Scala develops algorithms that dramatically improve the activity, stability, and cost of proteins 

TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 11, 2023 — Scala Biodesign exited stealth today, revealing $5.5M of funding for their solution to dramatically improve and speed up the development of proteins into biotech products. The seed round was led by TLV Partners. 

Custom antibody therapies, vaccines, food products, and clean production of chemicals: proteins are revolutionizing multiple industries. But developing and mass-producing custom proteins is a long, expensive, and uncertain process because natural proteins are almost never suitable for industry — they are often unstable, costly to manufacture, and insufficiently active.

Protein engineering can modify a protein into an industrial-grade product, but current engineering methods rely on iterative trial-and-error testing of thousands and often millions of versions in the lab. This process can take years, cost millions, and often fails.

Scala makes it possible to engineer and improve proteins immediately and in one shot. Fusing physics-based modeling, AI, and biological data analysis, Scala enables companies to develop new medicines, green production processes, and foods radically faster and cheaper, allowing the creation of entirely new applications of biotechnology that weren’t possible using traditional methods.

Scala was founded by Dr. Ravit Netzer (CEO) and Dr. Adi Goldenzweig (CTO), who researched the challenges of protein engineering in Prof. Sarel Fleishman’s laboratory at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The team developed algorithms for protein design that became the state-of-the-art among academic protein engineers, with over 100 peer-reviewed papers based on the team’s technology.

“Researchers, students, and companies, everyone wanted to use our technology,” said Dr. Goldenzweig, CTO and co-founder of Scala. “We realized that there was a huge need. Quickly optimizing vaccine immunogens, enzymes, antibodies, and more, opens so many doors for advancing technology and the wellbeing of humanity and the environment”.

As one example, Dr. Goldenzweig used her method to improve a malaria vaccine that is now in Phase II clinical trials in W. Africa. Another application of the technology generated wood-degrading enzymes for biofuel production.

Dr. Netzer and Dr. Goldenzweig founded Scala with Prof. Fleishman as Chief Scientist in order to address the demand from major pharma and biotech companies. The team’s mission is to provide a one-stop shop for efficient and economical protein engineering. They named the company Scala to highlight that protein engineering can now be applied at scale to solve myriads of biotechnology challenges.

“The answers to some of the greatest challenges that modern society faces are out there in nature, but until now it was extremely difficult to apply these answers at global, industrial scales,” said Dr. Ravit Netzer, co-founder and CEO of Scala. “Scala makes the impossible easy, and will lead to the next wave of innovation in biotech.”

Shahar Tzafrir, Managing Partner at TLV Partners, said “Alphafold’s impact on biology was profound, catalyzing science and startups. The next complex challenge — translating protein structure into function and determining which properties can be ‘edited’ for a specific desired outcome — is beyond the reach of AI alone. It requires a unique blend of AI, physics, biology, and chemistry. Scala’s founders successfully tackled this in academia, where scientists and the industry widely and enthusiastically embraced their breakthroughs. Recognizing the tremendous potential, they’re now pivoting their academic success into a company, set to redefine how proteins are designed with purpose.”

Scala is now working with a small group of early customers, including top-tier pharmaceutical companies, taking part in some of the most exciting protein engineering projects in the world.

Media Contact
Lazer Cohen
[email protected]
347-753-8256

SOURCE Scala Biodesign

For the 3 in 5 small business owners that will seek a sale over the next decade, Common Trust offers a streamlined approach for selling owners to access liquidity by exiting to their employees

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 11, 2023 — Common Trust, an employee ownership buyout platform that enables small business owners to access liquidity by exiting to their employees, today announced $2.6 million in seed funding. Crossbeam Venture Partners led the round with participation from Schmidt Futures and additional funding from leading investors in the space.

Common Trust is a financing platform that supports small business owners to exit to their employees. The company equips selling owners and management to design a customized employee ownership trust, access aligned capital to finance the buyout, and implement a successful transition.

Across every region and sector in America, there is a growing wave of business owners approaching retirement, with millions of small businesses on the verge of a sale over the next decade. However, many owners are becoming progressively skeptical of traditional exit options, like private equity and private buyers, as they often lead to a sale that neglects employees and long-established company culture and values. As a result, 75% of owners regret their sale within a year.

Employee ownership offers a compelling, legacy-aligned exit strategy for selling business owners, but the cost and complexity of more traditional options have often prevented businesses from pursuing it. Common Trust provides an alternative exit strategy to transition to employee ownership by presenting small- and mid-sized business owners with a simple, attractive, and affordable exit solution using employee ownership trusts, a novel approach for businesses to become employee owned.

“Employee ownership can be transformational for businesses, its workers and local communities,” said Zoe Schlag, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Common Trust. “For many founders who are preparing to retire, exiting through employee ownership offers a pathway to get a fair value out while also ensuring that their people and community will continue to benefit from the company’s growth, even long after the sale.”

“With 40% of small business owners in the U.S. on the verge of retirement, three in five small businesses will seek a sale over the next decade, and only a small fraction of them are likely to be absorbed by buyers,” said Ryan Morgan, Partner at Crossbeam. “Common Trust’s unique, employee-centric exit strategy is transforming the space and creating positive social impact by providing small business owners an inclusive and mission-driven exit solution.”

Founded in 2022, Common Trust was built on co-founders Zoe Schlag and Derek Razo’s work in the shared ownership space respectively at Schmidt Futures, an initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, and at Purpose Foundation, a leading think tank supporting alternative ownership and financing structures to protect mission and build community wealth.

About Common Trust
Common Trust is an employee ownership buyout platform that enables small business owners to access liquidity by exiting to their employees. Working directly with selling owners, management teams and investors, Common Trust helps business owners design, finance and execute an employee ownership buyout. https://www.common-trust.com.

About Crossbeam Venture Partners
Crossbeam Venture Partners (Crossbeam) is a venture capital firm that invests in Pre-Seed to Series A startups building tomorrow’s economy. Focused on the themes of platform economies, fintech, new forms of media, and alternative sources of income, Crossbeam is built to back companies of the next-generation economy utilizing unique structures, credit, or novel business models. For more information, visit https://crossbeam.vc.

SOURCE Common Trust

NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2023 — Hadrius has secured $2m in seed funding to automate SEC compliance for RIAs and broker-dealers, by running everything from communications review, marketing review, archiving, to trade monitoring and more with AI while doing it all in one modern platform.

The round included participation from world-acclaimed startup accelerator Y Combinator, Lynett Capital, Singularity Capital, Dorm Room Fund, Unpopular Ventures, and the founders of Arrived, SmartAsset, FutureAdvisor, among others.

Already automating compliance for dozens of firms, part of the new funding will be used to extend the startup’s compliance coverage across more communications channels, improving their “ComplianceGPT” model, and growing the number and diversity of firms they serve. The company aims for a world where “compliance is the effortless state of financial firms, rather than constant worry requiring expensive vigilance to maintain”.

The startup, currently headquartered on Wall Street, was founded in 2023 by Thomas Stewart (serial founder with multiple exits under his belt), Som Mohapatra (portfolio manager and chief compliance officer), and Allen Calderwood (ex-Google, ex-Chime senior software engineer). The 3 of them founded and scaled SEC-registered robo-advisor Quantbase for 2 years, where they became deeply familiar with the burdensome state of SEC compliance.

“SEC compliance is necessary for ensuring a mutually beneficial relationship between firm and client, but it requires dozens of hours of effort to meet those obligations, and that time is taken away from providing a better client experience in other ways. We’re very familiar with this after running our own asset manager, and Hadrius developed out of our first-hand experience with this challenge.”

Part of this new funding will go towards product development. The startup’s ferocious, talented engineering team has a number of accolades, including senior software engineers with almost a decade building full-stack consumer products at Google and Amazon, automation engineers at leading fintech firms, and engineers and advisors at firms like Chime, Robinhood, and OpenSea, as well as at firms Citadel and Goldman Sachs.

Hadrius is modernizing a compliance industry full of decades old technology and options.

“We’re finding that, similar to our experience, the existing software and options aren’t effectively removing a lot of the time and pain of meeting these SEC compliance obligations. The industry has been largely stagnant for decades, and firms have been delighted to learn how much more effortless, time-saving, and cost-effective Hadrius is compared to alternatives.”

According to the team, the long-term vision goes beyond the SEC, to run financial compliance for firms from asset managers to banks, where clients can be sure their firms are meeting their duties and firms can free up more resources towards meeting client needs across the industry. The firm is live at hadrius.com.

SOURCE Hadrius

The secured capital will allow DetraPel to scale its industrial pillar, Impermea Materials, that revolutionizes PFAS-free and plastic-free platform coatings for food packaging and textiles.

BOSTON, Sept. 11, 2023 — DetraPel, the advanced materials company that manufactures sustainable coatings announced the completion of its $7.6M Series A funding led by Material Impact. Additional investors in this round include multi-billion dollar packaging ink manufacturer, INX International, along with Touchdown Ventures, FitzGate Ventures, Boro Capital, Icebook Investments, and others. The newly raised funds will allow DetraPel to build on the market traction of the company’s recently rebranded industrial arm, Impermea Materials. DetraPel has also rebranded its consumer operations to ProofPlus. The capital is earmarked for scale up of its commercial coatings production to meet the demand of customers. Current industrial customers include four of the largest paper suppliers in the world and industry-leading consumer packaged goods companies who are aiming to offer premium and environmentally friendly packaging options to their increasingly eco-conscious customer bases.

Impermea Materials provides various industries including paper & paperboard packaging, textiles, healthcare, etc., with better performing products for everyday use with its patented protective coatings that are made from PFAS-free and Fluorine-Free, bio-based chemistries. The barrier coatings, which are being produced at scale, address the complex challenges facing businesses around product performance, while addressing environmental concerns by maintaining recyclability, repulpability & compostability. Recent pieces of legislation banning PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’, in industrial manufacturing processes have fueled interest in alternative chemistries like those from Impermea to mimic the performance of PFAS without the harmful effects on the environment and human health.

“INX and Impermea Materials both serve the paper & paperboard packaging markets with a commitment to sustainable solutions,” said Shane Bertsch, INX Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Innovation. “We see Impermea’s product offering as highly complementary, and we are excited to partner with DetraPel in accelerating sustainable barrier coating solutions to market.”

In textiles, Impermea’s protective coatings provide the industry the ability to repel liquids, resist stains, prevent fading from UV, and flame retardancy. In food packaging, Impermea’s barrier coatings provide best-in-class oil & grease resistance, address moisture sensitivity, provide release properties, and withstand temperature fluctuations allowing companies to transition to plastic-free options without making compromises. Impermea also offers coatings to protect against viruses with antimicrobial coatings in healthcare.

“Since our inception a decade ago, we have been developing PFAS-free (100% fluorine-free), water-based chemistries that outperform their fluorinated counterparts. Our team is now at the forefront of the industrial manufacturing transition currently underway to remove toxic chemicals from the everyday products we come into contact with,” said David Zamarin, Founder and CEO of DetraPel. “For brands looking to accelerate the transition to safer solutions and match performance goals, our team at Impermea works directly with manufacturing teams to remove the chemicals and plastics without sacrificing the everyday performance of the products, and creating new efficiencies across their supply chain.”

The recent round of funds will be used to continue to expand Impermea Materials production processes to fulfill the growing demand for safer protective coatings in manufacturing, including ongoing product development, a new state-of-the-art synthesis laboratory, an application and commercialization laboratory, sales, marketing, and more.

“Businesses across the country and the globe are facing mounting pressure to deliver both plastic-free and PFAS-free products and coatings. Until now, finding solutions that meet the unique high-performing standards each business and applications require has been a significant challenge,” said Adam Sharkawy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Material Impact. “DetraPel has a platform and proven record of delivering the necessary and customized solutions their customers require, with safer chemistry and formulations for human health and the environment. We look forward to continuing our partnership with DetraPel to address this growing need.”

Adam’s belief in DetraPel goes beyond Material Impact’s financial investment, as he is also serving on the Board of Directors starting in July 2023.

To learn more about Impermea Materials and its offerings, please visit: www.impermeamaterials.com
To learn more about ProofPlus and its protector and stain removers, please visit: www.proofplus.co

About DetraPel, Inc:
DetraPel is a clean-tech advanced materials company that specializes in synthesizing and manufacturing PFAS-free protective coatings. Along with its patented and award-winning PFAS-free chemistries, DetraPel’s technology platform introduces a new way of blending and dispersing immiscible particles into water-based systems. These unique products and processes help remove cancerous PFAS chemicals with non-toxic, sustainable, PFAS-Free alternatives that outperform traditional legacy fluorinated chemistries.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Valerie Amenta
[email protected]
(781)-858-3345

SOURCE DetraPel

NASHVILLE, Sept. 11, 2023 — Writerly, a leader in AI-enabled software for marketing and e-commerce, proudly announces its groundbreaking partnership with Northwestern University’s MBAi (Master of Business Administration, Artificial Intelligence) program. This strategic collaboration underscores Writerly’s commitment to fostering forward-thinking innovation and developing future leaders in the generative AI space.

As part of this collaboration, capstone graduate students from Northwestern’s joint program between McCormick School of Engineering and Kellogg School of Management will join members of Writerly’s leadership for an intensive semester-long engagement. These students, selected from diverse backgrounds in science, engineering, and business, will gain exposure to real-world applications of AI technology, hands-on mentoring, and the opportunity to shape the future of a fast-growing startup pioneering generative AI’s frontier.

The MBAi capstone students will benefit from direct access to Writerly’s cutting-edge natural language AI platform as they tackle complex challenges at the intersection of business and technology. By actively collaborating with Writerly’s experienced data scientists and engineers, students will acquire in-demand skills and have the chance to implement innovative AI solutions with measurable business impact.

“We are excited to embark on this journey with Northwestern’s MBAi program,” said Jon Ricketts, CEO of Writerly, the parent company of EKOM. “This partnership not only showcases our commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI, but also exemplifies our dedication to providing meaningful experiences that empower our organization as well as students who will be leading AI initiatives of their own in the future.”

The selected capstone students will work closely with EKOM’s team to research and model novel use cases for generative AI needs at the enterprise level. Writerly’s technical expertise, combined with the students’ unique perspectives, promises to catalyze innovation that creates unique value for everyone involved. The partnership resonates deeply with Writerly/EKOM’s ethos of growth and substantiates its status as a formidable player in the AI landscape.

“The opportunity to work with startups like Writerly at the leading edge of generative AI is exactly the kind of experience we aspire to provide for our students,” stated the Program Director of MBAi, Andy Fano.

The collaborative endeavor will unfold through a series of planned phases, commencing with the Fall 2023 Capstone Kickoff. This multifaceted journey will encompass introductions, project work, presentations, and culminate in a grand showcase event hosted at the Kellogg Global Hub.

Media Contact:
Bob Hutchins
(615) 994-7696
[email protected] 

SOURCE Writerly AI

Plans for US expansion bolstered with new strategic partnerships, including Interlock Partners, and board additions

LONDON, Sept. 8, 2023 — Tradeteq, the pioneering technology provider for securitisation-as-a-service and bank asset distribution, today announces the completion of its $12.5 million A Plus funding round. Tradeteq connects trade finance and private credit originators with institutional investors to help address the pressing global lending shortfall.

The round is led by US-based MS&AD Ventures, with significant investment from fellow venture capital firm Interlock Partners. Both add invaluable industry insights and will aid Tradeteq in establishing its US operations, transforming issuance infrastructure to cater for the demands of US-based investors. Interlock was joined by Victor Ganzi, one of its investors and advisors, whose former roles included CEO of The Hearst Corporation and Chairman of Willis Towers Watson, among others. Mr. Ganzi will join Tradeteq as an advisor.

This strategic investment signifies a bold step in Tradeteq’s mission, ahead of its entry into the US, the world’s largest private credit and securitisation market. Since its inception, the company has provided a platform for banks to securitise and distribute their trade finance assets to investors. Earlier this year, Tradeteq extended its primary issuance platform to cover private credit, making it easier for the leading global banks and alternative lenders to connect, interact and transact with institutional investors, such as pension funds and insurance companies.

Furthermore, Jon Soberg, Managing Partner at MS&AD Ventures, and Harry Hawks, Venture Partner at Interlock, will be joining the board as observers.

Christoph Gugelmann, Tradeteq CEO, commented: “We are delighted to have the backing of our new partners. The strategic alliance with MS&AD Ventures and Interlock Partners will be vital as we lay the groundwork for our US operations and we are extremely pleased to gain the insights and expertise of Victor Ganzi. We were gratified with the participation and continued support of existing investors LGGP and Niya Partners to complete the funding round.”

Jon Soberg, MS&AD Ventures, commented: “Tradeteq is an incredibly exciting business with significant potential to grow and scale. We believe in Tradeteq’s vision and mission and look forward to collaborating closely as they expand into the US market and beyond.”

SOURCE Tradeteq

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 8, 2023 — Orthodontic Details today announced the ordering platform has been adopted by more than 100 orthodontic practices, representing 160 offices across the United States and Canada. These practices ordered from 158 different suppliers in August alone, showing impressive reach by the new platform.

Details, the ordering platform built specifically for orthodontics, gives practices one place to order from any supplier. Aimed at helping practices focus on patients rather than procurement, the company has struck a chord with orthodontists and their staff.

“Details is an invaluable partner,” shared Anu Nellissery, DMD, MS. “What has truly exceeded my expectations is the exceptional customer service. They go the extra mile, which has allowed my clinical staff to focus on patient care rather than ordering. I wholeheartedly recommend them.”

Sought-after speaker and Host of The Digital Orthodontist Podcast Kyle Fagala, DDS, MDS added: “I love seeing tech and innovation like this in our profession. Details is clearly making a positive impact in our practice.”

This week, the company launched “Insights”, which gives practices a real-time view of their supply spend, across suppliers. Practices can see their spend broken down by month, supplier, and category, all in one place.

“What really makes Insights valuable is what we as orthodontists can do with the data,” shared Details Co-Founder and CEO Jeff Biggs, DDS, MS. “I’ve always wanted better visibility into our practice’s supply spend. But that data is spread across suppliers, and a pain to try and reconcile in Quickbooks. With Details, that spending data is centralized, automatically, unlocking amazing insights.”

Details has been quietly piloting “Insights” through the summer, which the company shared is more than just a way to track spend. “We’ve been experimenting with Artificial Intelligence (and Large Learning Models in particular) since long before ChatGPT launched,” shared Details CTO Tom Pritchard. “We know our customers don’t just want to see data, but want help making connections that can save them time and money. That’s where AI comes in, and Insights is just the beginning.”

Practices are seeing the impact features like Insights bring, with Lance Christensen, Office Manager for Christensen Family Orthodontics sharing: “Details makes it easy to quickly order products from multiple vendors, compare prices, and track our spending, which not only saves us time, but allows for better decision making when it comes to purchasing.”

Alongside practice growth, Details has seen a rapid increase in usage of the platform. “Practices submitted more orders to suppliers in the first half of Q2 than all of Q4 last year combined.” shared Details Vice President of Practice Success Carrianne Garrison Ford. “This shows that customers are deeply integrating us into their business, and trust us as they make purchasing decisions.”

Details’ growth and deep integration with customers has helped the company continue to secure supplier partners, since announcing partnerships with 3M Oral Care, G&H Orthodontics, Dynaflex, Reliance, and others in April of 2023.

Most recently, the company added Komet USA, Great Lakes Dental Technologies, Dental City, PUL Technologies, and Second Story Promotions, with practices ordering from more than 158 unique suppliers in August alone. “Working with these partners has been amazing,” Garrison Ford shared. “They care about the best possible outcomes for our mutual customers, and we feel honored to work with them!”

The release of Insights kicks off what Details Co-Founder and President Nick Wangler describes as an “ambitious” second half of 2023, with multiple announcements coming soon. “As a technology company, we’re constantly working on new stuff based on feedback from our customers. Our current pipeline includes some of the coolest projects I’ve been a part of in my 15 years in tech. I can’t wait to show our customers what’s next!”

Media Contact:
Nick Wangler
815-252-4159
[email protected]

SOURCE Orthodontic Details

Founding CEO Tom McAlpin to retire as CEO and transition to Chairman of the Board of Directors. President and CXO Nirmal Saverimuttu named CEO.

MIAMI, Sept. 8, 2023 — Virgin Voyages (the “Company”), the multi, award-winning cruise brand from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, today announced it has closed on a $550 million capital raise to accelerate its growth plans. The funding round was led by funds managed by the Private Equity Group of Ares Management (“Ares”), a leading global alternative investment manager, and also includes additional capital from existing investors includingVirgin Group and Bain Capital. The new funding raise will enable Virgin Voyages to strengthen its financial position while supporting the brand’s rapid expansion into international markets, with a relentless focus on creating an outstanding and innovative customer experience.

As Virgin Voyages looks ahead to its next phase of growth, the Company further announced that founding Chief Executive Officer, Tom McAlpin, is retiring as CEO and transitioning to the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors. He will continue to support the brand and team at an executive and industry level. Nirmal Saverimuttu, who currently serves as President and Chief Experience Officer, has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer.

“It is hard to express just how proud I am of all that the Virgin Voyages Crew has created and the strong endorsement we are receiving from Ares. We have won numerous industry awards and received many five-star reviews because of our passion for this brand,” said McAlpin. “While I will miss the day-to-day, I believe it is the right time to step aside as CEO. Nirmal is a great friend and experienced leader who lives and breathes the Virgin Voyages culture. I know he will help take this amazing brand and Crew to new heights, and I look forward to continuing to support the leadership team as Chairman.”

Virgin Voyages officially launched in August 2021 and currently operates three ships, servicing the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and by the end of the year, Australia and New Zealand. The brand is already making waves, including being named No. 1 in the mega-ship category in the 2023 Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards and a recent clean-sweep of the five cruise categories in the 2023 Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice Awards.

“With this new investment alongside our partners at Virgin Group and Bain Capital, we believe the Company is on strong footing to capitalize on its differentiated product and value proposition in the growing cruise industry,” said Aaron Rosen, Partner and Co-Portfolio Manager of Special Opportunities in the Ares Private Equity Group. “We believe that Virgin Voyages continues to be at the forefront of industry growth, and we look forward to working with Tom, Nirmal and the entire management team on this next chapter,” added Jordan Smith, Partner in the Ares Private Equity Group.

“The success of this capital raise shows how much Virgin Voyages has achieved and how much further it can go. We are very proud of the experience that Virgin Voyages has created and continues to deliver every day across its fleet,” said Josh Bayliss, CEO of the Virgin Group. “At Virgin, we have always aimed to create extraordinary experiences and challenge the status quo while putting purpose at the core of everything we do. With Tom at the helm, Virgin Voyages has established itself as a company that can do that consistently. We are so grateful for his and the team’s leadership in creating a truly brilliant business and look forward to this next phase of the Company’s growth.”

Saverimuttu was a founding leader of Virgin Voyages and joined the business as Chief Commercial Officer in 2014 from the Virgin Group after successfully closing the first investment round. In early 2021, he took on the expanded role of President and Chief Experience Officer.

“I want to send our deepest thanks, on behalf of all our Crew and the Board, to Tom for his leadership and passion for the business. We are so grateful for all he has done and are thrilled to continue to partner with him as our Chairman,” said Saverimuttu. “Virgin Voyages is a beloved brand because of our Crew’s dedication and passion for delivering epic experiences for our guests. I am looking forward to working with the Ares team and our existing investors to deliver on our growth and expansion plans as we look ahead to our very bright future.”

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and sole placement agent to Virgin Voyages. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Virgin Voyages. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to Ares.

About Virgin Voyages
Promising to Create an Epic Sea Change for All, Virgin Voyages is the award-winning, exclusively adult cruise line founded by Sir Richard Branson. Delivering unforgettable, relaxing vacations at sea, Virgin Voyages launched at the end of 2021. Inspired by superyacht design, its fleet of “Lady Ships” exemplify an elevated, boutique hotel at sea with contemporary spaces that strike the perfect balance of nautical chic and glamour. Currently departing from the sun-soaked cities of Miami, Barcelona and Athens – and soon to include Melbourne – the fleet offers more than 60 unique itineraries, sailing to 100 incredible ports of call. On-board, 20+ eateries feature culinary experiences from Michelin-star chefs, stylish workout spaces and group fitness classes are offered daily, and a festival-like line-up of intimate and larger-than-life shows are on the agenda. Paired with modern, tech-savvy cabins, designer suites fit for a rockstar and a mermaid-inspired spa and thermal suite, the brand is taking the industry by storm. In 2023, Virgin Voyages won Travel + Leisure’s highly coveted World’s Best Award for the best mega-ship ocean cruise line and swept the Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice Awards – the first time a brand has won in all five categories.

Media Contact:
[email protected]

About Ares Management Corporation
Ares Management Corporation is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of June 30, 2023, Ares Management Corporation’s global platform had approximately $378 billion of assets under management, with over 2,600 employees operating across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com.

Media Contact:
Brittany Cash, +1 212-301-0347
[email protected]

SOURCE Virgin Voyages

SHANGHAI, Sept. 8, 2023 — On September 8, 2023, Grit Biotechnology announced the completion of a Series B financing round, raising over 60 million USD. The investment was led by CICC with participation from Qianhai Ark, Liando Group, Yuanhe Capital, HeFangTian Venture Partnership and existing investors Sherpa Healthcare Partners, Decheng Capital and Matrix Partners China.

The financing will support Grit Biotechnology’s Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) pipeline development, including the pivotal Phase II trial for GT101 and the advancement of next-gen gene-edited TIL products. Founded in 2019, Grit Biotechnology is a pioneering cell therapy company focused on delivering transformative cancer treatments. GT101 is currently the fastest-developing TIL therapy in China and will enter a Phase II trial by the end of 2023.

Grit Bio has four core technology platforms central to its TIL development: StemTexp^®, StaViral^®, KOReTIL^® and ImmuT Finder^®, a genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screening platform. These platforms have enabled the development of next-generation gene-edited TIL products.

GT201, a genetically engineered TIL product by Grit Biotechnology, boosts T cell survival and function by expressing a vital membrane-bound cytokine. It surpasses traditional TIL therapies in proliferation, tumor-killing and persistence with reduced reliance on IL-2. GT201 IND is approved by CFDA and entered Phase I clinical trials.

GT316, Grit Biotechnology’s next-gen TIL product, enhances TIL performance through knock-out of immunoregulatory targets identified via ImmuT Finder^® CRISPR/Cas9 screening. In PDX mouse models, GT316 effectively eliminates tumors supported by low-dose IL-2 support with minimal toxicity. It offers substantial clinical benefits compared to conventional TIL products and is currently in IIT clinical trials in China.

With 100+ experienced professionals and a 10,000 sqm GMP-level cell therapy manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China, Grit Bio is a leading player in cell therapy field in China aimed at expediting the development of GT101 and next-generation TIL pipelines and addressing the unmet medical needs of solid tumor patients.

About CICC Capital

CICC Capital is the flagship platform of China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC) for its global private equity businesses and has become a leading internationally influential comprehensive alternative investment brand in China. Currently, CICC Capital runs various categories of RMB private equity funds, including real estate and infrastructure, fund of funds and USD private equity funds.

About Qianhai Ark

Qianhai Ark Asset Management Co., Ltd. is one of the leading and top-tier fund managers in China, jointly founded by Mr. Jin Haitao, a representative figure in China’s venture capital industry who currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Asset Management Association of China, and Shenzhen Capital Group (SCGC) along with leaders from the financial investment industry. The company is headquartered in Shenzhen, with branch offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Qingdao, and other cities. Qianhai Ark currently manages its funds portfolio includes FOFs, regional funds and specialized funds and manages nearly CNY 70 billion in assets. Qianhai Ark covers various sectors such as information technology, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing. Qianhai Ark possesses a vast industrial resource pool, facilitating industrial synergy, and providing substantial support to its portfolio companies.

About Liando Group

Liando Group was founded in 1991, focusing on industrial services and park operations. It has developed into an industrial conglomerate with nationwide influence. Its core enterprise, Liando U Valley, currently invests and operates 432 industrial parks in 83 cities across the country, providing services to over 16,000 emerging manufacturing and technology-oriented companies. Liando Group strategically directs its equity funds through direct investment and venture capital to key emerging industrial areas such as life sciences, intelligent manufacturing, and digital technology.

About Yuanhe Capital

Yantai Yuanhe Capital (hereinafter referred to as “Yuanhe Capital”) was established in 2019 as the equity management institution for external investments of Yantai Financial Development Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yantai Financial Group”). As of 2023, Yuanhe Capital has successfully launched 17 funds, managing a total fund size exceeding 3.6 billion yuan and engaging in over 154 investment projects. Yuanhe Capital specializes in providing comprehensive entrepreneurial support and investment opportunities in various sectors, including semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, and advanced manufacturing. As a dedicated value investor, Yuanhe Capital upholds the core principles of “trust, value, sharing, and cooperation.” The firm’s primary goal is to invest in and assist visionary and creative entrepreneurs in realizing their entrepreneurial aspirations with success.

SOURCE Grit Biotechnology