Tag Archives: Information technology

Hyperautomation specialist Ciphix accelerates growth strategy with Mentha

Mentha

Mentha has entered into a partnership with Ciphix, a fast-growing hyperautomation specialist that automates and optimises processes for large and reputable companies such as Marel, ASR, Vattenfall and ANWB. The collaboration will boost its growth strategy, which should make Ciphix a leading European player in hyperautomation.

Since its founding in 2018, Ciphix’s mission has been to ‘take the robot out of the human’ by letting RPA (robotic process automation) software take over repetitive tasks carried out by employees. Since then, Ciphix has grown into a company with more than 60 employees and operates as a broad hyperautomation service provider active in RPA, (conversational) AI, process mining, low-code and iPaaS. Thanks to these various technologies, Ciphix also automates more complex repetitive processes, which ensures higher efficiency and a reduction of errors and costs. In addition, it enables customers to assign more important, valuable and challenging work to employees such as solving complex problems.

Ciphix as an appealing employer
Next to the innovative use of the various technologies, Ciphix stands out in successfully attracting and retaining talent. This is made possible by a positive and challenging corporate culture and provides a solid foundation for further organic growth. As an active shareholder, Mentha will also be looking at possible acquisitions in the home market and abroad, in order to accelerate the growth strategy. The investor has extensive experience in scaling technology companies internationally and will use this knowledge and expertise at Ciphix on both an operational and a strategic level.

Koen Mallee and Marijn van de Poel together form the management of Ciphix and are enthusiastic about the collaboration. Mallee: “We have a lot of confidence in this collaboration. Our journey has only just begun and this is the start of the next phase.” Van de Poel: “We are proud of our team, customers and partners and look forward to taking the next steps with Mentha on board.”

The joint aim of Ciphix and Mentha is to grow the company into a leading European hyperautomation specialist in the coming years. This is fuelled by the ambition to play a role in solving major labour market challenges such as the large shortage of qualified staff and high staff turnover due to low job satisfaction and a lack of challenging and meaningful work. Ciphix is convinced in its ability to further shape this ambition, partly due to the broad applicability of robotisation of certain labour processes in combination with continuous innovation from software suppliers.

Stijn Dietz, Investment Director at Mentha: “We are impressed by Ciphix and very excited to invest in the future of hyperautomation through this partnership. The management’s ambition and Ciphix’s innovative approach to intelligent automation, combined with our expertise in scaling this type of business is an excellent foundation to continue growing and increasingly delivering value to customers in the coming years.”

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About Ciphix
Ciphix is a Rotterdam-based Hyperautomation specialist. Ciphix believes that in a world with so much technological potential, there is no need for employees to carry out monotonous, boring and repetitive work. That is why the company is committed to helping organisations harness human potential through smart automation of business processes. With an integrated approach to Process Mining, RPA, Low-code, Integrations and Machine Learning, Ciphix offers its customers, including global brands and government organisations, unique and robust solutions to take the robot out of the human.

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New brand Cerios brings together Salves, Valori, De Agile Testers, and Quality Accelerators under one holding

Avedon

The new brand Cerios brings together leading companies Salves, Valori, De Agile Testers, and Quality Accelerators in a ‘House of Brands,’ and herewith acquires a leading position in the consolidating market of quality and software testing. Through this collaboration, the companies are creating more opportunities for their consultants and a broader proposition for their customers while maintaining their own identity and autonomy.

Leading position in consolidating market

The new brand Cerios brings together over 400 consultants with the shared goal of supporting clients in increasing the quality of their IT through a wide range of innovative (testing) services and automated testing solutions. By bringing together the four companies, accompanied by the recently acquired test management software tool Supportbook, Cerios is building an overarching brand with a leading position in a consolidating market. The collaboration is an important step in the growth ambitions of Salves, in which Avedon Capital Partners (‘Avedon’) invested mid last year.

Christ Coppens, CEO of Cerios and founder of Salves: “Within Cerios, the companies operate in a partnership, each retaining their own name, culture, and specializations. They work closely together and strengthen each other wherever possible. The focus on employees enables us to support clients in all aspects of quality and software testing. Always.”

Focus on consultants

In the current tight labor market, focus on consultants is crucial. Consultants make the company. Those who retain personnel for long periods can constantly provide quality to customers and are seen by (potential) employees as stable employers who take good care of their professionals. To safeguard the unique, personal culture of the companies, they will continue to operate independently. At the same time, consultants can benefit from more opportunities within the larger group.

“Providing sufficient career opportunities is important for retaining consultants in the long term,” Coppens says. “This, in combination with variation in the content of the work and the possibility for consultants to work in different sectors.”

According to Jaap Merkus, CEO of Valori, the proposition of Cerios is interesting for consultants: “The different profiles of the individual companies ensure that every professional can get the most out of their career.”

Broadening of proposition with specialized knowledge

Through the collaboration, Cerios can offer its clients a broader service portfolio with specialized knowledge. In addition, the cluster of 400 professionals will be able to guarantee the quality and continuity required for larger projects and tenders. Especially because the different companies are each fully focused on quality and software testing.

Marcel van Eekeren, Managing Director of Salves, is convinced that collaboration within the ‘House of Brands’ strengthens the group of companies: “Customers can benefit from even more certainty in terms of continuity.”

Furthermore, customers benefit from the diversity of the companies that work together within Cerios, Merkus: “Clients can choose the specialization and way of working of one of the four companies that are able to jointly offer a wide range of services.”

James Johnsen, founder and Managing Director of De Agile Testers and Quality Accelerators, adds: “Innovation runs through our veins. Therefore, we have set ourselves the goal of setting the market standard in the field of agile testing. The connection with like-minded companies within the ‘House of Brands’ offers each partner the opportunity to profile themselves even more as a specialist in the field of quality and software testing.”

Collaboration within ‘House of Brands’

Cerios is a cluster of powerful independent companies that will maintain their own authenticity and identity but can benefit from the larger group.

Michel Verhoog, Partner at Avedon: “Cerios operates in a fragmented and rapidly growing market driven by, amongst others, the increasing importance of software for mission-critical business processes. We see Cerios as a strong platform for further autonomous and acquisitive (international) growth where the independent companies can benefit from economies of scale. We are convinced that Cerios will have a distinctive position in the market for quality and software testing due to its unique setup.”

About Salves

Salves supports organizations in the field of quality. With audits, project management, coaching, and testing, Salves elevates the quality of IT. Salves maps risks, determines the strategy to improve quality, and provides customized training. Salves uses test automation where possible and where it contributes to business goals. Salves’ consultants often work in Agile and DevOps teams.

About Valori

Valori believes that building integral quality into information systems is crucial to enable seamless innovation. Valori’s QA- and test consultants help with the quality of IT systems in all phases of the software development lifecycle. We call this ‘Building IT Quality.’ Valori has been doing this for more than 30 years through technology solutions, advice, and expert services. The ultimate goal is to ensure that software can be developed faster with higher quality and afterwards maintains its quality.

About De Agile Testers

De Agile Testers is deeply rooted in agile principles, with innovation at its core. The company has set the goal of establishing the market standard for agile testing, not just in the Netherlands and Belgium, but across the globe. This led to the book FAST (Flexible Approach to Software Testing) and accompanying certified training modules which are used worldwide.

About Quality Accelerators

Agile transformations have yielded many benefits for organizations, but after a while the acceleration and improvement of software delivery reaches a standstill. This is the moment when customers approach Quality Accelerators. Quality Accelerators helps organizations to reignite the process of acceleration and improvement and even implement it sustainably in the existing organization.

About Avedon Capital Partners

Avedon Capital Partners is a private equity firm with offices in Amsterdam and Düsseldorf, which focuses on growing mid-market companies in the Benelux and DACH regions. Avedon supports ambitious entrepreneurs and management teams in accelerating organic growth, international expansion and/or buy-and-build strategies. Avedon focuses on companies in four sectors: i) business services, ii) software & technology, iii) smart industries and iv) consumer & health.

More information

Christ Coppens (CEO Cerios & founder Salves)

christ.coppens@cerios.nl
www.cerios.nl

Lotte Verhoeve (Investment Manager Avedon)

lotte.verhoeve@avedoncapital.com
+31 6 20 822 133

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INTERSTELLAR transfers DataExpert shares to Bridgepoint

Delft, 5 April 2023 – Quadrum Capital is pleased to announce that DataExpert, one of Interstellar’s labels, has been sold to Bridgepoint. DataExpert has attracted Bridgepoint as a new partner to accelerate its international growth and ambition. This divestment is in line with Interstellar’s renewed strategy. This is a win-win situation for both Quadrum Capital and Interstellar. Interstellar is an associate of Quadrum Capital Investment Funds.

IT services provider INTERSTELLAR is transferring its shares in DataExpert to UK-based Bridgepoint Development Capital IV (BDC IV), a fund focused on investing in mid-sized growth companies. As a leading provider of products and services to combat cybercrime, fraud and incident response, DataExpert was part of INTERSTELLAR’s collection.

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Interstellar

__Forensics, analysis and cyber security __

DataExpert, founded in 1990, helps clients reduce and solve cybercrime and fraud through a customised package of software, hardware, training, consultancy and support. The company employs over 60 people. In recent years, DataExpert has experienced strong growth in its three main divisions: forensics, analytics and cyber security. From its base in Benelux, DataExpert has also grown in Scandinavia through mergers and acquisitions. Through its unique positioning, DataExpert successfully responds to industry developments, including continuously evolving cyber threats, increased IT infrastructure complexity and an increasing need to investigate the origins of cyber events.

Infinigate

The partnership between DataExpert and Bridgepoint builds on Bridgepoint’s growing track record and expertise in cyber security, including its strategic investment in Infinigate, a leading distributor of enterprise cyber security solutions for SMEs in Europe.

Robbert Bakker, CEO of DataExpert, said, “In a world of rapidly evolving cyber threats and IT challenges, we continue to see strong demand for our cyber security solutions and services. DataExpert’s mission is to provide maximum support to our customers in fighting cybercrime and advancing cybersecurity, both nationally and internationally. Bridgepoint has extensive experience investing in and growing first-class companies in this sector, and we look forward to continuing our mission as we further develop our offering, expand our geographical presence and enter our next growth phase.”

Maarten van Montfoort, CEO of INTERSTELLAR, adds: “DataExpert has performed exceptionally well in recent years as we have worked closely together to realise growth ambitions and develop the offering. After a strategic review, we agreed that now is the right time for a new owner. We are very pleased that DataExpert continues its successful and international journey with Bridgepoint, a team with strong expertise and capabilities in supporting industry-leading companies. We wish them and the management team all the best for the future. Of course, INTERSTELLAR and DataExpert will continue their cooperation for Incident Response Services for joint customers.”

About DataExpert

DataExpert is a managed service provider of cyber security solutions focused on helping customers combat cybercrime and fraud. It specialises in providing and supporting complex post-incident forensic and analytical tools. DataExpert works closely with supranational agencies, large national public sector organisations including police forces and corporate clients to improve safety and security, supporting them with expertise, innovative software, training and services.

About INTERSTELLAR

The IT service providers Solimas, Exite ICT, DataByte, Datamex and CSN Group operate under the INTERSTELLAR umbrella. The other companies in the collection, namely Ask Roger!, Q-Conferencing, Fundaments, SCCTand Pinewood, are specialists in collaboration, cloud and security. Founded in January 2021, INTERSTELLAR’s collection has grown over the past year to 11 participations, more than 650 employees, 170 million in revenue and 15 offices. INTERSTELLAR’s companies collectively serve more than 11,000 customers. For more information, visit www.thisisinterstellar.com.

About Quadrum Capital

Independent investment company Quadrum Capital helps mid-market companies realise their growth ambitions in a structured and responsible manner. Entrepreneurship, strong commitment and the contribution of high-quality management experience, network and financial strength form the basis for this. Quadrum Capital has offices in Woerden and Almelo and is characterised by strong regional roots and a no-nonsense approach. Quadrum Capital is mainly funded by entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial families and has a clear (international) growth ambition. Interstellar is one of Quadrum Capital’s platform companies.

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1X Raises $23.5M in Series A2 Funding led by OpenAI

Alliance Venture

Humanoid robotics company 1X Technologies announces Series A2 fundraise led by OpenAI to pursue producing androids at commercial scale.

NORWAY, March 23rd, 2023. 1X, previously named Halodi Robotics, a manufacturer and inventor of androids, announced today the successful close of its Series A2 funding round, raising $23.5 million. This round was led by the OpenAI Startup Fund, with participation from Tiger Global and a consortium of Norway-based investors, including Sandwater, Alliance Ventures, and Skagerak Capital.

“1X is at the forefront of augmenting labor through the use of safe, advanced technologies in robotics,” said Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s COO and manager of the OpenAI Startup Fund. “The OpenAI Startup Fund believes in the approach and impact that 1X can have on the future of work.”

Tiger Global partner Griffin Schroeder also expressed enthusiasm for 1X’s mission: “We believe 1X’s androids are revolutionizing the field of robotics and are excited to be investing alongside OpenAI to support their continued growth.”

1X Technologies partnering with OpenAI to increase the efforts of building its upcoming bipedal android model NEO

The company intends to use the funds to increase the efforts of building its upcoming bipedal android model NEO, as well as scale manufacturing of its first commercially available android EVE in Norway and North America.

“1X is thrilled to have OpenAI lead this round because we’re aligned in our missions: thoughtfully integrating emerging technology into people’s daily lives. With the support of our investors, we will continue to make significant strides in the field of robotics and augment the global labor market,” says Bernt Øyvind Børnich, CEO and founder of 1X Technologies.

Børnich highlights the necessity of having androids deployed in the real world.

“Deploying our wheeled android EVE at an unprecedented commercial scale gives us a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities the robotics community has yet to address. If androids are going to work in our world, they need to experience our world.”

Torkel Engeness, Partner, Sandwater

Torkel Engeness, partner at Sandwater, sees tremendous value in 1X’s vision and next-generation model.

“We are excited to support 1X as they launch their bipedal android NEO, while scaling their first-generation android EVE in Norway and North America. 1X is providing value now, and the potential for their androids looks limitless.”

Arne Tonning, Partner, Alliance Venture
“Demographic changes will cause a labor shortage, and androids could help fill the gap. Goldman Sachs predicts a 150 BUSD market potential in 2035. Solving the right use cases is key to success, and we believe 1X Technologies is constructing a winning alliance.”

Espen Kjellsen, Partner, Skagerak Capital

“1X now deploys Androids in North America before entering the global market while maintaining a “safety first” mindset, making product design and development even more challenging. It is exciting for Skagerak to support 1X with their disruptive technology now that they enter this ambitious commercialization phase.”

About 1X

1X is an engineering and robotics company producing androids capable of human-like movements and behaviors. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Norway, with over 60 employees globally. 1X’s mission is to create robots with practical, real-world applications to augment labor globally.

For more information about 1X, visit www.1x.tech.

PR Contact
Hege Nikolaisen
hege@1x.tech

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Two is bringing a consumer-like experience to B2B payments

Alliance Venture

When individuals make purchases online, they place items in the digital shopping cart and use a credit or debit card to complete the transaction instantly. Businesses operate differently, typically looking to pay later at some agreed upon time frame between one week and 90 days. Most of these types of net transactions continue to be handled manually via paper invoices.

Two, an Oslo, Norway startup, wants to change that by bringing the world of net payments online and helping speed up transactions by making them digital. Today, the company announced an €18 million investment (approximately $19 million).

Two co-founder Andreas Mjelde says his company is taking a process that is largely paper-driven and offline and essentially transforming it into a purchase process that’s faster than a consumer using a card to make a purchase online.

“Effectively if you input our solution, you can now offer your business buyers or customers the ability to check out and complete a purchase in about 30 seconds. And in that 30 seconds, you onboard them as an official customer yourself through Two. We underwrite and take care of both the credit and fraud risk, verify that the user is actually who they say they are and allow the buyer to complete the transaction [instantly],” Mjelde told TechCrunch.

Small business owners can buy a no-code solution, while larger ones can use an API-driven approach that links to their other systems. “Small businesses can get started with no code. There’s an out-of-the-box solution to start creating their orders and accepting payments through our system. Medium and large-sized businesses typically will integrate with our API. Our API is built to serve the merchant or seller’s normal order flow,” he said.

Mjelde recognized the need for such a product when he previously ran an e-commerce business, and ran into issues getting paid by businesses, which typically had larger transactions than individuals, but the net terms process was hard to navigate and required a ton of paperwork. That friction and complexity often resulted in lost sales.

He started Two in 2020 to build a solution to make it easier for online businesses to deal with these types of payments. He launched the product in the second quarter of 2021, and reports growing 243% quarterly since. Today, the company has 70 employees. Mjelde says that being a remote company with employees across the world has helped him to build diversity into his employee base.

Today’s €18 million round was led by Shine Capital and Antler, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Day One Ventures, Alumni Ventures, LocalGlobe, The Visionaries Club, Alliance VC and other unnamed investors. The latest investment brings the total raised by the company to €28 million (approximately $30 million).

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Beyond Ventures’ Portfolio Company Mapxus Raised US$5M in its Series B’s 1st closing Led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries

Beyond Ventures

ommitted to innovating and developing technology solutions for the future of indoor mapping and location-based services

(HONG KONG – March 8, 2023) – Hong Kong-based venture capital firm Beyond Ventures is pleased to announce that its portfolio company Mapxus, the leading indoor Geographic Information System (GIS) platform that provides global indoor mapping and navigation services, has successfully completed the 1st closing of its Series B funding round, raising over US$5 million despite the economic doldrums. The funding round was led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a leading Japanese corporation with a diverse business portfolio spanning various industries centered around technology.

Starting in August 2021, Mapxus collaborated exclusively with Kawasaki Heavy Industries to provide indoor technology such as digital maps, Wi-Fi fingerprint positioning and SDK for indoor map data infrastructure service in Japan, which is named iPNT-K. According to market research and consulting company Seed Planning, Japan’s indoor location-based services market size is expected to grow to JPY 1,170 billion by 2035. With the iPNT-K solution, businesses can apply indoor navigation in commercial facilities such as shopping centres, train stations, and airports to perform location-based marketing, traffic analysis, barrier-free navigation, manage and track operations, facilitate the management, and improve the work efficiency of employees in offices and warehouses.

With the new investment, Mapxus is well-positioned to continue to innovate and develop technology solutions for the future of indoor mapping and location-based services. The potential applications of Mapxus’s technology are wide-ranging, with opportunities for both government and factory use.

Lap Man, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Beyond Ventures said: “We are so proud to be the first equity investor to support Mapxus since its early stages in 2019, and have witnessed its growth journey despite the social movement in Hong Kong in 2019-2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic over 3 years, driven by the management team’s unwavering passion to offer the best-in-class indoor mapping and location-based services. We are also amazed at the courage and execution capability of John and Ocean when we proposed them entering the Japanese market in 2019 with the support of our mentor, which helped them overcome significant challenges in Hong Kong. Since then, they have successfully gained a strong foothold in Japan and expanded to other Asian markets such as Singapore and Taiwan. We strongly believe that the support of the global conglomerate Kawasaki will undoubtedly propel Mapxus to the next level.”

“We are grateful to have had the investment and advice of Hong Kong-based venture capital firm Beyond Ventures, supporting Mapxus’ growth journey since 2019. At Mapxus, we are dedicated to making indoor mapping more accessible and user-friendly and creating a truly inclusive city experience. Our innovative indoor map data infrastructure is designed to empower businesses and individuals, enabling them to improve work efficiency and enhance daily experiences. With the support of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, we are excited to continue innovating and developing technology solutions that will shape the future of indoor mapping and location-based services.” said Ocean Ng, Founder and Chief Operation Officer of Mapxus.

“We are thrilled to have Kawasaki Heavy Industries lead this round of investment in Mapxus,” said Dr John Chan, Founder and CEO of Mapxus. “With this new funding, we will accelerate our indoor map data infrastructure development in Japan (iPNT-K) with Kawasaki and expand our service coverage in Southeast Asia. We aim to enable businesses to revolutionise their interactions with physical spaces and deliver a comfortable, intuitive, and seamless indoor-outdoor experience for everyone.”

Furthermore, Mapxus has recently joined hands with NOIZChain to co-create Honio, the world’s first indoor location-based Game-Fi metaverse. Honio aims to connect the virtual and physical worlds through a mobile app that rewards users for spending time in physical stores. It is expected to launch in Japan by 2023 and in other Southeast Asian markets by 2024.

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Wireless Logic continues global expansion with acquisition of Blue Wireless

Montagu

Wireless Logic strengthens geographical reach across Asia Pacific and the United States, and bolsters global service offering through a managed service provider for wireless network solutions.

Wireless Logic, the leading global IoT connectivity platform provider has acquired Singapore-headquartered Blue Wireless, a global service provider for managed wireless solutions. This agreement follows the company’s 2022 acquisitions of IoThink Solutions, Mobius Networks and Jola, continuing Wireless Logic’s strategy of strengthening its global footprint, service offering and routes to market.

Blue Wireless was founded in late 2015 in Singapore with the single focus of delivering Wireless WAN Solutions to the enterprise. Since then, it has rapidly expanded in coverage and capabilities, becoming the first provider of Fixed Wireless Access services on a global scale. Its team of 70 professionals operates across six offices in Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States, offering 24/7 managed network connectivity for businesses across all industries – including energy, retail, logistics and the maritime sector.

With the acquisition, Wireless Logic not only strengthens its presence in Asia Pacific and the United States, but also enhances its product and service offering around fixed wireless access. Blue Wireless offers fixed-price LTE/5G connectivity in over 80 countries, underpinned by speed guarantees and service SLAs, making it an ideal underlay alternative for global SD-WAN deployments.

Ivan Landen, CEO of Blue Wireless, said: “This is a major milestone, and we are truly excited for the journey ahead. With the support of Wireless Logic, we will be able to accelerate our innovation and connectivity roadmap to benefit our customers and teams around the world, supporting new use cases while maintaining our hands-on service culture.”

With the support of Wireless Logic, we will be able to accelerate our innovation and connectivity roadmap to benefit our customers and teams around the world, supporting new use cases while maintaining our hands-on service culture.

Ivan Landen, CEO, Blue Wireless

Joop Gerlach, COO of Blue Wireless, said: “We will continue to deliver wireless network solutions to our global enterprise customers, only now it will be backed by Wireless Logic’s strong position in core Mobile IoT networking.”

We will continue to deliver wireless network solutions to our global enterprise customers, only now it will be backed by Wireless Logic’s strong position in core Mobile IoT networking.

Joop Gerlach, COO, Blue Wireless

Oliver Tucker, CEO of Wireless Logic commented: “We are hugely excited to announce our ninth acquisition in two years, as we continue to strengthen our global footprint and routes to market through the global service provider channel. We welcome the talented Blue Wireless team and look forward to setting new standards in the connectivity marketplace.”

We welcome the talented Blue Wireless team and look forward to setting new standards in the connectivity marketplace.

Oliver Tucker, CEO, Wireless Logic

 

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EQT Value-Add Infrastructure to acquire SK Shieldus, a leading South Korean integrated security operator

eqt
  • SK Shieldus provides central monitoring and dispatch services to 680,000 commercial customers, and market leading cyber security consulting and monitoring services
  • SK Shieldus, which marks EQT Value-Add Infrastructure’s first investment in South Korea, leverages digital and connected infrastructure to deliver services that make Korean society safer from both physical and cyber threats
  • SK Shieldus will be able to leverage EQT’s sector experience within physical and cyber security, and strong digitalization capabilities to enable more tailored and digitized security service offerings for its customers

EQT is pleased to announce that EQT Infrastructure VI (“EQT Value-Add Infrastructure”) has agreed to acquire SK Shieldus Co Ltd (“SK Shieldus” or the “Company”) from SK Square, an affiliate of South Korea’s second largest conglomerate SK Group, and Macquarie Asset Management’s Infrastructure business (“Macquarie”). Following the closing of the transaction, EQT Value-Add Infrastructure will own 68 percent in SK Shieldus, while its current shareholder, SK Square will remain as a minority shareholder with 32 percent.

Headquartered in Pangyo, South Korea, SK Shieldus is a scaled integrated physical security operator providing digital security infrastructure across 680,000 commercial customer sites and more than 100 central monitoring and dispatch centers across South Korea. The Company also provides a “closed loop offering”, covering both physical and cyber protection to strategic customer locations.

SK Shieldus is supported by strong secular tailwinds in South Korea, such as an aging population, increased digitization of traditional on-location guard services, and an increased focus on cyber security. The Company acts as a de facto extension of Korean public police and security services and is an embedded part of the country’s security network. The country’s security market is protected by high barriers of entry and stringent regulation requirements which require operators to have a dense network of dispatch and monitoring capabilities to deliver high-quality service to customers.

SK Shieldus is expected to leverage EQT’s strong sector expertise within physical and cyber security, and strong digitalization capabilities to enable more tailored and digitized security service offerings for each customer segment, with the ambition to make South Korea more safe in both physical and digital domains. Moreover, EQT Value-Add Infrastructure plans to decarbonize the Company’s vehicle fleet in favor of increased electrification and phasing out of fossil fuel. The Company will be supported by a new Board of Directors, with a combination of EQT’s Industrial Advisors, with backgrounds in leading security companies in Europe and North America, as well as prominent Korean business leaders.

Sang Jun Suh, Managing Director and Head of South Korea for EQT’s Infrastructure Advisory Team, said, “SK Shieldus marks EQT Value-Add Infrastructure’s first investment in Korea and comes just weeks after EQT opened a new office here in Seoul. The company is a clear leader in both the Korean physical and cyber security markets and EQT Value-Add Infrastructure is excited about partnering with SK Square to support SK Shieldus as it continues to roll out new digitized security solutions and invest in the decarbonization of its vehicle fleet.”

Park Jung-ho, Vice Chairman of SK Square, said, “Our joint management deal will provide us an opportunity to upgrade the global competitiveness of the Korean security industry. With the support from EQT, SK Square will further enhance the shareholder value, based on its first full-cycle investment performance since the launch of the company.”

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals, including approval under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act. It is expected to close in Q3 2023.

EQT Value-Add Infrastructure was advised by Standard Chartered (financial), Kim & Chang (legal), PwC (financial, tax and technology) and BCG (commercial).

With this transaction, EQT Infrastructure VI is expected to be 5-10 percent invested (including closed and/or signed investments, announced public offers, if applicable, and less any expected syndication) and subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Contact
APAC media inquiries: daniel.ketema@eqtpartners.com, +65 9628 7576, mavis.ma@eqtpartners.com, +852 9280 9663
International media inquiries: EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 113 billion in 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, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram

About SK Shieldus
SK Shieldus is a corporation merged between ADT Caps, the physical security company launched as Korea Security Service in 1971, and SK Infosec, the cyber security company launched in 2000. The combined company delivers a leading package of security services to Korean customers across Physical Security, Cyber Security and Converged Security.

More info: www.skshieldus.co

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amasol eyes further growth with FIELDS Group

Fields Group

Munich, 01st March 2023 – FIELDS Group is pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority interest in the amasol Group (“amasol”), as per 28th February 2023. amasol is a leading IT Managed Service Provider in the DACH region specializing in Observability and Service Level Management of mission-critical IT infrastructure. The aim of the partnership is to further accelerate the already initiated internationalization and to grow amasol into a leading provider in Europe.

“We are delighted to have found a partner in FIELDS Group that shares our vision of modern IT management,” says Frank Jahn, Managing Director (CSO) at amasol. “With FIELDS, we now want to take what we have achieved so far to a new level by e.g. further internationalizing our business in order to serve our existing and new customers even better.”

“Together with FIELDS, we have prioritized three goals,” said Stefan Deml, Managing Director (CTO) of amasol. “First, we will continue to expand customized services together with our proven software partners. Observability as a managed service – both on premise and in the cloud. In addition, we will accelerate the successful marketing of “Service Level Management, made by amasol” – our proprietary development. Thirdly, we want to meet the internationalization of our customers even better in the future in organizational terms,” explains Stefan Deml.

“From the beginning of the discussions, we were intrigued by amasol’s achievements to date and reputation,” says Rutger Alberink, Partner at FIELDS. “We look forward to supporting the staff and management team in growing amasol into the leading Managed Service Provider for Observability in Europe.”

André Reitz, Investment Manager at FIELDS, adds: “We are particularly looking forward to realizing even greater added value for customers together with the existing management in the future while at the same time creating an attractive environment and growth opportunities for new talents.”

About amasol

amasol GmbH with offices in Munich, Vienna & Delhi was founded in 1999 and is specialized in Observability, Application Performance Monitoring, Artificial Intelligent Operations (AIOps) und Service Level Agreement (SLA) Management. The company has 80 employees and services middle & large companies in amongst others the automotive, finance, insurance, healthcare and telecom industries – half of the DAX companies and well-known IT service providers are among their customers. The company has built up strategic partnerships with companies like Broadcom, Dynatrace, LogicMonitor, Riverbed and Splunk.

www.amasol.de

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

Contact for press:

Rutger Alberink, FIELDS Group: +31 6 11490914, r.alberink@fields.nl

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PhonePe raises growth funds at a $12 billion valuation, led by General Atlantic

  • Funding is expected to enable next wave of growth for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and build digital financial services for Indians at scale
  • Announcement follows PhonePe’s recent separation from Flipkart and change of domicile to India

Bengaluru, India and New York, NY – January 19, 2023 – PhonePe, one of India’s largest fintech platforms, today announced it has raised $350 million in funding from General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. Marquee Global and Indian investors are also participating in the round. The investment marks the first tranche of an up to $1 billion total fundraise that commenced in January 2023. The fundraise follows PhonePe’s recently announced change of domicile to India and full separation from Flipkart.

PhonePe plans to deploy the new funds to make significant investments in infrastructure, including the development of data centers and help build financial services offerings at scale in the country. The company also plans to invest in new businesses, including Insurance, Wealth Management, and Lending. The fundraise is expected to support PhonePe as it seeks to turbo-charge the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India, including UPI lite and Credit on UPI to enable greater financial inclusion for Indians.

Founded in December 2015, PhonePe has become a home-grown success story, with the company’s significant expansion powered by India’s emerging digital ecosystem. By building products and offerings tailored for the Indian market, PhonePe today has over 400 million registered users, meaning that more than one in four Indians are on PhonePe. The company has also successfully digitized over 35 million offline merchants spread across Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities and beyond, covering 99% of pin codes in the country.

“I would like to thank General Atlantic and all our existing and new investors for the trust they have placed in us. PhonePe is proud to help lead India’s country-wide digitization efforts and believes that this powerful public-private collaboration has made the Indian digital ecosystem a global exemplar. We are an Indian company, built by Indians, and our latest fundraise will help us further accelerate the Government of India’s vision of digital financial inclusion for all,” said Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO at PhonePe. “We look forward to delivering the next phase of our growth by investing in new business verticals like Insurance, Wealth Management and Lending, while also facilitating the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India.’’

“Sameer, Rahul and the PhonePe management team have pursued a clear mission to drive payments digitalization and significantly broaden access to financial tools for the people of India. They remain focused on driving adoption of inclusive products developed on the open API based ‘India stack.’ This vision is aligned with General Atlantic’s longstanding commitment to backing high-growth businesses focused on inclusion and empowerment,” said Shantanu Rastogi, Managing Director and Head of India at General Atlantic. “We are excited to partner with the PhonePe team to help enable the next generation of digital innovation in India.”

PhonePe also recently announced a full separation from the Flipkart Group. After a partial separation from Flipkart in December 2020, a number of Flipkart shareholders, led by Walmart, acquired shares in the recent separation. This move will allow both companies to chart their own growth paths, build their businesses independently, and help unlock and maximize enterprise value for shareholders of the two companies.

About PhonePe

PhonePe was founded in December 2015, and has emerged as India’s largest payments app, enabling digital inclusion for consumers and merchants alike. With 43.5 crore (435+ Million) registered users, one in four Indians are now on PhonePe. The company has also successfully digitized ~3.5 crore (~35 Million) offline merchants spread across Tier 2,3,4 and beyond, covering 99% pin codes in the country. PhonePe is also the leader in Bharat Bill Pay System (BBPS), processing over 45% of the transactions on the BBPS platform. PhonePe forayed into financial services in 2017, providing users with safe and convenient investing options on its platform. Since then, the company has introduced several Mutual Funds and Insurance products that offer every Indian an equal opportunity to unlock the flow of money and access to services. PhonePe was recently recognized as the Most Trusted Brand for Digital Payments as per the Brand Trust Report 2022 by Trust Research Advisory (TRA).

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 445 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic currently has over $73 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of September 30, 2022, and more than 215 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Stamford and Tel Aviv. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

 

Media Contacts

Priya Patankar
PhonePe +91 9886675772 priya.patankar@phonepe.com

Emily Japlon & Gurion Kastenberg
General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com

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