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February 22, 2022

Smart Mobility Startup Valerann Raises US$17 Million in Series A Funding Round

LONDON, UK February 22, 2022 – Valerann – a UK-based Israeli smart transportation startup – today announces its latest growth milestone, raising US$17 million in Series A funding. The investment will support the increasing demand for the company’s software product – Lanternn by Valerann™ – and will enable its implementation with multiple road operators in the UK, Europe and the Americas.

The round was led by HG Ventures, the corporate venture arm of The Heritage Group. Previous investors RIO Ventures Holdings and 2B Angels also participated in this round.

Founded in 2016, Valerann has since expanded through investments and research and development initiatives to offer data-driven, intelligent traffic management systems using artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics and data fusion.

The latest innovation, Lanternn by Valerann™, is an intelligent transportation solution that helps city and highway authorities make more informed decisions around traffic management.

The company’s technology employs a proprietary Real-Time Data Fusion Engine that applies powerful, state-of-the-art AI and machine learning techniques to combine multiple data sources. These sources include navigation apps, IoT sensors, cameras (machine vision), social media, and connected vehicles. The company leverages cloud and big data technologies to achieve the scalability required to process the increasingly large data streams available today.

This deep fusion of data empowers road network operators – who currently have access to limited data – with real-time, accurate road intelligence to enable faster, better, and more effective analysis and decision-making. Future planning, strategy and prioritisation are also made possible via the software’s predictive analysis tools. This leads to safer roads, reduced congestion, lower emissions, and increased sustainability.

“Our vision is for Lanternn by Valerann™ to become an intelligent transportation software as a service (SaaS) solution that helps city and highway authorities make more informed decisions around traffic management, no matter their size or budget,” said Gabriel Jacobson, CEO and Co-Founder of Valerann.

“We are excited to have received this new strategic funding. It will allow us to grow the company and enhance our product – Lanternn by Valerann™ – and accelerate its implementation worldwide,” Jacobson said.

“We are delighted to partner with Valerann on the next generation of roadway technology,” said John Glushik, Managing Director of HG Ventures. “Safer and more efficient roads are possible with better monitoring capabilities and actionable data. We look forward to backing this team of infrastructure experts to support the evolution of smarter roads and vehicles.”

About Valerann

Valerann is a smart mobility company that operates in the intelligent transportation industry. It started operating in 2016 and has since grown to become a leading provider of advanced traffic management systems.

Valerann was founded by Michael Vardi, Daniel Yakovich, Gabriel Jacobson and Shahar Bahiri. It has offices in London, UK and Tel Aviv, Israel. www.valerann.com

Follow us on Twitter: @VALERANN_LTD and on LinkedIn: Valerann

Contact: Noam Halperin, Marketing Manager, +44 7471 215422, noam.halperin@valerann.com

About HG Ventures 

HG Ventures is the corporate venture arm of The Heritage Group, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, US. HG Ventures supports innovation and growth across The Heritage Group by investing and partnering with innovative, high-growth companies to support a sustainable future. The team leverages the world-class expertise of The Heritage Group operating companies and research centre to offer a unique value proposition to its portfolio company partners. www.hgventures.com.

Contact: Regan Keller, Antenna Group for HG Ventures, hg.ventures@antennagroup.com

Press enquiries:

Sophie Dupuis Bates, Marketing and Communications Consultant, Defence Media Ltd: sophie@defence-media.com

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February 10, 2022

HG Ventures’ Glushik Named Global Corporate Venturing “Emerging Leader”

INDIANAPOLIS – February 10, 2022 – HG Ventures, the corporate venture arm of The Heritage Group, today announced that Managing Director, John Glushik, has been recognized among the “Top 50 Emerging Leaders” List by Global Corporate Venturing (GCV), the leading industry publication for corporate venture capital.

Glushik was selected from more than 20,000 industry professionals across 2,500 corporate venturing units. The Emerging Leaders Award recognizes accomplished professionals who are considered the “heir apparent” and the “glue” in their corporate venture capital team. Glushik received the award during the GCV Rising Stars and Emerging Leaders 2022 ceremony, held virtually on February 10th.

At HG Ventures, Glushik leverages more than 20 years of venture investor experience to grow partnerships with innovative, high-growth companies that support a sustainable future in materials, infrastructure, environmental solutions, and industrial systems. Glushik helped start HG Ventures in 2018 after serving as General Partner at Intersouth Partners and Managing Director of the Duke Angel Network, covering all aspects of venture investment and portfolio management.

“I’m honored to be recognized in this year’s Emerging Leaders list by the esteemed GCV team,” said Glushik. “It is a privilege to work with such a talented, diverse and passionate team of experts and innovators who are building solutions to our most pressing challenges. I look forward to continuing our work driving meaningful innovation in critical industries.”

Glushik is the third HG Ventures executive recognized among GCV’s leaders. Senior Director, Ginger Rothrock was named a GCV Rising Star in 2021 and Executive Vice President, Kip Frey, was included in the Powerlist Top 100 leaders of in-house venture capital groups in 2020 and again in 2021.

“John’s commitment to trust, transparency and partnership perfectly demonstrates our team’s values,” said Frey. “His unwavering focus on these tenets is key to our long-term, collaborative, and successful engagements with entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem of experts.”

Media Contact:
Regan Keller
Antenna Group for HG Ventures
hg.ventures@antennagroup.com

HG Ventures
HG Ventures is the corporate venture arm of The Heritage Group, headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind. HG Ventures supports innovation and growth across The Heritage Group by investing and partnering with innovative, high-growth companies to support a sustainable future. The team leverages the world-class expertise of The Heritage Group operating companies and research center to offer a unique value proposition to its portfolio company partners. www.hgventures.com.

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February 2, 2022

Biosynthetic® Technologies Raises $7.5M Led by HG Ventures

INDIANAPOLIS – Biosynthetic® Technologies, LLC today announced that it has raised $7.5 million in a series A-1 funding led by HG Ventures, the corporate venture arm of The Heritage Group, headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind.

Biosynthetic Technologies is developing and marketing a new class of high-performance bio-based oil, or Estolides, that is biodegradable, non-bioaccumulative, and non-toxic. The patented Estolides can be used as a sustainable alternative to petroleum in lubricants, metalworking fluids, personal care items, and many other applications. These products also provide improved environmental, social, and governance (ESG) calculations sought after by corporations on a global scale.

Funding from this series will be used to scale operations, sales and manufacturing, support work on global regulatory compliance, and enable a deeper lifecycle assessment. The money also helped fund Biosynthetic Technologies’ acquisition of Innoleo®, LLC, a distributor of quality Oleo derivatives.

“We are excited to partner with HG Ventures,” said Mark Miller, CEO of Biosynthetic Technologies. “In addition to capital, HG Ventures has brought passion, expertise, and assets to support us as we’ve executed our strategy for success. The market traction for our products across a wide range of industries and applications has provided us with a bright future. Everyone is seeing the need for more sustainable products, moving toward carbon neutrality, and improving ESG standards. As such, Biosynthetic Technologies is uniquely positioned to expand our business globally.”

“Biosynthetic Technologies’ focus on delivering innovative solutions for a sustainable future in industrial markets aligns with HG Ventures’ mission of supporting cutting-edge innovators in markets where we can help them grow,” said John Glushik, Managing Director of HG Ventures. “We appreciate the opportunity to support Biosynthetic Technologies in a manner that enables transformational growth and expansion of their product offering of sustainable materials.”

For more information on Biosynthetic Technologies fundraising efforts please contact Mark Miller at memiller@biosynthetic.com

Media Contact
Debby Neubauer
Biosynthetic® Technologies
O: (317) 556-1050 M: 317-697-7304
dneubauer@biosynthetic.com

About Biosynthetic® Technologies LLC
Biosynthetic® Technologies manufactures a revolutionary new class of biobased synthetic compounds called Estolides that are made from organic fatty acids found in various bio-derived oils. These highly functional biosynthetic oils have numerous uses in lubricant, automotive, marine, pharma and personal care applications and can be used as the primary base oil of a formulation, a component of a base oil co-blend, or even as an additive. In addition to their high-performance properties, these renewable oils are biodegradable and nontoxic. Biosynthetic Technologies strives to make their mark on the world by delivering innovations for a sustainable future. For more information about Biosynthetic™ Technologies, please visit www.biosynthetic.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

HG Ventures
HG Ventures is the corporate venture arm of The Heritage Group, headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind. HG Ventures supports innovation and growth across The Heritage Group by investing and partnering with innovative, high-growth companies to support a sustainable future. We leverage the world-class expertise of The Heritage Group operating companies and research center to offer a unique value proposition to our portfolio company partners. www.hgventures.com.