Innovation

Pyka: Electric Aviation Company Raises $40 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Pyka, an electric aviation technology leader that designs and manufactures large-scale autonomous electric aircraft, announced a $40 million Series B funding round. Obvious Ventures led the round, which included new and existing investors, including Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, Metaplanet Holdings, and Y Combinator.

Wonderschool: Interview With CEO & Founder Chris Bennett About The Early Education Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Wonderschool is a company that is on a mission to ensure every child has access to high-quality early childhood education within five minutes of their home, and do this by empowering early educators to build sustainable businesses that meet the unique needs of families across the nation. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Wonderschool CEO and founder Chris Bennett to learn more about the company.

Martian: LLM Router Company Raises Funding From Accenture Ventures

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Accenture announced it has invested through Accenture Ventures in Martian, a technology company that has built a patent-pending large language model (LLM) router. For any prompt, Martian's router will find and use the LLM that will give users the best result at the lowest cost.

CytoAgents: Cytokine Release Syndrome Treatment Company Receives Third Grant From NIH

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

CytoAgents - a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing a safe and effective treatment for Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS) - announced that it has been awarded a $2 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, the third NIH grant in four years.

Zing Health: Medicare Advantage insurer Raises $140 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Zing Health - a leading Medicare Advantage insurer - announced it has raised an incremental $140 million in a funding round. Leading venture investors Health 2047 Capital Partners, CRG, and First Trust Capital Partners participated along with existing investors Newlight Partners, Town Hall Ventures, Health 2047, and Leavitt Equity Partners.

ReSync Bio: Drug Discovery Data Automation Company Raises Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

ReSync Bio, a scientific software provider accelerating preclinical R&D, announced its official launch and a funding round from Caffeinated Capital, Atria Ventures, and leading angel investors, including Ramsey Homsany, co-founder of Octant Bio. The company will use the funds to make key hires and commercialize its platform, which is now available for use by companies and academics.

VALD Raises Growth Equity Investment From FTV

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

VALD, a global health technology company and the system of choice for musculoskeletal (MSK) health professionals announced a significant growth equity investment from FTV Capital, a sector-focused growth equity firm. This investment will enable VALD to grow its global team into new markets, launch new product offerings and capabilities, and continue to utilize AI to create unique applications for the company’s proprietary dataset of tens of millions of MSK health records.

Centel Wealth Advisory: $2.2 Billion Team Creates New Indepedent Firm

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Centel Wealth Advisory announced the launch of its new independent advisory firm headquartered in North Haven, CT. Centel offers objective advice, tailored planning and comprehensive services to help individuals and institutions manage their complex and evolving needs, protect and grow wealth, and achieve their goals.

Functional Finance: $20 Million (Series A) Raised To Transform FinOps

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Functional Finance, a software platform transforming financial operations (FinOps) for managing general agents (MGAs), insurance companies, and wholesalers is pleased to announce the closing of a successful $20 million Series A funding round led by Walkabout Ventures (Walkabout), with participation from Munich Re Ventures and Phil Edmundson (the visionary behind Corvus Insurance).

Ubie: Interview With Co-Founder & Co-CEO Kota Kubo About This AI Symptom-Checker Service

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Ubie is a health-tech company providing an AI symptom-checker with 10+ million monthly active users. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Ubie co-founder and co-CEO Kota Kubo to learn more.

Epica International: $18 Million Growth Capital Credit Facility Raised

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Epica International - a global leader in advanced medical imaging and precision robotics - announced the closing of an $18 million growth capital credit facility with [Avenue Venture Opportunities Fund, L.P. and Avenue Venture Opportunities Fund II, L.P., which are funds of Avenue Capital Group. And the initial funding of $13.5 million will be used to refinance existing debt, support strategic expansion, and accelerate research and development initiatives. An additional $4.5 million is available in tranches based on the achievement of specific performance milestones.

z21 Ventures: $20 Million Raised For Fund II

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

z21 Ventures, a leading VC firm focused on early-stage technology investments, announced a $20 million first close for a $40 million Fund II from anchor investor WestBridge Capital, a global investment firm renowned for its strategic focus and robust portfolio.

c/side: $6 Million (Seed) Secured To Fend Off Browser Supply Chain Attacks

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

c/side, a cybersecurity company with tools for monitoring, optimizing, and securing vulnerable browser-side third-party scripts, announced $6 million in seed funding. This funding round was led by Uncork Capital, with participation from Mantis VC, Scribble Ventures, Roar Ventures and PrimeSet. c/side’s total funding is now $7.7 million, following a pre-seed round announced earlier this year. Plus, Scribble and Roar also participated in the pre-seed, along with strategic angel investors.

AtoB: Transportation-Focused Payment Solutions Company Raises $130 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

AtoB, a leading provider of modern payment solutions for the transportation industry, announced significant growth and strategic milestones, including $130 million in new equity and debt funding to further support product and team expansion. And this momentum reflects AtoB's dedication to transforming the transportation sector through fintech solutions and strategic partnerships.

Tamnoon: Managed Cloud Security Remediation Company Raises $12 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Tamnoon, a leader in Managed Cloud Security Remediation, announced it has raised $12 million in Series A funding. The funding round was led by cybersecurity investment firm [Bright Pixel Capital (formerly Sonae IM), with participation by new investors Blu Ventures and Mindset Ventures and existing investors Merlin Ventures, Secret Chord Ventures, Inner Loop Capital, and Elron Ventures.

InDebted: Debt Collection Fintech Company Raises $40 Million At $250+ Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Global debt collection fintech InDebted announced the completion of its $40 million Series C funding round, valuing the company at greater than $250 million. Primary investors include Airtree, Australian Retirement Trust and new growth fund Premier Capital Partners. Existing shareholders Reinventure, Carthona and Perennial have also participated, with Second Quarter Ventures purchasing shares from angel investors and early employees.

FluidLogic: Hydration Systems Company Raises $15 Million (Series A Extension)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

FluidLogic, a leader in high-performance hydration systems, announced a Series A Extension funding round of $15 million led by Solyco Capital, a private equity firm delivering capital solutions for late-stage startups and growth companies. And FluidLogic develops cutting-edge in-vehicle hydration solutions that provide optimal hydration, ensuring users consistently perform at their peak. This investment will fund new product development and innovation for consumer products in the adventure sports and outdoor endurance categories. Consumer products will be available early next year.

Centivo: $75 Million Secured To Make Healthcare More Affordable

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Centivo, a healthcare company focused on making high-quality healthcare more affordable for employers and their employees, announced it has secured $75 million in equity and debt financing. The funding includes participation from new strategic investors Cone Health Ventures and MemorialCare Innovation Fund, as well as existing financial investors including B Capital, Cox Enterprises, F-Prime Capital, Ingleside Investors, and Morgan Health (a division of JPMorgan Chase). Trinity Capital and ongoing banking partner JPMorgan Chase provided the debt facilities. This funding will enable Centivo to accelerate its mission of making high-quality healthcare more accessible and affordable to working families.

UJET: AI-Based Cloud Contact Center Solutions Company Raises $76 Million (Series D)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

UJET, a leader of AI-based cloud contact center solutions, announced it has closed its latest round of funding led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from new investors KeyCorp and IonPacific and existing investors GV, Kleiner Perkins, Citi Ventures, DCM, and Ericsson Ventures. UJET’s latest funding round brings the total Series D funding to $76 million and will accelerate UJET's development of generative AI technologies, enabling businesses to enhance customer experiences (CX) significantly.

Crisp: $72 Million (Series B) Raised To Expand Into CPG And Retail Channels

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Crisp announced it closed a $72 million Series B equity round, including $17 million from new strategic investors, including Wellington Management, Toshiba Corporation, DNX, Cox, and Prologis. This brings Crisp's total equity raised to $97 million since its founding.

MobiSystems: Interview With OfficeSuite Business Co-Founder Nikolay Kussovski About The Productivity Software Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

MobiSystems is a global leader in productivity software that has created popular apps like OfficeSuite, PDF Extra, MobiDrive. MobiSystems has over 550 million users, with over 250 million users of OfficeSuite alone. Pulse 2.0 interviewed OfficeSuite Co-founder Nikolay Kussovski to learn more about the company.

Farmblox: Interview With CEO & Co-Founder Nathan Rosenberg About The Farm Automation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Farmblox is a farm automation platform that combines a sensor ecosystem, carbon sequestration monitoring, and AI workflows – saving up to 50% in labor costs, reducing water usage, and generating new revenue streams for modern farming. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Farmblox co-founder and CEO Nathan Rosenberg to learn more about the company.

Nmbr: Embedded Payroll Company Secures C$7.6 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Nmbr, Canada’s first dedicated embedded payroll software provider, announced CAD $7.6 million in seed funding to elevate the payroll ecosystem for businesses nationwide. Panache Ventures, Golden Ventures, Motivate Venture Capital, and Luge Capital provided the funding.

Convergent Therapeutics: $40 Million (Series A Extension) Secured From Novo

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Convergent Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing next generation radiopharmaceutical therapies for the treatment of prostate cancer and other cancers, announced that the first patient has been dosed with CONV01-α in the Phase II CONVERGE-01 trial evaluating CONV01-α, Ac-225 rosopatamab tetraxetan, for the treatment of patients with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Convergent also announced a $40 million Series A extension by Novo Holdings, a holding and investment company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Eion: $3 Million (Series A Extension) Raised And Carbon Removal Deal Signed With Microsoft

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Eion, a carbon removal company turning the proven science of enhanced rock weathering (ERW) into a scalable climate solution, announced a contract to deliver 8,000 tons of permanent carbon dioxide removal to Microsoft. And Eion also announced it has closed $3 million in Series A extension funding from agricultural distributor Growmark, AgFunder, Ridgeline, Trailhead Capital, Overture Partners, Mercator Partners, Exelon Foundation, and others.

Whatfix: Digital Adoption Platform Company Raises $125 Million (Series E)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Whatfix, a leader among digital adoption platforms (DAPs), announced it had secured $125 Million in a Series E funding round led by Warburg Pincus, with participation from existing investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2. And the company is raising the new round at a significant premium, reinforcing its dominance as the leader in Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) and expanding into DAP adjacent offerings.

Li-Cycle: Interview With CEO & Co-Founder Ajay Kochhar About This Sophisticated Lithium-Ion Battery Recovery Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Li-Cycle is a leading global lithium-ion battery resource recovery company. And Li-Cycle’s mission is to recover critical battery-grade materials to create a domestic closed-loop battery supply chain for a clean energy future. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Li-Cycle CEO and co-founder Ajay Kochhar to learn more about the company.

Atomicwork: Modern Service Management Company Raises $14 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Atomicwork, a leading modern service management platform, announced the closing of a new $3+ million strategic funding. This funding round was backed by more than 40+ seasoned industry veterans, including global CIOs and CTOs, demonstrating strong confidence in the company's vision and strategic direction.

fal: Media Generating AI Company Raises $23 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

fal announced it has raised $23 million in Seed and Series A funding. The $14 million Series A was led by Kindred Ventures with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital and angel investors including Perplexity founder Aravind Srinivas, Vercel founder Guillermo Rauch, Balaji Srinivasan, and Huggingface CTO Julien Chaumond. Andreessen Horowitz led the Seed round with participation from Village Global.

Edera: Secure-By-Design Kubernetes And AI Solution Closes $5 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Edera, which is the world's only secure-by-design Kubernetes and AI solution, announced it has raised $5 million in a seed round led by 645 Ventures and Eniac Ventures with participation from FPV Ventures, Generationship, Precursor Ventures and Rosecliff Ventures. And angel investors include Joe Beda, Filippo Valsorda, Mandy Andress, Jeff Behl and Kleiner Perkins scout Nikitha Suryadevara, and others.