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SCI Ventures Launches Venture Philanthropy Fund to Accelerate Restorative Treatments for Spinal Cord Injury and a Cure for Paralysis

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3 months ago

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Global early-stage fund to catalyze development of the next generation of treatments

Backers include the leading spinal cord injury foundations in the U.S., U.K., and EU

NEW YORK and LONDON, June 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — SCI Ventures, a new venture philanthropy vehicle dedicated to funding and commercializing innovative treatments for spinal cord injury, today announced the launch of its first fund. SCI Ventures’ mission is to advance breakthroughs for people living with paralysis by supporting promising cure-oriented therapies and emerging technologies. The fund launches with $27 million in commitments and anticipates raising $40 million by year-end. 

Spinal cord injury (“SCI”) affects more than 15 million people globally, and options to address the dramatic impact on their quality of life are currently limited.1 Beyond the loss of movement, paralysis impacts bowel, bladder and sexual functions—and comes with massive financial costs. SCI is one of the most expensive medical conditions to manage: average lifetime costs range from $2.9 million for paraplegia and up to $6 million for high tetraplegia.2

SCI Ventures is led by a team of professionals with expertise in venture capital, technology, and science with deep personal connections to the cause and it’s advised by world-class neuroscientists. By serving as an early-stage investor with extensive sector expertise, SCI Ventures aims to catalyze funding for the SCI space. There are many commonalities between spinal cord injuries and adjacent conditions such as stroke and neurodegenerative disorders. Therefore, SCI Ventures is confident the technologies backed by the Fund will yield high impact beyond the SCI community.

The launch of SCI Ventures marks the first time that five of the leading foundations addressing spinal cord injury in the U.S., U.K. and EU have come together in support of a novel investment vehicle. Co-Founders are the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Wings for Life, the International Spinal Research Trust (“Spinal Research”), the Promobilia Foundation and Shepherd Center. The venture philanthropy fund model was pioneered in SCI by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which led SCI Ventures’ first investments in the technology company ONWARD® Medical and AXONIS Therapeutics. SCI Ventures is building on this progress and industrializing the model.

“Recent scientific and technological advancements have made recovery from paralysis a real possibility for the first time in history. However, while treatments to restore function for people with spinal cord injury have shown promise in lab settings, transferring these treatments to clinical settings remains a stubborn barrier,” said Adrien Cohen, Founding Managing Director of SCI Ventures.

“We’re bridging that gap by providing financial and operational support to promising early-stage companies. As an expert investor, we plan to attract more capital to the SCI space by lowering the investment risk through the combined network and knowledge of our backing foundations,” he added.

SCI Ventures is an independently managed fund focusing on seed and Series A financing rounds. It will redeploy 100% of its investment gains into additional companies working toward the mission to cure paralysis. SCI Ventures plans to support up to 20 companies and has already established a growing portfolio of investments, including:

ONWARD® Medical, which provides targeted stimulation of the spinal cord to restore movement and other functions, alone or in combination with brain-computer interface (BCI) technology for thought-driven movementAXONIS Therapeutics, which focuses on advancing drug discoveries for neuron revival and neuromodulationSania Therapeutics, a gene therapy company that can selectively target dysfunctional neural circuits, starting with spasticityAUGMENTAL, which is developing the MouthPad^: an in-mouth interface for hands-free human-computer interaction

“We’re proud to continue innovating and leading in our shared mission to restore function to people with spinal cord injuries and eventually cure paralysis,” said Maggie Goldberg, President and CEO of the Reeve Foundation. “SCI Ventures is a unique model and an opportunity to bring together leaders from across the SCI and paralysis fields to offer resources and expertise that, when combined, can create lasting, positive impact.”

“We have experienced first-hand the immense challenges people with paralysis face each day, so Wings for Life is incredibly proud to be a co-founding member of SCI Ventures and an enabler of breakthrough treatments,” said Anita Gerhardter, Global CEO of Wings for Life. “We see great potential in the emerging companies in SCI Ventures’ portfolio, and we are more confident than ever that people who are injured today will be the first generation that does not have to live with paralysis for the rest of their lives.” 

About SCI Ventures
SCI Ventures is the first venture philanthropy fund focused on innovative therapies for people living with paralysis. Co-founded by leading global foundations and advised by world class neuroscientists, SCI Ventures aims to catalyze the development of the next generation of treatments with an emphasis on technology to restore function and cure-oriented therapies. The fund shares the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt registration of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. To learn more about SCI Ventures, please visit https://www.sciventures.com. Follow us on LinkedIn here.

Media Contact
Prosek Partners
Pro-SCIVentures@prosek.com

1 https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/spinal-cord-injury
2 https://www.nscisc.uab.edu/public/Facts%20and%20Figures%202024%20-%20Final.pdf 

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SOURCE SCI Ventures

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Tulufan, Xinjiang: For the first time, a new energy plant and station has achieved “all-green electricity” operation

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11 mins ago

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September 20, 2024

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TULUFAN, China, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On September 19, employees of State Grid Tulufan Electric Power Supply Company came to State Power Investment Zhongli Tenghui Qiquanhu Photovoltaic Power Station to provide comprehensive technical support and guidance for new energy enterprises.

Seven wind power and photovoltaic power generation enterprises, including Xinjiang Jize Power Generation Company in Tulufan, have obtained 6.035 million KWH of grid electricity by purchasing 6,035 “green certificates” to achieve “green electricity – green electricity” and achieve green energy use in the whole link of new energy power generation.

The green power certificate, referred to as “green certificate”, is the only certificate that identifies the production and consumption of renewable energy power. Promoting the all-green operation of new energy power generation is an important measure to promote the green consumption of renewable energy.

“Before, we were just ‘producers’ of green electricity. Now the buyers of green certificates have become green electricity consumers, and the production process is fully green.” Qiquan Lake photovoltaic power station inspection officer Forzati Dilishati said.

Since the launch of the green electricity and green certificate market, State Grid Tulufan Electric Power Supply Company has actively promoted green electricity trading, promoted the supply of green electricity and green certificates in multiple scenarios, promoted the rapid promotion and popularization of related services in Tulufan, and helped build a new power system.

In the first eight months of this year, the cumulative volume of green electricity transactions in Xinjiang reached 1.174 billion KWH, 93.83 times that of the whole year of 2022.

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/tulufan-xinjiang-for-the-first-time-a-new-energy-plant-and-station-has-achieved-all-green-electricity-operation-302253902.html

SOURCE State Grid Tulufan Electric Power Supply Company

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KuCoin’s Alicia Kao Shares Insights on How AI is Accelerating Mass Crypto Adoption at TOKEN2049 Singapore

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September 20, 2024

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VICTORIA, Seychelles, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Alicia Kao, Managing Director at leading global cryptocurrency exchange, KuCoin, shared her vision on how crypto exchanges are the drivers that hold the keys to unlocking mainstream crypto adoption. Speaking at the OKX Main Stage at TOKEN2049 in Singapore on a panel session titled “Exchanges at the Helm: Driving Crypto from Niche to Mainstream,” Alicia shared that “accessing information about blockchain has become significantly easier…at KuCoin, we leverage complex data analysis algorithms using our trading bots to help users trade more efficiently.”

Industry stakeholders from all groups were in attendance for the panel, comprising investors, crypto enthusiasts, and more. The focus was on the crucial role of cryptocurrency exchanges in paving the way for crypto adoption and the eventual integration of digital assets into mainstream financial systems. Alicia and her fellow panelists explored both the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for the crypto industry.

Alongside Alicia, the panel also featured leaders from leading crypto exchanges such as Ben Zhou, Co-Founder and CEO of Bybit; Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget; Vivien Lin, Chief Product Officer of BingX; and Sonia Shaw, President of CoinW, and moderated by Michael Casey, Chairman of the Decentralized AI Society.

In addition to the panel discussion, KuCoin cemented its position as a leading centralised exchange (CEX) with a prominent presence on the show floor and activations that showcased the platform’s latest developments. The KuCoin Arcade also drew significant attention, offering an engaging and immersive experience with interactive crypto-themed games and activities.

“As we wrap up another edition of TOKEN2049 in Singapore, I’m once again filled with optimism for the future of the crypto industry. The energy, innovation, and collaboration displayed over the past two days have been immensely inspiring. At KuCoin, we will continue striving to be the driving force in this ever evolving space to build a more inclusive, decentralised, and prosperous financial future” added Alicia as TOKEN2049 concluded.

About KuCoin

Launched in September 2017, KuCoin is a leading cryptocurrency exchange with its operational headquarters in Seychelles. As a user-oriented platform with a focus on inclusiveness and community engagement. It offers over 900 digital assets across Spot trading, Margin trading, P2P Fiat trading, Futures trading, and Staking to its 34 million users in more than 200 countries and regions. KuCoin ranks as one of the top 6 crypto exchanges. KuCoin was acclaimed as “One of the Best Crypto Apps & Exchanges of June 2024” by Forbes Advisor and has been included as one of the top 50 companies in the “2024 Hurun Global Unicorn List”. Learn more at https://www.kucoin.com/.

 

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SOURCE KuCoin

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PayPal Ventures Reinforces Support of Chaos Labs with Additional Investment

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11 mins ago

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September 20, 2024

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Today, PayPal Ventures, the global venture capital arm of PayPal, announced an additional investment in Chaos Labs, an industry leader in onchain risk management. This investment underscores PayPal Ventures’ confidence in Chaos Labs’ potential and their blockchain products.

Chaos Labs’ recent launch of Edge, a new decentralized oracle protocol, has garnered significant attention within the industry. Edge has already secured a remarkable $30B over the last 2 months and has been adopted by leading exchanges such as Jupiter, the top perpetuals exchange on Solana, and GMX, the leading exchange on Arbitrum.

Edge offers a comprehensive, low-latency oracle solution, combining accurate price data with actionable market intelligence. Its advanced architecture ensures the security and efficiency of DeFi applications while providing insights into market dynamics and security risks. Edge monitors the market for specific risk signals, performs the offchain data parsing and computation, and outputs one actionable data point.

Omer Goldberg, CEO and Founder of Chaos Labs, said, “We’re excited to receive the strong confidence and additional support from the PayPal Ventures team. Edge by Chaos is the culmination of our entire company’s work and expertise. Edge Price, Risk, and Proofs deliver meaningful and unmatched contextualized risk and price data for assets including stablecoins and other real-world-assets, in addition to the crypto assets and venues that provide access to them.”

Last month, Chaos Labs announced a $55 million Series A funding round led by Haun Ventures, including prominent new investors such as F-Prime Capital, Slow Ventures, and Spartan Capital, and existing investors including PayPal Ventures. Chaos Labs has experienced significant growth, tripling its customer base and securing billions in trading volume, loans, and incentives.

PayPal Ventures’ investment aligns with PayPal’s ongoing commitment to the blockchain ecosystem. In May 2024, PayPal launched its stablecoin, PYUSD, on the Solana blockchain.

Amman Bhasin, Partner at PayPal Ventures, said, “Our continued investment in Chaos Labs reflects our belief in their vision to create a safer crypto ecosystem and move more financial services on chain. Chaos Labs has emerged as a leading risk authority in the sector and we are thrilled to witness their evolution as they launch innovative products like Edge to mitigate oracle vulnerabilities.”

Chaos Labs will receive the total investment in PYUSD on-chain. A simulation will be shown live on-stage on September 20th at the annual Solana Breakpoint conference in Singapore.

About Chaos Labs

Chaos Labs leads the blockchain risk management industry with innovative solutions for the evolving onchain financial landscape. Chaos Labs enables protocols to verify stability across all market conditions, merging offchain observability with onchain risk parameter adjustments. Backed by leading venture capital firms, Chaos Labs continues to set new standards for security and responsiveness in onchain finance. Founded in 2021, Chaos Labs is headquartered in New York City.

About PayPal Ventures

PayPal Ventures is the global corporate venture arm of PayPal. We invest for financial return in companies at the forefront of innovation in fintech, commerce enablement, digital infrastructure, and crypto/blockchain technologies. Through the expertise, experience, and vast network of PayPal Ventures – and the companies we invest in – we are helping to bring transformative solutions to market faster. For more information, please visit: www.paypal.vc 

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/paypal-ventures-reinforces-support-of-chaos-labs-with-additional-investment-302253911.html

SOURCE Chaos Labs, Inc.

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