Participated · Seed · Apr 2023

Secro provides a modular, blockchain-based SaaS platform that tokenizes mission-critical trade finance documents and automates workflows for corporates, financial institutions, and logistics providers across commodities supply chains. The platform is purpose-built for sectors such as agri-food, fertilizers, oil & energy, metals, and forestry, replacing paper-based processes to enable faster execution, lower capital costs, and reduced fraud risk. Secro delivers tailored digital instruments and API-driven integrations for lenders, insurers, and technology partners. The company plans to use its new funding to accelerate integrations with insurance carriers, lenders, and technology platforms, enhance global API interoperability, and advance its AI capabilities for risk assessment and fraud detection. Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Secro runs technology operations in Europe and maintains an EMEA hub in Geneva. Secro provides a new-generation electronic bill of lading solution aimed at digitizing the global trade of commodities. The company is positioning its platform to deliver value and innovation to customers across global maritime trade. Secro announced the addition of three institutional investors—Innoport, Motion Ventures, and Whysol Investments—alongside continuing support from long-standing backers Augment Ventures and TMV. Innoport is identified as the Schulte Group’s maritime corporate venture capital arm; Motion Ventures is described as a maritime investment cluster based in Singapore; Whysol is noted as Secro’s first institutional investor from Italy. The company says the new strategic investors bring fresh synergies and an expanded network. Secro’s team, including Michele Sancricca, is described as laying the foundation to transform e-bill processes, with the company signalling more developments in 2024. Secro offers Secro e-Bill, a digital bill-of-lading platform that performs the functions of a paper bill of lading with increased speed, user interaction, lower cost, and security. The platform is built on the NEM Symbol private blockchain and enables users to export proof of original documents, attach supporting files, and convert e-bills into paper to meet compliance and local customs requirements. Secro allows users to share electronic bills of lading with partners, enabling multiple teams to collaborate on eBL drafts and invite internal and external employees. The company says it does not require the private agreements used by other electronic bill of lading providers. Secro raised $3.6M in Seed funding and intends to use the proceeds to officially scale its platform, develop new features, and expand its network of business partners. The company is led by Michele Sancricca and is based in Wilmington, DE.

Participated · Series A · Jun 2021

Lifted operates a Care Management Platform and directly employs its care workforce, using gamification to improve carer performance and the experience of cared-for people. The company says it launched the first app to offer free care advice and has created the Lifted Dementia Hub after acquiring the "Live Better With Dementia" website, including an online community and product marketplace. Lifted positions itself to compete against traditional care companies as the U.K. market for long-term care grows, and the founders expect the care market to double over the next 20 years. The startup reports it has tripled revenue in 12 months, cut carer churn to half the industry average, and maintained exclusively 5-star Trustpilot reviews. The company also cites a rise in the number of people caring for adult loved ones during the pandemic as driving demand. Lifted combines personalised in-person medical and social care with a consumer-facing app where family members can review and select carers, book visits, set tasks, read carer notes and pay for services. The company recruits, trains and directly employs its carers and says it pays them 20% above the market average and the London Living Wage. Services are offered at hourly, overnight and live-in rates. Since launching in March 2019 the business says it has grown revenues at an average of 20% month over month. Founders Rachael Crook and Sam Cohen built the business after Crook experienced difficulty navigating home care for a relative. Lifted plans to use the new funding to develop its platform, scale the business quickly and build on the data-driven capabilities of its software. Lifted operates an end-to-end, Apple-like elderly care platform and is CQC-regulated. Its Care Management Platform schedules visits, tracks completed tasks, and sends notifications while providing families with real-time updates and wellness data. Lifted directly employs carers, pays the London Living Wage (about 20% above the market average), and says this is enabled by operational savings from its technology platform. Pricing defaults are £19 per hour for hourly care and £950 per week for live-in care; clients can purchase additional services via subscriptions. The company was founded by Rachael Crook and Sam Cohen and was incubated inside the corporate venture builder Zero 1. Lifted plans to broaden its offering by combining professional carers with in-home sensors and health alerts and to develop AI-based analytics to predict and prevent health deterioration.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2019

Syncurity offers an analyst-centric incident response platform, IR-Flow, that integrates people, process and technology to streamline security operations. The IR-Flow SOAR platform supports proactive threat hunting, pre-conviction alert handling and post-conviction incident response to increase analyst efficiency and shorten detection, investigation and response times. Its end-to-end case management provides real-time visibility into security operations by capturing human and machine-based actions and simplifying reporting and compliance. Led by CEO John Jolly, the company has strengthened its advisory bench with former Zscaler CISO Michael Sutton. Syncurity intends to use recently raised capital to extend the IR-Flow platform, expand technical and channel partnerships, and accelerate worldwide growth. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Syncurity is led by CEO J.P. Bourget and develops IR-Flow, a rapid-response cybersecurity operations platform that manages alert handling and incident response using security orchestration and automation. The company is an Arlington, VA-based graduate of the MACH37 cyber accelerator program. It secured an additional round of funding in January 2016; the amount of the deal was not disclosed. Backers in this round included Tim Sullivan and Tim Webb, both of whom joined Syncurity’s board of directors. The company said it will use the funds to continue to enhance IR-Flow. No other financial or operating metrics were disclosed in the article.