Archives

Artios: $115 Million Series D Raised To Advance Late-Stage DDR Oncology Pipeline

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 12:53 PM

Artios Pharma Limited has closed an oversubscribed $115 million Series D financing to accelerate clinical development across its portfolio of DNA damage response therapeutics. The round was co-led by SV Health Investors and RA Capital Management, with participation from Janus Henderson Investors and strong support from existing backers.

Sealed Air To Be Acquired By CD&R In $10.3 Billion Buyout

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:22 AM

Sealed Air has agreed to be acquired by funds affiliated with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in an all-cash transaction valuing the company at $10.3 billion, marking one of the largest private equity takeovers in the industrial packaging sector this year. Under the terms of the agreement, Sealed Air stockholders will receive $42.15 per share in cash, representing a forty-one percent premium to the company’s unaffected share price as of August 14, 2025, and a 24% percent premium to its ninety-day volume-weighted average trading price as of November 12, 2025.

PayPal And KKR Sign New Agreement For Up To €65 Billion In European Buy Now Pay Later Receivables

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:16 AM

PayPal and KKR have expanded their partnership through a new agreement that will enable KKR’s credit funds and accounts to purchase up to €65 billion of PayPal’s current and future European buy-now-pay-later receivables through March 2028. The renewed arrangement includes a loan commitment of up to €6 billion and covers BNPL loans originated in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Sakana AI: ¥20 Billion Series B Raised To Advance Sustainable AI In Japan

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:08 AM

Tokyo-based research company Sakana AI has secured ¥20 billion (approximately $135 million) in Series B funding to accelerate its work on sustainable, efficiency-focused AI technology and expand deployment across major Japanese industries. The round included participation from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Khosla Ventures, Factorial, Macquarie Capital, Fundomo, Mouro Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Geodesic Capital, Lux Capital, Ora Global, MPower Partners, Shikoku Electric Power, and In-Q-Tel.

Ancient Makes Strategic Investment In Superyacht Leader Burgess

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:05 AM

Ancient has taken a strategic stake in Burgess, the longstanding global leader in the superyacht industry, marking a significant partnership aimed at strengthening Burgess’s position as the foremost full-service platform in the sector. The deal aligns with Ancient’s approach of investing in category-defining businesses in specialty finance and specialized services.

AKA Foods: $17.2 Million Closed To Launch Secure AI Platform For Food Innovation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:03 AM

AKA Foods has closed a $17.2 million seed funding round led by noted AI entrepreneurs Alex and Michael Bronstein, marking the official debut of AKA Studio, a secure AI system designed to accelerate and modernize product development for global food companies. The financing represents a notable early investment in a platform that aims to redefine how food is researched, formulated, and commercialized by integrating organisational knowledge, sensory evaluation, and advanced AI assistants into a unified environment.

Walker & Dunlop Arranges $192 Million Refinance For Cortland Multifamily Portfolio

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:58 AM

Walker & Dunlop has arranged $192,068,000 in refinancing for a four-property, 1,137-unit multifamily portfolio owned by Cortland Partners and located across Miami, Dallas, and Denver. The financing was secured through Freddie Mac and executed by Walker & Dunlop Capital Markets, led by Senior Managing Director Stephen Farnsworth and his team.

Intellect Acquires Zaptic To Enhance AI-Powered Quality Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:51 AM

Intellect has announced its acquisition of the UK-based Connected Frontline Worker platform, Zaptic, in a move that significantly expands its global operations and strengthens its AI-powered Quality Management System capabilities. The deal brings together two complementary technologies aimed at unifying quality, safety, and frontline execution for manufacturers in Food and Beverage, consumer goods, and other regulated sectors.

Lone Star Funds Completes Acquisition Of Multi-Asset UK Real Estate Portfolio From St. James’s Place

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:49 AM

Lone Star Funds has finalized the purchase of a substantial multi-asset real estate portfolio from St. James’s Place and its Property Unit Trust and Life and Pensions Trust, marking one of the firm’s notable property acquisitions this year. St. James’s Place was advised by Invesco Real Estate, which managed the disposition process on its behalf.

No Barrier: $2.7 Million Raised To Expand Real-Time Medical Interpretation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:38 AM

No Barrier, a fast-growing healthcare AI company focused on eliminating language barriers in clinical settings, has raised an oversubscribed Seed Round of $2.7 million led by A-Squared Ventures, Esplanade Ventures, Rock Health Capital, and Fusion. The new funding will support broader deployment of the company’s real-time, compliant medical interpretation technology across hospitals, clinics, and specialty care environments.

Lili Expands FDIC Insurance To $3 Million And Raises High-Yield Business Savings Rate To 4% APY

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:33 AM

Lili, a New York-based SMB banking platform, has significantly expanded its financial protections and savings options for business customers by increasing its FDIC insurance coverage to $3 million through its partner bank, Sunrise Bank, while also introducing a new tiered high-yield structure that boosts the APY on higher balances to 4.00%. The upgraded insurance level represents a significant jump from its previous $250,000 offering and provides business owners with twelve times the national standard coverage.

Parseur: Interview With Co-Founder & CTO Sylvain Josserand About The Document-Processing Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:30 AM

Parseur is a document-processing platform that automatically extracts structured data from emails, PDFs, and other documents. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Parseur co-founder and CTO Sylvain Josserand to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

TotalEnergies Buys 50% Stake In €10.6 Billion Flexible Power Portfolio To Deepen Gas To Power Integration Across Europe

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:30 AM

TotalEnergies has signed an all-stock transaction with Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) valued at €10.6 billion, marking one of the company’s most significant strategic moves in the European power market. The deal involves acquiring 50% of EPH’s flexible power generation platform, which includes gas-fired and biomass plants, as well as battery assets, across Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, and France. The agreement forms a fifty-fifty joint venture that will expand TotalEnergies’ presence in flexible electricity generation and accelerate the company’s Integrated Power strategy.

Talkdesk: Interview With VP Of Healthcare And Life Sciences Patty Hayward About The Customer Experience Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:00 AM

Talkdesk is a global cloud contact center and customer experience platform that utilizes AI to help businesses enhance customer interactions and improve service efficiency. Talkdesk is leading a new era in customer experience with Customer Experience Automation (CXA), a new category and platform designed to automate the full complexity of modern customer journeys. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Talkdesk's Vice President of Healthcare and Life Sciences, Patty Hayward, to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

The LegalTech Fund Closes $110 Million Second Fund As Legaltech Investment Surges

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 7:38 AM

The LegalTech Fund has closed its second fund at $110 million, marking a significant milestone for the only venture firm exclusively focused on legal technology. The new vehicle is nearly four times the size of its inaugural $28.5 million fund. It comes at a time when the $1 trillion global legal services market is undergoing rapid transformation driven by artificial intelligence, workflow automation, and regulatory evolution.

BluePill: $6 Million Seed Round Raised To Launch AI Consumer Twins For Instant Market Insights

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 7:36 AM

BluePill has raised $6 million in seed financing to accelerate the rollout of its AI consumer-insights platform, which uses digital twins of real audiences to help brands test new products, campaigns, and creative concepts in minutes. The round was led by Ubiquity Ventures with participation from Pioneer Square Labs and Flying Fish Ventures.

KKR Backs Chandra Asri Group With $750 Million Financing For Esso Singapore Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 7:06 AM

KKR has provided a $750 million bespoke financing package to Chandra Asri Group to support the company’s expansion strategy and its acquisition of ExxonMobil’s Esso-branded retail fuel station network in Singapore. The investment was arranged by KKR Capital Markets and funded through KKR’s private credit and insurance platforms, marking a major boost for one of Southeast Asia’s most prominent integrated energy, chemicals, and infrastructure companies.

Sofinnova Partners: €650 Million Raised For Capital XI Fund To Accelerate Early-Stage Healthcare Investments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 7:04 AM

Sofinnova Partners has closed its latest flagship fund, Sofinnova Capital XI, at €650 million, surpassing its original target and marking one of the firm’s most significant raises to date. The close brings Sofinnova’s total capital raised across its platform to €1.5 billion over the past year, reinforcing its position as one of Europe’s leading life sciences venture capital firms.

Hummink: €15 Million Raised To Advance Micronic Precision Printing For Next-Generation Electronics

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:54 AM

Hummink has raised €15 million in new funding to accelerate the global deployment of its micronic precision printing technology, positioning the Paris-based deep-tech company as a pivotal player in the future of semiconductor and advanced display manufacturing. The round was co-led by KBC Focus Fund, Cap Horn, and Bpifrance, with historic backers including Elaia Partners, Sensinnovat, Beeyond, and the French Tech Seed fund, managed by Bpifrance on behalf of the French government as part of France 2030. The European Innovation Council Fund also participated.

Inocras: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Jehee Suh About The Bioinformatics-Led Whole Genome Insights Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:45 AM

Inocras is a bioinformatics-led company redefining precision health through whole-genome data and proprietary analytics. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Inocras co-founder and CEO Jehee Suh to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Ghanem: $7.1 Million Raised From Al-Romaih Group To Advance Fractional Ownership Expansion In Saudi Arabia

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:42 AM

Ghanem, a Riyadh-based digital real estate investment platform specializing in fractional ownership solutions, has secured USD 7.1 million in new funding from Al-Romaih Group. The investment marks a significant step forward for one of the Kingdom’s most active emerging real estate technology players, as it works to expand investor access to institutional-grade property opportunities.

Palatine Growth: Michael Ginn Joins As Investment Director

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:40 AM

Palatine Growth Credit has expanded its Manchester-based team with the appointment of Michael Ginn as Investment Director. The hire strengthens the firm’s regional Growth Credit Fund, which launched in 2024 and focuses on providing non-dilutive capital to high-growth entrepreneurial companies across the United Kingdom.