Innovation

PagerDuty Appoints Alkami CEO Alex Shootman To Board Of Directors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

PagerDuty has appointed Alkami Technology CEO Alex Shootman to its Board of Directors, effective July 14, 2026. Shootman brings more than 25 years of experience leading and scaling enterprise software companies. PagerDuty said his background in building software-as-a-service businesses, expanding global operations and guiding companies through major strategic transactions will support its continued push into the enterprise market.

Curinos Names Four Startups To 2026 FinTech Incubator Cohort

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Curinos has selected four early-stage financial technology companies for the second cohort of the Curinos FinTech Incubator, a program operated in partnership with CoMotion at the University of Washington.

CerraCap Ventures Invests In MazeBolt To Advance AI-Era DDoS Resilience

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

CERRACAP, a global venture capital firm investing in transformative technologies across artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, healthcare, advanced computing, defense, aerospace, and enterprise innovation, announced its investment in MazeBolt, a leader in AI-powered DDoS resilience and continuous security validation.

Think Raises $8 Million In MENA’s Largest AI Infrastructure Pre-Seed Round

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Think, a Riyadh-based artificial intelligence infrastructure company, has closed an $8 million-plus pre-seed funding round, which the company and its backers describe as the largest AI infrastructure and deep-tech pre-seed round in the MENA region to date. The round was co-led by RAED Ventures and Wa'ed Ventures, with participation from the venture capital arm of Dhahran Techno Valley and strategic angel investors. Proceeds will fund team expansion, manufacturing scale-up, product development, and international growth across the GCC and selected global markets.

Kroll Acquires ABC Economics To Expand Global Competition And Regulatory Advisory Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Kroll has acquired ABC economics, a Berlin-based economics and competition advisory firm, to strengthen its global capabilities across competition matters, regulatory proceedings, litigation, arbitration and complex transactions. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Reflection Signs Over $1 Billion Computing Deal With Nebius

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

AI startup Reflection has signed a deal worth more than $1 billion to secure computing capacity from Nebius, including access to Nvidia’s latest-generation chips. The agreement gives Reflection additional infrastructure for training and operating its artificial intelligence models as competition for advanced computing resources intensifies across the industry.

Health Wave Partners Acquires Alamar Senior Living

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Health Wave Partners has acquired Alamar Senior Living, a 134-unit assisted living and memory care community in Wellington, Florida. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Blockchain.com Taps Polymarket to Embed Prediction Markets In App

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Blockchain.com, one of the world's longest-operating crypto companies and a leading crypto brokerage, announced a partnership with Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market. The partnership will bring access to prediction markets to Blockchain.com users in eligible markets around the world, allowing users to explore and trade on real-world outcomes without leaving the Blockchain.com app.

Ulta Beauty Names Kelly Garcia as Chief Technology Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Ulta Beauty announced that Kelly Garcia has been appointed as its Chief Technology Officer, effective August 31, 2026. Garcia has been a member of the Ulta Beauty Board of Directors since 2022 and will resign from the board effective as of his start date as CTO.

Babylon: Interview With Co-Founder David Tse About The Decentralized Protocol

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Babylon is a decentralized protocol that enables users to natively stake and collateralize their Bitcoin on other decentralized networks without relying on third-party custodians. As a co-founder of the company and an engineering professor at Stanford University, David Tse serves as the lead research scientist guiding the development of these pioneering security-sharing and staking systems. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Tse to learn more.

ACR Acquires RediBagUSA In Eleventh Add-On Under Oridian Capital Ownership

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

ACR (AmerCareRoyal), a provider of foodservice essentials and operational supplies backed by Oridian Capital Partners, has acquired the assets of RediBagUSA, a supplier of reusable retail bags, paper products, and sustainable packaging solutions. The transaction is ACR's eleventh acquisition under Oridian's ownership. RediBagUSA President and CEO Jeff Rabiea will remain with the business alongside key members of the management team.

Gamorax Capital Introduces AI-Enhanced Investment Intelligence Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Gamorax Capital has introduced an AI-enhanced investment intelligence platform that combines sentiment analysis of global events and financial-market information with the company’s volatility-aware trading algorithms.

Sapphiros Secures $12.4 Million BARDA Award to Advance Rapid Molecular Diagnostics for Biothreat Detection

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Sapphiros announced it has been awarded a multi-year project agreement through the Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle, a consortium funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to advance rapid, portable, connected molecular diagnostic platforms for detection of biothreats and emerging infectious diseases.

eCapital Appoints Rosario Ingargiola As Chief Digital Assets Officer in Newly Created Role

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

eCapital, an AI-powered specialty finance and fintech company, has appointed Rosario Ingargiola as Chief Digital Assets Officer, a newly created executive position. Ingargiola will report directly to CEO Marius Silvasan and lead efforts to modernize how eCapital originates, manages, and distributes assets, with a focus on improving efficiency, transparency, and scalability across the platform.

Highline Warren To Invest $170 Million In Georgia Logistics And Operations Center

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Highline Warren plans to invest $170 million in a new logistics and operations center in McDonough, Georgia, creating 160 jobs in Henry County through a multi-year development project.

Pact Labs: Tether Backs Startup to Put Digital Dollars in Every American Paycheck

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Pact Labs announced its Series A financing, anchored by a strategic investment from Tether, the world's largest company in the digital asset ecosystem, with participation from Blockchange Ventures and Lasagna. The $7 million round will accelerate the buildout of infrastructure bringing USA₮, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A. that Tether has collaborated to launch, to payroll, earned wage access, credit, and payments for millions of American workers.

Hillwood Invests in Hexivon to Accelerate Commercialization of PFAS Destruction Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Hexivon, a Dallas-based water technology company, has received a strategic investment from Hillwood, a Perot company with an extensive infrastructure development portfolio. Financial terms were not disclosed. The investment is intended to accelerate the commercial rollout of Hexivon's technology, which destroys polyfluoroalkyl substances — commonly known as PFAS or "forever chemicals" — in water at the molecular level rather than filtering and relocating them.

Starlight Engine Raises JPY 6.06 Billion To Advance Fusion Power Project

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Starlight Engine has raised JPY 6.06 billion, equivalent to approximately $37.4 million, in its first external financing round to accelerate the development of its Fusion by Advanced Superconducting Tokamak project.

Gauntlet Raises $125 Million Series C To Expand On-Chain Risk Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Gauntlet Networks, a New York-based digital asset risk and optimization firm, has closed a $125 million Series C financing led by SBI Holdings through its U.S. subsidiary, SBI Holdings USA.

Augmodo Raises $21 Million At $350 Million Valuation To Scale Physical AI Assistants

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Augmodo has raised an additional $21 million in financing at a $350 million valuation to expand its artificial intelligence assistants for workers operating in retail, manufacturing, automotive, logistics and other physical environments. Existing investor TQ Ventures led the financing after approaching Augmodo to increase its investment in light of the company’s recent growth and customer adoption.

Dan Ye: An Interview With The John Hopkins Lecturer And Technologist

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Dan Ye is an entrepreneur and technology executive best known as the co-founder and CEO of CollegeNode, an online platform that provides college admissions guidance and educational technologies. He is a prominent commentator on how artificial intelligence is transforming education and actively advocates integrating AI into traditional learning systems. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Ye to learn more.

Rime Raises $24 Million Series A To Build Enterprise-Ready Speech-To-Speech AI Models

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Rime has raised $24 million in Series A funding to expand its enterprise voice AI platform and support the development of speech-to-speech models designed for complex and regulated environments. The round was led by M13, with participation from Twilio Ventures, Corazon Capital, Unusual Ventures and other existing investors. Morgan Blumberg, a partner at M13, will join Rime’s board of directors in connection with the financing.

Float Raises €4.5 Million Series A To Build AI-Native Financial Platform For European Tech SMEs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Float has raised €4.5 million in Series A funding to expand its revenue-based financing business and develop an AI-native financial platform for European technology companies. The round was led by Hamburg-based CHAPTERS Group AG.

Sagard Credit Partners III Holds $1 Billion First Close And Targets $2 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Sagard has announced the first close of Sagard Credit Partners III (SCP III), securing more than $1 billion in initial commitments toward the private credit fund’s $2 billion target.

Pivot Point Consulting: Interview With VP Of Managed Services Molly Kalinowski About Why Managed Services Is Healthcare’s Workforce Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Pivot Point Consulting is a healthcare-focused IT services and consulting firm that provides managed services, strategic advisory, and talent solutions to help providers, payers, and life sciences organizations navigate digital transformation and optimize their technology systems. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Pivot Point Consulting VP of Managed Services Molly Kalinowski to learn more.

Google Breaks Ground On Steel River Energy Center, Its Largest Solar And Battery Storage Project Ever

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Google has broken ground on the Steel River Energy Center in Mississippi County, Arkansas, a solar and battery storage facility that will be the largest of its kind in the United States upon completion. The project is being developed in partnership with Cypress Creek Energy. Google is participating as both an anchor investor and an energy offtaker.

Frontier Airlines To Install Starlink On Fleet Beginning In Early 2027

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Frontier Airlines has announced an agreement to equip its aircraft with Starlink, SpaceX's low-Earth orbit satellite broadband service, with the first Starlink-equipped flight planned for early 2027. The deal is part of a broader commitment by Indigo Partners — Frontier's private equity owner — to deploy Starlink across more than 1,000 aircraft operated by its portfolio airlines worldwide.

StartUpNV: Interview With Executive Director Jeff Saling About The Business Incubator

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

StartUpNV is a non-profit business incubator and accelerator that supports early-stage and growing startups in Nevada by providing expert mentorship, structured business programs, and access to a network of affiliated venture capital funds. Pulse 2.0 interviewed StartUpNV Executive Director Jeff Saling to learn more.

Goldman Sachs Posts Record $7.42 Billion In Equities Trading Revenue

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

AdvanCell Closes $315 Million Series D Financing To Advance Targeted Alpha Therapies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

AdvanCell, a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company developing targeted alpha therapies for cancer, announced the closing of an oversubscribed and upsized $315 million Series D financing. The round was led by Ally Bridge Group and co-led by Alpha Wave, alongside new investors Bain Capital Life Sciences, Fidelity Management & Research Company, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., a leading sovereign wealth fund, Eventide Asset Management, and Velosity Capital, with existing investors including Morningside, Eli Lilly and Company, SV Health Investors, Sanofi Ventures, Abingworth, SymBiosis, Tenmile, Brandon Capital, Piper Heartland, Catalio Capital Management, Proto Axiom, and Time BioVentures also participating.