SHANGHAI, Feb. 28, 2023 — Oricell Therapeutics Co., Ltd (“Oricell” or “the Company”), a China-based innovative pharmaceutical company committed to the development of tumor cellular immunotherapeutics, today announced the close of a $45M Series B1 investment round after the completion of a $125M Series B fund-raise in July 2022. The round was led by premier global industry investors RTW Investments, LP (“RTW”) and Qatar Investment Authority (“QIA”), with participation from existing investors, including Qiming Venture Partners and C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment. The new injection of capital will be utilized primarily to support the company’s core product clinical development in the U.S.

Oricell Chairman and CEO Helen Yang said, “We are thrilled with the momentum our team has built over the last several months and look forward to using this funding to further expand our platform and research. This round reflects our investors’ recognition of Oricell’s ongoing growth and the development of our robust pipeline of ground-breaking therapeutics. We look forward to continuing to help improving the lives of patients in need.”

Over the past year, Oricell’s cell therapy pipeline and drug discovery platform have seen tremendous growth. Since the debut of Oricell’s first key product Ori-C101 at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (“ASCO”) Annual Meeting, the Company has been overcoming many difficulties and made unremitting efforts to achieve all the expected milestones, to attract widespread attention among investors worldwide with its increased presence in the global new drug market during 2022 and into 2023. The Company launched its red-chip restructuring in the fourth quarter of last year in parallel with series B round of financing. Ori-C101 received IND clearance from NMPA in September 2022. At 2022 ASCO annual meeting and European Hematology Association (“EHA”) 2022 congress, Oricell presented the clinical research data of its proprietary CAR-T cell therapy targeting GPRC5D (OriCAR-017) for the treatment of Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (“RRMM”). The oral presentation was very well received; subsequently, the product was granted an orphan drug designation by US FDA. Its follow-up data was published in Lancet Haematology on January 31 2023.

With this new funding, the Company is now well-positioned to expand its products to the U.S., specifically OriCAR-017, a GPRC5D CAR-T therapeutic that treats relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma, which is a product currently on the stage of IND enabling both in the US and China.

Roderick Wong, M.D., Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of RTW, said “RTW continues to focus on advanced tumor cellular immunotherapeutics. As a long-term investor in the primary and secondary markets, we have been closely following Oricell and have been duly impressed by its milestone achievements over the past year. Today, we feel honored to have established a partnership with the company through the Series B1 financing. With our years of experience working in the U.S. market, we look forward to empowering Oricell and its team as they continue to provide cancer patients across the world with better therapies and create more value for the community.”

About RTW Investment

Headquartered in New York, with offices in Shanghai and London, RTW Investments, LP is a global life sciences investment and innovation firm that focuses on identifying transformational and disruptive innovations across the biopharmaceutical and medical technologies sectors. As a leading partner of industry and academia, RTW combines deep scientific expertise with a solution-oriented investment approach to advance emerging medical therapies by building and supporting the companies and/or academics developing them. For further information about RTW, please visit www.rtwfunds.com

About Qatar Investment Authority

Qatar Investment Authority (“QIA”) is the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar. QIA was founded in 2005 to invest and manage the state reserve funds. QIA is among the largest and most active sovereign wealth funds globally. QIA invests across a wide range of asset classes and regions as well as in partnership with leading institutions around the world to build a global and diversified investment portfolio with a long-term perspective that can deliver sustainable returns and contribute to the prosperity of the State of Qatar.

About Qiming Venture Partners

Founded in 2006, Qiming Venture Partners is a leading China venture capital firm with offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Hong Kong, Seattle, Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently, Qiming Venture Partners manages eleven US Dollar funds and seven RMB funds with $9.4 billion in capital raised. Since our establishment, we have invested in outstanding companies in the Technology and Consumer (T&C) and Healthcare industries at the early and growth stages.

About C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment

Xiamen C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment Co., Ltd is a professional equity asset management company affliated to Xiamen C&D Corporation Limited, focusing on new economy sectors including healthcare, advanced manufacturing and innovative consumption.
The subsidiary manages a fund of RMB18 billion to help more emerging enterprises flourish.

About Oricell Therapeutics

Oricell Therapeutics was founded in 2015 as an innovative biopharmaceutical company in China. It is committed to developing tumor cellular immunotherapeutics through its own innovative technology platforms. Oricell has applied for over 100 invention patents (including 6 PCT), with 10 already granted.

Oricell Therapeutics’ mission is to develop affordable drugs for unmet clinical needs worldwide. It has built several proprietary technology platforms based on tumor cell immunotherapy, including Ori^®Ab and Ori^®CAR. Oricell Therapeutics has made several  achievements to overcome challenges to treat solid tumors including among others antibody engineering construction technology, tumor immune microenvironment regulation, T cell infiltration and killing ability.

With over 10 cellular projects in its pipeline, Oricell Therapeutics is well positioned to develop novel cell therapies to treat liquid and solid tumors. Oricell focuses on indications with a wide range of therapeutic needs, including liver, ovarian, gastric, cervical and non-small cell lung cancer, as well as multiple myeloma. With the corporate goal of becoming an innovation-driven global leader in the creation of new tumor immunotherapeutics, Oricell Therapeutics has established an international product development and operations management team, GMP-compliant manufacturing facilities and quality testing and management systems. Oricell Therapeutics is continuing to explore and develop therapeutically effective, well differentiated and affordable drugs through its own innovative technology platforms. The company seeks to create new opportunities for the development of innovative China-made drugs. Oricell raised over $120 million USD in series B financing in July 2022.

SOURCE Oricell Therapeutics

New funds will drive company growth among current and new locations, developing Salesforce managed services, DocuSign and Digital Product Development offerings with a representative workforce

FRESNO, Calif., Feb. 28, 2023 — Today, Bitwise Industries (www.bitwiseindustries.com) announces an $80M investment led by Kapor Center and Motley Fool with participation from the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Citibank. This latest raise from notable institutions will drive economic transformation in the cities Bitwise serves through its Salesforce managed services, DocuSign and Digital Product Development offerings. In addition, Bitwise is announcing its expansion to Chicago’s South Side. The Comer Science & Education Foundation has been a critical partner in this expansion resulting in meaningful connections that will support Bitwise’s operations and mission. This approach has delivered business value in the form of digital transformation nationwide resulting in unprecedented company growth despite global economic instability.

“This latest raise, led by a group of distinguished investors, acknowledges the role technology plays in driving economic impact in previously underserved communities, validates our model and makes it possible for us to roll out our proven approach into other parts of the country,” said Jake Soberal, Bitwise Industries co-CEO and co-founder. “Bitwise has been an agent of transformation for cities and people alike, delivering unmatched results for the tech industry, businesses and the communities we serve.”

Bitwise Industries has helped support the creation of over 15,000 jobs in just one of its cities. This accounts for over a-quarter-of-a-billion-dollars in aggregated wages, mostly going to women and people of color, and the growth of the city’s GDP by over 1% per year. Bitwise Industries has also renovated over 1M square feet in previously vacant, blighted spaces within underserved downtown areas across the country, creating vibrant spaces for innovation and commerce. This has supported the skilling of over 10,000 individuals, from underestimated communities who otherwise might not have considered the tech industry as a place for them. Eighty percent of those have gone on to technical employment after completion of the program.

“Goldman Sachs believes that Bitwise has shown a strong track record in training and upskilling talent to successfully find placement in the highly competitive technology labor market,” said Hillel Moerman, a partner in the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “Filling the talent gaps is not only pertinent for the sector, but also key to creating economic opportunity for those in underserved communities and we are excited to support Bitwise in its continued growth.”

The investment from Goldman Sachs Asset Management is part of the firm’s One Million Black Women initiative, which seeks to help narrow opportunity gaps facing Black women across key pillars including, Job Creation and Workforce Advancement.

“The Kapor Center, as a lead investor in this round, and Kapor Capital, as a continuing investor, recognize Bitwise’s major accomplishments in closing gaps of participation in the tech ecosystem and transforming the economies of underestimated cities across the nation, now expanding to the South Side of Chicago,” said Bitwise Board member, co-Chair of the Kapor Center, and founding Partner of Kapor Capital, Mitch Kapor.

A 6K-square-foot, South Chicago Avenue building will serve as a temporary home to Bitwise Industries’ local operation while a permanent space is finalized. By leveraging the existing facility, the company will renovate the space to quickly deploy its community-focused investments. The building, located in Chicago’s Greater Grand Crossing community, will operate in partnership with nearby Comer Education Campus, which consists of the Gary Comer Youth Center, a college prep high school and middle school, an urban farm, and an active affordable housing initiative.

“Bitwise has a track record of removing barriers that have prevented talented individuals from securing quality jobs in one of the fastest growing industries in the world,” said Greg Mooney, President, Comer Science & Education Foundation. “These are high-growth, high-wage jobs that enable companies, schools, and local residents to succeed in the digital economy. We are excited to be partnering with national leaders, such as Bitwise Industries, to help Chicago thrive.”

The new influx of capital will allow Bitwise Industries to continue its work creating spaces that unite communities, while spurring economic and business growth in underserved communities. This work is possible through the investment of mission aligned partners such as Comer, P33 and more. For more information about Bitwise Industries, please visit our website at: www.bitwiseindustries.com   

About Bitwise Industries
Bitwise Industries, a transformative technology company, creates scalable digital solutions, offering services in Salesforce, DocuSign, and Digital Product Development—using a representative workforce in underestimated cities. Bitwise is a nationwide catalyst towards economic transformation, has a proven record of year-over-year growth and has been nationally recognized for its work. Bitwise has pioneered a movement in the industry regarding diversity, equity and inclusion reflected in the faces, lives, and humans in those we employ, those in which we partner, and communities we mean to lift up. To learn more about Bitwise Industries, check out www.bitwiseindustries.com.

About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Growth Equity
Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market—overseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of September 30, 2022. Driven by a passion for our clients’ performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time. Goldman Sachs Asset Management invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. Since 2003 the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management comprising more than 75 individuals has invested over $13 billion in companies led by visionary founders and CEOs. We focus exclusively on investments in growth stage and technology-driven companies spanning multiple industries, including enterprise technology, financial technology, consumer and healthcare. Follow us on LinkedIn.

About Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women
In partnership with Black-women-led organizations, financial institutions and other partners, Goldman Sachs has committed $10 billion in direct investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic capital over the next decade to address the dual disproportionate gender and racial biases that Black women have faced for generations, which have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. The initiative, One Million Black Women, is named for and guided by the goal of impacting the lives of at least one million Black women by 2030. Goldman Sachs’ research Black Womenomics has shown that sustained investments in Black women will catalyze economic growth, making for not only a fairer, but also a richer society.

SOURCE Bitwise Industries

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, design consultancy expands service offerings and welcomes a new board of directors

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 28, 2023 — Studio Science, a leading design and innovation consultancy, today announces a growth capital investment from Inoca Capital Partners. Studio Science will use the funds to support the expansion of its core design and consulting practice areas and the build-out of the company’s growing e-commerce experience business.

With continued participation from existing investors, the investment will allow Studio Science to grow new lines of business focused on designing, implementing, and supporting Salesforce Commerce Cloud experiences for businesses. These commerce-related service lines have grown by 200% over the past two years.

“Studio Science is defining what a modern, people-centric design consulting partner will be in this new era dominated by experiences,” said Chris Sheffert, Managing Director and Founder Inoca Capital Partners. “The company’s unique combination of design and technology – along with their new services focused on Salesforce Commerce Cloud – have the potential to provide outsized value to businesses and capture a large piece of the multibillion-dollar creative/digital services and technology system integrator markets.”

The growth capital follows a period of change and acceleration for Studio Science. Over the past three years, the consultancy has more than doubled annual revenue and shifted a large portion of that revenue into the global enterprise, focusing on businesses in the Fortune 500.

“I have partnered with Studio Science across three companies: Salesforce, Genesys, and now Alteryx,” said Keith Pearce, CMO, Alteryx. “Each time, they have delivered world-class experiences to our customers, employees, and partners.”

Now with employees in 10 states, the company will retain its Monument Circle headquarters in downtown Indianapolis. “Indianapolis has been our home and the center of our growth for 25 years,” said Steve Pruden, CEO, Studio Science. “We will continue to harness the creative and technical talent in the city and are proud to call Indianapolis our headquarters.”

With the growth capital, Studio Science has a new board of directors to provide expertise and guidance as the company grows. It is comprised of members of ownership plus independent directors:

• Rich Lyons, former founder and CEO of Lyons Consulting Group, the foremost leader in digital customer experience. He led the company’s strategy and vision and worked closely with customers. In 2017, Lyons Consulting Group was acquired by Capgemini. Most recently, Mr. Lyons founded the MBA program at The Lyons School of Transformational Business at Wright Graduate University, focusing on leading and managing business’s greatest asset, its people.
• Dan Rudolph, Operating Advisor, Inoca Capital. Mr. Rudolph is a 20 year Silicon Valley software executive, former Chief Operating Officer of Stanford Business School and has worked in private equity as an operating partner helping to drive growth for industry-leading companies for the past ten years. Previously, Dan was President and Chief Executive Officer of Imparto, a Business-to-Business e marketing company that he sold in late 1999. Earlier, he spent four years at Intuit, where he led the marketing team that acquired the first million QuickBooks customers.
• Chris Sheffert, Managing Director and Founder of Inoca Capital.

Additional board members will be announced in the coming months. Find the full announcement:
https://studioscience.com/funding-announcement/ 

Media Contact:
Lindsey Groepper
[email protected]

About Studio Science
Founded 25 years ago by Kristian Andersen, Studio Science is a modern design consultancy that works with industry-defining enterprise and technology companies to solve business challenges through design. We help our clients achieve remarkable growth by identifying opportunities to design better brand experiences, deliver better product experiences, and provide better e-commerce experiences. From brand design to visual communication, digital product design to e-commerce solutions, we are a consultative, creative partner and an extension of our client’s team. More at https://studioscience.com/.

SOURCE Studio Science

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 28, 2023 — Term Labs, Inc., a blockchain R&D company, today announced it has raised a $2.5 million seed round led by Electric Capital with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Circle Ventures, Robot Ventures, MEXC Ventures, and with angel investment from DeFi founders from Aura, Balancer, Hashlow and Llama.

The funds raised will be used to develop Term Finance (termfinance.io), a decentralized lending protocol that utilizes a unique auction model to support scalable fixed-rate/fixed-term lending, a first in DeFi. Term Finance will bring transparent, low-cost, and crypto-native solutions for borrowers and lenders at an institutional scale when it launches on Ethereum.

Centralized crypto lenders providing fixed rate loans to institutions and other large crypto investors have mostly shut down and existing DeFi protocols have not created scalable models to serve these users. Term Labs is developing solutions to fill the market gap.

“We are thrilled to have such strong support from our partners,” said Dion Chu, CEO of Term Labs. “This funding allows us to develop a decentralized solution for the crypto lending market that saw over $80 billion in originations a quarter at its peak. Recent failures of centralized institutions in the crypto lending market highlights an urgent need for the market to move towards scalable on-chain solutions.”

Ken Deeter, partner at Electric Capital, added, “We believe Term Labs has the potential to bring a much-needed solution to the market with its decentralized lending protocol. Term’s unique auction model originates loans at scale without slippage, bid-offer spread or other hidden transaction costs seen in other variable and fixed rate lending protocols.”

About Term Labs

Term Labs is a blockchain research and development company founded by a team with deep traditional finance, big tech, and decentralized finance experience. Term Labs is dedicated to the development of robust, transparent, and scalable fixed-rate lending on blockchains.

Media Contact

Billy Welch
[email protected]

SOURCE Term Labs

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2023 — Caylent, an AWS Premier Service Partner, previously received a $16 million growth equity investment from tech-focused private equity firm East Los Capital in June of 2021. The majority investment was premised on East Los Capital’s investment thesis of strong growth in the cloud services market driven by continued adoption worldwide as companies move from cloud migration to cloud native solutions. East Los Capital is pleased to announce that it has exited its position in Caylent following a majority growth investment from Gryphon Investors.

At the time of the initial investment, East Los Capital partnered with Stephen Garden, Executive Chairman of Caylent, to expand the executive team and spur Caylent’s growth. Caylent’s Founder and CEO, JP La Torre, said “The East Los Capital investment came at a critical inflection point of growth and has allowed Caylent to significantly expand our partnership with AWS and diversify our services portfolio into areas such as data analytics, machine learning, and cloud application development to keep up with demand.”

“We partnered with East Los Capital on this investment due to a shared belief in the power of cloud services and how the engineering talent throughout Latin America can accelerate transformative outcomes for customers,” said Garden. “With East Los Capital’s investment, Caylent has emerged as the fastest growing and most capable firm in the AWS partner ecosystem and perfectly positioned for the next stage in its journey.”

Caylent’s growth and list of accomplishments during East Los Capital’s investment period were substantial. Over the 18-month holding period, the company achieved the following milestones:

• Caylent named AWS Rising Star Partner of the Year in 2021
• Reported growth of 300% year-over-year and the addition of 50 employees per quarter as of Q3’21
• Obtained AWS Premier Tier Services Partner status in 2022
• Received AWS Innovation Partner of the Year Award for North America in 2022
• Achieved Launch Partner status for AWS Graviton, AWS Control Tower, Amazon EKS and Amazon Opensearch Service Delivery Designations
• Expanded into Canada as its third global delivery region

East Los Capital Partner, Anthony Valencia, CFA, remarked that in his nearly two decades of investing in, and researching the major cloud hyperscalers (Amazon, Google & Microsoft), “It is extremely rare to see a service provider outpacing the growth of the overall industry in the manner that Caylent has done. We are extremely proud of what Caylent has achieved and wish them continued success”.

Caylent was created as a cloud native company dedicated to providing cloud migration and cloud native software development solutions for clients. Caylent was an early contributor to the development of container orchestration software, which has become the solution of choice for mature cloud computing users. Over time, the company has broadened its offerings to cover a wide range of cloud native solutions. Caylent fills the expertise gap that many companies face when they aim to capture the advantages of cloud computing, but do not have in-house cloud specialists at their disposal.

About Caylent

Caylent is a cloud native services company that helps organizations, from high growth startups to Fortune 500 enterprises, bring the best out of their people and technology using AWS. Caylent believes in a software-defined world where technology is at the core of every business. To thrive in this paradigm, organizations need to empower people and processes through technology. Caylent is uniquely positioned to fuel that engine of innovation by bringing ambitious ideas to life for its customers. Caylent works with customers to build, scale, and optimize sophisticated cloud solutions using deep subject matter expertise to deliver world class outcomes through an agile co-delivery model. Caylent’s core practice areas include Migration, Application Modernization, Data Analytics & Machine Learning, DevOps, Security & Compliance, and Cloud Native Application Development.

Read more about Caylent at: www.caylent.com

About East Los Capital

East Los Capital is a tech-enabled lower middle market private equity firm making the world more productive through technology. East Los Capital is operationally focused, research-driven, and technology-enabled. The firm invests in successful companies where capital, talent, and analytics can drive the most value. East Los Capital’s deep bench of senior technology professionals allow it to identify areas in which a target investment can be improved operationally with a focus on its technology footprint resulting in accelerated revenue growth. East Los Capital focuses on consumer, healthcare, internet, media, services, and software.

Co-founders Emanuel Pleitez and Anthony Valencia have extensive experience in both the public and private markets and leverage this background when identifying prospective investment candidates with the potential to deliver growth in excess of their respective sectors. The company’s senior technology professionals who can serve as Advisors/Operating Partners are a unique asset and include the CEOs of software and technology-enabled companies, investment professionals of major institutional private equity and venture capital firms, software engineers, and product managers. The extended team has experience at Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and other top-flight cloud and software companies such as Accenture, Disney, Facebook, GoDaddy, IBM, Intel, Symantec, VMware.

Current and exited portfolio companies of East Los Capitals’s Co-Founders include 66Degrees, Basepaws, Everyset, Finix, Glitzi, Nadine West, Pasture Bird, Sabio, and Zenhub. 

Read more about East Los Capital at www.eastloscap.com

For further information contact Sally Gao at: [email protected]

SOURCE East Los Capital

The investment provides Nalu Bio with the resources to expand aggressively and scale to meet global consumer and therapeutic market demand.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 28, 2023 — Nalu Bio, a producer of chemistry-based, ultra-pure cannabinoids, today announced that it has raised a $12 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Intrinsic Capital Partners, with participation from Flybridge Capital Partners, Portfolia Active Aging & Longevity Fund, Bonaventure Equity, L37 Ventures, Golden Seeds, Sacramento Angels, Brown Angel Group, and Axial Venture. Nalu Bio will use the funds to accelerate growth and scale production of cannabinoids for consumer products and therapeutics. The funding follows on the heels of Nalu Bio’s breakthrough in the cost-effective synthesis of the minor cannabinoid THCV (non-psychoactive, not to be confused with THC).

“At Nalu Bio, we have created a platform that produces ultra-pure, cost-effective, non-hemp derived cannabinoids so that consumers and companies will have safer, more reliable products that improve everyday life,” said Caitlyn Krebs, Nalu Bio Co-Founder and CEO. “Intrinsic’s belief in our chemistry-based approach and their leadership investing in cannabinoids and life sciences make them the ideal partner for us. This investment allows us to aggressively expand the business world-wide, own the category and bring high quality cannabinoids to manufacturers who want cost-effective THC-free ingredients for their products.”

Since its founding in 2019, Nalu Bio has pioneered an approach to synthesizing cannabinoids utilizing organic, non-hemp inputs which are converted into the desired cannabinoid ingredient, without the stigma of the plant. The company’s flexible platform generates molecularly identical versions of naturally occurring cannabinoids for use in consumer products and therapeutics that are sustainable and completely free from contaminants found in hemp-extracted cannabinoids.

“We believe that chemistry-based production of cannabinoids will play a significant role in the evolution of the cannabinoid market, and we have spent years looking for the ideal investment opportunity. The team and the technology are top-notch and Nalu Bio is poised for large-scale commercial expansion and aggressive growth. We’re excited to partner with Nalu Bio,” said Howard Goodwin M.D., Managing Partner of Intrinsic Capital.

Nalu Bio is utilizing its patent-pending platform to launch a full suite of cannabinoid ingredients (e.g., CBD, THCV, CBN, CBC, CBG) while continuing to expand its scientific and commercial teams to meet global market demand.

About Nalu Bio

Nalu Bio is a biotech company creating a new category of chemistry-based cannabinoids for the consumer and pharmaceutical markets. Nalu Bio has developed a proprietary, flexible chemistry platform that is setting a new industry standard for purity, quality, and sustainability. Nalu Bio’s proprietary approach creates identical batches of any known cannabinoid, setting the standards for consistency and quality, because it removes the risk of contamination from pesticides, heavy metals, and THC inherent in hemp extraction. Our unique, scalable platform has the ability to keep pace with anticipated market expansion, and will reliably deliver high quality and widely-accessible cannabinoids to global consumer and pharmaceutical markets.

Intrinsic Capital Partners

Intrinsic Capital Partners is a Pennsylvania-based investment firm focused on life science and technology businesses within the legal cannabis and hemp industries. The Intrinsic team brings institutional investment discipline and world-class operating experience to build and scale industry-leading companies that address unmet needs across the supply chain. Intrinsic Capital Partners employs an operator-centric investment model to create a diverse portfolio of leading companies within the emerging cannabis and hemp industries.

SOURCE Nalu Bio, Inc.

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 28, 2023 — BetterNight, a leading provider of comprehensive sleep care through its virtual care platform, announced today $33 million in growth funding led by NewSpring. The financing round includes participation from existing investors HCAP Partners and Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE) via its Impact Fund II and other accounts managed by the firm.

“With awareness surrounding the health complications caused by sleep disorders rising, the sleep care industry is growing quickly and is ripe for disruption. BetterNight’s comprehensive virtual care sleep solution is perfectly positioned to offer patients, providers, and payers a superior sleep care experience,” said NewSpring Partner Mike Kaplan. “The data shows that BetterNight is best in class in enabling patients to adhere to sleep therapy.”

BetterNight provides a full continuum of care for patients with sleep disorders, from consultation to diagnosis to treatment to long-term coaching. The company is focused on addressing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and insomnia to boost clinical outcomes, lower healthcare costs, and improve patient lives. BetterNight partners with physicians, health systems, clinics, and health plans across the United States. All services are provided digitally in the patient’s home.

BetterNight will use the proceeds from this transaction to continue its nationwide expansion through partnerships with physician practices, health systems, and insurers and to accelerate the adoption and growth of its value-based sleep solution to employers and health plans. The company will continue to invest in technology to support patient engagement and remote patient monitoring.

“Untreated sleep apnea can dramatically impair a patient’s quality of life and put them at risk for numerous medical conditions such as hypertension and heart disease. Our goal at BetterNight is to provide a superior sleep care platform that empowers patients to take control of their health by getting a better night’s sleep,” said BetterNight CEO Dave French. “The NewSpring team has a strong track record of building successful, scalable healthcare companies, and we believe they are the perfect partner to help power our company’s next stage of growth.”

About BetterNight

BetterNight, headquartered in San Diego, transforms sleep health with its virtual sleep care platform. Results include lower costs of care, superior adherence, improved patient satisfaction, and higher health outcomes. The company’s software platforms empower sleep management by collecting actionable data from therapy devices to drive better clinical decisions. To learn more, visit betternight.com or follow BetterNight on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betternight

About NewSpring

NewSpring partners with the innovators, makers, and operators of high-performing companies in dynamic industries to catalyze new growth and seize compelling opportunities. The Firm manages approximately $3 billion across five distinct strategies covering the spectrum from growth equity and control buyouts to mezzanine debt. Having invested in over 200 companies, NewSpring brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and resources to take growing companies to the next level and beyond. Partnering with management teams to help develop their businesses into market leaders, NewSpring identifies opportunities and builds relationships using its network of industry leaders and influencers across a wide array of operational areas and industries. To learn more, visit newspringcapital.com.

About HCAP Partners

HCAP Partners is a diversely owned private equity firm specializing in providing mezzanine debt and private equity for underserved, lower-middle market companies throughout California and the Western United States. The firm seeks to invest $3 million to $25 million in established businesses generating between $10 million and $100 million in revenues in the healthcare, software, services, and manufacturing industries. HCAP Partners has invested in over 60 companies since its founding and, through ongoing, active engagement with portfolio companies, provides value-added resources to help optimize performance and increase enterprise value. The firm has been recognized as an ImpactAssets 50 fund nine years running and, through its Gainful Jobs Approach™, works to facilitate a positive impact on underserved businesses, their employees, and their communities through active portfolio engagement. For more information, please visit http://www.hcap.com/.

About Hamilton Lane:

Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ: HLNE) is one of the largest private markets investment firms globally, providing innovative solutions to institutional and private wealth investors around the world. Dedicated exclusively to private markets investing for more than 30 years, the firm currently employs nearly 600 professionals operating in offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Hamilton Lane has approximately $832 billion in assets under management and supervision, composed of nearly $108 billion in discretionary assets and over $724 billion in non-discretionary assets, as of December 31, 2022. Hamilton Lane specializes in building flexible investment programs that provide clients access to the full spectrum of private markets strategies, sectors, and geographies. For more information, please visit www.hamiltonlane.com or follow Hamilton Lane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hamilton-lane/.

SOURCE BetterNight

SINGAPORE, Feb. 27, 2023 — Industrial chemical membrane technology company SepPure Technologies announced today that it had closed a US$12M Series-A round led by SOSV with participation from Anji Microelectronics, RealTech Fund, Seeds Capital, EPS Ventures, and others.

SepPure Technologies has developed a highly sustainable, chemical-resistant, nanofiltration solution that separates chemical mixtures at a molecular level with minimal energy usage. Industrial chemical separation processes today account for 15% of global energy usage and 10% of CO2e emissions. SepPure’s nanofiltration technology uses pressure-driven filtration instead of heat, which reduces energy consumption by 90%. The filter technology is applicable across a wide range of industries, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, semiconductor, maritime, and plant-based oils. 

“The problem with existing technologies,” said Dr Mohammad Farahani, “is that they burn through massive amounts of energy as they heat and cool chemicals through distillation and evaporation processes. In fact, these technologies have become one of the world’s largest silent polluters, accounting for up to 15% of the planet’s entire energy consumption. At SepPure, that is something we are determined to change.”

“Industries are racing to find less energy intensive, more climate friendly ways to re-invent their processes,” said Duncan Turner, general partner at SOSV and managing director at SOSV’s HAX, “and its spectacular that SepPure has  invented a separation technology that not only works across many industries, it is also far cost effective than the existing solutions. I can’t imagine a better example of a high-impact climate tech innovation.” 

In addition to energy savings and climate benefits, SepPure’s filters produce efficiencies that reduce operating expenses by up to 50%. The SepPure nanofiltration membrane in a standard industrial 4040 module (4″ in diameter and 40″ in length) contains thousands of patented, straw-like hollow fibers that provide 5x more surface area per volume than the competitor’s spiral-wound filters. Together with its unique high flux design, SepPure’s membrane module is 5-10x faster than the competition. In addition, SepPure’s module and nanofilters tolerate a wide range of temperatures and pH levels, and are available in various pore sizes to match separation requirements.

SepPure’s first filter production facility is under construction in Singapore.  “The state-of-the-art facility will produce enough products for several industrial projects that have been in development since 2021,” said Dr Farahani,  “As soon as we begin implementing our technology solutions at customer sites, we will quickly reach maximum capacity. In anticipation of growing demand for our modules, our team is already working on expansion plans.” 

SepPure’s  first commercial deployment is underway in Singapore, where the company’s technology has already been tested for plant-based oil applications with major industrial players. SepPure’s pipeline covers more than 50% of the top ten largest vegetable oil producers in the world. 

“SepPure’s membrane solution has the potential to revolutionize the chemical separation industry, much like how the reverse osmosis membrane has transformed seawater desalination in the 1980s. We can apply similar principles to the separation of solvents,” said SepPure’s CTO Dr Simon Choong, who joined the firm last November. Simon has an MIT PhD in membrane technology and in his last role, Gradiant International, he commercialized a proprietary membrane-based technology and produced  7 patents. 

About SepPure Technologies:

SepPure Technologies is a cutting-edge company specializing in nanofiltration technology, founded in 2018 by Dr Mohammad Farahani. The technology is derived from Dr Farahani’s PhD studies at the National University of Singapore and is designed to significantly reduce energy consumption and enable the recycling of solvent waste, making the food, pharmaceuticals, semiconductor, and chemical industries more sustainable and economical. With offices in Singapore and Canada, SepPure is committed to providing innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of businesses around the world.

SOURCE SepPure

STOCKHOLM, Feb. 28, 2023 — Swedish Biofuels AB announced today an investment by Mitsubishi Corporation to jointly accelerate commercial deployment of clean renewable fuels using Swedish Biofuels advanced alcohol to jet (ATJ) technology.

The technology produces fully formulated sustainable aviation fuel (FFSAF) from a variety of biogenic feedstocks. Swedish Biofuels FFSAF is different from other SAFs, as it is not a blend component but ready-to-use, real jet fuel. The FFSAF has been tested successfully by engine manufacturers under US DARPA, US FAA and Swedish FMV programmes.

Swedish Biofuels is now leading the way with the world’s first advanced ATJ technology, targeting the complete replacement of fossil jet fuel by FFSAF.

Swedish Biofuels MD, Dr Angelica Hull, stated that the company is honoured by Mitsubishi Corporation’s investment decision, which provides an exceptional strategic partnership for Swedish Biofuels, including access to feedstock, sales support, marketing and commercial operations. With this partnership, the company expects to accelerate the deployment of its advanced ATJ technology in its home market and beyond.

About Mitsubishi Corporation

Mitsubishi Corporation is a global integrated business enterprise that develops and operates businesses across virtually every industry including natural gas, industrial materials, petroleum & chemicals solution, mineral resources, industrial infrastructure, automotive & mobility, food industry, consumer industry, power solution and urban development.

About Swedish Biofuels

Swedish Biofuels is a company based in Stockholm devoted to contributing to world safety by offering innovative, state-of-the-art technology to produce green, sustainable and high quality products meeting regulatory mandates and goals.

Swedish Biofuels is the inventor of the original ATJ technology, patented in 2004. Today the company provides custom-made solutions for its advanced ATJ technology, targeting maximum yield of fuel products for aviation and ground transportation.

www.swedishbiofuels.se

Contact

Sal Passanisi
Head of Strategic Projects
[email protected]
+46 703 573 800

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2010369/Swedish_Biofuels_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Swedish Biofuels AB