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PR Newswire

TaroWorks Offers Second Round of $20,000 Grant to Help Last Mile Distributors Scale with Mobile Tech

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — TaroWorks, the offline mobile field service app, is awarding a $20,000 grant (funded by Qualcomm through its Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ initiative) to subsidize the digitization of a social enterprise or for-profit organization’s last mile distribution operations in vulnerable communities.

TaroWorks, whose mobile app helps last mile distributors manage and gain greater visibility into sales, inventory, and product maintenance while offline in places like rural India, will award the $20,000 grant to a qualified social enterprise or for-profit organization to contribute to the cost of configuring and deploying TaroWorks’ inventory management system – TaroWorks Enterprise. TaroWorks is accepting applications for the grant from now until October 14, 2022. This is the second round of the grant, the first round focused on nonprofits during the spring of 2022.

“We have heard from many organizations that they lack the financial support they need to implement digital solutions to serve the last mile,” said TaroWorks CEO Brent Chism. “Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ is covering the costs of designing and implementing TaroWorks tools for one of those organizations, which at the same time will help us learn from last mile distribution managers about what their industry needs to better serve base-of-pyramid communities.”

“Qualcomm is excited to continue our long-term partnership with TaroWorks, and to help drive the impact of nonprofits making a difference by distributing life-changing goods at the last mile,” said Angela Baker, Chief Sustainability Officer, Qualcomm. Qualcomm Wireless Reach has been a proud supporter of TaroWorks since 2014.

Making Last Mile Delivery More Effective

“Distributors who are serving these ‘last mile’ populations…play a crucial role in sustainable development by driving demand for beneficial products and delivering them to hard-to-reach consumers,” wrote leaders of the Global Distributors Collective (GDC), a worldwide coalition of last mile distributors who reach more than 33 million people in last mile households with solar lights, clean cookstoves, and water filters. “While the importance of last mile distribution is increasingly recognized, funding is still not flowing into this space,” they added.

Last mile delivery is considered “the most inefficient process of the entire supply chain” according to a majority of transportation and logistics companies surveyed in a 2020 study of the U.S. and Canadian industry sector. The same group agrees it is critical for companies to “ensure a mobile-first strategy around last mile delivery” by using smartphones, tablets and task-specific apps to improve operations. 

TaroWorks Enterprise helps organizations gain transparency in their last mile operations around procuring, transferring, warehousing, and distributing goods. The offline mobile field service app also enables organizations to collect data, analyze metrics, monitor performance and manage field teams from mobile devices when working in remote areas with little internet or phone service. 

Grant Application Deadline and Evaluation Criteria

TaroWorks will evaluate applications based on business need, potential for long-term success with the system, estimated long-term impact, and financial need. For more information and to apply for the grant funding, visit the TaroWorks Enterprise Grant page.

TaroWorks is a SaaS product integrated with the Salesforce.com CRM platform, so grant applicants must be current or planned Salesforce users in order to be eligible for consideration.

For press inquiries, please contact Riley Harding at riley@taroworks.org.

About TaroWorks
TaroWorks LLC is a social enterprise that sells an offline mobile field services management platform to help organizations operating at the last mile enhance inventory management, monitoring and evaluation, sales, case management and agent network performance in the field. Its mission is to improve product and service delivery to the poor by bringing real-time data across the last mile to use for business decision-making. TaroWorks is a subsidiary of Grameen Foundation.

About Qualcomm
Qualcomm is the world’s leading wireless technology innovator and the driving force behind the development, launch, and expansion of 5G. When we connected the phone to the internet, the mobile revolution was born. Today, our foundational technologies enable the mobile ecosystem and are found in every 3G, 4G and 5G smartphone. We bring the benefits of mobile to new industries, including automotive, the internet of things, and computing, and are leading the way to a world where everything and everyone can communicate and interact seamlessly.

Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of our engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of our products and services businesses, including our QCT semiconductor business.

Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™

Wireless Reach™ invests in sustainable programs that demonstrate innovative uses of wireless technology to strengthen economic and social development globally. Our programs foster entrepreneurship, aid in public safety, enhance the delivery of health care, enrich teaching and learning, and improve environmental sustainability. Since 2006, Wireless Reach™ has benefitted more than 20 million people.

Qualcomm and Wireless Reach are trademarks or registered trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated.

PR Newswire

LeadSquared secures $153mn from WestBridge Capital; Turns Unicorn

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ATLANTA, June 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Sales automation platform, LeadSquared recently announced that it has secured an investment of USD $153mn in the Series C funding round from WestBridge Capital. 

LeadSquared founders Sudhakar Gorti, Nilesh Patel & Prashant Singh
LeadSquared founders Sudhakar Gorti, Nilesh Patel & Prashant Singh

Founded by Nilesh Patel, Prashant Singh, and Sudhakar Gorti in 2011, LeadSquared’s vision is to make high-velocity sales execution software a growth engine for companies around the globe. 

LeadSquared has built a global, best-in-class sales platform that takes away the guesswork from sales execution and makes efficiency the focus of every customer interaction, no matter how complex the customer journey. It now serves more than 2,000 customers globally. 

“We are grateful for the support of our investors as we strive to build LeadSquared into a globally significant business. With this financing, we will double down on growth investments in India and North America, start building in APAC and EMEA, add new offerings to our product portfolio, and fund acquisitions. To support our growth, we plan to double our headcount in the next 18 months,” shared Nilesh Patel, Founder & CEO, LeadSquared.

Remarking on the investment, Sumir Chadha, Co-founder and Managing Director at WestBridge Capital, said, “LeadSquared has shown a remarkable ability to scale and grow efficiently. Its core SaaS metrics are unique and best-in-class in the industry. Its focus on building an easy-to-use platform that transforms sales processes through automation delivering unparalleled efficiency, has significant potential for growth in the global market. Future of LeadSquared is very exciting to us and we look forward to a long partnership with the company.”

Gaja Capital’s Managing Partner, Gopal Jain opined, “LeadSquared is fast emerging as a category leader in high-velocity sales execution software. Nilesh and the team have built a strong platform with robust unit economics. With this round, the company has the balance sheet strength to further invest for growth in India as well as international markets, especially the US. We look forward to LeadSquared being the engine of growth for ambitious companies in India and around the world.”

LeadSquared is the growth partner for organizations in higher education, edtech, professional education, healthcare, financial services. LeadSquared is headquartered in Bengaluru, India alongside its presence in the United States, APAC and EMEA.

The company’s existing investors include Gaja Capital, IFC, and Stakeboat Capital. 

Barclays acted as the exclusive placement agent for the Series C funding.

Media Contact: Arushi Dhar; pr@leadsquared.com

Email ID Sales: Shubhankit Mishra sales@leadsquared.com

PR Newswire

AP Memory Joins the UCIe Industry Consortium to Promote AP Memory’s VHM(TM) and Contribute to Global Chiplet Ecosystem

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HSINCHU, June 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The global leading customized memory solution provider AP Memory (TSE: 6531) announces today to officially join the Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) industry consortium. As the first among Taiwan’s IC design houses to join the consortium, AP Memory will actively participate in UCIe in collaboration with other members to contribute to the research and application of the UCIe 1.0 standard specification, helping to build a more robust chiplet ecosystem.

The Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) consortium is comprised of leading vendors of the semiconductor industry, including international companies such as Google Cloud, Intel, Meta, Microsoft, AMD, Qualcomm, Samsung and Taiwanese companies including TSMC and ASE. These 10 companies established the UCIe in March 2022, aiming to standardize the technology of chiplet interconnection. UCIe has already released UCIe 1.0 standard, which specifies the basic structure for the interconnect of chiplets, and which is expected to foster the standardization of the chiplet interface. As an open standard for interconnection, UCIe is expected to facilitate the establishment of the chiplet ecosystem at the packaging level, aiming to break the limit of the Moore’s law.

In recent years, 5G communication, high-performance computing (HPC) and Internet of Things (IOT) are driving the needs for new technology of the semiconductor industry. More specifically, the fast-growing applications like artificial intelligence (AI) and HPC require more advanced packaging technology. The semiconductor industry is gradually paying more attention on new technology such as heterogeneous integration and chiplet. AP Memory’s VHMTM (Very High-Bandwidth Memory) has successfully gone into mass production in 2021. With the heterogeneous integration technology for 3D packaging, AP Memory’s VHMTM can support chiplet-based designs. AP Memory’s VHMTM offering includes customized DRAM design and the VHMLInKTM IP which provides the interface for DRAM-logic integration. By pioneering wafer-on-wafer (WoW) stacking, AP Memory is leading the industry in logic-memory integration technology.

 “AP Memory has been very active in exploring new end applications and markets and enabling the ecosystem for 3D packaging. Applications such as edge computing, HPC, AI can all benefit from wide adoption of chiplet technology. As the leading company providing customized memory solutions, AP Memory plays a unique role. We have successfully realized the mass production of the Wafer-on-wafer (WoW) technology. We look forward to collaborating with other industry leaders to build a brand new chiplet ecosystem,” says Chris Liu, Vice President and General Manager of AI Business Unit of AP Memory.

Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ap-memory-joins-the-ucie-industry-consortium-to-promote-ap-memorys-vhmtm-and-contribute-to-global-chiplet-ecosystem-301570325.html

Source: AP Memory Technology Corp.

PR Newswire

“From customer service to complex banking tasks” DeepBrain AI implements AI human technology into KB Kookmin Bank

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– Contactless counseling service tailored to the COVID-19 situation and significant reduction in waiting time

– Provides information on financial products, branch information, weather and instructions on how to use banking devices within the branch

– Maximizing user experience with natural gestures such as hand movements and head nods

SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 4, 2022 — DeepBrain AI, a company specializing in artificial intelligence(AI), announced on the 28th that it has signed a technology supply agreement with KB Kookmin Bank, a leading financial company, and implemented Korea’s first kiosk-type ‘AI banker’ and officially introduced it this month.

Image of an AI Banker in a Kiosk installed in KB Kookmin Bank Donam-dong Branch.
Image of an AI Banker in a Kiosk installed in KB Kookmin Bank Donam-dong Branch.

Since March of last year, DeepBrain AI has been working closely with AI bankers to improve functions and enhance performance by piloting AI bankers in the AI experience zone located at KB Kookmin Bank’s Yeouido headquarters. As a result, it succeeded in commercializing AI human-based kiosk products for the first time in Korea, drawing great attention from the IT industry as well as the financial sector.

DeepBrain AI’s AI human technology is a solution that creates a virtual human capable of real-time interactive communication. It implements AI that can communicate directly with users by fusion of speech synthesis, video synthesis, natural language processing, and speech recognition technologies. As a technology that can realize complete contactless service in various fields, banks have the effect of providing a secure counseling service to customers who prefer non-face-to-face in accordance with the COVID-19 situation, and shortening customer waiting time through faster response.

First, the AI banker greets customers when they arrive at the kiosk and provides answers to their questions. All answers go through the process of deriving optimal information based on KB-STA, a financial language model developed by KB Kookmin Bank, and delivered to customers through the AI banker’s video and voice implemented with DeepBrain AI’s AI human technology.

Specifically, it is possible to guide how to use peripheral devices such as STM (Smart Automated Machine), ATM (Automated Machine), and pre-writing service, introduce financial products, and guide the location of the kiosk installation point. In addition, it is loaded with information on convenience of living such as financial common sense, today’s weather, and surrounding facilities.

In addition, the AI banker, with idle-mode, can make natural gestures such as moving hands, nodding, and tidying up clothes during conversation maximizing user experience from the customer’s point of view. In addition, it is possible to recognize people through the front camera, so if a customer leaves their seat, the kiosk is automatically finished as a thank you.

This time, KB Kookmin Bank’s AI banker modeled and implemented one male and one female model, and utilized their actual audio and video data. In the case of clothes, the main colors of KB Kookmin Bank are yellow and gray, so that the brand image can be recognized by customers while using the kiosk.

DeepBrain AI CEO Eric Jang said, "The AI banker has endless possibilities that can be used for customer service with a variety of devices such as mobile devices as well as kiosks in the future. Based on DeepBrain AI’s recognized AI human technology and business value, we will continue to explore business routes so that it can be applied to more diverse fields."

PR Newswire

GrubTech Raises $13 Million in Series A Funding Round to Accelerate Its International Growth Strategy

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DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 7, 2021 — GrubTech, a plug & play, all-in-one operating system for restaurants and cloud kitchens, announced it has successfully raised a $13 Million Series A investment led by Addition. Other investors in this round include BY Ventures and Hambro Perks Oryx Fund.

GrubTech Raises $13 Million in Series A Funding Round
GrubTech Raises $13 Million in Series A Funding Round

Founded in 2019 to address the F&B sector’s gap in technology solutions for modern operations, GrubTech’s all-encompassing software powers various functions including back of house, in kitchen operations, integrations with food aggregators and an omni-channel point of sale. 

"Legacy technology in the F&B space hasn’t kept pace with the speed in which the sector is transforming. This results in a fragmented set of solutions that a restauranteur or cloud kitchen operator is forced to sift through and stitch up. Not only does this complicate their operation, but it also slows down their ability to expand. We fixed that with an easy to use, all in one stack that’s future proof," said Mohamed Al Fayed, GrubTech’s Co-Founder & CEO.

GrubTech’s restaurant management system enables its customers to operate more efficiently, provide a better experience for dine-in and online customers, and increase sales by effortlessly operating multiple brands from a single location. The all-in-one platform provides customers with unparalleled operational and sales data, allowing them to make more informed decisions on how they run their business and capitalize on growth opportunities.

GrubTech’s customers experience a doubling of sales per square meter through multi-tenanting across food platforms, and unlocks the creation and hosting of new brands using existing resources. The easily deployable software enables a 25% reduction in time from when an order is placed until it is delivered, and a 35% increase in margins by maximizing efficiency of fixed costs and wastage.

Omar Rifai, GrubTech’s Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer added: "Consumers are demanding a technology enabled experience when engaging with their favorite F&B brands, whether it’s on premise, take out or online. GrubTech was built from the ground up to empower our clients to better serve their customers across multiple fronts."

Used by clients across 15 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe, GrubTech recently celebrated a milestone of processing 2 million orders. The company plans to use the funds to continue developing innovative solutions and further extend its reach into new markets.

To learn more about GrubTech’s cloud kitchen management software, visit www.grubtech.com.

PR Newswire

Praecipio Consulting Announces Investment from Periscope Equity

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AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 26, 2021 — Praecipio Consulting, a leading IT services and business process management consulting firm based in Austin, TX, announced today an investment from Periscope Equity, alongside Praecipio Consulting Management. Periscope Equity is a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on high-growth, founder-owned, and tech-enabled service and software companies. Through Periscope Equity’s investment, Praecipio Consulting is positioned to play a greater role in helping organizations around the world solve complex business problems, empower teams to perform at their best, and drive exceptional customer experiences through tech and process-powered solutions. As part of the transaction, Periscope Equity plans to commit significant incremental capital to fund future acquisitions and new growth opportunities.

"In terms of scale and leadership in the space, Praecipio Consulting has differentiated itself as a true enterprise-level strategic advisor with strong customer-focused business practices and superior technical capabilities," said Periscope Equity Principal Eric Hinkle. "Praecipio Consulting has experienced significant growth over the past five years and with that growth, they have made the necessary investments to scale, creating an ideal platform investment. Our strategy is to join forces with Atlassian Solution Partners and build the dominant Scaled Agile, DevOps, and Service Management consulting firm with global reach."

"Our partnership with Periscope Equity aligns remarkably well with our vision for what’s next in the digital landscape and the important role that businesses play in elevating the human experience and creating meaningful change," said Christian Lane, CEO and Founding Partner of Praecipio Consulting. "As we complete our fifteenth year in business, we look forward to this exciting new chapter, one where we can capitalize on the opportunity to accelerate growth, deliver more business value to enterprise clients across the globe, and make a collective impact in our communities."

For nearly two decades, Atlassian tools have enabled millions of organizations to streamline business and IT processes, collaborate effectively, and achieve enterprise-scale agility. As business leaders face increasing uncertainty in the ever-evolving marketplace, enterprise organizations across the Fortune 500 continue to rely on Atlassian’s visionary products to close the digital divide, scale Agile processes, and align diverse business teams. Due to its extensive history with successful, large-scale Atlassian deployments, today’s business challenges have created a significant opportunity for Praecipio Consulting to streamline siloed, multi-environment implementations of Atlassian products and other digital technologies through best-in-class business practices, consulting, integration, and training services.

"Praecipio Consulting has been an instrumental part of our customers’ success, providing their Atlassian expertise and unique services to companies across many industries," said Cameron Deatsch, Chief Revenue Officer at Atlassian. "Praecipio Consulting has gone above and beyond to provide innovative solutions to Atlassian customers, and we are thrilled to support their continued growth and partnership with Periscope Equity."

"By leveraging the talented team and experienced company that Praecipio Consulting has built, we believe the firm will expand its capabilities to further enable enterprise clients to better execute on their most critical workflow – software development – that has ‘eaten the world’ of Fortune 500 IT departments, and that Atlassian products were developed to optimize. Through its strategic process improvement consulting capabilities, Praecipio Consulting can deliver not only technology and process excellence, but people excellence as well, enabling these organizations to achieve next-level strategic and competitive performance," added Joe McIlhattan, Vice President at Periscope Equity.

About Praecipio Consulting

Praecipio Consulting is a leading business process and technology consulting firm based in Austin, Texas helping organizations successfully achieve their digital transformation goals. Specializing in process frameworks, including Agile, IT Service Management (ITSM), DevOps, and Enterprise Service Management, Praecipio Consulting serves as a strategic partner to industry leaders and organizations of all sizes, optimizing business processes with Atlassian’s robust product suite and other category-leading technologies. As an Atlassian Platinum Enterprise Solution Partner, Praecipio Consulting offers integrated business and technology solutions that help clients deliver a delightful customer experience, increase costs savings, and improve business performance. Since establishing an official partnership with Atlassian in 2008, Atlassian has recognized Praecipio Consulting as their Partner of the Year for five of the last six years, including ITSM Partner of the Year in 2018 and Enterprise Services Partner of the Year in 2020. 

To learn more, visit www.praecipio.com and listen to The Digital Transformation(ists) podcast. Join the Praecipio Consulting community on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

About Periscope Equity

Periscope Equity is a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on control investments in technology-enabled service and software companies across – Digital Marketing, Healthcare Technology, Security Solutions, and Business Process Automation. Periscope Equity targets companies that are founder-owned, offer mission-critical products and service offerings, demonstrate a history of sustainable profitability, and have known avenues to accelerate growth. In alignment with proven management teams, Periscope Equity provides strategic, operational, and commercial expertise to drive superior investment returns.

To learn more, visit www.periscopeequity.com

Contact:

Guy Murrel
Catapult PR
gmurrel@catapultpr-ir.com
(303) 581-7760

Related Links :

http://www.praecipio.com

PR Newswire

Intelligent Driving Solution Provider JIMU Intelligent Raised CNY 200 million in Series C1 Funding

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WUHAN, China, Oct. 22, 2021 — JIMU Intelligent, the global leading intelligent driving solution provider, has successfully raised CNY 200 million in a Series C1 funding round. This round was jointly led by Forebright Capital and SDIC Unity Capital, followed by well-known institutions such as AVIC Pingshan, Founder H Fund, MY Tsinghua Capital, UMC Capital and others.

The capital raised will allow JIMU Intelligent to further increase its R&D investment in intelligent driving, connectivity and autonomous driving in specific scenarios, continue to expand its customer base, and accelerate the mass production of high-level intelligent driving technologies.

In this round of funding, JIMU Intelligent has introduced top-level investment institutions, such as  renowned Forebright Capital, SDIC Yangtze backed by State Development & Investment Corp., AVIC Pingshan, a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Corporation, Founder H Fund, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Founder Securities, MY Tsinghua Capital backed by Tsinghua Strait Research Institute, and UMC Capital, an internationally renowned semiconductor group,etc. These new shareholders will promote the development of JIMU Intelligent with their industrial resources and capital.

Since its founding in 2011, JIMU Intelligent has been committed to becoming an internationally competitive intelligent driving solution provider, providing global OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers with self-developed leading intelligent driving solutions based on multi-sensor fusion and domain controllers. Relying on the industry-leading technology and cost-effective advantages, JIMU’s intelligent driving products have been applied in batches to around 100 models of nearly 30 OEMs globally. Up to now, JIMU Intelligent has won multiple passenger vehicle ADAS projects, supplying 80%+ head bus OEMs and 60%+ head truck OEMs in China, ranking top three in the market share of commercial vehicle L1-L2 solutions among Chinese companies.

Thanks to its rich experience in mass production in the commercial vehicle field, JIMU Intelligent has opened the passenger car market since 2020, and has won a number of L1~L2 new energy passenger car projects. In terms of products, JIMU’s L2+ domain controller will be completed by the end of this year. After this funding, the company will continue to actively expand the passenger car market, trying to enter the supply chains of at least five leading car companies in the next two years, and becoming a mainstream intelligent driving solution provider in the passenger vehicle field.

In addition, JIMU Intelligent is actively exploring overseas markets. It has reached extensive and in-depth cooperation with many international top T1 suppliers, and has taken the lead in exporting intelligent driving solutions to Japan, South Korea and other automotive powerhouses.

At present, the company’s new series funding is progressing smoothly. 

Regarding this funding, Cheng Jianwei, founder and CEO of JIMU Intelligent, said: "Thanks to all our investors and customers for their recognition and support. We will actively grab the opportunities of the era of intelligent driving, make every effort to promote more technological breakthroughs and product innovations,  and link industry ecosystem partners to create an intelligent driving enterprise with international competitiveness."

    

PR Newswire

Jacobi Asset Management Receives Approval to Launch the World’s First Tier One Bitcoin ETF

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–  Custody provided by Fidelity Digital Assets 

–  Authorised by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC)

–  Administrators: Sigma Asset Management (Guernsey) Limited

–  Fund Architecture/Consultancy: Midshore Consulting Limited

LONDON, Oct. 16, 2021 — Jacobi Asset Management  has received approval to launch the world’s first tier one Bitcoin ETF. The Jacobi Bitcoin ETF is a centrally cleared crypto-backed financial instrument, authorised by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) and with custody provided by Fidelity Digital AssetsSM. It is Jacobi’s intention to list the Jacobi Bitcoin ETF on Cboe Europe, one of the largest pan-European equity exchanges, subject to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) listing approval.

Launched in May 2021 to shape the future of digital asset management, Jacobi brings together decades of expertise from Banking, Regulation, and Fintech to shape the future of digital asset management by designing, issuing and managing institutional crypto products and funds connected to digital assets.

Jacobi is spearheaded by CEO Jamie Khurshid, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker and pioneer of regulatory transparency in financial markets. Jamie was named by Financial News as one of the top 40 under 40 in European trading and technology and ranked in the ‘Exchange invest’ Top 1000 most influential people in global financial markets. He has appointed a team with extensive financial services, regulatory and crypto asset expertise.

CEO Jamie Khurshid said: "We are excited to be launching a new secure, transparent and accessible product to track the performance of Bitcoin. We are de-risking investments in crypto by removing the technology risk associated with the physical asset and the counterparty risk associated with traditional funds or tracker products that are unregulated leveraged debt instruments. We are proud to collaborate with Europe’s leading regulated firms for a truly tier 1 offering to service market demand, subject to the necessary regulated approval. This is an exciting moment for Europe as regulatory approval comes ahead of those waiting for a decision from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission."

"The Jacobi Bitcoin ETF will finally bring digital assets wholly into the mainstream investment infrastructure with the support of the leading firms we are working with. It will provide investors with the opportunity to participate directly in physically-settled Bitcoin. This new ETF provides simple, secure, accessible investing into one of the world’s most exciting asset classes via some of the world’s leading regulated entities," commented Roy McGregor, Chairman of Jacobi Asset Management and former CEO of Credit Suisse Channel Islands.

Jacobi Bitcoin ETF investors will benefit from the security of Fidelity Digital Assets’ enterprise-grade custody and execution services, designed to enable institutional investors to safely secure, trade and support investments in digital assets. Chris Tyrer, Head of Fidelity Digital AssetsSM in Europe, commented: "Greater diversity of investor interest has created significant demand for additional vehicles for exposure to help provide broader access to digital asset markets. While safekeeping of assets is a top priority for investors and asset managers in all asset classes, the highly technical nature of digital assets places even more emphasis on this and underscores the need for institutional-grade custody solutions like ours."

The Jacobi Bitcoin ETF was developed to meet regulatory standards by Christopher Jehan, Head of Fund Architecture and former Chair of the Guernsey Investment & Funds Association (GIFA). Christopher led the team at Midshore Consulting in designing the Fund with legal work performed by Collas Crill led by Partner Wayne Atkinson and Senior Associate Gareth Morgan.

Prior to FCA listing approval, Jacobi Bitcoin ETF investments will be facilitated through Sigma Asset Management (Guernsey) Limited ("Sigma"), the fund manager providing management and administration. Fund consultancy support will continue through Midshore Consulting.

For further information visit Jacobiam.com

For enquiries about Jacobi Asset Management, please contact:

Geneva Loader
Jacobi Asset Management
Tel: +44 (0)3330 165 232
Email: Geneva@jacobiam.com

For media enquiries, please contact:

Vanessa Green
The Realization Group
Tel: +44 (0) 771 333 2303
Email: vanessa.green@therealizationgroup.com

PR Newswire

Strategic Investment in proteanTecs from Industry Leaders MediaTek and Advantest Joined by Porsche Automobil Holding SE to Advance Electronics Health Monitoring

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Validates need for multi-segment visibility from production to system operation

HAIFA, Israel, Sept. 24, 2021 — proteanTecs, a global leader in deep data solutions for advanced electronics, announced today a $50 million extension to their Growth Equity Round, demonstrating accelerated market adoption of system health and performance monitoring across multiple verticals. The round extension was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) and joined by strategic investors MediaTek and Advantest, together with Porsche SE, the major shareholder of Volkswagen Group, and Allied Group subsidiary Champion Motors, as well as current investors. This brings the company’s total funding to $150 million.

 

Based on deep data derived from Universal Chip Telemetry™ (UCT), proteanTecs provides cloud and edge enterprise SW solutions for electronics’ health and performance monitoring. Addressing end-to-end needs of mission-critical markets, the company serves some of the largest and most technologically innovative companies in Datacenter, Automotive and Communications.

proteanTecs onboards leading investors from multiple verticals
proteanTecs onboards leading investors from multiple verticals

The strategic investment reinforces the growing need for full lifecycle visibility, spanning all segments of the electronics industry. Eli Groner, managing director at KDT, commented: "Since KDT’s first investment in proteanTecs we’ve seen their continued success in scaling and developing their technology, and this new investment is a testament to our confidence in the company. The addition of leading strategic partners across multiple verticals will enable proteanTecs to continue to stay ahead of the curve in the exciting new world of real time electronics monitoring."

One of the main forces driving the paradigm shift to an integrative approach is the automotive industry, which is entering the next phase of its electrification, driven by rising customer demands for safety and connectivity.

Lutz Meschke, member of the board of management responsible for investment management at Porsche SE, said: "Due to the fast-paced technological advancements and the ever-growing requirements for new chip generations, we see an enormous market potential for proteanTecs’ technology leveraging predictive reliability, performance and power management. We see clear benefits and the necessity for the use of this technology across a wide range of industries including the automotive industry." 

Spurred by the progress of the digital revolution, and driven by complexities in design and manufacturing, advanced analytics are also transforming the way production testing is performed. Advantest, a leading manufacturer of automatic test equipment, is strategically reinforcing its core business by integrating traditional silos across the product lifecycle through cloud-based data.

"We are excited to add proteanTecs to our investment portfolio, and to welcome their collaboration in the Advantest Cloud Solutions’ open solution ecosystem", said Doug Lefever, president and CEO of Advantest America.  "The way we are addressing test today has changed. We are strategically transitioning to an integrated methodology, leveraging cloud and edge analytics based on multiple data sources. We look forward to working with proteanTecs on the next phase of semiconductor test, finding innovative and scalable ways to shape the future of test platforms."

Versatile deployment of advanced electronics is another key dynamic driving collaboration. MediaTek, a global semiconductor leader, enjoyed first mover advantage in AI and 5G, providing chipsets for smart home, connectivity, IoT and wearable, ASIC and smart mobile devices.

"The investment in proteanTecs aligns with our commitment to bring cross-platform technologies that help connect users to the world around them", said Brian Hsu, Managing Partner of MediaTek Capital. "Robust, high-efficiency and low-power-consumption ICs are key to driving a scalable digital future. We believe synergies from strong technology portfolios and proteanTecs’ predictive performance capabilities will grow product value and enable unique competitive advantages."

The addition of strategic investors comes on the heels of a momentous year for proteanTecs. In 2020-2021, the company onboarded key customers, including cloud hyperscalers, leading system OEMs, disruptive fabless startups, and ASIC houses, enabling the formation of a value-add solution portfolio. The extended financing will be used to fuel global expansion, accelerate product development, and pursue strategic collaborations.

"The investment will strengthen proteanTecs’ technological and market leadership", said Shai Cohen, CEO and co-founder of proteanTecs. "It solidifies our strategy of bringing together market leaders’ diverse view points to solve a cross-stake challenge, while validating the need for advanced monitoring solutions from design to field. We’re grateful for the existing and new investors’ support and shared vision to bring a common data language to the industry."

About Porsche SE

Porsche Automobil Holding SE ("Porsche SE") is a listed investment company and a major shareholder of Volkswagen AG, in which Porsche SE holds 53.3 percent of ordinary shares and 31.4 percent of capital. In addition to the core holding in Volkswagen AG, Porsche SE is a global investor in the mobility and industrial technology sectors. Porsche SE focuses on high-quality growth companies that thrive on strong macro trends and are led by excellent management teams.

About Advantest Corporation

Advantest (TSE: 6857) is the leading manufacturer of automatic test and measurement equipment used in the design and production of semiconductors for applications including 5G communications, the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, smart medical devices and more.  Its leading-edge systems and products are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor production lines in the world.  The company also conducts R&D to address emerging testing challenges and applications, produces multi-vision metrology scanning electron microscopes essential to photomask manufacturing, and offers groundbreaking 3D imaging and analysis tools.  Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest is a global company with facilities around the world and an international commitment to sustainable practices and social responsibility.  More information is available at www.advantest.com.

About MediaTek Inc.

MediaTek Incorporated (TWSE: 2454) is a global fabless semiconductor company that enables nearly 2 billion connected devices a year. We are a market leader in developing innovative systems-on-chip (SoC) for mobile device, home entertainment, connectivity and IoT products. Our dedication to innovation has positioned us as a driving market force in several key technology areas, including highly power-efficient mobile technologies, automotive solutions and a broad range of advanced multimedia products such as smartphones, tablets, digital televisions, 5G, Voice Assistant Devices (VAD) and wearables. MediaTek empowers and inspires people to expand their horizons and achieve their goals through smart technology, more easily and efficiently than ever before. We work with the brands you love to make great technology accessible to everyone, and it drives everything we do. Visit www.mediatek.com for more information.

About KDT

Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) is a unique investment firm, focused on empowering founders to create a could-be world. KDT provides a flexible, multi-stage investment approach which includes both traditional venture and growth stages. We work with principled entrepreneurs who are building transformative companies, disrupting the status quo, and creating new platforms. KDT is a subsidiary of Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held companies in the world with $110 billion in revenue and operating in more than 70 countries. KDT helps its partners unlock their full potential by bringing Koch’s capabilities and network to them, structuring unique capital solutions, and embracing a long-term, mutual benefit mindset.

About proteanTecs

proteanTecs develops revolutionary Universal Chip Telemetry™ (UCT) for electronic systems throughout their entire lifecycle, increasing their performance and reliability. By applying machine learning to novel data created by on-chip UCT Agents™, proteanTecs provides meaningful insights and visibility unattainable until today, leading to new levels of quality, reliability and scale. Founded in 2017, the company is headquartered in Israel with offices in New Jersey, California and Taiwan. For more information, visit: www.proteanTecs.com.

Press Contact

Tamar Naishlos, Media Relations  

tamarn@proteanTecs.com

 

Related Links :

http://www.proteantecs.com/

PR Newswire

SIMBA Chain Raises $25 Million in Series A Funding

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SOUTH BEND, Ind., Sept. 4, 2021 — SIMBA Chain , the technology company that eliminated the complexities of blockchain app development and reduced energy usage, thus opening the door to a world of users, has closed a $25 million Series A funding round led by Valley Capital Partners. The round received additional participation from the Notre Dame Pit Road Fund, Elevate Ventures, Stanford Law School Venture Fund, and individuals affiliated with Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts (KKR), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, SpaceX, Gap, Estee Lauder, AppLovin, Microsoft, Moelis & Company, Stanford University, the Golden State Warriors, the founders of Lightspeed Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates and other individual investors.

SIMBA Chain, a startup incubated at the University of Notre Dame, offers a simple, time- and energy-efficient method for deploying blockchain technology in the most secure and complex environments. Its state-of-the-art technology autogenerates a robust family of APIs that support permissioned and public blockchains, allowing customers to launch blockchain applications without hiring costly consultants or consuming valuable tech expertise. And because SIMBA Chain allows users to select from a wide range of blockchain technologies, with portability across these chains, the company provides a level of flexibility and customization that traditional blockchain approaches cannot support.

Joel Neidig, SIMBA Chain CEO and co-founder, stated, "Demand for our Web3 smart contracts platform has accelerated across all of our markets much quicker than we anticipated. Users across multiple spectrums have embraced and validated the SIMBA Chain model, which simplifies development of smart contracts. The market has also responded positively to our support of multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Avalanche, RSK, Stellar, and many others, making SIMBA Chain-based applications simple, highly portable and sustainable." SIMBA Chain’s technology is currently used by Fortune 500 companies and other multi-billion-dollar organizations.

Steve O’Hara, managing partner at Valley Capital Partners of Menlo Park, California, said, "Since its founding in 2017, SIMBA Chain has distinguished itself by solving the incredibly hard problem of making blockchain technology, which is inherently complex and difficult to master, accessible to literally anyone who wants to realize the advantages blockchain has to offer. Thanks to the intellectual depth and insatiable curiosity of its team, SIMBA Chain has succeeded in establishing impressive beachheads in the defense and enterprise markets – a rare thing to see in emerging frontier technologies like blockchain. We are excited to support SIMBA Chain at this pivotal time."

With the additional funding, SIMBA Chain plans to scale sales, marketing, and development, and to dedicate resources to emerging enterprise-level opportunities such as non-fungible tokens. SIMBA Chain expects business enterprises, academic institutions, and others will use its software to manage and monetize digital and physical assets as well as to launch business models that don’t exist today.

"This is one of the more exciting blockchain companies I’ve seen in a while," observed Joseph Grundfest, a Stanford Law School professor, former commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission and member of Stanford’s Center for Blockchain Research. "SIMBA Chain solves a very big problem: most companies don’t know how to adopt or manage blockchain technology. SIMBA Chain makes that easy and cheap, so it’s a bit like Stripe for the blockchain. Also, by writing on energy-efficient blockchains, SIMBA Chain’s ‘green solution’ responds to concerns that some blockchains contribute to global warming." 

Despite the past year’s economic disruptions, SIMBA Chain has remained laser-focused on unleashing blockchain’s potential for enterprise, government, and education as the first examples of what will certainly be numerous use cases. Over the last 18 months, SIMBA Chain has achieved the following milestones:

  • Grown revenue by 360%.
  • Closed paid programs with Fortune 500 and other multi-billion-dollar organizations to develop secure, immutable, blockchain-based solutions.
  • Secured contracts with more than 30 institutions of higher learning in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia that are using the SIMBA Chain platform in their schools of business and law.
  • Surpassed 6,000 users.
  • Developed a digital marketplace using non-fungible tokens for a major university.

Joining the SIMBA Chain Board of Directors are Steve O’Hara, Valley Capital Partners; Phil Koen, former CEO of Savvis and Intermedia, and former president of Equinix; and Mike Lempres, former EIR at Andreessen Horowitz, and former chief legal and risk officer and Board of Directors member, Coinbase.

Said Neidig, "The entire SIMBA Chain team is elated by this new investment and what it represents. We are grateful to everyone who has recognized our potential, and we look forward to the future."

About SIMBA Chain, Inc.
SIMBA Chain’s cloud-based enterprise platform enables universities, industry, governments, and individual programmers to quickly develop and deploy Web 3.0 distributed applications (dApps) across many blockchain platforms. SIMBA Chain was founded in 2017 through a DARPA grant awarded to the University of Notre Dame and ITAMCO and has received multiple awards, including a 2020 U.S. Small Business Administration Tibbetts Award, TechPoint’s 2019 Mira Award for New Product of the Year, and 1st Source Bank’s 2019 Commercialization Award. SIMBA Chain’s eco-friendly, energy-efficient platform supports Avalanche, Ethereum, Consensys Quorum, Binance Smart Chain, RSK, Stellar, Hyperledger, and other blockchain protocols. Learn more.

Media Contact:

Joel Neidig

Phone: +1 574 914 4446

Email: info@simbachain.com

Related Images

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Co-founders
Joel Neidig (CEO and Co-founder) and Ian Taylor (CTO and Co-founder)

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SIMBA Chain Team
SIMBA Chain Team

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