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Neuron

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On November 18, 2024, Zenflow, Inc., a medical device company developing a minimally invasive treatment for urinary obstruction caused by enlarged prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), announced that it has closed a $24 million Series C financing round. The round included new investor Cook Medical as well as existing investors Invus Opportunities, F-Prime Capital, Medical Technology Venture Partners, and others. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &amp; Rosati advised Invus, F-Prime, and MedTech Venture Partners on the transaction. The proceeds from the financing will be used to support Zenflow’s Pre-Market Approval (PMA) submission and prepare for commercialization upon FDA approval of its Spring® System, a minimally invasive treatment option for patients who suffer debilitating symptoms due to enlarged prostate. The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Invus, F-Prime, and MedTech Venture Partners on the transaction included <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1613" title="Jennifer Fang" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/jennifer-fang.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1613">Jen Fang</a> and <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-49034427" title="Taylor Miller" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/taylor-miller.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::49034427">Taylor Miller</a>. For more information, please see Zenflow’s <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/11/19/2983218/0/en/Zenflow-Announces-24-Million-Financing-Round-to-Fund-FDA-Filing-Commercial-Preparation.html">news release</a>.

Wilson Sonsini Advises Investors on Zenflow’s $24 Million Series C Financing

Client Highlights

Venture-stage investors make their investment in the people of a business as much as they do the idea and the operations. The drive, the know-how, the effort, and the vision of the founders are typically what attract first investment. However, what happens when the founder then leaves either by their own decision or at the request of the shareholders of the business?
Founders leave the business they started on many occasions and for many reasons. They may have decided that the journey is not for them and want to pursue other paths. They may decide they have put in years of work and have other life circumstances. They may decide they like the adventure of the start-up but not the different challenges of scaling and growing at a new pace. In more challenging circumstances, they may even be asked to leave involuntarily.
This departure creates several questions. How does the business protect the value it created for the investors in it when key personnel can walk out the door? What happens if those personnel decide to compete against the business?&nbsp;
The market expectations between the U.S. and the UK when it comes to founder exits are perhaps as different as it gets. The U.S. tends to rely more heavily on a “carrot” approach to motivate founders and thus tends to place far fewer restrictions on their post-employment activities. By contrast, the UK often relies more on a “stick” approach, imposing restrictions on competition upon departure and clawing back equity in some cases. In this article, we consider how and why the two markets differ on the topic of non-competition restrictions.
How are restrictive covenants applied?
Restrictive covenants can be applied typically in two ways: included in governing corporate documents tied to an investment and included in employment arrangements directly. The means of implementation will often influence enforceability.
How are corporate restrictive covenants applied?
Both the U.S. and the UK generally have strong support in the law for restrictive covenants included in a corporate transaction document in connection with the sale of a business. They are largely more enforceable where the parties are deemed to have more equal bargaining power. The highest probability of enforceability is in the context of a sale of a business under a share or asset purchase agreement, on the basis that a purchaser has intrinsically placed a value on the goodwill, reputation, and commercial operations of a business and it is therefore in their legitimate business interests to protect it. However, most jurisdictions in the U.S. tend to be more limiting on the use of such restrictions with minority investments. By contrast, the UK does permit restrictive covenants more readily in minority investments.
Restrictive covenants in corporate transactional agreements are often enforceable for longer periods than simple employment arrangements and tend to have much more protection. For example, it is not unusual for founders and key executives who are selling shareholders to agree to restrictive covenants of between six months and two years following a sale in the UK or up to four or five years in the U.S. By contrast, both jurisdictions generally allow a much shorter period (if any) in employment arrangements.
What is the general position regarding employment restrictive covenants in the UK and U.S.?
The use of post-termination restrictive covenants (i.e., non-competes and customer/employee non-solicits for certain duration following the end of employment) to protect business interests is an established legal tool in many jurisdictions. While frequently used in connection with the sale of a business, the use of these provisions in investments varies between the U.S. and the UK.&nbsp;
In the UK, it is common for domestic venture investors to seek to impose restrictive covenants on founders and key executives in both shareholders’ agreements and their service agreements. In fact, the BVCA model documents include a set of restrictive covenants that are increasingly viewed as the norm in the UK market.&nbsp;
By contrast, the U.S. NVCA model documents, which are even more ubiquitous in U.S. deals than the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association forms, do not include restrictive covenants at all. U.S. investors generally do not expect such provisions. Thus, it is therefore not uncommon for U.S. venture capital firms investing in UK companies to be willing to accept a shorter post-termination period for these restrictions on UK deals, and in some cases none at all.
Why the difference between U.S. and UK practice?
As a general matter, employment is much more flexible in the U.S. Most jurisdictions and employees are “at-will,” meaning there is little statutory protection as to termination and often any severance payment is only what is contractually negotiated. Absent discrimination claims and the reputational effects on recruiting that comes with aggressive termination practices, most U.S. employers have extensive ability to terminate employment quickly and with little payment to the employee. Given that flexibility to fire employees more easily, the U.S. market also tends not to expect to hold those same employees out of the market.
In comparison, the UK tends to have more restrictions on termination of employment, often mandating guaranteed severance or notice periods of several weeks or months for many employees. However, given the cost of that, many UK investors also expect employees to be restricted in their next move from competing against the company.
How does the law vary?
The U.S.
The current legal position in the U.S. is largely governed at the state level on this topic. However, most of the major venture-focused jurisdictions have more limits on use of non-competition clauses. For example, California—with Silicon Valley at its heart—notably prohibits the use of post-termination restrictions entirely for employees and contractors (excluding those protecting confidential information and trade secrets) on the basis that they are contrary to public policy and goes as far as imposing fines on companies that improperly use them. Other major jurisdictions such as Massachusetts with a large biotech community have not banned such covenants but have imposed limits and requirements on their use.
Even in U.S. jurisdictions where such covenants are permitted, courts will not allow them to survive if the scope of the restriction or duration is overly broad or unreasonable. In such cases, some U.S. states (for example, Texas) will rewrite restrictive covenants to be reasonable, whereas others may permit more limited re-drafting by the court but will not require it.&nbsp;
Generally, it is becoming harder to enforce restrictive covenants in the U.S. The trend toward banning restrictive covenants entirely is best demonstrated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) approval of its Non-Compete Clause Rule, which was first scheduled to come into effect on September 4, 2024. The rule would have invalidated most existing restrictions and applied a ban on non-competes nationwide. However, a federal district court blocked the rule coming into effect. Although the rule is blocked for now, it may not be dead in the water just yet. Just a month before, a federal district court in Pennsylvania declined to block the rule based on findings that directly contradict the Texas federal court’s decision. The FTC filed an appeal against the Texas court’s decision in mid-October 2024, but that appeal process will take some time and, for now, the rule remains blocked. It remains to be seen if the FTC under the new Trump administration will continue to pursue this. Aside from these developments at the federal level, several states have recently moved to restrict the use of non-competes, and we expect that trend to continue. As a result, most U.S. employers in the venture-backed space have already moved to remove non-competes from most of their employment arrangements.
The UK
Contrast this with the UK where such restrictions are still broadly permitted. English courts take the view that restrictive covenants that go further than reasonably necessary to protect a “legitimate business interest” will be void for being in restraint of trade and unenforceable. English courts also generally apply the strict “blue pencil” test, whereby rather than vary or substitute overly broad drafting, the courts will simply strike it out instead. Any remaining parts of the covenant deemed reasonable will then be enforced. However, because of this narrower approach there is a greater risk that a court will simply hold the covenant to be unenforceable altogether.&nbsp;
In addition, the recent change in the UK government has left commentators wondering if the direction of travel will be similar to the U.S. after the prior Conservative government consulted on potential reforms to limit the use of restrictive covenants in employment contracts but not in share purchase agreements or shareholders’ agreements. The new Labour government did not specifically mention non-competes in its plans for employment law, so it remains to be seen whether the proposals will be implemented.&nbsp;
How are provisions enforced?
On both sides of the Atlantic, the beneficiary (i.e., the terminating employer) of the restrictive covenants could typically seek an injunction preventing the ex-employer and any new employer from taking action in breach of the restrictive covenants as well as seeking monetary damages. However, taking aggressive enforcement action has reputational implications on future recruiting for companies and investors in a close-knit eco-system like the tech sector.
Is one format better than the other?
It really depends on what you are seeking to optimize. If the goal is more stability of the workforce at the possible cost of innovation and dynamic growth, the UK format is reasonably successful.
By contrast, the more aggressive “win or go home” style of the American venture market thrives with more flexibility in personnel decisions. Restrictions mean that skilled workers would not be able to earn a living or exercise their trade for the benefit of the market as a whole. Would-be entrepreneurs would not be able to launch a new venture that could create jobs, promote entrepreneurship, and advance the relevant sector.
Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic seem to be increasingly clear that a thriving economy requires individuals to have the freedom to operate; anything beyond what is reasonably necessary business protection is neither good for the individual nor the economy as whole.
Now what?
In Part 2 of this article, we will explore the other major topic in a founder departure: what happens to founder shares when they leave?
For more information on transatlantic companies and non-executive directors, please contact Wilson Sonsini attorneys <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/martin-luff.html">Martin Luff</a> or <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/stacy-kim.html">Stacy Kim</a>.

“You Don’t Have to Go Home, but You Can’t Stay Here”: Founder Exits (Part 1) 

Client Advisories

On November 12, 2024, Writer, Inc., the full-stack generative AI platform for the enterprise, announced $200 million in Series C venture funding at a $1.9 billion valuation. The round was co-led by Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, and existing investor ICONIQ Growth, with participation from investors including Salesforce Ventures, Adobe Ventures, B Capital, Citi Ventures, IBM Ventures, and Workday Ventures. Existing investors Accenture, Balderton, Insight Partners, and Vanguard also supported the round. The new capital will help cement the company’s leadership in the enterprise generative AI category and fuel its development of enterprise-grade agentic AI. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &amp; Rosati advised Radical Ventures on the transaction. Building on its four-year track record of innovation in large language models (LLMs) and enterprise-grade generative AI architecture, Writer will use the new capital to accelerate its development of AI solutions that can plan and execute complex enterprise workflows across systems and teams. The funding will also support a rapid expansion of quick-start AI applications and agents for the most time-intensive workflows in healthcare, retail, and financial services. The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Radical Ventures on the Series C financing included <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1216" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1216">Becki DeGraw</a>, <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1338" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1338">Adam Shevell</a>, <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1756" title="Travis L. Scheft" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/travis-l-scheft.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1756">Travis Scheft</a>, <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-49010199" title="Will Wiener" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/will-wiener.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::49010199">William Wiener</a>, <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-49010158" title="Regina McLeod" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/regina-mcleod.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::49010158">Regina McLeod</a>, and <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-49001969" title="Isabel Annino" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/isabel-annino.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::49001969">Isabel Annino</a>.
For more information, please see Writer’s <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241112482564/en/Writer-Raises-200M-Series-C-at-1.9B-Valuation-to-Fuel-Leadership-in-Agentic-Enterprise-AI">news release</a>. Additional coverage is available on <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/12/generative-ai-startup-writer-raises-200m-at-a-1-9b-valuation/">TechCrunch</a>.

Firm Advises Radical Ventures as Co-Lead Investor on Writer’s $200M Growth Round

On November 11, 2024, 11x, the leader in AI-powered digital workers for revenue teams, announced the closing of a $50 million Series B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The investment accelerates 11x’s digital workers further into the era of AI agents. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &amp; Rosati advised 11x on the transaction. 11x’s first two digital workers have demonstrated remarkable results: Alice, the world's first AI SDR, manages campaigns, sources leads, and personalizes outreach, driving response rates three times higher than traditional SDRs. Jordan, a 24/7 multilingual phone rep, handles calls in over 30 languages, delivering up to 10x faster lead response times. Now 11x has doubled down on delivering truly autonomous outcomes for customers by developing an entirely new version of Alice using the latest agentic AI research: Alice 2.0. Alice 2.0 is fully autonomous, leverages first-party data, and learns from every interaction to improve over time. In the next year, 11x plans to launch multiple new AI agents while driving aggressive revenue growth and key hiring initiatives in San Francisco. The Wilson Sonsini team that advised 11x on the Series B transaction included: Corporate <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/bradley-h-doline.html">Bradley Doline</a> <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/daniel-glazer.html">Daniel Glazer</a> <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/michael-c-labriola.html">Michael Labriola</a> <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/john-lynch.html">John Lynch</a> Abbie Currie Employee Benefits and Compensation <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/fleur-benns.html">Fleur Benns</a> <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/matthew-c-norgard.html">Matthew Norgard</a> <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/emilie-sylvester.html">Emilie Sylvester</a> Employment Law <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/martin-luff.html">Martin Luff</a> Technology Transactions <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/raj-mahapatra.html">Raj Mahapatra</a>
National Security <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/michael-s-casey.html">Michael Casey</a> <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/joshua-f-gruenspecht.html">Joshua Gruenspecht</a> <a href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/navpreet-k-moonga.html">Navpreet Moonga</a> For more information, please see 11x’s <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/11/11/2978485/0/en/11x-Raises-a-50-Million-Series-B-Led-by-Andreessen-Horowitz-to-Accelerate-the-Era-of-Digital-Workers.html">news release</a>.

Wilson Sonsini Advises 11X on $50 Million Series B

On November 6, 2024, LendAPI, an innovative fintech start-up transforming financial technology deployment, raised $3.2 million in seed funding. The round was led by Cohen Circle, with participation from Great North Ventures, AlleyCorp, Techstars, Plug and Play, and Interlock Capital. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &amp; Rosati represented LendAPI in the financing.
LendAPI’s platform is designed to empower fintechs, banks, and financial institutions to launch products in hours, utilizing modular building blocks that accelerate speed to market. Since its launch in March 2024, LendAPI gained an impressive client base, spanning publicly traded neobanks, regional banks, point-of-sale financing firms, and retailers looking to introduce private-label BNPL checkout options. To date, the company has processed over six million applications and introduced several advanced features, including AI-driven automation tailored to mortgage and real estate finance.
The new funding will enable LendAPI to deepen its feature set and broaden its reach across multiple financial verticals. Future plans include expanding its AI capabilities and launching new integrations to further simplify the deployment process for financial products. Additionally, LendAPI aims to enter emerging markets in financial services, such as insurance and embedded finance, providing seamless onboarding, compliance, and transaction capabilities tailored for these sectors.
The Wilson Sonsini team that advised LendAPI on the transaction includes <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1052" title="Yoichiro (Yokum) Taku" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/yokum-taku.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1052">Yokum Taku</a>, <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1475" title="Avi Emanuel" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/avi-emanuel.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1475">Avi Emanuel</a>, <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-248896" title="Nate Lees" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/nate-lees.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::248896">Nate Lees</a>, and Trevor Mathews.
For more information, please see LendAPI’s <a href="https://www.lendapi.com/blog/lendapi-secures-3-2m-in-seed-funding-to-build-next-gen-fintech-infrastructure">press release</a>.

Wilson Sonsini Advises LendAPI on $3.2 Million Seed Funding Round

On November 1, 2024, Insider, a leading AI-native omnichannel experience and customer engagement platform, announced a $500 million Series E funding round led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth investor. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &amp; Rosati advised Insider on the transaction.
Insider plans to further develop its next-generation marketing software offering and invest heavily in research and development, focusing on expanding and evolving its AI solutions. The company also intends to scale its talent base and geographic footprint, leveraging General Atlantic’s global platform. With an established market position in 28 countries across five continents, including North America, EMEA, APAC, and Latin America, Insider plans to increase its regional investments on the back of strong demand in the U.S. market, where it has achieved significant growth. Additionally, the company will use the funds to explore strategic M&amp;A opportunities. The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Insider on the transaction included: Corporate <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1154" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1154">Michael Labriola</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1742" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1742">Elisa Sielski</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1673" title="Betty K. Rosenbaum" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/betty-k-rosenbaum.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1673">Betty Rosenbaum</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-212657" title="Michael Chern" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/michael-chern.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::212657">Michael Chern</a> Abbie Currie
Tax <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1191" title="Myra A. Sutanto Shen" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/myra-a-sutanto-shen.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1191">Myra Sutanto Shen</a>
Regulatory <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-218189" title="Michael S. Casey" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/michael-s-casey.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::218189">Mike Casey</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1746" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1746">Joshua Gruenspecht</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1208" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1208">Anne Seymour</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-211354" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::211354">Jahna Hartwig</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-49013827" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::49013827">Navpreet Moonga</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-247616" title="Bryan Poellot" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/bryan-poellot.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::247616">Bryan Poellot</a>
Antitrust and Competition <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1519" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1519">Deirdre Carroll</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-223949" title="Kimberley Biagioli" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/kimberley-biagioli.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::223949">Kimberley Biagioli</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-216823" title="Liam Boylan" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/liam-boylan.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::216823">Liam Boylan</a>
Technology Transactions <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1546" title="Scott A. McKinney" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/scott-a-mckinney.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1546">Scott McKinney</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-49003343" title="Rodrigo Valle" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/rodrigo-valle.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::49003343">Rodrigo Valle</a>
Data, Privacy, and Cybersecurity <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1205" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1205">Matthew Staples</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1850" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1850">Daniel Chen</a> <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-49009728" title="Chany Kim" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/chany-kim.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::49009728">Chany Kim</a>
For more information, please see Insider’s <a href="https://useinsider.com/news/insider-announces-500m-series-e-led-by-general-atlantic/">news release</a>. Additional details are available on <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-01/general-atlantic-leads-500-million-funding-for-startup-insider">Bloomberg</a> and <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/2255029/general-atlantic-leads-500m-funding-of-ai-focused-insider">Law360</a>.

Wilson Sonsini Advises Insider on $500 Million Series E Financing

On October 24, 2024, Cascade AI, an AI assistant built to respond to human resources (HR) inquiries at an individual employee level, announced it has secured a $3.75 million seed investment led by Gradient, Google’s early-stage AI fund, with participation from Myriad Venture Partners and Success Venture Partners. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &amp; Rosati advised Cascade on the transaction.
This investment will enable Cascade AI to continue to build out customer-requested features and expand its platform to support increased demand driven by early customer successes. The investment will enable initiatives including building AI agents that can help employees update personal information, enroll in benefits and perform other tasks; accelerating development of new reporting capabilities like office-level utilization; and enhancing the platform’s support of companies with global workforces. The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Cascade AI on the transaction includes <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1281" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1281">Lang Liu</a>, <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-17307" title="Annie Kim" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/annie-e-kim.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::17307">Annie Kim</a>, and <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-248900" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::248900">Jing Zhang</a>. For more information, please see Cascade AI’s <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241024012316/en/Cascade-AI-Expands-to-Give-Every-Employee-a-Personal-Human-Resources-Assistant">press release</a>.

Wilson Sonsini Advises Cascade AI on $3.75 Million Funding Round

On October 16, 2024, Treehouse, a software-enabled installation platform for electrification projects, announced $16.6 million in Series A funding. The financing was led by Flourish Ventures, with participation from Eaton, MassMutual Ventures, Veriten, and InVest and continuing participation from CarMax, Montage Ventures, Acrew Capital, Virta Ventures, Holman, Alumni Ventures, and Invest Detroit. With this funding, Treehouse will expand its operating footprint nationally to help automotive OEMs, utilities, fleet managers, and electrification hardware manufacturers launch scaled electrification programs. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &amp; Rosati advised Treehouse on the transaction.
The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Treehouse included <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-113670" title="Pavri, Rezwan D." href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/113670.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::113670">Rezwan Pavri</a>, <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-1514" title="Lester Ang" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/lester-ang.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::1514">Lester Ang</a>, <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-220254" title="Sean Mihaljevich" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/sean-mihaljevich.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::220254">Sean Mihaljevich</a>, and <a class="rubycontent-page-link rubycontent-page-49010170" title="Mason Pengilly" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/mason-pengilly.html" data-rubyapp-plugin="rubycontentpagepicker" data-rubyapp-reference="content::49010170">Mason Pengilly</a>.
For more information, please see Treehouse’s <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241016941510/en/Treehouse-Secures-16.6M-Series-A-Funding-to-Scale-Electrification-Installations-Nationwide">press release</a>.

Wilson Sonsini Advises Treehouse on $16.6 Million Series A

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