Now supporting provider organizations that serve hundreds of thousands of patients nationwide, Parakeet expands with multiple new provider deals and with $3 million in seed funding led by Canvas Ventures.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 15, 2024 — Parakeet Health, a generative AI company focused on improving patient engagement for healthcare providers, today announced the launch of its generative AI voice platform, which transforms how healthcare providers handle patient communication at scale. The company also secured $3 million in seed funding led by Canvas Ventures with participation from CoFound Partners, StoryHouse Ventures and several prominent individual investors, including former One Medical CEO Tom Lee, MD, and former Twitter CTO Adam Messinger.

Parakeet Health addresses common frustrations patients face when communicating with healthcare providers, a problem that disrupts the patient experience and can lead to revenue loss and staff burnout for provider organizations. The platform automates contact center tasks and other repetitive administrative duties using AI voice agents, available 24/7 and in multiple languages, to handle both outbound and inbound patient communications via calls and texts. Use cases include appointment scheduling, managing referrals, patient outreach (prescription status, labs, wellness visits, etc.), billing and payments and answering FAQs.

In just six months, Parakeet’s approach has already been proven to drive down patient acquisition costs by 2x (from $8.38 to $4.09), in addition to improving success rates. The platform also eliminates all missed calls, a key challenge that can hinder provider growth. The company’s strong early proof points have contributed to it signing several major customers, including virtual primary care provider Galileo, which operates 24/7 in all 50 states; virtual genetic counseling leader Genome Medical; and multi-site skin care provider Medical Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery.

“Our practice has always embraced new technologies that allow us to be among the most innovative in the country, and the generative AI voice solutions from Parakeet represent the latest opportunity for us,” said Dr. Parinita Amin, CEO of Medical Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery. “We plan to deploy the technology to automate an increasing number of administrative tasks, allowing our team to focus more on patient care. By streamlining calling workflows, we can provide a more efficient and seamless experience for our patients. This technology not only enhances the operational side of our practice but also ensures that patients receive the timely, personalized attention they deserve, ultimately improving the quality of care we deliver.”

Created by experienced leaders in healthcare delivery and AI, Parakeet’s founding team includes Co-founder and CEO Jung Park, who previously held executive positions at One Medical and Epocrates; Co-founder Eric Mao, who led product and engineering teams at Microsoft and Primer AI; and CTO Aaron Lee, who was an engineering team leader at Rippling and Twitter. Former Doximity CRO and One Medical SVP Paul Jorgensen currently serves as Strategic Advisor and also invested in the company. 

“We’ve all experienced long holds, after-hours frustrations, and waiting for call-backs when communicating with our doctors. Sadly, these experiences are more the norm and not the exception for patients, and while they may sound small, these everyday issues are far more damaging to healthcare practices than they seem, especially when every dollar counts,” said Park. “Our platform is built with deep knowledge of the healthcare system, giving providers an AI-powered voice agent that understands and supports their workflows and handles tasks that usually require entire teams.”

Most AI voice solutions currently used by healthcare providers to handle patient communication are based on rules and only handle specific tasks. However, Parakeet’s AI is powered by advanced large language models (LLMs), enabling it to manage a broad range of patient interactions while also seamlessly integrating with systems like EHRs, billing, VoIP, insurance claims and CRM tools.

About 90% of patients still use the phone to schedule appointments, especially older adults. However, managing calls is a costly and time-consuming challenge for providers, contributing to patient churn, revenue loss and staff burnout and turnover. Staffing issues remain a significant concern for U.S. medical practices, with 58% naming it as their biggest challenge last year.

“AI-generated voice is the next frontier in healthcare, but not all teams are up to the task of building it,” said Canvas Ventures Partner Rebecca Lynn. “Drawing from his work across One Medical, Epocrates and PE-backed multi-site specialty practices, Parakeet’s CEO Jung Park is uniquely well-versed in what actually matters to providers to help them run a more efficient practice, and ultimately grow their businesses. I’m very excited about what is in store for the Parakeet team—and the industry as a whole—as we see the power of voice take hold.”

Parakeet aims to expand by targeting health systems, multi-site medical practices and large senior primary care providers offered by Medicare Advantage plans. The company plans to use its seed funding to grow its team and further develop its technology.

About Parakeet Health

Parakeet Health is a healthcare AI company developing voice agents to transform patient engagement, reduce administrative burdens and drive higher revenue for providers. Its platform, powered by advanced LLM technology, supports various patient-experience use cases by managing both inbound and outbound communications at scale. Founded by an experienced team of healthcare and technology leaders from some of the most innovative companies, Parakeet is backed by Canvas Ventures, CoFound Partners, StoryHouse Ventures and many notable individual investors. Visit www.parakeethealth.com for more information.

Press Contact Info:

[email protected]

SOURCE Parakeet Health

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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo., Oct. 15, 2024 — Pinpoint Search Group, a leading cybersecurity recruitment firm in the U.S., has released the findings of its Q3 2024 cybersecurity funding report. The report shows a decline in both the number of transactions and the total funding raised compared to Q3 2023. The findings also suggest that venture capital funding for cybersecurity vendors is stabilizing.

In Q3 2024, Pinpoint Search Group’s research team recorded 86 transactions in the cybersecurity vendor space, totaling $2.15 billion across 73 funding rounds and 13 M&A events. This represents approximately an 18 percent decrease in transaction volume from 89 in Q3 2023 and a five percent decrease in fundraising from the previous year’s $2.3 billion.

Despite the year-over-year decline in the number of transactions and total funding raised in Q3 2024, venture capital funding for cybersecurity vendors seems to be stabilizing following the highs of 2021 and the slowdown in 2022. Over the past nine quarters, vendors have consistently raised between two and three billion dollars, reflecting a more steady and sustainable funding trend.

“During the funding peaks of 2021 and 2022, many in the industry wondered when the other shoe would drop,” said Mark Sasson, founder and managing partner of Pinpoint Search Group. “The funding levels at the time seemed unsustainable and potentially harmful to the industry’s long-term health. Now, after the slowdown, we’ve seen a return to stability over the past nine quarters, in contrast to the volatile swings experienced during 2021 through mid-2022. This trend is a positive sign for founders and industry professionals, offering a more sustainable outlook for cybersecurity funding.”

The demand for cybersecurity innovation continues to rise, with substantial year-over-year funding directed toward early-stage vendors. In Q3 2024, this trend held steady, as 59 percent of all venture capital investments were allocated to Seed and Series-A startups, representing the majority of funding rounds recorded for the quarter.

During the same period, late-stage funding rounds (Growth Funding and Series C, D) accounted for 13.5 percent of the total funding volume. Despite the lower volume, these late-stage rounds represented a significant 60 percent of the total funding dollars raised during the quarter, highlighting the continued importance of larger investments in mature companies.

A full copy of Pinpoint Search Group’s Q3 2024 report on cybersecurity funding can be found here. 

About Pinpoint Search Group
Pinpoint Search Group is a leading cybersecurity recruitment firm and specializes in filling vice president, director, and senior individual talent. Pinpoint’s collective experience recruiting hundreds of candidates in all segments of cybersecurity provides the company with the credibility to communicate with, qualify, and place professionals in today’s most competitive area of technology. Pinpoint also produces Cybersecurity M&A and Vendor Funding Reports highlighting M&As and funding in the cybersecurity space monthly, quarterly, and annually.

Media Contact:
Christopher Joseph (CJ) Arlotta
CJ Media Solutions, LLC for Pinpoint Search Group
C: 631-572-3019
[email protected]

SOURCE Pinpoint Search Group

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Funding will drive expansion into new states and broaden company’s offering to include mobile clinic programs, making essential services available to more underserved communities

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 15, 2024 — Alchemy today announced the closing of its $31M seed financing. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (“a16z”) Bio + Health with participation from Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, Banc of California and existing investors Twine Ventures, Springbank and AlleyCorp. Alchemy provides the entire physical, clinical, and digital infrastructure needed to build, operate and grow in-house pharmacy programs with a focus on serving clinics with large HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) patient populations.

HIV communities across the country have long been underserved and have significant unmet needs. Alchemy is first partnering with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), STD and Ryan White clinics to implement its platform that designs clinical pharmacy programs and deploys technology products that leverage the pharmacy to expand patient reach, improve health outcomes, and optimize the financial impact of a clinic’s pharmacy program.

“Investing in Alchemy is deeply personal, not only as a person living with HIV, but because I’ve witnessed firsthand the devastating impacts of HIV in our communities. Alchemy’s commitment to eliminating barriers to care and serving the underserved is a mission I’m proud to support,” said Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Chairman and CEO at Magic Johnson Enterprises.

Alchemy’s founding team has extensive clinical, pharmacy, technology, and operations experience. Collectively, they have spent 18 years in Africa building the largest HIV access program in the world, and they have set up, operated and scaled pharmacies that have dispensed over 25 million prescriptions to patients across all 50 states in the US.

“Having spent over a decade in Africa building the largest HIV access program in the world, I was shocked to learn that HIV medication adherence rates in Africa are better than they are here in the United States. I’m convinced that the number one barrier to medication access for HIV patients is the friction that exists in navigating the US pharmacy system,” said Peter Park, founder and Co-CEO of Alchemy. “By bringing the clinic and the pharmacy into one location, we are providing unique solutions that meet the needs for HIV and HCV populations across the country.”

Founded in 2023, Alchemy has seen exceptional demand and impact of its in-house pharmacy platform, including tripling the number of patients served at the first pharmacy launched in Oklahoma City for Equality Health. This financing will allow the company to accelerate growth and launch in-house pharmacy programs across 20 states over the next year. Alchemy will also expand its offerings to include a mobile clinic program and a digital platform to streamline pharmacy operations and patient communication.

“At a time when safety net clinics for patients are threatened, the industry needs solutions that provide technology-enabled, end-to-end support for these clinics to transform pharmacy access nationwide,” said Julie Yoo, General Partner at a16z Bio + Health. “The Alchemy team has a proven track record building for challenging and underserved communities, and we’re looking forward to supporting them as they partner with clinics to ensure vulnerable communities continue to have access to essential medications and services.” 

About Alchemy
Alchemy is on a mission to serve safety net clinics and their patients, starting with in-house pharmacies for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), STD and Ryan White clinics. After setting up an in-house pharmacy, Alchemy designs and implements clinical pharmacy programs and deploys technology products that leverage the pharmacy to expand patient reach, improve health outcomes, and increase the financial impact of a clinic’s pharmacy program. Learn more at www.alchemyhealth.com.

SOURCE Alchemy

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Led by Scale Venture Partners, the $45M investment—the largest Series B in AI Evaluation and Observability to date —follows 834% revenue growth in 2024 and expansion into the Fortune 50

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 15, 2024 — Galileo, a leader in generative AI evaluation and observability for enterprises, today announced it raised $45M in Series B funding led by Scale Venture Partners, with participation from Premji Invest, bringing the company’s total funding to $68M. This comes at a time of explosive growth for the company, which has seen 834% revenue growth since the beginning of 2024. During this time, the company quadrupled its number of enterprise customers and brought on six Fortune 50 companies, including Comcast and Twilio.

The surge in enterprise demand for Galileo’s Evaluation Intelligence platform also attracted participation from strategic investors, including Databricks Ventures, ServiceNow Ventures, Amex Ventures, Citi Ventures, SentinelOne Ventures, as well as AI leaders like Clement Delangue, CEO of HuggingFace and Ankit Sobti, CTO of Postman. The round also includes existing investors, Battery Ventures, Walden Capital and Factory. Additionally, Andy Vitus, Partner at Scale Venture Partners, will join Galileo’s board. With this investment, Galileo will scale its go-to-market strategy, expand its product development efforts, and double down on AI evaluation research to help AI developers build trustworthy AI applications.

Generative AI’s unpredictable nature poses new challenges for enterprises, with the lack of reliable methods to test and measure AI accuracy and safety becoming a major barrier to its widespread adoption. Galileo’s Evaluation Intelligence platform solves this by giving AI teams a scalable solution to evaluate, monitor, and protect their AI systems, helping ensure safe and effective performance in development and production.

“We started Galileo three years ago to solve AI’s measurement problem, specifically with a focus on language models. Using humans or LLMs to judge model responses is expensive, slow, and does not scale. Yet today these are the de-facto techniques adopted across AI teams,” said CEO and co-founder of Galileo Vikram Chatterji. “Our unique research-backed approach and carefully crafted UX has seen massive adoption across enterprises to unblock and grow GenAI application development. The new funding will allow us to greatly accelerate our development to meet the increasing demand.”

Galileo’s growth has been driven by three major trends in the AI landscape:

• First, enterprise adoption of generative AI (GenAI) is surging—Gartner projects that by 2026, over 80% of enterprises will have integrated GenAI APIs or deployed GenAI-enabled applications in production.
• Second, as AI becomes accessible to 30 million software developers—not just machine learning engineers and data scientists—many teams lack a standardized framework to evaluate the accuracy and safety of their AI solutions. A recent report found that evaluation is the second greatest challenge in deploying production AI, after serving costs, with nearly 50% of organizations relying on subjective human feedback and review.
• Third, as teams adopt advanced AI methods like RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) and agentic workflows, the need for robust evaluation tools is only intensifying, driving demand for Galileo’s platform to ensure reliable and effective AI deployments.

“Traditional evaluation methods, such as human evaluations or using LLMs as judges, fall short for enterprise use cases,” said Jim Nottingham, SVP & Division President, Advanced Compute Solutions, HP Inc. “Galileo’s rapid innovation and focus on overcoming the biggest evaluation hurdles— from accuracy to bias – provides a complete view of how Gen AI apps are performing, which is why they’ve become a critical part of our Z by HP AI Studio.”

Galileo provides enterprises with an end-to-end platform that enables teams to use more accurate and trustworthy AI. Galileo developed the first Evaluation Intelligence Platform, that embeds research-backed evaluation metrics across the entire GenAI stack and workflow, giving teams the visibility and control they need to build, deploy, test, monitor, and secure their AI system.

“As GenAI continues to be adopted in enterprises globally, the need for accurate, fast, and cost-efficient evaluations has become even more important,” said Andy Vitus, Partner at Scale. “Galileo’s founders were solving this measurement problem at Google AI, Google Brain, and Uber AI for years. Now with a talented team, cutting edge AI evaluation research, and well-designed platform, Galileo has established itself as a leader in AI Evaluations and Observability. We look forward to working with Galileo during its next phase of growth.” 

“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with the Galileo team,” said Andrew Ferguson, VP, Databricks Ventures. “Evaluations have become a critical component of the AI stack, and Galileo has established itself as a leader with one of the most mature products and businesses in this space. We look forward to collaborating further to accelerate enterprise adoption of generative AI and to help companies build data intelligence.”

“It’s incredibly rare to find AI infrastructure companies like Galileo that can deliver value regardless of your chosen cloud or LLM,” said Vedant Agrawal, Vice President of Premji Invest. “This unique positioning, coupled with the potential to build a massive franchise, is what drove our excitement.”

Visit www.galileo.ai to learn more about the Galileo suite of products.

About Galileo
San-Francisco based Galileo is the leading platform for enterprise GenAI evaluation and observability. Powered by Evaluation Foundation Models (EFMs), Galileo’s platform supports AI teams across the development lifecycle—from building and iterating to monitoring and protection—with powerful, research-backed metrics. Galileo is used by AI teams from startups to Fortune 50 companies to accelerate AI development. Visit galileo.ai to learn more about the Galileo Evaluation Intelligence Platform.

SOURCE Galileo

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– with over $22M firm commitments to date, new fund’s focus will continue to source/support catalyzing innovation in this vital sector amidst promising improvement in M&A climate, multiple recent successful exits

CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Oct. 15, 2024 — With investments secured from the State of Illinois’s Growth & Innovation Fund as well as the State of Wisconsin’s Economic Development Corp., the SERRA AG & FOOD TECH FUND II has obtained in excess of $22M in investor commitments to date with an initial target raise of $100M. With their Midwestern roots, they’ve successfully invested in ag-tech deals since 2011 as Serra has a track record of exiting Ag & Food Tech companies to the largest Ag players including John Deere, Nutrien, and Bayer among others. With 13 years of Ag/Tech investing experience they are one of the most prolific investors in this sector, having been ranked third most active in 2023 by Pitchbook. Amidst a historically harsh global economic landscape at the time – as only 9% of 2021 vintage venture funds produced a cash return – Serra was one of those. 

This new Fund is further enhanced by improving macro economics, including low inflation and falling interest rates – which are ideal conditions for spurring new M&A activity, which has already been rebounding significantly as evidenced by multiple exits for portfolio companies in Serra’s earlier funds.

Responding to the acceleration of today’s planetary pressures given humanity’s ongoing need for the basics of life: food, water, and air, Serra Ventures specifically focuses on sourcing and supporting early stage companies delivering breakthrough technologies in this key sector of AgTech through their well-honed lens of the changing consumer, changing farmer, and changing climate.

The firm presently manages $180M in early-stage company investments with the support of over 275 limited partner investors. With offices in Champaign, Chicago, Park City, and San Diego, Serra Ventures has provided consulting to over 500 technology start-ups, and funding to over 100 of them. Accredited investors who are interested in partnering with Serra Ag & Food Tech Fund II‘s timely and compelling “sustainable healthy planet” mission are invited to learn more: www.SerraVentures.com.

Producers/editors: www.serraventures.com/pressroom

Interviews: Seasoned entrepreneur and Serra Ventures’ founder & CEO Tim Hoerr is available for interviews

Contact: (Ms.) “Sam” Jernigan, publicist, Renaissance Consultations, 530.362.1339, [email protected] 

SOURCE Serra Ventures, LLC

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• Lumachain’s SaaS platform uses Computer Vision-based Artificial Intelligence to enhance safety, yield, efficiency, quality, traceability, and trust in food production
• Brassica is a Mediterranean inspired sandwich and salad concept committed to wholesome ingredients and sustainable practices

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Oct. 15, 2024 — Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) today announced it is making a minority investment in Lumachain, an AI supply chain platform, and Brassica, a fast-casual restaurant concept, through its $100 million Cultivate Next venture fund. Introduced in 2022, Cultivate Next makes early-stage investments into strategically aligned companies that further Chipotle’s mission to Cultivate a Better World and help accelerate the company’s longer term growth plans to operate 7,000 restaurants in North America.

Lumachain
Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Lumachain’s mission is to improve how food is produced, for good. The minority female-founded company has developed a traceability solution that, in real-time, tracks the origin, location, and condition of individual items in a supply chain, from farm to table, enabling reduced waste and increased efficiency. Lumachain’s traceability platform is complemented by its Computer Vision AI platform that monitors operations inside food production plants, to improve quality, efficiency and safety.

“The visibility in real time and quality data analytics that Lumachain’s software provides could optimize the management and quality of perishable goods for the food service industry,” said Curt Garner, Chief Customer and Technology Officer, Chipotle.

Brassica
The Columbus, Ohio based fast-casual restaurant serves wholesome, Eastern Mediterranean-inspired cuisine for guests to personalize their own salads and sandwiches. Founded in 2015, Brassica is committed to using high quality, locally-sourced ingredients at its six restaurant locations. The concept provides healthy dining options without compromising flavor. It includes a front-line ordering experience and a welcoming atmosphere defined by natural materials and standout architectural details. Signature items include house-made falafel, baked-to-order organic pita, antibiotic-free meats, roasted vegetables, Brassica seasoned fries, vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies, and fresh-squeezed minty pink lemonade.

“Investing in emerging culinary concepts that align with Chipotle’s commitment to using real, fresh ingredients and making craveable food daily is consistent with our mission to Cultivate a Better World,” said Nate Lawton, Chief Business Development Officer, Chipotle. “Funding from Cultivate Next’s minority investment will help Brassica scale to open new locations and expand to new markets.”

Chipotle’s Cultivate Next venture fund portfolio includes: Brassica, GreenField Robotics, Hyphen, Local Line, Lumachain, Meati Foods, Nitricity, Vebu, and Zero Acre Farms. Companies interested in collaborating with Chipotle through the Cultivate Next venture fund can apply by emailing [email protected].

ABOUT CHIPOTLE
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better world by serving responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. There are over 3,500 restaurants as of June 30, 2024, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Kuwait and it is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants in North America and Europe. Chipotle is ranked on the Fortune 500 and is recognized on Fortune’s Most Admired Companies 2024 list and Time Magazine’s Most Influential Companies. With over 120,000 employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. For more information or to place an order online, visit Chipotle.com.

SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill

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Fund I’s success highlighted by DPI-producing acquisitions, top-decile portfolio performance, and the GPs’ hands-on role in helping portfolio companies build top-tier teams 

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2024 — Swell VC, an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in market-defining opportunities, has closed Fund II with $11.5 million in commitments. The fund’s backers include a diverse mix of successful founders, family offices across tech, finance, and real estate, as well as prominent NYC tech investors and Fortune 500 executives.

At a time when Carta’s data shows slow capital deployment and minimal LP returns across the VC landscape, Swell VC stands apart. With $19 million in Assets Under Management (AUM) across two funds and a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Swell VC’s concentrated portfolio strategy has led to DPI-producing acquisitions such as ScienceIO and strong performance from companies like space tech leader Loft Orbital, which serves major customers like Microsoft Azure, Honeywell, and the U.S. Federal Government, and has driven over $100 million in revenue.

“The strength and alignment of our LP base is unique to Swell VC. They’re not just capital allocators but true partners who have believed in us from day one, sharing our vision to build a venture franchise anchored by strong judgment. Many have doubled or even increased their commitments up to 10x from Fund I to Fund II,” said Jay Patil, Co-Founder and General Partner at Swell VC.

“We reject the ‘spray and pray’ approach that dilutes ownership and leads to underperformance. In Fund I, we placed larger checks—6% of the fund—into fewer companies, maximizing ownership where the upside was asymmetric and returns uncapped. Fund II scales this proven model with bigger checks and more ownership, and founders appreciate knowing they’re not one of 50 companies in a fund—we’re in it for the long haul,” added Rusty Ralston, Co-Founder and General Partner at Swell VC.

A Founder-First Investment Approach

What sets Swell VC apart is not just its investment strategy, but its deep commitment to helping founders build exceptional teams. Ralston and Patil bring over 14 years of experience evaluating and recruiting top-tier talent, honed during their time as early employees at an AI talent assessment startup.

“What’s unique about Swell VC is their personal commitment to building world-class teams. Rusty and Jay have personally recruited over 50 go-to-market hires across my startups, TapAd and Crisp, helping us find the top 1% of candidates to drive success. They don’t just provide capital—they’re true partners fully invested in our growth. Beyond that, they’ve introduced us to investors, customers, and partners who’ve made a real difference. They’re more than just investors—they’re great partners and friends, always in your corner,” said Are Traasdahl, CEO of Crisp.

A Portfolio Poised for Market Transformation

Swell VC’s portfolio is built around startups who have the potential to transform entire industries. The firm has a track record of backing companies that have received follow-on funding from top-tier investors like Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, and FirstMark Capital. Swell portfolio companies include:

• Loft Orbital: Raised $140M in Series B funding, providing businesses and governments with plug-and-play satellite infrastructure and software for seamless access to space
• Crisp: Raised $97M in funding, they are transforming the CPG supply chain to reduce waste and increase profitability through their Collaborative Commerce and data-sharing platform, used by over 6,000 customers and more than 80 of the top 100 CPG brands, including Walmart, Target, Nestlé, and Kraft
• CredalAI: Delivers secure data infrastructure for enterprises building AI apps, counting clients like TransferWise, MongoDB, and Checkr

To learn more about Swell VC’s portfolio or to get in touch, visit swell.vc.

About Swell VC

Swell VC is a pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm focused on category-defining opportunities in high-growth sectors like B2B infrastructure, AI, space, healthcare, commerce, and defense. The firm focuses on backing founders with a commercial mindset, exceptional intellectual horsepower, and an obsessive drive to solve massive problems. With a deep understanding of talent dynamics and an unwavering commitment to supporting founders, Swell VC has built a reputation for driving portfolio success through strategic recruiting, follow-on fundraising, and industry-leading partnerships. Learn more at swell.vc.

Media contact:

Liza Vilnits, [email protected]

SOURCE Swell VC

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Funding will accelerate Gladia’s transition from a speech-to-text API to an end-to-end audio infrastructure provider for use cases like agent assistance for contact center platforms, sales enablement tools and AI meeting assistants.

PARIS, Oct. 15, 2024 — Gladia, an AI transcription and audio intelligence provider, has completed a USD $16 million Series A funding round. The company will use the funding to develop an end-to-end audio infrastructure – starting with a new real-time audio transcription and analytics engine – enabling voice-first platforms to deliver more value to their users across borders with cutting-edge AI.

The Series A funding round was led by XAnge, with participation by Illuminate Financial, XTX Ventures, Athletico Ventures, Gaingels, Mana Ventures, Motier Ventures, Roosh Ventures, and Soma Capital. Founded in 2022, Gladia has now raised a total of USD $20.3 million, with earlier seed investments headed by New Wave, Sequoia Capital (as part of the First Sequoia Arc program), Cocoa, and GFC.

“Gladia represents the qualities we like to champion at XAnge: a bold, global tech team at the forefront of AI innovation, with a proven business model to unlock new opportunities across industries,” said Alexis du Peloux, Partner, XAnge. “In a fast-paced AI environment, Jean-Louis Quéguiner and his team have executed extremely well, and we are proud to back Gladia for the Series A.”

“I founded Gladia for a very personal reason – I was frustrated that existing audio transcription services were not able to understand my French accent,” explained Jean-Louis Quéguiner, CEO and Co-Founder, Gladia. “Our international team and customers often switch between languages during meetings, but finding a transcription solution that can handle different languages and accents simultaneously was impossible.”

Given that most speech recognition models today are trained predominantly on English audio data and are therefore inherently biased, Gladia prioritized building the first real-time product that is truly multilingual. The new fine-tuned engine delivers advanced real-time transcription in over 100 languages, along with enhanced support for accents and the unique ability to adapt to different languages on the fly.

Gladia’s new engine is unique in its ability to extract insights from a call—like the caller’s sentiment, key information, and conversation summary—in real time. This means it takes less than a second to generate both transcript and insights from a call or meeting using Gladia.

New Real-Time Product

Building an accurate, low-latency, and multilingual engine in-house is a complex and resource-intensive task. It requires extensive expertise in language understanding, real-time data handling, with continuous optimization and maintenance. Real-time models require more computing power and may struggle to produce accurate output immediately due to limited context.

Gladia’s new product allows companies to bypass these challenges. The real-time speech-to-text engine boasts an industry-leading latency of under 300 milliseconds without compromising accuracy, regardless of the language, geography, or tech stack used.

“Companies are spending valuable time and resources trying to incorporate multiple AI functions into their existing platforms,” said Jonathan Soto, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Gladia. “Our single API is compatible with all existing tech stacks and protocols, including SIP, VoIP, FreeSwitch, and Asterisk. This allows us to easily integrate real-time transcription and analysis into our customers’ AI platforms, so they can focus on delivering the best services to their end users.”

What’s Ahead

The company’s first async transcription and audio intelligence API launched in June 2023 and was based on a proprietary version of Whisper ASR. It rapidly gained traction in the enterprise market, particularly with meeting recorders and note-taking assistants. The API is now adopted by over 600 customers around the world, including Attention, Circleback, Method Financial, Recall, Sana, and VEED.IO and has more than 70,000 users.

“Gladia’s technology allows companies in vertical markets that need cutting-edge real-time transcription, including sales enablement and contact center platform, to shift seamlessly from manual post-call processing to proactive, low-latency workflows. Whether it’s automated CRM enrichment or real-time guidance for support agents, Gladia is designed to help businesses operate smarter and more efficiently in record time, without requiring AI expertise in-house,” Jean-Louis Quéguiner, CEO and Co-Founder, Gladia, explained.

Gladia will use the new capital to advance its R&D efforts and soon bring to market a one-stop AI toolkit for audio and expand its product offering with additional à la carte models—including large language models (LLMs) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). With several design partners in the contact-center-as-a-service (CCaaS) segment, the company is currently piloting an agent-assist solution powered by Gladia’s real-time AI engine. Additionally, Gladia will continue to expand its talent base as it prepares for international expansion.

About Gladia

Gladia was founded in 2022 by Jean-Louis Queguiner and Jonathan Soto with a mission to help companies leverage cutting-edge AI and retrieve actionable insights from audio data. Its API supports advanced speech recognition features in over 100 languages, with exceptional accuracy and asynchronous and real-time transcription.

Based in Paris, Gladia has grown to serve over 70,000 users and 600 enterprise customers, including Attention, Ausha, Circleback, Method Financial, Recall, Sana, and VEED.IO.

More information can be found at Gladia’s website, or on Twitter or LinkedIn.

About XAnge
XAnge is an early-stage investment fund with €650 million under management, based in Paris and Berlin. Its investment team supports European entrepreneurs who aim to transform everyday life through technology, investing amounts ranging from €500,000 to €10 million starting at the seed stage. With an investment thesis focused on making technology accessible to the widest audience, XAnge invests in sectors such as deeptech, healthcare, fintech, SaaS, and e-commerce. XAnge has supported companies like Lydia (Finance), Welcome to the Jungle (Human Resources), Believe (Music), MrSpex (eCommerce), and Ledger (Cryptocurrency). XAnge is the innovation brand of the Siparex Group.

For more information, visit www.xange.vc

Media Contacts:

Inquiries in English:
Grace Halvorsen
[email protected]

Inquiries in French:
Anna Jelezovskaia
+33.766.868.657
[email protected]

SOURCE Gladia

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SAN FRANCISCO, 14. Oktober 2024 — Gate Ventures, ein globales, auf Blockchain spezialisiertes Risikokapitalunternehmen, Movement Labs, ein führendes Unternehmen im Bereich der Move-basierten Blockchain-Technologie, und Boon Ventures, ein prominenter Investor in aufstrebende Tech-Startups, gaben heute die Gründung eines bahnbrechenden 20-Millionen-Dollar-Fonds bekannt, der den Web3-Bereich verändern soll. Diese strategische Allianz wird in bahnbrechende Projekte investieren und die Entwicklung von Move-basierten Blockchain-Technologien beschleunigen.

Der Fonds wird sich auf vier Schlüsselbereiche konzentrieren:

1.  Beschleunigung der Einführung von Move-basierten Blockchain-Lösungen
2.  Verbesserung von Sicherheit und Leistung in dezentralen Netzen
3.  Unterstützung von Projekten, die die Ökosysteme von Move und EVM überbrücken
4.  Innovation in Web3-Infrastruktur und -Anwendungen vorantreiben

„Dieser 20-Millionen-Dollar-Fonds ist ein wichtiger Meilenstein in unserer Mission, zukunftsweisende Lösungen im Web3-Ökosystem voranzutreiben”, sagte Kevin Yang, Managing Partner bei Gate Ventures. „Durch die Zusammenarbeit mit Movement Labs und anderen visionären Projekten ebnen wir den Weg für die Zukunft der dezentralen Technologie.”

Rushi Manche, Mitbegründer von Movement Labs, fügte hinzu: „Dieser 20-Millionen-Dollar-Fonds ist ein entscheidender Schritt für das Move-Ökosystem. Es ist eine starke Bestätigung für das, was wir bei Movement Labs aufbauen. Die Fähigkeiten von Move in Bezug auf Sicherheit und Skalierbarkeit setzen neue Standards im Web3. Dieser Fonds wird speziell zur Unterstützung von Entwicklern eingesetzt, die die Zukunft sicherer dezentraler Finanzierungen, vollständig On-Chain-Gaming und -Konsum sowie dezentraler physischer Infrastruktur aufbauen.”

Teerus Boon-Long, Geschäftsführer von Boon Ventures, sagte: „Dies ist der Beginn einer großen Reise in den Web3-Bereich. Es geht nicht um kurzfristige Ziele, sondern darum, eine vielversprechende Zukunft für eine dezentralisierte Gesellschaft aufzubauen.”

Die Partnerschaft nutzt die einzigartigen Stärken der einzelnen Einrichtungen:

• Gate Ventures verfügt über umfangreiche Ressourcen, ein globales Netzwerk und große Erfahrung mit Web3-Investitionen, die strategische Partnerschaften und Wachstumsmöglichkeiten ermöglichen.
• Movement Labs bietet profunde Expertise in Move-basierter Blockchain-Technologie, Infrastruktur und Ökosystemaufbau.
• Boon Ventures hat eine beeindruckende Erfolgsbilanz bei der Förderung innovativer Startups in verschiedenen Sektoren durch Finanzierung, Mentoring und strategische Beratung.

Um seine Ziele zu erreichen, wird der Fonds mehrere wichtige Initiativen durchführen:

• Organisation von globalen Hackathons, um Innovationen in Move-basierten Technologien zu fördern und Spitzenkräfte anzuziehen.
• Einrichtung eines Mentorenprogramms, das Branchenveteranen mit vielversprechenden Web3-Neugründungen verbindet, um ihnen Anleitung und Fachwissen zu bieten.
• Schaffung eines Forschungsbeihilfenprogramms zur Förderung von Lösungen für die Interoperabilität der Blockchain, das die Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Ökosystemen fördert.
• Veranstaltung von vierteljährlichen Gipfeltreffen von Vordenkern, um dringende Herausforderungen im Web3-Bereich anzugehen und gemeinsame Fortschritte zu erzielen.

Während der Fonds seine 20 Millionen Dollar einsetzt, sind die Partner entschlossen, Innovationen zu fördern und den Web3-Bereich voranzutreiben. Sie werden aktuelle Informationen zu Investitionen, Kooperationen und Spitzentechnologien liefern, die die Zukunft von Web3, Blockchain und dezentralen Anwendungen bestimmen werden.

Informationen zu Gate Ventures
Gate Ventures ist der Risikokapitalarm von  Gate.io, einer der weltweit größten und vertrauenswürdigsten Kryptowährungsbörsen, die sich auf Frühphaseninvestitionen in Blockchain-Technologie und digitale Vermögenswerte spezialisiert hat. Unsere Aufgabe ist es, Innovationen voranzutreiben und das Wachstum im globalen Blockchain-Ökosystem zu fördern. Durch die Zusammenarbeit mit Branchenführern auf der ganzen Welt unterstützen wir visionäre Teams und Start-ups, die das Potenzial haben, soziale und finanzielle Interaktionen neu zu gestalten. Als langfristiger Investor sind wir bestrebt, unsere Portfoliounternehmen umfassend zu unterstützen, von der Produktentwicklung über die operative Skalierung bis hin zur globalen Expansion. Folgen Sie Gate Ventures auf X für weitere Updates.

Informationen zu Movement Labs 
Movement Labs entwickelt das Movement Network, ein Ökosystem von modularen, bewegungsbasierten Blockchains. Das Unternehmen entwickelt die erste virtuelle Move-Maschine L2 für Ethereum sowie Open-Source-Tools, um die Akzeptanz von Move auf allen Blockchains zu fördern. Die Plattform ermöglicht es Entwicklern, hochleistungsfähige Move-VM-Rollups einfach zu starten und Move- und EVM-Ökosysteme zu verbinden. Movement Labs, das mit einer 38-Millionen-Dollar-Finanzierung in der Serie A ausgestattet ist, treibt Move-basierte Technologien und Blockchain-Interoperabilität im Web3 voran. Folgen Sie Movement Labs auf X und auf Discord für Updates. Movement Labs hat es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, eine globale Gemeinschaft von Move-Aufbauern zu schaffen, die zusammenarbeiten, um die Sicherheit, die Leistung und das Benutzererlebnis beim Bauen in dezentralen Netzwerken zu verbessern.

Informationen zu Boon Ventures
Boon Ventures ist ein Einzelfamilienunternehmen, das 2015 aus der Boon-Long-Familie, einer der traditionsreichsten Familien Thailands, hervorgegangen ist. Seitdem fungiert es als alternativer Investment- und Beratungszweig der Familie Boon-Long. Boon Ventures ist ein unabhängiges, schnell wachsendes Unternehmen mit einem starken Netzwerk und Partnerschaften sowohl in Thailand als auch weltweit, das sich zum Ziel gesetzt hat, innovative Veränderungen, langfristiges Wachstum und nachhaltige Werte zu fördern.

Haftungsausschluss: Die in dieser Pressemitteilung enthaltenen Informationen stellen weder eine Aufforderung zur Investition dar, noch sind sie als Anlageberatung, Finanzberatung oder Handelsberatung gedacht. Es wird dringend empfohlen, vor der Investition in oder dem Handel mit Kryptowährungen und Wertpapieren die gebotene Sorgfalt walten zu lassen, einschließlich der Konsultation eines professionellen Finanzberaters.

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