As one of the established firms in the venture industry, Grotech Ventures has built a reputation for being a collaborative, long-term partner for CEOs and entrepreneurs by aligning their definition of success with that of their partners. They initially invest between $500,000 and $5 million in high-growth technology companies, reserving significant capital for subsequent investments to support companies through their early and growth stages. They look to partner with entrepreneurs who have fresh ideas, breakthrough innovations, and unconventional approaches that will yield explosive growth. They believe that their ability to meaningfully contribute to a business’s development is just as important as the capital they invest. As such, they seek investment opportunities that offer them the chance to leverage the experience, insight, and network they have built since their inception in 1984. Their approach is personal and long-term, not institutional.

Grotech Ventures

Greycroft is a venture capital firm that focuses on technology start-ups and investments in the Internet and mobile markets. With offices in two of the most important business hubs in the world, New York and Los Angeles Greycroft uniquely positioned to serve entrepreneurs who have chosen us as their partners. The firm leverages an extensive network of media and technology industry connections to help entrepreneurs gain visibility, build strategic relationships, bring their products to market, and build successful businesses.  Greycroft manages in excess of $1 billion and has made over 200 investments since its inception in leading companies including Acorns, App Annie, Bird, Botkeeper, Bright Health, Boxed, Braintree, Buddy Media, Everything But The House, Extreme Reach, Huffington Post, Icertis, JW Player, Maker Studios, Plated, Scopely, Shipt, TheRealReal, Thrive Market, Trunk Club, Venmo, WideOrbit, and Yeahka. Greycroft has adopted the Diversity Term Sheet Rider.

Greycroft

StarVest Partners is a New York City-based growth equity firm with nearly two decades of experience investing in outstanding technology-enabled, business-to-business services companies, with a sector focus on Software-as-a-Service, Data & Analytics, E-Commerce Infrastructure, and Digital Marketing Services. While the firm has its roots investing at the expansion-stage, today its portfolio is primarily growth equity/late stage.

StarVest Partners

CNF Investments, LLC (CNF) is a private investment firm with a focus on venture capital and private equity opportunities. CNF manages over $350 million in capital, with current investments in technology, healthcare, and energy, and will consider direct as well as fund investments.   CNF is an active investor that looks to partner with experienced and passionate entrepreneurs and co-investors to build great companies. CNF focuses on growth stage companies, but will consider investments in early and late stage businesses as well.  CNF conducts thorough and efficient diligence processes but focuses most of its analysis on the potential investment's management team and other key players. CNF believes that success is based on the right combination of people, experience, hard work, focus, and execution.   CNF is an affiliate of Clark Enterprises, Inc.

CNF Investments, LLC

Silicon Valley Bank works with technology, life science, cleantech, venture capital, private equity, and premium wine businesses. SVB provides industry knowledge and connections, financing, treasury management, corporate investment, and international banking services to its clients worldwide through 27 U.S. offices and seven international operations.   Banking innovative companies and exclusive wineries, Silicon Valley Bank’s diverse financial services, knowledge, global network, and world-class service increase its clients’ probability of success. Forbes Magazine ranks SVB among America’s Best Banks, and Fortune Magazine named SVB one of the Best Companies to Work For in 2012.

Silicon Valley Bank

Sigma Prime Ventures invests in early stage technology companies focusing on SaaS, Cloud, Mobile, disruptive technologies and technology-enabled service companies.   Sigma Prime Ventures primarily cover the East Coast, focusing on Boston, New York and Atlanta.  Their first-hand experience allows us to give early-stage companies both tactical and strategic guidance and access to a powerful business network.   Their team has founded or cofounded 10 companies, helped run 10 companies, and collectively been responsible for exits worth over $4.2B in companies where they were operators.

Sigma Prime Ventures

Greenspring Associates is a global investment firm that provides commingled funds and customized partnership capabilities to a diverse group of institutions and individuals in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. Through a synergistic platform, the firm invests in established and emerging venture capital fund managers, in early and growth stage venture-backed companies and in secondary venture capital fund and secondary direct investments. Currently managing over $7.3 billion of committed capital, its dedicated investment team combines broad venture fund and direct investment expertise.

Greenspring Associates

Sumeru Equity Partners is a technology-focused private equity firm, founded in 2014 by an experienced team from Silver Lake Sumeru, a $1.1 billion mid-market firm started in 2007 within Silver Lake.   Consistent with the strategy of its predecessor firm,* Sumeru Equity Partners invests in building leaders in software, technology enabled services, and hardware. SEP partners with management teams and adds value through deep sector expertise and the application of strategic and operating services.

Sumeru Equity Partners

Ceros

Ceros is a cloud-based experiential content creation platform that empowers marketers and designers to create rich, interactive content without code or traditional web development.

Ceros is a no-code Saas experiential content creation platform that enables users to incorporate animations, interactions, and multimedia elements into their designs using presets and templates. The company’s product portfolio includes 1) Studio, which facilitates collaboration for real-time previews across devices, version control, and file management; 2) Editor, which creates and edits interactive content, allowing for real-time collaboration, text and media editing, and publishing; and 3) MarkUp, a platform for feedback.

Easily Create More Interactive Content With Ceros

Interactive Visual Content Creation Platform

Ceros Is On A Mission To Make Creativity Matter

Ceros: Inspire. Educate. Empower.

Create More Engaging Content

The Ceros Studio Empowers Marketers To Create Interactive Digital Experiences

Creating affordable content for the digital age

Content Creation Tools

Ceros CEO Alison Lange Engel on generative AI for enterprise

HubSpot

With the Ceros integration, users can transform their HubSpot landing pages into interactive experiences that drive engagement, boost conversions and deliver valuable insights.

Artificial intelligence is helping sales teams manage relationships and optimize the customer lifecycle.

Sales Engagement Platforms

All in one platform which offers a variety of tools for sales collaboration and for optimizing the entire sales process.

Ceros is a no-code Saas experiential content creation platform that enables users to incorporate animations, interactions, and multimedia elements into their designs using presets and templates. The company’s product portfolio includes 1) Studio, which facilitates collaboration for real-time previews across devices, version control, and file management; 2) Editor, which creates and edits interactive content, allowing for real-time collaboration, text and media editing, and publishing; and 3) MarkUp, a platform for feedback.In January 2022, Ceros acquired<a href="https://aithority.com/video/ceros-acquires-online-visual-commenting-tool-oroson/"> Oroson,</a> an online visual feedback tool, to provide, review, and resolve comments directly on content. The new features from Oroson are available in MarkUp. Additionally, in October 2021, the company acquired<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ceros-announces-acquisition-of-design-to-code-platform-avocode-301403665.html"> Avocode,</a> a design-to-code platform to improve the integration of Avocode's Open Design API, streamline the process of bringing design files from one platform to another, and further its mission of removing coding from the creative process.&nbsp;Key customers and partnerships<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ceros-announces-alison-lange-engel-as-new-ceo-302145220.html">As of May 2024,</a> the company served over 900 enterprise clients including Colliers, Getty, McKesson, McKinsey, Pepsi, and Red Bull. Its platform is used in industries such as tech, healthcare, financial services, real estate, consulting, and entertainment.The company’s notable partners through its partnership program include Highspot, Showpad, Getty Images, Noun Project, Adobe Marketo Engage, HubSpot, and Adobe Analytics.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sydney-based Canva is an online graphic design platform that allows users without extensive design experience to create designs for social media, marketing materials, presentations, and more. It also provides tools for creating static graphics, presentations, videos, websites, and printed materials.The platform’s free version provides access to over 250,000 templates and a library of fonts, stock photography, illustrations, and graphics. Canva's paid plans offer additional features such as more storage, premium templates, and collaboration tools. In August 2024, Canva introduced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240808572035/en/Canva-Unveils-Refreshed-Brand-System-Designed-For-Work">a refreshed brand system</a> signaling its shift in focus to help organizations improve their visual communication, as businesses scale their operations globally.In March 2023, Canva introduced AI-powered tools that enable users to search for design elements, get recommendations for graphics and styles, and access AI-powered design tools such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.canva.com/magic-design/">Magic Write,</a> Magic Design, Magic Edit, and Beat Sync. The platform also introduced new features such as draw, layouts, styles, layers, and alt text support based on user requests. Previously, the company launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/1612736/canva-launches-whiteboards-for-graphic-designers-predesign-process.html">“Canva Whiteboards”&nbsp;</a>(August 2022), which allows users to brainstorm and collaborate with colleagues within the platform by integrating with Canva presentations.In July 2024, Canva&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/29/canva-acquires-leonardo-ai-to-boost-its-generative-ai-efforts/">acquired Leonardo.ai</a>, a provider of GenAI content and research, to expand its AI tools portfolio, and in April 2024, it acquired creative software company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/26/24112277/canva-affinity-acquisition-design-software-suite-adobe-rival">Affinity</a> to make professional design tools more accessible. Other notable acquisitions included&nbsp;<a href="https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/flourish/">Flourish,</a> a data visualization tool (February 2022);<a href="https://www.kaleido.ai/b/kaleido-is-joining-the-canva-family"> Kaleido,</a> a visual AI platform (February 2021); and Zeetings, a presentation platform (April 2018).Key customers and partnershipsAs of September 2024, Canva served various notable companies including Expedia Group, Hubspot, Sony Music, Reddit, and Marriott International, and had over 135 million monthly active users globally.Canva&nbsp;<a href="https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/getty-ai-partnership/">expanded its partnership</a> with Getty Images in August 2024 to integrate Getty's vast library of stock photos directly into the Canva platform, providing users with access to millions of premium images.&nbsp;

Canva

Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that helps professionals and students communicate effectively across various platforms and devices. Developed by linguists and engineers, Grammarly uses natural language processing and machine learning to provide suggestions for improving grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity, conciseness, tone, and overall style.&nbsp;The platform’s offerings include a free version with basic writing suggestions and premium and enterprise plans with advanced features like full-sentence rewrites, plagiarism detection, vocabulary enhancements, and brand tone consistency. It also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.grammarly.com/features#:~:text=across%20500%2C000%2B%20apps%20and%20websites">integrates</a> with over 500,000 apps and websites including Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Slack, and Notion.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In August 2024, Grammarly introduced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240814851435/en/Grammarly-Launches-Grammarly-Authorship-to-Enable-Transparency-in-Writing-Assignments-for-the-AI-Age">Grammarly Authorship</a>, a tool enabling users to demonstrate which document parts were human-created, AI-generated, or AI-edited. This feature aimed to address challenges to academic integrity in the AI age.Key customers and partnershipsAs of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.grammarly.com/about">September 2024</a>, Grammarly had served 96% of the Fortune 500 companies, over 70,000 professional teams across various notable companies, including BlackRock, Zoom, Expedia, Salesforce, and Databricks, and over 30 million daily active users globally.Grammarly introduced a Global Channel Partner Program in September 2023 to offer enterprise AI solutions across industries. The program helps businesses provide their customers with Grammarly's AI writing support, including products like Grammarly Business and Grammarly for Education. Partners can benefit from tools such as deal registration, quote management, and enablement programs while offering customers a solution that increases efficiency and quality in written communications.Grammarly&nbsp;<a href="https://news.utexas.edu/2024/05/06/ut-partners-with-grammarly-to-guide-effective-generative-ai-use-in-higher-education/">partnered with</a> the University of Texas at Austin in August 2024 to support the adoption of GenAI within academic settings.

Grammarly

Picsart is a digital content creation platform that offers a suite of AI-powered tools for editing images, text, videos, GIFs, and logos. As of September 2024, the company offers over 300 million editable photos and templates. Picsart's AI capabilities span image generation, upscaling, object removal, background replacement, style transfer, and avatar creation.The company's flagship product,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.technology.org/2023/11/29/picsart-launched-a-new-set-of-ai-content-creation-tools/">Picsart Ignite</a>, introduced in November 2023, comprises over 20 AI tools that enable users to generate visuals, enhance existing content, and streamline creative workflows.&nbsp;In April 2024, the company<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240418403128/en/Picsart-Makes-Professional-Product-Shots-Simple-with-new-AI-Powered-%E2%80%98Smart-Background%E2%80%99-Feature"> introduced Smart Background,</a> an AI-powered photography studio that understands the subject, suggests custom backgrounds, and adds realistic drop shadows and other contextually-aware elements.&nbsp;The company has also expanded its enterprise offerings by launching API services (such as upscale, effects, photo editing, remove background, and more) and introducing platform integrations for Picsart’s suite of editing tools, including the Photo Editor SDK, Print Editor SDK, and Ads Editor SDK.Additionally, in August 2023, Picsart partnered with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230810415582/en/Most-Likely-to-Create-the-Best-Yearbooks-Picsart-and-Walsworth-Partner-to-Bring-the-Internet%E2%80%99s-Favorite-Tools-to-Schools">Walsworth Yearbooks,</a> a yearbook printer, for students to access Picsart's photo editing suite to enhance their yearbook designs.In December 2021, Picsart acquired&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211202005694/en/Picsart-to-Acquire-Computer-Vision-and-AI-Company-DeepCraft">DeepCraft,</a> an R&amp;D company specializing in computer vision and machine learning, and in July 2020, it acquired&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200722005090/en/PicsArt-Acquires-Motion-Based-Video-Effects-Company-D%E2%80%99efekt">D'efekt,</a> a company specializing in advanced motion-based video effects, to enhance its suite of visual editing tools.Key customers and partnershipsPicsart primarily caters to the fashion and beauty, real estate, food and drink, interior design, health and wellness, education, and entertainment industries. As of September 2024, its notable customers included CM Media Group, DocuPost, Popsockets, Imgur, and Mediaclip.In June 2024, Picsart announced a partnership with&nbsp;<a href="https://ux-news.com/picsart-and-getty-image-develop-their-own-artificial-intelligence-model/">Getty Images</a> to develop a custom model that would allow users to create images leveraging AI for personal and commercial purposes.

Picsart

Barcelona-based Typeform is a no-code SaaS platform offering conversational forms, quizzes, surveys, and asynchronous video solutions to help companies engage with their customers. Typeform's core product is a web-based platform that enables users to build visually appealing and engaging forms. It offers over 3,000 free templates (as of September 2024), which include customer service requests, quizzes, polls, and order forms to improve customer engagement. The software is designed to display questions one at a time, mimicking a natural conversation flow. Typeform also offers a range of customization options, including various question types, design themes, and logic flows to create personalized user experiences, letting users showcase their brands via the platform’s customizable digital canvas and content tools.The firm also offers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.videoask.com/product">VideoAsk,</a> a tool that enables users to create interactive video-based forms. Users can choose from up to nine answer types (which include net promoter score, appointment scheduling, and payment collection) to create custom experiences as well as AI chatbots that can provide contextual responses to queries.&nbsp;In January 2024, the company launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/typeform-launches-formless-the-ai-powered-form-builder-that-simulates-real-conversations-302037962.html">“Formless,”&nbsp;</a>a form-building tool that leverages generative AI technology from OpenAI. The tool enables users to collect structured data through two-way conversations with forms that ask and respond to questions. As of February 2024, the tool supported responses in over 120 languages.&nbsp;As of September 2024, the platform provided 300+ integrations with third-party platforms such as Slack, HubSpot, and Zapier and enables users to import, analyze, and process their data across tools like Google Forms, Office 365, Excel Online, Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager.&nbsp;Key customers and partnerships<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/typeform-launches-formless-the-ai-powered-form-builder-that-simulates-real-conversations-302037962.html">In January 2024,</a> Typeform reported 150,000 paying customers, including enterprise customers such as Intuit, Hermes, Hubspot, Apple, Uber, Nike, Airbnb, and Barry’s.&nbsp;In January 2024, Typeform launched an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.typeform.com/blog/news/typeform-launches-agency-partner-program/">Agency Partner Program</a> to collaborate with creative and digital agencies to expand its reach and provide enhanced services to clients. Its notable partners include HubSpot, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Zapier.

Typeform

Assists content writers in creating digital written media including blogs, ebooks, magazines, and journals.

Platforms & tools that assist in creating image-based content such as illustrations, diagrams, infographics, photographs, GIFs  and other image-based media

Assists in creating a variety of digital media channels including podcasts, polls, quizzes, and surveys.

Platforms for discovering and purchasing digital content. These platforms typically offer a repository of digital content

Startups providing digital asset management (DAM) services for managing assets together with workflow management tools to collaborate among internal and external team members on content creation

Platforms that provide an all-in-one solution that covers the entire content creation process. Typically also provides consultancy services covering content strategy, design, and analytics.

Platforms & tools that assist in creating video-based content including animations, vlogs, tutorial videos, commericals and other video-based content

For written and visual content creation AI/ML is a core part of the end result

NLP automates the creation of personalized written media content for different use cases

Uses generative AI to automate the creation of personalized content across multiple media formats

Now anyone can become a software developer.

Ceros

Sources

EDGE Insights

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless