StepStone Group

Pocket FM Raises $103 Million in Series D Funding

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Pocket FM , a leading audio entertainment platform pioneering the audio series category, today announced that it has raised $103 million in Series D funding.

Key Points:

Pocket FM , a leading audio entertainment platform pioneering the audio series category, today announced that it has raised $103 million in Series D funding.
This latest round brings Pocket FM’s total funding to date to $196.5 million.
Since launching in 2018, Pocket FM has been driving serialized audio storytelling, and has established itself as the leader in personalized audio entertainment.
Establishing itself as a leader in the entertainment space, Pocket FM has built the largest repository of exclusive audio series.

Commerce Ventures Announces Oversubscribed Fund V to Continue Investing In the Future of Retail and Financial Services

Retrieved on:

Monday, March 4, 2024

StepStone Group, SAN, Financial services, Multimedia, Partnership, Thought, Commerce, Senior advisor, Entrepreneurship, Mudflap, Walmart, Trove, Acceleration, Intuit, BILL, Development

SAN FRANCISCO, March 4, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Commerce Ventures, the leading venture firm focused on innovations across retail and financial services, announced today it has closed an oversubscribed fifth fund exceeding $150 million in committed capital.

Key Points:

Commerce Ventures, investors in Bill.com, Marqeta and Socure, announces an oversubscribed fifth fund to continue powering the future of commerce.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 4, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Commerce Ventures , the leading venture firm focused on innovations across retail and financial services, announced today it has closed an oversubscribed fifth fund exceeding $150 million in committed capital.
"We're excited to continue our partnership with Commerce Ventures," said Anton Hanebrink, Chief Corporate Strategy & Development Officer at Intuit.
With this new fund, Commerce Ventures is excited to back the next generation of founders building platforms for retail and financial services.

Rasa Raises $30 Million Series C Co-led by StepStone Group and PayPal Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Accel and Basis Set Ventures for Enterprise Conversational AI

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Internet, Data Management, Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Software, StepStone Group, CALM, Architecture, UI, Multimedia, AI, Customer success, Accel, Conversation, Deutsche Telekom

Rasa , the leading generative conversational AI platform today announced the completion of its $30 million Series C funding round, co-led by StepStone Group and PayPal Ventures, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Accel, and Basis Set Ventures.

Key Points:

Rasa , the leading generative conversational AI platform today announced the completion of its $30 million Series C funding round, co-led by StepStone Group and PayPal Ventures, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Accel, and Basis Set Ventures.
We will use the funding to advance our technological leadership and strengthen our market presence.”
Dr. Alan Nichol, Rasa Co-Founder and CTO, added, “At Rasa we’ve reinvented how conversational AI works.
Rasa powers sophisticated and robust AI assistants aligned with customers’ business logic that provide meaningful and practical user engagement.
“We are thrilled to mark the launch of our AI Fund with our investment in Rasa,” said Alan Du, PayPal Ventures partner.

Everstream Analytics Solidifies Industry Leadership in Supply Chain Risk Management with Unparalleled 2023 Business Momentum

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Everstream Analytics , the global leader in supply chain insights and risk analytics, closed 2023 with record-breaking business momentum.

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Everstream Analytics , the global leader in supply chain insights and risk analytics, closed 2023 with record-breaking business momentum.
Boasting an already world-class team of talented supply chain individuals, Everstream expanded its executive leadership team by appointing globally recognized supply chain expert and former Gartner analyst Koray Köse to Chief Industry Officer.
Recognizing the strength of a collective force, Everstream called upon and was selected by leading industry organizations to advance global supply chain resiliency.
Won Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s Top Supply Chain Projects award for Everstream’s collaboration with Medtronic.

Aqua Security Closes $60M Additional Funding at a Valuation Above $1B

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

Cloud, Insight Partners, Aqua, Container, Computer, Heel, Radar, CWPP, CISO, SSCS, Cloud workload protection platform, StepStone Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, General partnership, Cryptocurrency

The funding, an extension of the company’s Series E round , places Aqua’s valuation above $1B.

Key Points:

The funding, an extension of the company’s Series E round , places Aqua’s valuation above $1B.
During that time, more than 500 enterprise companies worldwide, including 40% of the Fortune 100 companies, have adopted Aqua’s innovative cloud security approach.
"Investors continue to recognize Aqua's enormous potential and the surging demand for our solution,” said Dror Davidoff, co-founder and CEO of Aqua Security.
“Aqua Security has built an innovative cloud security solution that solves the growing challenge of stopping cloud native attacks.

Group 11 strikes $20M deal with StepStone Group and Industry Ventures for second fund holdings

Retrieved on:

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Investment, Silicon, LOS, NeXT, HomeLight, StepStone Group, Partnership, Group 11 element, Like a Boss (film), Heel, Growth, Mohammad Mohammadi-Malayeri, IRR, Financial services, Bank, Tipalti

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading venture capital firm Group 11 has partnered with StepStone Group, a global private markets investment firm, and with Industry Ventures, a leading investment firm focused on private technology investments, through a $20M secondary transaction to acquire 12% of Group 11's second fund. The parties closed the deal directly, without the involvement of any placement agent or investment bank.

Key Points:

The deal enabled investors in Group 11's second fund (2015 vintage) to realize their positions partially or entirely.
Through this deal, participating Group 11 investors received a ~3X net cash on cash return, representing a 20% net IRR on their investment.
This is the second deal we have executed with StepStone since 2022 and this is the first deal with Industry Ventures.
This deal with StepStone and Industry Ventures comes on the heels of significant growth in Group 11's assets under management.

NAIC Welcomes Kathlika Fontes and Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon to its Board of Directors

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Woman, Advisory Committee, American Cancer Society, Fontes, Investment, National Association, NAIC, StepStone Group, Accenture, Salomon Brothers, Like a Boss (film), Female, Avante!, Management

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC), the largest network of diverse-owned alternative investment firms, announced that industry veterans Kathlika Fontes and Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon were elected to its Board of Directors.

Key Points:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC), the largest network of diverse-owned alternative investment firms, announced that industry veterans Kathlika Fontes and Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon were elected to its Board of Directors.
Fontes is Director of Investor Relations for Grain Management, LLC, a leading private investment firm focusing on communications infrastructure and technology companies.
She is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with Limited Partners and their advisors and leading capital development processes.
"I am excited to welcome Ivelisse and Kathlika to the Board of Directors.

Quantum Capital Group Appoints David Altshuler Partner and Co-Head of Client Solutions

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Education, Real assets, StepStone Group, Investment, Growth, Reed College, Partner, Head, University, Nuveen, Cryptocurrency, Quantum

HOUSTON, Nov. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quantum Capital Group (“Quantum”), a leading provider of capital to the global energy and energy transition industry, today announced that David Altshuler has joined the firm as Partner and Co-Head of Client Solutions.

Key Points:

HOUSTON, Nov. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quantum Capital Group (“Quantum”), a leading provider of capital to the global energy and energy transition industry, today announced that David Altshuler has joined the firm as Partner and Co-Head of Client Solutions.
In this role, he will drive capital formation initiatives as well as identify and implement long-term investor engagement, education and capital raising strategies across the firm.
Mr. Altshuler joins Quantum from IFM Investors, where he served as Head of Global Client Solutions, North America and was responsible for the delivery of annual fundraising targets for infrastructure and private credit.
“Quantum is not only the partner of choice for founders, management teams and operators, but for institutional allocators as well.

Saber Power Services Acquired by Greenbelt Capital Partners

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Saber Power Services, LLC, (“Saber” or the “Company”), a fully integrated, substation and medium-to-high-voltage infrastructure services platform, announced today that an investor group led by Greenbelt Capital Management L.P. (“Greenbelt” or “Greenbelt Capital Partners”), in partnership with funds managed by Schroders Capital, StepStone Group and Wafra Inc., has completed their acquisition of the Company from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”).

Key Points:

Saber Power Services, LLC, (“Saber” or the “Company”), a fully integrated, substation and medium-to-high-voltage infrastructure services platform, announced today that an investor group led by Greenbelt Capital Management L.P. (“Greenbelt” or “Greenbelt Capital Partners”), in partnership with funds managed by Schroders Capital, StepStone Group and Wafra Inc., has completed their acquisition of the Company from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”).
Saber offers deep subject matter expertise utilizing an engineering-led and customer-centric approach to delivering critical services.
Brian Bratton, CEO of Saber, said, “With over a decade of experience, the Saber Power team has demonstrated its ability to provide a safe, reliable and high-performance service offering that excels in complex environments.
Chris Murphy, Partner at Greenbelt, said, “Grid enablement and modernization is a key sector focus at Greenbelt.

Lev Announces the Launch of Lev AI

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Heart, StepStone Group, Head, Lev, Growth, AI, CRE, Bank, Nouvelle AI

NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lev, the digital financing platform for commercial real estate, today announced the launch of Lev AI, a powerful set of features which have been rolled out across the company's recently-launched marketplace, Lev Match. While AI has been powering Lev Match's algorithm since launch, these new features will further accelerate and simplify the financing process for borrowers and lenders.

Key Points:

New AI features integrated into Lev Match, the rapidly expanding
NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lev, the digital financing platform for commercial real estate, today announced the launch of Lev AI, a powerful set of features which have been rolled out across the company's recently-launched marketplace, Lev Match.
While AI has been powering Lev Match's algorithm since launch, these new features will further accelerate and simplify the financing process for borrowers and lenders.
Borrowers can now harness Deal Room AI, a first-of-its-kind tool that automates the creation of digital deal materials.
At the heart of the Lev platform is Lev Match, the industry's first CRE debt financing marketplace, which uses AI to instantly connect the right lenders with the right borrowers.