Innovation

Why Archer Is Buying Compliance.ai

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2024

Archer - an enterprise leader in providing a fully integrated risk management solution - announced the acquisition of Compliance.ai, a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven regulatory change management solutions. This acquisition enables Archer clients to supplement their compliance initiatives with cutting-edge AI technology to automate monitoring, tracking, reporting, and responding to continually changing regulations in real-time.

Wipro Investing In Insurance Consulting Company Aggne

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2024

Wipro Limited (a leading technology services and consulting company) has invested significantly in Aggne (a leading consulting and managed services company serving insurance and Insurtech industries). Through this investment, Wipro becomes a majority shareholder in Aggne, which brings to Wipro a highly sought-after and unique set of capabilities and Intellectual Property (IP) in the property & casualty (P&C) insurance space. And the combined capabilities of Wipro and Aggne will help deliver enhanced value, faster speed-to-market, and differentiated services to clients in the P&C sector.

1Password Buying Kolide: Details

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 22, 2024

1Password (a provider of the most-used enterprise password manager) announced the acquisition of Kolide (a leader in device health and contextual access management, enabling businesses to meet the rising security challenges of the modern workforce that now works from anywhere and on any device).

Universal Music Group Acquires Minority Stake In Chord Music Partners For $240 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Universal Music Group (UMG) - a leader in music-based entertainment and Dundee Partners (the investment office of the Hendel family) announced that UMG will acquire a 25.8% interest in Chord Music Partners (Chord) for US$240 million (approximately €223 million when converted into € at the current EUR/USD rate at the time) in a deal that values Chord at US$1.85 billion.

Cintas Acquires Uniform Supplier Program Company SITEX: Details

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Cintas Corporation announced it has acquired SITEX, a Kentucky-based, family-owned supplier of uniform and facility service programs. SITEX was launched by the Sights family in Henderson, Kentucky in 1961.

Truist Selling Remaining Stake In Insurance Holdings At $15.5 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Truist Financial Corporation announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to sell its remaining stake in Truist Insurance Holdings (TIH), a subsidiary of Truist and the fifth largest insurance brokerage in the United States, to an investor group led by private equity firms Stone Point Capital and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). Mubadala Investment Company and other co-investors are also participating in the investment.

Reprieve Cardiovascular: $42 Million Raised To Build Automated Diuretic And Fluid Management Approach For ADHF Treatment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Reprieve Cardiovascular - a development stage company focused on pioneering an intelligent automated diuretic and fluid management approach for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) treatment - announced it has raised a total of $42 million in series A financing. This total funding round was co-led by Lightstone Ventures and Sante Ventures and joined by Deerfield Management, Genesis Capital, and Arboretum Ventures. And the funding will advance the company’s clinical and development programs, including the ongoing FASTR trial and its upcoming pivotal trial.

WovenEarth Ventures: $152 Million First Fund Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

WovenEarth Ventures has held the final close of its first fund WovenEarth Fund I at $152 million on January 31st, hitting its hard cap. And WovenEarth's goal is to seek attractive, risk-adjusted returns while moving compelled capital into US early-stage climate tech venture, providing highly diversified exposure to the sector via a focused, carefully crafted fund of funds with differentiated access.

SigScalr: Unified Observability SaaS Solution Company Closes $1.76 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

SigScalr (a unified observability SaaS solution that is purpose-built to process large volumes of observability data) announced it has emerged from stealth and closed a $1.76 million pre-seed round to help address the rampant cost inflation in enterprise application observability. Scribble Ventures led the funding round with co-investments from WestWave Capital and Forward Slash Capital.

Bioptimus: $35 Million Raised To build Universal AI Foundation Model In Biology To Drive Advancements In Scientific Research

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Bioptimus has emerged from stealth following a seed funding round of $35 million. Under the leadership of Professor Jean-Philippe Vert, PhD, Bioptimus combines a world-class team of scientists from Owkin and Google DeepMind alumni to transform biology with cutting-edge AI foundation model technologies that capture the various scales of biology.

Borgman Capital Sells Portfolio Company Aerial Work Platforms To Herc Rentals

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Borgman Capital (a lower middle market private equity firm) announced the sale of its portfolio company Aerial Work Platforms, Inc. (AWP), an equipment rental company to Herc Rentals Inc. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Nulogy Raises Strategic Investment From Rubicon Technology Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Nulogy (a leading provider of supply chain collaboration solutions) announced it has secured a strategic investment from Rubicon Technology Partners (a growth-oriented private equity firm based in Boulder, Colorado, that is focused exclusively on investing in and growing enterprise software companies).

HASSLACHER group Invests In Element5

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

The HASSLACHER group is acquiring a stake in Element5 (a mass timber producer specializing in the design, manufacture and assembly of modern engineered timber buildings). Based near Toronto, Canada, the company employs over 100 people and produces cross-laminated timber and glued laminated timber for the North American market. As a leader in the European timber industry, and an innovation driver in wood processing, the HASSLACHER group is taking an important strategic step in the North American market.

Why Accenture Is Buying GemSeek: Details

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Accenture has agreed to acquire GemSeek, a leading customer experience analytics provider helping global businesses understand customers through insights, analytics and AI-powered predictive models. And the acquisition underscores ongoing investment by Accenture Song (the world’s largest tech-powered creative group in data and AI capabilities to help clients grow their business and sustain relevance with customers).

IsomAb Closes £7.5 Million To Develop Isoform-Specific Disease Modifying Antibody Treatment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

IsomAb Ltd - a UK-based biotechnology company - announced today the closing of a £7.5 million (approximately US$9.4 million) Seed financing round, led by Broadview Ventures, with further backing from existing investor, SCVC and participation from MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia Ventures and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).

MIP Discovery: £7 Million Secured To Accelerate Development And Production Of Cell And Gene Therapies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

MIP Discovery (an innovative developer of non-biological affinity reagents designed to accelerate the development and production of cell and gene therapies) announced it has closed a £7 million GBP (about $9 million USD) Series A funding round, led by Mercia Ventures. Existing investor Calculus Capital also participated in the round, along with angel investors. This investment marks a pivotal change for MIP Discovery as the company refocuses its mission on improving the downstream processing of cell and gene therapies, to accelerate widespread adoption of these potentially life-changing medicines.

TerraPay Names Ruben Salazar Genovez As President

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

TerraPay (a global money movement company) has announced the appointment of Ruben Salazar Genovez, recently the Global Head of Visa Direct, as President. And as a seasoned veteran of the payments industry with experience at Visa, Citibank, Barclays and Mastercard, Salazar Genovez has established himself as a respected leader in the payments industry. Before joining TerraPay, he served as the Head of Visa Direct globally where he successfully spearheaded various initiatives contributing to the growth and transformation of Visa's money movement offering.

Insight Global Names Cillian Maher As President Of Professional Services Division

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Insight Global recently announced the appointment of Cillian Maher as President of Evergreen, Insight Global's Professional Services Division. Maher's appointment aligns with the company's continued investment in Evergreen - which delivers world class technical and talent services to clients around the globe.

BiVACOR: $13 Million Grant Received From Australian Government

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

BiVACOR - a clinical-stage medical device company - announced $13 million (USD) awarded from the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant through the Artificial Heart Frontiers Program (AHFP) to support BiVACOR’s Total Artificial Heart program and future product enhancements.

Round13 Digital Asset Fund Reports Over 40% Gains Since Launching

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Round13 Digital Asset Fund (DAF) - which is Canada's only crypto native fund with a unique open-ended structure - announced gains in excess of 40% since its launch in April 2022 amid a challenging market environment. This Fund has quickly made its mark and is consistently outperforming leading cryptocurrencies BTC by 30% and ETH by 60%.

Vistra Names Abdel Hmitti As Managing Director And Global Head of Funds

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Vistra (one of the world’s leading funds service providers) announced the appointment of Abdel Hmitti as Managing Director and Global Head of Funds. Reporting to William Douglas (Vistra's Chief Commercial Officer), Hmitti’s addition to the team marks a significant milestone in Vistra's growth journey.

Agilio Receives New Investment From Five Arrows And TA

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Agilio - a leading UK frontline healthcare operations software provider - announced a strategic growth investment from Five Arrows (the alternative assets arm of Rothschild & Co) and TA Associates to support the next phase of the company’s ambitious expansion plans.

S&P Global Buying Visible Alpha: Details

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

S&P Global has announced an agreement to acquire Visible Alpha (the financial technology provider of industry and segment consensus data, sell-side analyst models, and analytics from exclusive sources). This acquisition will create a premium offering of fundamental investment research capabilities on S&P Global Market Intelligence's Capital IQ Pro platform.

Rockwell Automation Reveals Direct Air Capture Carbon Removal Credit Agreement With 1PointFive

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Rockwell Automation (the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation) has announced an agreement with 1PointFive to purchase carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits from STRATOS, 1PointFive's Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility under construction in Texas.

Sigma Defense Buying Juno Technologies: Details

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Sigma Defense (a portfolio company of Sagewind Capital and a leading provider to the U.S Department of Defense) recently announced the acquisition of Juno Technologies. Juno Technologies specializes in delivering IT engineering, systems integration, software development, and technical support to the Department of Defense (DoD).

Why Cadre Holdings Is Buying Alpha Safety For $106.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Cadre Holdings (a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of safety and survivability equipment) announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Alpha Safety Intermediate, LLC (the operating parent of Alpha Safety, a leading nuclear safety solutions company) for $106.5 million excluding working capital and certain other adjustments upon closing.

Why Xalts Is Buying Contour Network

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Xalts - a company that is used by financial institutions and businesses to build and manage digital finance applications - announced its acquisition of Contour Network (owned by a consortium of global banks to accelerate digitization in trade and supply chain finance).

RedBird IMI Buying Global Production Company All3Media

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

RedBird IMI recently announced that it has agreed to acquire All3Media, one of the world’s leading independent television production and distribution companies, from its joint owners Warner Bros. Discovery and Liberty Global for £1.15 billion. RedBird IMI is a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and International Media Investments focused on building high-growth companies in media, entertainment, and sports.

Vertical Aerospace Receives £8 Million Grant Funding From UK Government

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Vertical Aerospace (a global aerospace and technology company that is pioneering zero-emissions aviation) announces it has been awarded £8 million ($10 million) in grant funding by the UK Government through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme, to develop its next-generation propellers for use on its VX4 aircraft.

Why Allurity Is Buying SRLabs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2024

Allurity (a European group of leading tech-enabled cybersecurity companies) has completed the strategic acquisition of Security Research Labs (SRLabs), a globally recognized cyber consultancy based in Berlin and Hong Kong. This acquisition marks an important milestone as SRLabs brings unique expertise that enhances Allurity's market position and strengthens its capabilities to deliver a holistic cybersecurity offering.