Among Group 11’s second fund portfolio companies are unicorns Tipalti, Navan, Sunbit, HomeLight, and Next Insurance

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 7, 2023 — Leading venture capital firm Group 11 has partnered with StepStone Group, a global private markets investment firm, and with Industry Ventures, a leading investment firm focused on private technology investments, through a $20M secondary transaction to acquire 12% of Group 11’s second fund. The parties closed the deal directly, without the involvement of any placement agent or investment bank.

The deal enabled investors in Group 11’s second fund (2015 vintage) to realize their positions partially or entirely. Through this deal, participating Group 11 investors received a ~3X net cash on cash return, representing a 20% net IRR on their investment.

Group 11 was founded in 2012 by single General Partner Dovi Frances, with the mission to invest in and empower exceptional entrepreneurs seeking to revolutionize the outdated financial services industry. The firm is an early investor in some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent and disruptive financial technology companies and currently houses a stable of five unicorns—companies with valuations greater than $1BN. The cumulative value of Group 11’s portfolio stands at approximately $1.2BN, across six funds.

Group 11’s second fund includes investments in Tipalti, which raised $270M at an $8.3BN valuation in Q4 2021; Navan, which raised $300M at a $9.3BN valuation in Q2 2022; Sunbit, which raised $130M at a $1.1BN valuation in Q2 2021, to name a few.

“We are excited to partner with both Industry Ventures and StepStone on this transaction. This is the second deal we have executed with StepStone since 2022 and this is the first deal with Industry Ventures. We are confident that this is just the beginning of a wonderful and fruitful partnership with both of these prestigious investors, and are delighted to continue delivering for our Limited Partners proving, yet again, that Group 11 can generate liquidity and outsized returns to our Limited Partners, even amidst the market corrections we’ve seen in the past couple of years,” said Dovi Frances, Founding Partner at Group 11.

“We are excited to partner with Group 11 in this transaction and hopefully beyond as we continue to develop a prosperous relationship,” said Amir Malayery, Managing Director at Industry Ventures. Malayery added, “Industry Ventures runs an incredibly rigorous underwriting and manager vetting process and we are happy to work with Group 11 following this deal.”

 This deal with StepStone and Industry Ventures comes on the heels of significant growth in Group 11’s assets under management. The firm finalized a $200M raise for its Fund V at the end of 2021 and will soon announce its Fund VI. 

About Group 11

Group 11 invests in visionary entrepreneurs who are utilizing the unstoppable momentum of AI and FinTech to redraw the landscape of their respective industries. With a goal of creating change across generations and building long term value through technology, Group 11 has emerged as a coveted partner to veteran entrepreneurs at the forefront of their fields. 

Since its inception in 2012, the top-decile performing firm has deployed over $580 million across six funds in some of the world’s most prominent and disruptive technology companies, including: Tipalti, Navan, Next Insurance, HomeLight, Sunbit, Masterschool, Healthee, Dream, and BridgeWise.

Contact: Lian Kimia, [email protected]

SOURCE Group 11

Santé Research Demonstrates That Venture-Backed Exits Tend To Cluster Below $350M – A Phenomenon Unique To Venture Capital That Remains True Across Various Market Regimes

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 7, 2023 — Santé Ventures, (Santé), an early-stage healthcare and life sciences investment firm, shared updated research on venture capital fund performance and the level of correlation with fund size. While large funds offer presumed advantages of scale, brand recognition, and experience, data show that these benefits do not scale accordingly. This comes at a time when the total venture capital raised by sizeable individual funds has increased fourfold from 2012-2022 compared to 1990-2011 – providing a cautionary tale for limited partners in their alternative investment allocations.

Santé originally published a whitepaper detailing these findings in 2011, and updated the research this year to include the impact of macroeconomic market regimes on venture capital performance. By leveraging historical data and applying multivariate regression analysis, the original thesis – that the proper size for a venture fund should be no larger than 1.0 – 1.5x the average equity value generated at exit by venture-backed companies in its investment sector – remained true. Additionally, Santé noted that a properly sized fund is roughly 50% more likely to return 2.5x or more to investors than a large fund. An even greater performance gap exists when measured by cumulative IRR, which is 17.4% in funds smaller than $350M versus just 9.7% in funds larger than $750M.

“Our updated research reconfirms the core tenet of why we founded Santé – that maintaining a disciplined fund size is critical for generating consistent returns,” noted Kevin Lalande, Founding Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer of Santé. “While individual fund managers cannot control whether they operate in a bubble, balanced, or bear market regime, they can control the critical variable of fund size in all market environments. The truth is that there are certain empirical realities to venture compared to other asset classes. For a fund to be successful, each investment has to have the potential to return a substantial fraction of the entire fund, without relying on statistically rare multi-billion-dollar unicorn exits. With this in mind, you begin to engineer the luck out of venture capital.”

Based on the results, funds in the $200–350M range generated the highest returns across all three metrics (IRR, TVPI, DPI) compared to other fund sizes. This could suggest that funds in this size range are more efficient and adept at generating returns than their larger counterparts. To build on this, Santé expanded the research this year to evaluate performance during certain market environments and confirm how strongly this impacted the overall thesis. Even accounting for times of tightened liquidity (bear market), stable liquidity (balanced market), and rapidly expanded liquidity (bubble market), properly sized funds continue to outperform.

Lastly, these findings are unique to venture capital. Unlike the buyout industry, where exit valuations scale linearly from millions to billions based on the size of cash flows in the underlying companies, the venture industry tends to produce companies whose exit valuations cluster below $400M. This is because they are most often priced based on growth projections and proprietary technology – rather than on cash flow, given the earlier developmental stage of venture-backed companies.

The full analysis is detailed in a whitepaper, which can be downloaded from the Santé website at www.sante.com.

About Santé Ventures
Founded in 2006, Santé Ventures is a specialized healthcare and life sciences investment firm with roughly $800 Million in capital under management. The firm invests in early-stage companies developing innovative new medical technologies, biotechnologies, and digitally enabled healthcare services. Recent Santé successes include Laminar (Johnson & Johnson), Farapulse (Boston Scientific), Claret Medical (Boston Scientific), TVA Medical (Becton Dickinson), Millipede Medical (Boston Scientific), Molecular Templates (MTEM), AbVitro (Bristol Myers Squibb), and Explorys (IBM Corp). Santé invests nationally and has offices in Austin, TX, and Boston, MA. For more information, please visit www.sante.com.

Media Contacts
Santé Ventures Press and Community Relations
[email protected]
512.721.1200

Ryan Walker, R.J. Walker & Co.
[email protected]
860.930.3611

SOURCE Santé Ventures

Michelle Carr Appointed as New CEO as Erik Birkerts Steps Down After 11 Years

CHICAGO, Dec. 7, 2023 — Evergreen Climate Innovations, which supports entrepreneurs and startups to bring impactful climate technologies to market, today announces its leadership transition. Erik G. Birkerts will step down as planned as the firm’s CEO at the end of this year. Michelle Carr, Illinois director of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for 11 years, has been named as the new CEO, and will start in early 2024. 

Evergreen, under Birkerts’ leadership, became a leading national model for catalytic capital, innovative programing, and hands-on counsel for climate innovators and early-stage climate tech startups. Evergreen has deployed catalytic capital into 43 early-stage climate startups and helped these companies raise more than $461 million of additional capital. Evergreen has had a special emphasis on equitable and inclusive access to capital and support with 60% of its portfolio founders identifying as women and or people of color. 

“It’s all hands on deck to rapidly decarbonize how we live,” said Carr. “I am thrilled to be joining Evergreen and lead a forward-thinking organization focused on galvanizing human ingenuity to bring the technology we need to get there. The network of innovators and problem solvers supported by Evergreen radiates optimism, and that is no doubt thanks to Erik’s leadership. I am honored to continue this momentum during a critical time when we must resource creative solutions to address this human-made problem.” 

Evergreen executes its work through its innovative 501vc^® Platform. Funded with philanthropic contributions, the 501vc^® Platform enables Evergreen to engage earlier, be more patient, take more risk, and provide more catalytic support than traditional early-stage investors. With its revolving structure, the 501vc^®  Platform reinvests investment returns enabling philanthropic contributions to be put to work again and again, creating compounding impact.

Since taking over the helm of Evergreen, Birkerts tripled net assets by expanding its funding basis to include government agencies, corporations, foundations, and individual donors. Additionally, he forged key relationships with a broad network of partnerships with the leading research institutions, universities, and other stakeholders across the Midwest and nationally. Through these efforts, Birkerts helped steward several successful investment outcomes, delivering positive returns that have been reinvested into startups. 

“During Erik’s tenure, the Evergreen team has made a sizable impact on the climate innovation ecosystem by transforming a shared vision into a powerful, scalable platform for commercializing breakthrough climate innovations,” said Amy Francetic, chair of the board for Evergreen. “On behalf of the board of directors, we are deeply grateful for his commitment and thoughtful leadership. The board is thrilled to have Michelle to now lead Evergreen to the next level.”

“My career for over 20 years has centered around clean energy, climate and decarbonization, and I recognize how challenging it is to be a climate entrepreneur,” said Birkerts. “It has been rewarding to work with our talented team, dedicated Board, generous funders, and key constituents to help knock down the barriers that these climate innovators face. I am grateful for having had the opportunity to help build an organization that serves such a critical role and I plan to continue working in the sector to further advance the energy transition.” 

Carr was an advisor with Goldman Sachs for 16 years and in 2013 joined TNC, a global nonprofit founded in 1951 through grassroots action. TNC has grown to become one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world with more than 400 dedicated scientists and with conservation projects in 79 countries and territories. While at TNC, Carr made marked progress in bridging the gap between conservation and economic decisions to influence solutions at a regional and global scale, leading the team to advanced global corporate partnerships, co-leading the Vote Yes ballot initiative bringing more than $1 billion to the Cook County Forest Preserves, and co-created Chicago StormStore—a stormwater credit marketplace, and delivered a replicable and novel water control structure on the Illinois River to reconnect critical floodplain habitat to the river, while providing flooding resiliency and maintaining barge transportation.

Carr graduated from St. Louis University with a B.A. in history and economics and holds an MBA from Vanderbilt University. She currently serves on the executive council of Chicago Wilderness, the board of the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern and the Cook County Land Bank board. Carr is a consultant to the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. 

She formerly served on the board of Links Hall, chairing the finance committee; on the board of The National Museum for Health and Medicine Chicago as finance chair; and on President Obama’s National Finance Committee through his first and second elections. Carr lives in Chicago with her husband, Dane, and has three young adult children.

Evergreen, formerly Clean Energy Trust, was founded in 2010 by Michael Polsky, Nick Pritzker and Amy Francetic. It was established with the conviction that entrepreneurship and innovation are powerful forces to be harnessed to solve our environmental challenges while also driving economic development. 

Evergreen’s Board retained Egon Zehnder, a global management advisory and executive search firm, as its partner for this important leadership transition via a national search.

About Evergreen Climate Innovations 

Evergreen Climate Innovations provides catalytic capital and support to entrepreneurs and startups that bring impactful climate technologies to market. The nonprofit pioneered its 501vc® Investment Fund to align philanthropic and corporate contributions to deliver environmental, economic, and social impact. Evergreen advances and expands access to innovation across the Greater Midwest and cultivates an ecosystem of investors, donors, and collaborators. For over a decade, Evergreen Climate Innovations has invested in startups that have raised $42 for every $1 invested. For more information, visit www.evergreeninno.org.

Evergreen Contact
Rachel Sebald
[email protected]

Media Contact
Truc Nguyen
Mulberry & Astor
[email protected]

SOURCE Evergreen

Financing co-led by Third Rock Ventures and an undisclosed healthcare fund, with significant investment also from existing investors F-Prime Capital and Omega Funds

New funds will help solidify ARTBIO’s proprietary Pb212 isolation technology AlphaDirect™ and its distributed manufacturing network, advance its lead program AB001 in the clinic for treatment of prostate cancer, and further the company’s pipeline

Management team expanded with appointments of radiopharmaceutical experts, Philippe Dasse, Pharm.D., and Daniel Rossetto

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., OSLO, Norway, LONDON, and BASEL, Switzerland, Dec. 7, 2023 — ARTBIO, Inc. (ARTBIO), a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company developing a new class of targeted alpha radioligand therapies (ARTs), today announced the closing of an oversubscribed and upsized $90 million Series A financing co-led by Third Rock Ventures and an undisclosed healthcare fund. Additionally, seed lead investors F-Prime Capital and Omega Funds participated substantially. The company’s prior seed investment round of $23 million was announced in June 2023.

Concurrent with the Series A closing, ARTBIO has appointed industry veterans Philippe Dasse, Pharm.D., as Chief Technical Officer and Daniel Rossetto as Head and Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and External Manufacturing. In these roles, Philippe and Daniel will lead the development and expansion of ARTBIO’s unique distributed manufacturing network in support of the company’s clinical pipeline.

“We are thrilled to have the support of our new and existing investors, including Third Rock Ventures, F-Prime Capital and Omega Funds. These groups bring significant expertise in company scale-up and pipeline development that will be invaluable as we continue to progress our programs and pipeline,” said Emanuele Ostuni, Ph.D., CEO of ARTBIO. “Next year will be an important one for the company as we advance our lead program, AB001, and our entire pipeline, while further developing a distributed manufacturing network with our AlphaDirect™ technology. Bringing Philippe and Daniel to the ARTBIO team also deepens our manufacturing expertise to ensure efficient manufacturing and seamless delivery of our novel Pb212 alpha radioligand therapies to patients.”

“The foundational work conducted by the stellar team of experts at ARTBIO has established the potential of alpha radioligand therapies and gives us great confidence that this team can revolutionize today’s cancer treatment paradigm,” said Jeff Tong, Partner at Third Rock Ventures. “As ARTBIO is in a rapid scale-up phase, we are looking forward to supporting its growth by leveraging our deep expertise in discovery, development and operations.”

The appointments of Philippe and Daniel to the management team strengthen the company’s capabilities during this critical stage. In Philippe’s role as Chief Technical Officer, he will lead the development of ARTBIO’s proprietary AlphaDirect™ technology and establishment of the company’s distributed manufacturing network. Philippe was most recently Head of Technical Operations for Radioligand Therapies at Novartis Oncology. Philippe was also the first employee of Advanced Accelerator Applications in 2002, a company acquired by Novartis in 2018, and covered increasing responsibilities to lead all technical operations before his departure. 

“I am excited to join this talented and passionate team to help build the next wave of innovation in radiopharmaceuticals by pushing the boundaries of the platform and creating a new manufacturing paradigm that leverages my past experiences and adapts to the demands of short-lived alpha emitters,” said Dr. Dasse. 

In Daniel’s role as Head and Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and External Manufacturing, he will lead efforts to strengthen the company’s supply chain logistics and manufacturing partnerships to ensure the seamless distribution of ARTs. Daniel has a long career in pharmaceutical manufacturing and was most recently the Global Head of Supply Chain at Advanced Accelerator Applications, Novartis. In this role, Daniel managed a diverse team to scale up a high-speed and agile internal and external supply network to deliver the clinical and commercial RLT portfolio which included PLUVICTO^® to prostate cancer patients.

“The strong Series A funding is a clear sign of the differentiated value proposition and potential of the ARTBIO platform and a recognition of the fast progress that the team has made,” said Ted Love, M.D., ARTBIO Board Chairman and Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s (BIO) Board Chairman. “We are grateful to attract such high-quality investors and associated board members whose deep experience in drug discovery and development as well as company building will serve us well as we continue driving our novel pipeline forward.”

About ARTBIO

ARTBIO is a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company redefining cancer care by creating a new class of alpha radioligand therapies (ARTs). The unique ARTBIO approach selects the optimal alpha-precursor isotope (Pb212) and tumor-specific targets to create highly effective and safe therapeutics. The company’s AlphaDirect™ technology, a first-of-its-kind Pb212 isolation method, enables a distributed manufacturing approach for the reliable production and delivery of ARTs. ARTBIO is advancing three pipeline programs with lead program AB001 currently in first in human trials. ARTBIO is shaped by a long-standing scientific legacy with nearly a century of pioneering work in radiation therapy conducted at the University of Oslo and Norway’s Radium Hospital. For more information, visit www.artbio.com, and follow us on LinkedIn (@artbio-inc) and Twitter (@artbio_inc).

SOURCE ARTBIO

Altair to provide simulation and data analytics tools, and expertise to expedite breakthrough results

TROY, Mich., Dec. 7, 2023 — Altair (Nasdaq: ALTR), a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI), announced together with JLR and battery manufacturer Danecca, the company has been awarded funding from the U.K. government through the Faraday Battery Challenge. The three companies have developed a consortium to support a research project to develop a new design process for electric vehicles. The project funding comes from UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to support the development of battery technology in the U.K.

The new process will leverage Altair technology to develop vehicle prototypes. The new vehicle models will have a new, lighter body that offers more room for the battery without adding additional weight.

JLR will also apply Altair’s C123 process, a unique three-stage concept development process for body-in-white structures. They will also perform optimization with Altair® OptiStruct^™ – a leading FEA solver in the Altair^® HyperWorks^® design and simulation platform – utilizing the solution’s newly developed electrothermal features.

“We are excited to collaborate with JLR and Danecca on this innovative project to support the next generation of electric vehicles, with innovative, efficient designs,” said Royston Jones, senior vice president of automotive, Altair. “Altair’s simulation and data analytics tools will enable the consortium to develop a new design process of electric vehicles and batteries, which will help make these vehicles lighter and more energy efficient.”

“We are thrilled to be part of such an innovative project and to have received funding from the U.K. government through the Faraday Battery Challenge,” said Paul Haney, battery technology senior manager, JLR. “This research project with Altair and Danecca marks an important step forward in creating electric vehicles that deliver sustainable e-mobility for the future.”

“By partnering with Altair and JLR on this innovative project, Danecca has the chance to advance the development of electric vehicles and battery technology,” said Danson Michael Joseph, managing director, Danecca. “Our expertise in battery manufacturing, combined with Altair’s simulation and optimization tools, will enable us to create more efficient battery installations that can power the next generation of electric vehicles.”

The project runs from Feb. 1, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2025, and will continuously explore how to make improvements through simulation after the components for the prototype vehicles have been ordered. All research results will stay with JLR, Danecca, and Altair after the funded project period and can be used for other customers or projects.

For more information, visit https://www.ukri.org/what-we-offer/browse-our-areas-of-investment-and-support/faraday-battery-challenge/.

About Altair

Altair is a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI) that provides software and cloud solutions in simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), data analytics, and AI. Altair enables organizations across all industries to compete more effectively and drive smarter decisions in an increasingly connected world – all while creating a greener, more sustainable future. For more information, visit https://www.altair.com/.

SOURCE Altair

Regional Winners from Around the World Competed for a $1 Million Investment at the Grand Finale in San Francisco

SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 7, 2023 — Months of preparation and pitching by thousands of entrepreneurs around the world came down to ten finalists at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale event on December 1, 2023, at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco. The event was organized and by Pegasus Tech Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based global venture capital firm. A panel of investors judged the pitches of the ten finalists and ultimately awarded the grand prize – a $1 million investment – to Aillis, a machine-learning based AI company which uses pharyngeal images instead of specimen collected by swab to make accurate and early influenza detection possible. Aillis won the regional Startup World Cup competition in Tokyo, Japan.

Other finalist companies competing for the $1 million investment prize included companies from Thailand, Luxembourg, Korea, Colombia, Georgia, Japan, and Mexico, as well as regional winners from Sacramento and Silicon Valley in the U.S. The ten finalists were chosen in a semi-final competition held on November 29^th in San Francisco, during which 52 regional winners from over 30 countries around the world competed for ten finalist slots.

VOINOSIS, representing South Korea took home 2^nd place, provides a digital prevention and care service for dementia using voice analysis AI technology. SaveFruit, representing Mexico, took home 3^rd place. They are a biotechnology company that develops a post-harvest solution.

Conference and Competition
At the Grand Finale on December 1^st, more than 2,000 attendees participated in a conference that included tech luminaries as speakers and a startup competition to become the competition for global champion. Barbara Corcoran, of Shark Tank fame, appeared to share her stories as an entrepreneur and investor. Other speakers included Vinod Khosla, as well as executives of Tesla, Waymo, LinkedIn, Uber, T-Mobile, Roblox, Reddit, and many others.

The competition was judged by a panel of investors, including partners from Norwest Venture Partners, Samsung Ventures, Intel Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Alchemist Accelerator. “The competition this year was extremely intense. We can hear and see their energy and enthusiasm with entrepreneurs from all over the world presenting groundbreaking innovations. We congratulate the Aillis team for their tremendous success and hard work at the Startup World Cup 2023 Grand Finale,” said Anis Uzzaman, Founder and CEO of Pegasus Tech Ventures and Chairman of Startup World Cup. “This year’s competition proved once again that innovation has no boundary. A successful startup can be founded anywhere in the world and still compete at the global level. This paves the way for all startups in every corner of the world. We encourage them to persevere and take risks without hesitation.”

For photos of the event, please click here.

About Pegasus Tech Ventures
Pegasus Tech Ventures is a global venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley with over $2 Billion in Assets Under Management. Pegasus offers intellectual and financial capital to emerging technology companies around the world. In addition to offering institutional investors a top-tier venture capital investment approach, Pegasus also offers a unique Venture Capital-as-a-Service (VCaaS) model for large, global corporations that wish to partner with cutting-edge technology startups. Some of the 35+ corporate partners that have partnered with Pegasus include SEGA, ASUS, AISIN, Niterra, and Sojitz. These corporations are able to have access to 260+ Pegasus portfolio companies such as SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), SoFi, Airbnb, Color, Robinhood, and many more.

For more information about Pegasus Tech Ventures, please visit https://www.pegasustechventures.com.

About Startup World Cup
Startup World Cup was created by Pegasus Tech Ventures to celebrate entrepreneurship around the world. Startup World Cup is a global series of conferences and competitions that bring together the top startups, investors, entrepreneurs, media, and tech CEOs around the world. Starting with thousands of applications for regional competitions in approximately 50 countries across six continents, hundreds of selected startups compete for the chance to move onto the Grand Finale event in San Francisco to win a $1 million investment grand prize. Startup World Cup is organized by Pegasus Tech Ventures in partnership with investors and local sponsors.

For more information on the Startup World Cup, please visit https://www.startupworldcup.io.

Startup World Cup 2023 Finalists

SOURCE Pegasus Tech Ventures

ICONIQ Growth backs fintech’s efforts to expand access to comprehensive wealth management services for 401(k) participants

NEW YORK, Dec. 7, 2023 — Pontera, the fintech company enabling 401(k) participants to receive comprehensive wealth management services by personal financial advisors, has secured $60 million in a funding round led by ICONIQ Growth. This investment raises Pontera’s total funding to $160 million, reinforcing its commitment to address the widespread neglect of workplace retirement accounts held by 85 million Americans—a critical element of the U.S. retirement crisis.

After more than quadrupling revenue since its last fundraise announced in February 2022, Pontera welcomed ICONIQ Growth as a new investor in an up round with additional participation from prior investors Blumberg Capital, Collaborative Fund, Hanaco Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and The Founders Kitchen.

“We are proud to support the Pontera team as they empower advisors to help their clients feel more financially secure and retire with greater wealth,” said Yoonkee Sull, General Partner at ICONIQ Growth. “Pontera is addressing a growing market need with a solution that benefits the entire retirement ecosystem through a proven approach for financial advisors to compliantly and more effectively manage workplace retirement assets.” 

Thousands of financial advisors are now leveraging Pontera’s platform to overcome operational hurdles to securely and compliantly manage 401(k), 403(b) and other retirement plan assets as a critical part of their clients’ wealth.

Jeremy Abfalter, an Arizona resident, describes his challenges before his financial advisor at Ironwood Wealth Management invited him to the Pontera platform: “I would sign up for a 401(k) through my company… I just didn’t feel as comfortable trying to pick [plan] options by myself without having any knowledge or experience in doing it.”

Now receiving professional help by his advisor, facilitated via Pontera, he reports: “Having the peace of mind knowing that there are experts at Ironwood who are managing our 401(k) makes it a lot easier for me and stress free.”

Studies have consistently shown that the majority of 401(k) plan participants desire more comprehensive assistance with retirement planning, and that a professionally-managed portfolio can generate up to 4% additional annual net returns. However, as over one third of workers seek professional help, financial advisors have historically struggled to manage the entirety of clients’ retirement assets.

The operational challenges begin with the workplace retirement account’s location; as plans are selected by employers, it is often the case that a financial advisor has no affiliation with the financial institution holding their client’s 401(k). To manage these outside assets, financial advisors have for years logged into accounts using their client’s credentials—a practice that requires substantial investments in cybersecurity and compliance. Alternatively, advisors have provided rebalancing guidance to clients, assuming the risks of lacking full plan information and implementation oversight.

Pontera alleviates these challenges through its client-permissioned platform, which empowers advisors to analyze, rebalance and monitor 401(k), 403(b) and other held-away accounts across hundreds of financial institutions in a single, unified view. The platform is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified and integrates with leading portfolio management software to provide clients with a 360° view of their finances. Clients benefit from enhanced transparency, peace of mind and retirement outcomes. 

“It’s one of those rare moments in time where if you implement a new capability everyone wins, from the client to the advisor,” said Shirl Penney, President and CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners, a leading provider of wealth management and technology platforms to over 300 financial advisors. Penney recently announced that Dynasty is on track to oversee $100 billion in client assets by July 2024.

As the future of social security is uncertain, the U.S. government is working to expand and preserve the 401(k), as indicated by the SECURE 2.0 Act and the proposed Retirement Security Rule. The latter targets $779 billion lost by plan participants during inadequate account rollovers. Earlier this year, Pontera evidenced its solution helps advisors and their clients keep assets in 401(k) plans and minimize suboptimal rollovers.

“This funding is not just an investment in Pontera; it’s an investment in the future of every U.S. worker striving for a secure and fulfilling retirement,” said Yoav Zurel, CEO of Pontera. “We are proud to partner with investors who recognize the nation’s looming retirement crisis and Pontera’s role in helping everyday families.”

Pontera’s collaboration with Dynasty represents a significant achievement in the company’s journey since the last funding round; other notable new relationships include Benjamin Edwards, OneDigital, Savant and Wealthspire. In that time, Pontera has also launched new platform integrations with wealth management platforms Addepar, Envestnet and Morningstar.

To learn more about Pontera, visit pontera.com.

About Pontera

Pontera is a fintech company on a mission to help millions of Americans retire better by enabling financial advisors to analyze, rebalance, and report on workplace retirement account assets, including 401(k)s, 403(b)s and more. The platform is designed to work across the vast majority of retirement plans and seamlessly integrate with existing portfolio management tools to help advisors improve their clients’ financial outcomes. Founded in 2012, Pontera is headquartered in New York City. Learn more at pontera.com.

SOURCE Pontera

• Successful funding round led by renowned international investors and regional corporate investment arms
• Achieves overall profitability for the first time with 3x top-line growth from pre-COVID levels

SINGAPORE, Dec. 6, 2023 — Klook, Asia’s leading platform for experiences and travel services, announces that it has successfully completed a US$210 million financing, supporting business growth and fortifying financial stability. The equity round is led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from BPEA EQT, Asia investment funds Atinum Investment and Golden Vision Capital, and corporate investment arms from Southeast Asia, including Krungsri Finnovate (under Bank of Ayudhya), Kasikornbank Financial Conglomerate and SMIC SG Holdings. The round also includes bank facilities from Citi, J.P. Morgan, and HSBC.

For many Asian markets, 2023 marks the first year of travel recovery with a notable rebound in tourism figures and a gradual recovery in flight capacities. Despite this early stage in market recovery, Klook has demonstrated remarkable business success, surpassing previous milestones with a threefold increase compared to 2019 and boasting an annualized gross booking value of US$3 billion. Notably, the company also achieved overall profitability for the first time earlier this year.

Ethan Lin, CEO and Co-Founder, credits this accomplishment to the collective efforts of the team in establishing the groundwork for the post-COVID era of travel. “During the pandemic, we doubled down on our resources in merchant digitization and the expansion of our supply network, including car rentals and outdoor experiences. This positions us strongly to capture new travel trends coming out of the pandemic,” said Lin.

The company’s success is further underscored by its increasing brand strength, strategically building on and leveraging its app-first approach to both acquire and retain customers, with over 80% of bookings made through mobile today. Impressively, the influx of new customers acquired in 2023 more than doubled that of 2019, while repeat customers contributed to over half of the total bookings, demonstrating the sustained customer loyalty fostered by the platform.

“Leveraging strong business fundamentals that led to significant growth in revenue and profit this year, including a threefold increase in productivity (revenue per headcount), we are set for a new phase of sustainable expansion. With Asia in the early stages of post-COVID recovery, upcoming global events like the Paris Olympics 2024 and Osaka World Expo 2025, along with rising expenditures and digital adoption, the industry outlook in Asia is exceptionally positive,” added Lin.

The global travel industry is projected to soar to a staggering US$15.5 trillion by 2033, with Asia Pacific leading the way as the fastest-growing region. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% in the Asia Pacific (from 2023-2028), almost doubling that of North America and Europe, this dynamic region is set to capture a larger share of the global travel market, driven by a burgeoning middle class, increased consumer spending, and a growing appetite for unique experiences. Klook remains focused on catering to the increasing demand for immersive travel among Asian customers and showcasing the best of Asia to inbound travelers.

“We are pioneering a transformative era of travel, catering to a new generation of more digitally-savvy travelers with bigger and bolder appetites for unique experiences. Our goal is to empower travelers to explore the world effortlessly through the Klook app, a one-stop platform that seamlessly connects them to a comprehensive range of in-destination services, encompassing immersive experiences and convenient ground transportation,” shared Eric Gnock Fah, COO and Co-Founder of Klook.

Klook will strategically allocate the new funds to three key areas for growth. Firstly, in product innovation, expanding its city pass offerings to enhance traveler convenience and savings. Secondly, by scaling social and digital marketing through the Klook Kreator program, driving conversions with authentic, social, user-generated content. Thirdly, by advancing innovation through continuous AI integration. The recent collaboration with Google Cloud will integrate Generative AI across the platform, covering automated translations, content generation, and customer service chatbot. The company will also collaborate with the new strategic investors in the region, to increase market share and boost growth, tapping into the fast-growing middle class in Southeast Asia.

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About Klook

Klook is Asia’s leading platform for experiences and travel services. We curate quality experiences ranging from attractions and tours to local transport and experiential stays, in over 2,300 destinations globally. Founded in 2014, we are here to inspire and enable more moments of joy for travelers anytime, anywhere.

SOURCE Klook

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 6, 2023 — Pioneer Management Consulting announced today the launch of Pioneer Ventures Group, a new investment arm focused on funding companies researching cures for a rare and lethal pediatric brain cancer, known medically as diffused intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG) with H3K27 and EFGR variants. The fund will eventually expand further into biotech and beyond.

“We’ve been working to start a venture arm for more than five years now,” said Pioneer founder and co-owner, Brian Westerhaus. “We chose to support DIPG research in honor of Molly Koenen’s brother, Timothy Orth, and niece, Josephine (Zoey) Orth, who both lost their lives to DIPG at the ages of 18 and 3.” (Koenen is a partner and co-owner at Pioneer Management Consulting and Pioneer Ventures Group.)

Westerhaus highlighted another challenge that compelled Pioneer to help. “Unfortunately, pediatric cancer research is woefully underfunded. It gets less than 4% of all cancer research dollars available, and almost none of that goes to rare types, like DIPG. Which means the treatment protocol in 1997 when Tim died, and in 2022, when Zoey was sick, are the same—steroids, radiation, and chemotherapy, all in the desperate hope that they’ll buy enough time to get to a miracle clinical trial. And yet, 25 years apart, both died within months of diagnosis.”

The Pioneer Venture Group’s first investment is in OX2 Therapeutics (OX2), a company led by Jeff Liter, an experienced biotech executive, and his business partners, Michael Olin, PhD, and Chris Moertel, MD. Olin and Moertel are two leading DIPG researchers in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota.

OX2 is a leader in the game-changing world of immunotherapies. In simple terms, immunotherapy turns the cancer patient’s immune system back on to “undisguise” and then kill cancer cells, while leaving the body’s “good” cells safe and intact. OX2’s approach, called CD200, is catching the attention of the biotech world because of its unique ability to shut down the checkpoints in cancer cells that cause mutation, while also restarting the immune systems to kill them. A one-of-a-kind dual approach.

OX2 completed a trial for adults with high-grade glioblastomas (the equivalent of the pediatric version) at the University of Minnesota with a success rate promising enough to earn the right to start a pediatric trial. The pediatric trial will start in January 2024 at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company plans to treat and care for 12 to 18 children in the hopes of getting FDA approval to help many, many more.

“My brother, Mike Orth, and his wife, Heather, spent almost 4 months fighting for the life of their daughter, Zoey. Our family spent 14 months fighting for my brother, Tim. In both instances, the communities that surrounded us and the companies we worked for provided immeasurable, comprehensive, and unconditional help. My goal in life is to pay that forward.”

Please note, clinical trials are funded only by the generosity of those who care. To donate to the pediatric trial at Children’s Hospital in Minnesota, please contact Teri Cannon [email protected]

About Pioneer Management Consulting
Pioneer Management Consulting was founded in 2009 and has quickly emerged as one of the fastest-growing consulting firms in the Midwest. The firm has appeared on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies for the past two years and currently has offices in Minneapolis and Denver. Pioneer specializes in guiding complex transformation projects for enterprises, with services spanning strategy, execution, organizational effectiveness, and data analytics.

Media Contact
Molly Koenen, Partner and Owner
[email protected]
Cell: (763) 331-1845

SOURCE Pioneer Management Consulting