Innovation

Sprout Social Buying NewsWhip For Up To $65 Million For Boosting Predictive Intelligence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

Sprout Social, a provider of cloud-based social media management software, has acquired NewsWhip, a company specializing in AI-powered, predictive media intelligence. The deal, valued at $55 million in cash with up to $10 million in potential earnouts, is set to expand Sprout Social's capabilities in helping brands and publishers anticipate emerging trends and breaking news.

HNI To Buy Steelcase In $2.2 Billion Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

HNI Corporation and Steelcase have entered a definitive agreement for HNI to acquire Steelcase in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $2.2 billion.

GTCR To Buy FMG Suite To Enhance Growth In Financial Advisor Marketing Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

GTCR, a leading private equity firm, announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire FMG Suite from Aurora Capital Partners. FMG Suite is a premier provider of marketing automation software for financial advisors and insurance professionals.

Macquarie Asset Management: Inaugural $711 Million Infrastructure Secondaries Fund Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

Macquarie Asset Management announced the final close of its inaugural infrastructure secondaries fund, the Macquarie Alliance Partners Infrastructure Fund (MAPIF), with total commitments of $711 million. This figure includes both the main fund and the separate managed account (SMA) capital commitments.

Lumana: $40 Million Series A Raised For Transforming Video Security With AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

Lumana, a leader in AI-driven video security solutions, has raised $40 million in a Series A funding round led by Wing Venture Capital, bringing its total funding to $64 million. This capital will enhance its video intelligence platform and accelerate market initiatives.

Arbital Health: $31 Million Series B Raised For Advancing Value-Based Care Risk Contracting

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

Arbital Health, a healthcare technology company providing essential infrastructure for managing risk-based contracts, recently announced a $31 million Series B funding round led by Valtruis, with participation from Transformation Capital, Shaper Capital, and Healthy Ventures.

CRV: $750 Million Fund Closed To Lead Seed And Series A Rounds

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

Venture capital firm CRV has announced the closing of its latest fund, CRV XX, with $750 million in commitments.

UC’s 1819 Demo Day Displays Cincinnati’s Next Wave Of Startups

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

The University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub recently hosted its Venture Lab Demo Day, providing a platform for five local startups to pitch their groundbreaking ideas to an audience of investors, mentors, and industry experts. These ventures, born from the UC Digital Pre-Accelerator, are tackling diverse challenges from pet care to speech therapy, showcasing the strength of the Cincinnati Innovation District's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

MH2Fund Launched To Advance Hydrogen Economy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

The Monaco Hydrogen Alliance and MobilityVC have launched MH2Fund, a venture that supports early-stage companies in the hydrogen economy. Their first investment is in SunGreenH2, a developer of affordable, modular green hydrogen electrolyzers.

Cambridge Innovation Capital: £100+ Million Committed To University Spin-Outs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) is investing at least £100 million in spinouts from the University of Cambridge, leveraging the commercial potential of its research in science and technology. This initiative supports the university's plans for four million square feet of high-tech space at Cambridge West, as well as an Innovation Hub in central Cambridge, designed for startups and entrepreneurs.

Amphenol: $10.5 Billion Deal For The Connectivity and Cable Solutions Segment Of CommScope

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

CommScope, a leader in network connectivity, has reached an agreement to sell its Connectivity and Cable Solutions (CCS) segment to Amphenol for about $10.5 billion in cash. This strategic move is expected to reshape CommScope's business and provide significant returns to shareholders.

QA Sphere: Interview With Creator Andrian Budantsov About The AI-Based Test Management System

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 4, 2025

QA Sphere is an AI-powered test management system designed to streamline and simplify the software testing process for development teams. It serves as an all-in-one platform for managing both manual and automated testing workflows. Pulse 2.0 interviewed QA Sphere Creator Andrian Budantsov to gain a deeper understanding of the platform.

JotPsych: $5 Million Seed Funding Raised For Fully Agentic EHR Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

JotPsych, a leader in AI scribing for behavioral health, has raised $5 million in seed funding from Base10 Partners. Their AI scribe significantly reduces documentation time and customizes to clinician preferences.

Planted Solar: $12 Million Raised For Advancing Solar Deployment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

Planted Solar, a platform designed to enhance the efficiency and profitability of solar energy project development, has secured $12 million in funding led by Piva Capital, with contributions from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and Team Builder Ventures. This investment comes as the U.S. solar industry experiences unprecedented demand and deployment challenges.

MAGENTIQ EYE: Series A Funding Raised For AI-Based Gastroenterology Decision-Support Software

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

MAGENTIQ EYE, an innovator in AI-based gastroenterology decision-support software, has completed its Series A funding round. The round was led by aMoon, Israel's largest HealthTech investment fund, with participation from Norgine Ventures BV (Netherlands), Nina Capital (EU & USA), Namarel Ventures SL (Spain), Nova Capital (Italy), and private investors Sake Bosch and Roon Doornink (USA).

Ramp: $500 Million Series E-2 Raised At $22.5 Billion Valuation For Financial Operations Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

Ramp, a leading financial operations platform that helps businesses save time and money, has successfully completed a $500 million Series E-2 funding round led by ICONIQ Capital. This latest funding raises the company's valuation from $16 billion to $22.5 billion in just 45 days.

Emulait: $3 Million Media-For-Equity Raised From Mercurius Media

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

Emulait, a science-led infant feeding brand, has secured a $3 million media-for-equity investment from Mercurius Media Capital (MMC).

Oxide: $100 Million Series B Raised For Scaling Cloud Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

Oxide Computer Company has raised $100 million in a Series B financing round led by Thomas Tull's US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), with support from existing investors.

Observe: $156 Million Series C Raised For AI-Based Observability Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

Observe, an AI-based observability company, has completed a $156 million Series C funding round led by Sutter Hill Ventures, with contributions from Madrona Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Snowflake Ventures, and Capital One Ventures.

AIR: $23 Million Series A Raised For Advancing Multi-Domain eVTOLs At Scale

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

AIR, a startup focused on electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for logistics, personal flight, and defense, has raised $23 million in Series A funding, led by Entrée Capital and Dr. Shmuel Harlap. This funding will support U.S. expansion and production to meet growing demand for air mobility.

University Of Arizona: More Inventions Reported In 2025 Than Ever Before

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

The University of Arizona achieved a record number of inventions in fiscal year 2025, marking its most innovative year for the second consecutive time, according to Tech Launch Arizona (TLA). The university community generated 324 invention disclosures, surpassing the previous record of 307 in 2024.

IVI RMA Global Expands In Reproductive Medicine With Acquisition Of ART Fertility Clinics

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

IVI RMA Global, a leader in reproductive medicine, has acquired the operations of ART Fertility Clinics in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia from Gulf Capital. This acquisition includes three state-of-the-art clinics and will enhance IVI RMA Global’s presence in the GCC.

Calo: $39 Million Series B Extension Raised For Food Tech Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

Calo, a Middle East-based foodtech startup, announced it has raised a $39 million Series B extension round. AlJazira Capital led the oversubscribed round. This strategic funding round also saw participation from existing investors, including Nuwa Capital, STV, Khwarizmi Ventures, and Al Faisaliah Group, with Oraseya Capital joining as a new investor.

OpenAI Reportedly Raises $8.3 Billion At A $300 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 3, 2025

OpenAI has reportedly raised $8.3 billion in new capital as part of a plan to raise $40 billion fundraise, according to sources with The New York Times. With the $8.3 billion in funding raised, the company has secured over $66 billion in total funding.

Unmind: $35 Million Closed For Improving Workplace Mental Health

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2025

Unmind, a leading enterprise mental health platform, announced an investment from TELUS Global Ventures, part of its $35 million funding round supporting U.S. expansion. The investment enables employees to access employer-provided mental health solutions, including therapy, wellbeing tools, content, and AI coaching, fostering healthier workplaces globally.

Saphyre: $70 Million Growth Equity Raised For Finance Automation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2025

Saphyre, an AI-based platform for automating finance operations and trading workflows, announced it closed a $70 million growth equity investment from FTV Capital, a growth equity firm with a strong track record in high-growth capital markets technology companies. This funding will help Saphyre accelerate go-to-market efforts, support product innovation, expand globally, and deepen integration across the financial services ecosystem.

MyPrize: $21 Million Funding Raised At $250 Million Valuation To Accelerate Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2025

MyPrize, which operates the world's fastest-growing multiplayer online social casino with a GMV over $1.2 billion, announced closing its $21 million funding round at a $250 million valuation from existing investors and family offices. This round, which includes previous lead investors Dragonfly and Boxcars Ventures, brings the total funding to $38 million.

Carbyne: $100 Million Raised For Advancing AI-Based Emergency Response And Intelligence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2025

Carbyne, a provider of cloud-native emergency communication solutions, announced it raised $100 million, highlighting its rapid growth. Funds will accelerate the development of an AI-driven 911 platform, expand the industry, and drive global growth, while maintaining stringent cybersecurity standards. Participants included AT&T Ventures, Axon, Cox, Global Medical Response, Hanaco, Hercules Capital, RCM Capital, and SVB, with Goldman Sachs serving as an advisor.

Daloopa: $13 Million Raised For AI-Based Fundamental Data Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2025

Daloopa, an AI-powered financial data platform favored by leading investment teams, has raised $13 million to cater to the growing need for high-quality data for large language models (LLMs) and AI agents. The funding round included both existing and new investors, such as Pavilion Capital.

Noma: $100 Million Raised For AI Agent Security Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2025

Noma Security, a platform for AI and agent security, raised $100 million in Series B funding less than a year after its last round, becoming the fastest-growing company in AI security. Led by Evolution Equity Partners, with continued support from Ballistic Ventures and Glilot Capital, Noma Security emerged from stealth in November 2024 and ended the year with a strong customer base. It increased ARR by over 1,300% in the past year, serving dozens of clients in finance, life sciences, retail, and tech.