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Curebound has awarded $8.5 million in new funding to support 23 cancer research studies, including a $1 million Cure Prize, as the San Diego-based philanthropic organization continues to expand its investment in translational and collaborative cancer research programs across the United States.

Universal Corporation announced that it had completed a significant refinancing transaction by entering into a new bank credit agreement establishing a $1.4 billion senior unsecured credit facility. The new agreement replaces the company’s prior $1.15 billion senior unsecured credit facility.

Accenture has made a strategic investment in Ryght AI, a platform provider focused on modernizing how clinical research is designed and executed across the life sciences industry, as enterprise demand for agentic AI continues to accelerate in drug development and clinical trials.

Detroit Manufacturing Systems has completed its previously announced acquisition of Android Industries and Avancez, formally establishing a new global manufacturing and assembly company operating under the name Voltava. The newly formed entity is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and is wholly owned by Bruce Smith, who will serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Bluespring Wealth Partners has capped a milestone year with the completion of nine acquisitions in 2025, bringing more than $6 billion in additional assets under management onto its platform and reinforcing its position as a leading acquirer in the hybrid registered investment advisor space.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh announced that its Board of Directors has approved a combined $90.2 million in housing-related funding for 2025, allocating $61.3 million through its Affordable Housing Program and an additional $28.9 million through its voluntary housing grant initiative. The funding is expected to support 75 housing projects and help create or preserve 1,823 homes for very low-income, low-income, and moderate-income individuals and families across the region.

ALM Ventures has announced the launch of ALM Ventures Fund I, a $100 million early-stage venture capital fund dedicated to investments in humanoid robots, embodied AI, and spatial intelligence. Based in Silicon Valley, the firm is targeting seed and pre-seed opportunities as it seeks to build concentrated early ownership positions in what it views as one of the most transformative technology categories of the coming decade.

Everli Global, a Palella Holdings company and the parent of Italy-based online grocery marketplace Everli S.p.A., has secured a $10 million loan facility as part of its previously announced Business Combination Agreement with Melar Acquisition Corp I. The financing represents a significant milestone for the company as it advances toward an expected public listing in the first quarter of 2026.

Allonnia, a Boston-based bio-ingenuity company focused on improving mineral recovery while reducing environmental impact, has raised more than $20 million in a Series A extension round. The financing was led by Viking Global Investors, Bison Ventures, General Atlantic, BHP Ventures, and Pivotal Capital Partners, bringing the company’s total funding to more than $100 million.

EpilepsyGTx, a biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for refractory epilepsy, has raised $33 million in a Series A financing to advance its lead program, EPY201, into first-in-human clinical trials. The funding will support Phase 1/2a studies designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the therapy in patients with focal refractory epilepsy, a severe form of epilepsy that does not respond to existing treatments.

Bobyard, an artificial intelligence platform focused on transforming how contractors perform construction takeoffs and estimates, has raised $35 million in a Series A financing round led by 8VC. Additional participants in the round include Pear VC, Primary Venture Partners, Tishman Speyer, RXR, Caffeinated Capital, and Merrick Ventures.

Crisp has closed a $26 million Series B1 financing round to accelerate the expansion of its vertical artificial intelligence solutions for the retail industry. The round was led by Paine Schwartz Partners, with participation from Blue Cloud Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Cox, DNX, Prologis, and Wellington Management. The financing brings Crisp’s total capital raised since its founding in 2017 to $127 million.

Kilo Code, an open source coding agent focused on agentic engineering, has raised $8 million in seed funding as it looks to expand its platform and deepen adoption among software developers and engineering teams. The round was led by Cota Capital, with participation from Breakers, General Catalyst, Quiet Capital, and Tokyo Black. The company is based in San Francisco and launched earlier this year.

New Mexico’s Department of Finance and Administration has secured an additional $72 million in funding following the implementation of Euna Grants, a cloud-based grants management platform developed by Euna Solutions. The expanded funding brings the total value of the New Mexico Match Fund to $147 million and reflects a significant increase in federal dollars leveraged through state investment.

ESO Fund provides funding to help startup employees exercise their stock options. Pulse 2.0 interviewed ESO Fund CEO Scott Chou to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Medra, a San Francisco-based company developing what it describes as the world’s first platform for Physical AI Scientists, has raised $52 million in a Series A financing to accelerate the development of its autonomous laboratory technology. The round was led by Human Capital, with participation from existing investors Lux Capital, Neo, and NFDG, as well as new investors Catalio Capital Management, Menlo Ventures, 776, Fusion Fund, and others.

GrailPay is a company that provides a payments infrastructure platform that enables fintechs, merchant-service payment providers, and financial institutions fully white-label and de-risked bank payments. Pulse 2.0 interviewed GrailPay co-founder and CEO Will Messina to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Ditto builds a mobile database with built-in peer-to-peer sync that keeps apps running and data consistent even without Wi-Fi, servers, or cloud connectivity. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Ditto co-founder and CEO Adam Fish to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Joy Parenting Club has acquired Heba Care, a digital health platform focused on supporting families navigating complex health and developmental needs, in a move that significantly expands Joy’s ambition to build the most comprehensive AI-powered parenting ecosystem. The transaction brings clinically validated care-coordination tools into Joy’s platform while accelerating the company’s mission to provide always-on, trusted guidance to parents worldwide.

Harness has secured $240 million in Series E financing as it accelerates its mission to bring artificial intelligence to every stage of software delivery that follows code creation. The round includes a $200 million investment led by Goldman Sachs and a planned $40 million tender offer with participation from IVP, Menlo Ventures, and Unusual Ventures, valuing the company at $5.5 billion.

Alphyn Biologics, a clinical-stage dermatology company focused on developing first-in-class multi-target therapeutics for severe and common skin diseases, has closed a $25 million Series B financing round, twice oversubscribed. QCA Investment Group led the Series B round. It included participation from existing investors Angel Physicians Fund and Serial Stage Venture Partners, as well as a corporate fund, along with several new investors. The strong demand for the round reflects growing investor confidence in Alphyn’s proprietary Multi-Target Therapeutic Drug Platform and the potential of its lead candidate, Zabalafin Hydrogel, to address multiple underlying drivers of inflammatory and infectious skin diseases.

KVP International has acquired SafePath Laboratories and IVD Research, collectively known as SafePath-IVD, strengthening its position in veterinary diagnostics while expanding capabilities across human health markets. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Gloat is the Work Orchestration Platform that closes the gap between AI investment and ROI by orchestrating AI agents, technology, and human expertise together. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Gloat co-founder and CEO Ben Reuveni to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Brkthru is a digital marketing agency that helps brands reach targeted audiences through data-driven advertising campaigns across channels like social, search, display, and streaming media. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Brkthru co-founder Jeff Hastedt to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Lifesight is a privacy-first marketing measurement platform that utilizes causal AI, attribution, media mix modeling, and incrementality testing to help companies understand and optimize media spend across channels. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Lifesight co-founder and CEO Tobin Thomas to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

InduPro Therapeutics announced a strategic equity investment from Sanofi along with a new research collaboration designed to accelerate the development of InduPro’s bispecific PD-1 agonist program for autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.

Independent Financial Partners has brought on CenterBridge Planning Group, a five-advisor team overseeing more than $700 million in client assets, marking one of the firm’s most significant team additions to date.

Concurrent Investment Advisors added ten advisors across the fourth quarter as the Tampa-based hybrid RIA continued a year of rapid expansion, bringing its total wealth and retirement assets to more than $30 billion. The growth reflects the firm’s ongoing momentum with its independent platform model as it moves toward surpassing $15 billion in assets under management.

Mars, Incorporated has completed its acquisition of Kellanova, uniting two long-standing consumer goods companies and creating a broader global snacking powerhouse. The deal brings together Kellanova’s portfolio of billion-dollar snack brands, including Pringles, Cheez-It, Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, RXBAR, and Kellogg’s international cereal brands, with Mars’ existing lineup of major confectionery and snack products such as Snickers, M&M’s, Twix, Dove, Skittles, Extra, Kind, and Nature’s Bakery.

Serval has secured $75 million in Series B funding led by Sequoia Capital, bringing the company’s valuation to $1 billion and marking a significant milestone in its evolution from an IT automation tool to a horizontal enterprise platform. The latest funding round also included participation from Redpoint, Meritech, First Round, General Catalyst, Evantic, Sound Ventures, Radical Ventures, and others. In total, Serval has raised $127 million since August.