Tag Archives: Venture Capital

Reltio Unveils AgentFlow, A Set of Agents for Data Governance and Business Operations

.406 Venture

Reltio AgentFlow, built on Reltio Data Cloud, delivers autonomous agents purpose-built for critical jobs using unified, trusted enterprise data.

 

Redwood Shores, CA — August 5, 2025 — Reltio®, the leader in real-time data intelligence, today announced the launch of Reltio AgentFlow™, an innovative agentic AI platform delivering purpose-built, context-aware, autonomous agents for enterprises.

Enterprises face a growing challenge: operationalizing data governance and business workflows at scale in an environment filled with siloed systems and inconsistent data. Teams waste time on manual processes, governance backlogs pile up, and AI initiatives stall or introduce new risks due to poor data quality and lack of oversight. DIY agents and generic copilots often fall short — too shallow to deliver business outcomes, too complex to maintain, and too disconnected from the trusted data needed to take confident, autonomous action.

Built on the proven foundation of Reltio Data Cloud™, Reltio AgentFlow, delivers both the scale enterprises need to support global operations and the data precision required to automate complex, high-stakes workflows. Reltio AgentFlow Agents inherit enterprise-grade security, real-time governance policies, and rich, contextual data from Reltio’s platform, ensuring actions are accurate, auditable, and aligned with business intent. As the agentic data fabric for the enterprise, Reltio Data Cloud powers real-time data intelligence for AI transformation with trusted data across all domains.

“Enterprises urgently need agentic AI applications that go beyond experimentation. They need agents that reduce manual work and speed decision-making,” said Manish Sood, CEO and Founder of Reltio. “Generic solutions can’t deliver real outcomes without the context of enterprise knowledge. With Reltio AgentFlow, enterprises get purpose-built agents powered by Reltio Agentflow and informed by the Reltio Data Cloud, the system of context for AI, enabling automation at scale with trusted, real-time data. The result is rapid, measurable ROI for AI initiatives,  from accelerating time-to-launch and lowering operational costs to reducing regulatory risk exposure.”

Reltio AgentFlow Agents are built to make agentic AI usable and valuable across the enterprise. They offer secure, personalized, role-based experiences that adapt to the needs of different users, from data stewards to business analysts. With proactive recommendations, support for a range of large language models (LLMs), and conversational interfaces, AgentFlow brings intelligent automation to more teams—wherever and however they work.

Reltio AgentFlow Agents are designed based on Reltio’s extensive expertise in data unification and governance with the Intelligent Data Graph (knowledge context), directly mapping to pressing enterprise data tasks such as resolving matches, enriching attribution details, identifying and fixing data quality anomalies, and validating data for compliance, among others. Unlike generic AI copilots and agents, Reltio AgentFlow Agents drive immediate business outcomes with an intuitive conversational user interface, orchestration of sub-agents, long- and short-term memory, seamless tool and model integrations, all out-of-the-box.

Reltio customers, including Radisson Hotel Group and Eaton Corporation, are taking advantage of early access to AgentFlow, developing agents that will work on complex data-related tasks, such as match resolution, complex hierarchy management, data governance, and enhancing data quality.

Leading global partners Cognizant, ZS, and TCS are already supporting clients in adopting Reltio AgentFlow, leveraging it to create business operations agents that empower such clients in their businesses:

“Enterprises are navigating an increasingly complex digital landscape and require both specialized capabilities and trusted, unified data. Agentic AI platforms can be a powerful compass. Reltio’s AgentFlow platform is adept at understanding the business context and delivering secure, governed automation across data-intensive workflows. It not only automates tasks, but also adapts, unlocking new levels of efficiency, personalization, and innovation across industries,” said Satish Byravan, Global Head, Data and Analytics Practice, TCS.

“Our customers need actionable AI solutions, not just suggestions. Reltio AgentFlow provides context-driven autonomous agents that integrate seamlessly into existing business workflows, accelerating time-to-value,” said Mike Powers, principal and global master data management (MDM) practice lead at ZS, a global management consulting and technology firm.

“Reltio AgentFlow is a compelling offering for enterprises that need to scale data governance and business workflows securely,” said Diptesh Singh, at Cognizant. “The prebuilt agents enable clients to rapidly achieve compliance, productivity, and innovation outcomes while also minimizing the complexities associated with generalized AI solutions.”

Additionally, Reltio’s AgentFlow MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server allows enterprises to securely integrate Reltio AgentFlow Agents, their own custom-built agents, or third-party agents with the trusted, governed data from Reltio’s Intelligent Data Graph, ensuring consistent, context-aware actions at scale for business and data team workflows.

Reltio AgentFlow MCP Server is generally available to customers now, and Reltio AgentFlow Agents are available to select customers through Reltio’s Early Access program. General availability of Reltio AgentFlow Agents is coming soon in Fall 2025.

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At Reltio, we believe data should fuel your success in the enterprise AI era. Reltio Data Cloud is the agentic data fabric for the enterprise, powering real-time data intelligence and AI transformation. Reltio’s cloud-native SaaS platform delivers unified, trusted, and context-rich data across domains in real-time. With Reltio, organizations gain 360-degree views of customers, products, suppliers, and more—mobilized in milliseconds to any application, user, or AI agent. Trusted by the world’s largest enterprises across life sciences, financial services, healthcare, technology, and more, Reltio helps organizations fuel frictionless operations, drive innovation, and reduce risk.

“Reltio” is a registered trademark, and Reltio Data Cloud, Reltio AgentFlow and Reltio Customer 360 are trademarks of Reltio, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Contacts

Melissa Muskett
Allison Worldwide for Reltio
Reltio@allisonworldwide.com

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Promethium Introduces First Agentic Platform Purpose-Built to Deliver Self-Service Data at AI Scale

.406 Venture

New data answer agent Mantra enables data teams to talk to enterprise data

Promethium

Menlo Park, CA & Cambridge, MA, July 15, 2025 – Promethium today announced the latest version of its Instant Data Fabric™, the industry’s first agentic platform purpose-built to deliver self-service data at AI scale. As a part of this announcement, the company also unveiled Mantra™, its new Data Answer Agent which enables data teams to perform analytics with natural language on distributed enterprise data and receive instant, trusted responses and insights. Mantra is currently available in private preview. To learn more or join the waitlist, visit https://promethium.ai/mantra.

As data becomes more fragmented across cloud, on-premises, and SaaS platforms, organizations face growing pressure to deliver timely, AI-powered insights. Business and data teams — and increasingly, AI agents — need immediate answers to ad hoc questions. Yet most enterprises are held back by traditional data architectures that rely on complex ETL pipelines, data movement, and manual intervention from data engineers. These methods introduce delays, increase risk, and fail to scale with the speed of AI.

“As the complexity of enterprise data landscapes grows, data teams face mounting pressure to deliver timely, trustworthy insights,“ said Sanjeev Mohan, Principal at SanjMo and former Gartner Research VP, Data & Analytics. “A new architecture that enables open, agentic access to distributed data without adding friction is emerging. By emphasizing automation, context, and self-service, Promethium’s approach empowers data teams to shift from reactive support to strategic impact. It’s a foundational change in how data is delivered and consumed in the age of AI.”

Promethium’s latest version of its Instant Data Fabric addresses these challenges with a fundamentally different approach: an agentic platform that connects to data where it resides and delivers self-service access without data duplication or the need for new pipelines. Additionally, Promethium’s open architecture allows enterprises to deliver access and consumption across multiple data platforms, catalogs, and tools without being locked into a specific platform stack.

“AI is transforming how decisions get made, but most data architectures weren’t built to keep up,” said Prat Moghe, CEO of Promethium. “With the latest version of our Instant Data Fabric and the launch of the Data Answer Agent Mantra, we’re giving data teams a new superpower: the ability to deliver trusted, contextual answers on demand. It’s the fastest, most open way to scale self-service data for the age of AI.”

Promethium’s platform capabilities include:

  • Fast, unified data access across enterprise data sources. Promethium provides real-time, zero-copy access to data across cloud, on-premises, and SaaS platforms. Fine-grained, enterprise-grade access controls ensure speed, security, and compliance.
  • Accurate answers through deep context. There is often a disconnect between business questions and the underlying data. Promethium’s 360° Context Engine bridges this gap by aggregating technical and business metadata to generate relevant, contextual answers.
  • Self-Service collaboration with Data Answers. Mantra, Promethium’s agent, enables data teams to build, and share contextual data products called Data Answers. Data Answers can be materialized, published or integrated into existing enterprise platforms, tools, API’s, or agents, without any changes to existing workflow.

Promethium was recognized by Gartner as a Cool Vendor in Data Management: GenAI Disrupts Traditional Technologies, validating its leadership in enabling agentic data architectures and AI-powered insights across the enterprise.

About Promethium

Promethium enables self-service data at AI scale with its Instant Data Fabric, the first agentic platform that allows enterprises to talk to all their distributed data. Promethium empowers data teams to build and share trusted, contextual data answers for immediate insight. Promethium is a Gartner Cool Vendor and is backed by world-class investors and advisors. Learn more at promethium.ai or follow us on LinkedIn.

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Media Contacts:

Chris McCoin or Richard Smith
McCoin & Smith Communications Inc.
chris@mccoinsmith.com or rick@mccoinsmith.com

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Our Investment in Cursor – accel

Accel

We’re pleased to announce our investment in Cursor, the company shaping the future of software engineering. What Michael, Aman, Arvid, and Sualeh have accomplished in just a few short years is without precedent, and it’s clear they’re only getting started.

As software has accelerated every company and industry over the past several decades, tools supporting engineering teams have flourished – yet astonishingly, the process of writing code itself has hardly changed. Cursor shrinks the gap between human intent and action.  We believe it will become the collaborative interface between humans and computers, where every keystroke, action or inaction is an exchange of information that helps to accelerate cycles and achieve better outcomes. With relentless execution and distinctive product taste, the Cursor team is making software engineering a seamless extension of the human brain.

With over $1.5 billion invested in AI-native companies, we have observed the compounding leadership effect of winners in certain categories. In coding, developer choice —> wider distribution & deeper engagement —> higher fidelity keystroke data —> compounding product differentiation. With market leadership comes disproportionate access to talent, capital, GPU capacity, and marketplace influence.

The future is uncertain, but it will likely involve various configurations of humans and agents writing code together.  Today, Cursor changes the paradigm for building software; tomorrow, we believe it will be the operating system for human-machine collaboration across all developers.  We’re delighted to back Michael and this incredibly talented team for the ambitious journey ahead.

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Congratulations, Circle! – Accel

Accel

Today marks an exciting milestone for Jeremy Allaire and the Circle team as they go public. For those of us who have watched this journey up close, this is a milestone years in the making—and a testament to Jeremy and the Circle team’s persistence.

This isn’t Jeremy’s first time on the podium. He last rang the bell when he took Accel portfolio company Brightcove public in 2012. With Circle, he took on his next challenge: launching a company with the ambitious goal of building a new digital financial system in an industry characterized by complexity, intense public scrutiny, and regulatory uncertainty. It turns out that Jeremy and his team were more than up to the task.

Circle was founded in 2013 with a broad vision to facilitate the next stage of internet-driven globalization and commerce. Today, USDC—Circle’s stablecoin—has become one of the most widely used digital currencies in the world, with more than $25 trillion in on-chain transactions as of late March.

What stands out about the Circle team is their willingness to take the long view, even when it means doing things the hard way—in particular, through their commitment to a regulatory-first posture and their reputation for integrity and transparency.

Congratulations to Jeremy and everyone at Circle!

–The Accel Team

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ABB invests in strategic partnership with US start-up Molg to transform drive design and accelerate its contribution to the circular economy

ABB Ventures
  • Investment by ABB Drive Products to develop next generation products for circularity and resource-efficient future
  • Companies will develop design architecture for drive manufacturing by optimizing testing and assembly processes in Molg’s robotic Microfactories
  • Collaboration started in 2024, with ABB Robotics participation in Molg’s seed round of funding  

ABB Motion’s Drive Products division has invested, through ABB Motion Ventures, in Virginia-based circular manufacturing company Molg to optimize manufacturing design and reusability of ABB drives. The collaboration will leverage Molg’s design expertise and US-based robotic Microfactories to streamline the assembly and testing processes within ABB’s manufacturing operations, while simultaneously increasing drives’ circularity and resource efficiency.

ABB and Molg’s relationship began in 2023 when the company was recognized as a winner of the ABB Accelerating Circularity Startup Challenge. ABB Drive Products and Molg have subsequently delivered a successful proof of concept in drives assembly in robotics-based Molg Microfactories and this fresh investment will enable the next phase of their partnership.

A central aspect of ABB Drive Products’ choice to invest in Molg is the firm’s circularity credentials. ABB is committed to achieving a full life cycle circular approach for 80 percent of its products by 2030 and Molg’s robotic Microfactories will help to improve the efficiency of manufacturing configured-to-order drives by streamlining the assembly and testing processes with automation. The investment strengthens ABB’s position as a key enabler of circular economy by re-using, re-purposing, and recycling components. ABB Robotics & Automation Ventures participated in Molg’s seed round of funding in October 2024 to help scale the start-up’s production capacity and tackle e-waste with robotics and design.

This strategic partnership follows ABB’s recent $100 million campus project in New Berlin, Wisconsin, and further enables its ‘local for local’ strategy – using locally-sourced materials for in-country manufacturing to service local customers. This is also a vital part of ABB’s circularity-based approach, not only minimizing waste and manufacturing-related carbon emissions, but providing crucial in-market support for companies across the supply chain.

“Our investment in Molg means we are part of an innovation ecosystem which develops new solutions for product circularity,” said Tuomo Hoysniemi, ABB Drive Products Division President. “This investment to develop our drives portfolio through recycling and reusing of components is aligned with our aims to increase circularity within our portfolio. What’s more, Molg’s Microfactories are especially suited to the ABB Drive Products’ customizable product range and will give us and increased ability to meet unique customer and market future requirements, while at the same time preserving valuable resources.”

“Winning ABB’s Accelerating Circularity Startup Challenge was great recognition for us, and we are even more excited to continue our collaboration with ABB Drive Products within circularity and automation,” said Rob Lawson-Shanks, CEO & Co-Founder of Molg. “We are thrilled to work with ABB Drive Products to design more circular products and create circular manufacturing processes for electronics to enhance supply chain resilience and ensure valuable materials are kept in circulation.”

The financial details of the investment have not been disclosed.

  • Drive Products division invests in a strategic partnership with US start-up company Molg to optimize manufacturing design and reusability for ABB drives

  • ABB and Molg

(1/3) Drive Products division invests in a strategic partnership with US start-up company Molg to optimize manufacturing design and reusability for ABB drives

Notes to editors

ABB is a global technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. By connecting its engineering and digitalization expertise, ABB helps industries run at high performance, while becoming more efficient, productive and sustainable so they outperform. At ABB, we call this ‘Engineered to Outrun’. The company has over 140 years of history and around 110,000 employees worldwide. ABB’s shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ABBN) and Nasdaq Stockholm (ABB). www.abb.com

ABB Motion Ventures is the venture capital unit of ABB Motion. ABB through its business-led venture capital investment framework, ABB Ventures, looks for breakthrough technology companies aligned with ABB’s goal to write the future of industrial electrification and automation. Since its formation in 2009, ABB Ventures has deployed around $500 million into startups spanning a range of sectors including robotics, industrial IoT, AI/machine learning, energy transition, cybersecurity, electric mobility, smart buildings, and distributed energy. For more information, visit www.abb.com/ventures

Molg tackles the growing e-waste problem by making manufacturing circular. The company’s robotic microfactory can autonomously disassemble complex electronic products like laptops and servers, helping keep valuable components and materials within supply chains and out of landfills. Molg partners with leading electronics manufacturers to design the next generation of products with reuse in mind, ensuring that one product’s end is another’s beginning. To learn more, visit molg.ai.

For more information please contact:

Media Relations: media-motion@abb.com

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ABB invests in generative AI energy manager startup Edgecom

ABB Ventures
  • BB extends partnership with Edgecom, winner of its 2024 Startup Challenge
  • Edgecom and ABB will collaborate on AI solutions for large industrial customers

ABB is investing in a strategic partnership with Edgecom Energy, the Toronto-based energy management startup. The company’s unique energy management platform uses artificial intelligence to help industrial and commercial users manage and reduce peaks in their power demand. It is the first in the market to use a generative AI copilot to optimize the user experience.

The partnership involves a minority investment in Edgecom through ABB Electrification Ventures, the venture capital arm of ABB Electrification. ABB Electrification Ventures is part of the group-wide ABB Ventures framework, investing in transformative technology companies that advance ABB’s vision of a more sustainable, electrified, and automated world. Edgecom was a winner in ABB’s 2024 Startup Challenge.

The International Energy Agency has stated that the world must double the pace of energy efficiency progress in the next decade to meet net zero targets. It highlights the key role digital energy management must play. Innovation teams at ABB’s Smart Power division will collaborate with Edgecom to develop new AI-enabled solutions to help customers in North America save energy and reduce costs.

Massimiliano Cifalitti, President of ABB’s Smart Power division, said: “Partnerships are key to ABB Electrification’s artificial intelligence strategy for energy management. Edgecom shows how gen AI can create business value from complex data sets with an easy-to-use interface. The company also has the scalability and interoperability ABB is looking for as we grow our AI ecosystem for energy management.”

Artificial intelligence can be a game-changer for energy management. ABB’s digitalised electrification solutions collect data from across a site’s power network; Edgecom’s AI Energy Copilot can turn complex dataset into energy saving opportunities. Adapting to the customer’s goals, the AI Energy Copilot suggests small adjustments to lower bills or smart ideas to reduce environmental footprint.

Behdad Bahrami, CEO and Co-Founder of Edgecom, said: “ABB’s commitment to our vision underscores the transformative impact we’re bringing to energy management. Together, we’re empowering large energy users to achieve significant cost savings and emissions reductions through innovative solutions that deliver real world cost savings and emissions reductions. As the energy transition accelerates, innovative partnerships like this are key to creating a more efficient and sustainable future for industries worldwide.”

Mehdi Parvizi, CTO and Co-Founder of Edgecom, added: “Generative AI is transforming energy management by enabling tailored strategies that unlock savings across energy-intensive assets and facilities. This technology optimizes asset performance, integrates operations with energy market programs and price tariffs, improves energy efficiency, and guides operator behavior toward more effective energy decisions.”

The investment in Edgecom brings the total portfolio of ABB Electrification Ventures to 15 companies, with investments totalling €80 million since 2021. It is part of ABB Ventures, which has invested more than $450 million in 70 startups across electrification and automation sectors since 2010.

Edgecom Energy's unique energy management platform uses generative AI to help users reduce power demand peaks
Edgecom Energy’s unique energy management platform uses generative AI to help users reduce power demand peaks

ABB is a global technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. By connecting its engineering and digitalization expertise, ABB helps industries run at high performance, while becoming more efficient, productive and sustainable so they outperform. At ABB, we call this ‘Engineered to Outrun’. The company has over 140 years of history and more than 105,000 employees worldwide. ABB’s shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ABBN) and Nasdaq Stockholm (ABB). www.abb.com

ABB Electrification is a global technology leader enabling the efficient and reliable distribution of electricity from source to socket. With more than 50,000 employees across 100 countries, we collaborate with our customers and partners to solve the world’s greatest challenges in electrical distribution and energy management. As the energy transition accelerates and electricity demands grow, we are electrifying the world in a safe, smart and sustainable way. At ABB, we are ‘Engineered to Outrun’, and we are passionate about helping our customers and partners do the same. go.abb/electrification

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Scaling Science and Sustainability: Voima Ventures Finalises Fund III, north from €100M.

Voima Ventures

Helsinki, Finland – Voima Ventures has announced the final closing of its €100M+ Fund III, an Article 8 compliant deep tech fund. Based in both Helsinki and Stockholm, the fund has already begun deploying capital with 8 finalised investments from its first closing to accelerate breakthrough innovations across the Nordic and Baltic deeptech landscape.

Key Highlights:

  • €100M+ final close of Voima Ventures Fund III
  • Focused on science and deeptech startups across the Nordic and Baltic region
  • Investing into 25-30 companies, with initial entry tickets varying from €200k to 3M€.
  • Article 8 compliant under the EU’s SFDR, reinforcing Voima’s dedication to sustainable and impact-driven investing thesis
  • Investors of the Voima Ventures Fund III include among others European Investment Fund EIF, Finnish Tesi and its fund of funds KRR, VTT of Finland, Saminvest from Sweden, and pension funds Nordea Life and Elo, as well as established foundations, and family offices.

Inka Mero, CEO and Managing Partner of Voima Ventures

Scaling Nordic Deeptech- From Labs to Unicorn Potential

With this closing, Voima Ventures emphasised its unique insight to invest in visionary scientific founders and entrepreneurs who are reshaping whole industries, including Life Sciences, energy, food, quantum and advanced AI, to mention a few.

The new Fund is uniquely positioned to support the next generation of science-driven unicorns. Initial investment tickets range from €200k to €3M, with the capacity for significant follow-on investments. The firm aims to further grow its presence in the Nordic and Baltic regions while being the go-to and longterm partner for early-stage university spinouts and startups.

Since its foundation in 2019, Voima Ventures established itself as a trusted partner for early-stage founders, leveraging deep expertise and networks within academia and industry to bridge the gap between research and commercial success. With over 70% of its portfolio companies originating directly from university spin-offs or research ecosystems, the firm remains committed to fostering groundbreaking innovation at its roots.

Growth and Impact

Voima Ventures prioritises high-potential VC investments that deliver both financial returns and positive environmental and societal impact. The fund is committed to ESG principles and is aligned with the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), as an Article 8 fund.

“In deeptech, pushing the boundaries of science-driven entrepreneurship isn’t just about innovation, it’s about delivering meaningful global impact alongside strong returns,” said Inka Mero, Founder and Managing Partner of Voima Ventures. “Our recent Impact Report highlights this commitment, showing that Voima Ventures Fund III achieves a net impact score of +48%, compared to the average -8% impact of US Fortune 500 companies. This means that every Euro we invest creates significant positive change, driven by more sustainable practices and transformative technologies.”

Voima Ventures Partners From Left to Right: Jussi Sainiemi, Jenny Engerfelt, Inka Mero, Pontus Stråhlman

The Journey Continues

Lately, Voima Ventures has focused on expanding its presence in Sweden, hiring Stina Wallmark as Life Sciences Investment Director and promoting Jenny Engerfelt to Partner earlier in the year. Together, they are driving efforts to strengthen operations and manage the growing deal flow from the region.

The fund will make 25-30 investments and has so far done 8 new investments. Closed investments include examples like ÄIO – replaces palm oil, coconut oil and animal fats with sustainable and healthier alternatives, Liquid sun – sustainable aviation fuel from carbon dioxide and Avenue Biosciences – protein optimization platform enhancing production yield and the quality of pharmaceuticals.

“The Nordic and Baltic regions are setting the global standard for deep tech innovation, and we are proud to grow alongside this thriving ecosystem,” said Jussi Sainiemi, Partner at Voima Ventures. “With a unique blend of cutting-edge research and entrepreneurial talent, these regions are driving solutions that not only tackle global challenges but also redefine industries, creating sustainable value for future generations.”

Voima Ventures Team Day at Solein Production Facility, with Juha-Pekka Pitkänen CScO of Solar Foods Centre

About Voima Ventures

Voima Ventures, founded in 2019, is a Nordic early-stage investor investing in science-based innovations and companies across the Nordics and Baltics. Voima Ventures help founders to accelerate the growth of deep technology ventures to global markets. Voima Ventures is a team of 12 investment and growth entrepreneurship professionals who share a passion for science-based tech. Voima Ventures holds a strong track record in investing in high-growth science-based solutions by being an early investor in success stories like Solar Foods, Dispelix, MVision, Betolar and EniferBio.

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Marktlink Capital closes second Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds at €80 million

Marktlink Capital

Amsterdam 15 July 2024 – Marktlink Capital has successfully closed the subscription for its second venture capital fund-of-funds in six months, securing €80 million in capital commitments from approximately 150 private investors. This second fund follows the success of the first fund launched in 2022, which was fully subscribed within six months. A significant portion of the private investors in the new fund also invested in the first fund, attracted by the access to top venture capital funds in Europe and North America.

Unicorns and trends
The strategy, size, and diversification of the funds in the second venture capital fund-of-funds are largely similar to those in 2022. Based on extensive research, the Marktlink Capital team selects funds that perform exceptionally well. “There are thousands of VC funds, but only a few consistently perform well”, says Bouke Marsman, partner at Marktlink Capital. “In venture capital, good funds continue to perform well year after year. 85% of Unicorns (companies valued over a billion) are owned by just 5% of the funds.”

Marsman continues, “Only 0.5% of companies grow into Unicorns, but ten companies in our portfolio have achieved that status. This is relatively high, especially considering we’ve only been operating for a year and a half. The results so far are in line with our expectations.”

Marktlink Capital has taken broader technological trends into account when composing its portfolio, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). Marsman explains, “With an investment in Saga Ventures, a fund specialising in AI led by Max Altman, and in funds backing the European AI champion Mistral, we aim to reflect this trend in our portfolio.”

About Marktlink Capital
Marktlink Capital, born from the merger of Marktlink Investment Partners and Welt Ventures, is an investment company providing entrepreneurs and private investors with access to the best private equity and venture capital funds in Europe and North America. The team consists of approximately 35 FTEs with specialist knowledge and experience in private equity and venture capital. To date, more than €1.5 billion in committed capital has been secured, almost entirely from Dutch entrepreneurs. The initiator of Marktlink Capital is Marktlink, which has been advising entrepreneurs on the sale or purchase of companies in the upper mid-market segment since 1996. With more than 300 employees and 150 deals per year, Marktlink understands the critical role private equity and venture capital play in the development and growth of businesses.

END of RELEASE

 

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Veesual raises a $7.5 million Seed round

AXA

AI-Powered Virtual Try-On Technology Platform For The Fashion Industry Veesual Raises $7.5 Million, Announces US Expansion With New EILEEN FISHER Partnership

Investment for market leader of image generation technology for fashion brands and retailers in Europe will now support US customers looking to overcome inclusivity challenges

New York, NY—April 17, 2024—Veesual, a Paris-based virtual try-on platform for the fashion industry that revolutionizes the way online shoppers experience digital retail, today announced the closing of a $7.5 million dollar Seed round led by AVP (AXA Venture Partners) and Techstars. The investment will accelerate delivery of the company’s plans to expand into the US market by opening its first US-based office, recruiting senior US talent, enhancing its current product offering for US apparel companies and more. A cornerstone of Veesual’s US expansion is a new partnership with leading women’s fashion brand EILEEN FISHER. Under the terms of the collaboration, Veesual’s augmented shopping experiences powered by next-generation virtual try-on technology have been integrated into the EILEEN FISHER online shopping experience.

Founded in 2020, Veesual is on a mission to transform the online shopping experience for all customers, independent of style, fit and fashion preferences. Through its Augmented Shopping solutions Mix&Match, Switch Model and Look Inspiration, Veesual’s proprietary 2D-based Image Generation Engine (IGT) was designed specifically for fashion brands to deliver high-quality imagery at scale, and to be able to adapt several pieces of clothing on any model, with natural renderings and precise fitting. Veesual works with leading brands and retailers in Europe including premium (Claudie Pierlot), kids fashion (Sergent Major and DPAM), and popular fashion (La Redoute and Gemo).

While brands are working to reflect diversity for e-commerce shoppers by featuring models of different ethnicities, ages and body types, it can be extremely costly to shoot individual products on various models. Veesual’s Switch Model experience allows customers to choose a model they identify with while simultaneously accelerating online sales and reducing returns for brands.

“We are thrilled to be the first US brand to partner with Veesual on this innovative new virtual try-on tool,” notes Blair Silverman, Vice President of E-commerce at EILEEN FISHER. “EILEEN FISHER is committed to inclusivity, designing clothes that cater to every body shape. Navigating online shopping poses challenges, particularly in predicting how garments fit diverse body types. Our collaboration with Veesual addresses these challenges head-on and we are proud to be launching a tool that is sure to be a new standard for e-commerce.”

While 3D-based try-on technology can be expensive and time-consuming, 2D image solutions offer a scalable and cost-effective solution for brands that engage shoppers. According to recent data published by Insider Intelligence, by 2026 e-commerce is expected to total over $8.1 trillion and 24% of retail purchases are expected to take place online. Veesual enables brands to create a more seamless and inclusive shopping experience for customers and in turn, yield higher sales and a lower return rate, allowing them to capture a larger percentage of online sales.

“We are proud to invest in Veesual, in order to accelerate its commercial roll-out and pursue its technological developments, as well as its international expansion,” said François Robinet, Managing Partner of AVP. “We believe in Maxime and his team’s vision. They have demonstrated a strong ability to execute and understand market challenges by offering fashion brands solutions to optimize their customer experience. With a presence on both sides of the Atlantic, AVP’s teams will be able to support Veesual in the next stages of its development.”

To support aggressive growth in the US, Veesual is working to recruit more senior talent and will open its first US office in New York in 2025. In addition to e-commerce, Veesual aims to create value for brands by displaying generated images on their acquisition and retargeting channels.

“The global fashion ecosystem is undergoing a seismic shift right now. The industry is increasingly focused on sustainable production, a better, more relevant buying experience and upcycling as a new standard. At Veesual, we’re meeting those changes by drastically improving how shoppers buy online which creates a more inclusive retail experience while also improving fit and reducing waste,” said Veesual Co-Founder and CEO, Maxime Patte. “This fundraise is critical for our plans as we scale in the United States with brands who are pioneering the augmented shopping experience. We anticipate significant growth in 2024 and beyond.”

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. AVP operates under AXA IM- Alts, the alternative investment business unit of AXA IM.

For more information, visit axavp.com
Contact: Sébastien Loubry, Partner Business development (sebastien@axavp.com)

About Veesual

Founded in 2020, Veesual was developed when co-founders Maxime Patte and Damien Meurisse recognized the limited means of fashion brands to visually engage diverse customers online. The platform offers solutions that leverage the power of images to create inclusive experiences that engage all customers. Globally, brands including Claudie Pierlot, Sergeant Major and La Redoute use Veesual. To date, these partnerships have outperformed expectations, with a 75% average increase in conversation rate and a more than 20% increase in average order value for shoppers who engaged with one of Veesual’s solutions. Veesual, a Techstars portfolio company, was part of Station F’s Founders program and has raised $7.5M to date. For more information, please visit https://www.veesual.ai/.

About EILEEN FISHER, Inc.

EILEEN FISHER has been making a system of simple, timeless clothes for nearly 40 years. A socially conscious company, EILEEN FISHER designs its clothing to be part of a responsible lifecycle, starting with sustainable materials, then taking back its clothes to be resold (Renew) or remade into something entirely new (Waste No More). The company became a B Corp in 2016, which means it voluntarily meets high criteria for social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. The company’s clothes are sold online at eileenfisher.com, in more than 50 EILEEN FISHER stores in North America and over 500 department and specialty stores globally. Good-as-new pieces are resold at eileenfisherrenew.com, in two EILEEN FISHER Renew stores, and select EILEEN FISHER retail stores nationwide.

Media Contact

Courtney Page
Rally Point PR courtney.page@rallypoint.pr

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Dawn Capital and Insight Partners back Spain’s data startup Onum with a $28m Series A

Dawn

The startup will use the money to expand to the US

Zosia Wanat

2 min read

Madrid-based Onum has raised a $28m Series A led by Dawn Capital — just seven months after its launch. The startup, which helps companies manage and monitor big datasets, will use the money to expand globally, mostly to the US.

What does Onum do? 

Onum’s mission is to help companies isolate and observe valuable information within large datasets in real-time.

According to the company, only about 15% of a typical organisation’s data is business-critical, requiring immediate analysis. Since most businesses have no way of discerning the valuable information from the noise, however, many organisations send all of their data to analytics platforms for analysis, resulting in higher costs and longer processing times.

Onum gives the example of a large bank that’s trying to enhance its IT network security capabilities and meet strict compliance requirements. The startup says it allows the bank to focus exclusively on the data that matters, so they can more accurately and cost-effectively detect security threats based on warning signs in their data across their whole network.

Unlike some of its competitors, Onum says it doesn’t only reduce the amount of data that a client needs to process, but can also tailor the service to individual business needs, such as risk reduction, compliance, customer usage, and network efficiency.

The startup was cofounded in October 2023 by Lucas Varela, Pedro Tortosa and Pedro Castillo, the latter of whom also founded cloud analytics and security platform Devo, valued at more than $2bn. It says it’s already won several enterprise customers including major financial institutions, global consulting firms and large telecommunications companies, mostly in Spain.

Where will the money go? 

Onum employs nearly 50 employees, and plans to use the fresh funding to accelerate product development and hire more people this year, opening a new office in Boston.

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Who has invested? 

  • Dawn Capital, London-based B2B software VC venture capital;
  • Kibo Ventures, Madrid-based VC;
  • Insight Partners, New York-based VC.

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