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The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes Announces Veteran Entrepreneur Program May 2025 Cohort

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The Six-Week Program Provides Networking and Mentorship for Veteran-Owned Companies

TYSONS, Va., May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes , a national nonprofit organization that supports veterans in their transition from service to success, is proud to continue supporting veteran-owned businesses with the announcement of the Veteran Entrepreneur Program May 2025 cohort. Building on the success of the March 2025 cohort, the accelerator program for veteran-owned businesses begins with a three-day in-person seminar in Tysons, Virginia, followed by a six-week virtual program.

The program brings veteran-owned companies from across the country together to participate in networking events, roundtables and mentorship opportunities. Seminars with prominent business leaders cover topics ranging from business development, marketing and branding, legal considerations, communications, strategic planning and pitching investors.

“As the May 2025 cohort gets underway, The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes remains dedicated to elevating the achievements of companies led by veterans,” said The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes Director of Veteran Entrepreneur Program and retired U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Terry Williams. “With a natural alignment between military training and entrepreneurial demands, we remain committed to fostering the success of this community with another cohort in August 2025.”

The accelerator program is free of charge to military founders and The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes does not take equity in the businesses. Veteran and military-spouse-owned and led companies that are interested in upcoming cohorts are encouraged to apply here.

This cohort brings together military veteran entrepreneurs from a variety of industries.

The May 2025 cohort includes:

TyrSight Intelligence
Founded by U.S. Army veteran Ian Yee (CEO and Co-Founder) and U.S. Air Force veteran Jon Andresen (COO and Co-Founder). TyrSight is a technology-driven Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) partner that combines AI intelligence gathering tools and battle-tested analysis to help organizations quickly identify and respond to threats. Their flagship product, TyrBrief, provides tailored analysis for rapid consumption to aid leaders in critical decision-making. TyrSight has recently partnered with REAKT, ALCON Intelligence, HM Intelligence, and Gluck AI to enhance its brand, expand internationally, and address the SMB market.Career PCS
Co-founded by U.S. Navy veteran Kathy Borkoski (Co-Founder) and U.S. Army veteran Andrew Towers (Co-Founder and Product Lead). Career PCS revolutionizes military-to-civilian career transitions by transforming how companies build and manage their DoD SkillBridge programs. Their platform offers a two-sided marketplace that saves companies $45,000$80,000 per hire while providing service members clearer pathways to civilian careers. They recently added “SkillBridge as a Service” (SBaaS) and launched a Candidate Database to connect transitioning service members with hiring companies.Crewdogs
Founded by U.S. Air Force veteran Adam Hill (CEO and Co-Founder). Crewdogs is an online community marketplace specializing in short and mid-term stays for both vacation and Official Government Travel, helping veterans, service members, and other military community members find accommodations through a mobile app and website. The platform prioritizes trust and transparency with ID.me military verification for guests and offers an average 7% military discount. In March 2025, Crewdogs saw over 2,000% growth in gross booking volume with zero marketing spend and released a new mobile app to enable direct integrations with property management software companies.Castlelock Corporation
Co-founded by U.S. Air National Guard veteran Shaun Tanaka (CEO and Founder) and U.S. Army veteran Matt Phillips (COO and Co-Founder). Castlelock Corporation is on a mission to save lives by reinventing firearm safety in America, with a team composed of military service members. They are the inventors of the original biometric chamber lock, developing firearm safety solutions that enhance safety without compromising performance. Castlelock has gained significant recognition, including on NPR, for its innovative technology and is in the final stages of closing an investment round to bring its innovation to market.VetScore
Co-founded by U.S. Air Force veterans Nelson Rouleau (CEO and Co-Founder) and Rob Smith (Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder). VetScore is the first AI-powered platform designed to revolutionize how veterans prepare for their VA disability claims. The platform uses generative AI to analyze service treatment records, identify documentation gaps, and auto-generate pre-filled VA forms and personalized claim roadmaps, aiming to provide clarity, confidence, and control over veterans’ benefits journeys. VetScore has launched its MVP, onboarded its first paid users, and boasts a 100% success rate with MVP clients.Palm
Founded by U.S. Air Force veteran David Brown-Dawson (Founder and CEO). Palm is a career intelligence platform that helps professionals track their performance, gain personalized insights, and take control of their career growth, also serving as a lightweight performance management solution for organizations. The platform is live and onboarding high-performing professionals and transitioning veterans, and is piloting with mid-level managers at a consulting firm.Sciencella
Co-founded by U.S. Army veteran Tom Coyle (Co-Founder and Co-CEO) and military spouse Isabel Otero (Co-Founder). Sciencella is a mission-driven healthtech company dedicated to reducing the risk of cancer and other diet-related diseases through diet by leveraging cutting-edge technology. At its core is an AI Nutritional Assistant that integrates with patient and provider applications for real-time dietary monitoring and compliance. Sciencella has expanded its application to assisted-living communities, partnered with BoodleAI to develop an AI chatbot assistant, and Inova Schar Cancer Institute has agreed to host a trial using the application.Tacet
Founded by U.S. Navy veteran Peter Sobotta (Founder and CEO). Tacet is designed to help direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands unify their first-party data and unlock predictive customer equity insights, ultimately reducing customer acquisition costs while boosting long-term profitability. It integrates with platforms like Shopify, GA4, Klaviyo, and Facebook Ads, providing marketing teams with a unified, real-time view of performance. Tacet has completed its core prototype with AI-driven attribution and a customer equity dashboard, and five mid-market DTC brands have signed up for pilot engagements

Since 2018, the Veteran Entrepreneur Program has accelerated over 120 military founders. Through The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes and its investor partnerships, alumni founders have accessed several million dollars in startup capital, grown a network of key stakeholders, and received invaluable mentorship from industry experts.

About The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes
Founded in 2001, The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes is a national nonprofit organization that supports veterans in their transition from service to success in civilian life. Affiliated with PenFed Credit Union, the Foundation has provided more than $55 million in financial support to veterans, active-duty service members and military families. PenFed Credit Union covers the salaries and administrative costs of The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes, so more of your donation goes right to our programs. To learn more, please visit www.penfedfoundation.org.

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MBRYONICS Chooses Pilot Photonics’ Laser for Space Optical Communication Transceivers

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DUBLIN, June 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — MBRYONICS, the laser communications company building the internet in space, have chosen Pilot Photonics‘ ultra-fast tunable lasers for their terabit-per-second transceivers for optical communication. Responding to the increasing market demand for space-ready, Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC)-powered, low SWaP-C optical communication devices, the two Irish photonics firms are combining their best-in-class technologies to enable next-generation satellite communications.

 

 

MBRYONICS is innovating in the space communications field by integrating PIC devices in satellite and ground station modules, making robust lasercom devices for the New Space market. For their hardened terabit-per-second coherent transceiver, they are integrating Pilot Photonics’ fast-switching, low-linewidth tunable laser. The fast wavelength tunability is crucial for optical Doppler compensation in coherent space communications. This makes Pilot’s laser, with its nanosecond tuning, a natural fit.

Pilot Photonics, the leading Irish developer of integrated photonic engines, builds cutting edge PIC-based devices for space, telecom, datacom, and test & measurement applications. Among its suite of innovations is its line of tunable lasers, with fully monolithic integration and wide tunability. The laser’s compact form factor, low mass, and high power efficiency makes it a perfect fit for the requirements of cutting-edge satellites.

This collaboration coincides with a period of massive momentum for MBRYONICS, who recently hosted the pan-European STARlight Consortium Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dublin. Backed by the €110M EU Chips Joint Undertaking project focused on securing strategic autonomy in silicon photonics, MBRYONICS showcased its landmark 25G-800G Bi-Directional Coherent Optical Transceiver, the world’s first purpose-built for the extreme environment of space. Integrating Pilot Photonics’ ultra-fast tunable lasers into this transceiver architecture highlights how cutting-edge, Irish-led photonic integration is directly powering the critical infrastructure needed to move massive workloads off-planet and build the internet in space.

“To build the internet in space, MBRYONICS requires best-in-class hardware components that can withstand the harshest environments while delivering maximum data throughput,” said David Mackey, CTO of MBRYONICS. “Pilot Photonics’ advanced PIC-based laser engines complement our optical communication architecture, allowing us to deliver next-generation, high-speed satellite connectivity to our global customers.”

“We are delighted to support MBRYONICS in advancing next-generation space communications,” said Pilot’s CTO Frank Smyth. “New Space is driving many new developments in deep tech, and integrated photonics is particularly well positioned to meet its demands. We are proud that our engagement is highlighting Ireland’s growing space technology sector.”

About MBRYONICS

MBRYONICS is a deep-tech company building the internet in space. We manufacture laser communications systems that transmit and process data through beams of light at speeds 1,000x faster than traditional radio. As the only laser communications company whose platform technologies operate across all major optical standards, MBRYONICS is the infrastructure layer the space internet is built on, delivering space-to-ground, ground-to-space, and space-to-space communication. Its technology has been selected by the European Space Agency and DARPA’s Space-BACN program. MBRYONICS is headquartered in Galway, Ireland.

For more information, visit mbryonics.com.

About Pilot Photonics

Pilot Photonics is a leading innovator in integrated photonics sources. Its portfolio includes tuneable and multi-wavelength lasers, optical combs, and frequency generators. Its innovative technologies drive cutting edge solutions in high-speed optical communications, AI datacentres, 5G/6G telecom networks, space systems, and test & measurement applications. Founded by pioneers in optical comb technology, the company is driving the transition to the Everything over Optical™ era. 

Learn more about Pilot Photonics at www.pilotphotonics.com.

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ESTO Group Issues €20 Million 9.50% Senior Unsecured Bond and Redeems 2026 Bond in Full

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TALLINN, Estonia, June 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ESTO Group (ESTO Holdings OU), the leading Estonian non-bank consumer credit provider, today announced the completion of a €20 million senior unsecured bond issuance (ISIN EE0000004448). Proceeds will redeem the Group’s outstanding €15 million secured 2026 bond (ISIN EE3300005065) in full, with remaining capacity supporting continued growth across the Baltic region.

 

 

The notes were issued on June 16, 2026, bear a fixed coupon of 9.50% payable quarterly, and mature on June 16, 2029, and are registered with Nasdaq CSD. The issuance was a private placement. The new notes rank as senior unsecured obligations of the Group and carry a coupon 250 basis points below the 12.00% rate of the secured 2026 bond they replace.

ESTO will redeem its €15 million secured bond in full. Noteholders representing approximately 30% of the 2026 bond elected to exchange into the new 2029 notes. The issuance was fully subscribed, with 60% allocated to institutional investors and 40% to private investors. ESTO welcomes new investors and acknowledges the continued participation of its existing bondholders.

Mikk Metsa, Founder and CEO of ESTO, commented:
“The bond market is becoming a core part of how we fund ESTO. With the subordinated notes programme, this is our fourth note issuance, and every time the investor base has widened. A meaningful share of those who held our earlier bonds chose to stay with us in this one – many of them have been with us for years. That continuity is the clearest signal that we are on the right track as we grow the business across the Baltics.”

The new bond forms part of ESTO’s diversified funding structure, which comprises institutional credit facilities, a senior bond programme, and the €20 million subordinated notes programme established earlier in 2026. The structure is designed to maintain conservative leverage while supporting continued loan portfolio growth.

Gustav Juurikas, CFO of ESTO, commented:
“This transaction redeems our 2026 bond obligation in full and reduces the cost of our senior funding by 250bps, whilst moving the instrument from secured to unsecured. At the end of Q1 2026, our equity ratio stood at 33%, and interest coverage at 2.4x – the highest levels recorded by the Group to date. We thank the holders who exchanged into the notes and welcome the investors joining ESTO for the first time.”

Signet Bank AS acted as arranger. Eversheds Sutherland Ots & Co acted as legal counsel to ESTO Holdings.

About ESTO:
ESTO is a dynamic, forward-thinking company that aims to revolutionize the shopping experience by simplifying the complex shopping ecosystem. Leveraging its multi-year expertise and position as Estonia’s leading non-bank consumer credit institute, ESTO is positioned to reshape the e-commerce landscape in the Baltics and beyond. With a strong emphasis on technology and customer loyalty, ESTO aims to provide a seamless, tailored, and omnichannel shopping experience for both consumers and retailers.

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Claros Technologies Appoints Jack Cogen to Board of Directors

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MINNEAPOLIS, June 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Claros Technologies, a global leader in PFAS destruction and analytical testing solutions, today announced the appointment of Jack Cogen to its Board of Directors. Cogen brings more than three decades of leadership experience spanning environmental markets, finance, energy, and technology, including his role as founder and CEO of Natsource Asset Management and his longstanding service on the board of CoreWeave.

The appointment comes as Claros transitions from technology validation to commercial scale, expanding deployment of its ClarosTechUV™ PFAS destruction offering and ClarosLabs™ its PFAS detection solution across municipal, industrial, and environmental remediation markets worldwide.

Cogen is widely recognized as a pioneer in environmental markets. As founder and CEO of Natsource Asset Management LLC from 1994 to 2014, he built one of the world’s leading advisory and asset management firms focused on environmental and energy markets. He also served as Chair of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) from 2008 to 2011 and continues to serve the organization as an IETA Fellow.

Since 2017, Cogen has served on the board of CoreWeave, a leading AI cloud infrastructure company that has emerged as a major provider of high-performance computing services powered by advanced semiconductor technologies. His experience helping guide CoreWeave through a period of rapid growth and commercialization provides valuable perspective as Claros enters its next phase of expansion.

“Jack brings exactly the type of experience we were looking to add to the Board,” said Michelle Bellanca, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Claros Technologies. “Throughout his career he has repeatedly helped build and scale businesses, navigated complex growth environments, secured innovative forms of financing, and created significant enterprise value. As Claros continues its commercial scale-up, his perspective and experience will be invaluable in helping guide the company’s next chapter.”

Claros has emerged as a leading innovator in PFAS destruction technology through its proprietary ClarosTechUV™ platform, which permanently destroys PFAS compounds without generating hazardous byproducts. The company has also expanded its analytical capabilities through ClarosLabs™, providing accredited PFAS testing services for industrial, municipal, and environmental customers.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been drawn to companies that solve major environmental challenges with technologies capable of achieving broad commercial adoption,” said Jack Cogen. “Claros has developed a compelling solution to one of the world’s most pressing problems and has already demonstrated its ability to perform at commercial scale. The combination of innovative technology, strong leadership, and growing market demand creates a significant opportunity, and I am excited to help the company navigate its next phase of growth.”

The addition of Cogen comes at a pivotal time for the company as regulatory scrutiny of PFAS – commonly known as “forever chemicals” – intensifies and demand for proven destruction technologies continues to grow worldwide.

“Jack is a highly respected entrepreneur, investor, and board leader whose experience spans some of the most important trends shaping today’s economy, from environmental markets and energy transition to artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure,” said Jim Leslie, Chairman of the Board of Claros Technologies. “The Board is delighted to welcome him to Claros. His ability to recognize transformative technologies, strategic perspective, broad network of relationships, and decades of experience advising innovative companies will be a valuable asset as we continue building a company positioned to address one of the world’s most significant environmental challenges.”

About Claros Technologies

Founded in 2018 and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Claros Technologies is a global leader in PFAS mitigation, with two core divisions. The ClarosTech™ division focuses exclusively on the permanent destruction of PFAS, offering affordable, high-flow, scalable, and field-ready systems that eliminate long, short, and ultra-short chain compounds with 99.99% efficiency. ClarosLabs™, the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited analytical division, is a leading commercial laboratory dedicated to PFAS detection, quantification, and exposure assessment. Claros is on a mission to eliminate PFAS from the environment.

Claros Technologies destroys PFAS—for good.

For more information, visit clarostech.com.

Media Contact

Kari Finkler
Claros Technologies
kari@clarostech.com

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