Innovation

Midnite: $35 Million Series C Raised To Fund Product, Hiring, And International Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Midnite, a UK-based sportsbook and casino operator, has closed a $35 million Series C funding round led by Raine Partners IV, the flagship growth equity fund of The Raine Group, as the company pushes to scale its platform and expand beyond its home market.

PK Consumer Health To Acquire Finland’s Puhdistamo, Expanding Nordic Consumer Healthcare Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

PK Consumer Health, a consumer healthcare platform backed by Avista Healthcare Partners and Damier Group, has signed an agreement to acquire Finland-based Puhdistamo – Real Foods Oy, expanding PK’s footprint in the Nordic region and adding exposure to fast-growing categories including vitamins, minerals and supplements, sports nutrition, and functional drinks.

SEMCAP Food & Nutrition Closes $125 Million Debut Fund Backed By Strategic Industry Investors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

SEMCAP Food & Nutrition announced it has closed its inaugural Food & Nutrition fund with $125 million in commitments, positioning the growth equity platform to expand its portfolio of “better-for-you” and sustainable food brands across the U.S. and Canada.

CF Private Equity Closes Fifth Co-Investment Fund at $187 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

CF Private Equity has completed the final close of its fifth dedicated private equity co-investment vehicle, CF Private Equity Co-Investment Opportunities V, L.P., raising $187 million and surpassing its $175 million target.

H.I.G. Growth Sells Minority myKaarma Stake To Warburg Pincus

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

H.I.G. Growth Partners, the growth equity affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, has sold a minority stake in portfolio company myKaarma to Warburg Pincus, bringing the global growth investor onto myKaarma’s board of directors as the dealership software provider enters its next stage of expansion.

Bertram Capital Exits NEFCO With Sale To Leonard Green

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Bertram Capital announced it has completed the sale of its portfolio company NEFCO Holding Company LLC to Leonard Green & Partners, marking Bertram’s second exit from its Fund IV and its 23rd realization since the firm launched in 2006. Financial terms were not disclosed.

ALTÉRRA And BBVA Partner On Proposed $1.2 Billion Climate Co-Investment Fund With $250M Commitment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

ALTÉRRA, one of the world’s largest private investment vehicles for climate finance, and BBVA said they have formed a new partnership centered on a climate co-investment vehicle that ALTÉRRA plans to launch, with BBVA committing $250 million as a proposed strategic limited partner, subject to regulatory approvals.

Slips: $3.5 Million Series Seed Raised To Expand Peer-To-Peer Betting Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Slips, a peer-to-peer betting company positioning itself as an alternative to traditional sportsbooks, said it has raised a $3.5 million series seed round to accelerate product development, hiring, and national expansion. The round was led by Las Olas Capital and Sunset Bay Capital. Slips also cited participation from several individual and strategic investors, including Andrew Schwartzberg, whom the company identified as a co-owner of the Charlotte Hornets and Leeds United.

BXP Closes Over $1 Billion In Asset Sales, Advancing 2025–2027 Disposition Plan

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

BXP announced it has completed a series of property sales generating aggregate net proceeds of more than $1.0 billion, marking progress toward the company’s multi-year $1.9 billion disposition target for 2025 through 2027 that it outlined at its September 2025 Investor Day.

Indiana’s National Drone Test Site Spotlights Arrive AI’s Push To Scale Autonomous Delivery

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Arrive AI is positioning itself as a key infrastructure player in autonomous delivery after Indiana was selected as a newly designated federal Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) testing site, a move the company says is the first expansion of its kind in more than a decade.

Mission Produce To Acquire Calavo Growers In $430 Million Deal, Expanding Avocado Supply And Entering Prepared Foods

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Mission Produce announced it has agreed to acquire Calavo Growers in a cash-and-stock deal that would expand Mission’s North American avocado footprint, add new fresh-produce categories, and provide an entry into prepared foods through Calavo’s guacamole and related products.

University Of Utah Startup CaLycia Bioscience Advances Macrophage-Engineered Cell Therapy For Glioblastoma

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

University of Utah startup CaLycia Bioscience is developing an immune cell therapy designed to treat aggressive brain and spine cancers such as glioblastoma from within the body, aiming to provide an alternative path beyond standard radiation and chemotherapy.

Slack Unveils Rebuilt Slackbot As Context-Aware AI Agent For Work

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Slack announced it has rebuilt Slackbot from the ground up, repositioning the familiar in-app helper as a “personal, context-aware AI agent” designed to reduce the time employees spend searching for decisions, summarizing conversations, and tracking down files across channels and tools.

Ammobia: $7.5 Million Raised To Scale Low-Cost Ammonia Production Technology Critical To Energy Resilience

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Ammobia, a San Francisco-based startup developing modular “Haber-Bosch 2.0” ammonia production plants, has raised a $7.5 million seed round to advance reactor technology it says can materially cut the cost and complexity of ammonia synthesis. The round was backed by Shell Ventures, ALIAD (Air Liquide), MOL Switch (Mitsui O.S.K. Lines’ venture arm), and Chevron Technology Ventures, with additional participation from Katapult Ocean, AIR Capital, Alumni Ventures, and Motivate Fund. Ammobia also reported follow-on capital from existing investors, including Starlight Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Arosa Capital, and Zero Infinity Partners, bringing total funding to $13.5 million across dilutive and non-dilutive capital.

Royal Van Leeuwen Acquires Corrotherm International’s Global Business Activities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Royal Van Leeuwen has acquired the global business activities of Corrotherm International, expanding its offering in specialist nickel alloy products for energy-related applications. Corrotherm, founded in 1992, supplies nickel alloy seamless pipes, fittings and flanges to international customers, including those in oil and gas and the petrochemical industry.

Highwire Acquires The Bliss Group To Create Integrated Marketing And Communications Agency For High-Growth Brands

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Highwire announced it has acquired The Bliss Group, combining two independent agencies in a bid to build a more integrated marketing and communications partner focused on linking reputation and demand programs to measurable business outcomes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Coastal Joins Tata Consultancy Services To Expand Salesforce-Led Transformation Work Globally

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Coastal, a Salesforce, data and AI consultancy formerly known as Coastal Cloud, announced it has been acquired by Tata Consultancy Services, a global IT services and digital transformation provider with operations spanning 46 countries.

Tocvan Appoints Anna Ladd-Kruger To Board And Grants 300,000 Stock Options

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Tocvan Ventures has appointed mining executive Anna Ladd-Kruger as an independent director, effective January 14, 2026, adding a board member with more than 25 years of leadership experience spanning finance, capital markets, M&A and governance across multiple mining jurisdictions.

Sedgwick Launches Global Specialty Platform For Complex And High-Severity Losses

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Sedgwick announced it has launched a new Sedgwick Global Specialty platform aimed at managing the largest and most technically complex losses, expanding on its existing marine and energy capabilities, and widening its focus across additional specialty risk categories.

OptConnect Buys DPL Wireless To Add AI-Based Device Intelligence To Global Managed IoT Connectivity Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

OptConnect, a provider of managed wireless connectivity solutions, has acquired Canada-based DPL Wireless to expand its engineering capabilities and bring more device-level intelligence to IoT deployments, particularly in ATM connectivity and adjacent use cases.

SiteOne Landscape Supply Acquires Bourget Flagstone Co.

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

SiteOne Landscape Supply announced it has completed the acquisition of Bourget Flagstone Co., a division of Bourget Bros. Building Materials is a wholesale distributor of hardscape products with one location in Santa Monica, California.

One Rock Capital Partners Buys Majority Stake In American Furniture Rentals

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

One Rock Capital Partners announced an affiliate has acquired a majority stake in American Furniture Rentals (AFR), a national furniture rental provider serving special events, trade shows, and residential and commercial customers across the U.S. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Diligent Acquires 3rdRisk To Deliver AI-Native Third-Party Risk Management At Scale

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Diligent, a governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) software provider that positions itself as an AI-first platform, said it has acquired 3rdRisk, an AI-native third-party risk management platform headquartered in the Netherlands.

Phenom Acquires Included AI, Bringing Agentic People Analytics To HR And Business Leaders

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Phenom, an applied AI company focused on helping organizations hire, develop, and retain talent, said it has acquired Included, an AI-native agentic people analytics platform designed to turn fragmented workforce data into actionable insights for faster decision-making.

ISG Acquires AI Maturity Index Platform As Part Of Broader AI Acceleration Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Information Services Group (ISG) announced it has acquired the AI Maturity Index, a SaaS platform designed to help organizations assess and improve workforce readiness for adopting AI, as the company expands a broader AI acceleration strategy that also includes a new internal AI Acceleration Unit and an upcoming AI-powered insights platform.

Behringer Buys 182,154-SF Addison Industrial Property From Pillar Commercial Affiliate

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Behringer has acquired Addison II, a light industrial building in Addison, Texas, from an affiliate of Allen-based Pillar Commercial, expanding the Dallas-based family office’s light industrial footprint in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

Prometheus Acquires Webalo To Build Closed-Loop Digital Execution Platform Linking Frontline Work To Systems Of Record

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Prometheus Group, an enterprise asset management (EAM) software provider, has acquired Webalo, an AI-enabled connected worker platform, in a deal aimed at closing the gap between frontline activity and enterprise execution.

Teledyne Buying DD-Scientific For Electrochemical Gas Sensors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Teledyne Technologies has acquired DD-Scientific Holdings Limited and its subsidiary, DD-Scientific Limited, adding a U.K.-based gas-sensing specialist to its portfolio of environmental, industrial process, and gas- and flame-detection businesses.

Pi Squared: Interview With Founder & CEO Grigore Roșu About The Decentralized Payments Network

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Pi Squared is building FastSet, a decentralized settlement and payments network designed to deliver instant, trustless transactions (and verifiable computation) at internet scale without the bottlenecks of traditional blockchains. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Pi Squared founder and CEO Grigore Roșu to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Bitzero: Interview With President Mohammed Bakhashwain About The Blockchain Infrastructure Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Bitzero develops clean, renewable-energy-powered data centers designed to support high-performance computing, blockchain infrastructure, and sustainable digital operations. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Bitzero President Mohammed Bakhashwain to gain a deeper understanding of the company.