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By Nikki Cabus

CAST AI Receives $20M in New Funding Led by Early-Stage VC Creandum

Read Time 3 Minutes

The intelligent cloud-native automation and cost management startup, CAST AI, has announced the closing of a $20M investment round.

The investment round was led by Creandum, an early-stage venture capital investment firm behind companies like Spotify, neo4j, and Klarna. Creandum invested $15M, joining CAST AI’s original lineup of investors which injected an additional $5M, signaling renewed enthusiasm for advanced AI-driven cloud cost optimization solutions.

Founded in 2003, Creandum is a leading pan-European early-stage venture capital firm whose portfolio of 120+ companies includes some of Europe’s most successful tech companies across a wide range of industries. Today, every sixth company is a unicorn. Creandum’s advisory teams are based in Stockholm, Berlin, London, and San Francisco and offer extensive operational expertise to support the funds’ portfolio companies from seed to exit to become global category leaders. Learn more at www.creandum.com.

With this investment, CAST AI is ready to take advantage of the significant opportunity as the market for cloud-native solutions is experiencing hypergrowth and, at the same time, facing the challenge of sustainable cost management. In a recent ‘State of Kubernetes Report” released by CAST AI, it showed that companies overspend by 60% due to overprovisioning containerized applications.

CAST AI Co-Founders, Laurent Gil (CPO), Leon Kuperman (CTO), and Yuri Frayman (CEO), started the company out of their own personal frustration with rising cloud costs. They had just sold their previous startup, Zenegade, which was acquired by Oracle and they stated that they couldn’t get it out of their head that there must be a better way to manage costs. And so came, CAST AI.

The Co-Founders told South Florida Tech Hub, “We are proud to be a part of Miami ecosystem and will expand our operations and our presence in the region. We will also continue to be active in the community by participating in events, helping other startups and sharing insights and know-how we’ve learned along the way.”

Headquartered in downtown Miami, CAST AI also has a European branch in Vilnius, Lithuania. The company has raised $38M from investors including Creandum, Cota Capital, and Uncorrelated Ventures.

CAST AI is an all-in-one cloud-native automation platform that cuts cloud bills in half for AWS, GCP, and Azure customers. Powered by AI, it analyzes multiple data points to find an optimal cost-performance ratio. The company founders are serial entrepreneurs who successfully led previous startups to acquisitions by Google, Comcast and Oracle. The CAST AI platform employs AI and automation to analyze compute resources and optimize them in minutes. By connecting their Kubernetes clusters to the platform, organizations can see suggested recommendations and use powerful cloud-native automation techniques for immediate cost reduction.

Recently, the platform has helped the social media unicorn ShareChat, the Adtech company Iterable, and the global mobile analytics leader Branch to start saving millions of dollars annually.

“This funding is just in time to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity in the market as more and more companies transition to containerized applications in the cloud,” said Yuri Frayman, CEO of CAST AI.

“With this investment, we can further grow our position as a leading provider of intelligent cloud optimization solutions globally as well as expand our all-in-one platform capabilities to more cloud-native ecosystems and use cases.”

Since the platform launch, CAST AI has experienced quarter-by-quarter revenue growth of over 220%, based on the company’s ability to provide optimization solutions that simplify cloud-native application management, a much-needed service in today’s tech-driven world.

Carl Fritjofsson, General Partner at Creandum, commented “CAST AI’s explosive growth is unheard of in this macro market.

This demand really shows how unique and powerful the company’s solution is. We believe the needs for DevOps automation will only grow from here, and can’t wait to see CAST AI become the leader in the cloud optimization space.”

CAST AI positions itself as an all-in-one platform for cloud-native applications. Users can benefit from the full-suite of solutions including cost monitoring, autoscaling, spot instances automation and container security.

For  more information on CAST AI, visit https://cast.ai/

By Nikki Cabus

CP Group announces 17,786 sf of new flexible office suites in Boca Raton, includes a leading VC firm

Read Time 4 Minutes

CP Group, the largest office landlord in Florida and prominent owner-operator of office properties throughout the Sunbelt, today announced five new leasing agreements at Two Town Center — a 145,344-square-foot, 11-floor Class A office tower in Boca Raton, FL.

This leasing momentum includes five new tenants which will occupy 17,786 sf of newly constructed flexible office suites developed at the building as part of CP Group’s flexible workspace offering, worCPlaces.

The new tenants include:

  • Related Fund Management, a national real estate and credit investment management firm.
  • RRE Ventures, a leading venture capital firm represented by John Criddle with CBRE.
  • BMO Harris Bank, a national investment banking company represented by Bob Schneiderman of Colliers of Florida.
  • Cordoba Legal Group, a Boca Raton-based law firm represented by Mark Rubin and Jake Stauber of Colliers of Florida.
  • The Praedium Group, a real estate investment firm focused on middle-market, underperforming, and undervalued assets. They were represented by Richard Shay Coker of Douglas Elliman.

One notable new tenant is RRE Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in New York City focused on investing in tech enabled ventures.

Harvard Business School classmates, Stuart Ellman and James D. Robinson IV, founded RRE Ventures in 1994 with Robinson’s father, James D. Robinson III, former Chairman and CEO of American Express Company from 1977 to 1993.

RRE Ventures primarily invests in seed, series A and series B rounds and focuses on companies operating in the software, internet, communications, aerospace, robotics, 3D printing and financial services sectors.

According to General Partner, Jason Black, in a September 2022 RRE blog post, “RRE Ventures has been a leading venture capital firm in New York with nearly $2.5B under management and +400 portfolio companies. With over 25 IPOs and dozens of trade sales through the years, there is a lot going on at any given time.”

“Recent well-known companies include Datadog, Venmo, Braintree, DCG, Noom, Kindbody, Spring Health, Olo, and BuzzFeed, among many other category-defining businesses. We pride ourselves not only on investing in great entrepreneurs and delivering stellar returns to our LPs but also on being supportive partners to our portfolio companies and active members of the venture community.”

Since it’s inception, RRE Ventures has been seeking out and partnering with extraordinary entrepreneurs who seek to disrupt and transform industries using technology. The company has often been on the forefront of new innovations and industry-leading investments such as their first crypto investment in 2013.

Although RRE invest across the United States and in select overseas geographies, they view New York’s burgeoning innovation economy as critically important to the creation of the next wave of large technology companies. They have been one of New York Metro regions most active investors. Now, they are bringing their expertise, connections, and funding to South Florida.

South Florida, specifically Boca Raton, has been one of the most sought out areas in the region for new office space for investors, real estate and law firms, and finance companies. The CP Group is already underway on construction of another full floor of spec suites, which will deliver six more suites ranging from 1,714 to 3,212 square feet. Construction is expected to be completed by summer 2023.

“This leasing momentum is proof of the high demand for next-generation, flexible work environments in today’s office market,” said John Osborne, Senior Vice President at CP Group.

“We’re proud to bring worCPlaces to the Boca Raton market to meet the changing needs of premier tenants like these and look forward to offering them first class amenities on and off-site, including the nearly completing Restaurant Row adjacent to the building.”

Restaurant Row, Boca Raton’s first ever restaurant-driven complex initially designed by CP Group and later sold to PEBB Enterprises, sits directly in front of Two Town Center, and is expected to open this year. The four-restaurant complex will include El Camino, Pubbelly Sushi, Fiolina Pasta House, and Shabibi, a Lebanese-inspired eatery from chef and “Hell’s Kitchen” runner-up Ralph Pagano.

Two Town Center is one of the market’s tallest buildings and offers sweeping views of Boca Raton. It boasts a newly renovated lobby and common areas, along with floor-to-ceiling windows, a full-time Tenant Services Coordinator, an incoming café, and covered parking. The building is also WELL Health-Safety Rated.

The property’s prime location in Boca Raton offers tenants immediate access to I-95 and the city’s business corridor. Adjacent to the renowned Town Center Mall, Glades Plaza, Boca Center, and incoming Restaurant Row, the property is within walking distance to dozens of restaurants, hotels, and boutiques.

To learn more about the property, visit twotowncenterboca.com

By Nikki Cabus

Space Florida and Florida Venture Forum Award $100,000 to Early Stage Companies

Read Time 4 Minutes

Space Florida and the Florida Venture Forum, Florida’s largest statewide support organization for investors and entrepreneurs, are pleased to announce the award winners at the 2022 Florida Early Stage Capital Conference in Tampa will receive a total of $100,000. The Early Stage Capital Conference is “where capital and innovation meet!”

This event marks the 15th year the Florida Venture Forum has hosted the Florida Early Stage Capital Conference. The 19 presenting companies including 8 from southeast Florida were selected from a pool of more than 150 applicants by a committee of active Florida venture capital investors. The companies eligible to win originated from one of several industries including aerospace, artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality, cybersecurity, and others.

A total of 19 companies presented this year and 3 of the 5 winners were from South Florida!

Grand Prize Winner ($40,000) – Miami (Miami-Dade County)

EVQLV leverages advances in computation to revolutionize the design and development of therapeutic antibodies. We work with partners at the discovery stage to accelerate the speed of antibody discovery. For those collaborators who have preclinical, clinical, or commercial assets, we support the optimization of antibody candidates, develop assets that expand IP protection, and design next generation and innovative immunotherapies. All of our work is performed at accelerated speeds and scale only feasible by leveraging computational tools that learn from massive and diverse datasets.

 

2nd Place Winner ($30,000) –  Daytona Beach (Volusia County)

Novineer, Inc. is a design hub where novel engineering design meets 3D printing. The company plans to bring a 3D printing design and simulation software to market that will streamline the process of designing, modeling and fabricating parts

 

 

 

3rd Place Winner ($20,000) – Juno Beach (Palm Beach County)

Revterra Corporation is developing a modular kinetic battery designed to mitigate demand charges and infrastructure upgrade requirements in applications such as high-power electric vehicle charging and larger grid-scale applications. They are a 35 Mules (powered by FPL) innovation hub startup.

 

 

Additionally, OverTheShoulder and Pet HealthCare Innovations were the recipients of the 13th annual 2022 Statewide Collegiate Startup Competition, attracting the “best of the best” in collegiate competitors from 11 of Florida’s leading innovation-focused colleges and universities.  They were an FAU Tech Runway startup. They will receive $5,000.

“This year’s applicants exemplify the ingenuity and forward-thinking that is essential to success in the today’s business climate. The ingenuity of this year’s winners is a testament to the innovative and entrepreneurial culture we have fostered here in Florida,” said Space Florida president and CEO Frank DiBello. “Together with the Florida Venture Forum we are proud to support these businesses as they continue to push boundaries and bring new technologies and solutions to market.”

Space Florida provided the Accelerating Innovation prize money totaling $100,000. The goal of the Early Stage Capital Conference is to provide Florida entrepreneurs and innovators an opportunity to engage with potential investors. Space Florida supported capital accelerators have attracted more than $640 million in funding and investments for the participating companies. Seven colleges and universities were chosen to participate in this year’s Statewide Collegiate Startup Competition.

Space Florida was created to strengthen Florida’s position as the global leader in aerospace research, investment, exploration and commerce. The Florida Venture Forum is Florida’s largest statewide support organization for investors and entrepreneurs, helping fast-growth companies connect with sources of capital from across the country.

“Congratulations to EVQLV, Novineer, Inc., Revterra Corporation and to all the winners and participants at the 2022 Early Stage Capital Conference,” said Kevin Burgoyne, president and CEO of the Florida Venture Forum. “We are extremely grateful to our partners at Space Florida for their support and commitment to the Forum, and to Florida’s innovation ecosystem. Cash awards like this one, plus the venture capital Forum members invest in startups, are like rocket fuel for the companies powering Florida’s future.”

The Forum provides programs and programming statewide throughout the year in addition to hosting major annual conferences like the Florida Venture Capital Conference, the Statewide Collegiate Startup Competition, the Early Stage Capital Conference, and industry-focused events including aerospace and healthcare.

For more info on the Florida Early Stage Capital Conference, visit flventure.org/2022-early-stage-capital-conference/

CAST AI Receives $20M in New Funding Led by Early-Stage VC Creandum
CP Group announces 17,786 sf of new flexible office suites in Boca Raton, includes a leading VC firm
Space Florida and Florida Venture Forum Award $100,000 to Early Stage Companies