New platform will create unique and creative sports events to connect business leaders, brands, technology innovators, and community leaders from multicultural communities together, building strategic partnerships, business development opportunities and cultural engagement.

NEW YORK, July 10, 2026 — PRAVAAH today announced its official launch, introducing a new platform dedicated to accelerating business growth and community engagement across the global South Asian diaspora and South Asian audiences throughout North America.

Derived from the Sanskrit word for “flow,” PRAVAAH is built on the belief that sports has the power to create meaningful connections across cultures: businesses, brands, investors, technology leaders, cultures, fans, and media. The organization will work with sports rightsholders, properties, and investors to create meaningful business relationships with South Asian audiences through creative experiential programming, strategic advisory, and partnerships.

PRAVAAH aims to serve as a trusted bridge between the sports industry and the South Asian audience, one of North America’s fastest-growing multicultural communities.

PRAVAAH is a joint venture between Ocgrow Ventures and Tulsea Sports Marketing, giving the organization the ability to leverage their extensive networks of relationships across professional sports, business, government, community organizations, celebrities and influencers, and ethnic media.

“PRAVAAH is far more than a sports platform. It’s a global movement built on the belief that sport has the power to unite people, ideas, cultures, and opportunity. Across North America and around the world, South Asian entrepreneurs, executives, investors, and innovators are helping shape the future of the global economy.

Our vision is to build the world’s leading network where sports, business, technology, investment, and culture converge. By creating meaningful connections and authentic partnerships, PRAVAAH will unlock new opportunities for business leaders, brands, and sports organizations while inspiring the next generation of global leaders. This is only the beginning.” , quoted Harish Consul, Co-Founder of PRAVAAH & Founder/CEO of Ocgrow Ventures.

The company’s initial areas of focus will be on connecting sports rightsholders with business leaders and founders from multicultural communities through creative experiential programming, using sports as a platform to support and amplify the South Asian business community.

During its first year, PRAVAAH anticipates launching initiatives in several key South Asian population hubs in North America, including Calgary, Toronto, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Vancouver, and New York, with additional markets expected to be announced throughout the year, together with our global expansion in 2027 ahead.

“Sports has a unique ability to unite people across generations, cultures, and industries,” said Sreesha Vaman, Co-Founder of PRAVAAH and Partner/Co-Founder of Tulsea Sports Marketing. “PRAVAAH harnesses that power to bring together South Asian business leaders with the communities they serve, creating authentic connections that strengthen relationships and unlock new opportunities.”

With multicultural populations representing one of the fastest growing segments of sports fans and consumers across North America, PRAVAAH is positioned to help organizations move beyond one-time campaigns toward sustained, authentic engagement.

For more information, visit pravaahsports.com.

About PRAVAAH

PRAVAAH is a multicultural sports business platform that connects sports, business, and culture through experiential programming, strategic partnerships, and community engagement. Working with sports rightsholders, brands, investors, technology leaders, and community organizations, PRAVAAH helps organizations unlock growth opportunities by building meaningful relationships with fast-growing South Asian audiences across North America.

www.pravaahsports.com

About Ocgrow Ventures

Ocgrow Ventures is a leading global venture capital fund based in Canada. Founded by Harish Consul (www.harishconsul.com), Ocgrow Ventures (www.ocgrowgroup.com) is focused on investments with exceptional global founders to help build exponential growth companies, with AI First focus in multiple verticals globally. Ocgrow Ventures has been an early investor in Amazon, Shopify, Garuda Aerospace, Bloom Energy, Fizz Social and many more.

About Tulsea Sports Marketing

Tulsea Sports Marketing advises sports rightsholders on their multicultural marketing efforts, with a unique focus on South Asians. TSM brings a unique, holistic approach to our clients, including trusted strategic advisory, deep connectivity to the global community, world-class expertise in messaging and communications, and extensive experience in implementation. TSM’s mission is to amplify the global commercial presence of South Asians in the sports industry. TSM has offices in New York and Los Angeles.

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/3005470/Pravaah_Logo.jpg

SOURCE PRAVAAH

Funding accelerates the company’s next phase of growth as Hippo Harvest brings indoor-grown organic greens to retail buyers at scale. 

PESCADERO, Calif., July 9, 2026 — Hippo Harvest, a leafy greens grower whose robotics- and machine learning-powered greenhouses produce USDA-certified organic greens, today announced the close of a $30 million Series C funding round led by Cox Farms, North America’s largest greenhouse operator.  The investment will unlock a 30-acre expansion at a new Hollister, CA facility, currently in permitting, and the development of the company’s next-generation robotic growing system, expanding growing capacity from one acre today and accelerating the commercialization of indoor-grown Spinach.

The Spinach commercialization marks a significant milestone for Hippo Harvest, which also launched its Butter Lettuce to retail buyers in early 2026. Together, the two products anchor a growing line of indoor-grown greens built for year-round consistency. Hippo Harvest’s hybrid assortment blends greenhouse and organic field-grown greens to deliver broader variety and reliable supply in a sector increasingly affected by climate volatility.

At the center of Hippo Harvest’s model is a proprietary robotic growing system that uses Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and machine learning to monitor, tend, and harvest plants with precision at every stage of growth. The upgraded system uses robotic ‘tractors’ to automatically respace growing modules throughout the growth cycle, maximizing space efficiency and yields at the farm level. The next-generation system funded by this round is designed to increase throughput, reduce cost per unit, and accelerate the company’s ability to bring new varieties to market at scale.

“Closing this round and bringing Spinach to market in the same moment is a real signal of where Hippo Harvest is headed,” said Eitan Marder-Eppstein, CEO and co-founder of Hippo Harvest. “We’ve spent years building a system that can grow certified organic greens consistently and at a price that works for both retailers and consumers. This investment lets us do that at the next level of scale.”

Founded in 2019 and based in Pescadero, CA, Hippo Harvest serves retail buyers across Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, including Sprouts, Haggen (an Albertsons banner), and Gus’s Community Markets in San Francisco, with plans to expand across the West Coast and additional national retail partnerships in development. Cox Farms, owned by Cox Enterprises, led the Series C round, with participation from existing and new Hippo Harvest investors, including Congruent Ventures, Hawthorne Food Ventures, Collaborative Fund and the Fresh Investment Club.  The round follows a $21 million Series B closed in February 2024, led by Standard Investments, with participation from Congruent Ventures, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Hawthorne Food Ventures, and Energy Impact Partners.

“Hippo Harvest is doing something genuinely exciting in indoor agriculture, and we’re proud to be part of this next chapter,” said Steve Bradley, president of Cox Farms. “Cox Farms actively looks for opportunities to support innovation and new technologies across indoor agriculture. We can’t wait to watch them scale.” 

About Hippo Harvest

Hippo Harvest is a leafy greens company growing USDA-certified organic produce in robotics- and machine learning-powered greenhouses. Founded in 2019 and based in Pescadero, CA, the company combines a closed-loop, direct-to-root nutrient and watering system with Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), which function as indoor ‘tractors’, to consistently produce high-quality organic greens at prices competitive with field-grown alternatives, using 92% less water, 55% less fertilizer, and 94% less land compared to traditional agriculture. Hippo Harvest offers a hybrid assortment that pairs greenhouse and organic field-grown greens, providing broader variety and year-round supply surety for retailers and consumers. For more information, visit hippoharvest.com.

About Cox Farms

Cox Farms is redefining farming and setting the global standard in growing a safe, secure, and responsible food supply capable of feeding a growing population, regardless of calendar or climate. Through its multinational network of indoor farms and consumer brands, including BrightFarms and Mucci Farms, Cox Farms is the largest greenhouse operator in North America with a workforce of more than 2,500 dedicated employees. Cox Farms is future-proofing the world of produce with clean, flavorful products serving the biggest names in retail and food service. Owned by Cox Enterprises, a multi-generational family-owned business, Cox Farms represents the company’s commitment to improving the planet and elevating human health. Learn more at CoxFarms.com.

SOURCE Hippo Harvest

BENGALURU, India, July 9, 2026 — Kapture CX, the verticalized full-stack agentic AI platform, today announced the successful closing of its $10 Mn pre-Series B funding round. The round was led by Bajaj Finserv Ventures (BFSV), part of Bajaj Finserv, one of India’s leading AI-driven financial services groups, marking the firm’s first investment in the AI landscape. Existing investors Cactus Venture Partners and India Alternatives also participated in the round.

The funding comes at a pivotal moment. Despite pouring resources into AI, most large enterprises are yet to see real returns. The market is cluttered with point products from multiple providers, making AI adoption a high effort exercise. What enterprises need is a full-stack agentic AI player, one that understands their industry deeply and delivers custom solutions for their most complex workflows. This is exactly the gap Kapture was built to close.

When an enterprise works with Kapture, everything comes together on a single agentic OS platform. By owning and optimizing the full technology stack, from models to agentic layer to user interface, Kapture enables enterprises to deploy AI at scale without the complexity of stitching together multiple solutions. The platform is deeply verticalized, backed by deep-tech capabilities that allow Kapture to fine tune models. At a time when traditional SaaS players are struggling to prove their worth, Kapture is transforming complex enterprise operations in entirety.

Today, Kapture is trusted by over 1,000 enterprises across 18 countries, including market leaders such as Bajaj Finance, and multiple companies within the Tata Group and Reliance Group. Some of the world’s largest consulting firms and hyperscalers are also working with Kapture as partners.

Commenting on the investment, Lakshmi Iyer, Group President – Investments and MD & CEO, Bajaj Alts, said: “We are currently in the process of launching the AI Opportunities Fund to invest across the emerging AI ecosystem. As we evaluated opportunities in the space, we found in Kapture a solution that demonstrably works at scale. Kapture’s deep-tech capabilities, including model training, combined with its strong understanding of enterprise workflows and robust partner ecosystem, position the company strongly within the evolving AI landscape.”

Sheshgiri Kamath, Co-founder and CEO of Kapture CX, said: “Since the Series A round in 2023, Kapture has grown 4x and achieved what remains rare in the AI economy – profitability. Having an AI-first organization like Bajaj Finserv Ventures lead this round is powerful validation of our value proposition. For enterprises whose experimentation phase with AI is behind them, Kapture is where real value begins. With an infrastructure that already processes massive volumes and drives measurable impact for customers around the world, Kapture CX is the right partner for enterprises ready to truly transform with AI.”

The fresh capital will fuel Kapture’s expansion into global markets and power continued investment in product development. The company is targeting 5x revenue growth over the next few years as it moves to seize the immense opportunity in today’s enterprise landscape.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/3004885/Sheshgiri_K_Vikas_G_KaptureCX.jpg
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2780806/5662717/Kapture_Logo.jpg 

SOURCE Kapture CX

Seed round led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Merlin Ventures, with participation from Evolution Equity Partners, Qbeat Ventures, Singtel Innov8, and Qino Cyber Capital. The funding will accelerate QIZ’s rapid growth, market expansion, and leadership in cryptographic posture and Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC).

NEW YORK, July 9, 2026 — QIZ Security, the cryptographic posture and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) management platform, today announced a $17 million seed round led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Merlin Ventures, with participation from, Evolution Equity Partners, Qbeat Ventures, Singtel Innov8 and Qino Cyber Capital.

The funding will accelerate QIZ’s rapid growth, deepen product development, and expand the company’s presence in the market as enterprises prepare for one of the most significant cybersecurity transitions of the decade: the move from today’s vulnerable cryptographic infrastructure to quantum-safe security.

Quantum computing is reshaping the risk model behind the encryption that protects financial systems, communications, digital identity, cloud infrastructure, supply chains, and critical national infrastructure. The urgency is accelerating: Google, IBM, Palo Alto Networks and Gartner, have all warned that quantum computers could threaten current encryption systems as early as 2029, referred to as Q-Day. Combined with the long timelines required for enterprise migration, the message is clear: Q-Day is no longer a distant theoretical event, and waiting is no longer a viable strategy.

The challenge is here. Organizations must understand what cryptography they use, where it lives, who owns it, which business systems depend on it, and how to prioritize remediation. Sensitive data harvested today may be decrypted as soon as 2029, when quantum computers capable of breaking existing cryptography emerge, while the migration of complex cryptographic environments can take years.

QIZ was built to address exactly that challenge.

“Post-quantum readiness is quickly becoming a board-level cybersecurity and business priority,” said Ben Volkow, Co-Founder and CEO of QIZ Security. “Enterprises cannot migrate what they cannot see, and they cannot manage cryptographic risk through one-time assessments. QIZ gives organizations the continuous control layer they need to understand, govern, and modernize cryptography before Q-Day arrives.”

QIZ provides continuous cryptographic posture and PQC management across complex enterprise environments. QIZ accelerates the transition to quantum-safe security by enabling organizations to instantly discover cryptographic assets, model risks, and enforce remediation across their infrastructure, ensuring total crypto-agility.

QIZ is designed as an end-to-end operating layer for enterprise cryptography management across hybrid and complex environments.

QIZ was founded by industry veterans Ben Volkow, Lenny Ridel, and Dr. Itan Barmes, a team with deep experience across cybersecurity, enterprise, and post-quantum transformation. Barmes previously led the Global Quantum Cyber Readiness Team at Deloitte, where he worked with some of the world’s largest organizations on quantum-safe readiness and strategy.

“QIZ is attacking one of the most important and under-addressed cybersecurity problems of the coming decade,” said Amit Karp, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “QIZ brings unique capabilities that can turn post-quantum readiness from strategy into execution.”

QIZ is rapidly emerging as an early leader in the Post Quantum category, with strong traction across financial services , telecommunications, healthcare, and critical infrastructure. The company is already working with some of the world’s largest brands, and is scaling quickly across product and go-to-market to meet accelerating demand.

The company is also building a strong ecosystem of strategic partnerships with leading technology and advisory organizations, including Cisco, AWS, Google, CrowdStrike, Deloitte, EY, and IBM, helping customers accelerate cryptographic discovery, risk assessment, governance, and post-quantum migration planning.

“Federal agencies and large enterprises need a practical path to crypto-agility, not just awareness of the quantum threat,” said Seth Spergel, Managing Partner at Merlin Ventures. “QIZ is well positioned to help regulated organizations move from cryptographic uncertainty to actionable readiness.”

The funding comes at a time when regulatory pressure and enterprise urgency around cryptographic modernization are accelerating. Frameworks and guidance such as CNSA 2.0, NIST PQC, DORA, NIS2, PCI DSS, and sector-specific requirements are pushing organizations to assess cryptographic exposure, build migration roadmaps, and establish long-term governance over their cryptographic estate.

“QIZ is entering the market at a pivotal moment,” said Dorit Dor, Co-Founder at Qbeat Ventures. “Its combination of deep technical expertise, clear market demand, and a highly execution-focused platform positions the company as a leader in the emerging PQC management category.”

“Cryptography is everywhere, but in most organizations it is not centrally governed,” said Dr. Itan Barmes, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of QIZ Security. “The post-quantum transition is forcing enterprises to confront that reality. Our mission is to give them the platform and operational path to become crypto-agile.”

About QIZ Security

QIZ Security provides cryptographic posture and PQC management, helping organizations move toward crypto-agility through cryptographic policy alignment, continuous discovery, inventory, remediation, and governance. The QIZ team brings more than six years of hands-on PQC experience, having supported more than 100 organizations in their transition toward quantum-safe readiness. QIZ is trusted by some of the world’s largest organizations to manage and govern their cryptography across complex enterprise environments.

For more information, visit www.qizsecurity.com.

Media Contact

QIZ Security
[email protected]

SOURCE QIZ

KYIV, Ukraine and ODENSE, Denmark, July 9, 2026 — MITS Capital has invested in Dropla Tech, a Danish-Ukrainian dual-use defense technology company that develops edge-AI explosive-threat detection systems and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) that respond to them.

This partnership will support Dropla Tech’s next stage of growth as the company scales its production capacity and deepens integration between Ukraine’s and Europe’s defense tech ecosystems. The deal is also part of a broader strategy to strengthen the Danish-Ukrainian defense-industrial cooperation axis for both parties.

The deal size and the company’s valuation were not disclosed.

Founded by four Ukrainians in 2023 and headquartered in Odense, Denmark, Dropla Tech operates with engineering and operations in Ukraine (DROPLA TEK LLC). “We were not looking for capital. We were looking for infrastructure,” said Viacheslav Shvaidak, co-founder and CEO of Dropla Tech. “MITS Capital brings an operating back office across jurisdictions, a portfolio of Ukrainian defense companies we can build with on joint R&D, sub-integration, and interoperability,” he adds. “For a company scaling between Denmark and Ukraine, that is worth more than any check.”

As part of the partnership, Dropla Tech joined the MITS Acceleration Program, which focuses on operational scaling, NATO market entry, and access to expertise across the MITS Capital platform. It has become one of the eight companies in MITS Accelerator’s Batch 3 and the first participant from the cohort to be publicly disclosed.

“We are excited to welcome Dropla Tech to the MITS family,” said Perry Boyle, co-founder and CEO of MITS Capital. “Viacheslav has achieved an important feat of creating a truly transnational Danish-Ukrainian defense company. We look forward to working with Dropla Tech’s team as a key pillar of MITS Capital’s mission: to defeat Russia in Ukraine and integrate Ukraine into Europe’s defense architecture.”

Dropla Tech builds AI that detects small-sized explosive threats. The company’s flagship product, Blue Eyes Warbox, is an edge-AI system that detects and identifies explosive threats – mines, IEDs, and, most importantly, ambush drones – protecting military personnel. It operates in real time on aerial sensor feeds, directly at the tactical edge, and without cloud connectivity. The system will also be used for humanitarian demining in the future.

Blue Eyes is codified in the NATO Stock System under NATO Stock Number 7010-61-019-5238, assigned by Ukraine’s National Codification Bureau. This makes the system procurable by NATO members through standard channels. Blue Eyes is currently deployed with Ukrainian Armed Forces units and several Ukrainian security services.

In parallel, the company has created two modular UGV platforms: Dropla 4×4 and Dropla 6×6. The platforms support CASEVAC, logistics, ISR, RWS and counter-UAS configurations. Both products were initially created to operate with the Blue Eyes system and are designed for European series production.

Dropla Tech’s third product is Dropla Seer, a mobile, multi-sensor reconnaissance complex that combines aerial and ground sensors with Blue Eyes AI processing for postwar humanitarian mine action.

In August 2025, Dropla Tech secured €2.4 million from Maj Invest, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), Final Frontier, and other investors to accelerate its edge-AI capabilities. In less than a year, the company increased the number of confirmed explosive-threat detections in Ukraine from several hundred to more than 5,000, with accuracy above 90%.

One of Dropla Tech’s core product advantages is that its systems are designed to plug into larger unmanned ecosystems, creating opportunities to expand its network of strategic partnerships with Ukrainian and European defense technology players. In July 2026, the company announced that it had started integrating its UGVs into MOSAIC UXS, the AI-powered mission software developed by Germany’s Quantum Systems. Earlier, at Eurosatory 2026, Dropla Tech signed a memorandum of cooperation with Frontline Robotics, a Ukrainian developer of robotic systems.

Dropla Tech’s next major ambition is to participate in the Build with Ukraine program while scaling production capacity to up to 3,000 UGVs per year, Viacheslav Shvaidak said. MITS Capital’s portfolio, which includes 20 defense technology companies as of July 2026, gives Dropla Tech a broader network of potential technology and business partners. This creates opportunities for cooperation across sensing, electronic warfare, communications, and unmanned systems.

About Dropla Tech. A Danish-Ukrainian dual-use defense technology company headquartered in Odense, Denmark, with engineering and operations in Ukraine (DROPLA TEK LLC). Dropla Tech develops Blue Eyes, a NATO-codified edge-AI explosive threat detection system (NSN 7010-61-019-5238) with more than 5,000 confirmed detections in Ukraine, and the Dropla 4×4 and Dropla 6×6 unmanned ground vehicles, designed for European series production. The product line also includes Dropla Seer, a mobile multi-sensor reconnaissance complex deployed in Ukraine.

About MITS Capital: An American-Ukrainian investment group established in early 2024 to channel capital into Ukraine’s defense industrial base. The company runs MITS Lightning Fund – an early-stage venture fund investing in high-potential Ukrainian defense and dual-use startups.

MITS Capital’s platform also includes MITS Accelerator, an investment advisory unit, and the MITS LAB Initiative. Its mission is to bring global capital into Ukraine’s defense industrial base and help turn the country’s defense technology industry into a major sector of the national economy.

As of July 2026, MITS Capital’s portfolio includes 20 companies. MITS Accelerator has graduated two six-month cohorts of startups. A third cohort – Batch 3 – is now in acceleration, focused on critical defense components, connectivity and control systems, AI-driven software, advanced weapons, counter-drone systems, and battlefield automation.

Media Contact:
Valentyna Dudko
0966494566
[email protected] 

SOURCE MITS Capital

SALT LAKE CITY, July 9, 2026 — Databento, the market data platform for modern finance, today announced a $97 million Series B financing led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from strategic and existing investors, including DRW Venture Capital, Redpoint Ventures, and Tribe Capital, among others. The round was significantly oversubscribed, drawing over $300 million in total demand.

“Every firm in finance depends on market data, but accessing it has been one of the industry’s longest-running bottlenecks. For decades, it’s meant months of procurement and integration work just to get to the starting line,” said Christina Qi, co-founder and CEO of Databento. “Databento was built by practitioners across quant trading and high-frequency market making to eliminate this overhead, making institutional-grade market data available on demand. Our growth has driven a shift in how teams expect to acquire and work with market data, and this round positions us to lead it globally.”

Three years after launch, Databento has emerged as one of the fastest-growing companies in fintech. It is now the market data provider of choice for some of the world’s most demanding financial firms, whose daily trading activity is measured in the trillions of dollars. The company’s trajectory has accelerated rapidly: it reached profitability with just 24 employees, more than doubled its active API users in recent months, and grew revenue 6.65x year over year while maintaining over 97% enterprise logo retention since inception.

NEA quickly identified Databento as a generational opportunity and moved decisively in the round. The firm’s partners, Rick Yang and Danielle Lay, will join Databento’s board, with Yang as a director and Lay as a board observer.

“It’s rare to encounter a company where the product, the traction, and the founding team all point in the same direction with this much clarity,” said Rick Yang, Partner and Head of Technology at NEA. “Databento has built the modern foundation this industry has needed for a long time, and the fact that it’s earned trust everywhere from students running their first strategies to the world’s most sophisticated trading desks isn’t by design—it’s what best-in-class looks like in a category this fundamental. This is exactly the kind of company we back at NEA, and we’re thrilled to be along for the ride.”

DRW Venture Capital’s investment is shaped by the operational demands of its parent firm, one of the most active proprietary trading firms across global markets.

“As a diversified trading firm, our experience with modern data workflows gives us a clear perspective on Databento’s value, as we know how critical high-quality data and reliable tooling are in practice,” said Kim Trautmann, Partner and Head of DRW VC. “Databento pairs robust data infrastructure with developer-friendly libraries that shorten the path from idea to production. That combination is only becoming more important as automated and agent-driven workflows take hold across trading and research.”

The new capital will be used to broaden Databento’s coverage across asset classes and geographies while continuing to scale the infrastructure that sets it apart. The company colocates its servers at exchanges to capture data directly from the source and is set to expand to over 20 data centers worldwide following this round. It has also secured an additional 100+ petabytes of storage capacity, more than doubling its previous footprint.

About Databento
Databento is the market data platform for modern finance. The company provides real-time and historical data across futures, options, and equities through a unified API. By owning the entire market data stack end-to-end, Databento is the first platform of its kind to combine the performance and reliability demanded by the world’s leading trading firms with a dramatically simpler developer experience. To learn more about Databento, visit https://databento.com.

About NEA

New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. Founded in 1977, NEA has more than $28 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2025 and invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm’s long track record of investing includes more than 280 portfolio company IPOs and more than 510 mergers and acquisitions. For more information, please visit www.nea.com.

Media Contact:

Andrew Young

6175534000

[email protected]

SOURCE Databento Inc.

QINGDAO, China, July 9, 2026 — On July 8, the 2026 Qingdao Venture Capital Conference concluded successfully at the Qingdao International Conference Center. Held under the theme “Empowering New Quality Productive Forces, Shaping a Shared Industrial Future: VC/PE Opportunities under the 15th Five-Year Plan,” the event brought together over a hundred government officials, investors from leading financial institutions and venture capital firms, entrepreneurs, and renowned scholars to discuss how long-term capital can accelerate technological innovation and industrial transformation in the opening year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan.

Hosted by the Qingdao Municipal People’s Government, co-organized by the Office of the Financial Affairs Commission of the CPC Qingdao Municipal Committee and the Qingdao Municipal Finance Bureau, and co-sponsored by China Bridge, the one-day conference adopted a format of one plenary forum and five parallel forums, covering topics such as capital’s role in empowering new quality productive forces, blue finance, future industry ecosystems, asset revitalization, cross-border financial cooperation, and a sci-tech innovation project roadshow — where ten startups spanning AI and embodied intelligence, integrated circuits, biopharmaceuticals, new energy and low-altitude economy presented directly to investors.

At the plenary forum, a series of major launches and strategic partnerships were announced. The Qingdao Fund Industry Development Alliance and Zhongtai Capital Equity Investment Management (Shandong) Co., Ltd. were officially unveiled, while the Qingdao Municipal Government signed strategic cooperation agreements with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Guotai Haitong Securities and Zhongtai Securities. The “Qingdao-Hong Kong Integration, Linking the World” initiative was also launched at the plenary, bringing together the international investment banking arms of China’s five major state-owned banks to support local technology companies in accessing global capital markets and channeling long-term capital into strategic emerging and future industries. Funds under Qingdao’s “10+1″ Innovative Industry System were also signed on site, further directing patient capital toward the city’s modern industrial system.

The event also marked the release of the China Venture Capital & Private Equity Annual White Paper (2026), offering an overview of global and domestic investment trends. According to the report, global venture capital investment reached US$301 billion in the first quarter of 2026 — the highest first-quarter total in five years — with artificial intelligence accounting for more than 80% of total funding. In China, new-generation information technology, advanced manufacturing and healthcare remained the top three sectors by investment amount in H1 2026, while AI, robotics, semiconductors and integrated circuits emerged as the sub-sectors most favored by capital. The report noted that the global shift toward hard technology and the real economy is creating new opportunities for innovation-driven cities, with Qingdao’s strengths in marine technology providing a solid foundation for its future growth.

Sun Ximin, Vice Governor of Shandong Province; Ren Gang, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Qingdao Municipal Committee and Mayor of Qingdao; and Gao Tianhong, Party Committee Member and Vice President of the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), delivered remarks at the conference. The event also featured keynote speeches by Liu Shijin, Chief Chinese Advisor of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development and former Deputy Director of the Development Research Center of the State Council; Wang Zhongmin, former Vice Chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund; and Wu Xiaoqiu, former Vice President of Renmin University of China and Dean of the National Academy of Financial Research.

Since its launch in 2019, the Qingdao Venture Capital Conference has evolved into one of China’s leading platforms for venture capital and private equity cooperation. As China embarks on its 15th Five-Year Plan, this year’s conference further underscores Qingdao’s commitment to attracting long-term capital, deepening the integration of technology, industry and finance, fostering a world-class innovation ecosystem, and strengthening its position as a leading hub for innovation-driven development.

SOURCE 2026 Qingdao Venture Capital Conference

HONG KONG, BEIJING and SHANGHAI, July 9, 2026 — Grace Investment Machine (“GIM”), an AI-native investment technology company building agentic systems for capital markets, today announced the close of its US$20 million Series A financing. The round was co-led by a leading US venture capital firm and Hony Capital, with participation from IDG Capital and existing investor Monolith Capital. The financing marks GIM’s third funding round within its first year of operations.

GIM is building agentic AI systems designed to go beyond assisting investment research. The company describes this approach as a “Visionary Machine”: AI systems that generate, test, and refine investment hypotheses through market data, feedback loops, and coordinated agents.

Capital markets offer a uniquely rich learning environment. Every investment hypothesis can be translated into action, and every action produces measurable feedback. Over time, this closed learning loop allows intelligent systems to sharpen judgment not by memorizing the past, but by continuously learning from the market itself.

“We believe investment AI is moving from information assistance to autonomous hypothesis generation and testing,” said Jiahao Xu, founder and CEO of GIM. “GIM is building systems that can reason across market data, evaluate signals through feedback, and improve over time in real-world capital markets.”

The company is advancing on two fronts: foundation models tailored to capital-market environments, and multi-agent systems that generate, validate, and evolve investment signals across coordinated reasoning layers. Its flagship paper, CogAlpha, was accepted to the ACL 2026 main conference with an Oral recommendation. The paper presents a seven-layer agent architecture that moves from raw data to actionable investment signals.

GIM’s broader ambition is captured in a second phrase: Shared Prosperity. As intelligence systems compound at different rates, the company believes the defining question of the next decades will be who gets to own and harness that growth. Its long-term bet is to build products — from institutional strategies to individual-accessible vehicles — that turn self-evolving intelligence into a widely held asset, rather than a concentrated advantage.

This vision has drawn support from investors with long-term conviction in both AI and capital markets. The round brings together long-term investors with experience across artificial intelligence, financial technology, and global markets. Alongside its research efforts, GIM is also bringing AI-driven strategies and investment products into live validation across multiple asset classes and markets.

SOURCE GIM（Grace Investment Machine）

• 23i brings strong content planning and production capabilities built around multi-persona virtual artists
  
• Internalized virtual content production technologies including real-time motion capture and toon shaders, enabling high-quality, high-frequency content that builds narratives together with fandoms
• NAVER D2SF continues to invest across the full spectrum of virtual technologies, exploring potential collaboration opportunities as the global virtual entertainment market grows

SEONGNAM-SI, South Korea, July 8, 2026 — NAVER D2SF, the corporate venture capital arm of NAVER, has made a new investment in 23i (CEO, Hyungmin Kim), a virtual entertainment startup. As the global virtual entertainment market continues to grow rapidly, particularly in Korea and Japan, NAVER D2SF decided to invest in the team based on its ability to create expanded entertainment IP through strong content production capabilities and an in-house technology pipeline designed to maximize the strengths of virtual artists.

For virtual artists to build lasting fandoms, they need to deliver high-quality content at a high frequency, vividly expressing their talent and personality while offering fresh fan experiences enabled by technology. To address this, 23i has developed its own virtual UX technologies, including real-time motion capture, toon shaders, quadrupedal and flying motion control systems. The company has also built an efficient production workflow that enables a small team to rapidly plan and produce new content.

Based on a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and fandom culture, 23i is developing differentiated content and narratives. Its virtual boy group WE GO-6, unveiled last year, is built around the original concept of a “multi-persona idol,” where each member expresses a distinct persona. Through this approach, the company is expanding the storytelling potential of virtual artists while deepening communication with fans.

“With this investment, we plan to strengthen our content production infrastructure and deliver content with an even higher level of quality,” said Hyungmin Kim, CEO of 23i. “By building our own technology, we aim to create fan-participatory content that has not been possible in the traditional entertainment industry.”

“Virtual entertainment is a market with strong growth potential, going beyond technical implementation to enable artists and fandoms to communicate in entirely new ways,” said Sanghwan Yang, Head of NAVER D2SF. “23i is a team boldly challenging the scalability of the virtual industry, backed by groundbreaking content planning and an excellent production workflow.” He added, “As NAVER D2SF has continued to invest across the full spectrum of virtual technologies, we will also explore potential collaboration opportunities with NAVER’s entertainment businesses and related teams such as Motion Stage.”

NAVER D2SF has consistently invested across the virtual content technology stack, including 3D engines and data, motion capture, and the creation and operation of virtual character IP. Going forward, NAVER D2SF plans to continue discovering and supporting technology startups creating new possibilities in the virtual content market.

About NAVER D2SF

NAVER D2SF is NAVER’s in-house corporate venture arm, supporting sustainable growth by collaborating with startups. Founded in 1999, NAVER has maintained its position as Korea’s leading search engine for over 20 years and operates across commerce, content, fintech, and cloud services. Under the technological vision of D2SF, NAVER is actively developing new technologies and global partnerships to grow as a leading tech company.

To learn more, visit https://d2sf.naver.com

SOURCE NAVER D2SF