Northstar Security has emerged from stealth with $7 million in seed funding to develop its agentic AI platform for identifying and resolving interconnected cybersecurity risks. The round was led by Wing Venture Capital, with participation from MVP, Outliers, and cybersecurity industry veterans Gerhard Eschelbeck, Renaud Deraison, and Justin Somaini.

Foundation Source is a financial technology and philanthropic services company that helps individuals, families, financial advisors, and institutions establish and manage charitable giving programs. The company provides technology, administration, and specialized expertise across private foundations, donor-advised funds, planned giving, and other charitable vehicles. Under the leadership of CEO Joseph (Joe) Mrak III, Foundation Source has expanded into a broader PhilTech platform through strategic acquisitions and enterprise partnerships. As of year-end 2025, the company supported more than 5,600 private foundations, 20,000 donor-advised fund accounts, and 1,700 nonprofits, while administering more than $55 billion in charitable assets. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Foundation Source CEO Joe Mrak to learn more about his background in financial technology, the emergence of PhilTech, the company's growth strategy, AI-powered philanthropy solutions, and the expanding role of charitable giving within wealth management.

Burns Engineering has acquired PRVN Consultants, expanding its Power & Utilities capabilities and strengthening its presence across the Midwest.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing has closed a $5.1 billion loan package for Alliant Energy to expand power generation and strengthen grid reliability across Iowa and Wisconsin.

Hummingbird has acquired Quantimon, a machine learning platform focused on anti-money laundering risk detection, as it expands its AI-powered financial crime compliance platform.

Amazon has unveiled a major expansion of its Alexa hardware and smart-home ecosystem with five new devices, including the Echo Show 16, Echo Time, Alexa Photo Frame, Echo Dot, and Echo Studio with Home Camera, along with a new interactive 3D Alexa Home Map.

Samsung Electronics America has announced U.S. availability for Galaxy Buds On, a new pair of open-ear wireless earbuds designed to provide clear audio while allowing users to remain aware of their surroundings. Galaxy Buds On will be available in black for $229 in the U.S. beginning in early November 2026.

Ground Up Investing has reached a $6 million first close for its second impact investment fund, which is targeting $20 million to support agricultural businesses across Africa and Latin America.

Coherence Neuro has raised a $45 million Series A co-led by Founders Fund and The OpenAI Startup Fund to advance technology designed to continuously monitor cancer and eventually enable treatment systems that adapt based on real-time biological data.

Cognitive Credit has secured a $40 million strategic growth investment led by Summit Partners, with continued participation from ETFS Capital, to accelerate global expansion and product development.

Kevel has raised $52 million in new capital to accelerate development of its artificial intelligence-powered commerce media infrastructure and expand globally.

Deetken Impact has completed a $100 million first close of its Inclusive Climate Action Fund, advancing the impact investment manager toward a $300 million fundraising target.

Inovia Capital has held a $200 million first close for Inovia Venture Fund 6, its latest venture capital fund focused on backing technology companies and emerging frontier technologies.

Modern Wealth Management has acquired 4thGEN Wealth Management, a Lodi, California-based advisory practice overseeing approximately $330 million in client assets.

LTC Properties has acquired a seniors housing community in Pennsylvania for $52 million, bringing the real estate investment trust’s year-to-date seniors housing operating portfolio investments to more than $880 million.

Hive has raised a $27 million Series B investment from Frontier Growth to expand its marketing platform for the live events industry and accelerate development of new artificial intelligence capabilities.

Boomi has acquired Elementary Data, a provider of data observability, quality, governance, and discovery technology, as the company expands the capabilities of its Enterprise Platform for artificial intelligence and agentic workflows.

Marquette University has received a $2 million gift from alumnus Nanda Alapati to support undergraduate and graduate research in biological sciences.

Upwind has raised $400 million in Series C funding at a $3.8 billion valuation as the cloud and AI security company expands its platform for securing increasingly complex enterprise infrastructure and autonomous AI agents. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Canapi Ventures and existing investors Cyberstarts, Greylock Partners, Craft Ventures, Leaders Fund, Salesforce Ventures, TCV, Alta Park Capital, Penny Jar Capital, Cerca Partners, Swish Ventures, and Picture Capital.

Switzer-CARTY Transportation Services has secured a $300 million revolving credit facility from a five-bank syndicate led by Scotiabank, providing the student transportation company with additional capital to support expansion across Canada and the United States.

Bouwinvest Real Estate Investors and Tishman Speyer have formed a separately managed account to acquire high-quality office properties across major U.S. markets.

William Blair has acquired Armentum Partners, a boutique debt and alternative capital advisory firm serving venture-backed companies, public companies, academic institutions, and other organizations.

Wells Fargo has named Kleber Santos CEO of Consumer Banking and Lending, while Saul Van Beurden will shift his focus exclusively to leading artificial intelligence initiatives across the company.

Mintz has added Alexander Katznelson as a Partner in its Securities & Capital Markets Practice in Toronto, expanding the firm’s cross-border corporate finance and capital markets capabilities across the United States and Canada.

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani has added Timothy A. Sullivan III as a Partner in its Wilmington office, strengthening the firm’s litigation capabilities in Delaware and across the Mid-Atlantic region.

A.Y. Strauss has appointed John J. Bono as Chief Operating Officer, adding an experienced law firm and financial services executive to its leadership team as the firm continues to expand its practices and operations.

iCOUNTER has appointed Mark H. FitzPatrick as Chief Financial Officer, adding an executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience across technology, media, and consumer businesses.

Forgent Power Solutions has appointed Amy Ard as Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Ryan Fiedler, who will step down from the role and transition to an external consulting position.

The University of Alabama School of Law raised more than $37.6 million through The Rising Tide 2.0 Capital Campaign, exceeding its original $30 million fundraising goal.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have named Ted Towne as Chief Financial Officer, adding a veteran sports finance executive to the organization’s leadership team.