AI assistant Olivia identifies product listings and ad opportunities, answers questions and offers insights related to performance, provides advice and suggestions including keywords, descriptions, pricing, and more

NEWARK, Calif., Oct. 22, 2024 — Optiwise.ai, today announced it has raised $2.4M in seed funding. The company is the first to provide a comprehensive optimization solution for Walmart sellers and uses GenAI to maximize the success of product listings and ads with Walmart-specific strategies. In addition to the funding, Optiwise.ai introduced Olivia, an interactive AI assistant designed uniquely for the Walmart Marketplace. GenAI-powered Olivia identifies listing and ad opportunities, answers questions related to performance, and offers content suggestions, including keywords, titles, descriptions, and pricing while taking into account holidays and retail events including the upcoming holiday season. Olivia learns from a brand’s existing A+ content and seamlessly replicates the content to meet Walmart’s standards, ensuring brands tell a consistent brand story across marketplaces. The funding, led by StartupXseed Ventures, will be used to continue Olivia’s growth and development.

Unlike other platforms that are disjointed and approach sponsored ads and content separately, Optiwise.ai creates an integrated approach by optimizing sponsored ads, organic campaigns, and product listings simultaneously so they work together. The solution ensures sponsored ads and product listings are optimized end-to-end, including titles, keywords, descriptions, images, price, and more, and offers personalized recommendations to increase product visibility and conversions.

Olivia extends Optiwise.ai’s capabilities by offering a personal AI assistant that helps first-party suppliers and third-party sellers boost ads and product listings, optimize spend, and grow revenue both online and in-store. Powered by GenAI, Olivia automatically identifies issues and opportunities within product listings and ads and can update and publish edits accordingly. Sellers also have the ability to ask Olivia for insights into business performance and advice on how to boost traffic and conversions including suggestions for keywords, descriptions, or attributes to use and guidance on how to increase visibility for products during holiday and retail event windows.

“As we head into the holiday shopping season, Walmart is offering brands a massive opportunity to grow revenue and market share that’s often overlooked. Not only does it provide access to Walmart loyalists who rarely shop elsewhere, growth is absolutely surging,” said Deepak Goyal, Optiwise.ai co-founder and CEO. “We’re helping brands seize the opportunity by making it extremely easy for them to create and optimize listings and ads while also ensuring a better customer experience for shoppers both online and in-store.”

The Optiwise.ai platform with the help from Olivia enables sellers to create a unified brand story across marketplaces by allowing them to repurpose their Amazon A+ content, including content, images, videos, and more, on Walmart with a single click. Instead of having to manually create content for Walmart, Olivia uses AI to learn from the A+ content and then recreate it to ensure the product listings are optimized and meet Walmart’s standards.

Consistent with Optiwise.ai’s comprehensive solution, Olivia helps sellers ensure compliance with Walmart’s Marketplace guidelines like Item Spec 5.0 which has stricter validation rules and requires specific product attributes. Olivia automatically identifies attributes that need to be modified and assigns new attributes to ensure compliance, eliminating the need to update every product listing manually and boosting organic visibility.

“Since joining the Optiwise.ai stable, Acquco has doubled revenues year-over-year. Optiwise.ai has ensured and implemented compliance with the Item Spec 5.0 sheet flips to ensure we are on the cutting edge of Walmart.com’s constantly changing SEO playing field,” said Lucas Millman, director of e-commerce at Acquco. “Optiwise.ai has provided a level of access to Walmart’s internal teams to quickly handle difficult technical issues and to access the latest beta tests and new Walmart initiatives.”

About Optiwise.ai
Optiwise.ai offers brands a comprehensive optimization solution that uses GenAI to automatically maximize the effectiveness of ads and product listings to support a complete omnichannel optimization strategy. Unlike other companies that approach sponsored ads and content separately, Optiwise.ai optimizes sponsored ads, organic campaigns, and product listings in a single solution. Optiwise.ai’s interactive AI assistant, Olivia, uses GenAI to answer questions and offer advice for brands, including keywords, pricing, and other Walmart-specific strategies, to attract customers, optimize spend, and increase sales.

The platform is designed exclusively for Walmart and enables first-party suppliers and third-party sellers to dramatically enhance brand visibility, maximize conversions, and ultimately increase revenue. Optiwise.ai has optimized over one million listings and has been a Walmart Connect Partner and Connected Content Solution Provider for over 12 years.

Visit the Optiwise.ai website or follow the company on LinkedIn, X, or Facebook.

For media inquiries only, please contact Jordan Turner King at [email protected] or 386.688.1821

SOURCE Optiwise.ai Inc

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SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 22, 2024 — Ballistic Ventures, the venture capital firm dedicated exclusively to funding and incubating entrepreneurs and innovations in cybersecurity, today announced Gregory Crabb as CISO-in-Residence. Crabb, who is widely respected as a leader in the cybersecurity industry, previously served as the CISO of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

During his 25 years of law enforcement service, Crabb transformed the USPS’s cybersecurity program to defend against nation-state threats and safeguard critical infrastructure. As founder and principal of cybersecurity consultant firm 10-8, he advises leading organizations on building resilience against cyber adversaries and offers practical strategies for securing networks and digital assets. Throughout his career, Crabb has remained dedicated to driving successful cybersecurity initiatives for government agencies, financial institutions, startups and global organizations.

“I’m thrilled to join the incredible team at Ballistic Ventures as CISO-in-Residence,” said Crabb. “Ballistic’s dedication to driving innovation in cybersecurity is unmatched, and I’m eager to support their portfolio companies in defining the solutions necessary to stay ahead of evolving threats. By working closely with these innovators, my focus is on helping cyber leaders adopt and maximize the value of these cutting-edge technologies to meet complex challenges.”

In this role at Ballistic Ventures, the CISOs-in-Residence collaborate with the VC firm’s community of cyber practitioners and startup founders on some of the industry’s most complex problems. They also provide expert counsel for Ballistic portfolio companies and founders, including sharing advice from a practitioner’s point of view.

“We’re honored to welcome Greg as a CISO-in-Residence,” said Roger Thornton, Co-founder and General Partner of Ballistic Ventures. “His real-world experience will be invaluable for our portfolio companies to accelerate innovation and strengthen security strategies. We’re grateful to have his support.”

Crabb’s appointment further expands BallisticX, the VC firm’s platform of services and support for its portfolio companies. BallisticX includes a deep bench of expert advisors focused on collaboration to solve today’s cybersecurity challenges. Learn more about the team at ballisticventures.com/team.

About Ballistic Ventures
Ballistic Ventures is a venture capital firm solely dedicated to early-stage cybersecurity and cyber-related companies. The partners have spent their entire careers defending against every cyber threat conceivable. Members of the firm have founded, operated, and funded over 100 successful cybersecurity firms – including Abnormal Security, AlienVault, ArcSight, Fortify, Mandiant, and Shape Security – led over 10,000 security professionals globally, and have 40+ years of experience in venture capital. The Ballistic portfolio includes Aembit, Alethea, ArmorCode, AuthMind, Codezero, Concentric AI, GetReal Labs, Mimic, Nudge Security, Oligo, Pangea, Perygee, Reach Security, SpecterOps, Talon (PANW), Veza, and WitnessAI. Our experience provides entrepreneurs impactful support from people focused on the same mission. Our networks and relationships open doors for our founders. Learn more at ballisticventures.com.

SOURCE Ballistic Ventures

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Monark Receives Regulatory Approval to Operate as a Broker-Dealer, Raises $2.2M Bringing Total Funding to $3.6M

NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2024 — Monark, a fintech startup that embeds private market investments and trading solutions within traditional brokerage and wealth platforms, has announced a $2.2M Seed Round led by Garuda Ventures, with participation from K50 Ventures, Grit Capital Partners, Niche Capital, and notable angel investors including Nik Talreja, the CEO of Sydecar and Shriram Bhashyam, the COO of Sydecar. This round brings Monark’s total funding to $3.6M. Previous investors include Forum Ventures and Night Capital. 

“We are truly grateful to everyone within the Monark network who helped bring this financing round together,” said Ben Haber, Monark’s Co-founder and CEO. “We are solving a major infrastructure challenge in capital markets that seeks to open up access to private investments at scale, and the entire Monark team has been energized by the possibilities that this financing round enables.”

“When we first met Ben and Paul, we knew that they were building something special. The strategic acquisitions of LEX Markets and of Monark’s broker dealer subsidiary, MMM Securities, greatly accelerated Monark’s entry into the highly regulated capital markets ecosystem, which has been a historically high barrier to entry for start-ups,” said Rishi Taparia, Co-Founder and General Partner at Garuda Ventures “Given the depth of expertise and experience of Monark’s executive and advisory team and the tremendous progress they have made to date, we believe Monark is well positioned to be a category leader and deliver a better experience for individuals to get access to alternative investments.”

Founded in 2022, Monark’s unique B2B strategy takes advantage of two major trends in capital markets. On the demand side, Monark connects to the significant demand for access to alternative investments from mass-affluent investors (est. by Bain to be $9.4T by 2032), by integrating directly with their native brokerage platform and custodian. On the other side of the market, Monark works directly with issuers and alternative asset managers to structure investment products that fit the needs of the mass affluent investor, an investor segment which many alternative asset managers have described as the final frontier.

“Monark’s API stack offers direct to consumer investment platforms that have already scaled their user base by providing access to public markets, a way to increase their revenue per user by offering private securities,” said Paul Davis, Monark’s COO.”Cross-selling private investments offers brokerages and wealth platforms the opportunity to generate brokerage commissions on product placement, in an industry where the average RPU for public market investments has been suppressed significantly by 0% commissions and the PFOF business model.”

In May of 2023, Monark closed on the acquisition of the technology assets and IP developed by LEX Markets through an insolvency process. LEX Markets had previously raised $27M in venture funding from a number of notable venture investors including Greycroft, Khosla and Peak6. Monark operates a fully owned subsidiary known as MMM Securities LLC, which is a FINRA member broker dealer approved to offer private placements, retail mutual funds and operate an alternative trading system.

Monark plans to launch with Beta partners in Q4 of 2024. 

Media Contact:
Paul Davis
[email protected]

About Monark Markets, Inc.

Monark Markets, Inc., founded in 2022, is a venture-backed, New York-based startup providing Alts-as-a-Service (AaaS) infrastructure. Monark’s b2b platform allows other businesses to embed private securities into their customer experiences through a seamless API, handling the backend regulatory and operational complexities. In 2023, Monark acquired assets and intellectual property from LEX Markets, further expanding its offerings in the alternative securities market.

https://monark-markets.com

About MMM Securities LLC

MMM Securities LLC (f.k.a ThinkTankTwo Securities LLC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monark Markets, Inc., is a FINRA-registered broker-dealer authorized to conduct private placements, retail mutual fund sales, and operate an alternative trading system. The firm is committed to maintaining the highest standards of compliance and meeting the regulatory requirements for its services. BrokerCheck – Find a broker, investment or financial advisor (finra.org)

Legal and Securities Disclosure: This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and expectations, subject to risks and uncertainties, including market conditions, regulatory approvals, and operational challenges. These statements do not guarantee future performance, and MMM Securities LLC undertakes no obligation to update them unless required by law. FINRA’s approval of MMM Securities LLC as a broker-dealer is for regulatory purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement of the firm’s services. Operating as a broker-dealer, including conducting private placements and running an alternative trading system (ATS), involves significant regulatory oversight and risk. Private placements involve substantial risk, and investors should be prepared to lose some or all of their investment. Private placements are typically offered to accredited or institutional investors and may not be suitable for all investors. Customers should assess the suitability of these products before engaging in transactions. MMM Securities LLC is committed to fully complying with all applicable laws and regulations.

No Offer or Solicitation: This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of any securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such other jurisdiction.

SOURCE Monark Markets

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MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich., Oct. 22, 2024 — Second Nature Brands LLC, a leading portfolio of premium and better-for-you snacks and treats brands, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Voortman^® cookie brand from The J.M. Smucker Co. in an all-cash transaction.

Voortman^® is a leading manufacturer and marketer of growing, category-leading zero sugar cookies and wafer cookies, sold across the US and Canada under the Voortman Bakery brand. The transaction includes all Voortman^® trademarks and its leased manufacturing facility in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. In addition, approximately 300 employees will transition with the business.

A portfolio company of CapVest Partners LLP (“CapVest”), Second Nature Brands is headquartered in Michigan and owns a growing portfolio of leading brands including Kar’s Nuts, the #1 branded trail mix snack; Second Nature Snacks, the leader in natural, non-GMO-verified premium snack mixes; Sahale Snacks, the pioneer in super premium glazed nut and fruit mixes; Sanders, the leader in small-batch, kettle-cooked sea salt caramels, and; Brownie Brittle, a category-defining crispy brownie snack.

With now combined annual sales over $500 million, Second Nature Brands’ acquisition of Voortman^® adds significant size and scale to its portfolio. This acquisition follows Second Nature Brands’ purchase of Sahale Snacks in September 2023 and Brownie Brittle in December 2022, further grows Second Nature Brands’ platform of leading brands in better snacks and treats, and better positions the Company in the Specialty Cookies category and the Canadian market.

Commenting on the deal, Victor Mehren, CEO of Second Nature Brands, said, “We are excited to welcome the Voortman^® brand and team to the Second Nature Brands family. This strategic and transformative acquisition fits perfectly into our better snacking and treating portfolio of brands. The acquisition of Voortman^® broadens our scale within the cookie category and unlocks new opportunities and capabilities for future growth in the US and Canada.”

The transaction is anticipated to close in the third quarter of The J.M. Smucker Co. current fiscal year, ending April 30, 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Second Nature Brands on the transaction

Media Contact:
Rachel Powell, Powell PR
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 516.314.7730

SOURCE Second Nature Brands

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PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 22, 2024 — Township Capital is proud to announce the appointment of Damon Rein as the new Head of Investor Relations for the firm. With over 30 years of experience in alternative investments, business development, and fundraising, Damon Rein brings an exceptional track record of driving capital growth and forging strategic partnerships across the global investment landscape.

A seasoned executive, Rein has demonstrated deep expertise in hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, and differentiated investment strategies. His ability to assess risk and unlock unique opportunities in emerging markets has made him a trusted partner for high-net-worth individuals, family offices, private funds, and institutional investors. Rein is known for his keen insights into risk-reward ratios and his exceptional network-building capabilities, which have played a pivotal role in securing significant capital for both established funds and innovative startups.

“At Township Capital, we’re focused on driving growth through strategic partnerships and innovative investment approaches,” said Matthew Gorelik, Founder of Township Capital. “Damon’s remarkable skill set, his industry acumen, and his ability to connect key stakeholders will be instrumental in helping us expand our impact and deepen relationships with investors.”

Rein’s areas of expertise span hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, sales enablement, and client strategy. He has consistently delivered results in campaign fundraising and product strategy, excelling at building valuable connections and understanding market dynamics. His background will support Township Capital’s mission of identifying and executing strategic opportunities in alternative investment sectors.

Damon Rein commented on his appointment: “I’m thrilled to join Township Capital, a firm known for its innovative and forward-thinking approach to investments. I look forward to leveraging my experience and networks to elevate the firm’s fundraising efforts and help drive impactful results for our investors and partners.”

For more on Township Capital, visit: townshipinc.com. Follow along on Instagram: @townshipcapital.

About Township Capital:
Township Capital is a leading alternative investment firm specializing in providing innovative investment solutions across various sectors. The firm is dedicated to helping clients achieve their investment objectives by delivering exceptional value through differentiated strategies, market expertise, and a commitment to excellence.

Contact:
Kayla Doering Sadowsky
[email protected]

SOURCE Township Capital

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Investment to Fuel Expansion of CardFlight’s Payment Solutions for Small Businesses Nationwide

NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2024 — CardFlight (or the “Company”), a leading SaaS payment technology company, announced today that it has received a significant minority investment from WestView Capital Partners (“WestView”), a Boston-based growth equity firm focused on partnering with middle-market companies.

The investment will enable CardFlight to further develop its suite of payment solutions, enhance its software offerings, and continue to expand the number of small businesses and merchant partners it serves across the United States.

Founded in 2013, CardFlight specializes in simplifying the complex payment landscape for small business owners and the merchant acquiring channels that support them. Over the years, the Company has developed a robust and differentiated software platform that addresses the needs of a broad range of small businesses, making it easy for merchants to sign up and begin accepting payments. The straightforward onboarding process, rich feature set, and highly reliable platform make it easy for partners to sell to their merchant customers. CardFlight’s growth has been supported by a reseller network of over 100 partners, including many of the top merchant acquirers, distributing SwipeSimple, the Company’s flagship product, to thousands of new merchants each month.

“The payment technology industry is going through a significant evolution. At CardFlight we are constantly evaluating the needs of small businesses and developing new opportunities to meet those needs. This focus positions us well for changes coming to our industry. The leadership team and I are excited to have WestView join us for the next stage of our growth,” said Derek Webster, CardFlight Founder and CEO. “WestView’s extensive experience and strategic vision aligns perfectly with the values of our company, employees, and shareholders.”

SwipeSimple is used by more than 125,000 small business owners across the United States who use the product to process over $12 billion in annual payment volume. The breadth of payment acceptance methods and business management functions within SwipeSimple empower small businesses to optimize operations, scale effectively, and better serve their local communities.

“We are in the middle of a paradigm shift in how merchants, particularly SMB merchants, think about payments. CardFlight’s software-led embedded payments solution solves the unique needs and preferences of today’s SMB merchants, enabling them to better understand and grow their business,” said Kevin Twomey, Principal at WestView Capital Partners. “Derek and his team have consistently been at the forefront of innovation in this space and are exactly the type of leaders we look to partner with and support.” Twomey will join the CardFlight Board of Directors as part of the partnership.

WestView was represented by Latham & Watkins LLP. CardFlight was represented by William Blair and Goodwin Procter LLP. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About CardFlight
CardFlight is an innovative SaaS payment technology company that today serves more than 125,000 small businesses across the United States. Within the complex payment landscape, CardFlight products are renowned for their simplicity, practicality, and reliability. SwipeSimple, the company’s flagship product, is a software solution that enables small businesses to save time and money running their business, as well as accept payments seamlessly via phone, tablet, or computer. SwipeSimple is sold through several channels, including a partner network comprising financial institutions, merchant service providers, and independent sales organizations, as well as directly to merchants via SwipeSimple Connect.

About WestView Capital Partners:
WestView Capital Partners, a Boston-based growth equity firm, is focused on middle market growth companies and manages $2.7 billion in capital across five funds. WestView partners with existing management teams to sponsor minority and majority recapitalizations, growth capital, and consolidation transactions in several sectors including: business services, IT services, healthcare technology and outsourcing, software, and growth industrial. WestView targets investing $20 to $100 million in companies with revenue of at least $10 million and operating profits between $3 and $25 million. For more information, please visit https://www.wvcapital.com/.

SOURCE CardFlight

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Veteran Zero Trust IAM marketing and sales leaders set to accelerate company’s growth 

NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2024 — Apono, the leader in privileged access for the cloud, today announced the appointment of Dan Parelskin as Senior Vice President of Sales and the hire of Stephen Lowing as Vice President of Marketing. Following the company’s successful Series A funding round in September, these appointments are significant steps forward for Apono as it positions itself to capitalize on the increasing demand for cloud privileged access solutions across markets.

Due to a surge in cloud expansion organizations in various industries need secure access to essential cloud resources without compromising productivity. Traditional approaches like PAM and IGA often fail to provide this level of security within the cloud. Apono’s just-in-time, just-enough approach enables customers to seamlessly achieve these security objectives while ensuring compliance with reporting requirements and avoiding disruptions or delays for technical teams that require access to cloud resources.

“I’ve spent nearly five years focusing on Zero Trust and assisting companies in achieving Zero Standing Privilege within their cloud environments. At Apono, we’re providing a solution that can significantly enhance this process and is poised to revolutionize how organizations secure and scale their cloud infrastructure,” said Dan Parelskin, Senior Vice President of Sales. “Apono offers customers a rare win-win for user experience and security, while also modernizing the 25-year-old privileged access management industry with a cloud native, cloud-first approach that reduces risk of excess privilege within a modern, user-driven environment.”

Parelskin has been working in the cybersecurity industry for nearly 16 years. Before joining Apono, he served as Vice President of Worldwide Solutions Architecture at Axis, a Security Services Edge company. Following Axis’s acquisition by HPE, he transitioned to the role of Worldwide Director of SSE Solutions Architecture. Additionally, Parelskin has held leadership positions in sales at other prominent cybersecurity companies, including HackerOne, Tanium, and McAfee. After serving as an advisor to Apono for the past year, Parelskin has been appointed Senior Vice President of Sales. In this role, he leads the sales team, with the goal of driving growth and expanding the company’s reach.

“Every enterprise today faces the growing challenge of efficiently securing access across cloud resources and cloud providers. Apono has demonstrated its ability to provide a simple, innovative, and secure solution that addresses this critical need,” said Stephen Lowing, Vice President of Marketing. “I’m thrilled to join a company that understands the breadth and depth of this challenge and look forward to reaching and delivering for more customers.”

Lowing brings over 12 years of experience leading marketing for brands across the cybersecurity landscape, including identity, cloud security, endpoint protection, application, and network security. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Marketing at Omada, a leading identity and access management (IAM) solution provider. Prior to that, he held the position of Head of Product and Content Marketing at Imperva, a Thales company. In these roles, Lowing developed, led, and executed go-to-market strategies for the companies’ application security segments. Additionally, Lowing has held senior marketing roles at CyberArk, Threat Stack, and Promisec. In his new role at Apono, Lowing will lead all marketing activities during a period of growth and contribute to increasing the company’s visibility as a critical player in the privileged access cloud market.

“This is a very exciting time for Apono. The market opportunity is clear, and we’re thrilled to add the right talent to capitalize on it,” said Rom Carmel, CEO and Co-founder of Apono. “Steve and Dan will be instrumental in this phase of our growth. We’re excited to benefit from their expertise and look forward to building upon this momentum.”

For more information, visit the Apono website here: www.apono.io.

About Apono:

Founded in 2022 by Rom Carmel (CEO) and Ofir Stein (CTO), Apono leadership leverages over 20 years of combined expertise in Cybersecurity and DevOps Infrastructure. Apono’s Cloud Privileged Access Platform offers companies Just-In-Time and Just-Enough privilege access, empowering organizations to seamlessly operate in the cloud by bridging the operational security gap in access management. Today, Apono’s platform serves dozens of customers across the US, including Fortune 500 companies, and has been recognized in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Privileged Access Management.

Media Contact:
Lumina Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE Apono

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Seed funding of $6.9 million underscores critical need for a universal application for decentralized finance

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 22, 2024 — Today, Azura emerged from stealth to launch the interfacing layer for decentralized finance (DeFi), backed by $6.9 million in seed funding led by Garry Tan’s Initialized Capital. Additional investors include Volt Capital, Winklevoss Capital, Alliance, Raj Gokal (co-founder of Solana), Meltem Demirors (former co-chair, World Economic Forum’s Cryptocurrency Council), Stephane Gosselin (co-founder of Flashbots), and other prominent figures in the crypto industry.

Azura is a platform designed to simplify and enhance the user experience of DeFi. As the number of blockchains and decentralized protocols grows, the fragmentation of onchain liquidity and assets, and the complexity of crypto services does, too—making it especially difficult for users to navigate the space. Azura addresses these challenges by offering a unified application that aggregates and standardizes interactions across various blockchains and protocols.

Six months after launching a “proof of concept” trading terminal, Azura had already begun generating more than eight figures in annualized revenue with close to $1 billion in lifetime volume. The Azura team is composed of engineers from Citadel Securities, Two Sigma, D.E. Shaw, Optiver, Flashbots, Coinbase, and Bloomberg, among others.

“Despite the immense potential of DeFi, there’s been an overemphasis on the infrastructure layer, leaving application teams under-funded and bootstrapped,” said Jackson Denka, CEO and founder of Azura. “This neglect has stunted the growth of the DeFi ecosystem. With Azura, we’ve built a comprehensive, user-friendly platform that bridges this gap and paves the way for broader adoption of DeFi.”

Bridging the Fragmentation in Decentralized Finance

The current state of DeFi can be compared to the early days of the internet prior to Google. As the number of websites exploded through the early ’90s, the internet became fragmented and complex, with users relying on multiple search engines, directories, and message boards to discover new information.

Today, users must navigate innumerable services and applications to interact with DeFi. It’s a maze of blockchains, wallets, bridges, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), and other protocols. This fragmentation increases friction and complexity, and serves as a significant barrier to adoption.

Introducing Azura: The Interfacing Layer for Decentralized Finance

Azura’s goal is to allow anyone, from anywhere in the world, to trade any asset—enabled by DeFi. Regardless of the underlying blockchain or protocol, Azura offers the same ease-of-use and breadth of features as traditional fintech products. By abstracting away the complexities of DeFi, Azura preserves the benefits of onchain capital markets—self-custody, decentralization, and transparency—while significantly lowering the barrier to entry for new users.

Azura is designed to bring DeFi to a broader audience by aggregating all major forms of decentralized crypto infrastructure (chains, bridges, exchanges, etc.) into the first standardized application for interfacing with DeFi.

Key Features of Azura:

• Intent-Based and Asset Agnostic Order-Routing: Users can interact with any onchain asset effortlessly.
• Omnichain Interoperability: Unlocks fragmented liquidity across multiple blockchains.
• Unified Interface and Application Layer: Enables interaction with any onchain protocol from a single, standardized application.
• Enhanced User Experience: Abstracts complex onchain concepts, providing a smooth and intuitive interface.

“New protocols and infrastructure have again shifted the state of the art and we’re now seeing performance and fee structures competitive with centralized systems without meaningful UX tradeoffs,” said Brett Gibson, Managing Partner, Initialized Capital. “The next natural next step is to move beyond protocol specific DeFi clients to a unified application layer sourcing liquidity and listing instruments across chains and protocols. This will finally make the full exchange experience available in a truly decentralized manner. Upon meeting Jackson, Azura immediately stood out to us as the team that would realize this vision. Their extreme engineering velocity was apparent and it was paired with extraordinary product sensibilities rooted in their depth of understanding of the crypto traders and the ecosystem.”

“Our investment in Azura aligns with our mission of backing impressive founders building at the frontier, and this is certainly the case with Jackson and his team,” said Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Winklevoss Capital. “Azura is tackling critical access and user experience problems for DeFi, and we’re excited to support them on their journey. By addressing the current fragmentation and complexity of DeFi, Azura is ensuring that these technologies become easy to use and accessible to all.”

About Azura
Azura is the industry’s first interfacing layer for decentralized finance (DeFi). For more information, visit https://azura.xyz

SOURCE Azura

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The former Fortune 50 CEO joins Define to further drive transformational change in healthcare at the earliest stages of innovation

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 22, 2024 — Define Ventures, one of the largest venture capital firms focused on early-stage health tech companies, today announced that Bruce Broussard, former CEO and president of Humana (NYSE: HUM), has joined the firm as venture partner. Bruce will play a pivotal role at Define, leveraging his invaluable experience scaling companies and fostering innovation within private startups, mid-size companies, and the Fortune 50. He will partner closely with Define founders to scale their businesses and become category-defining companies. 

Bruce is a seasoned healthcare executive and multi-time CEO, having held executive leadership positions across multiple corners of the ecosystem. Prior to joining Define, Bruce was president and CEO of Humana for over a dozen years. Under his leadership, Bruce led a strategic shift towards expanding the company into an integrated model with a growing care delivery focus. Bruce also held several roles at McKesson Specialty Health including CEO, CFO, President, and Chairman of the Board. He currently serves on the Humana Foundation Board, is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust for the National Mall, and is a board member for HP Inc. and One Call.

“Bruce’s extensive background and proven track record in leading healthcare organizations of all sizes makes him uniquely qualified to guide the next generation of health tech innovators,” said Lynne Chou O’Keefe, founder and managing partner at Define Ventures. “Having had the privilege to closely partner with Bruce for the past decade, I am confident his decision to join our team will sharpen our investing theses, accelerate our partner companies’ growth, strengthen our relationships with large healthcare organizations, and ultimately create a lasting impact on the broader health tech community.”

Bruce is joining a team that pulls the full weight of its network and expertise to play offense and drive results, including securing early customers, shaping commercial strategies, and building high-performing teams. As venture partner, Bruce will leverage his experience driving transformative change within complex healthcare organizations to help Define founders to navigate industry challenges and scale their innovations effectively. His perspective will also strengthen Define’s close partnerships with its coalition of large health systems, health plans, employers, and life sciences companies, half of which are customers of Define partner companies.

“What excites me the most about this role is the opportunity to work with brilliant, innovative entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of their journey,” Broussard said. “Being able to see groundbreaking approaches from the start, and having the chance to shape products and help scale and bring them to market is truly invigorating. Ultimately, I chose to work with Define because I believe this firm is uniquely positioned and capable of driving real transformation in healthcare. The strong, trustworthy relationship we’ve built over the years has shown me that Define’s vision aligns perfectly with my own. Together, I believe we can make significant strides in creating a healthcare system that’s more efficient, more accessible, and more focused on keeping people healthy.”

Bruce’s decision to join Define Ventures stems from his belief that the firm is uniquely positioned and capable of transforming healthcare. He has built a strong and trustworthy relationship with Define over the past several years, including first-hand experience in incubating and spinning out Cohere Health from Humana. This collaborative history underscores the alignment between Bruce’s vision for healthcare innovation and Define’s strategic approach.

Define Ventures has $800 million in assets under management and partners with companies at the seed, series A and series B stages. The firm attracts leading health tech entrepreneurs with its high conviction approach, partnering with over two dozen companies including Hims & Hers (NYSE: HIMS) and Unite Us. This announcement follows Frank Williams, co-founder and former CEO of Evolent (NYSE: EVH) joining Define as venture partner earlier this year.

To learn more about Define Ventures, visit www.definevc.com.

About Define Ventures
Define Ventures is one of the largest funds focused on early-stage health tech companies. With $800 AUM, we take a high conviction approach in partnering with companies at the earliest stages. We believe the future of healthcare will be defined who bring together a deep understanding of the healthcare ecosystem paired with a technology-driven mindset. Our team was built in this vision, bringing together founders and investors who built category-defining companies and delivered $23 billion in exit value, including Livongo (LVGO), Evolent (NYSE: EVH), and Hims & Hers (NYSE: HIMS).

SOURCE Define Ventures

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