SYDNEY and JERSEY CITY, N..J., May 14, 2024 — Data Zoo, a leading provider of global identity verification solutions, today announced approximately $22.7M (AU$35M) in Series A funding from Ellerston JAADE, an Ellerston Capital fund. The raise will help Data Zoo drive adoption and innovation of its identity verification software, which provides direct access to authoritative data from over 170 countries; features advanced data sequencing to improve efficiency and maximize conversions; and prioritizes data protection and privacy by eliminating identity data storage.

Data Zoo outperforms in improving customer approval rates and revenue realization through its access to global data and logic-driven data source sequencing, which automatically verifies or retries identities against the next best source, reducing dropout rates and lowering the total cost of ownership.

Data Zoo’s vision is to provide a global, efficient, secure alternative to legacy solutions while enhancing KYC/KYB compliance and fraud prevention. As part of the raise, Data Zoo – which is trusted by leading financial institutions, payment providers, and fintechs – plans to continue to expand its operations globally.

“There’s been a long-standing need for a more efficient and secure way to verify identities. Data Zoo has spent years refining its solution – the result has been incredible innovation, UX optimization, and growth in a fiercely competitive market, putting us head-to-head with today’s most established identity providers,” said Tony Fitzgibbon, founder and Chairman of Data Zoo. “Ellerston JAADE spotted an opportunity in Data Zoo’s proven ability to help global firms verify consumer and business identities, reduce fraud, and meet global compliance standards.”

The raise follows the recent appointment of former London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) executive Charlie Minutella as Chief Executive Officer in February 2024.

“Data Zoo is well-positioned to expand its footprint because of its patented ability to efficiently onboard a more diverse and global set of customers, meet compliance standards across jurisdictions, and enhance data privacy and protection,” said Charlie Minutella, Chief Executive Officer at Data Zoo. “The investment from Ellerston JAADE will supercharge our capacity to operate in key markets, attract new business, and enter new strategic partnerships.”

Data Zoo’s fundraise sits within Ellerston JAADE which invests across a number of high-growth Australian-based companies, such as Mable, Camms, and Phocas. The fundraise represents Data Zoo’s first outside investment.

“Data Zoo’s innovative platform and success in expanding its operations internationally, especially into challenging markets like North America, were key factors in our decision to invest,” said David Leslie, Investment Director at Ellerston JAADE. “Data Zoo’s impressive growth, solidifying itself as a trusted identity provider against well-established competitors – all without prior funding – is no small feat. We are pleased to support them as they continue to scale in the identity verification industry.”

About Data Zoo

Data Zoo provides identity verification solutions that enable financial institutions, payment platforms and fintechs to confidently verify consumers and business identities in over 170 countries using a diverse set of authoritative data sources. Data Zoo’s direct access to international data sources and advanced data sequencing presents companies with a global, efficient, and secure alternative to KYC/KYB verification and compliance.

Leading global financial institutions, payment providers, and fintechs, trust Data Zoo to verify millions of customers while minimizing fraud and risk. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Data Zoo has offices in Amsterdam, New Jersey, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Singapore.

For more information, visit: www.datazoo.com

About Ellerston JAADE

Ellerston JAADE is a first mover when it comes to offering Private Equity (PE) to the broader market of individual Australian investors. The Ellerston JAADE Australian Private Assets Fund (now a A$400m vehicle) was established five years ago and is an open-ended investment structure available direct to retail investors and across a number of investment platforms. Unlike many of the comparable PE strategies available to individual investors, the Fund is focused on direct investments in Australian growth companies; as compared to global funds which are more commonly available via fund-of-funds structures or highly diversified across global assets. The Fund is a concentrated portfolio with 8 current investments including Mable, Phocas and Nitro. Since inception (in December 2018), the Fund has delivered annualised returns of 16%.

https://ellerstoncapital.com/ 

SOURCE Data Zoo

Investment from Silicon Valley Bank and Hercules Capital Will Further Accelerate Platform Innovation

SAN FRANCISCO, May 14, 2024 — Harness, the Modern Software Delivery Platform® company, today announced $150 million in financing from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank, and Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC). The investment will be used strategically to support the expansion of the Harness platform, including the addition of new modules, further integrating generative AI into the platform, and additional investments in the company’s go-to-market engine.

“At Harness, we’re building the next generation of intelligent tools and automation to supercharge developer productivity and reduce developer toil,” said Jyoti Bansal, CEO and co-founder of Harness. “This funding enables our company to continue innovating at a record pace, transforming the software delivery lifecycle for today’s modern enterprises. Every year, developers waste more than $1 trillion by spending 40%+ of their time working on mundane, non-code-producing work. Our platform empowers software teams to achieve excellence in velocity, quality, efficiency, and governance.”

This investment comes on the heels of a groundbreaking FY2024, which included expanding our executive team with top-tier talent, achieving strong revenue growth, and significantly enhancing our platform. Key milestones include:

• Experienced rapid Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) growth, going from $1M to more than $100M over the past five years.
• Customers executed more than 44 million code deployments with the Harness platform in 2023, more than double the number of deployments completed in 2022.
• Broadened and evolved product offerings by adding 2,800+ new features and enhancements across the Harness platform.
• Introduced AIDA^TM, a new generative AI assistant integrated directly into all aspects of the Software Delivery Lifecycle.
• Launched four new product modules: Code Repository, Internal Developer Portal, Infrastructure as Code Management, and Software Supply Chain Assurance. These new modules join the existing eight offerings to deliver a powerful, seamlessly integrated software delivery platform. Each module is a best-in-class offering that can be tailored to an organization’s specific use case and business needs.
• Added new enterprise customers, including Nike, NetApp, MorningStar, and Icelandair.
• Welcomed Carlos Delatorre as Chief Revenue Officer and Gleb Brichko as SVP of Marketing.

“With this latest financing, Harness can further strengthen and expand its market-leading end-to-end software delivery platform,” said Robert Parker, a Bay Area-based Director covering Enterprise Software with SVB’s Corporate Technology Banking group. “SVB is thrilled to continue our longstanding relationship with Harness, a prominent Forbes Cloud 100 company.”

“We are proud to begin our partnership with Harness in collaboration with SVB. Our flexible financing solution will support the Harness team as they continue to innovate and transform the software development industry,” said Steve Kuo, Senior Managing Director and Group Head of Technology at Hercules Capital.

About Harness
Harness is the leading end-to-end platform for complete software delivery. It provides a simple, safe, and secure way for engineering and DevOps teams to release applications into production. Harness uses AI and machine learning to monitor the quality of deployments and automatically roll back failed ones, saving time and reducing the need for custom scripting and manual oversight, giving engineers their nights and weekends back. Harness customers accelerate deployments by up to 75%, reduce infrastructure costs by up to 60%, and decrease lead time for changes by up to 90%. Harness is based in San Francisco.

Please visit www.harness.io to learn more.

About Silicon Valley Bank
SVB’s Technology Corporate Banking Division works with some of the most innovative public and late-stage private companies in the U.S. technology sector, providing a full suite of lending and banking solutions, as well as guidance as an active and trusted partner helping clients succeed and quickly scale. SVB is proud to serve over two-thirds of the companies currently listed on the Forbes 2023 Cloud 100 list.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank, is the bank of some of the world’s most innovative companies and investors. SVB provides commercial and private banking to individuals and companies in the technology, life science, healthcare, private equity, venture capital, and premium wine industries. SVB operates in centers of innovation throughout the United States, serving the unique needs of its dynamic clients with deep sector expertise, insights, and connections. SVB’s parent company, First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCNCA), is a top 20 U.S. financial institution with more than $200 billion in assets. First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, Member FDIC. Learn more at svb.com

About Hercules Capital, Inc.
Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) is the leading and largest specialty finance company focused on providing senior secured venture growth loans to high-growth, innovative venture capital-backed companies in a broad variety of technology, life sciences, and sustainable and renewable technology industries. Since inception (December 2003), Hercules has committed over $20 billion to over 650 companies and is the lender of choice for entrepreneurs and venture capital firms seeking growth capital financing. Companies interested in learning more about financing opportunities should contact [email protected], or call 650.289.3060.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Harness

SINGAPORE, May 14, 2024 — Allozymes, a leading innovator in enzyme discovery and engineering, today announced the closing of a $15 million Series A funding round led by Seventure Partners of France and Xora Innovation of Singapore. This significant investment underscores the growing recognition of Allozymes’ transformative potential, accelerates its expansion into Europe, and forges strategic partnerships within the food and chemical industries while paving the way for new partnerships in the pharmaceutical and life science industry. Additionally, the funding will fuel the development of the industry’s most comprehensive enzyme data library for future enzyme discovery endeavors.

New investors include NUS Technology Holdings and Thia Ventures, while SOSV, and Entrepreneur First, continued their investment in the company in this round of funding. NUS Technology Holding is the investment arm of the National University of Singapore where Allozymes’ founders graduated with a Ph.D. and the company’s technology was seeded during Akbar Vahid’s postdoctoral research.

“We are thrilled to have secured this funding from a distinguished group of investors who share our vision for the transformative potential of enzymes,” said Peyman Salehian, CEO and co-founder of Allozymes. “This investment is a testament to our progress in developing a truly unique and powerful enzyme engineering platform. We are committed to unlocking the full potential of enzymes for a more sustainable and efficient future.”

Allozymes’ core technology lies in its proprietary microfluidic platform, which boasts the industry’s fastest enzyme screening capability, analyzing over 20 million variants per day. This translates to a 200x higher chance of success in developing custom enzymes with precise properties for specific industrial applications.

Beyond ultra-high-throughput screening, Allozymes differentiates itself through its advanced enzyme sorting and detection capabilities. This allows the company to not only identify promising enzyme candidates but also precisely match them to specific industrial needs, addressing a critical bottleneck in traditional enzyme discovery methods. Seventure Partners highlighted this unique strength as a key factor in their investment decision.

Other areas the $15 million will be deployed in are:

Global Expansion: Establishing a presence in key regions to address the diverse needs of industries worldwide.

Platform advancement: Building in-house strain engineering, bioprocess, and downstream processing capabilities to enable end-to-end development of new enzymes and strains.

Vertical Expansion Co-development: Utilizing Allozymes platform enzyme engineering to develop robust biosolutions for partners in the pharmaceutical and life science industry, enabling innovative products like sugar alternatives, sustainable production of high-value ingredients, bioremediation, and biosecurity.

The Series A funding will further empower Allozymes’ development of the industry’s most comprehensive enzyme data library. Powerful AI/ML algorithms will leverage this data to enable the prediction and generation of novel, robust biocatalytic solutions for various industries.

Akbar Vahidi, CTO of Allozymes, added: “Our platform represents a significant step forward in democratizing access to powerful enzymatic solutions. By providing a centralized platform for enzyme discovery and engineering, we aim to empower researchers and companies of all sizes to harness the potential of enzymes and accelerate innovation across various industries.”

With this strategic investment and a dedicated team, Allozymes is poised to become a global leader in enzyme innovation. The company’s groundbreaking technology offers a path toward a greener and more resource-conscious future by enabling sustainable and efficient industrial processes across diverse sectors.

About Allozymes

Allozymes is a fast-growing biotechnology company that applies its proprietary ultra-high-throughput platform technology to rapidly develop novel enzymes and unlock the bioeconomy across diverse sectors. Leveraging this ultra-high screening power, Allozymes aims to build the largest enzyme data library in the world to address the current and future needs of building robust biosolutions.

For more information, please visit Allozymes’ website and also follow Allozymes on LinkedIn and X.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2411973/Series_A_Press_Release_Lead_Image.jpg

The Fellowship helps educate the next generation of diverse institutional grade asset managers in Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Impact Investing.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 13, 2024 — VC Include (VCI), an organization committed to evolving the traditional investment industry by creating an inclusive ecosystem of LPs and GPs from diverse backgrounds, today announced the cohort for this year’s Fellowship for Impact Fund I Managers.

The 2024 cohort includes a diverse group of fund managers that is 50/50 women and men further demonstrating VC Include’s commitment to support and empower a broad array of firms seeking to raise capital. Thirteen venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds were selected for VCI’s 2024 Fellowship cohort. These funds represent a total of eighteen emerging fund managers that will join the 10-week education and mentoring program. The Fellowship was designed for historically underrepresented fund managers based in the United States who are raising their first fund. The VCI Fellowship is made possible with the generous support of the Blue Haven Initiative, Cadence Giving Foundation, Lowenstein Sandler, MacArthur Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Nasdaq Foundation, Pivotal Ventures, Skoll Foundation, and the Visa Foundation. 

The 2024 VCI Fellows include: * This fund manager is currently in stealth mode.

Fund GPs

• Alejandro Muñoz Mendieta, Andy Vargas Hernandez, No Border Ventures-Fund 1
• Cvic Innocent, Frankenbuild Ventures
• Douglas Watson, Measured Capital
• Ernest Kabuye, Seven Capital
• Jason Miles, Amenti Connected Mobility Fund I
• Jeff Chu, Jenny Barba, Features Capital Fund I I
• Keith Daniel, Resilient Ventures
• Lorine Pendleton, 125 Ventures Fund I
• Mahrinah Shije, Fawn Sharp Endemic Venture Capital
• Patricia Funegra, Moon Dancer Fund
• Sonam Velani, Laura Fox, Streetlife Ventures
• Veronica Juarez, Dahlia VC
• Project M* 

“I’m thrilled to welcome VCI’s fourth cohort, marking my first since taking on the role of Executive Director in December 2023,” expressed Milton Speid. “Last year, venture capital funding plummeted to $248.4B, the lowest since 2017, with less than 0.5% allocated to Black founders and less than 2% to women-founded startups. Additionally, LPs are favoring established fund managers over new ones. Despite these challenges, there’s immense opportunity for change. With VCI’s education and support for emerging managers, we can unlock untapped potential and work towards a brighter, more inclusive future for all.”

“One of the values at the heart of the work of VCI is that while talent is universal, opportunity is not,” shared Liz Diebold, Managing Director of Portfolio and Investments at the Skoll Foundation. “The structural barriers to opportunity for many prevent both collective and individual benefits from finding life and generating impact for the greater good. VCI supports its Fellows – who, while brilliant, have generally been underserved and overlooked by traditional capital markets – to accelerate innovative and profitable ventures that reduce inequities and drive economic growth. We are honored to partner with VCI and the broader ecosystem to uplift innovative solutions from emerging founders.”

To get the latest news on VCI and its dynamic programs, fund managers with diverse teams, as well as investment professionals interested in diversity and inclusion please visit the VCI website and join the mailing list here.

ABOUT VC Include
The VC Include platform launched in 2018 to accelerate investment into historically underrepresented emerging managers – women, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ – to drive economic growth through the power of diversity. The organization has built the infrastructure for an inclusive economy and is a forerunner in connecting diverse fund managers and founders with environmental, social and governance (ESG) and impact investing.

MEDIA CONTACT:
UFCG for VC Include
[email protected]

SOURCE VC Include

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 13, 2024 — Mitra Future Technologies, Inc. (“Mitra Chem”), a pioneering innovator in North American lithium-ion battery materials, today announced an investment from Alpha Wave Ventures as part of the company’s Series B funding round. As part of the investment, Elan Frantz has joined the company’s Board of Directors. Alpha Wave joins other distinguished investors in this round, such as General Motors, Zeon, InQTel, Techmet-Mercuria, and GS Futures.

 Rick Gerson, Co-Founder and Chairman of Alpha Wave Global, is enthusiastic about the potential of this partnership, stating, “Mitra Chem’s has an innovative approach and commitment to scaling new lithium-ion battery chemistries. We believe in Mitra Chem’s potential to drive significant change in the battery materials industry, and are excited to support their continued growth.”

Alpha Wave joins Mitra Chem amidst several breakthroughs, with Mitra Chem recently announcing its successful synthesis of multi-ton Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cathode powder samples that meet industry-leading electric vehicle (EV) specifications. Mitra Chem aims to achieve mass production of their iron-rich cathodes by 2026, paving the way for widespread adoption of next-generation, IRA-compliant battery technologies.

“We are thrilled to partner with Alpha Wave  and to welcome Elan to our Board,” said Vivas Kumar, CEO and Co-Founder of Mitra Chem. “The time for battery supply chain innovation in the U.S. is now because of groundbreaking government policies such as the IRA and BIL. Coupling these policies with private capital investors to accelerate the speed to scale is what will define the winners in the industry, and we’re glad that Alpha Wave chose to partner with us.”

“Mitra Chem has the right approach at the right time, and I am incredibly excited to join their Board,” said Elan Frantz. “They’ve proven themselves as great operators in the space and I’m really looking forward to partnering with their management team. Together we’re going to continue to pave the way for battery materials innovation in the battery industry.”

About Alpha Wave Global:

Alpha Wave is a global investment company that focuses on three main verticals: private equity, private credit, and public markets. It is led by Rick Gerson, Navroz Udwadia, and Ryan Khoury. Alpha Wave has offices in New York, Miami, London, Monaco, Madrid, Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, Bangalore, and Sydney. Its flagship global venture and growth fund, Alpha Wave Ventures, aims to invest in best-in-class growth-stage companies and endeavors to be helpful long-term partners to the founders and management teams. For more information, please visit www.alphawaveglobal.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Jonathan Gasthalter – [email protected] 

About Mitra Chem

Mitra Chem is building the first U.S. Inflation Reduction Act-compliant lithium-ion battery materials product company that shortens the lab-to-production timeline by over 90%. Lithium-ion batteries are the key platform technology enabling electrification in transportation, consumer electronics, along with residential, commercial, and grid-scale energy storage. Mitra Chem’s first product category is iron-based cathodes for Western battery applications. Mitra Chem takes cathode products from lab to industrial scale faster than the competition by leveraging an in-house artificial intelligence technology advantage to dramatically shorten the R&D timeline. The company’s goal is to transform the cathode from a specialty chemical to a platform technology that differentiates cell performance by end application. In the short term, the company remains focused on scaling IRA-compliant LFP and LMFP cathodes for the growing U.S. market.

For media inquiries, please contact:
[email protected]

SOURCE Mitra Chem

With the addition of two new production facilities in Oregon and Iowa, ByHeart is now positioned to triple its supply capacity to support families nationwide

NEW YORK, May 13, 2024 — ByHeart, the next-generation infant nutrition company, today announced it has secured $95M in additional financing to support the continued US commercial launch and development of its innovation pipeline. To date, ByHeart has raised a total of $395M from investors including D1 Capital Partners, Bellco Capital, Polaris Partners, Two River, OCV Partners, AF Ventures, Red Sea Ventures, Gaingels and more.

The company also announced the completion of its full end-to-end domestic manufacturing chain, with new manufacturing facilities in Portland, OR, and Allerton, IA, enabling the brand to expand production of its breakthrough formula to meet the needs of 15% of the addressable market.

“ByHeart’s foundation was built on a culture of innovation—incorporating clinical trials, highest quality ingredients, advanced nutrition science and a proprietary recipe—from day one,” said Ron Belldegrun, CEO and Co-Founder of ByHeart. “We are committed to doing better for babies and their parents, and that means continued investments into end-to-end manufacturing, scientific advancement and meaningful innovation in an industry that so desperately needed it.”

“Polaris is delighted to continue to support the expansion of ByHeart’s infant-first mission,” said Amy Schulman, ByHeart’s Chair of the Board and Managing Partner at Polaris Partners. “In the long-stagnant infant formula space, ByHeart’s evidence-based approach drives innovation to benefit the health and wellness of babies and families. Our investors and team recognize the responsibility we have to provide the highest standard of nutrition, crafted with scientific precision and the utmost care.”

ByHeart is a three-time Clean Label Project Certified brand and the only new infant formula company to open two new domestic facilities since the national infant formula shortage, helping to proactively fortify the country’s fragile infant nutrition supply chain and mitigate the risk of future formula shortages. While the majority of new U.S. formula brands rely on external parties to complete steps in the production process, ByHeart’s end-to-end manufacturing allows for full control, ensuring all aspects of production are held to the company’s rigorous quality standards.

Utilizing the latest in breast milk science, ByHeart brings babies clinically proven¹ benefits like easier digestion, less spit up, softer poops, more efficient weight gain and enhanced nutrient absorption, and empowers parents to feel confident about their feeding decisions. ByHeart ran the largest clinical trial by a new infant formula brand in 25 years, and was the first to add a comparison to breast milk. ByHeart’s pioneering clinical research has garnered widespread recognition, with its results being published in the esteemed scientific and medical journal, the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.

The company is rapidly expanding and most recently launched in Thrive Market, the healthy and sustainable online grocer. Thrive Market carefully selected ByHeart as a partner in its mission to provide families with the top healthy food brands and natural products. ByHeart is the only infant formula to incorporate breakthrough benefits for babies backed by clinical trials while also meeting Thrive Market’s high quality standards. Its presence on the site underscores the grocer’s commitment to supporting brands that prioritize health, sustainability and transparency. By the end of 2024, ByHeart will expand to several additional retailers, making its clean, science-backed recipe easily available to parents everywhere.

In addition to Thrive Market, ByHeart is currently available direct-to-consumer at byheart.com and at Target nationwide in store and online. With a steadfast commitment to gold-standard nutrition, ByHeart proudly brings its formula to more babies across the nation.

For more information, please visit https://byheart.com.

About ByHeart
Founded in 2016 and based in New York City with manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Iowa, ByHeart is an infant nutrition company dedicated to empowering parents with choices for a better feeding future. It is only one of five fully integrated, FDA-registered infant formula brands in the country, and ByHeart facilities are driven by nutritional excellence and a farm-to-formula verified™ quality program. For more information on ByHeart, visit https://byheart.com/.

¹ Compared to a leading infant formula

SOURCE ByHeart

WOBURN, Mass., May 13, 2024 — Active Surfaces, an innovative flexible solar panel startup spun out from MIT, announced today it has raised $5.6 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round. The round was led by Safar Partners, a prominent deep tech venture capital fund. Additional participants—including QVT, Lendlease, Type One Ventures, Umami Capital, Sabanci Climate Ventures, New Climate Ventures, SeaX Ventures, and others—reflect a diverse support base ranging from institutional VCs to corporate backers.

Active Surfaces is pioneering the next generation of solar technology with its lightweight, flexible solar panels that can be integrated into virtually any surface. Unlike bulky traditional solar panels, Active Surfaces’ technologies will seamlessly blend into everyday environments, from small consumer products that can go anywhere to large commercial, office, and industrial buildings.

“Active Surfaces is pioneering a transformation in the built environment,” said Tommaso Boralevi, Technology & Innovation Director Europe at the Milan Innovation District (MIND) established by Lendlease, a global construction, development, and investment company. “At Lendlease, we are committed to advancing sustainable urbanization, and our investment in Active Surfaces represents a significant step towards integrating novel capabilities directly into the fabric of future developments.”

“We are thrilled to see such strong support from our investors,” said Richard Swartwout, an MIT PhD and co-founder and CTO of Active Surfaces. “This funding will enable us to expand our R&D efforts, scale up production, and bring our cutting-edge solar solutions to market more rapidly.”

Swartwout said the company’s flexible, thin film “solar 2.0” technologies will deliver dramatically higher efficiency, lower costs, and greater versatility than today’s heavy, rigid solar panels. With its initial funding, Active Surfaces will scale its laboratory-fabricated 4-by-4-inch photovoltaic devices with breakthroughs in industrial roll-to-roll semiconductor printing technologies enabling mass production of thin, flexible solar materials of any size.

The company has been bolstered by recent additions to its team, including Jeremiah Mwaura, a PhD in Materials/Chemistry with more than a decade of experience in advanced roll-to-roll manufacturing, as well as skilled scientists and engineers from leading institutions such as Stanford University, Rice University, University of Pittsburgh, and MIT.

Active Surfaces participates in the Go Build startup accelerator program with Saint Gobain through Greentown Labs and is supported by premier climate tech incubators such as Third Derivative, ACCEL, Swissnex Climate Collider, Cleantech Open, and Venture for ClimateTech. Additionally, Active Surfaces co-founder Shiv Bhakta, MIT MS/MBA, was recently featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 2024 in Energy. And advisor Moungi Bawendi, Lester Wolfe Professor of Chemistry at MIT, was awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2023.

About Active Surfaces:

Founded by MIT researchers, Active Surfaces is a leader in developing flexible, high-efficiency solar technology designed for integration into a variety of surfaces. The company aims to disrupt the traditional energy sector by making solar power ubiquitous and seamlessly integrated into everyday materials. For more information, visit www.activesurfaces.com.

Contact: Shiv Bhakta, [email protected] 

SOURCE Active Surfaces

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla., May 13, 2024 — Icahn Enterprises L.P. (NASDAQ: IEP) – Icahn Enterprises L.P. (“Icahn Enterprises”) announced today that it, together with Icahn Enterprises Finance Corp. (together with Icahn Enterprises, the “Issuers”), intends to commence an offering of $500,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Senior Unsecured Notes due 2030 (the “Notes”) for issuance in a private placement not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Notes will be issued under an indenture by and among the Issuers, Icahn Enterprises Holdings L.P., as guarantor (the “Guarantor”), and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee, and will be guaranteed by the Guarantor. The net proceeds from the offering will be used, together with cash on hand, to partially redeem the Issuers’ existing 6.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2025. There can be no assurance that the issuance and sale of any debt securities of the Issuers will be consummated.

The Notes and related guarantees are being offered only (1) in the United States to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act and (2) outside the United States to persons other than “U.S. persons” in compliance with Regulation S under the Securities Act. The Notes and related guarantees have not been registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements.

This press release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135c under the Securities Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Issuers.

About Icahn Enterprises L.P.

Icahn Enterprises L.P. (NASDAQ: IEP), a master limited partnership, is a diversified holding company owning subsidiaries currently engaged in the following continuing operating businesses: Investment, Energy, Automotive, Food Packaging, Real Estate, Home Fashion and Pharma.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains certain statements that are, or may deemed to be,  “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, many of which are beyond our ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “will” or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements about the expected future business and financial performance of Icahn Enterprises and its subsidiaries. Actual events, results and outcomes may differ materially from our expectations due to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including risks related to economic downturns, substantial competition and rising operating costs; the impacts from the Russia/Ukraine conflict and ongoing conflict in the Middle East, including economic volatility and the impacts of export controls and other economic sanctions, risks related to our investment activities, including the nature of the investments made by the private funds in which we invest, declines in the fair value of our investments, losses in the private funds and loss of key employees; risks related to our ability to continue to conduct our activities in a manner so as to not be deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or to be taxed as a corporation; risks related to short sellers and associated litigation and regulatory inquiries; risks related to our general partner and controlling unitholder; pledges of our units by our controlling unitholder; risks related to our energy business, including the volatility and availability of crude oil, other feed stocks and refined products, declines in global demand for crude oil, refined products and liquid transportation fuels, unfavorable refining margin (crack spread), interrupted access to pipelines, significant fluctuations in nitrogen fertilizer demand in the agricultural industry and seasonality of results; risks related to potential strategic transactions involving our Energy segment; risks related to our automotive activities and exposure to adverse conditions in the automotive industry, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Chapter 11 filing of our automotive parts subsidiary; risks related to our food packaging activities, including competition from better capitalized competitors, inability of our suppliers to timely deliver raw materials, and the failure to effectively respond to industry changes in casings technology; supply chain issues; inflation, including increased costs of raw materials and shipping, including as a result of the Russia/Ukraine conflict and conflict in the Middle East; interest rate increases; labor shortages and workforce availability; risks related to our real estate activities, including the extent of any tenant bankruptcies and insolvencies; risks related to our home fashion operations, including changes in the availability and price of raw materials, manufacturing disruptions, and changes in transportation costs and delivery times; and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q under the caption “Risk Factors”. Additionally, there may be other factors not presently known to us or which we currently consider to be immaterial that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Past performance in our Investment segment is not indicative of future performance. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. 

Investor Contact:
Ted Papapostolou, Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]
(800) 255-2737

SOURCE Icahn Enterprises L.P.

SEOUL, South Korea, May 13, 2024 — MetisX, a fabless startup based in South Korea, has recently secured $44 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to over $50 million. The company, established in 2022, focuses on developing intelligent memory solutions using Compute Express Link (CXL) technology, which is seen as the next-generation standard for interconnect technology. MetisX aims to revolutionize traditional CPU-centric computing architectures by introducing a data-centric approach that promises to be smarter, faster, and more cost-effective.

“We are pleased to have successfully achieved our Series A funding goal amidst a challenging market environment,” said Jin Kim, CEO and co-founder of MetisX. “Our goal is to become the next NVIDIA, not by competing directly against them, but by creating a new market in the data-centric domain to pave the way for the AI era.”

One of the company’s primary goals is to address the “memory wall” issue that many industries face, particularly those dealing with vast amounts of data such as data centers, database management, artificial intelligence, and DNA analysis. By leveraging CXL technology, MetisX seeks to overcome performance bottlenecks associated with frequent memory accesses in computing systems.

Despite being in the early stages of development, MetisX has attracted significant attention from new investors such as SV Investment, STIC Ventures, LB Investment, and the Industrial Bank of Korea, as well as follow-on investors from the seed round including Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, IMM Investment, SBI Investment, Tony Investment, and Wonik Investment Partners. These firms have made bold bets on the company’s potential, both in terms of its innovative product offerings and the expertise of its leadership team.

Led by Jin Kim, who boasts a distinguished career as one of the youngest VPs at SK Hynix with around 20 years of experience in data-centric solutions, MetisX is well-positioned to disrupt the semiconductor industry. Additionally, the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Dohun Kim, and Chief Product Officer (CPO), Harry Kim, bring valuable expertise from their backgrounds in major semiconductor companies.

MetisX has already made significant strides in product development, having completed prototypes specialized in large-scale data processing such as vector databases, big data analysis, and DNA analysis. These prototypes have demonstrated impressive performance, being twice as fast as conventional server CPUs. Building on this success, the company plans to manufacture its inaugural ASIC chip by early next year, targeting major data center customers including tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta. MetisX plans to expand the company aggressively, establish a branch in the US, and reinforce its marketing and sales organization to successfully penetrate its target market.

About MetisX

Founded in 2022, MetisX is a fabless startup based in South Korea. Our mission is to pioneer fundamental technologies that will usher in a data-centric computing world. We focus on delivering cutting-edge solutions tailored to meet the needs of customers in sectors with large-scale data to process such as AI, big data, vector databases, DNA analysis, and more. Our expertise lies in the development of intelligent memory solutions and data-centric computing architecture, with a foundation built on Compute Express Link (CXL) standards. Through relentless innovation and strategic partnerships, MetisX is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the realm of memory technology.

For more information, please visit https://www.metisx.com or https://linkedin.com/company/metisx.

SOURCE MetisX