Pulse 2.0

Altair To Be Acquired By Siemens For $10.6 Billion

AbbVie To Buy Aliada Therapeutics In $1.4 Billion Deal

Research Grid: $6.5 Million (Seed) Raised To Automate Back-Office Admin For Clinical Trials

BiggerPockets: Acquisition Of Left Field Investors

DoorLoop: Property Management Software Company Raises $100 Million (Series B)

BondBloxx: Bond ETF Provider Raises $27 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:20 PM

BondBloxx, a specialized provider of bond ETFs, announced a latest capital raise of $27 million. The funding round was led by Macquarie Asset Management - which maintains its minority stake in the company - and also included participation from other new and existing financial investors.

BWXT Buying L3Harris’ A.O.T. Business For About $100 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:19 PM

BWX Technologies and L3Harris Technologies announced the signing of a purchase agreement for BWXT to acquire L3Harris’ Aerojet Ordnance Tennessee, Inc. (A.O.T.) business for approximately $100 million.

HealthFitness: Acquisition Of Corporate Fitness Works

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:17 PM

HealthFitness (a Trustmark company and comprehensive provider of fitness, wellness, and injury prevention programs) announced it has acquired Corporate Fitness Works from co-owners Beth and Michael Vivio, a leader in delivering custom onsite and virtual fitness management solutions.

EP Wealth Advisors: Acquisition Of Gather Financial Planning And Riley Private Client

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:14 PM

EP Wealth Advisors, a leading fee-only RIA with an expanding national footprint and client base, announced the acquisition of Gather Financial Planning in Maine and Riley Private Client in Texas. These new firms—which join existing EP regions—will gain access to EP Wealth’s expansive offerings and growth strategies while adding over $240 million to its assets under management (AUM).

Motorola Solutions Buying Control Room Software Company 3tc Software

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:12 PM

Motorola Solutions announced it has acquired 3tc Software, a provider of control room software solutions for Fire and Rescue Services and Police, based in Leicestershire, United Kingdom (U.K.). 3tc’s computer-aided dispatch (CAD) software was built to maximize 999 call-taker speed and efficiency in high-stress environments.

Stonepeak Buying Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) For $3.1 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:09 PM

Air Transport Services Group, a global leader in medium-widebody freighter aircraft leasing, air transport operations, and support services, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets. The transaction will be an all-cash transaction with an enterprise valuation of about $3.1 billion.

Aspen Standard Wealth Buying $2.8 Billion AUM RIA Summitry

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:06 PM

Aspen Standard Wealth, a firm that serves as a permanent home and long-term partner for successful RIAs, announced that it has acquired Summitry, a leading registered investment adviser with $2.8 billion in assets under management (AUM).

Teledyne Buying Micropac In $57.3 Million Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:04 PM

Teledyne Technologies and Micropac Industries jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement that provides for the merger of Micropac with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Teledyne.

CoStar: Deal Closed To Buy Visual Lease

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:03 PM

CoStar Group - a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics in the property markets - announced that it has completed its acquisition of lease administration and accounting platform Visual Lease. The strategic deal will enhance CoStar Group’s Real Estate Manager business line and provide additional lease management and lease accounting value to corporations of all sizes.

EQT Partners Acquires HR Software Company PageUp

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:01 PM

PageUp Group, a human-resources and talent software company that had been majority-owned by Battery Ventures, has been acquired by global investment firm EQT Group.

Wesco To Buy Data Center Facility Management Services Provider Ascent For $185 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:00 PM

Wesco International announced it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Ascent, a privately held company based in St. Louis, Missouri and a premier provider of data center facility management services for a cash-free and debt-free purchase price of $185 million.

Houlihan Lokey: Acquisition Of Prytania Solutions (PSL)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:58 PM

Global investment bank Houlihan Lokey has acquired Prytania Solutions (PSL), a leading provider of technology-driven valuation and analytic services. The bank is continuing to strengthen its market-leading Financial and Valuation Advisory business and offer clients a differentiated experience with data-driven deliverables.

Outrider: Autonomous Yard Operations Company Raises $62 Million (Series D)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:31 PM

Outrider, a leader in autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, announced it raised $62 million in an oversubscribed Series D financing round. The round was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) and New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with additional investments from 8VC, ARK Invest, B37 Ventures, FM Capital, Interwoven Ventures, NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), and Prologis Ventures. This funding round will drive the commercial scaling of Outrider’s autonomous yard operations as a service with many large customers in 2025 and strengthen its position at the forefront of logistics automation.

Fixify: AI-Based IT Help Desk Solution Provider Secures $25 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:29 PM

Fixify, an AI-based IT help desk solution provider, announced that it has closed a $25 million Series A funding round co-led by Costanoa Ventures, Decibel Partners and Paladin Capital Group with participation from Scale Venture Partners. And Fixify combines AI with human experts to empower IT teams to quickly diagnose and resolve issues to enhance the overall help desk experience. The funds will be used to scale its workforce and accelerate product development.

Diffblue: AI-For-Code Software Company Raises $6.3 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:28 PM

Diffblue, a creator of the world’s first fully autonomous generative AI-for-code software, announced it raised $6.3 million in new capital as it reached a record six-month period with 326% net new ARR growth from the previous six months. Toffer Winslow (formerly StackState, Dynatrace, RSA Security) was appointed Diffblue’s new CEO to drive the firm’s next growth stage.

SonoSuite: Interview With CEO Sebastián Mañana Lenzi About Helping Independent Music Artists

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:26 PM

SonoSuite is a company committed to empowering independent entities and ensuring they receive their fair share of recognition and royalties despite the industry's evolution. Pulse 2.0 interviewed SonoSuite CEO Sebastián Mañana Lenzi to learn more about the company.

University Of Texas At San Antonio: $4 Million Grant Received For Setting Up Large Scale Neuromorphic Computing Project

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:12 PM

The MATRIX AI Consortium at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) received a $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation to fund The Neuromorphic Commons (THOR) project. As part of this multi-university initiative, the THOR project offers researchers access to a first-of-its-kind large-scale neuromorphic computing system.

EvoluteIQ: AI-Based Automation Company Raises $20 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:10 PM

EvoluteIQ announced an investment of $20 million in equity and debt led by Round2 Capital, with participation from Nordea Growth Fund, DCAP Select and PH ventures. And this funding will support EvoluteIQ’s plan to enhance its AI automation platform and expand operations globally.

PDS Biotech: Interview With President And CEO Frank Bedu-Addo About The Immunotherapy Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:01 PM

PDS Biotech is a late-stage immunotherapy company preparing to initiate a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating Versamune HPV + pembrolizumab as a potential first-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic HPV16-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Pulse 2.0 interviewed PDS Biotech President and CEO Frank Bedu-Addo, Ph.D., to learn more about the company.

Highnote: Audio Collaboration Company Raises Funding From Dropbox Ventures

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 9:04 AM

Highnote, a leading audio collaboration platform, announced that it secured $2.5 million in additional funding, with participation from Dropbox Ventures (an investment initiative of Dropbox investing in the next generation of AI-based apps and tools along with previous investors Afore Capital, Character Capital, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, and Precursor Ventures. This latest funding round also welcomed new notable executives as angel investors from Figma, Atlassian, Abstract, and Dropbox, and several who previously invested from SoundCloud, Auth0, and Splice.

Regal: Contact Center Software Company Raises $40 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:37 AM

Regal, a customer-centric contact center software company, announced the completion of a $40 million funding round to accelerate the rollout of its AI Phone Agents for contact centers. And Regal has now raised $83 million in total.

Party Icons: Mobile-First Gaming Company Raises $9 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:25 AM

Party Icons, a mobile-first gaming platform with three fully playable modes, announced it has raised $9 million in a private funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures, bringing its total funding to $20 million. This investment emphasizes confidence in Party Icons’ potential to revolutionize the gaming landscape with its innovative gameplay design and open ecosystem, powered by its unique “Party-as-a-Service” live operations model and integrated Web3 infrastructure. Joining BITKRAFT in this round are other notable investors, including IDG Capital, Gam3Girl Ventures, Leap Capital, Mantle Network, King River Capital, Mask Network, Yield Guild Games, Zentry, 32-Bit Ventures, Ed3n Ventures, Palm Drive Capital and individual investors Sebastien Borget (Co-Founder of Sandbox), and Cristian Manea (a prolific Web3 angel).

Colossyan: Interview With CEO Dominik Kovacs About the Workplace Learning Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:00 AM

Colossyan is the AI video platform for workplace learning. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Colossyan CEO Dominik Kovacs to learn more about the company.

Simbe: Store Intelligence Solutions Company Raises $50 Million (Series C)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:00 AM

Simbe, a leading provider of Store Intelligence solutions, announced the closing of a $50 million Series C equity financing round led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, with participation from Eclipse and Valo Ventures and other existing investors. And since raising its Series B last year, Simbe achieved significant momentum and milestones such as introducing multiple capabilities and securing numerous new and expanded partnerships across various retail sectors.

Skyfire: New Funding Raised From Coinbase And a16z

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:49 AM

Skyfire recently announced significant growth for the world’s only payment network built for the AI Agent economy, enabling fully autonomous transactions across AI Agents, LLMs, data platforms, online retail, service providers, etc. And the company announced new funding from Coinbase Ventures and a16z CSX.

Savvy Advisors Brings In Wealth Managers Craig Austad and Eric Passin

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:41 AM

Savvy Advisors - a registered investment advisor (RIA) affiliated with Savvy Wealth - announced hiring two experienced wealth managers, Craig Austad, CLU, CFP, and Eric S. Passin.

Wiley And ASU’s Fulton Schools of Engineering Collaborating On AI Tutor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:36 AM

Wiley and the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU) are collaborating to develop a new generative AI-powered tutor to help students succeed in their online computer science labs.

BlinqIO: Interview With CEO & Co-Founder Tal Barmeir About The AI-Based Test Engineer Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:30 AM

BlinqIO is a company that developed the first-ever AI test engineers, addressing the severe shortage in test automation. Pulse 2.0 interviewed BlinqIO CEO and co-founder Tal Barmeir to learn more about the company.

C&D Technologies: Interview With VP Of Sales Karen Pugliese About The Power Management Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:06 AM

C&D Technologies is a technology company that produces and markets systems for the power conversion and storage of electrical power, including industrial batteries and electronics. Pulse 2.0 interviewed C&D Technologies VP of Sales Karen Pugliese to learn more about the company.

Workorb: Seed Funding Raised To Transform How AEC Industries Utilize Project Data

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 1:30 PM

Workorb, a Toronto-based startup transforming how companies in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industries leverage their project data, announced the successful closing of its seed funding round over the summer. The funding round was led by Metavallon VC and Freedom of Innovation Ventures (by Sang Kyun Cha, the founder of SAP Hana).