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Tech-Enabled Home Services Platform Zephyr Launches with Nearly $100MM of Capital, Looks Toward New Tech and Growth

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NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Zephyr announced that it has raised over $60M in new growth capital led by Elda River Capital (“Elda River”) and The Pritzker Organization (TPO). Zephyr will use the new funding to support additional home services business acquisitions and continued technical innovation. This latest round brings Zephyr’s total funding to nearly $100M since it started operating in November 2022.

Zephyr is a technology-enabled home services platform built with the technician at the center. Zephyr acquires local service providers in targeted markets, integrates them into a unified technology and productivity platform, and drives growth at those local brands with centralized support in recruiting, training, marketing, operations effectiveness, finance, M&A and more. By reimagining the technician experience, Zephyr is driving efficiency, retention, and profit for local HVAC brands across the country.

“Zephyr is accelerating the digital transformation of home services,” said Michael Dean, Partner at Elda River. “The Zephyr platform prioritizes the technician experience to deliver improved customer comfort through superior service, enhanced technician knowledge and the installation of more energy efficient mechanical systems.”

The mechanical (HVAC), electrical, and plumbing market captures over $125B spend each year, but the industry is facing a 50% projected technician labor shortage that is set to undermine an already fragmented market. The employee experience in the skilled trades has fallen far behind other industries, which has made it very difficult to attract and retain talent. As the first technician-centric operating platform, Zephyr is solving this problem by utilizing technology and people management to differentially attract and retain technicians.

“We are excited to partner with the team in accelerating the growth at Zephyr,” said Billy Nand, Managing Director at The Pritzker Organization. “Zephyr’s differentiated strategy is poised to create a unique platform in home services.”

Zephyr has closed on twelve acquisitions to date in a handful of target geographies, including the metro areas of Washington, DC; Houston; Palm Beach/South Florida; and Denver.  With the company’s current funding, the team expects to eclipse $100 million of revenue this year and is organically growing over 25%.

Zephyr is led by CEO and Co-founder Shawn Weidmann, who has over 15 years of executive experience leading and scaling businesses with expansive front-line employee bases, and most recently served as CEO of private-equity backed Spring Education, the largest network of  private PS-12 schools in the US. Shawn is joined by Chief Financial Officer Michelle DiPasquale, who has more than 20 years of PE-backed CFO experience and deep, multi-site M&A experience; and Chief Product & Technology Officer Kevin McDunn, who has 20+ years experience developing mobile-first productivity applications. Zephyr was built at Juxtapose, a leading creation-oriented investment firm focused on building industry-transforming businesses from the ground up, alongside Co-founder and current Head of Strategy, Deklan Robinson, who brings significant consumer services and M&A experience from his roles at Harry’s and L Catterton.

With this investment, representatives from Elda River and TPO will join Zephyr’s board of directors. Michael Morgan, a founding member of Triangle Peak Partners, will also join Zephyr’s board as an observer. Morgan is the former president and current lead director at Kinder Morgan, one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America.

“We’ve assembled an incredible team in pursuit of our mission to perfect the home services experience,” said Weidmann. “We’re thrilled to use this investment to build on Zephyr’s early momentum and continue driving growth, efficiency and success in the industry – while ensuring technicians are at the core of everything we do.”

With this new round of funding, Zephyr plans to continue executing on its geographic growth plans in both new and existing markets. Zephyr also plans to continue investing in its proprietary technology platform to enhance its unique and compelling offering to technician talent across the industry.

“We are proud of everything Zephyr and its talented leadership team has already accomplished,” said Geoff Miller, Partner at Juxtapose. “We welcome Elda River and TPO to the company, and are excited for Zephyr’s next chapter of growth.”

For more information on Zephyr, visit www.zephyrhome.com.

About Elda River Capital

Elda River Capital is a real assets investment firm focused on energy transition and infrastructure opportunities. The Elda River team has a long history of partnering with exceptional management teams to create value for our stakeholders. Since inception, Elda River has committed over $7.0 billion of capital across more than 70 completed investments.  Elda River is headquartered in Houston, Texas with additional offices in Evanston, Illinois and London, United Kingdom. Visit www.eldariver.com for more information.

About TPO

TPO is the merchant bank for the business interests of the Tom Pritzker family. TPO is focused on partnering with exceptional leaders to create value across a wide range of industries. TPO looks for opportunities where it can create value for the family’s interests and those of its partners and colleagues over a significant time horizon. For more than 60 years, TPO has overseen and guided the development of dozens of portfolio companies across a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, logistics, life sciences, hospitality, healthcare and services. Notable businesses include Hyatt Hotels, Triton Container and the Marmon Group. Recent control investments include TMS International, Lithko Contracting, KBP Investments, Mammoth Holdings, STV Inc., and Crown Health Care Laundry Services. In addition to its core strategy of building businesses over the long term, TPO is also active in special situations, advising the family’s interests in the deployment of capital across a wide spectrum of industries and investment structures. Additional information can be found at https://pritzkerorg.com.

About Juxtapose

Founded by Patrick Chun and Jed Cairo in 2015, Juxtapose is a creation-oriented investment firm exclusively focused on building industry-transforming businesses from the ground up. Juxtapose and its associated investment funds have supported the creation and financing of technology companies such as Care/of, Tend, Orchard, Great Jones, DayForward, and Modern Age. The firm partners with some of the world’s most experienced and talented entrepreneurial operators to found and scale category-defining technology companies that have trajectories to be the market leaders in the industries in which they operate. To learn more, please visit www.juxtapose.com.

Contact: Juxtapose@derris.com

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Deye’s Micro Hybrid ESS: A New Era of Compact, Efficient Power

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Suitable for on-grid, off-grid and portable use96.5% DC-AC conversion efficiency1000W rated power AC charge/discharge1600W high-power PV input4ms on-grid/off-grid switch

NINGBO, China, Jan. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — At Deye, we believe in redefining the way customers experience energy—whether customers are seeking reliable backup power for their home or exploring the great outdoors. Today, we’re proud to introduce the Deye Micro Hybrid Energy Storage System, AE-F(S)2.0-2H2, a game-changing innovation that brings intelligent, flexible, and portable energy solutions to customers’ fingertips.

The Deye Micro Hybrid ESS is an all-in-one system that combines an energy storage micro-inverter, battery modules, and a Battery Management System (BMS) into one compact unit. Designed with the modern lifestyle in mind, this system offers seamless integration with customers’ home and outdoor activities, offering intelligent monitoring and power management 24/7 via Lora smart communication and an easy-to-use APP monitoring interface. With 6,000 cycle life, the system is designed for a 10-year service life, and also comes with a 5-year warranty for added assurance.

1. Plug-and-Play Simplicity

With its minimalist design, the Micro Hybrid ESS is a true plug-and-play solution. It offers multiple output ports, meeting the diverse energy needs of various devices simultaneously, whether at home or in the great outdoors. Equipped with two MPPTs and a high PV power input of 1600W, it can be paired with over 99% of photovoltaic panels on the market, offering maximum flexibility.

2. High-Performance, Low Noise

The Micro Hybrid ESS is engineered for high performance. Featuring a 2kWh LFP battery, the system can expand up to 10kWh for extended power supply. Whether users need emergency backup at home or are camping off the grid, this system guarantees ultra-low noise during use thanks to its fanless design, making it the perfect companion for both residential and outdoor settings.

3. A Greener Future in Every Mode

The Deye Micro Hybrid ESS is designed for smart energy management with three intuitive modes:

Green Power Mode: Uses solar energy first to power your home, then charges the battery with any leftover. If more power is needed, the battery supplements the shortfall and sells excess power to the grid under the guarantee of the set SOC, thereby minimizing reliance on purchased electricity.TOU(Time-of-Use) Mode: Allows you to optimize energy consumption based on time-of-use pricing, buying electricity during off-peak hours and using or selling it back during peak hours.Full Charge Mode: Acts as a backup power source during emergencies, ensuring your home stays powered during outages or extreme weather events.

4. Empower Existing Systems to New Heights

The Micro Hybrid ESS features a unique AC coupling function that easily upgrades existing balcony micro-inverter systems. It could ensure no energy waste from the exsiting systems while meeting power needs during nighttime or outages.

It also supports Deye Smart loT System for further enhancement. When quipped with Deye Wireless Smart CT for Zero Export, this system could enhance its percentage of self-consumption. And if equipped with Deye Smart Plug, the system could realize 24-hour time-zone intelligent control of whole-house power equipment on and off.

5. Compact, Powerful, and Versatile: Ideal for Every Lifestyle

The Deye Micro Hybrid ESS is designed with flexibility in mind. Whether you’re someone seeking a reliable home backup power solution or simply an outdoor enthusiast, an RV traveler, this system is built to meet your needs. Its compact size—occupying less than 1/4 square meter—makes it an ideal solution for small apartments or spaces where every inch matters. With an IP65 rating and capable of operating in extreme temperatures from -10°C to 50°C, it’s ready to perform in all weather conditions.

The Deye Micro Hybrid Energy Storage System is not just about today; it’s about tomorrow. Technology may not give meaning to people’s life in a direct way, but this Deye new innovation could empower people to explore the distant places they long for. With green energy by customers’ side and electricity at their command, let the Deye AE-FS2.0-2H2 Micro Hybrid Energy Storage System be customers’ charging station for every step of their journey.

 

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SOURCE Deye

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NYP Launches New Studio Devoted To Cutting-Edge New Media Technologies

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The facility features industry-grade virtual production, preparing learners for an industry estimated to grow 14.7 per cent each year and be worth US$10.07 billion globally by 2032.

SINGAPORE, Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) unveiled its BeyondReality Studio, a one-stop playground of emerging immersive media technologies.

Virtual Production is an exciting and rapidly evolving field that combines traditional filmmaking techniques with cutting-edge digital technology. It involves the use of computer-generated imagery (CGI), augmented reality (AR), motion capture, and other technologies to create realistic environments and effects on virtual sets.

What you can expect in a virtual production studio:

LED Volume Walls: These replace traditional green screens, allowing real-time visualisation of virtual sets. This technology was notably used in “The Mandalorian”.Camera Tracking System: Allows the virtual environment to synchronise dynamically with the camera movements to achieve a realistic and immersive experience.Unreal Engine: A powerful real-time 3D creation platform that enables photorealistic rendering and real-time adjustments.

The global virtual production market is projected to reach US$10.07 billion by 2032[1]. This growth is driven by the increasing demand for high-quality visual effects in movies, TV shows, and commercials, as well as the rising adoption of virtual production technologies in the gaming industry. Major players like Disney, Epic Games, and ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) are heavily investing in virtual production. Disney, for instance, has extensively used LED video walls for in-house shoots, significantly reducing the need for on-location filming.

The Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, Japan, and South Korea, is also seeing rapid growth due to rising investments in the entertainment industry.

NYP’s investment in this state-of-the-art facility underscores its commitment to preparing students for the future. The BeyondReality Studio will provide students with unparalleled opportunities to develop skills in CGI, augmented reality, motion capture, and more, ensuring they are well-equipped to meet the demands of the entertainment and gaming industries.

The 2,500-square-feet virtual production facility features 24 professional motion capture cameras for high precision full-body performance capture, a large curved green screen cyclorama for greater versatility and illusion of depth, and an LED volume wall and floor for the most authentic replications of virtual environments.

The studio prepares students for the future of media production, offering opportunities to work with Extended Reality (XR), Virtual Production (VP), Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), Metaverse and Web 3.0, as well as Generative AI.

The studio boasts numerous firsts in Singapore’s visual and audio production scene:

NYP is the first and only Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) in Singapore to feature advanced LED volume technology. These skills have also been identified as emerging skills in the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) refreshed Skills Framework for Media.The BeyondReality Studio is the only studio in Singapore that features a unique 3-in-1 setup of motion capture, green screen, and LED volume virtual production all under one roof. NYP will be the first polytechnic to receive the official certification of a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 Surround Audio Studio – to supplement the audio productions in the BeyondReality Studio – ensuring that soundtracks produced within the studio can be accurately reproduced worldwide, at the highest quality.

The studio also references Hollywood-standards, while ensuring space optimisation and creating conducive learning experiences. The studio’s LED volume wall is optimised for mid-to-close shots, making it an ideal training environment and the perfect size suitable for local productions. This allows industry partners to explore and experiment with innovative technologies and streamline production workflows.

Mr Albert Lim, Director at NYP’s School of Design & Media, said: “We are focused on equipping our students with more than just qualifications – we want to prepare them with the emerging skills required for them to stay at the forefront of media production, whether for further studies or career growth. With our new BeyondReality Studio, our students will learn what it takes to create their very own next-gen immersive masterpiece.”

Students across different disciplines in NYP will also get to work together on real-life virtual production projects. School of Business Management students can manage production shoots through set operations, scripting, and scheduling, while School of Design & Media students create virtual assets and integrate them into live environments using tools like Unreal Engine – an industry-leading 3D creation software. This collaborative approach equips our learners with relevant experience in working across teams on large-scale projects.

Final-year Diploma in Animation, Games & Visual Effects student, Choy Yu Feng, will be getting hands-on with the new facility in his final semester. “Virtual production is really up and coming, it will be very useful for me when I graduate with experience in these new technologies and some skills under my belt. I think it will help me stand out,” he said.

Creative media professionals can also take on a plethora of courses – from short courses to specialist diplomas – to upskill and reskill themselves in emerging immersive media technologies.

The BeyondReality Studio will be officially opened by Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, Tan Kiat How, on 24 Jan 2025.

-END-

About Nanyang Polytechnic

Established as an institution of higher learning in 1992, Nanyang Polytechnic’s (NYP) academic schools offer quality education and training through 37 full-time diploma courses and common entry programmes. NYP also has a full suite of Continuing Education and Training (CET) options for lifelong learning, ranging from specialist and advanced diplomas to SkillsFuture-supported modules and courses. NYP’s Asian Culinary Institute Singapore and the Singapore Institute of Retail Studies are CET institutes set up in partnership with SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) to champion and transform Singapore’s F&B and retail sectors, respectively. A third NYP CET institute – the National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning – also set up in collaboration with SSG, will spearhead the development of progressive workplace learning strategies and programmes for companies here.

[1] Source: Fortune Business Insights, “Virtual Production Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis,” https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/virtual-production-market-107105

 

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GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT Delivers 406 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Sanitation Vehicles

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BAODING, China, Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On January 10th, the first batch of 406 hydrogen fuel cell sanitation vehicles equipped with GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT’s hydrogen power system were officially delivered to customers, marking the successful implementation of GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT’s first “hundred-unit level” hydrogen sanitation vehicle demonstration application scenario in Baoding, China.

This batch of hydrogen sanitation vehicles includes three main models: hydrogen sweeping and washing vehicles, hydrogen cleaning vehicles, and hydrogen high-pressure flushing vehicles. They were jointly developed by GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT in collaboration with three well-known Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturers – Changzheng, Yutong, and Dongfeng. All vehicles are equipped with GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT’s self-developed commercial vehicle fuel cell system and hydrogen storage system. Compared to electric sanitation vehicles, they have significant advantages such as faster fuel replenishment and better adaptability to high and low-temperature environments. It only takes 5-8 minutes to complete hydrogen refueling, and a single refueling allows for continuous operation of over 10 hours.

This delivery is another large-scale, mass-application demonstration scenario of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles implemented by GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT in China, following the world’s first hundred-unit level 49-ton hydrogen heavy-duty truck demonstration application scenario. These vehicles will act as “mobile air purifiers” to support the low-carbon circular development model of “waste-free city + green hydrogen”, and create a benchmark for the application of hydrogen sanitation vehicles in China.

At present, the number of hydrogen energy vehicles equipped by GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT that have been launched in the Chinese market has reached the thousand-unit level.

Follow the website of FTXT for more information: http://en.ftxt-e.com/

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/gwm-hydrogen-ftxt-delivers-406-hydrogen-fuel-cell-sanitation-vehicles-302347833.html

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