Archives

myFootpath Partners With Western Colorado University

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

myFootpath has entered a new partnership with Western Colorado University aimed at bringing adult and returning learners back to higher education and improving degree completion among students who previously stopped out before earning a credential. The collaboration focuses on reconnecting with former students and creating clearer, more accessible pathways to completing a degree.

Steward Partners Adds $630 Million Macon Team to Expand In Georgia

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Steward Partners is expanding its presence in Georgia with the addition of a three-partner advisory team in Macon that oversees approximately $630 million in client assets. The move strengthens the firm’s footprint in Central Georgia and continues its strategy of recruiting established wealth management teams seeking independence, equity ownership, and a client-first operating model supported by a national platform.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth Adds Collin Rigler As Managing Director, Partner, And Private Wealth Advisor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, a wealth management firm backed by Arax Investment Partners, announced Collin Rigler has joined the firm as managing director, partner, and private wealth advisor, alongside Eric Montijo as director and private wealth advisor, as the company continues expanding its advisor roster across the Southwest and West Coast.

Cetera Brings In $75 Million Firm Fortress Financial

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Cetera has recruited longtime independent financial advisor Neil Henning, who is moving to the firm after more than 23 years affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network. Based in New Jersey and North Carolina, Henning and his Fortress Financial wealth management team oversee approximately $75 million in assets under administration and are joining Cetera’s Summit Financial Networks community.

Amazon: Dharmesh Mehta Named As Andy Jassy’s Next Technical Advisor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Amazon announced that Dharmesh Mehta, vice president of Worldwide Selling Partner Services, will become CEO Andy Jassy’s new Technical Advisor (TA) in March, while Amit Agarwal, senior vice president of International Emerging Stores, will expand his responsibilities to lead the Selling Partner Services (SPS) organization.

Google Gemini Surpasses 750 Million Monthly Active Users

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Google says the Gemini app has surpassed 750 million monthly active users, a milestone the company disclosed in CEO Sundar Pichai’s prepared remarks for Alphabet’s Q4 2025 earnings call. In the transcript, Pichai said the Gemini user base has grown alongside “significantly higher engagement per user,” which he tied to the December launch of Gemini 3.

AT&T Launches Kid-Focused Smartphone With Parent Controls

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

AT&T has introduced the AT&T amiGO Jr. Phone, positioning it as the first kid-focused smartphone offered by a wireless provider and designed to help parents stay connected to children while adding safeguards for everyday use. The company said the launch is aimed at families with earlier and more frequent device access, noting that a significant portion of its customer base is parents.

Supra Elemental Recovery: UT Startup To Recover Rare Earth Minerals From Industrial And E-Waste

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Supra Elemental Recovery, a startup that spun out of engineering and natural sciences labs at The University of Texas at Austin, has launched with a $250,000 investment from Discovery to Impact’s UT Seed Fund as part of its pre-seed funding round.

TPG To Buy Majority Stake In Sabre Industries From Blackstone

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

TPG has signed definitive agreements to acquire a majority stake in Sabre Industries, a provider of engineered infrastructure solutions for electric transmission, telecom, and data center projects. The investment will be made through TPG Rise Climate, TPG’s dedicated climate investing platform. Funds managed by Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, which first invested in Sabre in 2021, will retain a significant minority stake and continue as a partner alongside TPG.

American College Of Education Gains New Bain Capital Double Impact Backing After CIC Partners Investment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

CIC Partners announced it has successfully realized its investment in American College of Education, marking the end of a strategic partnership that began in 2020 and the start of ACE’s next phase of growth with a newly announced investment from Bain Capital Double Impact.

Mastercam Acquires MLC CAD Systems’ CAM Business Line To Expand U.S. Presence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Mastercam, a CAD/CAM software provider for manufacturing and part of Sandvik Group, said it has completed a strategic acquisition aimed at strengthening its market presence across key U.S. states. The company acquired the CAM business line of MLC CAD Systems, a longtime Mastercam channel partner.

Nava Acquires Beam To Expand Open, End-To-End Benefits Delivery Stack

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Nava Public Benefit Corporation (Nava), a technology company and public benefit corporation focused on building simple and effective government services, has acquired Beam, a cloud-based SaaS platform that supports safety net, emergency aid, and cash assistance programs. The deal adds Beam’s technology and team to Nava’s platform strategy, with Nava planning to integrate Beam’s capabilities into Strata, its suite of open source tools for modern government service delivery.

Vervent Strikes $80 Million Credit-Card Forward Flow Deal With Mesirow Alternative Credit

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Vervent, a fintech focused on servicing and credit-card program operations, has signed a forward flow agreement led by Mesirow Alternative Credit that will provide up to $80 million of funding over the next 12 months to support the origination of unsecured consumer credit cards across Vervent’s portfolio.

Pendo Acquires Chisel Labs To Expand Agentic AI For Product Teams

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Pendo, a software experience management platform, has acquired Chisel Labs, an AI-powered product management platform headquartered in San Francisco and Pune, India, as it deepens its focus on agentic AI to accelerate core product workflows.

Merit Financial Onboards $217 Million Michigan-Based Firm TL Financial

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Merit Financial Advisors, a Georgia-based financial advisory firm focused on financial planning and wealth management for high-net-worth individuals and families, has acquired TL Financial Group in a move that establishes Merit’s first office in Michigan. The deal expands Merit’s footprint into the Detroit metropolitan area and adds approximately $217 million in total assets.

MazeMap Acquires Thing Technologies To Expand Wayfinding And Space Intelligence Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

MazeMap, a Norway-based wayfinding and space intelligence software provider, has acquired Thing Technologies GmbH, the company behind the Thing-it workplace platform, in a deal aimed at creating a global leader in indoor navigation and workplace space analytics.

Bain Buys JJC FinTech To Expand CLM, KYC, And AML Services For Financial Institutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Bain & Company has acquired JJC FinTech, a London-based boutique financial services consulting and technology firm specializing in client lifecycle management and anti-financial crime.

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires 3D Advisors To Expand Life, Annuity, And Long-Term Care Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it has acquired 3D Advisors Inc., a Shelby Township, Michigan-based brokerage general agency that provides life insurance, annuity, and long-term care solutions for financial advisors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

ASSA ABLOY Acquires UK Student Accommodation Access Control Provider NSP Security

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

ASSA ABLOY has acquired NSP Security in the UK, adding a business that designs, manufactures, and installs electronic access control solutions, primarily for student accommodation.

Lanvin Group: Luxury Fashion Group Sells Caruso In Strategic Carve-Out To MondeVita

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Lanvin Group announced it has completed the sale of Caruso, a luxury Italian menswear manufacturer and brand, to MondeVita Italy S.r.l., a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based holding company Mondevo Group. The transaction, announced February 6, 2026, was described as a strategic carve-out intended to sharpen Lanvin Group’s focus on the “sustainable development” of its core portfolio.

Qflow: £2 Million Raised From Autodesk To Expand Construction Material Intelligence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

London-based construction data platform Qflow has raised a £2 million strategic investment from Autodesk, extending an existing product collaboration to connect on-site construction reality to design intent. The companies say the relationship will deepen integration between Qflow and Autodesk Construction Cloud to help project teams reconcile real-time material quality, quantity, waste, and supply-chain intelligence with design specifications, with the goal of reducing delays, rework, budget overruns, and emissions.

Bound: $24.5 Million Series A Raised For Automating Currency Risk Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Bound, a platform focused on helping businesses manage foreign-exchange exposure, has raised $24.5 million in Series A funding led by AlbionVC as currency volatility continues to pressure companies operating across multiple markets.

Kembara: €750 Million First Close Secured For Europe Deep Tech Growth Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Kembara, a newly launched European deep-tech growth fund, announced a €750 million first close toward its €1 billion target, positioning itself as a dedicated vehicle for growth-stage deep-tech companies raising Series B and Series C rounds. After two years operating in stealth, the firm says it is now actively investing in science and engineering-led companies that need large growth checks to scale manufacturing, expand commercially, and compete globally.

QT Sense: €4 Million Raised To Advance Quantum Sensing For Drug Discovery And Spatial Biology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

QT Sense announced it has closed a €4 million investment round to accelerate development and commercialization of its quantum sensing platform, which the company is positioning for drug discovery and spatial biology use cases.

Axiology Raises €5 Million Seed Funding To Expand EU-Regulated Tokenised Securities Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Capital markets infrastructure provider Axiology has raised €5 million in seed funding to scale its regulated, distributed-ledger-based system for issuing, holding, trading, and settling securities in Europe. The round was led by Exponential Science, e2vc, and Coinvest Capital, and joined by new investors TIBAS Ventures and Plug and Play. Axiology said the seed round also includes support from prior investors including BSV Ventures and NGL Ventures, bringing total funding raised to date to €7 million.

SlateVC Announces €132 Million First Close For Pan-European Climate Growth Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

SlateVC has announced the first close of its inaugural pan-European growth fund, securing €132 million to back B2B companies scaling solutions across the energy transition, low-carbon industrial processes, and circularity.

Novo Nordisk Foundation: BioInnovation Institute Launches Upscalator With Up To €25 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

The Novo Nordisk Foundation has allocated up to €25 million to launch a new initiative called Upscalator, designed to help early-stage Danish and European biosolutions startups scale their technologies toward market readiness and support the green transition. The program will be led by the BioInnovation Institute (BII), a life sciences and deep-tech innovation institute based in Copenhagen.

Accela Acquires Novotx To Build An End-To-End Public Infrastructure Lifecycle Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Accela, a provider of cloud software for state, county, and city governments, has acquired Novotx, a company focused on infrastructure asset and work management. Accela said the deal expands its platform roadmap to support the full lifecycle of public infrastructure, spanning planning and permitting through operations, maintenance, and long-term asset stewardship.

PrimeFlight Aviation Services Buys GAT From Atlantic Street Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Atlantic Street Capital announced it has sold GAT Airline Ground Support, Inc., a provider of airline ground handling and catering services, to PrimeFlight Aviation Services.

Pearl Meyer Expands Leadership Advisory Unit With Ampersand Deal And Senior Hires

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 9, 2026

Pearl Meyer is expanding its Leadership Advisory practice through strategic acquisitions and senior lateral hires, aiming to deepen its support for private equity sponsors and PE-backed companies as they navigate key moments across the investment lifecycle.