Latest news with #CE-Ventures
Fintech News ME
20 hours ago
- Business
- Fintech News ME
CE-Ventures Invests in $657M Funding Rounds for Plaid and Mesh
CE-Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of UAE-based Crescent Enterprises, has announced investments in Plaid and Mesh, two companies developing infrastructure for the next generation of financial services. The investments reflect CE-Ventures' view that finance is evolving toward systems that are open, programmable, and increasingly crypto-native, with long-term value likely to come from companies building core data and connectivity infrastructure. Plaid and Mesh, both based in Silicon Valley, address different aspects of financial interoperability. Plaid focuses on data infrastructure that links financial institutions with fintech applications, while Mesh is building tools for seamless movement of digital assets. Plaid recently raised US$575 million in a funding round led by Franklin Templeton, with participation from CE-Ventures, Fidelity, BlackRock, NEA, Ribbit Capital, and others. Mesh secured US$82 million in its Series B round, led by Paradigm and joined by CE-Ventures, Consensys, QuantumLight Capital, Yolo Investments, and others. 'At CE-Ventures we are investing in the financial systems of the future, and we see Plaid and Mesh as foundational platforms in a converging world of fintech and crypto,' said Sudarshan Pareek, Senior Vice President at CE-Ventures. 'We are at the beginning of a systemic shift in global finance, from closed systems to open networks, from batch-based processing to real-time programmability, and from siloed fiat rails to interoperable digital assets. Plaid and Mesh are laying the technical infrastructure for that future.' These investments are in line with broader changes in financial infrastructure, including greater interoperability, real-time programmability through APIs and automation, and increased user control over financial data and assets. CE-Ventures has a history of backing infrastructure companies operating across both traditional finance and emerging technologies. Its latest investments reflect a belief that the most resilient value lies in platforms that support broad financial ecosystems rather than single-use verticals. Plaid has become a key enabler of consumer-authorised financial data sharing, supporting thousands of apps and financial institutions with services such as account linking, identity verification, and personal finance management. As open finance expands worldwide, Plaid's infrastructure is becoming integral to fintech ecosystems. Mesh is building a blockchain-native API layer that enables users and platforms to move crypto and stablecoins across wallets, exchanges, and applications. As digital assets gain utility beyond speculation, Mesh is developing the infrastructure needed to support crypto-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat payments and transfers.
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Business Standard
20-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
PierSight gains strategic investors to grow satellite maritime surveillance
Space-tech startup PierSight has secured additional capital through a seed extension round, bringing its total funding to $8 million. The company is developing a constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Automatic Identification System (AIS) satellites to deliver continuous, all-weather maritime surveillance. The funding will support the firm's expansion plans and hiring across multiple engineering roles. 'We have the necessary resources in place to reach our upcoming targets,' said Gaurav Seth, co-founder and chief executive officer of PierSight. 'This round was about welcoming partners who bring frontline experience in ocean sustainability and port operations, and can help us build a world-class team.' The new investment comes from the Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) and its venture arm, Seabird Ventures, along with CE-Ventures—the corporate venture capital platform of Crescent Enterprises. Other investors include Nandan Reddy (co-founder, Swiggy), Natasha Malpani Oswal (investor, Boundless), and Sahil Lavingia (founder, Gumroad). 'It's a strong validation to have CE-Ventures as a backer, given that the parent, Crescent Enterprises, operates the region's largest privately-owned independent port operator through its subsidiary, Gulftainer,' said Vinit Bansal, co-founder and chief technology officer of PierSight. PierSight is working with coast guards, insurers, shipping lines, port operators, and ocean conservation NGOs to tackle maritime challenges. These include monitoring Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), detecting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, tracking oil spills, identifying dark vessels, and preventing marine insurance fraud. 'PierSight's ocean-focused satellite constellation will be highly scalable for conservation outcomes by exposing the 'dark side' of ocean activities like illegal fishing and offshore pollution dumping,' said Matt Mulrennan, head of investments at the Sustainable Ocean Alliance. 'Enforcing ocean regulations and achieving full ocean monitoring by 2030 is an area where conservationists, governments, and big ocean industries are all eager to collaborate.' The company successfully launched its technology demonstration satellite, Varuna, in December 2024 and qualified its payload subsystems to TRL-7. PierSight's first commercial SAR + AIS (VDES-enabled) satellite is in development and scheduled for launch in mid-2026. Its maritime analytics platform, MATSYA, is also under development, with a release expected in Q4 2025. A drone-borne SAR system is currently undergoing flight testing and is slated for commercial availability by Q4 2025. 'PierSight is pioneering a new frontier in satellite-based maritime intelligence with its innovative use of Synthetic Aperture Radar technology,' said Sudarshan Pareek, senior vice-president and head of ventures at CE-Ventures. 'The team is building the next-generation ocean observability stack, solving critical challenges in global shipping, security, and environmental tracking.'
