and digital platform companies driving systemic change.

SOURCE Raiven Capital

Whataburger and KMO Burger, LLC Announce Joint Venture to Strengthen Presence in Missouri and Kansas

SAN ANTONIO, May 14, 2025 — Whataburger is proud to announce a new joint venture with longtime franchise partner and investment group KMO Burger, LLC, marking a significant step forward in the brand’s continued growth across the Midwest.

As part of this joint venture, Whataburger will contribute its 16 company-owned restaurants in the Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri markets, while KMO Burger, LLC will contribute its 13 existing restaurants. KMO Burger, LLC will own and operate all 29 locations under the Whataburger brand.

“This partnership reflects the strength of our franchise model and the incredible trust we place in our partners,” said Debbie Stroud, Whataburger President and CEO. “KMO Burger, LLC has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the communities they serve and to the heart of the Whataburger experience — amazing food, exceptional service, and a welcoming atmosphere. We’re confident this joint venture will only deepen our connection with our fans in Kansas and Missouri.”

All Whataburger Restaurants LLC employees currently working as restaurant staff at these locations will transition to become employees of KMO Burger, LLC. A dedicated cross-functional team is in place to ensure the transition is supported with the resources, information and care needed throughout the process.

KMO Burger, LLC will assume operations for all 29 restaurants following the completion of the transaction. The growing investment group continues to embrace Whataburger’s Vision, Mission, and Promise — a testament to the strength of the partnership and the shared commitment to delivering bold flavors and memorable moments.

“As a longtime fan and investor, I’m thrilled to take this next step with Whataburger. The brand means a lot to me — not just for the food, but for how it brings people together. Our team at KMO Burger is ready to keep raising the bar,” said Patrick Mahomes, NFL Quarterback and part-owner of KMO Burger, LCC. “I’m proud to be part of a team that’s focused on both growth and community.”

The corporate restaurant locations that are transitioning as a part of this joint venture are:

• 1460 NE Douglas St, Lees Summit, MO
• 8420 W 135^th St., Overland Park, KS
• 18902 E US Highway 40, Independence, MO
• 905 Highway 7, Blue Springs, MO
• 1851 W Marler Lane, Ozark, MO
• 3880 W Sunshine St, Springfield MO
• 1921 W Foxwood Dr., Raymore, MO
• 204 SW Highway 150, Lees Summit, MO
• 2337 N Glenstone Ave, Springfield, MO
• 9505 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, KS
• 401 N Eastgate Ave, Springfield, MO
• 1371 US Highway 60 E, Republic, MO
• 2014 S Rangeline Rd, Joplin, MO
• 1705 N State Route 291, Harrisonville, MO
• 714 S Madison St, Webb City, MO
• 1710, 600 W Main St, Branson, MO

About Whataburger®:
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HAWTHORNE, Calif., May 14, 2025 — Reflect Orbital has raised a $20 million Series A to accelerate development of its satellite constellation to deliver sunlight on demand. The round was led by Lux Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital and Starship Ventures.

Reflect Orbital is building a constellation of satellites designed to reflect sunlight down to Earth for large-scale lighting and energy applications. This new funding will support team growth, scaled operations, and the company’s first space missions.

“Lux backs some of the most impressive hardware companies out there, and they share our vision. We couldn’t ask for better partners to join us in creating the future of light and energy, and together, we’ll get our first lux on the ground,” said Ben Nowack, CEO & Co-founder of Reflect.

Lux Capital, known for funding and founding transformative science and technology ventures, is expected to play a key role in helping Reflect grow and establish critical industry partnerships.

“Reflect Orbital is pioneering a new category in-space infrastructure that represents the convergence of two areas we’re passionate about–space technology and energy solutions,” said Josh Wolfe, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Lux Capital. “We believe their on-demand illumination technology has the potential to reshape how we solve problems on Earth–from critical operations to energy resilience–while opening entirely new markets we’re only beginning to imagine.”

Reflect’s first satellite will launch as early as Spring 2026, beginning with its limited “World Tour” lighting experiences in 10 iconic locations. From there, the company will expand to provide lighting for remote operations, defense, civil infrastructure, and energy generation. Reflect is actively contracting with customers after receiving over 260,000 applications for satellite-reflected sunlight from 157 countries last fall. To learn more about reserving sunlight as a service, visit reflectorbital.com.

Reflect Orbital is building a world-class team of engineers and mission-driven professionals. If you’re excited to work on a bold, world-changing solution in a fast-paced, purpose-driven environment, we’re hiring! Explore open roles on our careers page.

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SOURCE Reflect Orbital