Innovation

Kyndryl Launches New Security Edge Services With Cisco

By Annie Baker ● Jan 29, 2024

Kyndryl - the world's largest technology infrastructure services provider - announced two new security edge services developed jointly with Cisco to help customers improve their security controls and proactively address and respond to cyber incidents.

Fly Wines: How This Company Helps Set Up Virtual Wine Tasting

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2024

Fly Wines is a company that helps independent wineries reach consumers across the US through tailored digital marketing strategies. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Fly Wines founder and CEO Stephanie Franklin to learn more about the company.

TextQL: $4.1 Million Raised To Automate Data Analysis

By Noah Long ● Jan 29, 2024

TextQL - a startup building an AI data analyst that connects to your business intelligence (BI) tools, semantic layers, and existing documentation - announced that it raised $4.1 million across pre-seed and seed rounds that was co-led by Neo and DCM.

Vista Equity Partners Completes $4 Billion EngageSmart Acquisition

By Dan Anderson ● Jan 28, 2024

EngageSmart (a leading provider of vertically tailored customer engagement software and integrated payments solutions) has announced the completion of its acquisition by an affiliate of Vista Equity Partners (a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled businesses) for $23 per share in cash, valuing the company at about $4 billion.

Ares Management: Automated Industrial Robotics Launched To Capitalize On Manufacturing Demand

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2024

Ares Management announced the launch of Automated Industrial Robotics, a newly formed industrial automation company designed to capitalize on increasing global demand for manufacturing automation solutions. And an Ares Private Equity fund has invested substantial equity capital to support AIR’s acquisition and organic growth strategy.

University Of Texas At San Antonio Launches College In AI, Cyber, Computing, And Data Science

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2024

The University of Texas at San Antonio announced a pioneering initiative to reshape its academic landscape by launching a new college dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, computing, data science, and related disciplines.

Wealth Partners Capital Group And HGGC Form Strategic Partnership With True North Advisors

By Noah Long ● Jan 25, 2024

True North Advisors, LLC - a Texas-based registered investment adviser (RIA) - announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Wealth Partners Capital Group (WPCG), a financial services holding company, and HGGC, a firm focused on partnership investing.

Klarna Launches Klarna Plus In The US

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 24, 2024

Klarna – an AI-powered global payments network and shopping assistant - announced its entry into the subscription service model with the launch of Klarna Plus (issued by WebBank), which is now available to eligible US consumers through the Klarna app for a monthly fee of $7.99.

Instagrid: Portable Battery System Company Closes $95 Million In Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 24, 2024

Instagrid – a leading Europe-based provider of high-performance portable battery systems - announced a Series C funding round of $95 million. And Instagrid more than doubled revenues this year and will use the funding to continue its growth by entering the North American market, increasing production, and expanding its range of mobile power solutions to decarbonize off-grid power.

Welligence Energy Analytics: Energy Data And Intelligence Company Secures $41 Million

By Annie Baker ● Jan 24, 2024

Welligence Energy Analytics - a market-leading energy data & intelligence firm specializing in global oil and gas markets, greenhouse gas emissions, and projects related to carbon capture storage and utilization (CCUS) – recently announced it had raised $41 million in growth capital. The funding round, representing a minority stake in the company, was led by Elephant with participation from Veriten, EDG Group, and several high-profile executives from the energy, information services, and enterprise software industries.

Bagel Network: Decentralized ML Data Network Company Secures $3.1 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 24, 2024

Bagel Network - a decentralized Machine Learning data network at the intersection of AI and web3 –announced the successful closure of a $3.1 million pre-seed fundraising round. CoinFund led the funding round with participation from Protocol Labs, Borderless Capital, Maven11 Capital, Graph Paper Capital, and Breed VC.

Why Apkudo Is Buying Mobile reCell

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 24, 2024

Apkudo – a leader in supply chain automation for connected devices – recently announced it has acquired Mobile reCell, the pioneer of software-driven IT asset recovery for corporate-owned IT assets. And the combination of Mobile reCell's software-driven recovery of corporate-owned IT assets and Apkudo's existing solution portfolio sets a new standard for the connected device supply chain.

Why Sanofi Is Buying Inhibrx For Up To $2.2 Billion

By Annie Baker ● Jan 24, 2024

Sanofi and Inhibrx - a publicly traded clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a broad pipeline of novel biologic therapeutic candidates – announced it has entered into a definitive agreement under which Sanofi has agreed to acquire Inhibrx following the spin-off of non-INBRX-101 assets into New Inhibrx.

Netflix Becoming Home For WWE ‘Raw’ In 2025 In A $5+ Billion Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 23, 2024

Why Deloitte Is Buying The Assets Of Giant Machines

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 23, 2024

Deloitte announced that it had acquired substantially all of the assets of Giant Machines, a digital product company based in New York City. The Giant Machines business focuses on strategizing, designing, and engineering innovative digital products, and will help bolster Deloitte Digital and Deloitte Engineering capabilities to offer clients a robust suite of services to deliver strategic and scaled engineering solutions.

Howard University Partners With Quantasy To Help Students Manage Mental Wellness

By Noah Long ● Jan 22, 2024

Quantasy has announced a partnership between Howard University and True Voice, the app known for its commitment to mindfulness and holistic well-being. Mental health is a major challenge for college students so that Howard will offer exclusive access to the wellness app. Howard University is the first academic institution to use True Voice to help create a culture of mindfulness that can be implemented daily.

MitoSense: $3.5 Million Raised To Develop Neurodegenerative Disease Treatments

By Dan Anderson ● Jan 22, 2024

MitoSense - a research and development company focused on neurodegenerative disease treatments - recently announced the successful closure of its Series Seed Funding Round led by Caydan Capital Partners, raising close to $3.5 million. The funding round will enable MitoSense to advance its innovative work in Mitochondria Organelle Transplantation (MOT).

KKR: Digital Global Education Platform Launched For Advisors And Investors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2024

KKR - a leading global investment firm - recently unveiled "KKR Alternatives Unlocked," a digital platform designed to empower financial advisors and their clients to understand the alternative investing landscape better.

IBM Buying Application Modernization Capabilities From Advanced

By Annie Baker ● Jan 22, 2024

IBM has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire application modernization capabilities from Advanced, which brings a combination of talent, tools, and knowledge to enhance IBM Consulting’s mainframe application and data modernization services. This planned acquisition will further enable IBM to support clients’ mainframe application modernization journeys, marking another critical step forward in IBM’s hybrid cloud and AI strategy.

Synchrony And Ally Financial Sign Agreement For Point-Of-Sale Financing Business

By Dan Anderson ● Jan 22, 2024

Synchrony and Ally Financial recently announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Synchrony to acquire Ally's point of sale financing business including $2.2 billion of loan receivables. The portfolio included relationships with nearly 2,500 merchant locations and supports more than 450,000 active borrowers in home improvement services and healthcare.

DJI: 3D Modeling Editing Software DJI Modify Launched

By Noah Long ● Jan 22, 2024

DJI - a leader in civil drones and creative camera technology - recently introduced DJI Modify, the company's first intelligent 3D model editing software. And this complementary solution pairs seamlessly with DJI's enterprise drones and 3D modeling and mapping software DJI Terra, forming a comprehensive solution for aerial surveying, modeling, and model editing, to meet the operational needs for surveying, transportation, and emergency response such as firefighting.

JetSetGo Signs LOI With Horizon Aircraft To Buy Up To $500 Million Of Cavorite X7 Aircraft

By Noah Long ● Jan 22, 2024

Horizon Aircraft - a leading hybrid electric Vertical TakeOff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer - recently announced that it has entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) with JetSetGo, a regional air operator servicing multiple mission profiles.

Unbox: €12 Million Secured To Help Customers Achieve Efficient Funding Distribution

By Annie Baker ● Jan 22, 2024

Unbox - an infrastructure provider for programmable exchange of value - closed a €12 million Series A funding round. The funding was led by HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) and featured strategic participation from SFPIM Relaunch, a Belgian Sovereign Wealth Fund subsidiary.

Why Thomson Reuters Is Buying World Business Media Limited

By Annie Baker ● Jan 22, 2024

Thomson Reuters (a global content and technology company) recently announced that it has acquired World Business Media Limited, a cross-platform, subscription-based provider of editorial coverage for the (re)insurance industry. This deal aligns with Reuters' strategic priority to provide must-have news and insight for new customer markets and professional verticals.

Cognizant Launches Innovation Assistant In Partnership With Microsoft

By Dan Anderson ● Jan 21, 2024

Cognizant has announced a collaboration with Microsoft on the launch of the Innovation Assistant, a generative AI-powered tool built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, which will augment Cognizant's internal innovation program Bluebolt.

Ford Reducing F-150 Lightning Production In Favor Of Gas Vehicles

By Noah Long ● Jan 21, 2024

Ford has reiterated plans to shift production to favor two gas vehicles over the Ford F-150 Lightning. Last month, Ford revealed it planned to reduce the F-150 Lightning production by approximately half. Late last week, Ford said that 1,400 workers would be impacted by this change, which is set to occur on April 1.

How Gmail Is Now Making It Easier To Unsubscribe From Emails

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 21, 2024

Google has added a new feature to Gmail that makes it easier to unsubscribe from emails on mobile devices and the web versions of Gmail. This is done by moving the "Report spam & unsubscribe" button by creating separate "Report spam" and “Unsubscribe.”

Meta Plans To Buy 350,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs By The End Of The Year

By Annie Baker ● Jan 21, 2024

According to an Instagram post from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the company plans to buy a substantial amount of Nvidia hardware by the end of 2024 to support its AI initiatives. Zuckerberg discussed a goal to ramp up an open-source artificial general intelligence platform that would be able to support productivity, wearables, and digital assistants.

AGF Management Buying Majority Interest In Kensington Capital Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 19, 2024

AGF Management Limited’s (AGF) private markets business signed definitive agreements to acquire a majority interest in Kensington Capital Partners Limited - one of Canada’s leading alternative investment firms, as part of AGF’s strategic imperative to grow its private markets business.

Diamond-Amazon Deal: What Could Happen To The MLB, NBA, And NHL Games

By Annie Baker ● Jan 19, 2024

Earlier this week, regional sports operator Diamond Sports Group and Amazon announced a major partnership. Diamond represents 37 teams in the MLB, NHL, and NBA. If the deal is approved in court, local games would be added to Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service and it would enable Diamond Sports Group to emerge from bankruptcy.