Innovation

Northwestern University: Mung Chiang Named Next President

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Northwestern University announced that Mung Chiang has been named the institution’s 18th president. Chiang, who currently serves as president of Purdue University, will officially begin his new role on July 1 following an extensive global search led by representatives from Northwestern’s Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, alumni, and student body.

Gradiant: $2 Billion Valuation Reached With Series E Financing To Expand AI And Industrial Water Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Gradiant announced the closing of a Series E financing round that values the company at $2 billion. The financing round was led by Safar Partners and Hostplus Superannuation Fund, with participation from ClearVision Ventures and other global investors.

Nord Quantique: $30 Million Investment Pushes Quantum Computing Company To $1.4 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Nord Quantique, a quantum computing company focused on quantum error correction and fault-tolerant systems, announced the closing of a $30 million investment round that brings the company’s valuation to $1.4 billion. The funding will support the company’s roadmap toward achieving fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2030.

CopperPoint Insurance: Acquisition Of General Indemnity Group Expands Surety Capabilities Nationwide

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

CopperPoint Insurance Companies announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire General Indemnity Group (GIG) and its subsidiaries from Boston Omaha Corporation. The deal will add commercial and contract surety capabilities to CopperPoint’s portfolio while establishing nationwide operations across all 50 states and Washington D.C.

FortyAU: AI Capabilities Expanded Through Ronin Consulting Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

FortyAU, a Nashville-based digital engineering and AI solutions firm serving highly regulated industries, announced the acquisition of fellow Nashville company Ronin Consulting, a software engineering and AI development firm focused on enterprise clients across healthcare, financial services, and defense. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Cognizant: $2 Billion Share Repurchase Target Increased Amid AI Growth Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Cognizant announced that its Board of Directors approved a $2 billion increase to the company’s existing share repurchase authorization, while also raising its 2026 share repurchase target to $2 billion, up from the company’s prior expectation of $1 billion.

Life After Debt: Interview With Founder & CEO Amber Duncan About The Financial Empowerment Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Life After Debt is a financial empowerment and debt resolution platform founded and led by Amber Duncan. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Life After Debt founder, CEO, and Chief Visionary Amber Duncan to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Africa Finance Corporation: US$100 Million Commitment Approved For Africa-Focused Technology Fund Managers

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, announced that its Board has approved a commitment of up to US$100 million to invest in Africa-focused technology fund managers as part of a broader strategy to accelerate Africa’s digital industrialization.

No Barrier: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Eyal Heldenberg About The Medical Interpretation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

No Barrier is a HIPAA-compliant, AI-driven medical interpretation platform that provides real-time, clinical-grade translation to help healthcare providers bridge language gaps with patients. Pulse 2.0 interviewed No Barrier co-founder and CEO Eyal Heldenberg to learn more.

Tewke: Interview With Founder Piers Daniell About The Climate-Tech Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Tewke is a London-based climate-tech company that manufactures "Tap," an intelligent, retrofit touchscreen light switch designed to optimize home energy consumption, monitor air quality, and provide advanced automation without needing a neutral wire. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Tewke founder Piers Daniell to learn more.

MiracleFeet: CEO Daphne Sorensen On Expanding Access To Life-Changing Clubfoot Care

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Clubfoot is one of the most common birth defects in the world, affecting roughly 200,000 children every year. It’s also one of the most treatable defects, often corrected without surgery for around $500. In wealthy countries, it's caught early and fixed so routinely that most people never see its lasting effects. But most children born with clubfoot are in low- and middle-income countries, where that care often never arrives, and a treatable condition becomes a lifetime of pain and exclusion. MiracleFeet works to close that gap, partnering with local healthcare providers to bring the low-cost, nonsurgical standard of care to the children who need it. Pulse 2.0 spoke with MiracleFeet CEO Daphne Sorensen to learn more.

Accrual Partners With Runloop To Power Tax Preparation And Review Agents

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Accrual has selected Runloop as the production infrastructure provider powering its AI agents across customer deployments. The partnership supports Accrual’s expansion of AI-driven accounting workflows for firms including Armanino, Creative Planning, and H&R Block.

Searchable: $14 Million Raised At $85 Million Valuation For AI Search Performance Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Searchable, an AI performance marketing platform focused on helping businesses compete in AI-driven search, announced it has raised $14 million in funding led by Headline at an $85 million valuation.

GM: 2027 Chevrolet Bolt Built In 30-Vehicle Batches To Improve Quality And Efficiency

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

General Motors is using a new “batch build” manufacturing strategy at its Fairfax Assembly & Stamping plant in Kansas City for the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt, producing groups of 30 similarly equipped vehicles together to simplify operations, improve quality, and reduce production complexity.

RB Global: BigIron Acquisition Expands U.S. Agriculture Market Presence

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

RB Global announced it has completed the acquisition of BigIron, accelerating the company’s strategic expansion into the U.S. agriculture market.

BMW And SOLARWATT: Neue Klasse Vehicles To Power Integrated Home Energy Ecosystem Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

BMW Group and solar technology company SOLARWATT are expanding their long-running partnership to integrate BMW’s upcoming Neue Klasse electric vehicles into connected home energy systems, further advancing bidirectional charging and Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) capabilities.

Team Velocity: Foundation Direct Acquisition Combines Apollo Platform With Google-Pioneered Media Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Team Velocity announced the acquisition of Foundation Direct, a digital agency founded by former Google automotive executives, in a move designed to combine elite media strategy capabilities with Team Velocity’s Apollo customer experience platform.

LIO: Interview With CEO Todd Haedrich

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

LIO is the all-in-one platform for inpatient mental health, combining digital rounding, ambient monitoring and compliance reporting. With its contactless design and FDA-cleared software, LIO supports frontline teams and hospital leaders to make data-driven decisions – improving safety and efficiency while strengthening adherence to regulatory standards. Pulse 2.0 interviewed LIO CEO Todd Haedrich to learn more.

NextEra Energy: $67 Billion All-Stock Dominion Energy Deal Creates World’s Largest Regulated Utility Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy announced a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction that will create the world’s largest regulated electric utility business by market capitalization and one of the largest energy infrastructure companies globally.

Respan: Interview With Founder & CEO Andy Li About The AI Engineering Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Respan is a proactive, full-stack AI engineering platform that provides a unified control plane for developers to trace, evaluate, and monitor LLM agent behavior while offering an AI gateway to improve production performance. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Respan founder and CEO Andy Li to learn more.

NC Community College System: Interview With VP Of Economic Development John Loyack On State’s Workforce Development Efforts

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

The North Carolina Community College System’s Economic Development Division provides education, training, and support for new and existing businesses, aiming to boost the state's economy through workforce development. It offers customized training (through an initiative called NCEdge), support for new ventures through programs like the Small Business Center Network, training for food and beverage and life sciences companies through BioNetwork, and apprenticeship programs like ApprenticeshipNC. The division serves as a key link between community colleges, businesses, and government agencies to drive economic growth across all 100 North Carolina counties. Pulse 2.0 interviewed the Vice President of the North Carolina Community College System’s Economic Development Division, John Loyack, to learn more.

Commerzbank: €39 Billion UniCredit Takeover Offer Formally Rejected

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2026

Germany-based Commerzbank has formally rejected a €39 billion takeover offer from Italy’s UniCredit, escalating a months-long standoff that has become one of Europe’s most closely watched banking battles.

Gentrack: NZ$24 Million Acquisition Of Factor Expands AI-Powered Pricing Intelligence In g2 Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 17, 2026

Gentrack announced it has completed the acquisition of Factor, embedding AI-powered pricing intelligence capabilities into its g2 utilities platform as the company expands its offering for global energy retailers.

IBM: New Forward Deployed Units Model Aims To Accelerate Enterprise AI Deployment

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 17, 2026

IBM announced the launch of a new AI delivery model called Forward Deployed Units (FDUs), which the company says is designed to help enterprises move artificial intelligence initiatives from experimentation into large-scale production environments faster and more efficiently.

SpaceX: 5-For-1 Stock Split Reportedly Approved Ahead Of Expected IPO

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 17, 2026

SpaceX shareholders have approved a 5-for-1 stock split as the Elon Musk-led aerospace and satellite company moves closer to what could become one of the most highly anticipated initial public offerings in recent years. The decision, first reported by Bloomberg and confirmed by sources familiar with the matter, marks another major milestone for the private company as investor attention surrounding a potential public listing intensifies.

Prudential: $389 Million Bharti Life Stake Acquisition To Expand India Insurance Presence

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 17, 2026

Prudential announced it has agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance Company Limited from Bharti Life Ventures Pvt Ltd and 360 ONE Asset Management as part of a strategic repositioning of its India operations. The transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, involves an initial cash consideration of ₹3,500 crore, approximately $389 million.

Santa Clara University: $175 Million Gift Launches Mark & Mary Stevens School Of Medicine

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 17, 2026

Sutter Health and Santa Clara University announced the launch of the Mark & Mary Stevens School of Medicine, which will become the first new medical school established in California’s San Francisco Bay Area in more than a century. The school is being funded in part through a $175 million gift from Santa Clara University alumna Mary (Mathews) Stevens and her husband, venture capitalist Mark Stevens.

Publicis: $2.2 Billion Acquisition Of LiveRamp To Accelerate AI Data Co-Creation And Smarter Agents

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 17, 2026

Publicis Groupe announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire LiveRamp in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.2 billion in enterprise value, as the advertising and technology giant accelerates its push into AI-driven data co-creation and agentic business transformation.

Assertio: $166.4 Million Acquisition By Zydus Worldwide DMCC Announced

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 17, 2026

Assertio Holdings announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Zydus Worldwide DMCC, a subsidiary of Zydus Lifesciences Limited, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $166.4 million.

Fasset: $51 Million Series B Raised To Expand AI-Enabled Financial Infrastructure Network

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 17, 2026

Fasset announced that it has raised a $51 million Series B funding round with participation from SBI Group, Investcorp, Arz Portföy, and several additional strategic partners.