Innovation

Autolus Posts $75 Million In First-Year AUCATZYL Sales, Guides Up To $135 Million For 2026

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Autolus Therapeutics announced it expects preliminary unaudited net product revenue from AUCATZYL (obecabtagene autoleucel; obe-cel) of about $24 million for the fourth quarter of 2025 and about $75 million for the full year, marking its first year of commercial sales following the CD19 CAR T therapy’s U.S. approval in November 2024.

FIS Unveils Agentic Commerce Platform For Issuing Banks, Expanding AI-Driven Card Transactions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

FIS announced it has launched what it calls an industry-first offering designed to help banks support “agentic commerce,” enabling artificial intelligence agents to initiate and complete transactions safely across card networks while remaining within existing bank and network controls.

Cytotheryx Lands Lead For $60 Million Series A And Adds Debt Financing To Expand Facilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Cytotheryx, a preclinical cell therapy company developing cell-based treatments for liver disease, said it has secured a lead term sheet for a $60 million Series A round and lined up additional debt financing aimed at expanding its manufacturing and operational footprint.

DaVinci Commerce Raises Strategic Financing, Rebrands From Jivox To Expand Agentic Commerce Marketing Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

DaVinci Commerce, formerly known as Jivox, announced it raised a strategic financing round to accelerate growth of its AI-native platform for “agentic commerce marketing,” a category it says blends automated commerce creative optimization with rapid activation across retail and commerce media networks.

Trybe: $30 Million Series A Raised To Expand Spa And Leisure Management Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Trybe, a provider of software for spas, bathhouses, resorts, hotels, and other leisure operators, has raised a $30 million Series A investment from Five Elms Capital as it looks to scale internationally and deepen product capabilities across payments, bookings, and operations.

Tasq AI Merges With BLEND To Build Trust Layer For Global Enterprise AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Tasq AI and BLEND have agreed to merge, forming a unified company under the Tasq AI brand aimed at closing what the companies describe as the enterprise AI “trust gap” by improving the accuracy and reliability of production-grade AI systems.

Harmattan AI: $200 Million Series B Raised And Strategic Partnership With Dassault Aviation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Dassault Aviation and Harmattan AI announced they have formed a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the integration of controlled autonomy and artificial intelligence into combat aviation systems, with Dassault leading a $200 million Series B financing for the defense technology company.

West Pharmaceutical Selling SmartDose 3.5mL On-Body Delivery System Manufacturing Rights To AbbVie For $112.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

West Pharmaceutical Services has agreed to sell all manufacturing and supply rights for its SmartDose 3.5mL On-Body Delivery System, along with associated facilities, to AbbVie for $112.5 million at closing, the companies said. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2026, subject to customary closing conditions, with the final price also subject to working capital and other adjustments.

Terra Industries Raises $11.75 Million To Scale Autonomous Security Systems For Africa’s Critical Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Terra Industries, a defense technology company developing autonomous security systems to protect critical infrastructure across Africa, has emerged from stealth with an $11.75 million funding round led by U.S. venture firm 8VC.

QXO Upsizes Convertible Preferred Equity Commitment to $3 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

QXO announced it has expanded a previously announced convertible preferred equity financing to $3 billion, increasing the commitment by $1.8 billion, as it seeks additional capacity to fund future acquisitions.

Avenue Biosciences: $5.7 Million Seed Extension Raised To Scale Secretory Pathway Platform For Therapeutic Protein Manufacturing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Avenue Biosciences, a Palo Alto-based protein engineering technology company, has raised $5.7 million in seed extension funding to scale a high-throughput platform designed to measure and modulate the protein secretory pathway, a core cellular process responsible for folding, modifying, and secreting therapeutic proteins.

Apheon: €1.25 Billion Closed For Sixth Flagship Midcap Buyout Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Apheon Management announced it has closed its sixth flagship mid-market vehicle, Apheon MidCap Buyout VI SCSp, at the €1.25 billion hard cap, with an additional €50 million commitment from the firm’s team and related families, bringing total fund size to €1.3 billion.

Atlantic Alumina Lands $450 Million U.S.-Backed Deal To Secure Domestic Alumina Supply

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Atlantic Alumina Company LLC (ATALCO), the only operating alumina refinery in the United States, said it has entered a $450 million strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of War and Concord Resources Holdings Limited aimed at sustaining and expanding U.S. alumina production while establishing what the company described as America’s first large-scale primary gallium production circuit.

Com Laude Completes Markmonitor Acquisition, Forming Markmonitor Group With $450 Million Enterprise Value

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Com Laude, a London-based corporate domain services provider owned by PX3 Partners, said it has completed its acquisition of U.S. corporate domain registrar Markmonitor, combining the businesses under a new entity called Markmonitor Group.

BrowserStack Launches $125 Million ESOP And Share Buyback Program For Employees and Early Investors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

BrowserStack announced a $125 million employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and share buyback program that will provide liquidity to more than 500 current and former employees as well as early investors. The transaction marks the company’s third buyback and brings BrowserStack’s cumulative buyback total to more than $275 million across the three programs.

Row64: Interview With CEO Marc Stevens About Their Real-Time Visual Intelligence Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Row64 provides a GPU- and CPU-accelerated, real-time visual intelligence platform that enables enterprises to explore and act on massive real-time data instantly. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Row64 CEO Marc Stevens about their visual business intelligence platform.

Nanochon: $4.1 Million Seed Prime II Round Raised To Advance Knee Cartilage Implant Into First-in-Human Study

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Nanochon, a Washington, D.C.-based orthopedic device company developing an implant to treat articular cartilage defects in the knee, said it has secured commitments to close an oversubscribed $4.1 million Seed Prime II financing, bringing total capital raised to date to $11.3 million. The round was led by cultivate(MD), with participation from the University of Virginia UVA Seed Fund, WSGR, Wealthing VC Fund, and other investors. Nanochon said the majority of the financing came from existing backers, while also adding new individuals and funds to its investor base.

Guggenheim Investments Closes $250 Million New Private Debt Vehicle Backed by LGT Capital Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Guggenheim Investments said it has closed a $250 million vehicle that will invest in the firm’s private debt strategy, backing an existing portfolio of loans while supporting continued expansion of the platform. The transaction was led by LGT Capital Partners, alongside additional limited partners.

Pocket Network: Interview With Director Chris “Jinx” Jenkins About The Decentralized Infrastructure Network

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2026

Pocket Network is a decentralized infrastructure network that routes and serves blockchain data requests through a distributed set of node operators, providing dApps and developers with reliable RPC access across multiple chains. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Pocket Network Director Chris “Jinx” Jenkins to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

iAltA Acquires BridgeFT To Broaden Wealth Data Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 11, 2026

iAltA Holdings, a WestCap-backed private markets infrastructure company, has acquired BridgeFT, a cloud-native, API-first wealth infrastructure software provider focused on helping financial institutions, fintechs, and registered investment advisors better unify and use portfolio and client data.

Walmart And Google Turn AI Discovery Into Effortless Shopping Experiences

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 11, 2026

Walmart and Google announced they plan to launch a new shopping experience that brings Walmart and Sam’s Club product discovery directly into Google’s Gemini, aiming to make purchases more intuitive through conversational AI.

Rich Sparkle Holdings Closes Acquisition of Khaby Lame-Linked Step Distinctive

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 11, 2026

Rich Sparkle Holdings announced it has completed an acquisition of Step Distinctive Limited, which it described as a core company associated with TikTok creator Khaby Lame, in a deal the company framed as a shift from episodic influencer monetization to a more structured, “full-chain” commercialization platform.

Allegiant To Acquire Sun Country In $1.5 Billion Deal To Create Larger U.S. Leisure Airline

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 11, 2026

Allegiant Travel Company and Sun Country Airlines announced they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Allegiant will acquire Sun Country in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at about $1.5 billion, creating a larger leisure-focused U.S. carrier with roughly 22 million annual customers, service to nearly 175 cities, more than 650 routes, and an operating fleet of about 195 aircraft.

PhotonPay: Series B Closed To Pioneer Stablecoin-Centric Financial Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 11, 2026

PhotonPay announced it has raised “tens of millions of U.S. dollars” in a Series B funding round to expand what it describes as a stablecoin-native global financial infrastructure platform for cross-border payments, treasury, and embedded finance.

Cloudforce: $10 Million Series A Raised To Advance International Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 11, 2026

Cloudforce, a Maryland-based AI company focused on regulated industries, has closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by Owl Ventures, with strategic participation from M12, Microsoft’s venture fund. The company said the investment deepens its go-to-market alignment with Microsoft, including access to Microsoft’s enterprise sales organization and product teams, as Cloudforce expands deployment of its nebulaONE platform.

Idea Financial Lands $20 Million Term Loan From EverBank To Expand Small Business And Legal Lending

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 11, 2026

Idea Financial has secured a $20 million corporate term loan from EverBank, adding capital to accelerate growth across its small business lending and legal financing businesses.

Diginex Closes Acquisition Of The Remedy Project To Expand Human Rights Due Diligence Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 11, 2026

Diginex, a London-headquartered sustainability RegTech provider, has completed its acquisition of The Remedy Project Limited, a Hong Kong-based advisory and research organization focused on labor and human rights in global supply chains, as companies face rising pressure to strengthen supply chain transparency and worker protections.

Innovation

Autolus Posts $75 Million In First-Year AUCATZYL Sales, Guides Up To $135 Million For 2026

FIS Unveils Agentic Commerce Platform For Issuing Banks, Expanding AI-Driven Card Transactions

Cytotheryx Lands Lead For $60 Million Series A And Adds Debt Financing To Expand Facilities

DaVinci Commerce Raises Strategic Financing, Rebrands From Jivox To Expand Agentic Commerce Marketing Platform

Trybe: $30 Million Series A Raised To Expand Spa And Leisure Management Platform

Tasq AI Merges With BLEND To Build Trust Layer For Global Enterprise AI

Harmattan AI: $200 Million Series B Raised And Strategic Partnership With Dassault Aviation

West Pharmaceutical Selling SmartDose 3.5mL On-Body Delivery System Manufacturing Rights To AbbVie For $112.5 Million

Terra Industries Raises $11.75 Million To Scale Autonomous Security Systems For Africa’s Critical Infrastructure

QXO Upsizes Convertible Preferred Equity Commitment to $3 Billion

Avenue Biosciences: $5.7 Million Seed Extension Raised To Scale Secretory Pathway Platform For Therapeutic Protein Manufacturing

Apheon: €1.25 Billion Closed For Sixth Flagship Midcap Buyout Fund

Atlantic Alumina Lands $450 Million U.S.-Backed Deal To Secure Domestic Alumina Supply

Com Laude Completes Markmonitor Acquisition, Forming Markmonitor Group With $450 Million Enterprise Value

BrowserStack Launches $125 Million ESOP And Share Buyback Program For Employees and Early Investors

Row64: Interview With CEO Marc Stevens About Their Real-Time Visual Intelligence Platform

Nanochon: $4.1 Million Seed Prime II Round Raised To Advance Knee Cartilage Implant Into First-in-Human Study

Guggenheim Investments Closes $250 Million New Private Debt Vehicle Backed by LGT Capital Partners

Pocket Network: Interview With Director Chris “Jinx” Jenkins About The Decentralized Infrastructure Network

iAltA Acquires BridgeFT To Broaden Wealth Data Infrastructure

Walmart And Google Turn AI Discovery Into Effortless Shopping Experiences

Rich Sparkle Holdings Closes Acquisition of Khaby Lame-Linked Step Distinctive

Allegiant To Acquire Sun Country In $1.5 Billion Deal To Create Larger U.S. Leisure Airline

PhotonPay: Series B Closed To Pioneer Stablecoin-Centric Financial Infrastructure

Cloudforce: $10 Million Series A Raised To Advance International Expansion

Idea Financial Lands $20 Million Term Loan From EverBank To Expand Small Business And Legal Lending

Diginex Closes Acquisition Of The Remedy Project To Expand Human Rights Due Diligence Capabilities

Princeton Radiology Acquires RAI Imaging Centers In Hamilton And Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Eir Partners Closes Oversubscribed Fund III At $1 Billion

Ventaris Surgical: $30 Million Series A Raised To Develop Next-Generation Kidney Stone Treatment System