Counterpoint Global

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>
 
 SomaLogic is a proteomics company offering protein biomarker discovery and clinical diagnostics services to support drug development and precision medicine. Its proprietary SomaScan platform can measure 7,000 proteins in the human body, with plans to reach 10,000 by 2023.&nbsp;
 
 
 The company provides two core services - SomaScan Discovery for large-scale protein detection and SomaSignal Tests which analyze patient samples for disease risk assessment. SomaSignal leverages a bioinformatics algorithm built on over 450,000 protein samples. To enhance its proteomics capabilities, SomaLogic acquired DNA nanotechnology firm 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11889">
 Palamedrix
 </a>
 in 2022 for its technology to improve SomaScan's accessibility and usage. The company&rsquo;s technology is built on two decades of research and development, and, as of November 2022, had over 600 patents covering areas such as chemistry, data analytics, diagnostics, and therapeutic.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 The company had entered into several strategic collaborations in private and public entities for drug discovery and development including a 10-year agreement with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/12122">
 Novartis 
 </a>
 , a multi-year partnership agreement with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/36695">
 Illumina 
 </a>
 , an agreement with precision oncology company, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/812083">
 OncoHost 
 </a>
 , 
 and a partnership with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19329">
 Citagen 
 </a>
 and 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20375">
 Dante Genomics
 </a>
 .&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and Financials
 
 
 The company began trading on Nasdaq in September 2021 under the ticker symbol &ldquo;SLGC,&rdquo; raising USD 630 million at IPO. For 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17357">
 2022 
 </a>
 revenue increased 20% YoY to USD 97.7 million and the net loss worsened by 24.8% YoY to USD 109.2 million. 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18743">
 In Q1 2023 
 </a>
 , net losses increased considerably by more than 7x YoY to USD 34.2 million while revenue decreased 11% YoY to USD 20.4 million. The company expects revenue for the full-year 2023 in the range of USD 80 million&ndash;84 million, implying a 12%&ndash;17% decrease, excluding licensing revenue from New England Biolabs.
 
</div>

Data Infrastructure & Analytics

DataRobot specializes in AI and machine learning, with a focus on automating various AI and data science tasks. The company's primary offering includes an AI platform designed to enhance business processes and decision-making. DataRobot has reportedly developed over 3.74 billion AI models as at November 2023 with product development involving 3.8 million person-hours of engineering work​​.The company's products are centered around automated machine learning and predictive data analytics. DataRobot holds numerous patents in predictive data analytics; strategic acquisitions such as Zepl and Algorithmia have expanded its capabilities​​​​.DataRobot made several acquisitions to expand its business, including Boston Consulting Group’s SOURCE AI technology (June 2020); Zepl, a cloud data science and analytics platform (May 2021); and Algorithmia, an MLOps platform designed for complex, high-volume model production (July 2021).&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsDataRobot's customer base spans multiple industries, including consulting, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and telecommunications, among others. As of November 2023, the company claimed to serve significant portions of prominent industry groups, including 40% of the Fortune 50 and leading institutions in banking, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications, such as Freddie Mac, CVS, Valley Bank, and Flexiti.DataRobot's partnerships include collaborations with cloud platforms, such as Google Cloud, AWS, and Microsoft Azure, to expand its platform’s AI capabilities and market reach. In addition, the company recently expanded its partnership with SBI Holdings in May 2023​​​​​​. Other technology partners and integrations as of November 2023 include SAP, Intel, Palantir, and Tableau.

Databricks offers a unified, cloud-based data lakehouse, called Databricks Lakehouse Platform, for integrating, storing, processing, governing, and sharing data for business analytics and AI initiatives. It is built based on open-source frameworks, like Apache Spark, Delta Lake, and MLflow. The company offers the platform through a usage-based (pay-as-you-go) model, and is catered toward enterprises in many industries, including manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, communications, media and entertainment, public sector, and retail.The platform allows enterprises to share data, models, dashboards, and notebooks across different platforms and tools for data science, analytics, and AI through Delta Sharing, a product developed in partnership with the Linux Foundation. It also supports automatic data ingestion and extract, transform, and load (ETL) processing through a unified API. It also offers <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30386">LakeFlow</a>, an offering to integrate and simplify the various aspects of data engineering, including data ingestion, transformation, and orchestration from various sources. In addition, Databricks SQL, a serverless data warehouse on Lakehouse Platform, allows enterprises to run SQL and BI applications to gain insights from stored data.Furthermore, Databricks offers managed services for MLflow, an open-source platform that provides features for the development, management, deployment, and monitoring of ML models. In addition, the <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/databricks-introduces-new-generative-ai-tools-investing-in-lakehouse-ai-301865232.html">Lakehouse AI</a> tools featured within the Lakehouse platform allow developers to build Gen-AI applications using foundational models to train their own custom models securely with its enterprise data.Databricks resorted to acquisitions to enhance its product suite. In July 2023, it <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19683">acquired MosaicML</a>, an ML model development platform for GenAI applications, in a transaction valued at approximately USD 1.3 billion, to integrate MosaicML's platform within the Lakehouse platform, offering organizations a unified platform with tools to create and manage large language models (LLMs) and a wide range of AI use cases, including GenAI, using their own data. It also <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23006">agreed to acquire Arcion</a>, a database replication platform, for ~USD 100 million in October 2023. After finalization, Databricks aimed to integrate Arcion’s technology into its existing platforms, including MosaicML. Furthermore, Databricks <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30204">acquired Tabular</a>, a data management company, for over USD 1 billion in June 2024. Post acquisition, both companies planned to collaborate to improve the interoperability of the Lakehouse platform working closely with the Delta Lake and Iceberg communities.In FY2023 (ending January 31, 2024), Databricks generated over USD 1.6 billion in revenue, primarily driven by its Databricks SQL product (data warehousing), which grew more than 200% YoY, reaching a run rate of over USD 250 million. The company also reported a customer retention rate of 131%, with an expansion rate of 140%, indicating that customers were purchasing more of Databricks' offerings.Key customers and partnershipsAs of August 2024, Databricks had over 10,000 customers worldwide, which includes renowned companies like S&amp;P Global, Adobe, Toyota, Nasdaq, and NASA.Databricks partnered with no-code extract, transform, and load (ETL) platform Hevo Data (July 2022) to provide automated data integration into the lakehouse for mutual customers. This enabled customers to deploy ETL pipelines on Hevo Data within Databricks. It also partnered with NVIDIA (June 2024) to optimize data and AI workloads by integrating NVIDIA CUDA accelerated computing into its Data Intelligence Platform.

Empowering Tomorrow's Innovations with Generative AI Infrastructure

Generative AI Infrastructure

DataRobot provides an enterprise AI platform that can automate the building, deployment, and monitoring of advanced AI applications. Its unified AI platform offers developers the capability to build, govern, and operate models without extensive coding, accelerating model development and making machine learning more accessible.&nbsp;The platform offers several features, including training models with automatic performance evaluation, enhancing model interpretability and explainability, facilitating comprehension of predictions, deploying models to diverse targets such as cloud services, on-premises servers, and Edge devices, and governance and compliance features, encompassing access controls, audit logs, and version control to ensure alignment of machine-learning projects with organizational policies and regulatory standards. Moreover, the company provides consulting services through its AI professionals and service collaborators to assist clients in devising strategies and executing AI initiatives across various applications.In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35904">November 2024</a>, the company launched an Enterprise AI suite to develop and deliver customizable GenAI applications and agents. DataRobot introduced its real-time intervention functionality for GenAI solutions in&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29077">May 2024</a>, to detect and prevent unexpected AI behaviors. The service is available on-premise, in the cloud, and hybrid.In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23738">November 2023</a>, DataRobot introduced various updates, including LLM cost and performance monitoring, a multi-provider comparison playground, GenAI accelerators for faster GenAI deployment tasks, and a unified AI registry to enhance governance and collaboration across generative and predictive AI assets.DataRobot has made several acquisitions to expand its business, including Boston Consulting Group’s SOURCE AI technology (June 2020), Zepl, a cloud data science and analytics platform (May 2021), and Algorithmia, an MLOps platform designed for complex, high-volume model production (July 2021).&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsDataRobot provides services to 40% of the Fortune 50 companies, including Kroger, Nationwide, Lenovo, and PNC.DataRobot has formed several significant partnerships,&nbsp;including a product partnership with Teradata&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31593">(July 2024)</a> to integrate Teradata VantageCloud and ClearScape Analytics with DataRobot's AI platform, strategic partnership with SAP to integrate core SAP software with DataRobot's advanced machine-learning capabilities (March 2023). The firm has also partnered with leading tech firms, including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, to integrate its solutions and expand the use cases of its GenAI solutions.

Databricks, a data and AI company established by the original developers behind prominent Big Data solutions such as Delta Lake, Apache Spark, and MLflow, and provides organizations with AI and data analytics tools for efficient management of their data.Databricks' primary product is the Databricks Lakehouse platform, a unified data intelligence platform that merges a data warehouse and data lake to provide developers with efficient access to data and enables enterprise customers to create their AI models—similar to a ChatGPT-style AI system—using only their internal data.Databricks Unity Catalog, part of the Databricks Lakehouse Platform, provides unified governance for structured and unstructured data, machine-learning models, notebooks, dashboards, and files across various environments, offering automated monitoring, proactive alerts, and seamless data sharing through Delta Sharing integration. Furthermore, Databricks offers an open architecture that streamlines the AI development process, allowing the integration of various LLMs such as Llama 2, Azure OpenAI, and Anthropic, enabling customization with enterprise data for tailored model creation.Notably, Lakehouse leverages NVIDIA technology for accelerated data processing and AI model generation. Databricks also offers industry-specific solutions like Databricks Lakehouse for Healthcare, Financial Services, Retail, and Manufacturing.Databricks has expanded its offerings through multiple acquisitions, including MosaicML ( <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19683">July 2023 </a>), Arcion ( <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23041">October 2023 </a>), Okera ( <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18197">May 2023 </a>), and Datajoy (October 2022). Key customers and partnershipsAs of July 2023, Databricks served a global customer base of approximately 10,000, including notable customers such as Comcast, DuPont, Honeywell, Rolls-Royce, Shell, and Tata Steel.Notable partnerships include collaboration with NVIDIA to incorporate NVIDIA TensorRT-LLM into its inference service and a partnership with Hevo-Data to automate data integration into the lakehouse for mutual customers (October 2022).Databricks also partnered with Karini AI to accelerate GenAI deployment for enterprises (<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33687">September 2024</a>)Databricks also provides an LLM Mesh partner program; it has partnered with firms such as <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24218">Dataiku </a>where an emphasis is placed on comprehensive data access, enabling tight integration of GenAI applications with enterprise data.

The tools that power remote work are define the next generation of enterprise software.

Remote Work Tools

Figma is a cloud-based collaborative design platform that allows teams to work together on a virtual canvas to visualize and create new projects in real time. It offers a range of features, including sticky notes, emojis and drawing tools, pre-built lines and connectors, and cursor chats. In addition, Figma products include voice chat, which means users do not need to log in to Zoom or Google Meet while using Figma. Figma caters to individual designers, small firms, and enterprises with 80% of its users outside the US (December 2019). The platform focused on providing an end-to-end to separate itself from peers by adding more features to its platform or growing inorganically. The company reported that it has seen its user profile expand from design teams to usage across entire organizations (outside design teams) during the Covid-19 pandemic.The company launched a whiteboard tool for flowcharts and brainstorming called FigJam ( <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/948">April 2021 </a>) which caters to non-design users. In October 2021, FigJam introduced plugins and widgets, enabling users to customize their spaces with productivity, note-taking, and data visualization tools. It also introduced “Open Sessions”, allowing companies to invite external parties to their sessions for 24 hours, without an account.Figma operates a subscription-based business model which includes a freemium plan and paid plans ranging between USD 12 to USD 45 per user per month. FigJam is also available on a freemium basis and paid plans were reduced (October 2021), ranging between USD 3 to USD 5 per user per month.In June 2023, Figma acquired <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/2052671">Diagram</a>, an AI-powered design platform, to enhance its tools with advanced AI features, offering users expanded design capabilities.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates?industryIds=10">July 2024</a>, Figma had temporarily disabled its AI-powered ‘Make Design’ feature following claims that it plagiarized Apple's Weather app.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13107">September 2022</a>, Adobe entered into an agreement to acquire Figma for USD 20 billion. However, by December 2023 the firms abandoned the deal due to the failure to overcome regulatory clearances and other concerns.

Facial recognition delivers incredible convenience to consumers, as well as serious risks.

Facial Recognition

<div>
 
 ID.me provides a digital wallet and identity verification services. It puts users in control of data and how they use the digital wallet to access benefits and services. The company offers a range of services, including Digital Wallet that allows access to government services and benefits; Identity Verification; Government Services; Discounts and Cash Back providing big discounts and cash backs from over 5,000 stores; and Prescription Services that enable savings of up to USD 95 per prescription through the Rx Card.
 
 
 
 
 ID.me operates on a B2B and B2C sales model. It provides special discounts for military personnel, nurses, teachers, medical providers, first responders, and EMT and government employees. Moreover, any savings obtained through the ID.me Rx Program cannot be combined with insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and other discounts in a single transaction.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 ID.me has partnerships with 31 states, multiple federal agencies, and over 500 name brand retailers. Moreover, it has over 112 members and is accepted by more than 600 partners. Shopify is considered to be the company&rsquo;s largest partner. Meanwhile, it serves a customer base across the retailers, healthcare, financial services, and travel and leisure industries, as well as government agencies. Apple, Amazon, Yeti, Lenovo, and Ford are among ID.me&rsquo;s customers.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and Financials
 
 
 ID.me raised USD 132 million from its latest funding round in April 2023. This was a Series D round led by Viking Global Investors, and the funds raised were used to build the company&rsquo;s secure digital identity network.
 
 
 
</div>

Giving creators the power of content monetization and audience engagement.

Creator Economy

<div>
 
 Cameo offers a platform where creators, such as influencers, celebrities, athletes, artists, and musicians, can provide personalized videos and shout-outs to fans as per their request, charging for each video from USD 5 to as high as USD 2,500. Creators who have a minimum of 20,000 Instagram followers are automatically admitted onto the platform, where they set their own price and can choose to accept a fan request or not within seven days. The creator must fulfill the request within a week, which the fan can download and share. Additionally, Cameo provides a messaging option for less expensive creator/fan interactions. Cameo takes a 25% commission on each transaction on the platform.
 
 
 As of September 2020, Cameo had more than 30,000 creators across multiple industries. Cameo reported that it generated around USD 100 million in video transactions in 2020, with more than 2 million video messages being shared on its platform since launch, of which 80% were gifts for others. Furthermore, the company reported its creators and fans are based in 138 and 178 countries, respectively, with almost 20% of Cameos being purchased from outside of the US as of March 2021. For example, Cameo entered into a commercial partnership (
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8576">
 February 2022
 </a>
 ) with Softbank, an existing investor of Cameo, to add more Japanese creators and expand its platform in Japan as a culturally fluent localized version.
 
 
 Cameo acquired marketing and merch company Represent (October 2021) whose clients include Jennifer Lopez, Ed Sheeran, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matthew McConaughey, among others. The acquiring company will onboard the Represent team as well as Represent&rsquo;s existing client relationships. In the near term, Cameo plans to allow fans to purchase &ldquo;gift bundles&rdquo; that pair a Cameo video with related merchandise from the creator. The company hopes to introduce new forms of creator-fan engagement, establish new creator revenue opportunities, and offer non-profit organizations a new way to raise funds.
 
 
 Funding and financials 
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s most recent funding round was Series C funding worth USD 100 million in March 2021, which valued the company at over USD 1 billion, achieving unicorn status. The funds are to be utilized to enhance the Core Cameo experience and capabilities, create new creator-fan engagement products (including Fan Clubs and Cameo Calls), and develop Cameo's B2B business. The company also plans to continue its international expansion.
 
</div>

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

Truck Industry Tech

Aurora Innovation (Aurora) is an autonomous vehicle technology startup providing autonomous vehicles under two divisions, namely “Aurora Horizon” (its autonomous trucking service) and “Aurora Connect” (its autonomous ride-hailing service). Both are powered by the company’s self-driving technology “Aurora Driver,” which is equipped with a hardware kit that includes a computer, proprietary “FirstLight Lidar,” radar, and cameras, as well as a software platform that features perception, motion planning, mapping, and simulation systems to understand its environment.Aurora has operations in cities including the Bay Area (California), Bozeman (Montana), Dallas (Texas), Detroit (Michigan), Louisville (Colorado), Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), and Seattle (Washington). It launched its first commercial-ready truck route connecting Dallas and Houston, Texas in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23374">November 2023. </a>However, Aurora laid off 3% of its workforce (about 53 employees) <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25865">in January 2024, </a>to boost the commercial launch efficiency of its autonomous trucking business.Aurora planned to provide the service to customers on a subscription-based delivery-as-a-service business model, charging a fee per mile. As of&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35472">October 2024</a>, the company intended to launch the service commercially in 2025.Aurora’s complementary acquisitions include Uber’s self-driving car unit, Advanced Technologies Group (ATG; December 2020), to complement its autonomous technology development and LiDAR startups Blackmore (May 2019) and OURS Technology (February 2021) to expedite and complement its LiDAR development process.Aurora was listed on the Nasdaq in November 2021 by <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4258">merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), </a>valuing the combined entity at USD 13 billion. The company did not generate revenue in 2023 and reported an operating loss of USD 835 million for the year.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsAurora’s partners to pilot its technology include logistics companies such as <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9619">Werner Enterprises, </a><a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18176">Hirschbach, </a><a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10521">FedEx, </a><a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30781">Uber Freight, </a>and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11986">Schneider.&nbsp;</a>Its product partners include OEMs, such as Volvo (March 2021; a production-ready version unveiled <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29593">in May 2024) </a>and PACCAR (January 2021) to jointly develop autonomous trucks, fleet service partner <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14317">Ryder </a>(November 2022), and hardware and service partner <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18085">Continental </a>(April 2023).&nbsp;

Moving industry forward with next-gen advancements in energy storage and transmission

Alternative Energy

<div>
 
 Heliogen focuses on generating electricity and heat using an array of computer-controlled mirrors (heliostats) that collect and concentrate sunlight to generate ultra-high temperatures of around 1,000 &deg;C.&nbsp;
 
 
 Heliogen offers three solutions: 1) HelioHeat uses the company&rsquo;s solar concentration technology in heat-intensive industrial applications such as the production of cement, lime, and steel, etc. to reduce the use of fossil fuels to generate heat; 2) HelioPower combines the solar concentration technology with supercritical CO2 turbines to generate electricity to power industrial facilities, data centers, and mining operations; 3) HelioFuel uses the solar concentration technology to produce renewable-hydrogen.&nbsp;
 
 
 In October 2023, Heliogen achieved several milestones at its Capella Project, the world&rsquo;s first fully integrated Gen3 Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) commercial demonstration. The company deployed the first commercial-scale centrifugal particle receiver for on-sun testing and has completed the design verification of the prototype particle receiver.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9408">
 March 2022
 </a>
 , Heliogen partnered with Woodside Energy to develop a 5 MW concentrated solar demonstration facility in California. The two companies also partnered to market Heliogen&rsquo;s technology jointly in the US and Australia. The company has also 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10119">
 partnered
 </a>
 with 1) Hanwha Power Systems; to develop a 5 MW electrical power block integrated with thermal energy storage, and 2) Vacuum Process Engineering and 3) Solex Thermal Science to develop a heat exchanger for its power block at the California demonstration project.
 
 
 In August 2022, Heliogen partnered with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12180">
 Dimensional Energy
 </a>
 , to produce SAF from concentrated sunlight and green hydrogen.&nbsp; In June 2023, Heliogen signed an engineering services agreement with NantG Power to provide the latter with its core intellectual property to develop a pilot solar thermal calcination facility. In January 2024, Heliogen signed a joint development agreement with Omanor, that included the development of a concentrating solar power plant using Heliogen&rsquo;s technology and Heliogen&rsquo;s expansion into Mexico.
 
 
 Funding and financials&nbsp;
 
 
 In October 2022, Heliogen was awarded 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13999">
 USD 4.1 million
 </a>
 by the US Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, to fund a demonstration project to reduce carbon emissions from cement production. Prior to this, in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10119">
 May 2022
 </a>
 , Heliogen received USD 50 million from Woodside to develop a concentrated solar demonstration facility. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7456">
 December 2021
 </a>
 , the company received USD 39 million from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycle that operates using Heliogen&rsquo;s concentrated solar thermal energy. In June 2021 Heliogen raised USD 83 million from investors including ArcelorMittal (a Luxembourg-based multinational steel manufacturer), Edison International, Prime Movers Lab, Ocgrow Ventures, A.T. Gekko, and 8090 Partners to accelerate the global deployment of its technology.
 
 
 In November 2023, Heliogen began trading on the OTCQX Best Market under the ticker symbol &ldquo;HLGN.&rdquo; During the same month, the company was suspended from trading on NYSE. This was due to Heliogen falling below the NYSE&rsquo;s continued listing standard which requires listed companies to maintain an average global market capitalization over a consecutive 30 trading day period of at least USD 15 million.&nbsp;
 
 
 The company was initially listed on NYSE in December 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger and received USD 188 million from the transaction.
 
</div>

AI-based solutions for evolving digital threats

Next-gen Cybersecurity

<div>
 
 Lacework is a cloud security company offering solutions for enterprises to protect their cloud and container workloads at scale. These include tools that employ automation and machine learning in order to enable developers to build cloud applications securely, along with tools to monitor multi-cloud environments, detect misconfigurations and threats, and identify behavioral anomalies during runtime. As of November 2021, Lacework recorded more than 3x YoY growth in revenue and a 3.5x YoY increase in the customer base, which includes the likes of LogicMonitor, Hypergiant, and Sprinklr. Lacework employed over 1,000 staff as of March 2022, five times its headcount in January 2021. The company was however forced to lay off 20% of its headcount in May 2022 in a bid to improve its liquidity position amid uncertain economic conditions.
 
 
 Lacework announced its first-ever acquisition&mdash;the cloud-native security startup Soluble, in November 2021. Soluble provides automated testing and policy management to detect and remediate cloud misconfigurations and policy violations at the source code. Lacework will integrate Soluble&rsquo;s technology into its automated cloud security platform to expand into IaC remediation capabilities, which will enable Lacework to enhance existing workflows and protect software development lifecycles&mdash;at build, runtime, and the source code level. The company also launched new developer-focused features in its platform&mdash;vulnerability scanner, admission controller, risk-based scoring, extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF) support&mdash;to detect and remediate container vulnerabilities in the development process.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Lacework partnered with Google Cloud in February 2022, to launch its new patented Polygraph Data Platform in Google Cloud Marketplace to strengthen multi-cloud capabilities for joint customers, including a commitment to partner on integrations with Google Cloud Security Command Center (SCC) and jointly develop features in the future. The Lacework Polygraph Data Platform delivers automated visibility and threat detection across multi-cloud environments from build time through runtime without requiring manual oversight from security teams. Following this, Lacework also announced an undisclosed investment from Google Ventures (GV).
 
 
 Lacework partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in June 2023 to incorporate its composite alerts into Amazon&rsquo;s GuardDuty threat detection service, providing AWS users with enhanced threat alerts and context for investigation.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In November 2021, the company raised USD 1.3 billion in Series D funding at a valuation of USD 8.3 billion, co-led by Sutter Hill Ventures, Altimeter Capital, D1 Capital Partners, and Tiger Global Management. The company will utilize the funds to fuel product development; pursue strategic acquisitions; accelerate go-to-market efforts; hire additional staff; and expand its global presence. Along with the funding round, the company also announced plans to go public via an IPO or a direct listing in the future.
 
</div>

Hydrogen Economy

<div>
 
 Heliogen is a next-generation power company that uses an array of computer-controlled mirrors (heliostats) to collect and concentrate sunlight to produce ultra-high temperatures of around 1,000 &deg;C for its &ldquo;Sunlight Refineries&rdquo; that generate heat, electricity, and green hydrogen.
 
 
 Applications of the company&rsquo;s technology include 1) &ldquo;HelioHeat,&rdquo; which uses the company&rsquo;s solar concentration technology in heat-intensive industrial applications such as cement, lime, and steel production to reduce the use of fossil fuels; 2) &ldquo;HelioPower,&rdquo; which combines the solar concentration technology with supercritical carbon dioxide turbines to generate electricity to power industrial facilities, data centers, and mining operations; 3) &ldquo;HelioFuel,&rdquo; which uses the solar concentration technology to produce renewable hydrogen.&nbsp;
 
 
 In February 2022, the company announced plans to deploy a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8393">
 facility
 </a>
 in Arizona that would produce 20,000 tons of hydrogen per year. Later that year, Heliogen opened its first full-scale manufacturing facility located in Long Beach, California, which houses assembly lines, a test facility, and a rapid development center for the production of heliostats and other components for its concentrated solar power system.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In December 2021, Heliogen collaborated with CarbonCapture Inc. to develop sustainably-powered direct air capture (DAC) facilities. It also partnered with Woodside Energy, an Australian energy company, for the Capella Project, a 5 MW commercial concentrating solar power plant to be built by Heliogen in Kern County, California, with groundbreaking scheduled for 2024. In addition, Heliogen 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/6782">
 partnered with Bloom Energy
 </a>
 to launch a green hydrogen production demonstration facility in California. In August 2022, the company partnered with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12179">
 Dimensional Energy
 </a>
 to produce SAF from concentrated sunlight and green hydrogen.
 
 
 In July 2023, Heliogen signed an agreement to supply the city of Lancaster with green hydrogen from its local Proxima plant. Around the same time, the company partnered with NantGPower to develop a pilot solar calcination facility at Proxima to reduce carbon emissions from cement production and lithium extraction. In January 2024, Heliogen announced a joint development agreement with Omanor to build a facility in Mexico to harness the country&rsquo;s solar potential.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In October 2022, Heliogen was awarded 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13998">
 USD 4.1 million
 </a>
 by the US Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, to fund a demonstration project to reduce carbon emissions from cement production. In May 2022, the company received 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10119">
 USD 50 million
 </a>
 in funding from Woodside Energy, and a previously announced 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7456">
 USD 39 million
 
 </a>
 grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE), to deploy a solar demonstration facility.&nbsp;
 
 
 In December 2021, Heliogen was listed on the NYSE through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. The company received USD 188 million from the transaction and expects to use the proceeds to scale heliostat manufacturing and R&amp;D activities. In November 2023, the NYSE suspended trading of Heliogen's shares and initiated delisting proceedings.
 
 
 Key competitors:
 None comparable (uses solar concentration technology to produce renewable hydrogen)
 
</div>

Using AI to automate, enhance and optimize marketing activities

Marketing Automation

Klaviyo operates an email and SMS marketing platform that is targeted at ecommerce brands of all sizes. The features of the platform include: 1) a customer data platform (CDP) providing a unified view of customers, 2) tools to segment and track customers and provide predictions on customer action, 3) personalize and automate email, SMS and social media marketing campaigns, and 4) customizable flow and campaign analytics.&nbsp;The platform’s competitive edge is in its large partner ecosystem which includes 200+ technology integrations including with ecommerce sites such as Shopify, Magento, and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11227">BigCommerce</a>, which are fully synced with Klaviyo’s platform avoiding the need for additional software development. Klaviyo also stands out with its in-house customer data solution, leveraging customer data at every stage of the marketing process.In June 2023, the firm launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19412">Klaviyo for Wellness,</a> a marketing solution specifically designed for fitness studios, salons, and other client-based wellness services. During the same month, the firm launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19780">Klaviyo reviews,</a> a feature that enables Shopify merchants to collect product reviews within Klaviyo's platform.Key customers and partnershipsAs of April 2023, Klaviyo had more than 265,000 customers, including Huckberry, NOMAD, and Chubbies.

Reinventing gene therapies with next-generation technologies

Human Gene Editing

<div>
 
 Inscripta offers genome engineering solutions to researchers to facilitate CRISPR-based gene editing. The company&rsquo;s two main offerings include Onyx, a benchtop-sized system for digital microbial genome engineering, and MADzyme nucleases (MAD7), a new class of CRISPR enzymes.&nbsp;
 
 
 The Onyx platform was&nbsp; launched in October 2020 and includes a fully automated workflow for genome editing that incorporates a hardware system, genome engineering kits and assays, and the engineering portal software &ldquo;InscriptaDesigner.&rdquo; The platform claims to be capable of creating&nbsp; libraries with millions of precisely engineered single cells. As of May 2022, the company reportedly filed for around 100 patents in the US for the platform.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 The company targets genomic researchers across academia and industry including drug developers and pharmaceutical companies across the world. Inscripta delivered the Onyx platform to its first commercial customer 
 <a href="https://www.inscripta.com/news/inscripta-announces-the-first-commercial-shipment-of-its-onyx-digital-genome-engineering-platform-and-closes-150-million-in-new-financing">
 Genemill
 </a>
 at the University of Oxford in April 2021 (priced at USD 347,000). Its recent customers include 
 <a href="https://www.inscripta.com/news/ginkgo-bioworks-adopts-onyx-platform">
 Gingko Bioworks
 </a>
 (January 2022) and 
 <a href="https://www.inscripta.com/news/amyris-partners-with-inscripta-to-enhance-development-of-sustainable-ingredients-using-the-onyx-genome-engineering-platform">
 Amyris Inc
 </a>
 . (March 2022).
 
 
 The company, however, was supplying its MAD7 CRISPR nucleases for free to support academic researchers and scientists and followed a licensing model for non-research purposes. In October 2021, it signed a licensing agreement with 
 <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211012005273/en/Hunterian-Medicine%C2%AE-Licenses-Inscripta%E2%80%99s-MAD7%E2%84%A2-Nuclease-to-Advance-Gene-Editing-Research-and-Development">
 Hunterian Medicine
 </a>
 to use the MAD7 nuclease. Inscripta partnered with 
 <a href="https://www.inscripta.com/news/aldevron-licenses-the-manufacturing-of-mad7-a-type-v-crispr-nuclease-from-inscripta">
 Aldevron
 </a>
 in May 2022 to license one of its MAD7 enzymes for manufacturing and commercialization.
 
 
 Funding and financials&nbsp;
 
 
 In its latest Series E financing round in April 2021 led by Fidelity Management and Research Company, Inscripta raised USD 150 million, bringing its total funds raised to USD 459.5 million. It intended to use the funds to accelerate its growth attempts. 
 
</div>

Autonomous and connected technologies shaping the future of the auto industry

Auto Tech

<div>
 
 Aurora Innovation (Aurora) is an autonomous vehicle technology startup founded by former Google, Tesla, and Uber executives. It provides autonomous vehicles under two divisions, namely &ldquo;Aurora Horizon&rdquo; (its autonomous trucking service) and &ldquo;Aurora Connect&rdquo; (its autonomous ride-hailing service). Both are powered by the company&rsquo;s self-driving technology &ldquo;Aurora Driver.&rdquo; Its 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5203">
 &ldquo;Fusion&rdquo;
 </a>
 next-generation hardware kit improves the decision-making speed and accuracy of Aurora Driver and enables autonomous vehicles to operate in varying weather, including rain, snow, and fog. The company also has its own LiDAR sensor system, &ldquo;FirstLight,&rdquo; integrated into its Aurora Driver technology. The company plans to provide the service to customers on a subscription basis (driver-as-a-service) once commercialized.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Aurora received permission from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (DOT) to test vehicles with a safety driver within the state in October 2018 and received the same permission from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in January 2020. The company is testing its autonomous cars in areas such as Palo Alto and San Francisco in California, Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, and Dallas in Texas&mdash;where the operation of self-driving vehicles is legal.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Aurora also acquired Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), Uber&rsquo;s self-driving car unit in December 2020, to complement its autonomous technology development. As part of the transaction, upon transferring ATG to Aurora, Uber invested USD 400 million in Aurora. It had also acquired two LiDAR startups, namely Blackmore (May 2019) and OURS Technology (February 2021) to expedite and complement its LiDAR development process.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 The company has product development partnerships with Hyundai (April 2018), Toyota and its auto parts subsidiary Denso (February 2021), and Amazon Web Services (December 2021).&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 Aurora has been listed on Nasdaq since November 2021, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4258">
 via a merger
 </a>
 with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which valued the combined entity at around USD 1.3 billion (July 2021). 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20250">
 In July 2023,
 </a>
 Aurora raised USD 820 million through a mix of a public offering (USD 220 million) and a private placement (USD 600 million). 
 Aurora didn&rsquo;t report any revenue for the year ended December 2023 (as opposed to a revenue of USD 68 million in 2022). It reported an operating loss of USD 835 million for the year. 
 
 
 
</div>

Platforms, apps, and cards to keep the corporate wallet in check

Business Expense Management

<div>
 
 Tipalti offers a cloud-based business payout platform for domestic and cross-border payments for mid-market companies to manage accounts payable and mass payments. The platform offers an end-to-end solution covering supplier onboarding, procurement controls, invoice processing, approvals, and payment execution. It also includes automated reconciliation and tax compliance, as well as accounting and ERP integrations.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Tipalti claims that the automation delivered by the platform reduces procurement and payable related workloads by 80%. The company also unveiled the &ldquo;Tipalti Card&rdquo; in October 2021, a business expense card for enterprises to implement spend controls and reduce maverick spending. The Tipalti Card is expected to be launched in 2022.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Tipalti expanded its operations and platform offerings by acquiring procurement solutions provider Approve.com in April 2021.
 
 
 
 
 Tipalti has a global presence with offices spanning across the US, the UK, Israel, and Canada. In September 2022, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13463">
 the company opened a Benelux office in Amsterdam, Netherlands
 </a>
 , to continue its expansion in Europe (as its customers in the UK have reportedly crossed the 100 mark in less than a year). The company subsequently 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21989">
 launched a localized solution for the European market
 </a>
 in September 2023, along with obtaining an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). Tipalti reportedly expects Europe to account for around 20% of its new business by end-2024.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 Notably, the company laid off around 11% of its global workforce in January 2023.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 The company caters to several industries including financial services, ecommerce and retail, healthcare, education, software, and manufacturing among others. As of May 2023, Tipalti had over 3,000 customers, including Amazon Twitch, GoDaddy, and ZipRecruiter and enabled supplier payments across 196 countries.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 Transactions handled by Tipalti reportedly expanded by 50% in 2022, with annualized payment volume reaching USD 43 billion. The company 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18558">
 raised USD 150 million
 </a>
 in incremental growth funding, in May 2023, from J.P. Morgan Chase and Hercules Capital Inc. The funds were earmarked for investment in product development, and supporting its customers.
 &nbsp;
 
</div>

Eliminating financial intermediaries by directly connecting individuals and businesses

P2P Financial Platforms

Pipe is a trading platform and technology company that has created a marketplace for trading recurring revenue streams. The company operates a trading platform that allows businesses with recurring revenue models, such as software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, to sell their future revenue contracts to institutional investors. This provides businesses with an upfront capital injection that can be used to fund growth initiatives without diluting equity or taking on debt.
Pipe's platform connects businesses to investors like banks, hedge funds, pension funds, and family offices seeking fixed-income assets with recurring payouts. Companies sign contracts with their customers for recurring payments and list those contracts on Pipe's platform. Investors then purchase these contracts, providing the company with immediate funding.
Pipe charges a trading fee of up to 1% on executed trades facilitated through its platform. As of September 2022, over 20,000 companies had linked around USD 7 billion worth of recurring revenue assets to Pipe's platform.
In March 2022, Pipe launched a financing product called "mine now, pay later" specifically targeting bitcoin mining companies with recurring revenue from hosting services. This allowed mining firms to monetize their future revenues for upfront capital to fund operations and growth.

Sports Tech

Overtime is a sports media company that produces original sports content tailored toward younger generations, particularly Gen Z and millennials. Its core offering revolves around sharing viral videos and highlights of high school athletes across various social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. As of 2024, Overtime boasts over 50 million monthly views and more than 70 million followers across seven platforms.
Overtime's unique selling point lies in its ability to connect with the next generation of sports fans, who consume content differently from traditional fans. Instead of watching entire games, Overtime's target audience prefers following specific athletes and watching highlight reels. The company's content strategy revolves around producing short-form videos, often showcasing the most popular high school sports stars.
In recent years, Overtime has expanded its operations by launching professional sports leagues for basketball, football, and boxing. These leagues, such as Overtime Elite (OTE) for basketball and OT7 for seven-on-seven football, cater to top high school prospects aged 16-20, offering them an alternative pathway to the professional ranks without going through the NCAA system. OTE, for instance, provides its players with a minimum salary of USD 100,000 and covers their education expenses if they choose not to pursue a professional career.
Overtime generates revenue through various streams, including advertising, sponsorships, and merchandising. Major brands have partnered with Overtime to reach its coveted Gen Z audience, resulting in multi-million-dollar deals. The company has also ventured into media rights, licensing its content to streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video.
Key customers and partnerships
Overtime has formed partnerships with several high-profile brands, including GMC, C4 Energy drink, State Farm, Gatorade, and Meta (formerly Facebook). These brands sponsor various aspects of Overtime's operations, such as practice courts and boxing rings, in exchange for exposure to Overtime's engaged audience.
Additionally, Overtime has secured a national partnership with the National Football League (NFL) to provide Gen Z-focused content across various platforms.

Empowering sustainable food innovation through food engineering tech

Alternative Ingredients

<div>
 
 Headquartered in Boston, Ginkgo Bioworks is a leading end-to-end horizontal platform for cell programming, which uses biology to create innovative solutions for various applications related to several markets including agriculture, nutrition and wellness, biopharmaceutical and industrials. Its platform enables companies to design and optimize products for a wide range of industries. Ginkgo Bioworks provide end-to-end capabilities for enzyme services, protein services, metabolic engineering services, strain optimization services, process design, and scale-up services as well as biosecurity services. It assists partners in producing sustainable agricultural solutions, high-quality plant-based meat, crucial vaccine components, and materials for eco-friendly fashion, among other innovations.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/phytolon-and-ginkgo-bioworks-collaborate-to-take-biological-production-of-vibrant-food-colors-to-the-next-level-301491266.html">
 February 2022
 </a>
 , Ginkgo Bioworks collaborated with Phytolon to produce vibrant cultured food colors via the fermentation of yeast. The companies 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26159">
 completed
 </a>
 the first phase of this project and developed betalain pigments from specially engineered yeast strains, covering an extensive color range from yellow to purple. In 
 <a href="https://investors.ginkgobioworks.com/news/news-details/2023/Ambrosia-Bio-Leverages-Ginkgo-Enzyme-Services-to-Develop-a-More-Scalable-Enzymatic-Process-for-Allulose/default.aspx">
 June 2023
 </a>
 , the company partnered with Ambrosia Bio to use Ginkgo Enzyme Services, which include its proprietary chassis organisms, to create an expression strain for the scalable production of Ambrosia Bio's proprietary enzymes. These enzymes are instrumental in converting feedstock into allulose.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange from September 2021.
 
 
 Ginko Biowork&rsquo;s 2022 revenue increased 52% YoY to USD 477.7 million, compared to USD 313.8 million from 2021, driven by a 66% increase in Biosecurity revenue and a 27% increase in Foundry revenue. The company reported an EPS loss of USD 1.25 in 2022 versus a loss of USD 1.35 in 2021.
 
 
 Ginkgo Biowork expects 2023 revenue of at least USD 275 million with Foundry revenue of at least USD 175 million and Biosecurity revenue of at least USD 100 million.&nbsp;
 
 
 
</div>

Enhancing seed and crop traits via biotechnology

Crop Biotech

<div>
 
 Ginkgo Bioworks uses synthetic biology, sensors, and machine learning technology in its Encapsulation and Screening (EncapS) system and PlantEye technology for agricultural applications including crop protection, nutrition, and trait discovery. The solutions developed include digital phenotyping; discovering natural microbes, using predictive fermentation tools to increase production efficiency; multi-omics; and ultra-high throughput screening capabilities.
 
 
 The EncapS is an automation technology for ultra-high-throughput screening, which uses nanoliter-scale bioreactors and microscopic hydrogel beads to measure and sort over 100,000 top-performing strains in a single run. The PlantEye Technology uses dual sensors and multispectral scanners to automate the collection of key data for the in-field performance of plants, allowing testing to be achieved through digital phenotyping.
 
 
 Ginkgo has also developed nitrogen-fixing microbes for cereal crops and legumes, plant growth regulators, biologicals for carbon sequestration, biofungicides for row crops, and bioinsecticides.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 Ginkgo Bioworks partnered with Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira in June 2024 to accelerate crop protection traits in Brazil to support sugarcane farmers in growing pest-resilient sugar cane crops. It also partnered with Syngenta Biologicals in July 2024 to develop a microbial strain that would improve crop productivity.&nbsp; 
 
</div>

The toolkit to build machine learning applications at scale

Machine Learning Infrastructure

Databricks offers a range of data infrastructure and data analytics solutions such as data lakes, data warehouses, data governance, and more, which are also being used for processing data across machine learning applications.Databrick’s offers a managed service for MLFlow, an open-source platform that provides features for development, management, deployment, and monitoring of ML models. MLFlow also includes a centralized model registry to store and collaborate on ML models, along with features for version control and integration with enterprise CI/CD pipelines. MLFlow supports deployment using Apache Spark for local machines, along with cloud deployment via Microsoft Azure ML and Amazon Sagemaker. MLFlow was initially built by Databricks, but it is now open-sourced and managed by the Linux Foundation.In addition, the Lakehouse AI tools featured within the Lakehouse platform allow developers to build Gen-AI applications using foundational models to train their own custom models securely with its enterprise data.In July 2023, Darabricks <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19683">acquired MosaicML </a>, an ML model development platform for generative AI applications, in a transaction valued at approximately USD 1.3 billion, inclusive of retention packages. The acquisition will integrate MosaicML's platform within the Databricks' Lakehouse platform, offering organizations a unified platform with tools to create and manage large language models (LLMs) and a wide range of AI use cases including generative AI using their own data.Key customers and partnershipsAs of September 2023, Databricks had a customer base exceeding 10,000 worldwide, which includes renowned companies like S&amp;P Global, Adobe, Toyota, Nasdaq, and NASA.In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/32463">August 2024</a>, Databricks partnered with Lenovo to enable easier AI adoption among Lenovo’s customers by leveraging the Databricks’ data management capabilities.&nbsp;Earlier in October 2022, Databricks partnered with the no-code extract, transform, and load (ETL) platform Hevo Data to provide automated data integration into the lakehouse for mutual customers. This enabled customers to deploy ETL pipelines on Hevo Data within Databricks.It also partnered with Credo AI, an AI governance platform (<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25683">in January 2024</a>), to integrate the latter’s governance platform to assist organizations in tracking and managing AI risks and complying with emerging regulations. The company also has several collaborations with NVIDIA, including the integration of NVIDIA CUDA accelerated computing into Databricks' Data Intelligence Platform, and developing native support for NVIDIA-accelerated computing in its next-generation query engine, Photon, which will lead to faster and more efficient data management.Funding and financialsIn September 2023, the company raised more than USD 50 million in a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21866">Series I</a> funding round at a USD 43 billion valuation. The round was led by T. Rowe Price, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Capital One Ventures, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, and NVIDIA. The funds were to be used to support the continued growth of Databricks and its unified data and AI platform.In 2Q 2023 (ending on July 31, 2023), Databricks reported to have exceeded USD 1.5 billion in revenue run rate (a 50% YoY increase), while achieving a non-GAAP subscription gross margin of 85%.

Empowering the modern soldier with cutting-edge technology

Military Tech

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, Brian Schimpf, Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm, and Joseph Chen. The company specializes in developing advanced autonomous systems and artificial intelligence for military and border security applications. Anduril's product lineup includes autonomous drones, underwater vehicles, surveillance towers, and an AI-powered operating system called Lattice. The company's flagship offerings include the Sentry Towers for border surveillance, various drone models like Ghost and Altius, and the ALTIUS-600 million loitering munition with a range of 440 km and over four hours of endurance. Anduril's technology focuses on providing autonomous detection, classification, and tracking of targets, enabling faster decision-making in military operations. The company has adopted a software-first approach, allowing for rapid deployment and updates of its systems. In January 2022, Anduril secured a USD 1 billion contract with US Special Operations Command to lead counter-drone integration work. As of December 2022, Anduril was valued at USD 8.5 billion.
Key customers and partnerships
Anduril's primary customers include various branches of the US military, such as the US Air Force, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command. The company has also secured contracts with the US Department of Defense and border security agencies. In May 2022, Anduril entered into a USD 100 million co-funded program with the Australian military to develop extra-large autonomous undersea vehicles for the Royal Australian Navy. The company has established partnerships with American Rheinmetall Vehicles, Fabcon, and the Royal Navy. Anduril's technology has been deployed in various military exercises and real-world scenarios, including use in Ukraine as of December 2023.

Unlocking nature's benefits for elevated wellness

Functional Ingredients

Ginkgo Bioworks is a synthetic biology company founded in 2008 that operates as a platform for cell programming. The company designs and engineers organisms for customers across various industries by leveraging its automated foundry infrastructure, DNA synthesis capabilities, and genetic codebase. Rather than manufacturing products directly, Ginkgo provides engineered organisms to customers in exchange for cash, royalties, or equity through its Cell Programs division. The company uses robotic engineering and software to reduce genetic engineering costs through automated DNA synthesis, sequencing, and testing infrastructure. At its core, Ginkgo's platform functions through a Design-Build-Test engineering loop where cell designers leverage the company's codebase to create new organisms based on customer specifications, which are then physically instantiated in cells and validated using measurement technologies. As of December 2023, Ginkgo has developed its capabilities in mammalian cell engineering through its Mammalian Foundry, which enables optimization of novel gene editors. The company has successfully engineered yeast cells that led to commercial production of three fragrance molecules, including gamma-decalactone with a peach scent and massoia lactone used as flavoring. Ginkgo aims to decrease costs and increase the speed of the cell engineering process to accelerate biotechnology development.
Key customers and partnerships
Ginkgo has established partnerships with major companies across multiple industries. In April 2023, the company formed a strategic collaboration with Solvay to develop sustainable biopolymers for markets ranging from home and personal care to agriculture and food. In December 2023, Ginkgo partnered with Arbor Biotechnologies to advance the discovery and development of precision gene editors. The company has also collaborated with Bayer through Joyn Bio to design microbes that reduce synthetic nitrogen fertilizer needs in agriculture. Another key partnership is with Roche to scale antibiotic discovery. Additionally, Ginkgo works with Synlogic to create "living medicines" - engineered probiotics designed to perform specific therapeutic tasks in the body. The company has also partnered with Cronos, a cannabis company, to develop fermentation-based CBG production for intoxicating pineapple-flavored candy.

Anduril Industries is a defense product company that builds technology for military agencies and border surveillance. Anduril commits top technical talent to solve complex national security challenges. The company is building the next generation of technology that will aid and protect those who serve on the front lines defending the nation and its interests. Andurils' mission is to develop innovative technology that enables America and its allies to maintain global leadership now and into the future.

Databricks is a software platform that helps its customers unify their analytics across the business, data science, and data engineering. It also provides a Unified Analytics Platform for data science teams to collaborate with data engineering and lines of business to build data products.

ID.me simplifies how individuals prove and share their identities online. The ID.me secure digital identity network has more than 72 million members with over 145,000 new subscribers joining daily,  including 29 states, 10 federal agencies, and over 500 retail brands. The company provides identity proofing, authentication, and group affiliation verification for organizations across sectors. ID.me technology meets federal standards and the company is approved as a NIST 800-63-3 IAL2 / AAL2 conformant credential service provider by the Kantara Initiative. ID.me is the only provider with video chat and is committed to “No Identity Left Behind” to enable all people to have a secure digital identity.

Overtime is a sports network for the next generation of sports fans. It produces original content across YouTube, Snapchat, and IGTV, as well as highly engaging short-form content on Instagram and TikTok. Based in NYC, Overtime is funded by top VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Greycroft Ventures as well as industry leaders like Kevin Durant and former NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Heliogen is a renewable energy technology company focused on eliminating the need for fossil fuels in heavy industry and powering a sustainable future. The company’s AI-enabled, modular concentrated solar technology aims to cost-effectively deliver near 24/7 carbon-free energy in the form of heat, power, or green hydrogen fuel at scale – for the first time in history. Heliogen was created at Idealab, the leading technology incubator founded by Bill Gross in 1996. For more information about Heliogen, please visit heliogen.com.

Figment is Canada’s largest blockchain infrastructure and software provider. Our mission is to make it simple for token holders and developers to use, build and govern blockchains. We do this by providing a comprehensive set of tools & services including our enterprise-grade node and staking infrastructure, the Hubble Web 3 explorer, and DataHub developer APIs. With Figment you can discover and build the next killer blockchain based decentralized application.

Tipalti streamlines and automates the way companies make payments to their suppliers, partners, publishers, and crowds. Tipalti provides a comprehensive cloud-based solution that addresses all phases of the payables workflow, from self-service supplier onboarding and management to tax compliance, invoice processing, global funds disbursement, early payments, and AP reporting and payment reconciliation, while helping to ensure the payer in full tax and regulatory compliance. With Tipalti, companies can eliminate up to 80% of their supplier payment workload, helping them scale their business efficiently with global growth while strengthening financial and compliance controls and improving the partner payment experience. Tipalti was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in San Mateo, California.

Grab operates a mobile technology platform that integrates city transportation for driver-partners and customers in South East Asia. It offers services like GrabTaxi, GrabCar, GrabHitch, GrabShare, GrabCoach, GrabShuttle, GrabShuttle Plus, GrabFamily, JustGrab, GrabNow, and GrabRental.  Grab offers services in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar. Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Lng founded it in 2012 and is headquartered in Singapore. It has additional offices in Seattle, Beijing, Bangalore, Jakarta, and Vietnam.

Lacework is a security platform for cloud generation that provides automated threat defense and intrusion detection for cloud workloads. Its platform automates every aspect of security, including configuration assessment, behavior monitoring, anomaly, and threat detection as well as incident investigation and provides continuous monitoring of all cloud components such as workloads, applications, processes, containers, machines, users, and accounts that enable security teams to protect data and workloads in the cloud and maintain continuous compliance. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Mountain View, California.

Aurora is a self-driving vehicle company providing a platform that brings software and data services to operate passenger vehicles. To move both people and goods, the company develops Aurora Driver, a platform that brings together software, hardware, and data services to operate passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and heavy-duty trucks. Aurora is backed by Amazon and Sequoia, among others, and partners with industry leaders including Toyota, Uber, Volvo, and Paccar. Aurora tests its vehicles in the Bay Area, Pittsburgh, and Dallas. The company has offices in those areas as well as in Bozeman, MT; Seattle, WA; Louisville, CO; and Wixom, MI.

Ginkgo Bioworks is a biotechnology firm. It is a developer of biological engineering products and custom microbes across multiple markets. It designs, engineer, develops, tests, and licenses organisms. It discovers molecules in flavors, sweeteners, cosmetic ingredients, crop treatments, and pharmaceuticals. It also provides probiotic bacteria to protect the body from dangerous infections, and it generates libraries of molecules. It serves cultured ingredients, carbon mitigation, probiotics, and natural product discovery markets.

SomaLogic operates as a protein biomarker discovery and clinical diagnostics company. It offers SOMAmers (Slow-Offrate Modified Aptamers), which are modified nucleic acid-based protein-binding reagents that are specific for their cognate protein; and SOMAscan that provides protein detection and equipment. The company’s SOMAmer/SOMAscan technology enables to discover protein biomarker signatures; drug discovery and development; and clinical diagnostics. Its products have applications in the diagnostics of various diseases in oncology, neurology, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and other diseases and conditions.  SomaLogic was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

Cipher Mining is an industrial-scale Bitcoin mining company dedicated to expanding and strengthening the Bitcoin network's critical infrastructure. Its goal is to be the leading Bitcoin mining company in the United States. Cipher Mining aims to leverage best-in-class technology, market-leading power purchase arrangements, and a seasoned, dedicated senior management team to become the market leader in Bitcoin mining.

Cazoo is an online used car marketplace designed to transform the way people buy, finance, or rent used cars. Its platform lets users buy, finance, or rent a used car entirely online and have it delivered to their door within hours. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in London, England.

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.

ironSource is a business platform enabling mobile content creators to prosper in the app economy. Our mission is to help app developers turn their apps into scalable and sustainable, with the most robust, comprehensive business platform available. Ultimately, we help customers focus on what they do best - creating great apps and user experiences - while we enable their business expansion in the app economy.

Element Biosciences is a life science company that focuses on developing innovative genetic analysis tools. The company is developing a modular and high-performing DNA sequencing platform that will deliver high-quality data, workflow flexibility, and make next-generation sequencing technology more accessible. The company's proprietary approach to improving the signal-to-noise ratio allows us to provide groundbreaking innovations in surface chemistry, instrumentation, and biochemistry to drastically decrease the run and capital costs while delivering high sequencing data quality.

DataRobot delivers AI technology and ROI enablement services to global enterprises. DataRobot’s enterprise AI platform democratizes data science with end-to-end automation for building, deploying, and managing machine learning models.

Figma is a design platform for teams who build products together. Born in the browser, Figma helps the entire product team create, test, and ship better designs, faster. Whether the company tries to consolidate tools, get more eyes on your work, or collaborate across time zones, Figma boosts creative productivity while keeping everyone on the same page. On a mission to make design accessible to all, Figma is helping companies like Airbnb, Slack, and Microsoft redesign how they design.

Clear Labs harnesses the power of next-generation sequencing to simplify complex diagnostics for clinical and applied markets by creating a fully automated platform that brings together dna sequencing, robotics, and cloud-based analytics clear labs democratize genomics applications to deliver increased clarity.

Pipe operates a global trading platform for recurring revenue streams, connecting companies to institutional investors to trade in real time. It makes recurring revenue streams tradable for their annual value offering more cash flow for scaling companies

Klaviyo is a marketing automation and email platform designed to help grow businesses. From personalized newsletters to automated emails like abandoned carts, order follow-ups, and personalized thank you's, Klaviyo makes it easy for stores to set up email marketing without the need for expensive systems and lots of people. It integrates natively with customer data sources and builds the technology to house data at scale, creates experiences across channels, and measures the results.

Inscripta is developing the first benchtop platform for scalable digital genome engineering. The company’s advanced CRISPR-based platform, consisting of an instrument, consumables, software, and assays, offers a fully automated workflow that enables massively parallel, trackable editing of single cells at an unprecedented scale. Inscripta’s goal is to empower scientists whose gene editing research is stifled by current technical and licensing limitations. By providing this unique platform and engaging in collaborative business practices, such as making its MAD7 CRISPR nuclease-free for research and development purposes, the company enables scientists to realize a new era of biological discovery.

Cameo is a marketplace where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from their favourite people. Cameo's mission is to create personalized and authentic fan experiences. The company currently partner with thousands of talent across all verticals.

Counterpoint Global is one of Morgan Stanley's fundamental equity teams that aims to make long-term investments in unique companies. The culture of the team promotes collaboration, creativity, ongoing development, and differentiated thinking. Company portfolios are normally concentrated and differentiated from their benchmarks. Counterpoint Global is made up of 35 individuals, including 18 investment professionals and two disruptive change researchers.

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