• Financing led by OrbiMed, Avoro Capital, and Samsara BioCapital, with additional investment from founding investor Medicxi
• Strengthens its leadership team with the appointments of industry veterans Rick Anderson as SVP Finance, Spencer Fisk as Chief Technical and Quality Officer, and Ling Zeng as General Counsel and EVP of Execution 
• IND-enabling studies underway for first-in-class PD1/VEGFR2 bifunctional antibody

LONDON and BOSTON, Dec. 19, 2024 — Ottimo Pharma (“Ottimo”), a private biotech company pioneering bifunctional medicines to extend the lives of people living with cancer, today announces the completion of a Series A financing round of over $140 million. The financing will accelerate the lead asset, Jankistomig, a first-in-class PD1/VEGFR2 bifunctional antibody for multiple solid tumor indications, in both IV and SC forms as well as a pipeline of follow-on bifunctional assets.

The round was led by OrbiMed, Avoro Capital, Samsara BioCapital, and included blue chip investors RTW Investments, Decheng Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital, Invus, and founding investor Medicxi. In connection with the financing Peter Thompson (OrbiMed), Mark Chin (Avoro Capital), and Srini Akkaraju (Samsara BioCapital) will join the Board of Directors.

Simultaneously, Ottimo has expanded its management team under the leadership of David Epstein, Chair and Chief Executive Officer. The Company announces the appointment of Rick Anderson as SVP Finance, Spencer Fisk as Chief Technical and Quality Officer, and Ling Zeng as General Counsel and EVP of Execution. Rick, Spencer, and Ling bring extensive pharma experience, having held senior roles at Seagen, Novartis, and Dicerna Pharmaceuticals.

Ottimo, co-founded by Medicxi and Jonny Finlay, emerged from stealth in October 2024. It is advancing IND-enabling studies for lead molecule Jankistomig, with a planned IND filing in late 2025.

Jankistomig is a first-in-class PD1/VEGFR2 bifunctional antibody that is differentiated from bispecific antibodies. It is exquisitely designed as a dual pathway, biparatopic single-agent IgG therapy, targeting immune checkpoint inhibition and angiogenesis in the treatment of cancer. This innovative approach aims to offer a wider therapeutic window regardless of tumor VEGF levels, with the potential to improve outcomes across multiple solid tumor indications. Jankistomig is expected to address a global oncology market valued at well over $50 billion. 

David Epstein, Chair & Chief Executive Officer of Ottimo Pharma, said: “The successful completion of our Series A financing marks a milestone for Ottimo as we advance our goal to make first-in-class bifunctional medicines to extend the lives of people living with cancer. Jankistomig represents a significant breakthrough with its novel design and mechanism of action, and we are incredibly grateful to have the backing of such well-renowned healthcare investors. With the addition of Rick, Spencer, and Ling, we have assembled a proven leadership team to progress Ottimo to our first IND by late 2025.”

Peter Thompson, General Partner at OrbiMed, Board Director of Ottimo Pharma, commented: “Ottimo’s unique approach has differentiated itself in the PD1/VEGF field. We are looking forward to working alongside this experienced team with their extensive track record to develop new cancer treatments with improved outcomes for patients.”

Francesco De Rubertis, Co-Founder and Partner at Medicxi, Board Director of Ottimo Pharma added: “Ottimo has shown considerable progress with Jankistomig. As a co-founder of the Company, we are pleased to welcome top-tier investors including OrbiMed, Avoro Capital, and Samsara BioCapital to the syndicate as we advance the pipeline to address multiple solid tumor indications.”

Fredric (Rick) Anderson has more than 30 years of leadership experience in strategic financial and operations management. Rick was the Vice President, Corporate Controller for Seagen Inc. from 2018, where he supported the Company’s growth and international expansion. He was a key member of the leadership team that led the $44 billion acquisition by Pfizer and supported the post-acquisition integration. Rick holds an MBA from the University of San Diego. He started his career as a CPA for Ernst & Young and later joined their mergers & acquisition group.

Spencer Fisk has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and CMC product development. Spencer joins Ottimo from National Resilience, Inc. where he transformed the R&D focus to deliver on disruptive approaches to accelerate multi-modality drug development. From 2018 to 2022, he served as the Chief Technical Operations Officer at Rubius Therapeutics. Before Rubius he held senior roles at Novartis AG where he led the team to the successful registration and launch of the first CAR-T cellular therapy product, Kymriah. Prior to Novartis, Spencer held various technical development and manufacturing roles at Merck, Genentech, Genencor, and Novo Nordisk.

Ling Zeng, Esq. was previously Chief Legal and Administrative Officer and a member of the executive leadership team of Omega Therapeutics. Prior to Omega, she was the Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals and played a critical role in executing the Company’s strategy including the $3.3 billion acquisition by Novo Nordisk in 2021. Before working in biotech companies, Ling was Deputy Head Legal, Group Mergers and Acquisitions, at Novartis AG, responsible for global transactions across the Novartis Group. From 2009 to 2017, Ling held various executive roles of increasing responsibility at Bausch Health Companies.

About Ottimo Pharma
Ottimo Pharma is a private biotechnology company, co-founded in 2020 by Medicxi and Jonny Finlay, focused on the development of pioneering innovative cancer therapies for solid tumors. The Company’s lead asset, Jankistomig, is a PD1/VEGFR2 bifunctional antibody designed as a dual pathway, biparatopic single-agent IgG therapy, targeting both immune checkpoint inhibition and angiogenesis in the treatment of cancer. By advancing this dual-pathway approach, Ottimo aims to offer a wider therapeutic window, improve cancer treatment outcomes and reduce the overall healthcare burden. Ottimo anticipates filing of its first IND in late 2025.

Ottimo is backed by a global syndicate of life science investors including Medicxi, OrbiMed, Avoro Capital, Samsara BioCapital, RTW Investments, Decheng Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital, and Invus. The Ottimo board includes Francesco De Rubertis, Co-Founder and Partner of Medicxi, Peter Thompson, General Partner at OrbiMed, Mark Chin, Partner at Avoro Capital, and Srinivas Akkaraju, founder, and Managing General Partner at Samsara BioCapital, alongside David Epstein and James Sabry. For more information, please visit: www.ottimopharma.com.

About OrbiMed
OrbiMed is a leading healthcare investment firm, with $17 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the healthcare industry, from start-ups to large multinational corporations, through private equity funds, public equity funds, and royalty/credit funds. OrbiMed seeks to be a capital provider of choice, providing tailored financing solutions and extensive global team resources to help build world-class healthcare companies. OrbiMed’s team of over 100 professionals is based in New York City, London, San Francisco, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Herzliya, and other key global markets. For more information, please visit www.orbimed.com. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @OrbiMed.

About Avoro Capital
Avoro Capital is a global life sciences investment firm with over $6.5 billion in capital primarily focused on supporting emerging life sciences and biotechnology companies. For more information, please visit: www.avorocapital.com

About Samsara BioCapital
Samsara BioCapital is a new breed of biotech investment firm focused on translating cutting-edge biology into new therapies to treat patients with unmet medical needs. Founded in 2016 by Srinivas Akkaraju, M.D., Ph.D., our team of scientists, investors and entrepreneurs takes a long-term view on value creation across all stages of public and private life science companies. We believe in a collaborative, hands-on approach, working closely with entrepreneurs to harness exciting scientific advances and build leading companies. Samsara actively manages assets on behalf of endowments, foundations, and family offices. For more information, please visit www.samsaracap.com. 

About Medicxi
Medicxi is a healthcare-focused investment firm with the mission to create and invest in companies across the full drug development continuum. Leveraging deep expertise in drug development and company creation spanning over two decades, Medicxi invests in early and late-stage therapeutics with a product vision that can fulfill a clear unmet medical need. For more information, please visit: www.medicxi.com

SOURCE Ottimo Pharma

S&P Global Raises Fosun International’s CSA Score to 70 Points, Maintaining a Leading Position in ESG Performance among Global Peers

HONG KONG, Dec. 19, 2024 — S&P Global recently released the 2024 Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) score results for Fosun International Limited (HKEX stock code: 00656, “Fosun International”). Fosun International’s S&P Global CSA score increased to 70 points in 2024, ranking in the top 5% globally among its peers. This marks a significant improvement from last year’s score of 68 points, which placed it in the top 6% of the industry, demonstrating S&P Global’s further recognition of Fosun International’s efforts in sustainable development.

As of December 2024, Fosun International ranks in the top 5% among global peers and continues to maintain a leading position in the industry, significantly ahead of the industry average of 30 points.

In this year’s S&P Global CSA assessment, Fosun International received scores of 72 in the governance and economic dimension, 68 in the environmental dimension, and 71 in the social dimension, reflecting its balanced development in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) field. Notably, Fosun International achieved excellent results in several sub-dimensions, including Business Ethics, Environmental Policy and Management, Energy, Climate Strategy, Risk and Crisis Management, Human Capital Development, and Customer Relationship Management.

Due to its ongoing commitment to ESG initiatives, Fosun International’s S&P Global CSA score has improved annually since 2018, positioning it as an industry leader. Fosun International was successfully included in S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook 2024 in July 2024, and ranked top 1% in S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook 2024 (China Edition) and was recognized as an “Industry Mover”.

In recent years, Fosun International has consistently achieved excellent results in global ESG ratings. Presently, Fosun International is the only conglomerate in Greater China rated AA by MSCI ESG Ratings. It received an HSI ESG rating of AA- and has been included in the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Benchmark Index for years. Furthermore, Fosun International’s FTSE Russell ESG score was consistently higher than the global industry average and it has been continuously selected as a constituent stock of the FTSE4Good Index Series.

Looking back on the past, Fosun has always paid attention to the reform and development of the global policies in the field of sustainable development. It has established a comprehensive ESG management system, integrated ESG management requirements into business management over the years, actively responded to national and global strategies in relation to sustainable development, ensured information security, promoted technology innovation, implemented “dual carbon” goals, protected the rights and interests of employees to promote sustainable management and value creation.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact’s introduction of ESG concept and principles. This year also marks Fosun’s 10th anniversary as a UN Global Compact member. Since joining the UN Global Compact, Fosun fully supports the ten principles of the UN Global Compact in the areas including human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption, ensuring that it conducts business responsibly. At the same time, Fosun actively engages its member companies in the implementation of ESG strategies.

On 29 November, the UN Global Compact held a launch event for the “20 Cases of Private Sector’s Sustainable Development in China for 20 Years” report at the UN Compound in Beijing. Fosun’s “Rural Doctors Program Empowering Rural Medical Services” was recognized as one of the selected cases in the report. A panel of UN representatives and academics has announced that the 20 selected best projects are exemplary cases of corporate sustainable development that demonstrate excellence in terms of economic viability, practicality, replicability, innovation, and inclusivity.

After more than three decades of development, Fosun has now become a global innovation-driven consumer group. While striving for progress and development, Fosun has consistently made efforts to achieve sustainable development. This year, Fosun has formulated its sustainable development strategy: “Create IMPACT”, which stands for I: Innovation-driven, M: Mindful Operation, P: People and Partner Oriented, A: Advanced Governance, C: Climate and Planet Positive and T: Transparency. It is derived from Fosun’s original aspirations of “Self-improvement, Teamwork, Performance and Contribution to Society” and is a guarantee of the long-term ESG practices.

Looking ahead, Fosun will continue to deepen its core businesses, strengthen innovation, and drive globalization, promoting the long-term sustainable development of its business. By creating lasting value for all stakeholders, Fosun remains committed to fulfilling its mission of “Creating happier lives for families worldwide”.

About S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment

Launched in 1999, the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) grades enterprises on how they put sustainability into practice, covering 61 different industry-specific ESG standards. Evaluating more than 7,000 companies each year, S&P Global CSA has become a reference tool for enterprises, helping them gauge the financial importance of a company’s sustainability performance from the perspective of investors.

SOURCE Fosun

Mayor Joins Inaugural PledgeLA Catalyst Awards to Recognize Leaders Increasing Access to Capital in L.A.’s VC and Tech Ecosystem

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 18, 2024 — The Annenberg Foundation and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass today presented the first Catalyst Awards given by PledgeLA, the regional initiative that works to increase access to capital for L.A.-based startups and investors from underrepresented backgrounds. Mayor Bass, PledgeLA principals and more than 300 tech founders, VC investors and community leaders gathered at the El Rey Theatre to recognize 11 Angelenos for their impact and efforts to strengthen Los Angeles’s local economy and entrepreneur community.

“Recognizing L.A.’s boundless entrepreneurial talent — and the power of this creative region to move the needle on representation — we established PledgeLA to build a thriving ecosystem reflective and accessible to all of Los Angeles. Access to capital is central to that effort, and the community leaders here tonight are committed to expanding it,” said Cinny Kennard, Executive Director of the Annenberg Foundation. “The accomplishments of our awardees are but a glimpse of what’s possible here, and we are excited to build on this effort.”

Karen Bass, the 43rd Mayor of Los Angeles, said: “Opening Los Angeles for business means working to increase investment and opportunity for Angelenos who have too often been left out. PledgeLA and the Annenberg Foundation are vital partners in realizing L.A.’s next generation of venture capital, tech and civic leaders. My Office of Business and Economic Development is building on this vision with partners like PledgeLA as we continue to support startups, investors, entrepreneurs and small business owners so they can thrive here in L.A. Congratulations to the first Catalyst Awards honorees – your commitment to increasing access to capital and expanding representation in our local economy has the power to drive lasting impact in our city.”

Mayor Bass and Executive Director Kennard led discussions Wednesday evening on developing a resilient tech ecosystem in L.A. and on deepening public-private collaboration between the city and investors in the innovation economy.

Among the inaugural Catalyst awardees were Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano, whose Kwanza Jones & José E. Feliciano Initiative invests in and partners with nonprofits and for-profits focused on education, entrepreneurship, equity, and empowerment. Since founding their initiative in 2014, the partners in life, business, and impact have personally committed over $200 million to these efforts, including $20 million to Princeton, $1 million to HBCU Bennett College, and $500,000 to Puerto Rico for Hurricane Maria relief. Jones and Feliciano received the Limited Partner Catalyst Award, in recognition of their significant investments in underrepresented fund managers.

“We co-founded the Kwanza Jones & José E. Feliciano Initiative to boost humanity and power possibilities through education, equity, entrepreneurship and empowerment. We believe that one of the key catalysts for unlocking human potential is access to capital and economic opportunities. That’s why we are committed to investing in organizations and individuals who are breaking barriers, opening doors, and building bridges of opportunity.

“Investing intentionally but not exclusively in underrepresented founders and fund managers is about more than just financial returns—it’s about catalyzing a community of innovation and collaboration. Diversity fuels excellence, and when diverse perspectives are included, outcomes are optimized and more impactful.

“This recognition from PledgeLA affirms our mission: breaking barriers, unlocking potential, and driving change. Together, we can reimagine what’s possible—for LA and beyond,” said Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano, Co-Founders of Kwanza Jones & José E. Feliciano Initiative (Jones•Feliciano).

Also honored Wednesday were Slauson & Co, a $100 million venture capital firm rooted in economic inclusion led by Austin Clements and Ajay Relan, who were honored with the Portfolio Catalyst award. Slauson & Co’s original $75 million Fund I backed 38 companies, most of which are led by people of color and at least half of which are led by women. Slauson & Co. directs all its investment to underrepresented founders.

Dana Settle, one of the first female fund leaders in the industry, was recognized with the Pathbreaker Catalyst award for her work to create paths to capital and opportunity. Settle serves as co-founder and managing partner at Greycroft, one of the largest VC funds in the United States ($2 billion Assets Under Management) and is a founding member of the female mentorship collective All Raise.

In addition, awards for “Most Inspiring Entrepreneur,” “Ecosystem Builder,” and “Most Inspiring Emerging Manager” were given to L.A.-based tech investors, entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders for their impact on the local community, workforce development and creating access to capital. Winners and all nominees appear below.

Annual Data on L.A. Venture Capital Shows Continued Opportunity Gap; Research Expanded to New York City

In addition to the 2024 awards, PledgeLA released its annual report on diversity in L.A. venture capital. Data analyzed by UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs show that among 75 venture capital firms in Los Angeles who are part of PledgeLA there remains a gap in investment in underrepresented minority (URM) founders. Among the findings for 2023, Black and Latina women remain the least represented groups across the PledgeLA portfolio, making up only 1% and 2% of 2023 companies, respectively. However, in terms of median deal size for startups, the gap between women-only teams and all-men teams shrank considerably, to $700,000 less versus $3.8 million less in 2022.

The 2024 Venture Capital Portfolio Diversity Report can be read here.

The Annenberg Foundation this year commissioned the same UCLA researchers to also code and analyze data for the Venture Access Alliance (VAA), an initiative of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). This effort includes collecting demographic data for 2023 on 72 venture capital (VC) firms within the VAA membership and their 323 portfolio companies, led by over 540 founders. VAA’s report and diversity findings can be found here.

PledgeLA: Catalyzing and Recognizing Change
Established in 2018 in partnership with the City of Los Angeles and Mayor Eric Garcetti, PledgeLA was the first and is the only local effort to annually monitor diversity and equity in accessing capital in L.A. It both supports and holds accountable an industry vital to all Angelenos through:

• Placing underrepresented promising college graduates in Venture Capital Fellowships(70 since 2019)
• Researching and reporting anonymized representational data and demographics in the annual Venture Capital Portfolio Diversity report produced by UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs to help track LA’s progress and challenges. In many cases, these data have never been collected.
• Convening partners and thought leaders at L.A. Tech Week and facilitating mentorships for college students with L.A. tech leaders

Previously, PledgeLA helped incentivize investment in Black and Latinx entrepreneurs through a Founders Fund (est. 2021) that helped founders who had demonstrated traction increase recurring revenue, find follow-on capital, and build community with their peers.

Additional 2024 PledgeLA Catalyst Award Winners
Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs
ChargerHelp! – co-founded by Evette Ellis and Kameale Terry, ChargerHelp! ensures EV charging stations stay operational, helps manage charging infrastructure and provides maintenance through an EV service workforce that it trains and deploys. Ellis and Terry are originally from Compton and South Central Los Angeles, respectively.

Cherub – co-founded by Angeline Vuong and Jaclyn Johnson, a serial entrepreneur, Cherub facilitates fundraising from angel investors for women-led companies using an online membership model. The platform has raised $3M for startups focused on consumer packaged goods, AI companies, hotel projects, apps and more.

Most Inspiring Emerging Manager – Noramay Cadena is managing partner at Supply Change Capital, which invests at the intersection of food, culture, and technology to modernize the food system. She was recognized as a rising investor from an underrepresented background for outsized impact on the local tech ecosystem. Among many board memberships, she is on the board of the Latino Community Foundation and Care Enterprises, Inc., which is focused on creating economic opportunities for people in poverty and women.

Ecosystem Builder – Amiah Sheppard has led investments and accelerated dozens of underrepresented founders internationally, as well as helped invest and support 100 other underrepresented founders across the U.S. She was recognized for “going above and beyond to make connections and increase access for underrepresented founders.

Nominees
Entrepreneurs — Montré Moore and Angel Lenise Pyles, AMP Beauty; Tony Gonzalez, Mundial Media; Rebecca Caputo and Val Emanuel, Rif Care; Selena Watkins, Socanomics

Emerging Managers — Madeline Darcy, Managing Partner at Kaya Ventures; Brandon Hoffman, General Partner at Sunset Ventures; Kimberley Nixon, Managing Partner at Open Venture Capital; Tracy Gray, Managing Partner at The 22 Fund

Ecosystem Builders — Espree Devora, Founder at WeAreLATech; Raychel Espiritu, Program Director at Walking Softer; Derek Smith, CEO & Founder at Plug In Ventures; Sophie Nazerian, Vice President, Innovation Economy, Startup Banking at JPM Startup Banking

SOURCE The Annenberg Foundation

From completing its $10 million Series B equity financing to being awarded the 2024 AI Breakthrough Award for “Best AI Governance Platform” and achieving inclusion on Inc.’s Best in Business List, it was a year of continued momentum for the leading AI Governance software company for enterprises.

CHICAGO, Dec. 18, 2024 — The leading AI Governance software for enterprises, ModelOp, announced today it experienced an exponential increase of platform usage in 2024 through new customer acquisition, generative AI adoption, and expanding need for its AI portfolio intelligence and governance capabilities. For the second consecutive year, the company achieved massive, continued growth in the financial services, healthcare, and CPG sectors with customers that include Fidelity Investments, FINRA, and Bristol Myers Squibb.

ModelOp’s excellence was well-recognized this year. It won the prestigious 2024 AI Breakthrough Award for “Best AI Governance Platform”, an award series that celebrates the world’s most innovative companies, technologies, and products in the artificial intelligence industry with more than 5,000 applicants globally this year. The firm also was named to Inc.’s 2024 Best in Business List in the AI & Data category, an award that celebrates the exceptional achievements and contributions of companies that have made a profound impact on their industries and on society at large. In addition, Polaris Market Research & Consulting named ModelOp a key player in the rapidly growing Model Operations market. MMC Ventures named ModelOp a “Who’s Who in Responsible AI” and a leader in AI Governance.

ModelOp also completed its $10 million Series B Equity financing led by Baird Capital. With the new capital, ModelOp is actively building upon its market-leading AI portfolio intelligence and governance capabilities that establish visibility into AI initiatives and value, and enforce policies consistently to help organizations stay compliant even as regulations evolve rapidly.

This investment follows the new release of ModelOp version 3.3, the third-generation of its software. It enables enterprises to manage AI as a portfolio and provide  “Minimum Viable Governance” (MVG), which allows companies to apply just enough governance to protect the business while accelerating AI innovation.

Version 3.3 also includes the world’s first AI Governance Score, a standardized metric that measures risk across diverse AI initiatives. ModelOp’s new AI Governance Score provides executives with real-time visibility into all AI initiatives — including generative AI, in-house, third-party, and embedded AI systems — and their risks across the entire enterprise, even as global regulations evolve. ModelOp helps Chief AI Officers (CAIOs), CDAOs, CIOs, CISOs, AI leaders, and Governance teams responsibly accelerate AI innovation and keep their organizations safe through a comprehensive AI Governance inventory, automated controls, and streamlined reporting capabilities.

“Unlike other solutions, only ModelOp’s software provides executives unprecedented visibility into the AI being used across their organizations,” said Pete Foley, CEO of ModelOp. “This enables enterprises to deliver transformational and responsible AI systems. ModelOp 3.3 allows executives to manage their AI use cases and models as a portfolio and track KPIs including revenue, costs, savings, cost avoidance, and ROI. Additionally, ModelOp enables AI and legal teams to stay on their front foot as regulations like the EU AI Act and US state and federal agency rules take effect. It was a remarkable year for ModelOp and our new capital is enabling us to accelerate our expansion. Looking forward to 2025, we are excited to introduce new capabilities, and continue our rapid growth as the leading AI Governance software.”

Also of note this year, ModelOp partnered with CDO Magazine to produce the 2024 Responsible AI Benchmark Report that revealed a growing gap between the rapid adoption of AI and the implementation of responsible AI Governance practices. The survey of nearly 150 executives across diverse industries provides insights on AI adoption, use cases in production, governance capabilities, and top risks. The free report clearly shows growing risks with enterprise AI strategy.

About ModelOp
ModelOp is the leading AI Governance software for enterprises and helps safeguard all AI initiatives – including generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), in-house, third-party, and embedded systems – without stifling innovation. Through automation and integrations, ModelOp empowers enterprises to quickly address the critical governance and scale challenges necessary to protect and fully unlock the transformational value of enterprise AI – resulting in effective and responsible AI systems. To learn more visit https://www.modelop.com or follow ModelOp on LinkedIn.

SOURCE ModelOp

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 18, 2024 — KDAN, a leading SaaS provider, today announced a strategic investment of USD4 million led by Japanese real estate giant APAMAN Group (Apaman Co., Ltd.）Combined with a recent multi-million-dollar B+ round from South Korea’s Hancom Group, this latest investment brings KDAN’s total funding to over USD 30 million. APAMAN, along with its subsidiary SystemSoft Corporation (TSE: 7527) and strategic partner Riverfield, will serve as  KDAN’s primary distributors in Japan, enabling comprehensive business and technical collaboration.

KDAN provides AI-driven workflow and data solutions, including digital document management, eSignature, and data analytics services. The partnership will focus on transforming  Japan’s real estate sector by implementing  KDAN’s eSignature service, DottedSign, across APAMAN’s network of direct and franchise locations. Through an alliance with the All Japan Real Estate Association, KDAN’s solutions will be available  to real estate professionals nationwide. To boost visibility, APAMAN has launched an extensive marketing campaign featuring DottedSign on over 2,000 outdoor billboards throughout Japan.

The technical partnership between KDAN and APAMAN will integrate KDAN’s digital document management services with advanced AI technologies. This collaboration aims to accelerate product innovation and enhance competitiveness, addressing market needs of and establishing new digital benchmarks for Japan’s real estate industry.

This partnership comes at a crucial time, as Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) previously identified “2025 Digital Cliff,” warning of potential annual losses up to ¥12 trillion (approximately USD79.8 billion) without  transformation. The Japanese government has since accelerated digitalization initiatives, including a 2022 amendment to the Real Estate Transaction Act enabling electronic contracts.

“This collaboration enhances APAMAN’s operational efficiency while accelerating the digitalization of Japan’s real estate sector,” said Koji Omura, CEO of APAMAN.  “We believe this partnership will create greater business value and foster a mutually beneficial relationship with KDAN.”

This partnership demonstrates the market’s confidence in KDAN,” said Kenny Su, Founder & CEO of KDAN. “As we progress toward the capital market, this investment marks a new growth chapter. We remain focused  on driving digital innovation and delivering superior digital solutions globally.”

For more information and updates, please visit KDAN’s official website at www.kdan.com.

About KDAN

KDAN is committed to providing a diverse range of AI-driven workflow and data solutions, including digital document management, eSignature, and data analytics services. We empower global businesses to enhance operational efficiency and organizational agility, enabling them to create more business value through secure and innovative digital solutions while pursuing the vision of sustainable development.

Headquartered in Taiwan, KDAN operates across China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, and is supported by over 14 million members worldwide, including 50,000 business members. KDAN has been recognized as one of the Top 500 High-Growth Companies in the Asia-Pacific region by the Financial Times, leading in the IT and Software category in Taiwan.

About APAMAN Group（Apaman Co.,Ltd.）

APAMAN Co., Ltd. oversees the APAMAN Group, which comprises more than 30 companies. The company contributes to society through three segments: Platform, which manages and mediates rentals; Technology, which generates AI, RPA (Robotic Process Automation), and other systems to support real estate services; and Other, which operates co-working spaces, shared bicycles, and shared parking.

SOURCE KDAN

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 18, 2024 — Simulation Theory Inc., a start-up dedicated to reducing waste by optimizing compute resources, has successfully raised $2 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Larry Russ, managing partner at Russ, August & Kabat with individual investors including Ryan Peterson, former CEO of Finger Food Advanced Technology Group and Robert Wallace of Strategic Alternatives. The funding will be used to support further development of Simulation Theory’s innovative software development kit (SDK) designed to maximize applications’ ability to optimize existing resources to help companies save billions in overspending on hardware and cloud usage each year.

In today’s digital landscape with the widespread adoption of generative AI and complex simulations, many businesses increasingly rely on cloud services, yet struggle with the skyrocketing prices associated with inefficient hardware usage. Simulation Theory’s technology allows businesses to leverage their existing infrastructure more efficiently, reducing cloud compute costs by up to 40 percent by dramatically increasing application performance.

“The Digital Revolution is over. Welcome to the Age of Optimization,” said Anthony Castoro, chief executive officer and co-founder of Simulation Theory. “As the demand for computing resources continues to skyrocket, we cannot simply build our way out of the problem. Simulation Theory is a deep technology company founded to address the fundamental computing challenges this new age presents. The Simulation Theory SDK allows customers to maximize the compute resources they already have, driving down costs, accelerating business results and promoting sustainable practices that can dramatically reduce our carbon footprint.”

“We understand that creating software that scales on modern CPUs is challenging and as a result the solution has been to throw more expensive hardware at the problem,” said Randy Culley, chief technology officer at Simulation Theory. “Our technology makes it simple for application developers to take full advantage of multi-core CPU architectures on every popular operating system. Some of our early clients have already increased their compute performance by several orders of magnitude, reducing time to completion by as much as 90 percent on the same hardware.” 

Customers including Secur3D, Encant AI, Perception Grid and Gameye are among Simulation Theory’s initial partners evaluating the benefits of a Simulation Theory technology integration in terms of future cost savings and performance gains.

Secur3D, a company that moderates and safeguards UGC, is transforming how platforms, creators, and brands protect their 3D assets from infringement and unauthorized use. By leveraging Simulation Theory, Secur3D is poised to scale its operations rapidly. “Integrating Simulation Theory will allow us to expand in ways we thought would take years,” said Nigel Metcalf, Head of Product at Secur3D. “We anticipate increasing our asset intake capacity by at least 20x and believe this technology will change how people anticipate, compute, and meet customer demand.”

Simulation Theory has also recently launched a pilot program to test the technology’s effectiveness for enterprise applications across various industries.

For more information, visit www.simtheoryinc.com and follow Simulation Theory on LinkedIn.

About Simulation Theory
Simulation Theory’s mission is to solve the most complex compute problems to save companies billions. Founded in 2023 by Anthony Castoro and Randy Culley, Simulation Theory’s proprietary SDK uniquely empowers businesses to leverage existing resources efficiently and sustainably for maximum reduction in cost, increased performance and minimized impact on the environment. 

Press Contact:
[email protected]

SOURCE Simulation Theory Inc.

New funding to accelerate application development of SandboxAQ’s Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) and AI solutions

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 18, 2024 — SandboxAQ today announced a round of more than $300 million from Fred Alger Management, LLC, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Mumtalakat, Parkway Venture Capital, Breyer Capital, Rizvi Traverse, S32, US Innovative Technology Fund, Ava Investments, Eric Schmidt, Marc Benioff, David Siegel, Yann LeCun, IQT, and other prominent investors. The funding round valued the company at $5.3 billion on a pre-money basis.

The company raised new funding to accelerate the development of its Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) and other AI applications in drug discovery, materials science, chemistry, cybersecurity, navigation, and medical devices.  

“Large Quantitative Models are the next wave of AI as they provide a powerful ability to solve science and business problems for large industries including aerospace, biopharma, chemicals, defense, energy, finance, and more. The capital raise we are announcing today gives us additional resources to drive deep impact at scale,” said Jack D. Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ. “LLMs and LQMs are complementary platforms that are both needed in the world of B2B applications. We are pleased to see the commitment of so many long-term investors in SandboxAQ.”

“Leading global enterprises are realizing that they must look beyond the capabilities and limitations of LLMs and embrace LQMs in order to maximize the ROI from their AI investments,” said Eric Schmidt, Chairman of SandboxAQ. “Jack Hidary and his team at SandboxAQ have shown the ability to create significant customer value across key industries such as biopharma, chemicals, and financial services. Jack is a world-class, high-integrity CEO leading a deeply technical team. With this round, SandboxAQ can move even faster to its goals and impact.”

“We see significant growth potential and opportunity for LQMs across a broad range of industries, which is why investing in SandboxAQ is an investment in AI’s future,” said Jim Breyer, Breyer Capital. “Through SandboxAQ, Breyer Capital has a front-row seat to a generation-defining company with some of the most inspiring uses of AI technology. Jack is both a visionary and a high-performance CEO, uniting science and AI in bold and meaningful ways to address the world’s most pressing challenges.”

“I am investing in SandboxAQ because of their industry-leading approach to quantitative AI,” said Yann LeCun, a leading AI scientist and one of three Turing Award winners for deep learning. “While LLMs are very helpful tools for consumers, it is quantitative AI that will define work in large sectors of the economy including biopharma, chemicals and financial services. I am impressed by the technical depth of Jack and his team and am excited to support their work. SandboxAQ has emerged as a leader in novel applications of AI that solve the most pressing challenges in the world and their technical success is impressive.”

Customers Across Industries and High-Impact Research Output
SandboxAQ is completing 2024 with achievements that underscore its leadership in AI-driven innovation and scientific research. SandboxAQ’s Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) and other technologies have set a new standard in AI, tackling computationally complex challenges in healthcare, energy, chemicals, aerospace, defense, and other industries.

Advancing Drug Discovery with AQBioSim
SandboxAQ’s AQBioSim division made significant strides in accelerating new therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative diseases in 2024, signing deals to leverage its AI capabilities with two top academic research institutions.

SandboxAQ also expanded its relationship with large biopharma companies, leveraging LQMs to identify new biomarkers and optimize clinical development for investigational medicines. It launched a new generative AI application, IDOLPro, which can rapidly design drug molecules with specific properties to accelerate further drug discovery R&D. Several leading organizations joined SandboxAQ’s innovation network, extending AQBioSim’s cutting-edge AI-driven drug discovery.

Innovating Materials Science with AQChemSim
SandboxAQ’s AQChemSim division achieved significantly upgraded capabilities in material design, breaking new ground with customers and partners. Through its ongoing collaboration with NVIDIA, SandboxAQ boosted its computational chemistry capabilities by 80x and doubled the size of molecules the platform can calculate. Leveraging high-quality battery data from NOVONIX, AQChemSim reduced lithium-ion battery life prediction time by 95%, increasing accuracy 35x with 50x less data. In addition, SandboxAQ advanced battery design and testing. SandboxAQ software helped a global chemical manufacturer quantitatively predict catalytic activity to help it produce more advanced chemicals.

Revolutionizing Cardiac Diagnostics with CardiAQ
SandboxAQ launched its AQMed division. The first product, CardiAQ, is a magnetocardiography (MCG) investigational device under development designed to capture and analyze magnetic signals from the heart, with the potential to provide more precise and timely assessments. The company also announced a new clinical research study with The Mayo Clinic, supplementing its ongoing collaboration with Mount Sinai Medical Center and a successful feasibility study with the UCSF Medical Center.

Transforming Navigation with AQNav
SandboxAQ’s AQNav successfully gained traction with aerospace leaders to further explore its applications.  The AQNav system uses quantum sensors to detect the Earth’s magnetic field and feeds that info to a quantitative model which compares the data to magnetic maps of the Earth to determine location.  AQNav achieved new milestones with the U.S. Air Force (USAF), advancing navigation of aircraft without GPS. This milestone led to a US Air Force TACFI contract extension to explore additional AQNav configurations for a wider range of aircraft. SandboxAQ was named to TIME’s Best Inventions of 2024, Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech, AI Trailblazers, and other awards.

Securing Digital Infrastructure with AQtive Guard
In 2024, SandboxAQ expanded its Accenture partnership to deploy its cryptography management solution, AQtive Guard, across verticals such as financial services and life sciences.

J.P. Morgan advised SandboxAQ on the financing.

About SandboxAQ
‍SandboxAQ is a B2B company delivering solutions at the intersection of AI and quantum techniques. The company’s Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) deliver critical advances in life sciences, financial services, navigation, and other sectors. The company emerged from Alphabet Inc. as an independent company backed by a growth capital round of $500 million, funded by leading investors including funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., IQT, US Innovative Technology Fund, Eric Schmidt, Breyer Capital, Guggenheim Partners, Marc Benioff, Thomas Tull, Paladin Capital Group, and others. For more information, visit http://www.sandboxaq.com.

SOURCE SandboxAQ

Plume aims to bring real world tokenization onchain to build out RWAfi ecosystem

NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2024 — Plume, the first fully integrated modular Layer-1 blockchain focused on Real World Asset Finance (RWAfi), today announced the closing of a $20M Series A funding round from Brevan Howard Digital, Haun Ventures, Galaxy Ventures, Lightspeed Faction, Superscrypt, Hashkey, Laser Digital (Nomura Group), A Capital, 280 Capital, SV Angel, Reciprocal Ventures, and others, showcasing strong industry conviction from crypto-native and traditional finance investors in Plume’s vision of an onchain RWAfi ecosystem.

Since its seed round, Plume has seen explosive growth with over 180 protocols building in its ecosystem, representing over $4B in assets. The network’s recently concluded 8-week testnet boasted over 18M wallets, 3.75M actives, and over 280M transactions. Additionally, Plume’s recent pre-deposit campaign was oversubscribed with more than $30M filled in less than 90 minutes, building momentum ahead of its mainnet launch.

At the helm of RWAfi, Plume builds infrastructure that makes it easy to interact with the real world onchain. Plume is both the easiest place to bring real world assets from the real world onchain with products like Plume Arc (modular tokenization engine), Plume Nexus (real world data provider), and as well as interact with those assets on Plume’s EVM blockchain. On Plume, users can seamlessly swap, trade, and speculate on real world assets just as easily as they can when interacting with crypto native assets. Whether it’s earning real yield from holding oil royalties, putting that into a lending market to loop against it, or putting those tokens into a perps dex – Plume is the only place where users can permissionlessly access the real world via crypto rails.

“RWAs have always had tremendous onchain demand, but historically the infrastructure to bring these assets onchain just hasn’t existed,” said Chris Yin, cofounder and CEO of Plume. “Just look at the original RWA, the stablecoin – it’s one of the best products in crypto for onboarding new users. But the key to adoption, however, is the ecosystem and user experience – while stables have nailed it, the rest of RWAs have not. So now with Plume, asset issuers of all kinds can become crypto native builders. Through our technology and ecosystem, we plug them directly into our community, ecosystem, and liquidity and all in an open, permissionless, and composable way.”

The funds raised in this round will accelerate Plume’s commitment to creating the first L1 RWA blockchain for crypto-natives and institutions while supporting new applications and products in emerging markets built on Plume, furthering its mission of bringing the real world onchain for everyone from crypto natives to the largest financial institutions.

“The Plume approach to RWA leverages the unique capabilities of DeFi-native blockchain rails and combines it with their deep understanding of the incentives that drive traditional financial institutions and net new users to come onchain, especially in emerging markets. It’s exciting to see alternative investment classes such as carbon credits, specialty finance products, and GPUs brought onchain via Plume that are not easily accessible to investors today,” said Will Nuelle, General Partner of Galaxy Ventures.

Plume aims to unlock the untapped potential of physical assets and economic data to create opportunities for real yield, sustainable growth, and global accessibility. Users will be able to access Plume on mainnet launch starting early next year.

About Plume

Plume is the first fully integrated L1 modular blockchain focused on RWAfi, offering a composable, EVM-compatible environment for onboarding and managing diverse real-world assets. With 180+ projects on its private devnet, Plume provides an end-to-end tokenization engine and a network of financial infrastructure partners, simplifying asset onboarding and enabling seamless DeFi integration for RWAs. Learn more at https://www.plumenetwork.xyz/ or contact [email protected].

SOURCE Plume Network

$17M Series B Round Led by Aquiline to Fuel
Scripta’s Growth into Health Plan and Medicare Advantage Markets

BOSTON, Dec. 18, 2024 — “Consumerism in healthcare” is a popular catch phrase, but when it comes to prescription drugs, Americans are lacking the transparency, clinical expertise and navigation tools needed to make informed decisions. That’s the problem that the AI-powered pharmacy navigation platform, Scripta Insights, is on a mission to solve, starting with the 105 million Americans who are on self-insured plans. The company announced today that it has closed $17 million in Series B funding led by Aquiline, a private investment specialist in financial services and related technologies, bringing Scripta’s total funding to date to $42 million and demonstrating strong support of its mission from the investor community. This strategic investment comes on the heels of Scripta’s revenue surging more than 100% in 2024, capping a milestone year for the business.

“Scripta has pioneered the pharmacy navigation category, bringing unprecedented transparency to the market, empowering members to comparison-shop for Rx for the first time and enabling plan sponsors to contain their skyrocketing benefit costs–without disrupting the existing PBM infrastructure,” said Max Chee, Partner and Co-Head of Venture at Aquiline. “CEO Eric Levin and team have made huge strides in filling a critical gap in the benefits offering of America’s largest employers, while gaining the trust of the broker community.”

The B round financing will be used to fuel Scripta’s continued adoption and scaling of its platform in the self-insured market and TPA / PEO channels, as well as provide a capital infusion in support of the company’s expansion in the health plan and Medicare Advantage markets. The round includes additional investment from existing investors Contour Venture Partners and Eastside Partners, as well as ReMY Investors. As part of the financing, Avery Klinger from Aquiline will be joining the Scripta Board of Directors.   

“We are changing the way people shop for prescription drugs in America,” said Eric Levin, CEO, Scripta Insights. “That may sound like a bold statement, but in the last year alone we’ve generated 78,000 prescription switches that have resulted in $29M in prescription savings. We’re creating an America where access, affordability and adherence to necessary medicines are no longer barriers to positive health outcomes. There is no greater proof point than the fact that 93 percent of the drug switches driven by our clinical recommendations stay switched even after 12 months.”

Levin is a serial entrepreneur who has created or managed products that have sold well in excess of $5 billion, and has been involved in more than 32 mergers and acquisitions. He was part of the executive management team, under “Shark Tank’s” Kevin O’Leary, who was responsible for growing The Learning Company from $60 million to over $1.2 billion in sales in just six years, ultimately selling to Mattel for $3.6 billion. In 2019, after meeting co-founder Dr. Paul Bradley, he turned his energy and expertise toward solving America’s prescription drug affordability crisis by co-founding Scripta Insights.

Rising pharmacy benefit costs are crushing consumers and self-insured plan sponsors:

• Americans are expected to spend a staggering $800 billion, approximately, on Rx this year alone
• Thirty percent of patients report cost-based non-adherence
• Doctors want to help their patients afford their medications, but 79 percent of them do not know the cost of a drug when they write the script 
• Rx costs represent roughly 30 percent of plan benefit spend, and they’re rapidly rising

The Series B investment comes at a time when the market is also experiencing heightened scrutiny from legislative, regulatory and legal entities related to the lack of consumer choice in the prescription selection process. Adding fuel to the fire is the increased focus on the fiduciary duties of self-insured employers driven by ERISA lawsuits like the high-profile Lewandowsky v. Johnson & Johnson case.

Levin explains, “In this environment, it is more important than ever to have an unbiased third party who can credibly provide transparency tools and pricing analysis in support of ERISA-based fiduciary duty responsibilities and ACA compliance regulations. We are a completely independent company with unmatched clinical strength, a flexible platform and trusted results. Employers really appreciate the fact that our only business is helping plan sponsors optimize their pharmacy benefits and our client data is only used to help our clients.”

Scripta’s easy-to-use Rx Navigation solutions include Rx Navigator for members, and Rx Monitor for plan sponsors.

With Rx Navigator, employees and enrolled dependents on the health plan receive Personalized Savings reports, via app, web portal and mail, revealing all their prescription options. Saving could be as easy as using a coupon, filling at a cheaper pharmacy or switching to a proven therapeutic alternative if their doctor agrees. Members choose how to save. Scripta provides concierge support guiding members through savings opportunities and alternatives, as well as seamless onboarding and member engagement campaigns.

Scripta’s Rx Monitor supports Rx Navigator clients by providing unique analytics and insights for payers to monitor their Rx benefit costs. Plan sponsors are able to contain their Rx benefit spend, optimize their benefits and support plan decision-making. 

The company’s Rx Navigation solutions are driven by its software platform made up of two key components: Scripta’s Med Mapper™, a doctor-driven, proprietary clinical data set and rules engine that maps 17,000 medicines and medical devices to cost-efficient alternatives, considering clinical efficacy and focusing on health outcomes; and Scripta’s Savings Mapper™, a proprietary recommendation engine that runs a payer’s benefit plan, PBM formulary, and Scripta’s Med Mapper against patient claims to identify savings opportunities and issue recommendations.

Scripta’s solutions integrate seamlessly with existing benefits systems. They work within a client’s existing plan design and formulary, with all PBMs, and alongside any other Rx benefit cost containment solutions they may have in place.

Scripta’s more than 80 clients have innovated their benefits offering, giving their members access to more affordable prescription options, guided support to understand their medication choices, and helping to  lower their out-of-pocket costs. Customers include self-insured health plans and employers, ranging from 3,000 lives to the Fortune 500 across industries, from energy and transportation, to technology and healthcare, to professional service firms and more. Clients average a lifetime 4.2x ROI. 

The company also has go-to-market relationships with five of the top seven U.S. benefits brokers, including Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., McGriff Insurance Services, LLC/Marsh McLennan, NFP, and WTW, as these thought-leaders in employee benefits have embraced the role of Rx Navigation in filling a key gap in the market.

Strategic partnerships have also propelled Scripta’s product innovation to integrate cutting-edge solutions, including discounted pricing from Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company and precision couponing capabilities through SingleCare. Scripta’s proprietary pharmacy data and insights also power pharmacy cost-containment programs for Healthcare Bluebook (Bluebook Rx) and Lightbeam Health Solutions, lowering prescription costs for the millions of member lives they collectively serve.

About Scripta Insights
Scripta Insights, a venture-backed digital health company, is a leader in developing pharmacy navigation solutions for self-insured employers, health plans and their members. The company was founded in 2019, following nearly a decade of work by doctors, pharmacists and data analysts who helped build Scripta’s proprietary software platform. For more information about Scripta, visit www.scriptainsights.com and follow the company on LinkedIn.

About Aquiline
Aquiline Capital Partners LP (“Aquiline”) is a private investment firm based in New York, London, and Philadelphia, that is dedicated to financial services and technology. As of September 30, 2024, Aquiline has approximately $11.3 billion of assets under management and has deployed approximately $7.0 billion of capital across the firm’s three strategies in private equity, venture, and credit. For more information about Aquiline, its investment professionals, and its portfolio companies, visit www.aquiline.com.

CONTACT: Linda Krebs, LKPR, Inc. for Scripta Insights, [email protected], 646-824-5186

SOURCE Scripta Insights