RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – SmartSky Networks disclosed the company had raised more than $29.5 million across three registered company names, building on prior disclosures in...

RALEIGH – GeneVentiv Therapeutics, a Triangle-area pre-clinical gene therapy company, has been awarded a $250,000 Strategic Research Loan (SRL) from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center...

While many pet and wellness brands boast that their dog food rivals the freshness and nutrition of human food, Spot & Tango creates human-grade meals for dogs that are formulated by veterinary nutritionists. Spot & Tango’s selection of ready-to-serve food is transparently engineered with twelve ingredients with sustainable ingredients that have no additives, fillers, or preservatives that are commonly found in commercial kibble. The company’s mean plans are tailored to the pet, taking into account activity level, breed, allergies, preferences, and health. Spot & Tango is available through the company’s website through subscription and meals start as low as $1.47/meal. AlleyWatch caught up with Spot & Tango CEO and Founder Russell Breuer to learn more about the inspiration for the business, the company's strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $56.95M, and much, much more...

It’s estimated that startups and small businesses waste in excess of $130B each year as a result of poor visibility into spend management. By leveraging automation, companies can not only recapture a portion of this spend but also reduce the time employees spend on low-value tasks. Ramp is a corporate card and all-in-one spend management platform that’s designed to save companies time and money. All spend activity is seamlessly integrated into the company’s expense management platform that handles bill payment, card issuance and controls, accounting, and reporting, saving finance teams countless hours allowing them to focus on value maximization rather than tedious data entry. The platform is free with Ramp making its margin on the interchange fees. Revenue grew 10x in 2021 and the platform has 5000+ businesses trusting Ramp for spend management, corporate credit, expense management, and the company has recently expanded into travel spending. AlleyWatch caught up with Ramp CEO, serial entrepreneur, and Cofounder Eric Glyman to learn more about how the founding team’s experience post-exit with Paribus inspired the business, the company's strategic plans, traction, latest round of funding, which comes at an $8.1B valuation (up from $3.9B in ’21), and much, much more...

The pandemic served as a driver for digital transformation across a number of industries.  Within the insurance sector, evolving customer expectations has insurance players rushing to adopt digital solutions to streamline the customer journey.  Policygenius has emerged as the leading online insurance marketplace where consumers can discover, compare, and purchase insurance.  The platform covers life, home, auto, disability, and rental insurance options across the largest and most trusted carriers, providing an experience similar to Kayak for travel. However, purchasing insurance is a bit more complicated than booking a plane ticket and Policygenius offers access to 400+ experts to navigate the entire process. For carriers, the company’s proprietary technology provides the conduit to access the digital insurance ecosystem through a proven and battle-tested online sales and marketing channel; the company has facilitated $90B in life insurance policies sold since 2014 for 30M+ individuals. AlleyWatch caught up with Policygenius CEO and Cofounder Jennifer Fitzgerald to learn more about the inspiration for the business, the company's strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $276.1M, and much, much more...

Gamepad is a launchpad that curates, nurtures, then accelerates the top GameFi, guilds, and metaverse projects.

The post Filipino-led Accelerator Gamepad Raises $2.5m Seed Round with Enjin and OKX Blockdream Ventures as Lead Investors appeared first on BitPinas.

The number of podcast listeners in the US is expected to top 160M by 2023.  With this increase in demand for a captivated audience, advertising dollars are flowing in.   In 2024, podcast ad spend is expected to grow to $1.7B.   As advertisers are increasingly including podcasts as a part of their media strategies, Sounder.fm is […]

The sparkling water market was estimated to be in excess of $33B globally in 2021 according to Grand View Research. As consumers continue to become more health-conscious and shy away from carbonated soft drinks that contain sugars, preservatives, sweeteners, and carbohydrates, the industry is poised to grow in excess of 12% per year. Asian Americans represent the fastest-growing consumer segment in the US and represent $1.2T in buying power. Sitting at the intersection of these two trends is Sanzo, a canned sparkling water brand offering Asian-inspired flavors. Available direct online, through grocery marketplaces, and in thousands of physical locations including Whole Foods, Panda Express, and Target, the brand offers dynamic flavors that cater to specific regions of Asia like Lychee (SE Asia), Alphonso Mango (India). Yuzu Ginger (Japan), and Calamansi Lime (Philippines), appealing to often-overlooked palates when it comes to consumer goods. Despite the pandemic, lockdowns, and uncertainty, the company grew 5x both in 2020 and 2021. AlleyWatch caught up with Sanzo CEO and Founder Sandro Roco to learn more about his experience launching and scaling the business, the company's strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $11.3M, and much, much more...

Lots of fresh capital entered the crypto space this week, up 36% from last week’s $1.34 billion

The post Funding Roundup: More Than $1.8 Billion Pooled Into Crypto Companies and Funds This Week appeared first on Blockworks.

According to IBM’s Data Breach Report 2021, the average cost of a data breach is $4.24M. As businesses become more reliant on remote work and as employees use more devices (the average employee now uses 2.3 devices), the potential liability increases each day. Axonius’ cybersecurity asset management platform gives enterprises a full inventory of their assets and ensures that these devices are properly being secured across all locations. The platform takes a holistic approach by integrating into existing cybersecurity tools and workflows and ensuring that all devices being used (whether physical or virtual) are compliant with the company’s security protocols. Axonius has also launched a specialized SaaS Management product that addresses the added risk companies face from the use of various modern software applications that are increasingly becoming a part of the enterprise tech stack. Companies like The New York Times, MindBody, Schneider Electric, and AB InBev are all customers and revenue grew 132% YOY in 2021. AlleyWatch caught up with Axonius CEO and Cofounder Dean Sysman to learn more about how the company is solving the fragmentation of IT that leads to security vulnerabilities, the company's strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $395M, and much, much more...

Intelligent document processing incorporates automation to capture, extract, and process data from various formats including, forms, images, PDFs, and ZIPs. By leveraging API-based technology, businesses are able to free up human capital to focus on higher-value tasks by automating the multitude of documents they need to handle on a daily basis. Base64.ai has built a sophisticated OCR document processing automation platform that can handle 700+ document types off the shelf with the ability to adapt to continuously improve and expand its capabilities through AI. By coupling AI with OCR, the platform is able not only exponentially improve data extraction accuracy vs just using OCR alone but also accommodate more types of documents. Base64.ai is flexible in its implementation with a cloud-based solution, on-premise, and can even be incorporated to power enterprise RPA platforms. With data, both unstructured and structured, powering the future of the enterprise and business, the intelligent data processing market is forecasted to demonstrate a 34.6% CAGR through 2027. AlleyWatch caught up with Base64.ai Head of Marketing Andy Karuza to learn more about how the experience of onboarding Uber drivers served as the catalyst for the company, the company's strategic plans, and latest round of funding from investors that include Long Journey Ventures and Data Community Fund.

The largest buzz came from Electric Capital with its $1 billion raise for two new funds focused on crypto ventures and tokens

The post Funding Roundup: $1.34B Invested in Crypto Companies and Funds This Week appeared first on Blockworks.