Innovation

FTV Capital Promotes Adam Hallquist To Partner And Announces Additional Team Advancements

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

FTV Capital, a sector-focused growth equity investment firm, announced the promotion of Adam Hallquist to partner as the firm continues to expand its investment platform and Ascend strategy. The firm also revealed a series of additional promotions across its investment, talent, and technology teams.

Star Mountain Capital Closes Oversubscribed $286 Million Second SBIC Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

Star Mountain Capital, an employee-owned U.S. lower middle-market investment firm with approximately $4.5 billion in assets under management, announced the final close of its second Small Business Investment Company fund at $286 million in investible capital, exceeding its target. The fund size was structured to optimize access to the maximum amount of U.S. Small Business Administration debentures available under the SBIC program.

Integrated Pension Services Acquires BDS Consulting To Expand National Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

Integrated Pension Services, a retirement planning services firm supporting more than 500 companies, announced that it has acquired BDS Consulting Group, a specialized retirement plan consulting firm serving more than 260 retirement plan clients nationwide.

Leo Expands With Investments In Bevara Building Services And Blackfin

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

Leo, a network of expert facilities maintenance service providers, has partnered with Bevara Building Services and Blackfin, two providers of dedicated on-site building engineers, as part of its strategy to build a national facility services business. The announcement marks another step in Leo’s effort to expand its capabilities by aligning with established operators and providing them with resources to accelerate growth.

Spur Ridge Capital Invests In Spinal Implant Distributor Axis Medical

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

Spur Ridge Capital, a Colorado-based independent sponsor investment firm, announced it has completed an investment in Axis Medical, a Denver-headquartered distributor of spinal implant and orthobiologic technologies serving surgeons and healthcare systems across Colorado and surrounding states.

AEA Elevate Expands Operating Team With Two Senior Hires

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

AEA Elevate, the professional services-focused growth buyout investment strategy of AEA Investors, announced the expansion of its operating team with the appointments of Preston Hayes as Head of Portfolio M&A and Capital Markets and Kirk Goodman as Head of Portfolio Go-To-Market.

Palm Peak Capital Closes Oversubscribed $374 Million Debut Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

Palm Peak Capital, a private equity firm investing in lower-middle-market industrial and services companies across North America, has closed its inaugural fund, raising $374 million in total committed capital.

Infinity Natural Resources Increases Antero Ohio Stake With $350 Million Strategic Equity Investment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

Infinity Natural Resources announced that it has agreed to increase its ownership interest in the $1.2 billion Antero Ohio Utica Shale acquisition from 51% to 60%, funded in part by a $350 million strategic equity investment from energy-focused private capital firms Quantum Capital Group and Carnelian Energy Capital Management, L.P.

Phoenix Tailings: $40.2 Million Raised For Accelerating U.S. Production Of Rare Earth Metals

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

Phoenix Tailings has closed a $40.2 million oversubscribed B-3 amplification round, bringing its total Series B funding to $116.6 million as the company accelerates the expansion of domestic rare earth metals production.

Yendo: $200 Million Commitment Secured From i80 For Scaling AI-Enabled Asset-Backed Credit Cards

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

Yendo announced it has secured a $200 million funding commitment from i80 Group to accelerate the growth of its AI-enabled credit card products. The new capital will support up to $200 million in additional credit card originations, allowing the company to expand its customer base nationwide and continue delivering asset-backed credit solutions to consumers.

MixRift: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Bobby Voicu About The Mixed Reality Gaming Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

MixRift is a gaming studio that develops mixed-reality games—primarily for platforms like Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro—that blend the physical and digital worlds into immersive, easy-to-pick-up experiences. Pulse 2.0 interviewed MixRift co-founder and CEO Bobby Voicu to learn more.

Eagle Wireless: $30 Million Series B Raised For Expanding 5G R&D And Domestic Device Production

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

Eagle Wireless, a U.S.-based cellular module manufacturer serving the IoT and automotive markets, announced it has raised $30 million in a Series B financing round co-led by Asymmetric Capital Partners and The O.H.I.O. Fund. The new funding brings Eagle Wireless’ total capital raised to $44 million and positions the company to expand its role as the global connectivity ecosystem transitions from 4G to 5G.

Ubyx Raises Funding From Arab Bank Fintech Accelerator AB Xelerate

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

AB Xelerate, the fintech accelerator of Arab Bank, has made a strategic investment in Ubyx, a provider of clearing and acceptance infrastructure for tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins, as regulated digital money moves from pilot initiatives to broader execution across global financial markets.

Step Pharma Secures €2.5 Million EIC Grant To Advance Dencatistat In CTPS2 Null Gynaecological Cancers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

Step Pharma has secured a €2.5 million blended finance grant from the European Innovation Council under the EIC Accelerator programme, with the award also including the potential for up to €10 million in equity investment. The funding will support the continued development of the company’s lead product, dencatistat, a first-in-class, highly selective, orally bioavailable CTPS1 inhibitor, for CTPS2 null ovarian and endometrial cancers.

SUSE Acquires Industrial IoT Platform Losant To Complete Edge Vision

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

SUSE, an enterprise open source software company, announced it has acquired Losant, an Industrial Internet of Things platform, in a move designed to complete its Edge strategy and expand its reach from the Near and Far Edge to the Tiny Edge. The acquisition positions SUSE to deliver what it describes as a full-stack open process automation platform for industrial IoT, combining infrastructure, orchestration, and application enablement at the edge.

Odynn: $9.5 Million Seed Funding Raised For AI Travel And Loyalty Infrastructure Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2026

Odynn, an AI-powered platform that enables banks and fintechs to launch personalized travel and loyalty programs, has raised $9.5 million in seed funding led by Bonfire Ventures and co-led by Fiat Ventures. The company positions itself as the “AI Shopify for loyalty and travel,” helping financial institutions deploy personalized, branded travel portals in a matter of weeks rather than years.

Code Metal: $125 Million Series B Raised For Verifiable Code Translation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Boston-based Code Metal, a company focused on verifiable code translation for mission-critical industries, has closed a $125 million Series B financing round led by Salesforce Ventures. Additional participants in the round include Accel, B Capital, Smith Point Capital, J2 Ventures, Shield Capital, Overmatch, RTX, and others. The company also announced that Ryan Aytay, former CEO of Tableau, has joined as President and Chief Operating Officer.

Jump: $80 Million Series B Secured For Expanding Advisor Intelligence Engine

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Jump, an AI platform built for financial advisors and other financial services professionals, announced it has closed an $80 million Series B funding round led by Insight Partners. The round included participation from new investors F-Prime, Allianz Life Ventures, TIAA Ventures and Peterson Partners, along with existing backers Battery Ventures, Sorenson Capital, Pelion Venture Partners and Citi Ventures, as well as several angel investors. The financing brings Jump’s total capital raised to $105 million, following a $20 million Series A round led by Battery Ventures last year.

Freeform Announces $67 Million Series B To Advance Scalable AI-Native Manufacturing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Freeform announced that it has closed a $67 million Series B funding round to accelerate its mission of scaling advanced metal additive manufacturing and eliminate traditional constraints on production capacity. The company said demand for its platform now consistently exceeds available capacity, shifting its focus from validating the technology to rapidly scaling production.

Origen Technology: $50 Million Strategic Investment Secured For Scaling AI In Real-World Applications

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Origen Technology, an artificial intelligence company focused on deploying AI in real-world commercial environments, announced it has secured a $50 million strategic investment from BlueFive Capital.

Stacks: $23 Million Series A Raised For Agentic Enterprise Finance Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Stacks, an agentic artificial intelligence platform built for enterprise finance teams, announced it has raised a $23 million Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from EQT Ventures, General Catalyst and S16VC. The financing comes less than a year after the company’s $12 million seed round led by General Catalyst, underscoring its early traction and growth momentum.

NuCube Energy: $13 Million Raised For Nuclear Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

NuCube Energy announced it has secured $13 million in funding as electricity demand surges across artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and industrial reshoring sectors in the United States. The financing round was led by Arizona Nuclear Ventures and included investments from Emission Reduction Corporation and individual investors Rob Walton and Jordan Rose Walton.

Mirai: $10 Million Seed Funding Raised For Building AI Capability Layer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Mirai announced it has raised $10 million in seed funding to build an on-device AI capability layer designed to make local inference accessible and efficient for developers. The round was led by Uncork Capital.

Hook: $10 Million Series A Closed For Expanding Licensed Fan Remix Ecosystem

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Hook, an artist-first social platform for fan-powered music creation, announced it has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from existing investors Point72 Ventures, Imaginary Ventures, and Waverley Capital. The round brings the company’s total funding to $16 million. Existing investors across the music ecosystem include Palm Tree Crew, Three Six Zero, Avex, The Raine Group, and musician and DJ KSHMR.

Rapidata: $8.5 Million Seed Funding Closed For Scaling Global Human Feedback Network

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Rapidata announced it has raised an $8.5 million seed round to accelerate AI development by scaling on-demand human feedback for model training and evaluation. The round was co-led by Canaan Partners and IA Ventures, with participation from Acequia Capital and BlueYard Capital.

Quantonation Closes €220 Million Second Fund To Scale Quantum And Industrial Technologies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

New York and Paris-based venture capital firm Quantonation Ventures has closed its second flagship fund at €220 million, surpassing its €200 million target and becoming the largest dedicated quantum investment firm globally by assets under management.

OSS Ventures Announces First Close Of €75 Million Fund To Expand European And US Software Portfolio

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

OSS Ventures, an industrial venture studio focused on building and scaling vertical software companies, announced the first close of its new €75 million fund dedicated to accelerating the digital transformation of manufacturing and industrial businesses across Europe and the United States.

Unicity Labs Raises $3 Million Seed Funding Round To Scale Peer-To-Peer Infrastructure For Autonomous AI Agents

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Unicity Labs has raised $3 million in seed funding to advance its peer-to-peer cryptographic architecture designed for autonomous AI agents and agentic marketplaces. The round was led by Blockchange Ventures, with participation from Tawasal and Outlier Ventures. The company said the capital will support the development of the Unicity Protocol, which aims to enable AI agents to form trustless, peer-to-peer marketplaces at machine speed.

Hybridity AI Raises SEK 22 Million To Accelerate AI-Driven Compliance

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Stockholm-based AI RegTech company Hybridity AI has raised SEK 22 million to accelerate the commercialization of its AI-native compliance platform, Hy5. Founded in 2023, the company has built a system designed to automate the most resource-intensive aspects of regulatory compliance, from interpreting complex regulations to ensuring ongoing adherence.

Mondra Merges With European Sustainability Intelligence Firm inoqo

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Mondra, the leading Scope 3 SaaS solution for the retail sector, and inoqo, the premier European sustainability intelligence platform, have announced a strategic merger, creating a single, unified global entity focused on accelerating decarbonisation and strengthening resilience across the global food system.