Innovation

Perseus Materials Raises Strategic Investment From Lockheed Martin For Composite Manufacturing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 11, 2026

Perseus Materials, a venture-backed startup developing a large-scale additive manufacturing system for composite parts, announced it has closed a strategic investment from Lockheed Martin. The company, founded in 2022 by Stanford researchers, said the backing will support hiring, fulfillment of initial customer orders, and an expansion of its physical footprint.

Nucleus Security: $20 Million Series C Closed For Exposure Management Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 11, 2026

Nucleus Security, a unified vulnerability and exposure management platform, announced it has raised a $20 million Series C funding round led by Delta-v Capital to meet what it described as surging enterprise demand for exposure management.

Tenna Systems: $13.5 Million Seed Funding Closed For Spectrum Intelligence Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 11, 2026

Tenna Systems, a defense technology company focused on software-driven spectrum intelligence, said it has raised an oversubscribed $13.5 million seed funding round to accelerate expansion in the U.S. defense market, where it said it has already partnered with government agencies and prime contractors to deliver hardware-free spectrum intelligence for wireless-dependent systems at global scale.

ProRata.ai Appoints Michele Tobin As Chief Revenue Officer And Peter Sloterdyk As Chief Marketing Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

ProRata.ai, a technology company developing AI solutions focused on respecting content creators, has appointed Michele Tobin as chief revenue officer and Peter Sloterdyk as chief marketing officer. Both executives report to founder and CEO Bill Gross and will also hold the same roles at Gist, a ProRata company that provides brand-visibility products to help brands and businesses stand out as generative AI reshapes discovery and marketing.

Varaha: About $45 Million Raised For Carbon Removal Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Varaha, an India-founded carbon removal project developer, announced a Series B financing round of approximately $45 million and said it has closed the first $20 million tranche led by WestBridge Capital.

Phenom Acquires Be Applied To Scale Skills First Hiring With Cognitive Assessments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Phenom, an applied AI company focused on helping employers hire, develop, and retain talent, has acquired Be Applied, an AI-driven cognitive assessment platform that validates candidate and employee capabilities at enterprise scale. The deal is designed to help large organizations move toward skills-first hiring, with faster, more consistent validation across both high-volume and specialized roles.

JumpCloud Launches Venture Arm And Backs Identity-Fraud Startup Tofu

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

JumpCloud has launched JumpCloud Ventures, a new venture arm that supports early-stage companies building identity, security, AI, and IT productivity solutions. The company framed the program as a long-term effort to help advance foundational technologies that enable modern enterprises to scale securely.

Circit: $22 Million Raised For Audit Verification Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Circit, an audit confirmation and financial data verification platform, has raised $22 million in growth equity funding to scale its global verification network and support continued growth, including expansion in the U.S.

Lobster Data Expands Into North America Via Bosch Reseller Partnership

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Lobster Data is expanding into North America to help logistics, manufacturing, and retail companies address fragmented supply chain systems, slow onboarding, and limited network visibility, following its work with more than 2,000 customers across Europe.

G42: Up To $1 Billion Commitment Backs Vietnam Sovereign AI And Cloud Infrastructure Buildout

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

G42, an Abu Dhabi-based technology holding group focused on artificial intelligence, has signed a framework cooperation agreement with a Vietnamese consortium comprising FPT Corporation and Viet Thai Group to develop sovereign AI capabilities and cloud infrastructure across Vietnam.

Tharros: Federal Cybersecurity Provider Lands Blue Delta Venture Investment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Tharros, a provider of mission-critical cybersecurity and vulnerability research services for the U.S. federal government, has secured a venture capital investment from Blue Delta Capital Partners as it pushes to scale its technical capabilities and broaden its federal cyber offerings.

Natilus: $28 Million Series A Closed To Commercialize Hyper-Efficient Freight And Passenger Planes

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Natilus, a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer developing blended wing body aircraft for cargo and passenger markets, has raised $28 million in Series A financing to advance commercialization of its aircraft family, including the KONA regional freighter and the HORIZON EVO passenger program.

Algorized: $13 Million Series A Raised For Physical AI Perception And Predictive Safety Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Algorized, a company building an intelligence layer for Physical AI, has closed a $13 million Series A financing to scale its Predictive Safety Engine, which it positions as an edge native “nervous system” for industrial automation. The round was led by Run Ventures, with participation from the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and Acrobator Ventures, alongside continued backing from existing investors.

Roo Capital Adds Two Investment Principals To Senior Leadership Team

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Roo Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm, has expanded its senior leadership team with the appointments of Varun Sridhar and Yuriy Dovzhansky as Principals, as the firm looks to deepen its work with founders across Vertical SaaS, AI, healthcare tech, and cybersecurity.

Somethings: $19.2 Million Series A Raised For Digital Youth Mental Health Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Somethings, a digital mental health platform focused on teens and young adults, has raised $19.2 million in Series A funding to expand access to peer support for youth ages 13 to 26. The round was led by Catalio Capital, with participation from existing investors General Catalyst and Tusk Ventures.

Training All People: Workforce Training Platform Draws New Backing To Scale AI-Powered Manufacturing Skills Development

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Training All People (TAP), a workforce development platform focused on advanced manufacturing, has secured a new investment from Stand Together Ventures Lab, Cubit Capital, 8VC, and GSV Ventures. The company says the funding will accelerate its AI-powered approach to training, assessing, and deploying technical talent through immersive, simulation-based learning delivered via virtual reality, mobile devices, or web browsers.

McKinsey’s MIO Partners To Join Neuberger Berman

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

McKinsey & Company and Neuberger Berman have entered into an agreement for MIO Partners, McKinsey’s in-house investment and wealth manager for partners, employees, and alumni, to join Neuberger. The transaction is expected to close in 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including client consent and regulatory approvals.

Appficiency Raises Minority Growth Investment From CBGF To Expand AI Offerings

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Appficiency, a global IT consulting firm and software business focused on AI-powered enterprise digital transformation, has received a minority equity investment from Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) to support expansion and product innovation.

Equal Parts: $23 Million Series A Raised To Scale AI-Enabled Independent Agency Acquisitions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Equal Parts, an Austin-based insurance platform focused on transforming independent agencies, has raised $23 million in Series A funding led by Inspired Capital. The company said the round will support expansion of its footprint, continued development of its purpose-built operating system, and progress toward a goal of $1 billion in premiums by 2028.

WtEnergy Raises Follow-On Investment From Cemex To Scale Clean Fuels For Cement Plants

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Cemex Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Cemex, announced it has made a new investment in Waste to Energy Advanced Solutions (WtEnergy), increasing its participation in the startup as it works to scale technology that converts non-recyclable solid waste and biomass into clean energy.

Beecher Reagan: Scott Ratliff Promoted To Partner As Executive Search Firm Scales Commercial Growth Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Beecher Reagan, a retained executive search firm focused on placing growth leaders in private equity and professional services, has promoted Scott Ratliff to Partner, citing his commercial leadership and firmwide impact since joining in 2022.

Simple AI: $14 Million Seed Funding Raised For Voice AI Agent Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Simple AI, a voice AI agent platform, has raised $14 million in a seed round led by First Harmonic, with participation from Y Combinator, Massive Tech Ventures, and True Ventures. The San Francisco-based startup said the funding will support continued development of its voice agent platform, including custom generative AI models, as well as analytics and customer insights for businesses of all sizes.

Catalyst IOS Closes Oversubscribed $400 Million Third Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Catalyst Investment Partners, an owner and operator of industrial outdoor storage (IOS) real estate, has closed its third fund at a $400 million hard cap, exceeding its original $300 million target and drawing demand that approached twice the target amount. The New York-based firm said Fund III moved from first close to final close in seven months, with commitments coming from a mix of pension funds, endowments, foundations, and family offices.

Ouster Buys StereoLabs To Build Unified Physical AI Sensing And Perception Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Ouster announced it has closed its acquisition of StereoLabs SAS, expanding the company's offering beyond lidar to a single, unified sensing and perception platform for “Physical AI.” The deal adds stereo cameras, AI vision software, and a large developer and customer community to Ouster’s portfolio. Ouster said the combined platform brings together high-performance digital lidar, cameras, AI compute, sensor fusion and perception software, and AI models, positioning the company to serve customers who want vision and lidar integrated rather than deployed separately.

One Equity Partners To Acquire Specialty Chemicals Company Bozzetto Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

One Equity Partners has agreed to acquire Bozzetto Group, a Bergamo, Italy-based specialty chemicals provider with a large portfolio of sustainability-certified formulations used across end markets including textiles, agriculture, plasterboard, personal care, and water treatment. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Texas State University: BobCatalyst Initiative Aims To Accelerate Innovation And Entrepreneurship

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Texas State University announces it is launching BobCatalyst, a university-wide initiative designed to help faculty, staff, and students turn research and ideas into market-ready innovations by leveraging the university’s network of innovation, commercialization, and venture-support programs.

Haveli Investments To Buy Kids Mobile Entertainment Developer Budge Studios

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Haveli Investments, a technology and gaming-focused private equity firm, has entered into an agreement to acquire Budge Studios from General Atlantic. Terms were not disclosed.

Trive Capital Invests In Defense Analytics Contractor PavCon

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Trive Capital announced it has made an investment in PavCon, a provider of predictive analytics and decision-support software for the U.S. Department of War, positioning the deal as a partnership to accelerate growth in data-driven defense modernization and mission-readiness programs.

Phylo: $13.5 Million Seed Funding Raised And Biomni Lab Launched

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Phylo announced it has launched Biomni Lab, a new integrated workspace designed to help scientists plan, author, execute, and collaborate on complex biological research tasks using agentic AI. Alongside the product launch, the company announced a $13.5 million seed round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Menlo Ventures’ Anthology Fund, with Anthropic also participating. Additional investors cited by the company include Zetta, Conviction, SV Angel, and others.

Dono: $6.5 Million Seed Funding Raised For AI-Based Property Records Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 10, 2026

Dono, an AI-powered property records platform that turns fragmented county records into usable ownership data, announced it has raised a $6.5 million seed round, bringing total funding to $10.2 million. The round was led by Link Ventures with participation from lool VC and Alumni Ventures.