We're Acequia Capital, a team and partnership with roots in Albuquerque. We're knowledge workers and systems thinkers who love to keep good company in most fields.

Acequia Capital (AceCap)

Khosla Ventures invests in companies that are bold, early, and impactful. The firm was started in 2004 by Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, to provide venture assistance to entrepreneurs. Khosla Ventures invests in a range of areas including AI, climate, sustainability, enterprise, consumer, fintech, digital health, medtech and diagnostics, therapeutics, and frontier technology.

Khosla Ventures

First Round is a seed-stage venture firm focused on building a vibrant community of technology entrepreneurs and companies, including Uber, Square, and Warby Parker. Through custom-built software, incredible in-person experiences, and a host of other unique services, First Round helps tiny companies get big while constantly reimagining the role of venture capital. It offers a growing number of services and products to help founders build companies from scratch. First Round has adopted the Diversity Term Sheet Rider.

First Round Capital

SV Angel is a San Francisco-based venture fund. Their experience spans helping companies like Airbnb, Coinbase, Databricks, DoorDash, Faire, Flexport, GitHub, Notion, Pinterest, Snap, Square, and Stripe Scale. Over the last 30 years of investing, their core values of trust, loyalty, and integrity along with a founder-first approach have driven our strategy. They are a service organization, investing in founders who share these values. They support entrepreneurs in building lasting companies by assisting at key inflection points and leveraging networks to help them propel their businesses forward.

SV Angel

DCVC backs entrepreneurs using Deep Tech to solve problems and multiply the benefits of capitalism for everyone while reducing its cost. Deep Tech is a potent approach to this challenge that enables more for less - now and for this century. The transformative companies in their portfolio combine the latest advances in science and technology with unique computing and algorithmic advantage, reducing CAPEX and OPEX.

DCVC

Sequoia is a venture capital focused on energy, financial, enterprise, healthcare, internet, and mobile startups. The firm helps a small number of daring founders build legendary companies. It spurs them to push the boundaries of what’s possible. The firm seeks to invest in all sectors with a focus on energy, financials and financial services, healthcare and healthcare services, Internet, mobile, outsourcing, and technology.

Sequoia Capital

Visa is an American multinational financial services company that facilitates electronic payment systems throughout the world. The company operates the retail electronic payments network through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities.

Visa

Kleiner Perkins is a venture capital firm specializing in investing in early-stage, growth, and incubation companies. The firm continues that legacy, investing in founders with bold ideas that span industries and continents, partnering with them from inception to IPO and beyond to maximize the potential of their ideas. They also focus on early computer firms using their devices and programming and service companies. It also invests in the digital, life sciences, and healthcare industries.

Kleiner Perkins

Founded in 2001, Tiger Global Management, LLC (“Tiger Global”) is a New York-based investment firm pursuing a long-term approach to investing in leading, global public and private companies that leverage technological innovation. Tiger Global’s public equity business includes fundamentally oriented long/short, long-focused and crossover strategies, targeting investments in high-quality, public growth companies. The private equity business invests in early through late stage companies that pursue innovative approaches to new and existing industries, building on over 20 years of experience investing in hundreds of businesses in more than 30 countries with more than 90 portfolio company IPOs. With a strong track record investing across sectors and stages, Tiger Global aims to be a thought partner to companies and their management teams across their lifecycle in public and private markets. The Firm’s mission is to generate world-class returns for its investors and to do so in a way that makes its employees, partners and portfolio companies proud.

Tiger Global Management

Virgin is a international investment group and one of the world's most recognised and respected brands.

Virgin Group

Notable Capital is named for the founders we invest with, the ideas they pursue, the causes they champion, and the remarkable companies they build. Notable is a U.S.-based venture capital firm focused on early-to-growth stage companies in cloud infrastructure and business and consumer applications across the U.S., Israel, Europe, Latin America, and select go-global opportunities. Notable portfolio companies include Affirm, Airbnb, Block, Brightwheel, Drata, Handshake, HashiCorp, Ibotta, Orca Security, Quince, Slack, Slice, StockX, Stori, Vercel, Zendesk, and more.

Notable Capital

Starbucks is an international chain of restaurants that retails handcrafted coffee, tea, and fresh food items. With 23,132 stores in 65 countries and territories, Starbucks serves hot and cold drinks, whole-bean coffee, micro-ground instant coffee, espresso, caffe latte, full-leaf teas, evolution fresh juices, pastries, and snacks. Most stores also sell pre-packaged food items, hot and cold sandwiches, and mugs and tumblers.  The stores also offer a variety of beers, wines, and appetizers, and markets books, music, and film. Some of the company’s products are seasonal or specific to the locality of the store. Starbucks-brand coffee, ice cream, and bottled cold coffee drinks are also sold at grocery stores. Starbucks was founded by Orin Smith in October 1971 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Starbucks

Citi Ventures utilizes Citi's resources to support individuals, businesses, and communities amid technological changes. Based in San Francisco with offices in New York, London, Palo Alto, Tel Aviv, and Singapore, Citi Ventures focuses on discovering new value by exploring, developing, and investing in innovative ideas, and collaborating with Citi employees, clients, and the broader innovation community.

Citi Ventures

Rizvi Traverse Management believes in a value-oriented, opportunistic investment strategy that combines capital with management expertise. Rizvi Traverse Management seeks to actively create value at its portfolio companies by providing capital, management resources, strategic direction and merger and acquisition advice.

Rizvi Traverse Management

VMware is a software company providing cloud and virtualization services that help complex digital infrastructure. The company accelerates digital transformation by enabling unprecedented freedom and flexibility in how its customers build and evolve IT environments. Its software helps business users simply and securely access the apps and data they need, from anywhere, to do their best work. The company's software spans compute, cloud, networking and security, and digital workspace.  VMware was founded in 1998 and is based in Palo Alto, California.

VMware

Tuesday Capital (formerly known as CrunchFund) is a seed stage focused venture firm that invests in information technology enabled companies. In 2019 CrunchFund was rebranded as Tuesday Capital.

Tuesday Capital

GIC is a global investment firm established in 1981 to manage Singapore's foreign reserves. A disciplined long-term value investor, GIC is uniquely positioned for investments across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate, and infrastructure. GIC invests through funds and directly in companies, partnering with its fund managers and management teams to help world-class businesses achieve their objectives. In tech investing, GIC seeks to be a lifetime partner to the companies it invests in. GIC has investments in over 40 countries around the world. Headquartered in Singapore, GIC employs over 1,700 people across 10 offices in key financial cities worldwide.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services, as well as financial services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its Investment Banking segment offers financial advisory services, including advisory assignments concerning mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense, risk management, and restructurings and spin-offs; and underwriting services comprising public offerings and private placements of a range of securities, loans, and other financial instruments, and derivative transactions. The company’s Institutional Client Services segment provides client execution services, such as fixed income, currency, and commodities client execution related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, and commodities; and equities related to making markets in equity products, as well as executes and clears institutional client transactions on stock, options, and futures exchanges. This segment also engages in the securities services business providing financing, securities lending, and other brokerage services to institutional clients, including hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and foundations. Its Investing and Lending segment originates longer-term loans; and invests in debt securities, loans, public and private equity securities, real estate, consolidated investment entities, distressed assets, currencies, commodities, and power generation facilities. The company’s investment management segment provides investment products and services, as well as offers wealth advisory services, including portfolio management and financial counseling, and brokerage and other transaction services.

Goldman Sachs

Sozo Ventures was formed in 2011 to invest in and support IT ventures with their global expansion. We invest in category leaders in advanced data technologies, ecommerce, enterprise cloud, fintech, IOT and healthcare IT, among other emerging sectors. We are structured to connect the most ambitious entrepreneurial teams with the world's most advanced and respected customers and distributors. We are at our best when we can share our expertise well before expansion strategies are set.

Sozo Ventures

JP Morgan is a financial institution. It offers asset management, commercial banking, investment banking, merchant services, securities services, treasury and payments, and wealth management services.

JP Morgan

Sapphire is a global software venture capital firm with more than $11 billion in AUM and team members across Austin, London, Menlo Park and San Francisco. For over a decade, Sapphire has partnered with visionary management teams and venture funds to back companies of consequence. Since its founding, Sapphire has invested in more than 170 companies globally resulting in more than 30 Public Listings and 45 acquisitions. The firm’s investment strategies — Sapphire Ventures, Sapphire Partners and Sapphire Sport — are focused on scaling companies and venture funds, elevating them to become category leaders. Sapphire’s Portfolio Growth team of experienced operators delivers a strategic blend of value-add services, tools and resources designed to support portfolio company leaders as they scale.

Sapphire Ventures

Access Technology Ventures is a $2+ billion venture capital and growth technology investment effort of Access Industries, a privately held, US-based industrial group with global strategic investments of $20+ billion. The firm operates as a subsidiary of Access Industries and prefers to invest in firms operating in the technology sector. Its portfolio includes technology companies such as Alibaba, Amazon, Digital Ocean, Facebook, Opendoor, PinDuoDuo, Snap, Square, and Tencent Music.

Access Technology Ventures

Omega invests in Intelligent Software for the Enterprise breakout companies that leverage Artificial and Machine Intelligence to deliver best-of-breed solutions and new revenue streams. The firm strives to be the partner of choice for rapidly growing and consequential companies that can benefit society-at-large and help maximize human potential through technology.

Omega Venture Partners

Block, Inc.

A foundational component to the next generation of digital entertainment.

Esports

Bitmovin is a multimedia company that provides cloud-native video streaming infrastructure solutions for leading streaming services worldwide. Founded in 2013, Bitmovin offers a comprehensive suite of products including a VOD Encoder, Live Encoder, Player, and Analytics. The company's technology optimizes file sizes and accelerates content processing, potentially saving up to 50% on storage and bandwidth costs. Bitmovin's solutions support various monetization models, including AVOD, SVOD, and hybrid workflows, with capabilities for both server-side and client-side ad insertion.
The company's foundation is rooted in innovative research, with its founders contributing to the development of the MPEG-DASH video streaming standard, which now accounts for over 50% of global online internet traffic. Bitmovin's technology stack is designed to be flexible, running on any cloud infrastructure or on-premise, and supports a wide array of codecs and formats. The company focuses on delivering high-quality video experiences across all devices while minimizing operating expenses for its clients.
Key customers and partnerships
Bitmovin serves a global pool of customers, including prominent names in the media and streaming industry. Some of its clients include the BBC, fuboTV, Hulu Japan, RTL, iFlix, ClassPass, and Discovery. In December 2017, Bitmovin partnered with BuyDRM and fuboTV to enhance the sports-first streaming TV service's content delivery and protection capabilities. This collaboration aimed to provide fuboTV with a streamlined workflow for their OTT service.

Hardware, software, and wearable devices to help prevent and manage the next pandemic.

Infectious Disease Tech

Oura is a Finnish health technology company that manufactures the Oura Ring, a smart ring that delivers personalized health data, insights, and daily guidance. The Oura Ring is designed to track various biometrics, including sleep quality, activity levels, heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature, using advanced sensors and algorithms. The ring's unique design allows it to capture accurate measurements from the finger, providing reliable data on sleep stages, heart rate variability, and overall health indicators.Oura's primary focus is on promoting better sleep habits and overall well-being. The ring tracks all stages of sleep, accounting for factors such as sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and time spent in different sleep phases. It generates daily scores for sleep, activity, and readiness, offering personalized guidance and recommendations to help users optimize their routines and achieve a balanced lifestyle.In addition to its core sleep tracking capabilities, the Oura Ring has expanded its functionality to include features such as menstrual cycle tracking through integration with the Natural Cycles app, as well as cardiovascular health monitoring with the introduction of Cardiovascular Age and Cardio Capacity features in May 2024. The company has also made strategic acquisitions, such as the digital identification startup Proxy in May 2023, to enhance its product offerings and explore new opportunities.Key customers and partnershipsOura has gained a significant customer base, with over one million devices sold as of November 2023. The company has attracted celebrity users, including Jennifer Aniston and Kim Kardashian, who have embraced the Oura Ring for its health-tracking capabilities and stylish design.Oura has formed partnerships with various organizations and companies, including John Lewis, where the Oura Ring is now available for purchase across 34 stores in the UK as of May 2024. The company has also collaborated with fashion brands like Gucci to create stylish and functional wearable products.Several major sports leagues, such as the NBA, WNBA, UFC, and NASCAR, have adopted the Oura Ring for their athletes and teams, leveraging its ability to monitor sleep, recovery, and overall well-being.In August 2022, Oura announced a partnership with the fertility and contraception app Natural Cycles, allowing users to sync their temperature data from the Oura Ring with the Natural Cycles app, providing an innovative solution for tracking menstrual cycles and fertility windows.In August 2023, Oura partnered with the teletherapy platform Talkspace, enabling Oura wearers to share their personalized sleep and daily movement data with Talkspace therapists, facilitating a holistic approach to mental and physical well-being.

A new industry proving that digital connectivity and mental health can co-exist.

Digital Wellness

Finland-based ŌURA manufactures a sleep and personal wellbeing tracking ring. The ring, which is paired with an app, helps users track several facets of their life, including sleep, heart rate, fitness, wellness, and period cycles. Users can use the company’s companion app to see the results of the Oura ring’s sleep tracking, including access to sleep quality measurements, personalized suggestions on how to improve sleep quality, measurements of blood oxygen, calorie tracking, workout tracking, and access to a library of audio wellness sessions. The app and ring can also help users track their period cycles based on changes to the user’s body temperature. The Oura app also has a community feature through which users can share their health metrics with chosen friends and family, send reactions, and check in on users in their “circle.”In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23064">October 2023</a>, ŌURA launched an AI-based journal function available to users via its app. This function enables users to record short journal entries using a single gesture to record moods and mental states, with Oura’s speech recognition software automatically transcribing the entry. The company also announced that later in 2023, it would launch a “stress resilience” function that will help provide insights, educational material, and recommendations for managing stress to improve overall health.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33488">September 2024</a>, the company acquired Veri, a Finnish personalized metabolic health company, for an undisclosed amount. As a part of the transaction, a significant portion of Veri's team, including its three founders, joined Ōura as employees. Ōura planned to integrate Veri's expertise to expand its offerings in metabolic health, which is a key area of interest for Oura members.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/34459">October 2024</a>, the company launched the Ring 4. At the time of launch the device was priced at USD 349, and replaces the earlier Ring 3. The Ring 4 was designed to provide more accurate health tracking and features approximately double the number of sensors compared to its predecessor, advanced algorithms tailored to individual physiology, and a sleeker titanium design with recessed sensors.Also in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35536">October 2024</a>, the company acquired Sparta Science, a health tracking startup that offered a data platform for analyzing health and performance information, for an undisclosed sum.Through the acquisition, Ōura planned to integrate Sparta's Trinsic platform into Ōura's B2B offering, Ōura Teams.As of September 2024, the company operates on a D2C basis charging USD 299 to USD 349 per ring, which includes a six-month membership to the companion app. After this period, users have to pay USD 5.99 per month to access the app’s additional insights and content library.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsŌURA has secured several partnerships with brands over its existence, including Gucci, Natural Cycles, and Therabody. While the company has secured several sales partnerships with retailers such as Best Buy and Equinox, the company has also signed several product collaboration partnerships with providers such as Strava, Veri, and Supersapien.ŌURA partnered with fellow meditation and psychological wellness provider Headspace in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22597">October 2023</a>, to help further Headpsace’s mission of revolutionizing mental health wellness. Through the partnership, Oura announced a new feature for its ring, “Daytime Stress,” which helps Oura users identify specific stress triggers via changes in heart rates and temperature. After being alerted to high-stress situations, Oura users are able to access Headspace’s stress-focused content like guided meditations, breathing exercises, and muscle relaxation techniques to help users overcome specific stress triggers.ŌURA additionally expanded its retail partnership with Best Buy in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22989">October 2023</a> to begin selling Ōura rings at 124 Best Buy locations across Canada in addition to them being sold in Best Buy locations across the US. Additionally, 25 locations in Canada would include a “shop-in-shop” experience that will involve educational videos, interactive experiences, and the ability to browse various Ōura ring styles and sizes.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/28727">April 2024</a>, ŌURA partnered with US-based retail corporation Target to sell its wearable tech in stores and online. Through the partnership, customers could easily access Oura's smart rings in physical Target stores and receive in-store sizing experiences. The collaboration also included an online option of buying a sizing kit for USD 10, with a gift certificate to compensate for the initial cost.&nbsp;

Long-term demographic changes are finally bringing fertility technologies into focus.

Fertility Tech

Ōura manufactures a sleep and personal wellbeing tracking ring. The ring, which is paired with an app, helps users track several facets of their life, including sleep, heart rate, fitness, activity and recovery, stress, wellness, and period cycles. The ring’a in-app features provide women with valuable data about their bodies such as prediction of their period cycles based on body temperature. Through the partnership with Natural Cycles, the FDA cleared birth control app, it is possible to track fertility during sleep by wearing the ring to bed. The app also has a community feature through which users can share their health metrics with chosen friends and family. The company operates on a D2C basis charging USD 299 to USD 349 per ring, which includes a one month membership to the companion app. After this period, users have to pay USD 5.99 per month to access the app’s additional insights and content library. Key customers and partnerships The company claimed that over one million members were using the Oura ring as of May 2023. Ōura partnered with Cronometer, a nutrition tracking app on October 2023, to launch a collaborative new feature for menstrual cycle tracking. The new feature integrates ŌURA’s Cycle Insights into the Cronometer app to provide a detailed understanding of menstrual health allowing users of the Oura Ring and Cronometer app to track certain aspects of their menstrual cycle, such as the luteal and follicular phases, body temperature changes, and associated symptoms. The aim was to correlate menstrual health data with other health metrics to provide a broader perspective on overall health. Funding and financials In April 2022, Ōura raised funding at a valuation of ~USD 2.6 billion. The investors were not disclosed. The company expected to use the funds to expedite investment into its R&amp;D, a library of personalized and guided content, and product and science innovation. Note: The disruptor is not comparable with other companies due to the wearable product (the ring) it uses to track the information unlike other companies.

Modern tools to train and motivate staff, and bridge emerging skill gaps.

EdTech: Corporate Learning

<div>
 
 Founded in 2014 by Khadim Batti and Varakumar Namburu, Whatfix is a digital adoption solutions (DAS) company that aims to disrupt application training, learning, and support content by providing specialized digital solutions to companies globally.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 In August 2021, Whatfix acquired Nittio Learn, a learning management system (LMS) for an undisclosed figure. Founded in 2013, Nittio Learn is a learning management platform with a focus on corporate training. The LMS delivers a number of tools and features allowing companies to design and curate learning content for their distributed workforces. This acquisition allows Whatfix to add Nittio Learn&rsquo;s toolset which includes content options, assessment capabilities, and training course allocation into its own digital adoption platform as well as improve the company&rsquo;s application training capabilities.
 
 
 In February 2024, Whatfix announced the launch of &quot;Mirror&quot;, a hyper-realistic training and product showcase tool, scheduled for beta release in Q2 2024, that is expected to transform system training and product showcasing for businesses.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In 2021, Whatfix secured partnerships with several notable companies including Microsoft, Red Cross Netherlands, Coca Cola Beverages Africa, Mr Price Group, Messer Americas, and Grant Thornton.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In June 2021, the company raised USD 90 million in Series D funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. 
 
 
 For 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14230">
 FY2022,
 </a>
 operating revenue growth increased 73% YoY to INR 1.72 billion (~USD 20.8 million). Meanwhile, overall spending increased threefold to INR 8.97 billion (~USD 108.4 million) in FY2022. This was primarily due to finance costs, which made up 51% of total spending, increasing by 6.7x, and employee benefit expenditures, which made up 33% of total spending, increasing by 80.3% YoY. Consequently, in FY2022, the company's net loss increased by 3.7x to INR 7.06 billion (~USD 85.3 million).
 
</div>

Using AI to automate, enhance and optimize marketing activities

Marketing Automation

Birdeye offers a suite of tools for increasing a firm’s online visibility. The primary customer experience feature of Birdeye’s platform is its customer reviews tool, which can generate, monitor, and automatically respond to customer reviews and feedback. This can be harnessed on Birdeye’s platform to 1) increase a firm’s visibility by improving its online listings on search engines, 2) conduct review-based marketing through text messaging or webchat, and 3) turn customer reviews into actionable insights.&nbsp;Birdeye is an official Google Partner, specializing in Google reviews, and the firm has solutions for both small businesses looking to improve their online listings and rankings as well as to give visibility to large enterprises’ reviews and reputation across geographies. The platform also allows for 1,000+ software integrations.&nbsp;Birdeye is a multi-award-winning platform and claims to be the most awarded and highest-rated customer experience marketing software. According to the firm, its clients have experienced a 350% increase in the number of reviews received per year as a result of the platform.&nbsp;In October 2021, the firm introduced a referral marketing system that allows its clients to automate referral marketing campaigns as well as run multiple reward strategies and engage with potential customers.&nbsp;Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;As of September 2021, the firm had 60,000+ customers including Harley Davidson Cycles, Nissan, and BMW.

Autonomous and connected technologies shaping the future of the auto industry

Auto Tech

Ridecell develops an internet of things (IoT)-driven automation and mobility platform for fleets. Its cloud-based data platform, launched in April 2021, integrates data from sensors and multiple IT systems to digitize fleet management. Ridecell’s Fleet Transformation Cloud Platform provides a data pipeline and APIs to connect existing IT, fleet management, and connected vehicle systems, which enables turning data insights into triggers for workflow automations. The platform combined with pre-integrated partner solutions enables fleet operators to manage fleet data, automate workflows, digital vehicle control, vehicle access, repairs, and scheduling. Ridecells portfolio of fleet automation solutions include 1) Operations 360, to automate fleet operations and life cycle management for every phase of the vehicle’s life cycle using real-time data; 2) Sustainability, an offering with a sustainability focus (e.g., automatic idle reduction, driver optimization); and 3) Shared; 4) Rental; and 5) Fleet share solutions to cater to different operational models. The company pitches the product toward logistics, rental, motor pool, and shared fleets. Key customers and partnershipsAs of March 2022, the company’s platform was used in fleets in European and North American cities, and its customers include Ferrovial, Groupe Renault, GIG Car Share (powered by AAA NCNU), KINTO by Toyota Sweden, Arval Car Sharing, and Thrifty Car &amp; Van Rental. Ridecell also leverages partnerships with various service providers such as telematics, keyless entry and immobilizers, diagnostics, monetization, insurance, marketing, and cloud platforms to enable fleet automation integrations. The company’s integration partners include Amazon Web Services, Denso, Checkr, Geotab, Salesforce, Hella, Sisense, Stripe, Continental and Jumio.

Riding together toward a sustainable future

Shared Mobility

Ridecell is a global fleet automation and mobility solutions provider. The company offers a fleet automation and mobility platform that modernizes and monetizes fleets by combining data insights with digital vehicle control, transforming manual processes into automated workflows. Ridecell's platform enables seamless user experiences, providing customers with flexibility in services, daily operations, and structural needs. It offers decentralized and convenient booking systems, allowing employees to use vehicles without relying on fleet managers. The platform also automates fleet operations, providing insights to ensure optimal fleet condition and tools for achieving sustainability and compliance goals.
In January 2022, Ridecell partnered with Arval, a European leader in full-service leasing and new mobility solutions, to accelerate the development of end-to-end mobility solutions. Through this partnership, Ridecell's platform powers Arval's car-sharing platform, offering coverage across Europe with plans to expand globally, growing the car-sharing fleet by 50% annually.

Cryptocurrencies

Yellow Card is a pan-African fintech company operating across 20 countries in Africa. It is the largest and only licensed stablecoin on-ramp/off-ramp platform on the African continent. Yellow Card provides individuals and businesses of all sizes with secure and cost-effective methods to buy and sell various stablecoins such as USDC, USDT, and PYUSD via their local currency. This can be done directly through the Yellow Card platform or via their Payments API.
As of February 2024, Yellow Card users can send USDC on the Stellar network, leveraging the network's low transaction fees and lightning-fast transaction speeds. The integration with Stellar's blockchain enables near-zero transaction costs, swift settlement in as little as three seconds, and positions Yellow Card as a facilitator for fintechs and exchanges to harness these benefits across various use cases like remittances and real-time payments.
In October 2022, Yellow Card obtained a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from Botswana's Non-Bank Financial Institution Regulatory Authority, making it the first crypto exchange in Africa to secure such a license issued by an African country. This regulatory approval allows Yellow Card customers in Botswana to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether with the local fiat currency, the Botswana pula.
Furthermore, in November 2023, Yellow Card became the first fintech in Africa to launch PayPal USD (PYUSD), a USD-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos. This collaboration opened up new global trading opportunities and access for African customers, enabling seamless buy, sell, and transfer of PYUSD.
As of 2024, Yellow Card has facilitated over USD 2 billion in transactions across Africa and raised over USD 50 million from leading global investors such as Polychain Capital, Valar Ventures, Third Prime Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and Block (formerly Square/Cash App).

From counting steps to saving lives and beyond

Wearable Tech

Oura is a health technology company that produces smart rings designed to track sleep, activity, and overall wellness. The company's flagship product, the Oura Ring, is a titanium ring embedded with sensors that measure heart rate, body temperature, movement, and other biometrics. Oura uses this data to provide users with daily scores for sleep quality, activity levels, and "readiness" - an overall measure of recovery and health.Launched in 2015, Oura is now on its third generation ring, released in late 2021. The latest model includes new sensors for blood oxygen monitoring and daytime heart rate tracking. The ring connects to a smartphone app that displays health data and provides personalized recommendations. Key features include sleep stage analysis, period prediction for women, stress monitoring, and activity tracking.Oura positions its ring as a less obtrusive alternative to wrist-worn fitness trackers, with a sleek design meant to be worn 24/7. The company claims its finger-based sensors provide more accurate heart rate data than wrist-worn devices. Battery life is typically 4-7 days depending on enabled features.While praised for its sleep tracking capabilities, the Oura Ring has limitations as a fitness tracker, struggling to accurately categorize some types of exercise. The ring starts at USD 299 for the basic model, with premium finishes costing up to USD 549. Oura also requires a USD 5.99 monthly subscription to access most app features and data insights.Key customers and partnershipsOura has gained popularity among health-conscious consumers, athletes, and celebrities. Notable users include Prince Harry, Jennifer Aniston, and Kim Kardashian. In 2020, the NBA purchased 2,000 Oura Rings to monitor athletes' health during the Covid-19 pandemic.The company has partnered with Natural Cycles, an FDA-cleared birth control app, to integrate Oura's temperature data for fertility tracking. Oura also works with Therabody, maker of massage devices, to allow users to track recovery metrics. A partnership with fitness app Strava enables workout data sharing between platforms.

Bringing the benefits of blockchain to the enterprise

Enterprise Blockchain Solutions

<div>
 
 TRM Labs offers a suite of products for financial and governmental institutions that cater to different aspects of financial security and crime prevention. These include TRM Transaction Monitoring, an automated and risk-based transaction monitoring solution for crypto assets; TRM Know-Your-VASP (virtual asset service providers), a tool to measure and monitor the risk of cryptocurrency businesses; TRM Forensics, a product to trace the flow of funds and link suspicious activity to real-world entities; and TRM Tactical, a tool to collect, investigate, and triage blockchain data on the frontline​​. Additionally, the company provides training through TRM Academy, offering courses for certified investigators, crypto fundamentals, crypto-compliance specialists, and advanced crypto investigators​​.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 TRM Labs announced a partnership with K2 Integrity in November 2022, aiming to deliver a combined solution to the public and private sectors, enhancing connectivity between traditional finance, virtual asset service providers, and public sector agencies. The collaboration supported financial institutions, governments, regulators, virtual asset service providers, Web3 startups, NFT marketplaces, DeFi platforms, and other emerging service providers in proactively managing the risks of virtual assets and their related technologies​​.
 
 
 TRM Labs&rsquo; solutions were integrated by Binance Custody in October 2022 to enhance regulatory compliance and risk mitigation for client holdings. TRM's analytics and intelligence technology will assist Binance Custody in screening high-risk wallets, monitoring suspicious transactions, and managing regulatory and reputational risks associated with digital assets. The integration strengthened Binance Custody's commitment to secure and compliant services for clients in the rapidly growing digital economy.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 The company raised USD 70 million in Series B funding in November 2022 led by Thoma Bravo, with participation from new investors like Goldman Sachs and existing investors such as PayPal Ventures and Citi Ventures. The proceeds were used for investment in product development and talent and to meet the growing demand in response to fraud incidents in the crypto space.
 
 
 
</div>

Longevity Tech

<div>
 
 Oura manufactures a sleep and personal well-being-tracking ring. The ring, which is paired with an app, helps users track several facets of their lives, including sleep, heart rate, fitness, activity and recovery, stress, wellness, and menstruation cycles. Users can use the company&rsquo;s companion app to see the results of the Oura ring&rsquo;s sleep tracking, including access to sleep quality measurements, personalized suggestions on how to improve sleep quality, measurements of blood oxygen, calorie tracking, workout tracking, and access to a library of audio wellness sessions. The app and ring can also help users track their menstruation cycles based on changes to the user&rsquo;s body temperature.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 The Oura app also has a community feature where users can share their health metrics with chosen friends and family, send reactions, and check in on users in their &ldquo;circle.&rdquo;&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 The company operates on a D2C basis, charging USD 299&ndash;349 per ring, which includes a one-month membership to the companion app. After this period, users have to pay USD 5.99 per month to access the app&rsquo;s additional insights and content library.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 The company claimed that over one million members were using the Oura ring as of October 2023.
 
 
 
 -In July 2022, Oura partnered with fitness social network Strava to enable data sharing. Through the partnership, Oura users can share their fitness data seamlessly to the Strava platform.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 -In April 2023,&nbsp; it partnered with retailer giant Best Buy to offer its product in brick-and-mortar stores. Through the partnership, Oura signed its first US-based large-scale retailer partnership, allowing its Oura ring to be sold through Best Buy&rsquo;s 850 outlets across the US and its&nbsp; online platform.
 
 
 
 
 -In May 2023, it partnered with Equinox, joining its luxury loyalty program, &ldquo;Equinox Circle,&rdquo; and offering Oura rings to Equinox members. The program provides members with access to an assortment of lifestyle, fashion, travel, nutrition, and entertainment brands.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 -In June 2023, Oura collaborated with three glucose monioring devices: Veri, January, and Supersapien. The partnership enabled Oura users to share biometric data with glucose monitoring providers to help understand the relationship between fitness activities, data, and glucose levels.&nbsp;
 
 
 In October 2023 ŌURA partnered with Cronometer, a nutrition-tracking app to launch a collaborative new feature for menstrual cycle tracking. 
 The new feature integrated ŌURA&rsquo;s Cycle Insights into the Cronometer app to provide a detailed understanding of menstrual health allowing users of the Oura Ring and Cronometer app to track certain aspects of their menstrual cycle, such as the luteal and follicular phases, body temperature changes, and associated symptoms. The aim was to correlate menstrual health data with other health metrics to provide a broader perspective on overall health.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 In April 2022, Oura raised funding at a valuation of USD 2.55 billion. The investors were not disclosed. The company expected to use the funds to expedite R&amp;D, develop a library of personalized and guided content, and enhance product and scientific innovations.
 
 
 
</div>

Yellow Card is a financial technology company that enables users to trade Stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies using local mobile money and bank transfers. It provides businesses with an API to manage customer transactions and offers borderless payment solutions across multiple countries. The platform also features educational resources to help users navigate digital assets effectively.

Servify is a mobile-based solution that aims to work as a personal assistant for all electronic gadgets and appliances owned by consumers in a household. The app, in addition to helping consumers store their bills and warranty on the cloud, also connects with the brand-authorized service ecosystem when consumers need a reliable repair.

Flip operates as a platform that allows users to send money securely without a transaction fee. The company was founded by Rafi Putra Arriyan, Ginanjar Ibnu Solikhin, and Luqman Sungkar in 2015 and is headquartered in Depok, Jawa Barat, Indonesia.

Kyash is a Japanese fintech startup offering consumer / business payment services. Kyash was founded on January 23, 2015, and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Stem Disintermedia helps creators, artists, and musicians to collect digital revenue and enables them to track and share their earnings. It develops a platform intended to provide distribution and payments solution for artists and their teams. The platform aggregates cross-platform earnings, create contracts, and honor splits with collaborators, disburse payments and statements to all stakeholders in a project and visualizes performance data for each platform, enabling businesses to bring clarity to the complicated process of revenue management and ensure everyone involved in the creative process gets paid. Milana Rabkin, Tim Luckow, and Jovin Cronin-Wilesmith formed Stem Disintermedia in Los Angeles, California in 2015.

TRM Labs is a blockchain intelligence company that helps financial institutions, crypto businesses and government agencies detect and investigate crypto-related financial crime and fraud. Our products are trusted by leading companies including PayPal, Visa, FTX, Uniswap, Anchorage, and federal agencies such as the FBI and IRS. Every day, we tackle challenges in data engineering, data science, and threat intelligence to advance our mission to build a safer financial system for billions of people.  To accomplish our mission, we have raised over $79M from JPMorgan Chase, Visa, Citi, PayPal, Block, Tiger Global and Bessemer. Our team is made up of world class experts from the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, US Treasury Department, McKinsey, Coinbase, and top-tier tech companies. TRM is a remote-first workplace, with hubs in San Francisco, Washington, DC and London.

Southern has originated over $2 billion in development loans—primarily to individuals and organizations in the poorest areas of the United States. The $2 billion milestone is unmatched in rural development, but Southern considers it to be just the beginning. Southern understands that access to capital—both for rural institutions and for rural families—is critically important. However, Southern Bancorp has found that even $2 billion of invested capital is insufficient to drive fundamental community change without such capital investments being focused into specific geographic areas and matched to comprehensive community engagement in education, housing, health care, leadership development, and economic development.

Oura offers health tools packing sleep insights, heart rate monitoring, activity tracking, illness monitoring, and more. They provide tailored insights to help answer key questions about their health. They sell rings that monitor sleep and activity and offer health insights.

Satispay is a thriving European payment network with the goal to change the way people pay in stores and online, and exchange money between friends. Launched in 2015, Satispay is independent from debit and credit cards. Easy and cost-convenient for businesses–who can accept payments from clients with a click on their smartphone, tablet, or pc–Satispay is also a simple and secure app for consumers, simplifying the way they pay, as well as a range of other services.

A vision of more efficient, transparent, and accurate payments for all is shared by many. However, it’s our approach that sets us apart. Where others seek to bypass the current financial system, we bring together the best of what already exists and restructure it to make it more efficient. All while staying within current regulatory frameworks. While others have taken a more radical approach, we embrace visionary pragmatism and partner with businesses and banks to move payments forward. Based in Seattle, we’ve brought together top cryptographers and financial-system specialists with world-class software and hardware engineers to partner with banks and businesses to create innovative settlement solutions. Come work with us. We're hiring!

Startup based in Menlo Park, focusing on mobile apps. The name comes from 'tri-simian', referring to the three wise monkeys.

Whatfix offers a digital adoption platform, simulated application environments for training, and no-code application analytics. Using GenAI supports companies in improving user productivity, ensuring process compliance, and improving user experience across internal and customer-facing applications.

Bitmovin is a young and dynamic multimedia company. Their principal expertise is in the domain of information and communication technologies for audio-visual networks, in particular for HTTP streaming services and embedded multimedia applications. Additionally, bitmovin provides consulting and standardization services, specifically towards ISO/IEC MPEG. Bitmovin multimedia is a spin-of company of the Alpen-Adria-University Klagenfurt, where most of their experts come from, and the ALICANTE EU FP7-ICT project. Together with the University they are still investigated in all kinds of research in the field of multimedia and especially in state of the art standardization at this sector e.g. ISO/IEC MPEG. Their highly skilled and motivated employees work in their offices in the Lakeside Science & Technology Park, Building B01. Bitmovin offers API-based products to help developers solve the most complex video problems with cloud native software that runs anywhere. The company was founded in 2013 by Stefan Lederer, Christopher Müller and Christian Timmerer. Bitmovin is based in San Francisco, CA, USA and Klagenfurt, Austria and privately owned. The company's investors include Atomico, Dawn Capital, YCombinator (YC S15), SpeedInvest and Constantia Industries.

Pluot is the easiest way to video conference. A complete hardware + software solution for video conferencing and screen sharing. Dedicated hardware that easily connects to your TV. Free software so anyone can join your meetings.

Mezi is revolutionizing travel by giving you an AI assistant for all your travel needs. Just say where you want to go and Mezi helps you make it happen -- from booking your flight and hotel, to figuring out what to do, to handling your online check-in or changes of plans, to being your on-the-ground guide when you arrive. All through a simple messaging app. Artificial intelligence is on the bleeding edge of technology, and we believe that the world has yet to be shown how it fits into their lives. Mezi aims to invent what that means for the everyday person. It envisions a world where anyone can travel with the ease and confidence knowing they have an assistant in their pocket wherever they go.

Emailage is a developer of fraud prevention and identity verification technology used to make transactions easier and secure. The company provides multi-faceted predictive solutions with email at the core through key partnerships, proprietary data, and advanced machine-learning technology. It proprietary algorithms in order to provide real-time alerts of risky transactions and delivers a risk score and enable companies to realize significant savings from identifying and stopping fraudulent transactions and improve customer experience.

Ridecell Inc. is the way in the digital transformation of fleet businesses and operations. Our Fleet IoT (Internet of Things) Automation solutions modernize and monetize fleets by combining data insights with digital vehicle control to turn today’s manual processes into automated workflows. The result is unmatched levels of efficiency and control for shared services, motorpools, rental, and logistic fleets. Today Ridecell powers some of the most successful fleet businesses in cities across Europe and North America, including Ferrovial, Groupe Renault, Gig Car Share from AAA, and Toyota Sweden. Ridecell is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Madrid, Paris, Berlin, and Pune India.

Birdeye helps businesses grow through happy customers. Over 60,000 businesses use Birdeye every day to attract new leads with listings, reviews, and referrals, convert them into customers with webchat and appointments and delight those customers with surveys, ticketing, and insights - all in one place. Using the Birdeye platform - AI, messaging, automation tools - businesses are delivering great customer experiences to 100M+ people. Founded in 2012, Birdeye is headquartered in Palo Alto, and led by alumni from Google, Amazon, Salesforce, and Yahoo. Birdeye is backed by Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, Trinity Ventures, and World Innovation Lab.

Neumob was acquired by Cloudflare November 2017. Neumob is the leader in reducing mobile app errors, speeding up app performance and boosting conversions, everywhere in the world. The Neumob SDK slashes app errors and timeouts by up to 90%, while dramatically speeding up mobile app load times and reliability. The company’s innovative infrastructure and global presence combine to help app owners keep their hard-won users and drive maximum revenues, whether an app’s users are hyper-local in one city or located around the world. App owners simply install a 2-line SDK into their app, and instantly gain access to Neumob’s world-class, global app acceleration network. For businesses that need to deliver mobile apps to their users faster, more reliably and more securely to any targeted mobile audience, on any network, Neumob is the answer.  Neumob is backed by top-tier investors, supporters and partners including Accel Partners, ENIAC Ventures, Enspire Capital, Lightbank, Menlo Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, PradoSV, Shasta Ventures, SVFrontier and Triple Point Capital.

Livspace is an interior design startup that offers a platform that connects people to designers, services, and products. The online shopping platform is a destination to find design, decorate, and furnish dream houses so they can undertake renovations like kitchen upgrades or repainting a room. It also provides end-to-end home interior services. In 2016, Livspace launched Canvas, its proprietary design-to-installation platform, a first for the interior design industry that aims to create a unique experience for homeowners and scales the job of interior designers. The décor startup is backed by Goldman Sachs, TPG Growth, Jungle Ventures, Bessemer Ventures, Helion Venture Partners, and Trifecta Capital Advisors. It was founded in 2014 by Anuj Srivastava and Ramakant Sharma.

Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) (formerly Square, Inc.) is a technology company with a focus on financial services. Made up of Square, Cash App, TIDAL, and TBD, we build tools to help more people access the economy.

<div>
 
 Founded in 2009, San Francisco-based Square is a merchant services and POS (point-of-sale system) provider. Square’s POS and Square Online provide in-person and online order management and payment solutions for restaurant and food business. Thereafter, delivery can be offered by the restaurant, delivery service by the platform, or pickup by the customer. Square has expanded via acquisitions of companies such as Fastbite, OrderAhead, Entrees On-Trays, Verse, Stitch Labs, and also via partnerships with Postmates, Deliverect, Chowly.
 
 
 In November 2020, Square launched Square KDS (kitchen display system) for restaurant clients. Square KDS centralizes and displays orders coming in from various channels including the restaurant’s POS and websites as well as online food delivery platforms such as DoorDash, UberEats, etc. Square says its KDS will improve communication and order flow for restaurants with high order volumes from multiple platforms. Further, Square KDS offers operational insights, such as ticket timers and kitchen performance reports, to increase efficiencies. Square KDS is integrated into the “Square for Restaurants Plus” plan with a monthly fee starting at USD 60 per month per location.
 
</div>

Square

US probes Jack Dorsey’s Block, Inc. over financial transactions: Report

From fast food to fine dining, everything but the kitchen sink is suddenly just a tap away.

Online Food Delivery

Platforms that offer ready-to-cook meal kits to individuals who are interested in cooking, but have limited time or skills. Meal kits usually include recipes with step-by-step instructions along with pre-portioned ingredients. Food delivery is often carried out by independent contract workers who are either registered with the platform or employed directly by the platform.

Platforms that prepare and deliver meals based on rotating menus that allow the customer to choose a meal plan of up to multiple dishes for a week with a low level of consumer involvement in cooking and plating. Food delivery is often carried out by independent contract workers who are either registered with the platform or employed directly by the platform.

On-demand delivery platforms that offer a wide range of items (such as various cuisines, groceries, etc)

On-demand delivery platforms that offer specific types of food or cuisine

Infrastructure providers that offer delivery or dispatch management systems

Infrastructure providers that offer white label online ordering websites and apps for restaurants to build their own in-house solutions

Infrastructure providers that offer solutions to help restaurants integrate and centralize online ordering and delivery systems from multiple third party vendors

Democratizing financial technology with a suite of API-based solutions

FinTech Infrastructure

Platforms that allow FinTechs to integrate banking services such as opening and maintaining accounts, facilitating card payments, etc.


Platforms that enable FinTechs to integrate a range of payment-related services such as one-time payments, subscriptions, and receipt management for domestic and cross-border transactions.


Companies that enable organizations to embed anti-money laundering (AML), identity verification, and know-your-customer (KYC) solutions.


Platforms that allow FinTechs to integrate lending services,  by typically applying AI/ML technology to a spending analysis to analyze creditworthiness.

Companies providing APIs and integrations for FinTechs to access securities markets, facilitate transactions and clearing, and provide insights to help end-users manage their finances.

Buy Now, Pay Later

The providers plug into merchant checkouts and convert business purchases into installments.

These platforms integrate with the merchant’s e-commerce checkout and primarily offer the BNPL solution through their app. Consumers are restricted to shopping at merchants integrated with the provider in most cases.

These providers integrate with the merchant’s e-commerce checkout. The service is offered through the provider’s app or a virtual card that facilitates in-store application, including non-partnered retailers.

These companies offer merchants and financial institutions a white-label product to provide in-house BNPL solutions.

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

<div>
 
 Block, the parent company of Square, Cash App, and Afterpay, is laying off about 1,000 employees from Cash App and Square divisions, constituting around 10% of its workforce. This comes due to declining revenues and increasing losses from its subsidiaries.
 CEO Jack Dorsey attributed the layoffs to the overgrowth of the company amid stagnant revenues, coupled with significant revenue drop from Cash App and mounting losses from Afterpay.
 
</div>

Square

Featured Industries

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless