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Triumph: CEO & Finance Prodigy, Jiazi Guo Named Mrs. North America 2024

Jiazi Guo, investment prodigy and CEO wins Mrs. North America 2024

Guo after winning the Mrs. North America 2024 crown

1infinity Ventures: First Ever Global Responsible AI Fund

Finance prodigy continues to inspire and lead, driving innovation and positive change in all her endeavors.

Guo’s remarkable success, coupled with her pageant win, proves that women can excel in any arena, refusing to let outdated perceptions limit their potential in tech, finance, or leadership roles.”

— Dr. Seth Dobrin

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, UNITED STATES, June 28, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — 1infinity Ventures is thrilled to announce a significant milestone achieved by our General Partner, Jiazi Guo, who has recently been crowned Mrs. North America 2024. This prestigious title underscores the harmony of beauty and intelligence, showcasing that women can excel in any field, including venture capital.

Guo is a finance prodigy who began investing at the age of 16. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and has built a remarkable career in finance and investments. Throughout her career, Guo has worked with numerous organizations, including Tsingyuan Ventures, securities firms, investment banks, and hedge funds. She has also founded and served as CEO for multiple startups and has provided advisory services across various sectors. Her background in investment banking, trading, and hedge funds has equipped her with a unique perspective on business strategy and startup growth. After an impressive career, she retired at age 25, bringing extensive experience in the industry.

Realizing the enormous potential of blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and web3, Guo reemerged with ETZ Soft. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ETZ Soft, a pioneering software development company known for its cutting-edge solutions and innovative products. Under her leadership, ETZ Soft has grown significantly, expanding its product line and entering new markets. Her strategic vision and commitment to excellence have been instrumental in the company’s success, earning ETZ Soft a reputation for reliability and innovation in the tech industry.

In addition to her role at ETZ Soft, Guo is a General Partner at 1infinity Ventures, the first-ever global AI fund. The firm focuses on responsible AI while empowering revolutionary founders with capital, networks, and experience. As a General Partner, Guo brings her extensive knowledge and experience to the firm, contributing to the identification and support of promising startups. Her role in Silicon Sands Venture Studio involves providing strategic guidance, mentoring founders, and leveraging her network to help portfolio companies achieve their goals. Her success highlights the value of strong female leadership in the venture capital industry.

Guo’s multifaceted talents were further highlighted when she was named Mrs. North America 2024. This title is a testament to her ability to balance beauty and intelligence, demonstrating that women can excel in diverse fields, including venture capital and technology. This achievement has brought additional recognition to her professional accomplishments and her role as a leader in the tech and venture capital industries.

Advancing gender equality in venture capital is not only ethically imperative but also a strategic business move. Research demonstrates that VC firms with a higher proportion of female investing partners make more successful investments, achieve higher fund returns, and experience more profitable exits.

Despite concerted efforts to increase gender diversity in the venture capital (VC) industry, significant gender disparities persist. Women currently represent only approximately 11% of investing partners at VC firms in the United States. Moreover, startups with at least one woman on the founding team receive only about 13% of venture capital funding. The share of VC funding allocated to all-female founders has stagnated at 2.4% over the past 30 years. Additionally, nearly three-quarters of U.S. VC firms lack a single female investing partner.

Guo’s advocacy for gender diversity and her recent recognition as Mrs. North America 2024 exemplify her multifaceted talents and commitment to excellence. She continues to inspire and lead, driving innovation and positive change in all her endeavors.

Tabitha Rudd
Silicon Sands
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The FMCSA’s revolving top door continues with a new Deputy Administrator

Trucking News and Briefs for Wednesday, 26 June 2024:

FMCSA names new acting chief

U.S. Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg announced on Tuesday that Vinn White would serve as Deputy Administrator and Acting Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

FMCSA Deputy Administrative Vinn White
Sue Lawless will be replaced by White, who will take on the role of Acting Deputy Director and Acting Administrator.

Since the departure of former FMCSA administrator Robin Hutcheson, in January

. Lawless will continue to serve in her previous roles as Executive Director and Chief Security Officer of the FMCSA.

Hutcheson, the first full-time administrator for three years, had been serving as administrator since September 2022. She was appointed deputy Administrator in January 2022, and then became acting Administrator when the previous acting administrator Meera Joshi left to take a job in the administration for New York City Mayor Eric Adams. FMCSA’s top job has seen a lot of turnover since 2019. Ray Martinez left the FMCSA in October of that year, and the top position was filled by a succession of acting administrators: Jim Mullen (who took over from Martinez), Wiley Deck (who took over from Martinez) and Joshi.

White, a member of the Biden and Harris Administration since 2021 and the U.S. DOT’s Acting Chief AI Officer, oversees the implementation of White House executive order 14110, which aims to advance and govern AI development and use in accordance with Administration’s guiding priorities and principles.

White said, “It’s an honor to be in this position and I thank Secretary Buttigieg and his confidence in me to lead the important FMCSA work.” “Our agency’s focus is on enhancing the safety of all road users. I am committed to working closely with safety partners in the commercial motor vehicle sector to achieve this goal.”

White was responsible for U.S. Prior to joining FMCSA he coordinated U.S. DOT initiatives on emerging transportation technologies, including coordinating cross-departmental policies related to automated driving systems, drone and advanced air mobility systems, surface vehicle-to-everything connectivity, 5G integration with the nation’s critical aviation infrastructure and other sector-facing, innovation-related policy areas.

White’s appointment to the DOT in 2021 marks a return after previously serving as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Policy in 2016 and Deputy Assistant Secretary in 2016, where he served as the chief architect for USDOT’s 30-Year Transportation Plan, Beyond Traffic.

FMCSA stated that White’s knowledge and experience in transportation spans more than 15 years. This includes his tenure as senior advisor to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. Phil Murphy. White was involved in transportation and mobility policies and worked closely with the NJ Department of Transportation and Motor Vehicle Commission as well as NJ TRANSIT and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

Salem Carriers partners with Daimler to create an electric trucking hub

The new partnership provides an all-in-one Charging-as-a-Service (CaaS) offering with a fixed and predictable monthly rate, DTNA said.

DTNA

Daimler Truck North America Inc. and Salem Carriers Inc. On Tuesday, 226 announced a partnership to electrify DTNA’s inbound logistics at the Salem Carriers Hub near Charlotte, North Carolina.

Daimler Truck Financial Services is also involved with the project. They are partnering up with fleet electrification firm Electrada. Together, they provide an all-in-one Charging-as-a-Service (CaaS) offering with a fixed and predictable monthly rate. This service includes the development, operation, and maintenance of the charging network, as well the energy contract.

Salem Carriers is DTNA’s inbound logistic network in the Carolinas. It plays a vital role in connecting manufacturing facilities, supply chain hubs and supplier locations. They used Freightliner eCascadia trucks from DTNA for their daily inbound routes. These operations were made possible by a strategic partnership between Electrada and DTFS, which provided a full-scale electrification effort for depots. This was aligned with DTNA’s goal to implement electrical mobility solutions throughout their operations.

The CaaS Solution for Salem includes deployment of, ownership, operation and energy management for the fleet charging infrastructure in Salem’s Statesville North Carolina depot. This is complemented by en route top-off charging on the unique Duke Energy/Electrada Mobility Microgrid in Mt. Holly, North Carolina.

DTFS is the catalyst for Salem by reducing entry barrier with the new CaaS Solution, integrating vehicle lease, electric services program, insurance and other key components to a unified and predictable cost structure.

Dennis Giff, the General Manager of Salem Carriers, said that introducing battery electric vehicles into our operations was a brand new initiative. “The DTFS/Electrada strategy was unified and aligned with our operational needs. It set the stage for future electric vehicle integration in our services.”

New funding application for EV charging infrastructure opening soon

In July, a new funding opportunity will be available for California fleets that are interested in installing charging infrastructure for electric vehicles for Class 2b-8 or off-road equipment.

The Energy Infrastructure Incentives for Zero-Emissions Commercial Vehicles (EnergIIZE Project) is funded by the California Energy Commission, and administered by Calstart. It will open its EV Jump Start financing lane on Saturday, July 16 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific and run until Friday, September 10 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific.

The EV Jumpstart funding lane is one out of four standard funding lanes that EnergIIZE offers. It focuses on equity qualified projects on public, private, or shared-use sites. It covers up 75% of eligible costs for infrastructure equipment and software for projects up $750,000. The eligible costs include, but are not restricted to: Level 2 chargers and direct current fast chargers.

The application process is competitive and applications are scored based on criteria that demonstrate operations and maintenance planning as well as cost effectiveness and community benefit.

Those eligible include: Tribes or Tribal-serving entities; small businesses, as recognized by California State Legislative Code, minority-owned or woman-owned businesses, veteran-owned or LGBT-owned business; infrastructure installed in a designated disadvantaged community or low-income area (DAC or LIC); transit systems with atleast 50% of routes within a DAC/LIC; public schools districts serving economically disadvantaged children; and nonprofit organizations.

Calstart has noted that the eligibility requirements for EV Jump Start have changed since last round of funding. EnergIIZE previously only accepted one application for each tax identification number (TIN). The new policy allows a single entity, identified by TIN to apply for multiple unique projects sites. However, they cannot receive more than 25% of total funding for this lane.

Alyssa Haerle is the Director of Infrastructure Incentive Administration for Calstart. She said, “We are excited to open EV Jump Start again to help advance deployment of EV charger infrastructure across California. We have a special focus on equity and communities.” “We hope that these incentives will allow more fleets to make a transition to zero-emission vehicles and clean air in areas where it is most needed.”

Applications will be accepted online through the Incentive Process Center on the day funding lanes open. The EnergIIZE site has a wealth of information. Potential applicants should also schedule a time with the project team to ask any questions they may have about EV Jump Start.

Molten Industries Raises $25M in Series A Funding

Molten Industries raised $25M as Series A funding for its Oakland, CA-based company, which converts natural gas to clean graphite or hydrogen.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures led the round, with participation from Sozo Ventures and Mark Heising. Steelhead Capital also participated. Existing investors such as Union Square Ventures (USV), 50 Years, J4 Ventures (J4 Capital), Moai Capital (Moai Capital), UVC Partners, Jane Woodward and Peter Attia also participated in this round.

The company plans to use the money to build its first commercial modular reactor in Oakland, and to become a producer for graphite used in lithium-ion battery production and clean hydrogen that will decarbonize chemical and steel industries.

Molten Industries, founded in 2021 by Dr. Caleb Boyd, a Breakthrough Energy Fellow, and Dr. Kevin Bush (a member of the Breakthrough Energy Fellows Program), develops methane-pyrolysis technology for decarbonizing the world’s heavy industry. The process converts methane into hydrogen and graphite at high temperatures using renewable electricity. It produces no carbon dioxide and instead produces hydrogen gas and graphite which can be used to make batteries. Methane is responsibly sourced from low-emissions sources, such as waste streams and dairy farms. This results in hydrogen and carbon which are carbon-neutral.

Molten is looking to locate its first commercial plant, which will produce 5,000 tonnes per year of hydrogen and 15,000 tons of graphite, in a chemical or a steel plant. The plant will consist of 20 modular commercial reactors.

FinSMEs

20/06/2024

Navigating Air Freight Market size 2024 : Share Insights, Future Demand and Forecast till 2032

Air Freight Market

Rising popularity of consolidated air freight services is a major factor driving market revenue growth

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, July 2, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — The global Air Freight Market size is expected to reach USD 587.22 Billion in 2032 and register a steady revenue CAGR of 5.7% over the forecast period, according to the latest analysis by Emergen Research. Rising demand for air freight in healthcare industries for rapid transportation of critical supplies and pharmaceuticals is a key factor driving market revenue growth.

The air freight market is a critical component of the global logistics and supply chain industry, enabling the rapid and efficient transport of goods across international borders. This market includes the transportation of a diverse range of cargo, from perishable goods and high-value electronics to industrial machinery and pharmaceuticals. Air freight services are provided by dedicated cargo airlines, integrated express carriers, and passenger airlines that offer belly cargo capacity. With its unparalleled speed and reach, air freight is essential for time-sensitive shipments, high-value goods, and global trade operations. The market is driven by the demands of e-commerce, manufacturing, and the need for fast, reliable delivery of products worldwide.

Leading companies looking for new revenue streams will find this research very helpful in understanding the market and its underlying dynamics. It is useful for companies looking to diversify into new markets or expand their current scope of operations.

Avail sample market brochure of the report to evaluate its usefulness; get a Sample copy @ https://www.emergenresearch.com/request-sample/2484

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞:
Bolloré Logistics, DB Schenker, Deutsche Post AG, DSV – Global Transport and Logistics, Expeditors International of Washington, Inc., FedEx, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, Kuehne+Nagel, Nippon express holdings, United Parcel Service of America, Inc., C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., XPO, Inc., CEVA Logistics, Agility, Ceva, DACHSER, GEODIS, Maersk, Rhenus Group, and Qatar Airways.

How will this Report Benefit you?

We have recently released a 250-page report from Emergen Research that includes 194 tables and 189 charts and graphics. Those who need commercial, in-depth market assessments for the global Air Freight Market, as well as a detailed market segment analysis, can find our new report valuable. Our recent study provides a thorough assessment of the whole regional and global market for Air Freight Market. To increase market share, obtain a comprehensive financial analysis of the whole market and its various segments. It is clear that energy storage technology is rapidly expanding. Look at how you might take advantage of the current and future revenue-generating opportunities in this industry. Additionally, the research will assist you in making more effective strategic decisions, such as building growth strategies, strengthening competitor analysis, and increasing business productivity.

Get Access to Full summary of the Air Freight Market report @ https://www.emergenresearch.com/industry-report/air-freight-market

Drivers of Growth in the Air Freight Market

Several factors are driving the robust growth of the air freight market. Firstly, the rise of e-commerce and online retail has significantly increased the volume of goods requiring fast and reliable delivery, boosting demand for air freight services. Companies like Amazon, Alibaba, and other major e-commerce players rely on air freight to meet customer expectations for quick delivery times. Secondly, the globalization of supply chains and the need for just-in-time manufacturing processes require efficient transportation solutions to maintain the flow of goods and components across continents. Air freight provides the speed and flexibility necessary to support these complex supply chain operations. Additionally, the growth of industries that rely on high-value and perishable goods, such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, and fresh produce, fuels the demand for air freight, as it offers secure and swift transport to preserve product quality and value.

Segments covered in the report:

For the purpose of this report, Emergen Research has segmented the global air freight system market based on service, destination, carrier type, freight type, end-use, and region:

Service Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2019–2032)
Freight forwarding
Airlines
Mail
Other services

Destination Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2019–2032)
Domestic
International

Carrier Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2019–2032)
Belly cargo
Freighter

Freight type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2019–2032)
Emergency freight
Perishable freight
Non-perishable freight
Dangerous goods
Live animals
High-value freight
Special handling requirements
Tracking and tracing requirements
Insurance requirements
Low-value freight

End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2019–2032)
E-commerce logistics
Retail supply chain
Cold chain logistics
Oversized and heavy cargo

This report can be customized as per the requirements @ https://www.emergenresearch.com/request-for-customization/2484

Geographic Segment Covered in the Report:

The Air Freight Market provides information about the market area, which is further subdivided into sub-regions and countries/regions. In addition to the market share in each country and sub-region, this chapter of this report also contains information on profit opportunities. This chapter of the report mentions the market share and growth rate of each region, country, and sub-region during the estimated period.

• North America (USA and Canada)

• Europe (UK, Germany, France and the rest of Europe)

• Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, and the rest of the Asia Pacific region)

• Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America)

• Middle East and Africa (GCC and rest of the Middle East and Africa)

What Questions Should You Ask before Buying a Market Research Report?

How is the Air Freight Market evolving?

What is driving and restraining the Air Freight Market?

How will each Air Freight Market submarket segment grow over the forecast period and how much revenue will these submarkets account for in 2032?

How will the market shares for each Air Freight Market submarket develop from 2024 to 2032?

What will be the main driver for the overall market from 2024 to 2032?

Will leading Air Freight Market broadly follow the macroeconomic dynamics, or will individual national markets outperform others?

How will the market shares of the national markets change by 2032 and which geographical region will lead the market in 2032?

Purchase Premium Report on Air Freight Market at:

https://www.emergenresearch.com/select-license/2484

About us :

Emergen Research is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. Our solutions purely focus on your purpose to locate, target, and analyze consumer behavior shifts across demographics, across industries, and help clients make smarter business decisions. We offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across multiple industries, including Healthcare, Touch Points, Chemicals, Types, and Energy.

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VIPC partners with VC Funds to invest $100 Million in 100 Startups

Published

June 27, 2024

by Katherine Schulte

On May 20, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, at the CarMax Midtown Innovation Center located in Richmond, announced the Virginia Invests Partnership. Photo courtesy Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp.

The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. has partnered with seven venture capital funds managers to invest $100m in 100 Virginia-based startup companies.

The partnership, announced by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, under the name Virginia Invests will commit $40,000,000 to the seven funds. This money was previously allocated by the U.S. Treasury Department State Small Business Credit Initiative. In December 2022 Youngkin’s Office announced that Virginia was approved for up $230 million under the SSBCI Program, with approximately $173 million going to VIPC.

Youngkin said that “the ability to tap into capital is the lifeline of a high growth entrepreneurial ecosystem,” and “that’s exactly what Virginia Invests does.” How can we accelerate growth? How can we multiply good ideas? How can we create opportunity by bringing people together who want to invest and those who need money to make this happen ?”

The funding firms have committed $60 million more and will select 100 high-growth startup companies to invest in over the next three to five year period. According to Youngkin, firms that are not headquartered within Virginia will be required to match the funds they receive by 1.5 times, while those headquartered within the state will match the funding 1:1.

“One of the most important steps, in my opinion, was to realize that picking companies isn’t something we should do,” said he. “We should invest into funds that pick companies. This allows us to potentially invest more if the companies are doing well. The resources and expertise represented by these funds in specific deep sectors are unique .”

The seven fund managers are focused on underserved founders. The seven fund managers are Washington, D.C.’s 100KM Ventures, New York’s AIN Ventures, Houston’s The Artemis Fund, Portland, Oregon’s The BFM Fund, Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Idea Fund Partners, Atlanta’s Valor Ventures, and Tysons’ Veteran Ventures Capital, whose headquarters recently moved from Tennessee to Virginia.

This is the first round [of funding] commitments. Youngkin said that there will be more.

The Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority’s nonprofit operations arm, VIPC, provides strategic commercialization support and funding to Virginia-based technology startups.

US New Vehicle Sales Rise Year-Over-Year in Q2

A line of unsold 2024 Mustang Mach-E electric utility vehicles sit at a Ford dealership on May 19 in Denver. (David Zalubowski/Associated Press, File)

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U.S. new-vehicle sales rose only slightly in the second quarter despite larger discounts and slightly lower prices.

But brisker sales could be on the horizon: Auto industry analysts say they expect prices to drop further, and there’s a possibility of interest-rate cuts that would make taking out a loan for a new vehicle more affordable.

Overall, U.S. sales were up only 0.1% compared to a year ago, as still-high prices kept many potential buyers out of the market, according to preliminary tallies July 2 by Motorintelligence.com.

Sales were crimped in late June, when cyberattacks knocked out software from CDK Global that dealerships use to do sales paperwork. CDK said most dealers were back up by the afternoon of July 2, but companies such as General Motors said the problem pushed some deliveries into the third quarter.

The makers of Transport Topics’ updated Top 100 For-Hire Carriers list examine how the freight market slump has altered the competitive landscape in trucking. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.

Analysts say inventories on dealer lots are building, especially for pickup trucks and other higher-priced vehicles.

Discounts vary by demand for vehicles, with smaller, less-expensive models and gas-electric hybrids generally being in shorter supply. Many customers are delaying purchases, figuring that bigger discounts are coming.

Toyota, which sells many popular gas-electric hybrids, posted a 9.2% sales increase from April through June. Honda sales were up 2.7%, while General Motors posted just a 0.3% gain, and Hyundai reported a 1.8% increase. Subaru had a 5.4% sales gain.

Sales at Stellantis fell 20.7% in the second quarter, with the Ram brand off 26% and Jeep sales falling 19%. Nissan sales fell 3.1%, while Kia was down 1.6%.

Together, automakers reported selling roughly 4.13 million new vehicles from April through June. That’s on pace to reach forecasts of nearly 16 million for the year, a little above last year’s 15.6 million.

Earlier July 2, Tesla reported that its second-quarter global sales fell 4.8%, with a 6.6% decline in the first half of the year. The company doesn’t break out U.S. sales. Ford releases its sales numbers July 3.

Want more news? Listen to today’s daily briefing below or go here for more info:

Deputies conduct ‘out of this world’ traffic stop on I-44 in Missouri

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri (CCSO) conducted an unusual traffic stop after spotting a “UFO” driving on the interstate.

On Friday, June 28, deputies pulled over the spaceship-themed vehicle as it travelled on I-44 through Crawford County, Missouri.

The traffic stop was initiated due to a lane violation and the vehicle’s expired Indiana plates, Fox News reports.

According to CCSO, the “friendly humanoids” in the “out of this world” vehicle were en route to Roswell, New Mexico, for a festival.

“There was a brief conversation about his out of space, correction, out of state registration, but he assured us that he would take care of that issue when he returned to Krypton. He was also warned about our strict enforcement of warp speed on the interstate and to keep his phasers on stun only while traveling,” CCSO said.

Comparing freight rail services and systems in the United States with those in China – International Council on Clean Transportation

China has invested in adjusting its shipping structure, including road-to rail and road-to waterway, to address the country’s heavy dependence on road transport as well as growing freight activity. This report examines the opportunities and challenges that China’s freight rail faces in meeting the shipping needs for various products. It compares it with the freight railroad in the United States.

This study of China and U.S. freight rails focused on the management structure, physical infrastructure and major policy guidelines of both systems. The network and facilities of the two systems are similar, but their management frameworks differ significantly. China has made significant investments in rail infrastructure, rolling stock and track length. This has resulted in a large increase in locomotives, railcars and track length. The average hauling distance has decreased slightly. This could be due to a better network, which is the result of the construction of more railyards, stations, and other infrastructure.

The United States’ experiences could be valuable for China as it seeks to improve its service and operations, and reposition itself to become the backbone of its freight system. Upgrades to infrastructure, facilities and equipment, such as longer receiving and departing track lengths and heavier track axle load, could be used to boost the capacity of the rail system. We also identified that China can take proactive measures to improve shipping capacity and service. We also assessed the potential use of Intermodal Transportation for selected high-value commodities. For research and policy formulation, it is necessary to do more work on the freight market.

Innosphere Ventures Fund makes investment in mobile advertising company

FORT COLLINS – Innosphere Ventures Fund invested $3 million in a seed funding round of Nickelytics LLC. The company, which is based in Tampa (Florida), has been around for six years and specializes in digital and out-of home advertising.

John Smith, general partner at Innosphere Ventures Fund told BizWest Tuesday that the fund had partnered with The Players Co. to invest in the seed round. Smith and Tom Zheng (Players’ co-founder/CEO) will join Nickelytics board of directors as part of this transaction.

Affiliated with Fort Collins-based technology incubator Innosphere Ventures, the venture-capital fund specializes in early-stage investments for companies that are driving innovation in the business-to-business, software-as-a-solution, cleantech and medtech sectors.

Climate Tech Startup Aether Fuels Raises $34 Million to Develop Clean Fuels for Aviation and Shipping

Climate tech startup Aether Fuels announced that it has raised $34 million in a Series A financing round, with procceds aimed at accelerating the scale-up of the company’s sustainable fuel technology for the aviation and ocean shipping industries.

Established in 2022 as a spin-out of Temasek’s deep-tech early stage investment platform Xora Innovation, Aether provides solutions aimed at improving the unit economics of producing sustainable fuels for aviation and ocean shipping. The company’s Aurora technology creates fuel from any feedstock that can be converted to CO, CO2, CH4,or H2, such as captured carbon dioxide, industrial waste gases, biogas, gasified municipal solid waste and waste biomass. Aurora, which leverages technology licensed from strategic partner GTI Energy, employs a transformed Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process that combines innovations in chemistry (catalysts), equipment (reactors), and process flows to reduce plant investment and operating costs, while driving up yield.

Aether said that it will use the new capital to further expand its R&D infrastructure, scale up its novel catalysts and process technology, and expand and accelerate the construction of a fully integrated 100 gallon-per-day (gpd) test production plant. The company is partnering with GTI to establish an Aether R&D center within GTI Energy’s Chicago-area campus, where an existing 1.5 gpd line, and the new 100 gpd plant under construction are located. Additionally, Aether said that it will begin developing a pipeline of commercial-scale production facilities that include projects in the U.S. and Southeast Asia to produce SAF and other high-value sustainable liquid fuels, in collaboration with select strategic partners.

AP Ventures led the round, which also includes Chevron Technology Ventures, CDP Venture Capital and Zeon Ventures. Series Seed lead investor Xora Innovation and other existing investors TechEnergy Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, Foothill Ventures and JetBlue Ventures also participated.

Aether CEO Conor Madigan said:

“This is a group of financial and strategic leaders that see clearly the need to expand the supply of sustainable fuels. However, without dramatically scaling the capacity to produce the fuels, supply will remain seriously constrained, and the transition will be slow, if not impossible. This is precisely the problem we address with a disruptive scalable solution that encompasses novel chemistry, equipment, and process flows to simplify the conversion process, while enabling maximum carbon flexibility. The result: more product at vastly lower CapEx costs than existing approaches.”

AP Ventures’ Kevin Eggers added:

“Aether has assembled an exceptional team of energy experts, business leaders, and serial entrepreneurs. Their differentiated go-to-market strategy and disciplined execution are informed by a collective record of building energy and fuel projects worth tens of billions of dollars. Aether is advancing at pace, and we are excited to support their growth.”