Innovation

UVeye: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Amir Hever About The AI Vehicle Inspection Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

UVeye uses advanced AI-powered, high-speed camera systems to perform automated, 360-degree inspections of a vehicle's undercarriage, tires, and exterior for defects and damage within seconds. Pulse 2.0 interviewed UVeye co-founder and CEO Amir Hever to learn more.

Composition Wealth Appoints Meghan McCartan As Chief Marketing Officer To Accelerate Advisor Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Composition Wealth, a national registered investment advisor enterprise with over $10 billion in assets and 125 employees nationwide, has appointed Meghan McCartan as Chief Marketing Officer as the firm continues to expand its leadership team and accelerate growth initiatives. McCartan joined the firm at the end of January in a newly created role designed to strengthen digital-first marketing strategies and advisor growth efforts.

Lenox Advisors Appoints Susan Owens As Senior Vice President Of Financial Planning

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Lenox Advisors, an affiliate of NFP, an Aon company, announced the appointment of Susan E. Owens, J.D., CFP®, as Senior Vice President, Financial Planning.

The Compression Company: $3.4 Million Pre-Seed Funding Raised To Boost Satellite Data Transmission With AI-Based Compression

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

The Compression Company, a startup focused on advanced data compression for satellites, has raised $3.4 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Long Journey, with participation from Ludlow Ventures, Forward Deployed Venture Capital, Entrepreneurs First, Transpose Platform, Fractal Capital, and Ventures Together.

CAVU Consumer Partners Closes $325 Million Fifth Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

CAVU Consumer Partners, a consumer-focused investment firm, announced it has closed its fifth fund, CAVU Consumer Partners V, LP, with $325 million in total commitments, surpassing its $275 million target. The oversubscribed fund represents a meaningful increase over the firm’s prior 2021-vintage vehicle and brings total assets under management to just under $1.4 billion.

Neara: $90 Million Series D Raised To Expand Physics‑Enabled Digital Twin Platform For Global Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Neara, a pioneer in physics-enabled digital twin modelling for critical infrastructure, has closed an AUD 90 million (over USD 60 million) Series D funding round to accelerate its efforts to solve global infrastructure challenges. The round was led by TCV, a global growth equity firm, with returning investors including Partners Group, EQT, Square Peg Capital, and Skip Capital. With this raise, Neara’s total funding to date reaches approximately AUD 180 million.

constellr: €37 Million Series A Raised To Deliver Defense Grade Thermal Intelligence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Munich-based space technology company constellr has secured €37 million in series A funding to expand its high-precision thermal intelligence capabilities and advance its platform to defense-grade status for governments, military entities, and security agencies. The round is one of the largest series A investments in European space technology to date and brings the company’s total funding to €75 million.

Runway: $315 Million Series E Secured For AI Video Generation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Runway, an AI video generation and world modeling company, announced that it has raised $315 million in a Series E funding round to accelerate the development of next-generation world models and expand its product capabilities across industries.

Apptronik: $935+ Million Series A Raised For AI-Based Robotics

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Apptronik, an AI-powered robotics company, announced it has closed a $520 million Series A-X extension round, bringing its total Series A funding to more than $935 million and total capital raised to nearly $1 billion. The latest round includes participation from existing investors such as B Capital, Google, Mercedes-Benz, and PEAK6, as well as new investors AT&T Ventures, John Deere, and Qatar Investment Authority.

Meridian: $17 Million Seed Funding Raised To Automate Excel-Based Financial Modeling

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Meridian, an AI startup focused on automating repetitive financial modeling workflows, has announced a $17 million seed funding round as it emerges from stealth. The $17 million seed round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and The General Partnership. Additional investors include QED Investors, FPV Ventures, and Litquidity, among others.

Exact Imaging: $10 Million Raised For Prostate Cancer Detection Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Exact Imaging, a developer of high-resolution micro-ultrasound systems for urologic imaging, announced the closing of a $10 million financing round led by iGan Partners. The funding will be used to accelerate global sales and adoption of the company’s flagship ExactVu™ prostate biopsy system.

Didero: $30 Million Secured To Automate Global Supply Chains

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Didero, a New York-based software company using AI agents to automate enterprise procurement, announced it has raised $30 million in a Series A financing round co-led by Chemistry and Headline, with participation from M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund. The new capital will support product development and go-to-market expansion as manufacturers and distributors deploy Didero’s platform to reduce manual work, improve visibility, and operate more resilient global supply chains.

Bracket: $7 Million Seed Funding Raised To Build AI-Native Treasury Infrastructure For Mid-Market Finance Teams

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Bracket, a London-based fintech focused on modernizing treasury operations for mid-market companies, has closed a $7 million seed funding round led by Macquarie Group and Blackfinch Ventures, with existing investor Failup Ventures increasing its commitment. The company said the capital will be used to accelerate its mission of delivering AI-native treasury infrastructure designed specifically for mid-sized finance teams that have historically relied on fragmented systems and manual processes.

Open World And VerifyMe To Merge In Nasdaq-Listed Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

VerifyMe, a provider of authentication and precision logistics technologies, and Open World Ltd., a blockchain infrastructure and real-world asset tokenization platform, have signed a definitive Agreement and Plan of Merger. The transaction is designed to create a Nasdaq-listed, institutional-grade real-world asset tokenization company focused on regulated digital asset infrastructure.

The Idea Village: Interview With CEO Jon Atkinson About The Startup Support Nonprofit

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

The Idea Village is a New Orleans-based nonprofit that builds and supports a thriving startup ecosystem by providing accelerator programs, mentorship, and resources to help founders launch and scale innovative businesses, fostering economic growth in the region. Pulse 2.0 interviewed The Idea Village CEO Jon Atkinson to learn more.

Santé: Wine And Spirits Fintech Platform Raises $7.6 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Santé, a fintech platform serving the wine and spirits industry, announced it has raised $7.6 million in funding led by Bonfire Ventures, with participation from Operator Collective, Y Combinator, and Veridical Ventures. The company plans to use the capital to expand its sales team and develop new products tailored to grocers and other retailers with complex commercial operations.

Keycard Acquires Anchor.dev To Unlock Autonomous Coding Agents

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Keycard, the identity and access platform for AI agents, announced it has acquired Anchor.dev to extend its platform to govern coding agents and eliminate tradeoffs between autonomy, capability and security. The deal brings in the Anchor.dev team, a stealth startup focused on automatic certificate issuance and validation, with experience building trusted infrastructure at companies such as Cloudflare, GitHub, and Heroku.

Uptiq: $25 Million Series B Raised To Scale Industry-Ready Solutions And Launch Qore For Builders

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Uptiq, an AI platform purpose-built for financial services, announced it has raised $25 million in Series B funding to accelerate the rollout of its industry-ready AI applications and expand its Qore orchestration platform for developers and builders. The round was led by Curql, with participation from Silverton Partners, 645 Ventures, Broadridge, Green Visor Capital, Live Oak Ventures, First Capital, Epic Ventures, Tau Ventures, and Evolution VC.

RBC Wealth Management Expands Echelon Lifestyle Services Platform For Ultra-High-Net-Worth Clients

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

RBC Wealth Management announced the expansion of RBC Echelon, its premier platform for ultra-high-net-worth clients, with the addition of three industry-leading lifestyle services providers: a luxury travel concierge, a premium collections storage and logistics specialist, and expanded fine art advisory services that now include collectibles and appraisal support. The additions bring the curated RBC Echelon network to 16 external providers.

Backslash Security: $19 Million Series A Raised For Protecting AI-Driven Software Development

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Backslash Security has raised $19 million in Series A funding to address the fast-emerging security risks tied to AI-native software development, as enterprises increasingly adopt autonomous coding agents and large language models across their development workflows. The round was led by KOMPAS VC, with participation from Maniv and Artofin Venture Capital, as well as existing investors StageOne Ventures and First Rays Capital.

Dynamic Core Capital Partners Closes $240 Million Oversubscribed SBIC Buyout Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Dynamic Core Capital Partners, the rebranded identity of Dubin Clark, announced the closing of DC Small Business Fund, LP at $240 million, exceeding its original $200 million target. The firm’s inaugural Small Business Investment Company fund was oversubscribed, signaling strong investor demand for its lower middle market buyout strategy.

TRUCE Software Closes Series B For Mobile-First AI Video Telematics Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

TRUCE Software has closed a Series B funding round to accelerate growth as it expands two recently launched product suites spanning commercial vehicle fleets and K-12 schools. Financial terms were not disclosed. The round was led by Yttrium, with participation from existing institutional investors Allomer Capital Group and New Amsterdam Growth Capital.

Alva Energy Launches With $33 Million Series A To Unlock 10 GWe Of U.S. Reactor Capacity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Alva Energy launched with $33 million in Series A funding led by Playground Global, positioning itself as a nuclear energy company focused on boosting power output from the existing U.S. reactor fleet to meet rising electricity demand from AI data centers and other industrial uses. The Cambridge, Massachusetts based startup said its approach offers a faster and lower cost path to expanding clean, firm power than building new nuclear plants, with a timeline and cost profile it argues can be competitive with gas fired generation.

OncoRes Medical Closes A$27 Million Private Round To Advance Elora QME Imaging System And U.S. FDA Pathway

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

OncoRes Medical has closed an AUD $27 million private funding round to advance clinical development and regulatory milestones for its Quantitative Micro-Elastography (QME) Imaging System, Elora, as the Perth-based medical device company builds toward U.S. entry and FDA approval.

Bearing: $4.5 Million Seed Funding Raised For Scaling On The ServiceNow AI Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Bearing, a physical security operations software company built natively on ServiceNow, has closed an oversubscribed $4.5 million seed round to support team growth and accelerate product development aimed at automating physical security workflows with ServiceNow AI Agents. The round was led by AZ-VC, with continued investment from High Alpha and participation from PHX Ventures and Lightbank.

Garden City Equity Raises $255 Million For ‘People First’ Investment Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 15, 2026

Garden City Equity, a people-first holding company focused on acquiring and growing family- and founder-owned businesses for the long term, said it has raised $255 million for its next tranche of investments. The firm targets lower middle-market businesses in the South and Southwest United States with up to $25 million of EBITDA.

Industrial Service Solutions Acquires MSHS Pacific Power Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 14, 2026

Industrial Service Solutions (ISS) has acquired MSHS Pacific Power Group (MSHS PPG), an independent maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) specialist serving power generation, industrial, marine, and national security customers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Careerminds Buys Keystone Partners, Renovo, Job Copilot, And Outplacement Australia In Multi-Company Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 14, 2026

Careerminds has acquired Keystone Partners, Renovo, Job Copilot, and Outplacement Australia, assembling a portfolio of career transition and talent solutions businesses spanning North America, the UK, and Australia as it pushes to build a larger, end-to-end workforce solutions platform.

HUMAIN Launches Sports Vertical After Taking Controlling Stake In ai.io

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 14, 2026

HUMAIN, a Public Investment Fund-backed artificial intelligence company, has launched a new sports technology vertical called HUMAIN Sport following its acquisition of a controlling interest in ai.io, a London-headquartered AI and sports technology company.

Rep Data Buys ReDem To Combine Pre Survey And In Survey Fraud Controls

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 14, 2026

Rep Data, a full-service market research and data quality solutions provider, has acquired ReDem, an in-survey data quality platform, in a deal aimed at bringing pre-survey and in-survey controls into a single end-to-end approach for survey quality assurance. The companies said the combined offering is designed to identify and stop bots, AI-assisted survey takers, professional respondents, duplicate behavior, and other signals associated with low-quality or fraudulent responses across the entire survey lifecycle.