Pulse 2.0

xAI Raises $20 Billion Series E

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

iAltA Acquires BridgeFT To Broaden Wealth Data Infrastructure

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

Will Stawell Returns To White & Case As Sydney Partner

Walmart And Google Turn AI Discovery Into Effortless Shopping Experiences

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today 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 ● Today 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.

Allegiant To Acquire Sun Country In $1.5 Billion Deal To Create Larger U.S. Leisure Airline

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 11:01 PM

Allegiant Travel Company and Sun Country Airlines announced they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Allegiant will acquire Sun Country in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at about $1.5 billion, creating a larger leisure-focused U.S. carrier with roughly 22 million annual customers, service to nearly 175 cities, more than 650 routes, and an operating fleet of about 195 aircraft.

PhotonPay: Series B Closed To Pioneer Stablecoin-Centric Financial Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:45 PM

PhotonPay announced it has raised “tens of millions of U.S. dollars” in a Series B funding round to expand what it describes as a stablecoin-native global financial infrastructure platform for cross-border payments, treasury, and embedded finance.

Cloudforce: $10 Million Series A Raised To Advance International Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:44 PM

Cloudforce, a Maryland-based AI company focused on regulated industries, has closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by Owl Ventures, with strategic participation from M12, Microsoft’s venture fund. The company said the investment deepens its go-to-market alignment with Microsoft, including access to Microsoft’s enterprise sales organization and product teams, as Cloudforce expands deployment of its nebulaONE platform.

Idea Financial Lands $20 Million Term Loan From EverBank To Expand Small Business And Legal Lending

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:42 PM

Idea Financial has secured a $20 million corporate term loan from EverBank, adding capital to accelerate growth across its small business lending and legal financing businesses.

LPL Adds $260 Million Firm Rand, Williams & Associates To Broker-Dealer And RIA Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:40 PM

LPL Financial announced financial advisors Spencer W. Rand, CFP and Michael J. Williams, CFP of Rand, Williams & Associates have joined the firm’s broker-dealer and Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) platform, bringing approximately $260 million in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets. The advisors, based in Monterey on California’s Central Coast, previously affiliated with Osaic.

Ameriprise Financial: Father-Son Advisory Team Managing $190 Million Joins

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:39 PM

Ameriprise Financial announced financial advisors Bryan Hildebrand and Hayden Hildebrand have joined Community Wealth Services, a financial advisory practice within the Ameriprise Financial Institutions Group (AFIG) in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Diginex Closes Acquisition Of The Remedy Project To Expand Human Rights Due Diligence Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 10:38 PM

Diginex, a London-headquartered sustainability RegTech provider, has completed its acquisition of The Remedy Project Limited, a Hong Kong-based advisory and research organization focused on labor and human rights in global supply chains, as companies face rising pressure to strengthen supply chain transparency and worker protections.

Princeton Radiology Acquires RAI Imaging Centers In Hamilton And Lawrenceville, New Jersey

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 5:30 PM

Princeton Radiology has acquired two outpatient imaging centers in Hamilton and Lawrenceville, New Jersey, from Radiology Affiliates Imaging (RAI), a Radiology Partners practice, expanding its footprint in the region.

Eir Partners Closes Oversubscribed Fund III At $1 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 5:29 PM

Eir Partners Capital, LP announced it has closed its third private equity fund with $1 billion in total commitments, exceeding an initial target of $800 million and doubling the size of its prior fund.

Ventaris Surgical: $30 Million Series A Raised To Develop Next-Generation Kidney Stone Treatment System

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 5:27 PM

Ventaris Surgical, a San Carlos, California-based medical device company, has raised $30 million in a Series A financing to advance a new ureteroscopic system designed to improve stone clearance during kidney stone procedures.

Compass Completes All-Stock Combination With Anywhere Real Estate

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 5:26 PM

Compass announced it has completed its all-stock combination with Anywhere Real Estate Inc., bringing the two companies together under Compass International Holdings as they pursue a shared strategy focused on supporting real estate professionals.

Platinum Equity Invests In Norton Packaging

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 5:19 PM

Platinum Equity has made a significant investment in Norton Packaging, a maker of plastic pails and other rigid packaging products used across industrial and consumer end markets.

Boyd Group Closes $1.3 Billion Acquisition Of Joe Hudson’s Collision Center

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 5:14 PM

Boyd Group Services announced it has completed its acquisition of Joe Hudson’s Collision Center, a deal that significantly expands Boyd’s footprint in the U.S. Southeast and reinforces its position among the largest non-franchised collision repair operators in North America.

NIIT MTS Acquires SweetRush To Expand Strategic Learning Offerings

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 5:11 PM

NIIT Learning Systems Limited, through its NIIT Managed Training Services business (NIIT MTS), has acquired SweetRush, Inc., an AI-enabled custom learning experience design firm known for strategic training interventions and work with Fortune 1000 enterprises, professional associations, and not-for-profit organizations.

Meta Lines Up Nuclear Energy Deals Targeting Up To 6.6 GW To Support US AI Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 5:10 PM

Meta announced it has reached agreements with Oklo, TerraPower, and Vistra to support a mix of new and existing nuclear generation that could total up to 6.6 gigawatts by 2035, positioning nuclear power as a key pillar in the company’s growing electricity strategy for data centers and AI workloads.

Blockstream Capital Partners To Acquire Numeus Derivatives Trading Team In Deal Backed By Komainu Partnership

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 4:57 PM

Blockstream Capital Partners (BCP) announced it has signed an agreement to acquire a division within Numeus Group’s digital asset trading and investment business, bringing a 10-person derivatives trading team and select Bitcoin-focused yield strategies into the Blockstream Capital platform.

Bain Capital And BlueWater Marinas Buy Kent Narrows Boatel Near Annapolis

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 4:55 PM

Bain Capital Real Estate and BlueWater Marinas have acquired Kent Narrows Boatel, a heated, Class A drystack marina in Kent Narrows, Maryland, adding the property to a growing portfolio of marina investments along the East Coast.

Good Culture Announces Majority Investment From L Catterton

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:43 PM

Good Culture announced L Catterton has entered into a definitive agreement to make a majority investment in the Austin, Texas-based clean-label cultured dairy brand, positioning the company for expanded production capacity, broader distribution, and faster product innovation as demand for high-protein, clean-label foods continues to climb. Financial terms were not disclosed.

GTreasury Buys Solvexia To Expand Reconciliation And Regulatory Reporting Automation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:42 PM

GTreasury, a Ripple Solution, announced that it has acquired Solvexia, a provider of no-code financial automation, data management, and analytics tools, in a deal aimed at modernizing reconciliation and regulatory reporting workflows for finance teams.

Barclays Backs Ubyx To Expand Connectivity For Tokenized Deposits And Stablecoins

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:41 PM

Barclays has made a strategic investment in Ubyx, a U.S.-based clearing system designed to support new forms of digital money, including tokenized deposits and regulated stablecoins.

Contemporary Leadership Advisors Acquires Momentum Global

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:35 PM

Contemporary Leadership Advisors (CLA), a consulting firm focused on leadership and organizational effectiveness, has acquired Momentum Global, a boutique advisory founded by former chief people officers Scott Slipy and Suni Lobo.

Heartland Renaissance Fund Wins $85 Million New Markets Tax Credits Allocation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:34 PM

Heartland Renaissance Fund, an affiliate of ACC Capital, announced it has received an $85 million New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) allocation from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, positioning the organization to attract private capital for manufacturing and small-business projects across a seven-state footprint in the central U.S.

Janus Acquires Kiwi II Construction For $97.2 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:17 PM

Janus International Group, a supplier of building product solutions and access control technologies for the self-storage market and other commercial and industrial end markets, said it has completed an asset acquisition of Kiwi II Construction, a provider of self-storage and pre-engineered buildings.

Silver Hill Energy Partners Expands In South Texas With Acquisition From 1776 Energy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:15 PM

Silver Hill Energy Partners announced it has closed the acquisition of 100% of 1776 Energy’s interest in oil and gas properties, rights, and related assets in South Texas, primarily in Karnes and Gonzales Counties, Texas.

OpenAI Hires Team From Convogo

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:13 PM

The team behind Convogo, a software platform built to help executive coaches and HR leaders streamline leadership assessments and feedback reporting, is joining OpenAI, according to a LinkedIn post from Convogo co-founder Matt Cooper.

Torq: $140 Million Series D At $1.2 Billion Valuation Raised For Agentic AI-Focused Security Operations Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:44 PM

Torq, an agentic AI-focused security operations company, said it has raised $140 million in a Series D financing at a $1.2 billion valuation, bringing its total funding to $332 million. The round was led by Merlin Ventures with participation from existing investors Evolution Equity Partners, Notable Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Insight Ventures Partners and Greenfield Partners.

Andreessen Horowitz Raises Over $15 Billion Across New Funds

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:39 PM

Andreessen Horowitz announced it has raised more than $15 billion in new capital, with co-founder Ben Horowitz framing the fundraise as part of the firm’s mission to help the United States maintain technological leadership in an increasingly competitive global environment.

Equitable Earth: €12.6 Million Raised To Advance Certification Of Nature-Based Climate Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:18 PM

Equitable Earth has raised €12.6 million to expand its certification programme for nature-based carbon projects and invest further in data, technology and methodologies aimed at increasing trust and scalability in the voluntary carbon market.