Pulse 2.0

Clear Channel Outdoor Agrees To $6.2 Billion Take-Private Deal

Eli Lilly To Acquire Orna Therapeutics In Up To $2.4 Billion Deal

The Bahnsen Group: Wealth Management Firm Opens Silicon Valley Office And Hires Advisor Sean Buxton

WtEnergy Raises Follow-On Investment From Cemex To Scale Clean Fuels For Cement Plants

Beecher Reagan: Scott Ratliff Promoted To Partner As Executive Search Firm Scales Commercial Growth Platform

Simple AI: $14 Million Seed Funding Raised For Voice AI Agent Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:27 PM

Simple AI, a voice AI agent platform, has raised $14 million in a seed round led by First Harmonic, with participation from Y Combinator, Massive Tech Ventures, and True Ventures. The San Francisco-based startup said the funding will support continued development of its voice agent platform, including custom generative AI models, as well as analytics and customer insights for businesses of all sizes.

Maven Capital Partners Adds Sabrina Mahmood To East Midlands Deal Team

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:24 PM

Maven has appointed Sabrina Mahmood as an Investment Manager in its East Midlands investment team, strengthening deal coverage across the East and South East Midlands.

Catalyst IOS Closes Oversubscribed $400 Million Third Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:22 PM

Catalyst Investment Partners, an owner and operator of industrial outdoor storage (IOS) real estate, has closed its third fund at a $400 million hard cap, exceeding its original $300 million target and drawing demand that approached twice the target amount. The New York-based firm said Fund III moved from first close to final close in seven months, with commitments coming from a mix of pension funds, endowments, foundations, and family offices.

Safqah Capital Raises $15.2 Million Seed Funding Round

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:15 PM

Riyadh based fintech and proptech company Safqah Capital has raised $15.2 million in an oversubscribed seed round that it describes as one of the largest pure equity seed financings in Saudi Arabia. The round drew participation from more than 12 institutional and venture investors, led by anb Seed Fund, Shorooq, and Rua Growth Fund, with additional participation from Sharaka Capital, COTU Ventures, Sadu Capital, 500 Global, Suhail Ventures, MEVP, Waad Invest, JOA Capital, and others.

Osaic Onboards $232 Million Firm F & M Investment Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:08 PM

F & M Investment Partners, a newly launched independent wealth management firm led by financial advisors Michael Murray and Brian Freund, has joined Osaic’s platform as the Missouri-based team looks to pair boutique client service with institutional-scale resources. Based in the greater St. Louis area, the advisors oversee approximately $232 million in client assets and bring more than 60 years of combined experience guiding individuals and families through major financial milestones.

UBS Hires Merrill Advisor Duo Mark Lilley And Gabriel Trigo In San Juan, Puerto Rico

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:05 PM

UBS announced it has hired financial advisors Mark Lilley and Gabriel Trigo in San Juan, Puerto Rico, adding the team to its Puerto Rico Market. UBS said the Puerto Rico Market is led by Regional Director Ricardo Gonzalez, Market Executive Carlos “Juany” Ortiz and Market Director Roberto Fortuno.

DLP Capital Crosses $2 Billion In Capital Under Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:03 PM

DLP Real Estate Capital announced it has surpassed $2 billion in capital under management across its sponsored real estate credit and equity funds, marking a new milestone for the St. Augustine, Florida, headquartered private real estate investment firm with additional offices in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Asheville, North Carolina.

Keppel: Up To $125 Million AIIB Commitment Secured For Private Credit Fund III

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:02 PM

Keppel announced that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has committed $75 million to Keppel Private Credit Fund III, alongside a co-investment sleeve of up to $50 million. Keppel said the combined commitment raises AIIB’s total support for the strategy to up to $125 million, and increases Keppel Private Credit Fund III’s funds under management to more than $561 million.

Foxtrot: Palantir Foundry Partner Closes Series A After Reporting 9.1x Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:54 PM

Foxtrot Professional Services, a Foundry-native Palantir partner founded by Palantir alumni, announced it delivered 9.1x year-over-year revenue growth as enterprise customers shift from AI experimentation to deploying governed, operator-trusted systems in production.

Altruist: Wealth Platform Launches AI-Powered Tax Planning In Hazel For Advisor Workflows

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:51 PM

Altruist, a tech-forward wealth platform for independent advisors, announced the launch of a new tax-planning capability within Hazel, its AI platform, designed to help advisors deliver personalized tax strategies in minutes.

Ouster Buys StereoLabs To Build Unified Physical AI Sensing And Perception Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:48 PM

Ouster announced it has closed its acquisition of StereoLabs SAS, expanding the company's offering beyond lidar to a single, unified sensing and perception platform for “Physical AI.” The deal adds stereo cameras, AI vision software, and a large developer and customer community to Ouster’s portfolio. Ouster said the combined platform brings together high-performance digital lidar, cameras, AI compute, sensor fusion and perception software, and AI models, positioning the company to serve customers who want vision and lidar integrated rather than deployed separately.

Bluespring Wealth Partners Onboards $2.3 Billion Firm SHP Financial

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:45 PM

Bluespring Wealth Partners, an acquirer of RIAs and wealth management firms, has acquired SHP Financial, a Plymouth, Massachusetts-based financial planning firm overseeing approximately $2.3 billion in total assets. The transaction expands Bluespring’s presence in New England and adds a firm focused on serving mass affluent and high-net-worth clients with comprehensive planning.

Apollo: Diego De Giorgi Named As Incoming Head Of EMEA

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:42 PM

Apollo announced Diego De Giorgi will join the firm as a partner and head of EMEA, succeeding longtime partner Rob Seminara. Seminara will remain in the region to support the transition before taking on new global responsibilities later in 2026.

One Equity Partners To Acquire Specialty Chemicals Company Bozzetto Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:39 PM

One Equity Partners has agreed to acquire Bozzetto Group, a Bergamo, Italy-based specialty chemicals provider with a large portfolio of sustainability-certified formulations used across end markets including textiles, agriculture, plasterboard, personal care, and water treatment. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Texas State University: BobCatalyst Initiative Aims To Accelerate Innovation And Entrepreneurship

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:36 PM

Texas State University announces it is launching BobCatalyst, a university-wide initiative designed to help faculty, staff, and students turn research and ideas into market-ready innovations by leveraging the university’s network of innovation, commercialization, and venture-support programs.

Haveli Investments To Buy Kids Mobile Entertainment Developer Budge Studios

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:32 PM

Haveli Investments, a technology and gaming-focused private equity firm, has entered into an agreement to acquire Budge Studios from General Atlantic. Terms were not disclosed.

Uber To Acquire Getir’s Türkiye Delivery Business

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:27 PM

Uber Technologies and Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company said they have reached an agreement under which Uber will acquire Getir’s delivery portfolio in Türkiye, a transaction that includes food, grocery, retail, and water delivery and remains subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

Trive Capital Invests In Defense Analytics Contractor PavCon

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:25 PM

Trive Capital announced it has made an investment in PavCon, a provider of predictive analytics and decision-support software for the U.S. Department of War, positioning the deal as a partnership to accelerate growth in data-driven defense modernization and mission-readiness programs.

Phylo: $13.5 Million Seed Funding Raised And Biomni Lab Launched

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:20 PM

Phylo announced it has launched Biomni Lab, a new integrated workspace designed to help scientists plan, author, execute, and collaborate on complex biological research tasks using agentic AI. Alongside the product launch, the company announced a $13.5 million seed round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Menlo Ventures’ Anthology Fund, with Anthropic also participating. Additional investors cited by the company include Zetta, Conviction, SV Angel, and others.

Dono: $6.5 Million Seed Funding Raised For AI-Based Property Records Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:12 PM

Dono, an AI-powered property records platform that turns fragmented county records into usable ownership data, announced it has raised a $6.5 million seed round, bringing total funding to $10.2 million. The round was led by Link Ventures with participation from lool VC and Alumni Ventures.

Uptool: $6 Million Seed Funding Closed for Helping U.S. Shops Quote 10x Faster

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:09 PM

Uptool, an AI manufacturing software startup, has emerged from stealth and introduced its first product aimed at removing a major bottleneck for U.S. small and midsize manufacturers: quoting. The company says its AI quoting software helps machine and fabrication shops cut quoting time from hours to minutes, allowing them to respond faster, win more work, and raise shop utilization as demand and complexity in hardware supply chains continue to rise.

Matia: $21 Million Series A Raised For Scaling AI Native Data Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:06 PM

Matia, a unified data operations platform, announced it has raised $21 million in Series A funding to accelerate product development and go-to-market as demand increases for unified, AI-native data infrastructure. The round was led by Red Dot Capital Partners, with participation from existing investors Leaders Fund, Secret Chord Ventures, Cerca Partners, Caffeinated Capital and VelocityX, along with angel investors including Karim Atiyeh, Udi Mokady, Amiram Schchar, Alex Pham, Raffi Kesten and Abe Peled. Matia said the round brings total funding to more than $31 million.

Nitride Raises Funding From Accelerate Venture Partners and eGrowth Ventures

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:05 PM

Nitride Global announced it has closed an investment from Wichita-based venture capital firms Accelerate Venture Partners and eGrowth Ventures as part of a convertible note financing round, with the company indicating the closing took place in the fourth quarter of 2025. The company, which describes itself as a global leader in aluminum nitride material technologies, positioned the financing as a step toward expanding capacity and accelerating the commercialization of its advanced materials portfolio.

ILiAD Biotechnologies: $115 Million Series B Closed To Advance Intranasal Pertussis Vaccine

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:01 PM

ILiAD Biotechnologies, an advanced clinical stage biotechnology company focused on preventing and treating disease caused by Bordetella pertussis, announced it has closed an oversubscribed $115 million Series B financing to advance BPZE1, its next-generation pertussis vaccine candidate.

Bretton AI: $75 Million Series B Secured For Financial Crime Compliance Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:58 PM

Bretton AI, formerly Greenlite AI, said it has raised a $75 million Series B funding round and rebranded as Bretton AI as it expands its mission to define how AI is deployed across financial crime operations in regulated financial institutions. The round was led by Sapphire Ventures, with continued participation from existing investors Greylock, Thomson Reuters Ventures, Canvas Ventures, and Y Combinator. New investors include TIAA Ventures. Sapphire Ventures Partner Rajeev Dham has joined Bretton AI’s board. The company said the financing comes less than one year after its Series A.

Pelgo: $5.5 Million Seed Funding Raised For AI-Based Career Transition Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:52 PM

Pelgo, an AI-based career transition agent, said it has raised $5.5 million in seed funding to support product development, expand its AI and engineering teams, and fuel go-to-market efforts ahead of an initial product launch in early February. The round was led by Flybridge Capital Partners, with participation from ENIAC Ventures, Primary Venture Partners, and 645 Ventures.

Logicalis US Buys Maple Woods To Bolster Overwatch Cybersecurity And Compliance Offering

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:51 PM

Logicalis US announced it has acquired Maple Woods Enterprises, a long-time security partner, in a move the company said will deepen its managed security capabilities and strengthen its Overwatch cybersecurity and compliance program. Logicalis framed the deal as an integration play, bringing a partner that has helped build and deliver Overwatch directly into its managed services organization to improve scale, consistency, and technical depth.

Trener Robotics Raises $32 Million Series A For Agentic Physical AI Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:34 PM

Trener Robotics, formerly known as T-Robotics, said it has raised a $32 million Series A round to scale Acteris, its agentic AI platform that brings “physical intelligence” to industrial automation by enabling software-defined control of robots. The round was co-led by Engine Ventures and IAG Capital Partners, with participation from strategic investors Cadence and Geodesic Capital through Nikon’s NFocus Fund. Trener said the financing comes on the heels of its seed round and brings total funding to over $38 million.

Solace Health: $130 Million Series C At Over $1 Billion Valuation Raised For Healthcare Advocacy Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:20 PM

Solace Health announced it has raised a $130 million in Series C financing to accelerate its effort to make healthcare advocacy a standard part of care for patients across the United States, positioning advocacy as essential infrastructure as costs rise and care delivery becomes more fragmented. The round was led by IVP and included participation from existing investors Menlo Ventures, SignalFire, Torch Capital, Inspired Capital, and RiverPark Ventures. Solace said the financing values the company at over $1 billion.

Stoke Space Technologies Extends Series D Financing To $860 Million For Reusable Rockets

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:17 PM

Stoke Space Technologies, the rocket company developing fully and rapidly reusable medium-lift launch vehicles, said it has extended its previously announced Series D financing, bringing the total raised in the round to $860 million.