Innovation

Ravio: $12 Million Series A Closed For Enhancing Compensation Data Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Ravio announced it has raised a $12 million Series A funding round led by Spark Capital (US) with participation from Blackbird (Australia) and Cherry Ventures (Europe) to transform how companies manage compensation with real-time market data and decision making tools.

Crowd Power Ventures: $20 Million Fund Launched For Helping Creators

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Crowd Power Ventures (CPV), a venture studio and strategic investment partner for media, marketing, and advertising talent, announced the launch of a $20 million fund to build an integrated marketing ecosystem for the creator economy.

Fastino: $17.5 Million Raised For Building Next-Gen LLMs

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Fastino AI announced it launched a new AI model architecture, coined ‘TLMs’ – Task-Specific Language Models. Fastino also announced $17.5 million in seed funding led by Khosla Ventures, bringing Fastino’s total funding to $25 million. The funding round included participation from preseed lead investor Insight Partners, Valor Equity Partners, and notable angels including Scott Johnston, the previous CEO of Docker, and Lukas Biewald, the CEO of Weights & Biases.

CueZen: $5 Million Seed Funding Raised Advancing Healthcare Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

CueZen, an AI-based personalization engine for health, announced $5 million in funding led by Point72 Ventures, with participation from Pack VC, Fortson VC, and Nextinfinity.

Lovelace AI: Seed Funding Raised For Advancing Data Fusion Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Lovelace AI, a Pittsburgh-based AI company pioneering real-time data fusion, announced the closing of a seed round investment. The funding round was led by RRE Ventures and it will advance product development, talent acquisition, and deployment of Lovelace's core technology across both defense and commercial applications.

Grande Towers Buying Tower Assets From Altice USA

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Grande Towers (GTC), an independent wireless infrastructure provider, announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire certain tower assets of Altice USA. The deal is expected to close early in the third quarter of 2025.

Itron: Interview With SVP Of Device Solutions Justin Patrick About The Smart Energy And Water Solutions Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Itron is a company that enables utilities and cities to safely, securely and reliably deliver critical infrastructure services to communities in more than 100 countries. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Iton’s SVP of Device Solutions Justin Patrick to learn more about the company.

Growl: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Léo Desrumaux About The At-Home Fitness Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Growl is a company that recently launched out of stealth and built a gamified at-home fitness experience powered by AI and gaming tech. Today, the company announced a Kickstarter campaign for interested users to reserve a Growl at a discounted price. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Growl co-founder and CEO Léo Desrumaux to learn more about the company.

InvestBev Signs Eight-Figure Deal With RD1

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

InvestBev, which is the largest private equity firm focused on the adult beverage industry and CPG, announced the closing of an eight-figure financing agreement with Registered Distillery One (RD1), a respected name in the bourbon industry.

Upscale AI: $5.5 Million Raised To Help Brands Optimize TV Ads

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Upscale AI announced it has launched to help e-commerce brands win on streaming. And with $5.5 million in seed and pre-seed funding, Upscale launches Upscale Studio, the first end-to-end AI-native platform built to create, run, and optimize performance TV ads across streaming. The seed funding round was led by nvp capital with participation from M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund), Eniac Ventures, SuperAngel.Fund and Breakpoint Capital.

KatRisk Buying Gamma To Expand Location Intelligence Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

KatRisk, a leading provider of catastrophic risk modeling software to the insurance and financial services industries, announced the acquisition of Gamma, a pioneering company in location intelligence and property-level risk assessment. This strategic deal supports KatRisk's expertise in risk analytics, enabling the delivery of more precise insights and technologies that drive smarter decisions.

SavvyMoney Buying Fintech Solutions Provider CreditSnap

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

SavvyMoney, a leading provider of financial wellness tools and personalized loan offerings, announced the acquisition of CreditSnap. This fintech solution provider powers intelligent integrations to digital loan, deposit, and account onboarding solutions for banks and credit unions.

Stash: $146 Million Series H Raised And $4.3 Billion AUM Milestone

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Stash, a transformative platform helping millions build financial futures, announced that it has secured $146 million in an oversubscribed new Series H funding through a round led by Goodwater Capital, with participation from returning investors Union Square Ventures, StepStone Group, Serengeti, and the University of Illinois Foundation, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management.

Blinq: $25 Million Series A Secured For Digital Business Card Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Blinq, a digital business card platform helping professionals connect instantly, announced a $25 million Series A funding round led by Touring Capital, with participation from existing investors Blackbird Ventures and Square Peg Capital, and new investor HubSpot Ventures.

Rentana: $5 Million Secured For Accelerating Revenue Optimization

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Rentana, an AI-based revenue intelligence platform for multifamily owners and operators, announced the closing of a nearly $5 million seed funding round led by Zigg Capital and Benchstrength.

Tuva Health: Interview With Aaron Neiderhiser About The Healthcare Analytics Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Tuva Health is a company on a mission to accelerate the creation of high-quality evidence and AI from healthcare data. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Tuva Health CEO Aaron Neiderhiser to learn more about the company.

Unrivaled Sports: $120 Million Raised For Youth Sports Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Unrivaled Sports, a leader in youth sports experiences, announced a strategic investment by DICK'S Sporting Goods, which led the company's latest funding round. The strategic funding will help fuel Unrivaled Sports' mission, which is to create unrivaled sport experiences for young athletes everywhere, by continuing to deliver and expand experiences, programs, and destinations for young athletes across the nation.

Intrepid Labs: $11 Million Funding Raised For Transforming Drug Formulation With AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Intrepid Labs, a biotechnology company that is transforming drug formulation development through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, emerged from stealth mode to advance therapeutics development through effective formulations that improve clinical performance.

Aligned Climate Capital Closes Solar Fund At Above $200 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Aligned Climate Capital announced the final close of its sixth distributed solar fund, Aligned Solar Partners 6 LP (ASP6), with commitments above the $200 million target fund size. AndASP6 achieved final close with participation from leading institutional investors in the U.S. and globally, including insurance companies, endowments, foundations, and family offices.

The Pearl Fund: $500 Million Bitcoin Investment Fund Launched

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

The Pearl Fund, an investment firm that launched the nation's first Opportunity Zone Business (OZB) fund, announced the launch of the Pearl Bitcoin Fund (Pearl BTC). This $500 million investment vehicle eliminates capital gains tax on Bitcoin investments.

Rotunda Capital Partners: Oversubscribed Fund IV Closed At $735 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 13, 2025

Rotunda Capital Partners—an operationally oriented private equity firm focused on industrial businesses—announced the closing of Rotunda Capital Partners Fund IV, L.P., with total capital commitments of $735 million. Fund IV was significantly oversubscribed, closing well above the target of $550 million and the initial hard cap.

Adams Street: Over €270 Million Closed For European Venture Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 12, 2025

Adams Street Partners - a leading private markets investment firm with over $62 billion in assets under management - announced the final closing of its oversubscribed European Venture Fund. This fund was driven by strong investor demand for Europe’s dynamic venture ecosystem, and it secured over €270 million in capital commitments, significantly exceeding its fundraising target.

Curql: Fund II Surpasses $309 Million In Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 12, 2025

Curql, a collective of credit unions jointly investing in fintech, announced that Curql Fund II has surpassed $300 million in capital raised from 83 progressive credit unions nationwide. With the fund set to close at the end of July, credit unions now face their final opportunity to participate in a movement transforming the financial services landscape, led by credit unions, for credit unions.

Function Health: Ezra Acquired And $499 Full-Body MRI Scan Introduced

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 12, 2025

Function Health announced it has acquired Ezra and is launching a Full Body MRI with an FDA-cleared AI that cuts scan time from 60 minutes to 22 minutes and from $1,500 to $499. This reduction in time and cost makes annual scanning possible, creating a comprehensive 360-degree view inside your body.

Deerfield Management: Over $600 Million Healthcare Venture Fund Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 12, 2025

Deerfield Management Company announced the closing of the Deerfield Healthcare Innovations Fund III, a fund of over $600 million that looks to advance healthcare by investing in therapeutics, improving care delivery models, and enhancing emerging technologies.

Orca AI: $72.5 Million Raised For Scaling Autonomous Shipping Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 12, 2025

Orca AI, a leader in maritime technology, announced it has closed an investment of $72.5 million in Series B funding. Brighton Park Capital led the funding round with participation from existing investors Ankona Capital and Hyperlink Ventures.

Sentora Raising Up To $25 Million Series A As IntoTheBlock And Trident Merge

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 12, 2025

IntoTheBlock (a leader in institutional DeFi solutions) and Trident Digital (a digital assets financial services firm) announced their merger to form Sentora, an institutional DeFi platform combining yield strategies, risk management, and financial services. And at launch, Sentora is securing up to a $25 million Series A round of funding led by New Form Capital, with participation from Joint Effects, Tribe Capital, and strategic ecosystem investors including Ripple, Curved Ventures, Flare, and Bankai Ventures.

Tesseral: $3.3 Million Raised To Simplify Authentication For Business Software

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 12, 2025

Tesseral, an open-source authentication infrastructure for business-to-business (B2B) software companies, announced its emergence from stealth with $3.3 million in seed financing. Investors include Y Combinator, Jessica Livingston, and Paul Graham, co-founders of Y Combinator; Calvin French-Owen, co-founder and former CTO of Segment; Steve Bartel and Nick Bushak, co-founders of Gem; and Mike Wiacek, founder of Stairwell.

Parloa: $120 Million Series C Raised At $1 Billion Valuation To Improve Customer Service With Agentic AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 12, 2025

Parloa, an innovator in Agentic AI for customer experience, announced it has secured $120 million in Series C funding, bringing the company’s valuation to $1 billion. And Durable Capital Partners, Altimeter Capital, and General Catalyst are leading this round with participation from EQT Ventures, RPT Capital, Senovo, and Mosaic Ventures.

Liftoff: Minority Growth Investment Raised At $4.3 Billion Valuation From General Atlantic

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 12, 2025

Liftoff, a leader in performance marketing and monetization solutions for the app economy, announced that Blackstone's private equity funds signed an agreement to sell a minority stake in Liftoff to General Atlantic. As part of the transaction, long-time investor Blackstone will remain the majority shareholder.