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Huma Raises $38M to Hyper-scale its Payment Financing (PayFi) Network

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Huma Finance is transforming payment financing by utilizing real-world assets to deliver instant and borderless liquidity, enabling faster, more accessible, and more efficient financial solutions.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Huma, the first Payment Financing (PayFi) network, announced today that it has raised $38 million in funding. Distributed Global led the equity round, with significant participation from Hashkey Capital, Folius Ventures, the Stellar Development Foundation, and TIBAS Ventures, CVC arm of İşbank, the largest private bank in Turkiye. Part of this raise came as investments into high-yield real world assets (RWA) assets on platform.

The vast majority of businesses and people around the world depend on a form of payment financing. Credit cards alone finance $16T in merchant payments globally. Trade finance facilitates $10 trillion in B2B payments. One in every six families depends on remittances—money sent back home across the borders—yet even that system depends on trillions of dollars being locked in pre-funding accounts. The list goes on. While the demand for payment financing increases daily, creating an urgent need for more innovative solutions, traditional financial institutions are unable—or unwilling—to meet this need, widening the liquidity gap with each passing day.  Payment financing is so ingrained in every part of our lives that, without it, the entire economy would stop growing.

PayFi aims to address this giant liquidity gap by bringing trillions of dollars of real world payment volume over to blockchains and stablecoins. Leveraging the core strengths of blockchain—global money movement in seconds through programmable money—PayFi also enables new real-world use-cases that were previously impossible. Huma has built the first ever PayFi network with all of these use cases in mind, adopting an open, modular and decentralized approach to empower interoperable solutions across participants. By bringing the best of RWA, Payments, and DeFi together, Huma is creating a network that is far more efficient and accessible than traditional alternatives.

“While designing Huma, we often asked ourselves: How do you build an open payment financing network on blockchain that is more powerful than Visa? Today, stablecoins are already powering $2T in payments annually. An open payment financing network is going to help grow the entire payment ecosystem faster.” said Huma co-founder Richard Liu. “The surge of interest we’re seeing right now is a testament to PayFi’s potential. As more partners join us every week, it’s clear that PayFi is quickly becoming the new frontier of RWA.”

Building on this vision, Huma’s April merger with Arf, the leading on-demand liquidity solution for global payments, brought together the two of the most prominent PayFi players. Huma and Arf have already surpassed $1.8 billion in payment financing transactions and are on track to reach $10 billion next year, making them one of the fastest growing use cases for Circle’s USDC.

Part of this raise came as investments into Arf’s high-yield RWA assets. The Stellar Development Foundation provided a $10 million investment. Additionally, tokenized assets are currently available to accredited investors on Scroll for a limited period. With this funding infusion, Huma plans to further expand its PayFi network to the Stellar smart contract platform and to Solana in the coming months, making sure the network is accessible from all the major payments-focused chains.

“Moving money quickly and cheaply across borders is at the core of what the Stellar network does best. PayFi is providing real world utility that solves problems for people and companies, and it is the type of project tailor-made for the Stellar network. We look forward to continuing to working with Huma to grow the PayFi ecosystem,” said Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation.

“Huma’s PayFi network represents an important step forward in payment financing, offering solutions to long-standing inefficiencies in the industry,” said Chao Deng, CEO of HashKey Capital. “We believe innovations like this are crucial for addressing real-world challenges, and we’re pleased to see Huma playing a key role in advancing the Web3 space.” Huma’s growing PayFi network has caught the attention of leading blockchain advocates, further fueling the momentum behind PayFi. The Solana Foundation’s support signals how PayFi’s innovative on-chain financial solutions are set to redefine global finance.

“PayFi is the creation of new financial markets around the time value of money. On-chain finance can enable new financial primitives, product experiences, and financial access that are impossible in traditional or even Web2 finance. When I met the Huma team, it was immediately apparent that they’d be a great anchor for the PayFi ecosystem within Solana.” said Lily Liu, President of Solana Foundation.

Huma plans to launch the Huma Foundation this year, a pivotal move to decentralize its PayFi network and broaden global access, further solidifying its leadership in the RWA space. Additionally, Huma is set to host the inaugural PayFi Summit in collaboration with the Solana Foundation and Stellar Development Foundation at Singapore Token 2049 on September 17th——an event poised to ignite conversations and drive innovation in the industry.

About Huma

Huma Finance is the first PayFi network. Huma powers financing of global payments, with instant access to liquidity anywhere, anytime. For more information about Huma and the PayFi network, visit https://huma.finance/ 

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2502748/Huma_Arf_Founders.jpg

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SOURCE Huma Finance

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Waters Corporation to Host Investor Day on March 5, 2025

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MILFORD, Mass., Jan. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) announced that it will host an Investor Day on Wednesday, March 5th, 2025, in New York City, starting at 8:30 AM ET.

The event will feature presentations by members of the senior management team, who will discuss business initiative achievements, new strategic priorities, and our vision for future shareholder value creation. A Q&A session will follow.

In-Person Attendance
To request in-person attendance at this event, please click here or visit the Waters Investor Relations website at https://ir.waters.com, under ‘Events’.

Webcast
A live webcast will be available the day of the event. To register for the webcast, please click here or visit the Waters Investor Relations website at https://ir.waters.com, under ‘Events’. A replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the event concludes.

About Waters Corporation
Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT), a global leader in analytical instruments and software, has pioneered chromatography, mass spectrometry, and thermal analysis innovations serving the life, materials, food, and environmental sciences for more than 65 years. With approximately 7,500 employees worldwide, Waters operates directly in 35 countries, including 15 manufacturing facilities, and with products available in more than 100 countries.

Caspar Tudor, Head of Investor Relations
investor_relations@waters.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/waters-corporation-to-host-investor-day-on-march-5-2025-302348226.html

SOURCE Waters Corporation

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As Retail Cybercrime Surges, Plank Road Ventures To Present Technology Solutions At NRF 2025 Big Show

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HOBOKEN, N.J., Jan. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Credit cards and other non-cash payment methods now account for some 80% of purchasing activity, according to some reports. It’s convenient for consumers, but each retail transaction may expose vital shopper information to nation-state and other cybercriminals. Consumers are inconvenienced, while retailers may suffer reputational and financial damage.

To combat the upsurge in digital incursions, Plank Road Ventures — an eMazzanti Technologies company — will present artificial intelligence, cybersecurity best-practice and other retail solutions at the NRF (National Retail Federation) 2025 Retail’s Big Show at Booth 2306, in the Startup Hub of New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from January 12 through January 14, 2025.

“The rise in credit card, digital and other payment methods have made retailers a rich target for cyberthieves,” warns eMazzanti Technologies President Carl Mazzanti. “POS systems, for example, can store customer information and purchase history, enabling retailers to capture the information they need to inform targeted marking campaigns and personalized shopping experiences. But POS transactions also pose an attractive target for cybercriminals, and a successful data breach will have far-reaching consequences.”

Plank Road Ventures, a global managed services provider, partners with leading companies like Microsoft, Watchguard, HP, and I3 Communications to help retailers deploy technology that improve and secure their operations and store strategies, while enhancing customer experience and engagement. Retailers can meet with trained professionals from Plank Road Ventures at the NRF 2025 Retail’s Big Show, and learn about leading-edge POS and other solutions.

About eMazzanti Technologies
eMazzanti’s team of trained, certified IT experts deliver rapid response, increased revenue growth, data security, and productivity for organizations of all sizes. The firm offers cloud and mobile solutions, multi-site technology implementations, outsourced network management, 24 x 7 support, digital marketing services, and cyber security assessments and protection services.

About Plank Road Ventures
Our team of experienced retail experts works with clients to understand their specific requirements and recommend the best options. Specializing in store operations and support, the team is available 24x7x 365.

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SOURCE Plank Road Ventures

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Kevin Lanouette Named Senior Vice President and General Counsel

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BEDFORD, Mass., Jan. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in consumer robots, today announced that Kevin Lanouette has been named Senior Vice President and General Counsel, effective January 17, 2025. Tonya Drake, the Company’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel, will transition to an advisory role ending March 7, 2025.

“I’d like to thank Tonya for her many years of service to iRobot,” said Gary Cohen, iRobot CEO. “Her legacy of tenacity and rigor in protecting the iRobot Company and our brand has been exemplary.”

“Kevin is a seasoned and highly skilled attorney whose experience in advising on complex corporate and securities, commercial, M&A and IP protection matters will be invaluable as we execute our strategic initiatives and work toward a return to profitable growth,” said Cohen.

Formerly, Mr. Lanouette was a Partner at OutsideGC, a Boston-based law firm, where he specialized in providing strategic legal counsel to clients at all stages of development and across a broad range of industries, including technology development, software and services and healthcare. Previously, he served as Assistant General Counsel at Analog Devices, Inc., a leading global semiconductor manufacturer, from 2006 to 2020, where he had responsibility for several critical legal functions, including corporate, SEC and securities matters, IP licensing and technology transfers, M&A and investments, global commercial transactions, and governance and compliance issues.

He is a graduate of the University of Maine and Harvard Law School.

About iRobot Corp.
iRobot is a global consumer robot company that designs and builds thoughtful robots and intelligent home innovations that make life better. iRobot introduced the first Roomba robot vacuum in 2002. Today, iRobot is a global enterprise that has sold more than 50 million robots worldwide. iRobot’s product portfolio features technologies and advanced concepts in cleaning, mapping and navigation. Working from this portfolio, iRobot engineers are building robots and smart home devices to help consumers make their homes easier to maintain and healthier places to live. For more information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com

For iRobot Investors
Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements relating to iRobot Corporation’s expectations concerning executive transitions and execution of the company’s strategy. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. iRobot undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by iRobot, see the disclosure contained in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

 

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SOURCE iRobot Corporation

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