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Voxelcare receives a €5.5M investment from Axon Partners Group

Axon

Voxelcare, a leading global provider of technology systems for producing custom foot orthotics, announces a new partnership with Axon Partners Group, who comes in as a minority investor to support the company’s global expansion plans.
Founded in Elche (Alicante), although with part of its operations in Amsterdam, Voxelcare commercialises an end-to-end solution for custom foot orthotics (insoles) manufacturing, allowing footcare professionals to diagnose, design and produce custom foot orthotics in-house. The company was founded by Michael Lampert, current CEO and Santiago Ledesma and currently employs 47 people. With sales in more than 50 countries, Voxelcare has achieved strong success since its inception and is currently positioned as a global referent in high-precision technology for the foot orthotic market.

Voxelcare has developed a completely proprietary, cloud-based, 3D printing technology, which allows footcare specialists such as podiatrists, orthopaedic technicians and footcare retailers to produce a pair of custom orthotic insoles at a point of sale in less than one hour. Voxelcare has managed to develop its state-of-the-art technology without external investment to date. With Axon’s entry, the company plans to fulfil its vision of bringing custom footcare worldwide.

This investment, closed at the end of 2024, marks Axon’s fifth deal this year under its Growth Equity strategy, aligning with its investment thesis of backing innovative companies with exceptional founders, high growth, and an efficient use of capital. The investment comes from the Axon Innovation Growth Fund, a vehicle focused on European scale-up companies, which has also invested in firms such as Metricool, Embention, and Dogfy Diet.

Michael Lampert, Voxelcare CEO, highlights: We are very proud of our new partnership with Axon. Today, while foot orthotic insoles are in high demand, only a small number of people have convenient access to them. With Axon, we have found the right partner that shares our vision and ambition to continue developing the best possible footcare technology and making it available, accessible, and affordable all over the world. The deal with Axon kicks off the next stage of our company journey and allows us to deliver on our ambitious future growth plans.

César Gimeno Le Paih, Principal at Axon Partners comments: We are delighted to be partnering with Voxelcare and Michael’s team to support the company’s journey in becoming the largest global provider of tech solutions for the custom foot orthotic market. We are confident our experience investing in fast-growing technology companies will help Voxelcare reach its goals

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Alice & Bob Closes €100M Series B

AXA

Alice & Bob Closes €100M Series B Led by Future French Champions (FFC), AVP and Bpifrance to Advance Towards a Useful Quantum Computer.

Series B funding fuels groundbreaking cat qubit technology, cutting costs and complexity of useful quantum computing.

Alice & Bob, a global frontrunner in the race for fault-tolerant quantum computing, today announced a raise of €100 million in its Series B funding round, led by Future French Champions (FFC), AVP (AXA Venture Partners) and Bpifrance. FFC is a partnership between QIA and Bpifrance.

The funding will accelerate Alice & Bob’s path to build the world’s first useful quantum computer by 2030.

“Having established performance records with our cat qubits, Alice & Bob now enters a new phase focused on building a quantum computer that can deliver valuable results,” said Théau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob. “Cat qubits are unique, as they make scaling quantum computers practical: where conventional approaches would require millions of qubits, we would need only thousands.”

At the center of cat qubits’ hardware-efficiency is the inherent suppression of bit-flip errors, one of the two types of errors that plague quantum computers. This property is key to enabling more efficient architectures for Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers (FTQCs) that resist errors and can be used in real-world applications. Alice & Bob is the only player developing quantum computers exclusively with this type of qubit, which the company has pioneered since its inception in 2020. To learn more about Alice & Bob’s technology, see its recently published white paper and roadmap.

All Series A investors, Elaia Partners, Breega, Supernova Invest and Bpifrance, returned for the Series B round, joined by new institutional investors, FFC, AVP, and the EIC (European Innovation Council), reflecting broad market confidence in Alice & Bob’s approach and future impact.

Alice & Bob will use the funding to enhance the performance of its system, improve error correction, and create its first error-corrected logical qubit. Nearly half of the funds will be used to finance the ongoing construction of a state-of-the-art lab and production facility, and additional funds will be used to further expand the team, which has doubled in the past year.

Elie Girard, Executive Chairman of Alice & Bob, added, “Quantum computing is poised to transform industries, but the engineering complexity has remained a major hurdle. Alice & Bob’s cat qubit innovation offers a clear path forward, combining efficiency and reliability to unlock quantum’s full potential. This funding allows for Alice & Bob to continue to grow as a company and leading player in the industry.”

Quotes From Alice & Bob’s Investors

Antoine Emmanuelli, President, FFC

“In investing in Alice & Bob, Future French Champions recognizes the company as a French leader in quantum computing. We are eager to see Alice & Bob achieve fault-tolerant quantum computing in this highly competitive, evolving field using unique and innovative technology to make France a champion in quantum tech.”

François Robinet, Managing Partner, AVP

“We have been following the field of quantum computing for a long time at AVP and we are now convinced that quantum computing is leaving the pure R&D space and is entering into an ’industrial’ phase to soon address ’real-life’ use cases, thanks to the technology that Alice & Bob has been developing. AVP is therefore proud to support the company in their mission to reduce the hardware requirements for building a practical, large-scale quantum computer.”

François Charbonnier, Investment Director, Bpifrance

“We are thrilled to once again contribute to the groundbreaking work that Alice & Bob is doing to scale quantum computers for real-world applications. Bpifrance’s continued investment in Alice & Bob reflects our goal to establish France as an international leader in quantum computing and bolster the growth of the French economy by investing in technology that will disrupt industries and solve problems globally.”

Maximilien Bacot, co-founder & COO, Breega

“For the past four years, we’ve had the privilege of collaborating with Alice & Bob’s founders, whose remarkable vision, determination, and expertise continue to inspire us. Together, we’re driving a big leap in technology, redefining the limits of what’s possible with scalable and sustainable quantum computing—an ambition perfectly aligned with Breega’s mission to support transformative innovation.”

Anne-Sophie Carrese, Partner, Elaia

“Since Alice & Bob’s inception, Elaia Partners has been proud to stand behind the company as it strives to achieve energy, and hardware-efficient fault-tolerant quantum computers using cat qubits. Alice & Bob’s work in reducing the energy required for quantum computations aligns closely with our ESG goals, and we look forward to seeing how their technology can solve even greater energy problems in other sectors.”

Etienne Moreau, Partner, Supernova Invest

“Supernova Invest strengthens its commitment to quantum and to Alice & Bob by participating in this Series B as the company has built a clear roadmap towards the delivery of the first fauttolerant quantum computer. This funding will propel the company into a new era of computing power, far exceeding existing capacity for generational change in critical applications in energy, healthtech or industry.”

About Alice & Bob

Alice & Bob is a quantum computing company based in Paris and Boston whose goal is to create the first universal, fault-tolerant quantum computer. Founded in 2020, Alice & Bob has already raised €130 million in funding, hired over 110 employees and demonstrated experimental results surpassing those of technology giants such as Google or IBM. Alice & Bob specializes in cat qubits, a pioneering technology developed by the company’s founders and later adopted by Amazon. Demonstrating the power of its cat architecture, Alice & Bob recently showed that it could reduce the hardware requirements for building a useful large-scale quantum computer by up to 200 times compared with competing approaches. Alice & Bob cat qubit is available for anyone to test through cloud access. Follow Alice & Bob on LinkedIn, X or YouTube, visit their website www.alice-bob.com, or join The Cat Tree on Slack to learn more.

About AVP

AVP is a global venture capital firm specializing in high-growth, technology-enabled companies, managing more than $2 billion in assets across four investment strategies: Venture, Early Growth, Growth, and Fund of Funds. Since its establishment in 2016, AVP has invested in more than 60 technology companies in Venture and Early Growth stages in the U.S. and Europe. With offices in New York, London, and Paris, AVP supports companies in expanding internationally and provides portfolio companies with tailored business development opportunities to further accelerate their growth. For more information about AVP, please visit www.axavp.com.

About FFC

Future French Champions is the partnership between QIA and Bpifrance, initiated in 2014.

QIA is the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar. QIA was founded in 2005 to invest and manage the state’s reserve funds. QIA is one of the largest and most active sovereign wealth funds in the world. QIA invests across a wide range of asset classes and diverse regions, as well as partnering with leading institutions across the globe to develop a global and diversified investment portfolio, with a long-term perspective that can generate sustainable returns and contribute to the prosperity of the State of Qatar.
More information on: www.qia.qa

Media contact: media@qia.qa

About Bpifrance

Bpifrance Investissement is the management company that handles Bpifrance’s equity investments. Bpifrance is the French national investment bank: it finances businesses – at every stage of their development – through loans, guarantees, equity investments and export insurances. Bpifrance also provides extra financial services (training, consultancy) to help entrepreneurs meet their challenges (innovation, export…).
For more information, please visit: www.bpifrance.com
Follow us on Twitter: @Bpifrance – @BpifrancePresse

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Altor divests Marshall Group to HSG

Altor

Altor divests Marshall Group to HSG

Published

Jan 24 2025

January 24, 2025 – Altor Fund VI (“Altor”) has signed an agreement to divest all shares in Marshall Group AB (“Marshall Group”), the iconic brand renowned for its legendary amplifiers, speakers, and headphones, to HongShan Capital Group (“HSG”), with experience from supporting strong brands such as Ami Paris. Telia Company, Time Growth Fund and Zenith VC are also divesting their shares, the Marshall Family will continue as owners in Marshall Group.

Marshall Group is the audio, tech and design powerhouse uniting musicians and music lovers through genre-breaking innovation. Marshall, the flagship brand, is uniquely positioned with over 60 years of rock’n’roll attitude on stage, at home, and on the go, across more than 90 markets. The Group has more than EUR 400 million in revenues and brings together around 800 talented people across eight locations globally.

When Altor invested in Marshall Group in 2023, the company was already on a strong profitable growth trajectory and has since then successfully continued to deliver excellent results and invested in the future through innovation. Altor’s ambition has been to unlock additional growth potential by contributing with experience from building and scaling iconic brands like Helly Hansen, Rossignol and RevolutionRace.

“Marshall is a remarkable company. After working closely with the management team and co-owners, we are impressed by the dedication and commitment to deliver the best products to music lovers across the globe. For us at Altor, there is always the possibility to support our companies for longer time horizons. With Marshall we see a great opportunity for them to grow even stronger in core markets with HSG on board. This opportunity marks a closing of our journey together and we look forward to seeing them succeed in this next chapter,” says Andreas Källström Säfweräng, Partner and Head of the Consumer Sector at Altor.

“Throughout our partnership, Marshall has consistently pushed boundaries, delivering outstanding results as a testament to their efforts. It’s fantastic to see what they have accomplished over the years. We are confident that the possibilities are endless as they continue their journey with HSG,” says Karl Svenningson, Principal at Altor.

“This deal is a testament to our team’s dedication and exceptional talent in making our vision a reality. Together with HSG and the Marshall family, we have the perfect conditions to continue building on Marshall’s iconic status and unlocking our full potential across the world,” says Jeremy de Maillard, CEO of Marshall Group.

Closing of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

About Altor

Since inception, the family of Altor funds has raised more than EUR 11 billion in total commitments. The funds have invested in just south of 100 companies. The investments have been made in medium-sized predominantly Nordic and DACH companies with the aim to create value through growth initiatives and operational improvements. Among current and past investments are CCM Hockey, Rossignol, Toteme, Helly Hansen and RevolutionRace.

About Marshall

Marshall Group is the audio, tech and design powerhouse uniting musicians and music lovers through genre-breaking innovation. Marshall, our flagship brand, is uniquely positioned with over 60 years of rock ‘n’ roll attitude on stage, at home and on the go. Our iconic products are brought to life by a dedicated team of 800 passionate employees and sold in over 90 markets worldwide.

Learn more on marshall.com.

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Blackstone Energy Transition Partners to Acquire Potomac Energy Center

Blackstone

Acquisition of Efficient, Scale Power Plant Located Within “Data Center Alley”; Well Positioned to Help Meet Growing AI and Power Demand Growth

Loudoun County, VA and New York, NY, January 24, 2025 – Blackstone (NYSE: BX) announced today that Blackstone Energy Transition Partners (“Blackstone”) have agreed to acquire Potomac Energy Center (“Potomac”), a 774-megawatt natural gas power plant in Loudoun County, Virginia.

The transaction represents Blackstone’s most recent investment in the power infrastructure supporting data centers and AI revolution – one of the firm’s highest-conviction areas. The Northern Virginia region currently represents approximately 25 percent of U.S. data center capacity, and the Potomac plant is located in close proximity to over 130 data centers – with significant further growth expected.

Bilal Khan, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, said: “This investment underscores Blackstone’s commitment to investing in the electric infrastructure required to power AI innovation. We believe Potomac is well-positioned to help meet data center-driven power demand growth in Northern Virginia.”

Mark Zhu, Managing Director at Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, added: “We are particularly excited about this investment given the opportunity to supply reliable, baseload power to the region. Potomac is one of the most efficient gas power plants in the region and has the potential to integrate a hydrogen fuel blend in the future, which could provide future environmental benefits.”

Lee Davis, CEO of Creto Energy, Blackstone Energy Transition Partners’ North America power platform, added: “I am tremendously excited about this investment. Potomac has a reputation and history for providing reliable and high-quality generation capacity, which are critical to helping support the region’s growing power needs.”

Blackstone is a leader in investing in the infrastructure powering AI innovation – across not just energy but a wide array of areas. Blackstone is the largest data center provider in the world with major investments in both Northern Virginia and globally. The firm also recently made major investments in CoreWeave, a specialized provider of critical cloud infrastructure pioneering the AI revolution, and DDN, a global leader in AI and data intelligence solutions.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Santander and Jefferies LLC served as M&A advisors to Blackstone on this transaction.

About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We seek to deliver compelling returns for institutional and individual investors by strengthening the companies in which we invest. Our more than $1.1 trillion in assets under management include global investment strategies focused on real estate, private equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, credit, real assets, secondaries, and hedge funds. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

Blackstone Energy Transition Partners    
Blackstone Energy Transition Partners is Blackstone’s energy-focused private equity business, a leading energy investor with a successful long-term record, having invested approximately $23 billion of equity globally across a broad range of sectors within the energy industry. Our investment philosophy is based on backing exceptional management teams with flexible capital to provide solutions that help energy companies grow and improve performance, thereby delivering cleaner, more reliable and affordable energy to meet the needs of the global community. In the process, we build stronger, larger scale enterprises, create jobs and generate lasting value for our investors, employees and all stakeholders.

Media Contacts

Blackstone

Matt Anderson (Matthew.Anderson@Blackstone.com)

OR

Ellie Gottdenker (Ellie.Gottdenker@Blackstone.com)

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Aptean Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Logility

Charlesbank

Aptean to acquire all outstanding shares of Logility for $14.30 per share in cash

ALPHARETTA, Ga. & ATLANTA – January 24, 2025 – Today, Aptean, a global provider of mission-critical enterprise software solutions backed by TA Associates (“TA”), Insight Partners, Charlesbank Capital Partners (“Charlesbank”), and Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (“Clearlake”), announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Logility Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: LGTY) (“Logility” or the “Company”), a leader in AI-first supply chain management software.

Under the terms of the agreement, Aptean will acquire all of Logility’s outstanding common stock for $14.30 per share in an all-cash transaction. The per share purchase price represents a 27.0% premium to the January 23, 2025 Logility closing share price and a 28.4% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average share price as of that date. In addition, the per share purchase price represents a 30.1% premium to the unaffected Logility closing share price on Friday, December 6, 2024, prior to 2717 Partners’ public letter on December 9, 2024, calling for Logility to review strategic alternatives, and a 34.1% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average share price as of that date.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Logility provides AI-powered, advanced supply chain planning solutions designed to optimize inventory, improve demand forecasting, and streamline production planning. Logility delivers a comprehensive suite of solutions including demand planning, inventory and supply optimization, manufacturing operations, network design, and vendor and sourcing management. Logility’s solutions are used by over 500 clients in more than 80 countries, spanning the consumer durable goods, apparel/accessories, food and beverage, industrial manufacturing, fast moving consumer goods, wholesale distribution, and chemicals verticals.

“Logility possesses years of experience helping global organizations design, build, and manage their supply chains” said Aptean’s CEO, TVN Reddy. “The Logility platform delivers a mission-critical suite of AI-powered supply chain planning solutions designed to address even the most complex requirements. We look forward to welcoming Logility’s loyal customers and experienced team to Aptean.”

“Since TA’s initial investment in 2019, Aptean has continued to be a leader in innovation for its manufacturing and supply chain clients around the globe. We believe that integrating their complementary solution suites will enable Aptean and Logility to further innovate and enhance their offerings, strengthening their shared commitment to driving client success. We are excited to see the potential this partnership can unlock,” said Hythem T. El-Nazer, Co-Managing Partner at TA.

“We are pleased to announce this transaction with Aptean, which will deliver significant and immediate value to our shareholders,” said James B. Miller, Jr., Chairman of Logility’s Board of Directors. “Our Board has consistently evaluated the Company’s standalone plan against other strategic opportunities. With the assistance of our financial and legal advisors, the Board conducted a thorough and fulsome auction process commencing late in the summer of 2024. As a result of this process, we unanimously determined that a sale to Aptean represented the best way to maximize shareholder value while also ensuring the Company remains well-positioned to continue providing innovative and leading solutions to clients.”

“Aptean’s acquisition of Logility represents a new and exciting chapter for our Company,” said Allan Dow, President & CEO of Logility. “Logility’s mission is to help organizations build sustainable, profitable supply chains that improve people’s lives and the world we live in. We look forward to continuing to provide AI‑first solutions to our strong client base alongside Aptean, which has an impressive track record of helping manufacturers and distributors thrive. We believe this transaction is a great outcome for our clients, Company and shareholders and will help Logility achieve its long-term potential.”

Strategic and Financial Benefits

  • Enhanced Focus: By becoming part of Aptean, a privately held company with strong investor backing, Logility will be able to better focus on its long-term strategy without the additional considerations and costs required of a public company.
  • Access to Resources: Aptean will provide Logility access to resources that can help accelerate growth and drive strategy execution.
  • Enhanced Combined Offerings: Both organizations offer complementary leading-quality solution suites with a proven track record of making clients successful. Working alongside each other, the integration of Logility’s and Aptean’s complementary technologies will result in enhanced combined offerings for clients.
  • Shareholder and Client Value: The definitive agreement reflects Logility’s commitment to maximizing shareholder value and provides a foundation for Logility to continue making its clients more successful in the future.

Transaction Details

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval of the transaction by Logility’s shareholders and receipt of regulatory approvals. The Logility Board of Directors unanimously approved the definitive agreement and recommends that Logility’s shareholders vote in favor of the transaction. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition.

Upon completion of the transaction, Logility will become part of a privately held company, and its shares of common stock will no longer be listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market or any other public market.

Advisors

Lazard is serving as financial advisor to Logility, and Jones Day is serving as legal counsel.

Orrick is serving as legal counsel to Aptean.

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KKR to Acquire Dawsongroup to Accelerate Growth and Support Fleet Transition

KKR

January 21, 2025

New ownership will support Dawsongroup’s ambitious growth strategy and fleet transition in collaboration with existing management team

LONDON & MILTON KEYNES–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Dawsongroup (the ”Group”), a leading independent asset leasing business which provides a diverse range of business-critical solutions, and KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announce that KKR has entered into a binding agreement with the shareholders of Dawsongroup to acquire the Group. The acquisition will be made as part of KKR’s Global Climate strategy, dedicated to scaling net-zero solutions and transitioning and decarbonizing higher emitting assets, which closely aligns with Dawsongroup’s long-term sustainability-led ambitions.

Headquartered in Milton Keynes, UK, Dawsongroup has developed a solid platform with first-rate supplier relationships, a diversified customer base and is a supportive employer to over 1,150 employees across 11 countries. Since its inception in 1935, Dawsongroup has grown to be a sector leader in asset leasing, including vehicles and refrigerated boxes, with a broad and integrated business model that involves the customisation of assets to customer specification as well as maintenance and repairs. Dawsongroup has developed a strong position in the UK and a growing presence overseas with its highly attractive Smarter Asset Strategy, enabling businesses to cost-effectively transition to net zero.

As a fast-growing company with a strong track record of year-on-year growth, Dawsongroup has an ambitious, sustainable growth strategy in place to unlock its significant potential. Last year it posted a record performance with Group EBITDA of c.£250m and under new ownership, management will build on this strong platform to expand the markets it serves throughout the entire supply chain.

The Dawson family has controlled the Group for over 90 years, overseeing its significant growth to date. Joining forces with KKR will enable Dawsongroup to deliver on the next stage of its development, benefiting both customers and employees. As a business which effectively utilises EV, solar, Stage 5 generators, and battery storage as part of its unique energy focused service capabilities, Dawsongroup and KKR’s strategic partnership will significantly accelerate the decarbonisation of vehicle and asset leasing solutions. KKR will also work with Dawsongroup to implement an employee ownership programme, providing Dawsongroup employees with the opportunity to directly participate in the Group’s future success.

Stephen Miller, CEO of Dawsongroup commented: “KKR’s support will accelerate the launch of our sustainable growth strategy by continuing to deliver market-leading services for our customers in the UK, maintaining our EBITDA margin profile and providing a real opportunity to expand our unique offering internationally. We are delighted to have the backing of KKR as we enter the next phase of our development and effectively contribute to our customers’ transition to zero emissions.”

Vincent Policard, Partner and Co-Head of European Infrastructure at KKR, said: “As one of the largest independent lessors of vehicles and temperature controlled solutions in the UK, Dawsongroup is a key player in the decarbonisation of mobility. We see a significant opportunity to accelerate the electrification of Dawsongroup’s fleet, in support of the Dawsongroup management team’s focus on sustainable solutions, and aligned with KKR’s commitment to advancing the transition to a low-carbon future. By deploying our global expertise and network, we will help Dawsongroup drive sustainable growth, expand into new geographies, and contribute to the broader shift toward cleaner, more resilient infrastructure.”

Freya Dawson added: “On behalf of the Dawson family, I am extremely proud of Dawsongroup’s achievements to date and we are highly supportive of this strategic partnership with KKR. With the Dawson family’s backing and long-standing support from employees, the Group has evolved into the innovative asset leasing platform it is today. Combining Dawsongroup’s highly experienced management team with the knowledge and experience of the KKR team, we believe the impressive trajectory achieved to date can accelerate even further and we look forward to its future success.”

With over 15 years of experience in infrastructure investing, KKR has deep expertise in renewable energy and climate-related investments and has invested more than $21 billion in this sector from its infrastructure platform alone. To date, KKR has made three investments from its Global Climate strategy, including in Zenobē, a UK-based market leader in transport electrification and battery storage solutions. Meanwhile, KKR has been investing in the UK for over two decades, having deployed over $24 billion in equity across all investment platforms, including over $5 billion in sustainability-related investments over the past three years in investments such as Smart Metering Systems, Citation, ERM, John Laing and Viridor.

The transaction is subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals.

About Dawsongroup

Dawsongroup is a leading independent asset leasing platform with a robust market position, providing a diverse range of business-critical solutions for longstanding blue-chip customers. Its Smarter Asset Strategy helps businesses improve efficiency and flexibility by offering high-quality equipment without the cost of ownership. This approach enables companies to access the latest technology, scale operations, and reduce capital expenditure, allowing them to adapt quickly to market demands and focus on growth.

Dawsongroup is UK-headquartered business founded in Leighton Buzzard in 1935, has developed a solid platform with first-rate supplier relationships, a diversified customer base and is a supportive employer to over 1,150 employees across 11 countries. For additional information about Dawsongroup, please visit the Group’s website at www.Dawsongroup.co.uk

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com. For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit Global Atlantic Financial Group’s website at www.globalatlantic.com.

For Dawsongroup:
Richard Mountain / Victoria Hayns, FTI Consulting
dawsongroup@fticonsulting.com
+44 20 3077 0455

For KKR:
Alastair Elwen, FGS Global
KKR-LON@fgsglobal.com
+44 20 7251 3801

Source: KKR & Co. Inc.

 

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EQT Partner Promotions 2025

eqt

A key factor in EQT’s success is our ability to attract and develop top talent. Our people define who we are, and their contributions to the firm’s culture, platform, and performance are essential to achieving our mission.

This year, EQT is happy to invite six colleagues who have demonstrated exceptional performance and are guardians of our values to the partnership:

EQT Private Capital

Christoph Broja, EQT Life Sciences, Munich, joined in 2022
Cillian King, EQT Life Sciences, Amsterdam, joined in 2021
Dayea Yeon, Private Capital Asia, Seoul, joined in 2010
Hemant Sharma, Private Capital Asia, Mumbai, joined in 2015
Vijai Raghavan, Private Capital Asia, Mumbai, joined in 2014

EQT Real Estate

Ali Houshmand, Austin, joined in 2022

 

Categories: People

ResiDex Software Secures Majority Investment from Accel-KKR

AKKR Logo

Menlo Park, CA, JANUARY 23, 2025 – ResiDex Software, a purpose-built EHR software platform for assisted living and senior care providers, today announced a majority investment from Accel-KKR, a leading technology-focused private equity firm. This strategic investment aims to accelerate ResiDex Software’s growth and innovation in the healthcare technology sector.

ResiDex Software, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, enables efficient patient health recordkeeping, caregiving, tracking, and other key functions such as billing and CRM, while seeking to ensure regulatory compliance, particularly for assisted living and senior care healthcare providers. The North American assisted living software market, encompassing solutions like Electronic Health Records (EHR), was valued at approximately $17.97 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $33.55 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3% from 2024 to 20311.  Residex’s flagship product, RTasks, offers a fully integrated set of features to create effective workplace systems for assisted living organizations and group homes. RTasks streamlines work, enhances organization, and establishes systems of accountability, regardless whether for a large multi-campus organization or a small four-bed group home.

Chris Poelma, incoming CEO of ResiDex, commented, “We are thrilled to join forces with Accel-KKR. Their expertise in scaling technology companies and their commitment to our vision make them the ideal partner for our next phase of growth. According to US census data, the 65+ age population is expected to grow from 56.1 million people in 2020 to 73.1 million by 2030, representing a 30% increase over 10 years. This partnership will enable ResiDex to stay ahead of that growing need, serve our customers and take care of our seniors.”

Accel-KKR’s investment in ResiDex underscores its commitment to investing in innovative technology companies with strong growth potential. This partnership will leverage Accel-KKR’s extensive resources and software expertise to drive ResiDex’s continued success.

Phil Cunningham, Managing Director at Accel-KKR, said, “We are excited to partner with ResiDex, as it has demonstrated success in addressing the unique challenges of healthcare providers that run assisted care, senior care and group home facilities. We look forward to providing support to accelerate ResiDex’s growth and expand their market presence.”

ResiDex founder Dave Berg remarked, “This investment is a testament to ResiDex’s success in providing exceptional service to our customers over many years – and I couldn’t be prouder of our team’s accomplishments. With a backer like Accel-KKR and under Chris’s leadership, ResiDex will continue to thrive and innovate. I wish Chris and the entire ResiDex team the best of luck as they embark on this exciting new chapter.”

About ResiDex Software
ResiDex Software is a leading provider of electronic health record (EHR) solutions, offering a comprehensive suite of tools designed to streamline operations, enhance patient care, and optimize financial performance. Based in Minneapolis, MN, ResiDex Software serves healthcare providers globally, delivering innovative solutions that drive efficiency and growth.

About Accel-KKR
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with $21 billion in cumulative capital commitments.  The firm focuses on software and tech-enabled businesses, well-positioned for top-line and bottom-line growth.  At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its partner companies and a focus on building value alongside management by leveraging the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network.  Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions, including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives.  Accel-KKR also invests across various transaction types, including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions.  Accel-KKR’s headquarters is in Menlo Park, with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, and Mexico City.

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Basetwo Raises $11.5M Series A

AXA

Basetwo Raises $11.5M Series A to Transform Chemical Manufacturing with Physics AI Platform

Basetwo, an AI copilot for manufacturing engineers, today announced it has raised USD $11.5M in Series A funding led by AVP with participation from existing investor Glasswing Ventures, Deloitte Ventures, Global Brain Ventures, Shimadzu Corporation, Chiyoda Corporation, and prominent UAE angel investors via Qora71. The investment allows the company to accelerate its mission to revolutionize how pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers optimize their production processes.

Pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers face significant challenges when scaling production from lab to commercial scale and optimizing existing processes for quality and efficiency. When launching new drug compounds or chemical formulations to market, manufacturers must precisely determine numerous production parameters — from reactor temperatures to mixing speeds — while maintaining strict quality standards. At the commercial scale, teams must continuously verify production performance, identify issues, and implement corrective actions to ensure optimal batch quality. Traditional machine learning approaches relying solely on historical data struggle with these complex manufacturing processes, as they can only learn from correlations rather than the underlying physics and chemistry engineers use to control and troubleshoot these systems. This technology gap leads to significant inefficiencies, with 20 cents of every dollar spent in manufacturing going to waste — a staggering global loss of $8 trillion annually.

Basetwo’s Physics AI platform uniquely combines fundamental chemical engineering principles with artificial intelligence to optimize pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing processes. This results in an up to 40% improvement in cycle times and raw material usage while helping customers achieve a 25% improvement in product quality. The platform enables manufacturers to run virtual experiments and simulate process changes before implementation, significantly reducing the time and cost traditionally required to optimize production processes and eliminating the risks associated with live testing.

“Amid the excitement around generative AI, most applications have focused on consumer use cases using black box models that learn from data patterns and correlation rather than foundational knowledge and principles,” said Thouheed Abdul Gaffoor, CEO and Co-founder of Basetwo. “Manufacturing requires a fundamentally different approach, incorporating decades of engineering expertise and physics-based understanding of how chemicals and equipment interact. Our Physics AI platform enables manufacturers to optimize complex processes with powerful and explainable models.

The confidence of our investors in this Series A round is a testament to the transformative potential of our approach. We’re thrilled to have their support as we expand our capabilities and continue to empower manufacturers with cutting-edge solutions for the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

The funding will accelerate the development of Basetwo’s AutoPilot technology for autonomous, real-time manufacturing control while expanding the company’s presence in the US, Japan, Europe, and the Middle East. Basetwo will continue growing its business development, AI, and software engineering teams to support increasing market demand.

“Basetwo is transforming how global manufacturers optimize their operations,” said Manish Agarwal at AVP. “Basetwo’s Physics AI platform addresses challenges critical for process efficiency and quality control, delivering measurable improvements that impact the bottom line. With their proven success across major pharmaceutical and chemical companies, Basetwo is positioned to become a leader in next-generation manufacturing optimization.”

Basetwo’s low-code platform empowers process engineers to leverage AI technology for critical use cases, such as quickly bringing new products to market and optimizing existing processes. The platform’s physics-based models provide interpretable insights that help engineers understand and control manufacturing systems while meeting regulatory requirements.

“Traditional manufacturing software was built for an era before cloud computing and modern AI,” added Gaffoor. “We’re excited to partner with global leaders across pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and consumer goods to usher in a new generation of intelligent manufacturing optimization that maximizes efficiency, quality, and sustainability.”

About Basetwo

Basetwo is a Toronto-based startup that provides an AI platform designed to enhance manufacturing efficiency. Working with category leaders in the pharmaceutical and consumer goods industry, Basetwo has helped manufacturers improve yield, cycle time, and operational costs by over 20-30%.

About AVP

AVP is a global venture capital firm specializing in high-growth, technology-enabled companies, managing more than $2 billion in assets across four investment strategies: Venture, Early Growth, Growth, and Fund of Funds. Since its establishment in 2016, AVP has invested in more than 60 technology companies in Venture and Early Growth stages in the U.S. and Europe. With offices in New York, London, and Paris, AVP supports companies in expanding internationally and provides portfolio companies with tailored business development opportunities to further accelerate their growth. For more information about AVP, please visit www.axavp.com.

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Francisco Partners Announces Final Closing of $3.3 Billion Third Credit Fund

San Francisco, London and New York – January 23, 2025 – Francisco Partners (FP) today announced the final closing of FP Credit Partners III, L.P., a $3.3 billion opportunistic credit fund. The Fund follows FP Credit Partners II, L.P., a $2.2 billion predecessor fund. It was oversubscribed and exceeded the target fund size of $2.3 billion.

Consistent with the prior two funds, FP Credit Partners III will seek to leverage the deep sectoral expertise of the broader FP platform and invest in a variety of structures ranging from traditional credit financings to flexible capital solutions.

“Since we launched our credit business in 2018, FP Credit has been a partner of choice for technology-driven businesses seeking growth and strategic financing solutions. Our differentiated and flexible approach to each situation allows us to creatively structure credit and hybrid capital designed to meet the specific needs of companies,” said Scott Eisenberg, Head of Credit and Structured Solutions at Francisco Partners. “Our team prides itself as a “one-stop” destination focused on partnership capital that aligns with the goals and expectations of existing management and owners. As the demand for our form of capital grows, we look forward to partnering with more innovative and important companies.”

Through its credit platform, FP has partnered with a diverse list of companies that includes Zotec Partners, a provider of comprehensive RCM solutions for hospital and office-based physician practices, Zocdoc, a leader in online healthcare discovery and appointment booking, Eventbrite (NYSE: EB), a self-service event ticketing and experience technology platform, and many others.

“Taking a “one firm” approach and incorporating credit and structuring expertise alongside our private equity platform has broadened Francisco Partners’ reach in the technology ecosystem. With FP Credit Partners III, we are excited to continue to invest opportunistically and support businesses across our credit strategies,” said Dipanjan “DJ” Deb, Co-Founder and CEO of Francisco Partners. “We greatly appreciate the trust and support of our new and long-term limited partners. We know that with each new fund commitment we must prove ourselves again, and we will work tirelessly to effectively deploy this capital.”

Francisco Partners’ limited partners include both new and existing investors across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and includes public and corporate pension funds, foundations, endowments, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds and family offices.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor on FP Credit Partners III.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch 25 years ago, Francisco Partners has invested in over 450 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. With over $50 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.

Contact

Francisco Partners
Whit Clay
wclay@sloanepr.com

Categories: Insights