• Less than two years after launch in April 2023, Plata’s valuation reached USD 1.5B after receiving its banking license authorization in December 2024, surpassing one million active customers in early 2025.
• The USD 160 million Series A equity round brings the total investment that Plata has made into the Mexican economy since its launch to over USD 750 million.
• Series A, which positions Plata as one of Mexico’s most valuable Digital Banks*, was led by Kora.

MEXICO CITY, March 11, 2025 — Plata, the Mexican digital bank that received its banking license authorization in December 2024, has successfully closed its Series A equity round with a USD 1.5 billion valuation less than two years after launching operations and after surpassing one million active credit card users.

The Series A raised USD 160 million in a combined equity round, led by Kora—a global investment firm specializing in emerging digital economies—, subject to regulatory approvals. The round also saw participation from Moore Strategic Ventures, among other U.S. and European investors. Following this transaction, Plata has now secured a total of USD 750 million in debt and equity investment since its inception to deploy in Mexico.

With this investment, Plata demonstrates confidence in the Mexican market and strengthens its commitment to digitalizing financial services in the country. Coupled with the recent approval of a banking license, Plata consolidates its position in Mexico as a pioneer in financial innovation.

“The real value of Plata lies in the collective talent we’ve gathered to achieve exceptional growth while maintaining a strong financial model,” said Neri Tollardo, Co-Founder and CEO of Plata. “I am confident that our focus on technological solutions, accessible through an intuitive and simple customer-facing app, sets a benchmark for financial services in Latin America. Our products have been met with incredible enthusiasm, and we couldn’t be more thrilled.“

“We believe financial services are a powerful driver of economic development in emerging markets and have been fortunate to partner with companies driving this change across the globe,” said Nitin Saigal, Co-Founder of Kora. “Plata has an exceptional team, in our view, with a unique combination of talent and integrity that positions it to be one of the key players driving this change in Mexico. We are excited to strengthen our partnership with them.”

“With a highly experienced team, a Banking license authorization, proprietary technology like our own core banking system, and this capital investment, we are confident that we will continue to be one of the fastest-growing digital banks in Latin America. Even more, we are poised to be a driver of change in digitalization and financial inclusion,” added Tollardo

Additionally to the Series A investment, some of Plata’s most notable capital markets transactions completed since inception include a USD 200mln warehouse facility from Fasanara Capital, a London-based fund manager, and a USD 55mln Senior Unsecured Bond, which was the first unsecured issuance for a Mexican Non-Bank Financial Institution since 2021.

A Digital Bank with a Human Touch

Founded in Mexico City by international banking executives led by Neri Tollardo and Danil Anisimov, Plata started operations in April 2023, and since then, it has grown to a global team of over 1,500 employees, with close to 40% of them STEM professionals and responsible for the development of Plata’s own core banking system (infrastructure, systems, and applications), enabling faster and more efficient innovation and solution implementation. This positions Plata as one of the few financial companies that, instead of outsourcing this service, develops its infrastructure internally.

True to its value proposition of simplifying the financial experience through cutting-edge technology, Plata remains committed to operating as a fully digital bank. This means Plata will not have physical bank branches. Instead, it will offer all of its products and services through its digital platform, prioritizing accessibility and efficiency for its users.

“While we are a 100% digital platform, we understand the importance of human contact in addressing any questions or issues. Not having physical branches leads us to make exceptional customer service one of our main pillars. We offer instant response via chat and a direct contact phone number without any phone menus,” explained Tollardo.

In addition to its internal development team, Plata directly hires all of its agents who handle customer requests and its ambassadors, who deliver cards to clients’ homes and perform identity verification in person.

About Plata:

Plata is a high-tech Mexican financial platform authorized with a Banking license. Plata’s promise in Mexico is to raise the standards of financial products and services through innovation, excellence in customer service, and greater benefits for people’s money. Plata is on the mission of transforming the Mexican financial experience by overcoming the limitations of traditional banking. Backed by its own technology, Plata offers a simpler, safer, and more efficient financial experience.

With a team of over 1,500 employees, Plata has developed its own banking infrastructure and works with the support of AI, which allows the company to make a difference in the financial landscape. In less than two years of operations in Mexico, Plata has achieved one million active customers. platacard.mx 

About Kora:

Kora is a global investment firm with over a decade of experience seeking to invest alongside exceptional teams building internet and financial services businesses across emerging digital economies. koracap.com

About Moore Strategic Ventures:

Moore Strategic Ventures, LLC is the privately held investment company for Louis M. Bacon, Founder and CEO of Moore Capital Management, LP. moorecap.com

SOURCE Plata

This program brings $1M in funding to companies reinventing after Hurricane Helene

ASHEVILLE, N.C., March 11, 2025 — Optimist Ventures, Western North Carolina’s premier accelerator and investment fund, is officially open for applications, offering an unparalleled opportunity for early-stage, tech-enabled startups to secure funding and mentorship. The deadline to apply is March 23, 2025.

This program brings $1M in funding, with each selected startup receiving $50,000 — half as a non-dilutive grant and half as a Shared Profit Agreement (SPA) note, meaning founders retain full ownership while investors see long-term returns. This hybrid model is founder-friendly, investor-aligned, and designed for sustainable success.

Unique to this model is the SPA Note vehicle “The Shared Profit Agreement (SPA) was born out of a desire to create a founder-friendly, regionally aligned funding model. Unlike traditional equity investment, where founders dilute their ownership and often feel pressure to exit on an investor’s timeline, the SPA allows startups to retain full control. Instead of giving up a percentage of the company, founders commit to sharing a percentage of revenue or profit, based on a fixed sliding scale.

This structure works particularly well in a region like Western North Carolina, where many businesses are capital-efficient, bootstrapped, and value independence. Founders appreciate that the SPA allows them to focus on profitability and long-term impact, rather than short-term valuations. So far, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive—entrepreneurs love the flexibility, and investors appreciate that it aligns incentives around building sustainable businesses rather than chasing the next funding round,” said Jeffrey Kaplan, CEO of Optimist Ventures. 

Who Should Apply?

Optimist Ventures is seeking ambitious, tech-enabled companies across Western North Carolina. But what does “tech-enabled” really mean? If your startup leverages technology to scale, optimize, or enhance business operations— you’re tech-enabled.

• A CPG startup using AI to manage supply chain logistics? That’s tech-enabled.
• A restaurant-tech platform optimizing food waste with predictive analytics? Tech-enabled.
• A manufacturing company integrating IoT sensors to improve efficiency? You guessed it—tech-enabled.
• A health & wellness brand deploying a mobile app for personalized user experiences? Absolutely tech-enabled.

If your business uses software, data, automation, or digital tools to accelerate growth, Optimist Ventures is built for you.

Why This Model is a Game-Changer

Traditional venture capital models often force founders into all-or-nothing trajectories—chasing unicorn status at all costs or losing control of their business. Optimist Ventures does things differently.

• Half Grant, Half SPA Note: Founders only pay back a portion of the investment, reducing financial risk.
• No Equity Surrendered: Keep full ownership while accessing crucial capital.
• Investor Returns Without Founder Burnout: The SPA model ensures investors see returns without forcing aggressive, unsustainable growth.
• Support Beyond the Check: Mentorship, connections, and a network that genuinely invests in your success.

Backed by Philanthropy & Innovation

Optimist Ventures is powered by a coalition of visionary partners, including Venture Asheville, the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville Buncombe County, the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, Dogwood Health Trust, Truist Bank, Poppy Popcorn, individual philanthropists, and the Bank of America Foundation, ensuring that startups receive not just capital, but a community of champions behind them.

Apply Now

If you’re a Western North Carolina-based founder with a high-growth, tech-enabled venture, the time to apply is now. Applications are open through March 23, 2025, with selections announced in early April.

• **Apply today at **OptimistVentues.co and join the next wave of innovation in WNC!

Media Contact: Jeffrey Kaplan, CEO, Optimist Ventures Director, Venture [email protected], 954-205-1352

Optimist Ventures is a founder-friendly investment fund and accelerator dedicated to fueling the next generation of tech-enabled startups in Western North Carolina. Built on a hybrid funding model, Optimist Ventures provides $50,000 per company—half as a non-dilutive grant and half as a Shared Profit Agreement (SPA) note—allowing founders to scale their businesses without sacrificing ownership. Backed by venture philanthropy and forward-thinking investors, Optimist Ventures supports companies that leverage technology, data, automation, and digital tools to drive innovation in their industries. With mentorship from proven entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts, Optimist Ventures is more than capital—it’s a growth engine for the next wave of ambitious startups. Optimist Ventures operates in partnership with Venture Asheville and the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville–Buncombe County, playing a key role in shaping WNC’s startup ecosystem. For more information, visit www.OptimistVentures.co.

SOURCE Optimist Ventures

Anagram Ventures has led the $3M funding round, which furthers Rakurai’s mission to deliver high TPS and high yield to builders and stakers on Solana

SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2025 — Rakurai, the infrastructure project supercharging Solana staking, has closed a $3 million seed funding round led by Anagram Ventures. Other investors in this round include Colosseum, Slow Ventures, Robot Ventures and Crypto.com. P2P.org, GlobalStake and Cyber Fund also participated, highlighting Rakurai’s potential to drive significant advancements in decentralized infrastructure.

Today’s funding will advance the rollout of Rakurai’s high-yield Solana staking platform, offering high QoS (quality of service) transaction landing through increased efficiencies to retail and institutional participants alike. In standard benchmark tests, Rakurai nodes deliver 5x the TPS (transactions per second) compared to the standard Solana client. The investment will also fuel product development and partnership growth.

Ali Rizvi, CEO of Rakurai, said: “Today’s funding news is one of many more milestones to come, as we build and deliver products that significantly increase TPS on Solana. Rakurai has been able to accelerate Solana nodes through our unique innovations in transaction scheduling, which boost block rewards and benefit users, stakers and node operators, enabling everyone to thrive on Solana.”

Founded by a team with extensive expertise in building ultra-low-latency, high throughput systems for algorithmic trading, Rakurai is led by ex-Apple, Silicon Valley engineer Ali Rizvi, who has more than 20 years of experience and a background in ASIC/SOC design. In last year’s Colosseum Solana Renaissance Hackathon, Rakurai won the top prize in the infrastructure track. 

David Feiock, CIO at Anagram Ventures said: “One of the greatest challenges that Solana faces today is the frequency of conflicting transactions and scheduler bottlenecks, which have resulted in inefficiencies in block packing. Rakurai’s solution aims to tackle this issue by optimizing the process, allowing for more efficient block creation and ultimately increasing validator rewards. We think Rakurai will be a critical piece of the IBRL puzzle”

About Rakurai

Rakurai is a trusted validator that boosts TPS with proprietary scheduling and pipeline optimizations. Operating on the Solana network, Rakurai builds transaction-dense blocks providing users, dApps and bots superior transaction landing when they use the platform and also enhances yield for stakers through sharing of block rewards. Node operators can access higher block rewards and deliver higher yields by quickly deploying the Rakurai client. Stakers can access this yield by staking with any Rakurai node or leveraging Rakurai’s Liquid Staking Pool (raiSOL). For more information, see rakurai.io.

SOURCE Rakurai

West Hill Capital Doubles Down on Investment to Accelerate Market Expansion 

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 11, 2025 — ATLANT 3D, whose atomic-scale manufacturing technology enables precise development of advanced materials and devices for optics, photonics, microelectronics, quantum computing, sensors, and space applications, today announced a $15M Series A+ funding round led by West Hill Capital. 

West Hill Capital was also the lead investor in ATLANT 3D’s $15M Series A round in September 2022. “Our continued investment in ATLANT 3D across both the A and A+ rounds reflects our deep confidence in their transformative technology and their ability to redefine microfabrication,” says Alan Richards, Partner and Co-Founder, West Hill Capital. “The team has an unwavering commitment to disruptive innovation and strategic execution, and we believe ATLANT 3D is uniquely positioned to capture significant market opportunities in the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing sectors.”

ATLANT 3D builds materials and devices, atom by atom, through its direct atomic layer processing (DALP®) technology, which places precise amounts of materials exactly where needed. The system creates complex structures for microelectronics, semiconductors, and advanced devices in a single step. By replacing traditional multi-step fabrication with direct atomic-scale manufacturing, this approach eliminates process complexity while reducing material waste by 90 percent. Different research teams use DALP® technology to create what was previously impractical or impossible, from quantum computing components to devices that will operate in space.

Since ATLANT 3D’s series A round, the company successfully launched NANOFABRICATOR^TM LITE as a product and a prototype of industrial multimodular NANOFABRICATOR^TM FLOW. NANOFABRICATOR^TM LITE is a versatile system that uses DALP® technology to accelerate materials research, device R&D, and prototype development. The University of Vermont became the first institution to acquire the system, marking a significant milestone. ATLANT 3D has since established partnerships with over 50 industrial and research organizations, including major semiconductor manufacturers like STMicroelectronics, Sony and several other Fortune 500 companies.

ATLANT 3D also grew their team to more than 35 members, bringing in talent specializing in atomic layer deposition (ALD) and material sciences; filed for a total of 11 patents, with one granted in the U.S., Singapore, Japan, and South Korea; and expanded their validated materials library to a potential 20 materials. This allows for greater flexibility and innovation in developing new products and applications across various industries.

With the Series A+ funding, ATLANT 3D plans to continue focusing on technology leadership and industrial product development, extending its global innovation network, broadening its application portfolio and strategic partnerships, and expanding its sales and marketing teams and commercial growth. 

“This investment marks the next chapter for ATLANT 3D,” says Dr. Maksym Plakhotnyuk, Founder and CEO. “One of our key discoveries was that labs needed a way to build complex devices without the traditional constraints of multi-step fabrication as well as testing and adopting advanced high-quality materials. Our technology lets research teams create and test advanced materials and prototype devices in days instead of months and prepare them for scaling to manufacturing. With this funding, we’ll continue developing tools that make atomic-scale manufacturing accessible to any lab, accelerating the pace of scientific discovery and industrial adoption. The demand we’re seeing from R&D, quantum computing, aerospace, automotive, communication, and semiconductor markets shows we’re solving a critical need. We are actively seeking partners who want to speed up their research cycles, develop previously impossible devices, and build the next generation of smart glasses, quantum computers, AI chips, and space-ready materials and devices.”

About ATLANT 3D

ATLANT 3D has mastered control of matter at the atomic scale, enabling the creation of advanced materials and devices with unprecedented precision. The company’s breakthrough technology allows research teams and manufacturers to build what was previously impossible – from next-generation quantum computers to devices that can operate in the harsh conditions of space – while significantly reducing resource consumption. Based in Copenhagen and London, operations in the US, ATLANT 3D partners with research institutions and industrial companies to expand the boundaries of technological possibility. For more information, visit www.atlant3d.com.

SOURCE ATLANT 3D

The round, led by Paradigm with participation from Consensys, QuantumLight, Yolo Investments, and others, was secured using PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin, setting a historical precedent for stablecoin funding 

SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2025 — Mesh, the leading crypto payments network enabling seamless transactions with cheap and immediate conversions, today announced it closed a $82 million Series B funding round, bringing its total amount raised to over $120 million. With payments and stablecoins widely seen as the biggest catalyst for crypto‘s mass adoption, the funds set the company up for sustained dominance in the industry’s most promising sector. The round was led by Paradigm, with participation from Consensys (parent company of MetaMask), QuantumLight Capital (started by Revolut Founder & CEO Nik Storonsky), Yolo Investments, and others. Mesh has previously raised from investors including PayPal Ventures, Galaxy Ventures, and MoneyForward.

In a historic moment for both venture funding and stablecoins, most of the $82 million of investments were settled with PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin. PYUSD was leveraged to close funding instantly and Mesh’s technology was used to transfer the assets securely. The benefits of using stablecoins for VC funding are that it’s instant, cheap, transparent, and available 24/7. The method of funding comes on the heels of PayPal Ventures’ 2024 investment in Mesh, which was also completed largely in PYUSD.

Mesh has already partnered with major players such as MetaMask, Shift4, and Revolut, making its technology available to over 400 million users in over 100 countries worldwide. Now, the company can further accelerate product development and the expansion of its APIs to power hundreds of crypto and payments platforms.

“Stablecoins present the single biggest opportunity to disrupt the payments industry since the invention of credit and debit cards, and Mesh is now first in line to scale that vision across the world,” said Bam Azizi, CEO and Co-Founder of Mesh. “With this funding, we’re expanding the first truly global crypto payments network – one that allows users to pay with any crypto they hold while ensuring merchants can settle in the stablecoin of their choice, just like they do with fiat today.”

Mesh’s flagship payments solution is powered by its proprietary SmartFunding technology, which eliminates friction between users’ assets and merchants’ settlement requirements. That means an asset like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana can be used as a means of payments, while merchants automatically receive the transaction amount in stablecoins such as PYUSD, UST, or USDC, all without requiring the user to manually convert assets beforehand.

“We think crypto and stablecoins will be an enormous transformation to payments,” said Charlie Noyes, General Partner at Paradigm. “Mesh makes paying with crypto as simple as using a credit card for users and merchants while preserving the benefits of transacting over blockchain rails.”

Mesh is on track to become an integral part of global payments as the industry moves towards a stablecoin-dominated ecosystem, with stablecoins already representing over a $200 billion market cap and surpassing $27.6 trillion in transaction volume in 2024.

For more information about Mesh, visit https://meshconnect.com/.

About Mesh

Founded in 2020, Mesh is building the first global crypto payments network, connecting hundreds of exchanges, wallets, and financial services platforms to enable seamless digital asset payments and conversions. By unifying these platforms into a single network, Mesh is pioneering an open, connected, and secure ecosystem for digital finance. For more information, visit https://www.meshconnect.com/.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Mesh

What Do Albert Einstein and streetwear brand Hellstar Have in Common? They’re Both Protected by Podqi.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2025 — Podqi, the automated IP protection platform transforming how brands defend their digital rights, today announced it has raised $3.2 million in seed funding. The round was led by General Catalyst, with participation from Soma Capital, Afore Capital, and strategic angel investors, and positions Podqi to lead in addressing the rapidly evolving challenges of IP protection in the digital age.

In an era where the online counterfeit market exceeds $1 trillion and grows 20% year-over-year, companies and brands face unprecedented difficulties in protecting their IP assets. With the rise of ultra-fast fashion and instant viral products, malicious actors can now leverage AI content generation to fully impersonate storefronts in hours. These deceptive sites steal content directly from official sources and licensees, misleading consumers and manipulating search engine results to appear on the front page of Google within days.

Podqi’s platform automates the entire IP protection process from detection to takedown, scanning millions of potential infringements daily and enabling immediate enforcement at a scale previously impossible.

“Every brand selling products online faces the same challenge – the faster you grow, the more aggressively counterfeiters target you,” said Trevor West, CEO and co-founder of Podqi. “We’re building Podqi to turn the tables on infringers. Instead of playing defense, we help brands proactively protect their IP and unlock new revenue streams through licensing and enforcement. The companies and brands that work with us see counterfeits as an opportunity to identify potential licensees and recover lost revenue.”

“We invested in Podqi because the team is solving an important problem: IP infringement, which is increasingly top of mind for everyone — from brands and entertainers to the music and sports industry,” said Marc Bhargava, Managing Director at General Catalyst. “Co-founders Trevor, Jesse, and Ivan are a trusted team with a long history together. They move fast, envision the right product, and successfully sell into industries that have historically been slower to innovate.”

Read the full announcement on the Podqi website: https://www.podqi.com/blog/announcing-our-seed-raise

About Podqi

Podqi protects and monetizes intellectual property for the world’s most innovative brands. For more information, visit www.podqi.com.

SOURCE Podqi

NEW YORK, March 11, 2025 — Vori Health, the nation’s pioneering physician-led solution for musculoskeletal care, is making waves in the healthcare industry and just announced a $53 million Series B funding round. Led by NEA and with continued support from AlleyCorp, Intermountain Health’s Intermountain Ventures, Echo Health Ventures, and Max Ventures, this heavily oversubscribed round is a testament to Vori Health’s rapid growth and innovative care model. In just 18 months, the company has delivered remarkable clinical outcomes and significant cost savings for patients and partners alike, while achieving an 800% revenue increase.

Founded to revolutionize the U.S. musculoskeletal care system in which patients often endure fragmented treatment paths, unnecessary surgeries, and subpar outcomes at premium costs, Vori Health’s comprehensive physician-led approach has achieved extraordinary milestones since its Series A funding. These transformative results include 91.6% of patients reporting clinically significant pain improvement, a remarkable 78-90% reduction in elective orthopedic surgeries, a 42% decrease in opioid utilization, and up to a 68% reduction in depression and anxiety among patients.

With these groundbreaking outcomes driving investor confidence, Dr. Ryan Grant, Co-Founder and CEO of Vori Health, sees the new funding as confirmation of the company’s vision. “This investment marks a pivotal moment in our journey to deliver truly value-based musculoskeletal care at scale,” stated Dr. Grant. “By integrating board-certified specialty physicians, cohesive care teams, and cutting-edge technology, we’re achieving outstanding outcomes nationwide. The swift adoption of our platform by Fortune 200 companies and national health plans clearly indicates that the market is primed for our comprehensive solutions.”

“Vori Health’s physician-led model, combined with exceptional clinical results and improved cost savings, distinguishes them in a highly competitive market,” said Mohamad Makhzoumi, Co-CEO, NEA. “We believe Vori has emerged as a pioneering leader in the value-based musculoskeletal care space and are thrilled to deepen our partnership as they continue to scale their transformative value-based care delivery platform.”

By delivering a verified 4:1 ROI while maintaining exceptional patient satisfaction, Vori Health’s integrated approach strongly appeals to health plan and employer clients. “With musculoskeletal conditions representing a large part of our healthcare spend, partnering with an innovative leader like Vori Health has been one of our best strategic decisions,” said the Vice President of Medical Affairs at a large health plan partner. “Their physician-led approach delivers exceptional care in a convenient setting that our members value while generating substantial cost savings for our organization—it’s the win-win solution we’ve been searching for.”

The new funding will propel Vori Health’s mission to transform value-based musculoskeletal care across the nation. Plans include deepening its value-based care initiatives (including evolving toward increasingly sophisticated economic models with two-sided population health risk), investing in advanced data analytics for more precise targeting of high-risk members, and enhancing its AI-powered technology platform and clinical programs to benefit even more patients, employers, and health plan partners.

This capital infusion empowers Vori Health to accelerate its vision of a healthcare system in which musculoskeletal treatment is not only more effective and accessible, but fundamentally more humane—offering patients a pathway to recovery that optimizes their outcomes, reduces unnecessary interventions, and transforms the overall care experience.

About Vori Health
Founded by leading surgeons from Yale and Mayo Clinic, Vori Health is revolutionizing musculoskeletal care as the first nationwide physician-led practice delivering integrated virtual and in-person care. The company’s comprehensive approach combines board-certified physicians, physical therapists, registered dietitians, and health coaches who work collaboratively to eliminate unnecessary care while delivering superior clinical outcomes and validated cost savings for employers and health plans. Learn more at www.vorihealth.com. 

About NEA
New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. Founded in 1977, NEA has more than $25 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2024, and invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm’s long track record of investing includes more than 280 portfolio company IPOs and more than 465 mergers and acquisitions. For more information, please visit www.nea.com.

About AlleyCorp
AlleyCorp is a New York-based venture capital firm that incubates and invests in transformative companies across enterprise and consumer tech, healthcare, deep tech and robotics, economic infrastructure, and more. Founded by serial entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, AlleyCorp’s past incubations have included MongoDB, Gilt Groupe, Business Insider, Zola, Pearl Health, and Transcend Therapeutics. As one of the most active early-stage investors in New York, AlleyCorp focuses on investing at the incubation, pre–seed, seed and Series A stages. For more information, please visit alleycorp.com.

About Echo Health Ventures
Echo Health Ventures drives systemic health care transformation through hands-on, purpose-driven strategic venture capital and growth equity investing. Echo brings together Cambia Health Solutions, Mosaic Health Solutions, USAble Corporation and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to accelerate health care innovation on a national scale and support meaningful health care impact. Learn more at www.echohealthventures.com.

About Intermountain Health
Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a not-for-profit system of 33 hospitals, approximately 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs.

SOURCE Vori Health

New borrower-centric AI solution streamlines raising, funding, and managing debt capital — saving companies over 100 hours and $100K per year

SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2025 — Arc, the leading capital management platform, today announced the launch of its AI-powered platform for borrowers, enabling ambitious private companies to raise and manage debt capital seamlessly in one place. Powered by Arc’s proprietary agentic AI, the platform eliminates manual, offline reporting obligations associated with managing debt facilities, saving businesses meaningful time and money, while delivering the same level of access and insights traditionally expected by companies and their lenders.

More powerful tools for companies raising and managing debt, powered by AI

Companies of all industries and sizes raising debt can now benefit from a capital management platform purpose-built to help them not only manage a debt capital raise, but also comply with lender requirements. With Arc, companies can now:

• Generate a customized AI-driven capital assessment, arming the borrower with deep insights into the sizing, pricing, duration and structure of the facility they’re qualified for, along with detailed lists of lenders to engage.
• Run a competitive debt raise across multiple lenders with tailored marketing materials, and evaluate term sheets side by side, using Arc’s platform to negotiate key terms.
• Fund the loan into a one-click DACA-enabled cash management account and automate post-funding monitoring and reporting. This launch completes Arc’s vision of empowering companies with a streamlined, technology-forward alternative to traditional, offline banking and capital raising.

“With Arc for borrowers, we’re not only improving access to the debt capital markets for private companies, but also removing the friction that has always existed in borrower-lender relationships,” said Don Muir, CEO & Co-Founder of Arc. “Private credit is exploding as businesses seek alternatives to more rigid or expensive forms of capital. Our AI-powered platform levels the playing field, giving private companies the same sophisticated guidance, competitive processes, and detailed reporting that public companies supported by investment bankers typically enjoy—while saving them significant time, money, and complexity.”

Building for an underserved segment of the market

The private credit market continues to surge, with industry estimates projecting growth beyond $2 trillion in the coming years as companies increasingly turn to flexible financing. Arc’s Capital Markets platform addresses a critical gap for borrowers in the middle market who often lack standardized financial reporting and company marketing materials or access to the debt capital markets. Advances in Arc’s proprietary AI software make this possible.

“We’ve been working with Arc to secure debt financing, and the borrower platform has been a game-changer,” said Micah Geinsberg, CFO of Lendflow, a venture-backed Series A company. “Arc’s AI capital assessment gave us clarity on what we needed and who to approach, and the entire process—from raise to reporting—has felt effortless. It’s saved us countless hours and strengthened our relationship with our lender.”

Arc’s borrower experience connects its Capital Markets and Cash Management product offerings, creating a powerful flywheel effect that drives value for borrowers and lenders alike as platform activity scales. By connecting borrowers with lenders through AI-driven insights and streamlined processes, Arc delivers better terms and a superior user experience—positioning it as the go-to partner for private credit financing.

About Arc: Arc is the capital management platform for ambitious companies and investors. Arc serves the innovation economy with intelligent cash management and capital markets solutions, in partnership with leading financial institutions and a proprietary network of private credit funds.

Founded in 2021, Arc has headquarters in San Francisco and New York City. It has raised over $180 million of equity and debt capital from investors including Left Lane Capital, NFX, Atalaya, Bain Capital Ventures, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Torch Capital, and Y Combinator, among others. To learn more, visit www.joinarc.com.

Arc is a financial technology company, not a bank. For important information about Arc, see our general disclosures.

Contact: Eden Hoffman; [email protected]

SOURCE Arc

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 11, 2025 — pgEdge, Inc., the industry leader in distributed PostgreSQL solutions, today announced that it has secured strategic investments from Akamai Technologies, Inc., the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business online, and Qube Research & Technologies (QRT), a leading investment management firm. Existing investors Rally Ventures and Sands Capital also participated in the funding. These investments bring pgEdge’s total seed stage funding to $23 million, further fueling its growth and innovation in distributed PostgreSQL solutions to deliver high availability and low latency for mission-critical applications.

“pgEdge’s capability to provide geo-distributed PostgreSQL databases at or near the network edge for low data latency and high availability is highly complementary with how Akamai enables organizations to deploy stateful applications at the network edge on its distributed cloud,” said Michael Merideth, Chief Architect, Office of the CTO, Akamai.

“QRT was an early customer of pgEdge and we are excited to further cement our relationship with this investment,” said Nick Harris, CTO of QRT.

“These investments are a terrific validation of the value of pgEdge Distributed PostgreSQL,” said Phillip Merrick, Co-Founder and CEO of pgEdge. “We are delighted to see QRT strengthen their partnership with us, and equally excited to collaborate with Akamai on advanced solutions in edge computing and edge AI.”

pgEdge is the only fully distributed PostgreSQL database that is both open (source available) and entirely based on standard PostgreSQL. According to the 2024 Stack Overflow survey, PostgreSQL remains the top database choice among developers. pgEdge’s multi-master (active-active) replication technology, designed to operate across geographic regions and multi-cloud environments, delivers high availability and significantly reduced data latency for edge computing and edge AI applications.

About pgEdge

pgEdge, the leading company dedicated to distributed Postgres, is on a mission to make it easy for developers to build and deploy highly distributed database applications across global networks. Founded by industry veterans with decades of PostgreSQL expertise, pgEdge is headquartered in Northern Virginia. Its customers include prominent enterprises such as Bertelsmann, Qube RT, Jobot, European Parliament, and several U.S. government agencies. pgEdge’s investors include Rally Ventures, Sands Capital Ventures, Grotech Ventures, Sand Hill East, Akamai Technologies, Inc. and Qube Research & Technologies. Learn more atpgedge.com and pgedge.com/blog or follow pgEdge on LinkedIn or X.

SOURCE pgEdge