Innovation

AgentSync: Modern Insurance Infrastructure Company Raises $50 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 1, 2023

AgentSync - a leader in modern insurance infrastructure - recently announced an additional $50 million fundraising, bringing the company's total funding to $161 million. This funding round was co-led by existing investors Craft Ventures and Valor Ventures.

Why Accenture Is Buying Comtech Group And ConcentricLife

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 31, 2023

Accenture recently announced that it has acquired Comtech Group and ConcentricLife. These are the details of the deals.

Innerworld: $2 Million Grant Received From NIMH

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2023

With the global mental health crisis spreading, Innerworld emerged as a proven effective solution to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. The company offers peer-to-peer support groups with expert guides trained in Cognitive Behavioral Immersion, providing evidence-based tools during live groups in social virtual worlds. Innerworld recently received $2 million in funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to conduct a randomized control trial at the University of Southern California to continue testing the effects of CBI on depression.

Revelation Partners: $608 Million Fund Closed, Substantially Surpassing $500 Million Target

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2023

Revelation Partners recently announced the closing of its $608 million Fund IV, substantially surpassing the healthcare investment firm's initial target of $500 million. Now Revelation Partners manages $1.5 billion of committed capital as the firm provides liquidity and flexible capital solutions to investors, companies, limited partners and general partners across all healthcare sub-sectors.

Cogito: AI Coaching Company Raises New Funding Round

By Noah Long ● Oct 27, 2023

Cogito - a leader in real-time AI coaching and guidance for the enterprise - recently announced it has secured new funding to help advance features aimed at better supporting agents in the contact center and improving customer experiences. This funding round - including repeat commitments from two significant investors - validates the importance of delivering strong employee and customer experiences in this turbulent economic climate. This investment demonstrates the impact potential of human-aware AI systems and the belief that Cogito is best suited to deliver on its promise.

Agrology: Phase IIB Funding Received From The NSF

By Noah Long ● Oct 27, 2023

Agrology recently announced that the company received $500,000 in Phase IIB Funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop further Agrology’s real-time soil carbon and nitrous oxide emission monitoring technology. America’s Seed Fund is powered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact.

GOZEN: Biomaterials Company Secures $3.3 Million In Seed Funding

By Noah Long ● Oct 27, 2023

GOZEN - a transformative biomaterials startup that is set to disrupt the fashion, automotive and home furnishings industries - recently announced $3.3 million in a seed funding round. This funding round comes from forward-thinking investors like Happiness Capital (lead investor), Accelr8, Astor Management, and SOSV - who recognized GOZEN's unique potential to transform the world of materials through biology. This funding round will enable GOZEN to accelerate research, development, and scaling efforts for its breakthrough biomaterial LUNAFORM, and fuel the creation of new materials.

Palladium Energy: $10 Million Closed In Corporate Equity From Ultra Capital

By Annie Baker ● Oct 26, 2023

Palladium Energy - a leading utility-scale solar and storage developer within the U.S. - recently announced the closing of a $10 million corporate equity investment from Ultra Capital. This private investment firm provides growth equity and asset capital to companies focused on the energy transition and de-carbonization. And the funding will be utilized to accelerate the growth of the Palladium team and development pipeline with a continued focus on originating, acquiring and developing high-quality solar and storage projects.

NorthRock And Sammons Financial Group Partnering To Transform the Wealth Management Industry

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 26, 2023

NorthRock Partners, a full-service financial and lifestyle advisory firm, and Sammons Financial Group, a leading financial services company, recently announced an industry-setting partnership to enhance and expand the innovative client-centric approach that has made NorthRock a leader in the wealth management industry.

AMN Healthcare Buying MSDR For $300 Million: Details

By Annie Baker ● Oct 26, 2023

AMN Healthcare - the leader and innovator in total talent solutions for healthcare organizations across the United States - recently announced a definitive agreement to acquire MSDR for a purchase price of $300 million. MSDR comprises two healthcare staffing companies specializing in locum tenens and advanced practices: Medical Search International (MSI) and DRW Healthcare Staffing (DRW).

Donorbox Surpasses $2 Billion In Charitable Transactions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 26, 2023

Donorbox - a technology-powered platform for fundraising - has celebrated the processing of over $2 billion in donations. And Donorbox enables nonprofits across the globe to quickly and efficiently raise funds online with one of the lowest transaction fees in the industry. The surpassing of the $2 billion signifies the massive impact the company has had in helping nonprofit organizations make a lasting impact on their respective communities.

Sinch Advances Mailgun Product Suite

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2023

Sinch - a company that powers meaningful conversations between businesses and their customers through its Customer Communications Cloud - announced that Mailgun Optimize, the first deliverability solution built on an email-sending platform, and Mailgun Validate, the fastest and most accurate address verification solution, are now part of the Sinch Mailgun product suite.

How Sirion Is Working With IBM To Advance Enterprise Contract Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2023

Sirion - a leader in AI-powered contract lifecycle management (CLM) - recently announced a collaboration to embed IBM watsonx to redefine CLM for enterprises. As the first adopter of this combined offering, IBM is also deploying Sirion CLM to help streamline its own order-to-cash (O2C) and source-to-pay (S2P) processes.

Lendbuzz: $235 Million Asset-Backed Securitization Completed

By Dan Anderson ● Oct 25, 2023

Lendbuzz - a fintech company utilizing AI to provide auto loans to a broad spectrum of borrowers - recently announced that it has closed a $235 million securitization collateralized by a pool of retail automobile contracts made to obligors and secured by new and used automobiles, light duty trucks, and vans.

University Of Alberta: New Fund Launched To Invest In Startups

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2023

The University of Alberta recently launched a new fund to invest in startup ventures to solve the world's complex challenges and diversify Alberta’s economy, providing much-needed funding and more support for innovators and entrepreneurs. And the University of Alberta Innovation Fund - which private donors and public partners support - will work with startups to mobilize the university’s research expertise, innovation, and creativity.

Butler University, gener8tor, And TechPoint Unveil Education And Workforce Innovation Accelerator

By Annie Baker ● Oct 25, 2023

Five startup companies will receive $100,000 each thanks to a new accelerator program focused on transforming education and workforce learning, especially with advanced technology. And this funding will be provided through a new partnership between Butler University, gener8tor (a global venture firm that operates accelerator programs), and TechPoint.

Feinstein Institutes Granted $6.1 Million For Funding Bipolar Disorder Patient And Research Hub

By Noah Long ● Oct 24, 2023

The researchers at The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research received a $6.1 million grant from Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorders Foundation (BD2) to serve as a hub of six other sites across the country. And each site will evaluate patients and collectively offer the best treatment and clinical trial options using cutting-edge biotechnology, big data analytics and an unprecedented data ecosystem to address bipolar disorder in an innovative, equitable, and rigorous way.

Aquarian Acquires Minority Stake In Obra Capital

By Noah Long ● Oct 23, 2023

Obra Capital (a specialized alternative asset management firm) recently announced that Aquarian Holdings will join as a strategic partner and has acquired a minority equity ownership stake, replacing Reverence Capital - who has been an investor since 2019. RedBird Capital is going to maintain its current ownership stake. The financial terms were not disclosed.

Honda, GM, And Cruise Planning To Launch Driverless Ride Service In Japan

By Dan Anderson ● Oct 19, 2023

Honda Motor announced it is planning to set up a joint venture with General Motors and Cruise to start a driverless ride service in Japan in early 2026. The three companies are planning to launch the joint venture in the first half of 2024, assuming regulatory approval.

Netflix Increases Prices As Subscriber Count Rises

By Noah Long ● Oct 19, 2023

Netflix announced it is increasing the prices for some customers while also reporting an increase in its subscriber base.

CIONIC: Neurotech Company Raises $12 Million In Round Led By L Catterton

By Noah Long ● Oct 19, 2023

CIONIC - a pioneering neurotech company that created the FDA-cleared Cionic Neural Sleeve - recently announced an additional $12 million extension of its Series A financing, bringing the Series A total to $25 million. This funding round was led by L Catterton, a leading consumer-focused investment firm and joined by new investor THVC, and all major investors. Plus, CIONIC has also partnered with Enable Ventures - the first impact venture fund dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap while achieving competitive, market-rate returns.

Buoyant Reveals Linkerd Enterprise, The First-Ever Commercial Distribution Of The Open-Source Service Mesh

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 17, 2023

Buoyant - the creator of Linkerd - has announced Linkerd Enterprise, the first commercial distribution of Linkerd designed to meet the unique demands of today's enterprise adopters. Linkerd Enterprise extends the popular open-source Linkerd project with more enterprise-only capabilities, including zero trust and FIPS 140-2 compliance, which is a powerful new cost-aware load balancer, lifecycle automation, etc.

Indiana University To Invest $111 Million In Advancing Microelectronics Sector

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 16, 2023

Indiana University (IU) recently announced it will invest at least $111 million over the next few years to advance its national leadership in microelectronics and nanotechnology. IU's investment will boost the growth of the microelectronics industry in Indiana and across the U.S. and accelerate innovative solutions to significant national security challenges through enhanced collaboration with the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division.

Ares Management And Vinci Partners Reveal Strategic Partnership

By Noah Long ● Oct 16, 2023

Ares Management Corporation and Vinci Partners Investments Ltd. recently announced that they have agreed to form a strategic partnership to accelerate the growth of Vinci's platform in Latin America and collaborate on distribution, product development, and other business opportunities. In connection with forming the strategic partnership, an affiliate of Ares will concurrently make a US$100 million investment in new convertible preferred shares to be issued by Vinci, subject to customary closing conditions.

T. Rowe Price And Oak Hill Advisor Launch OCREDIT Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 13, 2023

T. Rowe Price and Oak Hill Advisors (OHA) recently announced the launch of their joint investment offering, the T. Rowe Price OHA Select Private Credit Fund (OCREDIT). OCREDIT offers an OHA-managed private credit investment solution for income-oriented individual investors with the convenience of a non-traded and perpetual-life business development company (BDC) structure.

How TeachMe.To And Swimply Are Making Pickleball Courts More Accessible

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 13, 2023

TeachMe.To (the nation's premier marketplace for finding and booking in-person sports and skills instruction) and Swimply (a marketplace that connects owners of underutilized spaces — swimming pools, pickleball and tennis courts, and basketball courts, with people looking to escape locally) recently announced that they have teamed up to make it easier for pickleball players, coaches and enthusiasts to find a place to play, and the expert instruction to get going or to sharpen skills.

Betterworks Launches New Generative AI Capabilities To Help Managers Work Efficiently

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 12, 2023

Betterworks has recently taken a significant step in its mission to rethink performance management and help companies cultivate more productive employees and teams. The company recently announced the next generation of its Intelligent Performance Management solution featuring three new generative AI capabilities that make creating clear goals, giving impactful employee feedback, and having meaningful and productive performance conversations easier.

Blackdot: Automated Tattooing Platform Company Launches Out Of Stealth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 12, 2023

Blackdot - a company introducing A New Way to Tattoo - announced its official launch out of stealth and unveiled its patented automated tattooing platform, opening up bookings for the first Blackdot tattoos at its flagship studio in Austin, Texas.

Insilico Medicine And University Of Cambridge: New Way To Discover Targets For Alzheimer’s And Other Diseases

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 12, 2023

Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, and the University of Cambridge jointly published a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), presenting an approach to identify therapeutic targets for human diseases associated with protein phase separation (PPS). This represents a significant research milestone in their collaboration, launched in September 2021.

SugarCRM Launches Generative AI For Midmarket CRM And Advancing Sales, Marketing, And Customer Service

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 12, 2023

SugarCRM - a provider of the award-winning AI-driven CRM platform - recently announced it is harnessing the power of generative AI to bring newfound out-of-the-box value and productivity gains to its thousands of midmarket customers worldwide, advancing the customer relationship management platform for sales representatives, marketers, and customer service professionals.