Innovation

EdgeCortix: Initial Closing Of Series B For Fabless Semiconductor Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

EdgeCortix, an innovative leader in the fabless semiconductor industry, has announced the initial closing of its Series B funding round.

Flexential: $1 Billion Raised For Advancing Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Flexential, a leading provider of data center solutions, is embarking on an ambitious new phase of growth, bolstered by significant financial backing. The company recently announced the closure of both a continuation vehicle and a strategic investment in Flexential from GI Partners' GI Data Infrastructure division. Funds managed by Hamilton Lane further supports the investment. This funding enhances Flexential's capacity to deliver the scale and performance that its customers demand in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Blackstone: Upsized Credit Facility For Aligned Data Centers At Over $1 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Blackstone Credit & Insurance (BXCI) and Aligned Data Centers, a leading company in technology infrastructure, have announced a significant expansion of their existing senior secured credit facility. This initiative aims to support Aligned’s ongoing growth strategy and accelerate its portfolio development to serve a diverse range of clients better.

Avia: Interview With CEO Vickie Chen About The Competitive Gaming Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Avia is a company that designs games for people who love competition, but don't love a steep learning curve. Its games are easy to learn, fun to play, and challenging to master. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Avia CEO, Vickie Chen, to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Arcline Equity To Buy Jarco Ready Mix To Enhance Infrastructure Support In South Texas

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Arcline Equity Holdings, a subsidiary of Zachry Corporation, has announced its agreement to acquire the operations of Jarco Ready Mix. This acquisition includes six strategically located batch plants throughout South Texas, allowing Arcline to establish a new entity known as Arcline Ready Mix. This new company will focus on providing high-quality ready-mix concrete to customers in the region, enhancing their ability to meet local demand effectively.

Nullspace: $2.5 Million Seed Funding Raised For Electromagnetic Simulation Software

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Nullspace, a deep tech company dedicated to developing advanced electromagnetic simulation software, has announced the successful completion of a $2.5 million seed funding round. Fathom Fund led this funding round, with participation from Golden Seeds LLC and several strategic angel investors.

Upstage: $45 Million Series B Secured To Advance Enterprise-Grade GenAI and Global Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Upstage is a company that is making waves with its innovative focus on enterprise-grade generative AI solutions. Recently, the company unveiled a $45 million Series B bridge funding round, primarily backed by notable entities including the Korea Development Bank (KDB), Amazon, and AMD.

ShiftUp: $3 Million Seed Funding Raised For AI-Based Sales Intelligence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

ShiftUp, an innovative company dedicated to revolutionizing the operations of enterprise sales teams through advanced AI-powered sales intelligence, has announced a successful seed funding round, securing $3 million. This funding round attracted the backing of prominent investors, including seasoned investment veteran Phil Reed. The round also includes a diverse group of former venture capitalists, seasoned sales executives, chief financial officers, and chief technology officers from esteemed Fortune 500 companies, all of whom recognize the transformative potential of ShiftUp's approach.

Johnson & Johnson: $2 Billion U.S. Investment For North Carolina Facility

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Johnson & Johnson has announced its expansion in North Carolina. The company plans to establish a dedicated manufacturing facility that will encompass more than 160,000 square feet at the new biopharmaceutical manufacturing site operated by FUJIFILM in Holly Springs.

Three Space Lab: $3 Million Seed Funding Raised To Transform Real Estate With VR

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Three Space Lab (3SL), a company specializing in ultra-realistic virtual reality (VR) real estate visualization, has raised $3 million in seed funding. This significant financial backing aims to transform the luxury homebuying experience, making it more interactive and engaging for prospective buyers. The funding round was led by Arminius Verwaltung, an investment firm based in Switzerland, which will enable 3SL to expand its global sales team significantly and utilize AI in transformative ways.

Casca: $29 Million Series A Secured For Replacing Legacy Lending

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Casca, a leading AI-native loan origination platform, recently announced the completion of its Series A funding round, during which it raised $29 million. This investment propels Casca's total funding to an impressive $33 million since its inception. The funding round was led by Canapi Ventures, a growth equity firm that boasts backing from over 70 financial institutions. Existing investors Bankwell, Y Combinator, and Peterson Ventures, known for their focus on vertical SaaS investments, have all increased their stakes from the prior pre-seed funding round. In addition to these major investors, Alliance Funding Group actively participated in this latest funding round.

Keychain: $30 Million Series B Secured For AI-Based Manufacturing Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Keychain, an AI-based manufacturing platform tailored for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, has recently announced a substantial $30 million Series B funding round. This round was led by Wellington Management, with significant contributions from existing investor BoxGroup and other notable returning financiers.

ChemFinity: $7 Million Secured For Pursuing Domestic Critical Mineral Recovery At Scale

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

ChemFinity Technologies, a leader in high-performance recovery systems for critical minerals, has recently announced the successful completion of an oversubscribed Seed funding round, raising $7 million. This funding round was co-led by At One Ventures and Overture Ventures, with significant participation from Closed Loop Ventures Group, Pace Ventures, WovenEarth Ventures, and Climate Capital.

Yourway Learning: $9 Million Raised For Advancing Purpose-Built AI for K-12 Education

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Yourway Learning, a distinguished leader in AI-based K-12 education, has recently completed a significant $9 million equity funding round. This capital injection is designed to accelerate the company's growth trajectory and advance its mission to revolutionize teaching and learning by developing trusted, educator-centric technology solutions.

Midas: $80 Million Series B Secured For Investment Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Midas, the leading investment platform in Turkey, has successfully completed a significant milestone by raising $80 million in its Series B funding round. The Series B funding round was led by QED Investors, a highly regarded fintech investment fund known for its successful backing of disruptive financial technologies. Several new stakeholders have joined this round, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC)—a member of the World Bank Group focused on promoting investment in developing countries—HSG (which rebranded from Sequoia China), QuantumLight founded by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky, Spice Expeditions LP, and George Rzepecki. Prominent existing backers, such as Spark Capital, Portage Ventures, Bek Ventures, and Nigel Morris, have continued their support by participating in this latest funding effort, signaling their strong belief in Midas' potential.

Convoke: $8.6 Million Secured For Building AI Operating System For Biopharma

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Convoke, an innovative AI-native operating system tailored specifically for the biopharma sector, has successfully secured $8.6 million in seed capital to accelerate its growth and technological development. This financing round was led by the well-established venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins and Dimension Capital, with additional investments from various other firms, including ACME, Comma Capital, Liquid2, Not Boring Capital, Audacious, and Lux Capital. Noteworthy angel investors include prominent figures such as Qasar Younis and Erik Torenberg, alongside other influential leaders in both artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

SynergySuite: $12 Million Raised To Advance Restaurant Back-Of-House Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

SynergySuite has recently announced a significant achievement, successfully raising $12 million in funding aimed at enhancing its AI-powered back-of-house platform, tailored explicitly for restaurant operators seeking to streamline their operations and scale their businesses more intelligently. The funding round was prominently led by Oyster Capital, based in Dublin, and received continued support from First Analysis, headquartered in Chicago. Additionally, an extended multi-year credit facility from Lago Innovation, also located in Chicago, underscores the confidence investors have in SynergySuite's state-of-the-art technology and consistent operational achievements.

Group14: $463 Million Series D Raised To Scale Silicon Battery Material

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Group14 Technologies has successfully finalized a substantial funding round, securing US$463 million, primarily led by SK, Inc. This financing round saw robust participation from a distinguished group of existing investors, including notable names such as Porsche Investments, ATL, OMERS, Decarbonization Partners, Lightrock Climate Impact Fund, and the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund.

Litespeed Racing: Interview With Founder & CEO Patrick Warren About The Ultra-Lightweight Wheels Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Litespeed Racing manufactures ultra-lightweight wheels for both street and race cars. The company specializes in using forged magnesium alloys and carbon fiber to create high-performance wheels that are lighter than traditional aluminum or even some carbon fiber wheels. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Litespeed Racing founder and CEO Patrick Warren to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Chowbus: Interview With CEO Linxin Wen About The Restaurant Streamlining Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Chowbus is a restaurant technology company that provides various services, primarily focusing on streamlining restaurant operations and enhancing the customer experience. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Chowbus CEO Linxin Wen to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

GoalVest: First Close Of Venture Growth Fund II Targeting $50 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

GoalVest Venture Capital, a female-founded division of GoalVest Advisory, has announced the first close of GoalVest Venture Growth Fund II, targeting a $50 million raise, with approximately 60 Limited Partners (LPs) participating.

Veteran Ventures: $60 Million Fund II Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Veteran Ventures Capital (VVC), a firm focused on dual-use national security technologies, has closed Veterans Fund II at $60 million, exceeding expectations. VVC-backed companies have received over $250 million in non-dilutive government funding, showcasing the firm's practical approach.

Pritzker Private Capital: $3.4 Billion Closed For PPC IV

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Pritzker Private Capital (PPC) has announced the closing of PPC IV, securing $3.4 billion in commitments, surpassing its $3 billion target and exceeding the $2.7 billion raised for PPC III in 2021.

Cerberus: Sale of ECI To Rosebank Industries Completed At $1.9 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Cerberus Capital Management has completed the sale of Electrical Components International (ECI) to Rosebank Industries for approximately $1.9 billion.

Aircards: £3 Million Growth Investment Raised For Advancing Immersive Innovation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Aircards, a global immersive studio, has secured a £3 million growth capital investment from Foresight Group to fuel its international expansion. The funding will enhance Aircards’ offerings, including immersive content, interactive displays, and analytics, enabling deeper engagement for brands and consumers worldwide.

Cascala Health: $8.6 Million Seed Funding Secured For Advancing AI-Based Clinical Intelligence Platform For Post-Acute Care

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Cascala Health, a healthcare technology company specializing in AI solutions for care teams and post-acute care operators, has raised $8.6 million in seed financing. The funding round was co-led by Flare Capital Partners and Eniac Ventures, along with contributions from other investors, bringing total funding to $11.23 million since its launch in mid-2024.

Zed: $32 Million Series B Raised For Scaling Collaborative AI Coding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Zed Industries has raised $32 million in Series B funding, led by Sequoia Capital, bringing its total funding to over $42 million. The new funds will help enhance real-time collaboration between developers and AI agents within the code.

Functionize: $41 Million Series B Raised For Advancing AI Agents

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

Functionize, an AI platform for creating software test cases, has completed a $41 million Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to over $67 million since its inception in 2015. Led by Mumford Investments and LHH Investments, with support from Canvas Ventures and Wipro Ventures, this funding will help accelerate Functionize's mission to enhance enterprise innovation by reducing repetitive tasks through self-correcting automation.

TensorZero: $7.3 Million Seed Funding Raised For Building Stack For Industrial-Grade LLM Applications

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2025

TensorZero, a startup developing an open-source stack for industrial-grade large language model (LLM) applications, has secured $7.3 million in seed funding. Led by FirstMark, the round also includes Bessemer Venture Partners, Bedrock, DRW, Coalition, and several angel investors.

Lowe’s Buying Foundation Building Materials For $8.8 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2025

Lowe's Companies has agreed to buy Foundation Building Materials (FBM) for about $8.8 billion.