Innovation

OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners Adds $700 Million Minneapolis Firm Voyage Wealth Architects

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 9:30 AM

OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners has acquired Voyage Wealth Architects, a Minneapolis based wealth management firm overseeing $700 million in assets under management, in a deal that further scales OnePoint BFG’s national platform and deepens its emphasis on planning led advice in the Midwest.

BCKD Capital’s SVCV Holding Company Acquires Hong Kong Media Firm Hyped Media

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:46 AM

Global financial hybrid firm BCKD Capital said it is acquiring Hyped Media, a Hong Kong-based media company with a portfolio of digital outlets, including TheBritExpress, CelebDispatch, TheWorldExpress, The Pose, and Le Protagonist. The deal is described as the first acquisition in the media portfolio of SVCV's newly launched multinational holding company.

LeadDesk Acquires Fluentic To Expand Multilingual Customer Service Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:41 AM

LeadDesk announced it has acquired the Finnish AI-powered translation solution Fluentic from Fluentic Oy in a trade sale, adding AI-based translation and automation tools aimed at helping contact centers deliver more consistent customer service across multiple languages while improving efficiency.

Diald AI: Interview With COO Samantha Um About The AI-Based Investment Analysis Platform for Real Estate

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:00 AM

Diald AI is an AI-powered investment analysis platform used by teams making real estate and site selection decisions. The platform acts as an automated analyst, scanning over 1.7 million data sources–including zoning filings, market comps, public records, local news–to generate comprehensive, institutional-grade due diligence and underwriting reports in just hours rather than weeks. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Diald AI's COO Samantha Um to learn more.

J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s 2026 Family Office Report Finds AI Interest High And Portfolio Exposure Still Limited

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:00 AM

J.P. Morgan Private Bank published its 2026 Global Family Office Report, a study of 333 family offices across 30 countries with an average participant net worth of $1.6 billion.

Spring Health To Acquire Alma, Pairing Employer And Payer Benefits With Clinician Insurance Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:34 AM

Spring Health announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Alma, bringing together two mental health companies on opposite sides of the care-delivery equation: Spring Health’s employer and health plan benefit platform and Alma’s membership model that helps independent clinicians accept insurance and operate in-network private practices.

Ovintiv Appoints Gregory P. Hill To Board of Directors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:28 PM

Ovintiv announced it has appointed Gregory P. Hill as an independent member of its board of directors, effective January 30, 2026, adding a veteran upstream operator with decades of global exploration and production leadership.

University Of Alberta Partners With City of Edmonton And Diesel Tech Industries To Pilot Hydrogen-Diesel Bus Retrofits

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:26 PM

The University of Alberta is partnering with the City of Edmonton and Diesel Tech Industries to cut carbon emissions from Edmonton’s fleet of diesel-powered buses by integrating hydrogen fuel into existing combustion engines.

Volvo Construction Equipment Completes Swecon Acquisition In Sweden, Germany, And the Baltics In 7 Billion SEK Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:24 PM

Volvo Construction Equipment has completed its previously announced acquisition of Swecon after receiving approval from the European Commission. The transaction, valued at an enterprise value of 7 billion SEK, brings Swecon’s business operations in Sweden, Germany, and the Baltics under Volvo CE’s ownership, including Entrack.

Tarabut Acquires Servable To Build AI-Native Financial Infrastructure Across MENA

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:11 PM

Tarabut, a regulated open banking platform operating across Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, has acquired Servable.dev, a Bahrain-founded full-stack AI engineering company built for regulated industries. The deal positions Tarabut to expand from open banking connectivity into what it describes as a full-stack, AI-native financial platform, aiming to help banks and fintechs move beyond basic data access into real-time, intelligent financial decisioning delivered securely, compliantly, and at scale.

ViCentra Names Reman McDonagh As Vice President Of Global Marketing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:08 PM

ViCentra has appointed Reman McDonagh, PhD, as Vice President, Global Marketing, to provide senior commercialization leadership as the company scales execution across Europe and advances preparations for its next-generation Kaleido insulin patch pump system, including planned launches in the EU and the U.S.

Drupal CMS 2.0 Launches Visual Builder, Optional AI Tools, And Site Templates For Faster Website Creation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:06 PM

Drupal CMS 2.0 represents one of the most significant updates in Drupal’s history, introducing a new visual building experience, optional AI assistance, and ready-made site templates designed to help teams launch polished, fully branded websites much faster, while still being built on Drupal core and retaining the enterprise-grade security, scalability, and flexibility the platform is known for.

Playfly Sports Names Chris Marinak As President As The Company Expands Commercial Leadership

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:04 PM

Playfly Sports has created a new strategic leadership role and appointed Chris Marinak as president, effective March 2, 2026, as the company looks to extend its momentum and capitalize on shifting dynamics in sports media and marketing. Marinak will oversee the company’s commercial engine across three business divisions: Media, Sponsorship, and Advisory and Services, reporting to Craig Sloan.

Sngular Names Chris Brown As Managing Director To Lead U.S. Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 11:00 AM

Sngular has appointed Chris Brown as Managing Director, United States, tasking the veteran technology-services executive with leading the company’s U.S. growth strategy and client execution as enterprises push to turn advanced-technology experiments into production-grade outcomes.

New Charter Technologies Names Michelle Curtis As Chief Revenue Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:55 AM

New Charter Technologies has appointed Michelle Curtis as chief revenue officer, adding a veteran channel leader to help accelerate growth, deepen client engagement, and formalize a more modern, scalable go-to-market engine. The company, a portfolio business of Oval Partners, said Curtis will oversee all revenue functions and lead the evolution of New Charter’s commercial strategy across SMB, mid-market, and enterprise customers.

Omnicom Names Jantzen Bridges As Global President Of Credera

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:53 AM

Omnicom has appointed Jantzen Bridges as Global President of Credera, positioning her to lead large-scale, AI-enabled enterprise transformation work for clients seeking to modernize how marketing, sales, technology, and operations work together. In this role, Bridges will shape Credera’s service and delivery strategy while partnering with senior enterprise leaders on programs to redesign data platforms, technology strategies, and operating processes as AI becomes increasingly central to value creation.

OnePay Taps Patrick O’Connell As CFO As Consumer Fintech Expands Product Suite

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:51 AM

CAQH Names Melissa Frieswick As First Chief Commercial Officer To Expand Growth And Partnerships

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:49 AM

CAQH announced it has appointed Melissa Frieswick as its first Chief Commercial Officer, creating a new executive role designed to accelerate the organization’s next phase of growth and deepen how it works with providers, health plans, and industry partners. The move signals a sharper commercial focus as healthcare stakeholders look to extract greater impact from the data, connectivity, and operational solutions that underpin day-to-day administrative and clinical workflows across the system.

IBM Adds PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta To Board

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:04 AM

International Business Machines (IBM) has elected Ramon L. Laguarta to its board of directors, expanding the company’s outside leadership bench as it continues to position itself for long-term growth and governance oversight. The appointment takes effect March 1, 2026, and adds a seasoned global operator from the consumer and supply chain-intensive world to IBM’s boardroom.

Lyric Health Names Bill Schmitt As Chief Growth Officer To Expand AI-Based Virtual Care And Enterprise Partnerships

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:01 AM

Lyric Health has appointed Bill Schmitt as Chief Growth Officer, a newly created role aimed at accelerating growth for the company’s AI-powered virtual care and integrated health navigation platform. The appointment was announced as Lyric looks to expand its market presence and deepen enterprise partnerships across healthcare, employer benefits, and plan sponsor ecosystems.

OPSWAT Names Bill Carey CFO As Cybersecurity Firm Scales Critical Infrastructure Protection

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:59 AM

OPSWAT has appointed Bill Carey as chief financial officer, bringing on a veteran technology finance leader with public company and IPO experience to lead financial strategy and governance as the company expands its cybersecurity offerings for critical infrastructure protection.

Juniper Square Names Jason Sheller Global Head Of Go To Market For Fund Administration

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:57 AM

Juniper Square has appointed Jason Sheller as Global Head of Go To Market, Fund Administration, tasking the longtime financial services sales and business development executive with leading the global go-to-market strategy for the company’s fund administration business.

Waymo Eyeing $16 Billion Raise At Nearly $110 Billion Valuation, Says Report

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:55 AM

Alphabet’s Waymo is reportedly pursuing a massive new funding round that could push the self-driving leader’s valuation into rarefied territory, even as U.S. regulators sharpen their scrutiny of robotaxi safety. According to Bloomberg News, Waymo is aiming to raise about $16 billion in financing at a valuation of nearly $110 billion, citing people familiar with the matter. The report indicates that parent Alphabet would supply roughly $13 billion of the total, with the remaining capital expected to come from outside investors, including Sequoia Capital, DST Global, and Dragoneer Investment Group.

R.P. Lumber Expands In Indiana With Deal To Buy Bender Lumber, Reaching 99 Stores

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:40 AM

R.P. Lumber, a family-owned building materials retailer and home center based in Edwardsville, Illinois, said it has agreed to acquire Bender Lumber, a long-standing building supply company with deep roots in Southern Indiana.

Serverfarm Closes $3 Billion To Build More Data Centers Across North America

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:33 AM

Serverfarm announced it has closed a $3 billion credit facility, finalized in December 2025, to fund the development and construction of multiple hyperscale campus projects across key North American markets. The company said the financing is supported by a syndicate of 23 institutional lenders and is designed to enable it to deliver AI-ready data center infrastructure for cloud providers and AI companies seeking massive-scale deployments.

J.F. Lehman Launches Environmental Services Platform With Majority Stakes In Tradewater And RTI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:25 AM

J.F. Lehman & Company has formed a new environmental services platform after an investment affiliate of JFL Equity Investors VI, L.P. acquired majority stakes in Tradewater LLC and Reclamation Technologies USA. The two acquisitions are intended to serve as foundational investments for a growth-oriented platform focused on the lifecycle management of industrial and refrigerant gases and on mitigating uncontrolled methane sources, with an emphasis on specialized closed-loop services shaped by regulatory complexity and customer demand.

Standard Chartered Arranges €641.1 Million In Financing For Uganda Power Grid, Roads, And Water Projects

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 12:34 AM

Standard Chartered has arranged €641.1 million in financing for the Government of Uganda to support three major infrastructure projects across power transmission, road upgrades, and water supply and sanitation, according to an announcement in Kampala. The signing took place at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (Uganda).

Jalasoft: Interview With CEO Jorge Lopez About The Software Development Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 31, 2026

Jalasoft is a company that provides outsourced software development, quality assurance, and IT engineering services for companies that need scalable, high-quality technical talent. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Jalasoft CEO Jorge Lopez to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Technology Management Concepts Acquires The TM Group To Expand Microsoft Applications, Data, And AI Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 31, 2026

Technology Management Concepts, a Microsoft-focused consulting firm based in El Segundo, California, has acquired The TM Group, an ERP and CRM consulting firm headquartered in Novi, Michigan. The deal adds additional depth in Microsoft ERP and CRM work and broadens Technology Management Concepts’ capabilities across Power Platform and cloud services, with an emphasis on supporting customers as they adopt modern data, automation, and AI solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Mediawan To Acquire The North Road Company, Building A Global Independent Content Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 31, 2026

Mediawan announced it has signed an agreement to acquire The North Road Company, a U.S.-based studio founded by Peter Chernin, in a combination the companies say will create one of the world’s largest independent studios with major creative hubs across five continents. The deal, announced from Paris and Los Angeles, is positioned to broaden the group’s ability to develop and scale premium IP, accelerate international format adaptations, and increase co-production opportunities across markets.