Pulse 2.0

Merck To Acquire Silence Therapeutics For About $1.3 Billion

Blackstone Closes $8.7 Billion Energy Transition Partners V At Hard Cap

Pear VC Raises $333 Million Fund V To Back Founders Before The Market Does

Amazon Launches Bee Frontier And Bee Eclipse Personal AI Devices

Sowell Management Names Scott Dooley Chief Investment Officer And Launches Sowell Office Of The CIO

MassRobotics: Interview With Co-Founder And Chief Of Operations Joyce Sidopoulos About Robotics Innovation And Physical AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:32 PM

MassRobotics is a nonprofit independent robotics innovation hub that provides startups with workspace, laboratories, accelerators, workforce development programs, corporate partnerships, and connections to funding, talent, and industry partners. The organization has supported more than 250 robotics startups and serves as a neutral platform connecting entrepreneurs, corporations, academia, government, researchers, and other participants across the robotics ecosystem. Pulse 2.0 interviewed MassRobotics Co-Founder and Chief of Operations Joyce Sidopoulos to learn more about the organization’s origins, its founder-first model, and how it is supporting the development and commercialization of robotics and physical AI technologies.

Red Cat Proposes Acquisition Of Steyr Motors For €39 Per Share

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:22 PM

Red Cat Holdings has announced a proposed voluntary public purchase offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Steyr Motors AG for €39.00 per share in cash, a transaction intended to strengthen Red Cat’s autonomous maritime capabilities while supporting the Austrian engine manufacturer’s long-term growth.

Carlyle To Acquire $7.7 Billion Personal Loan Portfolio From Truist

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:15 PM

Carlyle has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire an approximately $7.7 billion portfolio of unsecured personal loans from Truist, expanding the investment firm’s asset-backed finance activity and its role as a capital partner to banks managing their balance sheets.

Ares To Acquire Infinity Transportation From KKR For $2.9 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:13 PM

KKR has agreed to sell Infinity Transportation to Ares Management funds for an enterprise value of approximately $2.9 billion, transferring one of the largest railcar leasing platforms in the United States to Ares Infrastructure Equity and Ares Insurance Solutions.

EQT To Acquire Cleanaway In A$9.3 Billion Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:11 PM

EQT Infrastructure VI has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Cleanaway Waste Management Limited in a transaction valuing the Australian waste management and resource recovery company at approximately A$9.3 billion on an enterprise value basis.

JPMorganChase Deploys $5 Billion In Equity And Facilitates More Than $230 Billion Through Security And Resiliency Initiative

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:09 PM

JPMorganChase has deployed $5 billion in equity investments and financed or facilitated more than $230 billion through its Security and Resiliency Initiative during the program’s first year.

Anthropic Commits 5% Of Shares To New Public Benefit Fund With Potential For Future Increases

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:07 PM

Anthropic is establishing the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, a new entity that will hold a growing stake in the AI company and support initiatives aligned with its public benefit mission.

Ferveret: Interview With Co-Founder And CEO Reza Azizian About Nuclear-Inspired Cooling For AI Data Centers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:01 PM

Ferveret is developing a waterless cooling system for AI data centers using heat-transfer principles derived from nuclear reactor technology. Its proprietary Adaptive Phase Cooling (APC) technology is designed to manage the increasing heat generated by high-performance AI processors while reducing energy consumption and simplifying data center operations. The company's flagship product is a modular, rack-mounted cooling system designed to fit into existing data center infrastructure without requiring a facility redesign. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Ferveret Co-Founder and CEO Reza Azizian to learn more about the company's origins, cooling technology, pilot deployments, and plans to support the next generation of AI infrastructure.

EMD Electronics: Interview With Metallics Business Technology Director Sergei Ivanov About Materials Science And AI Hardware

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:58 PM

EMD Electronics, the North American electronics business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, develops materials and process technologies used across semiconductor manufacturing, including thin films, planarization, specialty gases, delivery systems, and advanced process technologies. As AI hardware moves toward smaller nodes, higher transistor densities, advanced packaging, and increasingly demanding power and performance requirements, materials science is becoming a critical part of semiconductor scaling. Pulse 2.0 interviewed EMD Electronics Metallics Business Technology Director Sergei Ivanov to learn more about the growing importance of materials innovation, molybdenum-based metallization, advanced packaging, and collaboration between materials scientists and chip designers.

IXL Learning Acquires NoRedInk To Expand Digital Writing Instruction Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:53 PM

IXL Learning has acquired NoRedInk, an English language arts platform designed to help students strengthen writing skills through personalized practice while reducing grading and instructional workload for teachers.

Dream Labs Raises $90 Million Seed To Build Foundation Models For Everyday Robots

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:51 PM

Dream Labs has raised $90 million in seed funding to develop general-purpose AI models designed to control a wide range of robots, while launching what the company describes as the first publicly available API for a robot foundation model. The funding round was led by B Capital and Kindred Ventures, with participation from A.Capital, Unusual Ventures, SV Angel, Wing VC, Scribble VC, Adrian Aoun, and other investors.

Vedanta Invests $600 Million To Double Zinc Production Capacity In South Africa

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:49 PM

Vedanta Limited has invested nearly $600 million to double annual zinc production capacity at its Gamsberg operation in South Africa to 500,000 tonnes of metal-in-concentrate.

Dan Gilbert Pledges $1 Billion To Create Nonprofit For $2.2 Billion Detroit Renaissance Center Redevelopment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:48 PM

Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Rocket Companies and Bedrock, has pledged about $1 billion in development capital to create a new nonprofit organization to redevelop, own, and operate Detroit’s Renaissance Center and the surrounding east riverfront district.

Clean Power Alliance Secures $1.4 Billion Prepay Bond To Generate $91.1 Million In Renewable Energy Savings

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:46 PM

Clean Power Alliance has closed its seventh energy prepayment bond transaction, a $1.4 billion financing expected to generate approximately $91.1 million in renewable energy cost savings during the bond’s initial seven-year period.

Colossal Acquires Rare Moa Egg For Repatriation To New Zealand

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:45 PM

Colossal Biosciences has acquired a rare South Island giant moa egg from a private collection in the United States and plans to return the artifact to Aotearoa, New Zealand, where it will be placed under the guidance of Ngāi Tahu research leaders involved in the company’s moa de-extinction program.

Adonis: Interview With Co-Founder And CEO Akash Magoon About AI-Powered Revenue Cycle Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:43 PM

Adonis is an AI orchestration platform built for healthcare revenue cycle management, helping health systems and provider groups identify revenue cycle issues, manage insurance claims and denials, and automate workflows through its Intelligence and AI Agents products. The company was founded in 2022 by brothers Akash and Aman Magoon. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Adonis Co-Founder and CEO Akash Magoon to learn more about AI-powered revenue cycle management, autonomous agents, and the company's growth.

Plata Reaches $1 Billion In Annual Recurring Revenue Less Than 3.5 Years After Launch

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:34 PM

Plata has surpassed $1 billion in Annual Recurring Revenue, reaching the milestone less than three and a half years after launching in April 2023 and less than one year after receiving its full banking license.

ZAP Surgical Raises $36 Million Led By Catalio Capital To Scale Non-Invasive Brain Surgery

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:32 PM

ZAP Surgical Systems has secured $36 million in financing led by Catalio Capital Management, with continued support from Baheal, the company’s strategic partner in China. The funding will support the global expansion of ZAP’s non-invasive robotic brain surgery platform and continued development of its technology across neuroscience applications.

Salmon Secures $140 Million To Expand Lending And Banking Products In The Philippines

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:31 PM

Salmon Group has secured $140 million in additional financing to accelerate the expansion of its technology-driven banking and lending platform in the Philippines. The financing consists of $90 million committed by Spice Expeditions, WashU, and Moore, along with $50 million in proceeds from a bond issuance. Salmon plans to use the capital to scale its existing profitable lending products and support the nationwide rollout of new offerings.

Horizon3 Expands In Singapore With EDBI And SG Growth Capital Investments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:27 PM

Horizon3 is expanding its presence in Singapore with new investments from EDBI and its parent, SG Growth Capital, as the AI-native cybersecurity company increases its operations across Southeast Asia.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Marks $1.35 Billion Anniversary Campaign Milestone

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:26 PM

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has completed its Anniversary Campaign after raising a record $1.35 billion to support pediatric care, research, and education. The milestone represents the largest fundraising effort in the hospital’s 125-year history.

Hyperscale Data Plans Public Listing For askROI In The Second Or Third Quarter Of 2027

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:20 PM

Hyperscale Data has announced plans for AI subsidiary askROI to become a separate publicly traded company in the second or third quarter of 2027. The company is evaluating several transaction structures, including a reverse takeover, an initial public offering, or a transaction with a special purpose acquisition company.

ASSA ABLOY To Sell HID PKI Business Unit To Vista Equity Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:19 PM

ASSA ABLOY has signed an agreement to sell HID's Public Key Infrastructure business unit to Vista Equity Partners, transferring a digital-identity and certificate-management business that generated approximately $58 million in sales in 2025.

Arity To Acquire INRIX To Combine Driving Behavior And Transportation Intelligence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:16 PM

Arity, a subsidiary of The Allstate Corporation, has agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets of INRIX, a provider of transportation intelligence and mobility analytics. The transaction is expected to close in 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.

Parkview Health To Acquire Ovation Healthcare To Expand Shared Services For Community Hospitals

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:10 PM

Parkview Health has signed an agreement to acquire Ovation Healthcare, a provider of shared services designed to improve the operational and financial performance of hospitals, health systems, and physician practices across the United States.

Epicrispr Biotechnologies Receives $8 Million CIRM Grant To Advance EPI-321 For FSHD

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:01 PM

Epicrispr Biotechnologies has been awarded an $8 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to support the ongoing first-in-human Phase 1/2 clinical trial of EPI-321, its investigational epigenetic therapy for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD.

L3Harris Receives $33.1 Million Space Force Contract Modification, Raising Total Value To $1.53 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:01 PM

L3Harris Technologies has received a $33.1 million contract modification from the U.S. Space Force for the Unified Messaging System effort, increasing the cumulative value of the contract to approximately $1.527 billion.

KORT Payments To Acquire AptPay To Expand Real-Time Payments Across North America

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:59 PM

KORT Payments has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of AptPay, expanding the company's omnichannel payments platform into real-time account-to-account payments, disbursements, and payment orchestration across North America.

Cardinal Infrastructure Group Revises $357.5 Million Hughes Brothers Acquisition Terms

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:57 PM

Cardinal Infrastructure Group has entered into an amended agreement for its planned acquisition of Hughes Brothers Construction, maintaining the $357.5 million base purchase price while changing the mix of consideration to 60% cash and 40% Cardinal Class A common stock from an earlier 50-50 split.

Nuveen Private Capital Surpasses $100 Billion In Committed Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 1:54 PM

Nuveen Private Capital has surpassed $100 billion in committed capital, reaching the milestone roughly three years after the platform was established through the combination of Churchill Asset Management and Arcmont Asset Management.