CoPilot raises $6.5 million

CoPilot, a South Side-based fitness coaching company, secured a $6.5 million raise which will be used to increase its staff. According to TechCrunch’s reporting, the Series A-1 raise was led by Jackson Square Ventures, a Florida-based venture capital firm. This raise comes a year and a half after the 2022 RealLIST Startups honoree’s $6 million Series A.

CoPilot offers virtual access to personal fitness trainers to help users reach their fitness goals. Moving forward, CoPilot CEO Matt Spettel told Pittsburgh Inno, the most notable changes will be that the company can bring on more employees so its customers would have more personal trainers to choose from.

“Definitely some major growth there,” Spettel said. “I would estimate in 12 months we’ll probably be at around 160 to 175 employees, including all the coaches, which is kind of crazy to say out loud but I would have said the same thing about [having] 75 people a few years ago.”

CoPilot’s leaders did not immediately respond to Technical.ly’s requests for comment.

Aspinity raises $5 million

Aspinity, a machine learning chip developer, seems on track to end 2023 on high note. The Strip District-based company has announced a $5 million Series B raise in a funding round led by Anzu Partners, Birchmere Ventures, Mountain State Capital and Riverfront Ventures.

This news comes after Technical.ly spotted a $10.8 million SEC filing in August. Aspinity didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment clarifying whether this $5 million is part of the $10.8 million filing.

This round includes South Korea’s Unitrontech, a new strategic investor and partner as well as an automotive semiconductors distributor. With Unitrontech as a partner, the announcement said, Aspinity will be better able to deliver high-performance integrated AI solutions for automotive applications and continue developing its technology.

Aspinity CEO and cofounder Tom Doyle said in the announcement that the investment will allow the company to develop Aspinity’s technology for new markets. For Unitrontech’s part, the benefit is that Aspinity’s technology reinforces its commitment to providing innovative solutions to its customers.

Tom Doyle. (Courtesy Aspinity)

“Our strategic partnership with Aspinity reinforces our commitment to providing the most innovative solutions to our automotive customers,” Unitrontech CEO Richard NamKoong said. “The combination of Aspinity’s analog machine learning technology with our automotive solution expertise provides our customers with market-ready intelligent systems.”

Coherent got a $1 billion investment

Coherent Corporation, a Saxonburg-based semiconductor manufacturer, has received a $1 billion investment from Denso and Mitsubishi Electric. With the funding from the two Japanese companies, Coherent will establish a subsidiary that capitalizes on the market’s desire for electric vehicle chips, per the orgs’ leaders.

Under the agreement, an announcement said, Denso and Mitsubishi will invest $500 million each and receive a 12.5% non-controlling interest in the business in return, while Coherent will retain 75% control of the company once the deal is complete. Additionally, the business will enter into long-term supply arrangements with Denso and Mitsubishi Electric to produce 150 mm and 200 mm silicon carbide substrates and epitaxial wafers for the Japanese companies.

Coherent’s leadership said the company’s relationship with both companies gives it the opportunity to grow.

“The strategic investments from DENSO and Mitsubishi Electric, two leaders in SiC [silicon carbon] power devices and modules, is the best path forward to maximize shareholder value and position the Business for long-term growth,” Coherent CEO Vincent D. Mattera said. “The investments from our strategic partners will be used to accelerate our capacity expansion plans and help sustain our leadership position, while ensuring the development of a robust and scalable supply for the rapidly growing market for SiC-based power electronics, largely driven by the explosive growth of the global electric vehicle market.”

More Money Moves

• Penn State New Kensington’s Digital Foundry received $200,000 for programs to increase the skill sets of individuals participating in training at the university’s digital foundry.
• Comcast and United Way will expand their Digital Navigator Network in Southwestern PA with the support of $363,000.
• Apollo Neuroscience, a consumer health tech startup, has secured a $6 million raise according to a recent SEC filing.
• BlastPoint, a data solutions provider, raised $3.6 million according to a recent SEC filing.
• LyGenesis, a cell therapy company, raised $8.7 million according to a recent SEC filing.
• Seegrid, an autonomous vehicle company, has raised $$31.5 million according to a recent SEC filing.

Atiya Irvin-Mitchell is a 2022-2023 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 Heinz Endowments.