Connect with us

Technology

Cocoon Capital Announces First Close of USD 50 Million Fund III to Accelerate Southeast Asia’s Enterprise and Deep Tech Startups

Published

on

SINGAPORE and NEW YORK, April 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Cocoon Capital, one of Southeast Asia’s top-performing early-stage venture capital firms, today announced the first close of its third fund, Cocoon Capital Fund III, securing USD 30 million in commitments towards a target of USD 50 million. The new fund will continue the firm’s high-conviction strategy of backing the region’s most promising enterprise and deep tech startups from the earliest stages, combining capital with intensive hands-on support to help them scale globally.

In a region where investor returns are hard to come by, Cocoon Capital’s performance stands out. Fund I and Fund II are actively returning capital to investors and achieving a leading Distributed to Paid-In Capital (DPI) in the region. According to data insights firm Alternatives.pe, the second fund ranks among the top three performing VC funds in Southeast Asia by Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Cocoon’s track record of achieving DPI across all of its funds, clearly demonstrates its winning strategy of building businesses from Southeast Asia and exiting them globally.

“We chose to avoid chasing the hype around consumer tech and the latest buzzwords like AI and blockchain,” said Michael Blakey, Managing Partner at Cocoon Capital. “Instead, we are focusing on overlooked opportunities – founders solving hard, unsexy problems in enterprise infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, robotics, and healthcare. Fund III doubles down on that strategy. We’re not looking to build the biggest portfolio, we’re looking to build the most resilient and transformational one.”

Cocoon quietly built a track record of backing exceptional founders in overlooked markets across Southeast Asia, always leading seed rounds before others took notice. This disciplined approach has enabled the firm to invest in companies that are now setting the pace for Southeast Asia’s enterprise and deep tech ecosystem.

Cocoon’s model is distinct from traditional early-stage investors. The firm leads every deal, takes a board seat, and implements a comprehensive 10-step diligence process that evaluates governance, technical depth, founder aptitude, and product potential even at the seed stage. Its post-investment platform, known as Cocoon Academy, provides founders with access to governance playbooks, financial fundamentals, personal coaching, and a network of domain experts and follow-on investors. With a disciplined pace of up to five investments a year, the team remains deeply engaged with every portfolio company.

The fund will continue to target pre-seed and seed-stage investments in B2B software and deep tech startups across Southeast Asia, while selectively exploring opportunities across broader Asia and Australia. Cocoon plans to invest in 20 companies over the next four to five years. Roughly 55% of the fund is reserved for follow-on investments up to Series A, allowing the firm to maintain support for its strongest companies as they scale.

“The digital transformation of traditional industries in Southeast Asia is still in its infancy,” said Carol Cheung, Partner at Cocoon Capital. “We are especially excited about backing founders using technology to modernise sectors long underserved by innovation – whether that’s to optimise industrial processes, combat climate change, improve healthcare outcomes, or reshape financial infrastructure. These are long-term problems that require long-term partnerships, and that’s what Cocoon is built for.”

With its portfolio companies now emerging as leaders in enterprise and deep tech, Cocoon’s investment continues to validate its thesis. Deep tech companies, such as Aprisium, which enables micron-level industrial contamination detection, and Augmentus, an industrial no-code robotics reprogramming platform now being used by leading manufacturers worldwide, exemplify how local startups are building globally competitive solutions. Other investments include TransTRACK, a fleet optimisation and logistics platform; BuyMed, one of Vietnam’s leading digital pharmaceutical distributors; and Shomvob, a Bangladesh-based job-tech platform improving access to employment and embedded financial services.

“These founders aren’t just building regional plays,” said Zongxi Sia, Investment Director. “They’re solving universal problems with Southeast Asia as their launchpad. Whether it’s reducing emissions from manufacturing or improving access to healthcare, these companies are positioning themselves to scale globally from day one.”

Fund III’s first close of more than half of the target includes a significant number of returning limited partners (LPs), many of whom have increased their commitments, as well as new LPs from across Asia, Europe, and North America. Investors include institutional capital providers, successful founders, and family offices. The strong number of returning investors underscores continued confidence in Cocoon’s disciplined, high-engagement model and its track record of generating both returns and impact.

“In today’s challenging fundraising environment, it’s rare to find a firm like Cocoon,” said Gregoire Baudin, a returning investor. “Their ability to identify and nurture deeply technical companies solving critical challenges, and to actually deliver real cash returns, makes it an easy decision to continue supporting them. LPs have seen Cocoon’s exit strategy work, with DPI achieved across multiple funds.”

“We’re building a fund that delivers more than returns,” added Blakey. “We’re helping build companies that matter – companies that survive downturns, reshape industries, and set new standards for what innovation in this region can achieve.”

Cocoon Capital Fund III will remain open to new commitments until its final close, targeting USD 50 million in total capital.

ABOUT COCOON CAPITAL®

Cocoon Capital® is a Singapore-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in enterprise software and deep tech across Southeast Asia. Founded in 2016, Cocoon has more than USD 90 million assets under management and has made over 30 investments to date. The firm backs companies building transformative solutions in sectors including medtech, advanced manufacturing, logistics, diagnostics, and climate tech. With its slogan “Dare to Change™”, Cocoon stands apart by leading early, taking concentrated positions, and working hands-on with founders from Seed through Series A. Portfolio companies include Aprisium, TransTRACK, Shomvob, Augmentus, BuyMed, See-Mode Technologies, and Volt14. Learn more at www.cocooncap.com

Media Contact
info@cocooncap.com 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/cocoon-capital-announces-first-close-of-usd-50-million-fund-iii-to-accelerate-southeast-asias-enterprise-and-deep-tech-startups-302442062.html

SOURCE Cocoon Capital

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Technology

Gen Announces Board Transitions, Welcomes John Chrystal as Peter Feld Departs

Published

on

By

TEMPE, Ariz. and PRAGUE, May 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: GEN), a global leader dedicated to powering Digital Freedom, today announced the departure of Peter Feld from its Board of Directors, following his impactful tenure that began in 2018. With this departure, Gen welcomes John Chrystal, former member of MoneyLion’s Board of Directors, who joins the Gen Board as the Company accelerates its innovation and focus on financial wellness.

Peter Feld has been an extraordinary force behind Gen’s evolution. Joining the board of Symantec in 2018, Peter played an integral role in transforming the Company. His leadership was instrumental in the creation of NortonLifeLock, the subsequent merger with Avast, and the birth of Gen as a global consumer Cyber Safety brand and category leader.

“Peter has been a crucial partner and an invaluable asset to Gen,” said Frank Dangeard, Chair of Gen’s Board of Directors. “His vision and commitment have been central to shaping our strategy and setting the foundation for our growth. His legacy will always remain a part of Gen’s DNA as we look toward a future of empowering every individual to live their digital life confidently and securely. On behalf of the entire team, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Peter for his contributions.”

Peter Feld said, “After serving for six years, it is time for me to step down from the Board. It has been an incredible journey, and I am thankful to Vincent, the entire management team, and the Board of Directors for their commitment to Gen and hard work towards delivering results and value creation. Gen is extremely well-positioned for the future with a strong foundation and exciting new growth prospects through its evolution into financial wellness. I look forward to watching the company continue to thrive.”

Gen also introduces John Chrystal to its Board of Directors. With extensive expertise in fintech and financial innovation, John’s leadership comes at a pivotal time following Gen’s acquisition of MoneyLion, where he served as Chair of the Board of Directors. His appointment signals Gen’s deepening commitment to expanding its portfolio in financial wellness, enabling consumers to safeguard both their digital lives and their financial future. John’s experience will directly contribute to Gen’s renewed mission, extending beyond Cyber Safety, to include financial wellbeing.

John Chrystal adds, “I am excited and humbled to join the extraordinary management and Board team at Gen. I look forward to all the ways I can contribute to the company as it pursues its important mission. In today’s world, trust-based solutions for digital and financial wellness are incredibly important. I look forward to aiding consumers as they strive to make the best financial choices possible, all while safeguarding their financial and digital future.” 

With these transitions, Gen stands at the forefront of industry innovation, laser-focused on delivering unparalleled value to consumers across its family of trusted brands.

About Gen 
Gen (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its trusted consumer brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion and more. The Gen family of consumer brands is rooted in providing financial empowerment and cyber safety for the first digital generations. Today, Gen empowers people to live their digital lives safely, privately and confidently for generations to come. Gen brings award-winning products and services in cybersecurity, online privacy, identity protection and financial wellness to nearly 500 million users in more than 150 countries. Learn more at GenDigital.com. 

CONTACTS

Investor Contact

Jason Starr

Media Contact

Jess Monney

Gen

Gen

IR@GenDigital.com

Press@GenDigital.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gen-announces-board-transitions-welcomes-john-chrystal-as-peter-feld-departs-302457250.html

SOURCE Gen Digital Inc.

Continue Reading

Technology

Light AI Reports Financial Results for Q1 2025

Published

on

By

VANCOUVER, BC, May 15, 2025 /CNW/ – Light AI Inc. (“Light AI” or the “Company”) (CBOE CA: ALGO) (FSE: 0HC) (OTCQB: OHCFF), a healthcare technology company focused on developing artificial intelligence (“AI”) health diagnostic and wellness solutions, today announced its financial and operating results for its first quarter of 2025 representing the three months ended March 31, 2025.   Financial information is reported in Canadian dollars (“$”) unless otherwise stated and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”).

Financial and Operating Results Summary for Q1 2025

The Company is currently in the development stage of its software technology offering which is anticipated to be completed with related commercialization commencing in Q3 2025. During the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company had total operating expenses, exclusive of interest, depreciation and share based payments, of approximately $4.2 million compared to approximately $1.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 with the increase primarily attributable to the Company’s continued investment in product development with total research and development expenses of approximately $1.2 million in Q1 2025 compared to approximately $919,000 in the prior year period in addition to marketing and investor relations activities.

The Company had cash of $11.9 million as of March 31, 2025 compared to $15.2 million as of December 31, 2025.  On January 8, 2025, the Company closed the second of two tranches of the Offering by issuing 2,757,000 units of the Company at $0.55 per unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,516,350. The Company had Adjusted Working Capital of $12.6 million as of March 31, 2025 compared to $14.6 million as of December 31, 2025.

“Light AI has made strong progress throughout the first quarter of 2025, inclusive of going public with the completion of related equity financings totaling $18.5 million and strengthening our leadership team with the appointments of Anthony Schaller as President and CTO, John Tse as VP Commercial Development and George Reznik as CFO,” stated Peter Whitehead, CEO of Light AI. “We are committed to commercializing the Company’s AI oriented health and wellness software application in Q3 2025 to address various medical conditions including Strep A, COVID19 and Conjunctivitis (pink eye) to capitalize on our sizable market opportunity leveraging Light AI’s first mover advantage with our innovative, patented and disruptive technology.”

Financial Statements and Management Discussion & Analysis

Please see the Company’s consolidated financial statements (“Financial Statements”) and related Management’s Discussion & Analysis (“MD&A”) for more details. The Financial Statements for the three months ended March 31, 2025, and related MD&A have been reviewed and approved by the Company’s Audit Committee and Board of Directors. For a more detailed explanation and analysis, please refer to the MD&A that has been filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and is also available on the Company’s website at www.light.ai.

Non-IFRS and Other Financial Measures 

This press release refers to the following non-IFRS measures:

“Adjusted Working Capital” is comprised as current assets less current liabilities. Management believes Adjusted Working Capital is a useful indicator for investors, and is used by management, for evaluating the operating liquidity to the Company. See “Adjusted Working Capital Reconciliation” for a quantitative reconciliation of Adjusted Working Capital to the most directly comparable financial measure.

Such non-IFRS measures and non-IFRS ratio do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to a similar measure disclosed by other issuers.

Adjusted Working Capital Reconciliation

                                                                                                        March 31, 2025                  December 31, 2024
                Current Assets                                                                   $14,970,514                        $17,126,245
                Less: Current Liabilities                                                    (   2,352,273)                       (   2,481,677)
                Adjusted Working Capital                                                  $12,618,241                         $14,644,568

About Light AI Inc. (CBOE CA: ALGO / FSE: 0HC / OTCQB: OHCFF)

Light AI Inc. is a technology company focused on developing artificial intelligence health diagnostic solutions. Light AI is developing a technology platform which represents the next generation of patient management: it applies AI algorithms to smartphone images—starting with images of Strep A and anticipated expansion with COVID19 along with other medical conditions —to identify the disease in seconds. Its patented, app-based solution requires no swabs, lab tests or proprietary hardware of any kind—its hardware platform is the 4.5 billion smartphones that exist in the world today. Light AI is at the forefront of developing innovative diagnostic solutions aimed at improving healthcare delivery worldwide. Their cutting-edge AI powered technology offers rapid, accurate, and cost-effective diagnostic tools designed to address critical healthcare challenges.

In pre-FDA validation studies, Light AI’s algorithm demonstrated remarkable accuracy in differentiating between viral and bacterial pharyngitis, specifically targeting Group A Streptococcus (GAS). The algorithm achieved a 96.57% accuracy rate and attained a Negative Predictive Value of 100%, indicating its high reliability in confirming the absence of Streptococcus A infection. Viral and GAS pharyngitis affects over 600 million people annually worldwide. If left untreated, GAS pharyngitis can lead to serious complications such as Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD), which imposes a global economic burden exceeding $1 trillion annually. Light AI’s technology offers a significant advancement in the accurate and timely diagnosis of GAS pharyngitis, potentially reducing the incidence of RHD and its associated costs. Light AI’s approach to applying AI to smartphone images can be expanded to other throat conditions, as well as other areas of analysis, such as the human eye and skin. Light AI’s vision is to combine the smartphone with AI in-the-Cloud to create a Digital Clinical Lab that provides quick and accessible diagnosis for countless conditions that today require expensive and time-consuming imaging or lab processes. Light AI’s commercial launch of its consumer-facing Wellness App initial offering is anticipated to be available in North America in Q3 2025.

ON BEHALF OF THE COMPANY

“George Reznik”
George Reznik
Chief Financial Officer
Telephone: 604-307-6800
Email: greznik@light.ai

For more information, please contact the Company at investors@light.ai or visit https://light.ai/.

Website: https://light.ai/
LinkedIn: LinkedIn/company/Light AI
X (Formerly Twitter): @lightaihealth

Forward-Looking Information:

This news release includes information, statements, beliefs and opinions which are forward-looking, and which reflect current estimates, expectations and projections about future events, including, but not limited to, the Company’s research and development and commercialization initiatives, the anticipated inflection of the business, the Company’s financial and operational performance and outlook and other statements that contain words such as “believe,” “expect,” “project,” “should,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “will,” “intend,” “positioned,” “risk,” “plan,” “may,” “estimate” or, in each case, their negative and words of similar meaning. By its nature, forward-looking information involves a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome of the plans and events described herein. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which is based on the information available as of the date of this news release.  For a list of the factors that may affect any of the Company’s forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company’s annual information form dated April 14, 2025 and other filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities (which may be viewed under its SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca). Light AI disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information contained in this news release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law. The forward-looking information included in this news release is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement.

SOURCE Light AI Inc.

Continue Reading

Technology

MindHYVE.ai™ and Alkhidmat Foundation Partner to Launch Pakistan’s First Multi-Sector AI Initiative for Social Good

Published

on

By

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, May 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — In a transformative move set to redefine humanitarian operations in Pakistan, MindHYVE.ai™, a U.S.-based artificial intelligence company, has signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Alkhidmat Foundation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one of the nation’s most respected non-profit organizations. The MoU was signed by Belal Faruki, Founder & CEO of MindHYVE.ai™ and Khalid Waqas, President of Alkhidmat Foundation KPK.

This partnership aims to deploy MindHYVE.ai™’s agentic AI systems—starting with the Ava-Education™ large reasoning model and its ArthurAI™ e-learning platform to scale impact across education, healthcare, orphan care, disaster relief, and microfinance initiatives.

As part of the agreement, MindHYVE.ai™ and Alkhidmat will co-establish a Multi-Sector AI Innovation Lab in Peshawar, envisioned as a regional hub for applied AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) solutions in social development. The lab will serve as a launchpad for localized AI training, agent deployment, and academic research, while incubating youth-led startups in partnership with universities and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board.

“This isn’t just a tech deployment—this is about building capacity, equity, and long-term national infrastructure for AI-powered social progress,” said Belal Faruki “Alkhidmat’s mission and reach make them the ideal partner for this new frontier in purpose-driven technology.”

Under the first phase, MindHYVE.ai™’s educational agent ArthurAI will be deployed within Alkhidmat’s Bano Qabil program, supporting over 85,000 registered students through adaptive learning paths, multilingual content, and real-time feedback. Subsequent phases will see agents like Chiron (healthcare), Eli (finance), and Carter (retail & e-commerce) integrated into Alkhidmat’s broader humanitarian services.

Alkhidmat KPK President Khalid Waqas commented, “By combining our grassroots infrastructure with MindHYVE.ai™’s AI expertise, we are opening doors for inclusive education, smarter healthcare, and data-informed governance—especially in Pakistan’s most underserved regions.”

MindHYVE.ai™ will provide hosted AI platforms, APIs, training, and agent customization. The collaboration will operate under a non-profit licensing model, with both parties committed to sustainability, ethical governance, and regional language accessibility including Urdu and Pashto.

This MoU signals a powerful step toward AI-for-good innovation in Pakistan and sets a precedent for global public-private humanitarian alliances.

About MindHYVE.ai™
Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, MindHYVE.ai™ builds domain-specific AGI agents, autonomous and semi-autonomous agentic systems and domain specific large reasoning models to transform national infrastructure and industry through intelligent automation and decision systems.

Website: www.mindhyve.ai | Email: hello@mindhyve.ai | Contact: +1 (949) 200-8668

Media Contact
Marc Ortiz
Email: marc.ortiz@mindhyve.ai

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2686713/MindHYVEai.jpg 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/mindhyveai-and-alkhidmat-foundation-partner-to-launch-pakistans-first-multi-sector-ai-initiative-for-social-good-302457266.html

Continue Reading

Trending