Innovation

Avenue Z Acquires Shopify Premier Partner Varfaj To Form Full-Funnel Growth Platform For DTC Brands

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Avenue Z, a hybrid agency focused on influence and revenue growth for fast-moving brands, announced it has acquired Varfaj, a recognized Shopify design and technology premier partner. The transaction positions Avenue Z to expand its full-funnel capabilities and deepen its focus on AI-powered, agent-led commerce experiences.

Jack Altman Joins Benchmark As General Partner

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Benchmark has announced that Jack Altman is joining the firm as its newest General Partner, a move that underscores both Altman’s rising influence in venture capital and Benchmark’s ongoing focus on deepening its leadership ranks.

Integra Resources Acquires 6,600-Acre Ranch Adjacent To DeLamar Project For $12.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Integra Resources announced it has acquired a strategically located 6,600-acre ranch contiguous with its DeLamar Project in Owyhee County, Idaho, for $12.5 million.

The Heritage Group Acquires Fiber Reinforcement Leader FORTA

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

The Heritage Group announced it has acquired FORTA, a Pennsylvania-based leader in synthetic fiber reinforcement for asphalt and concrete, from Riverarch Equity Partners. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

BrightSpire Capital Closes $955 Million CRE CLO And Plans Redemption Of Prior Securitization

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

BrightSpire Capital announced that it has closed BRSP 2026-FL3, a $955 million managed commercial real estate collateralized loan obligation, marking the company’s fourth managed CRE CLO transaction. The securitization, which closed on February 17, 2026, reflects the company’s continued use of structured financing to support the growth of its loan portfolio.

NANDO Secures €3.3 Million To Advance AI-Powered Waste Management Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

NANDO has announced the closing of a €3.3 million funding round aimed at accelerating the transformation of waste management through artificial intelligence. The round was led by Maia Ventures through the Maia I fund and CDP Venture Capital SGR via the Acceleratori Fund. Additional participation came from Fondo Piemonte Next and existing investors, including Club degli Investitori, LA4G, and EMBA Capital Partners.

SatVu Raises £30 Million In NATO Innovation Fund-Backed Round To Scale Multi-Satellite Constellation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

SatVu, a UK-based thermal intelligence company that reveals operational activity and infrastructure performance from space, has closed a £30 million ($40 million) funding round, bringing its total equity funding to £60 million ($80 million). The round includes a strategic investment from the NATO Innovation Fund, alongside the British Business Bank, Space Frontiers Fund II (managed by SPARX Asset Management Co. Ltd.), and Presto Tech Horizons. Existing investors also participated, including Molten Ventures as the lead investor, Adara Ventures, Ridgeline Ventures, NOA, Lockheed Martin, Seraphim Space Fund, and Stellar Ventures. The raise supports the company’s transition from a single-satellite demonstration to the execution of a multi-satellite constellation.

DIC Partners With Emerald To Accelerate Physical AI Business Creation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

DIC Corporation announced it has established a $62 million investment portfolio to accelerate business creation in the rapidly expanding Physical AI domain. The initiative will focus on technologies including sensors, wearables, robotics, and automation, areas that are increasingly shaping next-generation industrial and consumer applications.

HealthCentral Acquires Influencer Relationship Management Platform Medfluencers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

HealthCentral announced it has acquired Medfluencers, a physician-founded influencer relationship management platform, as the company accelerates its transition into a technology-enabled health experience platform. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Bria: Interview With Founder & CEO Dr. Yair Adato About The Visual GenAI Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Bria gives enterprises full control over how visual GenAI is trained, deployed, and governed, enforcing brand, data, and compliance rules at scale.. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Bria founder and CEO Dr. Yair Adato to learn more.

Madison Square Garden Approves Plan To Explore Spin-Off Of Knicks And Rangers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Madison Square Garden Sports announced its board of directors has unanimously approved a plan to explore a potential spin-off that would separate its New York Knicks business from its New York Rangers business, creating two distinct publicly traded companies.

Arrcus Reports 3x Bookings Growth And Launches AI-Policy-Aware Inference Network Fabric

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Arrcus announced a record 3x increase in bookings in 2025 across datacenter, telco, and enterprise customers, alongside the launch of its Arrcus Inference Network Fabric, a purpose-built networking solution designed to accelerate real-time and agentic AI applications.

Octopus Deploy: AI Pulse Report Warns Of Senior Developer Shortage As AI Reshapes Hiring And Productivity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Octopus Deploy has released its 2026 AI Pulse Report: AI adoption and its impact on developer productivity, finding that while AI tools are delivering measurable productivity gains for software teams, they are also accelerating a structural shift in junior hiring that could result in a senior developer shortage within the next three to five years.

Substantial Group To Be Acquired For £2 Billion By InfraVia, Liberty Global And Telefónica

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

InfraVia Capital Partners, Liberty Global, and Telefónica have agreed to acquire Substantial Group for £2 billion through their existing joint venture, nexfibre, in a move designed to create a scaled wholesale challenger in the UK broadband market.

Cherry Bekaert Acquires LA-Based CPA Firm RKE

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Cherry Bekaert announced it has acquired the business of Richardson Kontogouris Emerson LLP, a public accounting and advisory firm serving clients since 2006.

Pine Environmental Services Acquires Terratech

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Pine Environmental Services announced the acquisition of Terratech Environmental Equipment & Supplies, expanding its presence in the Arizona environmental market.

SGT Capital Closes Artificial Intelligence Co-Investment Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

SGT Capital announced the successful closing of its SGT Capital Artificial Intelligence (AI) Co-Investment Fund, which was 25% oversubscribed. The fund expands the firm’s strategy of investing in market-leading data analytics, cybersecurity, and med-tech companies, while responding to rising institutional investor demand for exposure to AI-driven business models.

Circuit: $30 Million Raised For Manufacturing And Service AI Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Circuit, an Austin-based company building a purpose-built AI platform for manufacturing and service organizations, announced it has raised $30 million from individual investors in one of Texas' largest angel rounds. The funding comes as manufacturers contend with increasing product complexity and a growing skills gap driven by retirements and workforce shortages.

99 Kids Holdings Raises $5 Million Series A To Relaunch THE 99 Superhero Franchise

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

99 Kids Holdings Co., a dual Canada–UAE entertainment company, announced it has closed a $5 million Series A funding round led by Exponential Ventures to reboot THE 99, the comic book and animated franchise that introduced Islam-inspired superheroes based on universal values when it first launched in 2006.

Vanguard Renewables Acquires E-Z Recycling To Expand Midwest Footprint

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Vanguard Renewables, a national leader in organics recycling and renewable energy production, announced the acquisition of E-Z Recycling, a Minnesota-based food and beverage waste recycling company. The deal strengthens Vanguard Renewables’ presence in the Midwest and adds critical depackaging capabilities to its expanding anaerobic digestion network, further enabling the conversion of food waste into renewable energy.

AF Gruppen Acquires Majority Stake In Swedish Concrete Contractor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

AF Gruppen is expanding its footprint in Sweden’s construction sector through a majority investment in a regional concrete specialist. AF Bygg Syd AB has signed an agreement to acquire 70% of the shares in H.A. Bygg Entreprenad AB, with the remaining 30% continuing to be owned by the company’s employees.

MyMiniFactory Acquires Thingiverse To Create Largest Creator-First Community

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

MyMiniFactory has acquired 100% of Thingiverse from Ultimaker, bringing together nearly 8 million users and forming what the company describes as the world's largest creator-first 3D printing platform. The transaction integrates Thingiverse into the SoulCrafted ecosystem, a movement centered on valuing, protecting, and sustainably funding human-made creative work.

Why Grab Is Buying Stash Financial For $425 Million Enterprise Value

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Grab recently announced it has signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% of the equity interest in Stash Financial, a U.S.-based digital financial services company, marking a significant expansion of its global financial services ambitions.

VB Spine To Acquire Exclusive Rights To Augmedics’ AR Navigation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

VB Spine has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire exclusive rights to the xvision Spine System from Augmedics, adding augmented reality navigation to its enhanced visualization portfolio. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the coming weeks.

Exa Capital Acquires Clinical Workforce Management Platform StaffReady

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Exa Capital, a strategic long-term operator that acquires and holds enterprise software companies indefinitely, has announced the acquisition of StaffReady, a SaaS platform specializing in clinical workforce management for healthcare organizations.

Sitegeist Raises €4 Million Pre-Seed To Automate Concrete Renovation Across Europe

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Sitegeist, a Munich-based construction robotics startup, has raised €4 million in pre-seed funding to deploy automated, AI-enabled modular robots on construction sites and address Europe’s mounting infrastructure repair backlog. The round was co-led by b2venture and OpenOcean, with participation from UnternehmerTUM Funding for Innovators and angel investors including Verena Pausder, Lea-Sophie Cramer, and Alexander Schwörer, alongside additional strategic backers from the construction and robotics sectors.

National Fish And Wildlife Foundation Awards $3 Million Through Southeast Aquatics Fund To Restore Freshwater Habitats

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced $3 million in grants through its Southeast Aquatics Fund to restore aquatic habitats and support native freshwater species across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Rivage: €2.6 Million Pre-Seed Raised For Modernizing Payroll For Accounting Firms

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

France-based payroll software startup Rivage has secured €2.6 million in pre-seed funding in a round led by Partech, marking the company’s first institutional raise since its founding in July 2025.

Newron Pharmaceuticals Secures Up To €38 Million To Advance Phase III Evenamide Program

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Newron Pharmaceuticals has secured up to €38 million in gross proceeds through an agreement with a group of existing and new shareholders from Europe and Asia, strengthening its financial position as it advances the Phase III ENIGMA-TRS program for evenamide in treatment-resistant schizophrenia.

Earthworks Industries Acquiring Minerals Recovery System IP And Appoints Chad McMillan As Strategic Advisor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Earthworks Industries announced it has entered into a binding memorandum of understanding dated February 10, 2026, to acquire 100% of the intellectual property for a minerals recovery system from Wokaura Art and Innovations Inc.