Innovation

Mavryk: Interview With Founder Alex Davis About The Layer-1 Blockchain Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Mavryk is a specialized Layer-1 blockchain designed to bridge traditional finance with decentralized finance by tokenizing real-world assets and bringing them on-chain for seamless trading, lending, and yield generation. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Mavryk founder Alex Davis to learn more.

Lightning Capital: $100 Million Venture Fund II Launched And Michele Griffin Joins As General Partner And COO

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Lightning Capital announced a $100 million target for its Venture Fund II and the appointment of former Andreessen Horowitz partner Michele Griffin as General Partner and Chief Operating Officer. The firm said Griffin will take immediate responsibility for Fund II and oversee operations across the organization.

BRG: Darin Cabral Appointed Chief Financial Officer To Support Global Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

BRG announced the appointment of Darin Cabral as chief financial officer, strengthening the firm's leadership team as it continues expanding its global advisory capabilities and multidisciplinary services. Based in Washington, D.C., Cabral will oversee BRG's financial strategy and operations. He succeeds David Johnson, who is departing the firm after nearly a decade.

Orbital Industries: $50 Million Series B Raised To Scale AI Engine For The Physical Economy And Data Centre Hardware

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Orbital Industries, an AI-powered industrial technology company focused on building physical infrastructure for the AI era, announced it has raised $50 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Plural, with participation from existing and previous investors NVentures (NVIDIA), Radical Ventures, Compound, and Fly Ventures.

Panavision: $130 Million Strategic Financing Closed With Siena Lending Group And Hilco Global

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Panavision, a global provider of motion picture and television production services and equipment, has secured a $130 million financing facility from Siena Lending Group and Hilco Global.

Innovent Biologics: Up To $10.5 Billion Oncology Collaboration With Pfizer

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Innovent Biologics announced a global strategic licensing and collaboration agreement with Pfizer focused on the research and development of 12 early-stage and de novo oncology programs, creating one of the largest oncology partnerships announced this year. The deal combines Innovent’s oncology discovery and early clinical development capabilities with Pfizer’s global development, regulatory, and commercialization expertise.

CAE: Teaming Agreement With Saab To Support Canada’s Airborne Early Warning And Control Program

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

CAE announced the signing of a teaming agreement with Saab to support Canada's Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) program based on Saab's GlobalEye platform.

SEI: Nathan Shetty Appointed Chief Investment Officer To Advance Global Asset Management Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

SEI announced the appointment of Nathan Shetty as Chief Investment Officer (CIO), effective June 1, 2026. In this role, Shetty will lead the company’s global investment organization and help drive the evolution of SEI’s asset management strategy, focusing on scalable and customized investment solutions for institutional and wealth management clients.

DTE Energy: $1.6 Billion Battery Storage Investment To Advance Michigan Clean Energy Goals

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

DTE Energy announced a $1.6 billion investment in Michigan's clean energy future through a partnership with LG Energy Solution Vertech to deploy Michigan-made battery energy storage systems across the state. The procurement agreement will support eight battery storage projects over a two-year period and is expected to generate approximately $2.3 billion in economic impact while creating jobs, strengthening grid reliability, and helping meet Michigan's clean energy targets.

Pacifico Biolabs: €7 Million Series A Raised To Scale Mycelium Protein Production

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Pacifico Biolabs announced that it has raised €7 million in Series A funding to accelerate the scale-up of its mycelium protein production platform and support the company’s commercial launch strategy. The financing marks a significant milestone for the Berlin-based food technology startup as it seeks to expand manufacturing capacity and strengthen its position within the rapidly growing alternative protein market.

Airis Labs: $31 Million Series A Closed As Defense AI Company Emerges From Stealth

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Airis Labs announced its emergence from stealth with $60 million in total funding, including a $31 million Series B round led by PSG Equity. Existing investors TLV Partners, Stepstone Group, Redseed Ventures, and angel investors Eyal Waldman, Jeff Horing, Yasmin Lukatz, and David Chinn also participated in the financing.

Blulabs: $7 Million Investment Raised To Expand Global Supply Chain Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Blulabs, a Miami-based global supply chain, sourcing, manufacturing, and logistics partner, announced that Lodestone Capital has led a $7 million investment in the company. The financing values Blulabs at $160 million pre-money and is intended to support continued expansion across its global supply chain platform, technology infrastructure, manufacturing network, logistics capabilities, and customer service operations.

G-Knot: Interview With CEO Wes Kaplan About The Biometric Technology Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

G-Knot is a pioneering biometric technology company that develops advanced hardware and software, most notably the world's first finger-vein-authenticated, non-custodial crypto wallet, designed to provide high-security digital asset custody through unique vascular pattern recognition. Pulse 2.0 interviewed G-Knot CEO Wes Kaplan to learn more.

ITG Brands: $150 Million Acquisition Of Black Buffalo Expands U.S. Oral Portfolio

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

ITG Brands announced that its parent company, Imperial Brands PLC, has acquired Black Buffalo, a modern oral products company, in a deal valued at an initial $150 million plus additional deferred payments tied to performance over three years and other criteria.

Curio Expands Through Nora Mental Health Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Curio announced that it has acquired Nora Mental Health, a multi-state franchise system of community-based mental health clinics, expanding its behavioral health platform across the United States. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Greenhouse: Acquisition Of Ezra AI Labs To Bring Conversational AI To Hiring

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Greenhouse, a hiring platform used by more than 7,500 companies, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ezra AI Labs, a voice AI interviewing company focused on structured, on-demand candidate conversations. The acquisition is expected to close this quarter, subject to customary closing conditions.

Qualified, from Salesforce: Interview With CMO Maura Rivera About The Agentic Marketing And Conversational Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Qualified, from Salesforce, is an agentic marketing and conversational platform that uses an AI Sales Development Representative (SDR) agent named "Piper" to help B2B companies identify high-intent website visitors and generate a sales pipeline in real-time. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Qualified CMO Maura Rivera to learn more.

Xactus: Acquisition Of Mortgage Credit Link Expands Verification Technology Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Lovell Minnick Partners announced that its portfolio company, Xactus, has completed the acquisition of Mortgage Credit Link, a web-based order fulfillment hub that streamlines credit and verification data ordering from application to closing. Following the transaction, Mortgage Credit Link will operate as XedaLink, an independent subsidiary of Xactus.

DalFort Capital Partners: $166 Million Fund II Closes

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

DalFort Capital Partners announced a series of milestones, including the successful sale of portfolio company Polymer Adhesives Holdings, the expansion of its leadership team, and the closing of its second investment fund with total commitments of $166 million.

The Generation Essentials Group: A$280 Million Ritz-Carlton Perth Acquisition Expands Hospitality Portfolio

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

AMTD Group, AMTD IDEA Group, AMTD Digital, and The Generation Essentials Group (TGE) announced the successful completion of TGE’s acquisition of a 50% interest in The Ritz-Carlton, Perth, Australia. The transaction was completed for a total consideration of US$72 million (A$100 million), with the hotel valued at US$201 million (A$280 million).

XCENA Raises $135 Million Series B To Advance Memory-Centric Computing Solutions For AI Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

XCENA, a company providing memory-centric computing solutions for AI infrastructure, announced it has raised $135 million (KRW 202 billion) in a Series B financing round. The funding will support the company’s global expansion, customer deployment efforts, and development of its next-generation computational memory technologies. Following the round, XCENA has raised a total of $185 million and reached a valuation of $570 million.

Fields Good: $1.8 Million Raised For Functional Cookie Brand Launch

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Fields Good, a new functional cookie brand founded by Ashley Fields, daughter of Mrs. Fields founder Debbi Fields, and Kim Anderson, has officially launched with three ready-to-eat cookies designed to support focus, protein intake, and sleep. The Austin-based company also announced a $1.8 million pre-seed funding round led by Female Founders Fund.

DartPoints Acquires Lexington Data Center Campus To Support AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

DartPoints announced the acquisition of a data center campus in Lexington, Kentucky, expanding its footprint and strengthening its ability to support growing demand from artificial intelligence, hyperscale, neo-cloud, and enterprise customers.

FORT Robotics Acquires Mapless AI To Expand Physical AI Trust Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

FORT Robotics announced the acquisition of Mapless AI, a Boston and Pittsburgh-based company specializing in vehicle teleoperation and autonomy supervision. The deal expands FORT's Trust Platform by adding remote human-in-the-loop teleoperation and onboard active safety capabilities, positioning the company to support supervised autonomy across a range of industrial and commercial applications.

Spark Harbor Acquires Bach To Rock, America’s Music School

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Spark Harbor, a platform operator of franchised youth activity brands, has acquired Bach to Rock, a music school franchise focused on performance-based music education, from Cambridge Information Group (CIG).

Rep Data Acquires OWL Solutions To Strengthen Survey Build Quality And Fieldwork Execution

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Rep Data, a provider of data collection solutions for the market research industry, announced the acquisition of OWL Solutions, a survey programming company known for managing complex survey builds and supporting fieldwork readiness, particularly in specialized areas such as healthcare.

Impact Climate Technologies: Delta T Equipment Acquisition Expands Texas HVAC Presence

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

Impact Climate Technologies (ICT), a leading provider in the commercial HVAC industry, announced the acquisition of Delta T Equipment, a Houston-based manufacturers' representative known for its technical expertise, customer relationships, and service-focused approach in the HVAC market.

RealCold: Pharmaceutical Logistics Expansion Through SCL Cold Chain Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

RealCold, a rapidly growing cold chain solutions provider, announced the acquisition of SCL Cold Chain, a Dallas-based logistics company specializing in temperature-controlled supply chains for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, wine, and specialty foods. The transaction marks RealCold's entry into chain-of-custody pharmaceutical logistics while expanding the range of services available across its national cold chain network.

TransFRESH: Acquisition Of Hazel Technologies Advances Freshness Solutions For Berry Industry

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

TransFRESH Corporation, a subsidiary of Chiquita Holdings Limited, announced the acquisition of Hazel Technologies, a company known for its post-harvest freshness preservation technologies. The deal brings Hazel Technologies’ proprietary Breatheway technology and scientific expertise into the TransFRESH organization, strengthening its position in freshness and shelf-life solutions for the global fresh produce supply chain.

ARKEN: MaxWave Capital Invests To Advance Decision Intelligence Across Private Markets And High-Stakes Industries

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 29, 2026

MaxWave Capital announced a strategic investment in ARKEN, a Canadian deep-tech company focused on industrial decision intelligence through its proprietary Knowledge Fusion Engine. The investment is designed to integrate ARKEN's technology into MaxWave's diligence processes, portfolio operations, and value-creation initiatives, enabling analytical insights from individual transactions to be leveraged across the broader investment platform.