Astrotech Corp. (NASDAQ: ASTC)

Astrotech Corp. (NASDAQ: ASTC) is an instrumentation company that designs, manufactures and commercializes solutions. Its solutions include mass spectrometry, process controls, chemical detectors and medical disease detection.

The company was established in 1984 and, prior to 2009, was known as SPACEHAB Inc., a NASA contractor offering technology originally developed for NASA to monitor air quality on the International Space Station. When the Space Shuttle program ended, the company focused on its satellite processing and mass spectrometer instrumentation units and adopted the Astrotech name.

In 2014, Astrotech sold its satellite subsidiary to focus on its Astrotech Technology Inc. (ATi) mass spectrometry solutions, which offer a number of advantages over competing platforms. Notably, Astrotech's ATi technology is ruggedized, rapid, simple to use and customizable, with hands-free calibration and tuning.

Between 2016 and 2019, the company secured U.S. patents for its technology and achieved European Union (ECAC) certification for the TRACER 1000™, the world's first mass-spec Explosives Trace Detector (ETD) used in airports worldwide. Astrotech continues to innovate and add to its suite of products, including AgLAB-1000, a process control system, and the BreathTest 1000, a disease detection solution.

Astrotech is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Subsidiaries

Astrotech Technologies Inc.

Astrotech Technologies Inc. (ATi) owns and licenses the platform mass spectrometry technology originally developed by 1st Detect. This technology is designed to be less expensive, smaller and easier to use than traditional mass spectrometers.

Unlike other technologies, ATi works under high vacuum, which eliminates competing molecules, yielding higher resolution and fewer false alarms. The company's intellectual property includes 18 granted patents, along with extensive trade secrets.

ATi exclusively licenses the Astrotech Mass Spectrometer Technology to the three wholly owned subsidiaries of Astrotech.

1st Detect Corp.

1st Detect Corp. developed the TRACER 1000, the world's first mass spectrometry-based explosives and narcotics trace detector. 1st Detect ETDs were developed for use at airports, cargo facilities and other secured locations and borders worldwide.

1st Detect's commercial sales of the TRACER 1000 ETD, consumables and recurring maintenance services brought in $750,000 in total revenue during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. The Astrotech subsidiary recently secured two orders for a total of 24 Tracer 1000 units from two Romanian security and telecommunications companies, to be delivered during calendar 2023.

AgLAB Inc.

AgLAB Inc. is developing a series of mass spectrometers for use in the hemp and cannabis market, with an initial focus on optimizing yields in the distillation processes.

AgLAB, which uses the company's proprietary AgLAB 1000-D2™ mass spectrometer, has been proven to improve distillation oil yields and bottom-line profits for hemp and cannabis producers. During field trials, AgLAB was able to improve ending-weight yields by an average of 24%.

BreathTech Corp.

BreathTech is developing the BreathTest-1000™, a breath analysis tool to screen for volatile organic compound ("VOC") metabolites found in a person's breath that could indicate they may have a compromised condition including but not limited to a bacterial or viral infection. The company believes that new tools to aid in the battle against COVID-19 and other diseases remain of the utmost importance to help more quickly identify that an infection may be present.

Market Opportunity

A report by Mordor Intelligence, a research and advisory firm, put the global mass spectrometry market at $6.37 billion in 2023. The market is forecast to grow to $8.63 billion by 2028, achieving a CAGR of 6.25% during the forecast period.

One of the major driving factors for the growth of the mass spectrometry market is technological advancements in mass spectrometer devices, the report states. Key market players are continuously working toward advancing their existing products and launching innovative and advanced mass spectrometer devices.

Another major factor that is expected to boost market growth is increasing research and development expenditure by both government and private entities, according to the report. Mass spectrometry devices are also being used in the detection and analysis of COVID-19 and other disease samples, which may have a positive impact on the market.

Management Team

The Astrotech leadership team includes management executives, as well as industry and technology experts. The company continues to actively expand its talent pool to meet evolving demands.

Thomas B. Pickens III is Chairman, CEO and Chief Technology Officer of Astrotech Corp. He also serves as CEO of Astrotech subsidiaries ATi, 1st Detect, AgLAB Inc. and BreathTech Corp. Previously, he was the founder and president of Beta Computer Systems Inc. and T.B. Pickens & Co. He was founder and general partner of Grace Pickens Acquisition Partners L.P and managing partner of Sumpter Partners. He also served as CEO of Catalyst Energy Corporation and United Thermal Corporation and as president of Golden Bear Corp., United Hydro Inc. and Slate Creek Corp. He received a B.A. in Economics, Computer Science and Engineering from Southern Methodist University.

Jaime Hinojosa, CPA, is CFO at Astrotech Corp. He joined the company in 2015 and has served as its Corporate Controller since 2019. His previous roles with the company include Director of Finance, from 2017 to 2019, and Assistant Controller, from 2015 to 2017. Prior to joining Astrotech, Mr. Hinojosa worked as an Accounting Manager for O'Reilly Auto Parts and gained public accounting experience as an Audit Manager at Burton McCumber & Cortez LLP.

Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTN)

Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTN) is a developer of lidar-based solutions that help enable ADAS, autonomous vehicles, smart cities, smart spaces, and smart industrial applications. The company's products are currently used in a variety of use cases including monitoring airport terminals, enhancing efficiency at highway tolling stations / railways, and securing high value infrastructure. In 2021, Cepton announced it was awarded the largest known ADAS lidar series production award^[1] to support General Motors' (NYSE: GM) Ultra Cruise program and expects to have its lidars in select GM models starting next year. In addition, Cepton is currently engaged with all other top 10 global automotive OEMs.

Cepton was established in 2016 by Co-Founders Dr. Jun Pei and Dr. Mark McCord and has 151 employees. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California, with a newly opened Center of Excellence in Metro Detroit, Michigan, and an international presence spanning North America, Germany, Japan, India, and China.

Patented Micro Motion Technology (MMT®)

Cepton was built from the ground up to address key lidar industry challenges for mass market adoption. The company's portfolio of proprietary technology is uniquely aimed at facilitating this industry growth through a combination of performance, reliability, affordability, and design integration.

Key among its innovations is MMT®, a mirrorless, frictionless, rotation-free 3D imaging platform designed specifically for lidars. Its benefits for OEMs and system integrators include:

• Reliability – The durable design uses common, easily attainable materials
• Versatility – The platform is capable of achieving near- to ultra-long range with a wide field of view
• Efficiency – MMT® features a compact form factor, low power usage, and inexpensive components
• Scalability – Its simple design means that scaling-up to high manufacturing volumes is easily attainable

Due to their compact form factor, Cepton lidars are embeddable and ideally suited for advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) integration, whether behind windshield, in headlamp, or in fascia.

Strong Partnership with Koito, a Leading Tier 1 Supplier

Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd., the world's premier Tier 1 auto lighting supplier, originally started an evaluation of Cepton's MMT® based lidars in 2018. In 2020, Koito made a $50 million Series C investment in Cepton aimed at accelerating the company's development and enabling Koito's industrialization of high-performance and high reliability lidar sensors for ADAS and autonomous vehicle (AV) applications.

Through this collaboration, Cepton and Koito were able to secure the largest ADAS lidar series production award^[1] with General Motors as a sole source in the automotive space. The award covers GM vehicles for the initial period of 2023-2027.

The two companies deepened their relationship in August 2021 when Koito committed to invest an additional $50 million in Cepton's business through a Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) transaction in support of Cepton's business combination with Growth Capital Acquisition Corp.

On June 27, 2022, Cepton and Koito jointly announced their intention to expand their existing collaboration efforts to include select future Cepton lidar products and go-to-market activities.

Advancing ADAS in Collaboration with GM

On July 13, 2021, Cepton announced that it had secured an ADAS lidar series production award from a leading, Detroit-based global automotive OEM – the biggest lidar production award by any OEM to any lidar company^[1]. It was later clarified that the OEM was General Motors, and Cepton's lidar is part of GM's Ultra Cruise program.

GM is "expected to deploy Cepton lidars in its next generation of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) across multiple vehicle classes and models – not just luxury cars." As such, the agreement marks the potential for "an industry-first, mass-market adoption of lidar technology for automotive ADAS, with an anticipated deployment in consumer vehicles starting in 2023."

On July 28, 2021, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) distributed an article on Medium noting, "Ford has been engaged with Cepton almost since their inception in 2016, both for R&D collaboration and small-scale deployments. Cepton lidar are deployed in some of [Ford's] smart city projects. Based on Ford's guidance, Cepton delivered a custom version of their lidar to enable R&D on advanced ADAS features."

Increasing Applications Across Smart Infrastructure

In addition to its work with leading automotive OEMs, Cepton has entered into partnerships around the world leveraging its lidar-based solutions to improve infrastructure efficiency and safety.

Some recent examples include:

• Traffic Challenges in Cape Town, South Africa – Cepton and Fibre Based Integrations, an established fiber optics systems house, are working together to develop lidar-based vehicle detection solutions to enable citywide smart transportation infrastructure
• Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) Solutions in West Midlands, United Kingdom – Cepton and Vortex IoT, a UK-based IoT solutions company, teamed up to turn UK buses into real-time road inspection tools
• Security & Safety Systems in the U.S. – Cepton partnered with Barrier1 Systems, a top perimeter security solutions provider, to enable the next-generation of early-warning intrusion detection and onsite safety applications
• Smart Railway in Europe – Cepton teamed with Lithuania-based system integrator Belam to improve road user and rail passenger safety by deploying lidar-enabled obstacle detection at railway level crossings
• Real-Time Crowd Analytics at Orlando International Airport – The Indoor Lab, a leading provider of lidar-based real-time foot traffic monitoring, implemented Cepton's award-winning Helius™ Smart Lidar System in a crowd analytics solution that helped Orlando International Airport create one of the world's safest terminals during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Free-flow E-tolling – Cepton partnered with Red Fox ID to deploy lidar as part of their free-flow e-tolling solutions. Deployments include a major highway turnpike crossing multiple states in the United States, and various sites across North America, EMEA, and Asia.

Market Outlook

The global lidar market is forecast to experience considerable growth over the coming years, driven by increased development and adoption in automobile safety applications, environmental mapping, and 3D-modeling. In 2020, ground-based lidar accounted for the lion's share of the overall lidar market, and this trend is expected to continue as the automotive sector continues to rapidly advance adoption across the full spectrum of vehicle classes.

The lidar automotive end market also has high barriers to entry, because it can take substantial time, spanning multiple years, for automotive OEMs to vet and award a production win to a lidar company. It is a commonly held view that the fragmented universe of lidar companies will inevitably consolidate into a handful of companies.

Cepton is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this market growth in the years to come given its head start and established partnerships with leading global OEMs.

Opening a New Center of Excellence in Metro Detroit

On June 16, 2022, Cepton announced the opening of its new corporate office in Metro Detroit (Troy, Michigan). As detailed in the release, the new office will serve as the company's automotive hub as it continues to expand active engagements and initiatives with OEMs.

"I'm incredibly proud that our Silicon Valley company, Cepton, has earned Detroit's trust," Dr. Jun Pei, Co-Founder and CEO of Cepton, stated in announcing the new office. "As we continue to expand our engagements with all of the top ten global OEMs, locating our experienced team in Detroit will serve us well."

Cepton's new office will house members of its senior leadership team, as well as team members engaged in product development, program management, business development, application engineering, sales, and corporate marketing.

Experienced Management Team

Cepton's founder-led team is made up of lidar industry pioneers with decades of collective experience across advanced lidar and imaging technologies.

Jun Pei, Ph.D., is the company's CEO and Co-Founder. He is a technology specialist with a focus in optics and electronics. Prior to founding Cepton, Dr. Pei founded AEP Technology, a firm focused on developing advanced 3D optical instruments. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

Mark McCord, Ph.D., is Cepton's CTO and Co-Founder. Prior to founding Cepton, he led advanced development at KLA-Tencor. Dr. McCord also formerly served as an associate professor at Stanford University, where he earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering.

Hull Xu is the company's CFO. He is a seasoned investment banker and electrical engineer who has previously held leadership positions with RBC Capital Markets, Barclays Investment Bank and GE Capital. Mr. Xu has an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Davis.

[1] Largest known ADAS lidar series production award based on number of vehicle models awarded

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS)

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) is a leader in quantum computing systems, software and services focused on delivering value to our customers via practical quantum applications for problems such as logistics, artificial intelligence, materials sciences, drug discovery, scheduling, fault detection and financial modeling. As the only provider building both annealing and gate-model quantum computers, the company is unlocking commercial use cases in optimization today, while building the technologies that will enable new solutions tomorrow. Founded in 1999, D-Wave is the world's first commercial supplier of quantum computing solutions.

D-Wave is a pioneer in quantum computing, with a history of delivering the world's first commercial quantum computer; the first real-time quantum cloud service; countless hardware and software product and research milestones; and the planned first cross-platform quantum solution which will deliver both annealing and gate-model quantum computers to customers via an integrated platform. Its current commercial product offerings include: Advantage™ (fifth generation quantum computer), Leap™ (quantum cloud service), Launch™ (quantum computing onboarding service), Ocean™ (full suite of open-source programming tools) and Quantum QuickStart™ (quantum programming training).

D-Wave's relentless pursuit of practical quantum computing has resulted in the technology being used today by some of the world's most advanced enterprises – our customers include more than two dozen of the Forbes Global 2000 companies.

D-Wave's commercial customers include blue-chip industry leaders like Volkswagen, Mastercard, Deloitte, ArcelorMittal, Siemens Healthineers, Unisys, Accenture, BBVA, NEC Corporation, Pattison Food Group Ltd., DENSO and Lockheed Martin. The company owns one of the largest quantum computer intellectual property portfolios in the industry including more than 210 issued U.S. patents. In addition, it has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers in leading scientific journals.

Advantage™ Quantum Computer

With the Advantage™ Quantum Computer, D-Wave has incorporated two decades of experience and over 10 years of customer feedback to create the first and only quantum computer designed for business applications. The platform features a new processor architecture with over 5,000 qubits and 15-way qubit connectivity. This is 2.5x more connections and more than double the number of qubits than the company's previous generation quantum computer.

D-Wave's quantum computers, first located at the company's facilities in British Columbia, Canada, have been available to North American users through its Leap™ quantum cloud service since 2018. Over the last two years, D-Wave has since introduced new Advantage systems located in Julich, Germany and Marina Del Rey, California, which marked the availability of the first Advantage quantum computer physically located in the United States. This system is part of the USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center (QCC) hosted at USC's Information Sciences Institute (ISI), a unit of the University of Southern California's prestigious Viterbi School of Engineering.

Leap Quantum Cloud Service

D-Wave's customers interface with the Advantage quantum computer through the Leap™ quantum cloud service. Leap delivers immediate, real-time access to the company's Advantage quantum computer and quantum hybrid solver service, all with enterprise-class performance and scalability.

Leap allows developers proficient in Python to get started building and running quantum applications. Through a seamless and secure cloud-based connection, users can easily start solving complex problems of up to 1 million variables and 100,000 constraints.

Using Leap, D-Wave customers have developed quantum hybrid applications for use cases in manufacturing, logistics, financial services, life sciences, materials science, retail and transportation. By eliminating the need to wait hours, days, or even weeks, to get good answers to a broad array of problems, D-Wave is helping businesses accelerate solutions to their complex computing problems.

The Leap quantum cloud service is available directly from D-Wave and also in AWS Marketplace.

D-Wave Launch

D-Wave Launch™ is the company's onboarding platform aimed at helping businesses easily start their quantum journey. Through this program, D-Wave's team of experts and partners aid enterprises in identifying best use cases for quantum and work with them to develop a proof of concept and a production pilot.

From there, the team coordinates with customers to get their hybrid quantum applications up and running, providing ongoing Leap quantum cloud access to ensure the application is operating smoothly and delivering real business value.

Target Verticals

While the potential applications for quantum computing are essentially limitless, D-Wave has identified a number of industry verticals as key areas of focus for its quantum architecture, providing case studies for each. These include:

• Manufacturing – D-Wave worked with Volkswagen to identify a commercial optimization application, the binary paint shop problem, which was run on D-Wave's hybrid solver service. The solver outperformed four purely classical methods on problem sizes at commercial scale (N=3,000).
• Life Sciences – Menten AI makes use of D-Wave quantum computing to assist in the design of novel therapeutic peptides—short strings of amino acids that can act as potent drugs. With the rise of COVID-19, D-Wave's Advantage system made it possible to identify molecules that might be especially well-suited for binding and inhibiting the related spike protein, producing several promising peptide designs.
• Finance – Multiverse Computing, a leader in developing quantum solutions for the financial sector, leveraged D-Wave's hybrid solver service in a collaboration with BBVA, one of the world's largest financial institutions. Multiverse helped BBVA with financial portfolio optimization, using D-Wave's quantum technology to identify a portfolio with 15% risk that yielded a 60% return on investment.
• Logistics – SavantX is using the D-Wave Advantage system to optimize operations at the Port of Los Angeles. By using our quantum technology, SavantX improved cargo handling efficiency at Pier 300 with rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes by 60%, and the turnaround time for the trucks picking up those cargo containers by 12%

Market Opportunity

The quantum computing total addressable market is projected by the Boston Consulting Group to grow to between $450 billion and $850 billion over the next 15 to 30 years. For quantum hardware, software and service providers, the near-term TAM (3 to 5 years) is expected to be $400 million to $1 billion, growing to $90 billion to $170 billion over the long-term (15-30 years). Driving factors behind this growth include rising investments in quantum computing tech by governments and an increasing number of commercial use-cases.

Forward-thinking organizations see quantum as an opportunity to move ahead of the competition. From finding efficiencies and reducing waste to decreasing time to solution and solving problems abandoned due to complexity, the business value is real. According to data from Hyperion Research, 80% quantum early adopters are planning to increase their commitment to quantum in the next two to three years, and one-third are planning to invest at least $15M USD in quantum efforts.

D-Wave is strategically positioned – in an industry with significant barriers to entry – as evidenced by a decades-long track record serving a roster of blue-chip customers. The company is singularly focused on helping its customers achieve clear value by leveraging quantum computing in practical business applications. As one of very few quantum companies with a full stack of systems, software, developer tools and services, D-Wave is working to enable enterprises, governments, developers and researchers to access the power of quantum computing, thereby providing an intriguing opportunity for prospective investors.

Prior to listing on the NYSE in August 2022, D-Wave raised over $300 million as a private company with significant investors including PSP Investments, Goldman Sachs, BDC Capital, NEC Corporation, Aegis Group Partners and In-Q-Tel.

Leadership Team

Dr. Alan Baratz has served as the CEO of D-Wave since 2020. Previously, as Executive Vice President of R&D and Chief Product Officer, he drove the development, delivery, and support of all of D-Wave's products, technologies, and applications. Dr. Baratz has over 25 years of experience in product development and bringing new products to market at leading technology companies and software startups. As the first president of JavaSoft at Sun Microsystems, he oversaw the growth and adoption of the Java platform from its infancy to a robust platform supporting mission-critical applications in nearly 80 percent of Fortune 1000 companies. He has also held executive positions at Symphony, Avaya, Cisco, and IBM. Dr. Baratz holds a doctorate in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

John Markovich has served as D-Wave's CFO since 2021. He brings over 25 years of experience serving as CFO for rapidly growing private and public technology companies across all stages of development. Mr. Markovich has directed the finance, accounting, tax, treasury, M&A, legal, operations, customer service, IR, HR, and IT functions for companies ranging from privately held pre-revenue startups to an NYSE-listed Fortune 500 multi-national company with over $1.2 billion in annual revenue. During his career, he has negotiated and closed over 150 debt, equity, M&A, and joint venture transactions exceeding $2.5 billion in value. Mr. Markovich holds a BS in Business from Miami University and an MBA from the Michigan State Graduate School of Business.

Diamond Lake Minerals Inc. (OTC: DLMI)

Diamond Lake Minerals Inc. (OTC: DLMI) is a multi-strategy operating company offering traditional investors an entry point to the future of digital securities. The company's goal, through its established M&A roadmap, is to responsibly innovate and develop promising businesses that are likely to benefit from the ongoing shift toward digital assets. Through this approach, Diamond Lake Minerals provides traditional investors an opportunity to gain exposure to the emergence of regulated digital securities through a more familiar investment vehicle – the purchase of stock.

Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Diamond Lake Minerals is positioning itself as a leader in the digital asset and security token space. The company's mission is to bring back to the public markets timeless business principles focused on healthy, sustainable growth and strong earnings with a goal of creating value for stakeholders in the modern digital world.

Diamond Lake Minerals believes the future of financial markets is set to be revolutionized by tokenization. Tokenization refers to the use of digital assets that can be traded via protocols with instantaneous settlement and reduced fees, eliminating the need for traditional clearing or settlement processes. Beyond efficiency, the emerging landscape emphasizes transparency, liquidity and security in asset management and investment.

With the backing of Esposito Intellectual Enterprises and its 20+ years of experience, Diamond Lake Minerals has access to the expertise of 110+ companies and 200+ joint ventures, along with knowledge spanning 25+ industries. The company is creating a vertically integrated ecosystem that encompasses various high-growth sectors. This integration aims to maximize operational efficiencies and profitability across all business units.

Products & Services Portfolio

Diamond Lake Minerals, guided by its strategic partnerships and future roadmap, envisions a diverse portfolio across multiple industries, as shown in the overview below. The company is poised to redefine the conglomerate model for the 21st century, with a focus on vertical integration, digital securities and sustainable growth.

Its target market segments include:

• Fashion: DLMI seeks stakes in brands blending timeless aesthetics with tech influences.
• Beauty: DLMI eyes partnerships with innovators elevating beauty through sustainable practices.
• Real Estate: DLMI aims for interests in ventures modernizing property transactions via blockchain.
• Hospitality: DLMI's vision includes associations with enterprises enhancing guest experiences via tech integration.
• Liquor: DLMI aspires to collaborate with unique distillers merging tradition and innovation.
• IoT: DLMI intends to invest in solutions seamlessly connecting the digital and physical worlds.
• Wireless: DLMI envisions stakes in wireless tech optimizing global communication.
• Technology: DLMI plans to back pioneers driving the next tech revolution.
• Maritime: DLMI seeks partnerships in maritime solutions emphasizing green initiatives.
• Aviation: DLMI's strategy includes holdings in aviation innovators focusing on efficiency.
• Aerospace: DLMI aims to support ventures pushing boundaries in space exploration.
• Education: DLMI collaborates with platforms revolutionizing learning through tech.
• Charity: DLMI eyes alliances with charitable entities leveraging transparency via blockchain.
• Healthcare: DLMI foresees investments in healthcare tech personalizing patient care.
• TV: DLMI intends stakes in TV platforms innovating content delivery.
• Film: DLMI aspires to support filmmakers merging storytelling with immersive tech.
• Music: DLMI plans interests in music ventures amplifying artists through digital platforms.
• Entertainment: DLMI targets stakes in platforms redefining entertainment paradigms.
• IP: DLMI envisions collaborations safeguarding intellectual properties via tech solutions.
• Data Management: DLMI seeks ventures optimizing data utilization and insights.
• Data Storage: DLMI's roadmap includes alliances with secure data storage solutions.
• Streaming: DLMI intends to back streaming platforms prioritizing user experience.
• Real World Assets: DLMI eyes investments translating tangible assets into digital value.
• Gold & Silver: DLMI aims for stakes in platforms digitizing precious metal trading.
• Sports: DLMI envisions collaborations enhancing sports experiences via tech integration.
• Sports Technology: DLMI seeks ventures revolutionizing athlete performance and fan engagement.
• Water: DLMI plans to back solutions ensuring water sustainability and accessibility.
• Water Treatment: DLMI targets investments in eco-friendly water purification technologies.
• Animation: DLMI eyes stakes in animation houses blending art with cutting-edge tech.
• Studio Production: DLMI's vision includes support for studios transforming content creation.
• Consumer Products: DLMI seeks partnerships with brands prioritizing consumer-centric innovations.
• Collectables: DLMI envisions collaborations with platforms digitizing unique collectibles.
• Digital Assets: DLMI aims to invest in ventures maximizing the potential of digital ownership.
• Web3: DLMI aspires to back pioneers ushering in the decentralized web era.
• Identity Management: DLMI eyes solutions prioritizing user identity security in the digital space.
• Media & Journalists: DLMI seeks alliances promoting unbiased reporting and content democratization.
• Metaverse: DLMI envisions stakes in ventures crafting immersive virtual universes.
• Space Economy: DLMI targets investments in ventures monetizing space exploration.
• Modular Homes: DLMI plans interests in solutions revolutionizing home construction.
• Financial Technology: DLMI seeks partnerships modernizing financial transactions.
• Gaming: DLMI aims to back game developers enhancing user immersion.
• Travel: DLMI eyes collaborations transforming travel experiences through tech.
• Health & Wellness: DLMI's strategy includes investments in holistic health tech solutions.
• Augmented Reality: DLMI envisions stakes in AR platforms blurring reality and digital.
• AI: DLMI seeks to support AI innovations humanizing tech interactions.
• Esports: DLMI targets investments in platforms amplifying esports experiences.
• Construction: DLMI plans to back ventures modernizing construction practices.
• Virtual Reality: DLMI intends stakes in VR platforms offering alternate realities.
• Retail Tech: DLMI envisions collaborations digitizing retail experiences.
• Biotechnology: DLMI seeks ventures pushing boundaries in biotech innovations.

Market Opportunity

According to Diamond Lake Minerals' business plan executive summary, the market for digital securities is projected to grow from $10 billion in 2022 to $1 trillion by 2028, a CAGR of 45% for the forecast period.

The global blockchain market value is expected to grow from an estimated $3 billion in 2020 to $39.7 billion by 2025, marking a CAGR of 67.3% for the period. Valued at $2.28 billion in 2021, the Security Token Offerings market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19%. This growth is expected to be driven by the rising adoption of tokenization and the increasing prominence of STOs, especially in North America.

In addition, the global investment management market is projected to grow from a value of $100 trillion in 2020 to $178 trillion by 2025, recording a CAGR of 7.2% over the period.

Management Team

Brian J. Esposito is CEO of Diamond Lake Minerals. Ranked among the world's top 10 CEOs for 2020, 2021 and 2022 in 'The World CEO Rankings Awards' by Adria Management LLC, Mr. Esposito is the founder and CEO of Esposito Intellectual Enterprises LLC (EIE). An award-winning serial entrepreneur and business leader, his holding company consists of 110+ entities and 200+ joint ventures, proudly operating in 25+ industries and in over 25 cities around the world. In December 2019, as well as in August 2022, he was featured in The Corporate Investment Times, the next-gen investment magazine in the Middle East, and he was recognized as a 'Top 100 In Real Estate' in 2021, as well as being among the 'Top 100 Innovators and Entrepreneurs' in 2022. Mr. Esposito brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to any team with his drive, ethics and passion for connecting companies with growth opportunities.

Michael Reynolds is President and Director of Diamond Lake Minerals. With 35 years in private finance and M&A, he has been instrumental in growing companies like Herbalife through reverse acquisition, as well as elevating JB Oxford to $120 million in revenue. His expertise in operational management and business development ensures professional solutions for clients' business interests.

Jon Karas is DLMI's senior transaction and investment executive. As the CEO and co-founder of Akon Legacy Ventures, he structured, negotiated and closed numerous transactions focused on innovation and social impact in smart cities, blockchain, agriculture, mining and technology. He co-founded and led multiple companies in media and entertainment and was the driving force behind the development, financing and production of a broad range of film and television content.

Advisory Board

Anthony Scaramucci, Founder and Managing Partner of SkyBridge Capital and Chairman of SALT, brings to Diamond Lake Minerals unparalleled expertise in finance, technology and business strategy. He is expected to be instrumental in shaping DLMI's strategic direction as the company continues to redefine the future of traditional and digital securities.

Larry Namer, Founder of E! Entertainment TV and President of Metan Global, boasts a remarkable career spanning more than half a century. He is an esteemed veteran of the entertainment industry, renowned for his influential contributions to cable television, live events, music and new media. He also leads LJN Media, a consulting firm known for its cross-industry expertise in technology, business and finance.

Andrew Fromm is a seasoned CEO and consultant with a focus on music publishing. He is known for his expertise in asset sales, songwriting and artist development. His extensive network extends beyond the music industry, showcasing his versatility and authority in the field.

Brandon Fugal is the Chairman of Colliers International in Utah and a former EY Entrepreneur of the Year. He has co-founded multiple ventures, including Coldwell Banker Commercial Advisors, Cypher, Axcend and Texas Growth Fund, and he is a recognized authority in real estate and entrepreneurship.

Michael Malik Sr. is a Detroit-based entrepreneur with a $750 million net worth, known for his pivotal role in legalizing gambling and developing major casino projects across the U.S., including Detroit's MotorCity Casino and various Native American gaming ventures. He brings to Diamond Lake Minerals a wealth of experience and a proven track record in the gaming, sporting and entertainment industries spanning over five decades.

Raul Leal is an experienced CEO in the hospitality sector, known for his visionary leadership at SH Hotels & Resorts and former role at Virgin Hotels, where he secured over $500 million in funding and revolutionized guest experiences.

Agnes Budzyn, an accomplished entrepreneur and CEO of Bluedge Ventures, brings to the company a rich history in traditional finance and blockchain technology, serving on various global boards and committees. She has been recognized by the World Economic Forum and numerous institutions for her expertise and contributions to bridging legacy finance with emerging digital asset infrastructure.

Marty Pompadur has more than 50 years of experience in the media and entertainment industry. He began his career at ABC Inc. in 1960, holding a variety of positions culminating with his becoming a member of the ABC Inc. board of directors. In 1985, Mr. Pompadur, as advisor to News Corporation, helped acquire for News Corporation the Metromedia television station group and wrote the business plan for the start-up of the Fox Television Network. He has previously served on the boards of IMAX Corporation, Ziff Corporation, News Corporation Europe, Sky Italia, News Out of Home, BSkyB and Metromedia International Group, and he is a current board member of Nexstar Broadcasting Group and Truli Media Group.

David Meltzer is the Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing and formerly served as CEO of the renowned Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency, which was the inspiration for the movie Jerry Maguire. He was named a 'Top 100 Business Coach' by Marshall Goldsmith and regularly speaks at the world's biggest business, sports, technology and motivational events.

Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX: ELO) (OTCQX: ELRRF)

Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX: ELO) (OTCQX: ELRRF) is a publicly traded exploration and mine development company focused on the Iska Iska Property in Bolivia. The company has an option to earn a 99% interest in the highly prospective property.

A recent NI 43-101 Technical Report on Iska Iska, completed by Micon International Limited, is available on Eloro's website and under its filings on SEDAR.

The company also has legacy holdings in Peru and Northern Quebec. It is led by a strong management and technical team working diligently to uncover the value of its portfolio.

Eloro is based in Toronto, Canada.

Iska Iska Project

Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project is a road accessible, royalty-free property that's wholly controlled by title holder Empresa Minera Villegas S.R.L. It is located 48 km north of Tupiza city, in the Sud Chichas Province of the Department of Potosi in southern Bolivia.

Iska Iska is a major silver-tin polymetallic porphyry-epithermal complex associated with a Miocene possibly collapsed/resurgent caldera roughly 1.6 km by 1.8 km in dimension with a vertical extent of at least 1 km. Its mineralization age is similar to Cerro Rico de Potosi and other major deposits, such as San Vicente, Chorolque, Tasna and Tatasi, located in the same geological trend.

Eloro began underground diamond drilling from the Huayra Kasa underground workings at Iska Iska on September 13, 2020. On November 18, 2020, Eloro announced the discovery of a significant breccia pipe with extensive silver polymetallic mineralization just east of the Huayra Kasa underground workings and a high-grade gold-bismuth zone in the underground workings. On November 24, 2020, Eloro announced the discovery of the SBBP approximately 150 m southwest of the Huayra Kasa underground workings.

Since the initial discovery hole, Eloro has released a number of significant drill results in the SBBP and the surrounding mineralized envelope, which, along with geophysical data, has defined an extensive target zone. In its September 20, 2022, press release, the company reported that new downhole geophysical data has significantly extended the strike length of the high-grade feeder zone at Santa Barbara a further 250 m along strike to the south-southeast from existing drilling.

The 3D inverse magnetic model, which correlates very strongly with the conductive zone, suggests that the high-grade feeder zone may extend across the entire caldera for as much as a further 1 km along strike for a total potential strike length of at least 2 km. As a result, the estimated completion date for the maiden NI 43-101 mineral resource has been pushed back to the end of Q1 2023.

On November 22, 2022, Eloro announced the acquisition of the Mina Casiterita and Mina Hoyada properties covering 14.75 km2 southwest and west of Iska Iska. Following the acquisition, the total land package in the Iska Iska area to be controlled by Eloro will total 483.75 km2.

Recently completed magnetic surveys by Eloro have outlined an extensive, near surface, magnetic intrusive body on the Mina Casiterita property, immediately southwest of Iska Iska. This intrusive hosts the previously mined high-grade tin veins and is very likely the continuation of the porphyry tin intrusion projected to be below the epithermal Ag-Sn-Zn-Pb mineralization at Iska Iska.

Drilling is planned on Mina Casiterita in Q1 2023, with geological mapping, sampling and geophysical surveys now in progress on the full land package across the Iska Iska region.

Market Outlook

According to industry association The Silver Institute, the outlook for silver demand is exceptionally promising, with global demand forecast to rise to a record high of 1.112 billion ounces in 2022. The increase will be driven by record silver industrial fabrication, which is forecast to improve by 5%, as silver's use expands primarily in solar energy and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing. The institute states that government commitments to carbon neutrality have resulted in a rapid expansion of green energy projects, driving record photovoltaic panel installations which are expected to lift silver demand in this segment to an all-time high in 2022.

Rising demand in the electronics industry is also boosting the demand for tin, which is primarily used in solder. The electronics and electrical industries use solders containing 40-70% tin, which provide strong and reliable joints under a variety of environmental conditions. At present, the majority of the assemblers are using patented tin-and-copper-based solders. Mordor Intelligence estimated tin demand at 387 kilotons in 2021 and forecasts demand growth of 2.5% annually through 2027. Over the medium term, surging demand from the EV market and increasing applications in the electrical and electronics industry is expected to drive the market.

Management Team

Thomas G. Larsen is CEO of Eloro. He has more than 40 years of experience in the investment industry, specializing in corporate finance and management of junior resource companies, raising in excess of C$200 million. He previously held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Champion Iron Limited.

Dr. Bill Pearson is Executive VP of Exploration for Eloro. He has more than 40 years of direct experience in the exploration and production of minerals worldwide. He played an integral role in the acquisitions of Desert Sun Mining Corp. by Yamana Gold in 2006 and Central Sun Mining by B2 Gold in 2009. He was formerly VP Exploration at Desert Sun Mining and Senior VP at Central Sun Mining.

Miles Nagamatsu, CPA, is CFO at Eloro. He has over 30 years of experience in accounting, management, lending, restructurings and turnarounds. Since 1993, he has acted as a CFO of public and private companies primarily in the mineral exploration and investment management sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University.

Osvaldo Arce Burgoa is General Manager at Eloro. He is a geological and mineral processing engineer with 26 years of experience in Bolivia. He is a former President of the Bolivian Geological Society, Main Technical Advisor of the National Mining Corporation (COMIBOL) and has served as exploration manager and chief geologist at various mining and exploration companies. He has authored two books on Bolivian geology and holds a doctorate in mining engineering from Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan.

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX)

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX) is a global innovator in drug delivery platforms. The company's patented technology, DehydraTECH™, improves the way active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) enter the bloodstream by promoting healthier oral ingestion methods and increasing the effectiveness of fat-soluble active molecules. DehydraTECH promotes fast-acting, less expensive and more effective oral drug delivery and has been thoroughly evaluated through in vivo, in vitro and human clinical testing.

DehydraTECH is covered by 37 granted patents and many patents pending worldwide. Lexaria's first patent was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in October 2016 (US 9,474,725 B1), providing 20 years of patent protection expiring June 2034. Multiple patents have been awarded since then and are expected in the future.

Lexaria has also collaborated with the National Research Council (NRC), the Canadian government's premier research and technology organization. The company has been granted patent protection for specific delivery of nicotine, vitamins, NSAIDs, antiviral drugs, cannabinoids and more.

Lexaria began developing DehydraTECH in 2014 and has since continued to strengthen and broaden the technology. The company has no plans to create or sell Lexaria-branded products containing controlled substances. Instead, Lexaria licenses its technology to other companies around the world to offer consumers the best possible performance across an array of ingestible product formats.

The company's technology is best thought of as an additional layer that providers of consumer supplements, prescription and non-prescription drugs, nicotine and CBD products can utilize to improve the effectiveness of their own existing or planned new offerings. Lexaria has licensed DehydraTECH to multiple companies, including a world-leading tobacco producer for the research and development of smokeless, oral-based nicotine products, and for use in industries that produce cannabinoid beverages, edibles and oral products.

DehydraTECH is suitable for use with a wide range of product formats including pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, consumer packaged goods and over-the-counter capsules, pills, tablets and oral suspensions.

DehydraTECH Technology

Lexaria's DehydraTECH is designed specifically for formulating and delivering lipophilic (fat-soluble) drugs and active ingredients. DehydraTECH increases their effectiveness and improves the way active pharmaceutical ingredients enter the bloodstream. The major benefits to a subject ingesting a DehydraTECH-enabled drug or consumer product can be summarized by the following:

• Speeds up delivery – the effects of the product are felt by the subject in just minutes.
• Increases bioavailability – the technology is much more effective at delivering a drug or product into the bloodstream.
• Increases brain absorption – animal testing suggests significant improvement in the quantity of drug delivered across the blood-brain barrier.
• Improves drug potency – more of the ingested product is made available to the body, so lower doses are required to achieve the desired effect.
• Reduces drug administration cost – lower doses mean lower overall drug costs.
• Masks unwanted taste – the technology eliminates or reduces the need for sweeteners.

Lexaria has demonstrated in animal studies a propensity for DehydraTECH technology to elevate the quantity of drug delivered across the blood-brain barrier by as much as 1,900 percent, initiating additional new patent applications and opening possibilities for improved drug delivery.

Since 2016, DehydraTECH has repeatedly demonstrated, with cannabinoids and nicotine, the ability to increase bio-absorption by up to five to 10 times, reduce time of onset from one to two hours to just minutes, and mask unwanted tastes. The technology is to be further evaluated for additional orally administered bioactive molecules, including oral cannabinoids, GLP-1 drugs, and other APIs.

Market Considerations

Lexaria is focusing ongoing research and development efforts on the advancement of product candidates across several key segments:

• Tobacco ^[1] – Valued at $887.2 billion in 2023, this market is forecast to reach $1,057.6 billion by 2032
• Nicotine Replacement ^[2] – Valued at $69.1 billion in 2023, this market is forecast to reach $198.7 billion by 2030
• Diabetes ^[3] – Valued at $79.3 billion in 2023, this market is forecast to reach $134.1 billion by 2030
• Cardiovascular Drugs ^[4] – Valued at $85.8 billion in 2023, this market is forecast to reach $115.8 billion by 2028
• GLP-1 ^[5] – Valued at $18.0 billion in 2023, this market is forecast to reach $100 billion by 2028
• CBD ^[6] – Valued at $9.4 billion in 2023, this market is forecast to reach $31.9 billion by 2027
• Epilepsy ^[7] – Valued at $7.0 billion in 2023, this market is forecast to reach $9.5 billion by 2032
• Human Hormones ^[8] – Valued at $3.7 billion in 2023, this market is forecast to reach $7.3 billion by 2032
• PDE5 Inhibitors ^[9] – Valued at $3.4 billion in 2023, this market is forecast to reach $6.1 billion by 2032

Management Team

Chris Bunka is Chairman and CEO of Lexaria Bioscience Corp. He is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved in several private and public companies since the late 1980s. He has extensive experience in the capital markets, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, as well as corporate finance. He is named as an inventor on multiple patent innovations.

John Docherty, M.Sc., is the President of Lexaria. He is a pharmacologist and toxicologist, and a specialist in the development of drug delivery technologies. He is the former president and COO of Helix BioPharma Corp. (TSX: HBP). He is named as an inventor on multiple issued and pending patents.

Julian Gangolli is a strategic advisor to Lexaria and is a proven and respected senior executive with a visible and successful track record at highly regarded publicly traded companies. He joined Allergan in 1998 and was North American President when it was sold in 2015, after becoming one of the leading specialty pharmaceutical companies in the United States. Mr. Gangolli joined GW Pharmaceuticals in 2015 as U.S. President. As President, he oversaw the approval of the first CBD drug by the FDA and the subsequent successful commercialization of Epidiolex® in the US. Epidiolex® is indicated for the treatment of refractory epilepsies and seizures in children. The commercial success of Epidiolex® in the U.S. led to the acquisition of GW Pharmaceuticals by Jazz Pharmaceuticals in 2021 for over $7 billion.

Dr. Philip Ainslie serves as a scientific and medical advisor to Lexaria. He is co-director for the Centre for Heart, Lung and Vascular Health, Canada. He is also Research Chair in Cerebrovascular Physiology and Professor at the School of Health and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Development at the University of British Columbia.

Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN)

Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) is a Southern California-based automotive company that owns and partners with several synergistic businesses with the goal of building the next generation of electric vehicles. Through its two U.S.-based assembly plants, the company is advancing a development portfolio that includes the Mullen FIVE EV Crossover, Mullen GO™ Commercial Urban Delivery EV, Mullen Commercial Class 1-3 EVs and Bollinger Motors, which features both the B1 and B2 electric SUV trucks and Class 4-6 commercial offerings.

Today, Mullen is working diligently to provide exciting EV options built entirely in the United States and made to fit perfectly into the American consumer's life. The company strives to make EVs more accessible than ever by building an end-to-end ecosystem that takes care of all aspects of EV ownership – from research to financing to servicing.

Mullen FIVE

The Mullen FIVE is a premium compact sport utility EV born out of Mullen's Southern California roots with an inspired design focused on two complementary Golden State themes – California landscape and California urban.

The FIVE is an EV Crossover that offers multiple powertrain configurations and trim levels in a svelte design that is Strikingly Different™ and exciting to experience in person. Capable of 0-60 in 3.2 seconds with a max speed of 155 mph, the FIVE comes with an estimated range of 325 miles and a starting price of $55,000.

The FIVE was on display through the company's Strikingly Different U.S. Test Drive Tour in late 2022, which included stops in nine cities across the southern states. The second leg of the tour is scheduled for Summer 2023 and will include the debut of the Mullen FIVE RS.

Mullen is currently accepting reservations for the FIVE with a $100 refundable deposit. Production home for the Mullen FIVE is at the company's Mishawaka, Indiana, facility, which was acquired through Mullen's December 2022 acquisition of the assets of Electric Last Mile Solutions. The facility, located 100 miles east of Chicago and 200 miles west of Detroit, features over 680,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space and is home to Mullen's consumer vehicle product line.

Mullen GT and GTRS

On March 20, 2023, Mullen announced its securement of IP and distribution rights for the DragonFLY K50 electric supercar in the Americas. Through this partnership with Qiantu Motors and its affiliated companies, Mullen intends to begin a program to re-engineer and re-design the product to meet homologation requirements for U.S. certification and customer expectations for today's supercars. Included in the updates with be an improved powertrain targeting sub-2.0 sec 0-60 MPH and a top speed exceeding 200 MPH.

Mullen intends to rebrand the K50 under the MullenGT and GTRS brands, with assembly taking place at its Mishawka, Indiana, manufacturing facility.

Mullen CEO David Michery called the agreement with Qiantu Motors "an important milestone for the company," noting that it "presents the opportunity to fulfill [his] vision for a supercar that would rival some of the best supercars in the world."

Mullen Commercial

Mullen is defining a new era in commercial vehicles with its connected and customized solutions aimed at making businesses more efficient and profitable.

Cargo Vans

The Mullen ONE is a class 1 commercial electric vehicle designed to navigate within narrow urban streets and residential roads, all while maximizing payload and cargo space.

On December 14, 2022, Mullen announced a purchase order from Randy Marion Isuzu LLC, a member of the Randy Marion Automotive Group, for 6,000 Class 1 EV Cargo Vans in a transaction valued at approximately $200 million. In March 2023, CEO David Michery noted that the company intends to begin deliveries in connection with this order in Q1 2023, stating, "I believe we have all the pieces in place between our product, factories and strategic expertise to execute on our plans to deliver our Class 1 and Class 3 vehicles this year."

Building on this momentum, the company announced in early March 2023 a partnership with Rapid Response Defense Systems ("RRDS") to fast-track U.S. Federal Government opportunities for potential large-scale vehicle fleet orders. RRDS, one of the country's leading small business federal contractors, has executed over 2,500 federal government delivery orders since 2014.

On May 2, 2023, Mullen also announced its reception of a 1,000-vehicle order from Randy Marion Automotive Group for its Mullen THREE, a Class 3 low cab forward EV truck. The purchase order is valued at $63 million.

Mullen is currently accepting orders for the Mullen ONE and the Mullen THREE, as well as the Mullen Campus, a class 1 low-speed campus delivery cargo van. On May 4, 2023, the company announced customer vehicle pricing for both models.

Its commercial offerings are manufactured at the company's Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Center in Tunica, Mississippi.

Bollinger Motors

Mullen entered the medium-duty truck classes through its September 2022 acquisition of a controlling interest in EV truck innovator Bollinger Motors. The acquisition gave Mullen access to a significant pipeline of interest from large companies for commercial electric truck classes 3-6 in a wide range of markets, such as last-mile delivery, refrigeration, utilities and upfitters.

The all-new Bollinger B4, B5 and B6 Chassis Cabs are designed from the ground up, with driver safety and fleet efficiency as the first priorities. These purpose-built electric trucks have been designed to be custom configured by fleets to fit their exact duty cycle needs, making transitioning to electric as seamless as possible with minimal downtime.

The Bollinger B4 is expected to be available in Spring 2024, with the B5/B6 following at time that's yet to be announced.

Mullen-GO™

Perfect for urban European markets, the Mullen-GO bridges the gap between the growing demand for quick deliveries and space constraints in dense cities throughout Europe. It was designed to easily handle the stop/go and weave in/out typical of narrow urban European streets, getting to the customer's door faster while decreasing pollution and congestion levels.

The Mullen-GO commercial EV is EU standard homologated, certified and ready for sale in initial markets of UK, Germany, Spain, France and Ireland.

EV Market Outlook

The global EV market was reported to consist of 3,269,671 units in 2019, a figure that is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.1% through 2030 to a total of 26,951,318 units worldwide. This market's monetary value was estimated at $162.34 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.6%, resulting in an approximate value of $802.81 billion by 2027. The primary driver for this exponential growth is a worldwide increase in vehicle emissions regulations.

Management Team

Mullen is led by an executive team with extensive EV, OEM and high-growth startup experience.

David Michery is the CEO and Founder of Mullen and has been leading the company and its divisions since inception in 2014. With over 25 years of executive management, marketing, distressed assets and business restructuring experience, Mr. Michery brings a wealth of relevant knowledge and expertise to the Mullen brand.

Mr. Michery is working toward a sustainable future accessible to all by creating a suite of clean-energy electric vehicles at varied price points. With entirely U.S.-based manufacturing and operations, he is also determined to have Mullen play a role in shaping a self-sustaining local economy by creating more jobs in America.

Mr. Michery manages risks and company expectations as a pathway to success and has personally overseen several businesses that totaled over $1 billion in transactions. His key strength is the ability to be fiscally responsible and lead teams to complete projects on time and within budget. As a seasoned professional in this space, Mr. Michery has demonstrated skill in building businesses from the ground up and into successful entities that subsequently sold for hundreds of millions of dollars.

NextPlat Corp. (NASDAQ: NXPL) (NASDAQ: NXPLW)

NextPlat Corp. (NASDAQ: NXPL) (NASDAQ: NXPLW), a next generation e-commerce platform, was created with vision and purpose to capitalize on high growth sectors and global markets. The company collaborates with businesses – large and small – to simplify and accelerate online commerce and uniquely enables customers and partners to optimize their e-commerce reach, presence and revenue. NextPlat recently launched a new e-commerce development program to provide American businesses with easy access to the massive Chinese consumer market.

Current Initiatives

NextPlat provides cutting edge technology in an advanced e-commerce ecosystem. The company is actively expanding its global network of online storefronts serving thousands of consumers, enterprises and governments. The company also has developed a next generation platform built for Web3 that enables the creation and sale of digital assets, as well as optimizing e-commerce transactions and business building activities. The company's current initiatives include:

• E-Commerce Development Program – In April 2023, NextPlat announced it had entered into a merchant sourcing agreement with Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce Private Limited ("Alibaba") and its Tmall Global e-commerce platform whereby the two companies will collaborate to increase the sale of products produced and sold by American companies to the multi-trillion-dollar Chinese consumer market. Alibaba's Tmall Global e-commerce platform will provide NextPlat customers a turn-key solution through which products can be sold to the Chinese consumer market. The launch of the Florida E-Commerce Development Program is the first in a series of new NextPlat programs designed to assist U.S. businesses in expanding their online sales capabilities to reach new international customers in the Chinese market. NextPlat intends to rapidly expand this unique e-commerce development opportunity to businesses throughout the United States and all of North America, as well as Central and South America. The new development program features NextPlat's turnkey global e-commerce solution for customers and leverages NextPlat's relationships with key partners, including Tmall Global, China's largest cross-border B2C online marketplace.
• Progressive Care Inc. – In August 2022, NextPlat completed a strategic $7 million investment in Progressive Care Inc. (OTCQB: RXMD), a personalized health care services and technology company. In a news release announcing the investment, NextPlat CEO Charles M. Fernandez noted that the company is "committed to harnessing the power of digital technologies to capitalize on the ongoing digital transformation of Progressive Care and the entire health care industry." NextPlat intends to accelerate Progressive Care's digital health care transformation with the launch of a new e-commerce platform for health care products later this year.
• NextPlat NFT Platform – Building on its existing e-commerce initiatives, NextPlat is working to bridge the gap between tangible and digital e-commerce marketplaces by incorporating burgeoning Web3 technologies. The company intends to launch a fully integrated NFT platform in the coming months that will enable brands to create, manage and authenticate digital assets while serving as a new source of revenue for NextPlat. Through this model, the company will receive a portion of the revenue generated from branded NFT drops, as well as subsequent secondary market transactions.
• Global Telesat Communications and Orbital SatCom Corp. – Targeting both domestic and international markets, NextPlat's subsidiaries leverage partnerships with major e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, eBay and Walmart to serve a growing base that includes more than 50,000 corporate, governmental and individual customers. In total, the brands market more than 10,000 individual products, with a focus on satellite-based connectivity solutions. In addition to exploring accretive M&A opportunities, NextPlat aims to diversify its range of products and broaden its geographic footprint moving forward in an effort to better capitalize on the tremendous growth potential in the United States, Europe and Asia.

"Our goal for 2023 and beyond is to leverage our improved operational capabilities and enhanced leadership team as we expand our offerings in communications and connectivity into the high-growth health care market where we intend to launch an array of innovative new offerings," Fernandez said in a March 2023 news release detailing the company's record top-line performance. "Although there remain supply chain headwinds and the challenge of global inflation, we are confident that we have the right combination of market-tested expertise, technology and partnerships that will enable us to bring the power of e-commerce to more customers, brands and industries in the United States and abroad."

Market Opportunity

The rapid growth of e-commerce over the last decade is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. According to data published by Forbes, roughly 20.8% of all retail purchases are expected to take place online in 2023, accounting for total sales of $6.31 trillion worldwide. It total, e-commerce sales are expected to grow by 10.4% YoY in 2023, accounting for a whopping 24% of all retail purchases by 2026.

For NextPlat, existing partnerships in the industry could be key to capitalizing on this growth. The Forbes report indicates that Amazon accounts for roughly 38.7% of e-commerce sales, while sites like Walmart, eBay and Alibaba round out the list of most visited e-commerce websites. Alibaba is especially interesting due to NextPlat's recent strategic merchant sourcing agreement with Tmall Global. The Chinese market is "mammoth," as a recent Alizila report noted. The country's annual online retail sales of physical goods have nearly doubled in the last five years, reaching approximately 13.8 trillion yuan in 2022, which is nearly $2 trillion USD.

The health care portion of the e-commerce market is generating particularly bullish forecasts, bolstered by the continued adoption of the 340B Drug Pricing Program in the U.S., which requires most drug manufacturers to provide outpatient drugs to covered entities at significantly reduced prices. Industry reports suggest that the global health care e-commerce market will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 16.8% from 2022 to 2030, climbing to a value of more than $1.37 trillion by the end of the forecast period.

Management Team

Charles M. Fernandez, CEO, Executive Chairman and Director of NextPlat, has over three decades of experience in identifying profitable start-up and dislocation opportunities, building significant value and executing exit strategies as an entrepreneur and global investor. Successful across multiple sectors, Fortune Magazine actually labeled Fernandez 'a restructuring whiz'. As President of Fairholme Capital Management, which he joined in 2008, Mr. Fernandez co-managed all three Fairholme funds and brought in a $2 billion gain for shareholders. Throughout his impressive career, he has participated in more than 100 significant mergers, acquisitions and product development projects across multiple industries. Mr. Fernandez was the founder, Chairman and CEO of eApeiron Solutions LLC, a brand protection and e-commerce company in partnership with Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Eastman Kodak (NYSE: KODK), which was successfully sold to Smartrac, a unit of Avery Dennison Corp. (NYSE: AVY).

Rodney Barreto is Chairman and CEO of the Barreto Group and Director of Nextplat. Mr. Barreto's business career spans over 35 years, including his role at the Barreto Group and, earlier, as the founding partner of Floridian Partners LLC, a corporate and public affairs consulting firm recognized by policy makers as one of the top in its industry in Florida. He chaired the Super Bowl Host Committee in 2007, 2010 and 2020, helping to raise more than $100 million for the success of Miami Super Bowls. As a philanthropist and conservationist, Mr. Barreto is also a three-time appointee to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, where he has served for over 10 years including holding the title of Chairman eight times. He has twice chaired the Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors, was Chairman of the 1999 Breeder's Cup Championship held in South Florida and was the Chairman of the 1999 Sister Cities International Convention in Miami. Currently, Mr. Barreto is the Membership Chairman of the Florida Council of 100, and a member of the Boards of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, the Baptist Health South Florida Giving Society, the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, and a member of Miami Dade County Schools Superintendent Carvalho's Business Advisory Council. Prior to his career in public affairs and real estate, Mr. Barreto was a City of Miami police officer and is a member of the Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council.

Renovaro BioSciences Inc. (NASDAQ: RENB)

Renovaro BioSciences Inc. (NASDAQ: RENB), formerly Enochian BioSciences Inc., is an advanced, pre-clinical biotechnology firm in cell, gene and immunotherapy focused on solid tumors with short life expectancy. The company aims to unlock potentially long-term or life-long cancer remission in some of the deadliest cancers, and to potentially treat or cure serious infectious diseases such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection.

The oncology platform is now at the forefront of Renovaro's development activities. While Renovaro's current efforts focus primarily on pancreatic cancer, it plans to include other solid tumors with short life-expectancy in the first in human Phase I/IIa studies that are on track to start by mid-2024. The company's Pre-Investigational New Drug (pre-IND) submission included a human study plan covering pancreatic cancer, as well as other cancers that are difficult to treat, potentially including triple-negative breast cancer, head and neck cancers and mesothelioma.

Renovaro's proprietary, novel technology uses cell- and gene-therapy to promote a renewed immune response against solid tumors. Important confirmatory results from two humanized mouse models using the company's novel dendritic cell-based therapy, independently conducted by Dr. Anahid Jewett, a renowned cancer researcher in the field of immunotherapy at UCLA, were presented previously at two scientific conferences and were the foundation supporting a pre-IND submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Notably, Dr. Jewett's findings from these studies consistently demonstrated 80% to 90% pancreatic tumor reduction in size and weight that was correlated with significant enhancement of key aspects of the immune response.

Renovaro is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

RENB-DC11

Renovaro's product development strategy is anchored in the use of "non-self" or allogeneic cells that enhance targeted immune response. Its lead candidate, RENB-DC11, is an innovative therapeutic vaccination platform that could potentially be used to induce life-long remissions from some of the deadliest solid tumors.
Treatment with RENB-DC11 has now been shown to significantly reduce the size of human pancreatic tumors in humanized mice in three independent studies. The reduction in tumor size correlated with statistically significant increases in key components of an immune response.

Pre-IND was completed in June 2023, with IND filing forecast for first half of 2024. First in-human Phase I/IIa trials are predicted shortly after in H1 of 2024, including pancreatic and other solid tumors with poor treatment options and life-expectancy.

Renovaro believes that RENB-DC11 could represent the most promising and effective strategy to achieve life-long remission for a number of common and deadly tumors.

Other Development Candidates

In addition to its lead oncology platform, Renovaro's development pipeline includes a platform targeting infectious diseases, including:

• RENB-HV12 – An engineered allogeneic T-Cell vaccine, this therapeutic HIV vaccine candidate enhances immune infiltration, immune killing and immune surveillance. Potential pre-IND submission is planned for first half of 2024, with IND-submission expected in second half of 2024.
• RENB-HV21 – Leveraging allogeneic NK plus Gamma Delta T (GDT) cells as potential therapy for HIV, ENOB-HV21 shows promising preliminary results without confounding factors. Renovaro owns an exclusive license and has completed the Pre-IND submission, with a potential IND submission and human trials expected in 2024.
• RENB-HV01 – Caring Cross, a non-profit corporation, has shown that its proprietary CAR-T cells cure HIV in a mouse model. Studies in humans have begun. Renovaro has entered into a profit-sharing sublicense with Caring Cross and would share in profits if the product is commercialized.
• RENB-HB01 – This therapeutic approach aims to eliminate all HBV rapidly ("seek and kill") with a two to three dose treatment regimen. It is expected to be applicable for early disease to maximize impact with low risk of toxicity. Pre-IND comments have been received from the FDA for its AAV-delivery system.
  LOI to Merge with GEDi Cube International Ltd.

On August 9, 2023, Renovaro announced its execution of a binding, exclusive letter of intent to merge a subsidiary with cutting-edge health AI company GEDi Cube International Ltd. The combined company is expected to create a potential multiplier effect to accelerate earlier diagnosis, more effective therapy, and precision in silico drug discovery.

GEDi Cube's innovative technology, developed over nearly a decade, has already validated earlier diagnoses of lung cancer in humans at a leading university hospital. GEDi Cube has likewise created the early diagnosis technology for 12 additional cancers, including pancreatic and breast cancer.

"I believe joining forces with GEDi Cube could enhance the efficacy of our upcoming trials and speed up the discovery of novel treatment approaches, thereby extending our life-saving technology to more cancer patients and renewing hope for them and their families," Dr. Mark Dybul, CEO of Renovaro, stated in the news release.

GEDi Cube is led by CEO Craig Rhodes, who brings to that company tremendous industry experience leading life sciences groups at industry leaders Intel, Oracle and NVIDIA.

Market Opportunity

Pancreatic cancer alone is diagnosed globally in approximately 495,000 people each year, including roughly 64,000 in the U.S. Nearly 466,000 of those patients die annually, including approximately 51,000 in the U.S. Because of limited treatment options, life expectancy is very poor – with an approximately 10% patient survival rate at five years after diagnosis.

The global pancreatic cancer treatment market was valued at $2.15 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow from $2.48 billion in 2022 to $6.85 billion by 2029, according to Fortune Business Insights. That growth represents a CAGR of 15.7% for the forecast period.

A separate report from Fortune Business Insights projects that the global HIV drug market will grow from $30.46 billion in 2021 to $45.58 billion in 2028, recording a CAGR of 5.9% over the forecast period.

According to GlobalData, the value of the market for hepatitis B treatment is forecast to experience a significant increase in the coming years, with revenues expected to grow from $1.6 billion in 2022 to $10.5 billion in 2029. That represents a very rapid CAGR of 30% over the period. An estimated 296 million people suffer from the condition worldwide.

Management Team

Dr. Mark Dybul is the CEO of Renovaro. He has served as a tenured professor in the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center since June 2017. He also served as Faculty Co-Director of the Center for Global Health and Quality from 2017-2021. Dr. Dybul has worked on HIV and public health for nearly 30 years as a clinician, scientist, teacher and administrator, including as an architect and eventually the Global Ambassador of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria from 2013 through May of 2017, and as the co-director of the Global Health Law Program at the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law from 2009 through 2012. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine.

Luisa Puche is the company's CFO. She has served as a senior accounting and financial advisor and president of Puche Group LLC from 2015-2019. She served in various key executive roles, including Interim Chief Accounting Officer, at Brightstar Corp., a $10 billion global wireless device services provider. Ms. Puche began her career at Ernst & Young, where she served for approximately 10 years. Leveraging her broad global audit, advisory and corporate expertise, she has provided strong cross-functional leadership experience managing small and large projects for both publicly traded and privately held companies in various industries, including a global implementation of the latest revenue recognition accounting standard for Del Monte, as well as the global implementation of their SOX-404 program.

Francois Binette, Ph.D., is the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Research & Development at Renovaro. He has over 25 years of product development expertise in Advanced Therapies and Regenerative Medicine. His broad industry experience spans a wide range of serious medical conditions, from orthopedics to ophthalmology, CNS and immuno-oncology. His career includes positions at Genzyme, Biosyntech, the DePuy Franchise of Johnson and Johnson, Medtronic and Lineage Cell Therapeutics. He received his Ph.D. from Laval University in Québec, followed by post-doctoral training at the Sanford-Burnham Institute in La Jolla and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Turbo Energy S.A. (NASDAQ: TURB)

Turbo Energy S.A. (NASDAQ: TURB) designs, develops and distributes equipment for the generation, management and storage of photovoltaic energy in Spain, Europe and internationally.

Turbo Energy's products include lithium-ion batteries and inverters. Additionally, the company recently launched its flagship product, the Sunbox, an all-in-one device that integrates most of the equipment required for a residential photovoltaic installation. The Sunbox is powered by AI and features a software system that monitors the generation, use and management of photovoltaic energy by analyzing large amounts of data related to energy generation, consumption, market prices and weather forecasts. This AI system optimizes battery usage, reducing electricity bills and providing peak-use reduction and uninterruptible power supply functions.

Turbo Energy currently sells its photovoltaic energy equipment primarily through distributors for residential consumers in Spain, but it possesses the expertise and international perspective to expand its product portfolio into industrial and commercial scale and markets, as well as advancing the internationalization process it has already started. The company plans to expand into the industrial photovoltaic sector with its new Sunbox, launched in 2023, in higher power and capacity variants. Its goal is to become a significant player in this sector and contribute to the growth of renewable energy solutions.

The company was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Valencia, Spain. It operates as a subsidiary of Umbrella Solar Investment S.A.

Products

Lithium-Ion Batteries

Turbo Energy is one of the leading companies that introduced lithium-ion batteries for photovoltaic energy storage in Spain. Primarily for the home energy storage market, the company's batteries have capacities from 2.24 kWh to 5.1 kWh in 24 and 48 volts. In addition, its 48V / 5.1 kWh units are available in a dual battery system.

Inverters

The inverter converts the direct current produced by the photovoltaic panels into alternating current that can be used by household appliances. It also regulates battery charging and discharging based on energy needs and optimizes utilization of generated renewable energy. Turbo Energy currently offers multiple models that cover most household installations.

All-in-One Sunbox

This product incorporates inverters, batteries and the rest of the components necessary to operate and protect the photovoltaic installation. This saves installation cost and assembly and configuration time while preventing errors. Notably, the latest Sunbox models also offer an EV charging option.

Software System

In communication with the inverter, the company's software monitors energy flows between the photovoltaic panels, household consumption, storage and an optional electric vehicle charging station. The software allows users to customize an automatic backup mode based on weather forecasts, or manually select which part of the battery will be reserved for possible power outages. It also allows the battery to be used in a peak shaving mode, which leverages AI to trigger battery power when grid energy is most expensive, effectively reducing the amount of high-cost power drawn from the grid.

Market Opportunity

According to a report by Fortune Business Insights, a global research and reporting firm, the solar energy storage battery market was estimated to be worth $3.33 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach a value of more than $20 billion by 2030, marking a CAGR of 24.2% over the forecast period.

These batteries are crucial components of renewable energy systems, allowing for the storage of excess electricity generated by solar panels, so it can be used during times of no or low sunlight. By storing energy and supplying it when needed, these batteries reduce reliance on the power grid and maximize self-consumption while helping users avoid peak electricity rates. They also contribute to the transition toward a cleaner and more sustainable energy future by enabling residential consumers and businesses to use solar power even when the sun is not shining.

Management Team

Enrique Selva Bellvís is the CEO and founder of the Umbrella Group. In addition, he serves as vice-president of the Valencian Association of Energy Sector Companies industry group. Before his career in the solar energy sector, he was the founder and CEO of Innova Ingenieros Consultores. He holds a degree in industrial engineering with a specialization in energy from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and completed the Management Development Programme at the IESE Business School.

Mariano Soria is the Chief Innovation Officer for the Umbrella Group and serves as General Manager of Turbo Energy. He was CEO of Punt Moble XXI S.L. and continues to serve on that company's board. Before that, he was the General Manager of REJMAR S.A., a land development company. He received his degree in industrial engineering and industrial organization from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and his MBA from the European University of Madrid.

Alejandro Moragues is CFO of Turbo Energy. Previously, he held the position of Senior Corporate Auditor for U.S. company Euronet Worldwide Inc. and was an external auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and management from the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

Manuel Cercos is Chief Commercial Officer at Turbo Energy. Previously, he held positions at Técnicas Aplicadas en Baterías S.L., where he served as Sales Director and Sales Manager. Before that, he worked as a Sales Technician at DAISA.