Innovation

PURE Property Management And HomeRiver Group Merge And Raise $80 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

PURE Property Management and HomeRiver Group said they have merged and will operate under the name PURE HomeRiver, a combination of the companies that create the nation’s largest third-party single-family rental (SFR) property management firm.

Mendra Launched With $82 Million Series A To Build AI-Enabled Rare Disease Therapeutics Portfolio

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Mendra, a newly launched biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases, has closed an oversubscribed $82 million Series A to acquire, develop, and commercialize therapies targeting high-unmet-need indications. The financing was co-led by OrbiMed, 8VC, and 5AM Ventures, with participation from Lux Capital and Wing VC.

Crux Capital: $342 Million Fund I Closed And Team Expanded

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Crux Capital has added two new hires and promoted two investment professionals as it scales operations following the September 2025 close of Crux Capital Fund I, L.P., which raised $342 million in capital commitments.

Limble Names Gary Specter As CEO To Lead Next Phase Of Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Limble, a modern maintenance and asset management platform, has named veteran software executive Gary Specter as Chief Executive Officer as the company looks to accelerate expansion and deepen customer value creation.

DealHub.io: $100 Million Growth Round Raised To Scale Agentic Quote-To-Revenue Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

DealHub.io announced it has raised $100 million in a growth funding round led by Riverwood Capital as the company looks to accelerate global expansion and deepen product development for what it calls “Agentic Quote-to-Revenue” in the AI era.

Credit Key: $90 Million Growth Capital Round And Strategic Partnership With Barings

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Credit Key, a B2B payments and financing platform that enables merchants to offer net terms and flexible payment options at checkout, has closed $90 million in new growth capital and formed a strategic partnership with global investment manager Barings.

ScanmarQED Acquires MMM Labs To Build Multi-Engine Marketing Mix Modeling Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

ScanmarQED has acquired MMM Labs, a U.S.-based startup focused on modern marketing mix modeling, as it pushes to deliver what it describes as next-generation, multi-engine MMM capabilities through its PulseQED product suite.

Gore Street Capital Secures First Close For €500 Million EU-Focused Battery Storage Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Gore Street Capital has completed the first close of its new European-focused battery energy storage fund, the GS EU Fund SCSp, backed by cornerstone commitments from the European Investment Fund and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, alongside other institutional investors, strategics, and family offices. The specialist storage manager, whose portfolio totals roughly 1.4 GW of battery assets across three dedicated BESS funds—said it is preparing for an interim close and is targeting a final close by year-end, with a €500 million fundraising goal.

Claroty: $150 Million Series F Raised To Expand CPS Security Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Claroty raised $150 million in a Series F financing led by Golub Growth, an affiliate of Golub Capital, as the cyber-physical systems (CPS) security company pushes to broaden its platform and expand globally. The New York-based company said existing investors also committed up to an additional $50 million in the round.

Merchant Names Clayton Chandler Chief Data Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Merchant has appointed Clayton Chandler as chief data officer, tasking him with leading the firm’s enterprise data and artificial intelligence strategy as it expands its network of partner firms. Based in New York, Merchant said Chandler will focus on strengthening how the firm uses data as a strategic asset across its ecosystem, with an emphasis on practical applications that streamline operations, improve efficiency and generate actionable insights.

Apprentice.io Acquires Ganymede To Unify R&D And Commercial Manufacturing On An AI-Native Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Apprentice.io announced it has acquired Ganymede, an AI-powered cloud platform designed to capture, standardize, and automate lab and process data, in a move aimed at connecting laboratory operations with manufacturing execution inside a single system.

Blue Origin Unveils TeraWave, a 6 Tbps Space-Based Network For Global Connectivity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Blue Origin has introduced TeraWave, a satellite communications network it says will deliver symmetrical connectivity with aggregate capacity reaching up to 6 terabits per second worldwide, targeting enterprise, data center, and government users that require high-reliability links for critical operations.

Base AI Acquires EverAfter AI to Build AI Engagement OS For Customer-Led Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Base AI announced it has acquired EverAfter AI, combining Base’s customer lifecycle marketing capabilities with EverAfter’s customer-facing post-sale experiences to create what the companies call the first “Engagement OS” for B2B customer-led growth.

Smithfield Foods To Acquire Nathan’s Famous For $450 Million, Securing Hot Dog Brand Rights In Perpetuity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Smithfield Foods announced it has agreed to acquire Nathan’s Famous in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $450 million, aiming to secure long-term control of the iconic all-beef hot dog brand and expand growth across retail and foodservice. Under the definitive merger agreement, Smithfield will purchase all outstanding shares of Nathan’s Famous for $102.00 per share in cash.

Jump And Focus Financial Partners Team Up On AI Workflows To Boost Advisor Productivity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Jump, an AI software provider for financial advisors, has struck a strategic partnership with Focus Financial Partners to help Focus-affiliated advisory and business management firms streamline meeting-related work and turn client conversations into structured, actionable data.

Deutsche Börse To Buy Allfunds In €5.3 Billion Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Deutsche Börse AG (DBAG) and Allfunds Group plc announced they have agreed terms for a recommended cash-and-share acquisition of Allfunds, with Allfunds shareholders set to receive total consideration of €8.80 per share.

Vestmark and T. Rowe Price Launch “Custom Premier” Personalized Model Portfolio Solution For RIAs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Vestmark and T. Rowe Price have launched Custom Premier, a new model portfolio solution designed to help registered investment advisors deliver personalized, tax-efficient portfolios across ETFs and mutual funds while maintaining operational scale and efficiency.

Epiris Sells Structured Minority Stake In UK Funeral Plans Provider Pure Cremation To Centerbridge

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Epiris announced Epiris Fund III and Pure Cremation CEO Dean Lamble have agreed to sell a structured minority interest in Pure Cremation to Centerbridge Partners, which will invest across both the company’s debt and equity instruments. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Qure.ai Wins Gates Foundation Grant To Develop AI Point-Of-Care Ultrasound For TB And Pneumonia

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Qure.ai has received a multimillion-dollar grant from the Gates Foundation to expand its global health work, including the development of AI-enabled point-of-care ultrasound algorithms to enable earlier detection of tuberculosis (TB) and pneumonia in under-resourced settings.

Sharon AI Lines Up To $500 Million USD.AI Debt Facility For GPU-Financed Compute Expansion Across Australia And Asia-Pacific

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

SharonAI Holdings and its subsidiaries, an Australian AI infrastructure provider listed on the OTC Markets (SHAZ, SHAZW), said USD.AI has approved a debt facility of up to $500 million to support the company’s planned buildout of large-scale GPU compute capacity across Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region.

RSA Group Secures $135 Million Capital Infusion And Refinances Debt

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

RSA Group, a cybersecurity company comprised of RSA and Outseer, said it has completed a refinancing transaction with a substantial majority of holders of its existing first- and second-lien term loans, alongside a new $135 million capital infusion backed by existing lenders.

Neurophos: $110 Million Series A Raised To Bring Exaflop-Scale Photonic AI Chips To Data Centers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Neurophos has raised $110 million in an oversubscribed Series A round to accelerate the commercialization of its photonic AI chip technology, positioning the Austin-based company to push beyond the power and scalability limits facing today’s AI infrastructure. The financing brings Neurophos’ total funding to $118 million and was led by Gates Frontier, with participation from M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund), Carbon Direct Capital, Aramco Ventures, Bosch Ventures, Tectonic Ventures, Space Capital, and additional investors.

Strickland Brothers Secures $360 Million Committed Financing To Fund Acquisitions And Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Strickland Brothers, one of the largest independent quick-lube operators in the U.S., said it has closed a new $360 million committed financing package from Golub Capital and Audax Strategic Capital to support acquisition activity and accelerate national growth.

OpenAI And Gates Foundation Launch Horizon 1000 To Advance AI For Primary Healthcare Across 1,000 African Clinics By 2028

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

OpenAI and the Gates Foundation have launched Horizon 1000, a pilot initiative designed to accelerate the real-world deployment of AI tools in primary healthcare systems across Africa, starting in Rwanda. The partners said they are committing a combined $50 million in funding, technology, and technical support, with the goal of reaching 1,000 primary healthcare clinics and surrounding communities by 2028.

AbelZeta Sells Remaining China Rights To GPC3 Armored CAR-T Program To AstraZeneca

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

AbelZeta Pharma said AstraZeneca has agreed to acquire AbelZeta’s remaining 50% stake in the China development and commercialization rights for C-CAR031, a Glypican 3 (GPC3)-targeting armored CAR-T therapy being studied in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and other solid tumors.

University Of Baltimore Launches AI-Enabled Business Accelerator For Baltimore Founders

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

The University of Baltimore has launched an AI-Enabled Business Accelerator, a nine-week program designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs build scalable ventures that use artificial intelligence in practical, market-ready ways.

UAE Rain Enhancement Research Program Names Sixth-Cycle Grant Awardees

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), managed by the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), has selected three projects for its sixth cycle of research grants, awarding each recipient up to $1.5 million over three years, with annual funding capped at $550,000.

Puratos Acquires Vör Foods to Expand U.S. Clean-Label Nut Butter and Filling Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Puratos has acquired Vör Foods, a high-growth manufacturer of ultra-clean-label nut butters and nut-based fillings headquartered in Trevose, Pennsylvania, in a deal aimed at accelerating innovation in sweet goods and strengthening Puratos’ U.S. manufacturing footprint.

OneRyan Global Takes Controlling Stake in Mr Gatti’s Pizza

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Mr Gatti’s Pizza announced that Dallas-based OneRyan Global LLC, the family office of businessman and philanthropist G. Brint Ryan, has acquired a controlling interest in the Texas-born pizza and family entertainment brand. Financial terms were not disclosed.

BigBear.ai Acquires CargoSeer Technology To Expand AI Tools For Customs Cargo Inspection

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

BigBear.ai announced it has acquired certain technologies from CargoSeer Ltd., an AI software company focused on cargo-scanning enhancement and trade risk management for customs enforcement missions worldwide, in a deal with undisclosed financial terms.