Each week, we’ll round up startup news from the UNC journalism students behind North Carolina Business News Wire. To read all of the students’ work covering public and private companies around the state, sign up for the daily newsletter.

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Durham-based Trill Financial raises $370,000

By Luke Bollinger

Trill Financial Inc., which uses artificial intelligence technology for asset management, has raised $370,000 in a private debt offerings, according to an Oct. 19 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Trill Financial raised the money from five investors. The company has $630,000 remaining to be sold from the offering.

The company also raised $20,000 in February 2017, another $20,000 in December 2015 and $10,000 in November 2015.

Trill Financial was founded in 2014 by Akash Ganapathi and Simon Jung, who serve as CEO and CTO, respectively.

Ganapthi had previously worked at Cisco Systems Inc. and SAS Institute Inc as a software engineer. Jung has worked at the Cannon Research Center as a data scientist.

The two co-founders lead a team of financial industry experts such as Eric Freedman, chief investment officer at US Bank, Thomas Looney, former Lenovo vice president, and Kevin Adams, a senior vice president at Raymond James Financial.

Companies relying on a Reg D exemption do not have to register their offering of securities with the SEC, but they must file what’s known as a Form D electronically with the SEC after they first sell their securities.

Cary-based DZone receives investment from private equity firm

By Lindsey Welch

DZone Inc., a platform for software developers to share and learn technical information, has received an investment from New York-based private equity firm SFW Capital Partners.

The amount was not disclosed.

SFW believe that the Cary-based company fits with its focus on investing in businesses in the information value chain with a focus on multi-sided information networks, according to a press release found here.

.The company is led by the founders, Chief Executive Officer Rick Ross and Chief Technical Officer Matt Schmidt, and is split into two business units.

DZone Media focuses on user generated content targeted to a global audience of software developers, and AnswerHub is a platform built for knowledge sharing and community engagement.

“After a thorough process evaluating a breadth of investment partners, we feel strongly that SFW’s relevant experience supporting the growth and development of information and software businesses, their deep knowledge of our company and markets, and their strong industry-specific network will best position DZone for accelerated growth and development,” stated Ross and Schmidt in the release.

DZone.com supports over 5 million software developers while AnswerHub engages 10 million daily users across hundreds of different interactive platforms.

Other investments made by SFW include Keypoint Intelligence, IAG Research Inc., and Essen BioScience, Inc.

Wilmington-based LifeGait raises $1 million

By Addison Lalier

A health care technology company based in Wilmington has raised $1 million in a private equity offering, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

LifeGait Inc. combines digital communication, big data and its patented gait technology to provide health and safety products to the mass market.

The company intends to raise a total of $1.1 million, with $81,666 remaining to be sold, through 12 investors.

The company, incorporated in November 2015, is located in the University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. It is led by President and CEO Chris Newton.

LifeGait serves three markets: SportGait, SeniorGait and MedGait.

SportGait is LifeGait’s first commercial solution. The product includes a concussion management system that allows patients, parents and providers to communicate through a mobile app. The program helps facilitate clinical observations, treatment and monitoring periods, with a specific focus on youth athletes.

In June 2017, the tech company teamed up with Medac Health Services, which operates a network of local urgent care facilities, to implement its SportGait system.

The app is free to download on all iOS and Android devices.

Companies relying on a Reg D exemption do not have to register their offering of securities with the SEC, but they must file what’s known as a Form D electronically with the SEC after they first sell their securities.

The filing can be found here.

Durham-based SenGenix raises $6.2 million

By Olivia Schaber

SenGenix Inc., a biotechnology company trying to revolutionize blood tests, raised $6.2 million according to a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company, founded in a lab at Duke University, obtained the money from 18 investors, according to the filing.

SenGenix raised the money in the form of equity, but it did not disclose what it intends to do with the offering.

The money will not be used to pay executive officers, promoters or directors outside the payment of normal salaries and other compensation and benefits.

The Durham-based company is developing point-of-care tests based on fluorescently responsive sensors that SenGenix intends to create a fast, accurate and actionable patient data at a low cost, according to its website.

The company raised a total of $4.9 million in three previous rounds of funding over the past three years.

Dr. Richard S. Surwit, the chief executive officer of SenGenix, is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the former vice chairman for research in the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University.

He is the founder and chairman of ZyCare, Inc., a provider of personnel supply services, and holds six U.S. patents.

Companies relying on a Reg D exemption do not have to register their offering of securities with the SEC, but they must first file what’s known as a Form D electronically with the SEC after they first sell their securities.

Chapel Hill-based Firefly Media raises $260,000

By Taylor Street

A provider of marketing, branding and design has raised $260,000 in a private equity offering, according to a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Firefly Media LLC obtained the money from six investors, according to the filing.

The media provider currently has $238,099 remaining of the total $500,000 in fundraising.

The Chapel Hill-based company has raised the money in the form of equity. The proceeds will be used for working capital, including normal compensation to executive officers.

Firefly Media is the parent company of 3 Birds Marketing LLC, a marketing provider to dealers and manufacturers in the automotive industry.

Kristen Judd is the chief executive officer of 3 Birds Marketing and Firefly Media.

Under her leadership, 3 Birds has worked with Apple, Microsoft and the PGA Tour. The digital solutions and analytics of the company have reached over 4,000 automobile dealerships nationwide.

3 Birds Marketing and Firefly Media are both certified as a business owned and controlled by a woman by the National Women Business Owners Corporation since 2013.

The digital marketing provider was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Chapel Hill, near the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill.

Companies relying on a Reg D exemption do not have to register their offering of securities with the SEC, but they must file what’s known as a Form D electronically with the SEC after they first sell their securities.