Technology

ATEL Ventures Says Supporting Hard Tech Founders is Key to a Sustainable Future

Published

2 years ago

May 30, 2024

– New paper calls for greater creativity in financing game-changing technologies –

SAN FRANCISCO, May 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A new paper published today argues that important advancements in health, telecommunication, mobility and other areas risk being hindered if visionary founders are not able to access the necessary funding for their ventures.

‘Debt as Catalyst – Making Hard Tech Less Hard’ is published by ATEL Ventures, Inc., a division of ATEL Capital Group and a provider of growth capital to startups across multiple sectors and life stages. The paper highlights the role of ‘hard tech’ ventures in solving many of the world’s most pressing challenges, with hard tech defined as “technology that requires big breakthroughs and has a high barrier of entry”. It argues that the success of these businesses has the potential to lead to major advances in global connectivity, health outcomes, transportation, food security, sustainability and other areas.

Dean Cash, the Chairman and CEO of ATEL Capital Group who along with ATEL’s COO Pari Choksi founded ATEL Ventures 25 years ago, says: “The startups with the most potential to have a lasting, beneficial impact on society are the very ones that struggle the most to get off the ground. Whether they are building satellites with the power to bring the world’s two billion unconnected citizens online, or developing new therapeutics to treat previously untreatable conditions, their work is both time- and capital-intensive; and many investors currently lack the appetite for that level of long-term risk.”

The State of Venture Debt
The March 2023 run on Silicon Valley Bank led to a sharp decline in the venture debt market, and while Deloitte and others predict a partial bounce back in 2024, much of the venture capital community remains wary of investments that may require them to underwrite venture debt.

Dean Cash has a different point of view: “We can’t afford not to back these businesses,” he says. “Historically, the most important innovations have rarely paid off over a short period, but they do pay off, and the rewards are much greater than merely financial.”

Hard Tech Founders Working to Solve the Hardest Problems
The ‘Debt as Catalyst’ paper lays out some of the societal benefits to accrue from the success of hard tech ventures:

Global connectivity: Around one-third of the earth’s population, or 2.6 billion people, are without internet access and all of the associated benefits of access to education, information and commerce. Hard tech startups are developing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites with the power to enhance internet access and communication capabilities worldwide.

Healthcare advancements: Breakthroughs in medical devices and biotechnology that promise to revolutionize treatment protocols and patient care are being made by venture-backed startups as well as the major pharma companies.

Industrial sustainability: Startups are leading the way in developing new technologies aimed at improving the sustainability of large-scale industrial processes including in the high-carbon energy and construction sectors.

Food security and sustainability: Many startups are applying their innovative thinking to the agricultural sector. New technologies could enable the year-round cultivation of fresh produce in urban environments, reducing the environmental footprint of traditional farming methods while simultaneously increasing yields to feed a growing population.

Transportation and urban mobility: Hardware solutions developed by startups and powered by the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) will enable vehicles to ‘talk’ to each other and the road infrastructure around them, improving both capacity and safety on roads.

Debt as Catalyst
ATEL’s Dean Cash makes the case for a more creative use of venture debt as part of the financing mix for capital-intensive startups at all stages.

“While many founders are wary of taking on debt, venture debt can be a powerful means of accelerating growth or extending runway without diluting equity,” says Cash. “In some cases, it can make the difference between success and failure. It’s important that those of us involved in the financing of hard tech founders adopt the kind of visionary long-term thinking we look for in founders.”

‘Debt as Catalyst – Making Hard Tech Less Hard’ is available to download for free from: atelventures.com/catalyst.

About ATEL Ventures, Inc.
ATEL Ventures Inc., a division of ATEL Capital Group, is a leading provider of venture debt and equipment financing to emerging growth companies. The company is a primary source of non-dilutive capital across the landscape of venture capital investments. ATEL Ventures is industry- and stage-agnostic, having provided capital to companies in Information Technology, Life Sciences, Energy, Agriculture, Material Sciences, and Consumer Products and Services. For more information, visit atelventures.com or contact Steven Rea: srea@atel.com

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Technology

Bonree Powers Global Digital Finance with Intelligent Observability

Published

47 minutes ago

April 27, 2026

DONGGUAN, China, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — From March 31 to April 2, 2026, the second Huawei Global Financial EcoWeek, themed “Inspire • Collaborate • Achieve: Reshaping the Future of Finance”, was held in Sanyapo, Dongguan. The event brought together over 400 attendees from Huawei partners across more than 30 countries and regions, including over 60 independent software vendors (ISVs) and over 120 system integrators (SIs) in the financial industry. As global financial data volumes surge, customer demands diversify, and regulatory requirements evolve, financial institutions are accelerating their digital and intelligent transformation. Observability and intelligent operations technologies enable institutions to detect system anomalies in real time, optimise performance, and ensure business continuity, while cross-regional and cross-institution collaboration is becoming a key driver of industry innovation.

At the event, NTT Data signed a partnership agreement with BONREE DATA TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd. (Bonree), marking the launch of a renewed global financial ecosystem under the “SI Value Growth Plan.” As the first publicly listed company in China’s Application Performance Management (APM) and observability market, Bonree is advancing its globalisation strategy with established operations in Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, and Malaysia. The company has already secured orders worth millions in the Hong Kong and Macau region. Bonree complies with internationally recognised standards, including SOC 2 Type II and CMMI Level 5. Its self-developed LLM-powered observability platform has been selected for Huawei Cloud’s international baseline solution library, reflecting recognition from global cloud ecosystems and supporting its expansion with a “global deployment, local compliance” approach.

Bonree serves over 1,000 leading clients worldwide with system monitoring, performance optimisation, and intelligent operations solutions. Leveraging proprietary unsupervised knowledge graph root cause analysis technology and AI-driven intelligent analytics, Bonree delivers plug-and-play monitoring and fully managed adaptive alerting systems that detect anomalies quickly and accurately with minimal noise. With 56 authorised invention patents and 135 software copyrights, as well as 24/7 global technical support, Bonree maintains an NPS of 79 and a client satisfaction rate of 95%, reflecting its deep overseas market presence and trust among international financial institutions. With these core strengths, Bonree continues to lead in global fintech and digital operations, helping clients ensure business continuity and digital transformation while striving to become a leading global player in APM and observability.

CONTACT:
Yao Xiaohan
yaoxiaohan@bonree.com
+8618210189324

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SOURCE BONREE DATA TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd.

Technology

HZICC: The 2025 Hangzhou Highlights Awards Celebrating Visionaries Elevating the City’s Global Profile

Published

47 minutes ago

April 27, 2026

HANGZHOU, China, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — What does the world see when it looks at Hangzhou? The Hangzhou & Friends: 2025 Hangzhou Highlights Awards, unveiled on February 4, offered an answer—not through statistics alone, but through the stories of connection that unfolded across the year.

The awards were born from a simple recognition: that a city’s global presence is built not only on grand events, but on the countless moments when people reach across borders. To honor this, the organizers structured the awards into four chapters: Dialogue of Civilizations, Industrial Narratives, Social Innovation, and Moments of the Year, each capturing a different way that Hangzhou touched the world.

Across these categories, moments of quiet resonance stood out. In the realm of cultural dialogue, ten friends from ten nations explored Hangzhou for the first time, their journeys later echoed by the city’s own return visits to Istanbul and Cairo. After the visits, a German photographer’s image of Qiandao Lake’s giant net fishing found its way to the pages of The Times, Hangzhou’s bond with Verona deepened into a year-long romance of music, art, and shared celebration, proving that sister-city ties can bloom into something far richer than ceremony.

On the Liangzhu Day of 2025, the “Liangzhu and the World: Dialogue between Liangzhu Ancient City and Rome Ancient City” was held—one of several moments when the region’s archaeological treasures found new resonance on the global stage. Beyond culture, the awards recognized how Hangzhou’s industries are telling Chinese stories overseas, from Geely’s global development to the rise of cross-border e-commerce that brings Hangzhou products，and the culture behind them directly to international consumers.

Yet there were also countless other people and moments that helped the world know Hangzhou. An international student from Pakistan filmed the city he had come to call home, capturing not just its landmarks but the feeling of belonging. A volunteer from Zimbabwe found himself holding hands with local police and strangers in a human chain at West Lake to maintain traffic order, discovering that being welcomed means being trusted to help. The Hangzhou International Conference Center became a stage for cross-cultural encounter, while Hangzhou’s tech-themed travel routes offered visitors a chance to explore the city’s cutting-edge innovations.

Together, these moments traced a portrait of Hangzhou not as a place that simply welcomes visitors, but as one that listens, shares, and grows, through the people who carry its stories onward.

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SOURCE HZICC

Technology

Flagship Tablet to Highlight Huawei Innovative Product Launch in Bangkok

Published

47 minutes ago

April 27, 2026

BANGKOK, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Huawei officially announced the “Now Is Your Spark” Innovative Launch Event, due to be held in Bangkok, Thailand on May 7, 2026. This launch event will unveil a comprehensive lineup of flagship tablets, wearables, and smartphones. Empowering daily life with technology and exploring future frontiers through innovation, Huawei aims to inspire every user through intelligent experiences across all scenarios.

As one of the highlights of this launch event, the flagship tablet HUAWEI MatePad Pro Max will make its global debut. The HUAWEI MatePad Pro series has consistently delivered comprehensive experience breakthroughs with best-in-class productivity and creativity. This new device is Huawei’s best tablet yet, with a lightweight design, PC-level productivity, and PaperMatte Display, opening new possibilities for work, creation, and creative expression.

In the wearables sector, the HUAWEI WATCH FIT Series continues to gain widespread recognition from global consumers. By April 2026, shipments have exceeded 24 million units, setting a new benchmark in the fashion sports smartwatch market. The series offers a lightweight, comfortable wearing experience while providing professional sports guidance and health management features. At the Huawei Innovative Launch Event in Bangkok, the all-new HUAWEI WATCH FIT 5 Series will debut. It is set to become the ideal companion for users to express personal style, explore sports enjoyment, and monitor health around the clock. Additionally, this launch will introduce the HUAWEI WATCH GT Runner 2 Racing Legend Edition, specially designed for marathons with its upgraded data analysis capabilities to scientifically support every step of the run. Moreover, Huawei plans to unveil its first jewelry smartwatch designed in partnership with renowned international jewelry designer Francesca Amfitheatrof—the HUAWEI WATCH ULTIMATE DESIGN Spring Edition. Also making a grand return after five years is the next-generation premium kids watch, the HUAWEI WATCH KIDS X1 Series.

In the smartphone segment, HUAWEI nova 15 Max will deliver an upgraded experience for global consumers. Leveraging strengths in imaging technology, battery life, and reliable quality, it is an ideal companion for young people to capture life’s moments and unleash their creativity.

Now Is Your Spark— every individual can light up the world to drive change, and technology serves as the torch to ignite, connect, and amplify this force. By giving passion a voice, inspiration a purpose, and expression a stage, Huawei aims to empower consumers worldwide to write their own stories with innovative technologies.

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