Innovation

Granite Creek Invests In The District Communications Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 2, 2024

Granite Creek Capital Partners (in partnership with Boathouse Capital) announced an investment in The District Communications Group (DCG), a full-service communications firm that provides comprehensive market research and strategic communications services, primarily to federal government clients.

Shinkei: Commerical Fish Processing Technology Company Raises $6 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 2, 2024

Shinkei – a company pioneering a commercial fish processing technology - announced $6 million in new seed funding to launch its modern system that merges machine learning, robotics, and centuries-old fish harvesting techniques. This funding round was led by Cantos, with additional participation by 8VC, Impatient Ventures, Susa/Humba Ventures, Carya Venture Partners, Ravelin Capital, Red & Blue Ventures, Undeterred Capital, and others joining existing investors.

Deloitte Acquiring Biosecurity Company Gryphon Scientific

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 2, 2024

Deloitte announced it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Gryphon Scientific, a leader in biosafety, biosecurity, and all-hazards preparedness and response, with experience in using artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance security and safety.

4P-Pharma: €15 Million Raised To Develop Curative Therapies For Untreated Serious Diseases

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

4P-Pharma, a Lille-based clinical-stage startup studio focused on developing curative therapies for untreated serious diseases, announced that it has successfully secured €15 million in its second closing with participation from private investors.

Shoreline Equity Partners Invests In Prime Meats

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

Shoreline Equity Partners, a lower-middle market private equity firm, has partnered with Prime Meats. Based in Duluth, Georgia, Prime Meats is a leading value-added protein processor and distributor offering beef, poultry, pork, dairy, seafood, and specialty products to independent restaurants, grocery stores, and butcher shops. The company focuses on Hispanic and traditional markets across 15 states.

Swap: E-Commerce Operating System Company Raises $9 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

Swap, an e-commerce operating system that manages all operations for direct-to-consumer brands, announced a $9 million Series A led by QED Investors, with participation from Cherry Ventures, 9900 Capital, 2100 Ventures, and Ed Hallen (Co-Founder of Klaviyo).

Piva Capital: A Venture Capital Firm Investing In Transformative Energy And Industrial Companies

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

Piva Capital is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm investing in disruptive energy and industrial companies across North America and Europe. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Piva Capital investors Claire Yun and Jillian Noel to learn more about the firm.

NextPower Capital: $745 Million In Total Commitments Raised For V ESG

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

NextEnergy Capital (NEC), a leading global renewables manager specializing in the solar+ infrastructure sector, announced the conclusion of its second close of $265 million for its fifth strategy, NextPower V ESG (NPV ESG). NPV ESG is an OECD-focused solar and battery storage strategy targeting $1.5 billion with a $2 billion hard cap that has secured $745 million in total commitments so far.

Amplifier Security: $3.3 Million Raised To Enable Security Teams To Modernize Practices

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

Amplifier Security announced it emerged from stealth to bridge the divide between the workforce and security with AI copilot and human-in-the-loop automation. The company also raised $3.3 million to address the last-mile security challenge with a self-healing approach that transforms how employees interact with corporate security tools. Cota Capital led this pre-seed funding round with participation from WestWave Capital and Shift Left Ventures. It also included angel investments from renowned entrepreneurs and executives.

Nagomi Security: Threat Exposure Management Company Secures $30 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

Nagomi Security (formerly known as Vena Security), a leader in proactive security and threat exposure management, emerged from stealth with $30 million in funding to fundamentally redefine how security teams optimize effectiveness and drive efficiency from their existing security tools. The company operated in stealth mode with a seed funding round from Team8 and the recent round was led by TCV, with participation from CrowdStrike Falcon Fund and Okta Ventures. Nagomi is also backed by leading angel investors, including Shlomo Kramer (founder of Check Point, Imperva, and Cato Networks), Nir Polak (founder of Exabeam), Guy Podjarny (founder of Snyk), and Galina Antova (founder of Claroty). This funding round will accelerate go-to-market and R&D efforts to meet the increasing global demand for proactive security and threat exposure management.

FinQuery: $25 Million Closed To Enable Professionals To Optimize Decisions In Top Spending Areas

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

FinQuery (formerly LeaseQuery), a provider of AI-powered solutions built to efficiently manage companies’ largest areas of spending, announced a $25 million minority investment led by Periphas Capital and supported by Lavelle Capital. This funding will accelerate product innovation and support strategic M&A.

Special Aerospace Services To Buy Willbrook Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

Godspeed Capital Management LP, a lower middle-market Defense and government services, solutions, and technology-focused private equity firm, announced the acquisition of Willbrook Solutions by SAS, its recently launched space engineering, defense, and communications technology solutions platform. The deal marks the first addition to the growing SAS platform, expanding its capabilities in the missile defense industry.

Edmunds GovTech Raises Significant Growth Investment From TA

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

Edmunds GovTech (EGT), a leading provider of ERP software solutions to local government, announced a significant growth investment from TA Associates (a leading global private equity firm). LLR Partners, which originally partnered with EGT in 2018, will continue to invest in the company.

Medline Buying Surgical Solutions Business From Ecolab For $950 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

Medline announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ecolab's global surgical solutions business, including the Microtek product lines. Once the deal is closed, the acquisition will provide Medline with innovative sterile drape solutions for surgeons, patients, operating room equipment, and Ecolab’s fluid temperature management system.

ONO Pharmaceutical Buying Deciphera Pharmaceuticals For $2.4 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing important new medicines to improve the lives of people with cancer) announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with ONO Pharmaceutical. ONO will acquire all outstanding shares of Deciphera common stock for $25.60 per share in cash through a tender offer followed by a merger of Deciphera with a wholly-owned subsidiary of ONO for a total equity value of $2.4 billion. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the deal.

Mayfair Equity Partners: Two New Partners And Team Promotions

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

Mayfair Equity Partners, a technology and consumer investor with over £2 billion in assets under management, announced three promotions, including the appointment of two new Partners and the creation of a new senior data role focused on scaling the firm’s capabilities. This role will report directly to Daniel Sasaki, Mayfair’s Managing Partner.

EZOPS: Transforming How Financial Institutions Optimize Data Pipelines In A $15+ Billion Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2024

EZOPS harnesses Machine Learning (ML) and Intelligent Process Automation to transform data control and drive transformative efficiency gains at some of the world's largest financial services institutions. Pulse 2.0 interviewed EZOPS founder and CEO Sarva Srinivasan to learn more about the company.

Owlstone Medical: Breath Biopsy Company Raises $6.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

Owlstone Medical, a global leader in Breath Biopsy for early disease detection and precision medicine applications, has secured funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This funding round comprises a $5 million equity investment to advance Owlstone’s Breath Biopsy platform and $1.5 million in grant funding to develop breath-based diagnostics and identify breath biomarkers for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV.

Nebu-Flow: $5.9 Million Raised To Accelerate Development Of Inhaled Drugs For Respiratory Disorders

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

Nebu-Flow announced it had raised an additional $5.9 million of investment to accelerate the next generation of inhaled drugs for patients with respiratory disorders, which are the main cause of death and disability worldwide. The company’s nebulizer platform has been developed to provide several advantages over existing technologies. Overall, the worldwide inhalable drug market was valued at about $33 billion in 2023, with the nebulizer market at over $1 billion.

Agilitas Energy: Energy Storage And Solar Photovoltaic Company Secures $100 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

Agilitas Energy, the largest integrated developer, builder, owner, and operator of distributed energy storage and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the northeastern U.S., announced the closing of $100 million in debt financing to fund its growth and continued national expansion.

Thintronics: Electronic Materials Company Closes $23 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

Thintronics is a California-based electronic materials startup that supplies high-performance insulators for emerging AI data centers, networking, and RF/millimeter-wave (mmW) applications. It raised a $23 million Series A funding round, led by Maverick Capital and Translink Capital. The funding will support the commercialization of a novel insulator platform.

Dropzone AI: $16.85 Million Raised To Help SecOps Teams With Autonomous Investigations

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

Dropzone AI, a developer of AI security analysts for security operations teams, announced it has raised $16.85 million in Series A funding. Theory Ventures led the funding round, adding to the company's cohort of existing investors Decibel Partners, Pioneer Square Ventures, and In-Q-Tel (IQT). Carta CISO Garrett Held, Head of Security at Postman Joshua Scott, and Integreon President and Head of Cyber Solutions Anshu Gupta participated in the Series A round. Theory Ventures founder Tomasz Tunguz will also join the board in connection with the investment. Dropzone will use this new funding round to continue scaling its GTM motion and its engineering team.

Blaize: High-Performance Computing AI Processing Solutions Company Raises $106 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

Blaize, an AI computing innovator transforming edge computing solutions, announced it has raised $106 million from existing investors, including Bess Ventures, Franklin Templeton, DENSO, Mercedes Benz, and Temasek and new investors Rizvi Traverse, Ava Investors and BurTech LP.

On.Energy: Integrated Energy Storage Solutions Provider Secures $25 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

On.Energy, a growing electric power asset owner and proven end-to-end integrator of battery energy storage systems (BESS) announced it had closed a senior secured first lien facility with Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) on behalf of funds under its management, including the LOIM Sustainable Private Credit Strategy.

FlexAI: Universal AI Compute Company Raises €28.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

FlexAI, a universal AI compute company, has launched with €28.5 million ($30 million) in seed funding led by Alpha Intelligence Capital (AIC), Elaia Partners, and Heartcore Capital. The additional investors include Bpifrance, Frst Capital, Motier Ventures, Partech, and InstaDeep CEO Karim Beguir.

The Riverside Company And Co-Investors Buying The Townsend Group From Aon

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

The Riverside Company announced that its affiliate signed a definitive agreement to acquire The Townsend Group from Aon, a leading global professional services firm. A group of leading institutions are co-investing along with Riverside in the transaction, including Bluerock, MLC Private Equity and Ten Capital Management - which also acted as an advisor to Riverside in the transaction.

WindRose Health: Majority Growth Investment In Subjectwell Completed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

WindRose Health Investors, a New York-based healthcare private equity firm, announced it has completed the acquisition of SubjectWell, the patient access marketplace that connects people with health conditions to care options. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Pipedream: Autonomous Underground Company Raises $13 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

Pipedream, an autonomous underground rail system that offers near-instantaneous delivery of objects to and from homes and businesses, announced that it has raised $13 million in funding. This funding round was led by Starship Ventures, with participation from Cortado Ventures, Myelin Ventures, and many other angels and firms.

Flindr Therapeutics: Precision Oncology Company Raises €20 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

Flindr Therapeutics, a precision oncology therapeutics company, announced a €20 million Series A funding to advance its pipeline of small molecule inhibitors for cancer treatment. V-Bio Ventures led the funding along with other new investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation -- JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), QBIC Fund, Flanders Future Tech Fund, and Curie Capital, as well as existing investors Oncode Oncology Bridge Fund, Swanbridge and Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM).

VisionSafe: Strategic Investment Raised From The Stephens Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2024

The Stephens Group has completed a significant strategic investment in VisionSafe designed to accelerate the business' growth. This funding highlights Stephens Group’s continued interest in supporting businesses providing highly engineered, mission-critical systems and components for aerospace and defense applications. The Company will serve as a new Stephens Group platform.