BlackRock Innovation Capital

Leveraging personal data for custom-fit diagnosis and treatment

Precision Medicine

<div>
 
 GeneDx (formerly Sema4) GeneDx is an AI-powered genomic and clinical data intelligence platform. It combines longitudinal patient data, AI models, and genomics with other clinical data to derive insights. GeneDx's platform enables treatment matching, drug target identification, and diagnostic testing. The company provides diagnostic solutions for reproductive health, women's health, hereditary cancer, oncology, and more. GeneDx has built one of the largest integrated health data platforms, with over 12 million de-identified clinical records and 500,000 genomic profiles.
 
 
 
 
 GeneDx processes over 46+ petabytes of data monthly. This powers genomic-based, proactive disease diagnosis and management for healthcare providers. The company operates on a B2B2C model, getting reimbursed by insurance providers. GeneDx also partners with biopharmas to support drug development, real-world evidence studies, and clinical trial recruitment.
 
 
 
 
 GeneDx, formerly part of Opko Health, was acquired by Sema4 in April 2022 for USD 623 million. Since the acquisition, Sema4 has focused on growing the GeneDx business and branding.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 
 In August 2023, the company partnered with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20755">
 PacBio and the University of Washington
 </a>
 to enhance pediatric genetic diagnosis, and also partnered with Prognos Health to expand customer access.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 
 In January 2023, the company changed its name to GeneDx Holdings Corp from Sema4 and traded under the ticker symbol &ldquo;WGS'' on the Nasdaq Exchange. Also in January 2023, the company raised USD 150 million via an 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16002">
 underwritten public offering
 </a>
 consisting of 428.6 million common shares priced at USD 0.35 per share. The new funds were allocated towards general corporate expenses including working capital, repayment of debts, and strategic investments.
 
 
 
 
 For 2022 the company reported a net loss of USD 549 million (up 123.7% YoY) while revenue was USD 227.3 million (up 10.8% YoY). For 2023, the company expects its full-year revenue guidance to be at USD 205 million&ndash;220 million, implying a decrease of 6%-13%.&nbsp;
 
 
 
</div>

<div>
 
 Exscientia is a developer of precision medicine using its AI-based platform with discovery-to-clinical capabilities. The company uses its proprietary Centaur Chemist technology to assess disease targets specified by its clients and to prioritize potential disease targets for its own pipeline. The company claims to be the first to apply AI to small-molecule drug discovery and design.
 
 
 As of July 2023, the company had five drug candidates in the pipeline; 1) EXS21546 targeting the A2A receptor antagonist is in Phase I/II trial, 2) GTAEXS617 (co-owned by Apeiron) targeting the CDK7 inhibitor and was in Phase I/II trial to treat solid tumors, 3) EXS4318 (licensed by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS)) targeting the PKC-theta inhibitor and was in Phase I to treat inflammatory diseases, 4) EXS74539 targeting the lysine demethylase 1 (LSD1) inhibitor, and 5) EXS73565, targeting mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1 (MALT1) protease inhibitor for cancer patients. EXS74539 and EXS73565 were launched in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17061">
 March 2023
 </a>
 and were undergoing IND-enabling studies. The company had plans to announce progress on clinical development strategies using Exscientia's personalized medicine platform in 2H 2023.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key Customers and Partnerships
 
 
 
 
 The company has several key partners including 
 <a href="https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/bayer-parts-ways-exscientia-leaving-one-target-ai-drug-hunters-hands">
 Bayer 
 </a>
 (August 2022), 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7629">
 Sanofi 
 </a>
 (January 2022), 
 <a href="https://investors.exscientia.ai/press-releases/press-release-details/2021/exscientia-announces-multi-target-ai-driven-drug-discovery-collaboration-with-bristol-myers-squibb/Default.aspx">
 Bristol-Myers Squibb 
 </a>
 (May 2021), 
 <a href="https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/sumitomo-dainippon-exscientia-ai-drug/">
 Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma 
 </a>
 (January 2020), 
 <a href="https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/exscientia-gt-apeiron-alliance/">
 GT Apeiron Therapeutics 
 </a>
 (June 2019), 
 <a href="https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/comment/celgene-exscientia-collaboration/">
 Celgene 
 </a>
 (March 2019), 
 <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exscientia-initiates-sixth-ai-drug-discovery-partnership-892453560.html">
 Roche 
 </a>
 (January 2019), and 
 <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exscientia-enters-strategic-drug-discovery-collaboration-with-gsk-632029553.html">
 GSK 
 </a>
 (July 2017). Most recently, the company partnered with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16935">
 Charit&eacute;
 </a>
 (March 2023) to use Exscientia&rsquo;s AI-based precision medicine platform in the treatment of hematological cancers.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and Financials
 
 
 In October 2021, Exscientia went 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5792">
 public
 </a>
 on Nasdaq, raising more than USD 350 million on the stock exchange under the ticker symbol, &ldquo;EXAI.&rdquo; For the financial year 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17291">
 2022
 </a>
 , the company&rsquo;s net loss increased 141% YoY to USD 143.4 million.
 
</div>

Artificial intelligence is identifying and testing new therapies faster than ever.

AI Drug Discovery

<div>
 
 UK-based Exscientia is a full-stack AI drug discovery firm with discovery-to-clinical capabilities. The company uses its proprietary Centaur Chemist technology to assess disease targets specified by its clients and to prioritize potential disease targets for its own pipeline.
 
 
 It follows the Bispecific (dual-target) novel and highly complex approach that attempts to identify two simultaneous and distinct targets that perfectly bind with a drug compound, as opposed to identifying a single target. This can save considerable costs as a single drug can deliver the same efficacy as two different drugs. The company&rsquo;s AI algorithms are disease-agnostic, which means the platform can be applied to any disease targets across a wider range of disease types, such as oncology, cardiovascular, and rare diseases. The company also claims to be the first to apply AI to small molecule drug discovery and design.
 
 
 In a landmark development, Exscientia advanced the first fully AI-developed drug into human clinical trials, in partnership with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma (SDP) in January 2020. The drug discovery and preclinical research were completed in less than 12 months, a fraction of the five-year average for the same process using conventional research techniques.&nbsp;As of May 2024, the company had four drug candidates in its pipeline.
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31700">
 July 2024
 </a>
 , the company penned a licensing agreement with AI-powered biopharmaceutical company GT Apeiron for its oral CDK7 inhibitor program, GTAEXS617 ('617). This oral CDK7 inhibitor, was evaluated in the ELUCIDATE clinical trial for its impact on advanced solid tumors. 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 The company has formed several partnership projects that include several large pharmaceutical players such as 
 <a href="https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/bayer-parts-ways-exscientia-leaving-one-target-ai-drug-hunters-hands">
 Bayer
 </a>
 (August 2022), 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7630">
 Sanofi
 </a>
 (January 2022), 
 <a href="https://investors.exscientia.ai/press-releases/press-release-details/2021/exscientia-announces-multi-target-ai-driven-drug-discovery-collaboration-with-bristol-myers-squibb/Default.aspx">
 Bristol-Myers Squibb
 </a>
 (May 2021), 
 <a href="https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/sumitomo-dainippon-exscientia-ai-drug/">
 Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma
 </a>
 (January 2020), 
 <a href="https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/exscientia-gt-apeiron-alliance/">
 GT Apeiron Therapeutics
 </a>
 (June 2019), 
 <a href="https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/comment/celgene-exscientia-collaboration/">
 Celgene
 </a>
 (March 2019), 
 <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exscientia-initiates-sixth-ai-drug-discovery-partnership-892453560.html">
 Roche
 </a>
 (January 2019), 
 <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exscientia-enters-strategic-drug-discovery-collaboration-with-gsk-632029553.html">
 GSK
 </a>
 (July 2017), and 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17166">
 Charit&eacute; 
 </a>
 (March 2023). The company also added Big Pharma company 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22067">
 Merck
 </a>
 to its partner network in September 2023 via a strategic partnership that aimed to identify and develop new compounds against three targets.&nbsp;
 
 
 The company has also received two grants from the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF): USD 4.2 million in December 2020 for malaria tuberculosis and non-hormonal contraception treatments, and USD 1.5 million in July 2021 to develop therapies for Covid-19. It also entered a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5412">
 USD 70 million partnership
 </a>
 with BMGF in September 2021 to develop therapies for viral diseases. In addition, it has several co-development projects with Evotec, Apeiron, and Rallibio.&nbsp;
 
</div>

More important now than ever, telehealth will long outlast the pandemic that drove its growth.

Telehealth

<div>
 
 Virginia-based SOC Telemed is an acute care telemedicine provider that offers specialty consultations to hospitals, physician groups, correction facilities, and other healthcare organizations via its Telemed IQ cloud-based software platform. The company provides 20 clinical service types including neurology, psychiatry, critical care, pulmonary, infectious diseases, cardiology, maternal-fetal medicine, and nephrology. Telemed IQ enables healthcare providers to offer telemedicine services either with their own clinical team or in conjunction with SOC Telemed&rsquo;s affiliated network of board-certified physicians and specialists.&nbsp;
 
 
 Following the acquisition of Texas-based multi-specialty telemedicine company Access Physicians, the company became the largest pure-play acute telemedicine provider, serving nearly 1,087 facilities including 193 facilities serviced by Access, as of September 2021. Founded in 2004, SOC Telemed&rsquo;s clients include MedStar Health, Huntsville Hospital, Prime Healthcare, Beauregard Health System, Sound Physicians, and SCP Health.&nbsp;
 
 
 In 9M 2021, the company&rsquo;s revenue grew 53% YoY to USD 66.5 million due to increased total consultations (up 1.7x YoY to nearly 366,000). Operating loss, however, nearly doubled to USD 40.5 million. Growing pressure on hospital emergency departments due to the Delta variant and a change in its product commercialization timeline led SOC Telemed to revise its revenue expectations upwards to a range of USD 91.5&ndash;93.5 million in 2021, implying a growth rate of 58%-61% YoY, while the adjusted EBITDA loss is expected to range from USD 21.5 million&ndash;22.5 million. 
 
 
 In April 2022, it was acquired by the healthcare investment company Patient Square Capital. The deal valued SOC Telemed at nearly USD 304.2 million. With the deal, SOC Telemed became a privately held company with the ability to further bolster its clinical capabilities and solutions as well as expand its market reach. 
 
 
 
</div>

Using online platforms, autonomy, electric and fuel-cell tech solutions to shape the future of trucking.

Truck Industry Tech

Loadsmart is a logistics technology company specializing in freight transportation and supply chain optimization. It offers a range of digital solutions, including online freight brokerage, dock scheduling software, and transportation management systems. Loadsmart's platform integrates AI/ML to enhance warehouse management, truckload procurement, and real-time freight tracking.Its freight matching solution supports full-truckload (FTL), less-than-truckload (LTL), partial-truckload (PTL), drayage, and intermodal freight. This platform allows users to instantly price, book, and ship freight. Shippers can also get updates, track shipments, and automate invoicing via integration with transportation management systems (TMS). The company offers the service on a subscription basis.Loadsmart’s acquisitions include 1) Navtrac, a computer vision startup (September 2023); 2) Kamion, an intelligent trucking management system; and 3) Opendock, a developer of warehouse dock scheduling software <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/6481">(November 2021).</a>Key customers and partnershipsIts customers include Cabot, Stanley Black &amp; Decker, Halliburton, Alcoa, Accenture, and StoneLoads.Loadsmart had 11 TMS integrations as of July 2024, including Oracle, MercuryGate, e2open, BlueYonder, Manhattan Associates, Kuebix, Tai, Win, One Network Enterprises, Uroute, and TranzAct. The company also has partnerships with similar online freight matching companies including SmartHop <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201201005290/en/SmartHop-Partners-with-Loadsmart-To-Support-Small-Carriers-Ahead-of-Holiday-Rush">(December 2020)</a>, Trucker Path’s Truckloads <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7826">(January 2022)</a>, and StoneLoads <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15166?industryIds=47">(December 2022)</a> to offer more load opportunities and enhance the number of available carriers.

Sustainably solving the food shortages of the future

Smart Farming

Launched in 2014, FBN is among the most popular farmer networks and e-commerce platforms in the US, affording farmers a range of services such as purchasing inputs, seed selection, contract and bid management, field monitoring, record-keeping of on-farm activities, and farmer-to-farmer communication. Farmers pay FBN between USD <a href="https://www.fbn.com/pricing">500 and USD 700</a> annually to use its services. As of December 2020, the company had 20,000 global members on its platform. North America has been a key region for FBN, although the company is also expanding its business to countries with significant opportunities such as Australia.&nbsp;In 2016, FBN launched an online input-buying platform called FBN Direct, which collects data on seed prices and performances, assisting farmers in seed and crop management. In 2018, via its farmer-to-farmer genetics network, the startup introduced its first non-GMO corn and soybean seed offerings. Toward the end of 2018, FBN also announced a partnership with Amazon, allowing FBN members registering as Amazon Business customers to access discounts offered alongside an expanded product portfolio. Products such as outdoor power tools, oils and fluids, and outdoor apparel were included.&nbsp;As of December 2020, based on 20,000 members paying an annual average fee of USD 600, FBN is poised to generate around USD 12 million in revenue. We note that although FBN started off as a platform to simply connect farmers, in the process of doing so, the company has been able to accumulate a great deal of data. This has allowed it to go beyond merely being a connection platform to introducing its own products and services.&nbsp;In<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17786"> April 2023</a>, FBN has launched an AI-powered agronomic advisor, “Norm,” to provide farmers with a wide range of agronomic intelligence. The company has also launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20118">AcreVisionSM</a>, a streamlined solution designed to help farmers make informed land acquisition decisions by leveraging public datasets in proprietary analytical models in July 2023.&nbsp;In October 2023, The company has&nbsp; launched its <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231026354272/en/Farmers-Business-Network-Launches-Revolutionary-Profectus%E2%84%A2-Feeds">Profectus™ Feeds</a>, a new approach to beef cattle feeding that could increase profitability and sustainability of beef production. In<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240124110165/en/FBN-Expands-Portfolio-for-Canadian-Growers-with-10-New-Crop-Protection-Products-Digital-Tools-and-Enhanced-Distribution-Network"> January 2024</a>, The company has also announced the addition of 10 innovative Crop Protection products under the FBN Brand’s portfolio for Canada. The products include, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fbn.com%2Fen-ca%2Fdirect%2Fproduct%2Ffbn-fluroxypyr-180-ec&amp;esheet=53886962&amp;newsitemid=20240124110165&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=FBN+Fluroxypyr+180+EC&amp;index=2&amp;md5=ee8a5975f8108fba74afc3737010ff74&amp;_gl=1*1o84707*_gcl_au*MTc2Nzc0NzEzMy4xNzE2OTg0MDMx*_ga*OTgwOTEyNTIzLjE3MTY5ODQwMzI.*_ga_ZQWF70T3FK*MTcyMzY5MzQxMy4yMi4wLjE3MjM2OTM0MTMuNjAuMC4w">FBN Fluroxypyr 180 EC</a>, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fbn.com%2Fen-ca%2Fdirect%2Fproduct%2Ffbn-fbn-2-4-d-ester-700-ec&amp;esheet=53886962&amp;newsitemid=20240124110165&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=FBN+2%2C4-D+Ester+700+EC&amp;index=3&amp;md5=e836685682efb151e80333e08a5ef1e8">FBN 2,4-D Ester 700 EC</a>, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fbn.com%2Fen-ca%2Fdirect%2Fproduct%2Ffbn-fbn-mcpa-ester-600-ec&amp;esheet=53886962&amp;newsitemid=20240124110165&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=FBN+MCPA+Ester+600+EC&amp;index=4&amp;md5=41fd3e2bbf04ff726e9242dc4a1fd444">FBN MCPA Ester 600 EC</a>, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fbn.com%2Fen-ca%2Fdirect%2Fproduct%2Ffbn-proteb-250-ec&amp;esheet=53886962&amp;newsitemid=20240124110165&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=FBN+ProTEB+250+EC&amp;index=5&amp;md5=47023a050313b2884fd71164b2907780">FBN ProTEB 250 EC</a>, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fbn.com%2Fen-ca%2Fdirect%2Fproduct%2Ffbn-prothio-480-sc&amp;esheet=53886962&amp;newsitemid=20240124110165&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=FBN+Prothio+480+SC&amp;index=6&amp;md5=1ac4f0909bb76d2eb4b6cea32f26c155">FBN Prothio 480 S</a>C, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fbn.com%2Fen-ca%2Fdirect%2Fproduct%2Ffbn-fbn-azoxy-250-sc&amp;esheet=53886962&amp;newsitemid=20240124110165&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=FBN+Azoxy+250+SC&amp;index=7&amp;md5=c7c7ea92acd1c7297324dba5ec8ece46">FBN Azoxy 250 SC</a>, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fbn.com%2Fen-ca%2Fdirect%2Fproduct%2Ffbn-capttain-copack&amp;esheet=53886962&amp;newsitemid=20240124110165&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=FBN+CapTTain+CoPak&amp;index=8&amp;md5=282aa4ecdd524de6a5f02ff83d49854d">FBN CapTTain CoPak</a>, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fbn.com%2Fen-ca%2Fdirect%2Fproduct%2Ffbn-sterling-copack&amp;esheet=53886962&amp;newsitemid=20240124110165&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=FBN+Sterling&amp;index=9&amp;md5=0c896ade86400194a6325401232dfde1">FBN Sterling</a>, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fbn.com%2Fen-ca%2Fdirect%2Fproduct%2Ffbn-blacktail-copack&amp;esheet=53886962&amp;newsitemid=20240124110165&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=FBN+BlackTail&amp;index=10&amp;md5=01f1407f842af170eab15848502ff9ea">FBN BlackTail</a> and <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fbn.com%2Fen-ca%2Fdirect%2Fproduct%2Ffbn-maxunitechsulfentrazone480sc&amp;esheet=53886962&amp;newsitemid=20240124110165&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Maxunitech+Sulfentrazone&amp;index=11&amp;md5=32a0142489eaecc1c036874558717c13">Maxunitech Sulfentrazone</a>.In<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26877"> February 2024</a>, FBN has appointed Diego Casanello as CEO, effective March 1, 2024, succeeding interim CEO Devin Lammers, who has held the position since November 2023.Key customers and partnershipsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15950">January 2023</a>, The company has partnered with Greeneye Technology, a provider of precision spraying solutions employing AI and deep learning, into a&nbsp; long-term strategic partnership to combine Greeneye's retrofit precision spraying systems with FBN's Precision Spraying Packs, customized crop protection, and nutrition plans that FBN is developing with the Greeneye technology, slated to launch in the US in 2024.

Making banking work, without the paperwork

Neobanks

Brazil-based Neon is a digital bank serving retail and micro-entrepreneur individuals (MEI). The bank serves its retail customers through its mobile app, which provides access to a digital account, credit and debit card, and a digital wallet. In addition, customers will be able to conduct PIX payments, an account-to-account payment mechanism created by the Central Bank of Brazil. The bank also offers investment products, where customers can either save in fixed amounts or through daily or monthly installments. Neon Bank does not charge any annual fees on its credit cards and allows its customers to make unlimited payments and transfers for free as well. It also provides personal and payroll loans facilities, and customers are also eligible for three free ATM withdrawals per month. Moreover, Neon had plans to venture into new verticals such as insurance and other credit alternatives such as loans and guarantees in the future.Neon serves its micro-entrepreneur customers through its mobile MEI Fácil app and helps them obtain a CNPJ (tax registration number). MEI is a regulation by the Central Bank of Brazil that allows micro-entrepreneurs to pay fewer taxes and enjoy other benefits. To be eligible to open the account, a micro-entrepreneur’s annual revenue is required to be below BRL 81,000, it should employ at least one worker, and it should be engaged in a permitted activity. Through the MEI Fácil account, Neon’s customers can order a POS machine (costing BRL 78 with no monthly fees), which is linked to the digital account allowing customers to track sales, accept PIX and card payments, and issue invoices. Businesses are also given a debt and credit card with a limit of BRL 15,000 with no monthly fees. Customers can also use the app to pay bills and monthly taxes, and conduct one free withdrawal (ATM or outside bank transfer) per month, with additional withdrawals costing BRL 6.90 per transaction. In addition, Neon provides accounting services (BRL 69.90 per year) and educational content to its micro-entrepreneurs.Neon’s rapid expansion can be attributed to a series of strategic acquisitions made in recent years. In September 2019, it made its first acquisition–MEI Fácil, expanding its services to micro-entrepreneurs. Furthermore, it expanded its product offerings to private payroll loans in November 2020 with the acquisition of ConsigaMais+, which had more than 430,000 customers and a loan portfolio worth BRL 150 million (USD 28 million). To further consolidate its foothold in the payroll loan segment, it acquired Biorc in January 2022, and the bank claimed it is the largest payroll loan provider in Brazil as of May 2022.Key customers and partnershipsAs of August 2023, Neon had ~20 million customers, consisting primarily of retail customers (~70%). Its debit and credit cards are provided in partnership with Visa.Funding and financialsIn February 2022, Neon raised USD 300 million from a Series D funding at a valuation of USD 1.6 billion from existing investor Banco BBVA, through its VC fund–Propel, thereby increasing its stake to 29.7%. Neon was expected to use the fresh capital to launch new products and improve its technological and marketing capabilities.In FY2021, Neon reported a financial income of BRL 152.5 million (USD 28.3 million), net financial operating profit of BRL 5.7 million (USD 1.1 million), and a net loss of BRL 542.2 million (USD 100.6 million).

Electrifying passenger and commercial travel

EV Economy

<div>
 
 Arrival is a UK-based company that manufactures electric passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. This includes the &ldquo;Arrival Car,&rdquo; which the company intended for ride-hailing and car-sharing services; the &ldquo;Arrival XL Van,&rdquo; an urban utility vehicle; and the &ldquo;Arrival Bus,&rdquo; which can be tailored to community requirements.&nbsp;
 
 
 Furthermore, the company&rsquo;s vehicles have embedded telematics for data collection from an array of sensors. This enables vehicle owners to track real-time and historic location, speed, and other data. The vehicles can also be analyzed for health faults and incidents.
 
 
 Arrival intended to manufacture these EVs through a decentralized microfactory network that uses cell-based robotic assembly. These microfactories will be located in areas of demand using existing commercial spaces or warehouses. They will be operational within six months of readying a site. The vehicles will be manufactured from proprietary composite materials, which are low-cost, 50% lighter than steel, durable, and resistant to damage.
 
 
 Arrival began testing its buses at a facility in December 2021. Furthermore, in September 2022, the company reported that it produced the first production verification vehicle at its Bicester Microfactory.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 Arrival&rsquo;s latest funding was in 
 <a href="https://arrival.com/news/">
 September 2023
 </a>
 , when the company secured bridge financing of up to USD 50 million from Antara Capital and Highbridge Capital Management. The funds were to be used as working capital or to explore a potential sale. Prior to this in March 2023, the company established a USD 300 million equity financing line with Westwood Capital. In April 2023, the company was listed on the Nasdaq through a SPAC merger. The combined company was valued at USD 524 million. However, in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26530">
 February 2024
 </a>
 , Arrival reported its delisting from Nasdaq due to its inability to produce its annual statements for 2022. During the same month, the company also reported that it filed for bankruptcy.
 
</div>

Enhancing seed and crop traits via biotechnology

Crop Biotech

<div>
 
 Farmers Business Network (FBN) is an AgTech platform that helps farmers to maximize profit with a data and technology-enabled direct-to-farm commerce, community, and sustainability platform. It helps reduce production costs, maximize profit potential and supports decision-making among farmer communities. Its product line comprises crop protection, seeds, adjuvants, livestock, and biologicals, and it also offers financial products, grain marketing services, and insurance products. FBN has been featured in Fast Company, Successful Farming, AgWeb, the Wall Street Journal, and Business Wire. The privately held company has offices in the US, Canada, and Australia. It acquired Haplotech, Cibus, and Farmsave in 2020.
 
</div>

Ensuring the right people access the right resources at the right time

Identity & Access Management

<div>
 
 JumpCloud offers a cloud-based directory platform designed to simplify identity, access, and device management for organizations. Its solution serves as a centralized identity provider, enabling IT teams to manage user identities, provision and deprovision access to various resources, and enforce security policies such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and conditional access controls.
 
 
 The JumpCloud platform unifies identity and access management across on-premises and cloud environments. It allows organizations to connect users to their devices, IT applications, files, and networks through a single set of credentials, leveraging protocols like LDAP, SAML, RADIUS, and SSH. This approach streamlines the user experience and facilitates single sign-on (SSO) capabilities.
 
 
 Its platform supports a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android, enabling comprehensive endpoint management regardless of location. It also integrates with cloud services like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.
 
 
 Moreover, the company&rsquo;s identity lifecycle management capabilities automate the onboarding and offboarding processes, ensuring that user access is granted or revoked as needed based on their roles and responsibilities within the organization.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 As of May 2024, JumpCloud operated in over 160 countries, and its customer base of over 180,000 organizations includes technology companies like MiQ Digital, AkitaBox, and Classpass.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In October 2021, the company announced that it raised USD 225 million in a Series F funding round led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from Atlassian Ventures, CrowdStrike Falcon Fund, and NTT Docomo Ventures, among others, at a valuation of USD 2.625 billion. The funds were raised to increase SME adoption of its platforms.
 
 
 
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Caresyntax is a digital surgery platform that enables OR teams to predict and improve surgical performance. Its enterprise-grade digital surgery platform delivers insights to improve patient outcomes by using proprietary software and AI to analyze large volumes of video, audio, images, device data, clinical, and operational data in and around the OR. Caresyntax insights help surgeons benchmark and improve their care, hospital administrators use surgical resources more efficiently, medical device companies advance better products, and insurance companies understand risk and devise more tailored policies. The software is used in more than 4,000 operating rooms worldwide, has supported more than 30,000 surgeons, and improved care for more than 2 million patients.

Leightal Capital Management is a global hedge fund that invests in a variety of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, and commodities. The fund is managed by a team of experienced professionals with a proven track record of success. Leightal Capital Management is committed to providing its investors with superior returns over the long term. The fund's investment philosophy is based on the belief that alpha can be generated by identifying and investing in mispriced assets. The fund's investment team uses a variety of research and analysis techniques to identify mispriced assets. The team also has a strong focus on risk management and capital preservation. Leightal Capital Management is a good choice for investors who are looking for a long-term investment partner with a proven track record of success.

JumpCloud is an open directory platform for secure, frictionless access from any device to any resource, anywhere. JumpCloud’s mission is to Make Work Happen, providing simple, secure access to corporate technology resources from any device, or any location. The JumpCloud Directory Platform gives IT, security operations, and DevOps a single, cloud-based solution to control and manage employee identities, their devices, and apply Zero Trust principles. JumpCloud has a global user base of more than 100,000 organizations, with over 3,000 customers including Cars.com, GoFundMe, Grab, ClassPass, Uplight, Beyond Finance, and Foursquare. JumpCloud is backed by BlackRock, General Atlantic, OpenView, and Foundry Group.

Tricolor Holdings is a Community Development Financial Institution that uses AI-powered technology to advance financial inclusion. Tricolor develops a distinct online customer journey, beginning with a retail auto model to provide access to low-cost financing on a high-quality, certified vehicle and expanding into adjacent strategies across a broad platform of financial services. Tricolor accelerates financial inclusion to a previously underserved market by providing affordable credit-building auto loans to those with little or no credit history and assists people in improving their lives and securing a better future.

Exscientia combines human expertise with AI and machine learning to enhance drug discovery. The company focuses on precision engineering of medicine candidates, enabling faster and more efficient development of new treatments. By integrating innovative experimental techniques, Exscientia aims to improve patient outcomes and revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry.

Loadsmart helps shippers move their freight fast and Carriers keep trucks full. The company’s online platform enables users to get quotes, book trucks, and track their freight from pickup to delivery. Loadsmart was founded in 2014 by Felipe Capella and Ricardo Salgado and is based in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

DoubleVerify is a software platform for digital media measurement, data, and analytics. DoubleVerify provides online media verification and campaign effectiveness solutions for brand marketers, agencies, advertising networks, demand-side platforms, exchanges, and digital publishers looking to ensure quality advertising environments, campaign transparency, and performance. DoubleVerify technology platform provides advertisers with consistent and unbiased data and analytics that can be used to optimize the quality and return on digital ad investments.  The company was founded in 2008 and headquartered in New York City, New York.

Arrival is a technology company that develops a generation of two electric vehicles. It develops software, materials, components, and scalable skateboard platforms and its micro-factories allow them to make vehicles and adapt to any mobility ecosystem. It is a zero-emission solution for cities and a human-centered, intelligent design to revitalize public transportation. The company’s new method uses low CapEx, rapidly scalable Microfactories that can be placed anywhere in the world to serve the regions they are located in. It was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in London, England.

Nuvia develops processors intended to create high-performance silicon design for a compute-intensive world. It designs processing chipsets for data center servers, thereby delivering a faster, power-efficient, and secure experience to existing data center processors.

Neon is a Brazilian fintech founded in 2016. The company emerged after the indignation of Neon's founder, Pedro Conrade, who after blowing R$ 1.00 from his checking account, discovered that his bank would charge R$ 46.00 of fee to start using the overdraft. When investigating his bills, Pedro realized that every year he spent his monthly salary on bank fees per month. Indignant, Pedro thought about the thousands of Brazilians who lose their money every year with abusive fees, from there Neon, the first digital account in Brazil, emerged. Over the years, Neon has consolidated itself as one of the largest fintechs in the world, offering customers a complete portfolio with debit and credit cards without annuity, personal loans, payroll loans, investments in a simple way in CDB and CDI, cashback in debit, various forms of payment, among other products designed for Brazilian workers and without abusive fees. In addition, with MEI Fácil, the company offers financial services and education to individual micro-entrepreneurs throughout Brazil. Today Neon has more than 1,600 employees and 15 million customers. The company grew its revenue three times in 2021 and the expectation for this year is to continue growing at an accelerated pace.

Farmer's Business Network, Inc. is an independent agricultural tech and commerce platform and farmer-to-farmer network that helps its members make confident decisions to ensure the economic viability of their farms and work toward a sustainable future. FBN is an advocate for family farmers and ranchers, and does whatever it takes to help farmers become more prosperous - whether it's through data science-driven agronomic insights about their fields, providing farm inputs through its e-commerce store, helping farmers sell their crop more intelligently and independently, or providing them with health or crop insurance. FBN arms farmers with the tools they need to make the best decisions for their business, their families and the planet. FBN members farm more than 80 million acres in the U.S., Canada and Australia. The company has over 800 personnel and offices in San Carlos, CA., Chicago, Ill., Sioux Falls, S.D., a Canadian headquarters in High River, Alberta, and an Australian headquarters in Perth.

GeneDx is focused on delivering personalized, actionable insights that improve health outcomes. GeneDx sit at the intersection of diagnostics and data science, pairing decades of genomic expertise with an unmatched ability to interpret clinical data at scale.

Access TeleCare offers telecardiology, telemedicine, telehospitalists, teleinfectious disease, telematernal fetal medicine. They also provide teleneurology, telenephrology, outpatient solutions, telepsychiatry, and telepulmonary critical care services. They facilitate the care with their technology.

The Hut Group is an online retailing platform focused on fast moving consumer goods, specifically focused on health and beauty. Built on a foundation of industry-leading technology, a world-class team and a scientific approach to building global brands, The Hut Group are fast becoming the world’s most influential online retail organization. A true Northern Powerhouse near Manchester, THG operates over 100 high-profit websites that sell premium, non-perishable FMCG direct to consumer to the fast growing, global Health and Beauty markets via the company's in-house technology and operating platform.

BlackRock Innovation Capital is a growth stage investment fund formed by BlackRock. BlackRock Innovation Capital leads equity and debt investments in growth-stage companies applying technology to reshape their industries.

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