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CVC completes investment in A Bathing Ape to accelerate global expansion

CVC Capital Partners

BAPE has been among the world’s most iconic streetwear brands since its founding in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan in 1993

CVC announces the completion of an investment in A Bathing Ape (“BAPE”) after the brand became an independent company from I.T Limited. This follows the successful privatization of I.T Limited by Brooklyn Investment Limited, owned by CVC Capital Partners Asia V Limited (“CVC”) and the Founder Group of I.T on Friday 30 April 2021. With the investment, CVC has acquired co-control of BAPE.

BAPE has been among the world’s most iconic streetwear brands since its founding in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan in 1993. BAPE’s line up of labels includes A Bathing Ape, AAPE, Baby Milo, BAPE Black, and Mr. Bathing Ape, which are sold in stores across Asia, North America and Europe.

CVC plans to support the expansion of the business both online and geographically. BAPE will pursue the growth of its presence in overseas markets such as China, the United States and Europe, as well as evolving its online offering to enhance the customer experience and optimizing its marketing and sales channels through increased digitalization.

Yann Jiang, Director at CVC, said: “BAPE is an iconic brand with a loyal fan base that has defined the fashion industry with its premium streetwear designs. We are looking forward to bringing this exciting brand to more markets and new customers around the world.”

CVC has a twenty-year track record of expanding businesses in Asia, and will leverage its respective experience in internationalization, commercial expansion and digitalization, as well as the strength of its existing portfolio of global brands to support BAPE’s growth ambitions.

Sham Kar Wai, Chairman, CEO and co-founder of I.T Limited, said: “I take great pride in the success of the brand to date, which has been thanks to the commitment of our leadership and staff. CVC is the right partner to support the transformation of BAPE as we focus on our long-term growth.”

“CVC is very pleased to partner with Chairman Sham and the BAPE team, which has developed and expanded BAPE’s position as a leading global streetwear brand. We will work closely together and drive the continued success of the business.” added Yann Jiang.

The completion of the investment follows I.T Limited’s shareholder meetings on 16 April 2021, where disinterested shareholders holding over 99.99% of shares voted in favor of the Scheme of Arrangement.

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WEFOX CLOSES RECORD SERIES C FUNDING ROUND FOR INSURTECH – US$650m, MARKET VALUE US$3bn

Horizons Ventures

wefox, the Berlin-based digital insurance company has raised a record US$650 million for its Series C funding round led by Target Global, resulting in a post-money valuation of US$3 billion.

This round is the largest for an insurtech globally and one of largest series C rounds ever recorded. wefox intends to invest the proceeds in strengthening its presence in existing markets and expanding globally within the next two years.

wefox, which was launched in 2015, has grown its revenues to more than US$140m in the 2020 financial year and reported a profit for 2020 through its insurance carrier, wefox Insurance.

Julian Teicke, CEO and founder of wefox, said: “We’ve grown our business significantly over the last six years since we launched and we have delivered strong year-on-year growth. This year we took several important steps, such as unifying the business under one wefox brand, expanding into Poland, and setting up a deep tech team in Paris. Within the next few years, we will expand our global footprint, increase our presence in Europe, and move into both the US and Asian markets. wefox will become the leading personal insurance company within the decade.”

“We have set out to improve the customer experience for both our advisors and our customers through technology to increase customer satisfaction, reduce customer acquisition costs, increase cross-selling, and decrease churn.”

“This is why wefox has built a huge network of advisors across Europe. We believe that insurance is all about people, and we believe that technology is an enabler and should not replace the human connection”, added Mr Teicke.

wefox is a fully licensed digital insurance company that sells insurance through intermediaries and not directly to customers, which has resulted in significant growth with a clear path to profitability.

wefox continues to deliver a loss ratio supported in large part by its straight-through- processing (STP) of more than 80%, and a central product factory that swiftly distributes new products to the market due to its full stack insurance technology.

Fabian Wesemann, CFO and founder of wefox, said: “This investment strengthens our growth strategy and moves us closer to realising our vision – to prevent 30% of risks from happening – in order to offer the most advanced service to our customers. As part of this, we want to ensure that we are building the technology to automate our business processes to have a STP ratio consistently above 80%.”

“This investment round is the culmination of six years of hard work and we are still at the very early stage of our business. I want to thank the entire wefox team for their hard work in enabling us to achieve such incredible results.” added Mr. Wesemann.

“The future of insurance service is tech-centric, and we believe Wefox’s data driven platform serving insurance agents and brokers will enable positive changes througout the value chain.” Frances Kang from Horizons Ventures said.

“We are keen to connect Wefox with local partners in South East Asia, their speed and agility could offer transformative changes in innovative fair pricing, cost- efficiency and much more satisfied customers”, added Ms Kang.

Yaron Valler, General Partner at Target Global, said: “wefox continues to deliver exceptional results backed with demonstrable year-on-year revenue growth, which saw their insurance carrier, wefox Insurance, report a profit earlier this year, marking them out to be the first insurtech to reach profitability. We invested in wefox in their series A round in 2016 and we are delighted to be leading this series C round. wefox is unique among the insurtech players with ample room for growth ahead.”

Goldman Sachs International was hired as the private placement agent to wefox for the financing round.

The Series C funding round was led by Target Global. New investors include FinTLV, LGT, Partners Group, Jupiter, Decisive Wealth, and Ace & Co. Investment from existing investors included Horizons Ventures, OMERS Ventures, Eurazeo, Mubadala, Merian, Gsquared, Creditease, Salesforce Ventures, Speedinvest, Alma Mundi Ventures, Victory Park Capital, GR Capital, Mountain Partners, Seedcamp, and Sound Ventures (founded by Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher).

 

About wefox

wefox was founded in 2015 by Julian Teicke, Fabian Wesemann, and Dario Fazlic. wefox is a full-stack digital insurance company driven by a single purpose: to make people safe and prevent risk by reinventing insurance at scale through technology. wefox is the parent company of wefox Insurance, which is the in-house regulated insurance carrier.

Timeline of funding rounds

  • ●  2021: Series C round $650M led by Target Global.
  • ●  2019: Series B round $235M led by Mubadala Ventures.
  • ●  2017: Series A round of $30M led by Horizons Ventures and Target Global.
  • ●  2016: Seed round of $5.5M led by Salesforce Ventures.

For more information contact:

John Shewell

Director of Communications – wefox HQ Ph: +49 (0)1731406796
E: john.shewell@wefox.com

UK / Europe
Sallyanne Heywood
Ph: +44 (0)7884 187 074
E: sallyanne.heywood@ext.wefox.com

US/North America
Michael McMullan / Lori Rhodes
Ph: +1 201-826-6226 / +971 56 455 7105
E: mmcmullan@bcg-pr.com / lrhodes@bcg-pr.com

DACH
Fatih Aydin
Ph: +49 151 64504430 E: mail@fatihaydin.de

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DIF Capital Partners commits to Net Zero emissions today

DIF

DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”) is pleased to announce its commitment to Net Zero. As a globally operating private markets fund manager, DIF supports the goal of Net Zero greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions by 2050, in line with global efforts as a result of the Paris Agreement to have net zero emissions by 2050, or sooner. Since 2019, DIF has been measuring its own GHG emissions, taking steps to reduce its per capita emissions and offsetting the remainder. DIF is committed to continue doing this.

In addition, DIF commits to invest in line with the Paris Agreement targeting to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050, or sooner, by taking the following steps:

  • Continue working with DIF’s portfolio companies to measure GHG emissions and identifying pathways to reduce emissions with the Paris aligned goal of net zero target by 2050, or sooner;
  • Continuing DIF’s global investment program into renewable energy and related infrastructure to support the global energy transition to decarbonised sources of energy;
  • Reporting in line with the Task Force on Climate-related Disclosures (“TFCD”) recommendations; and
  • Reporting on DIF’s progress annually.

Finally, DIF has become a signatory to the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (“IIGCC”) as part of its advocacy on climate change. Together with this initiative DIF will work towards Net Zero solutions for the infrastructure investment market.

Wim Blaasse, Managing Partner, further comments: “We believe that the single biggest threat faced by our generation is climate change. At DIF we see it as our responsibility to apply the same urgency of action to climate issues, as we have done in our response to coronavirus, and we invite all our stakeholders to join us on this commitment.”

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent fund manager, with €9.0 billion of assets under management across nine closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF Capital Partners invests in greenfield and operational infrastructure assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas and Australasia through two complementary strategies:

  • Traditional DIF funds target equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and (renewable) energy projects.
  • DIF CIF funds target equity investments in small to mid-sized economic infrastructure assets in the telecom, energy and transportation sectors.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 160 professionals, based in nine offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto. For further information please visit www.dif.eu

Contact: Allard Ruijs, Partner; a.ruijs@dif.eu.

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HCI Completes Sale of Go To Logistics

HCI Equity Partners

May 17, 2021, Northlake, IL

HCI Equity Partners announced the sale of Go To Logistics (“Go To” or the “Company”) to Stellex Capital Management on May 4, 2021. Stellex Capital Management is a private equity firm that invests in middle-market companies in North America and Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Headquartered outside of Chicago, Illinois, Go To Logistics is a transportation and logistics service provider focused on the freight consolidation and LTL (less-than-truckload) market. Go To provides services ranging from expedited and guaranteed service to warehoused consolidation, primarily from Chicago to the Northeast and West Coast, as well as the Southwest. The Company’s capacity-driven, point-to-point consolidation business model allows for exceptional service and expedited capabilities at a low cost. Go To has a diverse customer base with a heavy focus on the food and beverage sector.

“We are proud of the work we did with our partners Tom and Greg to build Go To into one of the leading transportation providers in its markets and channels. The HCI team is pleased with the outcome of our investment and think Stellex will be a great partner for the business going forward,” stated HCI Managing Partner Dan Dickinson.

G2 Capital Advisors served as the financial advisor and Jones Day served as legal counsel to Go To Logistics.

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AI-powered transaction monitoring start-up Sentinels raises €5.7 million seed round led by INKEF Capital

Inkef Capital

Dutch artificial intelligence company Sentinels has raised £4.9 million (€5.7 million) in a seed funding round, led by INKEF Capital, complemented by strategic angel investors and industry leaders – including several members of the early Adyen team. The startup has now raised a total of £7.3m (€8.4m) to date.

Sentinels protects fintechs with an AI-powered transaction monitoring system, reducing repetitive tasks and workload and is relied upon by the likes of online payments unicorn Mollie. It was created in response to rising pressure from regulators on fintechs and traditional financial institutions to crack down on money laundering and other illegal activity passing through their platforms.
Sentinels will use this funding to further build out the product and expand its operations into the UK and beyond Europe, to North America, LatAm and APAC. The funding round also included investment from several members of the early Adyen team including its former EVP sales Thijn Lamers and Head of Growth Maikel Lobbezoo.

Dutch-based Sentinels was launched 18 months ago by Joost van Houten and is a spin-out from Slimmer AI, a European B2B AI venture studio which builds businesses that use AI to disrupt markets. As well as Mollie, it already counts Terrapay, Online Payment Platform, Ginger Payments and ManoBank among its roster of clients.

Unlike legacy compliance technology, Sentinels starts by analysing internal data siloes and augmenting them with external sources – such as adverse media, sanctions lists and merchant websites – to create a rich context. Expert logic, machine learning models and graph networks then sieve out only on the truly suspicious cases. A smart workflow then helps to automate repetitive tasks and make better decisions. The entire compliance process is simplified to one API.
Joost van Houten, Founder and CEO of Sentinels, commented: “In less than five years, we’ve seen countless companies enter the compliance space and a 10x increase in the number of compliance staff – and yet money laundering still remains a significant challenge for financial institutions.

“The big issue is that legacy technology is increasingly out-of-step with the needs of fintechs and other fast-growing institutions. Excessive reports and an unacceptably high number of false alarms puts undue resourcing pressure on companies that should be targeting growth, instead of being waylaid by time-consuming compliance admin.

“Our aim is to help financial institutions keep track of who their customers really are and how they behave – not only to understand risks, but also to serve them better. With this funding round, we’re excited to leverage the knowledge, network and expertise from INKEF, several key members of Adyen’s original founding team and select other fintech leaders.”

Kyang Yung, INKEF, added: “We were attracted to the impressive early traction; particularly Sentinels’ ability to convert small-to-large fintechs, as well as more traditional banks, who recognise the imperative to change. Coming from the payments industry myself, I see a huge market opportunity for Sentinels.”

About Sentinels: Sentinels is an intelligent transaction monitoring solution dedicated to data-driven compliance for the financial industry. With a team of more than 20 in-house engineers, Sentinels’ pragmatic-AI approach has a proven track record in improving compliance outcomes. Its secure cloud-based offering ensures a high level of customer trust and meets constantly changing regulatory requirements. For more information visit: Sentinels.ai

Investors’ overview

INKEF Capital is a venture capital firm based in Amsterdam, backing promising early stage companies in Europe. INKEF takes pride in being a patient, long-term investor with the ability to support companies through several rounds of funding. From the early stages of being a technology or life science venture, INKEF Capital supports entrepreneurs building their ideas into successful international businesses INKEF has also invested in GitLab, Remote and Silverflow, among others. For more information: INKEF.com

Strategic angel investors: Thijn Lamers – former EVP Global Sales of Adyen; Maikel Lobbezoo – former Head of Growth at Adyen; and several other fintech angels.

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Arendals Fossekompani and Ferd join forces to establish offshore wind company

Ferd

Arendals Fossekompani ASA (AFK) and Ferd AS (Ferd), two of Norway’s leading industrial investment companies, have come together to establish the offshore wind company Seagust AS (Seagust), which intends to apply for offshore wind acreage in Norway’s upcoming licensing round.

Seagust will be structured as a 50:50 joint venture between AFK and Ferd, with a mandate to become an offshore wind developer with operations domestically and internationally. Simen Elvestad has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the company and assumed office on 1 June 2021. Mr. Elvestad comes from the position of Prepare for Operations Manager for the Fosen Wind Project at Statkraft. He has over 20 years of hands-on experience in international energy projects, including major offshore wind projects such as Dudgeon, Sheringham Shoal and Creyke Beck B (now named Dogger Bank B and part of world’s largest offshore wind project, Dogger Bank Wind Farm).

“We at AFK are proud to be joining forces for the first time with Ferd to create a Norwegian offshore wind company. Together we have over 100 years of Norwegian industrial know-how from the energy sector, the financial strength, the experience and the capabilities to ensure that Seagust can succeed both domestically and internationally. With deep roots in southern Norway and a network of relevant portfolio companies along the south-western coast, we have a solid platform from which we aim to develop a regional industrial champion with a focus on collaborating with Norwegian suppliers across the value chain. We strongly believe that by further developing the Norwegian offshore wind industry, we will not only contribute to lift the Norwegian supplier industry by creating thousands of renewable energy jobs, but also support energy-intensive industry along the coast by providing them with surplus renewable power,” says Morten Henriksen, Executive Vice President at AFK and Chairman of Seagust.

AFK is a green-tech investment company that owns energy- and technology-related companies which enable the transition to a green economy. AFK is notably a majority shareholder in Volue, a leading European technology company offering full digitalisation of the clean energy value-chain for renewable energy sources, such as offshore wind.

Ferd will be investing in the joint venture through its Impact Investing arm, which focuses on companies with the potential to have a positive impact on the climate and environment. Ferd Impact Investing’s portfolio includes NeXtWind, which is building a portfolio of onshore wind energy assets in Germany, and Wind Catching Systems, which develops a disruptive concept for offshore floating wind energy. Ferd is also a 50 percent owner of Aibel, a tier-1 supplier to the international offshore wind industries, which is in in process of delivering three converter platforms with jackets for Dogger Bank.

“Ferd sees significant growth and value creation opportunities in renewable energy, and we are excited to have found a major industrial partner like AFK with a focus on long-term ownership to join us in writing this new chapter in Norwegian offshore industry history. We have a solid track-record of developing Norwegian companies that succeed internationally. CEO Simen Elvestad brings deep domain expertise and extensive experience from some of the world’s biggest offshore wind projects to Seagust, which will ensure that the we are well positioned to compete for acreage in the North Sea and beyond. I am confident that Seagust has what it takes to shape this new industry and unlock the vast amounts of renewable energy potential that reside offshore Norway, with minimal environmental footprint,” says Morten Borge, Chief Executive Officer at Ferd.

The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has opened two areas in the North Sea, Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II, for offshore renewables including offshore wind power. Combined, the two areas allow for the development of 4 500 MW of wind power. As of 1 January 2021, it is possible to submit license applications for offshore wind power projects. The authorities are currently working on the licensing process and will present the guidance for actors who wish to develop offshore wind power projects in Norway on 11 June. Seagust will consider submitting applications to develop offshore wind at both the Utsira Nord and the Sørlige Nordsjø area.

“I am honoured to have been appointed to take the helm of Seagust, which we will develop into a leading regional, sustainable offshore wind player. Decades of experience from the maritime and oil and gas industry has provided south-western Norway with a technologically advanced, world-leading service and supply industry. Seagust will have a clear strategy to collaborate with Norwegian suppliers across the value chain and forge alliances with foreign suppliers to facilitate knowledge transfer, position Norwegian technologies for a growing global market, and drive down costs through innovation. Norway is uniquely positioned to take a sizeable share of the rapidly growing offshore wind market, and our ambition is for Seagust to play a central role in this new industrial adventure,” says Simen Elvestad, CEO of Seagust.

Increasing offshore wind production is imperative if the world is to achieve the climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement. The European Union estimates up to 450 GW of offshore wind power is needed by 2050 to keep temperature rises below 1.5°C, of which almost 50 percent should come from the North Sea. Today, installed offshore wind capacity totals approximately 32 GW worldwide.

About Arendals Fossekompani:
Arendals Fossekompani, headquartered in Arendal, southern Norway, has for more than 100 years produced hydropower which has been used to build Norwegian industry and Norwegian communities. The know-how, capital and engineering skills related to the production of hydropower have laid the foundation for Arendals Fossekompani to successfully own energy and technology-related companies, including solar power and batteries, which enable the transition to a green economy.

About Ferd:
Ferd is a family-owned Norwegian investment-company committed to value-creating ownership of businesses and investments in financial assets. For Ferd, value creation is about generating more than just a financial return. It is also about making a positive contribution to the growth and development of society and our environment, in a way that supports the sustainability goals. Our wide-ranging activities encompass active ownership and corporate development at private and listed companies, investment in financial assets, real estate development, investment via external managers, impact investing and social entrepreneurship. Ferd has delivered both a positive impact and a solid financial return in wind power, a sector in which Ferd has significant positions and ambitions going forward.

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Pangiam Acquires Trueface, a Leader in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision and Facial Recognition

Ae Industrial Partners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pangiam Acquires Trueface, a Leader in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision and Facial Recognition

TYSONS CORNER, Va., June 2, 2021 – Pangiam, a technology-based security and travel services provider, announced today that it has acquired Trueface, a U.S.-based leader in computer vision focused on facial recognition, weapon detection and age verification technologies. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
This is the second acquisition completed by Pangiam since being formed by AE Industrial Partners, LP (“AEI”) through the combination of Linkware, LLC and PRE, LLC in October 2020. In March, Pangiam acquired veriScan, an integrated biometric facial recognition system for airports and airlines, from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Trueface, founded in 2013 by Shaun Moore and Nezare Chafni, provides industry leading computer vision solutions to customers in a wide range of industries. The company’s facial recognition technology recently achieved a top three ranking among western vendors in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 1:N Face Recognition Vendor Test.

Trueface applies its patent-protected solutions to solve issues such as frictionless access control, contactless elevated temperature checks, social distancing and PPE compliance monitoring. The company has a robust sales pipeline and has entrenched positions with clients in over 13 countries.

The acquisition of Trueface will aid Pangiam in achieving its mission to provide a safer, faster, and more personalized travel experience for all. Trueface will add an additional capability to Pangiam’s existing technologies, creating a comprehensive and seamless solution to satisfy the needs of both federal and commercial enterprises. Messrs. Moore and Chafni will serve in key leadership positions within Pangiam and continue to lead the growth of Trueface.

“We are excited to welcome Trueface to the Pangiam family. Shaun and Nezare are pioneering thought leaders whose advances in computer vision have the potential to drive innovation in identity management, data labeling and biometrics,” said Pangiam CEO Kevin McAleenan.

“We are thrilled to join the talented team at Pangiam who share our core values to provide equitable benefit to all through computer vision technology. The complimentary technologies that Pangiam has assembled will enable the Trueface team to execute more quickly and fully realize the opportunity of its technologies like facial recognition,” said Mr. Moore, CEO of Trueface.

“Adding Trueface’s technology solutions to Pangiam’s offerings comes at a perfect time, as travel is poised to continue to rebound and passengers want reassurances that the highest health and safety protocols are being followed,” said Kirk Konert, a Partner at AEI. “AEI is pleased to back Pangiam’s second acquisition this year as we continue to support the company’s momentum.”

About Pangiam
Pangiam is a leading provider of customized identity management, biometrics and advanced analytics software and consulting solutions to federal government and commercial customers. As a team of customs and security professionals with decades of collective experience at senior levels of the U.S. Government, Pangiam has an intimate understanding of the security, facilitation, and disaster response challenges facing governments and industry leaders around the world. Pangiam aims to revolutionize the future of operations, security, and safety at airports, seaports, and land border crossings through the use of emerging technologies. To learn more, please visit
https://pangiam.com.

About Trueface
Trueface is a computer vision company that transforms video and imagery into intelligent, actionable data, empowering users to enhance their operating capacity and reduce risks associated with identity. Industries deploying their advanced facial recognition technology in a responsible way include retail, hospitality, healthcare, gaming and financial services. For more information on Trueface, please visit trueface.ai.

About AE Industrial Partners
AE Industrial Partners is a private equity firm specializing in Aerospace, Defense & Government Services, Space, Power Generation, and Specialty Industrial markets. AE Industrial Partners invests in market-leading companies that can benefit from its deep industry knowledge, operating experience, and relationships throughout its target markets. AE Industrial Partners is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing. Learn more at www.aeroequity.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

For Pangiam:
Andrew Meehan
(914) 907-9679
media@pangiam.com

For AE Industrial Partners:
Lambert & Co.
Jennifer Hurson
(845) 507-0571
jhurson@lambert.com

Or

Caroline Luz
203-656-2829
cluz@lambert.com
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Fracttal closes US$ 5.3M funding round to boost their expansion in Europe, USA and Latin America

Seayaventures

Madrid, June 2, 2021. Fracttal, an Industry 4.0. tech start-up company dedicated to the development of advanced technology enabled solutions for maintenance and asset management, has secured an investment round of US$ 5.3 million. The investment was led by Seaya Ventures, the leading investment fund in Spain, with the participation of GoHub, the corporate investment fund of the Spanish group Global Omnium. This round complements the investment made in 2018 by Scale Capital, who continues to support the company in this next growth stage.

Fracttal offers intelligent maintenance and asset management software (CMMS/GMAO/EAM), that is 100% mobile and cloud-based. These tools allow companies to manage their maintenance in a more sustainable, secure, and efficient way that guarantees the integrity and continuity of their operations, as well as the safety of workers. Demonstrated improvements include reducing asset failures by over 25%, improving maintenance costs by at least 15% and increasing productivity by more than 35%, while also reducing accidents and operational risks. Fracttal, which counts companies such Acciona, Unilever, Iberostar, Veolia and FedEx, among its almost 1000 customers, directs its solutions to large multinationals and SMEs in various industry sectors, including manufacturing, facility management, energy, and transport in which it already has a significant presence.

With its main solution, Fracttal One, companies can remotely manage all maintenance operations from any device and for any type of asset, including equipment, vehicles, machinery, and facilities. This intelligent tool, a leader in several of the world’s most prestigious rankings, facilitates real-time collaborative work between different work teams and integrates with any ERP. Fracttal One improves decision making, maximizes efficiency and extends the useful life of physical assets, while reducing incidents and unplanned downtime that can lead to delays, lost profitability, and accidents. Fracttal has also developed Predictto, an AI enabled predictive maintenance solution that allows companies to anticipate failure conditions with a high percentage of certainty. To do so, Predictto applies Machine Learning to bigdata, identifying the behavior of assets based on proprietary reliability and degradation models.

“We know that 90% of companies globally do not have proper maintenance management solutions, and continue to use spreadsheets, so we have a lot to contribute with Fracttal One. In parallel we are also working on the future of maintenance through Predictto, which detects non-obvious data patterns, and not only predicts a failure before it happens, but provides advanced data and solutions to our customers’ operations,” says Christian Struve, CEO and Co-Founder of Fracttal.

This investment round will allow Fracttal to accelerate its growth in Spain and Latin America as well as expand to Europe and the United States, with the objective of being global leaders in this sector. The company is already experiencing strong international growth through its customers, many of whom are multinationals that are taking the solution to multiple subsidiaries.

Christian Struve also adds: “We are very excited about this new phase where we will be able to invest in R&D and accelerate the creation of the most innovative solutions for our customers. There is no doubt that Seaya and Gohub are the ideal partners to expand our operations into new markets, scale exponentially, become global leaders, and achieve our purpose of transforming maintenance into a new era, reimagining how technology can impact the maintenance sector by making it more sustainable, safe and efficient.”

Pablo Pedrejón, Principal at Seaya Ventures, highlighted that: “In line with Seaya’s investment strategy, Fracttal has a founding team of great vision and leadership, with whom we share the goal of generating a positive impact on the society.  The founding team has made Fracttal a leader in predictive maintenance, which will experience exponential growth in the coming years. Our main goal is to accompany them in international expansion and to become leaders in new markets.”

According to Jaime Barba, CEO at GoHub and Idrica:  “This investment once again reinforces our commitment to support the best technologies in the water sector and the industry that help us be more competitive and differential in the market.”

Fracttal was founded in 2015 by Christian Struve and Alejandro Pérez after its time in Start-up Chile. Today they have a team of over 80 people serving nearly 1000 client companies in more than 30 countries with local operations in Spain, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia. It also manages a growing partner network in more than 15 countries.

About Fracttal

Fracttal is a start-up that provides an innovative maintenance and physical asset management platform that is 100% cloud-based, 100% mobile, integrable with any ERP and completely ready for the Internet of Things (IoT), in order to help companies of various sizes and industries to face the challenges of controlling and monitoring their maintenance operations such as equipment, suppliers, technicians, maintenance schedules, spare parts, costs, emergencies, warranties, and much more. Presenting all this data with powerful dashboards and KPI indicators. For more information, visit https://www.fracttal.com

About Seaya Ventures

Seaya Ventures is a leading European and Latin American venture capital firm based in Madrid, Spain, that invests in exceptional entrepreneurs who are building global technology companies. Since raising its first fund in 2013, Seaya manages an aggregate volume of €300 million across three early-stage funds. Seaya Ventures accelerates startup growth by working with founders to improve their strategic vision, making available its global platform, strong network of founders, investors and corporations, as well as Seaya ‘s experience in scaling leading companies such as Glovo, Cabify, Wallbox, Clarity, Clicars, and Savana. For more information, visit www.seayaventures.com

About GoHub

GoHub is the innovation and deep tech hub and corporate investment vehicle of Global Omnium, one of the largest corporations in the water sector, with a presence on four continents and seven million customers. Created in 2019, it invests in startups that employ deep technologies to solve challenges in industry 4.0, smart cities and intelligent water management.  With a portfolio of 25 startups and more than 13 million euros invested, GoHub is leading a new wave of technological change that drives industrial digitalization in a sustainable way and generates business opportunities with positive social impact. For more information, visit https://gohub.tech

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Verituity Announces $10 Million Series A Funding to Accelerate Its Digital Payments Platform

Forgepoint

Platform Modernizes Banking Treasury Services and Powers First-time and On-time Verified Digital Payouts

MCLEAN, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Verituity, the verified digital payments platform that modernizes banks treasury services and connects banks, payers and payees to first-time and on-time digital payouts experiences, announces the closing of a $10 million Series A funding co-led by ForgePoint Capital and Ardent Venture Partners. Verituity plans to use the funds to expand its go to market efforts and enhance its cloud-based verified digital payout platform. Don Dixon, Managing Director at ForgePoint Capital, and Phil Bronner, Co-founder and General Partner at Ardent Venture Partners, will join Verituity’s board of directors.

“We look to invest in innovative companies like Verituity that drive value through automation and intelligence. Whether it’s insurance companies paying claims, businesses paying their suppliers, or merchants issuing refunds, Verituity’s platform leverages automation and intelligence to connect banks, payors and payees to verified digital payouts.”

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“As the demand for secure and reliable digital payouts continues to surge, our mission is to extend a bank’s ability to offer innovative digital solutions to their business clients that power first-time and on-time digital payouts. By making it frictionless for banks to connect to our platform, banks can modernize their treasury services, reduce their payout and compliance risks, lower operating costs, and rapidly launch new revenue streams,” said Ben Turner, CEO and founder of Verituity.

The growth of digital payouts is surging as more and more businesses seek to digitize their payouts to their customers and suppliers. Verituity empowers banks to take advantage of this shift by enabling branded and differentiated digital payout solutions for their business clients. Verituity’s cloud-based, bank grade platform integrates and automates identity verification, payment choice, payment account validation, risks and data compliance, and verified digital payment orchestration into a unified web and mobile experience. These experiences provide the bank and payer with confidence that they are paying the right payee and the right payment account on the first time and on time.

“Verituity sits at the intersection of identity verification, fraud prevention, and successful digital payouts. The company’s platform is a transformative solution that places verification at the core of digital payouts to extend the value of banks’ treasury services and enables them to compete with fintechs more effectively. We are excited to partner with Verituity and help them lean into growth as they solve a critical problem in payments,” said Don Dixon, Managing Partner at ForgePoint.

Phil Bronner, Co-founder and General Partner at Ardent Venture Partners, added, “We look to invest in innovative companies like Verituity that drive value through automation and intelligence. Whether it’s insurance companies paying claims, businesses paying their suppliers, or merchants issuing refunds, Verituity’s platform leverages automation and intelligence to connect banks, payors and payees to verified digital payouts.”

About Verituity

Headquartered in McLean, Va., Verituity is a powerful cloud-based platform that modernizes bank treasury services and connects banks, payers and payees to first-time and on-time digital payouts and pay-by-anything experiences. Verituity’s bank-grade platform places verification at the core of digital payouts by seamlessly unifying and automating identity verification, payment choice, payment account verification and verified payment orchestration so payors and payees can make or receive digital payments with confidence. For more information, please visit: verituity.com.

About ForgePoint Capital

ForgePoint Capital is the premier cybersecurity venture fund investing in transformative companies protecting the digital world. The firm is one of the most prolific investors in early and growth stage cybersecurity companies with over 40 global cybersecurity investments. The team brings more than eight decades of company building and value creation experience, drawing upon the largest network of trusted cybersecurity industry experts and customers to support entrepreneurs who are building great companies. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the firm partners with exceptional cybersecurity entrepreneurs worldwide. For more information, please visit www.forgepointcap.com or follow us @ForgePointCap.

About Ardent Venture Partners

Ardent Venture Partners is a Washington DC-based early-stage venture fund investing in companies located in growing tech hubs that transform the way we work. AVP sectors include vertical applications that leverage an automation driver such as AI/ML, robotics, marketplaces, or low code/no code; Future of Work; and Security. AVP GP and CEO partners are located in the Mid-Atlantic (New York to Washington DC), Atlanta, and Boulder Denver. www.ardent.vc

Contacts

Media:
Lisa Throckmorton
lthrockmorton@req.co

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NEOGOV Announces Growth Investment from The Carlyle Group and Warburg Pincus

Carlyle

New investment will accelerate NEOGOV’s strategic initiatives and growth opportunities

EL SEGUNDO, CA and NEW YORK, NY June 2nd 2021 — NEOGOV, a market leader in public sector human capital management and policy management software, today announced a significant investment from The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG), a global investment firm, and existing investor Warburg Pincus, a leading global growth investor. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2000, NEOGOV provides a market-leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) human capital management platform to automate and streamline the employee lifecycle for state and local government, education, public safety, and other public sector customers.  NEOGOV’s software is designed specifically for the unique requirements of these complex and regulated end-markets and serves more than 6,500 organizations.

“NEOGOV is differentiated by leveraging technology to provide the public sector workforce with a streamlined approach to human resources support, a historically complex process. As we move forward with new capital, we will look forward to building out our product suite through organic channels and evaluating acquisition targets in order to continue to provide our clients with the best level of service,” said Shane Evangelist, CEO, NEOGOV. “We are excited to have the combined capabilities of Warburg Pincus and Carlyle behind our efforts to scale our platform, invest in our team and bring new capabilities to our clients.”

The new investment from The Carlyle Group and Warburg Pincus will allow NEOGOV to capitalize on a number of compelling organic and inorganic growth opportunities, including investing in NEOGOV’s operations and go-to-market teams, continuing to expand the company’s product suite for current customers, and entering adjacent end markets. In addition to expansion into new markets, NEOGOV will continue to serve as a platform for meaningful M&A in the broader government technology landscape.

“In its mission to ‘serve the people who serve the people,’ NEOGOV makes hiring, training, and managing employees in the public sector easier, more effective, and more equitable,” said Ashley Evans, a Managing Director specializing in technology investing at Carlyle. “We are excited to partner with Warburg Pincus, Shane, and the rest of the NEOGOV team to leverage Carlyle’s deep expertise in government and technology investing and support the Company’s next phase of growth.”

“Over the past four years of our partnership, NEOGOV has grown into a clear market leader in public sector HR and law enforcement accreditation and exhibits best-in-class metrics across growth and client retention. As the demand for SaaS-based systems focused on HR solutions grows, we continue to see significant growth opportunity for NEOGOV,” said Vishnu Menon, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus. “We are excited to continue to support NEOGOV, in partnership with Carlyle, as the company builds upon its leadership position in HCM and policy management software through product expansion and acquisition opportunities to serve their large and growing customer base,” added Brian Chang, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus.

Equity capital for Carlyle’s investment will come from Carlyle Partners VII, an $18.5 billion fund that makes majority and strategic minority investments primarily in the U.S.

William Blair served as exclusive financial advisor and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal advisor to NEOGOV in the transaction. Alston & Bird served as legal advisor to Carlyle. Transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

About NEOGOV

NEOGOV is the leading provider of an integrated HR, payroll, talent management, accreditation management and policy management solutions for the public sector. NEOGOV customers report increased employee productivity and engagement, time and cost savings, improved regulatory requirement compliance, and reduced paper processes, with a net result of better services for citizens. Serving over 6,000 organizations, NEOGOV provides intelligent HR for the public sector. More information at www.neogov.com.

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $260 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2021, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,800 people in 29 offices across five continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow The Carlyle Group on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

About Warburg Pincus

Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The firm has more than $60 billion in private equity assets under management. The firm’s active portfolio of more than 200 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 19 private equity funds, which have invested more than $90 billion in over 930 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information please visit www.warburgpincus.com.

Contact

The Carlyle Group
Brittany Berliner
+1 (212) 813-4839
Brittany.Berliner@carlyle.com

Warburg Pincus
Sarah McGrath Bloom
Sarah.Bloom@warburgpincus.com

 

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