Innovation

Archer Raises $430 Million And Signs Strategic Partnership With Anduril

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Archer and Anduril announced an exclusive partnership to jointly create a hybrid VTOL aircraft for critical defense applications targeting a potential program of record from the DOD. For supporting this initiative and other general corporate purposes, Archer raised $430 million in additional equity capital, with participation from Stellantis, United Airlines, and new institutional investors, including Wellington Management and Abu Dhabi investment holding company 2PointZero, a subsidiary of UAE’s largest listed entity IHC.

University of Portland Reveals $20 Million Gift From Anonymous Donor Family

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

The University of Portland (UP) announced a $20 million gift—one of the most significant single gifts in school history—from a multi-generational family whose ties to the University span over 65 years.

Mainframe: $5.5 Million (Seed) Raised For Generative Productivity Software

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Mainframe, a company designing intelligent and beautiful generative productivity software, has announced an oversubscribed $5.5 million seed funding round. The funding round was co-led by Peter Boyce II of Stellation and Lachy Groom, with participation from Alana Goyal, Akshay Kothari (co-founder of Notion), Weekend Fund, and others. This funding brings the company’s total to $6.75 million and highlights investor confidence in Mainframe’s vision to build tools that elevate human productivity and reimagine how humans and computers interact.

Pleno: Clinical And Multi-Omics Diagnostics Company Raises $25 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Pleno, a clinical and multi-omics diagnostics company revolutionizing biological target detection, announced the appointment of Dr. Vik Vaz, M.D., as its new chief executive officer and to serve on its Board of Directors, effective immediately.Dr. Vaz will lead Pleno’s next growth phase as the company prepares to scale its commercial operations with the help of its new $25 million Series B funding. The key investors, Deerfield Management, Foresite Capital, and Medical Excellence Capital, remain committed to supporting the next phase of the company’s growth strategy.

Pin: AI-Based Recruitment Platform Company Raises $3 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Pin, an AI-based recruitment tool that automates tedious hiring tasks and reduces time-to-hire by nearly 70% announced a $3 million seed round led by Expa Ventures, a leading early-stage venture firm and incubator. And Pin now serves over 600 customers.

Nanoramic: Advanced Battery Technology Company Raises $44 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Nanoramic - a pioneer in advanced battery technology - announced $44 million in financing. The funding round was co-led by General Motors Ventures (GM Ventures) and Catalus Capital, with participation from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, Top Material, and existing investors, including Fortistar Capital and WindSail Capital Group. This investment will significantly support Nanoramic's efforts to commercialize its groundbreaking Neocarbonix technology across various industries and applications.

Jiko: $29 Million (Series C) Raised To Provide Seamless Access To U.S. Treasury Bills

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Jiko, a technology platform and bank that provides seamless access to U.S. Treasury bills, announced the completion of a $29 million Series C funding round led by existing investors Upfront Ventures, with the participation from Airbus Ventures, Red River West, Radicle Impact, and other undisclosed investors. This latest funding round strengthens the company’s operating capital as it continues establishing itself as a major player in the institutional and enterprise market.

Electrified Thermal: Heating And Thermal Energy Storage Company Raises $19 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Electrified Thermal Solutions - a leader in electrified heating and thermal energy storage solutions - announced it has raised $19 million to accelerate the commercial demonstration and growth of its MIT-developed Joule Hive Thermal Battery (JHTB) system. The round is backed by Holcim MAQER Ventures, Vale Ventures, TechEnergy Ventures, EDP Ventures, and Tupras Ventures alongside financial investor GVP Climate and follow-on investors Clean Energy Ventures and Starlight Ventures, with participation from Mass Ventures and Clean Energy Venture Group.

Koantek Raises Funding From Databricks Ventures To Accelerate Data + AI Journeys

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Koantek - a leading Databricks technology partner and trusted advisor - announced that it has raised funding from Databricks Ventures to accelerate its mission of empowering customers on their data + AI journeys. This funding reflects Databricks' confidence in Koantek's value-driven approach, technical depth, and proven ability to deliver transformative solutions.

Syncell: Subcellular Protein Purification Company Raises $15 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Syncell - a leader in next-generation subcellular protein purification and spatial proteomics analysis - announced the closing of a $15 million Series A funding round, bringing the total raised to $30 million. The funding will be used to expand and accelerate the global commercialization and commercial support for the company’s groundbreaking Microscoop platform. The round was led by Taiwania Capital, with participation from new and existing investors.

Albert Invent: $22.5 Million (Series A) Closed To Accelerate Materials Science Innovation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Albert Invent, an end-to-end R&D platform that accelerates chemical innovation in materials science using AI, today announced a $22.5 million Series A funding round led by Coatue, with TCV, Index Ventures, F-Prime, and Homebrew participation. The funding will expand the engineering team, enhance the platform's capabilities, and scale operations to meet growing demand.

Players Health: Athlete Safety And Sports Insurance Solutions Company Raises $60 Million (Series C)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Players Health, a leading provider of athlete safety and sports insurance solutions, announced the closing of its $60 million Series C funding round. Bluestone Equity Partners led the round, which included Mosaic General Partners, RPM Ventures, SiriusPoint, and TriplePoint Capital.

Capstan Medical: $110 Million (Series C) Raised To Advance Robotic-Enabled Minimally Invasive Solutions For Addressing Heart Valve Disease

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Capstan Medical - a developer of robotic-enabled minimally invasive solutions to address heart valve disease - announced the closing of an oversubscribed $110 million Series C to advance its mission of bringing its innovative structural heart solution to patients. The funding round was led by Eclipse, with participation from existing investors Yu Galaxy and Intuitive Ventures, as well as new investment from Gideon Strategic Partners.

Halogen Ventures And Innovate Alabama Investing $10 Million In Local Female Founders

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Halogen Ventures, which is Jesse Draper's venture capital fund focused on early-stage startups with a woman on the founding team, announced a $10 million investment to build the pipeline of female founders in Alabama.

Apollo And Santander Partnering On $370 Million Infrastructure Portfolio Financing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Apollo and Santander announced that Apollo-managed funds and affiliates have agreed to invest in an approximately $370 million portfolio of infrastructure credit. Apterra, an Apollo affiliate founded in 2023, led the deal. Apterra specializes in innovative financing solutions for infrastructure projects.

Bloom Energy: $125 Million Project Financing Deal Signed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Bloom Energy, a leader in stationary fuel cell power generation, announced that it has formed a project financing partnership with certain funds managed by HPS Investment Partners (HPS) and Industrial Development Funding (IDF), two leading global providers of infrastructure capital.

Convergent Signs $150 Million Financing Deal For Distributed Energy Storage Project Pipeline

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Convergent Energy and Power, a leading provider of distributed energy storage solutions in North America, announced that it has closed a programmatic construction-to-term loan, tax equity bridge loan, and letter of credit facility with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). The funding will provide capital for Convergent to accelerate the construction of its energy storage and solar PV portfolio across North America.

Molten Salt Solutions: $3 Million (Seed) Closed To Drive Adoption Of Nuclear Energy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 14, 2024

Molten Salt Solutions announced the closing of its Seed funding, securing $3 million from Silicon Valley firms Future Ventures and True Ventures. This funding will support the development of the company's first commercial-scale lithium isotope enrichment process.

Wald: Context Intelligence Company Secures $4 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

Context intelligence company Wald has unveiled its contextual AI and data loss protection platform and announced it had closed a $4 million seed round. The company’s seed round investors include Inventus Capital, Entrada Ventures, and several prominent angel investors, including executives from cybersecurity companies like Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and HackerOne.

EVgo: $1.25 Billion Guaranteed Loan Facility From DOE Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

EVgo announced the closing of its $1.25 billion guaranteed loan facility from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) under its Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program to support EVgo’s forthcoming efforts to build convenient and reliable public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs) with the construction of 7,500 new fast charging stalls nationwide. This buildout brings EVgo’s total owned and operated network to at least 10,000 fast-charging stalls, enabling the company to triple its network footprint by 2029.

RELEX Solutions Raises Funding From Blackstone and TCV

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

RELEX Solutions - a provider of unified supply chain and retail planning solutions - announced that funds managed by Blackstone Growth (Blackstone’s growth equity investing business) and TCV (a leading investment firm focused on investing in global, category-defining technology companies) have increased their investment in RELEX. The deal represents an exit for original RELEX investor Summit Partners, which initially invested in the company in 2015. Blackstone and TCV first invested in RELEX in 2022 and 2019, respectively.

Hyro: Healthcare-Focused Voice And Chat AI Company Raises Funding (Series B Extension)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

Hyro, a leader in voice and chat artificial intelligence (AI) for healthcare, announced that it had finalized an extension to its Series B funding round led by Healthier Capital, joining previous investors, including Macquarie Capital, Liberty Mutual, Twilio, and Black Opal Ventures. This brings the company's total funding to $50 million.

Zest AI: $200 Million Growth Investment Raised From Insight Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

Zest AI, a leader in AI-based lending technology, announced a $200 million growth investment from global software investor Insight Partners to support the company's next transformation phase. This growth capital will enable Zest AI to double down on its current product portfolio, continuing to advance fraud protection and generative AI.

Concentro: Clean Energy Financing Company Secures $3 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

Concentro - a clean energy financing platform - announced it closed a seed round of $3 million in an oversubscribed deal led by firstminute Capital, with participation from Silence VC, LifeX, Plug & Play, & Avesta Fund. Other participants include existing investors J Ventures, Contour Venture Partners, & Dorm Room Fund, and various angels and VC scout networks.

Noema Pharma: Biotech Company Closes Series B At About $147 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

Noema Pharma - a clinical-stage biotech company targeting debilitating central nervous system (CNS) disorders - announced the closing of a Series B extension financing round with an investment from EQT Life Sciences, bringing the total capital raised in the round to CHF 130 million (about $147 million). With an investment in Noema Pharma, EQT Life Sciences joins the syndicate of previous Series B investors, including Forbion, Jeito Capital, Sofinnova Partners, Gilde Healthcare, Polaris Partners, Invus, and UPMC Enterprises.

nChroma Bio: $75 Million Raised To Advance Genetic Medicines

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

Chroma Medicine and Nvelop Therapeutics announced their merger and subsequent launch of nChroma Bio, which will redefine the future of genetic medicines. nChroma combines potent epigenetic editing with non-viral, programmable delivery to address key limitations in the field and expand the scope of treatable diseases. The merger will result in an industry-leading company with a deeply experienced team. Jeff Walsh will serve as nChroma’s CEO, and Jeff Marrazzo will serve as its Chairman of the Board.

Veradermics: $75 Million (Series B) Raised To Develop Therapeutics For Common Dermatologic Conditions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

Veradermics - a late clinical-stage aesthetics and dermatology-focused biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class therapeutics for common dermatologic conditions - announced the closing of a $75 million Series B financing. The financing was led by Suvretta Capital Management and included new investors Longitude Capital, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Osage University Partners, and PhiFund. Existing investors, JW Childs Associates, Connecticut Innovations, and Vlad Coric, MD, also participated in this round.

Current: Consumer Fintech Banking Platform Raises $200 Million In New Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

Current - a leading consumer fintech banking platform transforming financial access for everyday Americans - announced notable growth in 2024, including an over 90% increase in revenue. And following this record year, the company has secured $200 million in new capital to accelerate growth and fast-track profitability next year. This funding round included continued support from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Wellington Management, and Avenir, with new participation from General Catalyst and Cross River.

Chordline Health: Interview With CEO Billie Jo Nutter About The Collaborative Care Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

Chordline Health makes managing your patient population easier with our all-in-one platform ACUITYnxt, prioritizing data-driven decisions and collaborative care coordination. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Chordline Health CEO Billie Jo Nutter to learn more about the company.

Biomemory: DNA Storage Company Raises $18 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 13, 2024

DNA data storage company Biomemory announced it has raised $18 million in Series A funding. The funding round was led by Crédit Mutuel Innovation, with participation from the historical investor of the French Tech Seed fund managed on behalf of the French State by Bpifrance within the scope of France 2030 and new investors Blast, the Deep Tech 2030 fund managed on behalf of the state by Bpifrance as part of France 2030, Paris Business Angels, Sorbonne Venture, Adnexus, Prunay, Next Sequence, and Accelerem.