3D Printing software leader ZVerse has been awarded the 2016 SC InnoVision Technology Award. Read the news here >>
Dynepic wins the Charleston Angel Conference $100K Investment Award
CAP A's portfolio company, Dynepic, is the proud winner of the $100K investment award at the first annual Charleston Angel Conference, beating out dozens of other promising tech startups!
CAP A and 500 Startups Interviewed at STHLM TECH FEST
CAP A's Tanya Marvin-Horowitz and 500 Startups interviewed and noted as pioneering U.S. venture capitalists in the Nordics. Read the article here >>>
CAP A "most active vc in sc" by cbinsights!
CAP A was selected as the most active VC in South Carolina by CBInsights: READ MORE HERE >>
CAP A 's Newest Investment, OTHR, Curates and Sells Highly Designed 3D Printed Housewares
OTHR is an e-commerce platform offering highly curated housewares designed by top industrial designers. The New York City based company launched OTHR.com in May.
See the recent press on OTHR:
WALLPAPER
DESIGN-MILK
CAP A joins Pegroco Invest in Funding for Swedish Industrial Bio-Scanning Technology Leader, Mantex
Pegroco leads the $1.2M growth round to expand globally
May, 2016, Stockholm, Sweden. Mantex develops, manufactures and sells measuring equipment based on its proprietary patented technology that uses X-rays to analyse the quality of organic material flows in real time. The analysis enables feed-forward based optimized control of production processes, which in turn enables large productivity gains. The company is based in Stockholm, Sweden; it was founded in 2007 and has 13 employees.
The company is currently focusing on two process industry applications, pulp and paper and bioenergy. Mantex’s products have been pilot-tested with leading international companies within these industries for a number of years. By measuring the quality of incoming biomaterial, such as wood chips, Mantex’s products have proven capable of enabling considerable cost savings. Pegroco’s and CAP A's assessment is that Mantex is now ripe for expansion.
”Mantex is now ready to enter a global commercialization phase after many years of research and development. We now have many years of accumulated experience from full-scale installations in real process operations. The timing is right for Pegroco and their co-investors, including CAP A, to become Mantex’s partners through the expansion phase”, says Erik Odén, CEO of Mantex.
”We have been following Mantex since mid-2015 and gradually become more and more convinced that here is a business with a large potential. We think that the company can become a world-leading supplier to industries where productivity and efficiency gains are important competitive success factors”, says Thomas Brue, CEO of Pegroco.
About Pegroco Invest
Pegroco Invest is an investment company that invests in smaller and medium sized unlisted companies, predominantly in Sweden. Formed by former executives from Volvo, Electrolux and Framfab, Pegroco are active owners and focus on investments where they can contribute to building value in the company. More information can be found at http://www.pegrocoinvest.com.
CAP A INVESTS IN ICELANDIC SAAS TRAVEL BOOKING COMPANY BUILT ON THE SALESFORCE.COM PLATFORM
KAPTIO RAISES $2.6M IN VENTURE FUNDING
New capital raised to strengthen product development and international sales efforts
London, March 31, 2016 – Kaptio, the next generation booking system that places customer experience at the heart of the travel industry, announces that it has raised $2.6 million in venture funding from U.S. fund Capital A Partners and the Icelandic Frumtak II. This financing will be used to strengthen product development and sales efforts in the U.K. and internationally.
Kaptio‘s key product, Kaptio Travel has been designed to help travel agents and tour operators to quickly and easily unlock the power and possibilities of cloud technologies across their respective organizations. Powered by Salesforce, the leading provider of cloud based CRM systems, Kaptio Travel allows them to provide a customer-centric travel experience. Not only can they manage customers‘ offers and bookings more efficiently, but Kaptio Travel also helps travel agents and tour operators to structure all communication with travel resellers and suppliers.
Arnar Laufdal Olafsson, CEO of Kaptio, says: ″This funding is a vote of confidence in our vision of transforming the world of travel together with our customers and partners and is a stepping stone in becoming the “Veeva” of travel. It will allow us to bring further efficiency, simplicity and time savings to the travel industry – helping our clients in the U.K. and overseas to put customer experience at the heart of everything they do. Our solution is customer-centric and our technology will allow travel agents and tour operators to really understand and engage with their customers as individuals – to deliver a seamless and personalised experience that sets them apart from the competition. There are lots of opportunities in this space and we are excited to be playing a key role"
Eggert Claessen, CEO of Frumtak II, says: ″We specialize in businesses with high growth potential and Kaptio very much fits the bill. Its vision for a future of customer-centric travel have captured our attention as it has developed so far and we look forward to joining the team on their journey towards even greater growth.“
Tanya Marvin-Horowitz, Managing Partner at Capital A Partners, says: ″Kaptio is a great addition to our portfolio of Nordic technology companies. Its innovative vision for the travel business has driven it to open offices in the U.K., Germany and Belarus already; we think Kaptio is poised for success and are very excited to be a part of its international expansion.“
Richard Clemens, COO at Golfbreaks.com, a Kaptio Travel customer with U.S. offices in Charleston, says: “There are 30 million golfers in North America. We cannot afford to go out there and get it wrong or make mistakes. We are very confident that Kaptio is the right solution for us to move forward with on that journey.”
Salesforce.com has recently changed it strategy to drive deeper engagement within specific industries and Kaptio’s product is the only native travel booking platform built 100% on the Salesforce Platform.
Kaptio is nominated in two categories in the Nordic Startup Awards this year, for "Best Exponential Startup“ and in the category of "CTO Hero of the Year“ (Ragnar Fjölnisson). It will be presenting its product at the PhocusWright Innovation Summit Europe conference held in Dublin in May.
About Kaptio
Kaptio was founded in 2009 by Arnar Laufdal Olafsson and Ragnar Fjölnisson. Kaptio‘s headquarters are in Kopavogur, Iceland with offices in Heidelberg, London and Minsk. Kaptio employs 16 people. Kaptio‘s key product, Kaptio Travel helps travel agencies, hotels, tour operators and conference centers to work smarter, faster and more accurate, with all crucial information readily available at their fingertips and with full automation of tedious business processes. Kaptio‘s solution is built on Salesforce’s Force.com platform, allowing users to easily manage their business in the cloud and ensuring the highest quality, scaleability and flexibility needed to adapt in the rapidly changing travel landscape.
About Frumtak II slhf.
The Icelandic Frumtak 2 Venture Fund invests in companies that possess greater possibilities for growth and expansion. The Fund was founded in 2015 and currently has six companies in its portfolio.
Zverse strikes partnership with Konica Minolta to make 2D content 3D printable
CAP A's portfolio company ZVerse announced it has reached a non-exclusive software reseller agreement with Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U.S.A., Inc. whereby the Konica Minolta sales force will sell access to ZVerse LAYR™, its 2D-to-3D content creation platform. With solutions designed to make creation of 3D printed objects from 2D images trouble-free, ZVerse is making the world's 2D content 3D printable.
See the press release and video here >>
CAP A provides follow-on capital to questis
CAP A is proud to continue to support Questis, the financial wellness software platform company in Charleston. After participating in their seed round in 2014, CAP A participated in their bridge round to the upcoming Series A. See the news here >>
CAP A GOES MARITIME!
CONEXBIRD ACQUIRES ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR GLOBAL COMMERCIALIZATION
Conexbird’s container analytics platform to change maritime operations globally
October 12, 2015 – Conexbird Oy, a Finland-based technology provider for the maritime industry, has secured more than 650,000 Euros in funding from both existing and new investors. The additional funding will provide Conexbird with resources for commercialization of their container data analytics technology to be deployed in ports and terminals worldwide. Existing investors, including Butterfly Ventures and Conexbird management, participated in the financing, as well as new investors, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation (TEKES) and Capital A Partners. Capital A Partners “CAP A”, based between Sweden and the United States, participated in the financing to help Conexbird access global markets, particularly throughout Europe and North America.
“We are thrilled that our current investor group continues to support the company, and we welcome CAP A to the family,” stated Conexbird’s Director of Business Development, Kimmo Laakkonen. “Establishing a relationship with CAP A will help us establish a broader understanding of the European and U.S. market as well as expand our global customer base,” added Laakkonen. CAP A’s involvement in Conexbird is the first step in an ongoing co-investor relationship with Butterfly Ventures, a leading early stage venture capital firm based in Finland.
“CAP A identifies technology companies that have a global opportunity, and Conexbird exemplifies the kind of investments we target,” added Tanya Marvin-Horowitz, Managing Partner at Capital A Partners in Sweden. “Leveraging our network and access to potential customers and channel partners, and human and growth capital, CAP A intends on accelerating Conexbird’s global business by bringing the technology to the maritime sector,” concluded Marvin-Horowitz.
-About Conexbird -
Conexbird, based in Jyväskylä and Oulu, Finland, utilizes its patented vibration measurement technology to collect data on containers and its contents real-time for optimization of container flow and to prevent and identify damages. For more information, go to: http://www.conexbird.com.
Contact for Conexbird: Kimmo Laakkonen, kimmo.laakkonen@conexbird.com.
CAP A's Anette Nordvall receives VINNOVA fellowship in Silicon Valley
First Grantees Accounted in VINNOVA Fellowship Program in Silicon Valley.
Among the 40 qualified applicants, VINNOVA has now appointed its first two fellows into the program. Donnie S.C. Lygonis, Technology Transfer Manager at KTH innovation, and Anette Nordvall, partner in the Stockholm Business Angels and Venture Advisor at Capital A Partners "CAP A", will be the first fellows in the program.
Both are well known in the Swedish startup world as dynamic people and sought-after speakers, with excellent networking capabilities. They are both serial entrepreneurs, nationally active and have a great understanding of entrepreneurial living. Mr. Lygonis' fellowship starts October 15, 2015, and Ms. Nordvall starts February 1, 2016.
Mr. Lygonis, whose ties to KTH Innovation where he worked for 6 years, has proven to be valuable in building businesses while acting as a highly regarded business coach. His stay in Silicon Valley is expected to contribute to creating stronger links between the university's' innovation programs and Silicon Valley.
Ms. Nordvall compliments the team with her long experience as an advisor and investor. She is expected to contribute to developing stronger links between investor networks in Sweden and Silicon Valley with special emphasis on non-institutional investors.
VINNOVA established an office in Silicon Valley three years ago. In partnership with Nordic Innovation House in Palo Alto, CA, the operations are aimed at incubating young Swedish companies in the U.S. The aim is that companies with the ambition to scale and expand internationally will be able to take maximum advantage of the unique innovation ecosystem in Silicon Valley.
VINNOVA launched a fellowship program for people with good understanding of startups who wish to develop their network and whose expertise can contribute to the operation. Two scholarships totaling 20 months will be awarded annually for 4 years. The program is funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
NeuroSpire launches NEURO+ for ADHD
Durham, NC-based CAP A Portfolio company NeuroSpire publicly launches its NEURO+ technology for the treatment of ADHD. Learn more here >>
Charleston funding firm Capital A Partners invests in Columbia tech company
Charleston-based venture capital fund Capital A Partners is partnering with another firm to invest $3.5 million in a Columbia-based technology company.
The money is for ZVerse, which develops software applications for the 3-D printing industry. The lead investor is Atlanta-based Mosley Ventures. Other strategic backers are involved in the funding round as well.
David Mendez, managing partner at Capital A, said the investment in is the first from his firm’s second fund, which hopes to raise $10 million.
ZVerse said it plans to use the new funding to grow its business and to commercialize a new software platform called LAYR.
Launched in 2013 and formerly known as DoodleSculpt, the company specializes in technology that makes two-dimensional images printable in a full-color 3-D format. It licenses one of its apps to universities to help them make highly detailed reproductions of their stadiums from digital files.
The company recently announced it is partnering with 3D Systems, a Rock Hill-based business that’s one of the pioneers of 3-D printing.
“The strategic relationship with 3D Systems and the completion of our ... funding gives ZVerse the resources and expertise to continue our leadership position in the full color 3D printed content arena,” ZVerse CEO and co-founder John Carrington said in a written statement.
Reach Allison Prang at 937-5705 or on Twitter @AllisonPrang.
CAP A in 3D!
ZVerse Announces Global Strategic Partnership with 3D Systems and Raises $3.5 Million Series A Investment
COLUMBIA, S.C., July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- ZVerse, leading developers of 3D content creation applications for full color 3D printing, today announced a strategic partnership and commercial agreement with 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) to advance applications and market opportunities for full color 3D printing.
As part of the agreement, ZVerse and 3D Systems will co-develop ZVerse's patent pending post processing technology for producing high gloss and moisture resistant full color 3D printed products. In addition, the companies will collaborate on development and marketing of 3D Systems' Photobooth technology using ZVerse's licensed content and distribution channels.
"We are pleased to partner with ZVerse, combining our technology and engineering expertise with their deep experience in application development and content creation to advance full color 3D printing," said Rajeev Kulkarni, Chief Product Officer, 3D Systems. "We are excited to leverage their process know-how and expansive distribution network to expand content and coverage for our Photobooth technology."
In addition to the partnership, ZVerse announced that it has closed on a $3.5 million Series A funding round from Mosley Ventures, Capital A Partners and strategic investors. Top regional entrepreneurial angel investors in earlier rounds, Walter Alessandrini and Scot Wingo, participated in the Series A round, also. Wei-Chun Tai, of Mosley Ventures, joins the ZVerse board.
The funding will be used to grow the company's leadership position in full color 3D printing applications for licensed content of major brands and to commercialize ZVerse's proprietary B2B 3D content creation platform, LAYR.
"The ZVerse software platform is core to unlocking 2D image content for 3D printing. We believe ZVerse is uniquely positioned to help solve 3D printing's content problem as the 3D printing market trends towards exponential growth," says Wei-Chun Tai.
LAYR enables any business to take advantage of the benefits of 3D printing and, as a result, helps expand the reach of 3D printing into new markets.
"The strategic relationship with 3D Systems and the completion of our Series A funding gives ZVerse the resources and expertise to continue our leadership position in the full color 3D printed content arena," said John Carrington, Co-Founder & CEO, ZVerse. "Additionally, we are seeing strong inbound demand for our underlying 3D content creation and management platform for 3D printing, LAYR. We look forward to exploring this opportunity as well as our direct-to-consumer model with major brands."
About ZVerse
ZVerse develops 3D content creation and production applications for 3D printing. Applications powered by Layr from ZVerse have been used by Fortune 100 companies and small businesses alike. Companies trust ZVerse to extend their brand with 3D print technology. ZVerse is licensed with over 36 collegiate organizations, including the University of Notre Dame and University of Oregon, to produce full color 3D printed sports memorabilia. ZVerse maintains the largest library of officially licensed 3D printable content for the sports industry worldwide. Founded in April 2013, ZVerse is headquartered in Columbia, SC.
More information is available at www.zverse.com or email info@zverse.com, 803-764-0353.
About Mosley Ventures
Mosley Ventures is a venture capital fund investing in early stage technology startups in Atlanta and the Southeast. We primarily invest in the following sectors – security software, mobility and wireless, big data and healthcare IT. Sig Mosley is the Managing Partner of Mosley Ventures. Since 1990, Sig has been the most prolific southeast investor in 122 startups with 83 liquidity events. Sig is currently the record holder of the largest southeast venture deal with the $5.7 billion acquisition of Tradex by Ariba.
http://www.mosleyventures.com/
About 3D Systems
3D Systems provides the most advanced and comprehensive 3D digital design and fabrication solutions available today, including 3D printers, print materials and cloud-sourced custom parts. Its powerful ecosystem transforms entire industries by empowering professionals and consumers everywhere to bring their ideas to life using its vast material selection, including plastics, metals, ceramics and edibles. 3DS' leading personalized medicine capabilities save lives and include end-to-end simulation, training and planning, and printing of surgical instruments and devices for personalized surgery and patient specific medical and dental devices. Its democratized 3D digital design, fabrication and inspection products provide seamless interoperability and incorporate the latest immersive computing technologies. 3DS' products and services disrupt traditional methods, deliver improved results and empower its customers to manufacture the future now.
Leadership Through Innovation and Technology
- 3DS invented 3D printing with its Stereolithography (SLA) printer and was the first to commercialize it in 1989.
- 3DS invented Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) printing and was the first to commercialize it in 1992.
- 3DS invented the ColorJet Printing (CJP) class of 3D printers and was the first to commercialize 3D powder-based systems in 1994.
- 3DS invented MultiJet Printing (MJP) printers and was the first to commercialize it in 1996.
- 3DS pioneered virtual surgical simulation (VSS™) and virtual surgical planning (VSP®), and its leading 3D healthcare products and services help doctors achieve better patient outcomes.
Today its comprehensive range of 3D printers is the industry's benchmark for production-grade manufacturing in aerospace, automotive, patient specific medical device and a variety of consumer, electronic and fashion accessories.
More information on the company is available at www.3dsystems.com.
IRON YARD ACADEMY Receives Significant Funding from Apollo Education Group
CAP A portfolio company, Iron Yard Academy, receives a significant infusion of capital from The Apollo Education Group. Read more >>
OPENRATIO FEATURED AS ONE OF "SIX NORDIC STARTUPS ENTERPRISE IT USERS SHOULD WATCH" BY COMPUTERWEEKLY
Dynepic, CAP A Portfolio Company and winner of 2014 DIG SOUTH WILD PITCH, featured on the cover of SC Biz News
CAP A GOES FOR GAMING
Finnish Game Studio Small Giant Games Completes $3.1M Equity Investment Round
New game studio with a differentiated approach to casual gaming now backed by Spotify investor Creandum, PROfounders, Spintop Ventures, Capital A Partners and a group of private investors
Helsinki, Finland, October 22, 2014 - Finnish game studio Small Giant Games today announced the completion of their investment round. The company raised $3.1 million for launching their first game and for development of several new titles. The lead investor of the round was Stockholm and Palo Alto based Creandum, followed by PROfounders, Spintop Ventures and Capital A Partners. A group of private investors also joined the round, including Gregory Milken and Risto Siilasmaa.
“It’s not possible to succeed in the fiercely competed mobile games market just by copying existing popular games – you need to create new and unparalleled game features and experiences, which shape the existing genres and create entirely new ones. One of our goals is to raise the quality of character animations in mobile games to a new level”, Small Giant Games CEO Timo Soininen says. “We are thrilled to get experienced investors to back our vision of creating beautiful and engaging multiplayer games with small focused teams.” Soininen continues.
Small Giant Games was founded in early 2013 by a group of Finland's leading game designers, developers and graphic artists. Currently the team is finalizing its first title Oddwings Escape, which is aimed to launch globally in the beginning of 2015. The deeply engaging new type of flying game combines innovative one-touch control mechanics with highly detailed graphics and rich physics enhanced character animations.
“We were impressed by the Small Giant team and the approach they’ve taken with their debut title”, Daniel Blomquist from Creandum comments. “We are confident that the team’s strong technical, visual and animation expertise, and the fresh approach to free to play mechanics will result in a series of original and successful casual games.”
The company is looking for experienced game designers and developers to join the team for new game projects.
More information:
Timo Soininen, CEO, Small Giant Games
timo@smallgiantgames.com
Tel: +358 50 5648 269
Interview requests:
Merja Turpeinen, SagaSocial PR
merja@sagasocial.com, tel: +358 40 5840 542
About Small Giant Games
Small Giant Games, based in Helsinki, Finland, was founded in early 2013 by a group of Finland's leading game designers, developers and graphic artists. The founding team has over 30 years of combined free to play game development experience from Habbo Hotel, one the world’s largest free to play social games and online communities for teenagers. Small Giant focuses on creating unforgettable gaming experiences, filled with fabulous characters, rich animations, and beautiful graphics aimed at the casual audience. The studio’s first title Oddwings Escape will be launched in the beginning of 2015.
www.smallgiantgames.com
About Creandum
Creandum is the leading Nordic based venture capital firm investing in innovative and fast-growing technology companies within consumer, software and hardware industries. The firm has over €260M under management and has over the last decade invested in more than 45 companies including Spotify, Cint, Edgeware, iZettle, Vivino and Videoplaza. For more information, please visit www.creandum.com.
CAP A partner David Mendez hosting Charleston's Startup Grind!
More information on the event here>