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Buildforce - a leading platform connecting skilled electricians with qualified electrical contractors - announced it has acquired Ladder, a Y Combinator-backed construction labor marketplace led by Atlanta-based Founder and CEO Alex Stewart, who will continue in a leadership role responsible for growing the presence of the company in the U.S. Southeast region.

Elisity is a leap forward in network segmentation architecture and is leading the enterprise effort to achieve Zero Trust maturity, proactively prevent security risks, and reduce network complexity. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Elisity CTO Piotr Kupisiewicz to learn more about the company.

Rackhouse Ventures is a global venture capital firm purpose-built to support early-stage founders and firms that sit at the intersection of AI/ML and the real world. . Pulse 2.0 interviewed Rackhouse Ventures managing partner and founder Kevin Novak to learn more about the firm.

Gemspring Capital Management, a middle-market private equity firm, announced that an affiliate has invested strategically in Telna. As a leader in eSIM connectivity solutions, Telna makes it easier for mobile devices to seamlessly transition between carrier networks, eliminating the need for physical SIM cards and enhancing global connectivity.

Brain–computer interface (BCI) company Precision Neuroscience announced the closing of a $102 million Series C funding round led by General Equity Holdings, with participation from firms including B Capital; Duquesne Family Office, the investment firm of Stanley F. Druckenmiller; and Steadview Capital. And with $155 million in total capital raised, Precision is now one of the best-funded companies in the BCI industry.

Perigon Wealth Management - a rapidly growing independent wealth management firm with offices across the country and about $8.2 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2024 - announced it expanded its Florida network with the addition of the Harrigan Group. And Robert Harrigan and his son Evan Harrigan have joined Perigon’s Boca Raton, Florida, office from UBS, where they oversaw $170 million in total client assets.

Sidley announced that Clive Gringras has joined the firm as a partner in the Commercial Litigation and Disputes practice in London. Before joining Sidley, he was head of the Technology, Media and Telecoms practice at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang.

Dentons has announced that Jakub Celiński and Paweł Grabowski have been elected as the new managing partners of Dentons’ Warsaw office. Their term will start on January 1, 2025.

DLA Piper strengthened its Corporate and M&A practice by adding Sebastian Goslar. And from January 1, 2025, he will join the firm’s Corporate group in Germany and be based in the firm's new office in Dusseldorf.

Data and AI company Databricks announced a Series J funding round today. The company is raising $10 billion of expected non-dilutive financing and has completed $8.6 billion. This funding values Databricks at $62 billion, and Thrive Capital is leading it. Along with Thrive, the funding round is co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global, GIC, Insight Partners, and WCM Investment Management. Other significant participants include existing investors Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and new investors ICONIQ Growth, MGX, Sands Capital, and Wellington Management.

Synadia is a company renowned for enabling distributed applications in the era of edge computing, IoT, and AI. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Synadia’s VP of Marketing, Justyna Bak, to learn more.

Engineered Arts, a leader in the design and manufacture of humanoid robotics founded in the U.K., announced it has restructured as a U.S. entity to expand its footprint and meet growing U.S. demand. Along with this move, the company closed a $10 million Series A funding round to accelerate product refinement, manufacturing, production, and business systems. Helium-3 Ventures led the Series A funding, with additional participation from AppDirect Chairman and CEO Nicolas Desmarais, Belvoir Investments, and a consortium of investors, such as ThirtySeven Holdings and Figueira Capital. And Matt Bellamy (frontman of the English rock band Muse and a partner in Helium-3 Ventures) will join Engineered Arts’ board as an observer.

AbbVie and Nimble Therapeutics announced a definitive agreement under which AbbVie will acquire Nimble, including its lead asset, an investigational oral peptide IL23R inhibitor in preclinical development for the treatment of psoriasis and a pipeline of other novel oral peptide candidates with potential across several autoimmune diseases. Additionally, AbbVie will acquire Nimble's peptide synthesis, screening, and optimization platform, which uses proprietary technology to help drive rapid discovery and optimization of peptide candidates for various targets.

Axonify is a frontline learning and enablement solution that’s science-backed and proven to maximize the potential of workforces. It gives frontline workers the tools they need to learn, connect, and get things done day-to-day. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Axonify co-founder and CEO Carol Leaman to learn more about the company.

Actfore is a company that offers insurance carriers, legal counsel, and corporations advanced AI/ML-powered data mining solutions to detect and uncover sensitive information compromised in cyber breaches swiftly. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Actfore Founder & CEO Christian Geyer to learn more about the company.

Arctic Wolf and BlackBerry announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Arctic Wolf to buy BlackBerry’s Cylance endpoint security assets. Cylance is a pioneer of AI-based endpoint protection trusted by thousands of organizations worldwide. Through this acquisition, Arctic Wolf ushers in a new era of simplicity, flexibility, and outcomes to the endpoint security market.

Sia Partners - a next-generation independent management and AI consulting firm - announced a minority investment of up to €250 million from funds managed by Blackstone’s private equity strategy for individual investors to support the company’s continued growth. And founder and CEO Matthieu Courtecuisse retains a significant majority stake in Sia and will continue to lead the Company. It marks the Company’s first partnership with a financial investor since its founding.

Brightly, a climate-tech company transforming food waste into high-integrity carbon credits to fund food rescue organizations, announced it has closed an oversubscribed $2.3 million seed round. The funding round was led by Schreiber Foods, a leading global food company, with additional support from G-Force, Collaborative Fund, Clear Current Capital, and Windsail Capital.

Anghami announced that it secured a significant new round of funding, from OSN Group of up to $55 million with a $12 million initial investment in a convertible note program. This funding represents a significant milestone in Anghami journey to redefine digital entertainment in the MENA region, further solidifying its position as the go-to destination for premium audio and video content.

Chargezoom, a leading platform for AI-based billing and integrated payments, announced it has raised $11.5 million in Series A funding led by Salt Lake City's Kickstart Fund. Chargezoom also welcomes new investors Motley Fool Ventures, Early Light Ventures, Frazier VC, and Adly, along with continued support from SaaS Venture Capital, Stout Street Capital, and Okapi Venture Capital.

Promise Bio, a company transforming immune-mediated disease treatment with advanced precision medicine solutions, announced its emergence from stealth with an $8.3 million seed investment. And this funding will accelerate the development of Promise Bio's computational platform, which uses epiproteomics and artificial intelligence to predict patient treatment responses and support drug research and development.

Professional women's basketball league Unrivaled announced the closing of its oversubscribed Series A investment round led by the Berman Family, securing $28 million in funding. This funding round includes investments from 8-time NBA All-Star and NBA Champion Giannis Antetokounmpo and Build Your Legacy Ventures; Co-Owner/CEO of Boston Globe Media and Partner at Fenway Sports Group Linda Henry; Avenue Sports Fund and Marc Lasry; 23-time Gold Medalist, World Champion, and Mental Health Advocate Michael Phelps and Nicole Phelps, President of Michael Phelps Foundation and Mental Health Advocate; 3-time NCAA Champion Head Coach for South Carolina Women's Basketball Dawn Staley; Warner Bros. Discovery; Sophomore Guard at USC JuJu Watkins, and others.

Constellation Wealth Capital (CWC) - an alternative asset manager dedicated to providing capital solutions to the wealth management sector - announced the successful final closing of its inaugural fund, Constellation Wealth Capital Fund.

LPL Financial announced that Marc Cohen has been promoted to managing director, Business Strategy and Innovation and has joined the LPL Financial Management Committee. And in this role, Cohen will continue to lead the development of the firm’s corporate strategy and expand his responsibilities to include leading business line and affiliation strategy for independent advisors, large enterprises and institutional channels. In addition, Cohen now leads the company’s business services offerings and innovation lab for emerging solutions.

Keepit, an independent cloud-native data protection and backup provider, announced a $50 million funding round, led by existing investor One Peak, and EIFO, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark. This funding round marks the company’s third equity investment in the past four years, bringing total funds raised to about $90 million.

Pattern Energy Group LP - a leader in renewable energy and transmission infrastructure - announced that a consortium, headed by APG Asset Management N.V. (APG), on behalf of the largest Dutch pension fund, ABP, and Australian Retirement Trust (ART), will acquire Riverstone Holdings equity stake in the company, becoming owners alongside Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and Pattern management. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The financial details were not disclosed.

Trinity Capital - a leading provider of diversified financial solutions to growth-oriented companies - announced the commitment of $50 million in equipment financing to Form Energy, which is an American technology company developing and commercializing a new class of cost-effective, multi-day energy storage systems.

Fluid Biomed - a clinical-stage medical device company developing lifesaving products for patients suffering from vascular disease - announced it closed an oversubscribed $27 million Series A equity financing. The funding round is co-led by Amplitude Ventures and an undisclosed major strategic partner. New participants in the investment syndicate include IAG Capital Partners and LifeArc Ventures, as well as returning investors, ShangBay Capital and METIS Innovative.

Orbus Software, a global market-leading SaaS enterprise transformation software provider, announced a significant growth equity investment from FTV Capital. FTV is investing alongside co-control partner SilverTree Equity, a London-based software specialist investor that has supported Orbus since its investment in December 2020. The funding will fuel Orbus’s continued expansion into the United States and other high-growth markets, enable further penetration into regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, government, and others, and enhance the platform’s technology and AI capabilities.