All posts tagged: Invests

Cigna invests 0 million in new AI-powered specialty pharmacy program

Cigna invests $100 million in new AI-powered specialty pharmacy program

Published by Sam Flores

July 1 : Cigna said on Wednesday its health services unit Evernorth has launched a new AI-powered specialty pharmacy program to reduce the time it takes to process prescriptions and improve customer service. The program, called Pharmacy Forward, is supported by a $100 million investment through 2028, the health insurer said. Here are more details: • The company is launching the AI program first through its specialty pharmacy, Accredo. • The program uses AI to integrate clinical data and insights, generate summaries to free up more time for clinicians to focus on patient care. • ‘Pharmacy Forward’ is expected to reduce clinician documentation time by up to 50 per cent, the company said. • The program uses AI to improve prior authorization requests, halving the time it takes for patients to receive their medication after Accredo receives a prescription, the company said. • Health insurers are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence tools to streamline documentation processes, reduce administrative burdens and lower costs. • Accredo is also expanding capacity, staffing, and capabilities at many of its nearly …

WhatsApp gets new chief as Meta taps India’s CRED founder Kunal Shah, and invests 0M in startup

WhatsApp gets new chief as Meta taps India’s CRED founder Kunal Shah, and invests $900M in startup

Published by skeptic

Meta is betting on India for WhatsApp’s next chapter, naming entrepreneur Kunal Shah to lead the messaging app and succeed Will Cathcart, who is stepping down after nearly seven years at the helm to take on a new product-building role at the company. The move comes alongside a Meta-led $900 million financing for Indian fintech giant CRED, structured through a combination of primary and secondary share purchases. The deal will make Meta a minority investor in the CRED, which said Shah will step down as chief executive while retaining his personal shareholding. India is WhatsApp’s largest market, with more than 500 million users accounting for a significant share of the app’s global base of over three billion people. The country has also emerged as a key battleground for Meta’s ambitions in business messaging and digital payments, areas seen as critical to WhatsApp’s next phase of growth. Cathcart, who has led WhatsApp since 2019, oversaw a period of rapid expansion that helped the service become one of the world’s most popular messaging apps, including with more …

Versant Media Invests in Microdrama Streaming App GammaTime

Versant Media Invests in Microdrama Streaming App GammaTime

Published by Daniella Wilson

Versant Media Group has taken a minority stake in GammaTime, the microdrama streaming app, as part of a Series A funding round. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the CNBC and MS NOW owner, but the agreement includes adapting stories based on Versant channel brands as vertical series and aligning the Comcast spinoff with bite-sized dramatic content increasingly favored by advertisers. “GammaTime is reimagining short-form storytelling for a new generation of viewers. Their mobile-first approach and focus on original content make this a natural partnership for Versant as we continue to extend our iconic brands, deep content library and storytelling,” said Mark Lazarus, CEO of Versant, in a statement on Tuesday. The new capital will be used by GammaTime to continue developing a premium originals slate with the help of Versant’s show runners and entertainment IP. “Versant’s investment is a turning point for GammaTime and the category. We’re pairing unparalleled audience scale and engagement with premium marketing. We’re building originals at scale, and Versant gives us the IP, brand equity, and creative DNA …

Goalhanger invests in creators via new Ventures division

Goalhanger invests in creators via new Ventures division

Published by Sam Flores

Charlie Tymon, founder of Invisible Media, and Backyard Cricket image, two businesses invested in by Goalhanger. Picture: Goalhanger Podcast production company Goalhanger has launched an investment and partnerships arm to back creator-led media businesses. Goalhanger Ventures has made an equity investment to support the next stage of growth at Invisible Media and signed a commercial partnership with Backyard Cricket, both creator-led brands primarily based on Youtube. Goalhanger co-founder Jack Davenport said: “Goalhanger Ventures is about giving exceptional creator-led businesses the infrastructure to grow without losing what made them special in the first place. “Invisible Media and Backyard Cricket are very different propositions, but they both have that rare combination of editorial clarity, audience trust and genuine momentum. “Our role is to help them scale thoughtfully, commercially and creatively, while protecting the independence, personality and quality that their communities already respond to.” Invisible Media produces The Invisible Hand, video storytelling focused on economics, business, geopolitics and culture, which has 267,000 subscribers on Youtube. The business is also developing new specialist formats such as The Invisible Game, …

Match Group invests 0M in Sniffies, a cruising app for gay men

Match Group invests $100M in Sniffies, a cruising app for gay men

Published by skeptic

Match Group, the dating app behemoth that owns Match, Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge, says that it has invested $100 million in yet another mobile service designed to bring people together: a Grindr competitor known as Sniffies. The website for Sniffies sports various images of men in their underwear. That tells you pretty much all you need to know about the app, which is a self-proclaimed “cruising”— or hookup — matching service for gay men. The app includes what it calls a “real-time, fully interactive map of nearby Cruisers and popular local cruising spots.” “From the first time I met the Sniffies team a year ago, it was clear they had a deep understanding of their users and a strong point of view on how its community actually connects,” said Spencer Rascoff, chief executive officer of Match Group, in a press release Monday. Sniffies, based in Seattle, has an estimated 3 million monthly active users, Match says. The company will continue to operate independently, with Match Group assisting the team’s “vision and growth,” it said. Match …

NYSE-parent Intercontinental Exchange invests 0 million in Polymarket

NYSE-parent Intercontinental Exchange invests $600 million in Polymarket

Published by Sam Flores

March 27 : Intercontinental Exchange said on Friday it had invested $600 million in prediction markets platform Polymarket, as the New York Stock Exchange parent expands into the fast-growing event-based trading segment. The funding is part of the exchange operator’s previously announced plan to invest up to $2 billion in Polymarket, the company said. Prediction markets have shifted from a niche corner of crypto and academic finance into a rapidly growing trading segment in under two years, with volumes and user activity surging. ICE said the investments in Polymarket are not expected to have a material impact on the exchange operator’s financial results or capital return plans. The $600 million investment is part of the prediction markets platform’s latest funding round, and the valuation will be disclosed once completes its fundraising, ICE said. Prediction markets represent a potential new frontier for exchanges ​in derivatives trading. Analysts say the products can draw a wider pool of ​retail traders ⁠and boost trading volumes, offering exchanges a chance to diversify revenue as competition intensifies in traditional futures and …

EU invests €103m in strategic environment and climate projects

EU invests €103m in strategic environment and climate projects

Published by skeptic

The European Commission is investing more than €103m in seven strategic projects across Europe through the LIFE programme. The environment and climate projects will help strengthen the EU’s prosperity, reinforce economic stability, food systems, and environmental ecosystems, and improve public health and quality of life across the continent. The selected projects are located in Finland, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain. Supporting and accelerating the implementation of EU environmental and climate policies, the projects are focused notably on climate and water resilience, nature restoration, circular economy and sustainable land use. These are expected to mobilise additional national public and private investment. 7 strategic projects awarded in 7 EU Member States Finland In Finland, ACWA LIFE aims to restore and protect streams, lakes, coastal waters, river basins and groundwater to secure water resources and ecosystem health. It will receive €16.5m from the EU. France The LIFE ADAPT EST in France will strengthen climate resilience in the Grand Est region by building expertise in climate, water governance, and infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather events. …

EU invests €225m to deliver next-generation influenza vaccines

EU invests €225m to deliver next-generation influenza vaccines

Published by skeptic

The European Union is committing €225 million to accelerate the development of next-generation influenza vaccines that will offer protection against a wider range of flu variants and can be quickly adapted if a pandemic strain emerges. The funding will support influenza vaccines designed to be easier to administer via the nose, mouth, or skin patches, and to be rapidly scaled up in emergencies. It marks the first time the Commission will use pre-commercial procurement to advance products through clinical trials, ensuring they meet strict safety, quality, and efficacy criteria while supporting innovations that might otherwise stall without public intervention. Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, explained: “With an EU investment of €225m – the largest ever dedicated to accelerating access to innovative medical countermeasures – we are advancing the development of next-generation flu vaccines. “This funding will unlock cutting-edge technologies, including more accessible and diverse vaccine administration methods, ensuring that effective vaccine options reach underserved and vulnerable groups.” Flu vaccines must keep pace with the evolving virus Flu viruses evolve constantly, which …