Latest news with #KeiretsuForum
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic and South-East Appoints Christian Haller as Regional Vice President, Signaling Strategic Leadership Expansion
Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic PHILADELPHIA, May 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic and South-East, a leading network for accredited angel investors and innovators, is proud to announce the appointment of Christian Haller as Regional Vice President. Haller's role marks a step forward in the organization's commitment to accelerating growth and supporting high-potential startups across these dynamic regions. Christian Haller brings more than 35 years of entrepreneurial and investment expertise to Keiretsu Forum. He currently serves on the board of innovative, actively funding companies including Tympanogen, and ALM Orthopaedics, and founded LifeLine Medical, a pioneer in wearable health technology. Haller's extensive background includes founding The RavenOye Group, LLC, where he has supported seed and pre-seed medtech companies through commercialization and growth strategy. He is recognized for his leadership in entrepreneurial education, founding AdvaMed's Entrepreneur's Boot Camp and EBD's Japan Medtech Partnering Forum, and is a frequent speaker on topics of innovation and product commercialization. 'Christian's track record as a founder, investor, and board leader in promising life-science and tech startups will elevate our ability to source, vet and accelerate the deal flow that our members care about most. His strategic insight aligns perfectly with Keiretsu Forum's mission and will be invaluable as we expand our support for entrepreneurs and investors in the Mid-Atlantic and South-East regions.' said Howard Lubert, Area President of Keiretsu Forum MST. 'I am honored to join Keiretsu Forum as Regional Vice President,' said Christian Haller. 'I look forward to working with our exceptional members and partners to accelerate innovation, support promising startups, and create value for our investor community.' This expansion of leadership underscores Keiretsu Forum's dedication to building a robust ecosystem for entrepreneurs and investors, positioning the organization for continued growth and influence in the innovation economy. About Keiretsu Forum Founded in 2000, Keiretsu Forum is the world's largest global investment community of accredited private-equity angel investors, venture capitalists and corporate/institutional backers. Through 54 chapters on four continents, our members have invested over $1 billion in more than 1,400 high-growth companies. For more information, visit Media Contact Cindi Sutera Keiretsu Forum MST, Communications CindiS@ 610-613-2773
Associated Press
14-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Keiretsu Forum Brings 13 High-Potential Startups to 2025 Angel Capital Association Innovation Funders Showcase
PHILADELPHIA, April 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic, South-East, and Texas (K4-MST), a leading force in early-stage investing, proudly announces its endorsement of 13 dynamic companies selected to present at the 2025 Angel Capital Association's Innovation Funders Showcase. Held this year from April 15–17 in Denver, Colorado, the Summit offers an unparalleled platform for strategic investor-founder connections at a time when the early-stage ecosystem is being redefined. A Critical Moment for Founders and Funders 'Early-stage investing continues to evolve rapidly in the face of tightened capital markets and extended timelines to liquidity,' said Howard Lubert, Regional President of Keiretsu Forum-MST. 'But out of this pressure, a more disciplined and ROI-focused generation of companies is emerging—and that's exactly what we're showcasing in Denver.' According to Lubert, the current environment rewards startups that are lean, well-positioned, and laser-focused on solving real-world problems with a validated market demand and a clearly defined path to exit. 'Our 2025 delegation exemplifies the shift toward nimble, capital-efficient businesses that offer strong returns,' he said. Featured Companies at the 2025 ACA Innovation Funders Showcase: The 13 presenting companies, selected from across the life sciences, medtech, AI, and sustainability sectors, include: These ventures reflect Keiretsu Forum's commitment to rigorous due diligence, founder support, and fostering connections that result in funding and commercial traction. Summit Highlights: Investing with Purpose and Precision Hosted by the Angel Capital Association, the Innovation Funders Showcase brings together leading angel investors, family offices, and venture capitalists to explore high-potential companies in a collaborative setting. With investor sentiment still cautious after several years of market contraction, the Showcase offers vital visibility and connection for startups navigating today's more selective investment landscape. About Keiretsu Forum Founded in 2000, Keiretsu Forum is the world's largest and most active accredited investor – private equity community. The Mid-Atlantic, South-East, and Texas regions (K4-MST) are known for their robust VC-style diligence, collaborative member model, and commitment to long-term portfolio growth. K4-MST members have participated in funding over 1,400 companies with more than $1 billion in capital deployed. Media Contact: Cindi Sutera Keiretsu Forum-MST Communications Email: [email protected] Phone: 610-613-2773
Technical.ly
11-02-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
This angel investor network is using AI to speed due diligence on promising startups
Local investors are using artificial intelligence to save time on the due diligence process. Keiretsu Forum, a global angel investor network that includes sponsors and startups in the Philly region, announced the K4-MST AI FastTrak Due Diligence Engine earlier this month. The tool aims to save time on the first draft report so that investors can spend more time actually deciding if a company is a good fit for investment, Howard Lubert, area president of Keiretsu Forum's mid-Atlantic division, told 'Philadelphia's startup ecosystem thrives on strong investor-founder relationships, but due diligence has always been a bottleneck,' Lubert said. 'Philly-based startups [will] get faster feedback, investors can engage with more deals, and promising companies secure capital sooner.' Typically, due diligence reports, which help determine how risky an investment would be, take 80 to 120 hours to complete, according to Lubert. He expects AI to cut that time in half by reading through hundreds of files, summarizing them and annotating them in reference to the original files. The tool was trained using existing due diligence reports from a variety of sectors. Keiretsu ran over two dozen trials over the last few months with local investors and startups, like medical device company Actuated Medical, based in Bellefonte. Plus, there are guardrails in place to make sure the information in the report is accurate to what the company provided. 'The AI engine that we're using does not take it upon itself to go out to the world wide web and look for information about this company,' Lubert said. 'The only data that is used in creating this draft due diligence report comes from the files that the companies provide in the deal room.' AI gives investors more time to carefully decide their next move Despite curiosity for AI, Lubert said there wasn't a lot out there that fit Keiretsu's needs. Many of the existing tools worked better for mergers and acquisitions. These tools don't work for due diligence because they can't accurately estimate the valuation of early-stage companies, he said. Eventually, it found AI company which specifically develops platforms for due diligence processes. Companies upload all their files onto an online deal platform. Once that information is condensed into one file, Lubert can upload it into the AI platform. It typically takes the AI engine 10 to 20 minutes to pull that information into a draft due diligence report. The draft also comes back annotated with links back to the original documents. So if team members have questions or want to fact-check parts of the report, they can access it. The hope is that this tool will leave more time for discussion and making careful decisions about investments, Lubert said. 'What we hope will transpire from that is a greater interest from our investor members to get on due diligence teams, because they won't have to make that significant [time] commitment,' Lubert said. Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.
