Category Archives: News

Strider Technologies Raises $55 Million in Series C Funding Led by Pelion Venture Partners

AXA

Investment will support Strider’s rapid revenue growth and accelerate development of its AI-driven strategic intelligence platform; will also enable the company to fuel international expansion and broaden its reach in the public sector

Press release, Salt Lake City, September 12, 2024

Strider Technologies, Inc. the leading provider of strategic intelligence, announced today that it has closed $55 million in Series C funding. With this funding, Strider will continue advancing its AI-driven capabilities into its integrated global intelligence platform, expand operations to new geographies in Europe and Asia, and more aggressively address the public sector market.

The round was led by Pelion Venture Partners and marks the largest single investment in the firm’s history. Blake Modersitzki, Partner at Pelion, will join Strider’s Board of Directors. The round includes participation from AXA Venture Partners (AVP), and existing investors Valor Equity Partners, DataTribe and Cyfr Capital.

“Strider has created a new market category with their groundbreaking global intelligence platform, which empowers organizations to proactively address nation-state threats,” said Blake Modersitzki, Partner at Pelion Venture Partners. “They are solving a massive problem in a massive market, and we are excited to be in business with such visionary founders, building a world-changing company and also doing immense good along the way.”

“At Strider, our mission is to protect the ideals and innovations of the free world,” said Greg Levesque, CEO & Co-founder of Strider. “Organizations across industry, government, and academia are on the frontlines of this new global geopolitical battlefield, under constant attack from nation-state adversaries. This investment led by Pelion will accelerate Strider’s ability to scale our platform and arm more organizations around the world with the strategic intelligence they need to compete.”

The world is in a new era of global intelligence. The traditional nation-state vs nation-state approach is gone as superpowers battle for geopolitical, economic, technological, and data dominance. China, Russia, Iran, and other adversaries are embracing a whole-of-society approach that puts private companies and leading academic institutions on the frontlines of this new conflict.

Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and the world’s most prominent research institutions are subject to persistent intelligence, talent recruitment, and supply chain operations from nation-state actors.

Strider’s integrated global intelligence platform leverages AI, open source data, and proprietary methodologies. It enables organizations to proactively secure critical assets and inform decision-making so that they can better compete in the global economy.

“Strider is advancing the state-of-the-art in global intelligence, enabling organizations working with advanced technologies to go on offense to secure their innovation,” said Alex Scherbakovsky, General Partner at AVP. “Industry, government, and research institutions have been searching for ways to proactively mitigate state-sponsored threats to technology, talent, and supply networks. We are excited to support Strider’s efforts to develop new capabilities and meet the global demand for their intelligence platform. As a transatlantic investment firm, we are excited to support Strider’s international expansion and help Strider achieve its mission of enabling organizations and governments to secure their innovation.”

Since launching in May 2019, Strider has secured $110 million in venture capital funding, grown to nearly 200 employees, and secured multiple patents, while establishing its position as a first mover and category creator.

About Strider

Strider is the leading strategic intelligence company empowering organizations to secure and advance their technology and innovation. Leveraging AI technology alongside proprietary methodologies, Strider transforms publicly available data into critical insights. This increased intelligence enables organizations to proactively address and respond to risks associated with state-sponsored intellectual property theft, targeted talent acquisition, and supply chain vulnerabilities. Strider has operations in 10 counties across the globe with offices in Salt Lake City, Washington, DC, Tokyo, and London.

About Pelion Venture Partners

Originally formed in 1986 as Utah Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners has raised over $2 billion across its family of funds. Focused primarily on early stage technology companies, some of Pelion’s more notable investments include Cloudflare, Divvy, Integral Ad Science, Weave, LVT, Kapital, and Redo among others. For more information about Pelion, please visit www.pelionvp.com.

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, Growth, Late Growth, and Fund of Funds. Since its establishment in 2016, AVP has invested in more than 60 technology companies in Venture and Growth stages in the US 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.

Contact: Sébastien Loubry, Partner Business development (sebastien@axavp.com)

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Maven achieves 4.7x return from partial realisation of Novatus Global

Maven

Investment by US private equity firm marks a two-year period of rapid growth for the RegTech specialist.

Published: Sep 12, 2024
Focus: Growth Capital

The Maven VCTs have partially realised their investment in Novatus Global (Novatus), a leading RegTech solutions provider, as part of a $40m investment in the company by US-based private equity firm Silversmith Capital Partners.

The transaction comes just over two years after Maven’s VCTs first invested in the company and delivers a 4.7x total money multiple return for shareholders, inclusive of an ongoing minority stake in the business.

Founded in 2019 by entrepreneurs Andrew Hedley and Matthew Ranson (pictured), Novatus was established to create a tech-driven solution to better manage risk and regulation. Its award-winning transaction reporting technology and advisory solutions support a growing base of blue-chip clients in the financial services sector, helping them navigate the increasingly complex regulatory landscape. Novatus’ proprietary scalable En:ACT software allows clients to perform complex regulatory checks and identify issues within seconds, reducing costs and simplifying compliance.

Maven’s VCTs first invested in Novatus in July 2022, with the funding allocated to expanding the team of technical advisors, enhancing sales and marketing efforts, and further developing its cutting-edge RegTech offering.

During Maven’s investment period, Novatus significantly increased its annual recurring revenues by 13-fold, more than doubled its headcount, expanded internationally and made several strategic hires to its senior leadership team. The company has also established global sales partnerships which is expected to further accelerate the company’s growth and increase access to the company’s En:ACT technology.

“Maven’s partial realisation of its investment in Novatus is a fantastic result for our VCT shareholders whilst retaining an ongoing minority shareholding reflects of our continuing belief in the company and its future growth potential. As early investors who backed management to develop their market leading En:ACT technology, it’s gratifying to see the level of interest that there has been in the company from investors, culminating in today’s significant investment from Silversmith. This is testament to the founders Andrew and Matt and the growing team at Novatus who have excelled. The trust that its clients put in Novatus and the regulatory complexity driving the need for the En:ACT solution has driven real value in the Novatus business.

With new investment from Silversmith alongside Maven’s ongoing support we are confident that Novatus will continue to deliver for its clients, including further international expansion, notably in the US and are excited to be part of that journey.”

Alan Robertson, Partner at Maven

“We are incredibly proud of the value we’ve delivered to our clients and of the trust Maven placed in us early on. This new investment will allow us to accelerate our growth aspirations and be recognised as the industry leader in developing specialist technology and expert-led advisory services that address our clients’ mission critical challenges, while fuelling our ongoing international expansion, particularly in North America.”

Matthew Ranson, Co-founder at Novatus

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Novatus Global Secures $40 Million Growth Investment from Silversmith Capital Partners

Novatus Global Secures $40 Million Growth Investment from Silversmith Capital Partners to Transform Transaction Reporting and Drive International Expansion Amid Complex Global Regulatory Environment

London, UK – September 12, 2024 – Novatus Global Limited (“Novatus” or “the Company”), an award-winning provider of regulatory technology solutions to global financial institutions, today announced it has secured a $40 million investment from Silversmith Capital Partners, a Boston-based growth equity firm. Since its founding by industry veterans in 2019, Novatus has established itself as a trusted partner to many of the world’s largest banks, asset managers, and financial institutions – evidenced by revenue that has more than tripled over the trailing twelve months. The growth funding will enable Novatus to continue to invest deeply in the technology underpinning of its best-in-class SaaS platform while also expanding its geographic footprint, ensuring it maintains its reputation as the partner of choice for its clients.

Novatus enables its customers to meet their most complex, mission-critical regulatory and compliance requirements, be they government or industry-driven. Its flagship product, Novatus En:ACT, is a market-leading SaaS platform that ensures accurate, complete and timely reporting to satisfy the flood of ever-changing global regulations for which Novatus customers are responsible. En:ACT is a fully-scalable, cloud-native platform trusted by major global firms to reconcile both source systems and submission files and for all G20 transaction reporting regimes. In addition, Novatus offers expert-led advisory services, leveraging its SaaS solution and decades of industry experience, to help clients of all size and maturity solve their most complex compliance, risk management, ESG and organizational transformation challenges.

“We are delighted to partner with Silversmith as we embark on the next chapter of our growth journey. Silversmith shares our values and vision – particularly our passion for building great products to make our clients’ daily lives better, safer and more efficient,” said Novatus Co-Founder and Partner, Andrew Hedley. “This investment will be used to double down on that commitment to innovation while also fueling our continued international expansion, particularly in North America following our successful entry into Australia last year. It is a real privilege to work with such brilliant people across our team and we are incredibly excited for the next chapter of growth.”

“When we founded the company in 2019, we had a leg up on the market – Andrew and I had both lived this problem first-hand.  As a result, we wanted to provide a solution that would solve the complexity of transaction reporting in a novel way – driven by powerful, automated underlying technology as opposed to human intervention,” added Novatus Co-Founder and Partner, Matthew Ranson. “With deep experience in the GRC and regtech markets, Silversmith recognized the uniqueness of En:ACT in attacking the problem with fresh eyes and harnessing the massive innovation being driven by AI and machine learning.  We look forward to working closely with Todd, Ned and the Silversmith team to achieve our vision of creating the single best platform of its type anywhere in the world.”

“At Silversmith, our investment philosophy is quite simple to articulate, though much more difficult to implement – identify great founders who have built solutions to real-life customer problems.  While company building takes enormous effort and will, we’ve found over time that if you get that first part right, the rest tends to take care of itself,” said Ned Kingsley, Principal at Silversmith.  “We feel incredibly lucky to have found two such individuals in Andrew and Matt who have re-imagined the way to solve an increasingly important customer problem. We couldn’t be more excited to support their continued growth alongside Maven Capital Partners.”

“We are excited to continue our partnership with Novatus following the investment from Silversmith.  We were originally attracted to the business due to its innovative, and technology-led approach in supporting clients meet their regulatory obligations,” said Alan Robertson, Partner at Maven.  “Since Maven’s initial investment, clients’ adoption of the En:ACT platform has resulted in a 13-fold increase in annual recurring revenues and international expansion. We remain committed to supporting Novatus as they scale globally and further enhance their market-leading platform to continue to deliver for its clients. We believe in the future potential of the business and look forward to working with both Management and Silversmith in helping achieve the Company’s ambitions.”

As a part of the investment, Todd MacLean and Ned Kingsley have joined Novatus’ Board of Directors. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati acted as legal counsel to Novatus on the transaction.  Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to Silversmith Capital Partners and KPMG served as financial advisors.  Burness Paull acted as legal counsel to Maven Capital Partners.

About Novatus Global Limited

Novatus Global, established in 2019 and headquartered in London, is a leading global provider of software and strategic advisory services, enabling the world’s largest financial institutions to navigate their most complex regulatory and strategic challenges. Our expertise spans transaction reporting, risk, compliance, ESG, strategy, and data, delivering solutions that drive operational excellence and demonstrable regulatory compliance.

Our award-winning SaaS platform, Novatus En:ACT, enables firms to ensure accurate, complete, and timely transaction reporting across all global reporting regimes. Novatus Global pairs cutting-edge technology with unparalleled industry knowledge, ensuring clients meet evolving regulatory demands and mitigate risk effectively.

We are trusted by global institutions to meet their mission critical obligations, transform their transaction reporting, streamline operations, and achieve sustainable growth in an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.

About Silversmith Capital Partners

Founded in 2015, Silversmith Capital Partners is a Boston-based growth equity firm with $3.3 billion of capital under management. Silversmith’s mission is to partner with and support the best entrepreneurs in growing, profitable technology and healthcare companies. Representative investments include ActiveCampaign, Appfire, Apryse, DistroKid, impact.com, Iodine Software, LifeStance Health, Onbe, and Webflow. For a full list of portfolio investments, visit www.silversmith.com. Follow the firm on LinkedIn.

About Maven Capital Partners UK LLP

Maven is one of the UK’s leading private equity firms, specialising in investments in high-growth British companies. With a focus on innovation and value creation, Maven partners with visionary entrepreneurs to build market-leading businesses, supporting a range of transaction types, including management buyouts, growth capital, buy and build projects, equity value release and pre-IPO financing. www.mavencp.com

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BlackRock and Partners Group establish strategic partnership to transform retail wealth access to private markets

Partners Group

New York, US; 12 September 2024

  • Firms to launch first-of-its-kind model portfolio solution streamlining retail wealth access to private equity, private credit, and real assets
  • Will enable advisors to deliver a one-stop multi-private markets portfolio managed by two global asset managers
  • Positions BlackRock and Partners Group to capture accelerating growth in private markets and managed models

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and Partners Group (SIX: PGHN) have teamed up to launch a multi-private markets model solution set to transform how retail investors access alternative investments. The solution will provide access to private equity, private credit, and real assets in a single portfolio – currently not available to the US wealth market – managed by BlackRock and Partners Group. This first-of-its-kind solution will empower advisors to offer a diversified alternatives portfolio with the simplicity, efficiency, and practice management benefits of a traditional public markets model.

The strategic partnership combines BlackRock’s experienced alternatives team, operational expertise, and whole portfolio capabilities powered by Aladdin technology with Partners Group’s long track record of innovation in bringing private markets to the wealth market, leveraging its extensive investment platform and portfolio management capabilities.

“We are simplifying how individual investors and advisors access private markets,” said Mark Wiedman, Head of BlackRock’s Global Client Business. “In a world where private markets are growing by USD 1 trillion or more every year, many financial advisors still find it too difficult to help their clients participate. We aim to crack that. With Partners Group, we are creating a single, managed account with unified portfolio construction and management. The result? Simplified, efficient access for financial advisors and their clients.”

The solution will enable ease of access through a single subscription document versus requiring subscription documents for each underlying fund. It will feature robust operating procedures and risk management, including model rebalancing and comprehensive private markets asset allocation. Retail wealth investors will choose from three risk profiles to determine allocations to BlackRock and Partners Group funds, including BlackRock’s private equity, private credit, and systematic funds and Partners Group’s private equity, growth equity, and infrastructure funds.

“This separately managed account solution has the potential to revolutionize the wealth management industry, setting a new benchmark for institutional-quality programs that meet wealth investors’ private markets portfolio needs,” said Steffen Meister, Partners Group’s Executive Chairman. “The financing of business has undergone a major transformation in recent decades with private markets playing a key role in the real economy, so it is vital that investors have access to private markets investments as part of a balanced portfolio.”

Retail wealth investors are leading the adoption of private markets as they seek portfolios offering exposure to the companies and assets they cannot access via public markets and therefore the potential for uncorrelated returns. These investors allocated USD 2.3 trillion to private markets in 2020 and are expected to increase their allocations to USD 5.1 trillion by 2025 according to a Morgan Stanley/Oliver Wyman Study. Managed models also present a significant growth opportunity. BlackRock expects managed model portfolios to roughly double in AUM over the next five years, growing into a USD 10 trillion business.

Overall, BlackRock sees significant growth opportunity in US private wealth and is actively positioning the firm to become an integral, whole portfolio partner to advisors in an increasingly complex market. BlackRock’s US Wealth Advisory business is a key growth-driver for the firm, generating a quarter of BlackRock’s revenues in 2023.

Partners Group has accumulated more than two decades of leadership in managing private markets evergreen solutions since launching its first such product in 2001. The firm launched the first US private equity evergreen fund in 2009, which today remains the largest in the market with a total fund size of USD 15.5 billion. As of 30 June 2024, evergreen funds accounted for 30% of Partners Group’s global AUM.

To learn more about the opportunity in private markets, read BlackRock and Partners Group’s recent paper: Solving the private markets allocation gap: From products to portfolio construction.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release, and other statements that BlackRock may make, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, with respect to BlackRock’s future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as “trend,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “pipeline,” “believe,” “comfortable,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “current,” “intention,” “estimate,” “position,” “assume,” “outlook,” “continue,” “remain,” “maintain,” “sustain,” “seek,” “achieve,” and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may” and similar expressions.

BlackRock cautions that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and BlackRock assumes no duty to and does not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.

About Partners Group
Partners Group is one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry. The firm has investment programs and custom mandates spanning private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate, and royalties. With its heritage in Switzerland and its primary presence in the Americas in Colorado, Partners Group is built differently from the rest of the industry. The firm leverages its differentiated culture and its operationally oriented approach to identify attractive investment themes and to transform businesses and assets into market leaders. For more information, please visit www.partnersgroup.com

About BlackRock
BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit http://www.blackrock.com/corporate

Shareholder relations contact, Partners Group
Philip Sauer
Phone: +41 41 784 66 60
Email: philip.sauer@partnersgroup.com

Media relations contact, Partners Group
Jenny Blinch
Phone: +44 207 575 2571
Email: jenny.blinch@partnersgroup.com

Media relations contact, BlackRock
Christa Zipf
Phone: +1-646-231-0013
Phone: +1-347-814-3447
Email: christa.zipf@blackrock.com

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Why We Invested In Strider

Pelion leads $55m Series C for Strider

Strider Technologies: The Category-Defining Intelligence Powerhouse You Haven’t Heard Of (Yet)

Utah has quietly become home to what we believe will become one of the most critical, category-defining technology companies of our time: Strider Technologies (Strider). You may not have heard of them yet, but that is about to change. Yesterday, Strider announced a $55 million Series C funding round led by Pelion Venture Partners, AXA Venture Partners, Valor Equity Partners, Data Tribe, and Cyfr Capital. While they have garnered press from outlets like the Wall Street Journal, we believe this is just the beginning of Strider’s story.

We’ll dive into what they do shortly, but first, we want to share why Pelion decided to write the largest check in our history.

Although our journey leading Strider’s Series C officially began on December 22nd, 2023, the interest had been building for some time. Several at Pelion had been tracking Strider’s progress and recognized a critical inflection point, driven by both shifts in geopolitics—major tech companies like Google and Microsoft were being hit by nation-state actors, sometimes even from within—and Strider’s evolving momentum. It became clear that something significant was happening. Not to mention that when managing partners are ready to personally invest millions, you pay attention. So, the team visited Strider’s office.

That December day, the office was nearly empty for the holiday break, but the Strider team was still hard at work late into the evening. The energy was undeniable. After spending just a few hours with two of Strider’s three co-founders (and identical twin brothers!) Greg and Eric Levesque, two things were clear: these founders were destined for greatness and building category-defining technology in a massive, underserved market—all while making a meaningful difference in the world.

It felt inevitable. It felt big.

From that moment forward, our team knew Pelion had to be a part of it and we hoped Greg, Eric, and Mike Brown, the third co-founder and tech guru, would consider Pelion as a potential lead investor.

Fast forward to June 2024 at the annual client conference, Strider Summit, where we had the privilege of attending alongside experts from the intelligence and security communities. We quietly took seats in the back. As we introduced ourselves to the person sitting next to us, we learned that he was the leader of quantum security at one of the most recognizable software companies in the world. When we asked his thoughts on Strider, his immediate response was, “There’s nothing out there like Strider.” He went on to emphasize that managing insider risk will only grow in importance and that every software company should be talking about this.

Next, we were able to chat with the Managing Director of one of the world’s most prominent banks. He described Strider’s impact on their security operations as “magical.” These were not isolated comments; they echoed in conversations we had encountered throughout our diligence process and throughout the rest of the summit. The room was filled with C-suite executives from some of the largest Fortune 100 companies spanning every imaginable vertical: software, manufacturing, financial services, government, higher education, and more. The level of enthusiasm and respect for Strider’s technology was palpable.

Adding to all this is the fact that Strider has recruited some of the most accomplished leaders in global security. David Vigneault, former Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), has joined Strider as Managing Director of the Global Intelligence Unit. Paul Maddison, former High Commissioner of Canada to Australia and Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, has come on board as an advisor alongside Admiral (Ret.) Craig Faller, former Commander, U.S. Southern Command.

The roster is STACKED.

As for Eric and Greg, many on our team have had the privilege of watching their individual journeys for years. Eric, once an intern at Pelion, moved his family to Muscat, Oman to work for the Oman Investment Authority, a role that launched his career in international investments and global business relations, particularly in Eastern Europe and North Asia. Meanwhile, Greg was building a distinguished career in Virginia as an expert in international business advisory, focusing on China.

Mike Brown, the third co-founder and Chief Data Officer at Strider brings over two decades of experience as a technology executive leading at companies like ComScore, ID.me, CSRA, and IBM. The co-founders combined experience in geopolitics, international business security, and technology is unparalleled, and it was clear that these unique insights led them to the founding of Strider.

Building a successful business is hard. It takes more than great founders, smart tech, or unique insight—it requires all of this, plus perfect timing and favorable macroeconomic conditions. With all these elements aligning, the Strider team has built something truly special.

Strider’s proprietary, AI-driven global intelligence platform helps organizations proactively protect their intellectual property and mitigate risks such as state-sponsored threats and supply chain vulnerabilities. With offices in Utah, Virginia, London, and Tokyo, many customers in the Fortune 100, Strider is signing seven-figure contracts and transforming how companies defend their assets on the global stage—all while maintaining a remarkably efficient burn rate.

And this is just the beginning. With fresh capital, Strider is poised to accelerate the development of their platform, expand further into Europe and Asia, and increase their presence in the public sector. As more organizations across industries recognize the pressing need for proactive strategic intelligence, Strider is positioned to lead the charge. They are not just protecting the innovation of the free world—they are empowering it.

At Pelion, we are thrilled to back such visionary founders whose company is already making waves in a massive market. Strider is building something extraordinary while pushing the boundaries of innovation. We are confident they will continue to shape the future of global intelligence with unmatched precision and impact.

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Strider Technologies Raises $55 Million in Series C Funding

AXA

Strider Technologies Raises $55 Million in Series C Funding Led by Pelion Venture Partners

Investment will support Strider’s rapid revenue growth and accelerate development of its AI-driven strategic intelligence platform; will also enable the company to fuel international expansion and broaden its reach in the public sector

Press release, Salt Lake City, September 12, 2024

Strider Technologies, Inc. the leading provider of strategic intelligence, announced today that it has closed $55 million in Series C funding. With this funding, Strider will continue advancing its AI-driven capabilities into its integrated global intelligence platform, expand operations to new geographies in Europe and Asia, and more aggressively address the public sector market.

The round was led by Pelion Venture Partners and marks the largest single investment in the firm’s history. Blake Modersitzki, Partner at Pelion, will join Strider’s Board of Directors. The round includes participation from AXA Venture Partners (AVP), and existing investors Valor Equity Partners, DataTribe and Cyfr Capital.

“Strider has created a new market category with their groundbreaking global intelligence platform, which empowers organizations to proactively address nation-state threats,” said Blake Modersitzki, Partner at Pelion Venture Partners. “They are solving a massive problem in a massive market, and we are excited to be in business with such visionary founders, building a world-changing company and also doing immense good along the way.”

“At Strider, our mission is to protect the ideals and innovations of the free world,” said Greg Levesque, CEO & Co-founder of Strider. “Organizations across industry, government, and academia are on the frontlines of this new global geopolitical battlefield, under constant attack from nation-state adversaries. This investment led by Pelion will accelerate Strider’s ability to scale our platform and arm more organizations around the world with the strategic intelligence they need to compete.”

The world is in a new era of global intelligence. The traditional nation-state vs nation-state approach is gone as superpowers battle for geopolitical, economic, technological, and data dominance. China, Russia, Iran, and other adversaries are embracing a whole-of-society approach that puts private companies and leading academic institutions on the frontlines of this new conflict.

Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and the world’s most prominent research institutions are subject to persistent intelligence, talent recruitment, and supply chain operations from nation-state actors.

Strider’s integrated global intelligence platform leverages AI, open source data, and proprietary methodologies. It enables organizations to proactively secure critical assets and inform decision-making so that they can better compete in the global economy.

“Strider is advancing the state-of-the-art in global intelligence, enabling organizations working with advanced technologies to go on offense to secure their innovation,” said Alex Scherbakovsky, General Partner at AVP. “Industry, government, and research institutions have been searching for ways to proactively mitigate state-sponsored threats to technology, talent, and supply networks. We are excited to support Strider’s efforts to develop new capabilities and meet the global demand for their intelligence platform. As a transatlantic investment firm, we are excited to support Strider’s international expansion and help Strider achieve its mission of enabling organizations and governments to secure their innovation.”

Since launching in May 2019, Strider has secured $110 million in venture capital funding, grown to nearly 200 employees, and secured multiple patents, while establishing its position as a first mover and category creator.

About Strider

Strider is the leading strategic intelligence company empowering organizations to secure and advance their technology and innovation. Leveraging AI technology alongside proprietary methodologies, Strider transforms publicly available data into critical insights. This increased intelligence enables organizations to proactively address and respond to risks associated with state-sponsored intellectual property theft, targeted talent acquisition, and supply chain vulnerabilities. Strider has operations in 10 counties across the globe with offices in Salt Lake City, Washington, DC, Tokyo, and London.

About Pelion Venture Partners

Originally formed in 1986 as Utah Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners has raised over $2 billion across its family of funds. Focused primarily on early stage technology companies, some of Pelion’s more notable investments include Cloudflare, Divvy, Integral Ad Science, Weave, LVT, Kapital, and Redo among others. For more information about Pelion, please visit www.pelionvp.com.

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, Growth, Late Growth, and Fund of Funds. Since its establishment in 2016, AVP has invested in more than 60 technology companies in Venture and Growth stages in the US 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.

Contact: Sébastien Loubry, Partner Business development (sebastien@axavp.com)

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EQT Life Sciences leads EUR 93 million oversubscribed Series A round in Pantera, which aims to accelerate global actinium-225 production

EQT Life Science

On track for commercial-scale production of actinium-225, which is crucial to a new class of targeted treatments for cancer

Largest Series A in life sciences sector in Belgium to date; led by EQT Life Sciences

Total of EUR 134 million raised including funding secured through EUR 7.2 million equity from IBA and SFPIM, and EUR 33.8 million debt financing

EQT Life Sciences is pleased to announce that it has led a EUR 93 million oversubscribed Series A fundraise in PanTera, the Belgian radioisotope producer. With additional equity and debt funding, the total amount raised is EUR 134 million. The round was also joined by Kurma Partners, Eurazeo, Korys, Paladin and PMV. Alongside this, IBA, the world leader in particle accelerator technology, and SFPIM, a Belgian sovereign fund, will convert into equity EUR 7.2 million convertible loans.

PanTera was founded in 2022 with the primary goal of enabling large-scale production of actinium-225 (225Ac), which is crucial to enable a new class of targeted cancer treatments known as Targeted Alpha Therapy. The funds raised will be used primarily to support the construction of a state-of-the-art production facility in Belgium.

Targeted Alpha Therapy is a promising new cancer treatment approach that enables safe and effective delivery of radiation to the cancer cells by radioisotopes that emit highly energetic alpha particles. The radiation effect of the alpha particle is more localized compared to other approaches and as such can destroy the cancer cells to which it is attached without harming surrounding healthy tissue. The most promising alpha emitter for this approach is 225Ac. As a result, demand for 225Ac is increasing rapidly as drug-development companies look to scale-up clinical trials across a range of different cancers and seek regulatory approvals. However, dependable, scalable and sustainable methods for producing 225Ac are complex and require advanced nuclear infrastructure, which has resulted in a global shortage of the isotope.

PanTera is working to solve this global shortage. The Company’s unique, patented photo-nuclear “gamma” production process transforms Radium-226 (226Ra) into Radium-225 (225Ra), which in turn decays into 225Ac. This process provides a reliable, safe and high-quality supply of 225Ac, not only for clinical trials but also for future commercial radiopharmaceutical therapies, the first of which are due to be on the market in 2028-2029. PanTera’s process and infrastructure is designed to enable the annual production of more than 100 Curies (Ci) of clinical grade 225Ac by 2029, allowing treatment of more than 100,000 patients per year. The combination of SCK CEN’s unmatched large stock of pure 226Ra and IBA’s Rhodotron® electron accelerator, positions PanTera to become a highly successful and reliable producer of this key medical radioisotope.

In parallel to its effort to develop commercial-scale production of 225Ac, PanTera is already providing early 225Ac supply through an alternative production method. Working in collaboration with TerraPower Isotopes, PanTera is on track to provide 1.5-2 Ci of 225Ac annually from early 2025. With today’s current global supply estimated at 3 Ci annually, this will be a significant contribution to drug development. PanTera has signed supply agreements with several pharmaceutical companies, including Bayer, and expects to have secured agreements for more than 80% of its capacity before starting production.

Sven Van den Berghe, CEO of PanTera, said: “PanTera is looking to radically improve supply in the short and long term, in order to ensure that this potentially life-saving, highly innovative modality can reach patients. The size of this raise is testament to our strategy, our unique assets and our capabilities. We are working alongside very experienced partners with a combined expertise and a network that goes well beyond 225Ac production and encompasses all aspects of the radiopharmaceutical revolution. With this funding, we are now en route to realise our vision of providing a “Better Fight for Life” to cancer patients worldwide by becoming a dependable global 225Ac supplier.”

Martijn Kleijwegt, Partner at EQT Life Sciences, commented: “It is clear to us that PanTera has the expertise, assets and strategy in place to address the critical actinium-225 supply shortage faced by the pharmaceutical industry today, as well as the significant increase in demand expected in the future. EQT is one of the world’s largest healthcare investors and we are committed to supporting pioneering ventures, like PanTera, to reach their fullest potential. We are excited to partner with the PanTera team, alongside IBA, SCK CEN and our fellow investors, on the next phase of PanTera’s development.”

Contact
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com

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About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 246 billion in total assets under management (EUR 133 billion in fee-generating assets under management), within two business segments – Private Capital and Real Assets. EQT owns portfolio companies and assets in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas and supports them in achieving sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on LinkedIn, X, YouTube and Instagram

About PanTera
PanTera, an IBA and SCK CEN joint-venture, aims to secure the large-scale production of actinium-225 (225Ac), one of the most promising alpha-emitting radioisotopes to fight cancers. By working towards this large-scale production, PanTera’s ultimate goal is to improve the accessibility of future innovative cancer therapy based on 225Ac and theranostics in general.

More information can be found at: www.pantera-life.com

About IBA
IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.) is the world leader in particle accelerator technology. The company is the leading supplier of equipment and services in the field of proton therapy, considered to be the most advanced form of radiation therapy available today. IBA is also a leading player in the fields of industrial sterilization, radiopharmaceuticals and dosimetry. The company, based in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, employs approximately 2,000 people worldwide. IBA is a certified B Corporation (B Corp) meeting the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance.

IBA is listed on the pan-European stock exchange EURONEXT (IBA: Reuters IBAB.BR and Bloomberg IBAB.BB).

More information can be found at: www.iba-worldwide.com

About SCK CEN
70 years of experience in nuclear research and technology

SCK CEN is one of the largest research institutions in Belgium. Every day, more than 900 employees dedicate themselves to developing peaceful applications of radioactivity. SCK CEN’s research activities focus on three main areas: innovative nuclear systems, nuclear waste management and dismantling, and the resolute fight against cancer. World-renowned, SCK CEN shares its knowledge through countless publications and training courses, so that this pool of exceptional competence can be maintained.

More information can be found at: www.sckcen.be

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Gryphon Investors Closes Continuation Vehicle for Vessco Water

CVC Capital Partners

Gryphon Investors (“Gryphon”), a leading middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, announced today that it has closed a single-asset continuation vehicle (“CV”) for Vessco Water (“Vessco” or “the Company”), a market-leading distribution and services platform in the water and wastewater treatment market. Apollo S3, CVC Secondary Partners, and Lexington Partners L.P. acted as lead investors in the transaction, with the Company’s management remaining large shareholders in the Company.

Gryphon’s Flagship Fund VI, a $2.7 billion fund, acquired Vessco, in partnership with the Company’s management team, in November 2020. During Gryphon’s nearly four years of ownership, Vessco has transformed its business, growing fivefold by expanding its product base and service capabilities to support its customers and expanding its footprint, while investing in the corporate infrastructure needed to support its local operations.

Gryphon Co-CEOs David Andrews and Nick Orum said, “We are excited to complete Gryphon’s first continuation vehicle with Vessco, which has substantial runway to continue scaling rapidly in a fragmented industry. This transaction delivered liquidity to Gryphon VI limited partners and provided them with an option to retain their interests in Vessco through the Company’s next phase of growth and value creation. The CV also provided new committed capital for growth and investment and will allow us to continue our support of Vessco, its management team, and its employees.”

Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Vessco is a high value-added distributor in the water and wastewater treatment equipment, and services market. The Company serves critical customer needs through a comprehensive suite of products, solutions and services across major market segments, including process equipment, flow control, pump and pump repair, industrial processes, and automation & controls. Its end-to-end solutions encompass design, engineering support, repair and reconstruction, and aftermarket parts and services.

“Our partnership with the Gryphon team has yielded substantial results,” said Vessco CEO Brian DeWolf. “With their operational and financial resources, we have advanced our mission to transform the water treatment industry by building strength and stability through a family of companies that provides exceptional products and services to our customers and an unwavering commitment to our manufacturers, employees, and the environment. We look forward to continued success together as we make progress toward our vision of becoming the biggest and best value-added water treatment equipment distributor in our industry, operating in all 50 states.”

Leigh Abramson and Scott Hearn, Partners and Co-Heads of the Industrial Growth Group at Gryphon, added, “Gryphon’s long experience with infrastructure and utility products and value-added distribution businesses allowed us to build a playbook to support Vessco’s growth. In partnership with a talented management team, we invested deeply in the corporate infrastructure that prioritizes collaboration throughout Vessco’s family of businesses, driving value for suppliers and customers. We expect to see continued value-creation from Vessco’s comprehensive solutions combining multiple product lines and services across geographies we serve, and increased demand for water treatment from population growth, higher water quality standards and the need to replace aging infrastructure.”

Jefferies and William Blair served as financial advisors and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Gryphon on the transaction. Vessco management was represented by attorney Peter W. Klein, P.A., of Boca Raton, FL. Akin served as legal counsel to CVC Secondary Partners and Apollo S3. Proskauer Rose served as legal counsel to Lexington Partners.

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adlicious welcomes FIELDS Group as partner for ambitious growth plans

Fields Group

FIELDS Group is pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority interest in adlicious, a digital advertising agency with a strong presence in Germany and selected international markets. By bringing together seamless media delivery, premium ad creative solutions, and data integration for smarter campaigns and marketing automation, adlicious helps brands and agencies maximize the impact of their advertising campaigns. adlicious specializes in combining these advertising solutions with the right strategy to find the most effective marketing channels and formats, enhancing every touchpoint throughout the entire customer journey.

The partnership between FIELDS Group and adlicious aims to build on adlicious’ success in the advertising industry and grow the company into a leading provider across Europe, both organically and inorganically. At the same time, FIELDS Group will support the management team, led by Viktor Eichmann, David Lange, and Matt Probert, in further scaling international business operations.

“We are thrilled to welcome FIELDS Group as our key investor. This partnership marks an exciting new chapter for adlicious, and we are fully prepared to elevate the company to new heights. With FIELDS Group’s backing, we are eager to expand our international footprint and bring our successful approach to new markets. Our leadership will be focused on scaling the strategies that have driven our growth, ensuring we continue to deliver exceptional value to our clients across the globe,” comment Viktor Eichmann and David Lange, Founders & Managing Directors of adlicious.

Matt Probert, CTO of adlicious, adds: “I am excited about the upcoming growth opportunities, especially in terms of advancing our technological products. This collaboration will enable us to develop even more innovative advertising solutions, helping brands achieve smarter and more effective marketing outcomes.”

André Reitz, on behalf of FIELDS Group, states: “We are proud to partner with adlicious. The technology-driven approach and resulting innovative products provide better return on marketing spend for customers, a USP that has had us impressed right from the start. We are delighted to continue this journey with Viktor, David and Matt in their roles as management as well as co-shareholders and the rest of the adlicious team in the coming years. Together we aim to both further scale the existing operations but also grow via selective buy-and-build.”

About adlicious
adlicious was founded in 2014 as one of the first independent and purely programmatic media agencies. Combining data and technology to achieve better media activation has been central to their work from the beginning. Based on their many years of hands-on experience with many different platforms, they decided to develop their own technology to bridge the existing gap between creation, data and media. Today, adlicious has evolved into a technology-driven full-service digital agency and is thus able to deliver integrated and fully customizable media solutions to their clients across the entire customer journey and all digital channels.

www.adlicious.me

About FIELDS Group
FIELDS Group is an entrepreneurial hands-on investor focused on developing companies with potential. FIELDS Group invests in companies with headquarters in Benelux and the DACH region and realizes true transformations with its team.

www.fields.nl

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Adelis partners with international life science company IonOpticks to support global expansion and innovation

Adelis Equity

IonOpticks responds to growing global market needs for proteomics tools by partnering with Nordic based private equity firm Adelis. The fast-growing proteomics tools company brings onboard Adelis as new controlling shareholder, with founders and management as co-investors. The investment will augment IonOpticks’ global presence, drive innovation, and support acquisitions as the company expands closer to key customers and consolidates its leading position in the exciting and rapidly growing field of proteomics and adjacent applications.

Adelis Equity Partners (“Adelis”), announces its first platform investment outside of the Nordics with its majority investment into IonOpticks, a leading global producer of high-performance chromatography columns. IonOpticks’ solutions are today used by the leading academic, biotech and pharma proteomics research labs around the globe. The company, which has been profitable since inception, is continuing to grow at roughly 50% per year and is expected to exceed 10m EUR of sales this financial year. The investment will augment IonOpticks’ global presence, drive innovation, and support acquisitions as the company expands closer to key customers and consolidates its leading position in the exciting and rapidly growing field of proteomics and adjacent applications.

The partnership between founders, management and Adelis will enable IonOpticks to scale its operations globally and further enhance product development. Being closer to its key customers and collaborators while also ensuring compatibility across major LC-MS platforms is a key priority, allowing researchers worldwide to benefit from IonOpticks’ leading chromatography solutions. Adelis’ extensive experience, industrial advisor network and resources will support IonOpticks in maintaining its leadership position as the provider of the best solutions for LC-MS proteomics research.

IonOpticks also strengthens its board with the appointment of several industry heavyweights, including Dr. Peter Wrighton-Smith as Chairman. With an established career in scaling life sciences companies, Peter is well-positioned to guide IonOpticks through its next phase of growth. Joining Xavier Perronnet and Dr. Jarrod Sandow, the board also welcomes industry leaders Mårten Winge, Sibel Arnes, and Rasmus Molander.

“I’m excited to join IonOpticks to help support the expansion of its commercialisation efforts globally and to help the company with its ambitious program of new product introductions into current and new markets.” Peter Wrighton-Smith, newly appointed Chairman of IonOpticks, explains.

“We chose to partner with Adelis because they share our vision for IonOpticks’ goals and are a strong cultural fit. Their genuine desire to work with us and guide the company to realise its goals, together with their experience, networks, and resources, made them the ideal partner. This partnership allows us to continue developing the best chromatography solutions for researchers worldwide and pursue further innovations tailored to the industry’s evolving needs,” says Xavier Perronnet, Chief Executive Officer of IonOpticks.

“Ultimately, it’s about human health, and we believe that maximising what is discoverable in biological samples is a vital early step in developing therapies and improving patient outcomes. That’s what IonOpticks does,” Perronnet continues.

Sibel Arnes and Rasmus Molander at Adelis note, “Europe and indeed the Nordics has a long legacy in proteomics and pioneering human health research. When we met the team, we immediately recognised IonOpticks’ unique solutions and global potential. Their commitment to working with key opinion leaders in the field and delivering best-in-class solutions is impressive, and the results from the accelerating research in proteomics is promising. IonOpticks aligns perfectly with Adelis’ strategy of supporting unique and growing companies in healthcare and life sciences. It is a privilege to partner with a company that can meaningfully contribute to addressing many of our currently unresolved health conditions, and we look forward to collaborating with the IonOpticks team in the coming years.”

The transaction has closed, having received all necessary regulatory approvals.

For further information:

Michael Sinden, CBO, IonOpticks

E-mail: michael@ionopticks.com

Sibel Karina Arnes, Adelis Equity Partners

E-mail: sibel.arnes@adelisequity.com

About IonOpticks

IonOpticks produces high-performance chromatography solutions for the global research community enhancing mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and high-end proteomics research. Their solutions enhance the sensitivity of mass spectrometry sample analysis, enabling scientists and clinicians to discover more from their samples. These advancements are valuable for a broad range of applications within the field of biological and medical research including drug discovery, phosphoproteomics and shotgun proteomics. https://ionopticks.com/

About Adelis Equity Partners

Adelis is a growth partner for well-positioned companies primarily in the Nordic and DACH regions. Adelis partners with management and/or owners to build businesses in growth segments with strong market positions. Since raising its first fund in 2013, Adelis has been one of the most active investors in the Nordic middle-market, making 42 platform investments and more than 230 add-on acquisitions. Adelis manages approximately €3.0 billion in capital. For more information, please visit www.adelisequity.com.

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