Participated · Series A · Oct 2023

Upfort provides a combined cyber security and insurance platform that streamlines cyber insurance underwriting and risk management for insurers, brokers, and their clients. Its proprietary technology and intelligent automation include AI-powered email protection, network defense, security training, and ongoing monitoring tuned to prevent incidents that cause widespread financial damage. The platform integrates risk assessment, mitigation, and insurance policies to simplify a historically cumbersome and costly underwriting process. An 18-month study of a leading cyber insurance program found that policyholders who fully implemented Upfort Shield were significantly less likely to file a claim, with an 80% reduction in claim likelihood. The company transitioned from Paladin Cyber to Upfort to reflect expanded capabilities as a one-stop shop for cyber security and insurance. Upfort says the new investment will enable it to build on these efforts and continue its mission of accelerating global cyber resilience. Paladin Cyber offers a suite of proprietary tools and resources for small and mid-sized businesses and government entities to assess and manage cyber exposures. Its product set includes training simulations to identify phishing scams, software to protect against malicious code and hacking, and services such as phishing inbox protection, cross-site-scripting protection, public WiFi protection, a browser content filter, and a password manager. The company also provides qualified resources for cyber education and incident response and ties its software solutions to commercial cyber insurance terms with competitive premiums. Paladin made its comprehensive commercial cyber insurance policy available on an admitted basis in Arizona, with Oregon, Colorado and Nevada to follow later in the year; the policy is underwritten by National Specialty Insurance Company and administered by Boost Insurance and offers limits from $50,000 to $1 million across a range of first- and third-party coverages. Founded in 2017 and led by CEO Han Wang, Paladin plans to use new funding for continued national insurance expansion and further investment in its proprietary security platform. The company raised $3.6M in its latest financing, bringing total funding to $4.5M.

Led · Seed · Jan 2022

NLX provides an end-to-end enterprise AI platform to create, manage, deploy and analyze chat, voice, and multimodal conversational applications, leveraging generative AI and cloud software. The platform offers modularity and access to AI models from providers including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and the open-source community. NLX serves large and enterprise brands, with customers such as Red Bull and Copa Airlines and engagements with Comcast following participation in the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs accelerator. Its largest deployment is rolled out in 90 countries and supports over 65 languages and locales. Led by CEO Andrei Papancea, the company plans to use new funding to expand operations and accelerate development efforts. The company is based in New York City. NLX provides a unified, no-code SaaS platform to build, manage, and analyze AI-powered voice, chat, and multimodal conversational applications at scale. The platform combines conversational AI with human support workflows to enable personalized self-service for customers. In January 2023 the company raised $4.6M in additional funding to fuel marketplace expansion and product improvements, bringing total financing to $9.6M to date. IAG Capital Partners led the new investment, with previous backers JetBlue Ventures and Flying Fish Ventures participating. Since the prior raise NLX launched Showroom, a live, personalized multimodal conversational experience developed with Amazon Web Services. The company serves enterprise, Fortune 200, and midsized clients, including Compañía Panameña de Aviación S.A., Red Bull GmbH, LifeMiles Ltd., and Mon Cheri Bridals LLC. NLX is a New York-based provider of an automated, personalized customer self-service software platform. Its Voice Compass product is a voice-driven self-service platform that automates customer support by guiding customers through an onscreen journey to complete tasks. The company’s conversational self-service automation combines AI and human support experience to enable travel and hospitality customers to resolve issues faster and more cost-effectively. In January 2022 NLX raised $5M in seed funding led by Aquila Capital Partners with participation from Flying Fish Partners, Sage Venture Partners, and JetBlue Technology Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations and its business reach. Andrei Papancea is CEO and cofounder.

Participated · Series B · Dec 2021

UNION’s platform integrates a cloud-based, industrial-grade POS with a mobile ordering and payment solution and highly granular customer data to create personalized on-premise experiences for guests, operators, and brands. It is designed specifically for high-volume bars and restaurants and scales to handle high-speed operations with minimal downtime. UNION says its system can increase revenue by up to 30%, reduce customer wait time by up to 80%, and triple each server’s capacity. Over 600,000 consumers used the platform in the last year, and the company processes over $1 billion in consumer transactions annually. UNION already operates in 34 states and emphasizes fast, contactless ordering, personalized recommendations, and integrated payments. The product roadmap and positioning focus on expanding the company’s national footprint and further monetizing customer data to drive loyalty and repeat business.