Category Archives: News

Carlyle Invests in Quantum Leap, a High-Growth National Security Company, in Partnership with Management and Razor’s Edge

Carlyle

Leesburg, VA – September 10, 2025 – Quantum Leap (the “Company”) today announced the completion of an investment from funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG). As part of the transaction, Jim Miller, Quantum Leap Founder and CEO, Razor’s Edge, and other existing shareholders have reinvested alongside Carlyle.

Quantum Leap is an innovative provider of cybersecurity and intelligence solutions for U.S. government customers, helping to solve some of the most complex national security challenges. As a trusted government partner, the Company leverages technical, operational, and analytical expertise to offer differentiated intelligence and advanced technology solutions that address customer requirements across the space, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum, and maritime domains.

Jim Miller, who will continue to lead the Company as CEO, said, “We are delighted by this opportunity to partner with Carlyle, one of the preeminent investors in the defense and intelligence sectors, and to benefit from their expertise as we continue to execute for our customers. We chose to partner with Carlyle because of their long track record supporting companies focused on national security and commitment to continue investing in Quantum Leap’s people and solutions to drive mission impact.”

“We are extremely excited to partner with Jim Miller and the Quantum Leap team,” said Dayne Baird, Partner on Carlyle’s Aerospace, Defense & Government team. “Quantum Leap is a truly unique business, with extraordinary people and capabilities that are focused on enabling some of our country’s most critical and complex missions. We are honored to support Quantum Leap in the pursuit of advancing our national security.”

Jack Kerrigan, Managing Partner at Razor’s Edge said, “The Quantum Leap team manages programs of global consequence with a level of professionalism, innovation, and focus that is simply extraordinary. We are thrilled to continue this work with Quantum Leap and Carlyle, investors who share Jim’s standard of excellence, integrity, and commitment to customers.”

J.P. Morgan acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Quantum Leap in connection with the transaction. Covington & Burling LLP acted as legal advisor to Quantum Leap. Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor to Carlyle.

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About Quantum Leap

Quantum Leap delivers a broad range of national security solutions to a diverse base of U.S. defense and intelligence agencies. Quantum Leap’s capabilities are aligned with some of the most critical national security missions and help customers overcome their steepest challenges across the space, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum, and maritime domains. Headquartered in Leesburg, VA, Quantum Leap employs a world-class team of professionals with deep subject matter expertise across technology and intelligence.

About Carlyle

Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across its business and conducts its operations through three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit, and Carlyle AlpInvest. With $465 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2025, 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. Carlyle employs more than 2,300 people in 27 offices across four continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on X @OneCarlyle and LinkedIn at The Carlyle Group.

About Razor’s Edge

Razor’s Edge is a growth equity firm that invests in technology companies in national security and high-growth commercial markets. In addition to providing capital to accelerate the pace of innovation, Razor’s Edge offers direct and practical operational support informed by decades of collective experience in the national security sector. The Razor’s Edge team works tirelessly to identify disruptive technologies and capabilities that can solve critical mission needs and deliver them to government and commercial customers who need them. For more information, visit www.razorsvc.com.

 

Media Contacts:

 

For Quantum Leap:

Bonnie Good

(703) 783-5203, extension 112

bonnieg@ql-research.com

For Carlyle:

Brittany Bensaull
(212) 813-4839
brittany.bensaull@carlyle.com

 

For Razor’s Edge:

Jack Kerrigan

(703) 774-8797

jkerrigan@razorsvc.com

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Bain Capital Announces Strategic Sale of WinTriX’s China Operations in Landmark US$4 Billion Transaction

BainCapital

Beijing, September 10, 2025 – Global leading private investment firm Bain Capital today announced its data center portfolio company WinTrix DC Group has entered into a binding agreement to sell 100% of its equity interest in its China operations (hereinafter “Chindata”) to a consortium led by Shenzhen Dongyangguang Industry Co., Ltd (hereinafter “HEC”), together with institutional investors including insurance companies and local government funds. The transaction, valued at US$4 billion,
marks the largest merger and acquisition deal in the history of China’s data center industry.

This landmark transaction underscores sustained investor demand for scalable, next-generation digital infrastructure in China. Since 2018, Chindata has grown into a leading hyperscale data center platform, playing a meaningful role in supporting China’s accelerated digital transformation.

Jonathan Zhu, a Partner and Chair of China at Bain Capital, said: “Chindata’s journey reflects Bain Capital’s strategy of partnering with outstanding management teams to build category-defining infrastructure platforms. Today, Chindata has evolved into one of China’s leading digital infrastructure platforms, with unmatched scale and technical capabilities. We believe HEC will continue to build on this legacy, bringing its strong industrial capabilities to support the next phase of Chindata’s development.”

Drew Chen, a Partner at Bain Capital, added: Over the past seven years, we have been proud to have partnered with Chindata’s management team to accelerate its growth and enhance its strategic position in the market. This exit underscores Bain Capital’s track record of creating long-term value and supporting AI-driven innovation and sustainable growth. We are confident that under HEC’s leadership, the company will continue to thrive in China’s dynamic data economy.”

Barnaby Lyons, a Partner and Global Head of Bain Capital Special Situations, commented: “This transaction marks an important milestone for Bain Capital in Asia. It highlights how our Private Equity and Special Situations teams combine growth investing with real estate expertise to build leading platforms. We see significant global demand for hyper-scale data centers and are continuing to scale differentiated platforms across Southeast Asia and Asia more broadly, as well as in Europe and North America.”

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About Bain Capital

Founded in 1984, Bain Capital is one of the world’s leading private investment firms. We are committed to creating lasting impact for our investors, teams, businesses, and the communities in which we live. As a private partnership, we lead with conviction and a culture of collaboration, advantages that enable us to innovate investment approaches, unlock opportunities, and create exceptional outcomes. Our global platform invests across five focus areas: Private Equity, Growth & Venture, Capital Solutions, Credit & Capital Markets, and Real Assets. We have 24 offices on four continents, more than 1,850 employees, and approximately $185 billion in assets under management.

About China operations of WinTriX

Formerly known as Chindata Group Holdings, the China operations of data centre operator WinTriX DC Group, is a mainland China based leading carrier-neutral hyperscale data center solution provider and a first mover in building next- generation hyperscale data centers in China. The business operates hyper-density IT cluster infrastructure in the Greater Beijing Area, the Yangtze River Delta Area, and the Greater Bay Area – three key economic areas in China – and has become a critical engine of regional digital economies.

Media Contacts

Asia / China

Zhen Trudy Wang

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First Internet Bancorp Agrees to Sell Nearly $1 Billion of Single Tenant Lease Financing Loans to Blackstone

Blackstone

Fishers, Indiana and New York, New York – First Internet Bancorp (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: INBK), the parent company of First Internet Bank (the “Bank”), and Blackstone (NYSE: BX) jointly announced today that the Bank has entered into an agreement to sell up to $869 million of performing single tenant lease financing loans to vehicles affiliated with Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies (“BREDS”). The Bank will retain customer-facing servicing responsibilities for all loans sold as part of this transaction.

“This proposed transaction is a decisive step that advances key strategic priorities, including strengthening our capital position, accelerating operating performance towards our near-term target of 1.00% return on average assets, and significantly enhancing net interest margin,” said David Becker, CEO and Chairman of First Internet Bancorp. “Reducing our exposure to fixed rate, lower-coupon loans is a meaningful component towards further optimizing our earning asset base, providing balance sheet flexibility and a resilient earnings profile regardless of the interest rate environment. With stronger capital generation capabilities and balance sheet capacity, First Internet Bancorp will be well-positioned to capitalize on future growth opportunities. It was a pleasure to work with Blackstone Real Estate on this transaction, and we look forward to building a strong relationship with them going forward.”

Tim Johnson, Global Head of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, said: “We’re pleased to acquire this portfolio of high-quality, performing commercial real estate loans. With a market-leading platform, deep expertise and $77 billion of AUM, we are able to provide innovative solutions to financial institutions for their commercial real estate portfolios. We are excited to work with First Internet Bancorp and look forward to identifying additional opportunities in the future.”

These performing single tenant lease financing loans are expected to be sold at a price approximating 95% of the unpaid principal balance, inclusive of transaction costs. The reduction in loan balances – and, consequently, the reduction in risk-weighted assets – more than offsets the impact of the reduction in shareholders’ equity, leading to increases in the Company’s and Bank’s regulatory capital ratios. Upon closing the transaction, the Company expects to move approximately $550 million of deposit balances off-balance sheet, aiming to provide a modest increase to its tangible common equity ratio. The remaining proceeds are expected to be used to fund near-term loan growth opportunities with the option to move additional deposits off-balance sheet.

The proposed transaction is expected to close on or around September 18, 2025, subject to market conditions and customary closing requirements. The Company has filed supplemental materials regarding this transaction with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For Blackstone Real Estate, this transaction follows the acquisition of $22 billion of commercial real estate loan portfolios in the last 24 months, including the acquisition of an approximately 20% stake in the $17 billion Signature Bank commercial real estate debt portfolio with JV partners, the $1 billion performing senior mortgage loan portfolio acquisition from PBB and the recent acquisition of approximately $2 billion of commercial real estate loans from Atlantic Union Bank. The BREDS platform has deployed $38 billion from January 2024 through June 2025.

Piper Sandler Loan Strategies, LLC served as the introducing broker on behalf of First Internet Bancorp. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Ballard Spahr LLP acted as legal advisors to Blackstone.

About First Internet Bancorp
First Internet Bancorp is a bank holding company with assets of $6.1 billion as of June 30, 2025. The Company’s subsidiary, First Internet Bank, opened for business in 1999 as an industry pioneer in the branchless delivery of banking services. First Internet Bank provides consumer and small business deposit, SBA financing, franchise finance, consumer loans, and specialty finance services nationally as well as commercial real estate loans, construction loans, commercial and industrial loans, and treasury management services on a regional basis. First Internet Bancorp’s common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “INBK” and is a component of the Russell 2000® Index. Additional information about the Company is available at www.firstinternetbancorp.com and additional information about First Internet Bank, including its products and services, is available at www.firstib.com.

About Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies
Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies (“BREDS”) is the largest alternative asset manager of real estate credit with $77 billion of investor capital under management. Serving institutional, insurance, and individual investors, BREDS originates loans and makes debt investments across global private and public real estate credit markets and across the capital structure and risk spectrum. BREDS also manages Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT), a publicly-traded commercial mortgage REIT, and is a fully integrated part of the Blackstone Real Estate platform, the largest owner of commercial real estate globally.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include statements concerning future events and expectations that are not historical facts. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, without limitation: (1) risks related to the consummation of the sale of loans, including the risks that (a) the sale of loans may not be consummated within the anticipated time period, or at all, (b) conditions to the consummation of the sale of loans may not be satisfied, (c) the purchasers’ rights to force the Company to retain or repurchase one or more loans under certain circumstances, and (d) the limitations on remedies contained in the agreement may limit or entirely prevent the Company from specifically enforcing obligations of the purchasers under the agreement or recovering damages for any breach by the purchasers; (2) the effects that any termination of the sale agreement may have on the Company or its business, including the risks that (a) the Company’s stock price may decline significantly if the sale is not completed or (b) any chilling effect on alternative transactions or future loan sales; (3) the effects that the announcement or pendency of the sale of loans may have on the Company or the Bank and its operations, including the risk that as a result the Bank’s business, operating results or the Company’s stock price may suffer; (4) the risk that the sale of loans may involve unexpected costs, liabilities or delays; (5) projected benefits and offsets resulting from the sale of loans and uses of proceeds may not reflect actual results or be realized at all; (6) other economic, business, competitive, legal, regulatory, and/or tax factors; and (7) other factors identified in reports we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements in this press release, including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events.

Contact information:

First Internet Bancorp
Investors/Analysts
Paula Deemer
Director of Corporate Administration
(317) 428-4628
investors@firstib.com

Media
PANBlast
Zach Weismiller
firstib@panblastpr.com

Blackstone
Claire Keyte
Claire.Keyte@Blackstone.com
(646) 482-8753

Categories: News

CoreWeave Launches Ventures Group to Invest in Future of AI

CoreWeave Ventures

LIVINGSTON, N.J. – September 9, 2025 – CoreWeave (Nasdaq: CRWV), the AI Hyperscaler™, today announced the launch of CoreWeave Ventures, a new initiative committed to backing founders and companies developing the platforms and technologies shaping the AI ecosystem and the next frontier of computing.

As AI adoption expands across industries, demand for purpose-built infrastructure, tools, and applications continues to grow. By providing investment resources, technical expertise, and compute, CoreWeave Ventures enables founders to bring new ideas to market faster.

“We started CoreWeave with the conviction that AI’s true promise required a cloud platform built from the ground up to optimize for AI specific workloads. It took audacity, humility, and the support of other believers who helped us create the cloud platform of choice for many of the largest AI labs and enterprises” said Brannin McBee, Co-founder and Chief Development Officer, CoreWeave. “Our aim with CoreWeave Ventures is to give other audacious, like-minded founders the support they need to drive technical advancements and bring to market the next class of innovation.”

CoreWeave Ventures supports founders in driving the development of their platforms by providing:

  • Variety of capital investment models to help companies scale.
  • Accelerated access to the CoreWeave  cloud platform purpose-built for AI.
  • Testing environments across production-grade performance clusters to fast track new real-world use cases in AI.
  • Insights on product and go-to-market strategies shaped by CoreWeave’s relationships with hundreds of enterprises and AI-first organizations.
  • Opportunities for deep technical alignment through technology partnerships and integrations.

“Working with CoreWeave has given us the freedom to think bigger and move faster,” said Naeem Talukdar, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Moonvalley. “They understand the challenges of scaling breakthrough technologies and have backed us with the kind of support that lets us focus on innovation. We’re grateful to have a partner that invests in both our company and the future we’re trying to create.”

CoreWeave Ventures supports founders with the resources to create impact from day one, ranging from direct capital investment and compute-for-equity transactions to technical collaboration and go-to-market opportunities. CoreWeave Ventures is already working with a diverse group of innovators, from foundational model developers building novel large language models to pioneers in vertical AI applications and infrastructure.

To learn more about CoreWeave Ventures, visit:  www.coreweave.com/ventures or email ventures@coreweave.com.

‍About CoreWeave

CoreWeave, the AI Hyperscaler™, delivers a cloud platform of cutting-edge software powering the next wave of AI. The company’s technology provides enterprises and leading AI labs with cloud solutions for accelerated computing. Since 2017, CoreWeave has operated a growing footprint of data centers across the US and Europe. CoreWeave was ranked as one of the TIME100 most influential companies and featured on Forbes Cloud 100 ranking in 2024. Learn more at www.coreweave.com.

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Blackstone Growth Announces Strategic Minority Investment in Property Finder

Blackstone

LONDON, UK – 9 September 2025 – Funds managed by Blackstone Growth (“Blackstone”) have made a significant minority investment in Property Finder, a leading property classifieds platform in the Middle East and North Africa (“MENA”).

The investment is part of a combined total investment of $525 million in the Company led by funds advised by Permira. The combined investment represents a meaningful minority stake and reaffirms Property Finder’s position as a market leader and technology innovator in MENA’s fast-growing property classifieds market.

Blackstone has strong conviction in the Gulf region’s long-term growth prospects, driven by strong economic fundamentals, rapid digital adoption, and a dynamic real estate market. The firm has a proven track record of backing category-leading digital platforms globally, including in the online classifieds sector, where it has partnered with leading businesses, including Adevinta ASA and Scout24 to accelerate growth, enhance technology, and expand market reach.

Read more on the transaction in Bloomberg.

Media Contact

Blackstone
Rebecca Flower
rebecca.flower@blackstone.com

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Blackstone Expands Access to Private Infrastructure Investing for Eligible Investors in Europe, APAC and the Middle East

Blackstone

London, UK – 10 September 2025 – Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced the launch of Private Markets Solutions SCA-SICAV – Blackstone Infrastructure Strategies ELTIF (“BXINFRA Lux”) to expand access to private infrastructure investing for eligible individual investors in Europe, and to eligible investors in certain other jurisdictions in APAC and the Middle East. The launch builds on Blackstone’s ongoing rollout of institutional-quality investment strategies for eligible individuals, which span private equity, private credit, private real estate and private infrastructure.

BXINFRA Lux will invest in the physical assets seen as critical to global economic growth, including digital infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and transportation. The strategy aims to leverage the scale and expertise of Blackstone’s leading infrastructure platform, which today has over $140 billion in assets across the firm as of June 30, 2025.

Rashmi Madan, Head of EMEA for Blackstone Private Wealth, said: “We are expanding access to Blackstone’s institutional-quality private infrastructure investments for eligible investors across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Infrastructure can offer income and appreciation potential through long-term investments that we see as highly complementary with investors’ current portfolios. BXINFRA Lux further broadens our suite of investment strategies for advisors and their clients, which also includes private equity, private credit, and real estate.”

Greg Blank, CEO of BXINFRA Lux, said: “BXINFRA Lux is a unique opportunity for eligible individual investors to access Blackstone’s infrastructure platform. Blackstone actively focuses on large-scale assets across sectors benefiting from long-term structural demand, including digital infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and transportation. This offering gives investors the opportunity to play a role in shaping the future of the infrastructure that supports economic growth and the modern economy.”

BXINFRA Lux will be available for eligible investors in the following jurisdictions: countries in the European Economic Area, Australia, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Israel, Jersey, Monaco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

BXINFRA Lux is authorized and supervised by the Luxembourg supervisory authority, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, under Regulation (EU) 2015/760 on European long-term investment funds, as amended, as a European long-term investment fund (ELTIF).  Shares in BXINFRA Lux may not be offered, sold, transferred or delivered directly or indirectly in the United States or to or for the account or benefit of any “U.S. Person” except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and any applicable state laws. As such, any “U.S. Person” may not receive and should not act or rely on this Press Release or any other materials related to BXINFRA Lux.

About Blackstone  
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. Blackstone seeks to deliver compelling returns for institutional and individual investors by strengthening the companies in which the firm invests. Blackstone’s $1.2 trillion in assets under management include global investment strategies focused on real estate, private equity, credit, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, secondaries and hedge funds. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

Blackstone Media Contact

Felix Lettau
+44 75870 20020
felix.lettau@blackstone.com

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State Street Investment Management and Blackstone Credit & Insurance to launch new European CLO ETF

Blackstone

LONDON & NEW YORK – 9 September 2025 – State Street Investment Management (“State Street IM”) and Blackstone Credit & Insurance (“Blackstone”) today announce the upcoming launch of an actively managed European Collateralised Loan Obligation (CLO) ETF, building on the existing liquid credit partnership between the two firms.

The European CLO market, currently valued at €250 billion, has grown at an average of 8% in the past 5 years and is forecast to result in €50 billion of issuance by year-end 2025. In anticipation of this investment opportunity, the new fund will invest in floating rate AAA rated tranches of Euro-denominated debt issued by CLOs, giving access to European senior secured corporate loans and bonds.

As sub-investment manager of the ETF, Blackstone will actively manage the securities, while, as the ETF sponsor and investment manager, State Street IM is responsible for the governance of the ETF and will also oversee distribution to institutional investors, including asset managers, asset owners, private banks and wealth managers.

The ETF will be the first credit collaboration between the two firms in Europe, building on their US credit partnership which includes two US ETFs sponsored by State Street IM and sub-advised by Blackstone that focus on the loan and high yield spaces. Having been an investor in active CLOs dating back to 2001, Blackstone has extensive experience with active CLO investment and issuance through cycles.

This new initiative brings two leaders in the asset management industry together to strive to deliver a new solution for investors. As a leading provider of ETFs for more than three decades, State Street IM has a long history of delivering innovative products to market including the first US ETF, launched in 1993. Blackstone is the largest global manager of CLOs and leveraged loans.[1] The firm set a record for global annual CLO issuance in 2024, beating its own previous record set in 2021, underlining the firm’s status as a leader in this field.

Ann Prendergast, Head of EMEA at State Street Investment Management, commented: “Building on more than a decade of partnership with Blackstone, we are excited at the opportunity to provide European investors diversified exposure to the CLO market. Both State Street IM and Blackstone have brought our deep expertise and global scale to bear in the development of this product. Through an active ETF structure, we will leverage this expertise with a shared goal of generating higher returns from liquid debt tranches, which have exhibited historically high yields and a low duration risk profile.”
 
Dan Leiter, Global Head of Liquid Credit Strategies and Head of International for Blackstone Credit & Insurance, adds: “We are excited to partner with State Street to broaden access to liquid credit in Europe. As the largest CLO manager globally, we see strong momentum in Europe, which is an area of conviction and growth for Blackstone and our credit business.”

Mark Alberici, Global Head of Product Innovation and Strategic Partnership at State Street Investment Management, comments:“With this launch, we are expanding our liquid credit partnership with Blackstone beyond the US and are excited to bring Blackstone’s historical expertise in CLOs to the European market via the UCITS ETF structure, as we continue to democratize investing by helping reduce barriers to entry into this historically hard-to-access area of the market.”
 
Michael Sobol, Global Head of CLO investing for Blackstone Credit & Insurance, adds: “The European credit market offers a robust and attractive set of investing opportunities. This initiative builds on our 25-year presence in the region and our leadership in the CLO market both in Europe and globally with our track record of performance and delivering for investors.”

Following regulatory approval, the ETF is expected to be available to institutional investors in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom via listings on Deutsche Börse Xetra, Borsa Italiana and the London Stock Exchange. More detailed information on the ETF will be available in due course.

[1] Creditflux and 9fin CLO manager AUM rankings as of Q2 2025.

About Blackstone Credit & Insurance
Blackstone Credit & Insurance (“BXCI”) is one of the world’s leading credit investors. Our investments span the credit markets, including private investment grade, asset-based lending, public investment grade and high yield, sustainable resources, infrastructure debt, collateralized loan obligations, direct lending and opportunistic credit. We seek to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for institutional and individual investors by offering companies capital needed to strengthen and grow their businesses. BXCI is also a leading provider of investment management services for insurers, helping those companies better deliver for policyholders through our world-class capabilities in investment grade private credit. 

About State Street Investment Management
At State Street Investment Management, we have been helping to deliver better outcomes to institutions, financial intermediaries, and investors for nearly half a century. Starting with our early innovations in indexing and ETFs, our rigorous approach continues to be driven by market-tested expertise and a relentless commitment to those we serve. With over $5 trillion in assets managed*, clients in over 60 countries, and a global network of strategic partners, we use our scale to create a comprehensive and cost-effective suite of investment solutions that help investors get wherever they want to go.

*This figure is presented as of June 30, 2025 and includes ETF AUM of $1,689.83 billion USD of which approximately $116.05 billion USD in gold assets with respect to SPDR products for which State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC (SSGA FD) acts solely as the marketing agent. SSGA FD and State Street Investment Management are affiliated. Please note all AUM is unaudited.

State Street Global Advisors is now State Street Investment Management. Please click here for more information.

Media Contacts:
Blackstone
Felix Lettau
+447587020020
felix.lettau@blackstone.com

State Street Investment Management
Joseph Cockerline
+447792968506
jcockerline@statestreet.com

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SurveyMonkey launches new AI Analysis Suite and design tools, unlocking clear insights and beautiful surveys without the complicated process

Stg Partners

SurveyMonkey today announced its latest SurveyMonkey AI innovations, including a new AI Analysis Suite and supercharged survey creation tools. The new features are designed to help users ask better questions, make smarter decisions, and move faster.

“SurveyMonkey has always been in the business of capturing real human sentiment and turning it into action,” said Meera Vaidyanathan, Chief Product Officer at SurveyMonkey. “AI now lets us do this faster and smarter—automating the legwork, surfacing insights that were previously hidden, and helping our customers act with greater confidence. With 25 years of history and more than 100 billion questions answered, we’re uniquely positioned to deliver trusted AI that makes feedback not just easier to gather, but far more powerful.”

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Why We Invested in Pathwork: Reimagining Life Insurance Distribution with AI

Costanoa

I couldn’t be more excited to announce that Costanoa is leading a $3.5M seed funding round for Pathwork. Life insurance is an enormous market and critical product for families across the world, and distribution (e.g. Sales) is ripe for transformation using AI and related technologies. The Life Insurance business still relies far too much on manual work and paper processes. There’s been some change, but not enough from the days when my grandfather and great grandfather were both NY Life men in the Midwest.

The point of automation in this business is to free up sellers to spend 1:1 time with their customers. Life Insurance is a considered and complex purchase, requiring personalized advice based on each buyer’s life situation. It also relies on the trust that comes from the Seller/Insured’s relationship, and the formation of this relationship can’t be rushed. Hence the need for time and space to be created, and AI represents a generational opportunity to streamline the mountain of tasks and processes necessary in selling and servicing Life Insurance products.

What stood out for us about Pathwork is the depth of thinking on what to build and how to bring it to market. That comes from the extensive experience of Pathwork’s founders, Ian Levinksy and Blake Butterworth. Ian spent years at EverQuote, effectively leading a line of business, and accumulating expertise in how the Life business agency really works and is shaped. Blake is a skilled technologist and product builder, having led teams from the earliest stages to scale. These two understand the automation problem they’re solving and their customer’s true needs, and have the drive and creativity to build a consequential company. As a result, they already have dozens of paying customers, revenue traction, and pilots with major carriers. And they’re just getting started.

This is exactly the kind of founder ambition and market moment we love at Costanoa. Starting with underwriting automation and commissions reconciliation, Pathwork is on its way to becoming the agentic workforce for the entire industry—replacing legacy incumbents, modernizing workflows, and ultimately owning distribution at scale. I’m so excited to be in their corner for the journey ahead.

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Mistral: AI for tomorrow’s enterprise

Index Ventures

Mistral cofounders: Timothée Lacroix, Arthur Mensch, Guillaume Lample

INDEX PERSPECTIVE

By Julia Andre

Strong relationships create their own serendipity. A few years ago, my colleague Jan Hammer and I were visiting the Paris HQ of Alan, the digital health insurance platform in which Index was an early investor. Alan’s CEO and co-founder, Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve, mentioned that he was incubating an open-source AI startup called Mistral a couple of floors below. After meeting his co-founder Arthur Mensch, we knew we had to be part of the journey.

Index invests in people as much as we invest in companies – which is why, after cutting that first seed check for Mistral, we’re thrilled to be continuing to support Arthur and the team in their latest funding round. At heart, Arthur is the kind of deeply technical engineer who could easily be building Mistral’s core models himself. Yet he’s shown himself to be talented at communicating Mistral’s bigger vision to customers, investors and policymakers. As a founder, it’s rare and incredibly powerful to be able to flip so fluidly between the close-up and the birds-eye view of your company.

That macro perspective is crucial as Mistral rides – and drives – a transformational wave in how businesses use AI. It’s no longer an experimental, ‘nice-to-have’ technology that employees are using ad-hoc; instead, we’re moving towards a world in which every major company will need to have a customized intelligence at its core. ASML’s decision to strategically partner with Mistral is a reflection of this. Mistral has shown impressive execution in building custom decentralized frontier AI solutions to solve the most complex engineering and industrial problems. More than simply selling cutting-edge models and LLMs, Mistral is en route to becoming the implementation partner of choice for enterprise – a one-stop shop for organizations putting AI to work at scale.

Mistral is the unquestioned AI leader being built out of Europe. Yet what excites us most is that it’s still early days. The enterprise AI market is just beginning to take shape, and Mistral’s success sets it up to be one of the big winners over the long term. We’re delighted to support them as they build the crucial AI infrastructure of tomorrow.

THE DETAILS

Mistral AI raises €1.7bn to accelerate technological progress with AI

Mistral announced a Series C funding round of €1.7bn at a €11.7bn post-money valuation. This investment fuels the company’s scientific research to keep pushing the frontier of AI to tackle the most critical and sophisticated technological challenges faced by strategic industries.

The Series C funding round is led by leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer, ASML Holding NV (ASML).

“ASML is proud to enter a strategic partnership with Mistral AI, and to be lead investor in this funding round. The collaboration between Mistral AI and ASML aims to generate clear benefits for ASML customers through innovative products and solutions enabled by AI, and will offer potential for joint research to address future opportunities.” said ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet.

For the last two years, Mistral has advanced AI through cutting-edge research and strategic partnerships with corporate and industrial champions. They will continue to develop custom decentralized frontier AI solutions that solve the most complex engineering and industrial problems. It powers enterprises, public sectors, and industries through state-of-the-art models, tailored solutions, and high-performance compute infrastructure.

“This investment brings together two technology leaders operating in the same value chain. We have the ambition to help ASML and its numerous partners solve current and future engineering challenges through AI, and ultimately to advance the full semiconductor and AI value chain”, said Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch.

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