Innovation

Allied Gold Agrees To C$5.5 Billion All Cash Sale To Zijin Gold At C$44 Per Share

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Allied Gold announced it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement under which Zijin Gold International Company Limited will acquire all issued and outstanding Allied Gold shares for C$44 per share in cash, valuing the equity at approximately C$5.5 billion.

Skrooge.ai: $1.85 Million Seed Funding Raised For Scaling AI-Based Accounting And Tax Services for UAE SMEs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

skrooge.ai, an AI-enabled accounting and tax service provider focused on small and medium-sized businesses in the UAE, has raised $1.85 million in a seed round through SAFE notes from fintech-experienced angel investors. The Dubai based company said the funding will be used to expand product and engineering and to increase delivery capacity as it grows its managed service offering for local SMEs.

Whistle Performance: $2 Million Seed Funding Raised And Rebrand From GPS DataViz

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Whistle Performance (formerly known as GPS DataViz) has closed a $2 million seed investment round and rebranded, aiming to accelerate global expansion and step up product innovation. The San Diego-based company positions its software as a hub for sports and broader human performance programs, aimed at helping teams and organizations turn complex athlete and workforce data into faster, clearer decisions.

RelaDyne Expands Midwest Lubricants Footprint With Acquisition Of Dennis Oil Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

RelaDyne, a U.S. lubricant distributor that also sells fuel, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), and industrial reliability services, has acquired Dennis Oil Company, a family-owned blender and distributor of commercial and industrial lubricants serving customers across Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

Continuent: Interview Founder & CEO Eero Teerikorpi About The Database Infrastructure Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Continuent is a database infrastructure company best known for its Tungsten products, which help organizations keep MySQL (and related) databases highly available and move data reliably between systems. Its flagship Tungsten Replicator is a high-performance replication engine that can replicate data across different database sources/targets and supports advanced replication topologies beyond native MySQL replication. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Continuent founder, CEO, and Chairman Eero Teerikorpi to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Standard Nuclear Raises $140 Million Series A And Begins Production Of Advanced HALEU TRISO Fuel

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Standard Nuclear announced it has raised $140 million in Series A funding and has begun production of advanced HALEU TRISO nuclear fuel, positioning the company to scale domestic supplies of a key fuel form used in next-generation reactors. The round was led by Decisive Point, with participation from new investors Chevron Technology Ventures, StepStone Group, and XTX Ventures. Standard Nuclear said the financing also included support from existing investors Welara, Fundomo, Andreessen Horowitz, Washington Harbour Partners, and Crucible Capital, among others.

Lucend: $3.3 Million Seed Funding Closed And Rebrands From Coolgradient

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Lucend, formerly known as Coolgradient, has raised $3.3 million in Seed funding as it expands into the U.S. market with software designed to improve data center uptime and reliability while reducing energy and water consumption. The financing was led by Remarkable Ventures Climate (RVC) and included Mitsubishi Electric Innovation Fund, New Climate Ventures, Avesta, and Stepchange, with support from existing investor 4impact capital.

Mine: $14 Million Series A Raised To Launch MoneyGPT AI Money Agent And Rebrand From Fizz

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Mine, formerly known as Fizz, raised a $14 million Series A to support the launch of MoneyGPT, an AI-powered personal finance agent designed to help young adults feel more in control of their money as they navigate variable income, debt, and shifting financial goals. The round was led by 359 Capital, with participation from Kleiner Perkins and new investor FJ Labs, as well as existing backers Y Combinator and U.S. News & World Report. The financing brings Mine’s total capital raised to $28 million.

Barnwell Bio: $6 Million Seed Funding Raised To Bring Metagenomic Biosurveillance To Poultry Producers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Barnwell Bio, a precision animal health intelligence company, has raised $6 million in seed funding to scale a metagenomic biosurveillance system that provides poultry producers with earlier warning of emerging disease threats. The round was led by Twelve Below, with participation from Max Ventures, Dorm Room Fund, Banter Capital, Planeteer Capital, AgVentures Alliance, Daybreak Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and AgLaunch Farmers.

GlassPoint: $20 Million Funding Raised To Fuel Expansion Of Solar Industrial Process Heat

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

GlassPoint, a provider of solar industrial process heat, announced it has closed a $20 million funding round led by N.I.S. New Investment Solutions, a Liechtenstein-based asset manager, with participation from returning investor MIG Capital. The company said the financing will support global expansion and advance large-scale deployments in its pipeline, with a near-term focus on projects in the U.S. Southwest, Southern Europe, the Middle East, and South America.

Zocks: $45 Million Series B Closed To Expand Privacy First Agentic AI For Financial Advisors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Zocks, a privacy-first AI platform built for financial advisors, has raised $45 million in Series B funding to broaden its automation and analytics capabilities into what the company describes as a business growth engine. The round was co led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and QED Investors, with participation from Illuminate Financial and existing backers Motive Partners, Expanse Venture Partners, Entrée Capital, and 14Peaks Capital, bringing Zocks’ total funding to $65 million.

PTF Lab: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Isa Mutaliev About The Virtual Ad And Logo Replacement Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

PTF Lab is a technology company specializing in AI and computer vision that provides real-time, cloud-based virtual advertising and logo replacement solutions for live sports broadcasts. Pulse 2.0 interviewed PTF Lab co-founder and CEO Isa Mutaliev to learn more.

The Clary Group: Interview With Founder Dr. Debra Clary About The Advisory Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

The Clary Group is a company that advises senior leaders, executive teams, and boards on judgment, decision-making, and trust in organizations by helping them replace over-reliance on certainty with disciplined curiosity. Pulse 2.0 interviewed The Clary Group founder Dr. Debra Clary to learn more.

PAR Technology To Buy Cardlytics’ Bridg Unit For Up to $30 Million In Stock

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

PAR Technology announced it has agreed to acquire Bridg, an identity resolution and shopper intelligence platform operated as a division of Cardlytics, in a deal valued at $27.5 million, subject to customary purchase-price adjustments that could raise the total consideration to as much as $30 million.

Visitt: $22 Million Series B Raised To Build A Single AI Interface For Commercial Real Estate Operations

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Visitt, an AI native property operations platform for commercial real estate, has raised $22 million in Series B funding led by Susquehanna Growth Equity, with participation from existing investors Vertex Ventures Israel, Anfield, and Sarona Ventures.

The Footprint Firm Closes First VC Fund At €76 Million For Northern Europe Climate Deep Tech

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

The Footprint Firm announced it has reached a final close of its debut venture capital vehicle, Footprint Fund I, raising €76 million to back pre-seed and seed climate deep-tech and scale-up companies across Northern Europe.

Yolando: $8.5 Million Raised From Drive Capital To Launch GEO And Competitive Intelligence Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Yolando, a Toronto-based competitive intelligence and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform, said it has officially launched commercially after raising $8.5 million in total cumulative funding from Drive Capital. The company positions its software as a way for marketing teams to measure and improve how their brands appear in AI-generated answers, alongside traditional search visibility.

NVIDIA Expands CoreWeave Partnership And Invests $2 Billion To Speed Buildout Of AI Factories

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

NVIDIA and CoreWeave announced they are expanding their long-running collaboration to accelerate the buildout of more than 5 gigawatts of “AI factories” by 2030, positioning the companies to meet surging demand for AI compute at a global scale.

PlusAI And TRATON Expand Partnership To Speed Autonomous Truck Launch In U.S. And Europe

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

PlusAI and the TRATON GROUP said they are expanding their global partnership to accelerate the development and scaled deployment of on-highway autonomous trucking solutions in the United States and Europe, as PlusAI advances toward a public listing through its previously announced business combination with Churchill Capital Corp IX.

Epic Angels Backs Refurbi Seed Extension To Scale LATAM Refurbished Smartphone Ecosystem

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Epic Angels, the global all-female investor collective, has invested in Refurbi, a Colombia-founded company building a circular ecosystem for affordable, sustainable refurbished smartphones, as the startup raises a $4 million seed extension round across equity and debt.

MyARC: Over $2 Million Raised To Launch Next-Generation Platform For Fitness Creators

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

MyARC, a platform designed to help fitness creators train their communities at scale, announced the launch of a next-generation product to support, monetise, and grow creator-led fitness businesses. The company also disclosed a $2 million-plus funding round with participation from Araya Ventures, Morgan Stanley, Techstars, and G Fund.

Rocket Software: Interview With President Of Data Modernization Michael Curry About Modernizing Outdated IT Systems

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Rocket Software develops enterprise software products that help large organizations modernize, optimize, integrate, and secure their outdatedIT systems, especially mainframe, IBM i, and other mission-critical infrastructure. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Rocket Software President of Data Modernization, Michael Curry, to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

DemandScience Adds Product And Board Leaders To Push AI-Based B2B Marketing Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

DemandScience has expanded its leadership team as it scales its AI-driven Precision Performance Marketing business, naming Aislinn Wright as senior vice president of product management and appointing Adam Kocoloski to its board of directors.

Pivotal Group Sells GlobalMeet To Constellation Software’s N. Harris Computer Corp.

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Pivotal Group has sold GlobalMeet, an enterprise webcasting and virtual events platform used by more than half of the Fortune 500, to N. Harris Computer Corporation, an operating group of Constellation Software.

Guild Garage Group Partners With West Virginia’s Varney Door Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Guild Garage Group, an alliance of residential garage door service companies, said it has completed a partnership with Varney Door Company, a family-owned residential garage door service provider based in Barboursville, West Virginia.

KPS Capital Partners to Buy Control Of Novacel From Chargeurs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

KPS Capital Partners announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Novacel, the surface protection solutions business currently owned by Compagnie Chargeurs Invest SA. Chargeurs will reinvest alongside KPS and retain a 25% ownership interest in the company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Everything: $6.9 Million Seed Funding Raised To Build A Unified Perps and Markets ‘Everything Exchange’ With Humanity Verification

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Everything, a Hong Kong-based startup positioning itself as an “everything exchange” spanning perpetual futures, spot markets, prediction markets, and payments, has raised a $6.9 million seed round as it builds a unified trading experience across Telegram, mobile, and web.

Hivemind And CPIC IMHK Partner To Launch $500 Million Real-World Asset Tokenization Fund Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Hivemind Capital announced it has formed a strategic partnership with CPIC Investment Management to build a fund platform focused on tokenizing select real-world assets for institutional and other eligible non-retail counterparties, with an initial target capacity of up to $500 million.

2150 Closes €210 Million Second Fund, Lifting AUM To €500 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Venture firm 2150 said it has reached a final close on its second fund at €210 million, bringing the firm’s total assets under management to €500 million as it continues investing in technology companies aimed at reshaping cities and the industries that power them.

Microsoft Research Unveils Rho-Alpha Robotics Model To Bring Physical AI To Real-World Manipulation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 25, 2026