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News Release Digital Asset Direct

I-ON and Instruxi Revolutionize Gold Digitization and Securitization at Chainlink Spring 2023 Hackathon

I-ON Digital Corp.

I-ON Digital Corp. (OTC: IONI) was recently chosen by UK-based development partner Instruxi Limited as the focal point for its submission in this year's prestigious Chainlink Spring 2023 Hackathon, choosing I-ON 's "fractional ownership of unrefined gold claims" framework to showcase a real-world commercial example of leveraging state-of-the-art blockchain and distributed data warehousing technologies to disrupt and evolve the conventional gold and precious metals marketplace. I-ON ’s business model will allow claim holders to monetize in situ gold (in-ground or unrefined gold) by converting their fully validated gold claims into secure and efficient gold-backed securities, offering liquidity without extracting, mining, or smelting the gold. The team at I-ON pioneered this model several years back by achieving groundbreaking advances in the institutional acceptance of asset-backed digital securities by establishing a global custody interface and creating standards for independent financial and transactional reporting backed by expert legal opinion. Their efforts helped launch the then-nascent asset digitization marketplace while addressing the relative needs of investors, institutional partners, and regulators alike. To build on these accomplishments, I-ON turned to Instruxi to craft a technical approach to digitizing gold reserves by tokenizing them, utilizing state-of-the-art blockchain and Smart Contract technology, then converting them into digital securities that enable institutional investors to buy fractionalized ownership of gold claims, at the "proven reserves" level, through ERC20 tokens. "Five years ago, we set out to change the gold and precious metals marketplace by creating a regulatory-compliant digital asset ecosystem that would allow gold claim holders to monetize unrefined but proven Gold Reserves," shared I-ON CEO Carlos X. Montoya. "To build on a series of 'firsts' that we initially achieved, including meeting the requirements of larger institutions and other US and global tier-one intermediaries, we asked the team at Instruxi and their collaborative partners to help us scale and optimize our ecosystem to provide secure movement, transfer, settlement and, where applicable, hypothecation of our asset-backed digital securities. Together, what we've created is significant." This resulting gold tokenization process represents a groundbreaking innovation in the traditional gold and precious metals marketplace, enabling claim holders to unlock the value of their proven reserves while minimizing the environmental impact and cost of conventional forms of gold mining, including strip mining and other forms of extraction. I-ON 's partnership with Instruxi showcases the power and potential of integrating best-in-class emerging DeFi technologies to drive meaningful commercial change in the precious metals and commodities industry. "To enable I-ON's vision, we needed to create a secure, robust, and hyper-scalable infrastructure that could support asset digitization and tokenization so we could fractionalize the ownership of gold and other assets." explains Instruxi CTO Austin Przybysz, "Smart contracts, Chainlink 's secure communication, and Space and Time 's decentralized data warehouses allowed us to deliver the advanced auditing capabilities, scalability, and robust security that I-ON required for their institutional-grade framework." Through its development partnership with Instruxi, I-ON is pioneering the future of asset-backed securities and the trading and hypothecation of fractionalized gold ownership and other emerging digitized asset classes. Their collaborative effort lays the foundation for a more accessible, trust-driven, and compliant financial ecosystem that could play an integral role in shaping the future of decentralized finance, tokenized assets, and digital securities. All while providing a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way to monetize precious metal reserves without damaging or destroying Mother Earth. More information about the Chainlink Spring 2023 Hackathon can be found at https://chain.link/hackathon. More details about I-ON and Instruxi 's Hackathon submission can be found at https://devpost.com/software/instruxi. About Instruxi Limited. Instruxi is a web 3.0 company focused on helping clients with hyper-scale data availability. Instruxi enables secure and universal data sharing, facilitating clients' analytics and AI projects and building apps and dApps. The Company has accomplished this through tokenizing data and our unique distributed data protocol, Proof of Policy. In addition, Instruxi offers a data mesh toolkit called Neutrino Mesh and builds validator infrastructure to support this offering on private blockchains. By deploying our solutions, enterprises can seamlessly connect web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies, enabling universal data access and participation in the emerging data economy. Additional information is available at https://instruxi.io. About I-ON Digital Corp I-ON Digital Corp. (OTC: IONI) is a pioneering force in the asset digitization and securitization landscape. It is developing and acquiring cutting-edge technologies to provide an institutional-grade ecosystem for creating and distributing digital securities and next-generation financial assets, using blockchain technology as its underlying infrastructure. This provides a secure, fast, transparent framework for trading newly emerging asset classes. With its proprietary technologies and deep expertise in asset digitization, I-ON stands at the forefront of this rapidly evolving sector. The potential for digital securities powered by blockchain technology is immense. I-ON is unlocking the full power of this new technology, paving the way for a more secure, trusted, and efficient asset transfer and exchange. Additional information is available at https://iondigitalcorp.com/. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, which may cause results to differ materially from the statements made. When used in this document, the words "may," "would," "could," "will," "intend," "look to," plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "seek," "potential," "outlook," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements, including, but not limited to, I-ON's current views with respect to future events and its financial forecasts, are subject to such risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including those risks described from time to time in filings made by I-ON with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, there is uncertainty about the further spread of the COVID-19 virus or new variants thereof, or the occurrence of another wave of cases and the impact it may have on the Company's operations, the demand for the Company's products, global supply chains and economic activity in general. These and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, or expected. Statements in this news release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue. I-ON does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements other than as required by law. Contact Details I-ON Digital Corp. (OTC: IONI) Ken Park +1 866-440-2278 IR@iondigitalcorp.com Company Website https://iondigitalcorp.com

June 15, 2023 01:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Nextech3D.ai spins out Toggle3D.ai as company begins trading on the CSE with ticker TGGL

Nextech3D.AI

Nextech3D.AI chief product officer Dasha Vdovina joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share news the company has spun-out Toggle3D.ai and the new venture has begun trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange as of June 14 under the ticker symbol 'TGGL'. The move follows Nextech’s spinout of ARway. Vdovina telling Proactive the strategic move aims to create shareholder value by establishing pure-play technology companies focused on their own niche. Toggle3D offers an AI texturing platform that has recently launched out of beta. The platform is continually expanding its features based on customer feedback, with new features being introduced weekly. Contact Details Proactive Investors Canada +1 604-688-8158 na-editorial@proactiveinvestors.com

June 15, 2023 12:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Get SAT Revolutionizes Satellite Communications with the Launch of Innovative Multi-Orbit ESA

Get SAT

Get SAT, the leading provider of micronized satellite communication terminals, today announced the launch of MoComm, its line of new Multi Orbit Communication capability. This capability allows for near-seamless switching between satellite constellations. The solution works in both Ku and Ka-bands. The Ka-band enables users to transfer traffic between O3B MEO and any GEO constellation. The Ku-band, is currently certified on LEO and any GEO constellations. “As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, reliable satellite communication has never been more important. Get SAT multi-orbit ESA will provide unparalleled connectivity to support a myriad of use cases,” said Kfir Benjamin, CEO at Get SAT. Get SAT has demonstrated its capabilities with today’s launch of our commercially available Sling Blade family of antennas that enable Multi Orbit Communication.” Get SAT’s MoComm terminals significantly reduce operating costs while improving the user experience. MoComm terminals offer unmatched coverage and fully support global coverage networks, in GEO, MEO, and LEO constellations. The terminal delivers faster data rates, lower latency, and high-speed connectivity, for a far better performance and improved productivity. A user can watch a streaming video over GEO before taking a video conference call on the LEO constellation or utilize navigational services over MEO before turning to satellite radio over GEO using the MoComm terminal. In other words, Get SAT’s MoComm terminal is a versatile solution that can easily be adjusted to your changing needs. The Sling Blade terminals use multi-beam, multi-network technology within one terminal without compromising performance, allowing users to benefit from the high resiliency of GEO along with the global coverage, high throughput and low latency of MEO and LEO. These terminals offer a high level of flexibility, and redundancy, as they can connect to multiple satellite providers with high data rates. The dual beam technology ensures consistent, uninterrupted performance across multiple orbits, allowing for near-seamless data connectivity and independent data availability from different networks and satellite constellations. Get SAT offering includes the Sling Blade terminals, which consists of three different Electronically steerable antennas sizes and versions. The Sling Blade Ka is a low-profile, low SWaP terminal designed for GEO and MEO and can switch between the constellation in milliseconds. The Sling Blade Ku LM is designed for land and maritime applications, and its multi-orbit capabilities allow governments and military planners to support a PACE plan for C5ISR requirements. The Lesa Blade is a Ku-band ESA and was designed for airborne operations, to specifically support In-Flight connectivity and In-Flight entertainment. This solution toggles between LEO and GEO operations on the move. Disclaimer: LEO services are not available to all regions and customers. Contact Details Get SAT Ayala Pinhasi +972 76-530-0700 info@getsat.com Company Website https://www.getsat.com/

June 15, 2023 10:13 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Solidus Labs Taps Forta Network to Enhance Fraud Protections for DeFi Investors

Forta

Decentralized Web3 threat monitoring network Forta Network announced today it was selected by the leading crypto-native market integrity and risk monitoring platform Solidus Labs to complement and enhance its Web3 AML and DeFi Fraud-detection solutions. The continued growth of DeFi and the Web3 ecosystem depends on platforms that bolster traders’ confidence, keeping them safe from scams and market abuse. But with crypto-fraudsters continually introducing new tactics to get around security measures and with the nascent industry’s dynamic landscape, the challenge of derisking DeFi requires platforms and developers to stay one step ahead. Utilizing Forta’s Scam Detector will enhance Solidus’ coverage of DeFi scammers, as an integral part of Solidus’ Web3 AML solution, which combats the epidemic of hard-coded rug pulls and other smart contract scams impacting millions of DeFi and crypto investors. Solidus will ingest data from specific Forta bots, each monitoring on-chain activity for a different threat type, providing real-time intelligence on smart contracts and externally owned accounts (EOAs) involved in scams. To date, Solidus has already consumed over 100,000 alerts and labels from Forta’s Scam Detector about the perpetrators of malicious activities including phishing attacks, address poisoning, scam tokens, NFT wash trading, and other threats. Forta’s real-time threat intelligence has proven to be a powerful complement to Solidus’ bespoke smart contract monitoring and has strengthened its threat coverage. The combined effort will enable the immediate detection of a wide variety of smart contract scams across the Ethereum ecosystem, empowering crypto risk and compliance teams to act the moment the scams are deployed. In addition to protecting users, the solution will assist in preventing the flow of illicit funds to centralized platforms, and allow decentralized applications (dApps), and exchanges to transparently flag threats for users or limit access to such scams through their user interfaces. “Forta helps complement our existing coverage for scam tactics and campaigns, and we’re delighted to work with such a diverse and proactive community of developers committed to derisking DeFi and Web3.” said Ayal Karmi, COO at Solidus Labs. “Solidus’ mission is to enable the potential of DeFi by mitigating its new risks - through a range of solutions like TokenSniffer, Web3 AML, and our DEX-based Insider Trading solutions.” Read more about the partnership on Forta’s blog. About Forta Network The Forta Network is a real-time, decentralized network providing detection services and security monitoring across seven blockchains. Forta detects threats and anomalies on DeFi, NFT, governance, bridges, and other Web3 systems in real time, enabling wallets, protocols and investors to react quickly and proactively neutralize threats to prevent or minimize the loss of funds. Launched in 2021 and backed by a16z, Forta protects the critical infrastructure of Web3 through a decentralized and community-run network, which serves as an early warning system across the ecosystem. To learn more, please visit https://forta.org. About Solidus Labs Solidus Labs is the category-definer for crypto-native market integrity solutions - trade surveillance, transaction monitoring, and threat intelligence. Our mission is to enable safe crypto trading throughout the investment journey across all centralized and DeFi markets. As the founder of industry-leading initiatives like the Crypto Market Integrity Coalition and DACOM Summit, and in everything we do, Solidus is deeply committed to ushering in the financial markets of tomorrow. Crypto exchanges, financial institutions and regulators globally rely on Solidus HALO - our real-time, comprehensive, testable, and future-proof platform. Safeguarding their business from known forms of market abuse and a plethora of emerging crypto-specific risks, we enable our clients to grow faster - and safer. To learn more, please visit https://soliduslabs.com. Contact Details Colin Landers colin@energentmedia.net Company Website https://forta.org/

June 15, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Cyberattacks And Supply Chain Disruptions Put Focus On FiscalNote’s (NYSE: NOTE) Dragonfly Security Intelligence To Help Leading Organizations Build Resilience Through Intelligence

Benzinga

By Jad Malaeb, Benzinga In today's interconnected world, businesses face various geopolitical risks that can significantly impact their operations and bottom line. The risks are plentiful and various, but some have taken a specific spotlight in light of recent trends. Cybercrime, for example, proliferated during the COVID-19 pandemic, posing extreme risks to government entities, corporations and individuals, and the trend looks to be continuing in 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic also highlighted the vulnerability of global supply chains, with lockdowns and travel restrictions causing disruptions that closed down thousands of businesses and brought thousands of others to the brink of disaster. Current geopolitical risks extend beyond these two issues. Rising tensions between the East and West initiated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have spurred murmurs of a potential third World War. Trade sanctions on Russia’s allies have placed pressure on the price of commodities, causing massive fluctuations in the price of oil and gas in Europe. Tensions have even migrated further East toward China and Taiwan which have created risks to global security. Geopolitical risks can pose some of the largest threats to governments and businesses. To mitigate these risks, private and public organizations need access to real-time intelligence and analysis that can help them anticipate and respond to potential threats. The recent acquisition of Dragonfly Eye by FiscalNote Holdings Inc. (NYSE: NOTE), a technology company specializing in AI-driven global policy and market intelligence solutions, provides a platform that can help businesses and governments achieve this goal. Dragonfly Eye: An Intelligence Solution To Geopolitical Risks Dragonfly Eye is a UK-based security and geopolitical intelligence provider offering a range of advisory services to help organizations manage and respond to security and political risks. They provide real-time mission-critical intelligence to security, crisis management and risk professionals across multinational companies, financial institutions, public sector entities and NGOs. Their flagship Security Intelligence and Analysis Service (SIAS) platform is used by nearly half of the top 30 companies in the FTSE-500 and 90% of the world’s top 11 banks. Their services are divided into three categories: Security Risk, Political Risk, and Systems and Solutions, which include management consulting for corporate security and risk intelligence. Dragonfly’s services help organizations manage geopolitical risks such as supply chain issues and foreign cyber attacks by providing early warning detection and forecasting to anticipate threats, risk rating systems around potential major disruptions, and access to critical analysts and embedded intelligence. Their intelligence-led security support and consultative political risk management services for investors in emerging markets are designed to help security decision-makers evaluate and respond to threats and risks. With the acquisition of Dragonfly, FiscalNote becomes a significantly enhanced platform to provide businesses with solutions to supply chain disruptions, cybersecurity attacks and other geopolitical risks. Read more about Dragonfly and FiscalNote here. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Benzinga +1 877-440-9464 info@benzinga.com Company Website http://www.benzinga.com

June 15, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Claravine Launches in AWS Marketplace

Claravine

Claravine, The Data Standards Company, today announced that its data standards platform, The Data Standards Cloud, is now available in AWS Marketplace, a digital catalog that makes it easy for enterprises to find, buy, deploy, and manage third-party software, data, and services that run on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This latest offering gives AWS customers an opportunity to leverage their existing AWS commitments while unifying their billing processes, eliminating the need for separate procurement processes. Claravine’s The Data Standards Cloud lets customers take a proactive approach, addressing the root of data problems by activating unique standards across people and technology. Its collaborative user interface moves customers beyond engineered spreadsheets and slow, costly data cleanup. Used by Fortune 1000 companies such as Carhartt and Under Armour, Claravine’s strategic integrations with top marketing and advertising platforms allows global organizations to define, apply and connect standards across their ecosystem for faster decisions, greater agility and increased return-on-investment (ROI) for their digital advertising dollars. “By offering The Data Standards Cloud in AWS Marketplace, we can now provide data management processes to even more customers,” said Verl Allen, CEO of Claravine. “Our intuitive interface and varied list of top platform integrations make implementing increasingly needed data standards a seamless process.” Some of The Data Standards Cloud’s offerings include: Define standards in one shared platform: Put data standards in one accessible place, bringing taxonomy to life and helping customers quickly adapt to changing data needs. Standardize taxonomies, naming conventions, and metadata across all digital experiences. Improve measurement of digital campaigns and ROI. Deliver on the promise of modern marketing by consistently creating and applying data standards. Recently, Claravine was named for the second consecutive time to AdExchanger’s Programmatic Power Players list, as well as awarded the 2022 AdExchanger Award for Best Data Technology. Claravine was also named a cool vendor in the 2022 Gartner Cool Vendors in Marketing Data and Analytics report. About Claravine Claravine is The Data Standards Company aiming to give people, teams and technology a shared understanding of their data. Claravine helps brands and agencies deliver on the promise of modern marketing by standardizing taxonomies, naming conventions, and metadata across all digital experiences at the source of data creation. The Data Standards Cloud empowers a proactive approach to marketing metadata naming conventions and taxonomy for fast, accurate and rich business insights that help deliver the experiences customers want. Claravine partners with a quarter of the Fortune 100 to define, apply and connect standards across their ecosystem for faster decisions, greater agility, and increased ROI. For more information, visit www.claravine.com. Contact Details Kite Hill PR Michael Kocher michael@kitehillpr.com Company Website https://www.claravine.com/

June 14, 2023 12:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time

$1.1 Trillion Was Invested In The Transition To Clean Energy In 2022 – This Company Reports Capitalizing On The Trend With Its First-In-Class Thematic ETFs

Benzinga

Thematic exchange-traded funds (ETFs) take advantage of long-term market trends, and the portfolios for these funds are often involved in industry-shaping innovations. At the start of 2023, thematic ETFs totaled $84.6 billion in assets under management (AUM). An example of a company leading the charge in clean energy market-focused ETFs is Sprott Asset Management, a subsidiary of Sprott Inc. (TSX: SII) and a global asset manager with differentiated and real asset portfolios. Sprott Asset Management has a first-mover advantage, with the only ETF to offer pure-play exposure to a wide variety of critical minerals and mining equities. Critical minerals are the natural materials required for the generation, transmission and storage of clean energy. As low carbon and clean energy infrastructure is adopted across the globe, the need for critical minerals, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite, is increasing rapidly. By 2040, one model predicts that demand for copper and rare earth elements will increase by 40%, while nickel and cobalt demand will increase by 70%, and lithium by almost 90%. A record-breaking $1.1 trillion was invested globally into low carbon energy transition in 2022, in part to meet the demand for critical minerals. However, it is estimated that the average needs to be about quadruple what is being spent now to meet net-zero targets. Sprott’s Pure-Play Thematic ETFs Sprott Inc. was founded in 1981 and has spent decades establishing itself as a global investment leader in precious metals and energy transition minerals. It has primarily been involved in upstream mineral companies, such as mining and development companies. Sprott Asset Management has been able to leverage its parent company’s network of industry relationships. Its Energy Transition Materials ETF (NASDAQ: SETM) is unique because it provides pure-play access to companies at the heart of the clean energy transition. Each security undergoes a process of rigorous selection so that every company in the portfolio is hand-picked from a wide range of possible assets. As part of the index construction process, the company looks at the 90,000+ companies with global primary security equities. It then applies a series of screening criteria, using competitive analysis and in-house research, to select the top companies for investment. It also conducts periodical rebalancing based on its weight criteria. Because of Sprott’s extensive background in the mining industry, the Energy Transition Materials ETF can target companies upstream in the mining and material acquisition process. These companies are more likely than downstream companies to be recipients of the increased global funding in the clean energy transition, according to the company. Sprott Asset Management offers a range of other ETFs in the critical minerals sector. These include its Lithium Miners ETF (NASDAQ: LITP), Junior Copper Miners ETF (NASDAQ: COPJ), Uranium Miners ETF (NYSE Arca: URNM), and Junior Uranium Miners ETF (NASDAQ: URNJ), and its Nickel Miners ETF (NASDAQ: NIKL). Read more about Sprott’s thematic ETFs on its website. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Benzinga +1 877-440-9464 info@benzinga.com Company Website http://www.benzinga.com

June 14, 2023 09:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Former DHS Chief Procurement Officer, Soraya Correa, Joins as Executive Director of NCMA Contract Management Institute

National Contract Management Association

National Contract Management Association (NCMA) today announced the reinstatement of the Contract Management Institute (CMI) with the appointment of Contract Management veteran, Soraya Correa as the new Executive Director. Ms. Correa, former Chief Procurement Officer and Senior Procurement Executive of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), brings a wealth of experience and expertise to lead the CMI into a new era of excellence and innovation in contract management. The reinstatement of the Contract Management Institute marks a significant milestone for the industry, as professionals and organizations can once again benefit from a dedicated hub of knowledge, resources, and collaboration opportunities. As the field of contract management continues to evolve and become increasingly critical in today's complex business environment, the reinvigorated CMI will serve as a vital platform for professionals to stay at the forefront of profession trends and best practices. Soraya Correa's appointment as the Executive Director of CMI is a testament to her outstanding leadership and remarkable achievements in procurement and contract management. During her tenure at DHS, Ms. Correa spearheaded numerous initiatives – including the Procurement Innovation Lab (PIL), Reverse Industry Days, and the Education, Development, Growth, and Excellence (EDGE) mentoring program – that revolutionized procurement practices and enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of contract management within the agency. Her strategic vision, combined with her deep understanding of the complexities and challenges of the field, made her the ideal choice to steer the CMI toward new heights. "I am honored to lead the Contract Management Institute as its Executive Director," said Soraya Correa. "Contract management is pivotal to mission delivery and successful business outcomes. I am committed to providing today and tomorrow’s contracting professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to excel in their roles. I look forward to collaborating with federal state and local government, industry leaders, academia, and others to drive innovation, promote excellence, and elevate the contract management profession." Kraig Conrad, CEO of the National Contract Management Association, expressed his support stating, "We are thrilled to see the Contract Management Institute restored. With Soraya Correa at the helm, we are confident that CMI will provide valuable resources for positive impact on our profession." The Contract Management Institute aims to be the premier resource for contract management professionals, offering a wide range of programs and research initiatives. Stay tuned for updates on the official launch of the Contract Management Institute's website and social media pages. About the Contract Management Institute (CMI): The Contract Management Institute (CMI) is a leading professional organization dedicated to advancing the field of contract management. With a mission to drive innovation, promote excellence, and enhance the role of the contracting professional, CMI provides valuable resources including networking opportunities for individuals and organizations involved in contract management across government, industry, and academia. The Institute serves as a catalyst for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and professional development, enabling contract management professionals to navigate the complexities of the profession successfully. The CMI mission and vision are aligned with its Parent, NCMA. CMI is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For inquiries, paper submissions, and donations, please contact Soraya Correa at soraya.correa@ncmahq.org. The National Contract Management Association (NCMA), which was founded in 1959 and is the world's leading association in the field of contract management. The organization, which has over 18,000 members, is dedicated to the professional growth and educational advancement of procurement and acquisition personnel worldwide. NCMA strives to serve and inform the profession and industry it represents and to offer opportunities for the open exchange of ideas in neutral forums. To find out more, please visit www.ncmahq.org. Contact Details NCMA Holly Dehesa +1 281-865-3296 holly.dehesa@ncmahq.org Company Website https://www.ncmahq.org/

June 14, 2023 09:07 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Kaya Founders raises US$12 million in first close to support Philippine founders from start-up to scale-up

Kaya Founders

Kaya Founders, a Philippines-based venture capital firm, is today announcing the first close at US$12 million in funding across two new funds to back the next generation of tech-enabled, industry-shaping start-ups across Southeast Asia. The funding round was anchored by the Gokongwei family with participation from institutional investors, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and prominent entrepreneurs. This brings the total committed capital managed by the firm to $16.5 million. Kaya Founders will be particularly focused on nurturing start-ups in its home country, the Philippines, which has been at the centre of attention for startup investing in the wider region. With a growing internet economy, a young and increasingly affluent population, a talented English-speaking population, the Philippines represents a significant opportunity. Amidst the global slowdown in VC investment activity, Southeast Asia has remained a relatively bright spot. The Philippines, in particular, is shaping up to be one of the region’s rising stars, as an emerging middle class, increasing digitization driven by growing internet penetration and smartphone usage, and new consumer and business behaviours spurred by the pandemic sustain opportunities for value creation. Funding closed by Philippine start-ups exceeded a record US$1 billion for two years in a row between 2021 and 2022, in stark contrast to the drop in funding faced by markets such as the US and Europe last year. Furthermore, in terms of dry powder, at least US$4 billion in capital has been closed by local and regional funds over the past two years. This creates an ideal environment for Kaya as an early-stage investor, providing existing and future portfolio companies with ample opportunities to raise follow-on funding. Founded in 2021 by veteran entrepreneurs and angel investors Paulo Campos (former CEO, ZALORA Philippines), Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng (President, Summit Media; Senior Vice President, JG Summit), and Constantin Robertz (CEO, Locad; former CEO, Entrego ), Kaya Founders has established itself as the leading early-stage investor in the Philippines. To date, it has 31 companies in its portfolio, spanning eCommerce, digital health, fintech, B2B SaaS, agritech, proptech, and more. Some of its most notable portfolio companies include eCommerce enabler, Etaily, salary-on-demand start-up, Advance, and MSME point of sale (POS) app, Peddlr. Managing General Partner Paulo Campos commented: “The burgeoning tech scene in the Philippines is reminiscent of previous growth narratives seen in markets such as India in the 2000s and Indonesia over the past decade. The surge in these countries’ technology sectors were propelled by a confluence of factors, including favourable demographics and supportive government policies, but arguably no other factor played a more pivotal role than the critical mass of tech talent. The same is proving to be true for the Philippines, as new breeds of founders begin to emerge. These founder profiles range from homegrown talent such as corporate executives and second generation tech talent from tech giants such as Grab, Lazada and ZALORA looking to strike it out on their own; as well as adopted Filipinos and Filipino returnees educated or trained abroad looking to make the Philippines their stronghold or make a difference in their motherland, respectively.” Over the past two years, Kaya has primarily made its mark operating in the pre-seed stage, which it will continue to do through the upcoming Zero to One Fund. As its name suggests, this pre-seed vehicle will focus on accelerating ventures as early as Day 0, partnering with founders even before they go to market. Grounded in the belief that there remain a multitude of other problems to be solved even as start-ups abound, and the mission to convince more talented individuals to throw their hats into the entrepreneurial ring, the pre-seed fund will follow a two-pronged investment approach: making high conviction bets in existing teams in search of its first institutional backer as well as generating a pipeline of high quality business ideas and scouting strong founder profiles to partner with to bring them to life. The One to Ten Fund, meanwhile, will invest in more mature opportunities ranging from Seed to Series A that show strong signs of product-market fit and a path to profitability. In addition to scouring for the best deals across the region, the larger fund will also back the top-performing companies from the Kaya Zero to One Fund—what is anticipated to be a robust source of dealflow —equipping them with the firepower to scale to new heights. Kaya Founders anticipates their investments to range from $150k to $500k. While both will remain sector-agnostic, new investment themes, in addition to the aforementioned focus sectors, include D2C eCommerce, B2B marketplaces, future of work, climate tech, and generative AI. “The Zero to One and One to Ten funds are the culmination of what each of us have individually been doing for years as some of the most active angel investors in the Philippines, and collectively over the course of the past year through our first joint investment vehicle. The early moment um we have seen with our first fund is what has given us confidence to take our partnership to the next level,” said Paulo Campos. Indeed, Campos, Gokongwei and Robertz are among the most prolific angels in the country, having been some of the earliest backers in now formidable start-ups like the Good Glamm Group, Kumu, Dali, and Edamama. Central to taking the partnership to the next level is further bolstering the leadership team. The first close announcement coincides with the appointment of Ray Alimurung, former CEO of Lazada Philippines and another notable entrepreneur-turned-angel investor, as General Partner of the Zero to One Fund. After a successful local fundraising campaign, the Kaya team will embark on a global roadshow starting this month. The firm seeks to tap foreign pools of LP capital searching for more enticing investment opportunities in emerging markets. About Kaya Founders Kaya Founders is on a mission to invest in the next generation of companies driving digital transformation in commerce and critical services in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Formed through a partnership between leading entrepreneurs and angel investors Paulo Campos III, Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, Constantin Robertz, and Ray Alimurung, Kaya Founders is the output of their shared vision for a better Philippines and Southeast Asia—one that harnesses the power of technology to solve the most pressing problems of our time, fosters Filipino ingenuity and talent, and promotes entrepreneurship to spur economic prosperity. Kaya partners with founders from the earliest days, often writing their very first cheque and equipping them with the guidance and support they need to refine their ideas and get them off the ground. It sees its mission as threefold. As investors, Kaya is defining a new category of pre-seed, backing aspiring founders when they have little more than a vision and potential, while supporting them through the scale up phase through follow-on investments. By making the entrepreneurial journey less daunting and boosting the odds for success through the financial and operational support that Kaya offers, it hopes to establish entrepreneurship as a viable career path for the most talented individuals driven to make an impact. Lastly, for later-stage downstream investors, Kaya is an engine for dealflow, supplying them with companies ripe for investment. For further information, please visit: https://kayafounders.com/ Contact Details Kaya Founders Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.kayafounders.com/

June 14, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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