Pulse 2.0

atNorth: $4 Billion Acquisition By Equinix And CPP Investments

OpenAI: $110 Billion Raised At $730 Billion Valuation To Scale AI Globally

West Monroe: Consulting Firm Promotes 11 To Managing Director

Bain & Company: Cédric Bovy Appointed Managing Partner For Amsterdam And Brussels, Benelux Cluster Head

Ayar Labs: $500 Million Series E Raised At $3.75 Billion Valuation For Optics Solutions For AI Scale-Up

Hamilton Lane: Funds Managed By Firm Lead Investment In Continuation Fund Closed By Private Equity Firm

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:31 PM

Funds managed by Hamilton Lane have led an investment in a single-asset continuation fund established by private equity firm Latour Capital to acquire global uninterruptible power supply manufacturer Gutor from Latour’s 2019 vintage fund.

Capital Group Launches First Integrated Public-Private Equity Strategy With KKR

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:27 PM

Capital Group has expanded its public-private investment partnership with KKR through the launch of Capital Group KKR U.S. Equity+, marking the firms’ first integrated equity strategy and extending their collaboration beyond credit into equity markets.

La Cocos: Romanian Discount Retailer Sold To Schwarz Group Following €298 Million Revenue Surge

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:22 PM

La Cocos, a fast-growing Romanian discount retailer operating a differentiated hypercash model, has been sold to companies of Schwarz Group following the full exit of its investor consortium, which included the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, CEECAT Capital and Morphosis Capital.

Northlane Capital Partners Invests In Court Technology Platform File & ServeXpress

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:13 PM

Northlane Capital Partners has completed an investment in File & ServeXpress, a provider of online document exchange, data and document management, and notification solutions for courts, government agencies, and legal professionals across the United States.

Searchlight Capital Partners: Sale Of Euclid Transactional To CRC Group Completed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:05 PM

Searchlight Capital Partners, a global private investment firm, announced it has completed the sale of Euclid Transactional to CRC Group, a leading independent wholesale specialty and MGA business.

Serent Capital: Investment In CPA Audit Software Platform Autire To Support AI-Driven Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:58 PM

Serent Capital, a growth-focused private equity firm investing in founder-led B2B SaaS and technology companies, announced an investment in Autire, a cloud-based and AI-powered software platform built to support CPA firms performing employee benefit plan audits.

Aspen Standard Wealth: $1 Billion Firm BlueSky Marks Seventh RIA Deal Since 2024 Launch

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:54 PM

Aspen Standard Wealth, a holding company and long-term partner for independent registered investment advisers, announced that it has acquired BlueSky Wealth Advisors, a New Bern, North Carolina-based RIA with $1 billion in assets under management. The transaction represents Aspen’s seventh RIA partnership since launching in late 2024.

LPL Financial: Memphis Advisor Robert Woodend With $150 Million In Assets Joins

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:44 PM

LPL Financial Holdings announced that financial advisor Robert Woodend, CRPC, has joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer and will leverage the Private Advisor Group Registered Investment Advisor platform as part of his transition to Memphis Planning and Wealth, an established practice aligned with both firms.

Kestra Private Wealth Services Onboards $250 Million Advisor Eric Longstreth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:40 PM

Kestra Private Wealth Services, a registered investment adviser subsidiary of Kestra Financial, announced that Eric Longstreth has joined its community of independent financial professionals in partnership with Kindred Wealth Partners, a Pennsylvania-based wealth management firm affiliated with the RIA. Longstreth, a veteran advisor with more than 20 years of industry experience, previously managed over $250 million in client assets. He brings expertise in traditional financial planning, tax planning, and estate planning, and is known for a comprehensive approach centered on managing each element of a client’s financial life holistically to support long-term outcomes.

Addepar: Wealth Management Technology Platform Launches Addison AI For Natural Language Portfolio Analysis

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:34 PM

Addepar has launched Addison, a native AI experience embedded in its investment platform, enabling advisory firms to analyze portfolio data through conversational, natural-language queries. The rollout marks a significant step in the company’s broader strategy to deploy native AI and intelligent agents across the investment lifecycle.

Tributary Group: Software Investor Makes Strategic Investment In Regulatory Technology Company Softworks Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:30 PM

Tributary Group, a long-term investor focused on partnering with software and tech-enabled services businesses, announced a strategic investment in Softworks Group, a provider of regulatory and workforce software solutions for professional regulators and licensing bodies.

Savant Wealth Management: $3.9 Billion Heritage Financial Deal Marks Largest Partnership To Date

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:29 PM

Savant Wealth Management, a fee-only registered investment adviser, has partnered with Heritage Financial Services, a Massachusetts-based wealth management firm overseeing $3.9 billion in assets under management, in the largest deal in Savant’s history. Heritage, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Westwood, Massachusetts, operates additional offices in Woburn and Rockland.

ArmorCode: $16 Million Raised To Accelerate Agentic AI Platform And AI Security Governance

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:26 PM

ArmorCode, a unified exposure management company, announced it has raised $16 million in new strategic funding, bringing its total funding to date to $81M. The Palo Alto-based company also appointed cybersecurity leader Phil Venables to its board of directors as it accelerates development of its Agentic AI Platform and expands its global enterprise footprint.

KeyCare: $27.4 Million Raised For Epic-Based Virtual Care Platform Scaling AI-Enabled Primary And Urgent Care

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:17 PM

KeyCare, a virtual care company built natively on Epic, announced it has raised $27.4 million in a new financing round to accelerate the expansion of its AI-powered, Epic-based virtual care platform for health systems. The round was led by HealthX Ventures and included participation from 8VC, LRVHealth, BOLD Capital Partners, and Ikigai Venture Partners, along with strategic investors including WellSpan Health, Allina Health, University of Chicago Ventures, Edge Ventures, and Exact Sciences Inc. The latest funding brings KeyCare’s total capital raised to more than $55 million.

Polares Medical: $50 Million Series C Raised To Advance U.S. Expansion Of Structural Heart Device

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:16 PM

Polares Medical SA, a clinical-stage structural heart company developing a transcatheter therapy for mitral regurgitation, has raised $50 million in a Series C financing to support the U.S. expansion of its MRace Posterior Leaflet Replacement system following strong clinical results.

EGI Battery: $10 Million Raised To Accelerate U.S. Advanced Battery Manufacturing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:13 PM

EGI Battery, a Michigan-based advanced battery technology and manufacturing company, announced it has raised $10 million in a seed financing round to accelerate domestic production and commercial expansion. The round was led by TSV Capital and included participation from several prominent U.S. family offices.

Worldscape.ai: Seed Funding Raised To Accelerate Defense And Enterprise Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:10 PM

Worldscape.ai, an AI-powered geospatial intelligence software company serving defense, government, and enterprise customers, announced the completion of its seed funding round led by Scout Ventures, with participation from Radius and Washington Harbour Partners.

Enhancv: Interview With Co-Founder Volen Vulkov About The Resume Builder Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 11:06 AM

Enhancv is an AI-based, modern resume builder that helps job seekers create professional, tailored, and visually engaging resumes and cover letters to increase their chances of getting hired. The platform offers customizable, ATS-friendly templates, content analysis tools for improvement, and advice to highlight achievements and personality. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Enhancv co-founder Volen Vulkov to learn more.

Superbo: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Demetri Papazissis About The AI Agent Software Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:59 AM

Superbo is a company that develops and provides enterprise-grade AI agent software and solutions that help organizations turn their knowledge and systems into intelligent, autonomous assistants and workflows to streamline operations, improve decision-making, and deliver measurable business outcomes.

SIAA: Interview With CEO Matt Masiello About the Independent Distribution Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:55 AM

SIAA is the nation’s leading alliance of independent insurance agencies. For over 30 years, the organization has helped agencies build, grow, and evolve while enabling carriers to reach and perform with local independent agencies at scale. Today, SIAA is advancing that mission through SIAA NXT, an integrated insurance distribution platform designed to improve execution, alignment, opportunity, and innovation through enhanced services and benefits, including business intelligence across P&C independent agency distribution. Pulse 2.0 spoke with CEO Matt Masiello about SIAA’s origins, the evolution of independent agency distribution, and how the company is positioning itself for the next chapter of growth.

ALORA Innovations Appoints New CEO And Closes Funding Round

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:46 AM

ALORA Innovations, an agricultural biotechnology company developing gene-edited crop traits that redirect plant energy from stress defense to yield, announced the appointment of Adam Helms as Chief Executive Officer and the close of a funding round led by the Neglected Climate Opportunities Fund, a subsidiary of the Grantham Environmental Trust, with participation from Toyota Ventures.

Grow Therapy: $150 Million Raised By Mental Health Platform In Series D Financing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:45 AM

Grow Therapy, a mental health platform that enables providers to deliver in-person and online therapy and psychiatric care, announced it has raised $150 million in a Series D round as it expands partnerships with health plans, employers, and health systems. The financing was led by existing investors TCV and Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, with new participation from BCI and Menlo Ventures, alongside existing backers Sequoia, SignalFire and Transformation Capital. The company said the round reflects investor confidence in its strategy to improve access to and outcomes in mental health care.

ElastixAI: $18 Million Raised To Redefine Generative AI Economics With FPGA-Based Supercomputers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:26 AM

ElastixAI, a Seattle-based AI infrastructure startup founded by former Apple and Meta machine learning researchers, has emerged from stealth with $18 million in seed funding to address the systemic inefficiencies and high costs of generative AI inference.

Alpa: $3.5 Million Raised By Hospitality Fintech To Build Financial Operating System

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:23 AM

Alpa, a London-based hospitality-focused fintech startup, announced that it has raised $3.5 million in pre-seed funding to build what it describes as the financial layer for hospitality businesses. The round was led by daphni, with participation from True., 2100 Ventures, firedrop, OPRTRS CLUB, Kima Ventures, Sonorcap, and several industry leaders including Jerome Tafani, former CEO of Burger King France. The company was founded by Anton Soulier, who previously scaled Taster across more than 100 cities, and is building a platform designed to bring real-time financial visibility to one of Europe’s largest and most operationally complex sectors.

Gushwork: $9 Million Seed Funding Raised To Build AI-Native Lead Generation Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:20 AM

Gushwork announced it has raised $9 million in seed funding in a round led by Susquehanna Asia VC, with participation from Lightspeed, B Capital, Seaborne Capital, Beenext, Sparrow Capital, and 2.2 Club. The investment will accelerate development of AI Feeds, the company’s AI-native content management system designed to help B2B businesses dominate discovery in AI search engines and generate real qualified leads rather than just traffic or impressions.

Flux: $37 Million Raised For AI Hardware Design Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:13 AM

Flux, an AI-powered hardware design platform, announced $37 million in new investment, including a $27 million Series B round led by 8VC with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, and Outsiders Fund. The company also disclosed a previously unannounced $10 million Series A led by Outsiders Fund and co-led by Bain Capital Ventures.

Onetag Acquires Aryel To Create Unified Value Exchange For Programmatic Advertising

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:10 AM

Onetag, a global exchange and smart curation platform, announced that it has acquired Aryel, an Italian ad tech company specializing in immersive and interactive advertising experiences.

GameSquare: Acquisition Of Creator Technology Platform TubeBuddy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:08 AM

GameSquare Holdings announced it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with BENlabs to acquire TubeBuddy, an AI-enabled software and workflow platform designed to help creators and brands optimize YouTube channel performance and accelerate audience growth.

RLWRLD: $26 Million Seed 2 Raised To Develop Robotics Foundation Models

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:06 AM

RLWRLD, a physical AI company developing robotics foundation models trained directly in real industrial environments, announced it has closed a $26 million Seed 2 funding round, bringing its total seed investment to approximately $41 million. The latest raise follows a $15 million Seed 1 round and was structured not only to secure capital but also to expand the company’s coalition of industry-based strategic investors as demand for collaborative robotics deployments accelerates.

STS Digital: $30 Million Raised By Digital Asset Derivatives Trading Firm To Scale Crypto Options Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:04 AM

STS Digital, a regulated principal trading firm specializing in digital asset derivatives and institutional market access, announced it has closed a $30 million strategic funding round to accelerate the growth of its crypto options trading platform. The round was led by CMT Digital, with participation from Payward, Strobe Ventures, Arrington Capital, F-Prime and BitRock Capital. The new capital will be used to rapidly scale the company’s institutional-grade spot and options platform, expand its market-making capabilities, and strengthen its balance sheet and liquidity position as it seeks to deepen its presence in core markets.