GlobeNewswire Inc | Aug 3, 2020 07:15AM EDT

August 03, 2020

NEW YORK, Aug. 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kyber Data Science LLC (Kyber), a subsidiary of Cowen Inc. (NASDAQ:COWN) (Cowen), today announced a $10 million Series A financing round led by Cowen and Ian McKinnon, founder of Sandia Holdings LLC (Sandia). Mr. McKinnon has joined Kybers board of directors, effective upon closing of the investment.

Kyber is focused on developing and selling unique and proprietary datasets across a variety of sectors to institutional investors and corporations. Most recently, Kyber unveiled a nationally-representative health care claims and electronic medical records data product for the institutional investor that enables timely and accurate analyses across health care subsectors including drug, medical device, diagnostics, and facilities companies. Transaction-level data allow customers to develop a large number of key performance indicators, and drive granular insights into the intricacies of product revenue and disease dynamics.

"At Cowen, we are constantly striving to help clients outperform and to build systems and services that are deeply entrenched within the DNA of the sectors that we serve, said Jeffrey M. Solomon, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Cowen. Kyber is uniquely positioned to expertly manage big data sets and to provide actionable insights to the financial community. We have been extremely pleased with the establishment of the business and are thrilled to be partnering with Sandia on the next leg of growth.

Kyber was established on the belief that data is a tool for alpha generation versus data as a strategy unto itself, said RobertFagin, Kybers Executive Chair. As we have continued to grow our product sets, we are extremely pleased to elevate our operation through outside capital and the participation of Ian McKinnon as a director. Ian has tremendous experience growing health care and data-focused companies and we look forward to his contributions.

Located in Greenwich, Connecticut, Sandia is the primary investment vehicle for the McKinnon family and related entities. Prior to starting Sandia, Ian spent nearly twenty years at Ziff Brothers Investments (ZBI), from which he retired as a Managing Partner. Prior to joining ZBI, Ian was a consultant with Bain & Company and an investment banking analyst with Merrill Lynch & Co.

"I have had a passion for health care from the time I walked rounds in the hospital with my grandfather, who was a surgeon. Life sciences has always been a core focus of my investment activities, so it only seems fitting to partner with Cowen in helping to create Kyber, as Cowen now boasts one of the leading health care platforms on the Street, said Ian McKinnon, founding partner of Sandia.

AboutCowen Inc.

Cowen is a diversified financial services firm offering investment banking services, equity and credit research, sales and trading, prime brokerage, global clearing, commission management services and actively managed alternative investment products. Cowen focuses on delivering value-added capabilities to our clients in order to help them outperform. Founded in 1918, the Company is headquartered inNew Yorkand has offices worldwide. Learn more at Cowen.com.

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