The women-led social enterprise pitch competition heads back to Motor City for its 5th Anniversary

DETROIT, Sept. 6, 2023 — 1863 Ventures, an independent, Black-led national business development nonprofit and venture capital accelerator and Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company, are excited to announce the HI-HERImpact Pitch Competition, a shark tank style social entrepreneurship pitch competition, is headed back to its roots in Detroit for its 5^th Anniversary on Thursday, September 28th, 2023.

The competition has awarded grants totaling over $300,000 to various women-led social enterprises based in Detroit, Miami, Washington D.C. and Kansas City since its inception in 2018. Past winners have been invited to compete again, commemorating the last five years of growth and support for women entrepreneurs who are making an effort to solve issues within their community.

Among the 24 past winners, five finalists were selected to pitch their business in the HI-HERImpact anniversary competition for a chance to win a grand prize of $50,000. Encompassing a diverse array of sectors including consumer products, health, services and technology, this year’s competition features a dynamic lineup of competitors:

• Alecia Gabriel,based in Detroit is the innovator of The Lab Drawer which is dedicated to ensuring young individuals in disenfranchised communities have access to STEM education
• Anastasia Mikhalochkina, founder of Lean Orb Co. in Miami, provides sustainable solutions to combat single use plastics via compostable food packaging.
• Arion Long, based in Washington D.C. is the creator of organic period care brand, Femly.
• Brittany Rhodes, founder of Black Girl MATHgic in Detroit, provides a monthly subscription box that encourages confidence in math.
• Lisa Ragan, representing Kansas City has established allergy friendly snack brand, Safely Delicious.

“HI-HERImpact celebrates the unwavering spirit of women entrepreneurs who are driving positive change in their communities,” says 1863 Ventures Founder, Melissa Bradley. “This event is a testament to the power of innovation and collaboration, showcasing the incredible ideas and solutions that arise when diverse voices are given the platform they deserve. We are thrilled to come together with Ford Motor Company Fund and our partners to mark five years of supporting and empowering women-led social enterprises.”

This year’s event is set to take place in collaboration with Newlab @ Michigan Central, a support ecosystem for local Detroit startups and entrepreneurs to expand their businesses. The HI-HERImpact event will be open to the public and will provide a platform to network, learn and be inspired. In addition to the competition, 1863 Ventures will host an engaging panel discussion on the importance of social entrepreneurship with business leaders from the Detroit area. The event will also include a vendor showcase with local women-owned businesses for guests to explore and shop.

Winners will be determined by a distinguished panel of judges who will award prizes of $50,000 for first place, $25,000 for second place and $15,000 for third place. Adding to the excitement, this year’s competition will also include an audience choice winner which will be determined by both in-person attendees and those tuning in via the 1863 Ventures live stream on YouTube. This winner will receive a $5,000 grant towards their business needs.

To register for the HI-HERImpact Pitch Competition event please visit https://lu.ma/99kmiwki. For more information on 1863 Ventures please visit https://www.1863ventures.net.

About 1863 Ventures
1863 Ventures is a leader in providing culturally competent accelerator programs, non-dilutive financing, and mentorship to Black, Latino, and other historically underestimated entrepreneurs. By addressing the unique needs of this demographic, 1863 Ventures assists entrepreneurs in transforming high-potential business ideas into high-growth, profitable companies that generate jobs and wealth for their communities. Learn more at 1863ventures.net.

About Ford Motor Company Fund
As the global philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company, Ford Fund focuses on providing access to essential services, education for the future of work and entrepreneurship opportunities for under-resourced and underrepresented communities. Ford Fund’s partnerships and programming are designed to be responsive to unique community needs, ensuring people have equitable opportunities to move forward. Harnessing Ford’s scale, resources and mobility expertise, Ford Fund drives meaningful impact through grantmaking, Ford Resource and Engagement Centers and employee volunteerism. For more information, visit fordfund.org or join us at @FordFund on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

SOURCE 1863 Ventures

BARCELONA, Spain, Sept. 7, 2023 — We Venture Capital, the corporate venture capital operation of Werfen, announces its launch today.

We Venture Capital is the venture capital arm of Werfen committed to investing in diagnostics start-ups, as well as digital solutions and biotechnology, surrounding the diagnostics space.

Through a global reach, We Venture Capital invests primarily in Series A, and may also invest in Seed or Series B. With an early-stage focus, investments target start-ups close to market, or early market entrants ready to scale up.

We Venture Capital actively partners with its portfolio companies and supports their growth by leveraging its knowledge of specialized diagnostics worldwide.

Having an evergreen structure allows We Venture Capital to partner with portfolio companies to create long-term value all the way to the optimal point of exit.

Javier Gómez
Chief Financial Officer, Werfen

“We Venture Capital is further proof of Werfen’s commitment to the advancement of patient care through innovation. This vehicle allows Werfen to invest in early-stage companies, understand trends in healthcare, and be at the forefront of disruptive technologies that will shape the future of diagnostics.”

Louise Warme
Head of We Venture Capital

“Our investment team is truly passionate about partnering with start-ups that drive change and technological disruption in the diagnostics field, and we aim to become a leader in diagnostic venture capital. We want to thank everyone who has supported this launch and for bringing We Venture Capital to life.”

We Venture Capital currently holds 2 portfolio companies, operating within diagnostics and digital solutions/AI.

About Werfen

Werfen is a growing, family-owned, innovative company founded in 1966 in Barcelona, Spain.

We are a worldwide leader in specialized diagnostics in the areas of Hemostasis, Acute Care Diagnostics, Autoimmunity, and Transfusion and Transplant. Through our Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) business line, we research, develop and manufacture customized assays and biomaterials.

We operate directly in 30 countries, and in more than 100 territories through distributors. Our headquarter is in Barcelona, Spain, and our Technology Centers are located in the US and Europe. Worldwide sales exceed US$2.2 billion annually, and our workforce is more than 7,000 strong.

weventurecapital.com

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2201084/We_Venture_Capital_Logo.jpg

SOURCE We Venture Capital

• BlueWhale Bio Science Team led by world-renowned immunotherapy pioneers Carl June and James Riley of University of Pennsylvania
• BlueWhale Bio technology platform aims to bring cell and gene therapy benefits to patients faster and at lower cost
• Investors include Danaher Ventures, Novalis LifeSciences, Marshall Wace, Hillhouse Capital

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 7, 2023 — BlueWhale Bio, Inc., a new company spun out of the University of Pennsylvania to overcome key bottlenecks in cell and gene therapy manufacturing, announced today that it has raised $18 million in Seed financing. The round was led by Danaher Ventures LLC, the corporate venture subsidiary of Danaher Corporation, with a deep syndicate of leading life science investors, including Novalis LifeSciences and Marshall Wace, amongst others.

With the demand for cell therapy products surpassing supply, BlueWhale Bio aims to address critical shortcomings in the current treatment paradigm. Its founding scientific team is led by world-renowned immunotherapy pioneers Carl June, the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, and James Riley, a Professor of Microbiology at Penn. June and Riley are co-inventors of technology to be developed by BlueWhale Bio as a platform and portfolio of groundbreaking products that could bring the benefits of cell therapy to more patients faster and at lower costs. The company will be based in Philadelphia and led by CEO Peter Keller.

“This is an exciting time in cell therapy. With an increased focus on growth and adoption, cell-based therapies can become the next pillar of medicine,” said June. “I am thrilled that together we are looking to develop and commercialize a new cell therapy platform to improve patient care and save lives.”

BlueWhale Bio is the first company to emerge from the Danaher Ventures Pioneer Program, which creates companies in partnership with leading technology founders with the goal of developing and commercializing highly disruptive products and services to advance scientific research and improve lives on a global scale. Through the Pioneer Program, founders and their startups may access the investing and company-building experience of the Danaher Ventures team as well as Danaher’s research, product development and commercial expertise.

“Among the most powerful advanced biomedical therapies and technologies, cell and gene therapies have the potential to transform healthcare – but only if we can make them more accessible to the many patients who may ultimately need them,” said Murali Venkatesan, Ph.D., Head of Danaher Ventures, Americas and Europe and Vice President, Science & Technology Innovation at Danaher Corporation. “We are proud that through the Pioneer Program we are bringing together transformative, world-class talent and resources to help address this critical challenge.”

Disclosures: 

The University of Pennsylvania has granted an option to BlueWhale Bio to enter into a license for rights to certain Penn intellectual property. Dr. June and Dr. Riley are consultants for and hold equity in BlueWhale Bio and may receive future financial consideration and sponsored research funding from BlueWhale Bio.

Dr. June is a member of the Danaher Scientific Advisory Board.

SOURCE BlueWhale Bio, Inc.

Strategy Focused on Infrastructure Projects That Deliver Decarbonization and Social Progress

MIAMI and MONTREAL, Sept. 7, 2023 — Power Sustainable, an alternative asset manager and wholly owned subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada (TSX: POW), announces a US$600 million commitment for the Power Sustainable Infrastructure Credit (“PSIC”) strategy. Commitments to the strategy were made by subsidiaries of Great-West Lifeco (“Lifeco”).

The strategy seeks to directly originate, structure, and manage infrastructure credit assets that demonstrate positive sustainability characteristics. PSIC targets investments in the energy and decarbonization, transportation and logistics, digital infrastructure, social infrastructure, and utilities and recycling sectors.

“We are delighted to enter this long-term partnership with Power Sustainable. This is a compelling opportunity for us to invest across sectors which are driving decarbonization and social progress, while also capturing attractive risk-adjusted returns,” said Raman Srivastava, Global Chief Investment Officer for Lifeco. “We were impressed with the experience of the PSIC team, the quality of investment opportunities they are able to source, and their risk-minded approach.”

Tom Murray, PSIC Managing Partner, has more than 30 years of infrastructure financing experience, having previously led similar strategies at I Squared Capital and Apollo Global Management. Based in Miami, the team includes Daniel Fein as Principal, Ben Shenwick as Vice President, and Vitaliy Koretskyy as Senior Associate – all of whom worked extensively with Tom in prior roles. PSIC have also added Jim Moore, the former CEO of Atlantic Power Corporation, as Operating Partner, and Tom Danielsen as Head of Investor Solutions, who joins from Macquarie Asset Management.

“We believe that infrastructure credit is well-positioned to deliver favorable risk-adjusted returns with substantial downside protection,” said Managing Partner, Tom Murray. “The tailwinds supporting a transition to a less carbon-intensive society are providing an abundance of attractive projects in the sector, and we believe infrastructure credit presents a compelling opportunity for institutional investors.”

Power Sustainable’s Chairman and CEO, Olivier Desmarais, said, “Bespoke lending for infrastructure has a pivotal role in building a strong, low carbon economy. There is a generational opportunity – and need – for private capital to finance infrastructure that advances decarbonization and positive social outcomes.”

About Power Sustainable

Power Sustainable is a sustainability-focused alternative asset manager with investment strategies for institutional clients in infrastructure credit, infrastructure equity, agri-food private equity, and public equities. Our purpose is to help our clients achieve their financial objectives while positively contributing to decarbonization; sustainable cities and communities; and improved energy and resource efficiency.

Power Sustainable has approximately C$3.3 billion of assets under management, with over 75 employees across its investment businesses and support functions.

Power Sustainable is a wholly owned subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada, an international management and holding company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe and Asia. Its core holdings are leading insurance, retirement, wealth management and investment businesses, including a portfolio of alternative asset investment platforms.

For inquiries, please contact [email protected]

About Great-West Lifeco Inc.

Great-West Lifeco is an international financial services holding company with interests in life insurance, health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management and reinsurance businesses. We operate in Canada, the United States and Europe under the brands Canada Life, Empower, Putnam Investments, and Irish Life. At the end of 2022, our companies had approximately 31,000 employees, 234,500 advisor relationships, and thousands of distribution partners – all serving over 38 million customer relationships across these regions.

Great-West Lifeco trades on the Toronto (TSX) Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GWO and is a member of the Power Corporation group of companies.

SOURCE Power Sustainable

Vascular Surgeons Stephen Black, MD, and Houman Jalaie, MD, PhD join VeinWay’s Scientific Advisory Board.

OR YEHUDA, Israel, Sept. 7, 2023 — VeinWay has closed an oversubscribed SAFE round of investment and has opened a series A round.

The funds will be used to complete all design verification testing and to prepare for VeinWay’s First-in-Human clinical trial of its Traversa system towards an FDA IDE trial planned for the first half of 2024.

VeinWay’s Traversa system is in development to empower physicians to overcome the highly challenging task and unmet need of crossing clogged veins to easily restore blood flow from the vein to the heart.   

Today’s news follows two successful compassionate use cases presented at the LINC conference in Leipzig, Germany in June 2023.  In the first case, Traversa demonstrated to help physicians save a patient’s leg and in the second case, restore function to another patient’s arm by enabling the treating physician to cross a previously uncrossable clogged vein.

“We are excited about VeinWay’s leadership, technology and business value proposition,” said Mr. Jordan Feiger, an investor in the SAFE round.

VeinWay also announced today that Stephen Black, MD and Houman Jalaie, MD, PhD have joined the company’s scientific advisory board.

Dr. Black is a Consultant Vascular Surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and a Professor of Venous Surgery at Kings College, London. He is the Site Lead for Surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and the Co-R&D Lead for the Cardiovascular Directorate (Cardiology, Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Surgery). He was the Clinical Lead for Vascular Surgery for 4 years (2019-2023). He is the Co-founder & Medical Director at UK Vein Clinic.

His principal clinical interest is the treatment of Venous Disease. He has established a large practice in the treatment of both Acute and Chronic Deep Venous Disease as well as superficial venous disorders and together with a comprehensive multi-disciplinary team of colleagues at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital is part of one of the largest such services in Europe. He has led several global studies and is active in ongoing research and development in this field.

Dr. Black said, “We have seen significant growth in the venous space in the last 5-10 years. All the development has, however, focused on stents or thrombectomy devices. As the market matures, we need to see development in venous specific devices that make treatment easier and more effective. VeinWay is the start of that journey.”

Dr. Jalaie is the Head of the European Venous Center in Aachen. He is also the Director of the Venous Program of the European Vascular Course, an annual congress in Maastricht, The Netherlands. His specialties include the treatment of DVT and PTS.

Dr. Jalaie has been a principal or co-investigator in several DVT and PTS clinical trials. In addition, he has authored or co-authored more than 100 different scientific publications, abstracts, and book chapters and has delivered more than 400 guest lectures at national and international meetings.

Dr. Jalaie said, “I’ve seen first-hand the game-changing potential of VeinWay’s venous recanalization device. This is why I am joining the scientific advisory board of the company.”

About VeinWay

VeinWay is developing a device called Traversa, intended to provide physicians with a dedicated, purpose-built tool to create a pathway through a clogged vein to empower physicians to easily restore blood flow through the vein to the heart. Traversa is designed to expand the physician’s ability to safely cross a variety of complicated blockages that were previously un-crossable, as well as shorten the time to cross.

VeinWay addresses an annual market of more than 1.7M Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) patients, half of which will return with Post Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS) within three to five years and 68% of those will have fully blocked veins. Traversa is being developed by VeinWay as part of the MEDX Xelerator’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence program designed to promote breakthrough innovation. VeinWay is a portfolio company of the MEDX Xelerator, a medical device incubator backed by Boston Scientific, Sheba Medical Center among other investors.

Press Contact:

Marjie Hadad
General Manager
Must Have Communication & Consulting
On behalf of VeinWay
[email protected]
917-790-1178

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204192/Jalaie_and_Black.jpg

SOURCE VeinWay

The investment will be used to accelerate Momofuku Goods’ mission to make home cooking more fun, enjoyable and delicious.

NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2023 —Momofuku Goods, a line of restaurant-grade pantry essentials founded by David Chang, Marguerite Mariscal, and the team behind Momofuku, today announced a new $11.5 million funding round led by Alliance Consumer Growth (“ACG”), a leading consumer-focused growth equity firm. ACG was joined in this latest round by existing Momofuku Goods investor, Siddhi Capital. This new investment will help the Company to further accelerate the nationwide expansion of its popular products.

“Alliance Consumer Growth has a remarkable track record of supporting consumer brands that have gone on to become iconic, and we’re thrilled that they see similar potential in Momofuku Goods,” said Marguerite Zabar Mariscal, Co-Founder and CEO of Momofuku Goods and CEO of Momofuku. “We’re grateful to have ACG’s expertise, alongside Siddhi, as we continue to navigate the world of consumer packaged goods.”

Founded in 2019 and spun out of Momofuku in 2020, Momofuku Goods aims to redefine the American pantry by giving home cooks access to restaurant-grade flavors that make cooking more fun, enjoyable, and delicious. Its breakout product Chili Crunch was released to a 20,000-person waiting list in April 2020.

Today, Momofuku Goods includes additional iterations of Chili Crunch, best-selling Noodles, liquids such as Soy Sauce and Rice Vinegar, and Seasoned Salts — all inspired by the bold flavors that have become synonymous with the Momofuku brand. Beyond a thriving direct-to-consumer business, the brand can be found in more than 3,500 stores including Target, Whole Foods, Wegmans, and thousands of independent retailers.

“Momofuku Goods is one of the most exciting emerging brands in food. In our view, it’s the most authentic, trusted brand in its category, given David Chang’s role as one of the most accomplished chefs of this generation, and the company’s heritage of cult-favorite restaurants,” said Josh Goldin, Co-Founder of Alliance Consumer Growth. “Grocery consumers everywhere have just begun to discover Momofuku’s incredibly delicious and authentic products, which enable home cooks to make restaurant-quality food in minutes. We’re thrilled to be part of this journey with David, Marguerite, and the amazing Momofuku Goods team.”

About Momofuku Goods
Momofuku Goods seeks to reimagine America’s pantries with restaurant-grade flavors that make cooking more fun, enjoyable, and delicious. Created by David Chang, Marguerite Mariscal, and the team behind Momofuku, all Momofuku Goods products are inspired by the flavors and techniques used in the group’s restaurants. Products include its Chili Crunches, air-dried noodles, sauces and Seasoned Salts, all of which can be found in more than 2,000 doors nationwide, as well as retailers online. To learn more and shop the line, visit shop.momofuku.com. 

About Alliance Consumer Growth
Alliance Consumer Growth (“ACG”) is a leading growth equity firm, providing capital and value-added partnership to promising emerging consumer product and retail brands. Since its founding in 2011, ACG has built a track record of identifying and backing some of the most disruptive consumer brands of the past decade, across food, beverage, beauty, personal care, pet products, apparel & accessories. ACG has offices in New York City and Los Angeles.  For more information please visit www.acgpartners.com.

SOURCE Momofuku Goods

Capital infusion to fuel Accela’s growth building on its strong fiscal year 2023 performance

SAN RAMON, Calif., Sept. 6, 2023 — Accela, the trusted provider of cloud solutions at the heart of government, today announced a strategic growth investment from Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses. Berkshire Partners will remain a significant investor with an equal equity holding in Accela. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

“Today’s announcement marks another notable milestone for Accela as we aim to advance the govtech industry. This new funding and partnership with Francisco Partners kick-starts our next chapter that’s focused on elevating and expanding how we serve state and local governments,” said Gary Kovacs, CEO of Accela. “Francisco Partners’ world-class technology expertise will parlay into investments designed to further simplify and streamline the government experience, and we are pleased to have the continued strong support of Berkshire Partners as we execute our growth strategy. Our mission remains the same: to be the heart of government, vital to the expansion of innovative, growing, and safe communities.”

Serving more than 300 million citizens worldwide and delivering strong 2023 fiscal year momentum, Accela offers agencies a unified suite of cloud solutions and a single cloud-based platform to accelerate government modernization, deliver critical services, and build stronger communities. Accela’s Civic Platform powers major state and local governments, streamlining the internal and residential government experience for Dallas, Texas; Seattle, Washington; the State of California; Abu Dhabi; cities and counties across Florida; and more.

“Accela has been a foundational leader in the govtech space for decades and has demonstrated impressive double-digit growth quarter over quarter—a reflection of their strong brand reputation, competitive differentiation and unbreakable customer relationships,” said Andrew Kowal, partner at Francisco Partners. “Accela’s combination of low-code cloud-based solutions on a single robust platform is transforming the digital government experience. We’ve been impressed with Accela’s industry impact for some time, and we look forward to helping them provide even more value to their government customers,” added Jason Brein, partner at Francisco Partners.

“Since our partnership began in 2017, we’ve seen significant growth in Accela’s ability to serve local and state agencies with increasingly essential government technology solutions,” said EJ Whelan, managing director at Berkshire Partners. “Accela’s outstanding leadership team continues to advance this industry-leading technology that helps governments better serve residents and businesses in their communities,” added Jon Nuger, managing director at Berkshire Partners. “We welcome Francisco Partners to the team and look forward to collaborating to support Accela’s growth within the rapidly advancing govtech industry.”

The government technology industry has seen record growth in the past year with the global cloud market for government expected to reach $49.2 billion by the end of 2023. As communities tackle staffing shortages and new challenges such as adapting infrastructure for extreme weather, digital solutions allow local and state governments to break down agency siloes to streamline critical constituent services—such as permitting, licensing, code enforcement and more. High-quality digital services, in turn, lead to more satisfied constituents and more resilient communities.

Baird served as financial advisor to Accela and Berkshire Partners, and Shea & Company served as financial advisor to Francisco Partners.

About Accela

Accela provides a unified suite of cloud solutions trusted by governments across the globe to accelerate their digital transformation, deliver vital services, and build stronger communities. More than 300 million citizens worldwide benefit from Accela’s government software solutions. The company offers agile, purpose-built solutions and the power of a platform that provides users with a consumer-like experience, shares data across departments, and ensures world-class security. The company is a four-consecutive year Microsoft US Partner Award winner, a recipient of Inc.’s Best in Business for SaaS award, and was selected by Fast Company for its World Changing Ideas Award in 2022. For more information, visit www.accela.com.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has invested in more than 400 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. With approximately $45 billion in capital raised to date, the firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

About Berkshire Partners

Berkshire Partners is a 100% employee-owned, multi-sector specialist investor in private and public equity. The firm’s private equity team invests in well-positioned, growing companies across technology & communications, consumer, healthcare, and services & industrials. Since inception, Berkshire Partners has made more than 150 private equity investments and has a strong history of collaborating with management teams to grow the companies in which it invests. The firm’s public equity group, Stockbridge, founded in 2007, manages a concentrated portfolio seeking attractive long-term investments. The firm’s Stockbridge and Private Equity teams frequently collaborate and leverage their collective industry expertise across sectors. For additional information, visit www.berkshirepartners.com.

Media Contacts

Accela: Courtney Bonness, [email protected]

Francisco Partners: Whit Clay, [email protected] / Sarah Braunstein, [email protected]

Berkshire Partners: Greg Winter, [email protected]

SOURCE Accela

The e-Moto manufacturer has raised more than $7 million to date

CLEVELAND, Ohio, Sept. 6, 2023 — Today, Cleveland-based electric mobility and battery manufacturer LAND announces the close of a successful Series A round. The electric motorcycle maker exceeded fundraising expectations by more than $1 million in this latest round. The company also closed an oversubscribed seed round. In response to interest from new investors, LAND is now launching a $15 million convertible note to further fuel its growth.

“LAND has continuously hit our business and production goals, and this ability to execute has resonated with our investor community,” LAND CEO and Founder Scott Colosimo says. “We have opened our $15M convertible note round to scale up production and expand globally.”

The Series A round was led by Ancora, with participation from several other notable investors. Over the summer, LAND leveraged some of the fresh funds to renovate its 30,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, which includes a modern assembly line and larger design and development center. LAND has also expanded its team and doubled the size of its production staff to be able to ramp up production. Among the new company hires are Tim Leedom, chief revenue officer, and Chris Davis, head of production.

“It is a time of growth at LAND,” Colosimo adds. “Not only is our team bigger, but we’re gearing up to expand our portfolio of electric offerings this fall.”

In 2020, LAND debuted its flagship e-Moto, The District, which combines the ease of use of an electric bike and the power of an electric motorcycle into one two-wheel vehicle. Featuring three speed settings—e-Bike (up to 27 mph), e-Moped (up to 40 mph) and e-Motorcycle (70+ mph)—The District is a versatile option that meets the needs of a range of riders, from beginners to off-road enthusiasts and experienced motorcyclists. The e-Moto is powered by a swappable electric battery pack (CORE), also designed and developed by LAND, that has a range of 120 miles per battery.

LAND’s convertible note round will allow the company to continue to scale e-Moto production and sales in the U.S. and expand internationally within the next year.

“We are thrilled to take the wheel and provide our backing to a Northeast Ohio company that is driving energy independence forward,” Ancora Chairman and CEO Fred DiSanto says. “LAND’s successful second financing round, oversubscribed and with tremendous momentum, is now complemented by the launch of a $15M convertible note, propelling their growth even further.”

For more information, visit landmoto.io.

About LAND
Founded in 2020 by Scott Colosimo in Cleveland, Ohio, LAND is based on the principle that energy continuity and mobility are essential to modern life. LAND provides a transitional eMoto ecosystem with a portable power platform (CORE), a game-changing approach in the light electric vehicle industry. With products proudly manufactured in Cleveland, LAND is unwavering in its belief in American ingenuity and world-class craftsmanship. As a design-forward company, LAND is dedicated to constantly evolving to meet the needs of their customers, everyday consumers and businesses looking for energy efficiency.

SOURCE LAND

Fund II will deploy strategic initiatives to help its portfolio start-ups scale globally

RIDGEWOOD, N.J., Sept. 6, 2023 — Pentathlon Ventures, an early-stage B2B SaaS-focused venture capital firm, has announced the launch of its second fund with a target of $55 Million. The fund aims to invest in 25 B2B SaaS start-ups, supporting breakthrough solutions across Enterprise Digital Transformation, E-commerce Enablement, Fintech, Vertical SaaS, Applied AI, Sustainable Tech, and HealthTech.

The VC firm was founded in 2020 by a team of marquee entrepreneurs with over 150 years of experience: Gireendra Kasmalkar (Ideas to Impacts, Verisoft); Sandeep Chawda (Globant, Clarice, Veritas); Saurabh Lahoti (Grassroots Business Fund, Ennovent); Madhukar Bhatia (Sapience, Symphony, Veritas); Ashok Mayya (Rising Pharma, Citron Pharma); Hemant Joshi (Sapience, Symphony, Veritas), and Shashank Deshpande (Globant, Clarice, Veritas).

US-based Managing Partner Ashok Mayya observed, “Our core expertise is in early-stage B2B SaaS companies built from India. SaaS is a global play with innovative ideas coming from all corners. India’s software talent, with its experience and scale is well positioned to emerge as a dominant player in the worldwide SaaS market.”

India-based Managing Partner Gireendra Kasmalkar added, “The revenues coming from India based B2B start-ups are expected to grow 25X in the next 8 years. With an impressive 50% faster time to revenue, better revenue predictability and solid gross margins ranging between 70-80%, it presents extraordinary prospects of building sustainable businesses. Indian B2B seed stage companies are going to be global leaders in the coming decade. The successes of our investments from Fund I further strengthens our commitment to this strategy.”

For Fund II, Pentathlon Ventures is raising capital from a mix of Indian and global limited partners encompassing successful business leaders, corporations and institutions.

Through its first fund, the VC firm has invested in 23 start-ups, with a remarkable track record which includes successful exits and follow-on investments.

About Pentathlon Ventures: 
Pentathlon Ventures is an early stage VC Fund focusing on the thriving B2B SaaS space in the Indian startup ecosystem to build global products. It works with early-stage technology companies to scale their business by providing Expertise, Ecosystem & Capital. Pentathlon Ventures’ mission is to empower ambitious tech entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey. As a founder-led VC firm, it aims to bridge the gap between Angel and Series A+ rounds.

Media Contact: [email protected], 201-600-9922

SOURCE Pentathlon Ventures US LLC