Innovation

ketteQ: $20 Million Series B Raised For Scaling AI-Based Supply Chain Planning Innovations

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

ketteQ, a leader in adaptive supply chain planning solutions, has raised $20 million in Series B funding led by Vocap Partners.

Ezee Fiber: $400 Million Investment To Expand Fiber-To-The-Premises Network In The Greater Chicagoland Area

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Ezee Fiber has announced the expansion of its 100% fiber network into the greater Chicagoland area, bringing its multi-gig fiber internet to residential and business customers in DuPage, Cook, Lake, Kane, and Will counties. Installations are set to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Promptfoo: $18.4 Million Series A Raised For Open Source AI Security Testing Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Promptfoo, an open-source framework for AI red-teaming and security testing, has announced $18.4 million in Series A financing led by Insight Partners, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz.

Matrice.ai: Funding Raised To Build Modular Vision AI Factories For Real-World Environments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Matrice.ai, which develops modular Vision AI Factories for real-world applications, has announced an expansion of its seed funding round led by Voltage Park, with additional support from Ax3.ai, Plug and Play Ventures, and a group of notable angel investors.

AskTuring.ai: Oversubscribed Funding Raised For Launching Secure Personal AI Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

AskTuring.ai has completed an oversubscribed funding round and is set to launch its secure platform this fall. This innovative platform addresses the growing demand for privacy-first artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that prioritize user needs over those of tech giants.

Mayer Brown: Nikolai Sokolov Added As New Partner In PE Practice

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Mayer Brown has announced the addition of Nikolai Sokolov as a new partner in its private equity practice, based in the firm's Frankfurt office. Sokolov joins from Hogan Lovells, bringing extensive experience advising both private equity and strategic investors on a variety of domestic and international transactions.

JustPark Buying Oobeo To Streamline Parking Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

JustPark, a parking technology platform, has announced its acquisition of Oobeo, a startup specializing in valet, permit management, and contactless parking software. The acquisition is a key part of JustPark's growth strategy in North America.

Jeh Aerospace: $11 Million Series A Raised For Scaling Next-Gen Aerospace Manufacturing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Jeh Aerospace, a rapidly growing aerospace manufacturing startup, has raised $11 million in a Series A funding round. The investment was led by Elevation Capital, with existing investor General Catalyst also participating.

Bain Capital And 11North Partners Acquire $395 Million Retail Portfolio

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Bain Capital and 11North Partners have announced the acquisition of a portfolio of ten open-air retail centers in Florida and South Carolina for approximately $395 million. The purchase, executed through a new joint venture between the two firms, continues their strategy of investing in high-growth markets.

Hueman People Solutions Acquires Empower Partnerships, Launches New RPO Division

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Hueman People Solutions, a national provider of recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), has acquired Empower Partnerships, an RPO and HR consulting firm. This acquisition allows Hueman to significantly expand its presence in commercial sectors and officially launch its new division, Hueman RPO Commercial.

Pyxl Buying HOOK, Expanding Creative And Global Reach

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Pyxl, a full-service digital agency, has acquired HOOK, an award-winning creative agency known for its emotionally resonant brand campaigns. This acquisition strengthens Pyxl's creative capabilities and expands its ability to serve clients across the U.S. and Europe.

First Due: $355 Million Raised To Advance Public Safety Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

First Due, a leading all-in-one software platform for public safety agencies, has secured a significant $355 million strategic minority growth investment. The funding round was led by JMI Equity, with participation from TCV and continued support from Serent Capital.

Allegion Buying UK Security Provider UAP

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Allegion, a leading global provider of security products, has acquired UAP Group Limited (UAP), a prominent security solutions company based in the UK.

Glassbox: Investment Secured From Poalim Equity To Boost AI In Financial Services

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Glassbox, a leading provider of digital experience analytics for financial institutions, has secured a minority investment from Poalim Equity, the investment arm of Israel's largest financial group, Bank Hapoalim.

Brightstar Capital Partners Acquires Analyte Health

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Brightstar Capital Partners, a private equity firm, has acquired Analyte Health, a technology-driven, direct-to-consumer digital health company. As part of the deal, Fiyyaz Pirani, Analyte's founder, will remain CEO and maintain a significant ownership stake.

Joby Aviation To Buy Blade’s Passenger Business In $125 Million Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Joby Aviation, a developer of electric air taxis, has agreed to acquire Blade Air Mobility's urban air mobility passenger business. The acquisition will provide Joby with immediate access to key urban markets, including New York City and Southern Europe. It will enable it to leverage Blade’s extensive experience in passenger transportation. Blade’s Medical division is not part of the deal and will remain a separate, publicly traded company.

Employee Navigator Secures $100 Million Investment For HR Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Employee Navigator, a provider of benefits administration and HR software, has completed a $100 million funding round from its existing investors, JMI Equity and Spectrum Equity.

LRS Acquires GHW to Enter Indianapolis Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

LRS, a major provider of waste diversion, recycling, and environmental solutions, has announced the acquisition of GHW, a local waste company based in Indianapolis. This acquisition marks a strategic expansion for LRS into the Indianapolis market.

Circet USA Acquires SourceOne, Boosting Telecom Engineering Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Circet USA, a provider of network infrastructure services, has acquired SourceOne, a utility consultant specializing in outside plant engineering and design for the telecom and utility sectors. This strategic acquisition enhances Circet USA's ability to offer end-to-end infrastructure solutions nationwide.

Moonshine AI Raises Funding To Advance On-Device Voice AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Moonshine AI, a startup developing voice AI solutions that run directly on devices, has secured investments from venture capital firm Wing VC and IQT, a strategic investor for the U.S. national security community.

Mission Bio: Equity Funding Raised To Expand Single-Cell Tri-omics Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Mission Bio, a leader in single-cell multi-omics solutions, has completed an equity financing round led by Ally Bridge Group. The funding follows significant traction with biopharma customers and recent platform innovations.

Spire To Buy Piedmont Natural Gas’ Tennessee Business For $2.48 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Spire has entered an agreement to acquire the Tennessee-based natural gas business of Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy. The deal, valued at $2.48 billion, will add over 200,000 customers in the Nashville area to Spire's portfolio.

NG.CASH: $26.5 Million Series B Raised For Fintech Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

NG.CASH, a Brazilian fintech platform, has closed a $26.5 million Series B funding round. The investment was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from several other investors, including Quantum Light, Monashees, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

Grasshopper: $46.6 Million Raised For Full Service Digital Bank

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Grasshopper, a full-service digital bank, has completed a $46.6 million funding round led by Patriot Financial Partners LP, with additional participation from Glendon Capital Management. This investment supported the bank's merger with Auto Club Trust, FSB in April 2025 and will be used to expand its digital platform and product offerings for both businesses and consumers.

August: $7 Million Raised For Bringing Configurable AI To Law Firms

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

August, an AI platform designed for midsize law firms, has raised $7 million in a funding round led by NEA and Pear VC. The company also unveiled new configurable AI workflows that can be customized to a firm’s specific tasks and regional requirements.

Dextra Partners: Co-Investment Fund Closed At $825 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Dextra Partners, a private equity firm, has closed its Dextra Co-investment Fund VII at its hard cap of $825 million. The fund has exceeded its initial target of $650 million, bringing the firm’s total assets under management to approximately $5 billion.

One Equity And Warburg Pincus Selling Eco Material Technologies To CRH For $2.1 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

One Equity Partners (OEP), Warburg Pincus, and Green Cement Investments have reached an agreement to sell Eco Material Technologies to CRH for a total of $2.1 billion. Eco Material Technologies is a leading independent supplier of Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) in North America.

Clay: $100 Million Series C Raised At $3.1 Billion Valuation For AI-Based GTM Development Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Clay, an AI-based go-to-market (GTM) development platform, has announced a $100 million Series C funding round, bringing its valuation to $3.1 billion. The round was led by CapitalG, Alphabet's independent growth fund, with participation from existing investors including Sequoia Capital and Meritech Capital. This new investment brings the company's total funding to $204 million.

Grant Thornton: Marc Chase Joins To Lead Private Equity Practice

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Grant Thornton has announced that Marc Chase has joined the firm as its new leader of the Private Equity practice. In this role, Chase will be responsible for the growth, strategy, and operations of the firm's private equity industry practice.

Zettabyte: Strategic Investment Raised From Lam Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 6, 2025

Zettabyte, a fast-growing innovator in AI data center infrastructure software, has announced a strategic investment led by Lam Capital, the corporate venture arm of Lam Research Corp. The funding round also included participation from Wistron, Foxconn, and Pegatron.