Founders in the News

PlantSwitch

March 20, 2025

Microplastics are not a micro-problem – on average, humans consume the rough equivalent of a credit card’s worth of plastic every single week. The solution for combating microplastic pollution? Plants.

Oze

February 24, 2025

Following a $3 million pre-series A round led by Speedinvest with participation from Africinvest, Ghana's Oze announces a new funding round following investment from Visa, DEG and existing investors. It plans to build 100M profitable SMEs in Africa.

SweatPals

January 30, 2025

Austin-based SweatPals, co-founded by CEO Salar Shahini and chief product officer Mandi Zhou, aims to help sports and fitness enthusiasts join communities of like-minded people to play and exercise together. And they just raised $700,000 in a new crowdfunding campaign to do it.

Ovation Ventures

January 30, 2025

BALANCE has partnered with Ovation Ventures (formerly known as Paperwork) to elevate the financial wellness journey for our clients, combining BALANCE’s proven expertise in high-touch financial coaching with Ovation’s cutting-edge fintech capabilities.

SUM Ventures

January 1, 2025

Looking back at 2024 and ahead to 2025 – end of year letter from Garrett Gilbertson, Managing Partner of SUM Venture Partners about fund milestones, highlights, notable acheivements of the portfolio companies, and thoughts about the coming year.

Eduworks

December 12, 2024

Eduworks joins the NATO DIANA accelerator program in Eindhoven. The program includes an initial funding of €100,000, with the potential for an additional €300,000 to develop dual-use technologies that cater to commercial and defense markets, covering cybersecurity, navigation, and laboratory software.

Gecko Materials

October 29, 2024

Inspired by the way real-life gecko feet grip surfaces, you could think of it like a new Velcro — except it only needs one side, leaves no residue, and can detach as quickly as it attaches. It can do this at least 120,000 times and can stay attached for seconds, minutes, or even years.

PayAmigo

October 22, 2024

PayAmigo announces its official launch as a licensed payment aggregator in Argentina after months of meticulous work adhering to the highest standards in compliance, risk management, and financial oversight, revolutionizing payments across Latin America.

LiveEasy

October 24, 2024

Homeowner assist platform LiveEasy acquired for $80M by California firm. Grandview Heights-based LiveEasy will wrap into a new all-in-one app by AppFolio Inc. for renters to manage apartment living.

Purlin

October 15, 2024

Inman, the leading news source for real estate agents, brokers, executives and technology leaders, announced the winning companies in its inaugural 2024 class of the Inman AI Awards, including Purlin for Best AI-powered Platform.

Fantasy Life

August 20, 2024

Matthew Berry's Fantasy Life partners with NBC Sports to launch a new suite of premium products to help fantasy football players prepare for upcoming drafts, making it the official fantasy tools provider of NBC Sports and Rotoworld.

YBVR

May 22, 2024

EuroLeague TV VR, an innovative app developed by YBVR for EuroLeague Basketball, offers a groundbreaking approach to experiencing live sports.

Automotus

May 7, 2024

Automotus to Power Hoboken Program that will Charge Vehicles Parked in Loading Zones Per Minute

SUM Ventures

May 2024 Newsletter

Our newsletter includes updates on the latest activity at SUM Ventures and the exiciting happenings at our portfolio companies.

Irrigreen

April 22, 2024

Irrigreen achieves a remarkable $900k in monthly revenue and is featured on Fox News. Watch Skip Bedell join 'Fox & Friends' to demonstrate how IrriGreen can help homeowners with their lawn and water bills.

Purlin

April 17, 2024

Purlin, recognized by the National Association of Realtors REACH program as a top 8 prop-tech company, achieves an impressive $2.8M in ARR.

Acorns

April 15, 2024

Motley Fool gives Acorns a 4.5 star review. “The platform has more than 8 million members and offers an easy-to-use app, along with straightforward pricing.” If you're looking to simplify your investing, their review will help you decide if Acorns is right for you.

DressX

March 26, 2024

DressX’s new tool promises users a near-instantaneous digital fashion makeover using simple text prompts that enable people to generate their own styles. Here’s what happened when we put it to the test.

SUM Ventures

February 2024 Newsletter

Our newsletter includes updates on the latest activity at SUM Ventures and the exiciting happenings at our portfolio companies.

PlantSwitch

February 24, 2024

Sanford-based PlantSwitch, which has developed a technology to make plastics more compostable, has raised $8 million from an investor.

YBVR

February 21, 2024

Immersive VR sports highlights will be available in the free Xtadium app on Meta Quest, and coming later this summer.

SweatPals

February 22, 2024

SweatPals, co-founded by CEO Salar Shahini and chief product officer Mandi Zhou, aims to help sports and fitness enthusiasts join communities of like-minded people to play and exercise together.

R3 Score

January 3, 2024

R3 Score featured on Politco for empowering the reentry of incarcerated individuals.

SUM Ventures

2023 End of Year Newsletter

Our newsletter includes updates on the latest activity at SUM Ventures and the exiciting happenings at our portfolio companies.

Grapefruit Health

December 19, 2023

Ballad Health recently completed a pilot to improve communication around medication adherence by working with Grapefruit Health, a startup focused on addressing health care’s staffing shortage.

LiveEasy

December 12, 2023

California Regional MLS (CRMLS), the largest and most recognized MLS in the country, now provides users with a moving and household management concierge service led by real, live human beings through LiveEasy.

DressX

December 1, 2023

There’s a new way to sport the latest digital fashion accessories, thanks to the freshly launched Desktop Camera by DressX.

SUM Ventures

October 2023 Newsletter

Our newsletter includes updates on the latest activity at SUM Ventures and the exiciting happenings at our portfolio companies.

PlantSwitch

October 6, 2023

PlantSwitch expects to begin manufacturing its compostable material soon at its first plant, in North Carolina.

SUM Ventures

September 2023 Newsletter

Our newsletter includes updates on the latest activity at SUM Ventures and the exiciting happenings at our portfolio companies.

Don't miss Millicent Tracey, Advisor and Board Director at SUM Ventures at Money 20/20!

R3 Score

September 19, 2023

AWS selects R3 Score to participate in the inaugural AWS GovTech Accelerator, which supports startups as they develop innovative solutions enabling justice and public safety agencies to better serve their communities.

DressX

September 17, 2023

In a new collaboration, DressX and Diesel are channeling signature Diesel aesthetics and the fashion company’s latest styles for an exclusive collection landing in the Meta Avatars Store.

SUM Ventures

August 2023 Newsletter

Our newsletter includes updates on the latest activity at SUM Ventures and the exiciting happenings at our portfolio companies.

R3 Score

August 9, 2023

Aventiv Technologies partners with justice system-impacted tech founders, including R3 Score, to launch Justice Sandbox, a reentry readiness content marketplace

SUM Ventures

July 2023 Newsletter

Our newsletter includes updates on the latest activity at SUM Ventures and the exiciting happenings at our portfolio companies.

Irrigreen

June 27, 2023

Based on inkjet printers (the founders have their roots in the printing biz), these app-driven sprinkler heads have 15 holes in the head to precisely "print" an area with water.

SUM Ventures

June 2023 Newsletter

Our newsletter includes updates on the latest activity at SUM Ventures and the exiciting happenings at our portfolio companies.

mxHero

June 20, 2023

With mxHERO's new solution integrated with DocuSign eSignature, users can send documents for signature from email, greatly simplifying DocuSign usage by making it no more complicated than sending an email.

LiveEasy

June 15, 2023

LiveEasy (formerly known as MoveEasy), the nation’s leading home services platform, has expanded its reach into new sectors with the rollout of its Homeownership and Rental Dashboards.

Purlin

June 12, 2023

Purlin, a Silicon Beach, CA-based provider of an AI-powered real estate technology platform, received an investment from Rice Park Capital, joining New Valley Ventures, Redwood Trust Inc., SUM Ventures, Mission Gate, and Fredrik Eklund and Julia Spillman-Gover as investors in the business.

SUM Ventures

May 2023 Newsletter

Our newsletter includes updates on the latest activity at SUM Ventures and the exiciting happenings at our portfolio companies.

Grapefruit Health & SweatPals

April 5, 2023

Grapefruit Health and SweatPals split the $500K prize, beating out more than 500 entries at "Barnburner," a pitch competition hosted by Sweater Ventures in Boulder, CO.

Acorns

April 3, 2024

American micro-investing platform Acorns acquired GoHenry, a digital banking startup focused on educating kids about money, for an undisclosed sum.

Irrigreen

March 29, 2023

Irrigreen raises $15m seed round to help prevent water waste with its precision sprinklers that trace the contours of a yard and identifying obstacles, such as footpaths and driveways.

DressX

March 23, 2023

DressX named one of the 10 most innovative companies in blockchain, cryptocurrency, metaverse, and Web3 of 2023.

Paperwork

March 16, 2023

Life.Money.You. – the CUSO formed by BCU to spearhead its financial wellness efforts – has announced its partnership with Paperwork, a comprehensive financial wellness platform focused on improving the financial health of credit union members.

DressX

March 14, 2023

DressX has raised $15 million for its mission of disrupting fashion with digital technology. Greenfield led the round with participation from Slow Ventures, Warner Music, The Artemis Fund, Red Dao, SUM Ventures and other investors.

DressX

March 7, 2023

Peter Dundas partners with digital metacloset DRESSX for Paris Fashion Week. The founders Daria Shapovalova and Natalia Modenova created an AR digital wearable of the collection’s first look, a nautical inspired coat and hat.

Automotus

December 22, 2022

Automotus just closed a $9 million seed round to advance its automated curb management solution. Its tech helps cities like Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Omaha and Bethlehem reduce congestion and emissions, reduce double-parking hazards, increase parking turnover, and increase parking revenue.

DressX

December 15, 2022

In addition to investing in the digital fashion platform, record label WMG is partnering with DressX to enable artists to capitalize on lucrative merch opportunities in the virtual realm.

MoveEasy

December 8, 2022

MoveEasy, a Columbus, OH-based provider of a home management platform, raised $7M in Series A funding. The round was led by Moderne Ventures, with a strategic investment made from The Travelers Companies.

DressX

July 19, 2022

Meta’s avatars just got a bigger closet by tapping digital fashion provider DressX to provide outfits for its new avatar fashion marketplace.

DressX

July 19, 2022

Following Balenciaga and Prada, Facebook and Instagram's parent company will offer the digital-first collection for purchase.

Automotus

July 19, 2022

Automotus among a handful of startups scrambling to disrupt the post-pandemic parking sector, focused on real-time data that will mean less traffic and more revenue for cities.

Brius

June 30, 2022

Brius Technologies Announces Brava, the World’s First Teeth Straightening Solution Featuring Independent Mover Technology for Today’s Youth

UNest

November 15, 2022

Ksenia Yudina, founder of UNest, named one of Fortune’s 40 Under 40.

PlantSwitch

February 9, 2022

Dallas-based PlantSwitch, a startup that is creating high-quality, biodegradable plastic alternatives for the food-packaging industry, announced on Tuesday the close of a $3.25 million seed round.

PlantSwitch

February 8, 2022

PlantSwitch announced the close of a $3.25 million seed round, paving the path for further growth, specifically expansion of its product offerings and development of supply chain infrastructure.

UNest

November 17, 2021

UNest, a fintech startup that provides financial planning tools for parents saving on behalf of their children, announced today that it raised $26 million in Series B funding led by The Artemis Fund.