News from Summit and Our Portfolio

Addison, IL -- Parts Town, a technology innovator and market-leading distributor of OEM foodservice equipment parts, announced today that growth investment firm Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. (“Leonard Green”) has made a significant investment in the company. Existing investor Berkshire Partners will retain its majority stake in the company, reinvesting alongside the Parts Town management team and Leonard Green. This transaction represents an exit for Summit Partners, which invested in Parts Town as the company’s first institutional investor in 2013.

“We’ve been proud to work alongside CEO Steve Snower, CFO Lori Sherwood and the Parts Town team to support the company’s significant growth and expansion over the last eight years,” said Jay Pauley, Managing Director at Summit Partners. “We believe Parts Town is truly transforming its market, and we’re honored to have been a part of the company’s growth journey from an early innovator to an industry powerhouse.”

“Summit has demonstrated integrity and passion for Parts Town from the earliest days of our partnership,” said Steve Snower, CEO of Parts Town. “They shared our ambition for the business and brought meaningful resources to bear in helping make that vision a reality. As board members and partners, the Summit team has been a large part of the Parts Town growth story.”

“I’ve now had the opportunity to work with Summit Partners through two growth businesses,” added Lori Sherwood CFO of Parts Town. “In each, I’ve found the Summit team to consistently strike the right balance of giving us the trust and freedom to run our business, while serving as accessible, active partners in growth.”

Parts Town partners with leading manufacturers to grow OEM parts market share, provide innovative tools to make researching and buying parts fast and easy, and improve equipment up-time. The company has grown from 125 team members in 2013 to over 2,500 today, with over $1 billion annual revenues and has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing U.S. companies for 13 consecutive years.

Read more about Summit's partnership with Parts Town>>

View the complete press release for additional details.

With products that are both ingenious and beloved, Solo Brands has grown a passionate and enthusiastic customer community and built a direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform of respected, distinctive and adventurous lifestyle brands focused on creating great moments and greater memories.

We are proud to partner with Solo Stove on this growth journey that has brought together Oru Kayak, Chubbies Shorts and ISLE Paddleboards, and we look forward to the adventures ahead. Congratulations to CEO John Merris and the entire Solo Brands team on today’s NYSE IPO!

Read more about how Solo Brands leverages the power of community to fuel innovation, drive growth and leave the world a better place >>

Hairstory Announces Growth Equity Investment from Summit Partners to Accelerate Adoption of Sustainable, Detergent-Free Haircare

New York, NY - Hairstory, the unconventional haircare brand that helped to create the sustainable, non-detergent cleansing category, today announced a minority investment from global growth equity investor Summit Partners. The partnership will enable the company to accelerate investments in sustainable formulations and packaging, expand its hairdresser community and help more consumers understand that shampoo is the enemy of good hair.

Hairstory was founded in 2015 by a team of haircare industry veterans dedicated to helping people rethink everything about hair. Hairstory’s core product, New Wash, cleans hair without any detergent, ending what the company sees as a vicious cycle of over-cleansing created by shampoo. The company’s foundational belief is that cleansing without shampoo is healthier for the hair and scalp while also safer for the environment. The cult brand has built a loyal following of enthusiasts as New Wash has helped to change their relationship with their hair.

“Switching from shampoo to New Wash helps you get the hair you were always meant to have,” said Hairstory CEO, Eli Halliwell. “Our customers are consistently telling us that they suddenly start getting unsolicited compliments on their hair when they switch. It is hard to believe removing shampoo from the equation can make such a difference, but it does.”

Sustainability and the environment are core to the brand’s DNA. Hairstory products are delivered in recyclable, refill pouches, and the company’s subscription platform, the Refill Club, enables customers to consume nearly 90% less plastic and produce 80%+ fewer CO2 emissions during cleansing as compared with traditional haircare products. Not only is New Wash biodegradable, but the company donates 1% of the proceeds from every 8-ounce pouch sale to water-related causes.

“We are passionate about the environment and challenged ourselves to think differently about our environmental footprint from the start,” said Halliwell. “One of the biggest opportunities we identified was our ability to reduce plastic consumption. We launched with refill pouches for our subscriptions at the outset and quickly realized people were ok abandoning their plastic bottles, so we switched everything over to refill pouches. We are just starting to apply the same strategy to our styling products and our goal is to be the first beauty company to be 100% refillable.”

Hairstory launched a new “direct-through-stylist” business model that enables hairdressers to participate in ecommerce in a way designed to respect their relationship with their clients. Once a hairdresser introduces Hairstory to their clients, they can earn commissions on all future purchases, regardless of where the client buys. This perpetual affiliate model is designed to enable local entrepreneurs to compete in a world increasingly dominated by global giants.

“Our most successful hairdressers can double their monthly income,” added Halliwell. “This has the potential to be a life-changing opportunity for them but also an incredible opportunity for us. People build trusted relationships with their hairdressers. When we realized how much New Wash could change people’s hair, we knew we needed to introduce it through hairdressers.”

Melanie Whelan, a Managing Director with Summit Partners who has joined the company’s board of directors, added, "We believe Hairstory’s differentiated and effective products, customer loyalty, profitability, and consistently smart and deliberate growth decisions make them a rare brand. We are delighted to partner with Eli and this passionate team to support the company’s next chapter: working to deploy a more expansive growth strategy while furthering sustainability-focused product innovation.”

Under Eli’s leadership, Hairstory will carry on with its mission to rethink everything about hair, enable sustainable hair cleansing and empower hairstylists from its NYC headquarters.

About Hairstory
Launched in 2015, Hairstory was founded on the universal truth that traditional haircare is bad for your hair, bad for the environment and bad for hairdressers. Our mission is to rethink everything about hair, and we do this in two ways: first, by creating healthier, more sustainable haircare products that respect the environment and your hair’s ecosystem; and second, by enabling hairdressers to participate in ecommerce and profit from their influence. Switching from traditional shampoo and conditioner to our core product, New Wash, helps consumers get the hair they were always meant to have. We have changed the way hundreds of thousands clean their hair on three continents and have been self-sustaining since our first year of launching. We are well on our way toward ending shampoo as we know it.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $42 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in consumer, technology, healthcare, and other growth industries. Summit has partnered with more than two dozen companies across the e-commerce and consumer landscape, including a.k.a brands, Brooklinen, Club Champion, Morphe, Philz Coffee, Quay Eyewear, Reverb.com, Sézane, onXmaps, TinyPrints and Physicians Formula. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn

For more information, please visit: https://www.hairstory.com/

With a new company and platform name, NinjaOne unveils a new logo and 2022 roadmap along with two unannounced products currently under development.

Austin, Texas - NinjaRMM announced today that it is rebranding as NinjaOne, a unified IT operations software company focused on solving the modern challenges and needs of IT management. NinjaOne will carry forward NinjaRMM's reputation for developing powerful, yet easy-to-use solutions as it builds a unified platform for IT operations. The company supports more than 6,000 customers who use NinjaOne's modern platform to monitor, manage, and support all endpoints and users at scale, from anywhere.

In the last year, NinjaOne has seen explosive growth with revenue rising 75% year-over-year and releasing Ninja Ticketing, Ninja Documentation, and image backup for Ninja Data Protection, three fully integrated products that leverage the company's core platform. As workforces shift to a hybrid and remote model, NinjaOne is poised for a future where IT is everywhere, from the spaces employees occupy and the devices they use to the interactions between businesses and customers.

"Changing our name to NinjaOne reflects our vision of a platform that makes IT operations run more efficiently," said NinjaOne CEO Sal Sferlazza. "When we started NinjaRMM, we set out to build a highly disruptive SaaS solution that combined power and simplicity to shake up the status quo. We've grown since those early days into a multi-product company that unifies IT operations. NinjaOne is a product built for the future, and I couldn't be more excited for the next generation of IT software."

NinjaOne's Ongoing Channel Commitment

From the beginning, NinjaOne has always been a channel-friendly company that found success through partnerships with MSPs, value-added resellers (VARs), and other channel partners. As the MSP market continues to mature and move further upstream into larger markets, NinjaOne continues to support its channel partners through multiple avenues, from a product strategy that seeks to make co-managed IT services easier and more impactful, to offering a growing portfolio of resources, guidance, and supporting tools purpose-built for MSPs and resellers.

With this rebrand, existing channel partners and customers will not experience any disruptive changes to the user interface, contract terms, application performance, or quality of support.

"We wouldn't be where we are today without our channel partners. We recognize that MSPs and resellers are an important part of NinjaOne's growth story now and in the future," said NinjaOne Chief Revenue Officer Dean Yeck. "All around the world, MSPs and resellers are seeing greater demand for their services, and we're proud to be a partner that helps them scale."

The NinjaOne Product Suite

Recognizing the need among both managed service providers (MSPs) and internal IT departments for robust, modern tools to manage distributed workforces and fleets of devices, NinjaOne has developed a multi-product platform that includes remote monitoring and management (RMM), cloud backups for data protection, ticketing, and documentation, with more products slated for release over the next two years. Finely-tuned integrations extend NinjaOne's capabilities into IT asset management, remote access, patch management, and automated software deployment.

NinjaOne's product roadmap for the next year includes new features, integrations, and products all designed to deliver a seamless experience that makes IT more effective, productive, and secure. The company will share additional product details in the months ahead.

The Decade of the Endpoint

Modern IT environments have become increasingly complex as traditional models of networking, infrastructure, and security are upended by cloud-driven innovations. As cloud adoption trends accelerate in the post-pandemic era and the center of operations and management shifts to the endpoint, NinjaOne's unified platform is uniquely positioned to extend IT's range of operations to all endpoints and users no matter where they are.

The company will begin operating under the name NinjaOne effective immediately. To sign up for a free trial, visit https://www.ninjaone.com/freetrialform/.

About NinjaOneNinjaOne is a leading unified IT operations solution that simplifies the way IT teams work. With NinjaOne, MSPs and IT departments can automate, manage, and remediate all their endpoint management tasks within one fast, modern, intuitive platform, improving technician efficiency and user satisfaction. NinjaOne supports over 6,000 customers around the world, and is consistently ranked #1 for its world-class customer support. NinjaOne has been recognized as the best rated software in its category on G2 and Gartner Digital Markets for the past 3 years.

Source: NinjaOne

Disruptive leader in web application security plans to leverage new investment to continue product expansion and support global growth

Austin, TX and Boston, MA – Invicti Security, a global leader in application security testing, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement for a $625 million investment led by global growth equity investor Summit Partners. The new financing will support Invicti’s continued growth and product development initiatives. Summit will join forces with Turn/River Capital, which first invested in Invicti in 2017 and will remain a significant shareholder going forward.

Invicti aims to address a critical need among enterprises and public sector organizations: to secure hundreds or even thousands of web applications with constrained teams. With its Acunetix and Netsparker product lines, the company’s software is designed to enable organizations to scan their entire web footprint for vulnerabilities and facilitate remediation through integration into developer workflows. Invicti’s solutions are recognized for their industry-leading accuracy, scalability to the entire web attack surface, and automation that significantly reduces the need for manual work by security and development teams.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Summit for this next chapter in our company’s growth,” said Invicti founder and CEO Ferruh Mavituna. “We’re confident that Summit’s extensive security experience will help accelerate our product innovation, expand our reach and address the urgent problem of web application security faced by organizations around the world.”

“Software development cycles have shortened dramatically over the last decade, opening new vulnerabilities every time a web application is released or updated. Invicti is working to meet this challenge head on with elegant and seamless solutions designed to bring scale, automation, speed and accuracy to help organizations secure their web attack surface,” commented Scott Collins, Managing Director and COO of Summit Partners, who will join the company’s Board of Directors. “The company has earned a market-leading reputation – and we are delighted to partner with the Invicti team and Turn/River to help fuel the next stage of the company’s rapid growth.”

This investment comes during a period of significant growth for Invicti. The company has added 700 new customers in the last twelve months and is on track to grow annual recurring revenues (ARR) by more than 60% in 2021. Invicti currently serves more than 3,100 customers worldwide and has scanned more than 800,000 websites to date. Invicti was included in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Application Security Testing, recognized by G2 as a Momentum Leader for its Acunetix and Netsparker products, and received a 2021 Globee Award for Cyber Security Global Excellence.

Joanne Yuan, Partner at Turn/River Capital, added, “We are proud to have supported Invicti and its team since 2017 through a tremendous growth journey amid soaring enterprise demand for full application security coverage. We are excited to reinvest into this partnership alongside Summit, reaffirm our conviction in the opportunity ahead and help to further accelerate the company’s growth.

Details of the transaction have not been disclosed. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter, subject to standard closing conditions. Summit Partners was advised by Kirkland & Ellis and Ernst & Young. Turn/River and Invicti were advised by William Blair, Orrick and PwC.

About Invicti Security
Invicti Security is changing the way web applications are secured. A global leader in web application security for more than 15 years, Invicti provides dynamic and interactive application security products to help organizations in every industry scale their overall security operations, make the best use of their security resources, and engage developers to improve their overall security posture. Invicti’s product Netsparker delivers industry-leading enterprise web application security, while Acunetix is designed for small and medium-sized companies. Invicti is headquartered in Austin, Texas and serves organizations all over the world.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $42 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 550 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 175 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Notable security software companies backed by Summit include Avast, Cloudmark, Darktrace, Delphix, Jamf, McAfee, Netwitness, NinjaRMM, RedCanary, RiskIQ, Safeboot and Winshuttle. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please visit www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

About Turn/River CapitalTurn/River Capital is a San Francisco-based software investment firm that looks, feels, and acts like a software company. It offers flexible capital and tailored, data-driven operational support for growth capital, founder liquidity, buyouts, spin-outs and recapitalizations. Built by a team of software operators and investors who have scaled sales, marketing, customer success and talent, Turn/River’s playbooks reliably and rapidly unlock transformational growth, producing market-leading companies and building lasting value. For more information, please visit www.turnriver.com

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Today, CareCentrix, Inc. — the leading, independent home-centered platform that coordinates care to the home for health plans, patients, and providers — announced that Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) has made a majority investment in the company.

The investment advances Walgreens capabilities in post-acute and home care, in support of its launch today of Walgreens Health, the company’s customer-centric, technology-enabled care model powered by a nationally scaled, locally delivered healthcare platform.

Walgreens Health will create a better experience for consumers, improve health outcomes and lower costs by leveraging Walgreens strengths and assets, including trusted consumer relationships and community presence, national scale, care teams and partnerships with payors and providers across the country.

“In support of the launch of Walgreens Health, we continue to make strategic investments in pharmacy and healthcare solutions that can improve care coordination and health outcomes, while lowering overall costs,” said Roz Brewer, CEO, Walgreens Boots Alliance. “CareCentrix’s suite of home care solutions will advance our capabilities in this important segment for healthcare delivery, to help address the needs of people living with complex or chronic conditions in the home.”

Post-acute care, specifically care that is delivered in the home, represents one of the fastest-growing opportunities in healthcare. Caring for patients from the hospital to the home represents more than $75 billion in annual healthcare costs for payers, providers, and patients, and that total is growing rapidly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID-19 has made it clear that providing care in the home and community is the future of not only post-acute care, but healthcare more broadly. Indeed, the home is the last undeveloped frontier in American healthcare and critical to reversing spiraling costs and middling health outcomes,” said John Driscoll, CEO of CareCentrix. “Together, Walgreens and CareCentrix will be able to partner with a wide range of payers to help care for patients from the hospital to the home in a more personalized, engaged, and effective way.”

CareCentrix offers the suite of services needed, on an integrated basis, to support emerging home care models, including care transitions, home nursing, durable medical equipment, home infusion, and in-home palliative care. Success is driven through a relentless focus on operational excellence, a national home provider network, and enabled by HomeBridge, a machine learning, proprietary analytics-driven care coordination platform that develops hyper-personalized care plans. By managing the journey to the home and care in the home and providing personalized care, CareCentrix helps patients avoid unnecessary care, stay engaged in their care, and enjoy better health outcomes.

“CareCentrix is transforming the post-acute journey from hospital to home to support value-based care, lower costs, and improve outcomes and member experience. We are excited about the opportunity before us to build industry-leading, home-focused care solutions,” said Laizer Kornwasser, President and Chief Operating Officer of CareCentrix.

CareCentrix manages care for 19 million members through approximately 7,400 provider locations, and empowers more people to live, heal, and age at home. By partnering with health plans and health systems, CareCentrix has reduced total cost of care for members by 20 percent, including a greater than 11 percent reduction in emergency department usage and a 23 percent reduction in skilled nursing costs.

This investment gives Walgreens Boots Alliance majority ownership of CareCentrix, investing $330 million for 55 percent of the company at an $800 million valuation, net of debt, with the option to acquire the remaining equity interests in the future. Following the completion of the investment, CareCentrix will continue to operate as an independent company under its current executive leadership.

The transaction is subject to the receipt of required regulatory clearances and approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of WBA’s second quarter of FY2022.

Citi acted as financial advisor for CareCentrix, Inc., and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP acted as lead legal advisor.

About CareCentrix
CareCentrix is the leader in health-at-home solutions and is committed to making the home the center of care. Managing care for 19 million members through a network of approximately 7,400 provider locations, CareCentrix focuses on bringing members home to bring costs down. By drawing on insights from proprietary analytics, and connecting end-to-end clinical, social and caregiver services, CareCentrix eliminates unnecessary hospital readmissions, closes gaps in care, reduces fragmentation in care, and ultimately, helps more people live, heal, and age at home. CareCentrix has been named one of FORTUNE’s Best Workplaces for Aging Services. The company has also earned numerous Top Workplaces distinctions from Top Workplaces USA, the Hartford Courant, and the Tampa Bay Times, demonstrating its commitment to a positive culture that develops leaders of tomorrow. For more information, please visit www.carecentrix.com

About Walgreens Boots Alliance
Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) is a global leader in retail pharmacy, impacting millions of lives every day through dispensing medicines, and providing accessible, high-quality care. With more than 170 years of trusted healthcare heritage and innovation in community pharmacy, the company is meeting customers’ and patients’ needs through its convenient retail locations, digital platforms and health and beauty products.

WBA has a presence in more than 9 countries, employs more than 315,000 people and has more than 13,000 stores in the U.S., Europe and Latin America.

WBA’s purpose is to inspire more joyful lives through better health. The company is proud of its contributions to healthy communities, a healthy planet, an inclusive workplace and a sustainable marketplace. WBA is a Participant of the United Nations Global Compact and adheres to its principles-based approach to responsible business.

More company information is available at www.walgreensbootsalliance.com

Source: CareCentrix

Acquisition will Allow Employers to Better Screen and Objectively Hire Candidates by Prioritizing Skills Over Resumes, Decreasing Hiring Bias

San Francisco, California — CoderPad, the leading software for evaluating technical proficiency, announced today its acquisition of CodinGame, a first-class candidate assessment platform and global developer skill building community. The combined companies’ offerings will help employers strengthen their technical talent process to identify the most proficient candidates faster and easier, while reducing unintentional hiring bias, in today’s competitive labor market. The entire CodinGame team has joined CoderPad.

CoderPad and CodinGame offer a comprehensive technical hiring platform to customers at scale—from initial assessments to take-home projects to live paired programming interviews—while also providing a community where candidates can uplevel their skills and prepare for interviews. Their platforms transform how companies hire technical talent and strengthen the talent pipeline by using a transparent evaluation process focused on technical aptitude and skills rather than resumes, college logos, and personal connections that can impart bias. The acquisition comes at a time when technical skills are in short supply but high demand, with 66 percent of employers seeking to hire more developers this year alone.

“It used to be that just Bay Area tech companies needed technical talent,” said Amanda Richardson, CoderPad CEO. “Today every company is a tech company because data science, engineering, development, and other ‘hard’ skills are what drive true innovation and a competitive edge. CoderPad and CodinGame have a shared mission to improve the overall tech hiring process by giving candidates more realistic and engaging exercises that demonstrate skills and ability while reducing the overreliance on logos on a resume.”

To help organizations build a robust talent pool, CoderPad and CodinGame’s joint offerings provide screenings, tests, and challenges to analyze candidates’ technical skills in a way that mimics real working conditions. A ‘live’ virtual interview environment helps evaluate qualities beyond coding, like problem solving, collaboration, and handling feedback. The platform also offers reporting tools that objectively sort, compare, and rank the skills of candidates and provide transparency on these results.

“Together, we bring a complete portfolio of hiring solutions to aid developers and recruiters in their search for the best candidates, while leveling the playing field for tech talent by allowing companies to hire based on their skills,” said Frédéric Desmoulins, CodinGame Co-founder and CEO.

CodinGame will also strengthen CoderPad’s offering through their employee engagement platform, built and scaled to keep the skills of its 2M+ developers sharp through gamified coding challenges and contests. The community provides a place for developers to hone their skills, invest in their own professional development, and engage with other developers, while surfacing excellent talent to potential employers.

“We’re rapidly expanding our technical teams as we continue using technology to radically enhance the day-to-day lives of healthcare professionals and patients. To reach our missions, we rely on the strength of our Engineering team, which is building the technology that supports this transformation,” said David Lambert, Engineering Director at Doctolib. “CoderPad and CodinGame make it possible for us to find the best possible candidates and evaluate them fairly with an engaging interview experience that’s congruent with our key value: user first.”

“One of the things that attracted us to CodinGame was its strong and trusted relationship with the technical community,” added Richardson. “This allows us to get an unprecedented understanding of developers’ expectations, identify emerging trends in skills, and match them with recruiters’ needs. We empower developers to keep up with the pace of fast technological change to be noticed—and recruited—by companies looking for rare talent.“

The announcement builds on a period of sustained growth for CoderPad, including the acquisition of AdaptiLab’s machine learning and data science interviewing tools earlier this summer, plus a growth funding round led by Summit Partners in late 2019.

About CoderPad
CoderPad is a comprehensive technical assessment platform that helps companies efficiently hire candidates with the strongest skills. Our technology empowers customers around the world to screen and interview best-in-class talent with a focus on candidate experience, bringing a layer of transparency and fairness to the hiring process. CoderPad’s suite of technology covers the entire interview process from initial screening to live programming interviews and allows companies to hire the best developers based on skills and not resumes. Headquartered in San Francisco, CoderPad serves over 3,300 customers, including Goldman Sachs, Netflix, Slack, Snowflake, Stripe, and more, and has hosted more than 3 million technical interviews in 30+ languages. Visit www.coderpad.io for more information.

About CodinGame
CodinGame is both a game-based training platform for developers and a powerful technical hiring suite for companies. Over 2 million passionate programmers from around the world sharpen their skills, for free, by playing games and solving puzzles on codingame.com. Companies looking to recruit and retain skilled programmers turn to CodinGame’s hiring solution, CodinGame for Work, to uncover hidden gems, streamline their processes, and delight their tech teams. CodinGame is best known for their online, pre-employment technical tests. Recruiters use these tests to quickly, efficiently and fairly shortlist developers based on their coding skills. CodinGame’s customers include Nasdaq, Electronic Arts, Samsung, and Facebook. Visit www.codingame.com/work for more information.

Source: CoderPad

Sophia Popova, a Principal on Summit’s global technology team, was named to WSJ Pro Private Equity’s 2021 Women to Watch List. Sophia was recognized for her investing acumen in the technology sector, where she has played an active role in five Summit investments since joining the firm in 2017, representing more than $600 million in invested capital. Her investment and board experience includes Klaviyo, Markforged (NYSE: MKFG), PrismHR, Sifted and Ylopo.

WSJ Pro Private Equity’s 2021 Women to Watch List recognizes 15 women shaping private equity’s present and future and includes professionals from a diverse range of investment strategies.Read more about Sophia and her fellow honorees at WSJ Pro Private Equity..

We’re honored to be named to Inc.’s 2021 List of Founder-Friendly Investors. The list recognizes firms with demonstrated experience collaborating with founder-led companies and providing the financial support and resources needed to help accelerate growth. Founder-Friendly Investors list has established itself as one of Inc.’s most resourceful franchises and has become a go-to guide for entrepreneurs who want to grow their companies while retaining an ownership stake.

Since Summit’s founding, we’ve partnered with hundreds of founder-led companies, including more than 70 founder-led businesses in the last five years alone. This experience has fostered a deep appreciation for and understanding of the courage, vision and tenacity required to scale a business and a culture. We’re proud to support these businesses with dedicated resources designed to fuel durable and long-term growth.

Read more about a few of the founders we’ve supported and the companies they’ve built in Stories from the Climb – a series dedicated to celebrating and sharing the challenges of building a growth company.

Latest flagship fund brings total capital raised to more than $10.5 billion since the start of 2020

BOSTON, MA; MENLO PARK, CA; LONDON, UK – Summit Partners, a global alternative investment firm, today announced the first and final closing of its latest flagship U.S. growth equity fund. Launched in June 2021, Summit Partners Growth Equity Fund XI was significantly oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap with total commitments of $8.35 billion.

“With the closing of our latest fund, we will continue to pursue our growth equity strategy, serving as the partner of choice for category-leading growth companies and exceptional entrepreneurs within our sectors of focus. We are deeply grateful for the longstanding support of our limited partners and for their trust and confidence in our team and our strategy,” said Peter Chung, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Partners.

Summit’s global team of more than 100 investment professionals works collaboratively across offices in the U.S. and Europe to partner with growth companies in key industry sectors, including technology, healthcare, financial technology and services, consumer and e-commerce, and business services. As active board members and through dedicated value enhancement teams, Summit offers strategic support to portfolio company leaders focused on areas we believe are critical to accelerating and supporting long-term, profitable growth, including revenue optimization, digital marketing, human capital strategy, capital markets expertise and technology and data science.

Summit Partners Growth Equity Fund XI will target minority and majority investments of $75 to $500 million primarily in profitable, category-leading growth companies, pursuing the growth equity strategy the firm pioneered in 1984. This flagship fund follows the close of two 2020 vintage growth equity funds with more than $2.2 billion in capital: Summit Partners Europe Growth Equity Fund III, which targets equity investments between €20 and €80 million in Europe-based companies, and Summit Partners Venture Capital Fund V, which targets equity investments of $10 to $60 million in growth stage companies based primarily in North America.

Since the firm’s inception in 1984, Summit has raised more than $43 billion in capital across its growth equity, fixed income and public equity strategies.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $42 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 175 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please visit www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

EngageSmart has set a new standard for dependable, frictionless customer interactions, with software and integrated payments capabilities that simplify both digital adoption and self-service. We partnered with Bob Bennett and the EngageSmart (then, InvoiceCloud) team in 2015 and are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this great growth journey. Congratulations to the entire EngageSmart team on today’s NYSE IPO.

View more about the EngageSmart story here>>

a.k.a. Brands (NYSE: AKA) was created to help founder-led, digitally native D2C fashion brands grow faster -- and we’ve been proud to support this founder-focused mission from a.k.a.’s earliest days. Today, a.k.a. is redefining the future of fashion for the next generation of consumers with a dynamic platform that has brought together incredible founders with deep connections to their customers and communities.

As a.k.a. completes its IPO, we’re thrilled to celebrate the achievements of Princess Polly’s Wez Bryett and Eirin Bryett, Culture King’s Simon Beard and Tah-Nee Beard, Rebdoll’s Grisel Paula and Petal & Pup’s Tiffany Henry. Congratulations to a.k.a. CEO Jill Ramsey, Summit alum John Gonneville and the entire a.k.a. team on this milestone.

With 64 Acquisitions Completed Since Patriot’s Founding in 2019, New Investment will Support Continued Growth of Leading Insurance Brokerage

GI Partners, a leading private investment firm, announced today the recapitalization of Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC (“Patriot”), one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing national insurance agencies, in partnership with the company’s founder and CEO, Matt Gardner. Summit Partners, which invested in Patriot in 2019, and Patriot management will maintain significant minority ownership positions in the company.

Based in Fort Washington, PA, Patriot was founded in January 2019 by CEO Matt Gardner, a 30-year veteran of the insurance distribution industry. The company has differentiated itself in a highly competitive marketplace through its strategy of partnering with high-growth, well-run agencies, and an unwavering commitment to enhancing collaboration across the Patriot network. Since the company’s founding less than three years ago, Patriot has completed 64 agency partnerships, driven above-market organic growth, and established a broad national footprint spanning 18 states and serving over 100,000 clients.

Matt Gardner, Founder and CEO of Patriot, commented, “Since creating Patriot in 2019, we have remained laser-focused on our core mission of providing capital and resources to great entrepreneurs to help them accelerate growth. With added support from GI Partners, we will continue our strategy of curating only the very best agencies and fostering a highly collaborative environment with an ‘agency-first’ mindset. Summit Partners has been shoulder-to-shoulder with us since our founding, and we are thrilled to have them remain as investors as we continue on our growth journey.”

Hoon Cho, Managing Director and Co-Head of Private Equity at GI Partners, added, “We have evaluated numerous opportunities in the insurance sector over many years and are thrilled to partner with Patriot. Matt and his team have built one of the fastest growing and most differentiated insurance brokerage platforms, and we are delighted to join them in pursuit of continued above-market growth in the years ahead.”

Matt Hamilton, Managing Director at Summit Partners, said, “Patriot was founded with a differentiated, partnership-driven approach, offering agency owners strategic, operational, and financial resources needed to accelerate growth. Matt and the team have executed on this vision impeccably, delivering strong, sustained growth over the course of the last several years. We are proud to continue our partnership with the Patriot team and support the company’s growth during this next chapter.”

Jeff Sheu, Managing Director at GI Partners, commented, “Matt has demonstrated an ability to attract outstanding talent to Patriot, both in terms of employees as well as acquisition targets that have expanded the company’s footprint and capabilities. Matt and his team have delivered remarkable results since 2019 and we look forward to supporting their continued growth.”

Morgan Stanley & Co LLC and MarshBerry served as financial advisors to Patriot. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Patriot and Summit Partners. Jamieson Corporate Finance served as financial advisor and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP served as legal advisor to the Patriot management team. Barclays served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to GI Partners. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

About Patriot Growth Insurance Services
Founded in 2019, Patriot is a growth-focused national insurance services firm that partners with employee benefits and property & casualty agencies across the United States. In its second year of operation, Patriot was ranked in the top-40 largest insurance brokers in the U.S. by Business Insurance. With over 1,100 employees operating in 85 locations across 18 states, Patriot’s collaborative model delivers resources and strategic support to its agencies, whose leaders continue to operate with a high degree of autonomy in their local markets. Patriot creates true alignment with its partner agencies, and its operating philosophy fosters enhanced career opportunities for its dedicated and professional team. For more information, please visit www.patriotgis.com.

About GI Partners
Founded in 2001, GI Partners is a private investment firm with over 100 employees based in San Francisco, California, with offices in New York, Chicago, Greenwich, and Scottsdale. The firm has raised over $29 billion in capital from leading institutional investors around the world to invest in private equity, real estate, and data infrastructure strategies. The private equity team invests primarily in companies in the healthcare, IT infrastructure, services, and software sectors. The real estate team focuses primarily on technology and life sciences properties as well as other specialized types of real estate. The data infrastructure team invests primarily in hard asset infrastructure businesses underpinning the digital economy. For more information, please visit www.gipartners.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $31 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please visit www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

Summit Partners’ investment will fuel Optimove’s M&A strategy, hiring and go-to-market of its SaaS application for customer-led growth and retention

Optimove, a leader in CRM marketing, today announced a $75 million investment led by global growth investor Summit Partners. The financing will support continued investment in strategic hiring and M&A, expansion of the company’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Marketing platform, and further acceleration of Optimove’s rapid growth. The company also announced the addition of Summit Partners’ Head of Europe, Han Sikkens, and Managing Director Steffan Peyer to its Board of Directors.

Optimove’s SaaS technology combines a Customer Data Platform (CDP) with a Multichannel Marketing Hub (MMH) designed to uniquely empower brands to deliver personalized marketing campaigns to connect and engage with existing customers. Unlike more traditional solutions that rely on common, rule-based orchestration, Optimove places customer data at its core, layering advanced AI-based campaign orchestration on top. This helps its users manage large-scale CRM marketing frameworks, personalizing thousands of campaigns to hundreds of segments and reaching each end consumer with the optimal message and promotion across email, mobile and other channels. The company’s solutions help customers achieve and attribute measurable improvement in key metrics such as churn, reactivation, conversion, and lifetime value per each customer, campaign, set of campaigns, and across the entire customer base.

“In the last 18 months, digital consumption grew like never before. As a result, the cost of acquiring new customers has skyrocketed, while customer loyalty took a deep dive. Now, more than ever, brands understand the urgency to invest in existing customers to drive growth,” said Optimove Founder and CEO, Pini Yakuel. “We built Optimove to address the challenges brands face when attempting to deliver personalization at scale. Our solutions are designed to offer marketing teams direct access to their customer data to build, test and optimize their CRM campaigns. Our AI engine helps ensure that every customer receives the marketing treatment that increases their lifetime value, through the optimal channel, at any given time.”

According to data from Gartner’s Market Share Analysis: Customer Experience and Relationship Management Software Worldwide, the multichannel marketing market grew at a 3-year CAGR of 17% and is expected to reach $10B by end of 2021.

Headquartered in Tel Aviv and operating from offices in New York and London, Optimove was bootstrapped for its first five years and has scaled quickly, while maintaining healthy profit margins, since its founding in 2012. This new capital positions Optimove to further accelerate its growth and expand its global footprint. Today, the company’s CRM Marketing platform sends more than 23 billion optimized messages through email, mobile, ad platforms and other channels, to over 3 billion customers every year. Optimove serves more than 500 brands – including BetMGM, Papa John’s, Staples, Varsity Tutors and others across e-commerce, gaming, retail, QSR, telecommunications, and financial services – and integrates with leading technology platforms, such as Snowflake, Shopify, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, alongside leading execution channels, including Facebook, Google Ads, Criteo, and Attentive.

“The growth in e-commerce over the past decade has led to ever-increasing online competition, forcing brands to evolve their marketing strategies to deliver seamless, personalized omnichannel experiences that resonate and drive loyalty with consumers,” said Steffan Peyer, Managing Director at Summit Partners. “From its roots in Israel’s thriving and dynamic technology ecosystem, Optimove has grown into a truly global business, serving well-known brands across more than 40 countries. With strong technology, a strategic executive team, and the addition of growth capital, we believe Optimove is poised to build on its market leadership position.” Over the last 12 months, Optimove generated revenue growth of more than 40% while continuing to maintain healthy profit margins. The company currently has 280 employees and plans to double its global headcount over the next 24 months, with hiring predominantly for its technology, customer, and commercial organizations.

Optimove is widely recognized as a category leader, with notable recognition as a Leader in "The Forrester Wave™: Cross-Channel Campaign Management (Independent Platforms), Q3 2021; a Challenger in Gartner's 2021 Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Marketing Hubs; and one of the Top Five Leading Customer Data Platforms from G2's Fall 2021 Grid® Report.

About Optimove
Optimove is the leading CRM Marketing Hub, empowering marketing teams to create and manage large-scale, customer-led journeys. Optimove's CRM Journey mapping algorithm leverages AI to autonomously surface valuable customer engagement opportunities, orchestrate self-optimizing customer journeys, and accurately measure the incremental impact of all marketing interactions. Optimove is used by leading brands including Dollar Shave Club, Entain, Papa John's, Penn National, and Staples, to maximize customer loyalty, retention, and lifetime value. For more information, go to www.optimove.com

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $31 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare, and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 160 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

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Growth capital round led by Summit Partners, with participation from Oak HC/FT and Sopris Capital

Lake Mary, FL – TurningPoint Healthcare Solutions, a leader in advanced clinical and technology-enabled complex care management, today announced a growth capital raise led by Summit Partners, with participation from Oak HC/FT and existing investor Sopris Capital. TurningPoint’s value-based care solution is designed to bring together health plans, providers, and patients to successfully manage complex clinical care for patients, from discovery and diagnosis through recovery. On average, health plans working with TurningPoint have experienced an industry-leading, actuarially validated return on investment of more than 10 to 1, while improving quality and reducing complications and revisions post-surgery by more than 50%.

The new capital comes after seven years of consistent growth within TurningPoint’s established areas of care management, including musculoskeletal (MSK), ear-nose-throat (ENT), sleep, and cardiac care. Leveraging deep clinical expertise, TurningPoint has established itself as a leader in the industry and manages more than 26 million insured lives nationally and $4 billion in healthcare costs. The growth capital will enable TurningPoint to expand into new, high-cost, high-complexity areas of healthcare, enhance its innovative technology and product offering, and expand its geographic footprint.

“We’re proud to have delivered on our mission to improve the safety, quality, and affordability of healthcare. Our proven track record is a validation of our business model, our team’s ability to collaborate with clinicians, and our focus on treating each patient with care, dignity, and compassion,” said Eric Pezzi, CEO and Founder of TurningPoint. “With this new support from Summit, Oak HC/FT, and Sopris, we’re eager to address our next promise: to expand from our current areas of success and enter new clinical domains to address further unmet patient needs.”

Founded in 2014, TurningPoint offers a care management model that is designed to work collaboratively with providers to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs associated with complex clinical conditions. Such conditions incur significant costs in the United States, with an estimated $245 billion in annual direct spend and projections indicating a 9% annual increase in utilization volume through 2030. TurningPoint’s team of clinicians leverage advanced analytics and AI to help determine appropriate and optimal care pathways, safer treatments, and lower costs.

“TurningPoint stands out as a market leader successfully helping manage complex clinical care in a collaborative, comprehensive way,” said Ross Stern, a Managing Director at Summit Partners, who has joined TurningPoint’s board of directors. “The company’s end-to-end patient care solution—partnering with clinicians and key stakeholders from diagnosis through a patient’s treatment and recovery—is demonstrated to be effective and efficient, which we believe is the ultimate goal for patients, providers, and payers alike. We’re eager to see TurningPoint continue to realize significant growth and help to bring better care to millions of people.”

TurningPoint engages constituents across the continuum of care to create transparency and alignment of patients, providers, and payers to drive high-quality, cost-effective patient care. By combining clinical expertise with proprietary technology, TurningPoint’s solutions seek to identify and reduce the utilization of unnecessary high-cost, low-efficacy clinical interventions; drive provider behavior change toward more proactive, preventive treatment options that improve outcomes; and optimize the cost and quality of procedures when they do occur. TurningPoint is certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission, and HiTrust.

“TurningPoint is an exceptional company at the center of many important themes in improving healthcare delivery,” said Andy Paul, Founder and CEO of Sopris. “Sopris is proud to have supported TurningPoint early in its journey and are thrilled to welcome and partner with Summit and Oak HC/FT as we enter the next phase of growth for the company.” Sopris will remain an active investor in TurningPoint and retain a board member position.

TripleTree, LLC served as the financial advisor to TurningPoint for this transaction.

To learn more about TurningPoint’s solutions and services for health plans, please contact the company’s sales team at getstarted@tpshealth.com.

About TurningPoint Healthcare Solutions
TurningPoint provides an innovative suite of specialty care management services and technologies that enable health plans to improve the safety, quality, and affordability of healthcare. Through its technology platform and specialized team of clinical experts, TurningPoint works collaboratively with providers to enhance the support patients need, at the time they need it most. TurningPoint’s comprehensive and integrated suite of services offer condition-specific, quality-driven, value-based care management services that optimize and support members’ care from diagnosis and discovery through recovery. TurningPoint provides support for more than 26 million people across numerous clinical conditions including musculoskeletal (MSK), ENT, sleep, and cardiac care. For more information, please visit www.tpshealth.com or follow on LinkedIn.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing $31 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in healthcare, technology, and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 170 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

About Oak HC/FT
Oak HC/FT is a venture and growth equity firm investing in companies driving transformation in healthcare and fintech, two uniquely complementary and high-growth sectors. With deep domain expertise and strategic resources, Oak HC/FT partners with leading entrepreneurs at every stage, from seed to growth, to build businesses that make a measurable, lasting impact on these industries. Founded in 2014, the firm has $3.3 billion in assets under management and is headquartered in Greenwich, CT, with investors in San Francisco and Boston. Learn more at oakhcft.com.

About Sopris Capital
Sopris Capital is a venture capital firm that invests growth equity in technology-enabled business services and SaaS companies that are solving critical pain points. Sopris seeks to be a value-added partner to fast-growing companies that have a validated business model, a proven product/market fit, and a management team that can capitalize on the opportunity ahead. Learn more at www.sopriscapital.com.

John Merris and his team at the outdoor firepit brand Solo Stove didn’t set out to become serial acquirers, but that’s exactly what happened when the growth equity-backed company went from zero acquisitions to three bolt-ons in the span of just a few months.

Solo Stove’s recent acquisition of men’s outdoor apparel brand Chubbies Shorts follows the May acquisition of Oru Kayak and the August acquisition of paddleboard maker ISLE. The result: a new outdoor platform called Solo Brands, with the quartet of businesses now working together under the majority ownership of Boston-based Summit Partners.

CEO John Merris sat down with Outside Business Journal to share how the idea for Solo Brands was born and the company’s vision to build a better, community-oriented customer experience.

“We truly believe that the next decade and beyond is going to be led by direct-to-consumer, digitally native brands that know how to deliver and are obsessed about delivering an exceptional customer experience. We believe that, if done right, bringing brands together as we’ve done is better than any one of us could have done it by ourselves. It’s going to give us improved access to the customer, and it’s going to give our customer better options.”

Read more in Outside Business Journal

Boca Raton, Fla. – MDVIP, the national leader in personalized membership-based healthcare, today announced that the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“Goldman Sachs”) and Charlesbank Capital Partners (“Charlesbank”) have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire majority ownership of MDVIP from Leonard Green & Partners (“LGP”) and Summit Partners.

Founded in 2000, MDVIP leads the market in membership-based healthcare with a national network of over 1,100 primary care physicians serving 357,000 patients. In the MDVIP model, doctors have smaller practices compared to those in traditional, high-volume medicine. This allows them to spend more time with patients and provide attentive, individualized care with an emphasis on preventive health and wellness. MDVIP has achieved unrivaled patient satisfaction scores, which in addition to its annual membership renewals, consistently exceed 90 percent.

“The past 18 months have been a catalyst for Americans to become more engaged in their health, and many are recognizing the need for better prevention and coaching from a primary care doctor who really knows them,” said MDVIP Chairman and CEO Bret Jorgensen. “For 21 years, MDVIP has built and scaled its physician practice model to meet this consumer demand, and the market for our services will continue its momentum. This investment by Goldman Sachs and Charlesbank speaks to the strength and resiliency of our business model, and we are excited to partner with them as we embark on our next phase of growth.”

As part of its growth strategy, MDVIP is continuously expanding its portfolio of services to meet the needs of new customer segments. For example, the company is working with hospital systems to incorporate the MDVIP model into their primary care offering. To address the unique health concerns of women, the company has introduced a Women’s Health Program that pairs gynecological health with preventive primary care. These are in addition to the company’s existing partnerships with employers to offer an executive health program as a benefit to employees.

“MDVIP has an impressive track record of delivering business growth to investors and proven healthcare outcomes that benefit patients, physicians and the healthcare system at large,” said Jo Natauri, Partner and Global Head of Private Healthcare Investing within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “The company’s history and ability to adapt to a rapidly changing healthcare environment make it a strong addition to our investment portfolio, and we look forward to partnering with Charlesbank and the MDVIP management team.”

“MDVIP has a proven and innovative business model that represents the best in membership medicine,” said Brandon White, Managing Director at Charlesbank. “We are excited to back this talented management team as they build on their historical track record of outstanding services for physicians and members alike.” Added Josh Beer, also a Charlesbank Managing Director, “We look forward to working with Goldman Sachs to help MDVIP accelerate its growth and further solidify its position as the market leader in this consumer-driven healthcare landscape.”

Over time, the MDVIP primary care model has improved patient outcomes as demonstrated by clinical data published in ten peer-reviewed studies. The research shows that patients in MDVIP-affiliated practices have fewer heart attacks and strokes, better chronic care management of diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, and more preventive screenings including regular colonoscopies, mammograms and bone density scans. Compared to patients in traditional practices, MDVIP members have also experienced reduced hospitalizations, lower hospital readmission rates and fewer visits to urgent care centers and emergency rooms, which have led to significant cost savings to the healthcare system.

Alyse Wagner, Partner at LGP, commented, “MDVIP continues to transform primary care for Americans across the country. It has proven to be a successful model for both doctors and patients, and we have great confidence in the future of its business.”

MDVIP Chairman and CEO Bret Jorgensen added, “This is a pivotal moment for U.S. healthcare companies, and we appreciate the support we received from Leonard Green & Partners and Summit Partners. We also thank our community of physicians, members and employees who every day are advancing MDVIP’s purpose of ‘making healthier lives happen.’”

The transaction is expected to close in Q4 following receipt of customary regulatory approvals. Financial terms were not disclosed.

About MDVIP
MDVIP leads the market in membership-based healthcare that goes far beyond concierge medicine services with a national network of over 1,100 primary care physicians serving 357,000 patients. MDVIP-affiliated physicians limit the size of their practices, which affords them the time needed to provide patients with more individualized service and attention, including an annual, comprehensive preventive care program and customized wellness plan. MDVIP, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, has been a Great Place to Work-Certified® company since 2018 and is recognized by Fortune as one of the 2021 Best Workplaces in Healthcare. For more information, visit www.mdvip.com or follow on LinkedIn.

About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Equity
Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market—overseeing more than $2.3 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of June 30, 2021. Driven by a passion for our clients’ performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time. Goldman Sachs Asset Management invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. Established in 1986, the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management has invested over $75 billion since inception. We combine our global network of relationships, our unique insight across markets, industries and regions, and the worldwide resources of Goldman Sachs to build businesses and accelerate value creation across our portfolios. Follow us on LinkedIn.

About Charlesbank Capital Partners
Based in Boston and New York, Charlesbank Capital Partners is a middle-market private investment firm with more than $15 billion of capital raised since inception. Charlesbank focuses on management-led buyouts and growth capital financings, and also engages in opportunistic credit and technology investments. The firm seeks to build companies with sustainable competitive advantage and excellent prospects for growth. For more information, please visit www.charlesbank.com.

About Leonard Green & Partners
LGP is a leading private equity investment firm founded in 1989 and based in Los Angeles with over $50 billion of assets under management. The firm partners with experienced management teams and often with founders to invest in market-leading companies. Since inception, LGP has invested in over 100 companies in the form of traditional buyouts, going-private transactions, recapitalizations, growth equity, and selective public equity and debt positions. The firm primarily focuses on companies providing services, including consumer, business and healthcare services, as well as retail, distribution and industrials.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $28 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

Source: MDVIP

The combined company will be the world's largest privately-owned global leader offering complete Service Lifecycle Management solutions for the manufacturers, distributors, and services ecosystem.

STOCKHOLM & TAMPA, Fla. -- Syncron and Mize, Inc. today announced that Mize, Inc., a leader and innovator of Field Service Management (FSM) and Warranty Management (WCM) solutions, has merged with Syncron, a leader in Service Parts and Contracts Management including Inventory, Pricing, and IoT-based preventive repair monitoring solutions.

Both Syncron and Mize are well-recognized leaders within their respective cloud solution markets. The combined company will use the Syncron brand and establish a fast-growing innovator with a customer base of more than 200 of the most known and respected brands in the automotive, construction & agriculture equipment, industrial engineering, high-tech, med-tech, and consumer durables industries. With more than 700 employees by the end of 2021, based in 12 office locations in eight countries worldwide, the company will continue to invest significantly in innovation and expansion of its global coverage.

The Syncron Connected Service Experience (CSX) platform and Service Lifecycle Management (SLM) solutions enable the manufacturers to retain more customers, deliver services more cost-effectively, and generate higher-margin revenues from the install base.

"Product-related services have become the lifeline of manufacturers’ EBITDA and net margins. Protecting end customer brand experience is of pivotal relevance for every manufacturer. Together we can help create higher margin businesses, and recurring revenue from subscription and outcome-based business models," said Dr. Friedrich Neumeyer, CEO, Syncron.

As a part of this arrangement, Ashok Kartham, Founder and CEO of Mize, will join the Syncron executive management team as the company’s Chief Product Officer overseeing all product and development for Syncron.

"Manufacturers today use disparate systems to manage their service and parts business leading to silos of data, disconnected processes, and lower profitability. The combination of Syncron and Mize for the first time brings the leading service and parts management platforms together to maximize value to the customers,” said Kartham. “With a unique ability to have one common real-time view on service parts, field service workforce, service histories, parts data, and pricing, we can provide a new level of value creation for our customers unmatched in the industry."

The deal is significant in that Mize and Syncron together can develop and deliver the first comprehensive, single platform portfolio of SaaS solutions to market that specifically addresses the complexities and profound opportunities possible in the aftermarket and services business. Syncron's capabilities in AI and ML will play a pivotal role to connect IoT-based failure prediction even better with planned service events based on optimal part availability. Manufacturers looking to enhance this vital part of their business will be able to address service profitability, optimize working capital, and enable business growth while also best approaching and developing innovative services for the world's new service economy.

"We have recognized Mize* and Syncron** both as a leader in several areas," said Aly Pinder, Lead Analyst of IDC. "We expect both companies to be able to further strengthen a joint position by creating customer innovations around fully integrated service lifecycle management processes proving value beyond individual products which I have been emphasizing for years."

“Manufacturing is going through acceleration of digitization and business model disruption,” said Léo Apotheker, Chairman of the Board, Syncron. “Service experiences as a sustainable differentiator is at the top of every C-level agenda. Coupling the talent, expertise, and products of Syncron and Mize will empower the changes manufacturers need to compete effectively throughout this transition and best position themselves competitively.”

Please visit syncron.com to learn more on how you can transform your service business to enhance service experience and drive higher profitability in a connected world.

For media inquiries, contact: Syncron Media, Syncron, +1 (404) 545-0561, media@syncron.com. For information on our joint solutions, please contact us at info@syncron.com.

Sources:

*IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Manufacturing Warranty and Service Contract Management Applications 2019–2020 Vendor Assessment (Doc # US44408619, December 2019)

**IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Manufacturing Service Parts Management Applications 2020 Vendor Assessment (Doc # US44801020, January 2020)

About Mize
Mize is a Service Lifecycle Management company that provides a SaaS solution for durable goods manufacturers and their value chain. The company provides a Connected Service Experience among OEMs and their end customers, dealer channels, service provider network, and suppliers, connecting and managing all service lifecycle interactions, extending across Warranty, Service Plans, Support, Service Delivery, Parts, and Returns. Mize solutions lead to reduced service delivery costs, optimized service experience, and maximized customer lifetime value. For additional information, visit m-ize.com.

About Syncron
Syncron empowers the world's leading manufacturers to maximize product uptime and deliver exceptional aftermarket service experiences while driving significant revenue and profit improvements. From industry-leading investments in research and development to providing the fastest time-to-value, Syncron's award-winning service parts inventory, price and uptime management solutions are designed to continually exceed customer expectations. Top brands from around the world trust Syncron, the largest privately-owned global provider of cloud-based aftermarket service solutions, to transform their service operations into competitive differentiators. For more information, visit syncron.com.

Source: Syncron

Clarabridge’s leading omnichannel conversational analytics capabilities enable companies to capture and analyze everything their customers say, wherever they say it, including social media, emails, support calls, chats and product reviews

The combination will further accelerate Qualtrics’ growth and position as world’s #1 experience management platform

Provo, UT and Reston, VA – Qualtrics (NASDAQ: XM), the world’s #1 Experience Management (XM) provider and creator of the XM category, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Clarabridge, the leader in omnichannel conversational analytics, in a stock transaction valued at $1.125 billion.

Clarabridge’s sophisticated AI-powered platform allows companies to capture and analyze customer feedback from indirect sources such as social media, emails, support calls, chats and product reviews.

Qualtrics has the most powerful platform for enabling organizations to ask their customers and employees the right questions to understand how they’re feeling about their company, products and brand experiences–– and then use that data to take action across their business.

With the combination, organizations will be able to tune into, analyze and act on everything customers and employees are saying, wherever they’re saying it, all on the world’s #1 experience management platform.

Quotes on the News:
“With our acquisition of Clarabridge, we’re accelerating our growth and leadership as the world’s #1 experience management company and taking the category we created to an entirely new level,” said Qualtrics CEO Zig Serafin. “Together, we’ll give companies even greater power to build deep, trusted relationships with their customers and employees and deliver incredible experiences that everyone will love. We’re excited to welcome the Clarabridge team to Qualtrics.”

“Clarabridge’s ability to help companies discover what their customers are saying about them across unstructured sources and provide meaningful, actionable insights is a perfect complement to the Qualtrics platform,” said Clarabridge CEO Mark Bishof. “What we deliver is far more powerful as part of Qualtrics, and we have an incredible opportunity to accelerate our growth and innovation as part of the world’s #1 experience management company.”

“The role of experience management is growing in importance within organizations, and the ability to listen across multiple channels is going to be critical to their future success,” said Alan Webber, IDC’s program vice president for digital strategy and customer experience. “Increasingly, customers and employees provide feedback in many different places, and organizations will benefit from a single platform to capture it, uncover meaningful insights, and use them to drive action across their business.”

Bringing Omnichannel Experience Analytics to the #1 Experience Management Platform
Qualtrics is the gold standard for engaging with customers and employees, making it simple and scalable for companies to ask people how they feel, analyze the data and take action on their direct feedback— whether they provide it through structured responses or open text experience data.

Leading brands such as GM, Farmers, United Airlines, USAA, Bank of America, Expedia and UnitedHealthcare rely on Clarabridge to uncover actionable insights from every customer interaction. Clarabridge’s AI-powered conversational analytics capabilities analyze massive volumes of indirect customer feedback—captured from unstructured sources including social media, emails, support calls, chats, and product reviews.

Clarabridge’s platform has the power to discover and understand critical human nuances such as effort, emotion, and intent – capabilities that are unmatched in the market. Through highly sophisticated natural language understanding that spans 23 languages and more than 150 industry models, Clarabridge helps organizations discover how easy or challenging it was for a customer to accomplish their goal, the intensity of a customer’s feelings about the experience, and how that experience is likely to affect their willingness to do business with the company again.

With the combination of Clarabridge and Qualtrics, companies will be best-positioned to truly understand what customers and employees are saying across every channel and deliver personalized experiences at incredible scale.

Details Regarding the Proposed Acquisition
Qualtrics will acquire Clarabridge for $1.125 billion in Qualtrics Class A common stock (subject to customary purchase price adjustments and cash payouts in lieu of stock to certain holders of Clarabridge shares) based on a fixed number of Qualtrics shares and a Qualtrics share price of $37.33. The boards of directors of Qualtrics and Clarabridge have each approved the transaction. An investor presentation about the transaction is available on our investor relations website at qualtrics.com/investors. The proposed transaction is subject to receipt of required regulatory approvals and satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions and is expected to close during Qualtrics’ fourth quarter of fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. Additional details and information about the terms and conditions of the acquisition will be available in a current report on Form 8-K to be filed by Qualtrics with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Advisors
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as financial advisor to Qualtrics and Shearman & Sterling LLP is serving as legal counsel. Qatalyst Partners is serving as financial advisor to Clarabridge and Cooley LLP is serving as legal counsel.

Conference Call Information
Qualtrics will host a conference call today, July 29, 2021, to discuss the Clarabridge acquisition, at 5 p.m. EST. A live webcast of the conference call, as well as a replay of the call, will be available at www.qualtrics.com/investors. The conference call can also be accessed by dialing (866) 420-5762 (United States) or (409) 217-8240 (non-U.S.), and entering passcode 9480698.

About Qualtrics
Qualtrics, the world’s #1 Experience Management (XM) provider and creator of the XM category, is changing the way organizations manage and improve the four core experiences of business—customer, employee, product, and brand. Over 13,500 organizations around the world are using Qualtrics to listen, understand, and take action on experience data (X-data™)—the beliefs, emotions, and intentions that tell you why things are happening, and what to do about it. The Qualtrics XM Platform™ is a system of action that helps businesses attract customers who stay longer and buy more, engage employees who build a positive culture, develop breakthrough products people love, and build a brand people are passionate about. To learn more, please visit qualtrics.com.

About Clarabridge
Clarabridge helps the world’s leading brands take a data-driven, customer-focused approach to everything they do. Using AI-powered conversational analytics, Clarabridge’s platform enables brands to extract actionable insights from every customer interaction to grow sales, ensure compliance, and increase operational efficiencies. For more information, please visit http://www.clarabridge.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements concerning the anticipated benefits and timing of the proposed transaction between Qualtrics and Clarabridge and the product and markets of each company. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “project,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “can,” “predict,” “potential,” “target,” “explore,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including factors beyond our control, that could cause actual results, performance or outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the statements, including: the risk that the proposed transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect Qualtrics’ business and the price of Qualtrics’ common stock; the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the proposed transaction, including the receipt of governmental and regulatory approvals; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the definitive agreement to acquire Clarabridge; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the proposed transaction on the companies’ respective business relationships, operating results and business generally; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts the current plans and operations of the companies; potential difficulties with respect to employee retention for each of the companies as a result of the transaction; risks relating to diverting Qualtrics management’s attention from ongoing business operations; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Qualtrics or Clarabridge relating to the definitive agreement to acquire Clarabridge or the proposed transaction; the ability of Qualtrics to successfully integrate Clarabridge’s operations, product lines, technology and other assets; the ability of Qualtrics to implement its plans, forecasts and other expectations with respect Clarabridge’s business following the completion of the proposed transaction and realize additional opportunities for growth and innovation; and unexpected variations in market growth and demand for Qualtrics’ and Clarabridge’s products and technologies. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or outcomes to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements are and/or will be included under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in Qualtrics’ Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any subsequent public filings. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Qualtrics assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they were made or otherwise, except as required by law.

Source: Qualtrics

• Odoo is an affordable, user-friendly SaaS-based alternative to SAP, MS Dynamics, Oracle
• With 1700 employees and more than 7M users worldwide, Odoo has delivered growth of more than 50% per year over 10 years
• The Company’s growth demonstrates that open source business models have matured and extended their relevance from technical products to business management software

Ramillies, Belgium – Odoo, a leader in open source all-in-one business software, today announced a €180M investment from growth equity investor Summit Partners. The transaction represents an exit for investors Sofinnova Partners and XAnge who invested in the Company in 2010 and 2015, respectively. Odoo is the first IT unicorn in the Wallonia region of Belgium.

With 7 million users worldwide, Odoo is one of the most popular business management software solutions in the world. The Company’s SaaS offering includes applications covering all business needs: accounting, inventory, manufacturing, project management, HR, marketing, website builder and more. Odoo’s vision is to streamline operations for small and medium-sized enterprises, by offering accessible, affordable solutions.

“Odoo has delivered sustained, strong and profitable growth over the course of the last several years, and this momentum has only accelerated in recent months,” said Antony Clavel, a Managing Director at Summit Partners who joined the Odoo Board of Directors upon Summit’s initial investment in the Company in December 2019. “We are excited to continue our partnership with the Odoo team and believe the Company is positioned to transform the landscape of business software.”

Odoo is more than an overnight success. From its bootstrapped founding in 2005, Odoo reached considerable scale with limited external funding; prior to Summit’s initial investment in 2019, the Company had raised just €10M in two rounds. Odoo today is the result of a relentless focus on building a great product and a strong community. This focus has resulted in a sustained average billing growth rate of more than 50% per year over 10 years.

Today, Odoo has a team of 1700 employees, an accelerating growth rate and forecasted billings of €160M in 2021 – and the Company is profitable. With 3,850 partners and 90,000 community members working with the software, Odoo has built a strong global ecosystem. The Company also has one of the biggest business app stores in the world, with more than 30,000 apps.

“This transaction is a signal – a signal that open source business models are not limited to technical products that serve only developers or system administrators,” said Fabien Pinckaers, Founder & CEO, Odoo. “Over the course of the last 15 years, open source software has been a catalyst for growth and change in the IT industry. Now, it has the maturity to transform business software too,”

“We are thrilled to support the Odoo team for this next phase of growth,” added Han Sikkens, Managing Director and Head of Europe at Summit Partners, who has joined the Company’s board with this investment. “We believe the future is bright, and Odoo clearly has the potential to disrupt the market led by software giants like SAP, MS Dynamics and Oracle.”

About Odoo
Odoo is a leading provider of all-in-one, open source business software for small and medium sized businesses worldwide. Founded in 2005, Odoo thrives in a unique and fully open ecosystem combining the resources of its community and partners to deliver a full range of easy-to-use, integrated and scalable business applications. For more information: www.odoo.com.

Key figures
Founded in 2005 – 7 million users worldwide – Forecasted billing of €160M in 2021 – 1700 employees globally – 3850 partners with 90,000 Odoo related jobs created in 150 countries – 10 offices (3 in Belgium, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, India, San Francisco, New York, Dubai, Mexico).

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $28 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Notable technology and software companies financed by Summit Partners include Acturis, Avast, Darktrace, FLEETCOR, Flow Traders, Infor, Klaviyo, Ogone, RELEX Solutions, Smartsheet and Trintech. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

KKR Backs Pioneering Developer of Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment and Engagement tools for Educators and Families

NEW YORK — KKR, a leading global investment firm, announced today that KKR has agreed to acquire Teaching Strategies (the “Company”), the leading provider of curriculum, assessment, family engagement tools to the early childhood education (“ECE”) market, from global growth investor Summit Partners. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Read more about the growing role of technology in early childhood education here>>

Teaching Strategies aims to empower and inspire early childhood educators as they support the development of our youngest learners during the critical, formative years from birth through third grade. Founded in 1988, the Company is the largest provider of comprehensive ECE solutions for holistic child development, offering the leading digital early learning platform, integrating curriculum, assessment and engagement tools for educators and families. Teaching Strategies employs a whole-child teaching philosophy designed to support and nurture all areas of children’s development and learning from social-emotional and cognitive skills to literacy, math and science.

“Since our founding, Teaching Strategies has been steadfast in our mission of supporting educators and the children and families they serve through innovative resources and technologies,” said John Olsen, CEO of Teaching Strategies. “We are thrilled to have KKR join us on this mission and look forward to leveraging their global expertise to build on that commitment to children, educators, and families. We are also incredibly thankful for our partnership with Summit Partners, which has been instrumental in getting us to this point and positioning us for continued success.”

Webster Chua, Partner at KKR, said, “The foundation of a strong early childhood education is of critical importance when it comes to helping our children succeed in school and in life. We are excited to be supporting the Teaching Strategies team as they continue to advance the field of early childhood education through research-based, technology-enabled resources that allow educators to be significantly more effective with far more students in delivering a better education.”

Len Ferrington, Managing Director at Summit Partners, said, “We are proud to have supported Teaching Strategies’ transformative growth over the past few years and look forward to seeing the Company continue to thrive with the support of KKR.”

KKR will be acquiring Teaching Strategies through its Core Investments strategy, which represents capital with a longer-term investment horizon. Teaching Strategies is KKR’s latest investment in the education technology sector and follows investments in Weld North, Education Perfect, OverDrive, Burning Glass and MasterD, among others.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal advisor to KKR. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. is acting as lead financial advisor to Summit and the Company with R.W. Baird & Co. acting as an additional financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acting as legal advisor.

About Teaching Strategies
With a strong belief that a child’s first eight years form a critical foundation for success in school and in life, Teaching Strategies has been an advocate for the early education community for over 40 years. Today, Teaching Strategies connects teachers, children and families to inspired teaching and learning experiences, informative data, stronger family partnerships, and professional learning through the leading early learning platform. Its products, including the most widely-used curriculum and assessment solutions The Creative Curriculum® and GOLD®, are found in over 270,000 classrooms and have served more than 15 million children across the globe. To learn why thousands of early childhood programs and many states choose to partner with Teaching Strategies to help ensure children's success in school and in life, visit teachingstrategies.com and follow us on Twitter @TeachStrategies.

About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $28 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Notable e-learning and EdTech companies backed by Summit Partners include A Cloud Guru, Allego, Immersive Labs, Jamf, LearnUpon, Lingoda and Ruffalo Noel Levitz. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Markforged Begins Trading on July 15 Following Closing of one (NYSE: ONE) SPAC

WATERTOWN, MA – Markforged, Inc., creator of the integrated metal and carbon fiber additive manufacturing platform, The Digital Forge, today announced that it has completed its previously announced merger with one (NYSE: AONE), a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by A-star and founded and led by technology industry veteran Kevin Hartz. The combined company, named Markforged Holding Corporation, is expected to commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange beginning on July 15, 2021 under the ticker symbol “MKFG” for Markforged common stock and “MKFG.WS” for Markforged warrants.

Markforged continued its commitment to delivering innovation in the additive manufacturing space with a number of production and pipeline milestones in 2021, including the introduction of its newest printer, the FX20, the release of the Metal X Gen 2 and X7 Field Edition, as well as its Next Day Metal software update, which unlocked increased speed and capacity across its global fleet, and AI-powered Blacksmith software for the X7 platform. Markforged also has brought on leading global partners such as Phillips Corporation and expanded its relationship with Würth Additive Group, a Würth Industry North America company. The company added to its Board of Directors and began an expansion of its Boston-area headquarters to support the growth of its team.

“Today is a proud moment for the entire Markforged team and a significant milestone in our mission to reinvent manufacturing today so our customers can build anything they imagine tomorrow,” said Shai Terem, President and Chief Executive Officer of Markforged. “As a publicly traded company, we will continue to focus on executing on our ambitious product roadmap and further accelerating innovation, expanding customer adoption, and capitalizing on the strong secular trends in additive manufacturing, allowing us to bring our platform to even more manufacturing floors around the world for mission-critical use cases. Looking ahead, we have some exciting products in our pipeline as we move from accessible end-use parts to robust production. I couldn’t be more excited about our talented team and the opportunities in this next chapter.”

Kevin Hartz, Founder and CEO of one, said, “Being a publicly traded company will enable Markforged to build new relationships as a critical partner to even more leading global manufacturers, leveraging its expanded platform and proceeds from the transaction to accelerate its impact and growth. I am excited to join the Board of Directors and to work alongside a group of talented and diverse directors. I look forward to contributing to the team as Markforged continues to scale and this nascent industry matures and transforms modern manufacturing in the coming years.”

Transaction Details
In connection with the closing of the merger, Markforged has received approximately $361 million of gross proceeds before transaction expenses, including a $210 million PIPE from Baron Capital Group, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Miller Value Partners, Wasatch Global Investors, and Wellington Management, as well as existing Markforged shareholders M12 – Microsoft’s Venture Fund and Porsche Automobil Holding SE.

As part of the merger, the existing management team, led by President and CEO Shai Terem, will continue to operate the business. Kevin Hartz and Carol Meyers, venture partner at Glasswing Ventures, LLC, will join Markforged’s Board of Directors. Alan Masarek, most recently CEO of Vonage (Nasdaq: VG) will join the Board as Chairman.

Additional information about the completed merger will be provided in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by Markforged with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at sec.gov.

Advisors
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. served as lead financial advisor and capital markets advisor to Markforged. William Blair and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated also acted as financial advisor and capital markets advisor to Markforged, and Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal counsel.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to one and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP served as legal counsel.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as co-placement agents on the PIPE.

About Markforged
Markforged transforms manufacturing with 3D metal and continuous carbon fiber printers capable of producing parts tough enough for the factory floor. The Markforged Digital Forge brings the power and speed of agile software development to industrial manufacturing, combining hardware, software, and materials to eliminate the barriers between design and functional part. Engineers, designers, and manufacturing professionals all over the world rely on Markforged metal and composite printers for tooling, fixtures, functional prototyping, and high-value end-use production. Founded in 2013 and based in Watertown, MA, Markforged has more than 250 employees globally. Markforged has been recognized by Forbes in the Next Billion-Dollar Startups list, and listed as the #2 fastest-growing hardware company in the US in the 2019 Deloitte Fast 500. To learn more about Markforged, please visit https://markforged.com.

About one
one is a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by A* formed for the purpose of effecting a business combination with one or more businesses in the innovation economy. one completed its initial public offering in August 2020 raising $215 million in cash proceeds. A was founded and is led by technology industry veteran Kevin Hartz. To learn more about one, please visit https://www.a-star.co/.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although Markforged believes that it has a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this press release, Markforged cautions you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by it and its projections of the future, about which it cannot be certain. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the timing for commencement of trading, the anticipated contribution of the members of Markforged’s board of directors and leadership to Markforged’s operations, progress and financial results, Markforged’s product roadmap, pipeline and future innovation, the functionality and applications of Markforged’s products, the expected growth of the additive manufacturing industry, the expected growth of Markforged’s revenue and customer base, the impact of Markforged’s products on its financial condition and results of operation, and the integration of Markforged’s products into the additive manufacturing market. Markforged cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this press release will prove to be accurate. These forward looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among others, general economic, political and business conditions; the ability of Markforged to maintain its listing on the New York Stock Exchange; the effect of COVID-19 on Markforged’s business and financial results; the outcome of any legal proceedings against Markforged; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the business combination, including as a result of costs related thereto and additional burdens of being a publicly traded company; the risk that the business combination disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement and consummation of the business combination; the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; and those factors discussed under the header “Risk Factors” in the Proxy Statement and Prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424B(3) with the SEC on June 24, 2021 and those included under the header “Risk Factors” in one’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC. Furthermore, if the forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that Markforged will achieve its objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent Markforged’s views as of the date of this press release. Markforged anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. However, while Markforged may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Markforged has no current intention of doing so except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing Markforged’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Source: Markforged

Albany, NY – Curia, formerly AMRI, a leading contract research, development and manufacturing organization, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LakePharma Inc., a privately held biologics drug discovery, clinical research, development and manufacturing organization with operations in California, Massachusetts, and Texas.

Established in 2009 in the Bay Area, LakePharma applies its range of technology platforms to advance projects from discovery to development to manufacturing, namely cell-line development, bioexpression systems and viral vector production systems. Almost a quarter of its employees hold Ph.D.s, bringing expertise in all major biologics segments: mammalian, microbial, plasmid DNA, mRNA, monoclonal antibodies, and viral vector, including cell and gene therapy. LakePharma has contributed to the development of more than 200 therapeutic or diagnostic products and served more than 1,500 customers, including 22 of the top 25 global biopharmaceutical companies.

After the transaction close, the combined company will provide deep expertise in both large and small molecules from drug discovery through drug substance manufacturing, sterile injectable formulation and fill-finish production. LakePharma’s six facilities and 235 employees will join with Curia’s 21 sites and more than 3,100 employees to offer clients an end-to-end partnership in drug discovery, formulation and process development as well as drug substance and drug product clinical and commercial manufacturing. Curia recently announced it has also signed a definitive agreement to acquire Integrity Bio, a privately held formulation and fill-finish organization headquartered in Camarillo, California.

“LakePharma will expand our integrated approach to provide biotech and pharmaceutical companies with small and large molecule research, development and manufacturing solutions,” said Curia Chairman & CEO John Ratliff. “Funding and innovation in the biotech sector remains strong. Our combined capabilities will enable us to partner with our customers by seamlessly providing LakePharma’s multi-modality innovation and speed along with fill-finish solutions from Curia. Our agreements with LakePharma and Integrity Bio demonstrate our commitment to expanding and deepening our biologics capabilities to help our customers advance from curiosity to cure.”

Hua Tu, Ph.D., founder and CEO of LakePharma, said: “LakePharma is delighted to join the Curia family. Over the last 12 years, we have built a strong brand as ‘The Biologics Company,’ a talented and dedicated employee team, and a loyal and supportive client base. We are excited to join Curia’s global network, including commercial manufacturing capabilities, in delivering end-to-end integrated biologics solutions to our pharma and biotech clients.”

RBC Capital Markets, LLC is serving as exclusive financial adviser to Curia and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP is serving as Curia’s legal counsel. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as financial adviser to LakePharma, and Fenwick & West LLP is serving as LakePharma’s legal counsel. The transaction, which is subject to standard and customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the third quarter. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

About Curia
Curia, formerly AMRI, is a leading contract research, development and manufacturing organization providing products and services from R&D through commercial manufacturing to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers. Curia’s 3,100 employees at 21 locations across the U.S., Europe and Asia help its customers advance from curiosity to cure. Learn more at curiaglobal.com

About LakePharma
LakePharma is a U.S.-based biologics CRDMO with operations in California, Texas, and Massachusetts. This biotech company specializes in the production and evaluation of DNA vectors, viral vectors, cell lines, proteins, antibodies, mRNA and conjugates while providing integrated solutions bridging discovery, engineering, development, and GMP manufacturing. LakePharma has contributed to the development of 200+ therapeutic or diagnostic products and strives to develop hundreds more. Learn more at www.lakepharma.com

Source: Lake Pharma

CEO Lou Manousos shares the news on RiskIQ’s blog

Today Microsoft announced its intent to acquire RiskIQ, representing the next stage of our journey that's been more than a decade in the making. We couldn't be more excited to join forces to enable the global community to defend against the rising tide of cyberattacks.

RiskIQ was conceived to preserve the original promise of the Internet—bringing people together. Connecting people across the world and making sure those connections are safe is something worth defending every single day. That hasn’t changed.

When RiskIQ first launched, the digital enterprise was shifting to the Internet, the start of digital transformation. SaaS; Mobile apps were suddenly everywhere; the cloud was becoming the basis of development—essentially, the Internet was becoming the network, and the extended enterprise was born.

However, these innovations also came with new threats and global vulnerabilities that made traditional approaches to securing organizations no longer effective.

We built RiskIQ's technology to address this new frontier and help customers see their attack surfaces and leverage threat intelligence from a global, outside-in perspective. By understanding the deep digital relationships in their unique attack surface and how it connects with the worldwide attack surface, organizations could know how they were most vulnerable and take swift and decisive actions against threats.

We're proud of the loyal customer base we've built and how far we’ve come. We now partner with hundreds of the Global 2,000, and our incredible community has grown to more than 100,000 security professionals that we're excited to have as partners in this journey. We’ll continue to support, nurture, and grow this community with Microsoft. We’ll also continue to grow and work with the valued members of our Interlock Partner Program.

We're joining Microsoft to extend and accelerate our reach and impact and are more committed than ever to executing our mission. We'll work closely with our customers as we integrate RiskIQ's complementary data and solutions with Microsoft's Security portfolio to enable best-in-class solution attack surface visibility, threat detection, and response.

Our technology and amazing people will be a powerful addition to Microsoft solutions. Together, we'll empower CISOs and security operations teams to proactively detect and defend their enterprise against all threats, both on-premise and across multi-cloud.

We could not be more excited to continue serving our customers as part of the Microsoft team. You can read more here.

Source: RiskIQ

Silicon Slopes, Utah — Pluralsight, Inc., the technology workforce development company, today announced that it has closed on its acquisition of A Cloud Guru (ACG), a leading cloud skills development platform. Pluralsight had previously announced in June that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ACG following Vista Equity Partners’ recent acquisition of Pluralsight.

“For businesses around the world and across all industries, cloud transformation is one of their most important technology initiatives and closing the growing cloud skills gap is their single biggest challenge in meeting it. As the leader in technology skill development for large enterprises around the world, we are determined to be their trusted partner to solve it,” said Aaron Skonnard, co-founder and CEO of Pluralsight. “With our acquisition of A Cloud Guru, we are now positioned to deliver the most comprehensive solution for driving cloud maturity at scale through an all-in-one solution for cloud skill development.”

Read more about how A Cloud Guru is upskilling and diversifying the technology workforce here>>

Cloud computing continues to experience massive growth for large enterprises around the world, increasing the need for cloud skill development to keep pace. In fact, research shows that the vast majority of IT decision makers believe that the shortage of cloud skills is their number one challenge. By combining the power of A Cloud Guru’s leading certification courses, hands-on labs and sandboxes, exams and quizzes with the existing library of Pluralsight Skills cloud courses and hands-on learning experiences, the joint organization will now be better positioned to meet the market demand for cloud skill development.

“Technology alone won’t transform businesses, a continuous flow of new skills, creativity and innovation will. Since its inception, A Cloud Guru has empowered enterprises to unleash the cloud’s full potential by aligning talent, technology and vision”, said Sam Kroonenburg, Co-founder and CEO of A Cloud Guru. “Together Pluralsight and ACG will chart an accelerated path to success at every stage of cloud maturity while driving cloud adoption and innovation within corporations”.

William Blair & Company, LLC acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Pluralsight and Vista in the transaction, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP serving as legal counsel. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to A Cloud Guru and Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel.

About Pluralsight
Pluralsight is the leading technology workforce development company that helps companies and teams build better products by developing critical skills, improving processes and gaining insights through data, and providing strategic skills consulting. Trusted by forward-thinking companies of every size in every industry, Pluralsight helps individuals and businesses transform with technology. Pluralsight Skills helps enterprises build technology skills at scale with expert-authored courses on today’s most important technologies, including cloud, artificial intelligence and machine learning, data science, and security, among others. Skills also includes tools to align skill development with business objectives, virtual instructor-led training, hands-on labs, skill assessments and one-of-a-kind analytics. Flow complements Skills by providing engineering teams with actionable data and visibility into workflow patterns to accelerate the delivery of products and services. For more information about Pluralsight visit pluralsight.com.

About A Cloud Guru
A Cloud Guru is driven by a simple mission — to teach the world to cloud. We believe people learn best by doing. That’s why our in-house cloud experts go to ridiculous lengths to design fresh, engaging, and hands-on learning tools that empower both individuals and organizations to stay ahead of the technology curve. As the world’s most comprehensive, hands-on, and effective SaaS platform for cloud learning, ACG has enabled 2.5 million learners and over 4,500 organizations to achieve a brighter future. For more information about ACG visit acloudguru.com.

Source: A Cloud Guru

BROOKLYN, NY — Brooklinen, Inc., a leading direct-to-consumer brand in the home essentials category, today announced that it has secured an investment from Freeman Spogli & Co. The partnership will help support Brooklinen’s continued growth of its direct-to-consumer ecommerce business and accelerate the expansion of its retail and wholesale branches. Existing investor Summit Partners will continue to support the company’s growth. Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, Brooklinen has successfully disrupted the overpriced and overcomplicated bedding industry by offering luxury sheets and home goods at a reasonable price. In 2018, Brooklinen expanded its product line beyond the bedroom to include bath, loungewear, accessories and Spaces, its home goods marketplace.

“We are excited to partner with Freeman Spogli and to continue our partnership with Summit as Brooklinen rapidly grows,” said Rich Fulop, co-founder and CEO of Brooklinen. “This year we’ve doubled down on our commitment to provide comfort to our customers, and this investment will help us continue to reach them both online and in-person through our expanding retail fleet.”

“Rich and the rest of the team have done a remarkable job building Brooklinen into a leading direct-to-consumer brand focused on providing accessible luxury bed and bath products to a diverse set of customers,” said Ben Geiger, a Partner at Freeman Spogli. “Brooklinen’s unique value proposition has resulted in strong growth, impressive profitability and brand loyalty. We are thrilled to partner with the Brooklinen team and look forward to leveraging our extensive experience with consumer growth concepts to help the business successfully execute upon its future growth and operating initiatives.”

Summit Partners, which invested in Brooklinen in early 2020, will retain an equity stake in the company. “The Summit team has worked closely with Brooklinen to build the team and infrastructure and has helped position the company for continued growth. Summit Partners is an experienced, like-minded investor, and we are excited to be partnering with Chris Dean and the team at Summit on this investment going forward,” added Jordan Hathaway, a Partner at Freeman Spogli.

Moelis & Company LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor and exclusive placement agent to Brooklinen. Lowenstein Sandler LLP provided legal counsel to the company, Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel to Summit Partners, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP provided legal counsel to Freeman Spogli.

About Brooklinen
Launched in 2014, Brooklinen has established itself as the leading e-commerce disrupter of the overpriced and overcomplicated home essentials industry, offering global customers a curated collection of stylish, luxury-grade linens at an accessible price point. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the brand was founded on the philosophy that people deserve simple, beautiful home essentials without the luxury markup. By cutting out the middleman, Brooklinen manufactures responsibly and efficiently to offer exquisite design and exceptional savings, bringing effortless, affordable luxury to any home. Expanding beyond the bedroom in 2018, Brooklinen introduced bath goods and loungewear to bring its signature soft goods experience into more rooms throughout the home and beyond. In 2020, Brooklinen opened its first retail location in Brooklyn, NY. For additional information, visit www.brooklinen.com.

About Freeman Spogli
Freeman Spogli & Co. is a private equity firm dedicated exclusively to investing in and partnering with management in consumer and distribution companies in the United States. Since its founding in 1983, Freeman Spogli has invested over $5.1 billion in 66 portfolio companies with an aggregate transaction value of over $25 billion, and is currently making investments from FS Equity Partners VIII, L.P. Freeman Spogli has offices in Los Angeles and New York. For additional information, visit www.freemanspogli.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $28 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare, consumer and other growth industries. Summit has partnered with more than two dozen companies across the e-commerce and consumer landscape, including a.k.a. Brands, Club Champion, Quay Eyewear, Reverb.com, Sezane, Solo Stove and onXmaps. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, visit www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Veranex today announced the formation of the first concept-to-commercialization global service provider dedicated to the medtech industry. Formed in partnership with global growth investor Summit Partners, the Veranex platform is designed to provide the global medical technology industry with access to real-time integrated strategy across the product life cycle. As the first phase in building this global entity, Veranex has acquired three complementary solution providers: Ximedica, Quartesian, and Boston Healthcare Associates. By bringing these companies together, Veranex combines the industry’s key pillars of design and engineering, regulatory, clinical, and market access into a single-source solution.

“We are thrilled to partner with Pat Donnelly, David Dockhorn, and the rest of the Veranex management team to help them execute on their vision of building a fully integrated design, development, and commercialization solution for the medtech industry,” said Darren Black, managing director at Summit Partners. “This team has a demonstrated history of building leading clinical research businesses and we look forward to supporting the Veranex platform through both organic and acquisition-driven growth.”

“Veranex is designed to bring a single-partner medical technology solution to our industry for the first time,” said David Dockhorn, CEO of Veranex. “Veranex is a comprehensive, international one-stop medtech service provider, and we plan to continue building the platform organically and through acquisition in order to enhance our ability to help clients control costs and accelerate speed to market, all while mitigating development risk and delivering rapid global market viability assessments.”

With the extensive product development experience of the three companies — now merged as Veranex — customers have access to real-time integrated strategy driven by industry-leading expertise and underpinned by advanced technologies across the medtech development life cycle. The combined company brings deep experience in the areas of device, in vitro diagnostics, companion diagnostics, digital health, and combination products/drug delivery. Therapeutic areas of focus include cardiovascular, orthopedic, women’s health, wound care, ophthalmology, and gastrointestinal.

“We saw an opportunity to address current market challenges and the lack of a full-scale global service provider by combining this solution set of three leading companies to work in a complementary way and redefine what it means to be a comprehensive medtech service provider,” said Veranex Executive Chairman Pat Donnelly. “We believe the Veranex platform will serve to unify the medtech development process, helping clients create synergies across every stage of the development spectrum in ways not previously available in the market.”

Veranex is designed to deliver market access and strategic positioning expertise — globally and across complex and emerging markets — to drive early health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) decisions that optimize commercialization strategies and improve market adoption. The company’s leadership brings a wealth of well-established global regulatory guidance experience, strong relationships with the FDA, and a demonstrated track record of successful approvals.

Veranex CEO David Dockhorn has 32 years of life sciences operating experience in various leadership roles. Most recently, he was executive vice president and chief compliance officer at PRA Health Sciences (NASDAQ: PRAH). Veranex Executive Chairman Pat Donnelly has been a pharma services founder and executive for over 28 years. He was one of the founders of PRA International (now PRA Health Sciences) where he served as CEO and president. Pat was formerly chairman and CEO of both Advarra and Aptiv Solutions as well as having served on the board of directors for Celerion, ProPharma Group, MedGenesis Therapeutix, and Rediscovery Life Sciences.

Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

About Veranex
Veranex is the only truly comprehensive, global, tech-enabled service provider dedicated to the medical technology industry. Offering expert guidance for each of its four concept-through-commercialization pillars — engineering and design, clinical, market access, and regulatory — Veranex enables accelerated speed to market, controlled development costs, development risk mitigation, and accelerated market viability assessment. At every stage, Veranex customers realize efficiencies in cost and time, while its comprehensive solutions unify the entire development process. For more information, visit VeranexSolutions.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $28 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit Partners invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in healthcare and life sciences, technology and other growth industries. Notable healthcare and life sciences companies backed by Summit Partners include Abode Healthcare, Integrated DNA Technologies, InnovaCare Health, LifeStance Health, PharmScript, Sound Physicians, U.S. Renal Care and Viroclinics-DDL. Summit Partners maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Funding is led by Summit Partners and will support continued product expansion as Formative seeks to empower educators and close the learning loss gap with real-time student data

Santa Monica, CA and Boston, MA - Formative, a SaaS-based real-time student data platform, today announced a $70 million minority investment led by global growth investor Summit Partners, with participation from existing investors including Emerson Collective, Fika Ventures, Mac Ventures and Rethink Education. The investment will further fuel Formative’s product enhancement efforts, increase teacher and administrator support and expand the company’s international reach.

Formative’s mission is to improve student outcomes and educator effectiveness by accelerating the student-teacher feedback loop and providing actionable visualizations of student comprehension and achievement. Formative’s approach is designed to enable educators to identify and address learning deficiencies as concepts are being taught and, importantly, before learning is lost.

Research indicates that an effective student-teacher feedback loop is among the best ways to increase learning impact. Yet, many districts and school systems often rely on high-stakes summative assessments such as final exams and standardized testing, which we believe results in a “too little, too late” approach to addressing learning deficiencies.

“As a classroom teacher, I helped my students achieve record-breaking results by providing daily formative assessments, targeted intervention and quicker feedback loops. We founded Formative to apply this approach to the benefit of students around the world, with a goal to double the effectiveness of every teacher on our platform,” said Craig Jones, Co-Founder and CEO of Formative. “This has been an incredibly difficult year for schools, but the silver lining is that educators have found new and better ways to reach their students that we believe will last well beyond the pandemic. At Formative, we believe that teachers are superhuman, and we come to work every day to help them unlock those superpowers.”

According to an independent study by the American Institutes of Research, 90% of teachers surveyed believed that Formative’s platform helps to improve student achievement. Today, Formative is used by educators and administrators globally and has a presence in the majority of U.S. school districts. In the past year alone, more than four million students have engaged with the platform, and the company has delivered annual recurring revenue growth of approximately 700%.

As classrooms shifted into virtual environments during the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers across the country and around the world searched for solutions to help organize effective digital classrooms. Formative offered a valuable resource for teachers during this challenging transition, as it helped districts to switch curriculum online in seconds and kept all stakeholders connected with student data. Approximately 5,000 schools and districts signed up for Formative’s COVID-19 Assistance Program, which provided free access to its full platform. Designed for physical, virtual or hybrid classrooms with synchronous or asynchronous interactions, Formative has continued to see more students on the platform as the need for flexibility has solidified.

“Formative is the most impactful e-learning tool that I have found,” said Brian Lovejoy, Teacher in South Carolina. “Formative’s platform offers customization, rapid feedback, and the opportunity for real-time student engagement. I can see what my students are doing while they are doing it – their mistakes, their thought processes, their successes – and leave comments while they work. I am grateful for what Formative has created and excited about the impact it’s allowing me to have on my students’ experiences.”

Craig Jones and Kevin McFarland founded Formative as graduate students at UCLA in 2013. Today, the company is growing rapidly and plans to double headcount in 2021.The Formative team is composed largely of former educators who deeply value and empathize with the teacher experience.

“We’ve spent nearly a decade working toward a future where a single test score no longer determines a student’s potential in life. Last year forced everyone in education to make hard choices and work long hours. We were fortunate to be in a place where we could offer the COVID-19 Assistance Program and participate in the moment with the community. We had no idea how far forward certain aspects of education would be thrown. This funding and Summit Partners’ deep experience in scaling founder-led growth businesses will allow us to continue pushing the envelope to help educators and students everywhere,” said Kevin McFarland, Co-Founder and COO of Formative.

“Formative helps to accelerate learning for students, save time for teachers and quantify results for school and district administrators,” said Tom Jennings, a Managing Director at Summit Partners who will join Formative’s Board of Directors. “We believe Formative has a rare combination of rapid, capital-efficient growth, innovative products, delighted customers and a humble, mission-driven team. We admire how Craig, Kevin and the team have built the business and expect our partnership to help Formative accelerate product enhancements and the continued global expansion of the business.”

About Formative
Formative is a web-based student response platform that allows teachers to give live assignments to students, enabling instant teaching adjustments and long-term student growth tracking. Teachers use Formative to see student work in real-time, give feedback, track student progress to learning standards and collaborate around common assessment data. For more information, please see www.formative.com or follow on LinkedIn.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $28 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit Partners invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Notable e-learning and EdTech companies backed by Summit Partners include A Cloud Guru, Allego, Immersive Labs, Jamf, LearnUpon, Lingoda, Ruffalo Noel Levitz and Teaching Strategies. Summit Partners maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- LifeStance Health Group, Inc. ("LifeStance Health" or the "Company"), one of the nation's largest providers of outpatient mental health care, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 40,000,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $18.00 per share. Of the offered shares, 32,800,000 shares are being offered by the Company and 7,200,000 shares are being offered by selling stockholders. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 6,000,000 shares of common stock from the selling stockholders at the initial public offering price less underwriting discounts and commissions.

Read more about how LifeStance is transforming the mental health landscape here >>

LifeStance Health's common stock is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 10, 2021, under the ticker symbol "LFST." The offering is expected to close on June 14, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

The Company intends to use net proceeds that it receives from the offering to repay amounts outstanding under its existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes, including working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditures. The Company will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock by the selling stockholders.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan and Jefferies are acting as lead book-runners for the offering. TPG Capital BD, LLC, UBS Investment Bank and William Blair are also acting as joint book-runners for the offering and Capital One Securities, AmeriVet Securities, Drexel Hamilton, R. Seelaus & Co., LLC and Siebert Williams Shank are acting as co-managers for the offering.

This offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. Once available, a copy of the final prospectus related to the offering may be obtained from: Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014; Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, by telephone: 1-866-471-2526, by facsimile: 212-902-9316 or by emailing Prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by telephone: 866-803-9204; or Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10022, by telephone: 1-877-821-7388 or by email: Prospectus_Department@Jefferies.com.

A registration statement on Form S-1 relating to the sale of these securities was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 9, 2021.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About LifeStance Health Group, Inc.
Founded in 2017, LifeStance Health is one of the nation's largest providers of virtual and in-person outpatient mental health care for children, adolescents and adults experiencing a variety of mental health conditions. The company delivers personalized, data-driven and comprehensive care to help patients stay healthy and employs over 3,300 psychiatrists, advanced practice nurses, psychologists and therapists. LifeStance Health currently operates across 27 states and over 370 centers.

Source: LifeStance Health

Combination provides the deepest and most effective hands-on learning solutions to drive cloud certifications and business cloud maturity

Silicon Slopes, Utah — Pluralsight, Inc., the technology workforce development company, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire A Cloud Guru (ACG), a leading cloud skills development platform. The acquisition is expected to close later this year, subject to customary closing conditions and follows Vista Equity Partners’ recent acquisition of Pluralsight.

“Technology is the number one differentiator for all businesses and the technology skills of your team is what determines success or failure. Nowhere is that more apparent than with cloud technologies,” said Aaron Skonnard, Co-founder and CEO of Pluralsight. “To meet the needs of our customers and best support their cloud transformations, we are determined to deliver the most comprehensive solution for driving cloud maturity at scale. With the acquisition of A Cloud Guru, we can now provide an all-in-one solution to accelerate the cloud skill development journey for large enterprise customers and individual learners.”

Cloud computing continues to experience massive growth for large enterprises around the world, increasing the need for cloud skill development to keep pace. In fact, research shows that the vast majority of IT decision makers believe that the shortage of cloud skills is their number one challenge. By combining the power of A Cloud Guru’s leading certification courses, hands-on labs and sandboxes, exams and quizzes with the existing library of Pluralsight Skills cloud courses and hands-on learning experiences, the joint organization will now be better positioned to meet the market demand for cloud skill development.

“ACG and Pluralsight were founded to solve the same problem—closing the technology skills gap by democratizing access to technical education. Within our shared missions, we’ve taken different but complementary approaches. Both approaches have proven to resonate strongly with customers who want depth and breadth in tech education,” Sam Kroonenburg, Co-founder and CEO, A Cloud Guru. “I am excited by the next phase of our mission in which, together, we will build the next-generation platform for hands-on learning across all of technology.”

Read more about e-learning trends and upskilling and diversifying the technology workforce here >>

William Blair & Company, LLC acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Pluralsight and Vista in the transaction, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP serving as legal counsel. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to A Cloud Guru and Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel.

About Pluralsight
Pluralsight is the leading technology workforce development company that helps companies and teams build better products by developing critical skills, improving processes and gaining insights through data, and providing strategic skills consulting. Trusted by forward-thinking companies of every size in every industry, Pluralsight helps individuals and businesses transform with technology. Pluralsight Skills helps enterprises build technology skills at scale with expert-authored courses on today’s most important technologies, including cloud, artificial intelligence and machine learning, data science, and security, among others. Skills also includes tools to align skill development with business objectives, virtual instructor-led training, hands-on labs, skill assessments and one-of-a-kind analytics. Flow complements Skills by providing engineering teams with actionable data and visibility into workflow patterns to accelerate the delivery of products and services. For more information about Pluralsight visit pluralsight.com.

About A Cloud Guru
A Cloud Guru is driven by a simple mission — to teach the world to cloud. We believe people learn best by doing. That’s why our in-house cloud experts go to ridiculous lengths to design fresh, engaging, and hands-on learning tools that empower both individuals and organizations to stay ahead of the technology curve. As the world’s most comprehensive, hands-on, and effective SaaS platform for cloud learning, ACG has enabled 2.5 million learners and over 4,500 organizations to achieve a brighter future. For more information about ACG visit acloudguru.com.

Source: A Cloud Guru

Financing brings valuation to over $9 billion, comes only six months after its Series C

BOSTON, MA -- Klaviyo, a leading customer data and marketing automation platform, today announced that it has raised a $320 million Series D round of funding.

The round was led by new investor Sands Capital. Other new investors include Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Whale Rock Capital Management, ClearBridge Investments, Lone Pine Capital, Owl Rock Capital, Glynn Capital, and Keith Block (former co-CEO of Salesforce), with participation from existing investors Accel and Summit Partners. Following the company's $200 million Series C financing in November 2020, this new financing valued the company at $9.15 billion on a pre-money basis and brings Klaviyo's total funding to date to over $675 million.

Klaviyo's platform provides powerful data analytics that enable online businesses to develop and nurture one-to-one relationships with their customers—at internet scale. By applying AI and machine learning to pull in customer data, the platform generates audience insights and automates and customizes relevant communications, advertising and marketing campaigns. For further ease of use, Klaviyo's software integrates with leading ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, Stripe, and WooCommerce.

From day one, Klaviyo has focused on marketing, data and messaging to give people and businesses ownership and agency over their communication and relationship with their customers. As the company has expanded its offerings to include SMS and benchmarking, the platform now acts as the infrastructure a business or organization needs to deliver personalized experiences at scale through software -- without needing to rely on big tech players and marketplaces.

"The bill of goods that's being sold is that you need third-party data and third-party infrastructure to be successful, and that's simply not true," said Andrew Białecki, co-founder and CEO of Klaviyo. "There's a different way to grow, where you can be an independently successful business without relying on the big ad platforms and marketplaces."

"Email and SMS are the most direct channels there are," continued Bialecki. "We believe that at the end of the day, owning relationships with consumers will help businesses become closer to their customers, more durable, and more profitable. And that's not only a better way of doing business -- it's the next era of digital relationships. The next 20 years will be defined by owned relationships -- not third parties."

Klaviyo's customer base doubled over the past 12 months and the company now serves over 70,000 paying customers, a more than 110% increase from 2019 -- ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, in more than 120 countries.

Klaviyo plans to use the latest funding to further its growth through product development, increased marketing and sales, hiring, and expansion into new international regions and verticals. The company has more than doubled its employee count in the past year to 800 and plans to hire 500 more employees this year. The funding also allows the company more flexibility to evaluate other opportunities that align with its mission and vision for the future.

"Klaviyo has become the standard for how many online businesses are interacting with their customers, empowering an all-around better way of doing business and redefining what it takes for them to achieve independent success," said Michael Clarke, Managing Director at Sands Capital. "We are extremely excited to start a long-term partnership with the team at Klaviyo as they further grow their powerful, yet easy to use software platform that customers love."

About Klaviyo
Klaviyo is a world-leading marketing automation platform dedicated to accelerating revenue and customer connection for online businesses. Klaviyo makes it easy to store, access, analyze and use transactional and behavioral data to power highly-targeted customer and prospect communications. The company’s hybrid customer-data and marketing-platform model allows companies to grow by fostering direct relationships with customers, without giving up their valuable data to popular big-tech ad platforms. Over 265,000 innovative companies like Unilever, Custom Ink, Living Proof and Huckberrysell more with Klaviyo. Learn more at www.klaviyo.com.

Source: Klaviyo

Steffan Peyer, a Managing Director in Summit’s London office, was named one of the “2021 Rising Stars of Private Equity” by Financial News and Private Equity News. Since 2007, Steffan has invested more than €415 million in eleven growth companies across Europe. His investment and board experience includes 360T Group (acquired by Deutsche Börse), Appway, Akeneo, Elatec, Market Logic Software, PatSnap, Red Points, RELEX Solutions and Signavio (acquired by SAP).

The “2021 Rising Stars of Private Equity” list from Financial News and Private Equity News recognizes 25 emerging leaders who stand out for their ability to help shape the future of their firms and the private equity industry in Europe. Read more about Steffan and his fellow honorees at FN London or Private Equity News.

Latest funding values ReCharge at $2.1 billion

SANTA MONICA, CA - ReCharge, the leader in subscription e-commerce, today announced that it has raised $277 million in growth capital from Summit Partners, ICONIQ Growth, and Bain Capital Ventures. Founded in 2014, the company was self-funded for over five years before accepting outside financing. The company also announced the appointment of Andrew Collins, Managing Director at Summit Partners to its Board of Directors, and Aaref Hilaly, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, and Yoonkee Sull, Partner at ICONIQ Growth will join the company as Board Observers.

“We believe the most successful bootstrapped companies learn to operate with the utmost efficiency and a disciplined focus on growth. The ReCharge team identified a true product-market fit and built a product that customers love - which has fueled strong organic growth as the business has scaled,” said Andrew Collins, Managing Director at Summit Partners. “We believe in the ReCharge mission and are thrilled to partner with Oisin, Mike and the entire team to help e-commerce brands build meaningful, long-lasting relationships with their customers.”

E-commerce has evolved quickly as consumers and brands alike seek convenience and connection. As brands pursue direct relationships and consumers increasingly use their purchasing power to reflect their values, a new generation of direct-to-consumer brands is emerging. ReCharge helps these brands to grow by allowing them to easily add subscriptions offerings to their business, ultimately turning one-time transactions into loyal, repeat customers. ReCharge has experienced exponential growth, doubling its processing volume each year for the past five years. The company, which is cash flow positive, has now processed over $5.3 billion in transactions and more than doubled annual recurring revenues from 2019 to 2020.

“Our merchants are seeing a huge benefit from the addition of subscription offerings to their businesses,” said Oisin O’Connor, CEO and co-founder of ReCharge. “Whether you’re a direct-to-consumer or an omnichannel brand, subscription solutions strengthen a brand’s relationship with their customers and make it easy for consumers to make repeat purchases. Our partnership with Summit Partners, ICONIQ Growth and Bain Capital Ventures equips us with both capital and company building expertise that helps to solve new customer challenges and expand our reach through new products and services.”

From its core offering as a subscription billing platform, ReCharge has expanded to a broader set of products designed to help e-commerce businesses increase revenues and reduce operating costs. Today, the company powers subscriptions for 15,000 merchants and 20 million subscribers worldwide. ReCharge powers some of the biggest and fastest-growing direct-to-consumer brands such as Harry’s, Oatly, Fiji Water, Billie, and Native.

“We have been with ReCharge since the beginning, and we’ve always been impressed by their pace of innovation and responsiveness to customer feedback,” said Leonid Tsiuliupa, CTO of Ka’Chava, ReCharge’s first customer in 2014. “We’re excited to see this investment and am confident the new capital will help the company create even more value for their customers and further strengthen our relationship with ReCharge.”

Headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, ReCharge offers a fully remote working environment, which includes more than 300 team members in 10 countries. Over the past year, a number of executives joined ReCharge from technology companies such as Headspace, Klarna, Qualtrics, and Duo Security. The company has nearly doubled its headcount in the past year and plans to use the new capital to continue hiring, accelerate product development, and market expansion.

ABOUT RECHARGE
ReCharge is the leading provider of subscription management software for e-commerce. Since 2014, merchants of all sizes have used ReCharge’s billing and payment management solutions to grow their business by increasing customer lifetime value and reducing customer churn. Today, ReCharge powers subscriptions for nearly 20 million subscribers across 15,000 merchants, including fast-growing brands such as Harry’s, Oatly, Fiji Water, Billie, and Native. Though based in Santa Monica, CA, the remote-first company is distributed across 10 countries around the world. ReCharge is privately funded by Summit Partners, ICONIQ Growth, and Bain Capital Ventures. For more information, visit: https://rechargepayments.com/

ABOUT SUMMIT PARTNERS
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $23 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 160 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit has partnered with more than two dozen companies across the e-commerce and consumer landscape, including a.k.a Brands, Akeneo, Brooklinen, Jungle Scout, Klaviyo, MercuryGate, Philz Coffee, Quay Eyewear, Reverb.com, Sezane, ShipMonk, Sifted, Syndigo and TinyPrints. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

ABOUT BAIN CAPITAL VENTURES
Bain Capital Ventures partners with disruptive founders to accelerate their ideas to market. The firm invests from seed to growth in startups driving transformation across industries, from SaaS, infrastructure software and security to fintech and healthcare to commerce and consumer tech. The firm has helped launch and commercialize more than 240 companies, including DocuSign, Jet.com, LinkedIn, Redis Labs, Rent the Runway, Rubrik, SendGrid and SurveyMonkey, as well as a number of commerce tech leaders such as Alloy Automation, Attentive, Flow, Jet.com, Material Bank, Mirakl, and ShipBob. Bain Capital Ventures has $6.1 billion in assets under management with offices in San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Palo Alto. Follow the firm via LinkedIn and Twitter.

ABOUT ICONIQ GROWTH
ICONIQ Growth partners with exceptional entrepreneurs and leaders who drive global impact and change. We are inspired by visionaries defining the future of their industries by building company cultures that endure. Our unique investment platform harnesses the power of ICONIQ Capital's vibrant ecosystem of founders, pioneers, and business leaders with the goal of delivering tangible value and amplifying our portfolio companies' success from early growth stage to IPO and beyond. ICONIQ Growth's portfolio of innovators include Adyen, AirBnB, Alibaba, Alteryx, Automattic, BambooHR, Braze, Chime, Collibra, Coupa, Datadog, Docusign, Gitlab, Marqeta, Miro, Procore, Red Ventures, Relativity, ServiceTitan, Snowflake, Sprinklr, Truckstop, Uber, Wolt, and Zoom, among others. For more information and a complete list of portfolio companies, please visit iconiqgrowth.com

TORONTO -- Jobber, the leading provider of home service management software for small businesses, today announced that Gail Goodman has been appointed to its board of directors.

Goodman brings a wealth of experience leading and advising technology companies that have supported the growth of small businesses. She previously served for 16 years as CEO of Constant Contact, one of the first large-scale SaaS companies to serve the small business segment. Today, she is a board director at Shopify (NYSE:SHOP)(TSX:SHOP) (“Shopify”), a leading global commerce company committed to supporting entrepreneurship. Gail’s previous board roles include Mindbody, a provider of cloud-based business management software for the wellness services industry, and Hubspot, a marketing, sales, and customer service platform.

“Gail has dedicated her career to helping small businesses succeed, and to helping great companies that support them amplify their impact and reach global scale,” said Sam Pillar, co-founder and CEO of Jobber. “Gail shares Jobber’s passion for small business entrepreneurs and appreciates the impact they have on communities and economies. She has a proven track record of building highly competitive global companies, and will be an invaluable advisor to Jobber as we continue to scale our business and expand our offerings. I’m thrilled to welcome her to our board.”

“Jobber addresses a large, underserved segment of the small business market—home service entrepreneurs who are hungry for solutions that allow them to transform their customer experiences, while enabling them to manage their businesses more seamlessly,” said Goodman. “Culturally, the Jobber team is deeply passionate about its customers, which is something I prioritize in the companies that I work with. The home service category is ripe for digitalization, and I believe Jobber is well-positioned to expand its leadership in this space.”

In 1999, Goodman became the CEO of Constant Contact, providing small businesses with online marketing tools to help them grow. As CEO, she led the company through its initial public offering and eight years as a publicly traded company until 2016 when it was acquired by Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. Under Goodman’s leadership, Constant Contact became the marketing platform of choice for over 650,000 small businesses globally. The company routinely ranked on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 list and was also named Best Overall Company by the American Business Awards for three consecutive years.

Gail is a decorated leader who was named “Executive of the Year” at the American Business Awards and the New England Regional winner of Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. She was inducted into the MITX Innovation Hall of Fame and the Boston Globe named her among the city’s Top 30 Innovators. Gail holds a B.A. from The University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

In addition to serving on the Shopify Board of Directors, Gail currently serves as Board Chair and Mentor at Entrepreneur For All (EforAll), is a co-founder and Board member at Pepperlane, and is Board Chair at Lola.com. She previously served as Board member at MassChallenge, a startup accelerator based in Boston.

This announcement comes at a time of incredible momentum and significant revenue growth for Jobber. In early 2021, the company announced $60M USD in growth equity financing led by Summit Partners as well as plans to double its workforce over the next 12 to 18 months.

ABOUT JOBBER
Jobber is an award-winning business management platform for small home service businesses. Unlike spreadsheets or pen and paper, Jobber keeps track of everything in one place and automates day-to-day operations, so small businesses can provide 5-star service at scale. Jobber’s 100,000+ home service professionals have served over 12 million households in more than 47 countries. The company continually ranks as one of Canada’s fastest-growing and most innovative companies by Canadian Business and Macleans, The Globe and Mail, Fast Company, and Deloitte. For more information, visit: https://getjobber.com/.

Source: Jobber

LOUISVILLE, KY - BrightSpring Health Services completed the acquisition of Abode Healthcare today.

Abode Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading providers of home health and hospice services. Headquartered in Durango, Colorado, Abode provides home health and hospice care in 12 states through 41 branches. In combination with BrightSpring’s existing home health and hospice business, the company’s expanded footprint in the segment now spans 17 states.

“We are thrilled to become part of the BrightSpring family,” said Mike McMaude, Abode CEO, who will continue to lead the business under the Abode and affiliate names. “Abode’s patient-first philosophy, focus on delivering the best care in lower cost and preferred settings, and strong management and clinical teams are entirely consistent with BrightSpring’s priorities and culture and a great combination.”

BrightSpring President and CEO Jon Rousseau said, “As a leading home health and hospice services provider, Abode and its family of brands across its markets of service will enhance the company’s position and market-leading service levels in the industry. With our combined footprint, we are accelerating the ability to bring a comprehensive, customizable local home health and hospice service model to more communities across the country. Both Abode and BrightSpring share strong values and a commitment to people, quality and our customers and patients.”

Jon further added, “Moreover, all of the people we are proud to serve require clinical support, personal care (social determinants of health) supports and pharmacy services (with medication therapy management). We uniquely provide these three required services that all of our clients and patients need, and our combination with a high-quality home health and hospice provider in Abode further builds on our home-based clinical service offering and geographic coverage in this critically important area.”

About Abode Healthcare
At Abode Healthcare, our primary ambition is to bring first-class care to the warmest, most serene environment possible: home. We provide the full spectrum of home health and hospice treatment, thoughtfully tailored to patients and families, with focused attention given to individual needs and preferences. Abode strives to eliminate the reputation of generic, “one‑size‑fits‑all” healthcare from our patients’ concept of medical care, and we accomplish this by adapting to their needs, including at-home physical therapy to recover from injury or surgery, chronic disease management care, homecare for patients with a terminal illness, or end-of-life hospice care. For more information, visit www.abodehealthcare.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

About BrightSpring Health Services
BrightSpring Health Services is the leading provider of complementary home and community-based pharmacy and health services for complex populations in need of specialized and/or chronic care. Through the company’s lines of business, including pharmacy, home health, hospice, personal care, neuro rehabilitation, pediatric therapy, behavioral health, family and youth services, and workforce development, we provide comprehensive and specialized care and clinical services in 50 states to over 360,000 customers, clients and patients daily.

For more information, visit brightspringhealth.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Source: Abode Healthcare

• Lingoda disrupts the brick and mortar language school model through online live group and private classes with qualified, native-speaking teachers and 24/7 flexibility
• Lingoda helps people significantly improve language skills with 97% confirming its effectiveness compared to language apps alone

Berlin – Lingoda, the number one trusted online language school, today announced it has raised $68 million (€57 million) in growth equity led by global growth investor Summit Partners, with participation from existing investor Conny Boersch, founder of Mountain Partners, which first invested in Lingoda in 2015. The new funding will support Lingoda’s expansion in new markets; further enhance the company’s live classroom experiences, and accelerate the company’s already robust growth. Including this latest round of funding, Lingoda has raised more than $83 million (€70 million) since 2013. Previous recent rounds were led by investor Grazia Equity, which has played a key role in the company's growth journey to date.

Founded in 2013 by entrepreneurs Fabian and Felix Wunderlich, Lingoda is a leading online language school offering live small group and private classes available 24/7 in four languages - English, German, French and Spanish. Lingoda teaches more than 450,000 classes each year through a community of over 1,400 certified, native-speaking teaching professionals. The company’s structured curriculum includes over 2,000 digital lessons produced in-house by linguistic experts. Courses are designed to empower language fluency, and 97% of Lingoda learners confirm that the platform is more effective than using language apps alone.

“We are Europe's leading online language school. We aim to be the world's largest, offering our students and teachers more learning and teaching options than any other provider,” said Michael Shangkuan, CEO of Lingoda. “To date, we have taught over 3 million hours of coursework to more than 70,000 students, and our community is growing daily as we continue to build our platform to serve more learners worldwide. We are grateful for the ongoing support of our trusted investors and partners, whose collaboration has been instrumental in our growth to date, and we are excited to embark on our new partnership with Summit. We look forward to working together to further scale our business and accelerate our growth.”

Lingoda has grown rapidly since its founding as the demand for language education continues to rise, driven by globalization and the increasing need for communication across borders. The global language learning market is estimated to represent more than $50 billion in annual revenues.* The increasing adoption of technology, which has been further accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis, has fueled this growth and brought about a secular shift to online learning.** In the past year alone, Lingoda has grown its customer base nearly 200% and has served students from almost 200 countries worldwide.

“The language learning market is increasingly shifting to online offerings that provide consumers with a more convenient, flexible and cost-effective way to improve their foreign language skills,” said Matthias Allgaier, a Managing Director at Summit Partners who will join the Lingoda Board of Directors. “We believe Lingoda has developed one of the most comprehensive and effective online language learning solutions globally and is positioned to benefit from the ongoing and accelerating trend of digitization in education. We are thrilled to partner with the entire Lingoda team, and we are excited about the future for this business.”

"We believe the push that COVID-19 has triggered in online education is irreversible; virtual learning is an easier, more convenient option for daily use, and the technical possibilities are significant," said Jochen Klüppel, Partner at Grazia Equity. "The course for digitization in language schools has long been set, and we believe it to Lingoda's strengths. We are proud to have been at Lingoda's side for the past several years, and we're happy to continue supporting them on this exciting journey."

GP Bullhound is serving as financial advisor, and V14 is providing legal counsel to Lingoda. Sidley Austin is serving as legal counsel to Summit Partners.

*Education Technology Market Size Report, 2020-2027.
**UNICEF, August 2020.

ABOUT LINGODA
Lingoda is the number one trusted online language school. Founded in Berlin, Germany in 2013, we provide convenient and accessible online language courses in German, English, Business English, Spanish and French to over 70,000 students worldwide. Our private and small group classes are taught by over 1,400 qualified, native-speaking teachers. With over 450,000 classes available per year and accessible 24/7, our mission is to empower even the busiest people to master a language and unlock their potential — at any time, from anywhere.

We believe in a communicative approach to language learning: mastering a language means being able to speak it with confidence. Our CEFR-focused learning materials are designed by linguistic experts and focus on meaningful topics that are applicable to our students’ interests, careers and everyday lives. Thanks to our extensive rotating roster of teachers and our small group classes, students are exposed to a variety of regional accents and expressions within the same language and have the time and space to practice speaking in every lesson.

Our diverse team includes over 150 international professionals from 30 countries speaking 40 languages. In 2020, Crunchbase listed Lingoda among the 10 largest online language learning companies globally. We have a score of 4.5 on Trustpilot and 75% of our reviews are rated as ‘excellent’ because we offer a high-quality and authentic learning experience that helps students achieve their learning goals and transform their lives. Visit www.lingoda.com for additional information.

ABOUT SUMMIT PARTNERS
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $23 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Notable German companies backed by Summit Partners include 360 Treasury Systems, Elatec, Jamba!, Market Logic Software, ProGlove, Signavio and zahneins. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

ABOUT GRAZIA EQUITY
Grazia Equity is one of Germany‘s leading venture capital firms and invests in innovative and high-potential companies - mostly in the early stages -, supporting them throughout several phases of their life cycle. Grazia‘s success is based on partnering with outstanding and strong entrepreneurial teams in order to turn them into international market leaders. Unlike other venture capital firms, Grazia has its own capital and thus a permanently solid capital structure ("evergreen"). The company is a hybrid: Grazia combines the flexibility and speed of an angel investor with the financial strength and the professionalism of a venture capital firm - the best of both worlds. Portfolio companies benefit from the entrepreneurial background and business-building expertise of Grazia's management team, as well as from its extensive international network. A particular focus is placed on impact investments. Grazia invested early in companies that would later become category leaders, such as Statista, Mister Spex, Conergy, Immatics and Quantenna - and now Gitti and Lingoda. For more information, please see wwww.grazia.com.

Combination Delivers the Most Comprehensive, Customer and Industry Focused Transportation Management System Creating Smart, On-Demand Adaptive Logistics for Shipment and Asset Management

CARY, N.C. – MercuryGate® International, Inc., the largest dedicated transportation management system (TMS) provider, today announced it has acquired logistics optimization leader Cheetah Software Systems (Cheetah). The Cheetah acquisition extends MercuryGate’s TMS platform to deliver both a last mile, parcel and less-than-truckload (LTL) solution and an enhanced fleet management capability that adapts, automates and communicates movements in real-time.

Read more about Accelerating Digital Transformation in the Global Supply Chain>>

“A seismic shift has occurred in e-commerce where adoption of digital business models is exploding and customer expectations are skyrocketing,” said MercuryGate President & CEO Joe Juliano. “Consumers now make their online purchases based on speed of delivery, changing the transportation chain to a pull model from the historical push model. For the transportation industry the ability to build and dispatch an optimized route plan is just the start. With the addition of Cheetah’s autonomous and adaptive logistics capabilities to MercuryGate’s TMS, our customers with assets can capitalize on real-time visibility for every load, road, supply, demand and transportation mode from the first to the last mile and every step in-between automatically saving costs and delivering customer satisfaction.”

The autonomous and adaptive features of Cheetah’s logistics platform combined with the automated workflow processes in MercuryGate’s powerful TMS, businesses can adapt and respond to evolving customer needs and fluctuations in demand based on live changing events. Now MercuryGate’s container-to-customer view — where its TMS platform autonomously handles exceptions, adapts routes to ensure delivery when, where and how it is required and features self-learning algorithms — not only eliminates costly waste and delays but makes the customer the focus versus the delivery route.

Cheetah is an advanced software platform that optimizes logistics operations for delivery, less-than-truckload, courier and private fleet operations. These advanced solutions enable distribution and delivery providers the ability to increase efficiency of route planners, dispatchers, drivers and customer service representatives critical for food, retail and medical industries every day and more so confronting the supply chain impact resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Global e-commerce, sophisticated supply chains and interconnected logistics networks result in numerous smaller transactions that are more time-critical,” said Cheetah Founder and CEO Bobby Darroll. “Many organizations in the retail, food and healthcare industries whose deliveries can be life-critical must move more orders in a shorter timeframe to more customers at a lower cost, while adapting to frequently changing conditions automatically.“

Cheetah solutions build and dispatch optimized route plans, instantly planning around all unique variables and constraints providing planners with the control to assess impact and analyze route alternatives. With industry-leading automated route optimization, dynamic real-time information across the supply chain, and dynamic re-optimization autonomously based on live changing events, businesses can adapt and respond to evolving customer needs and fluctuations in real-time.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About Cheetah Software Systems, Inc.
Cheetah is a premier provider of a dynamic, adaptive Logistics Operations Optimization Platform (LOOP) for retailers and carrier for hire companies in the LTL, courier, healthcare and retail logistics spaces, with a passion for the consumer. Cheetah’s LOOP and our experts address the logistics needs of healthcare, retail and carriers that operate courier, less than truckload, truck load and private fleets. Cheetah’s LOOP plans, dynamically manages, adapts and optimizes fleets and drivers, resulting in companies using less trucks, driving fewer miles and making more on-time deliveries. Cheetah platform enables customers to place and receive their orders and services where they want, when they want for the least cost, on time with no wasted customer time. Cheetah’s live dynamic re-optimization occur continuously with every live changing event on the road, resulting in pinpoint operational accuracy.

About MercuryGate
MercuryGate provides powerful transportation management solutions proven to be a competitive advantage for today’s most successful shippers, 3PLs, freight forwarders, brokers, and carriers. MercuryGate’s solutions are unique in their native support of all modes of transportation on a single platform including Parcel, LTL, Truckload, Air, Ocean, Rail, and Intermodal. All modes may be executed in a fully autonomous solution that is even capable of automatically adapting to disruptions as they occur. Through the continued release of innovative, results-driven technology and a commitment to making customers successful, MercuryGate delivers exceptional value for TMS users through improved productivity and operational efficiency. MercuryGate offers business intelligence to reduce costs including the cost of delivery, improve transportation processes, increase customer satisfaction and drive growth. Find out why MercuryGate has set the industry standard for the most adaptable, comprehensive transportation solutions suite in the industry at www.mercurygate.com or on Twitter at @MercuryGate.

Source: MercuryGate

Leading software investor to partner with Calypso to drive further growth and innovation in capital markets technology

San Francisco, CA – Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity investment firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sectors, today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Calypso Technology, Inc. (“Calypso”) from international private equity group Bridgepoint and global growth investor Summit Partners. The deal, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in San Francisco with offices around the world, Calypso is a cloud-enabled provider of cross-asset, front-to-back solutions for financial markets with over 35,000 users in 60+ countries. Its award-winning software improves reliability, adaptability, and scalability across several verticals, including capital markets, investment management, central banking, clearing, and treasury.

“We are thrilled to begin the next chapter of our story alongside Thoma Bravo and are grateful to Bridgepoint and Summit Partners for their support and partnership. Our acquisition by Thoma Bravo is further validation of the unique value Calypso creates for its customers, employees and investors and a direct reflection of the hard work, collaboration and strong results the team has achieved,” said Didier Bouillard, Chief Executive Officer of Calypso. “Thoma Bravo has a proven track-record of supporting its portfolio companies by investing in growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions designed to drive long-term value and we are excited to continue delivering innovative solutions to the financial markets while accelerating our growth.”

“For more than a decade, we have admired Calypso’s position as a leader in the global capital markets software space with a highly differentiated and modern, integrated front-to-back technology platform across a wide range of asset classes,” said Holden Spaht, a Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo. “Calypso’s technology allows its world-class customer base to navigate the highly complex and regulated capital markets with greater transparency and lower costs. We look forward to partnering with Didier and his team to continue building on their great momentum supported by increased investment and innovation and an intense focus on customer success.”

Brian Jaffee, a Principal at Thoma Bravo, added, “We are thrilled to partner with such a high-quality franchise and management team to help drive continued growth both organically and through M&A. Calypso’s financial services end market is massive and it is well positioned to capitalize on the strong trend of technology outsourcing to best-in-class platform vendors, particularly as the move to the cloud accelerates. We look forward to supporting the company in this next chapter of exciting growth.”

“We are proud to have partnered with Calypso and its management team to achieve the significant transformation of the business which led to this exceptional result. Alongside a range of operational initiatives, the transition of the business to a cloud model combined with best-in-class client service was undoubtedly key in accelerating growth. With this transformation now complete and having demonstrated very robust growth throughout the COVID pandemic, the business is well placed for the next stage of its evolution under new ownership,” said David Nicault, Partner and Global Head of Digital, Technology & Media at Bridgepoint.

“As the regulatory and competitive environment grows more complex, we have seen financial institutions shift their capital markets technology spend from legacy, internally developed platforms to modern, cloud-based software solutions,” said Scott Collins, Managing Director at Summit Partners. “Calypso has supported financial institutions across developing and emerging markets on their modernization journeys. We are grateful for the partnership of the Calypso and Bridgepoint teams, and we look forward to following the company’s continued impact in the financial services sector.”

Kirkland & Ellis, LLP is serving as legal counsel to Thoma Bravo. Evercore and Jefferies are serving as financial advisors and Latham & Watkins is serving as legal counsel to Calypso, Bridgepoint and Summit Partners.

About Calypso Technology, Inc.
Calypso Technology, Inc. is a cloud-enabled provider of cross-asset front-to-back solutions and managed services for financial markets with over 40000 users in 60+ countries. Its award-winning software improves reliability, adaptability, and scalability across several verticals, including capital markets, investment management, central banking, clearing, treasury, liquidity, and collateral. Calypso is pioneering innovative technologies (native cloud technology, AI, Big data) that reimagine capital markets.

“Calypso” is a registered trademark of Calypso Technology, Inc. in the U.S., EU and other jurisdictions. Other parties’ trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners.

About Thoma Bravo
Thoma Bravo is a leading private equity firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sectors. With more than $76 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2020, Thoma Bravo partners with a company's management team to implement operating best practices, invest in growth initiatives and make accretive acquisitions intended to accelerate revenue and earnings, with the goal of increasing the value of the business. The firm has offices in San Francisco and Chicago, with a planned expansion to Miami in the second half of 2021. For more information, visit thomabravo.com .

About Bridgepoint
Bridgepoint is a major international alternative asset fund management group, focused on the Middle Market providing private equity and private debt lending solutions to the middle market. We focus on acquiring or investing in businesses with strong market positions and earnings growth potential where significant additional value can be created through expansion and operational improvement. With over €26 billion of assets under management, we invest internationally in six principal sectors - business services, consumer, financial services, healthcare, medtech & pharma, manufacturing & industrials and digital, technology & media - via a platform of offices in Europe, US and China.

Bridgepoint has operated in North America since 2016 with a team of 15 investment professionals in New York and San Francisco. In addition to identifying new investment opportunities, the team manages existing Bridgepoint investments and acts as a gateway for Bridgepoint’s European portfolio companies where the US market represents a significant source of revenue for them. See www.bridgepoint.eu

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $23 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Source: Calypso Technology

PatSnap prepares for the next phase of growth to further scale the adoption of its innovation intelligence platform, which powers R&D and IP teams developing and commercializing the world’s most innovative products

TORONTO and LONDON — PatSnap, a global leader in Innovation Intelligence, today announced it has secured USD$300 million in Series E funding. The investment round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tencent Investment with participation from existing investors CITIC Industrial Fund, Sequoia China, Shun Wei Capital, and Vertex Ventures.

PatSnap plans to use the funds to further advance its innovation intelligence platform, accelerate product development, and acquire additional domain expertise in the industry sectors where its technology is used by research and development (R&D) and intellectual property (IP) teams. The funds will also enable PatSnap to expand its sales presence around the world, and invest in the growth and professional development of its employees to ensure the company is well positioned to address the complex needs of its customers.

PatSnap’s flagship R&D Intelligence and IP Intelligence platforms use machine learning (ML), computer vision, natural language processing (NLP), and other artificial intelligence (AI) technology to provide innovation teams at many of the world’s largest companies, global brands, and universities and research institutions with access to market, technology, and competitive intelligence as well as patent insights needed to take their products from ideation to commercialization.

“PatSnap’s mission is to empower innovators to make the world a better place,” said Jeffrey Tiong, founder and CEO of PatSnap. “Our global footprint, leadership, and strategic position in the innovation economy have enabled us to attract top investors, customers, and talent. Adding Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Tencent to our notable roster of investors will help solidify PatSnap as the industry standard for innovation intelligence. Both have deep investment expertise with AI-led companies and proven track records supporting sustainable company growth.”

Companies around the world are under pressure to increase the pace of innovation. And while more money is spent on R&D every year – USD$2.4 trillion in 2021 according to R&D World – the returns are dwindling. An article published in HBR also noted a 65% drop in R&D productivity. PatSnap’s AI-powered technology addresses this issue by analyzing and connecting the key relationships between millions of unstructured data points across disparate data sources to deliver insights that guide R&D decisions and help accelerate the time it takes to bring new innovations to market.

PatSnap has more than 10,000 customers around the world, supported by more than 700 employees working from the company’s Asian headquarters in Singapore, European headquarters in London, and North American headquarters in Toronto. Over the past year, PatSnap has enabled its customers to significantly accelerate time to insight when dealing with unstructured data by an estimated 12x, leading to an estimated 3x increase in successful product launches.“At SoftBank, we believe AI plays a key role in shaping our future. PatSnap is a technology powerhouse that uses AI to set a high standard for how companies innovate,” said Eric Chen, Managing Partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers. “As the R&D market demands solutions that are easy to use and deliver a faster ROI, PatSnap is a very compelling investment that aligns with our mission.”

“We believe in a connected world and are impressed with PatSnap’s AI-centric platform that helps organizations and researchers to connect the dots,” said Levin Yao, Managing Partner of Tencent Investment. “PatSnap is the clear leader in the connected innovation intelligence category. Its impressive portfolio of customer use cases reinforces its role in enabling companies to significantly improve their ability to identify business opportunities and threats across multiple domains and industries.”

About PatSnap
Founded in 2007, PatSnap is the company behind the world’s leading innovation intelligence platform. PatSnap is used by more than 10,000 customers in over 50 countries around the world to access market, technology, and competitive intelligence as well as patent insights needed to take products from ideation to commercialization. Customers are innovators across multiple industry sectors, including agriculture and chemicals, consumer goods, food and beverage, life sciences, automotive, oil and gas, professional services, aviation and aerospace, and education. PatSnap customers include Tesla, General Electric, Siemens, Dyson, PayPal, GW Pharmaceuticals, Heineken, Spotify, and Disney Group. PatSnap’s team of 700+ employees work from its global headquarters in Singapore, London, and Toronto. To learn more about how PatSnap is improving the way companies innovate, visit www.patsnap.com.

As of the date of this press release, SoftBank Group Corp. has made capital contributions to allow investments by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 ("SVF 2") in certain portfolio companies. The information included herein is made for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy limited partnership interests in any fund, including SVF 2. SVF 2 has yet to have an external close, and any potential third-party investors shall receive additional information related to any SVF 2 investments prior to closing.

Source: PatSnap

Funding led by Summit Partners and Jungle Scout CEO Greg Mercer supports company’s continued growth as Jungle Scout builds upon significant market momentum and announces acquisition of Amazon advertising technology company Downstream Impact.

Austin, Texas — Jungle Scout, a leading all-in-one platform for selling on Amazon, today announced it has raised $110 million in growth capital, led by Summit Partners and Jungle Scout Founder & CEO Greg Mercer. The capital supports Jungle Scout’s continued growth as the company expands its technology suite with the acquisition of Seattle-based Downstream Impact, a leading Amazon advertising tech company, extends its SaaS platform to support Walmart, and continues to scale its capabilities in advertising and full-scale ecommerce brand management.

“As an Amazon seller myself, I started Jungle Scout in 2015 to help other entrepreneurs find financial freedom on Amazon. We’ve grown profitably since day one, and we believe the opportunity only continues to grow,” said Mercer. “Since 2015, we’ve worked to expand our product capabilities to help businesses manage every step of their selling journey from product research to launching and scaling their business ventures. Today, Jungle Scout serves a global customer base of entrepreneurs and brands focused on building a business on Amazon and beyond. We’re continuing to deliver on our mission to empower the world’s brands with essential insights to understand and sell in the evolving ecommerce marketplace.”

Accelerating Momentum
As the world continues to turn to ecommerce, Jungle Scout and the businesses the company serves are experiencing strong growth.

• Today, Jungle Scout supports more than $8 billion in Amazonrevenue and serves over 500,000 brands and entrepreneurs who are working to build successful businesses on Amazon.
• The company’s powerful data engine processes data for more than 500 million Amazon products, offering sales, keyword, and other trend insights to help brands, entrepreneurs, and agencies identify opportunities and sell successfully in the Amazon channel.
• In June 2020, Jungle Scout introduced Cobalt, a market intelligence and product insights platform built to help enterprise brands win the Amazon channel. Cobalt processes more than 1 billion data points daily, and is designed to provide powerful intelligence, including extensive data on market share, segment and trend analysis, competitive insights, content optimization, and more.
• The company continues to invest in future ecommerce platform growth, including expansion to Walmart.com.
• Today, Jungle Scout employs more than 200 team members across 16 countries and expects headcount to double in 2021.
• The company also opened its second and third offices in China, in Hangzhou and Qingdao, in addition to its office in Shenzhen.

We believe Summit Partners’ investment underscores the essential role Jungle Scout’s powerful technology plays in helping both established brands and aspiring entrepreneurs build successful ecommerce businesses.

“Jungle Scout was one of the first companies to identify the opportunity to provide SaaS-based tools to help businesses and brands expand their ecommerce footprints on Amazon and beyond, and the company has built on this leadership position over the last several years,” said Neil Roseman, Technologist-in-Residence at Summit Partners and Jungle Scout Board Director. Roseman served as Vice President of Technology at Amazon from 1998 to 2007, where he helped lead the software development underlying many of Amazon’s early marketplace and commerce capabilities. “We believe Jungle Scout’s technology is robust and highly scalable, designed to help a company to grow as the Amazon third-party selling ecosystem has expanded. We believe the addition of Downstream Impact will add to this product and engineering strength, and we are thrilled to be a part of the company’s growth journey.”

Expanding Platform: Jungle Scout Acquires Downstream Impact
The addition of Amazon advertising software leader Downstream Impact ("Downstream") will support Jungle Scout’s continued focus on providing essential data-driven insights to help brands and agencies excel in ecommerce. Downstream manages more than $250 million per year in Amazon advertising spend for some of the world’s largest brands, including HP, Bic and several leading global CPG companies. Its artificial intelligence-powered automation tools are designed to help brands optimize their advertising campaigns and glean insights to more effectively compete within the Amazon channel.

“Advertising is a critical growth lever for brands that are seeking to be truly competitive on Amazon, but it’s also an undeniable pain point,” said Mercer. “Jungle Scout sought out the absolute best AI-powered advertising technology to add to our platform. We evaluated dozens of tools, and Downstream emerged as a clear leader for its capabilities in managing and optimizing Amazon advertising programs.”

Downstream was founded in 2017 by former Amazon employees Connor Folley (CEO) and Salim Hamed (CTO), both of whom worked closely with the Amazon advertising business and well-understood the need to provide insights for brands seeking to optimize advertising spend and stay competitive in a fast-changing ecommerce environment.

Advertising is Amazon’s fastest-growing business, representing nearly $21.5 billion in annual revenue in 2020, a 66% year-over-year increase.*

A Jungle Scout study of nearly 5,000 Amazon sellers reveals that 75% use at least one form of Amazon pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and that, for many, PPC is a critical investment area for 2021. But, sellers also cite managing PPC bids as a significant business challenge; Jungle Scout data indicate that 62% of sellers are concerned about increasing advertising costs on Amazon.

“We’ve watched Amazon’s advertising business grow faster than Google and Facebook combined over the past year, but effectively advertising on Amazon is challenging,” said Downstream Co-Founder and CEO Connor Folley. “Downstream provides ad performance insight within the context of a brand’s costs and budgets, giving a more comprehensive perspective designed to optimize ad campaigns. As part of the Jungle Scout platform, we believe we can help brands connect these insights to enhance their ecommerce strategies.”

*Advertising revenue ("Other" revenue, predominantly advertising) from Amazon Investor Relations

About Jungle Scout
Jungle Scout is the leading all-in-one platform for selling on Amazon, supporting more than $8 billion in annual Amazon revenue. Founded in 2015 as the first Amazon product research tool, Jungle Scout today features a full suite of best-in-class business management solutions and powerful market intelligence resources to help entrepreneurs and brands manage their ecommerce businesses. Jungle Scout is headquartered in Austin, Texas and supports 10 global Amazon marketplaces.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $23 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Summit has partnered with more than 30 companies across the e-commerce and consumer landscape. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

• Markforged’s AI-powered and intuitive additive manufacturing platform, The Digital Forge, is reinventing manufacturing by continuously improving and transforming the way engineers, designers and manufacturing professionals operate all over the world
• Combined company expected to have equity value of approximately $2.1 billion with approximately $400 million in net cash (assuming no redemptions are effected) to fund growth strategy across key verticals and strengthen competitive advantage with new products, proprietary materials and expanded customer use cases
• Business combination to provide up to $425 million in gross proceeds comprised of $215 million of cash held in trust from one (assuming no redemptions are effected) and an approximately $210 million fully committed common stock PIPE at $10.00 per share
• The PIPE is being led by Baron Capital Group, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Miller Value Partners, Wasatch Global Investors and Wellington Management, with additional commitments from M12 – Microsoft’s Venture Fund and Porsche Automobil Holding SE, existing Markforged shareholders
• Markforged shareholders, one shareholders and PIPE investors will hold shares in the combined company that will be listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “MKFG”
• Business combination expected to be completed in the summer of 2021
• Investor webcast and call is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24, at 8:00 AM EST

WATERTOWN, Mass.--Markforged (the “Company”), creator of an integrated metal and carbon fiber additive manufacturing platform, The Digital Forge, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with one (NYSE: AONE), a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by A-star and founded and led by technology industry veteran Kevin Hartz. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will retain the Markforged name and will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “MKFG.”

Founded in 2013, Markforged’s AI-powered and intuitive additive manufacturing platform delivers tangible value to customers by solving demanding applications across key verticals, including industrial automation, aerospace, military and defense, space exploration, healthcare and medical and automotive. The platform seamlessly combines precise and reliable 3D printers with industrial-grade materials and cloud-based machine learning software, providing modern manufacturers with the resources to create more resilient and agile supply chains while saving time and money.

• A differentiated solution. Markforged invented a new industrial-grade process that replaces traditionally manufactured plastic, steel and aluminum end-use parts with both easy-to-print metal and the Company’s proprietary continuous Carbon Fiber Reinforced (CFR) composites. This solution is powered by an integrated modern software platform that continuously updates and learns via AI, driving faster innovation and deployment. The Company has a full suite of Industrial and Professional grade printers being sold to customers today, as well as more than 170 issued and pending patents. As adoption of these technologies continues to spread across the $13 trillion global manufacturing industry, the Company is well-positioned to become a critical partner to leading manufacturers of the future.
• Strong track record. Markforged’s products are already in 10,000 facilities across 70 countries. The Company has printed more than 10 million parts across the entire product development lifecycle, from R&D to aftermarket repair. Markforged has a proven operating model and a strong track record of growth since inception and generated revenue of approximately $70 million in 2020.
• Large and growing market opportunity. The additive manufacturing industry represents a large and growing market opportunity. The industry has grown from $2 billion in 2012 to an expected $18 billion in 2021, and it is projected to reach $118 billion in 2029. As additive technology matures in its ability to create cost-effective end-use parts, industry growth is driven largely by the acceleration of existing supply chain consolidation and reshoring trends.

“Our mission and vision are to reinvent manufacturing by bringing the power and agility of connected software to the world of industrial manufacturing. Today is a pivotal milestone as we progress towards making that vision a reality,” said Shai Terem, President and CEO of Markforged. “We’ve been at the forefront of the additive manufacturing industry, and this transaction will enable us to build on our incredible momentum and provide capital and flexibility to grow our brand, accelerate product innovation, and drive expanded adoption among customers across key verticals. We’re focused on making manufacturing even better by capitalizing on the huge opportunity ahead, and we are making this important leap through our new long-term partnership with Kevin Hartz and the entire team at one, a group of seasoned founders and operators with unparalleled experience. Their expertise and guidance will be invaluable as we continue to reinvent manufacturing today, so our customers can build anything they imagine tomorrow.”

Kevin Hartz, Founder and CEO of one, commented, “Markforged has already reinvented the additive manufacturing industry and is well-positioned for robust growth benefiting from the velocity of digitization. When launching one, our priority was to partner with a company with exceptional founders, visionaries and operators taking a differentiated approach in large and growing markets – Markforged ticked all of those boxes and more. We’re thrilled to be working closely with the entire Markforged team, comprised of highly engaged founders, visionary leaders and world-class engineers, uniquely positioned to lead a revolution in modern manufacturing.”

Greg Mark, Founder and Chairman of Markforged, said, “When I co-founded Markforged, our mission was to reinvent manufacturing by driving innovation and creating products and technologies that have the potential to transform an entire industry. I’ve been thrilled that Markforged has thrived in its successful pursuit of these ambitions with a growing network of customers across major sectors and around the world. As we take Markforged to the next level, we have found the ideal partner in one. Kevin and his team recognize not only Markforged’s ability to transform the way businesses innovate, but also the brilliant, passionate employees that make this company so unique.”

Transaction Overview
The combined company will have an estimated post-transaction equity value of approximately $2.1 billion at closing. The transaction will provide $425 million in gross proceeds to the Company, assuming no redemptions by one shareholders, including a $210 million PIPE at $10.00 per share from investors including Baron Capital Group, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Miller Value Partners, Wasatch Global Investors and Wellington Management, as well as commitments from M12 – Microsoft’s Venture Fund and Porsche Automobil Holding SE, existing Markforged shareholders. Net transaction proceeds will support Markforged’s continued growth across key verticals and strengthen its competitive advantage with new products, proprietary materials and expanded customer use cases.

Current Markforged shareholders are expected to hold approximately 78% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock immediately following the closing. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Markforged and one, is expected to close in the summer of 2021, subject to the approval of both one and Markforged stockholders and regulatory approvals, as well as and other customary closing conditions.

Following the completion of the transaction, Shai Terem will continue to lead Markforged as President and CEO. Kevin Hartz will join the Company’s board.

Additional information about the proposed transaction, including a copy of the merger agreement and investor presentation, will be provided in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by one with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov.

Advisors
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is serving as lead financial advisor and capital markets advisor to Markforged. William Blair is also acting as financial advisor and capital markets advisor to Markforged, and Goodwin Procter LLP is serving as legal counsel.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to one and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP is serving as legal counsel.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are serving as co-placement agents on the PIPE.

Investor Webcast Information
In connection with this announcement, management of Markforged and one will host an investor webcast to discuss the transaction on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. EST. The webcast can be accessed here. For those who wish to participate by telephone, please dial 1-877-407-9039 (U.S.) or 1-201-689-8470 (International) and reference the Conference ID 13716849. The conference call will be accompanied by a detailed investor presentation. A copy of the investor presentation can be found by accessing https://investors.markforged.com.

About Markforged
Markforged transforms manufacturing with 3D metal and continuous carbon fiber printers capable of producing parts tough enough for the factory floor. Engineers, designers, and manufacturing professionals all over the world rely on Markforged metal and composite printers for tooling, fixtures, functional prototyping, and high-value end-use production. Founded in 2013 and based in Watertown, MA, Markforged has more than 250 employees globally, with $137 million in both strategic and venture capital. Markforged was recently recognized by Forbes in the Next Billion-Dollar Startups list, and listed as the #2 fastest-growing hardware company in the US in the 2019 Deloitte Fast 500. To learn more about Markforged, please visit https://markforged.com.

About one
one is a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by A formed for the purpose of effecting a business combination with one or more businesses in the innovation economy. one completed its initial public offering in August 2020 raising $215 million in cash proceeds. A was founded and is led by technology industry veteran Kevin Hartz. To learn more about one, please visit https://www.a-star.co/.

Important Information and Where to Find It
A full description of the terms of the transaction will be provided in a registration statement on Form S-4 to be filed with the SEC by one that will include a prospectus with respect to the combined company’s securities to be issued in connection with the business combination and a proxy statement with respect to the shareholder meeting of one to vote on the business combination. one urges its investors, shareholders and other interested persons to read, when available, the preliminary proxy statement/ prospectus as well as other documents filed with the SEC because these documents will contain important information about one, Markforged and the transaction. After the registration statement is declared effective, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus to be included in the registration statement will be mailed to shareholders of one as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed business combination. Once available, shareholders will also be able to obtain a copy of the S-4, including the proxy statement/prospectus, and other documents filed with the SEC without charge, by directing a request to: one, 16 Funston Avenue, Suite A, The Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94129, Attention: Secretary. The preliminary and definitive proxy statement/prospectus to be included in the registration statement, once available, can also be obtained, without charge, at the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov).

Participants in the Solicitation
one and Markforged and their respective directors and executive officers may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies with respect to the potential transaction described in this press release under the rules of the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of one is set forth in one’s final prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), on August 19, 2020 and is available free of charge at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to: one, 16 Funston Avenue, Suite A, The Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94129, Attention: Secretary. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of the one shareholders in connection with the potential transaction will be set forth in the registration statement containing the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus when it is filed with the SEC. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above.

Non-Solicitation
This press release is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the potential transaction and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities of one, the combined company or Markforged, nor shall there be any sale of any such securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this press release, we caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, about which we cannot be certain. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the proposed business combination, including the timing and structure of the transaction, the expected new investors in the combined company, assumptions relating to redemptions, the expected proceeds of the transaction and the anticipated uses of those proceeds, the equity value, cash position and initial market capitalization of the combined company, the benefits of the transaction, the expected ownership of current Markforged shareholders following the closing of the transaction, as well as statements about the expected growth of the additive manufacturing industry, the combined company’s competitive position in the industry, the anticipated growth of the combined company, the increased adoption of its products, and the expected benefits of product innovation. We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this press release will prove to be accurate. These forward looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among others, general economic, political and business conditions; the inability of the parties to consummate the business combination or the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the business combination agreement; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the parties following the announcement of the business combination; the risk that the approval of the shareholders of one for the potential transaction is not obtained; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the business combination, including as a result of a delay in consummating the potential transaction; the risk that the business combination disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement and consummation of the business combination; the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; the amount of redemption requests made by one’s shareholders; the inability to obtain or maintain the listing of the combined company's securities following the business combination; costs related to the business combination; and those factors discussed under the header “Risk Factors” in the registration statement on Form S-4 to be filed by one with the SEC and those included under the header “Risk Factors” in the final prospectus of one related to its initial public offering. Furthermore, if the forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we have no current intention of doing so except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Source: Markforged

Summit Partners, Noro-Moseley Partners and Access Venture Partners Increase their Investment in Red Canary

Denver, Colorado – Red Canary, a leading provider of SaaS-based security operations solutions, today announced it has closed its $81 million Series C financing round led by global growth equity investor Summit Partners with participation from existing investors Noro-Moseley Partners and Access Venture Partners. The new funding brings the security company’s total investment to more than $125 million and will help support continued investment in both product and team expansion as the company works to meet rapidly growing customer demand and builds on its leadership position in the security operations and managed detection and response (MDR) market.

Read more about How Red Canary is Building the Modern Security Operations Center >>

Red Canary is on a mission to enable every organization to make its greatest impact without concern of cyber attack. An early innovator of MDR solutions, Red Canary seeks to bring enterprise level security solutions - from endpoints to network alerts to cloud workloads - to organizations of all sizes. The company’s SaaS-based products and services are designed to improve outcomes for security operations teams by proactively detecting and shutting down threats in their environments. Red Canary offers turnkey SaaS threat detection and a security operations team response via modern, remotely delivered, 24/7 security operations center capabilities and technology. Security operations SaaS delivers the technology, process, and people for organizations that do not want or need to staff on their own, or want to augment their existing teams and outsource critical security capabilities with confidence.

“With a cyber-attack occurring every 11 seconds, even the most well-staffed and experienced security teams are actively looking for an ally to help them stay ahead of threats,” said Brian Beyer, CEO and co-founder of Red Canary. “Red Canary’s unique detection and response capabilities are designed to identify more threats, with higher accuracy, and enable teams to respond to those threats faster. We will use this investment to meet the expanded demand we are seeing from security teams.”

Organizations are increasingly seeking solutions that go beyond prevention to support detection and response. Research and Markets forecasts that by 2024 the MDR market will grow to $1.9B as a result of the increasing number and complexity of threats, and due to the costly process of internal management of information security. CISOs and the teams they lead are struggling to recruit, retain and afford the security expertise needed to address the overwhelming volume of alerts from security infrastructure solutions. Red Canary’s strong growth and expanding customer roster is an indication of the strong market momentum and the company’s leadership position:

• 270% revenue growth over the past two years
• 100% growth in customers from channel partners in 2020
• 100% increase in threats detected by the Red Canary Security Operations Platform in 2020
• 100% growth in sales and customer success teams in 2020
• High customer satisfaction - NPS of 70 in 2020
• Expanded product portfolio: Launched in 2020, Red Canary Alert Center and Red Canary Cloud Workload Protection extend the Red Canary Security Operations Platform to critical security areas across the entire environment--endpoints, network alerts, and cloud workloads

Red Canary will use this new funding to continue building on this significant momentum. The company plans to invest in R&D to support continued platform expansion with new SaaS offerings and grow its sales and marketing teams to further accelerate customer growth and reach.

“We believe demand for MDR solutions has intensified over the last several years as it has become a strategic imperative that is fundamentally changing security outcomes for organizations,” said Andrew Collins, managing director at Summit Partners. “Red Canary continues to innovate rapidly, building on its robust product and service offering to extend protection across the entire enterprise environment - from endpoints to networks to cloud workloads. We are excited to lead this round of funding and continue our partnership with the Red Canary team during this next phase of expansion.”

About Red Canary
Red Canary is the leading security ally enabling every organization to make its greatest impact without fear of cyber-attack. The company provides outcome-focused solutions for security operations teams, who rely on Red Canary to analyze and respond to endpoint telemetry, manage alerts across the network, and provide cloud environment runtime threat detection. With Red Canary, security teams can make a measurable improvement to security operations within minutes. To learn more, visit RedCanary.com.

Learn more about Red Canary
* Why Red Canary
* See Red Canary at Microsoft Ignite Virtual Conference
* Social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube

Source: Red Canary

Boston, Massachusetts; Menlo Park, California; and London, UK – Summit Partners (“Summit” or the “Firm”), a global alternative investment firm, today announced the addition of Bob Grady as Advisory Partner based in the Firm’s Boston office. In this role, Mr. Grady will work closely with Summit’s investment team to identify and originate new investment opportunities and with portfolio company leaders to help shape growth strategies focused on long-term value creation. He will also assist in the Firm’s business development activities.

Mr. Grady is an experienced private equity executive with more than 25 years of senior leadership and investment experience. Most recently, Bob was a Partner at Gryphon Investors, where he served as Head of the Industrial Growth Group. Prior to joining Gryphon, Bob was Partner and Managing Director of Cheyenne Capital Fund and Chairman of the Board and of the Investment Policy Committee for the New Jersey State Investment Council, which oversees the state’s $78 billion pension fund. Previously, Bob served for a decade as a Partner and member of the Management Committee at The Carlyle Group, where he was the Global Head of Venture & Growth Capital, and as Chairman of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Bob began his finance career at Robertson, Stephens & Co., where he was a Partner and served as a member of the firm’s Management Committee.

Earlier in his career, Bob worked in the White House as a senior policy advisor to President George H.W. Bush. He held several key roles, including Deputy Assistant to the President, Executive Associate Director of the Office of Management & Budget (OMB), OMB Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy and Science, and chief speechwriter on the successful 1988 Bush-Quayle presidential campaign. He began his career as Legislative and then Administrative Assistant to U.S. Congresswoman Millicent Fenwick and as Director of Communications and Policy for New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean.

“We are very pleased to welcome Bob to the Summit team,” said Summit Partners Chief Executive Officer Peter Chung. “We believe his unique and distinguished background and his broad network of relationships will be invaluable to our portfolio companies and our limited partners.”

“I am very excited to be joining Summit Partners,” Grady said. “The Firm has a talented team, a wonderfully collaborative culture and a long history in growth investing. A growth equity industry pioneer, Summit has continued to find ways to innovate in the category. I am looking forward to contributing to the Firm’s continued efforts in partnering with and helping to build the world’s next great growth companies.”

Mr. Grady’s past investments and board directorships include Align Technology (NASDAQ: ALGN), Authentec (NASDAQ: AUTH, acquired by Apple), Blackboard (NASDAQ: BBBB, acquired by Providence Equity Partners), eScreen (acquired by Alere/Abbott Labs), Pacur, Potter Electric Signal, Thomas Weisel Partners (acquired by Stifel Financial), Transportation Insight, Viator (acquired by Trip Advisor), Wall Street Institute (acquired by Pearson Education), and Washing Systems (acquired by Kao Corporation).

In the non-profit world, Mr. Grady serves on the investment committee of two non-profit endowments, the Daniels Fund and the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the St. John’s Hospital Foundation and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Mr. Grady is a graduate of Harvard College and of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he served on the faculty for eleven years as a Lecturer in Public Management. He has been a director of over two dozen public and private companies and currently serves as a Director of Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ: MXIM), Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE: SF) and the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $23 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Move expands Insurer’s presence in Medicare and Medicaid with acquisition of vertically integrated health plan

INDIANAPOLIS--Anthem, Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) today announced that the company has entered into an agreement with InnovaCare Health, L.P., to acquire its Puerto Rico-based subsidiaries, including MMM Holdings, LLC (“MMM”) and its Medicare Advantage (MA) plan MMM Healthcare, LLC as well as affiliated companies and Medicaid plan.

On June 30, 2021, Anthem, Inc. announced the completion of this acquisition.

“We are pleased to expand Anthem’s commitment to serve Medicare and Medicaid-eligible individuals and consumers to Puerto Rico. We remain focused on providing services that drive greater value while giving members access to care and services that meet their diverse needs, enhance their experience, and help them lead healthier lives,” said Gail K. Boudreaux, President and CEO, Anthem, Inc.

MMM is Puerto Rico’s largest MA plan and one of the fastest-growing vertically integrated healthcare organizations in the United States. With more than 267,000 MA members and over 305,000 Medicaid members, MMM represents the ninth-largest MA plan in the country and second-largest Medicaid plan on the island of Puerto Rico. MMM seeks to provide its members with a whole-health experience through its network of specialized clinics and wholly owned independent physician associations (IPAs) Castellana Physicians Services and PHM as well as independent IPAs; together the MMM network includes more than 10,000 healthcare providers and more than a dozen offices across Puerto Rico. MMM holds the only 4.5 Stars MA contract in Puerto Rico from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

“This transaction aligns with Anthem’s vision to be an innovative, valuable and inclusive healthcare partner by providing care management programs that improve the lives of the people we serve,” said Felicia Norwood, EVP and President, Government Business Division for Anthem, Inc. “Our approach to the whole-health needs of our members and a focus on addressing the social drivers of health will enable us to make a positive difference in the health of our communities.”

Anthem is acquiring MMM from InnovaCare Health, L.P. a leading integrated, value-based payor and provider service organization and a portfolio company of global growth equity investor Summit Partners. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close by the second quarter of 2021 and is subject to approval by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico regulatory authorities, standard closing conditions and customary approvals required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The company’s 2021 EPS guidance remains unchanged as a result of this acquisition.

Anthem’s legal advisors are White & Case LLP and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. Credit Suisse is acting as lead financial advisor and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is also acting as financial advisor for InnovaCare. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. are acting as legal advisors for InnovaCare.

About Anthem, Inc.
Anthem is a leading health benefits company dedicated to improving lives and communities, and making healthcare simpler. Through its affiliated companies, Anthem serves more than 107 million people, including approximately 43 million within its family of health plans. We aim to be the most innovative, valuable and inclusive partner. For more information, please visit www.antheminc.com or follow @AnthemInc on Twitter.

About InnovaCare Health
Based in White Plains, N.Y., InnovaCare Health improves the lives of members and physicians through innovative solutions for value-based healthcare. Through an integrated portfolio of health plans, medical service organizations, clinical networks and more, the company manages more than 500,000 lives, including more than 150,000 dual-eligible beneficiaries. InnovaCare’s Medicare Advantage plans have received NCQA accreditation and 4.5-star quality ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). For more information, please visit innovacarehealth.com or follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn.

Source: InnovaCare Health

Company helps digitally-native, founder-led brands scale

SAN FRANCISCO--a.k.a. Brands (the “Company”; “a.k.a.”) is a value-add platform focused on acquiring and accelerating the growth of next-generation, digitally-native fashion brands targeting Gen Z and Millennial customers. a.k.a. scales founder-led brands and helps them access new geographic markets and customers to grow to their full potential. The current a.k.a. portfolio consists of three brands: Princess Polly, Petal & Pup and Rebdolls, each catering to a unique customer with a curated assortment of on-trend, affordable fashion.

“Today’s consumer gets fashion inspiration from social media and influencers. A new generation of social brands is emerging to cater to every style and audience. But, many of these founder-led brands struggle to scale. That’s where a.k.a. can help,” said Jill Ramsey, CEO of a.k.a. Brands. “With the power of our platform, brands leverage our retail partner relationships, access the expertise of our seasoned management team and proven playbook for growth. Founders also learn best practices and benchmarks from our other high-growth brands, and scale their businesses more cost effectively. We believe our brands are better together, and that this is a winning formula for brands, customers and a.k.a.”

With the backing of Summit Partners, a.k.a. Brands (until recently known as Excelerate Brands) was founded in 2018 with the vision to become a global leader in Direct-to-Consumer fashion. Today, the a.k.a. Brands portfolio is comprised of three high growth fashion brands. With the continued support of Summit Partners, the Company is scoping new opportunities to acquire additional brands that hold strong growth potential, a proven track record in target markets and the ability to expand and perform in new markets.

Current brands
Princess Polly — Founded in Australia in 2010 and led by Wez and Eirin Bryett, Princess Polly is now one of the fastest growing brands in the US market that serves women between 16 and 25. After joining the a.k.a. platform in 2018, Polly has experienced rapid acceleration and new customer expansion in the U.S. Polly girls like the fun, trendy fashions for going out and hanging out. Customers are inspired by the constant stream of inspirational content on social media and the fresh new merchandise arriving daily and love the affordable value.

Petal & Pup — Founded in Australia in 2015 by Tiffany Henry and led by Philip Scarff, Petal & Pup expanded to the U.S. market in 2019. Petal customers are between the ages of 24 and 40 and are attracted to the quality and value of the brand’s trendy, flattering, feminine styles and dresses for special occasions.

Rebdolls — Founded in New York in 2014 by Grisel Paula, Rebdolls offers a full range of sizes up to size 32 and prides itself on #sexyforall size inclusivity. The Rebdolls customer is female between the ages of 18 and 44.

“2020 saw a step change in fashion further shifting online and that trend is here to stay. Fortunately, we are ideally positioned to capitalize on the increased digital demand. We support our brands through their rapid expansion with access to increased fulfillment capacity, increased working capital, and tools to navigate impacted supply chains. Our unique, data-driven test & repeat sourcing approach enable us to be nimble and adjust to consumer changes in fashion,” said Ramsey. “I’m proud of our brands and the a.k.a. team for delivering exceptional performance. We anticipate continued acceleration of growth with our current brands and look forward to expanding our portfolio with new brands where we can add similar value.”

Strong Leadership Team
a.k.a. Brands has assembled a highly experienced management team with deep and diversified industry experience that spans start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Led by Ramsey, who has an extensive background in e-commerce, the team shares a passion for fashion and retail and is committed to supporting founder-led businesses. More information on the management team, including detailed bios, is available at www.aka-brands.com.

About a.k.a. Brands
Established in 2018, a.k.a. Brands is a global, direct-to-consumer platform comprised of three digitally-native fashion brands offering a curated assortment of on-trend, affordably-priced fashion apparel and accessories. The Company leverages its operational expertise and deep industry experience to help emerging brands grow and achieve their full potential. The a.k.a. portfolio includes three compelling yet distinct brands, Princess Polly, Petal & Pup, and Rebdolls. Each brand serves their customers in a different way with a product assortment that empowers self-expression and unique style. To learn more about a.k.a. Brands visit www.aka-brands.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $23 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 160 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

‍On January 27, 2021, SAP announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Signavio, a leading provider of business transformation solutions. Summit Partners invested in Signavio, backing CEO and Founder Gero Decker as the company’s first institutional investor.

As workforces become more distributed and companies more global – business processes have continued to proliferate and grow more complex. This complexity is further accented by an increasingly regulated operating landscape; from data privacy and cybersecurity, to reporting requirements and consumer protections, oversight and compliance considerations continue to grow. The name Signavio, comes from “segnavia,” the Italian word for signpost -- an appropriate name for a company that, from its earliest days, has sought to help guide businesses through the challenges of constant change and reinvention. As students at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, co-founders Gero Decker, Willi Tscheschner and Nicolas Peters understood that increasingly complex processes required a more collaborative, flexible and accessible approach to knowledge sharing between employees and across departments. They founded Signavio in 2009, launching the first cloud-native, collaborative business process management (BPM) software solution.

The Signavio team bootstrapped the company for several years, prioritizing capital efficient growth and capitalizing on meaningful market momentum. By 2015, the company had developed a global customer base, growing traction with large enterprise accounts, and a meaningful base of recurring revenues. We were fortunate to partner with CEO Gero Decker and a growing Signavio team in December 2015, as the company sought to expand its international footprint, continue its record of product innovation and further accelerate growth.

Over the course of our partnership, Signavio has expanded its geographic footprint to twelve international offices, growing staff from 75 to more than 450 employees worldwide. Today, Signavio serves over 1 million users at more than 2,000 organizations worldwide. With its innovative, intelligent and easy-to-use solutions, Signavio is helping to enable digital transformation across thousands of organizations worldwide, facilitating new use cases and extending the reach of BPM software from IT to business users. As businesses continue to navigate the global impact of COVID-19 – and learn to adapt and be agile to ensure business continuity, it is more important than ever for employees across an enterprise to remain collaborative in order to transform their businesses through the digitization and automation of their processes.

Today, we want to celebrate the vision and execution of Gero and the Signavio team – and to recognize the beginning of a new chapter on this growth journey. We are confident about the continued positive impact that Signavio’s solutions will have on its customers and the industry as a whole, and we look forward to following the company’s growth as part of the SAP platform.

This post originally appeared on LinkedIn

Since 1984, Summit Partners has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare, consumer, financial services and other growth sectors. An alphabetical list of Summit Partners' growth equity portfolio companies can be found here.‍

Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $23 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in healthcare & life sciences, technology and other growth industries. For more information, including a complete list of companies, visit www.summitpartners.com. SAP's acquisition of Signavio was announced on January 27, 2021, and the transaction is expected to close by Q2 2021, subject to approvals by antitrust authorities.

BOSTON, MA; MENLO PARK, CA; and LONDON, UK – Summit Partners, a leading alternative investment firm, today announced the promotion of several professionals across the firm’s global offices. Antony Clavel, Johannes Grefe, Adam Hennessey, Colin Mistele, Steffan Peyer and Ross Stern have been promoted to Managing Director. In addition, Gabriel Carreiro, Paul Furer, Patrick Murphy and Sophia Popova have been promoted to Principal.

“We are very pleased to recognize the achievements of these colleagues with these well-deserved promotions,” said Peter Chung, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Partners. “These professionals have served our investors and our portfolio companies with distinction while embodying the values of our firm and its culture.”

Antony Clavel has been promoted to Managing Director. Antony joined Summit’s London office as a Vice President in 2013 and was promoted to Principal in 2017. A member of Summit’s Technology team, Antony’s board and investment experience includes Calypso Technology, Darktrace, Immersive Labs, LearnUpon, Odoo, RELEX Solutions, Siteimprove (acquired by Nordic Capital) and Syncron. Prior to Summit, Antony worked for Allen & Company. Antony holds a BA in mathematics from Oxford University with First Class Honors and an SM in computer science from Harvard University.

Johannes Grefe has been promoted to Managing Director. Johannes joined Summit’s London office as a Vice President in 2012 and was promoted to Principal in 2018. He is a member of Summit’s Growth Products & Services team. Johannes’ board and investment experience includes GRESB, Normec (acquired by Astorg), Peak Well Systems (acquired by Schlumberger), ProGlove, Sézane (acquired by General Atlantic), Sipartech (acquired by Blackstone), Solactive and zahneins (acquired by PAI Partners). Prior to Summit, Johannes worked for Vitruvian Partners, TA Associates and Lazard. Johannes received an MSc in industrial engineering from University of Karlsruhe in Germany with highest distinction and an MS in engineering management from Portland State University.

Adam Hennessey has been promoted to Managing Director. Adam joined Summit’s Boston office as a Corporate Finance Manager in 2004. He was promoted to Controller in 2005, Vice President of Finance in 2007, Chief Accounting Officer in 2015 and Chief Financial Officer in 2018. Prior to Summit, he worked for Oxford Bioscience Partners and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Adam holds a BS from Babson College and an MBA from Northeastern University.

Colin Mistele has been promoted to Managing Director. Colin joined Summit’s Menlo Park office as an Associate in 2011. He was promoted to Senior Associate in 2013 and Vice President in 2015. A member of Summit’s Technology team, Colin’s board and investment experience includes Advanced Cell Diagnostics (acquired by Bio-Techne Corporation), CoderPad, Delphix, Gainsight (acquired by Vista Equity Partners), InfoArmor (acquired by Allstate Corporation), Jamf (NASDAQ: JAMF), Jobber, NinjaRMM, onXmaps, Podium, Red Canary, Reverb.com (acquired by Etsy), RiskIQ, Rocket Fuel (NASDAQ: FUEL), TeleSign (acquired by BICS), TSheets (acquired by Intuit), Uber (NYSE: UBER) and Wowza Media Systems. Prior to Summit, Colin worked for Union Square Advisors, Accenture and Electronic Arts. Colin holds a BS in finance and marketing, with high honors, from Lehigh University.

Steffan Peyer has been promoted to Managing Director. Steffan joined Summit’s London office as an Associate in 2007. He was promoted to Senior Associate in 2010, rejoined the firm as Vice President in 2013, and was promoted to Principal in 2018. A member of Summit’s Technology team, Steffan’s investment and board experience includes 360T Group (acquired by Deutsche Börse), Appway, Akeneo, Elatec, Market Logic, PatSnap, Red Points, RELEX Solutions and Signavio. Prior to rejoining Summit in 2013, Steffan was a member of the management team of Turbulenz Limited. Before that, he worked for UBS Investment Bank. Steffan holds a BS in finance and accounting, magna cum laude, from Boston College.

Ross Stern has been promoted to Managing Director. Ross joined Summit’s Boston office as an Associate in 2009. He was promoted to Vice President in 2014 and Principal in 2018. A member of Summit’s Healthcare & Life Sciences team, his investment and board experience includes Abode Healthcare, DMG Practice Management Solutions (acquired by Ares Management), My Dentist (acquired by Heartland Dental), Paradigm Outcomes, PharmScript, Sound Physicians and U.S. Renal Care. Previously, Ross worked in Cowen and Company’s Health Care Investment Banking Group. Ross holds a BA in economics and history from Bowdoin College and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Gabriel Carreiro has been promoted to Principal. Gabe joined Summit’s Boston office as a Senior Associate in 2013 and was promoted to Vice President in 2016. As a member of the Summit Partners Credit Advisors legal team, Gabe focuses on structuring, negotiating, and administering the firm’s credit investments at all stages of the deal cycle. He has been involved in the origination and oversight of a number of Summit’s credit investments and restructurings across industry sectors. Prior to Summit, Gabe was a corporate and commercial finance attorney at Brown Rudnick. Gabe holds a BS, magna cum laude, from Endicott College and a JD, summa cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School. Gabe previously served in the United States Coast Guard.

Paul Furer has been promoted to Principal. Paul joined Summit’s Boston office as an Associate in 2011 and rejoined the firm as Vice President in 2016. As a member of Summit’s Growth Products & Services team, Paul’s board and investment experience includes FineLine Technologies, Excelerate, Harvey Performance Company, Morphe, Parts Town, Patriot Growth Insurance Services and Vivint. Prior to Summit, Paul worked for Jefferies and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Paul has a BS in finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Patrick Murphy has been promoted to Principal. Pat joined Summit’s Boston office as a Senior Associate in 2016 and was promoted to Vice President in 2017. As a member of the Summit Partners Credit Advisors legal team, Pat focuses on structuring, negotiating and administering the firm’s credit investments at all stages of the deal cycle. He has been involved in the origination and oversight of a number of Summit’s credit investments and restructurings across industry sectors. Prior to Summit, Patrick worked as an Associate for the Private Credit Group at Proskauer Rose LLP. Patrick holds a BA from Colgate University and a JD, with honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Sophia Popova has been promoted to Principal. Sophia joined Summit’s Boston office as a Vice President in 2017. A member of Summit’s Technology team, Sophia’s investment and board experience includes Klaviyo, Markforged, PrismHR and VeriShip. Prior to Summit, Sophia worked at Morgan Stanley and led product at several technology startups, including Contactive. Sophia holds a BA in economics and mathematics from Yale University and an MBA, with distinction, from Harvard Business School.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $23 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 160 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Appway, a leader in technology for workflow automation in financial services, today announced the appointment of Léo Apotheker as the first independent member of its board of directors.

Léo Apotheker spent more than 20 years at the German software giant SAP and held the role of the company’s Chief Executive Officer from 2007 through 2010. From 2010 to 2011, he served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Hewlett-Packard Inc. Currently, Mr. Apotheker sits on the boards of a number of leading technology companies, such as Schneider Electric SE, NICE, and Syncron AB.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Léo to the board,” said Hanspeter Wolf, Founder and CEO of Appway. “Léo shares our vision of ’Connecting the Disconnected’ to accelerate the delivery and continuous optimization of business-critical software applications. His strategic insights and extensive experience in enterprise software, underlined by an absolutely outstanding international growth track record make him a fantastic coach and mentor to the Appway senior leadership team. His presence on our board will definitely enrich our approach to accelerate the growth of our business even further.”

In June 2020, Appway announced its first external capital raise since its founding in 2003 – a $37 million minority investment from global growth equity firm Summit Partners – with the purpose to support the company’s next phase of growth.

“Appway has an impressive track record,” commented Léo Apotheker. “I believe the company has outstanding technology which will enable it to expand in existing and new markets. I am pleased to have the opportunity to help Hanspeter and his team in achieving that goal.”

Source: Appway

Summit Partners leads investment to fuel product development and accelerate go-to-market

Toronto, ON and Menlo Park, CA — Jobber, a leading provider of home service management software, today announced a $60 million USD growth equity round led by global growth investor Summit Partners. The round includes participation from Jobber’s existing investors OMERS Ventures and Version One Ventures, as well as first-time participation from Tech Pioneers Fund. This growth financing will support continued investment in R&D, hiring, customer acquisition, and will help to further accelerate the company’s rapid growth.

Jobber offers an all-in-one SaaS and mobile solution built to serve as the command center for small home service businesses. The company’s platform is designed to manage the full customer lifecycle – from generating proposals and sending quotes to scheduling crews, dispatching jobs, invoicing customers and accepting in-person or electronic payments. More than 100,000 service professionals in 47 countries across 50 service segments rely on Jobber to keep their jobs on track, automate workflows and communicate with customers.

“We founded Jobber with a mission to help small businesses and the people behind them be successful,” said Sam Pillar, CEO and co-founder of Jobber. “Home service businesses are facing ever-increasing consumer expectations for a more seamless, digital experience while at the same time working to meet unprecedented demand. We are proud of the positive impact the Jobber platform has had on so many small businesses and the service professionals who lead them. We’re excited to be partnering with Summit as we continue to pursue our mission and build on Jobber’s leadership position in the home service category.”

Digital Transformation in Home Service

There has been a tremendous shift in technology adoption among service professionals in recent years fueled by increasing consumer expectation for a seamless, transparent, technology-enabled service experience.

“Consumers today expect businesses to be highly responsive and to interact digitally,” explained Forrest Zeisler, CTO and co-founder of Jobber. “They want to book services online, pay with the click of a button, have automated reminders and more. If they need something fixed, customers want information in real-time, to know the name of the technician and when they will arrive.”

Colin Mistele, Principal at Summit Partners, has joined Jobber’s Board of Directors. “We believe the home service category is in the early stages of a significant digital transformation – and Jobber is paving the way for thousands of small and mid-sized services businesses that are working to incorporate digital tools in order to keep pace with customer expectations,” said Mistele. “The Jobber team blends strong product vision, data-driven market perspective and a customer-centric approach—a powerful combination that we believe will support the company’s continued rapid growth. We are thrilled to partner with the Jobber team – and we are excited about the future of this category.”

Large Market, Unprecedented Demand

There are approximately five million small and medium-sized home service businesses in the United States, which contribute more than $550 billion to the economy each year.* While many small businesses faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, the home service category – including lawn care, plumbing, HVAC, electrical contracting and other segments – has demonstrated remarkable resilience, benefiting from renewed consumer interest in improving and investing in home living spaces. Jobber’s latest quarterly Home Service Economic Report, which includes data from over 100,000 service professionals, finds that median revenue across home service businesses increased 23% year-over-year in December 2020, while newly scheduled work also saw an increase over 2019.

The trend towards digital adoption in home service was gaining momentum prior to COVID-19 and the pandemic has accelerated it. Jobber’s SaaS and mobile solutions help service professionals to navigate and operate in a touchless world. They can communicate with customers electronically, send quotes and invoices and accept payments online, supporting a clear long-term shift away from cash and checks towards “cashless” credit and debit transactions. Jobber Payments, the company’s payment processing solution, saw more than 80% growth in volume in 2020 and has now processed over $1.7 billion in transactions.

The strength of the home service category, digital transformation, and the company’s rapid, capital efficient growth have helped Jobber increase its new recurring revenue by 90% in 2020. The company added nearly 100 new hires last year, growing its overall workforce to more than 250 people and plans to hire an additional 200 team members in the next 12 months. Jobber is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, operates a second office in Toronto, Ontario, and has recently started hiring remote talent. The company has earned recognition for its rapid growth, strong corporate culture, innovative product, and record of strong customer service.

TD Securities Inc. served as an advisor to Jobber.

About Jobber
Jobber is an award-winning business management platform for small home service businesses. Unlike spreadsheets or pen and paper, Jobber keeps track of everything in one place and automates day-to-day operations, so small businesses can provide 5-star service at scale. Jobber’s 100,000+ home service professionals have served over 12 million households in more than 47 countries. The company continually ranks as one of Canada’s fastest-growing and most innovative companies by Canadian Business and Macleans, The Globe and Mail, Fast Company, and Deloitte. For more information, visit: https://getjobber.com/.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $23 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 160 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

*Numbers based on Jobber’s market research, the latest U.S. Census, and IBIS World

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Colin Mistele, a Managing Director in Summit's Menlo Park office, was named to Venture Capital Journal's 2021 Rising Stars list. Colin joined Summit in 2011 and has since played an active role in partnering with nearly 20 Summit portfolio companies, including Advanced Cell Diagnostics (acquired by Bio-Techne Corporation), CoderPad, InfoArmor (acquired by Allstate Corporation), Jamf (NASDAQ: JAMF), NinjaRMM, onXmaps, Podium, Red Canary, Reverb (acquired by Etsy), RiskIQ, TeleSign (acquired by BICS), TSheets (acquired by Intuit) and Uber (NYSE: UBER).

Beyond investing, Colin was recognized for his active role in mentoring and training Summit’s next generation of investors.

Venture Capital Journal's 2021 Rising Stars list recognizes 40 industry professionals who have demonstrated noteworthy leadership, innovation and dealmaking skills. Read more about Colin and his fellow honorees at www.venturecapitaljournal.com.

Summit Managing Directors Andrew Collins and Matthew Hamilton were named to GrowthCap’s “Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors of 2020” list. GrowthCap evaluated breadth of experience as well as feedback from CEOs and other executives in determining the 40 individuals named to this year’s list.

Andy Collins joined Summit in 2008, and he has since led or played a significant role in investing more than $800 million in capital. His investments have spanned numerous technology subsectors, including software, cybersecurity and e-commerce marketplaces.

Matt Hamilton joined Summit in 2005, and he has since led or played a significant role in investing in 12 companies, representing more than $1.5 billion in invested capital. Over his tenure, Matt has built significant experience within the consumer e-commerce and financial technology and services sectors.

Read more about Andy, Matt and their fellow honorees at GrowthCap

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In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies

Growth equity investment from Summit Partners to accelerate Syndigo’s global growth and service offerings

CHICAGO, IL - Syndigo, a leading provider of a software-as-a-service platform for product information management and syndication, today announced a growth equity partnership with Summit Partners (“Summit”), a global alternative investment firm. Existing investor, The Jordan Company (“TJC”), a New York-based private investment firm, participated in the round. The investment will support Syndigo’s continued growth and global expansion, allowing the company to better serve its network of retailer, manufacturer and distributor clients.

In today’s world of omnichannel global commerce, the demand for product information and content that is consistent across the physical and digital shelf is significant and growing rapidly. Constantly elevating consumer expectations puts pressure on brands and retailers to deliver unified, shopper-centric experiences across online, offline, mobile, social media and hybrid channels. Syndigo’s leading SaaS platform, The Content Experience Hub (CXH), forms a critical link designed to enable seamless collaboration across channels and among thousands of the world’s largest brands and retailers. Today, Syndigo serves more than 12,000 manufacturers and 1,750 retailers and distributors across North America, Latin America and Europe. In 2020, Syndigo added over 1,500 new clients to their portfolio.

“Syndigo’s vision is simple: to enable commerce globally. Brands and retailers are experiencing unprecedented demand for product information and transparency -- and our clients who use Enhanced Content on their product pages experienced more than $1 billion in incremental cart value over this year’s Cyber Weekend,” said Paul Salay, CEO of Syndigo. “We are excited to bring together the extensive technology and software experience of our new partners at Summit with The Jordan Company’s experience with the Syndigo team. We are confident that this new partnership will accelerate Syndigo’s growth and our goal to enable commerce in even more innovative ways on a global scale.”

Summit Partners has a long history of investing in and supporting the growth of leading software and consumer businesses, including backing more than 30 companies at the intersection of commerce and technology. As a growth-focused investor, Summit works collaboratively with management teams, offering specialized resources designed to leverage experience and perspectives critical to growth companies.

“We believe Syndigo offers one of the most advanced and scalable solutions in the industry,” said Peter Rottier, a Managing Director at Summit Partners, who has joined the Syndigo Board of Directors. “The Company’s software offers an end-to-end solution designed to support the delivery of complete and verified product content and address the needs of brands, retailers and the ever-increasing expectations of the consumers that they serve. We are thrilled to collaborate with the Syndigo management team and The Jordan Company in this next phase of growth.”

“Syndigo has experienced significant growth since our initial investment by demonstrating a consistent commitment to its clients through investment, innovation and support,” said Eion Hu, Partner of The Jordan Company. “The addition of Summit Partners provides Syndigo with tremendous perspective and resources to drive even greater client productivity and growth. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Syndigo and its customers.”

About Syndigo
Syndigo enables commerce by supporting the efficient transfer of product information through its network of brands and their customers. The company provides descriptive product and nutritional information, images and other digital media, powered by deep analytics to empower engaging brand experiences online and in store. Through Syndigo's integrated platform, Content Experience Hub, clients can publish, manage, syndicate and audit product content across the largest trading network of brands and recipients in the world.

Syndigo serves more than 12,000 manufacturers and 1,750 retailers and distributors globally in many important consumer industries including grocery, foodservice, hardlines, home improvement/DIY, pet, health and beauty, automotive, apparel, and healthcare products.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $23 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 160 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit has partnered with more than two dozen companies across the e-commerce and consumer landscape, including Brooklinen, Klaviyo, Philz Coffee, Quay Eyewear, Reverb.com, Sezane, TinyPrints, VeriShip, MercuryGate, and vente-privee.com. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn

About The Jordan Company
TJC (www.thejordancompany.com ), founded in 1982, is a middle-market private equity firm that has managed funds with original capital commitments in excess of $11 billion since 1987 and a 38-year track record of investing in and contributing to the growth of many businesses across a wide range of industries including Industrials, Transportation & Logistics, Healthcare & Consumer, and Telecom, Technology & Utilities. The senior investment team has been investing together for over 20 years and is supported by the Operations Management Group, which was established in 1988 to initiate and support operational improvements in portfolio companies. Headquartered in New York, TJC also has an office in Chicago.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Investment will support continued company’s rapid growth in the dynamic indexing industry

FRANKFURT AM MAIN and LONDON – Solactive, a technology-enabled provider of indices and index solutions to the global financial services industry, today announced a €50 million minority investment from global growth equity firm Summit Partners. The investment will help support Solactive’s continued global growth, as the company expands its product offering and presence worldwide and further builds upon its proprietary technology platform, infrastructure and global team.

Solactive is challenging the status quo in the indexing industry by taking a customer-centric and technology-first, flexible approach to the creation, development, calculation and distribution of indices and related services. The company provides tailor-made index solutions for ETFs and other index-linked investments across equity, fixed income and multi-asset class strategies. Offering a high level of flexibility, speed and value, Solactive’s award-winning solutions are used by more than 400 international clients, including leading investment banks, ETF providers, hedge funds, asset owners and asset managers, with more than $200 billion of global assets linked to more than 17,000 Solactive indices.

“We are proud to be one of the fastest growing index providers in the world and widely regarded as a disruptor in the global index market,” said Steffen Scheuble, Founder and CEO of Solactive. “We are excited to join forces with Summit Partners and work together to further accelerate our journey. Summit brings significant experience in the technology and financial services sectors, as well as deep resources in supporting the expansion of our businesses across products, regions and client segments.”

Mr. Scheuble founded Solactive in 2007 with a vision to offer index solutions in a flexible, swift and cost-efficient manner as the industry has seen a significant reallocation of assets under management from active to passive investment strategies amounting to $3.8 trillion over the past decade. Solactive has grown rapidly and profitably since its founding days, with plans for continued expansion of its products and services.

“The indexing market continues to be highly dynamic with the ongoing active-to-passive shift and the diversification of passive investment strategies, which we believe is driving significant growth for index-linked investment products,” said Johannes Grefe, a Principal with Summit Partners who will be joining the Solactive Board of Directors. “Steffen and the Solactive team have recognized and responded to this trend with a highly automated and customer-centric approach based on a robust technology platform. With a strong combination of vision, product and client reach, we believe Solactive is well positioned to continue its innovative disruption of the indexing market.”

Solactive serves its global customer base from its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and offices in Toronto, Hong Kong, Berlin and Dresden. The company employs more than 250 employees, representing 38 nationalities working together on three different continents. Solactive plans to continue expanding its diverse and talented team, with new hires that exhibit the spirit, drive and skill set shaping the Solactive DNA.

About Solactive
Solactive AG is an innovative, technology-driven provider of index and index solutions to the global financial service industry. Since its founding in 2007, Solactive has developed tailor-made and multi-asset class index solutions for ETFs and other index-linked investment products for leading global investment banks and asset managers worldwide. With headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and offices in Toronto, Hong Kong, Berlin and Dresden, Solactive is transforming the indexing industry with its client-centric approach and relentless commitment to flexibility, efficiency and quality. Learn more at www.solactive.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $23 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in healthcare, technology and other growth industries. Notable business and financial technology companies backed by Summit Partners include 360T Group, Acturis, Calypso Technology, Clearwater Analytics, FleetCor Technologies, Flow Traders, Invoice Cloud, Multifonds, Signavio and Vestmark. Summit maintains offices in North American and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Investing for Growth

Rowley, Massachusetts, and West Springfield, Massachusetts – Harvey Performance Company (“HarveyPerformance” or the “company”), a leading provider of specialized cutting tools for precision machiningapplications through industry leading brands Harvey Tool, Helical Solutions, and Micro 100, today announced the acquisition of Titan USA. Based in West Springfield, Massachusetts, Titan USA has been setting the performance standard for American-made carbide, high speed steel, and cobalt cutting tools for more than 49 years. Its expansive offering of products provide milling, micro milling, thread milling, tapping, drilling, and deburring tooling to thousands of end users across very diverse sectors of industrial manufacturing.

Titan USA’s broad assortment of great-performing, high quality, general purpose and high-performance product allows Harvey Performance Company to address an additional part of the market, to which its current lineup of brands do not currently sell. Further, the company’s best-in-class coating operation, private label program, and commitment to distribution makes Titan USA an ideal addition to Harvey Performance Company’s portfolio of brands.

“The addition of the Titan USA brand to the Harvey Performance portfolio will further accelerate our ability to assemble and build a world-class company, made up of outstanding brands and product lines,” said Pete Jenkins, CEO of Harvey Performance Company. “Like all Harvey Performance brands, Titan USA has an established reputation for providing outstanding customer service, and a dedication to manufacturing the industry’s highest quality products.”

The acquisition of Titan USA strengthens Harvey Performance Company’s ability to serve the industry.

“Our brands serve some of the most advanced and demanding end users in the industry,” said Jerry Gleisner, Harvey Performance Company Senior Vice President of Sales. “The acquisition of Titan USA will allow us to offer additional capabilities and value to our distributors and end users.”

“Titan USA is a growth business and I am convinced that this acquisition only strengthens the Harvey Performance Company,” said Jay Pauley, Managing Director of Summit Partners, the global growth investor backing Harvey Performance Company. “We are excited to welcome the Titan USA team to the Harvey Performance Company family.”

About Harvey Performance Company
Harvey Performance Company strives to offer unique and innovative products to solve the industries’ most challenging machining requirements. Its distinct brands, Harvey Tool, Helical Solutions, Micro 100, and Titan USA, serve specialty needs and markets with a shared commitment to delivering high quality products and superior service. The brands offer a broad range of products and services that help support machinists, engineers, and CNC programmers while giving their shops a competitive advantage. Harvey Performance Company has a proud history of doing business the right way – offering fast, friendly service; providing comprehensive product support; and treating customers, suppliers, and shareholders in a way that builds strategic, strong, and enduring relationships. For more information, visit www.harveyperformance.com.

Source: Harvey Performance Company

Summit Partners leads investment to fuel international expansion, technology platform enhancements, and the development of enterprise-level B2B fulfillment capabilities

Fort Lauderdale, FL and Boston, MA — ShipMonk, a leading provider of direct-to-consumer (DTC) fulfillment and technology solutions, today announced a $290 million growth equity round, led by global growth investor Summit Partners. The financing represents a minority stake in the business and will help further accelerate ShipMonk’s rapid growth through continued investment in R&D, hiring, the development of B2B fulfillment capabilities and international expansion. The company also announced the addition of Summit Partners’ Managing Director Christopher Dean and Vice President Chelsea Jurman to its Board of Directors.

The National Retail Federation predicts ecommerce holiday sales will experience an unprecedented 20% growth in 2020 and reach an estimated $202 billion. Black Friday alone generated $9 billion in online purchases, up nearly 22% compared to last year, according to data from Adobe Analytics. As consumer spending continues its rapid shift online – a trend that has only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic – small and medium-sized merchants face the very real challenge of keeping pace with ever increasing consumer expectations for seamless order fulfillment, near real-time delivery and around the clock customer service. ShipMonk’s inventory management software, automation technology and multi-channel order fulfillment solutions are designed to help growing businesses scale more quickly and compete with larger, more established brands.

“ShipMonk was founded to alleviate the burden of supply chain management and allow brand owners to focus on the magic of their front-end customer experience,” said ShipMonk Founder and CEO, Jan Bednar. “Small and medium-sized brands are working at an incredible pace to keep up with both increased demand and consumers’ service-level expectations. Fulfillment and inventory management technology has quickly become a critical component to ensure seamless delivery. Our solutions can quite literally make the difference between an item arriving on time or behind schedule, and ultimately, the difference between building brand loyalty or losing a valuable customer.”

Since the company’s founding in 2014, ShipMonk has delivered on this mission and grown rapidly – and profitably – as a result. In 2020, the company will generate more than $140 million in revenues, representing growth of more than 100% over the prior year. This growth is fueled by continued acceleration in customers’ online sales. In November, ShipMonk’s customers saw an additional surge in online volume, representing 115% more fulfilled orders than the same time period in 2019, and the momentum has sustained as the holiday season has progressed.

Modernized Warehouse, Streamlined Fulfillment
ShipMonk’s proprietary ecommerce management platform is designed to free growing online businesses from the hassle and time-intensive – but increasingly important – process of managing backend logistics. Its API integrations sync with leading shopping cart and marketplace platforms, such as Shopify, to automatically import orders across every sales channel and support a seamless and quick fulfillment experience. Orders are processed at ShipMonk’s U.S. warehouse locations strategically located throughout the United States to facilitate fast delivery of products to customers. Highly automated warehouse operations help ShipMonk’s customers save up to 50% of the operational costs compared to doing fulfillment in house and provide a scalable solution for hyper-growth.

ShipMonk also extends its globally optimized shipping carrier network to merchants for additional cost savings. Services are enhanced by human customer support via “Happiness Engineers,” trained specialists with deep experience addressing fulfillment challenges and needs.

Ecommerce Demand Spikes, ShipMonk Delivers
ShipMonk’s customer base has doubled over the past 12 months, and today the company serves more than 1,000 ecommerce businesses, including BrüMate, Liquid IV, Cuts Clothing, FEAT and CatLadyBox. ShipMonk’s customer base has benefited from the ongoing shift to online purchasing, and amidst further COVID-accelerated growth, the company helped its merchants to keep a steady delivery stream, maintaining shipping and delivery timeframes and eliminating delays.

“ShipMonk without question enabled us to both survive and thrive through 2020,” said Dylan Jacob, Founder, BrüMate, an insulated drinkware brand. “We couldn’t have foreseen this year’s increased demand, but because ShipMonk was running our fulfillment, we were able to meet, and even exceed, expectations and our customers never saw us sweat.”

As merchants using ShipMonk’s technology and fulfillment services broaden beyond DTC, the company has planned product and service enhancements to assist in business-to-business (B2B) fulfillment solutions and serve these evolving needs.

Bootstrapped Growth, Strategic Expansion
ShipMonk was founded by CEO Jan Bednar to help address a personal pain point. Bednar immigrated to the U.S. from the Czech Republic at 17 years old to play hockey and attend Florida Atlantic University. At the time, most ecommerce brands would not ship internationally, and he consistently faced a challenge when sending American products to friends and family back home. From this initial idea, he quickly pivoted ShipMonk to focus on the growing fulfilment needs of DTC brands. The company’s initial funding came from Bednar’s prize winnings from collegiate and venture business competitions, and the company has scaled rapidly, and profitably, since its inception.

“We believe ShipMonk truly demonstrates the power of a bootstrapped, durable growth mindset. Jan identified a significant gap in the market and, together with the ShipMonk team, has scaled the business in a deliberate and capital efficient manner to address that need. The results have been impressive,” said Christopher Dean, a Managing Director at Summit Partners who will join the ShipMonk Board of Directors. “ShipMonk is helping ecommerce brands of all sizes compete against larger, more established players – helping even the smallest of brands to meet the expectations of today’s consumers.”

Read more about Summit Partners' experience in the e-commerce and consumer sector >>

Today, ShipMonk serves a growing base of B2C and B2B businesses from its Fort Lauderdale, FL headquarters and warehouse facilities across the U.S. The company plans to open its flagship European fulfillment center in the Czech Republic in mid-2021. ShipMonk currently has 1,000 employees and intends to increase headcount to 1,500 over the next 12 months, with hiring predominantly for Warehouse Associates, Happiness Engineers and Developers.

ABOUT SHIPMONK
From its inception in 2014, ShipMonk has operated with a singular guiding principle: to help small and medium-sized ecommerce businesses scale by offering technology-driven fulfillment solutions that enable business founders to devote more time to the things that matter most in their businesses. Put simply, ShipMonk helps ecommerce companies stress less and grow more. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL, ShipMonk has more than 1,000 employees across facilities in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Pittston, PA, Los Angeles, CA, and Prague, Czech Republic. More information is available at www.shipmonk.com.

ABOUT SUMMIT PARTNERS
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $21 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 160 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit has partnered with more than two dozen companies across the e-commerce and consumer landscape, including Brooklinen, Klaviyo, Philz Coffee, Quay Eyewear, Reverb.com, Sezane, TinyPrints, VeriShip, MercuryGate, and vente-privee.com. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

The Vista partnership will accelerate momentum of the Customer Success movement

SAN FRANCISCO -- Gainsight, the Customer Success company, today announced it has signed an agreement to receive a majority investment from Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading global investment firm focused on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses.

Gainsight and Vista will partner to further accelerate the Customer Success movement and growth in the Customer Success profession. Recognized as the market and thought leader for Customer Success software, Gainsight empowers hundreds of customer-focused businesses to deliver positive outcomes and exceptional experiences to their customers every day by enabling enterprises to successfully on-board, retain and expand their customer base.

“We learned about Vista because many of their portfolio companies are Gainsight customers and we saw how they partner with leading enterprise software businesses to accelerate success,” said Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight. “Reaching this milestone and working with Vista is validation of how far the Customer Success community has come over the last seven years and how important our work is to the growth and financial strength of some of the world’s leading businesses. I couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Vista team to drive more innovation, more impact and continued success for the community as a whole.”

“As an enabler of both customer and business success, we see tremendous opportunity for Gainsight to further expand its footprint and customer base,” said Monti Saroya, co-head of the Vista Flagship Fund and Senior Managing Director. “We are excited to partner with the Gainsight team in its next phase of growth, helping the company to expand the category it has created and deliver even more solutions that drive retention and growth to businesses across the globe.”

With Vista, Gainsight will continue to provide its customers with best-in-class software solutions, customer service and Customer Success thought leadership while expanding its product portfolio, its customer base and its geographic footprint.

“Across our portfolio of over 65 software companies, Vista has witnessed firsthand the outsized impact that a commitment to customer success can have on a company’s performance,” said John Stalder, Managing Director at Vista Equity Partners. “Together with Nick and the excellent leadership team at Gainsight, we look forward to accelerating the adoption of Gainsight products and business models that prioritize customer experience and satisfaction.”

Qatalyst Partners served as financial advisor and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati acted as legal counsel to Gainsight. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Vista.

About Gainsight
Gainsight’s innovative technology helps companies prevent churn by identifying at-risk customers, creating systematic processes to mitigate concerns, and efficiently ramping up engagement efforts. The company’s Customer Cloud offers a powerful set of solutions focused on customer success, product experience, revenue optimization, and customer data, that together enable businesses to put the customer at the center of everything they do. Learn how leading companies like GE Digital, SAP Concur, and Box use Gainsight at www.gainsight.com

Source: Gainsight

Accel joins Summit Partners to lead investment and help fuel product development that gives business owners control of their customer data, without relying on Big Tech

Boston, MA — Klaviyo, an analytics-driven software platform for marketing online businesses, today announced it has raised $200 million in Series C funding, led by Accel with participation from existing investor Summit Partners. The new financing brings Klaviyo’s total funding to date to $358.5 million. The investment will help further fuel Klaviyo’s rapid growth through R&D, hiring, increased sales, customer support and international expansion. The company also announced it has added Accel’s Ping Li to its board.

As consumers’ purchases have increasingly shifted online during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies of all sizes have scrambled to optimize their digital presence. From brick and mortar retailers moving online for the first time, to existing e-commerce brands doubling down on efforts to deliver highly personalized communications and service, businesses need customer data to inform their marketing efforts. Klaviyo’s software is designed to easily integrate with leading e-commerce platforms like BigCommerce, Magento, Shopify, Stripe, and WooCommerce, applying AI and machine learning algorithms to pull in customer data to generate audience insights, and automate and customize relevant communications, advertising and marketing campaigns.

“Klaviyo helps online businesses of any size break out of the one-email-fits-all marketing mentality, because blanket communications aren’t effective for anyone,” said Klaviyo co-founder and CEO, Andrew Bialecki. “Every online customer has unique preferences that influence how and where they make purchases and we’re able to help sellers leverage their own customer data to create an experience they control -- one that is ultimately measured in revenues generated, not pages viewed.”

Customer Data Belongs with Creators, Not Big Tech
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, consumers spent nearly $348 billion online with U.S. retailers in the first half of 2020, an increase of 30.1% over the same period in 2019. The Klaviyo platform helps e-commerce merchants find, keep and connect with customers in a meaningful way. The company’s AI-enabled tools are easy to use and store information in data warehouses, eliminating the need for businesses to rent their own data back from Big Tech players. As a result, customer data is in direct control of the creators themselves to inform and curate highly customized communications.

The Klaviyo platform helps emphasize and measure revenue generated, not just web traffic, click-through and email open rates. In 2020, Klaviyo’s software has helped generate over $11 billion in sales for its customers, saving them an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars in online advertising costs. Klaviyo software also provides businesses with the necessary data to convert sales via their own sites rather than through outside marketplaces, which typically take 8-15% in fees for each sale.

“Klaviyo has given us one-of-a-kind insights and levers to boost revenue by double-digit percentages year after year. The team, tools, and service are top-tier and constantly improving. It feels like Klaviyo and Chubbies are growing hand-in-hand and that’s a better partnership than we could ever have asked for,” said Erich Hellstrom, Manager of Retention Marketing, Chubbies, a men’s shorts online retailer.

Klaviyo’s customer base has doubled over the past 12 months and the company today serves more than 50,000 customers ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, in more than 125 countries.

Capital-infused Growth and Expansion
Klaviyo, founded in 2012, was bootstrapped for three years before taking outside funding and is profitable. The company raised just $8.5 million in outside investment before it closed a $150 million Series B round last March led by Summit Partners. The new capital from Accel and Summit Partners will help accelerate growth and enable Klaviyo to remain focused on bolstering its best-in-class customer support and building out the platform’s AI and machine learning capabilities to engineer and design the future of guided software.

“The e-commerce boom spurred by the pandemic has driven the customer experience to exist primarily online, an environment where personalization is paramount,” said Ping Li, partner at Accel, who has joined the Klaviyo Board of Directors. “Klaviyo’s data-driven technology gives e-commerce brands an attractive alternative to going through intermediaries for ads or selling on other marketplaces. It’s an intelligent enablement tool, helping them to both keep and control a direct line to their customers resulting in better data, enhanced service, and increased sales.”

A Boston-based Technology Brand Serving a Global Audience
Headquartered in Boston, Klaviyo currently has 500 employees, with over 300 in Massachusetts. The company intends to double headcount to 1,000 by the end of 2021, with hiring predominantly for Boston-based engineering and design positions.

“The Klaviyo team blends product vision, technical talent and customer centricity – and we believe the company’s growth trajectory underscores the true power of this combination,” said Michael Medici, Klaviyo board member and Managing Director of Summit Partners. “Klaviyo continues to attract talented members to its growing team, and Summit’s second investment represents our continued confidence in this team and their mission: to change the playing field in commerce and offer brands of all sizes a release from the expensive confines of Big Tech control over ads and marketplace sales – and the chance to own their growth.”

ABOUT KLAVIYO
Klaviyo is a world leading owned marketing platform dedicated to accelerating revenue for online businesses. Klaviyo makes it easy to store, access, analyze and use transactional and behavioral data to power highly-targeted customer and prospect communications. Over 50,000 innovative companies like Unilever, Custom Ink, and Huckberry sell more with Klaviyo. Learn more at www.klaviyo.com.

Source: Klaviyo

AMSTERDAM – GRESB Management is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Summit Partners to acquire GRESB from GBCI. The GRESB team would like to thank GBCI for the support it has provided over the last six years to advance sustainable real assets and for allowing us to take this next step in our journey.

This new ownership allows us to establish an independent, non-profit foundation – the GRESB Foundation (or “Foundation”) – to own and govern the GRESB Standards upon which the GRESB Assessments are based. The Foundation Board will be constituted from GRESB Investor Members and will be responsible for reviewing and approving the Standards on an annual basis to ensure they remain investor-led and aligned with responsible investment principles.

“We welcome the establishment of a truly independent GRESB Foundation to govern the GRESB Standards and continue their development as investor needs evolve,” said Patrick Kanters, Managing Director Global Real Assets, APG Asset Management. “This is an important evolution to reinforce that GRESB is a by industry, for industry, mission-driven and investor-led organization. I look forward to serving on the Foundation Board alongside my former GRESB non-executive director colleagues – Deborah Ng, Head of Responsible Investing and Director, Total Fund Management, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Mathieu Elshout Senior Director Private Real Estate, PGGM Investments – and other members.”

The role of the existing Real Estate and Infrastructure Advisory Boards (renamed as Standards Boards) and Benchmark Committees (renamed as Standards Committees) will be formalized under the governance of the Foundation and will continue to oversee the development and maintenance of the Standards.

GRESB BV will continue to be responsible for administering the GRESB Assessments, providing the benchmarks, promoting widespread adoption of the GRESB Standards and supporting investor and participant members. GRESB BV will become a benefit corporation and seek formal B-Corp certification, in order to build accountability for our mission into our legal structure and to protect this accountability over the long term.

Enabled by the capital commitment from our investment partner, we will grow our team in emerging markets and add more capacity to support participants with their reporting efforts. We will further invest in our data science and technology capabilities to uncover new ESG insights essential to sustainable investment decision making and to ensure the quality and reliability of the benchmark results.

With sound governance around the GRESB Standards, clearer accountability around our mission, and fresh investment into the GRESB platform, we are ready to embark on a new era of ESG performance assessment and benchmarking. This work will further standardize ESG data for the capital markets, enhance the management of sustainability risks, opportunities and impacts, and accelerate the growth of responsible investment.

“Thank you to so many of you who have been supporters of GRESB throughout our 10-year journey so far.” said Sander Paul van Tongeren, Co-founder and Managing Director, GRESB. “We’re looking ahead to a new era for GRESB with deeper industry involvement in our governance and greater capacity to deliver the ESG data and insights needed to navigate the transition to sustainable real assets at the speed and the scale that is now required.”

ABOUT GRESB
GRESB was established in 2009 by a group of large pension funds who wanted to have access to comparable and reliable data on the ESG performance of their investments. Acquired by GBCI in 2014, GRESB has grown to become the leading ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments across the world. GRESB employees are a diverse team of energetic individuals dedicated to advancing sustainable real assets. GRESB data covers US $5.3 trillion in real estate and infrastructure value and is used by more than 100 institutional and financial investors to make decisions that are leading to a more sustainable real asset industry. Learn more at GRESB.com.

ABOUT GBCI
GBCI is the premier organization independently recognizing excellence in green business industry performance and practice globally. Through rigorous certification and credentialing standards, GBCI drives adoption of green building and business practices. GBCI is the global certification body for the LEED green building program, TRUE zero waste, PEER, SITES, WELL, EDGE, ICP and RELi. Learn more at GBCI.org.

ABOUT SUMMIT PARTNERS
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $21 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 160 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Leadership changes set the foundation for the next phase of growth as additive manufacturing industry experiences rapid adoption amid supply chain disruptions and evolution

WATERTOWN, MA -- Markforged, creator of the world’s largest metal and carbon fiber industrial 3D printing platform, today announced the promotion of Shai Terem to president & chief executive officer. Founder Gregory Mark has transitioned to the role of chairman. Today’s leadership announcements are the results of a planned succession and are designed to position the company for continued success in its next phase of growth.

Additive manufacturing is approaching a tipping point. While 3D printing technologies have been available since the late 1980s, considerable advancements in technology and unprecedented supply chain disruption driven by the ongoing global pandemic are supporting mainstream adoption. Wohlers Associates projects the additive manufacturing industry will grow 11x over the next decade to become a $640 billion-dollar industry. With the largest connected install base and fastest growth in the category worldwide, Markforged has built its leadership team to position the company, its customers, and partners to take full advantage of the innovations supporting this significant wave of manufacturing disruption.

As CEO, Terem will lead the development and execution of short- and long-term strategies and day-to-day operations, positioning Markforged to continue delivering value to its key stakeholders as the company continues to scale. Since joining Markforged in December 2019 as president and chief operating officer, Terem has reorganized the go-to-market organization to have a channel-first approach while building a strong infrastructure for rapid, efficient, and scalable growth. Previously, he served as president of the Americas region at Kornit Digital (NASDAQ: KRNT), a worldwide market leader in 2D digital printing for textiles, and held various product marketing, finance, and operations roles with Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS).

“I have been fortunate to spend the majority of my career in this industry--experience that gives me profound appreciation for the immense value that Markforged brings to organizations around the world,” said Terem. “Our tools are designed to allow manufacturers to go from design to a functional part with unmatched efficiency to truly optimize the supply chain. It is an honor to take the helm of such a pioneering company, and I’m eager to play my part in our mission to reinvent manufacturing.”

“Leading Markforged for the past seven years as chief executive officer has been an amazing journey, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built,” said Mark. “Before Markforged, access to strong 3D printed parts was limited to those who could afford million-dollar machines. Today, we have parts flying in space, and on commercial and military jets; we have hundreds of thousands of parts used by frontline workers to fight COVID. All are printed on a platform that is robust enough for end-use aerospace, and affordable to high schools and colleges. We have democratized metal and carbon fiber 3D printing, and we’re just getting started.

“We believe Shai will continue this progression and grow into more factories, schools, and design shops around the world,” Mark continued. “With his operator chops and considerable additive manufacturing experience, Shai has the right combination of skills to continue our rapid growth.”

In his new role as chairman, Mark will focus on evangelizing the adoption of the company’s additive manufacturing platform among engineers, designers, and manufacturing professionals all over the world.

“Markforged has been solving some of the more challenging real-world industrial manufacturing problems for years, and we believe the pandemic has shown just how essential additive manufacturing will be in a world where supply chains need to be more nimble, adaptable, and resilient,” said Michael Medici, a Managing Director at Summit Partners and member of Markforged’s Board of Directors. “Greg has built a strong foundation for innovation that he will continue to develop as Shai works to scale the organization from successful startup to a pillar technology company of our time.”

About Markforged
Markforged transforms manufacturing with 3D metal and carbon fiber printers, capable of producing parts tough enough for the factory floor. Engineers, designers, and manufacturing professionals all over the world rely on Markforged metal and composite printers for tooling, fixtures, functional prototyping, and high-value end-use production. Founded in 2013 and based in Watertown, Massachusetts, Markforged has about 300 employees globally, with $137 million in both strategic and venture capital. Markforged was recently recognized by Forbes in the Next Billion-Dollar Startups list, and listed as the #2 fastest-growing hardware company in the US in the 2019 Deloitte Fast 500. To learn more about Markforged, please visit: https://markforged.com.

Source: Markforged

Merger creates a new model to optimize transportation spend management for shippers overwhelmed by historic shipping volumes and soaring costs

KANSAS CITY, MO --VeriShip, the nation’s leading shipping expense optimization platform, today announced a merger with Sifted, provider of the leading data science-driven predictive logistics platform. The merger joins two market leaders to create a transformational cloud-based analytics engine for logistics. The combined company serves thousands of shippers across all sizes and complexities.

VeriShip and Sifted bring together the country’s largest independent shipping expense database and the industry’s first cloud native, automated simulation and optimization platform. The new platform dramatically reduces transportation expenses for shippers while optimizing for delivery times and best-in-class customer experience. The combined company is backed by global growth equity investor Summit Partners, which invested in VeriShip in 2018. This marks the second transaction for VeriShip in the last year, following its acquisition of Valence in December, 2019. VeriShip and Sifted’s clients range from small and medium business, such as Simple Tire and Chicago Music Exchange to enterprise-level organizations like Shutterfly, Boston Scientific, and Kendra Scott.

The combination creates a new model for managing transportation spend — one that brings together the power of self-service technology and transportation data science to help shippers navigate an increasingly complex shipping environment fueled by dramatic e-commerce growth. The companies will merge capabilities under the Sifted brand, and all clients will migrate to the new platform and will gain immediate access to easy-to-understand, 360-degree analytics of their data.

“For most businesses today, especially those in e-commerce, it is impossible to make data-driven decisions. Shippers are constantly blindsided by carrier changes, and they’re expected to fulfill shipments on time, implement new systems, manage inventory problems, and improve efficiencies, all while keeping costs in check. Now, with the combined power of VeriShip’s data set and Sifted’s predictive modeling capabilities, our platform will prescribe actions and prevent unnecessary spending before it ever happens,” said VeriShip Chief Executive Officer Shawn McCarrick.

Effective today, the companies will integrate business operations to create the most capable team in the industry. Shawn McCarrick will lead the company as CEO. Sifted’s three co-founders, Adam Moulding, Mark Chamberlain and Caleb Nelson, will serve as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Revenue Officer, respectively. VeriShip’s George Meier will jointly lead sales as Chief Business Development Officer alongside Nelson. All other existing business leaders in both organizations remain and will continue serving in critical roles.

“The Sifted platform enables shippers to move away from educated guessing to decisions based on data science and provides highly accurate predictions using software for optimization and modeling,” said Adam Moulding, the new entity’s Chief Operating Officer. “We are giving shippers the clarity, control and freedom they need to forecast and proactively manage shipping costs.”

About VeriShip
VeriShip is the nation’s largest spend management and payments platform that tracks and analyzes shipping data to reduce costs for small and midsize businesses shipping packages throughout the U.S. Its platform gives clients control and clarity into their shipping data with a single source of visibility into transportation spend. Since 2005, VeriShip has helped over 5,000 businesses optimize shipping expenses on nearly 1.5 billion packages. Learn more at www.veriship.com.

About Sifted
Sifted is the number one choice of enterprise-grade shippers in the nation to solve complex logistics data issues. Sifted simplifies complicated data to provide actionable insights that empower shippers to continually reduce both costs and shipping time. Since 2017, large-volume shippers have leveraged Sifted’s self-service predictive technology to reduce shipping costs through operational efficiency and contractual improvements. Learn more at www.sifted.com.

Source: VeriShip

Music creation platform is positioned to end writer’s block for professional and hobbyist music makers globally

LOS ANGELES – Output, a tech company built by musicians, today announced a $45 million Series A investment from Summit Partners. This minority investment represents Output’s first-ever fundraise and will support the company’s continued global growth and expansion of its digital production platform, including the addition of playable instruments and mobile applications in 2021. Output will be one of the first SaaS solutions at this scale to offer loops, samples and melodic content in one unified platform for music creation.

Output’s software is used in songs by Drake, Coldplay, Justin Bieber and Rihanna and musical scores including Stranger Things, Game of Thrones and Black Panther. Producers, songwriters and composers alike rely on Output’s creative tools to find inspiration and break through writer’s block.

While Output’s core creation application Arcade was originally intended to help professionals seamlessly turn a library of tens of thousands loops and sounds into tracks, the platform’s balance of simplicity and creative manipulation has drawn a growing audience of hobbyists and first-timers across 167 countries to break through the ‘block’ of writing their first track. The company’s results speak for themselves:

• More than 50% of sessions result in the writing of a new track
• The average user locks in a track within fifteen minutes
• More than 420,000 musicians supported by the Arcade platform since 2018
• 300% increase in MRR in the last 12 months

Output was founded in 2013 by CEO Gregg Lehrman, an ASCAP-award winning composer who got his start under Hans Zimmer and later produced sounds for some of the world’s most iconic music software platforms. Lehrman realized that the global community of music makers was large and growing rapidly, but the workflow was years behind other creative categories.

“Technology democratized the creation process for video and photos. It makes sense that technology adoption would transition to music making,” said Lehrman, Output Founder and CEO. “We are working to inspire a new generation of music makers with a platform that brings the power of a studio to anyone, wherever they are. Summit’s deep experience in consumer technology, digital media and e-commerce make them an ideal partner to help accelerate our global impact.”

“We believe Output is at the forefront of digital music creation, offering a truly elegant, professional-grade platform that is accessible to music makers at all levels,” said Andrew Collins, a Managing Director with Summit Partners who has joined the Output Board of Directors. “Gregg and team have built an innovative company culture and a vibrant community of musicians– and they have done it all in a thoughtful, capital efficient manner. We’re thrilled to partner with them for this next phase of growth.”

About Output
Output Inc. is a technology company built by musicians. Our SaaS-based music creation platform Arcade allows the world’s top artists to break through writer’s block, and the rest of the world to break into music making. We’ve become the secret sauce behind so much music you’ve heard, including: Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Stranger Things, Black Panther and Game Of Thrones. Please visit us at www.output.com or follow us on Instagram @Output.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $21 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 160 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

LearnUpon’s cloud-based LMS is designed to empower organizations to train their employees, customers and partners from a single, integrated, intuitive platform

DUBLIN, IRELAND and LONDON, UK – LearnUpon, a leading cloud-based Learning Management System (LMS), today announced a $56 million minority investment from global growth equity firm Summit Partners. This funding represents LearnUpon’s first major capital raise and will be used to fuel hiring, support continued execution of the company’s product roadmap and meet accelerating customer demand.

LearnUpon was founded in 2012 on the belief that a learning management system should be intuitive for users, quick and seamless to set up, and delivered with industry-leading customer support. Combining powerful functionality with unparalleled ease of use for both learners and administrators, LearnUpon helps enterprises democratize learning by dramatically increasing adoption and engagement across the organization. The company’s powerful LMS helps businesses get more out of corporate learning with a scalable solution built to deliver high-quality learning experiences to multiple audiences – all from a single, intuitive, integrated platform. LearnUpon is designed to enable more efficient delivery, tracking, measurement and certification across numerous learning use-cases, including employee development, customer onboarding, partner education and compliance training, all of which have traditionally been managed across disparate systems.

“We believe every learning opportunity should be an experience that advances employee, partner and customer success, and LearnUpon is purpose-built to help organizations of all sizes achieve this goal,” says Brendan Noud, CEO and co-founder of LearnUpon. “Summit brings deep experience scaling SaaS businesses, as well as a number of dedicated growth-focused and technology resources that we believe will help LearnUpon build on the momentum we have established in the market. We are excited for the opportunities that this partnership will bring to our team, customers and partners.”

Fueled by product breadth and by a relentless dedication to customer success, LearnUpon has grown annual recurring revenues by more than 50% YoY for each of the last 12 quarters. Serving more than 1,000 customers worldwide, including Booking.com, Twilio, USA Football and Zendesk, LearnUpon is proud of its 5-star ratings across Capterra, G2Crowd, GetApp and TrustRadius. The company employs a steadily growing team of 180 across four offices, including more than 70 engineering and product development professionals. LearnUpon anticipates adding more than 100 engineers over the next 18 months to support continued product expansion.

“In today’s knowledge economy, we believe corporate learning has become a key requirement for all organizations of scale – and the added challenge of remote working has only accelerated the importance of delivering learning digitally,” said Antony Clavel, a Principal with Summit Partners who will be joining the LearnUpon Board of Directors. “With its modern, cloud-based learning management system, strong product development organization, demonstrated dedication to customer success and capital efficient go-to-market model, we believe LearnUpon is strongly positioned to serve this growing and increasingly critical market need. We are thrilled to support Brendan and the LearnUpon team in this next phase of growth.”

About LearnUpon
LearnUpon LMS is a powerful platform with a practical approach to learning. By combining industry-leading capabilities, unmatched ease of use, and unrivaled customer support, organizations can manage, track, and achieve their diverse learning goals—all through a single, powerful solution. Trusted by over 1,000 customers worldwide, LearnUpon is one of the fastest growing LMSs in the world. Founded in 2012, LearnUpon is headquartered in Dublin, with additional offices in Philadelphia, Sydney, and Belgrade.

Learn more about LearnUpon: Website | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $21 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Notable technology and software companies financed by Summit Partners include A Cloud Guru, Avast, Darktrace, FLEETCOR, HelpSystems, Immersive Labs, Infor, Jamf, RELEX Solutions, Smartsheet and Trintech. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Summit Managing Director Michael Medici was named to GrowthCap’s Top 25 Software Investors of 2020 list. GrowthCap’s list includes investment professionals at the forefront of the technology industry who have demonstrated a combination of software experience, analytical rigor, investment judgement and leadership acumen. Since joining Summit Partners as an Associate in 2005, Michael has led or played a significant role in investing in 18 companies across the technology sector and beyond, with specific experience in development and infrastructure-oriented software companies (DevOps) and sales, marketing and logistics software with a focus on e-commerce enabling solutions.

Read more about Michael and his fellow honorees at GrowthCap.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies

Copenhagen, Denmark – Siteimprove is a global leader within website experience and digital marketing optimization, offering a comprehensive platform on a strong growth trajectory. Nordic Capital will support the Company’s future growth journey as the new majority owner in close partnership with the CEO & Founder.

As an award-winning global Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company, Siteimprove unites essential digital disciplines into a single, integrated solution. It empowers organizations with the tools to protect their reputation through consistent content quality standards, improve accessibility and compliance, and holistically optimize marketing efforts across organic and paid search. With nearly 20% of the world’s population living with a disability, website accessibility has become a major focus for organizations worldwide and Siteimprove is a global leader within this field.

The Company was founded in 2003 by its CEO Morten Ebbesen, and has its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since then it has grown steadily, and now has offices across Europe, North America and Asia. Siteimprove has 550 employees in 15 countries and over 7,200 customers globally. The Company’s customer base derives mainly from financial services, healthcare, and the public sector, and includes some of the most well-respected organizations in the world. In 2019, the Company reached recurring revenues of USD 81.6 million, of which approximately 60 percent from US customers.

Siteimprove has significant long-term growth potential, driven by increasing market penetration, expansion in key customer segments, and opportunity-generating past investments in product development and platform solutions. Nordic Capital will support Siteimprove’s further development and international expansion by investing in the organization and product offering, accelerating its growth as a strong and sustainable company.

“I am very pleased that we have chosen Nordic Capital as our partner for Siteimprove’s future journey. They have a long history of developing technology companies and enabling and driving global growth. Nordic Capital’s investment is an endorsement of our success to date and a validation of our software, which can help overcome today’s most demanding digital challenges regardless of a company’s size or industry. I am looking forward to further developing Siteimprove in partnership with Nordic Capital,” says Morten Ebbesen, CEO and Founder of Siteimprove.

“We have long admired Siteimprove as one of the top SaaS companies globally, with great potential for further growth due to its world class product offering, strong customer base and expanding market coverage. Nordic Capital will draw upon its significant experience and success in developing technology companies, working closely with the management team to continue Siteimprove’s journey as a strong and sustainable company. We are impressed by the Company and how its products reduce inequality in society by helping people with disabilities gain access to a digitalized world, and drive growth across essential digital disciplines” says Fredrik Näslund, Partner and Head of Technology & Payments, Nordic Capital Advisors.

Morten Ebbesen will continue as significant minority shareholder in the Company and remain as CEO. Growth equity investor Summit Partners, the company’s current minority shareholder, will divest its holding upon completion of the transaction. Summit Partners invested in Siteimprove in 2015.

Technology & Payments is one of Nordic Capital’s core focus sectors, with 16 platform investments in the Nordic region since 2001. It has a strong and active sector network and a dedicated Technology & Payments team with local presence across Northern Europe. Nordic Capital’s previous experience in this sector includes investments such as Bambora, Trustly, Conscia and Signicat.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Footnote: “Nordic Capital” refers to any, or all, Nordic Capital branded or associated investment vehicles and their associated management entities. Nordic Capital is advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities, any or all of which is referred to as “Nordic Capital Advisors”.

About Siteimprove
Siteimprove helps organizations achieve their digital potential by cutting through complexity and making it easier to prioritize work that drives value across digital disciplines. Siteimprove’s platform empowers teams with actionable insights that eliminate guesswork and prioritize the most impactful tasks. Siteimprove has 550 employees across offices in 15 countries, helping over 7,200 customers achieve their digital potential from a single solution. The company is part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the leading group of organizations, thought leaders, and community members developing international web standards, and one of only twelve exclusive Adobe Premier partners. Learn more at siteimprove.com

About Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Core sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services and Industrials & Business Services. Key regions are Northern Europe and globally for Healthcare. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested more than EUR 15 billion in over 110 investments. The Nordic Capital vehicles are based in Jersey. They are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities based in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the UK and the US, any or all of which are referred to as Nordic Capital Advisors. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com

Source: Siteimprove

LOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE, BELGIUM; KING OF PRUSSIA, PA; and LONDON, UK – CluePoints S.A., a provider of Risk-Based Study Execution (RBx) and Data Quality Oversight software for clinical trials, today announced a minority investment from Summit Partners, a global growth equity investor with $21 billion in assets under management. Summit will support the company’s continued growth and global expansion to meet accelerating customer demand worldwide.

CluePoints is a pioneer and established leader in Risk-Based Quality Management (“RBQM”), offering solutions designed to provide pharmaceutical companies and CROs a better way of identifying, visualizing, managing and documenting risks that may impact the outcome of clinical trials. Using patented statistical models to determine the quality, accuracy and integrity of clinical trial data, CluePoints’ cloud-based solutions helps sponsors to remotely monitor clinical and operational data in real-time to increase efficiency, improve patient safety and reduce costs. Since the company’s founding in 2012, CluePoints’ solutions have been used in over 600 clinical trials by many of the top pharmaceutical companies and CROs around the world.

“CluePoints has seen strong growth in recent years as sponsors and CROs across the pharmaceutical industry are embracing RBQM solutions to enable a safer, more efficient and more reliable form of monitoring clinical risk – a market need that has been further accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis,” said François Torche, co-founder and CEO of CluePoints. “Summit has an impressive history of partnering with founders of growth companies and has helped scale many global healthcare, life sciences and software businesses. We believe this experience, in combination with Summit’s deep operational resources, will help CluePoints build on our significant momentum as we continue to expand our international presence and drive product innovation to improve the clinical trial process worldwide.”

Patrick Hughes, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of CluePoints, added, “Summit shares our view that RBQM can be a catalyst for long-overdue change in the clinical technology sector. We believe the industry is at an inflexion point and expect to see continued, rapid adoption of these solutions. Together, Summit and CluePoints will work together to invest in both products and people with a vision to build on the company’s market leadership position. We are excited about the opportunity this collaboration offers the customers and partners of CluePoints.”

As industry regulators, including the FDA and EMA, have pushed the pharmaceutical industry to adopt RBQM strategies to more effectively monitor clinical trial risk, CluePoints has firmly established itself as a market leader in this rapidly evolving sector. The company’s solutions are designed to address these requirements to ensure regulatory compliance and to de-risk regulatory submissions. CluePoints’ cloud-based products are deployed to support or replace traditional onsite monitoring to drive a Risk-Based Approach to Study Execution (RBx) and ultimately to achieve ICH E6 (R2) compliance.

“We believe CluePoints offers one of the most intuitive, scalable and statistically powerful RBQM solutions available globally to sponsors and CROs,” said Thomas Tarnowski, a Managing Director at Summit Partners, who has joined the CluePoints Board of Directors. “CluePoints’ software seeks to address what we see as a critical need for risk-reduction, improved patient safety and quality oversight solutions across the pharmaceutical industry. We are thrilled to partner with co-founders Marc Buyse, François Torche and Patrick Hughes and the entire CluePoints team in this next phase of growth.”

About CluePoints
CluePoints is the premier provider of Risk-Based Study Execution (RBx) and Data Quality Oversight Software. Our products utilize comprehensive statistical algorithms to determine the quality, accuracy, and integrity of clinical trial data both during and after study conduct. Aligned with guidance from the FDA, EMA, and ICH E6 (R2), CluePoints® is deployed to support central and on-site monitoring, medical review, quality risk management and to drive a holistic Risk-Based strategy in all trials. Coupled with thought leadership and consulting expertise to aid pre-study risk assessment, identification of risk controls and solution implementation you now have everything you need to adhere with global regulatory guidance. The result is increased operational efficiency, lower costs and reduced regulatory submission risk as part of the industry paradigm shift to RBx. For more information, please visit www.cluepoints.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $21 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in healthcare, technology and other growth industries. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Building on Teaching Strategies' award-winning early childhood curriculum, the new digital solution enables administrators and educators to prepare for a unique back to school season with 24/7 access to developmentally appropriate curriculum, professional development, and tools to create meaningful family partnerships.

BETHESDA, MD -- Teaching Strategies, one of the most widely recognized and trusted brands in early learning, today announced the launch of the field's first fully online solution for early childhood education providers. The Distance Learning Solution is designed to integrate the essential components of teaching and enable developmentally appropriate educational experiences for children, regardless of setting for the upcoming school year. Rather than being confined to a paper-based, linear curriculum and disparate communication tools, early childhood educators will have access to a suite of integrated digital resources that enable them to seamlessly shift between in-person, hybrid, or remote learning models.

"We know families are relying on access to high quality early childhood education programs for the fall. While many states' plans are still in flux, our new initiative is designed to help programs build a learning plan that is flexible and resilient -- so that educators and the families they serve aren't left in the lurch," said Teaching Strategies CEO John Olsen. "We want educators and families to feel prepared, connected, and confident to support the development of every child, regardless of where that learning takes place. The Distance Learning Solution uniquely integrates essential components of instruction into a single, adaptable digital experience to meet unique educator needs now and into the future."

The program includes:

Digital curriculum: Educators will have 24/7 access to digital curriculum - including Teaching Guides, Foundation Volumes, Mighty Minutes, and Intentional Learning Experiences -- as well as new family-facing versions of these resources in English and Spanish that can be printed for equitable access and used in partnership with educators.

Dynamic planning calendar: Educators will save time with the auto-populate calendar feature, can customize daily and weekly plans as needed, and can share resources and plans directly with families.

Professional Development Library: Educators will have access to a robust library of on-demand online courses enabling them to nimbly handle transitions between in-person and distance learning and allow them to earn continuing education unit (CEU) credit.

Family partnerships: Educators will be able to share simple videos that give families practical, easy-to-implement activities to do from home. A family-facing mobile app also facilitates easy resource sharing between educators and families and allows families to communicate observations from home that educators can use to further inform instruction.

Formative assessment: Educators will be able to conduct authentic, ongoing, formative assessment to inform individualized learning plans for each child and will have access to resources and tools to partner with families on learning milestones.

To learn more, visit https://teachingstrategies.com/distance-learning/.

About Teaching Strategies
For 40 years, Teaching Strategies has provided early childhood educators with innovative, research-proven, effective resources to help build a strong foundation for our youngest learners. With ground-breaking solutions and a strong belief that a child's first 8 years form a critical foundation for school success, Teaching Strategies provides the most innovative and effective curriculum, assessment, professional development, and family engagement resources to programs serving children from birth through third grade. Teaching Strategies' products, including Tadpoles, the award-winning Creative Curriculum® for Preschool, and widely-adopted assessment solutions like GOLD® reach over 2 million children each year. To learn why thousands of early childhood programs and many states choose to partner with Teaching Strategies to help ensure children's success in school and in life, visit www.teachingstrategies.com and follow us on Twitter @TeachStrategies.

Source: Teaching Strategies

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -- Viroclinics Biosciences B.V. ("Viroclinics") today announced the appointment of life sciences industry veteran Davide Molho, DVM as the company's new Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Molho succeeds Bob van Gemen, PhD who has served as the company's CEO since 2011. This transition is part of a planned succession strategy. Dr. Molho's appointment will take effect on 1 August 2020.

Dr. Molho joins Viroclinics from Evolution Research Group, where he served as CEO. Prior to ERG, he worked for almost two decades at Charles River Laboratories, most recently serving as President and Chief Operating Officer of the global organization. As CEO of Viroclinics, Dr. Molho will lead the company through its next phase of growth with a specific focus on driving revenue diversification in adjacent and novel therapeutic fields, as well as continued strategic expansion through acquisitions.

"Davide's global leadership capabilities, extensive operational expertise within large organizations, and impressive M&A track record will be great assets to Viroclinics as we aim to further accelerate growth," said Bob van Gemen. "I am thrilled to transition the CEO role to Davide, and I am confident that Viroclinics, our customers and the communities we serve will benefit from his experience and vision."

"Bob has done a tremendous job leading Viroclinics' journey to a market-leading clinical research organization," said Davide Molho. "I am excited to join an organization operating at the forefront of global immunology challenges and I look forward to working closely with the team to build on the company's market leadership and guide the business through its next phase of growth."

Viroclinics Biosciences is a global leader in virology testing and laboratory services, with labs in Europe and China, and a global network of processing facilities across 20 countries that serve trials worldwide. The company will continue to focus on new market developments, virology related projects, and clinical trials. Virology targets include COVID-19, influenza, RSV, HBV, HPV and polio. Simultaneously, Viroclinics is excited by the prospects of its nascent entries into the fields of gene therapy and immuno-oncology. To further accelerate growth, multiple corporate initiatives will be explored, including strategic partnerships and acquisitions.

"Davide brings a record of leadership and shareholder value creation at global contract research organizations, and we are very excited to have such a high-caliber executive to lead the next phase of Viroclinics' journey," said Thomas Tarnowski, Viroclinics board member and Managing Director at Summit Partners. "We believe adding Davide to the already strong team, positions the company ideally to continue building on the impressive momentum created by Bob and the Viroclinics team over the past decade."

About Viroclinics Diagnostic Laboratory
Viroclinics Diagnostic Laboratory is a leading virology contract research organization, serving the biopharmaceutical community with a broad range of preclinical, clinical (advanced molecular) diagnostic, assay development and clinical trial logistics services. Operating at a global level, Viroclinics is the preferred virology testing laboratory for several of the top-10 biopharmaceutical companies. Viroclinics' extensive experience with clinical and preclinical studies for viruses, including its specialty in respiratory viruses, puts the company at the forefront in supporting the development of vaccines, antibodies and antiviral compounds targeting viral infectious diseases. Viroclinics is based in Rotterdam, Rijswijk, Schaijk, (The Netherlands) and employs more than 270 well-trained, dedicated scientists and technical experts.

Source: Viroclinics

BOSTON, MA and MENLO PARK, CA – Summit Partners, a global alternative investment firm, today announced the addition of five senior professionals to the Summit team. Hanyin Cheng and Mark Shankar have joined the firm’s Boston office, and Luna Dai, Kevin Jeon and Cathy Tanimura have joined the firm’s Menlo Park office.

“We are thrilled to welcome such a talented group of individuals to Summit,” said Peter Chung, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Partners. “Each of these professionals brings a diverse mix of experience and perspective to the firm’s investment and portfolio resources teams. We look forward to their contributions to the firm as we continue to serve as the partner of choice for category-leading growth companies.”

Hanyin Cheng has rejoined Summit as a Vice President on the firm’s technology team. Hanyin first joined Summit as an Associate in 2014, and previously worked at UBS Investment Bank. Hanyin holds a BA from Boston College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Luna Dai has joined Summit as a Vice President on the firm’s technology team. Prior to Summit, Luna worked at SoftBank Vision Fund, Warburg Pincus and Morgan Stanley. She holds a BS from the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

Kevin Jeon has joined Summit as Director of Revenue Optimization in the firm’s Peak Performance Group. In this role, Kevin will collaborate with management teams to help expand and drive revenue growth and optimization strategies. Prior to Summit, Kevin held various sales and operations roles at Splunk and Salesforce. He holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mark Shankar, M.D. has joined Summit as a Vice President on firm’s healthcare team. Prior to Summit, Mark worked at Goldman Sachs. In addition, he served as a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physician & Surgeons and was the Chief Emergency Medicine Resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, an MD from the George Washington University School of Medicine, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Cathy Tanimura has joined Summit as Vice President of Analytics & Data Science. In this role, Cathy will collaborate with management teams to create and execute strategies that effectively use data and analytics to drive decision making. Prior to Summit, Cathy led analytics teams at Strava, Okta and Zynga. She holds an AB from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of San Diego.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $21 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 140 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

New funds bring total capital raised to more than $7 billion since the start of 2019

BOSTON, MA; MENLO PARK, CA; LONDON, UK – Summit Partners, a global alternative investment firm, today announced the first and final closings of two funds with combined capital commitments of $2.2 billion. Summit Partners Europe Growth Equity Fund III closed at its hard cap with €1.1 billion in total commitments and will target equity investments between €20 and €70 million in Europe-based companies. Summit Partners Venture Capital Fund V also closed at its hard cap with $1.0 billion in commitments and will target equity investments of $10 to $60 million in growth stage companies based primarily in North America. Both funds were significantly oversubscribed.

“For more than 35 years, Summit Partners has served as the partner of choice for category-leading growth companies. With our latest Europe and Venture Capital funds, we will continue to leverage our deep sector knowledge, our extensive global network, and our platform of value enhancement resources to support the needs of our portfolio companies and their leadership teams,” said Peter Chung, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the firm. “In the midst of tremendous disruption around the world in recent months, we are deeply grateful for the ongoing trust of our limited partners and their steadfast support of the Summit Partners growth equity strategy.”

With more than 100 investment professionals across offices in Boston, Menlo Park and London, Summit Partners makes both minority and majority investments primarily in profitable, growing companies across select industry sectors, including technology, healthcare, financial technology and services, consumer products and business services. Summit Partners offers capital, experience and dedicated resources to help the firm’s portfolio companies accelerate growth and build businesses of enduring value. Since the firm’s inception in 1984, Summit Partners has raised more than $31 billion.

In addition, Summit Partners today announced that Melanie Whelan has joined the firm as a Managing Director focused on investment opportunities in high-growth consumer and technology-enabled services. Prior to Summit Partners, Ms. Whelan served as CEO of SoulCycle. Under her leadership, the company grew from eight New York City-based studios to nearly 100 studios in 18 markets across three countries and launched a vertically integrated, direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform and an audience-expanding media engine. Most recently, Ms. Whelan served as a member of Summit Partners’ Executive-in-Residence program. She holds a BA in engineering and economics from Brown University and is a member of the Aspen Institute’s 2018 class of Henry Crown Fellows.

“During her time as an Executive-in-Residence, Melanie has demonstrated a unique combination of distinguished brand- and company-building experience, deep subject matter knowledge and strong leadership capability. As a senior member of the investment team, she will further enhance our ability to support what we view to be category-leading companies and entrepreneurs across the consumer, business services and technology-enabled services landscape,” said Mr. Chung.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $21 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 140 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Ross Stern, a Principal in Summit’s Boston office, was named to Mergers & Acquisitions ’ 2020 Rising Stars of Private Equity list. Ross was recognized for his role in sourcing and structuring nine investments in healthcare companies since joining Summit in 2009, representing nearly $1.3 billion in invested capital. His investment and board experience includes Abode Healthcare, DMG Practice Management Solutions (acquired by Ares Management), My Dentist (acquired by Heartland Dental), Paradigm Outcomes, PharmScript, Sound Physicians and U.S. Renal Care.

Beyond investing, Ross was recognized for his active role in supporting portfolio companies post-investment, including helping to navigate the shift to virtual care delivery, return-to-work safety and managing remote clinical workforces during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mergers & Acquisitions ’ 2020 Rising Stars of Private Equity list recognizes nine emerging leaders who are excelling during a period of profound change in the U.S. and around the world. Read more about Ross and his fellow honorees at www.themiddlemarket.com.

Astorg is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive agreement in partnership with management to acquire Normec Group (“Normec” or the “Group”), a leading provider of testing, inspection, certification and compliance services headquartered in the Netherlands, from global growth equity investor Summit Partners.

Normec was founded in 2016 and today employs a team of more than 900 across the Benelux region and Germany. The Group specialises in testing, inspection and certification services in the foodcare and life, safety & environment markets. Since its inception, Normec has accelerated the execution of its strategy to become a Top 3 player in its markets through the acquisition of over 20 leading specialist providers.

Joep Bruins, CEO and founder of Normec, said: “We are delighted that Astorg has chosen to partner with Normec. Astorg has a strong track record of investing in and supporting the growth of founder-led companies. We are very proud of what we have achieved in such a short timespan since our founding, and we are appreciative of the support we have received from Summit Partners. We are excited to work together with Astorg to continue to strengthen and build out the Normec value proposition for our clients.”

François de Mitry, Managing Partner at Astorg, commented: “Over the past years, we have spent significant time reviewing the testing, inspection and certification space through which we have identified Normec. Normec’s leading position in its highly attractive core markets is a strong fit with Astorg’s investment strategy, and we are very excited to support Normec’s international expansion.” Nicolas Marien and Benjamin Cordonnier, Directors at Astorg added: “Normec has an impressive track record of delivering consistent growth through outstanding quality of service. We have already identified promising future M&A opportunities to actively work on with the management team led by Joep.”

Christian Strain, Managing Director at Summit Partners said: “It has been a privilege to work in partnership with the Normec team. Since Summit’s investment in 2017, the Group has executed its organic and acquisition-driven growth strategy and created a leading pan-European testing, inspection and certification services provider.” Johannes Grefe, Principal at Summit Partners, added: “The Normec management team has delivered strong growth over the last several years. We look forward to seeing the Group build upon this strength in the future.” Mr. Strain and Mr. Grefe led Summit Partners’ 2017 investment in Normec and have served on the Group’s board of directors since that time.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020 and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Normec was advised by Jefferies and the management team of Normec was advised by ING.

About Normec
Normec is the holding company of the Normec Group. Normec is active in the field of testing, inspecting, certification and compliance mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Normec assesses and supports the quality and safety of materials, systems and products by conducting independent audits, tests and inspections based on accredited methods. As an independent organisation, the work of Normec includes taking care of the quality and safety of their clients’ materials, systems and products. With intelligent, thorough and independent research and reporting, Normec combines professional expertise with excellent IT-driven services to provide value added services to their clients. In doing so, Normec ensures the sustainable improvement of companies or institutions. Normec operates in the Life Safety & Environment and Food & Agriculture segments. For further information about Normec: www.normecgroup.com.

About Astorg
Astorg is a leading independent private equity firm with over €8 billion of assets under management. Astorg seeks to partner with entrepreneurial management teams to acquire market leading global companies headquartered in Western Europe and North America, working together to create value through the provision of strategic guidance, experienced governance, and adequate capital. Astorg enjoys a distinct entrepreneurial culture, a long-term shareholder perspective, and a lean decision-making body enhancing its reactivity. Though not specialised, Astorg has gathered valuable industry expertise in software, healthcare, business-to-business professional services, and technology-based industrial companies. Astorg has offices in London, Paris, Luxembourg, Frankfurt and Milan. For further information about Astorg: www.astorg.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $21 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 140 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, visit www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Technical assessment leader is poised for accelerated growth as organizations seek to bolster their remote hiring processes for top-tier technical talent

SAN FRANCISCO and MENLO PARK, CA – Summit Partners today announced that it has closed on a growth funding round in CoderPad, a leading platform for assessing technical skills. The new growth funding will help fuel hiring and continued expansion for the already-profitable company as CoderPad scales to meet increasing demand for remote technical interview solutions.

Built by engineers, for engineers, CoderPad is on a mission to fix the technical interviewing process. The company offers a collaborative programming environment that helps hiring organizations efficiently and accurately assess technical skills of candidates. CoderPad launched in 2013. The company has been profitable since its start and has grown revenues 50% over the past year. The company serves over 1,700 customers, from startup organizations to some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated technology employers, including Dropbox, Lyft, Spotify and Quora. Customers have conducted more than 2.5 million technical interviews on the CoderPad platform.

“The traditional whiteboard-focused technical hiring process is becoming obsolete, and this trend has only accelerated as a result of the COVID pandemic,” said Amanda Richardson, CEO of CoderPad. “At the same time, we’re seeing more incredible technical talent entering the labor market than we’ve seen in a long time. CoderPad’s platform is designed specifically to help organizations hire better candidates faster in a real-world setting, allowing the best technical candidates to demonstrate the depth of their skills and employers to efficiently identify and assess talent that can add value quickly.”

CoderPad creates a realistic software development environment that is designed to allow the interviewer to collaborate, in real time, with the code being written by a candidate and view the results when the code is executed. With built-in video conferencing, the interview session is recorded for review by other hiring managers. CoderPad supports more than 30 programming languages for use during the interview process.

“Across end markets, we are seeing companies that are increasingly driven by software and technology, and organizations that require robust, remote, unbiased tools to identify, assess and attract top-tier technical talent. CoderPad is helping to fulfill that need with a platform that is used daily, at significant scale,” said Colin Mistele, a Principal with Summit Partners who serves on the CoderPad Board of Directors. “The company’s growth in customer count and revenues to-date has been impressive; the business is profitable and driving rapid growth in a highly capital efficient manner. We are excited to partner with Amanda and CoderPad’s growing team to help invest in the product, scale the organization and drive continued leadership in what we believe is an increasingly important software category.”

“CoderPad is a product- and engineering-led company, committed to helping technical talent find their next opportunity – and helping development organizations identify their next great hire,” added Amanda Richardson. "We’re excited about the tremendous opportunity ahead for CoderPad as we build on this momentum, further develop the product and continue expanding our team.”

About CoderPad
CoderPad is a simple yet powerful online technical assessment software that makes it easy to interview in the candidate’s language of choice so hiring managers can quickly get a quality signal of an engineer’s skills. We empower customers around the world to screen and interview best-in-class engineers with our comprehensive and flexible technology, responsive customer success team, and devotion to a great candidate experience. Headquartered in San Francisco, CoderPad serves over 1,700 customers and has hosted more than 2.5 million technical interviews in 30+ languages. Visit www.coderpad.io for more information.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $20 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 140 public equity offerings, and more than 190 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Notable technology companies backed by Summit Partners include Avast, A Cloud Guru, Gainsight, Klaviyo, Podium and Smartsheet. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Funding will be used to accelerate international growth, product development and technology innovation to help empower financial services in a new era of digital connectedness.‍

ZÜRICH and NEW YORK – Appway, a leading global provider of business process automation software focused on customer onboarding and customer lifecycle management for financial institutions, today announced a $37 million minority investment from global growth equity firm Summit Partners. This partnership represents Appway’s first external capital raise and will help the company to further expand its product portfolio and accelerate international growth while maintaining the entrepreneurial spirit that has driven the company’s continuous advancement since 2003.

Headquartered in Switzerland with eight offices around the globe, Appway provides software designed to support the digital transformation of customer-focused organizations across the financial services industry. Ten out of 25 of the largest wealth managers in the world trust the company’s award-winning software suite to aid the digitization, automation and acceleration of core business processes, such as the onboarding of new clients, managing changing client circumstances and regulatory reviews. Industry-leading institutions, including Credit Suisse, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, LGT, LPL Financial and Deutsche Bank, rely on Appway to improve customer experience and boost internal efficiencies while helping to maintain compliance with complex industry regulations. Leveraging an extensive community of consulting, implementation and technology partners, Appway gives access to a comprehensive ecosystem to support the digitization of organizations around the world.

Appway will use this new funding to support expansion initiatives in core markets around the world, including Europe, the APAC region and focusing on North America. Additionally, Appway will continue to invest in its software, leveraging cloud economics and flexibility to support real-time innovation for its customers and partners.

“Since its very first day, the Appway team has been driven by our mission to connect people, systems and data to automate workflows across teams and touchpoints,” said Hans Peter Wolf, Appway’s founder and CEO. “We look forward to leveraging Summit’s extensive experience scaling global software businesses in the financial services industry to expand our vision of ’Connecting the Disconnected’ and help more institutions embrace their digital future.”

Appway is designed to help customers create business applications in a scalable and flexible way. By assembling and configuring reusable components, Appway helps businesses to automate and adapt complex customer-centric workflows across touchpoints and channels. In a high-touch industry where customer service is a key competitive differentiator, Appway’s customers have reduced their client onboarding time by 90% and have driven meaningful and measurable uplift in customer lifetime value across the full client spectrum, from individual accounts to households and complex business structures.

“Over the past decade, financial institutions have had to adapt core business processes to comply with increasingly rigorous regulations and oversight related to customer identity verification (e.g., KYC), onboarding, risk and compliance,” said Steffan Peyer, a Principal at Summit Partners who will join the Appway Board of Directors. “We believe that Appway has developed a versatile and scalable platform, helping its customers to onboard clients faster, automate regulatory compliance processes and reduce costs.”

“Unlike general purpose low-code development platforms, Appway seeks to address core pain points in the financial services industry by automating the flow of work to revolutionize the customer experience and drive digital transformation across organizations,” added Dr. Matthias Allgaier, a Managing Director at Summit Partners who will also join the Appway Board of Directors. “We believe the company has delivered impressive, consistent capital efficient growth, and we are thrilled to partner with Hans Peter Wolf, his co-founder Oliver Brupbacher and the entire Appway team.”‍

About Appway‍

By automating workflows across people, systems, and data, Appway gives financial services businesses everything they need to get the job done and provide exceptional experiences at every touchpoint.

Its award-winning software is trusted by 10 of the top 25 wealth managers to digitize, automate, and accelerate core business processes, such as the onboarding of new clients, managing changing client circumstances, and regulatory reviews.  With its reusable components, Appway allows firms to create business applications in a scalable and flexible way.

Industry-leading institutions – including Credit Suisse, HSBC, BNY Mellon, Manulife, LGT, and LPL Financial – rely on Appway to improve customer experience and boost internal efficiencies in full compliance with complex industry regulations. Headquartered in Switzerland with offices around the globe, Appway serves customers while collaborating with an extensive ecosystem of consulting, implementation, and technology partners.

For more information, please see www.appway.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

About Summit Partners‍

Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $20 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in healthcare, technology and other growth industries. Notable business and financial technology companies backed by Summit Partners include 360T Group, Acturis, Calypso Technology, Clearwater Analytics, FleetCor Technologies, Flow Traders, Invoice Cloud, Multifonds, Signavio and Vestmark. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Antony Clavel, a Principal in Summit’s London office, was named one of the “2020 Rising Stars of European Private Equity” by Financial News and Private Equity News. Antony joined Summit in 2013 and is a key member of the firm’s technology team in Europe. He has invested more than €400 million in seven growth companies across the region, including Summit’s recent $40 million investment in Immersive Labs, a cyber skills training platform, and the firm’s $90 million investment in Odoo, a leader in open source all-in-one business software.

Beyond investing, Antony has played an active role in supporting the growth of private equity across Europe, serving on the advisory panel of the Future Fifty, a UK government initiative to identify and support promising high-growth companies in the country.

The “2020 Rising Stars of Private Equity” list from Financial News and Private Equity News recognized 25 emerging leaders who stand out for their ability to help shape the future of their firms and the private equity industry in Europe. Read more about Antony and his fellow honorees at www.penews.com or www.fnlondon.com.

Bellevue, WA – LifeStance Health (LifeStance), a leading provider of outpatient behavioral health services in the United States, announced today that TPG Capital will join existing investors, Summit Partners and Silversmith Capital Partners, in a partnership to support the company in expanding patient access to high-quality outpatient behavioral health services. Since its inception in 2017, LifeStance has been at the forefront of bridging the gap between behavioral health patients and clinicians in a critical but underserved segment of the healthcare ecosystem. Alongside management, TPG, Summit, and Silversmith will provide additional growth capital to support LifeStance’s goal of serving a larger patient population with clinical excellence.

“We believe this is the time, now more than ever, to create more access for patients and to grow opportunities for our clinicians and staff. Our partnership with TPG, Summit, and Silversmith will help drive the next phase of growth for LifeStance, as we look to expand our geographic and online digital health footprint, and ultimately serve more patients nationwide seeking mental health services,” said Michael Lester, CEO of LifeStance. “We remain focused on creating access for patients on a low-cost and in-network commercially insured basis, as well as continuing to create exciting career opportunities for psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, and licensed therapists in an outpatient work environment built around patient care, both in-person and online.”

LifeStance offers a range of outpatient behavioral health services, delivered both in-person and through telemedicine. The company focuses on creating and expanding low-cost outpatient access for patients seeking care for behavioral health conditions, on a commercially insured, in-network basis. LifeStance has approximately 2,000 behavioral health clinicians across 15 states and 200 offices, with over 1 million patient visits annually. The company also currently delivers more than 25,000 visits a week through telemedicine, further lowering barriers for patients seeking care from home or from rural markets with limited in-person options. LifeStance’s collaborative team of psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, and licensed therapists treat patients with a variety of behavioral health issues and across the age spectrum.

“We admire the leadership that LifeStance management and its clinicians have shown in bringing high-quality care to the growing number of patients who benefit from access to high-quality outpatient behavioral health services,” said Jeff Rhodes, Partner at TPG Capital. “We look forward to the opportunity to partner with LifeStance management, Summit, and Silversmith to support the company as it continues to expand services nationwide and cultivate a collaborative work environment for clinicians and staff.”

“In just three years, Mike and the LifeStance team have built a leading national platform designed to deliver convenient, compassionate behavioral health services nationwide,” said Darren Black, Managing Director at Summit Partners and a member of the LifeStance Board of Directors. “We believe strongly in the importance of and need for strong mental health services. The LifeStance team continues to work tirelessly to deliver on this need, and we are truly proud to continue our partnership.”

“We have been working with Mike and the LifeStance team from the company’s formation and have been unbelievably impressed as the team built a market-leading provider of behavioral health services for children, adolescents, and adults,” said Jeff Crisan, Managing Partner at Silversmith and a member of LifeStance’s Board of Directors. “We are grateful to the 2,000 LifeStance clinicians who have worked to provide exceptional care and better access to behavioral health to millions of patients are thrilled to have TPG join Silversmith and Summit as an investment partner to fuel the company’s rapid growth at a time when it is seeing significant patient demand."

BMO Capital Markets Corp and UBS Investment Bank served as financial advisors to TPG Capital, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Mintz served as legal counsel. Jefferies LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to management, Summit Partners, and Silversmith Capital Partners, and Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel.

About LifeStance Health, Inc.
LifeStance is a behavioral healthcare company focused on providing evidenced-based, medically driven treatment services for children, adolescents and adults suffering from a variety of mental health issues in an outpatient care setting, both in-person and through its digital health telemedicine offering. At LifeStance, patient care is paramount – the driving force in everything we do. LifeStance is committed to state-of-the-art clinical excellence, to partnership and collaboration with other treating health care providers to ensure continuity of care, to utilization of data to individually tailor services for continual improvement in outcomes, and to empowering patients to make informed choices and help them achieve their goals. This is offered in a compassionate and safe environment that provides education, support and best practices in integrated care.

LifeStance is a national provider of behavioral healthcare services with operations across the country. Founded in 2017, LifeStance brings together psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, and licensed therapists to provide comprehensive mental health treatment services for patients of all ages. Every LifeStance team member is dedicated to providing the utmost in compassionate care and treatment to serve the specific needs and concerns of each individual patient. To learn more, please visit www.LifeStance.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $20 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in healthcare, technology and other growth industries. Notable healthcare companies backed by Summit Partners include Advance Medical, DuPage Medical, HealthCare Partners, HealthSun, National Veterinary Associates and Sound Physicians. Summit maintains offices in North American and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Surgical Affiliates Management Group (SAMGI) – one of the leading surgical hospitalist companies in the United States – provides a strong example of Summit’s experience in supporting the growth of specialist healthcare companies that are helping to deliver better outcomes while reducing costs. Summit invested in SAMGI in 2012 as the company’s first intuitional investor, and over the course of our partnership, the company more than tripled revenues and expanded services nationwide. The Summit team worked closely with management to expand SAMGI’s leadership team and to recruit several experienced healthcare leaders to the SAMGI Board of Directors.

SAMGI has now achieved a new milestone: attracting an investment from Varsity Healthcare Partners for the company’s next phase of growth. It has been an honor to partner with founder Dr. Leon Owens, CEO Dr. Lynnette Scherer and the entire SAMGI team to help execute their vision to create a company that is seeking to transform the delivery of emergency surgical care nationwide.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

New funding allows Podium to provide operational stability to local businesses to safely and conveniently communicate with their customer base

In response to Covid-19, the company is launching Podium Starter, a cost-free version of its product available to any local business in the United States

LEHI, Utah -- Podium, the leading customer messaging platform for local businesses, today announced that it has raised a $125 million Series C round of funding led by YC Continuity with participation from Sapphire Ventures, Alkeon Capital, Recruit Co., Ltd., IVP, Accel, Summit Partners, and GV.

Podium launched in 2014 as a product to help local businesses get honest and timely online reviews. Since then, the company has developed an entire suite of messaging tools that allows any business with a physical location to conveniently interact with its customers. Podium's platform now supports customer messaging, mobile payments, webchat, online reviews, and customer feedback using messaging channels that customers actually use and trust. In just over five years, the Podium platform has been used by half of all smartphone owners in the United States to interact with a local business. Podium now has 45,000 businesses across the United States, Canada and Australia utilizing the platform, ranging from single-location SMB's to large enterprise companies with thousands of physical locations.

"Over the past five years, we have seen the fundamental way consumers interact with a local business change," said Eric Rea, co-founder and CEO of Podium. "This round of funding coincides with one of the largest events that has impacted and changed business in our lifetime. The digital transformation that was already taking place has been exponentially accelerated. We are putting this round to use to not only make this transition the most effective for these businesses during this period of time, but also to continue giving every local business the tools they need to grow and succeed moving into the future."

Along with the funding, Podium is announcing a cost-free version of its product, Podium Starter. This new basic package will allow businesses to interact with their customers and process contactless payments completely via messaging, which is both convenient for their customers while also filling a crucial need during periods of social distancing due to Covid-19. Initially rolling out via invitation, this offer will become available to every local business in the United States.

"YC and Podium have had a deep partnership ever since they were a part of our winter 2016 batch," said Ali Rowghani, CEO of YC Continuity. "Podium is unique in the fact that its market comprises almost every local business that we as consumers interact with on a daily basis. The company is modernizing the way we all reach out, interact, schedule, pay, and give feedback to our local businesses. When we had the opportunity to take a larger role in the growth of Podium and the positive change they are creating for the local economy, we were thrilled to partner in such a substantive way."

To request an invite to Podium Starter visit podium.com/starter.

About Podium
Podium is a customer messaging platform that enables companies with a local presence to conveniently connect with their customers at critical touchpoints to help them strengthen their business. By conveniently facilitating millions of customer interactions, such as driving customer-generated online reviews and providing improved customer messaging tools, Podium serves more than 45,000 local businesses in the United States, Canada and Australia. Headquartered in Lehi, Utah, and founded in 2014, Podium is currently backed by YC Continuity, Sapphire Ventures, Alkeon Capital, Recruit Co. Ltd., IVP, Accel, Summit Partners and GV. To learn more, visit www.podium.com or contact us at press@podium.com.

Source: Podium

The new growth equity funding allows Ninja to double-down on product development to further enable customer success, with new offerings and enhancements designed to make IT professionals and managed service providers (MSPs) even more productive and profitable.

San Francisco, CA -- Today, NinjaRMM, the modern remote monitoring and endpoint management solution announced that it has closed a growth equity funding round led by Summit Partners. Summit holds a minority stake in NinjaRMM, ensuring the company remains independent and founder-led.

With the new capital, Ninja will continue its product-first blueprint that has catapulted it into frontrunner status as a top alternative to legacy RMMs. In 2019, the company grew its engineering department by 60% and will continue increasing its development capacity to rapidly release more features and platform improvements and further accelerate its pace of innovation.

“Summit’s financing will enable us to move even faster, deliver more value to our customers and accelerate market leadership,” said Salvatore Sferlazza, CEO of NinjaRMM. “We are excited to partner with Summit who has a wealth of experience advising highly successful companies, while giving us the flexibility to operate as an independent organization. We’ve always strived to deliver a product that continuously exceeds expectations, and as the largest independent RMM solution on the market, we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time.”

“NinjaRMM is focused on disrupting the status quo by bringing better products and better service to highly skilled IT professionals,” said Andrew Collins, a Managing Director at Summit Partners and member of the NinjaRMM Board of Directors. “The company’s powerful, intuitive platform is backed by incredible customer support and takes a fresh, innovative approach to remote monitoring and endpoint management. We believe that the MSP and IT software market has been underserved for years, and we are proud to support Ninja’s continued expansion in the sector.”

In addition to Sferlazza, who previously founded Anchor, PacketTrap, and Lasso Logic, Ninja’s executive team of channel veterans and industry experts has guided the company through its early days as one of the first cloud-native MSP software solutions to its current position as an emerging market leader. Summit Partners has deep experience helping disruptive, fast-growing cloud and SaaS companies accelerate their growth. Other endpoint security and management companies backed by Summit include Jamf, Continuum, and Red Canary.

Ninja currently supports more than 4,000 customers, with some customers managing nearly 20,000 endpoints. Ninja’s software solution is available on a monthly subscription with a flexible pricing structure, which means Ninja can support its customers as their needs scale. For more information on how Ninja can help IT teams deliver more efficient and effective solutions to businesses, visit us at www.ninjarmm.com.

About NinjaRMM
NinjaRMM provides powerful, cloud-based remote monitoring and management software to managed service providers, SMBs, and mid-market companies, which offers an exceptional user experience and all the support you need to deliver fast and effective IT management. NinjaRMM increases business efficiency by combining monitoring, alerting, patching, antivirus, backup, and IT automation all within a single pane of glass. NinjaRMM has been named a Leader by G2Crowd and rated the #1 RMM across 8 categories, including ease of use, product direction, quality of support and overall satisfaction. NinjaRMM has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Tampa, and Berlin, Germany. Learn more by visiting www.ninjarmm.com or signing up for a free trial.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare, consumer and other growth industries. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies. For a complete list of Summit Partners portfolio companies, please click here.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Brooklinen, the direct-to-consumer (DTC) accessible-luxury home essentials retailer, today announced a $50 million investment from growth equity investor Summit Partners. The funding will help fuel the brand’s disciplined global market growth and omni-channel strategy.

The profitable Brooklyn-born and Brooklyn-based brand was founded in 2014 by husband and wife duo, Rich and Vicki Fulop, and has taken a disciplined approach to growth. Within the past year, the company has begun to expand its offerings, adding new categories like loungewear to its product lineup; launching a curated “Spaces by Brooklinen” home goods marketplace, featuring high-end, well-known, and indie brands; and opening its first permanent brick-and-mortar store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The new investment will be used to deepen customer touchpoints, extend Brooklinen’s physical retail footprint and expand Brooklinen’s growth across new domestic and international markets.

“Our customers are at the helm of every decision we make as a brand,” says Rich Fulop, CEO and co-founder of Brooklinen. “This partnership with Summit will provide significant resources and perspective that will help us to further extend our omni-channel strategy, giving us the ability to be where our customers are whether that is online, offline, or in new markets.”

Chris Dean, a Managing Director with Summit Partners, adds, “Brooklinen’s profitability, customer repeat rate, and consistently smart and deliberate growth decisions make them a rare brand to partner with. Many brands focus on a growth-at-all-costs model that we believe isn’t sustainable for longevity; we are thrilled to find a like-minded partner and to work together on the next stage of growth for Brooklinen.”

Brooklinen will carry on with its mission of providing accessible luxury to all from its Brooklyn headquarters. Under the leadership of co-founders Rich and Vicki Fulop, the team will continue to deliver high-quality goods to customers at highly accessible prices along with exceptional customer service.

Citibank acted as an advisor to Brooklinen.

About Brooklinen
Launched in 2014, Brooklinen has established itself as the leading e-commerce disrupter of the overpriced and overcomplicated bedding industry, offering global customers a curated collection of stylish, luxury-grade linens at an accessible price-point. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the brand was founded on the philosophy that people deserve simple, beautiful home essentials without the luxury markup. By cutting out the middleman, Brooklinen manufactures responsibly and efficiently to offer exquisite design and exceptional savings, bringing effortless, affordable luxury to any home. Expanding beyond the bedroom in 2018, Brooklinen introduced bath goods to bring its signature soft goods experience into more rooms throughout the home and beyond. To learn more about Brooklinen, visit Brooklinen.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare, consumer and other growth industries. Summit has partnered with more than two dozen companies across the e-commerce and consumer landscape, including Club Champion, Morphe, Philz Coffee, Quay Eyewear, Reverb.com, Sezane, onXmaps, TinyPrints and Physicians Formula. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS and LONDON, UK – Global growth equity investor Summit Partners today announced a majority investment in Viroclinics Biosciences B.V., a leading specialized contract research organization (CRO) serving the global biopharmaceutical industry. The funding will be used to fuel continued expansion of Viroclinics’ services, capacity and international presence.

Viroclinics is a leading provider of specialized non-clinical and clinical services to the global virology therapeutics and vaccine development market. Founded in 2001 within the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Viroclinics offers a full range of services to support and accelerate the market entry of new drugs, vaccines and antivirals from discovery to launch. Viroclinics is recognized as a global leader in the provision of respiratory infectious disease research services, with specialization in influenza and other viral targets, including RSV and polio.

“With the increasing global attention on respiratory infectious diseases, Viroclinics’ mission has only grown in its importance,” said Bob van Gemen, CEO of Viroclinics. “Summit Partners brings significant resources, deep healthcare experience and a global reach that will support Viroclinics’ expansion into new specializations and geographies as we seek to broaden our services and capacity worldwide.”

Viroclinics has grown significantly since 2011 when Bob van Gemen joined the company as CEO. Today, the company is a leader in anti-viral and vaccine testing, serving the global pharmaceutical industry through four testing laboratories in Europe and China as well as a global network of processing facilities across 20 countries to coordinate sample collection in strategic regions worldwide. With its recent acquisition of DDL Diagnostic Laboratory, Viroclinics employs 240 specialized scientists, researchers and support staff.

“Viroclinics is a truly global CRO provider of immunology laboratory services with a differentiated set of capabilities,” said Thomas Tarnowski, a Managing Director with Summit Partners, who has joined the Viroclinics Board of Directors. “As a leading lab services provider with a reputation for service excellence and clinical expertise recognized across the biopharmaceutical industry, we believe Vircolinics is ideally positioned to continue its rapid expansion and ability to provide best-in-class support for therapeutic and vaccine development. We are excited to partner with Bob and the rest of the Viroclinics team in this next chapter of growth.”

About Viroclinics Biosciences
Viroclinics Biosciences is a leading virology contract research organization, serving the biopharmaceutical community with a broad range of preclinical, clinical diagnostic, assay development and clinical trial logistics services. Operating at a global level, Viroclinics is the preferred virology testing laboratory for several of the top-10 biopharmaceutical companies. Viroclinics’ extensive experience with clinical and preclinical studies for viruses, including its specialty in respiratory viruses, puts the company at the forefront in supporting the development of vaccines, antibodies and antiviral compounds targeting viral infectious diseases. Visit www.viroclinics.com for more information.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Notable life sciences companies financed by Summit Partners include Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Clontech, Integrated DNA Technologies, Fermentas International and LakePharma. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

BOSTON, MA; MENLO PARK, CA and LONDON, UK – Summit Partners, a leading alternative investment firm, today announced the promotion of five professionals globally. Scott Ferguson and Sergio Mur were promoted to Principal; and Chris Bon, Olivia Ley and Jono Pagden were promoted to Vice President.

“We are pleased to recognize the achievements of Scott, Sergio, Chris, Olivia and Jono with these well-deserved promotions,” said Peter Chung, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Partners. “These talented professionals have served our limited partners and our portfolio companies with distinction. We are proud of the positive impact they’ve made at Summit Partners and beyond.”

Scott Ferguson has been promoted to Principal. Scott joined Summit as an Associate in 2009, was promoted to Senior Associate in 2012 and returned to Summit as a Vice President in 2015. Scott is based in Summit’s Menlo Park office and focuses primarily on the technology sector. His board and investment experience includes Calypso Technology, HelpSystems (acquired by H.I.G. Capital), MercuryGate, Perforce Software (acquired by Clearlake Capital), Teaching Strategies and Trintech. Prior to Summit, Scott worked for Piper Jaffray in the Technology Investment Banking Group. He holds a BS in finance from the University of Kansas and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Sergio Mur has been promoted to Principal. Sergio joined Summit’s London office as a Vice President in 2016. He has been an active member of Summit’s Peak Performance Group, leading engagements with numerous Summit portfolio companies including Advance Medical (acquired by Teladoc), Signavio, DentalPro (acquired by BC Partners), Syncron and Siteimprove. Prior to Summit, Sergio worked as a Vice President of European Operations at Cerberus Capital, in business development at Privalia (acquired by vente-privee.com), planning and analysis at TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) and M&A at J.P. Morgan. Sergio holds a CEMS Master in international management from St. Gallen University in Switzerland and a Master in business management from ESADE Business School in Spain.

Chris Bon has been promoted to Vice President. Chris joined Summit’s London office as an Associate in 2016 and was promoted to Senior Associate in 2019. He is a member of the firm’s Growth Products & Services team. His investment experience includes Normec, OnRobot, ProGlove and Sipartech (acquired by Blackstone). Prior to Summit, Chris worked in M&A advisory at J.P. Morgan. He holds a BCom in economics from the University of Toronto and an MSc in finance from HEC Paris.

Olivia Ley has been promoted to Vice President. Olivia joined Summit’s Menlo Park office as an Associate in 2017 and was promoted to Senior Associate in 2019. She is a member of the firm’s Healthcare & Life Sciences team. Her portfolio experience includes Healthline Media (acquired by Red Ventures) . Prior to Summit, Olivia worked at Castlight Health and The Advisory Board Company. She holds a BA in English literature from Princeton University.

Jono Pagden has been promoted to Vice President. Jono joined Summit’s London office as an Associate in 2016 and was promoted to Senior Associate in 2019. He is a member of the firm’s Healthcare & Life Sciences team. Jono’s investment experience includes Advance Medical (acquired by Teladoc) and zahneins (acquired by PAI Partners). Prior to Summit, Jono worked on the Retail/Healthcare and U.K. M&A teams at Goldman Sachs. He holds a Bachelor of Business Science, with honors, in accounting and finance from the University of Cape Town.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare, consumer, financial and business services, and other growth industries. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more Summit stories and to learn about #TheSummitPartnersNetwork, visit www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

BOSTON, MA and MENLO PARK, CA — Global growth equity investor Summit Partners today announced the addition of Melanie Whelan, former CEO of SoulCycle, to the firm’s Executive-in-Residence (“EIR”) program. In this role, Ms. Whelan will work closely with the Summit team to identify new investment opportunities in high-growth consumer and specialty retail brands, and to serve as an advisor to Summit.

“Melanie is a builder and leader of companies that thrive on unique consumer experiences and shared community,” said Greg Goldfarb, a Managing Director with Summit Partners. “She understands how modern consumer businesses build and leverage passionate online and offline communities, and she is deeply invested in developing exceptional leadership teams. We are thrilled to bring her perspective and experience to Summit as an EIR.”

Ms. Whelan joined SoulCycle in 2012 as COO and spent three years building and leading the operation before her promotion to CEO in 2015. Under her direction, SoulCycle grew from eight NYC-based studios to nearly 100 studios in 18 markets across three countries. Over the last two years, she led the company's diversification efforts, which included expanding the retail business through launch of a vertically-integrated, direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform and building a media division to drive audience and revenue growth strategies, including a 24/7 SiriusXM channel.

Prior to joining SoulCycle, Melanie led Business Development for Equinox where she was part of a team that executed a multi-brand strategy with the U.S. launch of Pure Yoga, the creation of Blink Fitness and the acquisition of SoulCycle. Earlier in her career, she was a member of the founding team of Richard Branson's U.S. air carrier Virgin America and worked in corporate development at Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Today, Melanie serves on the Board of Directors of Chegg, the publicly traded education learning company, and the GO Project, a non-profit focused on education inequity in New York.

“Summit has a strong history of partnering with innovative, high-growth consumer businesses that are leveraging technology and the power of community to expand their reach,” said Ms. Whelan. “I’ve long admired Summit for their focus on brands and management teams and the firm’s long-term approach to partnership. I’m excited to work alongside the Summit team to identify the next great entrepreneurial opportunities and to serve as an advisor to the firm.”

Summit has been active in the consumer sector for more than three decades, with a focus on specialty retail and high-growth consumer brands. Summit has partnered with more than two dozen companies across the e-commerce and consumer landscape, including Club Champion, Morphe, Philz Coffee, Quay Eyewear, Reverb.com, Sezane, onXmaps, TinyPrints and Physicians Formula.

Summit’s EIR program is an established element of the firm’s growth-oriented investing strategy. Since its inception, the program has facilitated collaboration between seasoned industry executives and Summit’s investment teams, working to identify sector-specific opportunities in which EIRs may support companies in an ongoing capacity through board or leadership roles.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare, consumer, financial and business services, and other growth industries. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more Summit stories and to learn more about #TheSummitPartnersNetwork, visit www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

MANSFIELD, MA and BOSTON, MA – eClinical Solutions LLC, a leading global provider of cloud-based enterprise software and software-driven clinical data services, announced that it has received a minority investment from global growth equity firm Summit Partners. The financing allows eClinical Solutions to support and further expand the growth of its cloud-based Clinical Data Hub platform, elluminate®, and elluminate-enabled data services.

eClinical Solutions helps accelerate the clinical development process, providing clinical data software and technology-enabled data services to more than 100 life sciences organizations. The company’s proprietary Clinical Data Hub, elluminate, helps life sciences organizations integrate and unify all clinical data sources seamlessly, providing real-time data visibility, traceability, transformation and analysis. With hundreds of clinical trials on the platform, elluminate is designed to empower organizations to maximize the value of their clinical data, regain control of the clinical research process and proactively make decisions regarding clinical trials.

“We are delighted to partner with Summit as we enter a new phase of growth,” stated Raj Indupuri, Co-Founder and CEO of eClinical Solutions. “Summit has a long history of helping to accelerate growth and scale businesses. We believe their deep experience in the life sciences and HCIT markets will help propel eClinical Solutions to the next level.”

“Biopharmaceutical companies collect millions of data points throughout a clinical trial; ingesting and normalizing data from a variety of vendors is a complicated, time consuming process – one that often extends the time-to-market for a new drug. We believe the elluminate platform addresses this challenge head on, offering a more holistic view of data across the clinical trial process,” said Mark deLaar, a Managing Director with Summit Partners who has joined the eClinical Solutions Board of Directors.

Jesse Lane, a Principal with Summit Partners who has also joined the Company’s Board, added, “eClinical Solutions is led by an impressive and highly regarded management team with a demonstrated record of excellence and extensive knowledge of the clinical development technology market. We have gotten to know the eClinical Solutions team well over the course of the last several years, and we are honored to partner with Raj, Bob and the entire organization."

“We founded eClinical Solutions with a mission to help bring new treatments to patients faster, and we’re seeing overwhelming market demand for our solutions,” said Bob Arnesen, Co-Founder and President of eClinical Solutions. “The elluminate platform is designed to provide one source of truth for all clinical data along with intuitive data mapping and comprehensive analytics across data sources. Summit immediately understood our market and our vision. They have already been instrumental in accelerating our journey.”

eClinical Solutions will continue to work to drive efficiency for its customers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries and to help clients navigate the difficulties of the clinical development process. An established market leader in technology-driven clinical data management, eClinical Solutions has deep experience supporting clinical trials across all phases and therapeutic areas.

About eClinical Solutions LLC
eClinical Solutions is a leading global provider of cloud-based enterprise software and software-driven clinical data services. The elluminate® platform provides life sciences companies with greater control of their clinical trial data. elluminate software and data-driven services have been used by more than 100 life sciences companies on more than 500 trials. For more information, visit www.eclinicalsol.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Notable life sciences and HCIT companies financed by Summit Partners include Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Clontech, Integrated DNA Technologies, Fermentas International, LakePharma, Modernizing Medicine and Wellcentive. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

FORT WASHINGTON, PA. -- Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC (“Patriot”), one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing national insurance agencies, today announced the addition of Solomon & Solomon Insurance Brokers, Inc. (“Solomon & Solomon”) to the Patriot platform. The partnership with Solomon & Solomon significantly bolsters Patriot’s existing property and casualty insurance capabilities and strengthens the company’s large and growing footprint in the state of California.

Based in Laguna Hills, California, Solomon & Solomon is an independent insurance agency that provides a vast array of property and casualty, employee benefits and risk management products for clients operating in a variety of industries including manufacturing, real estate, wholesale & distribution, food services, healthcare, contractors and professional services. Rich and Shawn Burnstein lead a dynamic team of 18 insurance professionals who are committed to delivering the best solutions while building lasting client relationships.

“The Patriot team has consistently demonstrated an intense passion and understanding for the values that are deeply ingrained within our business: integrity, honesty, respect, excellence and teamwork,” said Rich Burnstein, Founder and President of Solomon & Solomon.

“Great chemistry and shared values are the foundation for building successful relationships. These core values were important factors in our decision to become a part of the Patriot family. We’re looking forward to what the future holds and reaching new heights together with Patriot,” added Shawn Burnstein, Senior Vice President of Solomon & Solomon.

“In today’s market, high-quality agencies have a lot of choices for partners to help them reach the next level, and Solomon & Solomon was no exception. Our team worked closely with Rich and Shawn for over a year to ensure the cultural and operational fit, and we are ecstatic about the outcome,” said Matt Gardner, Founder and CEO of Patriot. “We extend their employees and clients a very warm welcome, and we are excited to help them continue to grow the agency within the Patriot family.”

About Patriot Growth Insurance Services
Founded in 2019, Patriot is a growth-focused national insurance services firm that partners with employee benefits and property & casualty agencies across the United States. With approximately 500 professionals operating in 44 locations across 12 states, Patriot’s collaborative model delivers resources and strategic support to its agencies, whose leaders continue to operate with a high degree of autonomy in their local markets. Patriot’s unique equity model creates true alignment with its partner agencies, and its operating philosophy fosters enhanced career opportunities for its dedicated and professional team. Patriot is backed by growth equity investor Summit Partners. For more information, please visit www.patriotgis.com.

Source: Patriot Growth Insurance Services

Investment announced as leading third-party Office 365 data management SaaS provider books four consecutive quarters of record revenue growth

Jersey City, New Jersey — AvePoint, the leading provider of data governance, protection and migration solutions for Office 365 and SharePoint, today announced approximately $200 million in commitments from new minority equity investors to fuel its global growth and expansion, as well as partially recapitalize long-term shareholders. The capital raise was led by a substantial Series C Preferred Equity investment from TPG Sixth Street Partners with additional participation from both new and existing investors, including Goldman Sachs.

AvePoint continues to experience outstanding growth driven by the rise in adoption of Office 365 and other cloud office solutions. AvePoint’s most popular solution, Cloud Governance, helps organizations better govern and secure Microsoft Teams, the fastest growing business application in Microsoft’s history. The company is also the only scaled vendor that provides Microsoft Teams backup solutions as well as Slack to Teams migration solutions and services.

Today, more than 7 million cloud users and 16,000 large enterprises across all seven continents trust AvePoint software and services for their data management, protection and migration needs.

AvePoint plans to use its latest round of funding to accelerate its growth and investment into its channel offerings that provide managed service providers (MSPs) the tools to better migrate, manage and protect the Office 365 environments of their small and medium business clients. AvePoint aims to add more than 40,000 customers through the channel in the next two years.

MSPs can currently purchase AvePoint solutions from a wide variety of distribution partners including Synnex, TechData, and Intcomex. In July 2019, global distributor Ingram Micro announced AvePoint as its exclusive migration and backup solution provider as part of its Modern Workplace Accelerate program.

“A huge driver of our growth has been our own digital transformation into a majority SaaS solution company,” said Tianyi Jiang, co-founder and co-CEO, AvePoint. “We have invested in our cloud platform to ensure that we have the scale, pace of innovation, API extensibility and security to meet our customer’s demands. This strategic focus has played a large role in delivering four consecutive quarters of record revenue growth in 2019.”

The senior management team, including co-founders and co-CEOs Kai Gong and Tianyi Jiang, will continue to lead the company. Michael McGinn, Partner and Co-Head of Capital Solutions at TPG Sixth Street Partners, will join AvePoint’s board of directors.

“Through its investment in innovation and reputation for reliability, AvePoint has positioned itself to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities presented by the rapid and widespread adoption of cloud office solutions,” said Mr. McGinn. “We look forward to partnering with their senior leadership as they continue their focus on meeting their customers’ needs and driving the company towards its next phase of growth.”

AvePoint employs more than 1,500 people with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Singapore, Australia, Netherlands, China, Japan, Philippines and more.

About AvePoint
AvePoint accelerates your digital transformation success. Over 16,000 companies and 7 million SharePoint and Office 365 users worldwide trust AvePoint software and services for their data migration, management, and protection needs in the cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments. A four-time Microsoft Partner of the Year, AvePoint is a Microsoft Global ISV Partner and has been named to the Inc. 500|5000 six times and the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ five times. Founded in 2001, AvePoint is privately held and headquartered in Jersey City, NJ.

TPG Sixth Street Partners
TPG Sixth Street Partners ("Sixth Street") is a global finance and investment business with over $33 billion in assets under management and TSSP Capital Solutions (“Capital Solutions”) is its dedicated growth investing platform. Capital Solutions makes customized, non-control private investments in growth-oriented companies. The team partners with companies and management teams to provide bespoke, accretive financing solutions that often fall between traditional growth equity and commercial debt. Sixth Street has invested over $3 billion in more than 35 growth-oriented companies in its Capital Solutions strategy since inception. Select current and past representative Capital Solutions investments include AirTrunk, AvidXchange, Gainsight, Kyriba, Lucidworks, Paycor, PayScale, PaySimple and Spotify. For more information, visit www.tssp.com/tcs.

Source: AvePoint

More than 4.5 million users worldwide are growing their businesses with Odoo

GRAND-ROSIÈRE, BELGIUM and SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Odoo, a leader in open source all-in-one business software, announced today that it has closed a $90 million minority investment led by global growth equity investor Summit Partners, with participation from Odoo’s executive management team and existing investor SRIW and its affiliate Noshaq. New investor Summit Partners joins management and current shareholders, including SRIW, Sofinnova and XAnge in supporting Odoo’s rapid product development pace and continued global expansion.

With more than 4.5 million users worldwide, Odoo is the most installed business software in the world. The company’s solutions are designed to support businesses of all sizes, with a flexible, fully-featured, and integrated suite of applications to run and manage all aspects of a business. Odoo’s functionality encompasses traditional ERP, including accounting, stock, manufacturing and CRM, as well as broader business needs such as project management, marketing, human resources, website, eCommerce, point-of-sale and more. With a modular approach, Odoo provides affordable, customizable and easy-to-use software that scales with business needs as a company grows.

“My goal in founding Odoo was to make a difference. I wanted to create software that powers the growth of businesses and changes the world,” said Fabien Pinckaers, Odoo Founder and CEO. “In order to achieve this, we’ve had to work hard, build a team and innovate at every turn. I’m incredibly proud of where Odoo is today and the passionate community we have built – and we’re just getting started.”

Since 2015, Odoo has operated with an open core business model that combines its open-source product, Odoo Community, with a suite of proprietary core apps through Odoo Enterprise. In addition to the 30 applications offered in Odoo Enterprise, Odoo’s community of 20,000 active members worldwide has contributed more than 16,000 apps that cover a broad spectrum of business needs. With revenue growth consistently above 50% over the last ten years, Odoo is one of Belgium’s leading technology success stories. To support the company’s growth and global expansion, Odoo has grown its team to 750-strong, including the addition of more than 300 team members in 2019. Odoo operates international offices in San Francisco, India, Hong Kong and Dubai to support a global customer base.

“In our experience, traditional ERP is expensive and frequently fails to adapt to the unique needs of dynamic businesses. With its flexible suite of applications and a relentless focus on product, we believe Odoo is ideally positioned to capture this large and compelling market opportunity,” said Antony Clavel, a Principal with Summit Partners who has joined the Odoo Board of Directors.

“We are thrilled to partner with Fabien and his visionary team for this next phase of growth,” added Han Sikkens, a Managing Director and Head of Europe at Summit Partners.

“As an early investor in Odoo, we are delighted to reaffirm our support in the company’s continued expansion,” said Damien Lourtie, General Manager of W.IN.G (SRIW Digital) and a member of the Odoo Board of Directors. “We are proud to support this impressive leadership team – a team that has successfully scaled Odoo from its roots in Belgium to the global business that it is today.”

Odoo was advised by financial advisory firm Lazard.

About Odoo
Odoo is a leading provider of all-in-one, open source business software for small and medium sized businesses worldwide. Founded in 2005, Odoo thrives in a unique and fully open ecosystem combining the resources of its community and partners to deliver a full range of easy-to-use, integrated and scalable business applications. Odoo has offices in the U.S., Belgium, Luxembourg, India, Hong Kong and Dubai. For more information, please visit: www.odoo.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Notable technology and software companies financed by Summit Partners include Acturis, Avast, Darktrace, FLEETCOR, Flow Traders, Infor, Klaviyo, Ogone, RELEX Solutions, Smartsheet and Trintech. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

About SRIW
SRIW (Société Régionale d'Investissement de Wallonie) provides equity and/or debt to companies that generate added value and employment in Wallonia (Belgium) ($3 billion under management). For the last 40 years, SRIW has been facilitating the region's economic development, contributing effectively to the modernisation, growth and restructuring of the businesses that make up the Walloon industrial network. For more information, please visit: www.sriw.be.

About XAnge
XAnge is a Franco-German Venture Capital team with €450m under management, investing in Digital technologies, Deep tech and Impact entrepreneurs. XAnge is part of Siparex, a leading French private equity group. XAnge is a proud investor in Evaneos, Chauffeur Privé, Ledger, or Fidor. FindMyVC.io - www.xange.fr - Twitter @XAngeVC

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Combined organization now represents THE school for the future of IT with the largest cloud computing training library in the world

AUSTIN, TX - Today, A Cloud Guru announced the acquisition of Linux Academy, creating the largest and most effective cloud computing training platform in the world. With a shared mission to “teach the world to cloud,” the combined organization now represents THE school for the future of IT: hands-on, practical and updated daily to keep pace with continuous changes in cloud technology.

By bringing together the beginner-friendly A Cloud Guru offering and the more advanced Linux Academy training programs, the combined content library will represent the world’s largest catalog of hands-on training for cloud computing (AWS, Azure & Google Cloud), DevOps, containers, security, big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

As part of this acquisition, Bain Capital Tech Opportunities has made a significant investment in A Cloud Guru, alongside participation from existing investors Elephant, Summit Partners and AirTree Ventures.

Related News: A Cloud Guru Raises $33M to Scale its Leading Online Cloud Training Platform

Organizations across sectors and geographies are in the midst of transitioning to a cloud-first strategy. The cloud services market is growing at a rate nearly three times that of the overall IT services market, but most enterprises aren’t prepared for the cloud transition. Nearly three-quarters of IT decision makers believe their organizations have lost revenue due to a lack of cloud expertise within their teams.

Now, solving that challenge will become easier.

“We believe anyone, anywhere can grow their cloud skillset and achieve a brighter future,” said A Cloud Guru CEO Sam Kroonenburg. “Together with Linux Academy, we can ensure that each customer experiences the highest quality and most relevant content throughout their continuous learning path.”

A Cloud Guru will bring together the best of both companies to provide an integrated learner’s journey and create an unparalleled customer experience, while also rapidly accelerating the launch of new courses and the pace of innovation.

“I’m thrilled for our students. They are the true winners in this combination of two best-in-class cloud training providers,” said Linux Academy CEO Anthony James. “Our student-first missions are completely aligned, and we truly are better together.”

Kroonenburg will lead the combined organization, which has already helped more than 1.5 million people learn cloud computing, and James will serve in an advisory capacity. The company is growing revenues at a rate of nearly 100% and today employs almost 400 team members around the world.

William Blair & Company, LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Linux Academy.

About A Cloud Guru
Founded in 2015 by brothers Sam and Ryan Kroonenburg, ACG is driven by a straightforward mission—to teach the world to cloud. What began as a single cloud certification course has expanded into a rich content library and hands-on labs covering Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure cloud platforms. ACG has helped more than one million users across 196 countries acquire the skills and certifications needed to pursue meaningful careers in the cloud. The state-of-the-art learning platform helps businesses and individuals rapidly develop cloud skills, prepare for certification exams, and progress through learning paths to become gurus in specialized disciplines.

About Linux Academy
Linux Academy is the premier hands-on cloud training platform for all skill levels. Since 2012 Linux Academy has provided self-paced courses, access to expert training architects, a wide library of content, and real scenario-based environments for cloud mastery. Learners can train real-time in multiple, secure platforms within Linux Academy. With constantly updated information and friendly guidance to succeed, Linux Academy boasts 95% satisfaction among learners. The Linux Academy platform offers more than 200 courses, over 1,000 Hands-On Labs, and Learning Paths to guide training.

Source: A Cloud Guru

Acquisition extends FineLine’s services to new markets across sports, entertainment, and premium events

Norcross, GA – FineLine Technologies Inc. (“FineLine” or the “Company”) has acquired Consolidated Printing Inc. (“CPI”), a leading provider of printed tickets for professional and collegiate sporting events and major entertainment and event venues throughout the United States.

This acquisition marks FineLine’s strategic entry into event management, an industry in which the Company can leverage its advanced data management and RFID capabilities to improve complex ticketing processes. Event management is a core piece of the Company’s strategy to expand into additional industry verticals which require stringent data management and reporting functionalities and are apt to undergo continued logistics optimization.

“The acquisition of CPI will allow FineLine to offer its advanced data management and RFID production capabilities to the sports, entertainment, and event ticketing industries. Similar to other verticals, we see this industry moving rapidly from conventional printed tickets to RFID-enabled smart tickets, as evidenced by the NFL’s recent decision to adopt RFID-enabled ticketing,” said George Hoffman, FineLine’s Chairman and CEO.

“Since 1991, CPI has built an incredible business by providing high quality tickets to more than half of the teams in the NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBA, as well as to some of the most famous events and venues in entertainment, including the Emmy Awards, Madison Square Garden, and Carnegie Hall,” Hoffman continued.

Curtis Howells and William McKeever, co-CEOs of CPI, view FineLine as the ideal partner to help grow their business both in the U.S. and abroad. “Our customers are increasingly inquiring about smart ticketing and its ability to enhance fan engagement, reduce ticket fraud, and improve security. We are proud to say that in 2019 we successfully transitioned more than half of the NFL teams from conventional paper tickets to RFID-enabled smart tickets,” said Howells. “FineLine shares our commitment to providing excellent customer service, rapid delivery, and innovative solutions. We are excited to leverage FineLine’s RFID capabilities and data management solutions as we continue to grow our business.”

About FineLine Technologies
FineLine Technologies provides barcoded and RFID integrated labels, tags, and badges for supply chain, omni-channel fulfillment, POS, access control, and consumer engagement needs. FineLine produces billions of tickets annually through its global network of print hubs, delivering them in less than five days, on average. FineLine offers its more than 55,000 registered suppliers online order placement, tracking, and analytics to help customers efficiently manage their supply chains. FineLine is backed by growth equity investor Summit Partners. Learn more at FineLine Technologies.

About CPI
Consolidated Printing, Inc., is one of North America’s leading ticket manufacturers. A full-service commercial printer, CPI specializes in custom event ticket printing combined with state-of-the-art technologies. From design to delivery, the art room to the loading dock, CPI’s dedicated staff utilizes industry-leading equipment and technology, to ensure that every client receives a finished product which they can be proud of. Over the years, CPI has served organizations and events from nearly every field of the sports and entertainment industries, including teams from professional and college sport, as well as orchestras, ballets, museums, film festivals, awards ceremonies, concerts and tours, television shows and theme parks. Learn more at www.teamcpi.com.

Source: FineLine Technologies

Combination creates the first SaaS company to provide data-driven shipping insights for companies that fuel the $3.5 trillion e-commerce industry

KANSAS CITY, MO -- VeriShip, a leading SaaS-based shipping expense optimization platform, today announced its acquisition of Valence, a software and managed service company that tracks Amazon’s operational errors for sellers in its Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program.

The acquisition establishes VeriShip as the only software company to offer managed services and insights for small to mid-sized businesses shipping across the world’s largest parcel shipping and fulfillment networks – Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), DHL (OTCMKTS:DPSGY), FedEx (NYSE:FDX), and UPS (NYSE:UPS) – and positions the company at the epicenter of the influential industry sectors of e-commerce and data analytics.

“Cyber Monday’s record sales proved e-commerce will only continue to grow, yet smaller retailers face difficult headwinds as consumers demand shorter shipping times and less expensive rates,” said Ryan Clement, VeriShip CFO. “We know how to help – VeriShip has been advocating for small and mid-sized businesses to manage their parcel relationships and spend with FedEx and UPS for nearly 15 years. Now, we can extend our expertise to Amazon sellers.”

VeriShip and Valence have a shared mission: to leverage spend intelligence to simplify the increasingly complex and often-fraught relationships between shipper and carrier.

Valence’s technology taps into Amazon’s Marketplace Web Service API to identify Amazon’s operational errors in handling a seller’s FBA inventory. Then, Valence associates negotiate reimbursements owed. Similarly, VeriShip combines its industry-leading technology – a cloud-based parcel analytics platform that aggregates and audits data on 70 million packages shipped annually through DHL, FedEx and UPS – with expert data scientists to recover refunds for small and mid-sized businesses. Its data scientists further analyze and compare data to optimize the shipping environment and prevent future overcharges and inaccuracies through carrier contract engineering and predictive analytics.

As e-commerce continues to dominate U.S. purchasing behavior, and the delivery experience becomes as crucial to the consumer as the product, brands want to take control of their fulfillment strategy. The acquisition gives VeriShip the broadest warehouse of parcel shipping data in the e-commerce channel – data that its expert analysts can put to work for sellers struggling to compete.

"SMBs are competing in an ever-changing e-commerce landscape. Meanwhile, powerful multinational package delivery and fulfillment services, like Amazon, are continuously changing the rules,” said Valence co-founder and now VeriShip CRO JL Needham. “Together, the VeriShip and Valence solutions help level the playing field for these businesses whose products fuel the future of retail.”

About VeriShip
VeriShip is a spend management and payments platform that tracks, audits and analyzes shipping invoice data to support small and mid-sized businesses shipping with the four largest U.S. carriers. Its SaaS-based technology platform gives SMBs control of their shipping data with a single source of cloud-based visibility into parcel spend. Its team of data scientists and parcel experts uses the platform’s decades of shipping data to benchmark and forecast, helping clients negotiate shipping contracts and optimize and reduce future shipping spend. Since 2006, VeriShip has helped nearly 6,000 businesses optimize shipping on nearly $2 billion in parcel spend. Learn more at veriship.com/valence.

Source: VeriShip

AUSTIN, Texas December — A Cloud Guru ("ACG") today announced that Katie Bullard has joined the organization as President and will lead the company’s growth acceleration efforts and be responsible for sales, marketing, customer success, and partnership operations.

Most recently, Bullard was President at DiscoverOrg / Zoominfo and was named one of the 50 most powerful women in technology in 2019 by the National Diversity Council and a Top 20 Women in Business to Watch in 2018 by SLMA.

“Katie brings years of deep industry expertise successfully scaling and leading high growth technology businesses, and will be a fantastic addition to senior leadership team," said Sam Kroonenburg, co-founder and CEO of ACG. "Katie’s experience leading global companies, driving strategic vision, and executing with operational rigor will be invaluable to ACG as we continue to scale and grow.”

Bullard brings to ACG a 15-year proven track record of driving transformative growth, sustained operational excellence, and customer-centric culture. In her last 3 roles at Accruent, Mitratech, and DiscoverOrg / ZoomInfo, she helped lead revenue growth at each one from under $50m to well over $100m; most recently driving DiscoverOrg’s growth from under $60m to almost $400m in 3 years.

Bullard says, “I am so fortunate to join the talented ACG team at this momentous time in their growth. I’ve never seen a company that has done such a phenomenal job creating massive customer affinity and value in such a short period of time, and I’m looking forward to helping to teach the world to cloud.”

About A Cloud Guru

Founded in 2015 by brothers Sam and Ryan Kroonenburg, ACG is driven by a straightforward mission—to teach the world to cloud. What began as a single cloud certification course has expanded into a rich content library and hands-on labs covering Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure cloud platforms.

ACG has helped more than one million users across 196 countries acquire the skills and certifications needed to pursue meaningful careers in the cloud. The state-of-the-art learning platform helps businesses and individuals rapidly develop cloud skills, prepare for certification exams, and progress through learning paths to become gurus in specialized disciplines.

Source: A Cloud Guru

HOPKINTON, Mass. -- PrismHR, the leading HR technology platform powering payroll, benefits and HR for small and medium-sized businesses across the U.S., today announced that funds managed by Stone Point Capital LLC have taken a majority stake in the company. Stone Point, a leading private equity firm focused on investing in the financial services industry, joins existing investor Summit Partners as the company continues its quest to fuel the growth of America's small businesses through HR, benefits and technology that level the playing field with large enterprises.

"Stone Point, with its experience in PEO, employee benefits and HR technology, will be an incredibly valuable resource for us as we further our strategy to deliver software and services to our network of 300+ HR outsourcers serving small businesses nationwide," said Gary Noke, President and CEO of PrismHR. "We see a tremendous opportunity to use technology and data to make it easier and more cost effective for our HRO partners to improve operational efficiency and to deliver a world-class client and employee experience."

"We're thrilled to be partnering with PrismHR and believe that there is significant opportunity for growth for HR outsourcers serving the SMB market," said Jarryd Levine, Principal of Stone Point. "PrismHR and its network of HR service providers can bring incredible value to employers by helping them lower costs and compete in new ways through the use of technology to deliver quality services and top-tier benefits products to their employees."

"As the HR function becomes increasingly complex, we have observed continued growth in the demand for outsourced HR solutions for SMBs," said Scott Collins, Managing Director at Summit Partners, which invested in PrismHR in 2017. "With a sophisticated, scalable and comprehensive platform, we believe PrismHR is strongly positioned to help SMBs manage this complexity. It has been a pleasure to work alongside Gary to expand the PrismHR team and enhance the platform, and we are looking forward to continuing our partnership."

William Blair served as investment advisors and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisors for both PrismHR and Summit Partners in the transaction. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP served as legal advisor to Stone Point.

About PrismHR
PrismHR's mission is to fuel the growth of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the U.S. Our HR software, combined with our ecosystem of HR service providers, enables SMBs to manage payroll, benefits, and HR, leveling the playing field with large enterprises. Today, PrismHR software delivers world-class HR services to more than 80,000 organizations and over 2 million worksite employees, processing greater than $80 billion in payroll each year. PrismHR is located in Hopkinton, Mass. For more information, visit www.prismhr.com.

About Stone Point Capital LLC
Stone Point Capital LLC is a financial services-focused private equity firm based in Greenwich, CT. The firm has raised and managed eight private equity funds – the Trident Funds – with aggregate committed capital of more than $25 billion. Stone Point targets investments in companies in the global financial services industry and related sectors. For more information, please visit www.stonepoint.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or on Twitter at @SummitPartners.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

FORT WASHINGTON, PA – Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC (“Patriot”), one of the country’s fastest-growing national insurance agencies, today announced the addition of Shapiro Insurance Group (“SIG”) to the Patriot platform. The partnership with SIG marks Patriot’s entry into the important Florida marketplace and significantly strengthens its existing capabilities in the Property & Casualty insurance arena. SIG is headquartered in Jacksonville, FL and has grown to nearly 80 insurance professionals in 10 locations throughout the state.

Joel Shapiro founded SIG in 1990 and has built it into one of the largest independent insurance agencies in Florida. The firm’s energetic and client-focused team provides a broad slate of personal and commercial insurance products to thousands of families and businesses throughout the Southeastern United States. In addition to its strong organic growth, SIG has completed eleven acquisitions in the past ten years; VP of Operations Sheona Fanelli ably leads highly integrated operations across Northeast, Central and South Florida. By partnering with Patriot, SIG can leverage the platform’s extensive resources and national network to continue delivering best-in-class products and services to its customers.

“We were seeking a growth-focused partner that can help us take our business to the next level, and we found our perfect match in Patriot,” said Mr. Shapiro. “They spent the extra time to get to know us as people and to understand our goals for the future of SIG. In addition to being a great cultural fit for our company, Patriot brings the resources, expertise and passion necessary to fuel the next chapter of our growth journey.”

“Joel and I spent many hours together during this process, getting to know one another and exploring the cultural and strategic fit between SIG and Patriot. In a dizzying sea of potential buyers, the personal relationship we developed was key,” said Matt Gardner, founder and CEO of Patriot. “We are excited to deliver Patriot’s resources, ideas and capital to help Joel, Sheona and the entire SIG team continue to grow.”

About Patriot Growth Insurance Services
Founded in 2019, Patriot is a growth-focused national insurance services firm that partners with employee benefits and property & casualty agencies across the United States. With over 400 professionals operating in 40 locations across 11 states, Patriot’s collaborative model delivers resources and strategic support to its agencies, whose leaders continue to operate with a high degree of autonomy in their local markets. Patriot’s unique equity model creates true alignment with its partner agencies, and its operating philosophy fosters enhanced career opportunities for its dedicated and professional team. Patriot is backed by growth equity investor Summit Partners. For more information, please visit www.patriotgis.com.

Source: Patriot Growth Insurance Services

Poppy Gustafsson Honored at Prestigious Awards Ceremony

Darktrace, the world’s leading cyber AI company, today announced that its co-CEO Poppy Gustafsson was named ‘Tech Businesswoman of the Year’ at the UK Tech Awards 2019 ceremony in London last night.

The UK Tech Awards celebrates the very best of UK tech, showcasing success and innovation in the UK tech community.

The Tech Businesswoman of the Year award recognizes strong female role models from the tech industry paving the way for the next generation of entrepreneurs, CIOs and CTOs.

Under Poppy’s direction, Darktrace has seen rapid global growth, with over 3,000 customers in 110 countries across the world using its artificial intelligence to fight cyber-attacks. Poppy was awarded an OBE at the Queen’s Birthday Honors 2019, was a winner at the ‘Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Awards 2019,’ and was named to Management Today’s ‘30 Women under 35’ list in 2018.

“I am honored to be named Businesswoman of the Year by the UK Tech Awards,” said Poppy Gustafsson, CEO, Darktrace. “The phenomenal successes that Darktrace is experiencing is testament to the passion, fearlessness and hard work of our brilliant team of over 1,000 employees, as well as the fundamental innovation behind our autonomous response technology.”

Darktrace was also awarded ‘IT Security Provider of the Year’ at the British Legal Technology Awards ceremony in London last night.

About Darktrace
Darktrace is the world’s leading cyber AI company and the creator of Autonomous Response technology.

Its self-learning AI is modelled on the human immune system and used by over 3,000 organizations to protect against threats to the cloud, email, IoT, networks and industrial systems. This includes insider threat, industrial espionage, IoT compromises, zero-day malware, data loss, supply chain risk and long-term infrastructure vulnerabilities.

The company has over 1,000 employees, 44 offices and headquarters in San Francisco and Cambridge, UK. Every 3 seconds, Darktrace AI fights back against a cyber-threat, preventing it from causing damage.

Source: Darktrace.

FORT WASHINGTON, PA. -- Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC (“Patriot”), a national retail insurance agency, today announced the addition of Landmark Insurance Associates (“Landmark”) to the Patriot platform. The addition of Landmark immediately bolsters Patriot’s employee benefits expertise and capabilities, while further expanding the platform’s national footprint.

Located in Buford, Georgia, Landmark is an independent insurance agency that provides various employee benefits products to corporate clients across the Southeast. The Company offers specialized medical, dental, disability, vision and life, voluntary benefits, FSA/HSA and 401(k) programs to customers seeking comprehensive benefits solutions. Lonnie Vogler founded Landmark in 1983 with a passion for customer service and a commitment to success that have been deeply ingrained in the culture and daily operations of the agency. President Patty Halenkamp, a dynamic leader with over 25 years of industry experience, approaches employee benefits with the same customer-first mindset that has guided Landmark’s business model for more than 35 years.

“While other opportunities were available to us, Patriot’s growth-oriented platform completely aligns with our goals, and we are absolutely thrilled to have Patriot as our partner.” said Patty Halenkamp.

“Landmark is a perfect fit for us,” said Matt Gardner, founder and CEO of Patriot. “Patty leads a highly energized team with amazing entrepreneurial spirit and an unwavering commitment to providing best-in-class employee benefits products and services to Landmark’s clients. We are proud to welcome them into the Patriot family.”

About Patriot Growth Insurance Services
Founded in 2019, Patriot is a growth-focused national insurance services firm that partners with employee benefits and property & casualty agencies across the United States. Patriot’s collaborative model delivers resources and strategic support to its agencies, whose leaders continue to operate with a high degree of autonomy in their local markets. Patriot’s unique equity model creates true alignment with its partner agencies, and its operating philosophy fosters enhanced career opportunities for its dedicated and professional team. Patriot is backed by growth equity investor Summit Partners. For more information, please visit www.patriotgis.com.

Source: Patriot Growth Insurance Services

Funding to fuel continued growth as prominent banks, defense contractors, government organizations and more switch to the new way of developing and measuring cyber skills

For more than three decades, Summit Partners has backed innovative companies at the forefront of the increasingly complex and ever-evolving threat landscape. Immersive Labs represents our latest investment in the security sector, experience that includes industry leaders such as Avast, Darktrace, McAfee and Netwitness.

Bristol, UK and Boston, MA – Immersive Labs, the world’s first fully interactive, on-demand and gamified cyber skills platform, has closed $40 million in funding led by global growth equity investor Summit Partners, with participation from existing investor Goldman Sachs. The investment will be used to support expansion initiatives in North America, where customer demand highlights a clear need to optimize cyber skills and guard against constantly evolving threats. We believe this new round of funding illustrates how this dynamic technology is ushering in a new era of active training that enables professionals to acquire additional skills in richly immersive environments at their own pace and on their own schedules.

"The rapid, constantly evolving threat landscape has made traditional classroom training for cyber skills obsolete."

“Gaps in cybersecurity knowledge meaningfully increase risk to an organization, creating vulnerability and presenting opportunity for attackers. The rapid, constantly evolving threat landscape has made traditional classroom training for cyber skills obsolete,” said James Hadley, CEO of Immersive Labs. “At a time when cyber skills are stretched across the board, the Immersive Labs platform enables companies to identify these weak points and rapidly skill people to address them.”

Immersive Labs was founded by CEO James Hadley, former UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) cybersecurity instructor, who envisioned transforming the way organizations acquire and deploy new skills. The company has experienced rapid growth since its launch, with 750% year-over-year increase in annual recurring revenues and an employee base that is now more than 100 strong. The company plans to build on its momentum from its new North American headquarters in Boston.

More than 100 organizations worldwide are already experiencing the benefits of the Immersive Labs platform, including British Telecom, Bank of Montreal, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, as well as government bodies such as the UK’s National Health Service and London’s Metropolitan Police.

Immersive Labs is an on-demand, continuous and trackable cyber skills development platform that is designed to enable both security specialists and business users to step into real-world cybersecurity situations based on real-world attack techniques and emerging or zero-day threats. These simulations are designed to challenge users and help them understand and guard against attacks in a safe environment, strengthening skill levels across the board, from identifying phishing attacks to reverse-engineering malware.

Data captured by users can also be employed to instantly analyze internal skill levels and drive improvement. The Immersive Labs platform maps an organization's existing capabilities to familiar frameworks, including MITRE ATT&CK and NIST NICE. These features help identify specific skill shortages to be addressed and make the platform an important tool for planning, reporting, and forecasting security and risk.

" Cybersecurity has been a core investment theme for Summit for many years. We recognize in Immersive Labs many of the same qualities that we’ve seen in other cybersecurity leaders."

Antony Clavel, a Principal with Summit Partners, said, "Cybersecurity has been a core investment theme for Summit for many years. We recognize in Immersive Labs many of the same qualities that we’ve seen in other cybersecurity leaders: a technically strong and strategically thoughtful management team; a differentiated product addressing a large and urgent market need; and a rapidly growing base of blue-chip customers. We believe Immersive Labs is well-positioned to become a global category leader in cyber skills development.”

James Hayward, from Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division, said, “We are impressed with Immersive Labs’ achievements since our initial investment and see further growth potential as the team continues to execute on their vision and expand to new geographies. The platform is continually evolving to help address the gap in cyber skills that is impacting companies and governments across the globe.”

About Immersive Labs
Immersive Labs is the world’s first fully interactive, on-demand, and gamified cyber skills platform. Our technology delivers challenge-based skills content developed by experts with access to the latest threat intelligence. Our unique approach engages and measures entire workforces, equipping all employees with critical skills and practical experience in real-time. Immersive Labs simulates cyber scenarios covering everything from the basics to threat hunting and reverse-engineering malware. At the heart of our platform are labs: story-driven exercises accessed from a browser in seconds. We have hundreds of practical, gamified labs dedicated to a huge range of skills and mapped against industry frameworks. For more information on Immersive Labs’ offering, please visit www.immersivelabs.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 140 public equity offerings, and more than 190 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Notable securityand technology companies backed by Summit Partners include Avast, Darktrace, InfoArmor, McAfee, NetWitness, Red Canary, RiskIQ and SafeBoot. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or on Twitter at @SummitPartners.

About Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Partnership brings together two high-growth, innovative organizations to strengthen OEM parts distribution capabilities around the world

ADDISON, Ill. -- Parts Town, the leader in foodservice equipment parts distribution, and Heritage Foodservice Group (“Heritage”) announced that they are coming together to strengthen their OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts distribution capabilities. Financial terms were not disclosed.

This combination brings together two high-growth, innovative organizations to further enhance the availability, delivery and overall experience of finding and buying genuine OEM parts for service companies, restaurants and institutional customers in the United States, Canada and around the world.

Steve Snower, CEO of Parts Town for the past 15 years, has led the team that grew Parts Town from five employees and less than $3 million in revenue in 2003 to more than 1,800 global team members and over $650 million in revenue today. John McDonough, CEO of Heritage, has led that business through a highly successful transformation over the past seven years, returning the business to high growth and performance with over 800 team members across North America and over $300 million in revenue. This performance has been driven by focusing on industry-leading customer service, manufacturer relationships, company talent and culture, and digital transformation. Snower will lead the combined organization and partner closely with McDonough through the integration. McDonough will join the combined company’s Board of Directors.

Snower stated, “Both of our businesses have been relentlessly focused on genuine OEM parts, and we intend to continue to improve the safety, reliability, and performance of foodservice equipment in support of our manufacturer and customer partners all over the world. This combination will help field-service organizations serve their customers faster than ever before, improving equipment up-time and performance. As we join our extraordinary team members together, we will keep innovating to make finding and buying foodservice equipment parts easier than ever.”

McDonough added, “This combination makes perfect sense for manufacturers, customers, and our teams. Increased inventory availability, faster delivery, better data, and constant innovation add value to the entire supply chain. By coming together, we can create one of the truly great technology-enabled distribution businesses found in any industry. I am excited to partner with Steve and the team to help realize our full potential.”

Snower continues, “There will be immediate benefits to our customers and manufacturer partners and we expect many more improvements over time. We will bring the best organization together, honoring our commitment to genuine OEM parts and to delivering an extraordinary experience for our customers. Additionally, we will soon introduce a series of new technologies that will bring unique benefits to our manufacturers and, in particular, our field service customers.”

The new organization will continue to have significant operations in both Addison, Ill. (Parts Town’s headquarters) and Ft. Wayne, Ind. (Heritage’s headquarters), in addition to other operations in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Germany.

In support of key manufacturer partners, the companies will continue to operate field service organizations in select U.S. markets and across Canada. Those businesses operate separately from the core parts distribution operations and will continue to do so.

About Parts Town
Parts Town is the leading distributor of genuine OEM (original equipment manufacturer) foodservice equipment parts. When there’s a hiccup in any commercial kitchen, Parts Town is ready to jump in and help with the most in-stock parts on the planet, innovative technology, and an unmatched customer experience. Customized solutions benefit food equipment service companies, chain restaurants, institutions and independent restaurants.

Parts Town leads the way in industry innovation. Its Serial Number Lookup tool uses model serial number level detail from a variety of foodservice equipment manufacturers to create a more precise search and order process for buying replacement parts for commercial kitchen equipment. The 360-degree imaging technology, PartSPIN®, valuable interactive diagrams, convenient Smart Manuals, and the industry’s first mobile app allow customers to easily and conveniently find and view equipment manuals and parts in the field, where that info is needed most. These innovations, paired with same day shipping and extended hours of operation, ensure the correct part is ordered and delivered every time.

Partnering with the top manufacturers of commercial cooking, refrigeration, ice and beverage equipment and more, Parts Town improves the supply chain, increases sales of genuine OEM parts and keeps every customer’s business running like clockwork. For more information, www.partstown.com.

About Heritage
Founded in 1987, Heritage Parts is a leading provider of replacement parts for commercial and institutional kitchen equipment. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company’s continued mission is to provide industry-leading customer care, customer-centric technology and a large selection of in-stock parts inventory.

Heritage is committed to promoting manufacturer partnerships and serving as an extension of their brands by expanding their reach beyond existing service networks. Through unique sales and marketing programs, Heritage adds value throughout the customer journey and equipment lifecycle.

Offering same-day shipping on parts from more than 800 OEM partners, including hot side, cold side, beverage and warewashing equipment, Heritage’s customers trust them to correctly identify the right part at the right time to maximize equipment uptime. Heritage offers a growing suite of technology tools designed to enhance customer experience and make researching and buying parts easier, such as Expert ID360™, My Equipment360™ and the award-winning Heritage mobile app. Heritage’s team of parts experts always delivers an unsurpassed experience every time. For more information, visit www.heritageparts.com.

Source: Parts Town / Business Wire

Paris, France – Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced the signing of definitive documentation by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities (“Blackstone”) to form an equity partnership with Sipartech S.A. (“Sipartech”), a provider of telecom infrastructure solutions in France. Sipartech holds a leading position in the deployment of dark fiber, with a focus on serving data center and hyperscaler customers that are the largest consumers of wholesale data connectivity.

Blackstone will acquire its stake from growth equity investor Summit Partners, who invested in the business alongside Founder & CEO Julien Santina in 2016. The transaction is expected to close in late 2019, subject to regulatory approval; financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Sipartech has established a world-class and differentiated network infrastructure in France focused on the most demanding and complex connectivity requirements,” said Jasvinder Khaira, a Senior Managing Director in Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities Group. “Providing growth capital to founders to accelerate their growth is a hallmark of Blackstone’s investments in the telecom and internet infrastructure sector, and we are thrilled to support Julien and the rest of the management team as they expand their presence in the European marketplace.”

“We expect France to be at the intersection of exponential growth in fiber connectivity needs in Europe over the coming years. Investing in Sipartech substantially augments our European digital infrastructure presence, and we are excited to support the Company’s ongoing remarkable growth in France and across continental Europe,” said Thomas Senecal, also of Blackstone Tactical Opportunities.

“We have done a great job with Summit Partners over the last 3 years. As we enter the next chapter of our growth, we are proud and very excited to partner with Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, who shares our vision and will support us in our ambitious growth plans,” said Julien Santina, Sipartech’s majority shareholder and CEO.

“Julien and the Sipartech team have built a market leading fiber network in France and an impressive business. They have delivered growth that has outpaced the incumbents, and we believe the business is very well positioned for the future. It has truly been an honor to work alongside the team as the company has scaled,” said Christian Strain, a Managing Director with Summit Partners.

Sipartech is among the fastest growing dark fiber providers in France, with a strong presence in Paris and other major French metropolitan centers. The company was founded in 2008 by Julien Santina and has grown into a leading provider of B2B and wholesale dark fiber services and other telecom services. Headquartered in Paris, Sipartech owns and operates over 3,000km of fiber across France.

Blackstone was advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. Sipartech was advised by Lazard Frères & Co and Paul Hastings LLP, and Summit Partners was advised by Latham & Watkins LLP.

About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with $546 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @blackstone.

About Tactical Opportunities
Tac Opps is Blackstone's opportunistic investment platform. The Tac Opps team invests globally across asset classes, industries and geographies, seeking to identify and execute on attractive, differentiated investment opportunities. As part of the strategy, the team leverages the intellectual capital across Blackstone’s various businesses while continuously optimizing its approach in the face of ever-changing market conditions.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. Summit has backed more than 60 communications technology businesses, including Acacia Communications, Accedian Networks, Casa Systems, Finisar, Fuze, MACOM and Ubiquiti. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or on Twitter at @SummitPartners.

About Sipartech
Founded in 2008 by Julien Santina, Sipartech is a leading neutral and independent European infrastructure carrier. Sipartech provides a wide portfolio of connectivity products and services to more than 500 customers in the world, including data centers, hyperscalers, enterprises, and telecom operators.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Against the backdrop of one of the most competitive labor markets in decades, all organizations are facing the challenge of attracting and retaining top talent while managing a workforce with increasingly complex requirements. More and more, CHROs are seeking software tools that go beyond traditional HR and payroll functions to deliver specialized capabilities that effectively address the hiring, performance management and employment engagement objectives of their organizations.

In HR Tech Outlook, Summit’s Peter Rottier shares his perspective on the evolving HR technology landscape and why growth companies are increasingly turning to unified human capital management (HCM) solutions to fulfill their full spectrum of needs, from payroll and core HR to workforce and talent management. Read more in HR Tech Outlook.

Source: HR Tech Outlook

Investment to accelerate R&D and sales efforts to support unified commerce experience

BOSTON -- Akeneo, a global leader in Product Experience Management (PXM) solutions for corporate brands and retailers, today announced it has raised $46 million in funding led by global growth equity investor Summit Partners. Existing investors Alven, Partech, and Salesforce Ventures, as well as Akeneo’s board member Stephan Dietrich, also participated in the round.

Akeneo’s open source SaaS platform provides a comprehensive solution to manage product information and omnichannel catalogs. In the era of experience-driven commerce, both B2C and B2B brands and retailers are increasingly relying upon the power of unified product information to deliver compelling and relevant customer experiences across all sales channels. Akeneo has become the most used product information management (PIM) platform in the world and has achieved compound triple-digit revenue growth for the sixth consecutive year. It has more than 60,000 live implementations and serves international brands including Sephora, Fossil and Staples CA.

“In an omnichannel world, PXM represents the next evolution of product information management, which is becoming the new CRM of product data,” said Steffan Peyer, a principal at Summit Partners who will join the Akeneo Board of Directors. “We believe Akeneo’s highly-focused product approach, as well as its hyper-connectivity with the broader commerce stack, makes it uniquely capable of addressing complex and specific customer product information needs.”

With the new funding, Akeneo intends to continue to invest further in its sales and marketing efforts in the United States, while doubling down on research and development, including product data intelligence to boost product information automation and monitor product experience quality. The company also plans to hire more than 100 additional staff in the upcoming year to support this next round of rapid growth.

“PXM is becoming a critical business application for brands and distributors to win in omnichannel retail,” said Fred de Gombert, CEO and co-founder of Akeneo. “Today’s consumers average more than five touchpoints before they make a purchasing decision, so it is increasingly important for brands to use a platform that delivers an integrated and consistent product experience.”

De Gombert continued, “With Summit’s extensive experience scaling global SaaS businesses and our existing investors’ continued support, we look forward to helping more brands and retail merchants deliver seamless product experiences with even greater efficiency and scale.”

With U.S. headquarters in Boston, Akeneo is a global company with more than 180 employees across six countries, including France, Germany, the UK, Spain, and Israel. The new funding comes on the heels of a series of corporate milestones for Akeneo, including the acquisition of AI startup Sigmento, integration with Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and a strategic premier technology partnership with Magento, an Adobe company.

About Akeneo
Akeneo is a global leader in Product Experience Management (PXM) solutions that help merchants and brands deliver a compelling customer experience across all sales channels, including eCommerce, mobile, print, and retail points of sale. Akeneo's open source enterprise PIM, and product data intelligence solutions, dramatically improve product data quality and accuracy while simplifying and accelerating product catalog management.

Leading global brands, including Sephora, Fossil, Shop.com, and Auchan trust Akeneo's solutions to scale and customize their omnichannel and cross-border commerce initiatives. Using Akeneo, brands and retailers can improve customer experience, increase sales, reduce time to market, go global, and boost team productivity. For more information, please visit https://www.akeneo.com or contact us on Twitter at @akeneopim.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 140 public equity offerings, and more than 190 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Notable SaaS and retail technology companies backed by Summit Partners include FineLine Technologies, Gainsight, Klaviyo, Infor, Mi9 Retail, Podium, Red Points, RELEX, Reverb, Sezane, RightNow and Smartsheet. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or on Twitter at @SummitPartners.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

FORT WASHINGTON, PA – Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC (“Patriot”), a national retail insurance agency, today announced the addition of Launchways, a leading provider of human resources, employee benefits and business insurance solutions, to the Patriot platform. The addition of Launchways immediately expands Patriot’s geographic reach and broadens its robust product offering.

Founded in 2009, Launchways is an independent insurance agency that combines human resources consulting, employee benefits and commercial insurance solutions. The company’s unique business model includes a variety of innovative products and services that are tailored to meet the specific needs of high-growth organizations throughout the Midwest. Launchways provides business leaders with the tools, resources and guidance they need to build scalable people processes that support their long-term strategy. With a unique combination of industry experience and entrepreneurial ambition, CEO Jim Taylor and President Gary Schafer have helped hundreds of growth-oriented businesses solve their insurance and human resources challenges.

“We pride ourselves on a personalized, hands-on approach across the full spectrum of our clients’ needs. Solid operations and leadership are fundamental to our organization,” said Gary Schafer, President of Launchways.

“Our solution empowers business leaders to unlock the full potential of their workforce so that they can focus on their long-term growth objectives. In choosing a partner, we evaluated the broad marketplace and identified Patriot as the perfect fit for us from a cultural and operational perspective. We are thrilled to continue our growth journey with them as our partner,” said Jim Taylor, CEO of Launchways.

Having served more than 400 customers throughout the Midwest, Launchways helps organizations of all sizes address their business insurance, employee benefits and human resources needs. The company has experienced rapid growth over the last several years, recently moving its headquarters to downtown Chicago in order to accommodate its growing employee and customer base.

“We are laser-focused on organic growth and cultural fit when assessing a potential agency partner,” said Matt Gardner, founder and CEO of Patriot. “Launchways is a growth machine, and Jim and Gary are the type of dynamic leaders that Patriot continues to invest in and build around. I am thrilled that they have chosen to grow their agency within our unique operational and cultural model.”

About Patriot Growth Insurance Services
Founded in 2019, Patriot is a growth-focused national insurance services firm that partners with employee benefits and property & casualty agencies across the United States. Patriot’s collaborative model delivers resources and strategic support to its agencies, whose leaders continue to operate with a high degree of autonomy in their local markets. Patriot’s unique equity model creates true alignment with its partner agencies, and its operating philosophy fosters enhanced career opportunities for its dedicated and professional team. Patriot is backed by growth equity investor Summit Partners. For more information, please visit www.patriotgis.com.

Source: Patriot Growth Insurance Services