Innovation

DeepMotion AI: A Rapidly Growing Company That Is Building The Largest AI-Generated 3D Animation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

DeepMotion aims to build the largest AI-generated 3D animation platform, democratizing the creation and use of digital human motion by making our technology accessible and user-friendly for diverse groups of creators, innovators, and industries. Pulse 2.0 interviewed DeepMotion AI founder and CEO Kevin He to learn more about the company.

APOLLO Insurance Raises C$18.5 Million And Launches FinShore

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

APOLLO, a Canadian digital insurance provider and innovator in the emerging embedded finance sector, announced the creation and launch of FinShore, a wholly owned buy-now-pay-later subsidiary. FinShore provides a fully embedded monthly payment option to over 100,000 Canadians insured with APOLLO.

Grubtech: SaaS Integration And Unified Commerce Platform Raises $15 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Grubtech, a leading SaaS integration and unified commerce platform empowering F&B and Quick Commerce enterprises, announced it raised $15 million in its Series B and Series A extension rounds. The Series B funding round was led by the VC arm of Jahez Group (a leading online food and quick commerce marketplace listed in Saudi Arabia), with the participation of existing investors Addition and Oryx Fund, the MENA-dedicated fund of Hambro Perks.

Hamilton Health Box: Microclinic Company Raises $10 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Hamilton Health Box (HHB) announced the completion of a $10 million Series A funding round led by 1588 Ventures, with participation from Memorial Hermann Health System, Impact Ventures by Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Texas Medical Center Venture Fund, and the Sullivan Brothers.

Overland AI: Autonomous Ground Mobility Company Raises $10 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Overland AI, a Seattle-based pioneer in off-road ground vehicle autonomy for the defense sector, announced it has raised $10 million in seed funding, led by Point72 Ventures with participation from Shasta Ventures, Ascend VC, Pioneer Square Labs, Voyager Capital, and Cubit Capital.

KETOS: Water Intelligence Company Secures $10 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

KETOS, a leading water intelligence company, announced it has closed on $10 million in additional equity financing. The funding round was led by Tenfore Holdings, with participation from the national security-focused VC firm Danu Venture Group. And they join existing investors Broadway Angels, Plum Alley Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, and Accenture, which serves as both an investor and strategic resale partner.

PosiGen: Second Funding Commitment From Brookfield Brings Total Funding To $400 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

PosiGen, the nation's leading provider of renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions for underserved communities and a certified Public Benefits Corporation (PBC), announced that a direct lending infrastructure fund managed by Brookfield Asset Management has expanded upon its funding commitment with $150 million more. Brookfield and PosiGen started working together in 2023. This investment (now totaling $400 million) strengthens the ability to bring savings and clean energy to more homeowners.

KKR: $300 Million Corporate Credit Facility To Origis Energy Provided

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Leading global investment firm KKR and Origis Energy (a leading renewable energy and decarbonization solution platform) announced that vehicles and accounts managed by KKR’s insurance business have provided a $300 million corporate financing facility to Origis. The proceeds from the facility will support the continued development and construction of Origis’ pipeline of solar and storage projects.

Betterworks: How This Company Drives Higher Employee Engagement And Greater Manager Effectiveness

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Betterworks is an intelligent performance management solution that empowers your people to reach their highest potential. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Betterworks CEO Doug Dennerline to learn more about the company.

Kong: Enabling Companies To Become API-First, Driving Developer Productivity And Automating Security

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Kong enables any company to become API-first. Kong’s unified cloud-native API platform is easy to use and works in any environment — unleashing developer productivity, automating security, and boosting the performance of APIs and microservices at scale. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Kong co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Marco Palladino to learn more about the company.

Viakoo: The Story Behind This Rapidly Growing Cyber Hygiene And Service Assurance Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Braavo Capital: $5 Million Closed For Accelerating Web2App Subscriber Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Braavo Capital, a leading financing partner for consumer subscription apps, announced today the successful closing of a $5 million Series B funding round. Led by existing insiders with participation from Series A lead investor Headline and accompanied by a new $30 million debt fund with Upper90. This funding round marks a significant milestone for Braavo's continued expansion.

AssetWatch: Predictive Maintenance Solutions Company Raises $38 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

AssetWatch, a leading condition monitoring and predictive maintenance organization, announced closing its Series B financing round of $38 million led by Wellington Management. And the company’s Series A investors, including G2 Venture Partners, Triangle Peak Partners, Standard Investments, Osage University Partners, and JobsOhio Growth Capital Fund, are investing in the Series B funding round.

Daffodil Health: Healthcare Pricing And Administration Company Closes $4.6 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Daffodil Health, a provider of healthcare pricing and administration AI-powered solutions, announced it raised $4.6 million in a seed funding round led by Maverick Ventures, with participation from Epic Ventures.

Kudos: AI-Powered Smart Wallet Company Raises $10.2 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Kudos, an AI-powered smart wallet that automatically maximizes consumer rewards and benefits on every purchase, announced it has completed a $10.2 million Series A fundraising round. This oversubscribed round was led by QED Investors. Additional participants included returning investor Patron, and The Points Guy founder Brian Kelly, Samsung Next, SV Angel, Precursor Ventures, The Mini Fund, Newtype Ventures, and the Four Cities Fund. Kudos plans to use some of the funding to roll out various new services that will augment its quickly evolving smart wallet product.

Truveris: Pharmacy Cost Containment Company Closes $15 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Truveris, a leader in pharmacy cost containment and program performance, announced it has raised $15 million in Series E investment led by two lead investors: Canaan Partners and New Leaf Venture Partners.

Capchase: SaaS-Based Revenue Acceleration Platform Secures €105 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 28, 2024

Capchase, a revenue acceleration platform for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies, announced it has secured a €105 million credit facility warehouse led by Deutsche Bank. This new funding contributes to the $1+ billion in combined debt and equity financing Capchase has received since its founding in 2020.

NuFund: An Interview With President Serhat Pala

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 27, 2024

NuFund Venture Group is a new wave of angel investors with a new fund model that invests in new technology leaders. Pulse 2.0 interviewed NuFund Venture Group President Serhat Pala to learn more about the firm.

SugarCRM Buys Sales Automation Platform Company sales-i

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 27, 2024

SugarCRM, a provider of the intelligence-driven sales automation platform, announced it has acquired sales-i, a leading provider of a revenue intelligence solution that helps businesses maximize their revenue and profitability. The terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Plume Network: Modular EVM Layer-2 Company Secures $10 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 27, 2024

Plume, a modular EVM Layer-2 built to bring any real-world asset (RWA) on-chain, has raised $10 million in a seed funding round led by Haun Ventures with participation from Galaxy Ventures, Superscrypt, A Capital, SV Angel, Portal Ventures, Reciprocal Ventures, and others. And prominent angels include founders and executives of leading projects such as Anthony Ramirez of Wormhole Labs, Calvin Liu of Eigenlayer, Zon of Initia, Andrew Kang of Mechanism, Jeff Feng & Jayendra Jog of Sei Network, Adam Lawrence of rwa.xyz, Austin King & Tyler Tarsi of Omni, and more.

xAI Raises $6 Billion At $24 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 27, 2024

xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk that builds artificial intelligence to accelerate human scientific discovery, announced it has raised $6 billion at a valuation of $24 billion. The Series B funding included participation from Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and, Kingdom Holding, and others.

Brixton Biosciences: $33 Million Closed To Develop Novel Therapies For Chronic And Acute Pain

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 27, 2024

Brixton Biosciences, a spin-out from Massachusetts General Brigham and a clinical-stage life sciences company developing novel therapies for chronic and acute pain, announced that it closed a $33 million Series B funding round. Schooner Capital led the round, which also included SV Health Investors, Sparta Group, Excelestar Ventures, PV Capital Management, and Catalyst Health Ventures.

SmarterDx: AI-Based Hospital Revenue Integrity And Quality Company Raises $50 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 27, 2024

SmarterDx, a leader in clinical AI for revenue integrity and care quality, announced it has secured $50 million in Series B funding led by Transformation Capital. This funding round also includes continued investments from Bessemer Venture Partners, Flare Capital Partners, and Floodgate Fund, bringing the total funding to date to $71 million. This investment will drive product innovation that will create additional value for health systems and support scale as the company expands.

Radar Therapeutics: $13.4 Million Secured To Develop Smart Programmable Medicines

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 26, 2024

Radar Therapeutics, a biotech company developing smart programmable medicines, announced the completion of an oversubscribed $13.4 million in seed financing led by NfX Bio. Major investors Eli Lilly and Company, Biovision Ventures, and KdT Ventures also joined the round, with participation from PearVC, BEVC, and other investors. The funding will support the advancement of Radar’s internal programs, team expansion, and partnering.

Honey Homes: Upkeep And Maintenance Company Raises $9.25 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 26, 2024

Honey Homes, a membership service delivering complete home upkeep and maintenance, announced it has raised $9.25 million in Series A-1 funding led by Era Ventures with participation by previous investors Khosla Ventures and Pear VC.

CoLab Software: $21 Million Raised To Build Collaboration Solutions For Mechanical Engineering

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 26, 2024

CoLab Software, a company building collaboration solutions for mechanical engineering and hardware development teams, announced its fully subscribed Series B round with $21 million in funding. Insight Partners led the round, which included participation from existing major investors Y Combinator, Killick Capital, and Pelorus VC.

Vercel: AI-Based Frontend Cloud Platform Company Raises $250 Million At $3.25 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 26, 2024

Vercel, a leading Frontend Cloud platform, announced that it has secured $250 million in Series E funding at a valuation of $3.25 billion. This funding round was spearheaded by existing investor Accel, with participation from other existing investors including CRV, GV, Notable Capital (previously GGV Capital), Bedrock, Geodesic Capital, Tiger Global, 8VC, and SV Angel.

Malted AI: Scotland-Based Company Secures £6 Million To Simplify Output Of Large Models

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 26, 2024

Malted AI, a Scotland-based AI firm helping enterprises to build smaller, more focused AI models with greater performance at a fraction of the cost, announced that it has secured £6 million in seed investment, led by Hoxton Ventures and joined by Creator Fund and angel investors.

CBiGroup: Financial Services Company Raises $15 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 26, 2024

CBiGroup, a fintech group based in the U.S., announced it has secured $15 million in Series A funding. Alpol Capital Family Office, known for its investments in new technologies, led the funding round.

Classic Football Shirts: $38.5 Million In Growth Equity Raised From The Chernin Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 26, 2024

Classic Football Shirts (a global hub to buy authentic soccer shirts) and The Chernin Group (TCG), a multi-stage investment firm known for building and growing consumer businesses, announced an investment from TCG that will fuel aggressive and immediate global expansion plans. Focused on North America, one of the brand’s fastest-growing markets representing just 15% of the overall business today, TCG’s investment highlights the market opportunity linked to the rising global interest in football (soccer) culture.