Innovation

Olelo Intelligence: $1 Million Angel Round Closed To Scale AI Sales Coaching For Auto Repair Shops

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Olelo Intelligence, a Honolulu-based startup building an AI sales coaching platform for high-volume automotive repair shops, has raised a $1 million angel round to expand its product and scale deployments across North America.

Mytra: $120 Million Series C Raised To Scale Operating System For Supply Chain

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Mytra, a Brisbane, California-based industrial robotics startup positioning itself as an “operating system for supply chains,” has raised $120 million in a Series C financing led by Avenir Growth, pushing the four-year-old company to more than $200 million in total funding.

GracoRoberts Acquires Sky Mart To Advance Latin American Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

GracoRoberts has acquired Miami-based Sky Mart to expand its presence across Latin America and deepen its ability to support aerospace operators with faster fulfillment, expanded inventory, and stronger after-hours support. The deal positions GracoRoberts’ Miami headquarters as a central gateway for serving the Latin American region and targets growth in what the company described as a $6.5 billion Latin American MRO market.

TDK Ventures Backs Ethereal Exploration Guild Series A To Advance Fully Reusable Medium-Lift Rocket And Rocket Cargo Vision

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

TDK announced its corporate venture capital arm, TDK Ventures, will invest up to $5 million in the Series A round for Ethereal Exploration Guild, a Bengaluru-based space technology startup developing a fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle called Razor Crest Mk-1.

Lime Rock Partners Commits Equity To Athena Energy For Eagle Ford Acquisitions And Development

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Lime Rock Partners has closed an equity commitment to Athena Energy Partners, a Houston-based upstream oil and gas company targeting acquisitions and development opportunities along the Gulf Coast, with an initial focus on South Texas and the Eagle Ford Shale.

McDanel Advanced Materials And Richland Glass Complete Strategic Merger

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

McDanel Advanced Materials and Richland Glass, both portfolio companies of Artemis, said they have completed a strategic merger that combines advanced ceramics, optical technologies and specialty glass manufacturing into a single, more integrated materials-science platform.

Playlist And EGYM Agree To Merge In $7.5 Billion Deal With $785 Million In New Equity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Playlist, the newly launched parent brand that houses Mindbody, Booker and ClassPass, and EGYM, a provider of smart fitness equipment, AI-enabled training programs and corporate wellness solutions, said they have signed a definitive agreement to merge in a transaction that includes $785 million in new equity investments and values the combined enterprise at $7.5 billion.

Alojica And Royalton Hotels & Resorts Acquire The Westin Resort & Spa, Cancun

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Affiliates of Alojica, a Black Creek Mexico-sponsored lodging investment platform, and Royalton Hotels & Resorts have completed the acquisition of The Westin Resort & Spa, Cancun from affiliates of Marriott Vacations Worldwide, the companies said. The buyers plan to execute a major capital improvement program that will convert the property into an All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy resort, operating under the Westin Hotels & Resorts brand.

Access Point Financial Closes And Invests In Approximately $1.6 Billion Of Hotel Financings During 2025

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Access Point Financial announced it closed and invested in approximately $1.6 billion of hotel financings in 2025, spanning refinancings, acquisitions, construction loans, mezzanine financings, and select hospitality CMBS investments.

Chicago Atlantic Provides $16.5 Million Term Loan To Ocular Science

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Chicago Atlantic has closed a $16.5 million senior secured term loan for Ocular Science, an affiliate of OSRX in a transaction where Chicago Atlantic served as sole arranger and administrative agent. Ocular Science and OSRX focus on compounded ophthalmic medications used across surgical vision correction care—pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative—as well as ongoing management of myopia and glaucoma.

CloudSEK Lands Strategic Investment From Connecticut Innovations in $10 Million Series B2 And Plans U.S. Hub

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

CloudSEK, an AI-driven predictive cyber threat intelligence company, said it has secured a strategic investment from Connecticut Innovations (CI) as part of its $10 million Series B2 financing, marking what the company described as the first time a U.S. state-backed venture fund has invested in an Indian-origin cybersecurity firm.

Turret Capital Launches Sable, A Biotech-Driven Beauty Brand Targeting Body Contouring And Aesthetic Longevity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Turret Capital Management announced it has launched Sable, a New York-based “biotech beauty” company backed by pre-seed funding from Turret Capital and SOSV, positioning the new brand at the intersection of consumer body care, aesthetic maintenance, and science-led product development.

Pinch AI: $5 Million Seed Round Raised To Help Retailers Combat Return Fraud

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Pinch, an AI-based post-purchase intelligence platform focused on returns, refunds, and customer trust, has raised a $5 million total seed round co-led by Dynamo Ventures and Infinity Ventures, with participation from Defined Capital and PayPal Ventures.

Partners Group Assets Rise To $184.9 Billion In 2025 As Fundraising And Realizations Accelerate

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Partners Group has generated double-digit growth across fundraising, investments, and realizations in 2025 despite what it described as a “demanding” private markets environment, lifting assets under management to $184.9 billion as of December 31, 2025, up from $152.3 billion a year earlier.

Hydrosat: $60 Million Series B Raised To Expand Thermal-Infrared Satellite Intelligence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Hydrosat, a provider of thermal-infrared satellite data and AI-driven analytics for water and resource management, announced it has closed $60 million in new financing to support expansion across commercial, civil government, and defense markets. The Series B round was led by Hartree Partners, Subutai Capital Partners, and Space 4 Earth, with new participation from Truffle Capital. Hydrosat said the financing also included follow-on investment from the Luxembourg Future Fund, OTB Ventures, Blue Bear Capital, Statkraft Ventures, Cultivation Capital, and Santa Barbara Venture Partners.

Equal1: $60 Million Closed To Bring Quantum Computing To Standard Semiconductor Fabs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Equal1 has raised $60 million in new funding to accelerate development and deployment of its silicon-based quantum computing systems, aiming to make quantum hardware manufacturable and deployable using existing semiconductor manufacturing and standard data center infrastructure. The round was led by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), with participation from Atlantic Bridge Ventures, the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, Matterwave Ventures, Enterprise Ireland, Elkstone, and TNO Ventures. The financing brings Equal1’s total funding to more than $85 million.

AlphaLum Raises CHF 3.4 Million Seed Round To Scale AR Optics For Smart Glasses

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

AlphaLum, a Lausanne-based augmented reality optics and sensing company spun out of ams OSRAM’s corporate incubator, has raised CHF 3.4 million in seed financing to accelerate its push from advanced engineering into a supplier role for next-generation smart glasses and spatial-computing hardware. The round was led by Vsquared Ventures.

NEFCO Partners With Leonard Green & Partners To Back Next Phase of Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

NEFCO, a family-operated, value-added construction supply company serving professional contractors nationwide, has entered into a strategic partnership with private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners (LGP) aimed at accelerating the company’s long-term growth strategy.

TradingBlock to Join Nant Global Finance In Deal Tied To Blockchain-Based Capital Markets Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

TradingBlock, a Chicago-based online brokerage focused on active and professional traders, said it will join Nant Global Finance, Inc., a newly formed capital markets platform that aims to modernize public-market infrastructure using blockchain-enabled settlement technology, subject to final FINRA approvals.

Higgsfield Raises Series A Total Past $130 Million And Tops $200 Million Run Rate In Under Nine Months

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Higgsfield announced it has raised an $80 million Series A extension, bringing its total Series A financing to more than $130 million and valuing the company at more than $1.3 billion, as the generative video startup reports reaching a $200 million annual run rate less than nine months after launch. The round included participation from Accel, AI Capital Partners (Alpha Intelligence Capital’s U.S.-based fund), Menlo Ventures and other investors, the company said.

Konnex: $15 Million Raised To Build On-Chain Marketplace For Autonomous Robot Labor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Konnex announced it has raised $15 million from a group of strategic backers to expand a platform designed to turn autonomous robotic work into a standardized, app-like service that can be contracted, verified, and paid for in real time. The round included participation from venture firms Cogitent Ventures, Liquid Capital, Leland Ventures, Covey, M77 Ventures, and Block Maven.

WitnessAI: $58 Million Closed To Expand AI Agent Security And Governance Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

WitnessAI announced it has raised $58 million in strategic funding to accelerate global go-to-market efforts, expand its product portfolio, and deepen security and governance controls for enterprises building and deploying AI agents.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies To Invest $200M In MrBeast’s Beast Industries

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced it has agreed to make a $200 million equity investment in Beast Industries, the entertainment and consumer products company founded by YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast.

WeLab: $220 Million Series D Strategic Financing Raised To Fuel Southeast Asia Expansion And AI Push

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

WeLab announced it has closed a $220 million Series D strategic financing, describing the round as the largest digital banking capital raise in Asia in 2025 and the biggest funding round in the company’s history. The financing includes both debt and equity and brings in a mix of new investors alongside continued backing from existing investors and strategic capital partners.

Zydus Completes Agenus Biologics Facilities Acquisition And Launches U.S. CDMO Unit

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Zydus Lifesciences Limited announced it has completed a set of agreements with Agenus Inc. that transfers ownership of Agenus’ biologics manufacturing facilities and operations to Zydus, establishing a new U.S.-based platform that will operate under a newly formed subsidiary, Zylidac Bio LLC.

Decisions + ProcessMaker Acquires SAP Automation Specialist Configurable Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Decisions + ProcessMaker, the recently merged providers of business process automation and AI orchestration software, has acquired Configurable Management, a longtime partner that builds SAP-focused automation products to reduce risk and complexity in large SAP programs, such as migrations, data validation efforts, and enterprise-wide modernization initiatives.

SIM IP And Tangibly Launch Trade Secret Litigation Financing Partnership

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

SIM IP and Tangibly have launched a partnership aimed at funding and accelerating trade secret litigation, pairing SIM IP’s intellectual property monetization and enforcement experience with Tangibly’s AI-driven trade secret management and intelligence platform.

DC BLOX Lands $240 Million HoldCo Financing From BlackRock’s GIP To Advance Southeast Hyperscale Buildout

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

DC BLOX, a regional provider of connected data centers and fiber network infrastructure across the Southeastern U.S., said it has secured a $240 million HoldCo financing facility from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which is part of BlackRock. The company said the new capital will support its hyperscale data center expansion strategy and broaden the financing base behind a growing portfolio of digital infrastructure projects in the region.

Parloa: $350 Million Series D Raised At $3 Billion Valuation To Expand Agentic AI For Customer Experience

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Parloa, a provider of AI agents for enterprise customer experience, said it has raised $350 million in a Series D round that values the company at $3 billion, as it accelerates its push to become a category leader in “agentic AI” for customer relationships.

Midnite: $35 Million Series C Raised To Fund Product, Hiring, And International Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Midnite, a UK-based sportsbook and casino operator, has closed a $35 million Series C funding round led by Raine Partners IV, the flagship growth equity fund of The Raine Group, as the company pushes to scale its platform and expand beyond its home market.