WASHINGTON, March 6, 2025 — Shield AI, the deep-tech company building state-of-the-art autonomy software products and defense aircraft, today announced it has completed a $240 million, F-1 strategic funding round, raising the company’s valuation to $5.3 billion.

The financing was completed with major participation from strategic investors L3Harris (NYSE: LHX) and Hanwha Aerospace (KRX: 012450), as well as participation from existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, U.S. Innovative Technology, and Washington Harbour. The funds will enable Shield AI to expand the deployment of Hivemind Enterprise to OEMs, governments, and companies to empower the larger robotics and drone industrial base to build autonomy products.

“Developing autonomy is both complex and costly. Hivemind Enterprise solves this widely known problem and enables the rapid and efficient proliferation of resilient, high-performance autonomy for intelligent machines across industries,” said Nathan Michael, Shield AI’s Chief Technology Officer. “Hivemind Enterprise is about supercharging the industrial base to build and monetize autonomy, enabling a world of millions of autonomous systems in the next ten years.”

Hivemind Enterprise is an autonomy software suite for developers and organizations building, testing, evaluating, and deploying autonomy for intelligent machines. It accelerates autonomy development by delivering a multi-year head start with platform products, AI-powered toolsets, and leveraging Shield AI’s proven edge autonomy work enabling unmanned systems to operate in GPS- and comms-denied environments. The Hivemind Enterprise product suite includes an integrated autonomy factory, industrial-grade production ready middleware, a rich autonomy catalogue, and seamless mission control, empowering developers to build and own their mission-ready autonomy solutions with unprecedented speed and flexibility.   

“The same tools that make up Hivemind Enterprise have already enabled Shield AI to autonomously fly F-16s, MQ-20s, MQM-178s, operate V-BATs in GPS- and communications-denied environments, and have quadcopters explore buildings and tunnels for U.S. and Israeli forces. Partnerships with strategics like L3 Harris and Hanwha Aerospace further accelerate efforts to proliferate resilient autonomy,” said Brandon Tseng, Shield AI’s President and Co-Founder.

Industry leaders recognize the growing demand for autonomy at scale. Christopher E. Kubasik, Chair and CEO of L3Harris, emphasized this:

“The need for advanced autonomy has never been more urgent, and Shield AI is proving that autonomy at scale is not only possible but inevitable. Their commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI-driven autonomy aligns with our Trusted Disruptor strategy, where we partner to accelerate the delivery of AI-enabled solutions and emerging technologies to meet our customers’ needs faster and more efficiently.”

The significant interest and participation from investors are a testament to Shield AI’s momentum after a year of successful milestones and recent technology integration announcements, including mission autonomy work with L3Harris. The company is pleased to have received support from a number of other strategic investors as part of this fundraising round.

About Shield AI

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent, autonomous systems. Its products include Hivemind Enterprise—EdgeOS, Hivemind Pilot, Hivemind Commander, and Hivemind Forge—as well as V-BAT and Sentient Vision Systems (wide-area motion imaging software). With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Melbourne (Australia), Shield AI’s technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide.For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram.   

Media Contact: Lily Hinz; [email protected]

SOURCE Shield AI

Former Space Shuttle Landing Site to Host Star Catcher’s Power Beaming Demo

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 6, 2025 — Star Catcher Industries, Inc. (“Star Catcher”), the leader in space-to-space power beaming, announced today a strategic partnership with Space Florida, the state’s independent aerospace finance and development authority, to advance the world’s first space energy grid. As part of this partnership, Star Catcher will conduct a large-scale demonstration later this summer of its groundbreaking power beaming technology at Space Florida’s Launch and Landing Facility (LLF), a historic site integral to advancing space technology innovation. This first-of-its-kind demonstration will serve as a critical proof point for the technology, accelerating the development of an operational space power grid and driving adoption among satellite operators.

Star Catcher is building the first space energy grid – the Star Catcher Network – designed to eliminate power constraints for spacecraft. Once constructed, the Star Catcher Network will beam significant levels of broad spectrum energy to spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and beyond. The network will deliver on-demand energy to existing solar arrays on client spacecraft at higher concentrations than the Sun, enabling them to generate five to ten times more power without retrofit.

Space Florida’s LLF, which was used for Space Shuttle landings until 2011, boasts one of the longest runways in the world. Leveraging the LLF’s 5 kilometers of unobstructed line-of-sight distance, the demonstration will showcase Star Catcher’s ability to beam energy hundreds of Watts to multiple simulated satellites simultaneously over a distance of more than one kilometer.

“Partnering with Space Florida allows us to accelerate the development and validation of our power beaming technology in an environment familiar to pioneering new technologies for space,” said Andrew Rush, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Star Catcher. “This is a critical step in demonstrating the scalability of our vision for a space energy grid that will revolutionize how we power spacecraft.“

The partnership also includes an investment in Star Catcher by Space Florida, underscoring the State of Florida’s commitment to fostering innovation and driving the growth of Florida’s space economy.

“This partnership reflects Space Florida’s mission to support pioneering technologies and invest in the infrastructure required to ensure our state remains at the forefront of the global space industry,” said Rob Long, President and CEO, Space Florida. “The Launch and Landing Facility is an ideal location for Star Catcher’s groundbreaking work, and we are thrilled to support the advancement of power beaming technology.“

This announcement builds on Star Catcher’s recent success, including closing a $12.25M seed funding round in July 2024. The funding, co-led by Initialized Capital and B Capital with substantial participation from Rogue VC, has allowed the company to accelerate its vision and expand development efforts, setting the stage for the creation of a space energy grid that will transform the industry by eliminating power generation constraints.

About Star Catcher Industries
Star Catcher is pioneering the first space energy grid – the Star Catcher Network – designed to eliminate power constraints for satellites and other spacecraft. This groundbreaking space-to-space power beaming infrastructure will deliver concentrated solar energy to existing solar panels with no retrofit required, enabling satellites to support more power-hungry payloads, extend operational uptime, perform real-time data processing, and execute more complex missions, all while reducing upfront costs associated with larger satellite buses and solar arrays. Star Catcher was founded in 2024 by seasoned space entrepreneurs Andrew Rush and Michael Snyder, alongside venture capitalist and operator Bryan Lyandvert. The company raised a $12.5 million seed round in July 2024, co-led by Initialized Capital and B Capital.

About Space Florida
Space Florida is where leading aerospace companies get everything they need to see their new ideas take off. As the state’s independent aerospace finance and development authority, Space Florida brings a mix of unrivaled experience, unmatched financial tools, and unbeatable location to the table by providing critical business financing opportunities for the aerospace industry, managing infrastructure investment in the state’s spaceport system, and facilitating research and development, workforce, education, and investment programs. 

CONTACT

Star Catcher
Camille Bergin, CMO (Fractional)
[email protected]

Space Florida
Alayna Curry, APR
[email protected]

SOURCE Star Catcher Industries, Inc.

The investment, led by Aqualateral, will drive growth within the electric utility market and accelerate international expansion into utilities in the UK and EU

KANSAS CITY, Kan., March 6, 2025 — Daupler, the leading response management solution for utilities and municipalities, announced today that it has closed a $15 million Series B round. Aqualateral, a New York City-based multi-asset investment vehicle focused on water, led the round with participation from existing investors Burnt Island Ventures and KCRise Fund, among others.

With this funding, Daupler will advance AI-driven data analysis and field operations automation, expand its customer base in the electric utility market, and scale globally to improve incident management for critical infrastructure and public services.

The oversubscribed round comes at a pivotal stage of growth, enabling the company to enhance how customers manage service disruptions and emergencies with real-time response tools.

“Aqualateral invests in transformative solutions that empower communities with the resources to be more resilient as they face water and climate challenges more frequently,” said Jiten Manglani, CIO of Aqualateral. “Daupler’s platform is transforming the efficiency and effectiveness of how utilities resolve water-related incidents, emergencies, and service disruptions. Utilities are increasingly strained by extreme weather events, aging infrastructure, and workforce shortages. Daupler offers a vital way for utilities to remain resilient and safeguard communities by ensuring residents receive timely, reliable services when they need them most. We are thrilled to lead this round and join Daupler’s board, supporting their mission to modernize incident response and improve outcomes for communities across the US, UK, and EU.”

“Utilities are under increasing pressure to do more with less, often lacking the staff and resources to efficiently respond to incidents like water main breaks or power outages at any hour,” said John Bertrand, CEO of Daupler. “We founded Daupler to streamline emergency response and improve customer service. Our AI-powered tools not only identify and triage incidents but also automatically schedule and dispatch crews, ensuring faster, more efficient resolutions. This funding allows us to accelerate product innovation, expand further into the electric utility sector, and scale across the UK and EU. We’re excited to partner with Aqualateral, whose commitment to improving communities aligns with our core values as we enter this next phase of growth.”

Driving Product Innovation for Critical Infrastructure
Daupler is accelerating product development to provide its utility clients in 38 U.S. states, Canada, and New Zealand with end-to-end response management solutions. Daupler is expanding its advanced analytics capabilities to help utilities optimize crew formation, dispatch teams, and track progress in real-time. To improve linemen and dispatcher workflows, Daupler is enhancing integrations and expanding tools for proactive customer communication. Daupler’s industry leadership continues to be recognized, with multiple awards at the Smart Water Summit and inclusion in the GovTech Top 100 for the past four years.

Accelerating Utility Market Adoption
With a proven track record in the water sector, Daupler is increasingly supporting electric utilities, including municipalities, IOUs, and co-ops, by modernizing emergency response and customer service operations. Its real-time automation tools streamline callouts, optimize field operations, and enhance customer communication. Growing demand from electric utilities highlights the critical role of automated incident response, and Daupler is well positioned to help utilities deliver faster and more effective service.

Scaling Globally to Serve Utilities 
Building on its growth in the U.S., Daupler is expanding globally to help utilities innovate their incident response management. Water utilities in the UK and EU face many of the same challenges as those in the U.S., including outdated infrastructure, labor shortages, and weather-related disruptions, underscoring the importance of Daupler’s technology as a vital tool for enhancing resilience and expediting response times. By aligning with market-specific regulations and operational requirements, Daupler helps critical infrastructure providers improve and streamline incident response. 

Daupler’s success in the U.S. underscores its ability to drive meaningful improvements in operational efficiency and service reliability as it expands globally. Customers have reported up to a 50% reduction in response times and an 80% decrease in response costs. During Hurricane Helene in September 2024, the company supported its utility customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida by automating responses to thousands of events. This accelerated service restoration, eased the burden on utility staff, and ensured that millions of people in the hardest-hit areas could stay connected with their service providers.

The City of Durham, North Carolina, adopted the software in 2018, leading to significant improvements in efficiency and service. “Daupler has changed the way we do business,” said Tim Segard, Utilities System Supervisor of Durham. “Our supervisors can efficiently manage on-call staff and dispatch crews, and communication within our teams has improved tremendously. Response times are faster, customer service is better, and crews appreciate having quick access to the tools they need. We couldn’t ask for a better platform.”

By automating incident assessment, optimizing dispatch, and improving communication, Daupler has redefined emergency response for its customers. Now, these capabilities are extending to new markets, helping utilities worldwide modernize operations and strengthen infrastructure resilience.

About Daupler
Powered by the most extensive utility incident AI dataset in the world, Daupler’s Response Management System (RMS) quickly identifies the severity of electric, water, wastewater, and public works infrastructure issues. Daupler is the only end-to-end incident management solution helping utilities identify, triage, and dispatch resources, streamlining response while eliminating manual steps. With Daupler, utilities can effectively respond to critical incidents in real-time, saving money, resources, and time while keeping their communities safe and satisfied. Learn more at www.daupler.com.

About Aqualateral
Aqualateral is a multi-asset class investment vehicle dedicated to addressing local and global water challenges by scaling innovative solutions that transform how water is accessed, treated, distributed, and managed. By working closely with communities, Aqualateral ensures capital flows to solutions that address real on-the-ground needs while delivering measurable value. Bridging the gap between market-driven opportunities and critical water needs, Aqualateral generates triple bottom line returns for communities, investors, and the planet. For more information, visit www.aqualateral.com or follow the firm on LinkedIn.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Daupler

Investment will accelerate product development, expand the engineering team, and advance AI-driven automation and quality improvement for enterprises

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2025 — GovEagle, an AI-driven proposal platform for government contractors, today announced that it has raised $2.5 million in funding from Strategic Cyber Ventures, Y Combinator, and a group of angel investors. This funding will support the expansion of GovEagle’s engineering team, further enhancing the platform’s ability to streamline and automate the complex government bidding and proposal drafting process.

Organizations face a highly competitive and time-consuming proposal process, often requiring extensive and expensive resources to navigate compliance, eligibility, and submission requirements. GovEagle not only leverages an integrated AI system to help companies reduce draft time from 60 hours to as little as 60 minutes, but also enhances proposal quality by expertly customizing off-the-shelf tooling, ensuring that responses are personalized to an organization’s unique content, style, and voice. Tailored by its team of best-in-class AI engineers, the platform continually enhances its ability to produce exceptional proposals through the easy addition of new documents, knowledge, and RFP amendments for the seamless collaboration of artificial intelligence and company staff.

“Government contractors are in a perfect storm of increasingly demanding RFPs due in collapsing timelines, making it critical to equip businesses with the right tools to support their enterprise needs,” said Akash Mandavilli, co-founder and CEO of GovEagle. “We’re not just building applied AI tools, we’re building the process and user experience that allows authentic, human intelligence to work with, and be superpowered by, artificial intelligence. This investment will enable us to scale our platform’s capabilities while maintaining the best-in-class quality that our customers rely on.”

GovEagle offers a readily-available, robust suite of features tailored for the GovCon industry, integrating seamlessly with existing tools, processes, and systems. GovEagle supports frictionless adoption and is compatible with tools like Sharepoint, Microsoft Word, SalesForce, Hubspot, Box, and more.

“GovEagle’s AI for proposal writing offers government contractors an off-the-shelf, proprietary tool that immediately reduces cost, helps win more contracts, and allows them to focus on achieving mission results for their clients,” said Hank Thomas, Managing Partner at Strategic Cyber Ventures. “This product delivers speed and efficiency to Washington at a time when speed and efficiency are more critical than ever.”

Since its launch in 2022, GovEagle has helped clients submit thousands of proposals across federal, state and local government opportunities, driving success in contract acquisition while maintaining the highest standards of security and compliance. GovEagle operates in FedRAMP High cloud environments and is in the final stages of achieving FedRAMP Moderate Equivalency. The platform meets NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC controls, ensuring secure and compliant handling of CUI and sensitive data. All data is encrypted at rest and in transit, with strict AI policies that prohibit data retention or use for model training.

About GovEagle
GovEagle is an AI-powered platform that automates the proposal process, helping companies integrate with existing knowledge silos and tools to identify opportunities, generate compliant proposals, and improve their win rates. Purpose-built for the contracting community, GovEagle helps proposal and capture teams move from RFP to pink-team drafts in hours, instead of days or weeks. Its all-encompassing proposal functionality goes beyond compliance, assisting teams with crafting compelling, high-quality content. Backed by industry-leading investors, GovEagle is redefining how companies approach the proposal process.

Learn more at GovEagle.com.

SOURCE GovEagle

Cordo joins Evolution as the firm expands its capital base, team, and access to best-of-breed cybersecurity and AI software companies amidst growing investment opportunities.

NEW YORK, March 6, 2025 — Evolution Equity Partners, a leading venture capital investor, is thrilled to announce that John Cordo has joined the firm. John joins a team of thirty investment professionals and eight general partners focused on investing in best-of-breed cybersecurity and AI companies. He serves as an Evolution Board Observer to Halcyon and Torq.

Cordo brings over a decade of experience as a cybersecurity investor. John started his career at Blackstone, where he invested from the Blackstone Innovations venture corporate capital portfolio in early-stage cybersecurity companies. Most recently, John specialized in cybersecurity investing with growth equity firm Brighton Park Capital. Notable investments over John’s career include Silverfort, Immuta, HUMAN, BigID, CloudGenix (acquired by Palo Alto Networks), CloudKnox (acquired by Microsoft), Respond Software (acquired by FireEye), and SKOUT Cybersecurity (acquired by Barracuda Networks). John graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Finance, Accounting, and Economics from the Carroll School of Management Honors Program at Boston College.

“Evolution recently completed a $1.1 billion capital raise expanding our capital base, team, and access to best-of-breed cybersecurity software companies amidst growing investment opportunities,” said Richard Seewald, founder and managing partner of Evolution Equity Partners. “We are thrilled to welcome John Cordo to the Evolution team. His extensive experience coupled with strong leadership skills make him an integral addition to our team.”

“Evolution Equity Partners is a differentiated firm due to its cyber-dedicated investors, operators, entrepreneurs, and technologists,” said Cordo. “I look forward to applying my experience alongside this talented team to drive impact and innovation.”

About Evolution Equity Partners

Evolution Equity Partners, based in New York City, Palo Alto, London and Zurich, partners with rapidly growing cybersecurity and AI software companies that safeguard our digital world. The firm was founded by investor and technology entrepreneurs Richard Seewald and Dennis Smith, who manage and lead the firm, and its partners have been involved as founders, investors and as senior operating executives in leading software companies around the world. Evolution has invested in over fifty cybersecurity companies, building a growing portfolio of market leaders. Learn more at www.evolutionequity.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE Evolution Equity Partners

The company will use growth capital to enhance its products, scale its team and expand market share

MOORESVILLE, N.C., March 6, 2025 — PetScreening^®, which offers the rental housing industry’s first and leading pet policy management software at no cost to property owners and managers, today announced it has received $80 million in Series B funding. The funding round was led by leading technology-focused investment firms Volition Capital and Guidepost Growth Equity. PetScreening will use the funding to continue to grow the company’s market presence, build its team and bring innovative products focused on maximizing pet- and assistance animal-related compliance to market.

“We could not be more appreciative of the support of these highly respected growth equity firms,” said John Bradford, founder and CEO of PetScreening. “PetScreening has built a clear reputation as the industry’s premier pet management and assistance animal compliance platform. We’ve done this in large part because our solutions and our team offer housing providers unparalleled support in complying with the Fair Housing Act and other applicable regulations. As we move forward, we’re excited about our ability to innovate and provide clients even more valuable tools to ensure compliance, reduce risk and manage onsite pet and animal populations.”

PetScreening now serves more than 7 million rental units in the multifamily, single-family, student, affordable, manufactured and military base sectors nationwide. Since its launch in 2017, the company has helped owners and operators capture nearly $300 million in pet-related revenue that otherwise would have been lost. Over 1.3 million reasonable accommodation requests for assistance animals have been created through its platform. 

“After an extensive review of the pet management and assistance animal compliance market, it was clear that PetScreening is the category leader,” said Chris Cavanagh, General Partner at Guidepost Growth Equity. “The company has built an outstanding reputation among property owners and managers by offering the most sophisticated compliance capabilities in the industry while maintaining a seamless experience for renters. We are excited to partner with John and the PetScreening team as they continue to expand their market leadership.”

PetScreening currently has more than 135 employees and occupies 32,000 square feet of modern, pet-friendly office space in Mooresville, N.C. The company, which plans to significantly expand its headcount this year, has been recognized on the Inc. 500 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 lists, and was included in the Charlotte Business Journal’s 2024 Fast 50 ranking. PetScreening also has continued to innovate for pet owners by launching a no-cost, one-of-a-kind “Amber Alert” service for lost dogs (FidoAlert) and cats (TabbyAlert) and acquiring a veterinarian-driven content asset, BetterPet.com.

“PetScreening is pioneering how property managers and pet owners navigate pet policies and risk management,” said Roger Hurwitz, Managing Partner at Volition Capital. “The team is executing against its vision of creating a holistic pet management platform for the rental housing market and has quickly become the gold standard in the industry. PetScreening has the domain expertise, market-leading solution and resources to capture this significant untapped market opportunity with its strong value proposition for both operators and consumers.”

PetScreening makes it easy for renters to share information about their pets while helping property owners apply pet policies fairly and consistently. Through the PetScreening platform, a rental applicant enters information about their pets into the only centralized pet-screening database to analyze rental housing-related risk. The platform weighs various pet-related factors, including a community’s specific restrictions, such as breed, weight and age. This provides property owners with a streamlined process to comprehensively assess a specific pet and pet owner who wants to live at a rental property. Non-pet owning residents fill out a free profile to demonstrate they are aware of the community rules and will adhere to them should they acquire, foster or sit for a pet/animal during their stay. PetScreening also evaluates reasonable accommodation requests for service animals and support animals within the rental housing industry.

About PetScreening
Offering the industry’s first and leading pet policy management software, PetScreening helps housing providers manage residents’ pets and assistance animals for free while generating opportunities for pet-related revenue. The digital screening platform standardizes risk-assessment for household pets by providing a digital Pet Profile and FIDO Score^® for each pet screened. PetScreening also streamlines the assistance animal accommodation request review process while following HUD guidelines, and it helps limit unauthorized pets. The platform seamlessly integrates with third-party software such as Yardi, OneSite, Entrata, ResMan, Rent Manager, Appfolio, Buildium and many more. As a fast-growing innovator in the rental housing technology space, PetScreening has received multiple awards and honors in recent years, including recognition from the Inc. 5000, Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500, the NC TECH Awards and the Charlotte Business Journal’s Fast 50. For more information, visit www.petscreening.com.

About Guidepost Growth Equity
Guidepost Growth Equity is a leading core growth equity firm that partners with entrepreneur-led companies utilizing technology to transform industries within application and infrastructure software and tech-enabled and data services. Current and prior investments include ActiveViam (acquired by Nordic Capital), ClassWallet, Lucid (acquired by Cint Group AB), Mineral (acquired by Mitratech), OutSystems, Traction on Demand (acquired by Salesforce), and Tractive. The firm is headquartered in Boston, MA.

Guidepost Growth Equity provides the flexible capital, operational assistance, and strategic guidance necessary to support the continued success of high-growth businesses and has over $1.9 billion of capital under management. For more information, please visit their website. 

About Volition Capital
Volition Capital is a Boston-based growth equity firm that principally invests in high-growth, founder-owned companies across the software, Internet, and consumer sectors. Founded in 2010, Volition has over $1.7 billion in assets under management and has invested in and/or provided sub-advisory advice to more than 60 companies in the United States and Canada. The firm selectively partners with founders to help them achieve their fullest aspirations for their businesses. For more information, visit www.volitioncapital.com.

Media Contact
Stephen Ursery
LinnellTaylor Marketing
303-682-3945
[email protected]

SOURCE PetScreening

Strategic Support and Media Resources to Accelerate U.S. Expansion for Global Startups 

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 5, 2025 — Mercurius Media Capital (MMC) announced the launch of Mercurius Bridge, a strategic initiative designed to support international companies with established product-market fit in their home countries that are looking to scale business in the U.S. The program integrates media capital investments with a curated network of local service providers, streamlining market entry and accelerating brand growth.

As the first dedicated U.S. media-for-equity fund, MMC leverages pooled media inventory from a diverse range of media partners to invest in high-growth startups and enterprises. Mercurius Bridge provides international companies with access to critical resources, strategic networks, and expert guidance—including consumer engagement strategies and connections to key go-to-market media partners.

“We offer more than just media investment,” said Piyush Puri, Founding Partner of MMC. “Our approach is rooted in strategic mentorship, ensuring that companies don’t just enter the U.S. market but establish a strong and sustainable presence. By leveraging insights from seasoned operators and collaborating with premium media partners, we craft tailored solutions that help startups overcome market-entry challenges, build brand equity, accelerate long-term growth with confidence.”

MMC’s model has supported U.S. market expansion for international companies, including Deskera (Singapore) and Airtasker (Australia). Mercurius Bridge leverages a global network of Venture Partners—comprising current and former executives from leading firms in the UK, Australia, Canada, Israel, India, and Singapore to provide geographic market specific expertise and identify high growth opportunities.

This network includes professionals like Tania Yuki, Principal at Levalois. “Expanding into the U.S. is a major leap, even for companies with strong local traction,” says Yuki. “Success depends on the right go-to-market strategy, effective advertising, and local expertise; otherwise, millions can be wasted. I’m excited to help the next wave of global innovators scale successfully.”

The program’s initial Venture Partner network also includes Shambhavi Mishra, Head of Portfolio and Growth at Antler, and Eli Mandelbaum, Founder of PluggedIn BD, among others.

MMC’s founding partners, Puri and Gajwani, have over 30 years of experience in media, venture capital, and bridge transactions, specializing in helping companies expand into new markets. Over the past 15 years, they have facilitated cross-border growth through media capital, supporting 50+ investments.

For more Information, visit https://www.mmc.us/mercuriusbridge

About Mercurius Media Capital
MMC, launched in December 2023, is the first U.S.-based media-equity venture fund with ~$90 million in committed capital. Co-founded by Satyan Gajwani and Piyush Puri, MMC builds on over 15 years of experience driving media capital transactions at The Times of India Group, facilitating ~$3 billion in media-based investments. MMC has partnered with leading media platforms, including Sinclair Broadcast Group, Televisa Univision, Atmosphere TV, and others, to offer high-growth startups and enterprises access to distinct, large-scale advertising inventory in exchange for equity. This fund has backed several companies, including Deskera, Captain Experiences, Airtasker, Edly, and other companies.

Media Contact:
Interdependence PR 
Angelic Venegas
[email protected] 

SOURCE Mercurius Media Capital

DALLAS, March 5, 2025 — WATTER, a groundbreaking company reimagining compute efficiency through energy repurposing, has successfully closed a $5 million seed round led by Hunt Innovative Technologies and 17Shoals Inc. The funding commitment marks a key milestone as WATTER spins out from Hunt Innovative Technologies, positioning itself to scale its revolutionary distributed compute model to use waste heat from compute devices to heat water in residential homes and commercial properties.

James Hancock, former NASA Data Scientist, Founder of Parasanti, and entrepreneur, will serve as WATTER’s CEO, bringing deep expertise in edge computing, energy markets, and scalable product innovation.

Hunt Innovative Technologies, a subsidiary of Hunt Energy, has played a pivotal role in incubating WATTER, and its leadership remains a key part of the company’s vision.

“We are excited to see the team at WATTER enter this next stage as an independent startup with strong capital backing to provide advanced compute horsepower in a unique environmental and grid stability enhancing way,” said Todd Benson, Chief Innovation Officer for Hunt Innovative Technologies.  “We feel confident that the WATTER solution solves a significant challenge facing humanity today by delivering support for accelerating AI compute demands while bringing economic value to homeowners and businesses alike.”  

“WATTER is revolutionizing the intersection of computing and energy efficiency, and I could not be more excited to be part of this journey,” said Hunter Hunt, CEO of Hunt Energy.  “By turning wasted heat into a valuable resource, WATTER not only reduces grid demand but also enhances resiliency and unlocks a new, sustainable model for energy utilization. This is the kind of innovation the energy industry has been waiting for.”

“I am very excited about our new venture, WATTER. I am looking forward to its positive impact in commercial markets and local communities. I am so excited to see a technology that solves environmental and grid infrastructure challenges, while relieving financial pressure on economically challenged homeowners,” said Tracey Maynor of 17Shoals.

“The compute market is at an inflection point, with demand surging and energy constraints becoming a critical challenge. WATTER’s model not only improves energy efficiency but also redefines the economics of distributed compute,” said James Hancock, CEO of WATTER.  “This funding enables us to deploy more prototypes, validate our technology for scale, and position WATTER as the most energy-efficient compute solution available.”

With this funding, WATTER will focus on scaling pilot deployments, securing key partnerships, and laying the foundation for future expansion as it prepares for a Series A raise. For additional information, visit https://watter.com.

Media Contact:  Paul Schulze, 214-978-8534, [email protected]

SOURCE Hunt Energy

NEW YORK, March 5, 2025 — CoverForce, a leading infrastructure platform for commercial insurance, today announced a $13 million Series A funding round led by global software investor Insight Partners with participation from Nyca Partners. The investment will accelerate CoverForce’s mission as a leading marketplace for quote-and-bind API connections, enabling seamless digital interactions between insurance carriers, agencies, and wholesalers.

Co-founded by Cyrus Karai, Behram Dinshaw, and Kaivan Wadia, CoverForce was born out of a shared vision to modernize the commercial insurance industry. With decades of combined experience in insurance and technology, the founders set out to solve the inefficiencies of legacy systems by building a unified API platform that allows customers to instantly quote, pay, bind and issue policies. Since its launch, CoverForce has become a go-to marketplace for commercial insurance connectivity, partnering with over 20 of the largest insurance agency wholesalers and networks in America and supporting more than 9,600 producers nationwide.

A Marketplace for Seamless Connectivity
CoverForce’s platform serves as a leading marketplace for quote-and-bind API connections, enabling brokers, wholesalers, and agencies to access instant quotes and one-click binding functionality. The platform integrates with national carriers like AmTrust, Chubb, Liberty Mutual, and Travelers, and covers major commercial lines of business such as Workers’ Compensation, General Liability, Business Owner’s Policies, and Cyber. For carriers and MGAs, CoverForce unlocks new distribution channels and cost efficiencies. For developers, the platform offers flexible APIs to embed insurance workflows into agency-facing software or direct-to-consumer applications.

“The insurance market is built on a legacy of paper and PDF — a huge issue in a market worth more than $960 billion,” said Kaivan Wadia, CTO and co-founder of CoverForce. “CoverForce delivers a unified API infrastructure that decreases the time to integrate from months to weeks, saving our partners millions of dollars in R&D costs.”

Driving Efficiency Through Technology
CoverForce’s platform addresses the inefficiencies of legacy systems by digitizing workflows and reducing reliance on manual processes. By standardizing data flows and enabling real-time connectivity, CoverForce empowers brokers and carriers to operate faster and more accurately.

“We are thrilled to have Insight Partners on board with our Series A,” said Cyrus Karai, CEO and co-founder of CoverForce. “This funding will help us expand our engineering capabilities and build deeper relationships in the market. In particular, we’re seeking to partner with carriers who are empowering their agents with cutting-edge, digital tools — essentially those who are making an investment in speed as a key element of winning.”

Expanding the Ecosystem
With this funding, CoverForce plans to expand its platform’s capabilities, onboard additional carriers and distributors, and invest in AI-driven tools to further streamline insurance workflows. The company is also focused on building deeper relationships with carriers that prioritize digital innovation and speed as key competitive advantages.

“Insight Partners is proud to back CoverForce in their work to transform the way carriers and distributors collaborate,” said Sophie Beshar, Vice President at Insight Partners. “Their deep relationships with carriers and agencies, combined with the strength of their product and team, make them a standout player in the industry. We’re excited to partner with CoverForce as they scale their impact.”

As part of the transaction, Beshar will join CoverForce’s Board of Directors.

About CoverForce  
CoverForce is a leading marketplace for quote-and-bind API connections in commercial insurance, offering a trusted and secure platform for carriers, agencies, and wholesalers. With over 20 of the largest insurance wholesalers and networks in America, CoverForce enables faster underwriting, instant quotes, and one-click policy binding.

Founded at the University of Pennsylvania’s Innovation Labs, CoverForce is backed by investors from Insight Partners, Nyca Partners, and QED Investors, as well as advisors from Travelers and The Hartford. The company continues to expand its reach by offering customized enterprise software for agencies and robust APIs that drive transformative change in the insurance ecosystem. For more information, visit www.coverforce.com.

About Insight Partners
Insight Partners is a global software investor partnering with high-growth technology, software, and Internet startup and ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. As of September 30, 2024, the firm has over $90B in regulatory assets under management. Insight Partners has invested in more than 800 companies worldwide and has seen over 55 portfolio companies achieve an IPO. Headquartered in New York City, Insight has offices in London, Tel Aviv, and the Bay Area. Insight’s mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with tailored, hands-on software expertise along their growth journey, from their first investment to IPO. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on X @insightpartners.

SOURCE CoverForce