Founders in the News

Acorns Early Launches its First-Ever Kid Advisory Board to Shape the Future of Family Finance

Acorns Early named four children aged seven to fifteen to a founding advisory board that will review upcoming features.

Acorns Establishes "Kids Advisory Board" to (Reportedly) Help Steal Trump Accounts away from Robinhood

Write-up citing Acorns at 8.2 million investors and 13.4 billion dollars in assets.

Acorns' new ploy – a kiddie advisory board – draws analyst scoffs and plaudits, as Trump accounts touch off rush to siphon rollovers from Trump-favored Robinhood – and Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard crowd into micro-investing niche

Independent analysis reporting mixed analyst reactions to the advisory board and competition over Trump Accounts.

Kids Are Learning About Money Everywhere Except Where It Matters Most: New Acorns Early Report Reveals the Financial Habits Shaping America's Kids

Second annual Money Matters for Kids report, a survey of 2,000 parents and 2,000 children.

Acorns Launches "Investinall": The First "Remedy" For A Losing Bet

Satirical campaign that matches up to 50 dollars of a lost sports bet for new customers who set up recurring investments.

This CEO isn't sure about financial nihilism, but he's horrified by sports gambling online. So this football season, he'll pay you not to do it

Fortune profiles Noah Kerner's reasoning for the Investinall campaign.

First Sportsbooks Sold Gambling, Now Gambling Sells Everything Else

Gaming-industry commentary on the Investinall campaign.

Acorns launches Money Manager — automated personal finance beyond microinvesting

Acorns' new Money Manager feature automates budgeting, savings, and investment allocation, marking the platform's evolution from a micro-investing app to a full-service automated money manager.

Acorns acquires Zeta, expanding into couples and family financial management

The acquisition adds Zeta's joint account and couples finance tools to Acorns' suite, following earlier acquisitions of Chronifi and EarlyBird and the company's TIME World's Best Brands 2024 recognition.

Acorns launches free tax filing with built-in tax refund investing for Gold customers

The new benefit helps customers file taxes easily and automatically put their refund to work — deepening Acorns' evolution into a full financial wellness platform.

AssistMe Secures €6.5 Million for International Growth

AssistMe closed a 6.5 million euro round led by CRB Health Tech and Vorwerk Ventures, with SUM Ventures named as a participant, to fund European expansion and a planned 2027 United States entry.

Oceanloop sammelt 38,5 Millionen ein – AssistMe bekommt 6,5 Millionen – Tiven kauft Sonnen

German language. Daily deal roundup reporting the round.

HEUKING advises AssistMe GmbH on its 6.5 million Euro financing round

The law firm announced it advised AssistMe on the financing, which it describes as a Series B.

HTGF +++ Finanzguru +++ beel +++ Syndikate +++ AssistMe +++ Health Routine +++ Pivot

German language. Features AssistMe as a startup to watch.

SUM Ventures invests in AssistMe — Fund III backs the digital care assistant

SUM Ventures Fund III invests in AssistMe, the Berlin-based company bringing sensor-driven incontinence management and digitalization to care homes, led by founder and CEO Julio Brandl.

AssistMe secures €5.2 million in growth capital for its care platform alea

The Berlin-based digital care company raised €5.2M to scale alea, its digital assistance system that relieves nursing staff and improves care quality across German care homes.

PPA Expands Smart Loading Zones Following Improvements in Center City Traffic Flow

Philadelphia is expanding its Automotus-powered Smart Loading Zones from 22 to 52 Center City blocks, citing traffic speed gains of about 30 percent and more than 49,500 CurbPass users, with a quote from Jordan Justus.

Self-policing loading zones have worked in Center City, the PPA says, so they're adding more

Reports on the expansion and its results, naming Los Angeles-based Automotus as the developer of the camera system.

PPA expands smart loading zones to 30 more Center City blocks

Local coverage confirming the program is growing by 30 blocks to 52 in partnership with Automotus.

PPA begins enforcement of expanded Smart Loading Zones in Center City Philadelphia

Television coverage of the enforcement start; names CurbPass but not Automotus.

PPA starts enforcing its newest smart loading zones in Center City

Enforcement began on the expanded zones after a 30-day warning period, using Automotus cameras and the CurbPass application.

Automotus raises $9M Series A to scale AI curb management platform

The computer vision startup now manages automated enforcement for bus lanes, loading zones, and congestion pricing across major US cities including Philadelphia, Houston, Pittsburgh, and Nashville.

Pittsburgh deploys Automotus for bike lane automated enforcement

The City of Pittsburgh selected Automotus to automate enforcement of dedicated bike lanes, protecting cyclist safety while reducing the burden on human parking enforcement officers.

Berri Lyte hits the bullseye — now available at Target stores nationwide

Berri Organics' organic plant-based electrolyte solution Berri Lyte lands on Target shelves, adding another major national retailer alongside Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Rite Aid — roughly 2,000 retail doors nationwide.

World Jai-Alai League announces exclusive sports drink partnership with Berri Fit

The World Jai-Alai League names Berri Fit its exclusive sports drink, putting Berri Organics' plant-based hydration in front of professional athletes and fans.

How Berri became a national brand at Whole Foods Market

Berri Lyte organic electrolyte solutions rolled out across eight Whole Foods regions, marking Berri Organics' arrival as a national brand — a journey from a Cornell dorm-room prototype to nationwide shelves, with founder Jerome Tse named to Forbes 30 Under 30.

Advertising Week launches Global Creator Network powered by Breakr

Breakr's infrastructure now powers Advertising Week's worldwide creator marketing ecosystem, connecting brands with talent at global scale following Live Nation Urban's strategic investment.

Live Nation Urban invests in Breakr; BreakrPay instant creator payment system launches

Strategic investment from Live Nation Urban validates Breakr's music creator marketing platform — backed by Nas, a16z, and Marc Benioff — and launches BreakrPay to solve the creator economy's payment speed problem.

Music Business Worldwide profiles Breakr: $9M raised, Nas and Marc Benioff investors

MBW's deep-dive on Breakr spotlights the creator marketing platform's mission to democratize music promotion using AI — making it as easy for an emerging artist to run a campaign as it is for a major label.

BRIUS Technologies, Inc. - fund raising filing (Form D)

New Form D for an equity offering of about 15.6 million dollars, reporting roughly 5.04 million dollars sold to 21 investors so far.

Brius announces Brava+ System — world's first self-engaging lingual orthodontic brackets

The launch of Brava+ marks a major innovation in orthodontics: fully lingual (hidden) braces with self-engaging brackets that require no ties, reducing chair time and improving patient comfort. Singapore and India market launches followed.

Circularity Fuels and the Odyssey of the Test-Bed

Feature arguing the pilot matters because the reactors ran continuously on real farm biogas with methane conversion above 98 percent.

Circularity Fuels converts dairy biogas to jet fuel

Agricultural trade coverage highlighting the new revenue stream for dairy operators.

Circularity Fuels converts raw dairy biogas to jet fuel in world-first end-to-end pilot

Circularity Fuels produced sustainable aviation fuel directly from raw cow-manure biogas, demonstrating a modular system projected to cost roughly one-fifth as much as planned European SAF plants.

Circularity cuts the cost of making sustainable aviation fuel from biomethane

CleanTechnica examines how Circularity Fuels uses electrified reactors and dairy biomethane to make lower-cost sustainable aviation fuel while creating a new revenue opportunity for farmers.

Renewable Energy Magazine covers Circularity's world-first raw-biogas-to-jet-fuel pilot

The renewable energy publication highlights Circularity Fuels' successful end-to-end conversion of untreated dairy biogas into drop-in sustainable aviation fuel.

Circularity converts dairy farm waste into jet fuel components at one-hundredth the capital cost

A California dairy-farm demonstration converted raw biogas into clean syngas using Circularity's electrified Ouro Reactor, showing a path to dramatically lower-cost sustainable aviation fuel production.

SAF Investor spotlights Circularity Fuels' conversion of dairy waste into sustainable aviation fuel

SAF Investor covers Circularity Fuels' compact, electrified approach to turning agricultural waste into jet fuel components at commercially competitive costs.

DRESSX teams with Depop on series of AI powered resale styling and virtual try-on activations

DressX partnered with Depop on virtual try-on activations for resale fashion, starting with a DressX Mirror installation at Governors Ball in New York.

Depop's New AI Mirror Styles You in Real Time

Independent write-up of the Depop partnership and how festival guests received shoppable looks.

Business of Fashion Highlights DRESSX Intelligence Report on AI-Powered Virtual Try-On

Business of Fashion featured the DressX Intelligence Report, which tracked 1.2 million luxury shoppers and found higher conversion and retention among virtual try-on users.

AI try-on linked to higher ecommerce conversion

Independent coverage of the study, reporting a 50 percent lift in purchase conversion for try-on users.

DRESSX Virtual Try-On Lifts Fashion Conversion 50%, WWD Reports

DressX highlighted WWD Sourcing Journal coverage of the same report.

A first for Amazon: virtual fashion move with DRESSX partnership

Retail Tech Innovation Hub covers Amazon's first foray into virtual fashion through its DRESSX partnership — a milestone for AI-powered try-on becoming a mainstream e-commerce feature.

Forbes: Google, DRESSX and the new fashion AI virtual try-on stack

Forbes profiles how DRESSX and Google are reshaping the fashion industry's AI stack — making virtual try-on a mainstream commerce tool. DRESSX is cited as the leading platform enabling AI-powered digital fashion at scale.

DRESSX and Amazon announce virtual fashion partnership — exclusive

GamesBeat exclusive: DRESSX and Amazon partner to bring AI-powered virtual fashion try-on to Amazon's platform, extending DRESSX's digital fashion technology to one of the world's largest e-commerce marketplaces.

DRESSX launches DRESSX Agent — the largest AI try-on and shopping platform with $2M in luxury merchandise

Described as 'ChatGPT for fashion,' the DRESSX Agent lets shoppers virtually try on luxury items using AI, reaching the largest inventory of AI-rendered fashion ever assembled on a single platform.

DRESSX powers Lacoste Bitmoji Fashion Store; DRESSGO Roblox experience with PUMA

DRESSX's partnerships extend into mainstream gaming and avatars — launching the Lacoste Bitmoji Fashion Store and the DRESSGO Roblox experience with PUMA, reaching tens of millions of users.

DRESSX launches Gen AI for instant wardrobe makeovers

DRESSX's generative AI tool lets anyone create and try on digital fashion instantly — no design skills required — positioning DRESSX as the leading AI-first platform in digital clothing.

Eduworks unveils AI platform at I/ITSEC 2024 — the world's largest modeling and simulation conference

Eduworks showcased its AI-driven training platform at I/ITSEC 2024, demonstrating how AI and natural language technologies are transforming defense training and workforce readiness.

Eduworks launches REVA: voice security for the age of AI-generated audio

Backed by DARPA and DoD contracts since 2017, Eduworks' REVA platform detects deepfake speech and voice-based phishing attacks in real time — delivering critical security as AI-generated audio becomes indistinguishable from real voices.

En Verite reaches $770K ARR with a 7-person team

The AI diligence platform for investors and founders — founded in early 2024 — reached $770K in annual recurring revenue with a lean seven-person team, demonstrating exceptional capital efficiency.

En Vérité comes out of stealth to bring AI-driven diligence to venture investing

After a year of development and a closed beta, founder Collin Sebastian launched En Vérité publicly — an AI platform that automates startup diligence for angels, family offices, and emerging managers.

Founder spotlight: Collin Sebastian on how AI-driven diligence is changing early-stage investing

In an Eqvista founder interview, Collin Sebastian shares how En Vérité's Trust, Verify, and Vector products de-risk venture capital and match pre-diligenced startups with qualified investors.

Peter Schoenke Announced As New CEO Of Fantasy Life

Fantasy Life appointed RotoWire co-founder Peter Schoenke as Chief Executive Officer.

Audacy Partners With Matthew Berry's Fantasy Football Happy Hour Podcast

Trade coverage of the Audacy deal.

Audacy Partners with Top Fantasy Football Analyst and New York Times Best-Selling Author Matthew Berry

Audacy became the exclusive audio sales and distribution partner for the Fantasy Football Happy Hour podcast, which Fantasy Life co-produces.

Matthew Berry brings fantasy football podcast to Audacy

Reports that the podcast, previously part of NBC Sports, is now co-produced by Fantasy Life and distributed by Audacy.

Matthew Berry's Fantasy Life Partners with Amazon To Bring Original Shows To Prime Video and Amazon Fire TV

Fantasy Life partnered with Amazon to launch a free streaming channel on Fire TV carrying four of its shows.

Matthew Berry reportedly launching daily talk show on Roku in former 'The Rich Eisen Show' slot

Reports that Fantasy Life will produce the Roku show.

PREGAME WITH MATTHEW BERRY to Launch on Roku Channel

Roku announced a free live two-hour weekday sports talk show hosted by Matthew Berry and produced by Fantasy Life, starting September 28.

Michelle Beadle joining Matthew Berry as co-host of Roku's 'Pregame'

Former ESPN host Michelle Beadle was named co-host of the Fantasy Life-produced Roku show.

Play the long game for your kids — CMAS × Fantasy Life partnership

Fantasy Life announces its partnership with CMAS, designed to make fantasy sports an on-ramp for teaching kids long-term thinking, decision-making, and strategy through play.

The endless possibilities for fantasy football in 2026

Fantasy Life's editorial team breaks down where the sport is headed in 2026 — from AI-driven analytics to new league formats — and how the platform is positioning to lead the next era of fantasy football.

Matthew Berry's Fantasy Life closes $7M seed round; acquires Guillotine Leagues; 737% revenue growth since 2022

Led by LeBron James's LRMR Ventures and SC Holdings, the round funds a new platform, the Guillotine Leagues acquisition, and continued growth for the FSGA Award-winning app.

ForceN to Present on Force and Torque Sensing for Humanoids at RoboBusiness 2026

Secondary write-up of the same speaking slot.

ForceN to give a crash course on force and torque sensing for humanoids at RoboBusiness

Founder and Chief Executive Officer Robert Brooks will speak at RoboBusiness 2026 (October 20 to 21, Santa Clara) on force and torque sensing for humanoid robots.

ForceN to Showcase Advanced Sensing for Robotics at RoboBusiness 2026

Secondary write-up of the same presentation.

From the Startup Battlefield stage to the International Space Station: GeCKo Materials built a sticky product

TechCrunch follows GeCKo Materials' journey from its Startup Battlefield debut to having its dry-adhesive technology selected for deployment aboard the International Space Station — a major validation for its gecko-inspired sticky material.

GeCKo Materials launches gecko-inspired adhesive

Coverage of GeCKo Materials' commercial launch of its gecko-inspired dry adhesive — a residue-free, reusable alternative to traditional bonding methods now shipping to industrial customers.

GeCKo Materials debuts four new products at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025; team tripled, customers include Samsung, Intel, and TSMC

One year after winning runner-up at Startup Battlefield, Gecko returns to the Disrupt stage with a semiconductor wafer handler, solar panel gripper, glass handling tool, and universal robotic arm end effector.

GeCKo Materials secures $8M seed round to scale energy-efficient adhesive technology

The runner-up at TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield 2024 raised $8M to commercialize its dry adhesive technology — a next-generation alternative to velcro with applications in semiconductors, robotics, and consumer electronics.

Prolink and Grapefruit Health launch partnership to build the next generation of nursing talent

Grapefruit Health teams up with Prolink, a leading national healthcare workforce solutions company, to give clinical students career readiness support while closing gaps in patient care.

Grapefruit Health raises seed round after pivot to closing care gaps

Following its pivot to care gap closure, Grapefruit Health closed a seed funding round to scale its clinical-student workforce serving health plans and providers.

Grapefruit Health and MVP Health Care break new ground in closing care gaps

A first-of-its-kind partnership puts Grapefruit Health's clinical student workforce to work for MVP Health Care members, improving outreach and closing care gaps at scale.

SUM Ventures invests in greenLi — Fund III backs lithium extraction from any water source

SUM Ventures Fund III invests in greenLi, founded by CEO Eitan Benson, whose complementary MLE and DCM technologies extract aqueous lithium and manufacture battery-ready cathode materials on-site, on demand.

Hellbender Releases Three New AI Cameras, Its First Standalone Products

Describes the first three Hellbender-branded on-edge cameras, with preorders opening in June and shipments expected in August.

Marine Corps veteran-turned-CEO brings 'all together pull' mentality to AI hardware company

Local television profile of co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Brian Beyer.

Hellbender expands Pittsburgh operations to scale physical AI manufacturing

Trade coverage of the expansion, noting support from the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

Pittsburgh AI startup Hellbender inks 10-year lease at Hazelwood Green

Reports a ten-year lease for nearly 90,000 square feet.

Hellbender doubles Pittsburgh footprint to meet demand for physical AI hardware and software

The fast-growing startup moves its headquarters to Hazelwood Green and opens expanded manufacturing operations at Mill 19, creating over 500 local jobs.

Hellbender raises $12.5M to build domestic AI hardware infrastructure as edge intelligence demand accelerates

Hellbender closed a $12.5M round to scale US-based manufacturing of edge AI hardware — strengthening America's domestic supply chain for the perception systems powering autonomous defense, robotics, and industrial automation.

Hellbender named Hailo Preferred Partner for edge AI perception systems

Hellbender achieved Preferred Partner status with Hailo, integrating the Hailo-8 AI Accelerator into its full-stack edge perception systems — enabling real-time AI inference for autonomous vehicles, defense robotics, and industrial automation without cloud dependency.

Hellbender joins Pittsburgh Technology Council's Defense Robotics and Innovation Coalition

Hellbender joined the Pittsburgh Technology Council's Defense Robotics and Innovation Coalition alongside Carnegie Robotics and Near Earth Autonomy, strengthening Pittsburgh's defense-tech ecosystem and pipeline for domestic autonomous systems procurement.

AI-Driven Spectral Intelligence Optimizes Clinical Diagnostics and Pharmaceutical Processing

Bylined trade article on how the company's spectral analysis can improve clinical diagnostics and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

HyperSpectral raises oversubscribed $7M Series A-2

The AI-powered spectral intelligence platform accelerates commercialization following a DARPA collaboration extension, a 2025 SPIE Prism Award for Best Software, and selection for Gartner's Computer Vision Innovators list.

HyperSpectral extends DARPA collaboration to enhance integrity of US domestic supply chain

Building on its AI spectral intelligence platform, HyperSpectral extended its DARPA collaboration to apply SpecAI technology to critical minerals detection and supply chain verification — a national security use case.

Irrigreen 3.0 launches with all-new Sprinkler 3 and Smart Controller 3; US manufacturing in Wisconsin

Irrigreen's third-generation platform brings the most advanced digital sprinkler hardware yet, fully manufactured in the United States, following the company's $19M Series A.

Irrigreen secures $19M Series A to lead the future of smart lawn care

The AI-powered robotic sprinkler startup, featured on CNBC's Power Lunch for its up-to-50% water savings, raised $19M to scale its precision irrigation platform nationwide.

Full Transcript: AppFolio Q2 2026 Earnings Call - AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF)

Passing mention: AppFolio's Chief Financial Officer named move-in services delivered through LiveEasy when discussing value-added services revenue growth.

LiveEasy acquired by AppFolio for ~$78.5M — becomes FolioSpace

SUM Ventures portfolio company LiveEasy was acquired by property management platform AppFolio to power its next-generation resident experience, rebranding as FolioSpace. A successful exit for the SUM portfolio.

Make A Company Social Media AI Agent — A Kikubot HowTo

Describes Kikubot, the company's open-source email-based agent framework.

Why mxHERO Mail2Cloud Advanced with MCP Matters in the Era of AI

Argues that pairing Mail2Cloud Advanced with the Model Context Protocol lets agents securely query business knowledge held in email.

The $3.67M Lawsuit Was Exposed by an Email Nobody Migrated — Evaluating AI for Legal Practice

Legal-sector test in which its email retrieval tool found a decisive archived email among 6,195 messages.

The ice cream went soft — now you're being sued for $4.1M

Litigation scenario showing its email search tool surfacing early-warning evidence.

mxHERO launches Mail2Cloud Advanced; named Box Solutions Partner of the Year

The enterprise email management platform deepens its integration with Box's content cloud and earns Box's top partner honor, following its CUI/CMMC 2.0 compliance update for defense sector customers.

mxHERO updates Mail2Cloud with CUI / CMMC 2.0 compliance capabilities

The enterprise email management platform adds support for Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) classification and CMMC 2.0 compliance, opening defense and government contractor markets.

Ovation (formerly Paperwork) partners with BALANCE financial wellness nonprofit

The rebranded platform — now called Ovation — formalizes a partnership with BALANCE, a leading nonprofit financial wellness organization, to expand access to credit-building tools for underserved consumers.

Beyond the Blueprint: Ghana Showcases Digital Finance Solutions to Unlock Growth for Women and Youth-Led MSMEs

Adehyeman Savings and Loans, in partnership with Oze, is introducing rural savings and loan products supported by digital credit scoring.

5 Digital finance solutions to support women, youth-led MSMEs

Ghanaian coverage of the five showcased solutions, including the Oze partnership.

Five digital finance solutions aim to expand access to finance for Ghana's small businesses

Describes Oze and Adehyeman introducing digital savings and lending that use alternative credit scoring to reach rural entrepreneurs.

Oze secures funding from Visa and DEG; top-3 finalist for Milken Motsepe Prize for Fintech

The Ghanaian small business financial platform raised an undisclosed round from Visa, DEG, Speedinvest, and AfricInvest, and was named a top-3 finalist out of 5,000+ applicants for the global Milken Motsepe FinTech Prize.

Argentina lidera los pagos digitales en la región con 99,6 millones de transacciones al mes entre bancos, billeteras y comercios

Spanish language. Susana Biondi, PayAmigo's head of acceptance and partnerships for Latin America, spoke on a digital payments panel at the Innovation Espresso event in Buenos Aires.

Innovation Espresso Argentina 2026

Spanish language. Coverage of the same event lists PayAmigo's Susana Biondi among the panelists.

PayAmigo closes Series A funding round

The Latin America-focused payment aggregator, which launched in Argentina in late 2024, closed its Series A to accelerate expansion across the region.

SUM Ventures doubles down on PayAmigo with Fund III follow-on investment

SUM Ventures Fund III makes a follow-on investment in PayAmigo, the Latin America-focused cross-border payments platform, extending SUM's backing across Funds I, II, and III.

Bioplastic Secures Berth in Upcoming World Cup

PlantSwitch will supply compostable cutlery, lids, plates and straws to SoFi Stadium during the World Cup, following its 17 million dollar Series A round.

PLANTSWITCH, INC. - fund raising filing (Form D)

Form D record showing 12,999,998 dollars sold to three investors, with a first sale date of July 6, 2026.

PlantSwitch discloses a fully sold $13M round for crop-waste plastic

PlantSwitch disclosed in a securities filing that it sold nearly 13 million dollars in a fully subscribed offering.

PlantSwitch raises $17M Series A to swap plastic at the 2026 World Cup

The compostable-materials startup raised $17M to supply plant-based cutlery, cups, and foodware for the 2026 World Cup — turning farm waste into stadium-scale plastic replacements.

PlantSwitch reaches $20M total funding; targets 50M lb/yr production capacity

PlantSwitch's Sanford, NC facility is producing compostable resin from agricultural residues at scale, with the company setting a 50-million-pound-per-year capacity target.

PlantSwitch raises $8M with NexPoint Capital; Sanford, NC facility producing

With new capital from NexPoint Capital and CIM Group, PlantSwitch opened its North Carolina manufacturing center — converting agricultural residues into compostable plastic resin — enabled by the Siemens debt facility that SUM facilitated.

Product Society redefines what it means to be a beauty manufacturer

Beauty Independent profiles Product Society's full-stack model — services extend beyond production to brand development, formulation, packaging, testing, and third-party logistics — and how the company is investing in the brands it works with.

FirstTeam Connects Its Technology Systems With Purlin's AI-Powered Operating Model

Covers FirstTeam's rollout of Purlin's operating system.

FirstTeam Real Estate, Purlin partner on AI-powered operations

Reports the partnership, noting FirstTeam's 6.12 billion dollars in 2025 sales volume.

FirstTeam® connects its entire technology ecosystem with Purlin's AI-powered operating model for real estate

California brokerage FirstTeam is deploying PurlinOS, Purlin Close and Purlin Offer & Negotiate; Purlin states more than 40,000 real estate professionals use its platform.

FirstTeam and Purlin on avoiding AI mistakes: 'Some stuff actually creates more work'

Follow-up interview with FirstTeam's Lauren Henss and Purlin Chief Revenue Officer Tim Quirk on what makes brokerage rollouts succeed.

Why FirstTeam Built Its Own All-In-One AI System With Purlin

Feature on why FirstTeam chose customizable Purlin technology; agents begin managing transactions by voice, text or chat in October.

SUM Ventures makes Fund III follow-on investment in Purlin

Following Purlin's merger with Final Offer to form real estate's first unified AI operating system, SUM Ventures Fund III doubles down with a follow-on investment in the company it first backed in 2019.

From congestion to clarity: Jordan Justice and the future of curb management

Parking Network features Jordan Justice on how data, AI, and unified platforms are turning the curb — once a source of congestion and confusion — into the most valuable real estate in every city.

Purlin merges with Final Offer to create real estate's first unified AI platform

The combined company, Purlin Enterprises, unifies real estate, mortgage, and title under one AI operating system serving 35,000+ agents and 15 million consumers.

Purlin's AI covered in RISMedia for fair housing compliance capabilities

National real estate publication RISMedia spotlights Purlin's AI platform for its ability to help agents stay compliant with fair housing law — a key differentiator as the industry navigates AI-assisted transactions.

EP 101 — Purple Rhombus' Mike Benitez On Building 100,000 Group 2 Drones A Year Using Factories That Already Exist

Chief Executive Officer Mike Benitez on how the Grackle drone could reach production of 100,000 units a year using existing factories.

Purple Rhombus and Hughes Bros. Aircrafters Enter Manufacturing Agreement to Scale Drone Production

Hughes Bros. Aircrafters, a Wilder Industries subsidiary, will provide production engineering, tooling and fabrication to scale drone output.

Purple Rhombus tapped for Army long-range drone project

United States Army contract under Project BOLT to develop an extended-range Grackle variant for Army I Corps in the Pacific.

Purple Rhombus awarded $1.25M AFWERX Direct-to-Phase II SBIR contract

The defense UAS company secured a highly competitive AFWERX contract to advance its WASP unmanned aerial systems, following successful demonstrations at T-REX 24-2 and the launch of the PR-2 Group 3 UAS program.

Purple Rhombus enters agreement with Army DEVCOM Armaments Center

Purple Rhombus signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center to collaborate on lethal unmanned systems.

SUM Ventures invests in Red Ace Bio — Fund III backs a new genetic logic for cancer therapy

SUM Ventures Fund III invests in Red Ace Bio, founded by CEO Scott Leighow, PhD, whose platform reprograms tumors with synthetic vulnerabilities to overcome drug resistance and enable lasting remission.

Ask Root | Episode 1

Founder Jesse Dietrichson explains how Root began and why it offers communities customizable application channels rather than only chat.

How We Brought Root Apps to Mobile

How the company extended its in-community applications from desktop to mobile.

Introducing Root Sudo

Root launched Sudo, a paid personal subscription with higher-quality streaming and a monthly allotment members can direct toward their communities.

Announcing Root's Developer Program

Chief Operating Officer Adrian Stevens announced version 1.0 of the Root developer program.

Why Root supports Apps and Bots

Explains that Root supports both background bots and graphical applications. The date shown is the post's last-updated date.

SUM Ventures invests in Root — Fund III backs the community platform built for action

SUM Ventures Fund III invests in Root, founded by CEO Jesse Dietrichson — a community platform with real tools and powerful apps, from Task Tracker to Raid Planner, where every app runs directly on the platform.

Beverage Robots Pour Into Stadiums, Airports and Venues

Multi-company trade feature that profiles Rotender's machine, with comments from founder Ben Winston.

Skidattl launches QR-based AR overlay platform — no app download required; $5,000/yr plans

Skidattl's platform lets venues and events deploy augmented reality experiences through a simple QR code scan, lowering the barrier for AR adoption. Powered wayfinding at the Durango Shootout soccer tournament.

ATN Insights: New Yorkers Want to Dance. Los Angelenos Want to Lift

Trade analysis built on Sweatpals event data showing demand for in-person fitness differs by city. Behind a paywall.

Why Fitness Operators Are Finding Growth in Community, Not Competition

Sponsored feature in which Chief Executive Officer Salar Shahini says roughly sixty percent of first-time event attendees book again within thirty days.

SweatPals raises $12M led by Patron, a16z Speedrun, and Kevin Hart's HartBeat Ventures

The social fitness platform surpassed 1M monthly users and 170K weekly active users. Run club attendance grew 216% YoY. Total funding now $17.2M; expanding from 24 to 36 cities by early 2026.

SweatPals raises $3M seed led by a16z Speedrun and Pear VC

The social fitness platform raised its first institutional round from top-tier investors to build the connective tissue between fitness enthusiasts — helping people find others to work out with based on sport, skill, and location.

THIA patents the first Small Language Model architecture for enterprise AI

As enterprises look beyond massive general-purpose models, THIA's patented Small Language Model (SLM) architecture helps companies get real ROI from AI agents — securely and affordably.

THIA joins the NATO DIANA defense innovation accelerator

THIA was selected for NATO's DIANA accelerator program, working with defense and manufacturing leaders from NATO HQ in Brussels to the Netherlands and Belgium on secure autonomous AI.

Comcast Corporate Credit Rating

A published ratings report rather than a news announcement; the company home page lists Comcast at A- on Credit Watch Negative.

Transparency Analytics closes second funding round led by Deciens Capital

The platform delivers real-time transparent credit ratings to institutional lenders managing over $1B in credit assets. SUM Ventures participated in the round alongside Allianz Life Ventures and Mouro Capital.

Best Custodial Accounts of 2026

Forbes Advisor's 2026 ranking gives UNest its Best Custodial Account designation. The date shown is the page's last-updated date.

Why Manufacturing Partners Should Be Involved Before the First Part Is Made

Company opinion piece on bringing manufacturing partners in early.

Wilder Industries Appoints Aerospace Manufacturing Veteran Ben Hempstead to Advisory Board

Ben Hempstead, who spent 28 years at Electroimpact, joined the advisory board.

Hughes Bros. Aircrafters Implements Wilder Systems' Automated Robotic Sanding System to Improve Aerospace Manufacturing Efficiency

Wilder Systems deployed a robotic sanding cell at the Hughes Bros. Aircrafters plant in South Gate, California.

Wilder Industries Appoints Col. (Ret.) Abby Ruscetta to Advisory Board

Retired Air Force Colonel Abby Ruscetta joined the advisory board.

Wilder Industries Welcomes Aerospace Manufacturing Executive Bryce Grisoli as Senior Advisor

Bryce Grisoli, former Chief Financial Officer of Essner Manufacturing, joined as a senior advisor.

From Prototype to Production: Wilder Industries Highlights the Manufacturing Challenge Facing Drone and Autonomous Systems Companies

Company statement urging drone developers to plan for manufacturing during design.

Purple Rhombus and Hughes Bros. Aircrafters Enter Manufacturing Agreement to Scale Drone Production

Wilder Industries subsidiary Hughes Bros. Aircrafters agreed to scale Purple Rhombus drone manufacturing.

Will Wilder named to LA Hard Tech 50

Wilder Industries (also known as Wilder Systems) founder Will Wilder is recognized on the LA Hard Tech 50 list, highlighting the company's robotics and autonomous systems work in the aerospace MRO sector.

CrossFit Taps WurQ to Create Functional Fitness Wearable

Reports the system tracks repetitions, range of motion, velocity and power, and will roll out across the CrossFit affiliate network.

CrossFit taps WurQ as official performance analytics partner for wearable training platform

Sports business newsletter roundup item on the partnership.

CrossFit taps WurQ to create groundbreaking functional fitness wearable platform

CrossFit and WurQ partner on a wearable platform for tracking the Fittest on Earth — bringing WurQ's multimodal movement recognition and AI analytics to the CrossFit community and the 2026 Games.

SUM Ventures makes Fund III follow-on investment in WurQ

On the heels of WurQ's CrossFit partnership, SUM Ventures Fund III doubles down with a follow-on investment in the fitness wearable and AI analytics company it first backed in Fund II.

WurQ launches multimodal AI analytics for CrossFit and functional fitness athletes

WurQ's wearable platform uses multimodal movement recognition to deliver the AI analytics CrossFit athletes have long needed. Featured by 2024 CrossFit Games competitor Bethany Flores in her Open training.

YBVR brings the Daytona 500 to VR — 2026 edition on Xtadium

Race fans can experience the 2026 Daytona 500 in fully immersive virtual reality through YBVR's Xtadium platform — putting viewers trackside for NASCAR's biggest race of the year.

YBVR launches college football in VR

YBVR expands its live sports lineup with college football, bringing Saturday's biggest matchups into virtual reality on Xtadium for fans who want a courtside-style seat from anywhere.

Watch college basketball in VR with YBVR

YBVR adds college basketball to its Xtadium VR sports library — letting fans follow March Madness contenders and conference rivalries with immersive, multi-angle viewing.

Xtadium launches in UK on Meta Quest — first international expansion; PSG Ligue 1, WNBA, and NHL Stanley Cup Final in VR

YBVR's Xtadium platform expanded beyond the US, delivering PSG Ligue 1 matches, WNBA games, and the first-ever NHL Stanley Cup Final in virtual reality via beIN Sports and Fox Sports.

Fox Sports and YBVR bring Copa América Final live to Meta Quest via Xtadium

Hundreds of thousands of fans watched the 2024 Copa América Final in immersive virtual reality through YBVR's Xtadium platform on Meta Quest — a landmark moment for live sports broadcasting in VR.

YBVR awarded $998,251 NSF SBIR grant for VR training R&D

The National Science Foundation awarded YBVR a nearly $1M SBIR grant to advance research and development in virtual reality training applications, expanding the platform beyond live sports.