Pulse 2.0

OpenAI Reportedly Explores New Funding At $1.2 Trillion Valuation

Goldman Sachs Alternatives Raises $11.7 Billion Across Private Equity Funds

Lennar Reports $8 Billion In Q3 Revenue And 20,840 Home Deliveries

OpenWorld: Interview With Co-Founder and CEO Matthew Shaw About Web3, Tokenization, And Digital Asset Infrastructure

TPG’s Rise Funds To Invest In Emergency Response Software Provider Tablet Command

Worldwide NFT Signs LOI To Acquire Government Cybersecurity Provider RedTrace Technologies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:46 PM

Worldwide NFT has signed a letter of intent to acquire 100% of RedTrace Technologies, a Maryland-based cybersecurity and cyber intelligence company serving U.S. government customers.

gFiber Unveils New Brand Identity As Fiber Internet Provider Expands Across 19 States

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:42 PM

gFiber, formerly known as Google Fiber and GFiber, has introduced a new brand identity featuring an updated logo, typography and a new color palette as the fiber internet provider enters its next stage of expansion.

Pagaya Signs Up To $700 Million Auto Loan Forward Flow Agreement With Neuberger Specialty Finance

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:39 PM

Pagaya Technologies has signed a new forward flow agreement with Neuberger Specialty Finance for the purchase of up to $700 million of auto loans sourced through Pagaya's network of lending partners, expanding the AI-driven financial technology company's base of committed long-term capital.

Brookfield To Acquire Plumbing And Heating Products Manufacturer Reliance Worldwide For About $2.8 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:38 PM

Brookfield has agreed to acquire 100% of Reliance Worldwide Corporation, a global manufacturer of plumbing and heating products, in an all-cash transaction valuing the company at approximately $2.8 billion on an enterprise value basis.

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Commercial Insurance And Surety Brokerage Innovise Business Consultants

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:37 PM

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Innovise Business Consultants, an Englewood, Colorado-based commercial insurance brokerage and surety bonding firm formally known as McMillan Insurance & Bonding. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

McLaren Automotive To Invest £500 Million In UK Operations, Launch Performance SUV, And Bring Engine Production In-House

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:37 PM

McLaren Automotive has announced a £500 million investment program to expand its UK manufacturing, engineering and product development operations as the supercar company prepares to broaden its lineup, including the launch of a newly confirmed performance SUV.

Anthropic Merges Claude Cowork And Chat Into One Claude, Launches Claude Docs And Claude Slides

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:03 PM

Anthropic is merging Claude Cowork and its standard chat experience into a single Claude interface, eliminating the need for users to decide whether a task belongs in a conversational assistant or a separate environment for larger projects.

Emerald AI, Google, And NVIDIA Launch AI Energy Management Alliance With 18 Partners To Advance Flexible AI Data Centers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:02 PM

Emerald AI, Google and NVIDIA have launched the AI Energy Management Alliance, a new coalition focused on making AI data centers more flexible participants in the power grid by allowing facilities to dynamically adjust electricity consumption during periods of peak grid stress.

Anderon Finalizes $1 Billion CHIPS Award To Expand U.S. Quantum Wafer Foundry

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:01 PM

Anderon, an IBM company focused on quantum wafer manufacturing, has finalized a $1 billion award under the CHIPS and Science Act with the U.S. Department of Commerce to accelerate research and development for its U.S.-based pure-play quantum foundry.

Michigan State University Team Receives $4.6 Million NIH Award, With Up To $12.8 Million Available For AI-Driven Women’s Health Research

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:46 PM

Michigan State University researchers are leading a seven-university team that has received an initial $4.6 million award from the National Institutes of Health to develop computational models aimed at improving how medications are developed and prescribed for women. The award could ultimately reach $12.8 million over three years.

Crux AI Lines Up $22 Billion Chip Loan From 10 Banks To Buy Google TPUs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:32 PM

Crux AI, the new cloud computing venture tied to Blackstone and Alphabet, is lining up a $22 billion loan from a group of 10 banks to finance purchases of Google's custom artificial intelligence chips, according to Bloomberg. The transaction represents one of the largest debt financings assembled specifically to fund the processors needed for AI computing infrastructure.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon Says Equities Remain Strong As FICC Softens And Technology Spending Accelerates

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:28 PM

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said the firm's equities business continues to perform strongly in the third quarter, while fixed income, currencies and commodities activity has been somewhat softer, according to Reuters. Solomon also signaled higher expenses as Goldman accelerates technology investments and absorbs increased transaction costs.

Federal Reserve Raises Federal Funds Rate By 25 Basis Points To 3.75%-4% Range As Warsh Says Inflation Remains Too High

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:28 PM

The Federal Reserve raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 3.75% to 4% on September 16, with Chairman Kevin Warsh saying resilient economic growth and a strong labor market give policymakers room to focus more aggressively on inflation.

Chase Launches “Invest Your Points” To Let Ultimate Rewards Members Invest Credit Card Rewards

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:23 PM

Chase has expanded its Ultimate Rewards program with a new “Invest Your Points” feature that allows eligible cardmembers to redeem rewards points for cash and direct those funds into eligible J.P. Morgan Wealth Management investment accounts.

barq Raises $329.5 Million Series A At $1.85 Billion Valuation As Saudi Fintech Expands Payments Partnerships

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:03 PM

barq has raised $329.5 million in a Series A funding round at a $1.85 billion valuation, giving the Saudi fintech substantial new capital as it expands its digital payments ecosystem through a series of strategic partnerships spanning merchant payments, banking, insurance, travel, e-commerce and social-impact initiatives.

Ridgeline Raises $250 Million Series E At $1.425 Billion Valuation To Expand AI-Native Investment Management Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:00 PM

Ridgeline, an AI-native investment management platform for asset and wealth managers, has raised $250 million in Series E funding at a $1.425 billion valuation as the company expands its artificial intelligence capabilities, managed services business and international footprint.

Plains To Acquire Silver Creek Midstream Assets For $585 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:00 PM

Plains All American Pipeline and Plains GP Holdings have agreed to acquire Silver Creek Midstream's Powder River Basin crude oil gathering assets for approximately $585 million in cash, expanding Plains' Rockies infrastructure and strengthening its direct connectivity to producer supply.

Portage Closes $600 Million Ventures IV Fintech Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 4:59 PM

Portage has closed Portage Ventures IV at approximately $600 million, giving the global fintech investment platform a substantial new pool of capital to back companies across wealth and asset management, banking, insurance, payments and other areas of financial services.

Apollo And KKR Complete €3 Billion Capital Solution For Bayer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 4:58 PM

Apollo-managed funds and affiliates have completed a €3 billion capital solution for Bayer, with KKR joining the transaction as a significant minority participant.

CareTrust REIT Acquires $400 Million Skilled Nursing Portfolio And Reloads Pipeline To $600 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 4:57 PM

CareTrust REIT has acquired a large portfolio of skilled nursing facilities in the U.S. Southwest for $400 million, pushing its 2026 year-to-date investment activity to approximately $1.9 billion while replenishing its near-term investment pipeline to roughly $600 million.

BlueOrchard Climate Action Mobilisation Fund Reaches $250 Million First Close For Emerging Markets Climate Finance

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 4:57 PM

BlueOrchard has reached a $250 million first close for its Climate Action Mobilisation Fund, creating a blended-finance strategy designed to channel institutional capital into climate-related investments across emerging and frontier markets.

Factory Raises $200 Million At $5 Billion Valuation To Scale Self-Improving Software Development Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 4:56 PM

Factory has raised $200 million in new financing at a $5 billion valuation as the enterprise AI software company scales its platform for autonomous and self-improving software development. The round included Blackstone, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, Evantic Capital, Sound Ventures, NEA, Mantis VC and Clearlake, along with angel investors including Nico Rosberg, Brad Gerstner and Marc Benioff. The financing brings Factory's total funding to more than $400 million.

TLD Robotics Launches After ALVEST Acquires EasyMile, Building On More Than 50,000 Autonomous Missions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 3:35 PM

TLD Robotics has launched as a new ALVEST company focused on autonomous ground operations following ALVEST's acquisition of EasyMile, combining EasyMile, TractEasy, and TLD's existing driverless activities into a single business serving airports and industrial facilities.

Cerenome Appoints Samantha Fowlkes As Vice President And Head Of Commercial Sales For CNSide Diagnostics

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 3:33 PM

Cerenome has appointed Samantha Fowlkes as Vice President and Head of Commercial Sales for CNSide Diagnostics, its wholly owned central nervous system oncology diagnostics subsidiary, as the company works to expand adoption of the CNSide platform among physicians, health systems and pathology organizations.

Cohere And Aleph Alpha Sign Deal To Create Transatlantic Sovereign AI Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 3:25 PM

Cohere and Aleph Alpha have signed a definitive business combination agreement that will bring together the Canadian and German AI companies under the Cohere name, creating what the companies describe as the first transatlantic sovereign AI provider.

Smart Communications Reports 17% Rise In First-Half Bookings And Names Rachel Elias-Jones As CFO And Chris Manton-Jones CCRO

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 3:21 PM

Smart Communications, a customer engagement technology provider serving regulated industries, reported its strongest-ever first-half bookings performance, with bookings increasing 17% year over year as enterprises invest in modernizing customer communications and preparing their operations for AI.

Quorum Cyber To Acquire Ontinue To Build Microsoft-First Agentic Security Operations Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 3:19 PM

Quorum Cyber has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ontinue, a managed extended detection and response provider, in a transaction designed to create a larger Microsoft-focused cybersecurity platform built around agentic AI and 24/7 security operations. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Circular Adds Blood Pressure Monitoring To Circular Ring 2 Using ECG And PPG Sensors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 3:14 PM

Circular has introduced blood pressure monitoring for the Circular Ring 2, allowing users to estimate systolic and diastolic blood pressure from their finger in approximately 60 seconds.

Checkbox Launches First Pass AI Agent To Review Legal Requests, Contracts, And Invoices

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 3:12 PM

Checkbox has launched First Pass, a context-aware AI agent designed to review incoming legal requests, contracts and invoices before they consume lawyer time, helping in-house teams resolve routine work earlier and route more complex matters to the right people.

HubSpot Launches New Breeze Assistant, Self-Updating Smart CRM, And Marketing Studio In Major AI Platform Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 3:05 PM

HubSpot has unveiled one of its largest product updates in years, introducing a redesigned Breeze Assistant, a self-updating Smart CRM, Context Home, Marketing Studio, and expanded AI-powered sales and revenue capabilities as the company reorganizes its platform around what it calls "Growth Context."