SÃO PAULO, May 8, 2026 — Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP represented Enter, a Brazil-based artificial intelligence legal technology company, in connection with its Series B financing round. The financing raised more than $100 million and valued Enter at approximately $1.2 billion, making Enter the first AI unicorn in Latin America, according to the company press release.

The financing was led by Founders Fund, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Kaszek, Atlantico, and ONEVC.

Founded in 2023, Enter is the AI litigator for large companies such as Airbnb, Nubank, Mercado Libre, Latam Airlines and 40+ other enterprises. Every legal task in a litigation workflow — from evidence discovery to drafting an answer to negotiating a settlement — is autonomously performed by Enter’s AI agents before being shared for expert review by a lawyer in the Enter network.

The Greenberg Traurig deal team advising Enter in this transaction was led by Salt Lake City Corporate and Latin America practice Shareholder Matthew Squires and New York and São Paulo Corporate Associate Maurice Guttmann.

The team included L. Frank Cordero, Tax shareholder in the Miami office, Agata Jacqueline Paramesvari, New York Corporate associate, and Nathalya Zara, Fort Lauderdale Corporate Law Clerk/J.D.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has approximately 3,100 lawyers across 51 locations in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm’s broad geographic and practice range enables the delivery of innovative and strategic legal services across borders and industries. Recognized as a 2025 BTI “Best of the Best Recommended Law Firm” by general counsel for trust and relationship management, Greenberg Traurig is consistently ranked among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100, NLJ 500, and Law360 400. Greenberg Traurig is also known for its philanthropic giving, culture, innovation, and pro bono work. Web: www.gtlaw.com.

SOURCE Greenberg Traurig, LLP

PHOENIX, May 8, 2026 — Basata, the AI company rebuilding the operational layer of US healthcare, today announced a $21 million Series A led by Basis Set Ventures, with participation from Cowboy Ventures, PHX Ventures, Zenda Capital, and Victoria Treyger. The round brings total funding to $24.5 million.

Basata’s AI agents handle the administrative work still running on fax machines and phone calls, like referrals, intake, patient scheduling, and follow-up — end to end. A referral arrives by fax, Basata extracts the patient details and creates a chart in the EHR, an AI voice agent calls the patient, and the appointment is booked in minutes instead of weeks. The company has served more than 500,000 patients to date, including 100,000 in the past month, and works with providers some of the largest specialty groups in the country across cardiology, urology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, and growing.

Practices using Basata process 100% of incoming referrals the same day, unlock 50% more administrative labor capacity, and reduce time-to-first-patient-contact from weeks to minutes. Roughly 70% of new sales come from customer referrals.

“Healthcare administration is one of the most consequential and least supported workforces in America,” said Kaled Alhanafi, co-founder and CEO of Basata. “We didn’t build Basata to replace administrators. We built it for them. ‘Basata’ is Arabic for simplicity, and that is what these teams deserve.”

Basata’s founding team came together around a shared conviction that healthcare’s biggest failures aren’t clinical, they’re operational. The country’s clinicians and administrators are world-class; the tools they have been handed are not. CEO Kaled Alhanafi lost his mother as a young adult to a healthcare administrative error. Co-founder Chetan, a former principal engineer at Medtronic, watched his wife wait months to see a cardiologist. Co-founder Vivin, a Computer Science PhD, saw his wife endure the same broken referral process.

That conviction shapes how the company builds. “Our Forward-Deployed Engineer returned from two weeks onsite at a customer site, eyes bloodshot, after manually processing referrals and faxes all day,” said Chetan Patel, co-founder and president of Basata. “It proved that if you aren’t in the trenches, you’ll never grasp how intense this workload is. Building in a bubble fails. We design tech that works because we are on the ground with our customers. This is why so many practices are trusting us with their workflows.”

Customers feel the difference. “Before Basata, we regularly had a backlog of 500+ unprocessed referrals, some waiting for months,” said Rich Bondi, CEO of Southwest Cardiovascular Associates. “Once Basata came in, the backlog went to zero. We’ve seen an 18% boost in new patient conversions because patients are contacted right away. Basata truly transformed our patient care.”

The new funding will enable Basata to scale what’s already working in tackling the $1 trillion operational layer of US healthcare end to end, replacing the patchwork of point solutions practices have stitched together with a single system built alongside the administrators who use it every day.

“It’s 2026, self-driving cars can navigate my city, but patients still have to fight through hold music and fax machines to get care,” said Alhanafi. “That’s the disconnect we’re fixing. In the next decade, healthcare operations will become fully autonomous. Intake, scheduling, coordination, and billing will just happen in the background, and patients will finally experience what exceptional healthcare actually feels like.”

About Basata

Basata deploys specialty-specific AI agents that automate healthcare’s administrative workflows end-to-end. From faxes to referrals to call centers, our agents take on the repetitive tasks that slow down health systems and practices, so teams move faster and patients get better access. Learn more at www.basata.ai

SOURCE Basata

Antier Solutions secured $3M led by GVFL to scale blockchain platforms powering secure workflows, digital trust, and BFSI sector transformation

MOHALI, India, May 8, 2026 — India’s pioneer venture capital firm GVFL has led a $3 million investment in Antier Solutions Pvt. Ltd., marking a strategic investment in enterprise blockchain infrastructure as adoption expands across government systems, financial institutions, and enterprise workflows.

This is Antier’s first institutional capital after over a decade of bootstrapped growth. It comes at a time when blockchain is increasingly being evaluated as a foundational layer for digital trust, verification, and financial infrastructure — particularly across public sector and BFSI use cases.

Founded by Vikram R. Singh, Antier Solutions is an enterprise blockchain engineering firm focused on building infrastructure for secure transactions, verifiable workflows, and institutional-grade applications. Headquartered in Mohali, the company operates with a team of over 600 specialists and has delivered over 1,000 projects across enterprises, startups, and government institutions globally.

Commenting on the investment, Mihir Joshi, Managing Director at GVFL, said, “Enterprise adoption of blockchain is moving into real-world use cases across governance systems and financial infrastructure. We see strong potential in platforms that can deliver verifiable, secure, and scalable systems for institutional deployment, and Antier Solutions is well positioned in this space.”

Vikram R. Singh, Founder of Antier Solutions Pvt. Ltd., said, “This investment marks an important milestone in our journey as we transition from a bootstrapped organisation to one backed by institutional capital. Our focus remains on building trusted digital infrastructure for governments, financial institutions, and enterprises at scale.”

Shashi Pal, COO and Co-founder of Antier, a title earned, rather than allocated, added, “Years of bootstrapped execution have built the operational depth that institutional clients require — disciplined delivery, engineering rigour, and deployment certainty. With GVFL’s backing, we are ready to extend this depth across government and BFSI customers at scale, in India and beyond.”

The company’s leadership team also includes Ashish Pareek, Chief Financial Officer at Antier Solutions Pvt. Ltd., who is overseeing the company’s financial strategy and institutional growth roadmap following the investment. 

The capital will be used to scale Antier’s platform offerings, expand deployments across government and BFSI sectors, and strengthen its presence in key international markets, including the United States, MENA, and Asia-Pacific.

For more information, visit www.antiersolutions.com.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2975839/Antier_Solutions.jpg

Media Contact:
Devender Junas
+91 7889162751 
[email protected]

SOURCE Antier Solutions

NEW YORK, May 8, 2026 — Crown Affair, the modern haircare brand recognized for its clean, high-performing formulas and emphasis on thoughtful rituals, announced its Series C investment led by Stride Consumer Partners—marking an important milestone in the company’s ongoing growth.

The round consists primarily of secondary capital and reflects a long-standing relationship between Crown Affair and Stride. Stride Consumer’s Operating Partner, Nicole Fourgoux, has always been an admirer of Crown Affair, following the brand since its inception and waiting for the right moment to formally cement a partnership. Nicole added “This investment represents a shared belief in Crown Affair’s vision and a deep alignment in building a thoughtful, enduring brand within the haircare category. With its elevated, minimalist, and ritual-driven positioning, Crown Affair is particularly well suited to capture the shift toward the skinification of hair, where consumers are seeking more holistic efficacy, intention, and long-term care.”

The funding comes at a pivotal moment for Crown Affair, as the company deepens its relationship with Sephora following a recent expansion into all retail doors nationwide. This growth underscores the brand’s ability to not only launch but sustain high-performing hero products, demonstrating a commitment to creating timeless essentials, rather than chasing short-lived trends.

Crown Affair’s long time investment partner, True Beauty Ventures, has been instrumental throughout the brand’s growth and will continue to collaborate. Crown Affair remains focused on scaling deliberately and sustainably, guided by its mission, vision, and core philosophy. The company will continue to prioritize product integrity, community, and long-term brand building.  

With this new partnership, Crown Affair is well-positioned to build on its momentum while staying true to the principles that have defined the brand since day one.

Crown Affair CEO, Elaine Choi, notes “Who you partner with matters as much as what you build. What drew us to Stride was their genuine understanding of our vision and the category we’re helping define — and what’s been remarkable is how naturally aligned we’ve felt from the start, on vision, on values, on what it means to build something lasting. We’re excited to step into this next chapter together.” Founder, Dianna Cohen, adds “I started Crown Affair with a simple belief: that the way you care for your hair can be something you actually look forward to — a moment that’s yours, that transforms how you show up in the world. Watching that resonate with so many people, and now seeing Crown Affair reach them at scale through Sephora, has been one of the more rewarding parts of this journey. This partnership with Stride means we get to bring that ritual to even more people— and that’s exactly what we set out to do. We’re proud to have a partner who is as intentional about this as we are.”

Brittany Sperling, Principal at Stride Consumer Partners added, “We were immediately drawn to the strength of the Crown Affair team—an incredibly talented group that has built a timeless, beloved brand supported by deep customer loyalty and best-in-class products. We are excited to partner with Dianna and Elaine and the rest of the team at Crown Affair as they continue to elevate everyday haircare into a meaningful self-care ritual.”

Foley & Lardner served as the legal advisor to Crown Affair. Ropes & Gray served as the legal advisor to Stride Consumer Partners.

About Crown Affair

Crown Affair is a modern haircare brand redefining the relationship people have with their hair. With a focus on intentional rituals, high-performance clean formulations, and handcrafted tools, Crown Affair empowers individuals to create meaningful self-care routines. Founded by Dianna Cohen in 2020, Crown Affair is available online and in Sephora stores across the U.S., offering an elevated experience for consumers seeking mindful haircare solutions.

About Stride Consumer Partners

Stride is a private equity firm that specializes in partnering with talented and dynamic founders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to build the next generation of great consumer brands. Founded by a passionate group of experienced investor-operators, Stride’s unique approach brings together a fully integrated team of successful investors working alongside seasoned operators to assist high-growth and disruptive consumer products and services businesses to hit their stride. Together, Stride supports its partners on their journey as they take decisive steps toward delivering on their vision. Within consumer, the firm focuses on the following areas of expertise: beauty & personal care, food and beverage, active lifestyle and multi-unit consumer services. The Stride team has had the pleasure of working side-by-side with the founders and teams of Chomps, Crown Affair, Odele Beauty, Patrick Ta, Peachy, Serenity Kids, Skinfix and Truewerk. For more information, please visit Stride Consumer Partners website.

SOURCE Crown Affair

BEIJING, May 8, 2026 — Following its RMB 1 billion strategic round in March, robotics company ROBOTERA has raised over USD 200 million in a new financing round led by SF Group. The round also saw participation from leading financial investors including HSG, IDG Capital, Hillhouse Investment, CICC Capital, Jingming Capital, SparkEdge Capital, Luxin Venture Capital Group, Unite Pioneers Capital, and Longqi Investment; alongside major industrial partners such as KENGIC, Dongfeng Asset Investment, ICBC Capital, and funds affiliated with China Unicom. Existing investors Tsinghua Holding Tiancheng Asset Management and Horizon Investment continued to increase their stakes. Investor demand significantly exceeded the initial fundraising target.

ROBOTERA now brings together top-tier financial institutions including CDH Venture and Growth Capital, HSG, IDG Capital, Hillhouse Investment, Gaocheng Capital and CICC Capital, alongside a broad base of industrial investors such as SF Group, Alibaba, Geely Capital, BAIC, Dongfeng Asset Investment, Lenovo, Haier, Golden Resources Group, Singtel Innov8, China Unicom-affiliated funds, Woori Venture Partners, a venture capital subsidiary of Woori Financial Holdings, ICBC Capital, KENGIC and a leading South Korean technology company. These partners contribute real-world deployment scenarios and commercial demand, supporting large-scale adoption.

This strong backing reflects confidence in ROBOTERA’s technology path and its ability to deliver productivity at scale. The company has achieved the first product-market fit (PMF) in the embodied intelligence sector, with deployments across more than ten logistics centers in collaboration with China Post and SF Group. In Q2 2026, ROBOTERA initiated thousand-unit deliveries, with growth exceeding 300%.

Beyond deployment, ROBOTERA has built a fully in-house robotics hardware system, with over 95% of core components developed internally, spanning actuation systems and humanoid platforms, forming a robust foundation for real-world mobility and manipulation tasks.

A key focus is its pioneering full direct-drive dexterous hand architecture, the first of its kind in the industry, enabling high-precision, adaptable, and durable manipulation in logistics and industrial environments. Its reliability has been validated through long-term real-world deployment.

ROBOTERA’s hardware system has been adopted by leading global technology companies and research institutions, including Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, and Apple. The system works in close coordination with software in real-world environments, with deployment feedback enabling continuous performance optimization.

With proven deployment in logistics and ongoing expansion into automotive, electronics, and service industries, ROBOTERA is entering a phase of rapid commercialization. The company will continue scaling real-world robotic applications across global markets.

SOURCE ROBOTERA

NEW YORK, May 7, 2026 — Balcony, an innovative company building modern data infrastructure for the U.S. property market, today announced it has raised a $12.7 million seed round led by Blockchange Ventures, bringing its total raise to $14 million. The financing will be used to accelerate the development of “digital rails” for America’s real estate economy. The Keystone infrastructure is currently helping government agencies in the U.S. manage and secure over $400 billion in property value on its platform.

The funding will scale Balcony’s engineering and go-to-market teams and expand the deployment of its platform across county and state governments nationwide.

Building the Foundational Infrastructure for Real Estate
More than 3,000 county offices maintain the land records that form the legal bedrock for trillions of dollars in U.S. real estate. For decades, this information has been fragmented across local systems, creating friction and risk for the entire economy. For the first time, Balcony’s platform integrates with county systems to transform historical records into the digital rails for the property market, creating a structured and connected data layer that can power a modern, secure economy.

This infrastructure provides a 360-degree parcel view, empowering key partners such as title insurers, mortgage lenders, and capital markets to operate with greater speed and certainty. The company’s mTrace platform builds on these digital rails to provide intelligence-driven threat detection for government agencies.

Proven at Scale in Partnership with Government
Balcony recently signed a five-year contract with the Bergen County Clerk’s Office in New Jersey to digitize and bring 370,000 property parcels onto its platform, representing approximately $240 billion in real estate value.

“For counties like ours, modernizing how land records are organized and accessed is critical,” said John Hogan, County Clerk of Bergen County, New Jersey. “Balcony’s platform works alongside the systems we already use to help us organize decades of records in a way that improves transparency and makes information easier for both our office and the public to access.”

“We have a profound respect for the public records that counties steward,” said Gregg Lester, co-CEO and President of Balcony. “Our role is to partner with these public servants to build a modern, secure, and connected data layer upon that bedrock. We are not replacing their critical systems, but rather building the digital rails alongside them to ensure these foundational records can power a more transparent and secure market for the next century.”

The Investor Vision: A National Security Imperative for Digital Rails
For lead investor Blockchange Ventures, the financing follows its successful playbook of rebuilding foundational infrastructure, a strategy proven with its early backing of fintech leader Figure Technologies. The firm believes that the decision to back a nationwide upgrade of property records, a historically fragmented and monumental undertaking, is only viable now because a powerful new catalyst has emerged.

“Property ownership is a pillar of our economy, and in today’s world, it’s also a matter of national security,” said Ken Seiff, Managing Partner at Blockchange Ventures. “The drive to build these digital rails is imperative because our fragmented, century-old system is vulnerable. Balcony’s unique ability to create a verifiable and connected view of land records is the gamechanger, empowering governments to protect against fraud and monitor foreign ownership, which in turn builds the foundation of trust required to finally modernize the rails for the entire real estate economy.”

About Balcony
Balcony builds the digital rails for America’s property records. By partnering with government agencies, the company is creating the foundational infrastructure to secure and modernize the real estate economy. This trusted data layer empowers partners, including title insurers, mortgage lenders, and financial institutions, to operate with greater confidence and security. Balcony is headquartered in the Greater New York area. To learn more about Balcony visit https://balcony.technology/.

Contact:
Angela Crawford
[email protected] 

SOURCE Balcony

DENVER, May 7, 2026 — Industrious Ventures congratulates Lunar Outpost, the leader in off-planet mobility, in-space infrastructure, and space-based autonomous platforms, on today’s announcement of its oversubscribed $30M Series B. Industrious Ventures led the round with participation from Type One Ventures, Eniac Ventures, Reliable Equity, and others. 

Justin Cyrus (CEO), AJ Gemer (CTO), Forrest Meyen (CSO), and Julian Cyrus (COO) founded the company to develop next-generation mobility and autonomous systems that enable reliable, scalable operations on the lunar surface and in orbit. The funding accelerates production and development of its rover systems, expanded manufacturing capacity, and deployment of mission-ready systems for NASA Artemis and U.S. national security programs.

As global efforts accelerate toward a permanent human presence in space, mobility and autonomy are foundational requirements to support sustained operations in extreme environments and the broader space economy. Lunar Outpost is a key provider in this category, with several different classes of scalable rover systems validated through flight heritage and representative environmental testing.

Lunar Outpost is also advancing autonomous robotics and coordination software through its STRATFI-supported MARS platform, enabling resilient multi-vehicle operations in GPS-denied environments. The capabilities are being tested across lunar, orbital, and terrestrial applications, expanding the company’s reach into broader defense and space-based autonomy systems.

“Lunar infrastructure development will come in phases over the next 10 years, shifting from site preparation to development to sustainment,” said Taylor Sargent, Partner at Industrious Ventures. “That progression depends not just on mobility, but on systems that can operate autonomously in extreme environments. Lunar Outpost has demonstrated the ability to execute in the field while building capabilities that translate directly to how work gets done on the lunar surface, in cis-lunar space, and beyond.”

“As activity on the lunar surface and space accelerates, the systems that can operate reliably and scale will define what’s possible,” said Mason Angel, Founding Partner at Industrious Ventures. “Mobility is a critical foundation for everything that follows and increasingly requires autonomy to operate in complex environments. Lunar Outpost is building with that full system in mind.”

Lunar Outpost has developed and deployed multiple generations of its Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover, supporting applications including resource prospecting, infrastructure development, and sustained surface operations. Building on that foundation, the company is advancing multiple next-generation lunar terrain vehicles as part of NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services (LTVS) program for Artemis, reflecting a broader shift toward commercially developed, rapidly deployable mobility systems.

“From the beginning, our focus has been on building systems that can operate reliably in the harshest environments and scale with demand,” said Justin Cyrus, Founder and CEO of Lunar Outpost. “This next phase of growth allows us to accelerate deployment of the robotic and mobility infrastructure required for sustained operations beyond Earth and the broader expansion of the space economy.”

Industrious Ventures backs founders building the core technologies required for the next era of industrial capability on and beyond Earth. Lunar mobility represents a critical unlock for that future, enabling infrastructure deployment, resource utilization, and human exploration. With increasing demand from government and commercial stakeholders, Lunar Outpost is positioned to define how work gets done both on the lunar surface and in space in the years ahead.

About Lunar Outpost

Lunar Outpost is the leader in space mobility and infrastructure, developing advanced robotic systems for extreme environments. From enabling the first commercial rover on the Moon and making oxygen on Mars to driving NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle program, Lunar Outpost is accelerating the new space economy for the betterment of life here on Earth. Leading the industry with 8 missions launching to the Moon before 2030, Lunar Outpost is scaling the core technologies that power the industrialization of space. For more information, visit lunaroutpost.com.

About Industrious Ventures

Industrious Ventures backs founders reinventing the world’s most critical industries—from the deep sea to deep space. With evergreen capital and long-term conviction, the firm partners with deep-tech builders from early development through scale-up and production. Industrious invests across aerospace, national security, energy, compute, manufacturing, and other foundational sectors where innovation strengthens the industrial economy. Learn more at www.industrious.vc.

Media Contact
Alexandra Johnson
[email protected]

SOURCE Industrious Ventures

The viral clean-label french fry brand grew over 1,100% in 2025 and is on track to nearly quadruple in size again in 2026 as it launches nationwide at Target, expands at Whole Foods Market, and opens new retail doors.

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2026 — Jesse & Ben’s, the seed-oil-free french fry brand redefining the frozen potato category, announced the close of an oversubscribed Series A financing round led by Greycroft. The capital will fuel the brand’s continued retail expansion, supply chain investment, and leadership team build-out as the company scales nationally.

The round was led by Greycroft, with investment from the firm’s consumer brands fund, championed by Partners Brian Bustamante-Nicholson and Eric Ryan. Ryan, co-founder of Method and Olly, will join the company’s board. Jesse & Ben’s reflects Greycroft’s focus on backing founder-led consumer brands with cultural momentum that are reinventing legacy categories.

“Jesse and Ben are building exactly the kind of consumer brand we look to support, one that brings new energy to a large, established category,” said Brian Bustamante-Nicholson, Partner at Greycroft. “We believe their growth reflects strong consumer demand for simpler, better ingredients, and we’re excited to support the team as they continue to scale.”

Alongside lead investor Greycroft, the round saw new participation from Rich Products Ventures, the corporate venture arm of the global, family-owned food company, Rich Products, along with existing backers Willow Growth Partners, Sling Ventures, Midnight Venture Partners, and grt sht ventures.

Additional investors in the round include leading consumer operators and founders, including Andrew Abraham (Orgain / Humble Growth), Carter Comstock (Freshly / Comstock Growth), Allison and Stephen Ellsworth (Poppi), Nic Jammet (Sweetgreen), and Jordan Brown (Hu Chocolate), as well as creator-investors including Lauryn and Michael Bosstick (Dear Media / The Skinny Confidential) and many more.

“Jesse and Ben’s is doing exactly what we look for in the future of food: taking a massive, legacy category like frozen fries and completely reinventing it with a clean-label, brand-led approach. Their incredible performance and the way they’ve captured the cultural moment around better-for-you ingredients in under two years is incredible. We are thrilled to support the team as they scale this disruption nationwide,” said Brian Bernstein, Principal at Rich Products Ventures.

Jesse & Ben’s was founded by Jesse Konig and Ben Johnson, two restaurant operators turned CPG founders who launched their namesake brand on retail shelves in June 2024. The brand has scaled at a pace rarely seen in frozen food. Jesse & Ben’s grew over 1,100% in 2025 and is on track to grow another 300-400% in 2026.

The brand was put on the map through early nationwide launches at Sprouts Farmers Market and Whole Foods Market. Momentum continues to accelerate following a nationwide rollout at Target, regional rotations at Costco, and additional retail launches underway. Jesse & Ben’s has become the #1 brand in the frozen potato category at multiple retailers, surpassing legacy competitors and private label options.

A majority of the funding from the round will go toward scaling supply chain capacity to keep pace with national demand, supporting continued retail expansion across conventional grocery, club, and mass channels, and building out the team. Jesse & Ben’s recently brought on Audrey Burger (Primal Kitchen / Kraft Heinz) as Founding President, alongside other key hires from notable brands such as Siete, to help guide the brand in this new phase of growth.

Jesse & Ben’s launched with three restaurant-quality varieties made from just russet potatoes, 100% grass-fed beef tallow or avocado oil, and seasonings, bringing an elevated french fry experience into homes nationwide. The company is expanding the lineup in 2026 with new launches, including:

• Sweet Potato Tallow Fries (just sweet potatoes, 100% grass-fed beef tallow, and sea salt) expands from an exclusive test-launch at Sprouts to multiple national retailers.
• Crinkle Cut Beef Tallow Fries will be joining the core lineup this summer at select retailers.

Both products reflect Jesse & Ben’s commitment to giving people delicious versions of their favorite all-American foods with minimally-processed ingredients:

“When we started Jesse & Ben’s, the goal was simple: turn junk food into joy food. Two years in, we’re watching real people pick our bag over the brands they grew up with, and we’re outselling legacy brands on shelves we never imagined we’d be on. This round gives us the firepower to keep launching products people actually want, to scale our supply chain, and to bring in the best operators in CPG. We couldn’t have asked for a better group of partners to do it with,” said Jesse Konig, Co-Founder & CEO, Jesse & Ben’s.

About Jesse & Ben’s
Jesse & Ben’s is a premium frozen french fry brand founded in 2024 by co-founders Jesse Konig and Ben Johnson. After a decade running Mid-Atlantic restaurant brand Swizzler, the two set out to fix what they saw as the most overlooked category in the grocery store: frozen fries. Every Jesse & Ben’s product is made with simple, real ingredients, zero seed oils, and the kind of craft you’d expect from a chef-run kitchen, not a frozen aisle. Today, Jesse & Ben’s products are available in more than 3,500 stores nationwide, including Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Target, Thrive Market, Fresh Thyme, MOM’s Organic Market, and hundreds of independent retailers. Real Fries, Real Guys. Learn more at jesseandbens.com.

SOURCE Jesse & Ben’s

Institutions can finally license rare, high-fidelity datasets directly to AI builders, with no custodial broker in the data path

ST. PAUL, Minn. and HOUSTON, May 7, 2026 — KnectIQ Inc., pioneer of the programmable sovereign trust fabric, and VeridatAI Inc., the marketplace for compliant data exchange, announced a Strategic Partnership to deliver Custody-Free Data Exchange Infrastructure: a new category in which institutional datasets move directly from owner to buyer, never held by a custodial intermediary. VeridatAI will integrate KnectIQ’s patented SelectiveTRUST® as the trust fabric of its custody-free marketplace. Neither company sits in the data path.

The broken convention

Every prior marketplace has required data to enter the operator’s environment to be licensable. That assumption produces outcomes institutions cannot accept: IP exposure, GDPR and CCPA risk, copies in third-party clouds, provenance claims that won’t survive legal challenge. Clinical, genomic, financial, and research datasets remain unlicensed while AI developers scrape lower-fidelity alternatives. Incumbents cannot solve this; their business models require custody to function.

The new category

VeridatAI orchestrates discovery, licensing, agreements, and cryptographic provenance watermarking. SelectiveTRUST establishes a device-rooted, single-use trust binding for each authorized exchange. Data moves directly from owner to buyer, governed but never touched by the trust fabric above. Trust is ephemeral and provable, not persistent and assumed.

What this unlocks

The datasets that will define the next decade of AI sit inside hospitals, banks, research universities, and industrial systems. Under custodial architectures, owners will not release them, forcing AI developers onto scraped or synthetic substitutes. Custody-Free Data Exchange Infrastructure changes the economics: owners license data directly to AI developers, with provenance that survives downstream use.

The architecture works because of a specific dependency. Anthropic’s Mythos System Card documents AI agents that autonomously discover zero-day vulnerabilities and chain exploits to escape sandboxes, defeating conventional cryptographic and identity stacks. Any marketplace built on a conventional trust fabric inherits that exposure. SelectiveTRUST does not: KnectIQ’s globally patented methods architecturally prevent agents from forging a binding. The unlock and the immunity are the same architectural decision.

Commercial availability

The platform is available to institutional partners through VeridatAI’s beta, with general availability in Q3 2026. Initial deployments span healthcare, financial services, and advanced manufacturing.

“The world’s most valuable data has been held back by the assumption that licensing requires custody,” said Ken Morris, Founder and CEO of KnectIQ. “SelectiveTRUST and VeridatAI break that assumption. Without a trust binding, no communication channel exists: no binding, no communication, no access, no execution. The data AI’s next decade needs can finally move on terms owners accept.”

“The datasets that will define AI’s next decade sit inside universities, hospitals, banks, and factories,” said Michael McLaughlin, CEO and Co-founder of VeridatAI. “Custody-Free Data Exchange Infrastructure removes the broker from the data path. Data moves directly from owner to buyer, with every exchange cryptographically provable and provenance-watermarked. We give institutions a way to turn proprietary data into a liquid asset without turning it into a liability.”

About KnectIQ

KnectIQ Inc. pioneers the programmable sovereign trust fabric category. Its patented SelectiveTRUST® technology establishes device-rooted, ephemeral, quantum-resistant trust relationships that protect data, networks, and AI systems across domains and mission environments. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. www.knectiq.com.

About VeridatAI

VeridatAI Inc. operates the global marketplace for compliant data exchange, powering the AI economy with verified, high-fidelity datasets and a zero-custody Trust Infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas. www.veridatai.com.

Media Contacts

KnectIQ Inc., Ken Morris, [email protected], 651-460-9054
VeridatAI Inc., George Kamide, [email protected], 434-327-7159

SOURCE KnectIQ Inc. and VeridatAI Inc.