Innovation

z21 Ventures: $20 Million Raised For Fund II

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

z21 Ventures, a leading VC firm focused on early-stage technology investments, announced a $20 million first close for a $40 million Fund II from anchor investor WestBridge Capital, a global investment firm renowned for its strategic focus and robust portfolio.

c/side: $6 Million (Seed) Secured To Fend Off Browser Supply Chain Attacks

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

c/side, a cybersecurity company with tools for monitoring, optimizing, and securing vulnerable browser-side third-party scripts, announced $6 million in seed funding. This funding round was led by Uncork Capital, with participation from Mantis VC, Scribble Ventures, Roar Ventures and PrimeSet. c/side’s total funding is now $7.7 million, following a pre-seed round announced earlier this year. Plus, Scribble and Roar also participated in the pre-seed, along with strategic angel investors.

AtoB: Transportation-Focused Payment Solutions Company Raises $130 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

AtoB, a leading provider of modern payment solutions for the transportation industry, announced significant growth and strategic milestones, including $130 million in new equity and debt funding to further support product and team expansion. And this momentum reflects AtoB's dedication to transforming the transportation sector through fintech solutions and strategic partnerships.

Tamnoon: Managed Cloud Security Remediation Company Raises $12 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Tamnoon, a leader in Managed Cloud Security Remediation, announced it has raised $12 million in Series A funding. The funding round was led by cybersecurity investment firm [Bright Pixel Capital (formerly Sonae IM), with participation by new investors Blu Ventures and Mindset Ventures and existing investors Merlin Ventures, Secret Chord Ventures, Inner Loop Capital, and Elron Ventures.

InDebted: Debt Collection Fintech Company Raises $40 Million At $250+ Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Global debt collection fintech InDebted announced the completion of its $40 million Series C funding round, valuing the company at greater than $250 million. Primary investors include Airtree, Australian Retirement Trust and new growth fund Premier Capital Partners. Existing shareholders Reinventure, Carthona and Perennial have also participated, with Second Quarter Ventures purchasing shares from angel investors and early employees.

FluidLogic: Hydration Systems Company Raises $15 Million (Series A Extension)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

FluidLogic, a leader in high-performance hydration systems, announced a Series A Extension funding round of $15 million led by Solyco Capital, a private equity firm delivering capital solutions for late-stage startups and growth companies. And FluidLogic develops cutting-edge in-vehicle hydration solutions that provide optimal hydration, ensuring users consistently perform at their peak. This investment will fund new product development and innovation for consumer products in the adventure sports and outdoor endurance categories. Consumer products will be available early next year.

Centivo: $75 Million Secured To Make Healthcare More Affordable

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Centivo, a healthcare company focused on making high-quality healthcare more affordable for employers and their employees, announced it has secured $75 million in equity and debt financing. The funding includes participation from new strategic investors Cone Health Ventures and MemorialCare Innovation Fund, as well as existing financial investors including B Capital, Cox Enterprises, F-Prime Capital, Ingleside Investors, and Morgan Health (a division of JPMorgan Chase). Trinity Capital and ongoing banking partner JPMorgan Chase provided the debt facilities. This funding will enable Centivo to accelerate its mission of making high-quality healthcare more accessible and affordable to working families.

UJET: AI-Based Cloud Contact Center Solutions Company Raises $76 Million (Series D)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

UJET, a leader of AI-based cloud contact center solutions, announced it has closed its latest round of funding led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from new investors KeyCorp and IonPacific and existing investors GV, Kleiner Perkins, Citi Ventures, DCM, and Ericsson Ventures. UJET’s latest funding round brings the total Series D funding to $76 million and will accelerate UJET's development of generative AI technologies, enabling businesses to enhance customer experiences (CX) significantly.

Crisp: $72 Million (Series B) Raised To Expand Into CPG And Retail Channels

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Crisp announced it closed a $72 million Series B equity round, including $17 million from new strategic investors, including Wellington Management, Toshiba Corporation, DNX, Cox, and Prologis. This brings Crisp's total equity raised to $97 million since its founding.

MobiSystems: Interview With OfficeSuite Business Co-Founder Nikolay Kussovski About The Productivity Software Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

MobiSystems is a global leader in productivity software that has created popular apps like OfficeSuite, PDF Extra, MobiDrive. MobiSystems has over 550 million users, with over 250 million users of OfficeSuite alone. Pulse 2.0 interviewed OfficeSuite Co-founder Nikolay Kussovski to learn more about the company.

Farmblox: Interview With CEO & Co-Founder Nathan Rosenberg About The Farm Automation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Farmblox is a farm automation platform that combines a sensor ecosystem, carbon sequestration monitoring, and AI workflows – saving up to 50% in labor costs, reducing water usage, and generating new revenue streams for modern farming. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Farmblox co-founder and CEO Nathan Rosenberg to learn more about the company.

Nmbr: Embedded Payroll Company Secures C$7.6 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Nmbr, Canada’s first dedicated embedded payroll software provider, announced CAD $7.6 million in seed funding to elevate the payroll ecosystem for businesses nationwide. Panache Ventures, Golden Ventures, Motivate Venture Capital, and Luge Capital provided the funding.

Convergent Therapeutics: $40 Million (Series A Extension) Secured From Novo

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Convergent Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing next generation radiopharmaceutical therapies for the treatment of prostate cancer and other cancers, announced that the first patient has been dosed with CONV01-α in the Phase II CONVERGE-01 trial evaluating CONV01-α, Ac-225 rosopatamab tetraxetan, for the treatment of patients with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Convergent also announced a $40 million Series A extension by Novo Holdings, a holding and investment company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Eion: $3 Million (Series A Extension) Raised And Carbon Removal Deal Signed With Microsoft

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Eion, a carbon removal company turning the proven science of enhanced rock weathering (ERW) into a scalable climate solution, announced a contract to deliver 8,000 tons of permanent carbon dioxide removal to Microsoft. And Eion also announced it has closed $3 million in Series A extension funding from agricultural distributor Growmark, AgFunder, Ridgeline, Trailhead Capital, Overture Partners, Mercator Partners, Exelon Foundation, and others.

Whatfix: Digital Adoption Platform Company Raises $125 Million (Series E)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Whatfix, a leader among digital adoption platforms (DAPs), announced it had secured $125 Million in a Series E funding round led by Warburg Pincus, with participation from existing investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2. And the company is raising the new round at a significant premium, reinforcing its dominance as the leader in Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) and expanding into DAP adjacent offerings.

Li-Cycle: Interview With CEO & Co-Founder Ajay Kochhar About This Sophisticated Lithium-Ion Battery Recovery Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Li-Cycle is a leading global lithium-ion battery resource recovery company. And Li-Cycle’s mission is to recover critical battery-grade materials to create a domestic closed-loop battery supply chain for a clean energy future. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Li-Cycle CEO and co-founder Ajay Kochhar to learn more about the company.

Atomicwork: Modern Service Management Company Raises $14 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Atomicwork, a leading modern service management platform, announced the closing of a new $3+ million strategic funding. This funding round was backed by more than 40+ seasoned industry veterans, including global CIOs and CTOs, demonstrating strong confidence in the company's vision and strategic direction.

fal: Media Generating AI Company Raises $23 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

fal announced it has raised $23 million in Seed and Series A funding. The $14 million Series A was led by Kindred Ventures with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital and angel investors including Perplexity founder Aravind Srinivas, Vercel founder Guillermo Rauch, Balaji Srinivasan, and Huggingface CTO Julien Chaumond. Andreessen Horowitz led the Seed round with participation from Village Global.

Edera: Secure-By-Design Kubernetes And AI Solution Closes $5 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Edera, which is the world's only secure-by-design Kubernetes and AI solution, announced it has raised $5 million in a seed round led by 645 Ventures and Eniac Ventures with participation from FPV Ventures, Generationship, Precursor Ventures and Rosecliff Ventures. And angel investors include Joe Beda, Filippo Valsorda, Mandy Andress, Jeff Behl and Kleiner Perkins scout Nikitha Suryadevara, and others.

Flightkeys: Strategic Growth Investment Raised From Insight Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Flightkeys Group - a cloud-based flight planning and optimization software built specifically for the most innovative global airlines - announced a strategic growth investment from global software investor Insight Partners.

Publicis Buys Michigan-Based Mars United Commerce

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Publicis Groupe announced the acquisition of Mars United Commerce, the world’s largest independent commerce marketing company. With 1,000+ employees based in 14 hubs worldwide, Mars helps marketers make their products consumers’ top choice in online and offline shopper systems.

Akur8: Machine Learning-Powered Insurance Company Raises $120 Million (Series C)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Akur8, a machine learning-powered insurance pricing and reserving platform, announced that it has secured $120 million in series C funding, bringing the total raised investment to $180 million. This latest funding round was led by One Peak, with participation from Partners Group and historical investor Guidewire Software. This new funding round will significantly support Akur8’s ability to expand its product portfolio and fuel its growth in key global markets.

Iridium: Interview With EVP Of PNT Division Michael O’Connor About The Mobile Satellite Service Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Iridium Communications is the only mobile satellite service (MSS) company offering pole-to-pole coverage over the entire globe. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Iridium’s Executive Vice President of the PNT Division Michael O'Connor to learn more about the company.

Zartico: Using AI To Create Strategic Planning And Marketing Optimization Solutions In A $225+ Billion Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Zartico is the maker of the first Destination Operating System and it harnesses and streamlines big data using science, AI, and technology to provide unprecedented visibility into the movement of people and economic opportunities. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Zartico CEO Sarah Lehman to learn more about the company.

Banyan Software: Foundation Launched With $100 Million Stock Pledge

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Banyan Software, a leading acquirer and permanent home for software businesses, announced the launch of the Banyan Software Foundation. This Foundation will focus on supporting organizations that utilize technology to build a greener and more equitable world. With a $100 million commitment of stock over the next four years, the Foundation will become one of Banyan Software’s largest shareholders, and its impact will continue to grow in tandem with the company’s success.

Datamaran: Software Analytics Platform Company Secures $33 Million (Series C)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Datamaran announced the completion of $33 million in Series-C financing from investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, validating its global leadership in the ESG software market. And the proceeds will be used to accelerate growth in the U.S and Europe and further advance initiatives in generative AI.

ICG: North American Credit Partners Fund III Closed At $1.9 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

ICG - a global alternative asset manager - announced the completion of fundraising for its North American Credit Partners Fund III (NACP III), following strong demand from a global group of new and existing investors.

Blue Whale Materials Picked For $55 Million DOE Award

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 26, 2024

Blue Whale Materials (BWM) - a leader in advanced lithium-ion battery recycling - announced it has been selected for negotiation of an award of over $55 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing Program.

Cloud Equity Group: Interview With Founder & CIO Sean Frank About The Investment Firm

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Cloud Equity Group is a Wall Street-based investment management firm strategically positioned to capitalize on the expanding industries of web hosting and cloud-based infrastructure. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Cloud Equity Group founder and Chief Investment Officer Sean Frank to learn more.

Element Security: $5 Million Raised To Develop Proprietary Exploit Engine

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Element Security is an innovative Israeli cybersecurity startup that has emerged from stealth mode after two and a half years to unveil its advanced Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) solution. Element Security announced it raised $5 million in funding from senior investors, including the Q Fund VC, Eddy Shalev, Danny Yamin (former CEO of Microsoft Israel), and Kobi Rosengarten (former General Partner at JVP).