New funding from Blackstone Innovations Investments, FINTOP Capital and JAM FINTOP will support Cardo AI’s expansion into the U.S. market and accelerate its mission to scale asset-based finance and private credit with modern technology.

MILAN, Nov. 20, 2024 — Cardo AI, a next generation asset-based finance and private credit technology platform, has completed its $15mn Series A round. The investment was co-led by Blackstone Innovations Investments, Blackstone’s early-stage strategic investment arm, FINTOP Capital and JAM FINTOP. Andy Horwitz and Kevin MacDonald, co-founders of Black Mountain Systems, also participated in the round.

The $40 trillion asset-based finance and private credit market continues to operate with outdated systems, manual processes and fragmented data. As the market expands with increasingly complex investment strategies, Cardo AI is modernizing the sector’s operations with advanced portfolio modeling and collateral data management technology. The platform facilitates investment decision-making and portfolio monitoring of multi-strategy credit portfolios for industry stakeholders—from investors to banks and servicers—leveraging advanced software workflows, a powerful data engine and predictive AI algorithms. The platform also supports servicers, trustees and fund administrators in streamlining operations and reducing costs.

Founded in 2018, Cardo AI rapidly expanded its presence throughout Europe, with early support from Fasanara Capital, before entering the U.S. market earlier this year. Over the past few months, Cardo has onboarded several of the most sophisticated private credit and asset-based finance investors in the U.S. In addition to co-leading the Series A round, Blackstone is leveraging Cardo AI’s technology in its Credit & Insurance operations to support direct lending and asset-based finance transactions.

Co-leads FINTOP Capital and JAM FINTOP bring deep operating expertise and a strategic network of nearly 100 regional and community banks. Rick Kushel leads the investment for FINTOP and brings over three decades of experience building companies such as iLevel Solutions and DealCloud.

Altin Kadareja, Founder and CEO of Cardo AI: “Our expansion into the US market, supported by such prestigious institutions, highlights Cardo AI’s ability to deliver powerful technology for the alternative credit industry. We are excited to collaborate with new investors and are confident that our platform will play a significant role in scaling the market and enhancing operational excellence for our clients.”

John Stecher, Chief Technology Officer at Blackstone, said: “At Blackstone we have seen firsthand the rapid growth in alternative credit. To keep pace, the industry needs to move away from manual, spreadsheet-based processes to embrace scalable technology solutions. Our Credit & Insurance team has been impressed by Cardo AI’s robust portfolio management capabilities for complex instruments.”

Rick Kushel, Managing Partner at FINTOP Capital said: “We see enormous potential for Cardo AI to transform an industry that has been slow in adopting technological innovation. With decades of experience, their team brings the expertise needed to tackle the challenges this market faces. We are excited to support them in setting the standard in asset-based finance and private credit technology.”

About Cardo AI
Intelligent technology for the asset-based finance market. Cardo AI is a global fintech company with the mission to make the market more efficient, transparent, and accessible to all players. Using proprietary technology that integrates software, data, and intelligence Cardo AI accompanies banks, credit originators, servicers, asset managers, and asset owners throughout the entire process of asset based finance investments: from managing data, formulating predictive analytics, and optimizing portfolios. To date, more than $40 billion are managed through its technology platforms, drawing on a team of more than 120 talents.

For further information: www.cardoai.com.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2563139/Cardo_AI_Logo.jpg

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SAN DIEGO, Nov. 20, 2024 — Cortechs.ai, a leader in AI-powered neuroimaging and prostate imaging solutions, is pleased to announce the successful close of an oversubscribed Series C funding round led by VILAS Ventures. This strategic investment will fuel the company’s mission to advance medical imaging through cutting-edge technology, expanding both its product suite and market reach.

The funding round, which exceeded its hard cap by a wide margin, drew strong interest from a diverse group of investors, reflecting high confidence in Cortechs.ai’s innovative solutions. Existing investor Genting Berhad, a global conglomerate, participated in the round as well.

“We are thrilled by the enthusiastic response from our investors,” said Kyle Frye, CEO of Cortechs.ai. “This oversubscribed round is a testament to the growing recognition of the critical role our AI-powered tools play in improving diagnostic confidence and patient outcomes. In selecting VILAS Ventures as our capital partner, we valued their deep understanding of healthcare technology, their track record of providing operational support to portfolio companies, and their shared commitment to transforming healthcare. With this support, we’re poised to drive even greater innovation and provide unparalleled value to our clinical partners.”

Daniel Livschutz, Managing Director of VILAS Ventures, expressed excitement about the partnership: “As our inaugural deal, we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with a visionary company like Cortechs.ai, which has established itself as a frontrunner in AI-driven medical imaging. In our search for the best AI imaging product on the market, Cortechs.ai stood out as a clear leader with the most comprehensive and accurate suite of AI diagnostic tools for the brain and prostate. Their innovation is truly unparalleled, driven by a talented team and a unique ability to bring products to market at record speed. We believe their technology is the leader to address significant gaps in neuroimaging and cancer detection. With this record-breaking investment, we look forward to helping Cortechs.ai realize its extensive product roadmap and continue to expand its position as the global leader in AI diagnostic tools and clinical decision support.”. Livschutz will assume the role of Board Chair, bringing his leadership and expertise to guide Cortechs.ai in this next stage of growth.

Cortechs.ai’s long-standing partnership with Genting Berhad has been pivotal to its growth. “Genting has been a proud partner of Cortechs.ai from the very beginning, supporting its journey from research and development to groundbreaking product innovation,” said Dato’ Sri Tan Kong Han, COO of Genting Berhad. “We are thrilled to co-invest in this next phase, as the company takes bold steps toward fully realizing its commercial success and transforming patient care through advanced AI-driven imaging solutions.”

The company’s rapid evolution is also a point of pride for its founder, Anders Dale, PhD. “It has been an incredible journey founding and building this company, and today, partnering with both Genting Berhad and VILAS truly validates Cortechs’ position as a leader in the neurology and oncology quantitative imaging market,” said Dale. “Our innovation continues to advance, with growing demand from clinicians and patients alike for our cutting-edge technology. I am immensely proud of how far we’ve come, and even more excited for the future and the opportunities ahead.”

This capital infusion will accelerate the rollout of new product features, broaden Cortechs.ai’s commercial footprint, and drive ongoing research and development efforts. Built on the groundbreaking research of Professor Anders Dale, Cortechs.ai’s flagship products include NeuroQuant®, which plays a critical role in early diagnosis and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and OnQ Prostate, a fast-growing tool aiding in prostate cancer detection.

Under Kyle Frye’s leadership, Cortechs.ai has been consistently growing in excess of 100% while deepening its engagement with current customers and expanding its offering to major healthcare organizations in the US and globally. Advising Cortechs.ai during this funding round was Uplift Partners out of Chicago, IL.

About VILAS Ventures
VILAS Ventures is a healthcare-focused investment firm founded by Daniel Livschutz, a visionary entrepreneur with deep experience in healthcare technology and managed services. Drawing from a background that includes scaling multiple HIT companies to national prominence, Daniel founded VILAS Ventures with a commitment to supporting transformative healthcare enterprises while creating immense value for investors and stakeholders. As its inaugural investment, VILAS Ventures aims to deliver not only capital but also extensive operational support to portfolio companies. The firm’s team includes leaders across healthcare and technology verticals, including significant benefactors of healthcare transformation, health-tech executives, and serial entrepreneurs.

About Cortechs.ai
Cortechs.ai is a leader in AI applications in radiology. Cortechs.ai uses cutting-edge technologies in medical imaging to revolutionize disease screening and early detection so patients can enjoy longer, healthier lives. The company develops and markets breakthrough medical device software that quantifies and tracks neurodegenerative diseases, and assists in the detection of clinically significant cancer. Cortechs.ai’s industry-leading brain imaging software provides radiologists, neurologists, oncologists, and clinical researchers worldwide with a convenient and cost-effective way to quantify brain structures for assessing Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, brain trauma, and other brain abnormalities. The company has FDA-cleared products for use in helping the diagnosis and follow-up of neurodegenerative and traumatic brain conditions, as well as prostate cancer. Please visit www.cortechs.ai for further information and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

SOURCE Cortechs.ai

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Led by Pantera Capital, the round will be used to elevate Monkey Tilt as the preeminent leader in gaming and entertainment

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 20, 2024 — Monkey Tilt, the platform pioneering a new era of entertainment and online gaming experiences, announced today $30M in Series A funding. Launched in March 2024, Monkey Tilt is pioneering the next frontier of gaming and bringing together the most trusted executives and voices across the industry to deliver an optimal, modern gaming experience.

The round, which closed this past summer, was led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Polychain Capital, PokerGo, Hack VC, Dream Ventures, Accomplice, Mirana, and Josh Hannah. This latest funding brings the total amount of capital raised to over $50M USD.

Monkey Tilt is an entertainment-first company that combines traditional casino experiences with improved social and lifestyle integrations. The company capitalizes on its multi-currency crypto payment infrastructure to accommodate wagering with a wide range of digital assets. The platform includes dealer-led craps, roulette, a 24/7 sportsbook, and more. In just under a year, Monkey Tilt has become a destination for both seasoned gamblers and rookie users alike who are eager to game in a more entertaining and engaging way, with like-minded individuals.

“The reality is this industry has failed to keep up with how people want to game, connect, and interact. Monkey Tilt was designed to completely upend what we think of as the traditional gaming experience,” said Founder and CEO Sam Kiki. “What we’re creating is immersive, engaging, and culturally relevant – and everyone is recognizing it.”

Coming out of launch earlier in 2024, Monkey Tilt has already generated a large and loyal following through an innovative product suite that blends traditional casino games, sports, poker and crypto all in one platform and brand.

“Monkey Tilt is pushing the online gaming world into a new era that’s heads and shoulders above the rest of the market,” said Ryan Barney of Pantera Capital. “Sam has already proven to be an authoritative leader in this space, and we’re so proud to back a platform that’s genuinely shaping the future of entertainment.”

Monkey Tilt is now looking ahead to an exciting 2025 that will include the launch of a new crypto trading gamified product in Q1 that will excite first-time and long time players alike. In its pursuit to innovate and deliver for players, Monkey Tilt will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in online gaming.

About Monkey Tilt
Monkey Tilt’s mission is to redefine how the world engages with gaming, leveraging the power of blockchain to enhance every aspect of the player experience. Monkey Tilt is more than gaming and entertainment —it’s a lifestyle brand that spans from fashion to media.

SOURCE Monkey Tilt

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New capital will drive continued global expansion to bring more insurers into the AI era

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 20, 2024 — Federato, the AI-native underwriting platform for insurance, announced today that it has raised a total of $80 million, including its latest Series C funding round. The $40 million round was led by global private markets investor StepStone Group (NASDAQ: STEP), with participation from existing investors, including Emergence Capital, Caffeinated Capital and Pear VC, who together represent over $200 billion in combined assets under management.

“We have been closely following Federato’s rapid growth over the past five years as an LP in several organizations who have been investors in the company since inception. Founders Will and William’s deep expertise in AI and their dedication to bringing a true vertical AI product to the insurance industry is impressive. Federato’s fast-growing customer base is a testament to the impact they’ve already delivered,” said John Avirett, Partner at StepStone Group. “We are excited to partner with Federato as they help insurers innovate on business models to better serve challenged markets.”

Federato’s RiskOps platform opens the door to a new era of underwriting for the industry. Insurers have confronted new challenges like climate change, cyber crime, and social inflation over the last decade, and AI is likely to define the winners and losers in the decade to come. RiskOps is about enabling an AI-first mindset that makes risk selection faster and more precise, teams more efficient, and growth more profitable and sustainable. Federato customers regularly see a 90% improvement in time-to-quote, 3x improvement in the proportion of good business bound, and 50-90% reduction in systems used by underwriters. These improvements across the value chain are fundamental to confronting these new challenges while staying efficient and competitive.

“When we started with Federato nearly three years ago, we were impressed by the modern underwriting platform they had built. Since then, Federato has become the core engine that powers our growth businesses here in North America. Today, we are leveraging the RiskOps platform as a unified core system for the entire policy lifecycle, from submission to quote, bind, and issue.” said Mike Foley, Chief Underwriting Officer, QBE North America.

As losses have grown more volatile and less predictable for the insurance industry, the volume of data insurers need to manage has grown faster than it can be organized and used. The combination of these forces has led many large players to pull back from challenged markets, citing a technical inability to effectively price risk. Federato’s AI-native RiskOps approach has been particularly impactful in helping insurers confront difficult markets like aviation, commercial trucking, political violence, wildfire, and hurricane while delivering strong baseline efficiencies to more traditional markets.

“Velocity is and always has been in the relentless pursuit of a more efficient operation that can serve the challenged coastal wind-exposed property market,” said Rod Harden, President, Velocity Risk, an MGA/carrier hybrid specializing in E&S property insurance. “In order to do that, we need an underwriting platform that can keep up with the complexity and speed of our business. Federato has delivered on those needs and pushed us to constantly iterate and improve on our processes, driving a 3.7x increase in the percentage of our bound policies that meet our definition of high appetite.”

While Federato already helps thousands of underwriters focus on the highest-value business across global carriers, MGAs, and mutuals, this funding will be used to drive Federato’s continued global presence in the UK, Europe, LATAM, and APAC markets.

On the round and its significance, Will Ross, co-founder and CEO of Federato said, “We couldn’t be more elated that our investors and customers feel the momentum of RiskOps in insurance the way we do. We see this financing as a milestone of continued progress and not an achievement in and of itself. That achievement lies in the value we are creating each and every day for our customers and the communities they serve. Onward!”

About Federato

Federato is bringing RiskOps to insurance to help underwriters win the right deals, faster. From the moment a submission hits an underwriter’s email or portal, RiskOps puts AI to work, triaging submissions with a focus on high-appetite business, delivering real-time feedback on the portfolio, and consolidating workflows into a single proven system. Federato delivers the transformation required to drive profitable growth, providing confidence that teams will stick to the plan, because their unique portfolio goals, strategies, rules, and appetite are built into the core system through which they transact business.

About StepStone

StepStone Group Inc. (Nasdaq: STEP) is a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services to its clients. As of September 30, 2024, StepStone was responsible for approximately $682 billion of total capital, including $176 billion of assets under management. StepStone’s clients include some of the world’s largest public and private defined benefit and defined contribution pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies, as well as prominent endowments, foundations, family offices and private wealth clients, which include high-net-worth and mass affluent individuals. StepStone partners with its clients to develop and build private markets portfolios designed to meet their specific objectives across the private equity, infrastructure, private debt and real estate asset classes.

SOURCE Federato

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SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 20, 2024 — Poseidon Investment Management (“Poseidon” or the “Company”), a leading investment firm in the cannabis industry, today announced the close of a successful $6 million Series A funding round for Distru, the cannabis industry’s premier ERP platform. The latest funding round was made possible with the support of Global Founders Capital and marks a pivotal step forward for Distru as it strengthens its status as the premier system-of-record for cannabis operators.

Since its previous funding round led by Felicis with contributions from world class investors Elad Gil and Avichal Garg, Distru has seen significant growth and momentum. They are serving an increasing number of cannabis operators across 25 states and processing over $2 billion in GMV annually. The platform has become indispensable for cannabis businesses by simplifying compliance and inventory management, automating order workflows, and delivering actionable insights through advanced analytics.

“2024 has been a remarkable year for Distru, marked by efficient growth, achieving strong profitability, and significant product expansion through integrations with Metrc Connect, Dutchie, Treez, Blaze, and Leaflink. We are advancing our mission of consolidating cannabis operations under one platform, providing manufacturers, distributors, brands, and vertically integrated operators with a comprehensive toolset that enhances compliance, operational efficiency, and data-driven decision-making.” said Blaine Hatab, co-founder and CEO of Distru, adding, “We closed this strategic funding round to pull in Poseidon  with their deep understanding of the cannabis tech sector to support in navigating the next decade of our growth as the most trusted ERP platform in the industry.”

The latest round of funding will be directed towards expanding Distru’s suite of products, further enhancing compliance, inventory, integration, and order management capabilities. While already profitably growing, the capital will help drive their expansion into 11 additional states, including New York with their Biotrack integration. By consolidating key operational tools into a unified ERP platform, Distru aims to become the backbone of cannabis businesses, empowering the platform to streamline operations, maintain regulatory compliance, and achieve sustainable growth in a complex and evolving market.

Poseidon Investment Management, known for its pioneering investments in the cannabis industry, has long supported technology companies that drive critical infrastructure for this industry. “Distru’s clear focus on supporting cannabis operators’ success and compliance, coupled with a robust and scalable platform, aligns with our commitment to backing transformative solutions in the sector. They have built the best in class Cannabis ERP and we see that advantage compounding over time,” said Morgan Paxhia, Poseidon Investment Management.

Distru is well-positioned to further its vision of becoming an end-to-end platform for the cannabis supply chain, driving digital transformation across cultivation, distribution, and retail. Distru’s commitment to operational excellence and industry-specific innovation makes it the ERP of choice for the cannabis industry’s most forward-thinking businesses.

About Distru
Distru is a leading seed-to-sale ERP platform for the cannabis industry, offering comprehensive solutions for managing inventory, orders, and customer relations. Trusted by hundreds of licensees across the United States, Distru.com provides best-in-class Metrc integration and exceptional customer support, revolutionizing the way cannabis operators manage their businesses.

SOURCE Poseidon

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SEATTLE, Nov. 20, 2024 — Frazier Healthcare Partners (Frazier), a dedicated healthcare private equity firm, today announced the close of its latest flagship fund, Frazier Healthcare Growth Buyout Fund XI, L.P. (FHGB XI). FHGB XI was significantly over-subscribed, hitting its hard cap of $2.3 billion of limited partner commitments in six months. FHGB XI will focus on acquiring controlling interests in middle-market healthcare companies.

FHGB XI garnered strong support from a diverse group of global limited partners, which include prominent public pension funds, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, corporate pensions, family offices, foundations and endowments.

“We are humbled and deeply grateful for the long-standing support, trust and partnership from our existing limited partners, and the overwhelming interest from new investors, particularly given the challenging fundraising environment,” said Nader Naini, co-managing partner at Frazier. “We believe our more than 30 years of industry experience, healthcare focus and differentiated approach of pairing high-conviction themes with proven executives resonated with investors.”

Today, Frazier’s team includes 24 investment professionals who collaborate with executives and advisors to identify long-term trends across healthcare and develop highly curated investment theses. Frazier’s Center of Excellence (CoE), a dedicated portfolio operations team comprised of 22 experienced professionals, brings functional expertise in areas the firm believes are critical to promoting sustained growth.

“Frazier’s ability to identify emerging industry trends in advance of the broader market, and our thesis-driven Executive in Residence (EIR)-centric model, provide us with a distinct advantage,” said Ben Magnano, co-managing partner at Frazier. “Our sustained access to proven executive talent is paired with these investment theses to build sustainable healthcare companies that play into these themes. This fundraise reflects the trust we have built with our limited partners and our track record of developing category-leading companies while validating our unique healthcare investment strategy.”

About Frazier Healthcare Partners

Founded in 1991, Frazier Healthcare Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. Since its inception, Frazier has raised over $9 billion of capital for private funds and co-investment opportunities and has invested in more than 200 companies over 33 years. Frazier has a philosophy of partnering with strong management teams while leveraging its internal operating resources and network to build exceptional companies. Frazier is headquartered in Seattle, with an office in New York City (opening June 2025), and invests broadly across the U.S., Canada and Europe. For more information about Frazier, visit www.frazierhealthcare.com/growth-buyout.

SOURCE Frazier Healthcare Growth Buyouts

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Theo Ai finally delivers big data and actionable insights to the legal profession

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 20, 2024 — Theo Ai, the first predictive AI platform for litigation, announces $2.2MM in pre-seed funding. The round was co-led by NextView and nvp capital with participation from Ripple Ventures, Beat Ventures, and SCVC Fund. Using a proprietary data model and prediction engine, Theo Ai helps legal professionals make educated decisions about the likely outcome of cases. The funding will be used to further enhance their prediction engine, expand practice categories, and accelerate customer growth.

With over 275,000 new lawsuits filed each day, choosing which cases to take is essential for the legal industry. The average mid-sized firm reviews roughly 650 cases per year, which can take anywhere between 7 to 30 days to manually review. With Theo Ai, that time is compressed into seconds – allowing legal teams to cover more ground and focus on winning cases. Led by Alex Alben (UCLA Law Professor and Tech Executive), Patrick Ip (ex-Google and UCLA Law MLS) and Tiago Luchini (4x CTO/Founder), Theo Ai is the first predictive tool to fully leverage the power of AI. Theo Ai enables customers to identify and predict cases with the highest odds of success, uncover cases they might have missed, and access case summaries and key financial drivers all in a single offering.

“With backgrounds in both law and tech, Theo Ai’s leadership team understands the complexities legal firms face and how to leverage advanced technology to address those challenges,” says Co-Founder and Partner at NextView, Rob Go. “Their experience allows them to build a platform that addresses the needs of the everyday economy and truly reflects the nuances of legal decision-making, giving customers a significant edge in strategy and case outcomes.”

“The legal industry is undergoing significant change and this technology will accelerate the drive towards efficiency and prediction analysis. Theo Ai is perfectly timed to address the increasing demand for next-gen B2B tools,” says Dan Borok, Managing Partner at nvp. “With a stellar team that has decades of expertise in both law and tech, Theo Ai is delivering the right solution when firms need it.”

“When the Ripple Ventures team first met the Theo Ai team, it was clear they had a deep understanding of customer workflows and pain points, rooted in their extensive legal expertise. Their vision for transforming the legacy legal industry with AI, combined with a proven track record as repeat founders, gave us strong confidence in their ability to execute,” says Dom Lau, Partner at Ripple Ventures.

The ability to accurately predict a case’s outcome is a game changer for legal professionals. By analyzing similar cases and likely arguments, Theo Ai’s data model estimates the probability of winning a case, in addition to predicting the estimated award. Early users of Theo Ai found that the platform’s algorithms verified the results of their underwriting and due diligence teams. With Theo Ai, firms have access to a data-driven pipeline using real-time analytics and predictive modeling as new facts and evidence emerge.

To learn more and join the waitlist for Theo Ai, visit: https://theoai.ai/#product

About Theo Ai
Theo Ai is the first predictive engine designed by technical and legal professionals to forecast the outcome of legal disputes. Its AI models are trained on historical case data and incorporate real-time analytics with predictive modeling to deliver accurate and actionable insights. Theo Ai is meeting the most critical need for legal professionals – offering accurate case outcome predictions, backed by data. To learn more and join the waitlist for Theo Ai, visit: https://theoai.ai/#product

Media Contact:
Rick Medeiros
510-556-8517
[email protected]

SOURCE Theo Ai

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Over 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water
Investors include Mistletoe, Soma Capital and more

NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2024 — Aquaria, the company building communities and cities supplied with water from the sky, today announced it has secured $112 million to build the future of water infrastructure. Investors include Mistletoe, Ciri Ventures, Soma Capital, HF0, Bow Capital, Umami Capital and former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt. As part of the investment, Aquaria has signed an agreement with Upwell Water to provide $100 million to facilitate deployment of Aquaria’s solutions to qualifying projects. With this new funding, the company will actively seek out sustainable atmospheric water investment projects, and continue to expand its footprint into new regions.

“Our air not only supplies us with the oxygen we need to breathe, it provides us with the essential water we need to survive,” said Brian Sheng, co-founder and CEO of Aquaria. “As one of Earth’s most bountiful resources, we’ve yet to unlock atmospheric water to its fullest potential – until now. Aquaria is introducing a future of sustainable and renewable water for all. We envision a world where Aquaria supplies entire cities with water from the sky.”

Aquaria has already built the first homes in the world where the entire water supply is harnessed from the air and is currently building 1,000 homes in Hawaii supplied by atmospheric water. This residential community will also be built with solar and batteries to reduce the energy challenges faced by islands like Hawaii. Aquaria’s technology is modular and scalable like batteries, and its units can be a complement or alternative to traditional water infrastructure where it is either too costly, time-consuming or unfeasible. Aquaria’s air water infrastructure can be built in just weeks. The technology can be stacked in parallel to scale production like battery deployments, forming what Aquaria calls a “Hydrogrid” – a water form similar to a solar farm. They are also compatible and deployed with different types of renewable energy.

The new funding will be directed toward developing and financing sustainable, secure water supply solutions for residential, hospitality, and commercial properties. Property developers can demonstrate water access, overcoming restrictions where permits are often denied due to limited water availability. Aquaria’s “water from air” solutions streamline project development, reduce timelines, and unlock new sources of water for growth. Property managers can also use Aquaria’s drinking water solutions to provide immediate potable water access to thousands of people per unit.

Additionally, Aquaria is exploring mid-scale water supply opportunities in regions lacking sufficient access to traditional infrastructure. Sectors such as green hydrogen production, mining, and data centers are often located in remote areas where water provision is complex and costly. These projects fall between the scale where trucked water is too inefficient and large infrastructure projects are too expensive or time-consuming.

With project financing secured from Upwell, Aquaria is now actively seeking investment opportunities to scale Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG) deployments. Aquaria will cover 100% of the upfront costs for qualifying projects, allowing partners to sign flexible, pay-over-time agreements, similar to financing models used in the solar industry. This approach significantly lowers barriers to large-scale adoption and accelerates the commercialization of Aquaria’s atmospheric Hydrogrid technology.

“Upwell Water is pleased to support Aquaria with capital and teamed solutions to deliver decentralized water to communities,” said Dr. Hu Fleming, President of Upwell Water’s Treatment division. “We note the improvement of the cost of delivered water in the atmospheric water generation segment, and look forward to contributing to meet Aquaria’s growing customer demand.”

“Southeast Asia is facing a climate crisis, in which water access is a core issue. We’re happy to help bring Aquaria’s sustainable technology solutions to counter the water crisis in Asia,” said Taizo Son of Mistletoe. “Aquaria’s mission of making water accessible to all aligns with our goal of developing a sustainable future, addressing global climate problems through innovations in technology.”

Aquaria’s patented technologies focus on large scale ambient heat exchange systems, with a core focus around thermal materials, immersion cooling and stacking cooling systems applied to atmospheric water capture. The company has partnered with Stanford University’s Head of Atmospheric Sciences Program, Mark Jacobson, to support research around innovations in energy and water integration, combining atmospheric water generators with microgrids to harness solar energy for water production.

As of November 12, 2024, nearly 42% of the United States is in a state of drought (Drought.gov), with contamination and disruptive events continuing to accelerate. The American Society of Civil Engineers rates the water infrastructure in the United States as C-, and there is an urgent need to build faster, redundant and resilient forms of water infrastructure.

“America is the leader in innovation in many diverse sectors, and we must approach our efforts to combat climate change and sustainability issues with the same vigor and eagerness that we have in technology, space, AI and more,” said former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt. “I truly believe that Aquaria has built an innovative technology that will solve the water challenges that are so prevalent in this country by integrating and enhancing our existing water infrastructure to harvest clean water from our greatest natural resource: the air.”

For more information about funding water projects, please apply here.

ABOUT AQUARIA

Founded in 2021 by brothers Brian and Eric Sheng, Aquaria is building the future of water infrastructure, with scalable, resilient generators that produce clean water from the air. Its advanced atmospheric water generators (AWGs) use patented materials science and heat exchange technology to offer the highest water production, while being the most energy efficient and affordable water tech on the market. The scalable units enable developers to build on land without traditional infrastructure and water access, and can be deployed with solar and renewable energy options for net zero deployments.

SOURCE Aquaria Technologies

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Investment to Accelerate Growth and Amplify Global Impact in K-12 Mathematics Education

NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2024 — Magma Math, a leading K-12 instructional math platform for teacher efficiency and classroom management, announced the successful closing of its Series A funding round, totaling an investment of $40 million. The round was led by Five Elms Capital, with participation from previous investors, team members, and industry experts. The new investment will be used to make Magma Math even better for its students, teachers, and district partners in the US, UK, and Sweden.

Since its launch in 2015, Magma Math has established itself as an industry leader, supporting the majority of the educational system in its home market of Sweden, and has successfully launched in the U.S. with district partnerships in over 30 states since 2021. Magma Math is revolutionizing how math is taught and learned by making it more accessible, personalized, and engaging. With the additional funding, the company will continue supporting research-based math pedagogy by expanding curriculum offerings, enhancing user experience with AI capabilities, and scaling its operations.

“We are thrilled to have the support of Five Elms and our new partners in this journey,” said CEO and co-founder Henrik Appert. “This funding will allow us to accelerate our mission of enabling educators to create dynamic, student-centered classrooms where all students are challenged and supported appropriately.”

Five Elms Partner, Joe Onofrio, commented on the investment: “Magma Math has demonstrated exceptional product-market fit in addressing one of education’s most pressing challenges. We’re excited to partner with Henrik and the team as they work to improve mathematics achievement across the US market.”

Magma Math has consistently been recognized for its innovative approach to math education. The platform combines good math pedagogy and innovative technology to save teachers time and increase their capacity to customize education for each student. “In the past, students’ knowledge gaps only became clear after an exam. But by then, it was too late to address them, as you were moving on to the next part in the math book. With Magma, teachers can identify which students are struggling and see what they need help with continuously,” explains Henrik Appert.

For more information about Magma Math and its innovative solutions, please visit magmamath.com.

About Magma Math
Magma Math is a K-12 platform that enables students to show their thinking and helps teachers enable good math pedagogy, whilst saving time. Aligned with state standards, it supports formative assessments, mathematical discourse, student-centered learning and deeper math understanding while seamlessly integrating with classroom technology to drive academic growth.

About Five Elms Capital
Five Elms is a leading growth investor in world-class software businesses that users love. They provide capital and resources to help companies accelerate growth and further cement their role as industry leaders. With over $3 billion in assets under management and a global team of 70+ investment professionals, Five Elms has invested in more than 70 software platforms globally.

SOURCE Five Elms Capital

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