Innovation

Cybersecurity Leader Lumifi Cyber Acquires Netsurion

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Lumifi Cyber, a next-generation leader in the cybersecurity space, announced the acquisition of Netsurion, which is a 15-year-old Managed Extended Detection and Response (XDR) provider. This deal delivers enhanced security to Netsurion’s customer base through Lumifi’s US-based Security Operations Center (SOC) alongside Lumifi’s proprietary SHIELDVision platform and is a milestone in Lumifi’s larger goal to disrupt the managed detection and response (MDR) space.

WitnessAI: $27.5 Million Raised To Develop Safe Adoption Of Enterprise AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

WitnessAI, the creator of the first enablement platform for safe AI use, announced a $27.5 million Series A round, co-led by GV and Ballistic Ventures. The company had previously been incubated by Ballistic Ventures, beginning in 2023.

Superpower: Healthcare Platform Company Raises $4 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Superpower, a healthcare platform making it easy for people to access personalized, preventative, and longevity-focused medicine, announced today that it has raised $4 million in pre-seed funding. This funding round was led by Susa Ventures with participation from Long Journey Ventures, Family Fund, Atman VC, 24 Carrot VC, Focalpoint Partners, and Seaside Ventures. Also joining in the round were several prominent angel investors, including Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Balaji Srinivasan, Scott and Cyan Banister, and Evan Charles Moore (the Co-Founder of Doordash).

Reactive Technologies: Grid Stability Measurement Company Raises £25 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Reactive Technologies, a UK and Finland-based leader in grid stability measurements, announced a Series D funding round today. This £25 million funding round (US$31.4 million) was led by M&G’s Catalyst investment and UK and Ireland growth capital investor BGF and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Aplazo: Mexico-Based BNPL Company Raises $70 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Aplazo, an omni-channel payment platform offering flexible payment solutions and commerce enablement tools to help merchants accelerate sales and grow their brands, announced the closing of $70 million in additional equity financing, including a $45 million Series B funding round.

Blackstone Buying Majority Stake In Priority Software

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Blackstone announced that Blackstone Growth and affiliated funds have entered into a definitive agreement to buy a majority stake in Priority Software, a leading provider of mission-critical business software. And Blackstone’s investment will help build on the company’s position in the ERP software market and support its further growth across industries and markets.

Vitesse: Insurance-Focused Treasury And Payment Solutions Company Raises $93 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Vitesse, a leading treasury and payment solutions provider for the insurance industry, announced today the completion of a $93 million Series C funding round led by KKR, with participation from existing investors, including Hannover Digital Investments. Following the funding round, subject to customary regulatory approvals, Patrick Devine, Managing Director of KKR’s Tech Growth team, will join the board of directors.

NewVale Capital: $167 Million Fund Closed To Invest In Life Science Industry

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

NewVale Capital, a Boulder-based growth equity firm that is focused on investments in the services architecture underpinning the life science industry, announced the final closing of its inaugural fund. This oversubscribed $167 million fund will accelerate the growth of proven pharmaceutical services companies that are essential in bringing medicines to patients.

CereVasc: $70 Million Raised To Develop Novel Treatments For Neurological Diseases

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

CereVasc, a clinical-stage medical device company developing novel treatments for neurological diseases, announced it has completed the initial closing of a $70 million Series B funding. The funding was jointly led by Bain Capital Life Sciences and existing investor Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund (PXV), with additional participation from other existing investors.

ByHeart: Infant Nutrition Company Raises $95 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

ByHeart, a next-generation infant nutrition company, announced it has secured $95 million in additional financing to support the continued US commercial launch and development of its innovation pipeline. So far, ByHeart has raised $395 million from investors, including D1 Capital Partners, Bellco Capital, Polaris Partners, Two River, OCV Partners, AF Ventures, Red Sea Ventures, Gaingels, and more.

Ajax Therapeutics: $95 Million Raised To Develop Next-Gen JAK Inhibitors For Patients With MPNs

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Ajax Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation JAK inhibitors for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), announced the closing of an oversubscribed $95 million Series C funding round. The funding was led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives with participation by Eli Lilly and Company, Vivo Capital, RA Capital Management, Point72 and existing investors EcoR1 Capital, Boxer Capital, Schrödinger, Inc. and Inning One Ventures. In connection with the funding, Amit Sinha, Head of Life Sciences Investing, and Ming Cheah, PhD, Vice President of Life Sciences Investing at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, joined Ajax’s board of directors.

Tenon: ServiceNow-Based Marketing Solution Company Raises $8 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Tenon, a marketing solution built using ServiceNow, announced it has secured an $8 million Series A investment, co-led by High Alpha and StepStone Group, with continued investment from ServiceNow Ventures. This funding round will support the expansion of the Tenon team and accelerate the company’s product roadmap, expanding from marketing work management into marketing automation to unify the complete marketing lifecycle.

Easton Energy To Sell Gulf Coast Liquids Pipeline System To ONEOK For About $280 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Houston-based midstream company Easton Energy recently announced that it has agreed to sell its Gulf Coast Liquids Pipeline System to ONEOK for about $280 million, subject to customary price adjustments. Easton will retain and continue operating its natural gas liquids (NGL) and olefins storage business located in Markham, Texas.

TrueBridge Capital Partners: $1.6 Billion Closed Across Five VC Investment Vehicles

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

TrueBridge Capital Partners, a venture capital investment firm, announced it has raised $1.6 billion in commitments across five investment vehicles focusing on venture funds and technology companies: TrueBridge Capital Partners Fund VIII, TrueBridge Seed & Micro-VC II, TrueBridge Direct Fund III, TrueBridge Secondaries I, and TrueBridge Blockchain I.

Highperformr: Social Media Platform Company Raises $3.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

GenAI company Highperformr announced that it has secured $3.5 million in seed funding and launched its product Highperformr for Teams, which is a modern social media management platform designed to help B2B businesses maximize their return on investment (ROI) from social media efforts by amplifying their social presence and driving meaningful engagement.

Scale AI: Data Engine Company Raises $1 Billion At $13.8 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

AI data foundry company Scale AI announced it had closed a $1 billion financing transaction, bringing the company to a valuation of $13.8 billion. Existing investor Accel led the funding round with participation from returning investors, including Y Combinator, Nat Friedman, Index Ventures, Founders Fund, Coatue, Thrive Capital, Spark Capital, NVIDIA, Tiger Global Management, Greenoaks, and Wellington Management. The new investors include Cisco Investments, DFJ Growth, Intel Capital, ServiceNow Ventures, AMD Ventures, WCM, Amazon, Elad Gil, and Meta.

Sona: Frontline Workforce Management Company Raises $27.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Sona, a next-generation and intelligent workforce management platform for frontline enterprises founded by Steffen Wulff Petersen, Oli Johnson, and Ben Dixon, announced a $27.5 million Series A funding round. Felicis led the funding round with participation from Northzone, Gradient (Google's AI fund), SpeedInvest, Antler, BAG Ventures, and several notable angels participated in the round.

Subeca: End-To-End Water Management Platform Company Raises $6 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Subeca, an Internet of Things (IoT) startup that offers low-cost and easy-to-use water technology, announced it raised $6 million in Series A funding. The Series A funding round was led by SUEZ, a leader in digital and circular solutions in waste and water services, with participation from Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund (Amazon's sustainability-focused corporate venture fund) and Burnt Island Ventures (a leading water sector-focused venture investor).

Token: $7 Million Raised To Launch Machine-First Identity Security Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Token Security emerged from stealth mode and launched its machine-first identity security platform. The company also announced $7 million in Seed funding led by TLV Partners with participation from SNR and a range of angel investors, including Shlomo Kramer, one of the founding fathers of cybersecurity in Israel.

280 Earth: Direct Air Capture Company Raises $50 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

280 Earth announced that it has completed construction and started operating a direct air capture (DAC) facility to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the atmosphere, mitigating climate change. 280 Earth’s scale-up of direct air capture technology is led by an investor team such as Builders VC, Gideon Yu, and Alphabet. And the company also announced that it has officially filled and closed a $50 million Series B Round of investment.

Teal: $8 Million Secured To Build Accounting Infrastructure For Vertical SaaS Companies

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Teal, a rapidly growing company specializing in accounting infrastructure for Vertical SaaS businesses, announced $8 million in seed funding today. Launched in 2023 by Ian Crosby, former Head of Financial Services at Shopify and CEO and co-founder of Bench Accounting, Teal enables Vertical SaaS businesses to build their accounting suites to offer to their SMB customers. Torch Capital led the funding round with participation from Basis Set Ventures, General Advance, Dash Fund, and angel investors, including executives at Service Titan, Plaid, Brex, Unit, and Gusto.

Rev1 Ventures: $6 Million FVFII Closed To Support Central Ohio Companies

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Rev1 Ventures, a venture studio that helps entrepreneurs and corporations accelerate innovation, announced it is launching the Future Value Fund II (FVFII), a $6 million pre-seed and seed capital fund to support Central Ohio companies, focusing on tech companies underserved by venture capital. Rev1 Ventures is providing $3 million in private investment, which is being matched by the Ohio Department of Development State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Ohio Early Stage Focus Fund Program.

Patron Capital: Over €860 Million Raised For Seventh Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Patron Capital, a pan-European institutional investor focused on property-backed investments, has closed its seventh flagship fund at over $920 million, including more than $215 million of Patron discretionary co-investment capital for more significant opportunities.

Coder: The Story Behind This Rapidly Growing Browser-Based Cloud Development Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Coder is a company that has completely transformed software development with its browser-based cloud development environment (CDE). Pulse 2.0 interviewed Coder CEO Rob Whiteley to learn more about the company.

Progentos Therapeutics: $65 Million Raised To Address Unmet Needs To Regenerate Myelin And Restore Function For Patients With MS

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Progentos Therapeutics, a biotechnology company addressing the unmet need to regenerate myelin and restore function for patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating diseases, announced its launch and the closing of a $65 million series A round. This funding round will enable Progentos to advance its MS program through human proof-of-concept studies and expand its pipeline in additional degenerative diseases.

Switchboard Health: $6.5 Million Secured To Help Deliver Value-Based Specialty Care

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Switchboard Health, the creator of a high-value specialty care network and software platform, announced it secured $6.5 million in series seed funding. First Trust Capital Partners’ investment led the round, with participation from founding investor Route 66 Ventures, InnovateHealth Ventures, Capital Eleven, and Ikigai Growth Partners.

97212 Ventures: $20 Million Fund Closed To Help Israeli Tech Founders Grow Businesses

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

97212 Ventures, a NY next-generation VC and day-one partner for Israeli founders, announced the closing of a $20 million fund focused on investing in new Israeli pre-seed and seed startups, providing them instant access to a pool of rich New York resources to grow their businesses including key senior advisors, early customers and channel partners, paving the way to US product-market fit and early growth.

Chapter: Medicare Navigation Platform Company Raises $50 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Chapter, a rapidly growing Medicare navigation platform, announced that it raised $50 million in Series C funding, led by XYZ Venture Capital and with participation from existing investors Narya Capital, Addition, Susa Ventures, and Maverick Ventures.

RCP Fund XVIII: About $285 Million In Aggregate Capital Commitments Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

RCP Advisors, a private equity investment firm that offers access to North American small buyout fund managers through primary funds, secondary funds, and co-investment funds, announced the final closing of RCP Fund XVIII. This fund closed on about $285 million in aggregate commitments.

Battery Ventures: C$150 Million Acquisition Of TrueContext Completed

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Battery Ventures announced it has closed its take-private acquisition of field-service workflow company TrueContext (formerly known as ProntoForms). The Canadian software company was delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange yesterday after Battery acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares for C$1.07 per share, valuing TrueContext at approximately C$150 million.