Pulse 2.0

Franklin Resources Reports $1.79 Trillion In Preliminary Month-End AUM

Vertex Acquiring Crinetics Pharmaceuticals For $10 Billion

Spense Raises $2.8 Million Seed Round To Build Agentic Credit Infrastructure

Aylight Raises €4.5 Million Pre-Seed To Address AI’s Optical Bottleneck

Storika Closes Seed Round To Scale AI-Native Creator Marketing Platform

Permutable: Interview With Founder & CEO Wilson Chan About How The Company Is Turning Real-Time Narratives Into Market Intelligence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:01 PM

Permutable is a London-based AI-driven market intelligence company that analyzes global narratives, macroeconomic developments, and real-time news flows to generate explainable market intelligence for institutional investors, hedge funds, and commodities trading teams. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Permutable founder and CEO Wilson Chan to learn more.

H.I.G. Capital Is Acquiring A Majority Stake In TERRAS

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:50 PM

H.I.G. Capital announced that one of its affiliates has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in TERRAS Group. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Thales Acquiring Exail For €3.9 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:46 PM

Thales announced that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire the Gorgé family concert’s combined 35.51% stake in Exail Technologies. The transaction is being pursued with a view to acquiring 100% of Exail through a mandatory tender offer at €134 per share.

American Clean Resources Group Receives LOI For Up To $40 Million In Joint Development Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:42 PM

American Clean Resources Group announced that it has received a Letter of Intent from Elko Heat Company for up to $40 million in joint development capital. The capital is intended to support ACRG’s pursuit of a Bureau of Land Management Solar Energy Zone competitive lease and related solar development activities at the company’s Millers Property in Esmeralda County, Nevada.

Codis Acquiring Catalent’s Nottingham UK Facility

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:39 PM

Codis announced an agreement to acquire Catalent Pharma Solutions’ facility in Nottingham, UK. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, subject to customary closing conditions.

Linea Energy And Crux Close Financing For 172 MWdc Michigan Solar Project

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:37 PM

Linea Energy announced the closing of a tax equity financing with Crux for its Watertown solar project. Watertown is a 172 MWdc utility-scale solar energy facility located in Sanilac County, Michigan.

Flathead Forge Invests In NALA Membranes To Advance Chlorine-Stable Water Treatment Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:32 PM

Flathead Forge Fund 1 announced that it has invested in NALA Membranes, a North Carolina developer of chlorine-stable membranes for industrial water purification and reuse. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Oceaneering Increases Revolving Credit Facility To $345 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:27 PM

Oceaneering International announced that it has entered into an amendment to its senior secured revolving credit facility. The amendment increases total commitments under the facility from $215 million to $345 million, giving the company a larger pool of available capital to support its business needs.

Wintrust Buying Northern Trust’s Guardianship Services Business

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:23 PM

Northern Trust and Wintrust Financial announced that Wintrust Private Trust Company has entered into an agreement to purchase Northern Trust’s guardianship services business. The transaction is expected to close later this year, and financial terms were not disclosed.

CohnReznick Acquires HL&B

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:55 PM

CohnReznick announced the strategic acquisition of Houston-based Ham, Langston, & Brezina, effective July 1, 2026. The acquisition expands CohnReznick’s presence in Texas and adds three offices in the Houston market.

Novartis Acquiring Myricx Bio For Up To $1.5 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:53 PM

Sofinnova Partners announced that its portfolio company Myricx Bio has reached an agreement to be acquired by Novartis. The deal is valued at up to $1.5 billion, including $1.1 billion in cash upfront plus potential milestone payments.

Coral Connect Acquires AdvisorWoRx

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:52 PM

Coral Connect announced that it has acquired AdvisorWoRx, a strategic healthcare consulting firm founded and led by Edie Gigot. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Goldman Sachs Appoints Evan Kotsovinos As Head Of Asset & Wealth Management Engineering

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:50 PM

Goldman Sachs announced that Evan Kotsovinos has joined the firm as a Partner and head of Asset & Wealth Management Engineering. In this role, he will work with teams across Asset & Wealth Management and the broader Goldman Sachs Engineering organization.

Banzai Acquires ConnectAndSell For $13.2 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:48 PM

Banzai International announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of substantially all assets of ConnectAndSell. The acquisition became effective on July 2, 2026.

Alberta Cancer Foundation Invests C$35 Million To Advance Cancer Clinical Trials

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:46 PM

The Alberta Cancer Foundation announced that it is investing C$35 million to advance cancer clinical trials in Alberta. The funding represents one of the largest clinical trial investments over a five-year period in the foundation’s history.

Hometown Financial Group To Acquire Primary Bank For $160 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:45 PM

Hometown Financial Group announced that it has entered into a merger agreement to acquire Primary Bank, a publicly traded commercial bank based in Bedford, New Hampshire. The transaction is valued at approximately $160 million and will expand Hometown’s presence in southern New Hampshire.

BWXT Acquires Precision Components Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:43 PM

BWX Technologies announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Precision Components Group. The acquisition includes PCG subsidiaries Precision Custom Components and DC Fabricators.

B Capital Closes $500 Million Ascent Fund III To Back AI-Driven Companies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:33 PM

B Capital announced the final close of B Capital Ascent Fund III at its hard cap of $500 million in aggregate capital commitments. The fund was oversubscribed and nearly doubled the size of its predecessor, B Capital Ascent Fund II.

Voyager Closes Upsized $250 Million Credit Facility

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:32 PM

Voyager Technologies announced the closing of an upsized $250 million credit facility. The facility was led by J.P. Morgan.

Bespoke Labs Raises $40 Million To Build Reliable AI Agent Training Environments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:26 PM

Bespoke Labs announced that it has raised $40 million across seed and Series A funding rounds. The company is building an AI agent training platform focused on environments that help agents become more reliable.

Blue Whale Materials Names Jack Johnson CEO And Raises Growth Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:23 PM

Blue Whale Materials announced the appointment of Jack Johnson as Chief Executive Officer. The company said the leadership change comes as it enters its commercial scale-up phase, supported by a significant growth capital financing round.

Empower Acquiring Milliman’s Retirement Administration Business For $340 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:13 PM

Empower and Milliman announced a definitive agreement under which Empower will acquire Milliman’s retirement administration business. The transaction is valued at $340 million and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

Omni Ventures Closes $33 Million Fund I To Back Manufacturing Tech Startups

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:05 PM

Omni Ventures announced the closing of its oversubscribed $33 million Fund I. The firm will invest in startups leading the digitization of manufacturing technology.

Csquare Launches IPO Seeking Up To $1.35 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:02 PM

Csquare announced the launch of its initial public offering of 50 million shares of common stock. The expected IPO price range is $23 to $27 per share.

alqem Raises €8 Million To Scale AI-Driven Materials Discovery Engine

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:58 PM

alqem announced that it has raised €8 million in pre-seed funding to scale its AI-driven materials discovery engine. The round was co-led by UVC Partners and Union Square Ventures.

Stoa Raises $2.4 Million To Build Savings-Powered Spending Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:57 PM

Stoa announced that it has raised $2.4 million to build a new category in financial technology. The company is starting in the UK, plans to expand to the U.S., and is building for a global market.

Worldmodeldata Raises £7 Million To Build Data Layer For World Models

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:56 PM

Worldmodeldata announced that it has emerged from stealth and raised £7 million, or about $9.3 million, in seed funding. The company said the capital will accelerate its mission of transforming gameplay into training-ready datasets for world models and embodied AI.

CurifyLabs Raises $14 Million Series A To Power Personalized Medicine

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:50 PM

CurifyLabs announced that it has raised $14 million in Series A funding to expand its personalized medicine platform. The round was co-led by Sandwater and HealthCap, with participation from Tesi and existing investors, including Lifeline Ventures. The round also included participation from U.S. customers and employees. CurifyLabs said the funding will be used to expand U.S. operations, strengthen supply chain infrastructure, enhance customer support, and accelerate product innovation.

CVC Raises €3 Billion For Europe-Focused Mid-Market Private Equity Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:49 PM

CVC announced the final close of CVC Capital Partners Catalyst III at approximately €3 billion, or $3.4 billion. The fund is focused on European mid-market private equity opportunities.

Eurazeo Closes Fifth-Generation Secondaries Program At €2.3 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:49 PM

Eurazeo announced the final close of its fifth-generation private equity secondaries program at €2.3 billion. Total aggregate commitments to Eurazeo Secondary Fund V and associated vehicles exceeded the initial target of €2 billion.