News & Insights: Portfolio Company News Highlights

Heading into the second half of 2023, the technology and venture capital industries continue to navigate both disruption and rapid innovation. The rise of generative AI solutions and anticipation around their impact will continue to generate excitement and opportunities across the tech and business ecosystem. There was no shortage of news and activity across the Blumberg Capital portfolio and network over the past quarter. In case you missed it, here are recent highlights of Blumberg Capital portfolio companies and our team in the headlines.

• Sharegain , a B2B securities lending fintech, announces a strategic alliance with J.P. Morgan’s Securities Services business. Shargain’s SLTech solution enables J.P. Morgan to enhance its securities agency lending offering by making it more accessible to new wealth managers and online broker participants. Sharegain Announces Strategic Alliance with J.P. Morgan ??

• Connectifi , an application interoperability company, announces the close of its Series A funding round, led by Blumberg Capital. The funding represents growing demand for interoperability that goes beyond the desktop and interest by venture capital firms in what was once niche capital markets tech. Connectifi Secures Seed Funding to Bring FDC3 Interop to the Cloud ?

• VerAI Discoveries , an AI-based mineral asset generator, completes a $12M Series A funding round led by T. Rowe Price Associates, with Orion Resource Partners, Chrysalix Venture Capital, and Blumberg Capital. VerAI’s targeting capabilities significantly improves the probability of finding vital metal deposits by increasing the discovery success rates by two orders of magnitude while being more than 20 times less expensive and 20 times faster than human-centric techniques. Making the Unseen Seen ?

• MarketWatch ’s Jon Swartz speaks to David Blumberg about the boom in generative AI solutions. They cover AI’s role in the entertainment industry and how AI will help individuals do their job, rather than replace it. AI is going to change the way entertainment is made. Will it be for better or worse? ??

• EasyKnock , the first technology-enabled residential sale-leaseback platform, announces its acquisition of Ribbon , a pioneer of powerbuying and cash offer solutions. The transaction is a major milestone for the real estate industry, bringing together homebuying, homeselling, and agent solutions into one unified and simplified experience. EasyKnock Acquires Leading Homebuying Solution Ribbon Home ??

• San Jose, California-based software firm Field Materials announces a $4.65 million seed round, led by Blumberg Capital, and joined by Zacua Ventures. Field Materials offers an AI-driven program that intends to streamline materials procurement for contractors, and can aid professionals throughout the entire construction process. It also uses AI-powered checking systems to monitor delivery slips and invoices to catch errors and minimize delays. Field Materials raises $4.6M seed funding ?

• Shabodi partners with leading technology firm Booz Allen Hamilton to prototype the groundbreaking Mobile Medic application. Mobile Medic provides secure and reliable communication channels between first responders and emergency medical personnel to deliver situational awareness and remote expert guidance during emergency medical situations. Booz Allen Collaborates with Shabodi and 5G OIL ?

• Imagene , a startup innovating in the AI-based precision oncology field, is awarded the Technology Innovation Leadership Award from analyst firm 弗若斯特沙利文公司 for its AI-based molecular testing for cancer diagnosis. Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership and technological innovation. Imagene Wins Frost & Sullivan's Technology Innovation Leadership Award for Its Revolutionary AI-Based Molecular Testing for Cancer Diagnosis ?

• Mytaverse CEO and founder Kenneth Landau sits down with The Information ’s Lauren Tara LaCapra to discuss how large U.S. organizations such as Bank of America are turning to VR for education and innovation. The Miami-based company provides 3D tools for companies.? The Information: Hands Up, This Is a (Virtual) Robbery! ?

• The Wall Street Journal ’s Angus Loten speaks to David Blumberg on trends in venture capital, AI innovation, and IPO trends. David emphasizes the importance of sound business practices, and using a down market to demonstrate a robust and resilient business. Additionally, amid the AI boom, David suggests that larger companies form strong relationships with startups already making meaningful developments in AI.? WSJ: Corporate Investors Cut Bigger Checks for AI Startups ?- WSJ: Uncertain Markets Have Startups Rethinking IPOs ?

• CTech by Calcalist includes FundGuard as one of the top 50 most promising Israeli startups in 2023. FundGuard stands out as one of the only fintech companies trying to fix the infrastructure in banking, while most others focus on payments. FundGuard has developed a cloud platform for managing investment portfolios for many American financial institutions. The 50 Most Promising Israeli Startups – 2023