Market Square Ventures makes two more investments
One is based in Knoxville, while the other hails from Nashville.
Brandon Bruce, one of the General Partners in the new Knoxville-based Market Square Ventures, has announced two additional investments. Both follow the first investment made in Nashville-based VetVerifi, a software company that won the statewide pitch competition during last year’s “3686 Entrepreneurship Festival” in Music City.
“We have three under our belt and a couple of more coming,” Bruce said.
The new portfolio companies are:
- Authentrics.AI, the latest undertaking from John Derrick, a serial entrepreneur who moved to the Knoxville region several years ago. As its name implies, Authentrics.AI is all about artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) but perhaps not what you might be thinking. Authentrics.AI’s name speaks to the need for authenticity and metrics in AI. “It’s like an MRI for your AI,” Derrick said in this February 19 teknovation.biz article. “We now can measure the impact of content on your AI, control the use of that content, and when necessary, remove problematic content. This is vitally important for widespread responsible use of AI and the content it uses.” Authentrics.AI was one of five finalists in the fourth competition for the PYA-sponsored Ballard Innovation Award.
- Daily Crunch, a Nashville-based company launched in March of 2020, right before the pandemic. It is dedicated to providing high-quality, healthier snack options that leave individuals feeling as good as they taste. “Vegan, keto, paleo, and gluten-free — we want everyone, regardless of dietary preference, to enjoy Daily Crunch Snacks,” the company says on its website. Two sisters – Diane and Laurel Orley – are Co-Founders.
