Pulse 2.0

xAI Raises $20 Billion Series E

Hg To Acquire OneStream For $6.4 Billion, Taking Finance Platform Private

VieCure: $43 Million Raised To Expand AI-Powered Precision Cancer Care In Community Practices

AZIO AI Lands $107 Million Southeast Asia Government GPU Order

GTCR Completes $24.25 Billion Sale Of Worldpay To Global Payments

Autolus Posts $75 Million In First-Year AUCATZYL Sales, Guides Up To $135 Million For 2026

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 9:06 AM

Autolus Therapeutics announced it expects preliminary unaudited net product revenue from AUCATZYL (obecabtagene autoleucel; obe-cel) of about $24 million for the fourth quarter of 2025 and about $75 million for the full year, marking its first year of commercial sales following the CD19 CAR T therapy’s U.S. approval in November 2024.

FIS Unveils Agentic Commerce Platform For Issuing Banks, Expanding AI-Driven Card Transactions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 9:06 AM

FIS announced it has launched what it calls an industry-first offering designed to help banks support “agentic commerce,” enabling artificial intelligence agents to initiate and complete transactions safely across card networks while remaining within existing bank and network controls.

Cytotheryx Lands Lead For $60 Million Series A And Adds Debt Financing To Expand Facilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 9:05 AM

Cytotheryx, a preclinical cell therapy company developing cell-based treatments for liver disease, said it has secured a lead term sheet for a $60 million Series A round and lined up additional debt financing aimed at expanding its manufacturing and operational footprint.

DaVinci Commerce Raises Strategic Financing, Rebrands From Jivox To Expand Agentic Commerce Marketing Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 9:04 AM

DaVinci Commerce, formerly known as Jivox, announced it raised a strategic financing round to accelerate growth of its AI-native platform for “agentic commerce marketing,” a category it says blends automated commerce creative optimization with rapid activation across retail and commerce media networks.

Trybe: $30 Million Series A Raised To Expand Spa And Leisure Management Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 9:02 AM

Trybe, a provider of software for spas, bathhouses, resorts, hotels, and other leisure operators, has raised a $30 million Series A investment from Five Elms Capital as it looks to scale internationally and deepen product capabilities across payments, bookings, and operations.

Picus Security: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO H. Alper Memiş About The Validation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 9:00 AM

Picus Security provides a security validation platform that simulates real-world cyberattacks (breach and attack simulation) to continuously test defenses, pinpoint control gaps, and recommend remediations. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Picus Security co-founder and CEO H. Alper Memiş to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Dentons Adds Capital Markets Partner Peter Cullen In Dubai

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:56 AM

Dentons has appointed capital markets partner Peter Cullen in Dubai, expanding its Middle East Banking and Finance team as the firm continues to build out its debt capital markets capabilities in the region.

Tasq AI Merges With BLEND To Build Trust Layer For Global Enterprise AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:41 AM

Tasq AI and BLEND have agreed to merge, forming a unified company under the Tasq AI brand aimed at closing what the companies describe as the enterprise AI “trust gap” by improving the accuracy and reliability of production-grade AI systems.

Harmattan AI: $200 Million Series B Raised And Strategic Partnership With Dassault Aviation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:40 AM

Dassault Aviation and Harmattan AI announced they have formed a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the integration of controlled autonomy and artificial intelligence into combat aviation systems, with Dassault leading a $200 million Series B financing for the defense technology company.

West Pharmaceutical Selling SmartDose 3.5mL On-Body Delivery System Manufacturing Rights To AbbVie For $112.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:37 AM

West Pharmaceutical Services has agreed to sell all manufacturing and supply rights for its SmartDose 3.5mL On-Body Delivery System, along with associated facilities, to AbbVie for $112.5 million at closing, the companies said. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2026, subject to customary closing conditions, with the final price also subject to working capital and other adjustments.

Arkin Capital Closes $100 Million Bio Ventures III Fund For Early-Stage Biotech Investing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:34 AM

Arkin Capital announced it has closed Arkin Bio Ventures III, a $100 million fund that will back advanced pre-clinical and early clinical-stage biotechnology companies developing therapies for high unmet medical needs.

Terra Industries Raises $11.75 Million To Scale Autonomous Security Systems For Africa’s Critical Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:32 AM

Terra Industries, a defense technology company developing autonomous security systems to protect critical infrastructure across Africa, has emerged from stealth with an $11.75 million funding round led by U.S. venture firm 8VC.

QXO Upsizes Convertible Preferred Equity Commitment to $3 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:30 AM

QXO announced it has expanded a previously announced convertible preferred equity financing to $3 billion, increasing the commitment by $1.8 billion, as it seeks additional capacity to fund future acquisitions.

Avenue Biosciences: $5.7 Million Seed Extension Raised To Scale Secretory Pathway Platform For Therapeutic Protein Manufacturing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:28 AM

Avenue Biosciences, a Palo Alto-based protein engineering technology company, has raised $5.7 million in seed extension funding to scale a high-throughput platform designed to measure and modulate the protein secretory pathway, a core cellular process responsible for folding, modifying, and secreting therapeutic proteins.

Apheon: €1.25 Billion Closed For Sixth Flagship Midcap Buyout Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:27 AM

Apheon Management announced it has closed its sixth flagship mid-market vehicle, Apheon MidCap Buyout VI SCSp, at the €1.25 billion hard cap, with an additional €50 million commitment from the firm’s team and related families, bringing total fund size to €1.3 billion.

Atlantic Alumina Lands $450 Million U.S.-Backed Deal To Secure Domestic Alumina Supply

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:23 AM

Atlantic Alumina Company LLC (ATALCO), the only operating alumina refinery in the United States, said it has entered a $450 million strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of War and Concord Resources Holdings Limited aimed at sustaining and expanding U.S. alumina production while establishing what the company described as America’s first large-scale primary gallium production circuit.

Com Laude Completes Markmonitor Acquisition, Forming Markmonitor Group With $450 Million Enterprise Value

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:52 AM

Com Laude, a London-based corporate domain services provider owned by PX3 Partners, said it has completed its acquisition of U.S. corporate domain registrar Markmonitor, combining the businesses under a new entity called Markmonitor Group.

BrowserStack Launches $125 Million ESOP And Share Buyback Program For Employees and Early Investors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:51 AM

BrowserStack announced a $125 million employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and share buyback program that will provide liquidity to more than 500 current and former employees as well as early investors. The transaction marks the company’s third buyback and brings BrowserStack’s cumulative buyback total to more than $275 million across the three programs.

Windrose Consulting Group Buys Zenith Access Network to Deepen Greater China and APAC Market Access Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:50 AM

Windrose Consulting Group said it has acquired Zenith Access Network, adding a specialist market access consultancy focused on Greater China and emerging Asia-Pacific markets as the firm expands its regional footprint and client support in pricing, reimbursement, and access strategy.

AbbVie To Acquire Arizona Manufacturing Facility, Further Strengthening U.S. Manufacturing Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:48 AM

AbbVie announced it has agreed to buy a drug-delivery device manufacturing facility in Tempe, Arizona, along with associated intellectual property, from West Pharmaceutical Services in a move designed to expand AbbVie’s capacity for producing devices used to administer its medicines.

Row64: Interview With CEO Marc Stevens About Their Real-Time Visual Intelligence Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:40 AM

Row64 provides a GPU- and CPU-accelerated, real-time visual intelligence platform that enables enterprises to explore and act on massive real-time data instantly. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Row64 CEO Marc Stevens about their visual business intelligence platform.

Nanochon: $4.1 Million Seed Prime II Round Raised To Advance Knee Cartilage Implant Into First-in-Human Study

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:37 AM

Nanochon, a Washington, D.C.-based orthopedic device company developing an implant to treat articular cartilage defects in the knee, said it has secured commitments to close an oversubscribed $4.1 million Seed Prime II financing, bringing total capital raised to date to $11.3 million. The round was led by cultivate(MD), with participation from the University of Virginia UVA Seed Fund, WSGR, Wealthing VC Fund, and other investors. Nanochon said the majority of the financing came from existing backers, while also adding new individuals and funds to its investor base.

Guggenheim Investments Closes $250 Million New Private Debt Vehicle Backed by LGT Capital Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:36 AM

Guggenheim Investments said it has closed a $250 million vehicle that will invest in the firm’s private debt strategy, backing an existing portfolio of loans while supporting continued expansion of the platform. The transaction was led by LGT Capital Partners, alongside additional limited partners.

Elbit Wins $275 Million Deal To Add EW And Laser Missile Defense To Asia-Pacific Helicopters

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:32 AM

Elbit Systems announced it has been awarded contracts worth about $275 million to supply an Asia-Pacific customer with an advanced airborne self-protection package for a helicopter platform, including an electronic warfare (EW) suite and the company’s Mini-MUSIC direct infrared countermeasure (DIRCM) system. The work is scheduled to be carried out over five years.

Pocket Network: Interview With Director Chris “Jinx” Jenkins About The Decentralized Infrastructure Network

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:27 AM

Pocket Network is a decentralized infrastructure network that routes and serves blockchain data requests through a distributed set of node operators, providing dApps and developers with reliable RPC access across multiple chains. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Pocket Network Director Chris “Jinx” Jenkins to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

iAltA Acquires BridgeFT To Broaden Wealth Data Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:05 PM

iAltA Holdings, a WestCap-backed private markets infrastructure company, has acquired BridgeFT, a cloud-native, API-first wealth infrastructure software provider focused on helping financial institutions, fintechs, and registered investment advisors better unify and use portfolio and client data.

Ropes & Gray: Milan Partner Alessandro Capogrosso Added To Expand Italy Transactional Bench

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:05 PM

Ropes & Gray announced it has added capital markets, private equity, and M&A lawyer Alessandro Capogrosso as a partner in its Milan office, continuing the firm’s push to deepen its European transactional capabilities and support clients on cross-border deals.

Will Stawell Returns To White & Case As Sydney Partner

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:04 PM

White & Case has added debt finance partner Will Stawell to its Sydney office, expanding the firm’s Global Debt Finance Practice and Global Financial Institutions Industry Group as it continues to build out its Australia platform.

Walmart And Google Turn AI Discovery Into Effortless Shopping Experiences

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:03 PM

Walmart and Google announced they plan to launch a new shopping experience that brings Walmart and Sam’s Club product discovery directly into Google’s Gemini, aiming to make purchases more intuitive through conversational AI.

Rich Sparkle Holdings Closes Acquisition of Khaby Lame-Linked Step Distinctive

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:03 PM

Rich Sparkle Holdings announced it has completed an acquisition of Step Distinctive Limited, which it described as a core company associated with TikTok creator Khaby Lame, in a deal the company framed as a shift from episodic influencer monetization to a more structured, “full-chain” commercialization platform.