As the first U.S. advisory and market intelligence firm focused exclusively on laundromats, LRE uniquely provides data-driven analysis and integrated investment support for the $7 billion industry.

Based in New York, the firm operates at the intersection of real estate, artificial intelligence, small business investment, and operational advisory.  Its launch is part of a broader trend in small-business and local-services investing. Professional advisory services are now helping to modernize fragmented industries by using technology and data.

Its platform combines proprietary AI and geospatial analytics with a national database of over 30,000 laundromat locations. Investors are given site assessments and an understanding of market demand. This service enables them to launch new businesses with confidence.

The company’s launch is a departure for a historically fragmented industry serving over 40 million American households.

Unlike other service sectors that have become more data-driven, investment in laundromats has typically depended on equipment distributors, real estate brokers, demographic reports, and operator intuition.

LRE Advisors seeks to modernize this model by providing entrepreneurs, operators, and investors with a more sophisticated approach to underwriting locations and deploying capital.

“Investors in this space are committing significant capital, but their approach to vetting the business or location hasn’t improved much in decades,” said Cody Milch, head of strategic development at LRE Advisors. “We built LRE to give laundromat investors the analytical depth and end-to-end support they need to confidently underwrite a site, structure a deal and bring a store to stabilization at an attractive return.”

AI-Powered Market Intelligence for Laundromat Site Selection

LRE Advisors’ platform features an analytical engine that benchmarks prospective laundromat locations across multiple variables. Its extensive nationwide location database enables evaluation of a number of factors. They include trade-area economics, competition, foot traffic, mobility patterns, and co-tenancy dynamics.

In addition, a particular laundromat’s performance depends on several factors: site selection, demographics, competition, visibility, parking, accessibility, equipment mix, and operational execution.

Even when a location meets these factors, it may underperform if the area is saturated or the customer base is misaligned.

Rather than relying on multiple parties for site selection, equipment, financing, and launch support, LRE integrates these services into a single advisory relationship.

The firm supports clients with site identification, market intelligence, financial modeling, equipment planning and procurement, financing, buildout, marketing, and post-launch operational guidance.

A Faster Path From Site Search to Grand Opening

A key value proposition is speed. LRE Advisors’ integrated model reduces the timeline from site search to grand opening to six to nine months. That is about half the industry average.

“It’s not uncommon for our clients to move from site search to a newly built, cash-flowing store in about eight months. Achieving this speed is difficult independently or even with a broker,” said Inessa Ramos, investor relations manager at LRE.

In addition, first-time laundromat investors face a range of challenges. They need expertise in real estate, equipment selection, utilities, lease negotiation, financing, construction, and customer acquisition.

Yet, experienced operators also encounter difficulties expanding into new markets, not having detailed location data and competitive intelligence.

LRE Advisors is targeting both groups. The firm serves both new investors seeking launch guidance and established operators aiming to expand systematically in the laundromat sector.

LRE’s launch also highlights the growing appeal of laundromats as investments. The industry’s stable, recession-resistant cash flow has attracted small business owners and individual investors, and now larger capital pools are showing increased interest.

LRE’s entry comes at a time when more capital is entering the sector. Inquiries from institutional investors rose fivefold from the second quarter of 2024 through the fourth quarter of 2025. Interest came from family offices and private equity firms managing portfolios of service-based businesses.

“To us, that’s a meaningful signal that the professionalization of laundromat investment is underway, and LRE is leading this transformation,” Milch said.

This professionalization may reshape how laundromat businesses are developed, financed, and scaled. Institutional investors typically require rigorous due diligence, stronger underwriting, portfolio strategies, and repeatable operating systems.

LRE Advisors is building its model to meet these needs.

Backed by LaundryLux’s Industry Experience

LRE is backed by 70 years of industry experience through its parent company, LaundryLux. It is a third-generation, family-owned national manufacturer and distributor of commercial laundry equipment.

With this backing, LRE has a strong foundation in the commercial laundry sector. This enables the firm to focus on site selection, analytics, financial modeling, and investment support.

Combining industry expertise with AI-powered intelligence is central to the company’s positioning. LRE now aims to offer investors an institutional-grade approach to a traditionally under-institutionalized market.

Multiple Benefits to Industry

LRE’s market entry accelerates this shift by providing investors with better tools to evaluate risk, identify strong locations, and launch new stores more efficiently.

For entrepreneurs, the platform may reduce uncertainty in launching a laundromat. For existing operators, it offers a data-driven path to expansion.

As more investors look for resilient service-based assets, the industry is attracting new attention from operators and capital providers.

For institutional investors, it provides a structured way to assess and enter the sector.

LRE Advisors is betting that laundromats are ready for the same level of sophistication.

The post LRE Advisors Launches AI-Powered Laundromat Advisory Firm for $7B U.S. Industry appeared first on American Entrepreneurship Today®.

Artificial intelligence has fundamentally rewritten the rules of engagement, blurring the lines between national security and global finance. They are no longer separate areas of concern—they are deeply interconnected.

In this episode of Experienced Voices, we sit down with former Intelligence Officer Dr. Anthony Vinci, the founder and CEO of VICO. VICO is a venture-backed AI company pioneering the groundbreaking field of ‘Decision Intelligence.’

Using advanced mathematics and AI, VICO quantifies, simulates, and forecasts complex political, geopolitical, and economic event risks in real time. Dr. Vinci breaks down the massive implications this new capability has for our country’s national security, global markets, and the future of global stability.

Tune in to hear a critical, must-listen message for the next generation of entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers on their vital role in protecting America’s economic and national security in the AI era.

Key Takeaways From This Episode:

• The Shift in Global Conflict: Why data and decision speed have replaced traditional hardware on the front lines.
• What is Decision Intelligence?: How VICO uses advanced math to simulate and forecast geopolitical and economic risks in real time.
• The Intersection of Capital & Defense: Why global finance and national security are now deeply intertwined.
• A Call to Action: The critical role today’s innovators and investors play in protecting economic and national defense.

About Anthony Vinci:

Dr. Anthony Vinci is an Intelligence Officer, tech founder, and the CEO of VICO, a venture-backed AI company at the forefront of Decision Intelligence.

Love the show? Drop us a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode with a colleague or friend who needs to hear it!

Listen to “The New Battleground: AI, Global Finance, and National Security with Dr. Anthony Vinci” here.

The post The New Battleground: AI, Global Finance, and National Security with Dr. Anthony Vinci appeared first on American Entrepreneurship Today®.

Emerald Technology Ventures led the round with participation from eBay Ventures and continued backing from existing investors. Funds will be used to support the company’s push to scale its machine vision and optical AI platform across industries. Targeting will be in areas where product authenticity, traceability, fraud prevention, and supply chain security are increasingly critical.

The company developed what it calls “biometrics for things.” Its core technology, FeaturePrint®, uses a standard camera to identify the unique surface characteristics of a physical object, creating a digital fingerprint that can be used to verify the item’s identity over time.

Alitheon Targets Global Supply Chain Trust With Optical AI

For decades, companies have relied on external identifiers such as barcodes, QR codes, RFID tags, labels, stickers, serial numbers, and packaging markers to track and authenticate products. But those markers can be removed, damaged, copied, replaced, or counterfeited.

Alitheon’s technology solves that problem by identifying the object itself.

FeaturePrint captures the inherent microscopic surface details of an item and turns them into a unique digital identity. That allows businesses to verify a specific physical asset—not simply recognize a product category or model type.

The company says this enables true 1-to-1 serialization without adding anything to the product.

Alitheon’s technology is positioned as a new layer of authentication for global supply chains. Uses include industrial gears and aerospace parts, as well as healthcare products, luxury goods, collectibles, and recommerce items.

“Biometrics for Things” Creates a Zero Trust Framework for Physical Goods

Alitheon describes FeaturePrint as a Zero Trust framework for physical objects. In cybersecurity, Zero Trust means nothing is assumed to be legitimate until it is verified.

Alitheon applies that concept to physical goods by requiring an item’s digital fingerprint to be confirmed before it is accepted as authentic.

“Securing support from such powerhouses proves the world is ready for digital-first serialization, provenance, and traceability,” said Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Alitheon. “We aren’t just identifying goods; we are powering the trust layer of the global economy, providing a level of security that additives and standard AI simply cannot match.”

The company says its technology is backed by more than 55 issued patents, giving it a strong intellectual property position in the emerging physical-to-digital identity market.

Emerald Technology Ventures Leads Series A1 Round

Alitheon’s funding comes as companies across industries are working to improve supply chain visibility, reduce counterfeit risk, and strengthen product-level traceability.

The Series A1 round lead, Emerald Technology Ventures, is a venture firm focused on industrial technology, energy, advanced materials, and sustainability-related innovation.

“At Emerald, we look for technologies that solve fundamental industrial challenges at scale,” said Gina Domanig, Managing Partner at Emerald Technology Ventures. “Alitheon’s ability to provide 1-to-1 serialization without the need for labels or tags is a game-changer for global supply chains.”

Domanig added that Alitheon’s Zero Trust framework for physical goods provides “the essential data integrity required for the future of automated manufacturing and logistics.”

As manufacturers, logistics providers, marketplaces, and regulated industries face greater pressure to prove product origin and authenticity, technologies that can securely connect physical assets to digital records are gaining momentum.

eBay Ventures Backs Trust Infrastructure for Recommerce

eBay Ventures’ participation is notable because of the growing importance of authentication and provenance in e-commerce.

As more consumers buy and sell high-value goods through online marketplaces, trust becomes central to the transaction. Buyers want assurance that an item is genuine.

Sellers want to reduce disputes and fraud. Marketplaces want stronger infrastructure to support confident transactions.

“As recommerce continues to grow, trust and provenance are becoming increasingly important across high-value categories,” said Henri Jaanimägi, Global Head of eBay Ventures. “Alitheon’s ‘biometrics for things’ represents an important step forward in the broader trust infrastructure needed to support more transparent and confident buying and selling experience.”

In particular, authentication systems that do not rely on removable or counterfeit-prone labels could have broad implications for marketplaces and resale platforms.

It could lead to enhanced verification of luxury products, electronics, collectibles, automotive parts, industrial components, and other high-value items.

Why Alitheon’s FeaturePrint Technology Matters

Currently, a label, tag, or barcode says what an item is supposed to be. But if the marker is copied or moved to another object, the system can be compromised.

With Alitheon’s approach the object itself becomes the identifier.

Some industries valuing such improvements include: Manufacturing to verify individual parts, tools, components, and finished goods; Healthcare to authenticate medical devices, pharmaceutical packaging, or regulated products; Luxury goods to protect brands and consumers from counterfeits; Automotive and aerospace to track mission-critical parts with precise digital identity; and Logistics to improve chain-of-custody records across complex global supply networks.

Alitheon’s FeaturePrint aims to provide that secure bridge between the physical item and its digital record.

Alitheon Positions Itself as a Physical-to-Digital Identity Leader

With the new $8 million Series A1 funding, Alitheon is positioning itself as a leader in physical-to-digital identity, a category focused on linking real-world assets to secure digital records.

Their opportunity is not only anti-counterfeiting, but building a broader trust layer for commerce, manufacturing, and global trade.

By using optical AI to verify the identity of individual objects, reliance on added materials, external markers, or traditional machine learning classification ends.

The additional capital will help expand FeaturePrint’s deployment across global supply chains at a time when trust, transparency, and traceability are becoming business-critical priorities.

The post Alitheon Raises $8M Series A1 Funding to Scale Biometrics for Things appeared first on American Entrepreneurship Today®.

As venture debt in the U.S. reached a record $68.8 billion in 2025, it reflected a shift in how startups finance growth amid a more selective venture capital environment.

The annual report examines the evolving venture debt market and how startups, lenders, and investors are integrating debt financing into broader capital strategies. The central finding is that venture debt is no longer a niche or last-resort option; it has become an established part of the venture ecosystem.

Although U.S. venture debt reached a record high, annual deal volume remained stable at about 1,000 transactions. This indicates that market growth is driven by larger and more sophisticated financings, not just an increase in borrowers.

Overall, U.S. venture investments totaled $321.6 billion across over 17,000 deals in 2025, with 63.5% of deal value concentrated in artificial intelligence.

“Venture debt has moved from the margins of the venture ecosystem toward its core,” said David Spreng, Founder and CEO of Runway Growth Capital. “The fact that venture debt reached a record level while deal count remained stable shows this market is getting bigger and more sophisticated.”

An Alternative to Giving up Equity

Startups seeking to rely less on equity financing are increasingly turning to debt financing. By doing so, itt extends their runways, preserves ownership, and supports growth. As equity investors become more selective, companies with strong fundamentals are using debt to maintain flexibility.

This shift has heightened the importance of fundamentals like revenue quality, customer retention, operating performance, margin profile, capital efficiency, and a clear path to profitability.

For companies demonstrating these qualities, venture debt can be a valuable complement to equity financing.

Larger and Repeat Financings Drive the Market

The report also found that larger debt financings are driving market growth. Deal sizes increased, with the 75th percentile at $27.7 million and the median at $5.5 million.

Follow-on financing also grew significantly, with follow-on venture debt volume rising from $4.7 billion across 129 deals in 2024 to $12.3 billion across 156 deals in 2025.

This growth suggests companies are increasingly using venture debt in ongoing capital planning, rather than as a one-time bridge or emergency option.

Beyond SaaS: Healthtech, Cleantech and Asset-Heavy Companies

Software-as-a-Service and AI companies remain central to venture debt activity. SaaS financing exceeded $28 billion for the second consecutive year, according to the report.

Healthtech, cleantech, and asset- or IP-heavy companies are expanding in the market. In these sectors, lenders are structuring debt around contracted revenue, recurring usage, asset-backed cash flows, and other stable sources of enterprise value.

“The common thread is not sector,” Spreng said. “It is underwritability. Companies that can demonstrate revenue quality, capital efficiency and clear paths to cash flow are finding that venture debt can be a powerful tool and amplify strong fundamentals.”

Exist Rebound of Debt-Backed Companies

The report also notes a rebound in exit activity. U.S. exit value reached $286.9 billion in 2025, with venture debt-backed companies representing 37% of total exit value and 18% of exit count.

Both figures increased from the previous year, indicating that companies using debt financing are participating more actively in the broader venture-backed exit market.

What the Venture Debt Record Means for Startups

The report concludes that venture debt will likely remain important through 2026 as startups seek capital-efficient growth. As funding diverges between AI companies and the broader startup ecosystem, venture debt is emerging as both a source of discipline and a strategic advantage.

The Runway Growth Capital and PitchBook report suggests that debt financing is not just a response to a challenging equity market, but a mature tool for companies focused on financial discipline.

The post Venture Debt’s Record $68.8B Driven by Startups Seeking Flexible Capital appeared first on American Entrepreneurship Today®.

The investment firm, based in Los Angeles, gained $813 million in commitments to the new Content IV Fund. Growing nvestor interest in media rights, entertainment IP, and cash-generating content assets was the key factor.

Most noteworthy, Shamrock completed its accelerated fundraising process in just over three months. In addition, the fund surpassed its original $700 million target and was oversubscribed at its first close.

Founded in 1978 as the family investment company for Roy E. Disney, Shamrock has grown into an institutionally backed firm. Areas of focus include private equity, content ownership, and media rights financing.

The new fund builds on over a decade of Shamrock Capital’s investments in the global content and media rights ecosystem. Areas include music, film, television, sports, gaming, and the creator economy.

Content IV is the fourth acquisition fund in Shamrock’s Content Strategy, that began in 2015. More than $3.3 billion in assets across equity and debt products are now managed.

Focus on Premium Content and Media Rights

Content IV seeks to acquire premium, cash-generating content and media rights globally.

Shamrock stated the fund will leverage its sector expertise, industry relationships, and proprietary analytics to identify and manage rights-based assets.

It recognizes the increasing value of intellectual property as streaming, digital platforms, gaming, sports media, and creator-led businesses transform content consumption and monetization.

Through content rights, investors gain access to long-term revenue streams that are often independent of traditional market cycles.

Shamrock noted that strong demand for Content IV demonstrates investor confidence in its unique approach and proven ability to generate “attractive, uncorrelated returns” across market cycles.

Global Investor Demand for Entertainment Assets

A diverse global investor base, including pension funds, endowments, foundations, family offices, insurance companies, and other institutional investors, participated in the fund. They came from the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific.

Patrick Russo, Partner and Executive Committee member at Shamrock Capital, said the fundraise reflects the platform the firm has built in content and media rights investing.

“As content becomes more global, more valuable, and more complex to finance, we believe the need for sophisticated, long-term capital partners has never been greater,” Russo said.

Jason Sklar, Partner and Executive Committee member at Shamrock, pointed to a broader restructuring in how intellectual property is created, owned, and monetized.

“The most valuable content assets are the ones that fans return to across generations, regardless of where or how they consume them,” Sklar said.

A Fund Positioned for the Future of Content Monetization

The closing of Content IV comes as entertainment companies, creators, athletes, musicians, and rights holders increasingly seek capital partners. They seek those that understand the long-term value of intellectual property.

Shamrock Capital is positioned at the forefront of entertainment finance, acting as a magnet for institutional capital.

The post Shamrock Capital Closes Oversubscribed $813M Content Fund IV appeared first on American Entrepreneurship Today®.

In support of early-stage women founders, TBH Angels announced a new brand identity and its 2026 programming. The latter will expand access to capital, education, and community for women entrepreneurs and emerging angel investors.

The angel investor group, formerly ATL TrailblazHER Angels, is planning to expand nationally. Through a national network of accredited investors, founders, and advocates, it aims to reshape early-stage investing.

A paramount goal is to address a “double-sided funding gap”: limited organized capital for underserved founders and a lack of accessible pathways for new angel investors.

“TBH Angels was created to address a challenge we can no longer afford to ignore: talented female founders continue to be dramatically underfunded despite consistently outperforming expectations,” said Jen Bonnett, founding board member. She is the former Vice President of Technology and Entrepreneurship at Invest Atlanta

Taking on the Funding Gap for Women Founders

The launch comes as women founders, especially women of color, face significant disparities in venture funding.

TBH Angels notes that female-founded companies generated a 35% higher return on investment than male-led companies last year. This highlights the missed opportunity in current funding patterns. Yet data shows female founders receive only 3% of venture capital, and Black women founders receive just 0.27%.

TBH Angels has intentionally assembled its founding board to provide founders with strategic guidance, valuable connections, and hands-on support as they scale early-stage companies.

“Beyond funding, our founding board was deliberately curated to provide meaningful guidance, strategic connections, and hands-on support to the founders we back,” said Genna Keller, founding board chair and Co-CEO of Trevelino/Keller. “TBH Angels is designed to be a true growth partner for women entrepreneurs navigating the challenges of scaling their businesses.”

Keller also highlighted the group’s commitment to collaborating with allied organizations and resources throughout the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Two Membership Pathways for Investors

As part of its 2026 programming, TBH Angels offers two membership pathways to support investors at different stages of their angel investing journey.

The Core Membership for accredited investors includes annual dues of $1,000 and a minimum annual investment of $10,000 for 2 years. Members have access to a curated group of founders, pitch days, investor programming, and networking opportunities. Members select their own investments.

In addition, there is a Collective Membership that is an educational, community-focused option with annual dues of $500 and no investment commitment. Members gain access to community events and may upgrade to Core Membership over time.

With this approach, the organization can expand the pool of active angel investors and strengthen support for women-led startups.

2026 Events Include Inaugural Pitch Day

TBH Angels’ upcoming programming includes the organization participating in WEI Graduation on June 9 and Atlanta Tech Week on August 9.

The inaugural pitch day is scheduled for September 29. Details about the founder application will be released later this summer.

Selected founders will be given exposure to angel investors, strategic advisors, and ecosystem supporters through pitch presentations. This offers early-stage women entrepreneurs a new pathway to funding and visibility in Atlanta’s innovation ecosystem.

Atlanta’s Innovation Ecosystem

Atlanta continues to grow as a hub for entrepreneurship, technology, and inclusive innovation, contributing to ecosystem growth.

Through TBH Angels’ new initiatives, more women will enter the angel investing space. The angel group also addresses access to investor networks, education, and deal flow.

Accredited investors, founders, strategic partners, and community advocates are invited to join its network and participate in 2026 programming.

For more information on membership, events, and founder applications, visit TBHAngels.com.

The post TBH Angels’ New Brand and 2026 Programming for Women Founders and Angel Investors appeared first on American Entrepreneurship Today®.

Flick, founded by award-winning filmmaker Zoey Zhang and founding Instagram engineer Ray Wang, has raised a $6 million seed round to expand its creative tooling and support a new generation of AI-native filmmakers.

This gives them the ability to direct AI-generated films through non-linear workflows, cinematic controls, and iterative creative tools.

The San Francisco-based company announced that the round was backed by several prominent investors, including True Ventures, GV (Google Ventures), Y Combinator, Lightspeed, Formosa Capital, Pioneer Fund, Olive Tree Capital and N1, along with angel investors.

The backing from True Ventures, GV and Y Combinator gives Flick early validation from investors with deep experience in technology, creative tools and startup scaling. The company is entering a fast-changing market as generative AI reshapes how video, film and visual storytelling are produced.

But Flick is positioning itself differently from many AI video startups. Rather than offering a one-click video generator, the company says it is building a platform that gives filmmakers more artistic control through an AI-native workflow designed for storytelling, iteration and direction.

An AI Filmmaking Platform Built for Creative Control

Flick was built around the belief that AI should enhance filmmaking, not replace it. The platform is designed for creators who care about aesthetics, cinematic control and creative flexibility.

The goal is to bridge powerful generative AI models with the practical needs of real-world filmmaking.

That approach could appeal to filmmakers who are interested in AI but frustrated by the limitations of current tools. According to the company, many AI video products are either too technical for creators or too constrained to support real directing.

“At Flick, creators don’t lose their authentic voice as AI scales,” Zhang said. “We’re building a bridge so filmmakers won’t think about ‘prompting models’ at all — they’ll just direct, compose, and feel, and the tools will disappear into their creative flow.”

Top Investors Back Flick’s Vision for AI-Native Filmmaking

A notable group of investors formed the Seed round.

True Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm known for backing technology startups. Mike Montano, Partner at True Ventures, described Flick’s founders as a strong combination of technical execution and creative understanding.

“Ray and Zoey represent the perfect combination of world-class technical execution and deep creative understanding,” Montano said. “They’re not just building AI tools – they’re empowering a new generation of filmmakers to focus on what matters most: storytelling and artistic expression.”

GV, formerly Google Ventures, is also backing Flick. GV General Partner Sangeen Zeb said Flick represents a new category of AI filmmaking platform designed for serious creators.

“The majority of generative video is unrefined, prioritizing volume over substance,” Zeb said. “Flick is part of an entirely new category, built for the serious filmmakers who want to use AI, not as a shortcut, but as a tool to enhance their creativity.”

Zeb added that the next generation of major filmmakers could emerge from platforms like Flick, pointing to the potential for AI-native tools to open new creative pathways.

The investor roster also includes Y Combinator, one of the world’s most recognized startup accelerators, and Lightspeed, a global venture firm that has backed major technology companies.

Additional investors in the seed round include Formosa Capital, Pioneer Fund, Olive Tree Capital and N1.

Founders Combine Film, AI and Large-Scale Product Experience

Flick’s founding team brings together filmmaking experience and large-scale product engineering.

Co-founder Wang previously helped build Instagram Stories in 2016. That product scaled to more than 400 million daily active users, giving Wang experience building consumer technology at a massive scale.

Co-founder Zhang began making films in 2013 through traditional filmmaking before moving into AI filmmaking in 2022. In February 2025, she participated in the MIT AI Film Hack, where she created her first AI short film and won the Best Visual Award. Since then, her AI films have been nominated for and awarded at more than 30 international film festivals.

The two began collaborating on Zhang’s second film in 2025. They discussed how to combine large-scale product engineering with deep creative expertise to reimagine the filmmaking process.

As they experimented with existing AI video tools and custom pipelines, they identified a gap in the market: filmmakers needed AI tools that let them direct, refine, and iterate without sacrificing creative control.

Flick Filmmaker Residency to Support Emerging AI Creators

Flick will use the new funding to accelerate product development, expand its core creative tooling and grow its filmmaker community.

The company is also launching the Flick Filmmaker Residency, a program designed to support emerging filmmakers working with AI-native creative tools. The first cohort will include more than 10 short AI-native films created by emerging filmmakers.

Those films are expected to be showcased at venues and events including Cinequest Film Festival, MIT and Omni AI Film Festival. Each residency cohort will be led by Zhang, giving filmmakers access to mentorship, industry resources and creative connections.

The residency reflects Flick’s broader ambition: to help cultivate the next generation of filmmakers working at the intersection of AI, storytelling and cinematic craft.

Why Flick’s Seed Round Matters

Flick’s funding comes as AI video tools are attracting growing attention from creators, investors and media companies. While many platforms emphasize speed and volume, Flick is betting that serious filmmakers will want tools that preserve artistic authorship and support more sophisticated workflows.

That distinction could matter as AI-generated film moves from experimentation into more professional creative use cases. Filmmakers may not only need models that generate video, but platforms that support directing, composition, iteration, scene development and creative decision-making.

With backing from True Ventures, GV, Y Combinator, Lightspeed and other investors, Flick is entering the market with strong institutional support and a founder team that blends creative credibility with consumer product experience.

The company’s challenge now will be turning that vision into a platform that filmmakers can use to create compelling AI-native films while maintaining their own artistic voice.

The post Flick’s $6M Seed Funding to Redefine AI Filmmaking appeared first on American Entrepreneurship Today®.

Based in St. Louis, the fund is supported by over $1 billion in capital and will be led by a recently announced co-founder team.

The Navigation Technology (NavTech) initiative aims to support personalized, technology-enabled tools that help individuals and families make informed decisions during critical life events.

It includes financial setbacks, job transitions, and the process of accessing public benefits. Further exploration will include legal aid, justice and re-entry, caregiving, and mental and physical health.

NextLadder plans to deploy this capital over the next seven years to accelerate the design, development, and adoption of NavTech tools.

Boost to Missouri Innovation Ecosystem

This initiative is a big boost for the Missouri innovation ecosystem.

The more than $1 billion in capital gives Missouri’s growing role in technology, venture investing, and impact-driven entrepreneurship national visibility.

By focusing on AI-enabled Navigation Technology, economic mobility, and scalable support tools, NextLadder will attract founders, investors, technical talent, and ecosystem partners to the region.

Most importantly, Missouri continues to emerge as a hub of innovation that addresses real-world challenges facing American families.

The Future of Navigation Technology

Navigation Technology refers to digital tools that help people work through pivotal events by providing options, access to resources, and ways to take action.

NextLadder positions NavTech as a new market category at the intersection of artificial intelligence, economic mobility, public policy, philanthropy, and venture investing.

The fund states that AI now enables highly personalized support at a scale and cost that was previously unattainable.

“Life is getting harder, and too many Americans are stuck facing some of the most complex and consequential moments of their lives without much support,” said Ryan Rippel, CEO of NextLadder Ventures.

NavTech Breakdown

NextLadder’s focus on financial health includes AI-powered tools that offer tailored financial guidance, help users build savings, and assist in protecting or recovering from financial shocks.

The target market is families facing unexpected expenses, unstable income, or complex financial decisions.

The second focus area is career navigation. NextLadder will support technologies that help workers manage job transitions, identify pathways to living-wage employment, and assist case managers and employers in connecting people with better opportunities.

As AI transforms the labor market, these tools will become increasingly valuable for workers adapting to new roles and industries.

The third priority is access to benefits and social services. NextLadder will support solutions that help eligible Americans identify and enroll in available benefits and services.

These tools are especially useful during critical moments such as job loss, housing instability, caregiving challenges, or financial hardship.

The fund is investing not only in direct NavTech solutions, but also in the developers, partners, and standards required to build a sustainable market. Across all focus areas, NextLadder emphasizes reliability, privacy protection, and user trust.

New Leadership Team Includes Google and Collaborative Fund Veterans

NextLadder also announced its five co-founders: Ryan Rippel, CEO; Rhett Dornbach-Bender, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer; Callie Schwartz, Chief of Staff; Lauren Loktev, Managing Director of Investments; and Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink, Managing Director of Product.

Rippel is the co-founder of Upward Momentum, a Missouri based fund that invests in transformative interventions and partnerships, helping to increase access to opportunity and economic mobility across Missouri. Focus is on caring for families, navigating the labor market, and bridging divides between leaders and organizations across the state to collectively tackle issues.

Loktev joins NextLadder from Collaborative Fund, where she invested in companies focused on early childhood development, education, and sustainability. At NextLadder, she will lead the venture practice and work with founders building NavTech companies.

“We have a once in a generation opportunity to help steer AI solutions toward those who need them most,” Loktev said, adding that NextLadder’s long-term mandate gives it flexibility to invest across stages and check sizes.

Gosselink joins from Google, where she led the company’s AI and social impact portfolio and directed over $500 million in funding for organizations applying AI to challenges such as crisis response, education, and economic opportunity.

At NextLadder, she will guide AI and product strategy across the portfolio and help establish standards for designing, evaluating, and improving NavTech tools.

A New Market for AI and Economic Mobility

NextLadder’s NavTech tools seek to benefit both families and the community workers who support them. The fund highlights the potential to serve millions of Americans struggling with household expenses, while enabling nonprofit, local, state, and federal workers to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time assisting people directly.

For entrepreneurs, the initiative offers a significant new funding source for startups developing AI-enabled tools focused on economic mobility, access to services, and personal empowerment.

For the broader innovation ecosystem, NextLadder’s $1 billion commitment may help define a new venture category centered on technology that not only automates work but also helps people navigate life-changing decisions.

NextLadder Ventures’ long-term goal is to empower millions of Americans to reach their potential by 2040. With its co-founder team in place and initial investment priorities announced, the organization aims to make Navigation Technology easier to build, fund, and access for those who need it most.

The post NextLadder Ventures’ New $1B NavTech Fund, Names Co-Founder Team appeared first on American Entrepreneurship Today®.

Portland, Oregon-based Panthalassa has raised $140 million in Series B funding to manufacture and deploy autonomous ocean-powered computing systems designed to run AI inference at sea.

Peter Thiel led the round that included participation from a large group of technology, climate, infrastructure, and venture investors.

Panthalassa, a renewable energy and ocean technology company founded in 2016, announced financing to accelerate the development of what it describes as a new class of AI infrastructure: floating, self-powered ocean nodes that generate electricity from waves and use that power on board to run AI chips.

The Series B funding will help complete the company’s pilot manufacturing facility near Portland, Oregon, and support the first deployments of its Ocean-3 node series.

Panthalassa plans to deploy the Ocean-3 pilot nodes in the northern Pacific Ocean in 2026, with commercial deployments expected in 2027.

Panthalassa Targets AI Infrastructure’s Energy Problem

The financing comes as demand for artificial intelligence computing continues to increase pressure on the power grid, water resources and data center infrastructure.

AI data centers require large amounts of electricity and cooling capacity, creating challenges for utilities, local communities and companies racing to scale compute capacity.

Panthalassa’s approach is different from traditional land-based data center expansion. Instead of building new onshore facilities and connecting them to already strained power grids, the company is developing autonomous ocean systems that generate clean power from wave energy and use it directly on board.

Its nodes send AI inference tokens back to land using satellite connectivity. This model is designed to avoid the need to transmit electricity from offshore systems back to terrestrial grids, while using the surrounding ocean for cooling.

“There are three sources of energy on the planet with tens of terawatts of new capacity potential: solar, nuclear, and the open ocean,” said Garth Sheldon-Coulson, co-founder and CEO of Panthalassa. “We’ve built a technology platform that operates in the planet’s most energy-dense wave regions, far from shore, and turns that resource into reliable clean power.”

How Panthalassa’s Ocean-Powered AI Nodes Work

The nodes are autonomous floating energy systems manufactured in coastal factories from plate steel. Once deployed in the open ocean, they are designed to capture wave energy, generate electricity, power on-board AI chips, and transmit data back to land via low-Earth-orbit satellites.

According to the company, the ocean itself provides “free supercooling,” countering the heat generated by high-performance chips. It also potentially extends chip lifetimes.

The company has spent more than a decade developing the technologies behind the system, including power generation, propulsion, autonomy and at-sea computing. Its Ocean-1, Ocean-2 and Wavehopper prototypes tested core capabilities at sea in 2021 and 2024.

Peter Thiel Leads $140 Million Series B

In addition to Peter Thiel leading the Series B round, new investors include John Doerr, Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures, Max Levchin’s SciFi Ventures, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, Hanwha Asset Management (USA)’s venture fund, Anthony Pratt, Fortescue Ventures, Future Positive, WTI, Nimble Partners, Super Micro Computer, Sozo Ventures, Dylan Field, Planetary VC, Leblon Capital, Resilience Reserve, Portland Seed Fund and the Intrepid Oregon Fund.

Returning investors include Founders Fund, Gigascale Capital, Lowercarbon Capital, Unless, and WovenEarth.

“The future demands more compute than we can imagine,” said Thiel. “Extra-terrestrial solutions are no longer science fiction. Panthalassa has opened the ocean frontier.”

John Doerr also highlighted the strategic importance of the company’s approach, calling Panthalassa’s autonomous wave power system “a game changer” for clean power generation and global energy needs.

Why Ocean-Powered Computing Could Matter

Panthalassa is positioning its technology at the intersection of several major infrastructure trends: AI compute demand, renewable energy, grid congestion, water scarcity, and the need for more resilient power sources.

Offshore computing powered by wave energy could expand AI infrastructure without requiring new data centers or land-based power plants. The latter are facing long permit times, local opposition and utility constraints.

The model creates a new domestic manufacturing category tied to coastal production, renewable energy systems, and next-generation computing infrastructure.

Commercial Deployments Planned for 2027

Panthalassa’s next major milestone is the deployment of its Ocean-3 pilot node series in the northern Pacific Ocean in 2026. Those deployments are expected to demonstrate AI inference capabilities at sea and help refine the company’s manufacturing process.

If successful, the pilot program would prepare Panthalassa for commercial deployments in 2027.

As a public benefit corporation, the company’s broader mission is to unlock the energy potential of the ocean while building cleaner infrastructure for the future of computing.

The post Panthalassa’s $140M in Funding to Power AI with Ocean-based Computing Nodes appeared first on American Entrepreneurship Today®.

The “early innings” of the digital asset era are officially over.

As 2026 unfolds, focus has shifted from speculative tokens to the structural re-plumbing of global finance. Haun Ventures, led by former DOJ prosecutor and Coinbase board member Katie Haun, has just signaled the start of this new chapter with the announcement of Fund II.

It is a huge $1 billion vehicle dedicated to the founders building the “new economy” through crypto.

The fund is a bold strategic bet on the convergence of decentralized technology, AI agents, and institutional finance.

Moving Beyond the “Crypto-Native” Bubble

While many venture firms work through previous cycles or pivot toward generative AI apps, Haun Ventures is pursuing a more sophisticated thesis. The firm isn’t just backing “crypto teams”, it is supporting visionaries who use decentralized technology as a “silent, powerful backbone.”

In her announcement, Katie Haun noted that we are entering an era of global integration. The goal is no longer to build a parallel financial system, but to rearchitect the existing one using better tools.

“I’ve been following the flow of assets my entire career, and this is the most dynamic period in technology and finance I’ve ever witnessed,” Haun stated.

The Three Pillars of Fund II

Haun Ventures is focusing its $1 billion war chest on three specific areas where technology and regulation intersect:

1. New Financial Infrastructure

The inner workings of finance: payments, banking, and capital markets are being rebuilt.

Movement is toward a digital, global, and always-on world. Leaving behind legacy constraints and intermediaries toward systems with fewer “middlemen” and 24/7 liquidity.

2. New Assets and Markets (Tokenization)

There is the “onchaining” of everything. What started with stablecoins (which reached double-digit trillions in volume in 2025) has expanded to:

• Real-World Assets (RWAs): Gold, oil, and securities are moving on-chain to become “financial primitives” that are programmable and borderless.
• New Markets: Prediction markets are evolving from simple betting platforms into sophisticated tools for event-risk hedging and business outcome insurance.

3. The Agentic Economy

Perhaps the most forward-looking aspect of Fund II is the focus on AI agents. In a world where “computers are the customers,” the entire supporting layer of commerce must change.

• Autonomous Economic Activity: AI agents need to pay for services, subscribe to software, and transact without human intervention.
• Native Infrastructure: Traditional fraud prevention and identity systems weren’t built for 24/7 AI-to-AI transactions. Haun is looking for the “native versions” of credit, privacy, and reputation designed for this agentic world.

Why Haun? The Intersection of Tech and Regulation

Building at the “frontier” means operating where the rules are still being written. This is where Haun Ventures claims its competitive edge.

The team’s DNA is a mix of high-level government experience (DOJ) and deep-tech expertise (distributed systems and cryptography). By helping companies like Coinbase, Anchorage, and GitHub navigate complex regulatory terrain, the firm has proven that it doesn’t just provide capital, it offers a roadmap for institutional trust.

The Bottom Line for Founders

Fund II represents more than just liquidity for teams at the earliest stages of breakout growth. It gives them a partnership that understands the structural changes happening in capital and commerce.

Hahn Ventures views the defining entrepreneurs of this era as those who can build across technology and regulation simultaneously.

With $1 billion in new capital, Haun Ventures is ready to back them.

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