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Hopae, the makers of one of the world's most advanced digital identity solutions, announced $6.5 million in funding as the company introduced its proprietary, patented Digital Credential eXpress (DCX) architecture to the U.S., improving the complex world of decentralized ID (DID) implementation. And Hopae helps governments and institutions issue reusable, privacy-preserving, and unforgeable digital IDs and credentials.

Zitadel, the creators of the popular open-source project for cloud-native identity infrastructure, announced a $9 million Series A funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners with participation from Floodgate.

SmarTrak.Ai, a leader in AI-based solutions within the Cisco ecosystem, announced it is achieving rapid growth, supported by strategic funding, industry awards, and new contracts with leading IT resellers. SmarTrak.Ai raised a multimillion-dollar investment led by Rand Currier, co-founder of Granite Telecommunications and an early backer of high-growth ventures such as the influencer platform Shop My.

Sunflower Therapeutics - a public benefit corporation transforming global access to protein manufacturing capacity for diverse applications - announced the oversubscription of a $3 million Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), which validates ongoing support for the company’s commercial goals.

Water technology company OceanWell announced $11 million in Series A funding to scale its next-generation modular deep-sea water farm solution and launch California's water farm pilot with Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD). And Kubota Corporation, a century-old leader in water infrastructure manufacturing, the family office of Jon Hemingway of Carrix Ports, and Charles McGarraugh, former head of metals trading at Goldman Sachs, participated in the round.

RJW Logistics Group - a leading provider of retail logistics solutions for consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands - announced it has received a strategic investment from Boston-based private equity firm Berkshire Partners.

Anitian, a provider of compliance automation solutions, announced the closing of a $7 million Series D funding round, led by Sageview Capital with continued support from Forgepoint Capital. And this brings Anitian’s total funding to over $50 million and will accelerate the launch of its new AI-driven automation features and an accredited Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), reducing the time and cost of achieving FedRAMP and CMMC compliance for Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) and the Defense Industrial Base (DIB).

Cadenza, an early-stage Venture Capital firm with offices in San Francisco and New York City, has closed a $50 million early-stage AI Venture Fund. This fund targets pre-seed and seed opportunities within the AI space, focusing on infrastructure and enterprise applications across relevant verticals.

Kirkland & Ellis announced that Scott Rolnik will join the firm as a partner in the Debt Finance Practice Group.

UHY, a leading accounting, tax, consulting and advisory services firm, announced a growth investment from Summit Partners. This funding will support the continued expansion of UHY's team, technology, and best-in-class client service offerings while helping to accelerate organic and acquisition-driven growth.

New Lantern announced it emerged from stealth to launch its AI radiology resident, backed with $19 million in Series A funding led by Benchmark. This brings the company's total funding to over $23 million. Other participants in the round include Afore Capital, Anthology Fund, Neo, SV Angel, Guillermo Rauch, Amjad Masad, Saji Wickramasekara, Jay Kreps, and Gokul Rajaram, among others.

BlackRock and HPS Investment Partners (a leading global credit investment manager with about $148 billion in client assets) have entered into a definitive agreement for BlackRock to buy HPS for about $12 billion, with 100% of consideration paid in BlackRock equity. The equity is issued by a wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock and exchangeable on a one-for-one basis into BlackRock common stock.

Theo Ai, the first predictive AI platform for litigation, announced $2.2 million in pre-seed funding. The funding round was co-led by NextView and nvp capital with participation from Ripple Ventures, Beat Ventures, and SCVC Fund. Using a proprietary data model and prediction engine, Theo Ai helps legal professionals make educated decisions about the likely outcome of cases. The funding will further enhance their prediction engine, expand practice categories, and accelerate customer growth.

DPL Financial Partners, a leading platform for commission-free annuities, announced the closing of a Series C funding round of $23 million in primary capital. The funding round was led by Eos Ventures and included participation by TIAA Ventures and other strategic insurance investors. This funding round represents the first investments in the company by insurers.

Four Growers, a company building harvesting robots to reduce the production costs of greenhouse growers, announced the closing of a $9 million Series A funding round led by Basset Capital, with contributions from Ospraie Ag Science, Y Combinator, and other existing investors. This funding round will scale the production of its flagship GR-100 harvesting robot and expand its global reach, particularly in Europe, North America, and Oceania.

bananaz, a platform redefining design change management for R&D and engineering teams, announced its official exit from stealth mode backed by $5.3 million in seed funding from leading investors, 10D and Cardumen Capital. This milestone enables bananaz to scale its AI-based solutions, offering engineering teams the tools that eliminate the inefficiencies of traditional design workflows, saving valuable time and money across the entire production process.

Zarminali Health, the first outpatient pediatric destination built to seamlessly coordinate primary and specialty care nationwide, announced $40 million in seed financing led by General Catalyst. The company will leverage the latest healthcare technology and an integrated approach to primary and specialty care that alleviates family burdens and revitalizes patient and clinician experiences. This substantial funding, including a venture debt facility, will fuel the company's go-to-market vision and continue to support the opening of its initial locations in fall 2024 and beyond.

Yurts, a leader in secure and trusted generative AI (GenAI) integration at scale for defense, government, and enterprise customers, announced a $40 million Series B funding round led by XYZ Venture Capital, with participation from Glynn Capital, Nava Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, and Mango Capital.

NanoVation Therapeutics, a company developing innovative technologies to overcome barriers to nucleic acid delivery, announced the expansion of its Board of Directors and the close of a funding round led by Convergent Ventures.

TRIO Pharmaceuticals - a biotechnology company pioneering bispecific antibodies for the treatment of cancer with unprecedented potency and selectivity - announced the completion of a $3.1 million financing round. TRIO’s pre-Series A financing was led by San Diego-based Friedman Bioventure Fund (FBVF).

UneeQ is an intelligent AI interface company that is developing the most advanced autonomous digital human platform available for customer interactions – today and in tomorrow’s metaverse. Pulse 2.0 interviewed UneeQ founder and CEO Danny Tomsett to learn more about the company.

Iontra, a Colorado-based leader in next-generation battery charging technology, announced that it has successfully completed its $45 million Series C funding round with support from both current and new investors. The company has raised $120.3 million to date. 

StretchDollar, a startup dedicated to simplifying health benefits for small businesses, announced the closing of a series of seed rounds for a total of $6 million of funding, led by Fika Ventures and Oscar Health. And Precursor Ventures and Springbank also participated in rounds that built on the company’s $1.8 million pre-seed funding from last fall. The additional funding will support the expansion of StretchDollar's self-service platform and further elevate the small business benefits experience.

Wexler AI, an AI-based legal fact intelligence platform, announced significant enhancements driving adoption among leading law firms, including Burges Salmon and a top AmLaw100 firm. And Clifford Chance is also exploring the platform for use in its world-leading litigation and dispute resolution practice. Wexler's platform automates essential fact-checking and intelligence gathering in high-stakes legal disputes, allowing lawyers to focus on more complex and strategic value-driven activities.

Bigleaf Networks is a company that provides internet connectivity without complexity, making it easy for IT pros and their organizations to conduct business on the internet with confidence. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Bigleaf Networks CEO Greg Davis to learn more about the company.

ARMO is a Cloud Runtime Security company providing the first Open Source driven Behavioral Cloud Application Detection and Response Platform. Pulse 2.0 interviewed ARMO CEO and co-founder Shauli Rozen to learn more about the company.

Artlist is a company that provides cutting-edge creative tools and assets that inspire people to create. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Artlist co-founder and co-CEO Ira Belsky to learn more about the company.

Maze Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company harnessing the power of human genetics to develop novel, small-molecule precision medicines for patients living with renal, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases, announced the completion of a $115 million Series D financing that included the conversion of issued convertible notes previously purchased by existing investors. Investors Frazier Life Sciences and Deep Track Capital co-led the Series D funding. Janus Henderson Investors and Logos Capital also participated. And existing investors include Third Rock Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Matrix Capital Management, GV, General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Foresite Capital, Woodline Partners LP, Casdin Capital, Piper Heartland Healthcare Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and other existing leading healthcare investors.

Cosmo Tech, a market leader in AI Simulation software for enterprise decision-making, announced a majority investment from global software investor Insight Partners, with participation from former Accenture executives Phillip Hazen and Gerry Coulter. As part of the deal, Hazen and Coulter will be appointed as Cosmo Tech’s CEO and CFO, respectively. And Cosmo Tech helps large organizations navigate complexity and uncertainty in enterprise decisioning.

KeySavvy, a platform that simplifies and secures private-party car transactions, announced $4.25 million in venture capital funding. This funding was led by Bonfire Ventures, marking the second major financing round for the rapidly growing startup. Plus, KeySavvy has secured strategic partnerships with three prominent online vehicle marketplaces, signaling significant momentum for the company’s e-commerce presence.