Refine helps financial institutions recognize customers’ life stories and identify legitimate activities, so they can quickly clear away false alarms

NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 14, 2023 — Refine Intelligence, the pioneer in Financial Crime Greenflagging, launched today with a $13 million seed funding round led by Glilot Capital Partners and Fin Capital with participation from SYN Ventures, Valley Ventures (the corporate venture capital arm of Valley Bank), and other investors including Ground Up Ventures.

While the anti-money laundering (AML) industry is focused on detecting account anomalies, Refine Intelligence is the only crime-fighting fintech focused on “greenflagging” legitimate customer behavior through providing a clear picture of their life stories. This novel approach is set to change the game in AML, helping banks reduce handling time while focusing on truly unexplained anomalies. Founded by serial entrepreneurs in financial crime fighting and cybersecurity, Refine Intelligence will use the funding to accelerate expansion within North America, Europe and Latin America, and advance the development of its technology.

Catching the Good Guys

AML investigators are overwhelmed by transaction monitoring alerts that spot anomalies in customer accounts. Most alerts are triggered by perfectly legitimate life stories such as selling a house, buying a used car, or paying tuition for an international student. Banks simply lack the context for these activities, and devote many resources to investigating false alarms. Refine Intelligence provides critical context in real time to explain customers’ actions using two capabilities:

1. User-friendly digital inquiries in which customers are asked about the source of funds, the nature of the activity and other crucial contextual information; and
2. AI trained using a unique, proprietary data set of genuine customer activity patterns that can automatically recognize specific customer life stories.

With Refine Intelligence, banks can bolster their existing AML monitoring to:

• Better focus on truly suspicious activity by quickly clearing away false alarms
• More clearly understand customer behavior and transactions, leading to more effective and efficient investigations
• Enable financial institutions to collect much needed context from the customer in a structured, consistent and bias-free manner

Putting Customer Relationships Back into Banks’ Hands

“Banks used to have a superpower: knowing their customers’ life stories so they could provide personalized financial service,” said Refine Intelligence Co-founder and CEO Uri Rivner. “With banking increasingly done online and a significant drop in face-to-face interactions, banks’ understanding of customer behavior is limited. Refine Intelligence restores that critical context, empowering banks to ‘catch the good guys’ – identify false alarms triggered by perfectly legitimate customer transactions, and focus their energy on actual dubious activity.”

Refine Intelligence’s first customer was Valley Bank, which saw such great outcomes that their venture capital arm, Valley Ventures, decided to invest in the company. “After implementing Refine Intelligence’s solution, our AML inquiry process was cut from 16 days to two minutes,” said Valley Bank’s Director of AML Chris Phillips. “This has freed up our team to spend less time on investigations and more time serving our customers. Using Refine Intelligence has enhanced our efficiency by streamlining the process of investigating and resolving AML alerts, and improving our customers’ satisfaction.”

Statistical Analysis from Refine Intelligence

Based on Refine Intelligence’s work with North American banks, it has determined the following points of interest:

• Refine Intelligence’s Digital Outreach reduces customer inquiry resolution time from two weeks to two minutes.
• Refine’s Digital Outreach customer inquiries achieve an 85% completion rate
• 64% of all AML alerts can be explained by the following top five life stories:
  1. Buying or selling real estate
  2. Payment for cash-intensive jobs
  3. Giving or receiving of gifts
  4. Buying or selling a vehicle
  5. Payment for construction expenses

“Money laundering is a persistent problem for banks to monitor, yet it lacks an effective automated solution to keep the issue in check,” said Glilot Capital Partner Founder and Managing Partner Kobi Samboursky. “Refine Intelligence has developed a powerful solution that ensures efficiency through the innovative application of their AI technology. We are excited about the market opportunities ahead of Refine Intelligence, and thrilled to join their mission to transform the financial fraud detection sector.”

“In a digitally-transformed banking landscape, Refine Intelligence stands out for its innovation in combating financial crime,” said Fin Capital Principal Sasha Pilch. “Their approach to AML offers a simple yet unique solution to a problem that banks have struggled with for years. We’re excited to join Refine Intelligence on its path to becoming a leader in crime-fighting fintech, transforming how banks combat money laundering and fraud.” 

About Refine Intelligence

Refine Intelligence has developed a novel approach to help banks reduce the growing operational costs of financial crime. Their proprietary AI scans anti-money laundering alerts from transaction monitoring systems and “greenflags” customers’ legitimate activity to dramatically reduce investigation time, and can also be used to protect against check fraud, scams and money mules. Founded by tech veterans in fighting financial crime, Refine Intelligence is backed by Glilot Capital Partners, SYN Ventures, Fin Capital and Valley Ventures. To learn more, visit www.refineintelligence.com.

For more information, please contact:

Josh Turner
Si14 Global Communications
[email protected]
+1 (917) 231-0550

SOURCE Refine Intelligence

PitchBook and Web Summit partner on 8th survey

LISBON, Portugal, Nov. 14, 2023 — PitchBook, the premier data provider for the private and public equity markets, today released findings from a new survey conducted in partnership with Web Summit, the world’s largest technology conference which takes place November 13-17, 2023 at Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal.

Key Takeaways

• 62.2% said artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) has the most disruption potential of emerging technologies, an increase from 29% 12 months prior. 30% of investors regularly use AI to assess investment opportunities.
• 63.1% of investors say they would not invest if there would be a negative environmental impact.
• Only 43.2% said they have increased the representation of women within their firm and portfolio companies, while the number of women in senior management positions has also decreased from 75% to 66.7% over the last year.
• Just 28.9% of investors say geopolitical events would affect their investment strategies, a significant decrease from last year’s 79%.

The survey was completed by 111 global venture capital (VC) investors attending the conference. This is the 8th survey PitchBook and Web Summit have collaborated on and offers a look into investor sentiment towards emerging technologies, shifts in investment strategy and increasing representation of women in VC. PitchBook is sponsoring the investor lounge at Web Summit, where investors in attendance can work, take meetings and network. 

Globally, venture capital investment activity has slowed with $247.2 billion invested through the end of the third quarter, down from $439.9 billion in the same period of 2022. Exits remain difficult to come back, applying pressure to the dealmaking environment and slow fundraising is in large part due to exit markets returning little in the way of gains back to VCs and LPs.

“Nearly half of the investors surveyed expect it to be more difficult to raise capital from LPs in the next 12 months, which aligns with what we’re seeing in the data as fundraising conditions have become more challenging considering the record amounts raised in recent years,” said Kyle Stanford, lead VC analyst at PitchBook. “We expect the low fundraising totals from this year to impact VC activity in 2024, even as many investors point to next year as a rebound year for the market.”

“It’s heartening to see so many firms say that they wouldn’t invest if there would be negative environmental impact. We’ve noticed an increase year on year in sustainability and cleantech focused startups, almost doubling since 2021, and are delighted to see this trend among VCs. However the decrease in firms investing in women led startups is concerning. Countless studies such as those from McKinsey and the American Sociological Review have highlighted the benefits of diversity and inclusion in business. We value this highly, with almost one third of our startups having a woman founder, and 43 percent women attendees, we hope that we can lead by example to help close this gap,” said Ricardo Lima, Head of Startups and Investors at Web Summit.

See findings and comparisons with past surveys below:

Emerging technologies

• Investor interest in AI/ML has continued, with 62.2% of respondents indicating AI/ML has the potential to be most disruptive in the next five to ten years. Compared to past conferences, this is on pace with Collision 2023 (64%) where we saw interest skyrocket compared to Web Summit 2022 where only 29% selected AI and ML six months prior. Climate tech (9.9%) and healthtech (8.1%) were in second and third place, respectively.
• When it comes to investing in these AI/ML technologies, 75.8% of investors surveyed have made at least one investment in AI companies in the last eighteen months and 7.2% have made at least six investments in the space. 
• Almost one-third (30%) of investors said they regularly use AI and data analytics when reviewing investment opportunities. Another 36.4% indicated that while they are not currently using AI and data analytics in the investment review process, they plan to integrate both in the review process in the next 1-2 years.

Investment strategies

• Majority of investors say geopolitical events (71.1%) and rising interest rates (72.9%) have little to no impact on their investment strategies. This is a shift from last year’s Web Summit, where only 21% of investors said their investment strategies were not impacted by geopolitical events.
• However, 63.1% say environmental impact affects their decision when assessing an investment opportunity and they would not invest if there would be a negative impact.
• For the first year, disruption potential (36%) has taken the top spot for which criterion investors look for when evaluating a technology investment opportunity, followed by executive team pedigree (34.2%). At both Collision 2023 and Web Summit 2022, executive team pedigree were the front runners, at 48% and 31% respectively.
• Looking at the mix of new and follow-on investments in existing funds, 91.8% of investors said at least half of their fund was for new investments, up from 82% at Web Summit a year ago.

Women in VC

• Over half of investors surveyed (58.6%) reported 25% of their investments made in the last 18 months were to women-led startups. This is slightly lower than what was reported at Collision in June (66%), however, the number of investors reporting no investments in female founders has lowered to 26.1% presently compared to 33.3% five months ago. 
• Investors also reported fewer women in senior management positions at their firms, dropping to 66.7% from 75% at Web Summit 2022.
• Nearly three-quarters of investors (71.1%) claim they have increased hiring or are actively exploring ways to increase representation of women and marginalized communities at the firm-level and within portfolio companies, while 20.7% report it is not an area of focus at this time. However, only 43.2% of investors said they have increased the representation of women within their firm and portfolio companies

For more information about PitchBook, clickhere.

About PitchBook
PitchBook is a financial data and software company that provides transparency into the capital markets to help professionals discover and execute opportunities with confidence and efficiency. PitchBook collects and analyzes detailed data on the entire venture capital, private equity and M&A landscape—including public and private companies, investors, funds, investments, exits and people. The company’s data and analysis are available through the PitchBook Platform, industry news and in-depth reports. Founded in 2007, PitchBook operates globally with more than 3,000 employees. Its platform, data and research serve nearly 100,000 professionals around the world. In 2016, Morningstar acquired PitchBook, which now operates as an independent subsidiary.

About Web Summit
In the words of Inc. Magazine, “Web Summit is the largest technology conference in the world”. Forbes says Web Summit is “the best tech conference on the planet”, Bloomberg calls it “Davos for geeks”, Politico “the Olympics of tech”, and the Guardian “Glastonbury for geeks”.

SOURCE PitchBook

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 13, 2023 — The seed funding round, led by LOVC, is joined by Venture 53 Fund and Accelerator, and Silicon Road Ventures. Davinci Micro Fulfillment leverages data analytics and machine learning to strategically empower multichannel merchants to place inventory in the company’s physical location network. The platform helps companies optimize real-time supply and demand fulfillment, streamline inventory management, and offer unparalleled delivery speeds to their end customers. Brands that work with Davinci today have seen a 25% increase in sales and 30% savings in fulfillment costs.

“True micro fulfillment isn’t just utilizing smaller warehouses closer to consumers; it’s an end-to-end strategy that brands can leverage to create a competitive advantage,” says Corey Apirian, CEO and Founder of Davinci. “Our expertise and technology automate the process of knowing when and where to capture shoppers’ attention and exactly where those products should be placed to meet today’s standards for fast and affordable shipping.” As the demand for e-commerce and improving the buyer experience grows, Davinci is well-positioned to help brands scale their delivery and fulfillment operations efficiently.

This investment will allow Davinci to accelerate product development and expand its team to meet its growing market demand. “Davinci is a true growth engine for brand expansion in an omnichannel landscape, and we’re thrilled to support them in their journey to enable the future of commerce,” says Dean Hatton, Founding Partner at LOVC. “The micro fulfillment market holds significant potential, not just due to its capacity for enabling merchants to move quicker, but also because it offers opportunities for integration with emerging technologies like AI and robotics, alongside fostering more sustainable solutions.”

About LOVC: 

LOVC is an early-stage venture fund investing in B2B software companies based in the Eastern US. Founded in 2016 by former entrepreneurs and headquartered in Florida, LOVC is now investing out of its $50M Fund II and typically leads $3–7M rounds with $1.5–2.5M checks in businesses with early commercial signals of product-market fit (typically $200K+ ARR). Our low-frequency and high-conviction investment approach (3-5 companies per year) allows us to be deeply collaborative and hands-on with the founders we partner with.

Note: This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities. Please contact the Manager for additional information.

Contact Information:
media@lasolasvc.com

SOURCE Las Olas Venture Capital

Construction of Luxury Boutique Hotel Slated for Completion in 2025

SAN FRANCISCO and HEALDSBURG, Calif., Nov. 13, 2023 — GreenRock Capital, a leading C-PACE Finance Company, and Petros PACE Finance, the largest C-PACE provider in the country and a leader in innovative and structured finance, together announced the close of $62.6 million in Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing for the construction of the Appellation Healdsburg hotel project located at 101 Dovetail in Healdsburg, Sonoma County. CCS Healdsburg Hotel, LLC, a partnership between Comstock Development Company, Wine Country Holdings an affiliate of Appellation, and HVH Investment will develop the property for the new culinary-forward luxury hotel brand and operator, Appellation.

“C-PACE financing is integral to structuring a robust capital stack, offering our clients a path to not only secure the viability of new development projects but also to advance them with a strong commitment to sustainability,” said Chris Robbins, managing principal of GreenRock Capital. “This form of financing is fostering job growth while supporting environmentally conscious construction with a commitment to long-term economic and ecological benefits.”

Anticipated to open in 2025, the 108-key luxury boutique hotel Appellation Healdsburg will deliver the Wine Country lifestyle with an array of amenities and facilities, including a 160-seat Charlie Palmer signature restaurant and bar, rooftop bar, fitness club, spa and two pools, and 15,500-square-feet of meeting and event space. The property will hold a unique market position as the only 4½ star resort that provides the amenities and experiences that the modern-day traveler seeks, while intimately immersing guests into the local community.

“The Healdsburg hotel project is a prime example of a sophisticated developer using C-PACE to supplement their complex capital stack with financing that is both innovative and sustainable,” said Mansoor Ghori, CEO and founder of Petros PACE Finance. “Once considered alternative or niche financing, C-PACE is now poised to lead the commercial real estate industry forward as a mainstream solution for funding across all property types and development needs.”

The project is being developed as part of the broader North Village mixed-use master plan, strategically located two miles north of downtown Healdsburg. The full master site encompasses: a housing project consisting of 27 Category C townhomes; a mixed-use development by Burbank Housing, a leading non-profit housing provider in Sonoma County to deliver 53 workforce housing units atop approximately 12,500 square feet of retail; and Enso Village, the Zen inspired residential project nearing its final stages of construction through a collaboration between Kendal Homes and the San Francisco Zen Center.

“Comstock prides itself not only on being a leader in construction and architecture, but also for reducing our carbon footprint and creating environmentally sustainable buildings,” stated Robert Comstock, Principal, Comstock. “This financing provides a long-term source of sustainability capital for this asset that has been accretive in the capital stack,” said Nicholas Long, CFO, Comstock.  

About GreenRock Capital
GreenRock Capital LLC, based in the San Francisco Bay Area and operating throughout the United States where commercial PACE (C‑PACE) is available, is exclusively focused on originating, advising and helping lead financings. The co‑founders have been active participants in the C‑PACE sector since 2014. In 2023, the firm closed the largest C-PACE loan to-date on an office property in the U.S., as well as the second largest C-PACE loan on a single property of any type in the U.S. For more information, visit GreenRock at https://www.greenrockhc.com/.

About Petros PACE Finance
Petros PACE Finance, LLC is the national leader in the C-PACE marketplace, dedicated solely to providing long-term C-PACE financing to commercial property owners seeking to lower energy costs, reduce their carbon footprint and increase property values and meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. The company is a platform portfolio investment of Apollo Global Management. Its leadership team has decades of executive-level experience in private credit and structured finance, with direct long-term institutional investor relationships. With billions in committed capital, Petros is able to close transactions in eligible C-PACE markets nationwide. To learn more about Petros PACE Finance visit our website at www.petros-pace.com.

About Comstock
Comstock Development Company, with over 30 years of proven development experience and deep roots in the City of Healdsburg, is a vertically integrated organization comprising industry-leading talent. We take immense pride in our unwavering commitment to creating spaces distinguished by their sense of community and heart, ensuring that every vision is brought to life with unparalleled excellence. Our extensive track record includes the development and leasing of an impressive 3,000,000 square feet of office and retail spaces, the acquisition, entitlement, and sale of more than 40 residential projects, totaling over 4,000 units, and the successful design, construction, and current operation of a 17,000 square-foot winery in Healdsburg.

About Appellation

Appellation, meaning “to give a name to a place,” crafts unparalleled culinary-centered places of hospitality that immerse guests in the uniquely local aspects of exceptional destinations. The first hotel brand born from the merger of culinary and hospitality, Appellation is about comfort and connection over formality and extravagance – perfectly blending luxury amenities with real world experiences born of this place. The company is the vision of co-founders Charlie Palmer, one of America’s best-known chefs who arguably created the successful hotel restaurant model, and Christopher Hunsberger, who spent over 30 years in strategic leadership roles with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. When the first Appellation hotels open in Healdsburg (CA), Sun Valley (ID), Petaluma (CA), Pacific Grove (CA), they will set a new standard for immersion in culinary, culture and community that can only be found “here.” To learn more, visit www.appellationhotels.com.

SOURCE Petros PACE Finance, LLC

Practice management company focused on aesthetics market partners with global investment firm to expand into new markets

MIAMI, Nov. 13, 2023 — Aesthetic Partners , a leading clinical aesthetics-focused practice management company, announced a strategic partnership with global investment firm Norwest to accelerate growth in new markets. With Norwest’s support, Aesthetic Partners will invest in infrastructure and expansion across existing and new clinics.

Aesthetic Partners joins forces with physician-led medical aesthetics, cosmetic dermatology and plastic surgery clinics in prospering suburban markets throughout the U.S. One of the first platform entrants in the booming aesthetics market, it has added 20 practices since 2019, expanding throughout California, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.

“Aesthetic Partners is one of the earliest players in the clinical aesthetics space and has demonstrated an exceptional track record of helping medical aesthetic, dermatology and plastic surgery practices across the country grow their businesses,” said Sonya Brown, general partner at Norwest. “We are excited to partner with the leadership team on Aesthetic Partners’ next phase of growth.”

Norwest’s Sonya Brown and Scott Mitchell will join Aesthetic Partners’ board of directors. Together they bring more than two decades of investment experience that includes partnering with leadership teams to build successful clinical beauty and skincare businesses such as PCA Skin, MAËLYS, and Face Reality.

“Norwest has a reputation as a growth partner that invests in forward-thinking brands. Their commitment to partnership and collaboration mirrors our own,” said Courtney Ellenbogen, co-founder and co-CEO of Aesthetic Partners. “At Aesthetic Partners, we don’t acquire just to acquire –– like Norwest, we partner selectively with accomplished founders seeking to achieve industry leadership. We want to complement the expertise of our portfolio of practice leaders, which requires a more nuanced approach than brands typically experience with a traditional private equity firm. We believe Norwest is the right partner to join us in this endeavor.”

Aesthetic Partners is a pioneering clinical aesthetics practice management company that selectively partners with practices to grow through expansion rather than consolidation under one enterprise. This unique strategy allows partners to maintain brand equity and foster customer loyalty at the clinic level and within the community. As part of its growth strategy, the company provides partners with a rigorous approach to talent development that includes best-in-class clinical and management training programs, promotional opportunities for high-performing members of its partner brand teams and a Medical Advisory Board comprised of physicians from partner brands, including published authors, AMI trainers and keynote conference leaders.

“Courtney and I share a competitive nature, and we extend that to our portfolio to help them succeed,” said co-founder and co-CEO Faraz Karbasi. “Our partners have a deep desire to grow while holding onto what makes them great, including their teams, brands and culture. Aesthetic Partners was built to help them achieve this vision, and Norwest aligns with our mission in every way –– from their focus on supporting founders to their commitment to excellence. We are thrilled to partner with them to unlock the next phase of growth for our portfolio.”

About Aesthetic Partners

Aesthetic Partners is a leading clinical aesthetics practice management company that specializes in high-end, physician-led, and patient-centric practices. Aesthetic Partners provides growth capital, functional expertise, and new location expansion support to brands within its portfolio. Incubated at Harvard and founded in 2018, Aesthetic Partners is based in Miami, Florida, and is female- and minority-owned. For more information on Aesthetic Partners, visit aestheticpartners.com  or email [email protected].

About Norwest:

Norwest is a leading venture and growth equity investment firm managing more than $12.5 billion in capital. Since its inception, Norwest has invested in more than 650 companies and currently partners with more than 200 companies in its venture and growth equity portfolio. The firm invests in early- to late-stage businesses across a wide range of sectors with a focus on consumer, enterprise, and healthcare. The Norwest team offers a deep network of connections, operating experience, and a wide range of impactful services to help CEOs and founders scale their businesses. Norwest has offices in Menlo Park and San Francisco, with subsidiaries in India and Israel. For more information, please visit www.nvp.com.

SOURCE Aesthetic Partners

Funding round will accelerate Divergent’s commercial scale-up across automotive, aerospace, and defense production

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13, 2023 — Divergent Technologies, Inc. (“Divergent”), the company that has invented, developed, and commercialized the world’s first end-to-end digital industrial manufacturing system, announced today that it has completed a Series D equity financing totaling $230 million. The round was led by a $100 million investment from Hexagon AB and included participation from new and existing institutional and family office investors.

Divergent has developed the Divergent Adaptive Production System (“DAPS™”), an end-to-end system-level replacement for traditional design, manufacturing, and assembly solutions. DAPS is a complete software-hardware production system that leverages in-house developed AI-driven generative design software to computationally engineer structures, novel materials and additive manufacturing to materialize structures, and automated fixtureless assembly to create large multi-part assemblies. Products created using DAPS are superior in performance, lower in cost, rapidly customizable to meet mission and customer-specific requirements, faster to market, and scalable on demand to high volume production.

Divergent uses this revolutionary system to supply the automotive, aerospace and defense industries with next generation products as a certified Tier 1 supplier. It has seven blue-chip automotive customers, including Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG. Within the aerospace and defense industry, Divergent is actively working with six U.S. government contractors across a diverse range of applications.

“DAPS was created to serve as the foundation for a global system of regional manufacturing facilities that combine and fully exploit supercomputing, AI, robotics and additive manufacturing in a novel way,” said Kevin Czinger, Founder, Lead Inventor and CEO. “We now have entered the ‘4D Age‘ of fully digitized design-manufacturing-assembly as a service, dematerialized products using and requiring less material and energy, distributed regional production, and democratized access to the tools, data and production assets necessary for innovation in our human-built world.” 

Lukas Czinger, President and Chief Operating Officer added, “DAPS allows customers to develop higher performing products on faster timelines and with zero design-specific capex, freeing manufacturers from the burdens of legacy design decisions. Divergent is on a mission to rebuild the American industrial base with a truly transformational manufacturing technology.”

About Divergent

Divergent has created the world’s first end-to-end software-hardware production system for industrial digital manufacturing – the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS™) – allowing customers to design, additively manufacture, and automatically assemble complex structures for automotive, aerospace, and defense applications. DAPS transforms the economics and environmental impact of manufacturing complex structures for vehicles of all types by optimizing designs, dematerializing structures, and eliminating upfront capex. For more information, please visit www.divergent3d.com.

SOURCE Divergent Technologies, Inc.

SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 13, 2023 — The appeal of Qianhai, Shenzhen to global investment is seeing further advancements. During the 2023 Qianhai Global Investment Promotion and Talent Conference, PricewaterhouseCoopers unveiled the Annual Doing Business Blue Paper for Qianhai Cooperation Zone 2023 (the “Blue Paper”), which pointed out Qianhai’s exceptional overall business environment and the significant progress made in the Shenzhen–Hong Kong integration, essentially achieving the goal of “the business environment being globally competitive by 2025” set in the Plan for Comprehensive Deepening Reform and Opening Up of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone (the “Qianhai Plan”).

The Blue Paper highlighted Qianhai’s advancements in various aspects of the business environment. For example, regulations of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone on investor protection have been introduced to enhance the protection of investors’ rights and interests. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Legal Affairs Zone has been created, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Arbitration Center has been established, and seven Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao associations of law firms have been founded in the Qianhai Cooperation Zone. The General Administration of Customs has issued 18 measures to facilitate the coordination of inspection and supervision rules between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. This move promotes the port combination of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to “operate as a single port” and implement “one inspection and one certification for all access.” According to the Blue Paper, Qianhai will build a business environment that prioritizes market orientation, the rule of law, and internationalization, moving faster to reach the world-class level.

In order to continuously promote a high-quality business environment, Qianhai empowers talent introduction to furnish intellectual support for global enterprises, according to Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone.

The Qianhai Administration Bureau, in partnership with Elsevier, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), the China Europe International Business School, and other organizations, has initiated the Global Scientists Sabbatical Leave Program. The program aims at the key areas and strategic directions of global and national innovation development and creates an innovative platform where top scientists can exchange academic views and share frontier information. In this way, it encourages many scientists with global influence and expertise in core technologies in key areas to set up R&D centers in Qianhai and launch industrial transformation for their projects.

Since the release of the Qianhai Plan, Qianhai has increased collaboration with Hong Kong’s higher education institutions to establish new R&D facilities and other international talent vehicles and platforms in various forms in the Qianhai Cooperation Zone.

Meanwhile, Qianhai has released In Qianhai, a one-stop website for comprehensive talent services, which provides internationalized services throughout the ecosystem and chain for talented individuals relocating to China. It offers scenario-based online service functions for employment, entrepreneurship, living, and learning support, among other modules.

Furthermore, to provide global enterprises with a larger development platform, Qianhai has expanded its original Six Agglomerations (venture capital, natural gas trade, financial leasing, cross-border e-commerce, tax-related services, and high-end thinktanks) and launched the New Six Agglomerations: artificial intelligence, supply chains, integrated circuits, offshore engineering equipment, shipping services, and international consulting. Together, they create a new “6+6” spatial pattern of industrial agglomerations.

Analysts said that the multi-dimensional support will bring Qianhai’s business environment to a higher level and make Qianhai more appealing to global enterprises.

SOURCE Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone

Latest Closing Underscores Ongoing and New Investor Demand 
in Wake of Successful U.S. Space Force Alpha Launch

CEDAR PARK, Texas, Nov. 10, 2023 — Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an end-to-end space transportation company, today announced the closing of another tranche of financing, valuing the company at $1.5 billion pre-money. The round is being led by existing investors including AE Industrial Partners, LP, as well as new investors including Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Firefly has raised approximately $300 million in funding since February 2023.

“We have been successful at raising funds at an increased valuation in this challenging capital markets environment due to our focus on production and mission execution,” said Bill Weber, CEO Firefly Aerospace. “Following our most recent success with the groundbreaking launch of the VICTUS NOX mission by the U.S. Space Force, we have seen heightened interest from new investors.”

Along with Firefly’s recent responsive launch success, the company has been awarded contracts for multiple Alpha missions, including a NASA mission, concluded a launch agreement with Lockheed Martin, and signed a multi-launch agreement with L3Harris. Under their Blue Ghost Lunar Lander product line, the company also won multiple U.S. government and commercial contracts, including three NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) task orders. 

In addition, Firefly’s on-orbit vehicle, Elytra, is on contract for its first mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, scheduled to fly on Firefly’s Alpha Rocket next year, while The Medium Launch Vehicle being co-developed with Northrop Grumman has major milestones scheduled before the end of the year.

“Firefly has clinched key contracts and cemented itself as the leader in tactically responsive launch,” said Kirk Konert Partner at AE Industrial and Chairman of Firefly. “Their differentiated technology and astute leadership have propelled them to several successes over the past year. We are proud to back Firefly as they emerge as a leader in space and defense technology while fortifying our national security.”

The Company expects to announce a close of its current financing round in the near future.

About Firefly Aerospace
Firefly Aerospace is an end-to-end space transportation company with launch, lunar, and on-orbit services. Headquartered in central Texas, Firefly is a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners (“AEI”) focused on delivering responsive, reliable, and affordable space access for government and commercial customers. Firefly’s small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide the space industry with a single source for missions from low Earth orbit to the surface of the Moon and beyond. For more information, visit www.fireflyspace.com.

About AE Industrial Partners
AE Industrial Partners is a private equity firm specializing in aerospace, defense & government services, space, power & utility services, and specialty industrial markets. AE Industrial Partners invests in market-leading companies that can benefit from our deep industry knowledge, operating experience, and relationships throughout our target markets. AE Industrial Partners is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment and the ILPA Diversity in Action initiative. Learn more at www.aeroequity.com.

Media Contacts

Firefly Aerospace
[email protected]

AE Industrial Media Contacts
Stanton – Public Relations & Marketing
(212) 366-5300
[email protected]

SOURCE Firefly Aerospace, Inc.

AWS, CapitalG, and Microsoft, along with new investors AT&T Ventures and QIA, join Series I funding

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 10, 2023 — Databricks, the Data and AI company, today announced additional closings of its recent Series I funding. Existing investors Amazon Web Services (AWS), CapitalG, and Microsoft, along with new investors AT&T Ventures, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and Sanabil Investments, participated in the funding round, which put the company at a $43B post-money valuation. The Series I funding will be used to accelerate the development of transformative AI technology, Gen AI research, and hiring AI data scientists and engineering talent.

“The interest we received from investors and strategic partners for this round of funding has been overwhelming, and we are excited to add AT&T and QIA, among others, who believe in our vision and business strategy,” said Ali Ghodsi, Co-Founder and CEO of Databricks. “Generative AI adoption is a top priority for every CEO today. Databricks’ multicloud architecture enables organizations to preserve privacy and control over their data when moving to AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure to build Gen AI solutions. With our partners, we can accelerate the development of our platform and deliver business value faster for our customers.”

The Databricks platform unifies data, analytics, and AI on a single platform so customers can govern, manage, and derive insights from enterprise data and build their generative AI solutions faster.

“As an early pioneer of AI, we know just how foundational this technology is to the future of business and society. For years AI has enabled our network, services, and people to be more efficient, effective, and creative. Our AT&T Ventures team fosters game-changing companies, like Databricks, that help drive connectivity innovation forward. Through our work with Databricks, we’ve seen first-hand the business value they provide and we’re excited to deepen our relationship with them as we help usher in a connected generative AI generation.” – Andy Markus, CDO, AT&T

“AI represents a profound technology shift, and our investment in Databricks reflects our belief in its platform, which is expertly able to unify data, analytics, and AI.  This investment is aligned with QIA’s investment approach to invest in forward-looking, tech-led companies, many of which are building AI seamlessly into their product and offerings. We are pleased to be an investor in Databricks and look forward to a fruitful, long-term partnership as the company scales.”  – Mohammed Al-Hardan, Head of Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) investments at QIA

AT&T Ventures, AWS, CapitalG, Microsoft, QIA, and Sanabil joined previously announced investors participating in the Series I funding, including Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Capital One Ventures, ClearBridge Investments, funds and accounts managed by Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Fidelity Management & Research Company, Franklin Templeton, Gaingels, Ghisallo Capital Management, GIC, NVIDIA, Octahedron Capital, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and Tiger Global.

About Databricks
Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide — including Comcast, Condé Nast, and over 50% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Lakehouse Platform to unify their data, analytics and AI. Founded by the original creators of Delta Lake, Apache Spark™, and MLflow, Databricks is on a mission to help data teams solve the world’s toughest problems. To learn more, follow Databricks on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

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SOURCE Databricks