Pulse 2.0

Rivian: $6.6 Billion Federal Loan Commitment Received To Build Georgia Plant

Robinhood To Buy RIA Management Platform Company TradePMR In $300 Million Deal

Range: AI-Based Wealth Tech Company Raises $28 Million (Series B)

Practice Better Closes $13 Million In Growth Capital From CIBC

Wherobots: Spatial Intelligence Cloud Company Secures $21.5 Million (Series A)

PlayAI: Voice AI Platform Company Raises $21 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 11:08 PM

PlayAI, a voice AI platform advancing conversational AI, announced that it raised a $21 million Seed round led by Kindred Ventures and 500 Global with participation from Race Capital, Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Pioneer Fund, TRAC, and others.

Tewke: Climate Tech Company Raises $3.4 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 9:51 PM

Tewke - a climate tech company that is building the future of energy optimization and home automation, announced that it has raised $3.4 million in funding. Tewke will use the funding to continue to develop its domestic energy control platform to automate energy saving in any home and deliver the next generation of home automation. Tewke, launched by serial entrepreneur Piers Daniell in 2020, is the first step and backbone in their vision to create a future smart grid.

University Of Utah Collaborating With Sandia National Laboratories

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 9:49 PM

The University of Utah (U of U) and Sandia National Laboratories have signed a strategic partnership that will help develop collaborations in various technical areas and give U of U researchers and students opportunities to develop new skills and research paths by working on projects in Sandia facilities.

Steward Partners Expands In Florida With G2G Wealth Formation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 11:03 AM

Steward Partners, an employee-owned independent financial services firm specializing in comprehensive wealth management solutions, announced the introduction of G2G Wealth Management at Steward Partners to the platform. This was born from adding two financial advisors and $175 million in assets under management to the firm's previously established Miller Family Wealth branch.

Infinitus Systems: Interview With Co-Founder And CEO Ankit Jain About The Healthcare AI Communication Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:49 AM

Infinitus Systems is a Healthcare AI communication company that automates routine calls for leading brands. The company’s AI agents and AI copilots help healthcare companies offload thousands of hours of benefit verification, prior authorization, and pharmacy phone calls. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Infinitus Systems CEO and Co-founder Ankit Jain to learn more about the company.

Homethrive: Caregiving Solutions Company Secures $20 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:41 AM

Homethrive, a leading provider of technology-enabled caregiving solutions, announced the closing of its latest funding round, raising over $20 million and appointing Ismat Duckson Aziz to its Board of Directors. TELUS Global Ventures and 7Wire Ventures led the funding round, which also included participation from Pitango HealthTech, Human Capital, Outcomes Collective Growth Capital, Allianz, The K Fund, and other family offices.

Anetac: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Tim Eades About The Dynamic Identity And Security Platform Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:38 AM

Anetac is a dynamic identity and security platform that offers continuous visibility of the ever-evolving service account landscape that every organization encounters today. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Anetac co-founder and CEO Tim Eades to learn more about the company.

Medeloop: Medical Research Platform Company Raises $15.5 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:08 AM

Medeloop, a pioneering medical research platform, announced the closing of a $15.5 million Series A funding round. The funding round - led by Inovia Capital and supported by significant contributions from Icon Ventures - evidences the confidence in Medeloop's mission to transform medical research. This round also included participation from previous investors General Catalyst and Maven Ventures and new investors, including Healthier Capital, Up2 Opportunity Fund, and CFO Advisors.

Diligent: Interview With President & CEO Brian Stafford About The Leading Governance Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:30 AM

Diligent is a company that created the modern governance movement as a leading governance, risk and compliance (GRC) SaaS company. Diligent serves 1 million users from over 25,000 customers around the globe. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Diligent AI President and CEO Brian Stafford to learn more about the company.

EDB: Interview With Chief Product Engineering Officer Jozef de Vries About The PostgreSQL Contributor Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:00 AM

EDB is a leading contributor to PostgreSQL, which is the world’s most popular database. The company helps organizations unlock the near-infinite potential of Postgres to deliver extraordinary value in today’s data and AI-led world. Pulse 2.0 interviewed EDB Chief Product Engineering Officer Jozef de Vries to learn more about the company.

Influur: Influencer Professional Network Secures $10 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:03 AM

Influur, a leading professional networking platform for influencers founded by visionary Latinas – Alessandra Angelini, Valeria Angelini, Paula Coleman, and Fefi Oliveira – announced the closing of a $10 million Series A, led by Point72 Ventures and HTwenty Capital.

Valuted Deep: Biomass Carbon Removal And Storage Company Raises $32.3 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 6:55 AM

Vaulted Deep, a biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) company specializing in durable carbon dioxide removal (CDR), announced that it had raised $32.3 million in Series A funding. The round was led by new investor Prelude Ventures and returning investors with super pro-rata participation, including Lowercarbon Capital, Earthshot Ventures, and WovenEarth Ventures. Additional new investors include Fall Line Capital and Rethink Impact.

Activate: New Board Members And $3.5 Billion Fellows Funding Milestone

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 6:49 AM

Activate, a nonprofit fellowship where science entrepreneurs transform ideas into advanced hard-tech companies, announced a new funding milestone: Activate Fellows, current and alumni, have raised a cumulative $3.5 billion in funding for their companies, over $2 billion of which has been confirmed in the last year alone.

Bitwise Buying Attestant, An Ethereum Staking Provider With $3.7 Billion In Staked Assets

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 6:36 AM

Bitwise Asset Management has announced the acquisition of Attestant Limited, an institutional-grade Ethereum staking provider with $3.7 billion in staked assets. This acquisition expands Bitwise’s suite of investor solutions to include non-custodial staking, ETPs, hedge fund solutions, private funds, and separately managed account strategies.

Pyramid Analytics: AI-Based Analytics Company Raises 50 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 6:30 AM

Pyramid Analytics, an AI-based analytics and decision intelligence company, announced it has raised $50 million in new funding from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock Capital Investment Advisors.

Boosted.ai: $15 Million Secured To Help Investment Managers Automate Financial Analysis

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 6:19 AM

Boosted.ai, a generative artificial intelligence company that works with leading investment managers to streamline and automate their financial analysis and workflows, announced the closing of a $15 million financing round.

Vertical Aerospace: $50 Million In New Funding Raised

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 6:05 AM

Vertical Aerospace - a global aerospace and technology company pioneering electric aviation - announced the signing of a term sheet among the company, its majority shareholder Stephen Fitzpatrick, and its primary creditor Mudrick Capital Management.

Genprex Signs License Deal With University Of Michigan For Lung Cancer Treatment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:47 PM

Genprex - a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes - announced it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with the University of Michigan, giving Genprex a worldwide exclusive license to the University's patent rights relating to its lead drug candidate Reqorsa Gene Therapy (quaratusugene ozeplasmid), in combination with ALK-inhibitors for the potential treatment of ALK-EML4 positive translocated lung cancer.

Agentio: Ad Platform Company Secures $12 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:37 PM

Agentio, an ad platform that scales, measures, and streamlines creator content advertising, announced it has raised a $12 million Series A led by Benchmark (investments include Cerebras, HeyGen, 11x, Fireworks AI, eBay, Instagram, Uber and Twitter), along with investments from existing investors Craft Ventures and AlleyCorp, and industry-leading marketing executives and creators.

PointFive: Cloud Cost Optimization Company Raises $20 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:23 PM

PointFive, a leading cloud cost optimization platform, announced that it has secured an additional $20 million in Series A funding, bringing the total capital raised to $36 million only 18 months after the company was founded.

SurePath AI: Governing Generative Enterprise Company Raises $5 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:50 PM

SurePath AI, a leader in governing generative AI for the enterprise, announced the closing of a $5.2 million seed funding round led by Uncork Capital with significant participation from Operator Collective, bringing the company’s total funding to $6.3 million. And SurePath AI’s mission is to enable secure GenAI adoption by detecting usage, mitigating risks, and controlling AI access to enterprise data so that organizations can bolster innovation and productivity.

Kong: Cloud API Technologies Company Raises $175 Million At $2 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 3:01 PM

Kong - a leading developer of cloud API technologies - announced it has closed a $175 million in up-round Series E financing (via mix of primary and secondary transactions) at a $2 billion valuation. This funding round was led by Tiger Global and co-led by new investor Balderton, with additional new participation from Teachers’ Venture Growth (the late-stage venture and growth investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan) and 137 Ventures, among others, and continued support from Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, CRV, Sapphire Ventures, and Notable Capital. This brings Kong’s total raised to $345 million.

Halcyon: Cybersecurity Company Raises $100 Million (Series C) At $1 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:08 AM

Halcyon, a leading platform designed from day one to defeat ransomware, announced today it had closed $100 million in Series C funding led by Evolution Equity Partners with participation from Bain Capital Ventures (BCV), SYN Ventures, Harmony Group, Corner Capital Management, Dropbox Ventures, ServiceNow Ventures, and existing investors.

Rezonate: Interview With CEO & Co-Founder Roy Akerman About The Identity Protection Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:59 AM

Rezonate is a company that empowers organizations to protect their identities by monitoring identity privileges and activity and enabling rapid remediation. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Rezonate CEO and co-founder Roy Akerman to learn more about the company.

LPL Onboards $350 Million Strata Financial Group Team

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:52 AM

LPL Financial announced that financial advisors Anthony “Tony” Campagni, CFP, Ronald Jurczynski, CPA/PFS, Mitchell Romeo, CPWA, CPFA, Kyle Hancharick, CFP, and Dominic Elmo of Ohio-based Strata Financial Group have joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer, RIA and custodial platforms. The advisors reported serving more than $350 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets, and they join LPL from Osaic.

WeVets: Strategic Investment Raised From L Catterton

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:46 AM

Global investment firm L Catterton announced that it has invested strategically in WeVets, a leading independent veterinary hospital group in Brazil operating 24-hour centers and diagnostic labs, making high-quality veterinary care more accessible throughout Brazil.

AeroVironment Buying BlueHalo In $4.1 Billion Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:43 AM

AeroVironment and BlueHalo announced the execution of a definitive agreement under which AV will acquire BlueHalo in an all-stock transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $4.1 billion, creating a more diversified global leader in all-domain defense technologies. This company will combine complementary capabilities to offer a comprehensive portfolio of high-growth franchises powered by sophisticated technology and focused on addressing the nation's and allies' most critical priorities and needs worldwide.

Apollo Funds Buying Majority Stake Of The State Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:39 AM

Apollo announced that funds associated with its Impact and Clean Transition strategies have acquired a majority stake in The State Group (TSG) from Blue Wolf Capital. Blue Wolf will retain a minority stake in the business, along with existing management shareholders.

NitroVolt: €3.5 Million (Seed) Raised To Develop Green Ammonia For Farmers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:35 AM

NitroVolt, a Danish startup developing green ammonia for farmers, today announced it has raised €3.5 million in seed funding. The participants in the round include BackingMinds, a Swedish early-stage venture capital firm, EIFO, the sovereign wealth fund of Denmark, and EQT Foundation, Satgana, and DivisionM. The Breakthrough Energy Fellowship provided a grant in 2023 and is now following that with an equity investment in the current round. The funding round will be used to build the first on-site container-sized demonstration unit, producing green ammonia from air, water, and clean electricity.

Morgan Stanley Capital Partners Buying Pet And Human Supplements Company FoodScience

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:30 AM

Investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (MSCP), a middle-market focused private equity team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, announced it acquired FoodScience from Wind Point Partners, which is a vertically integrated provider of pet and human nutritional supplements. Sharon Rossi will continue as FoodScience’s Chief Executive Officer.