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NBA Champion Giannis Antetokounmpo Reveals Build Your Legacy VC Firm

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

NBA Champion Giannis Antetokounmpo recently announced the launch of Build Your Legacy (BYL) Ventures. This firm focuses on investments in sports and entertainment, driven by the Antetokounmpo family's dedication to driving innovation and entrepreneurship. BYL Ventures is positioned to utilize the Antetokounmpo family's expanding business empire and capital to maximize impact within sports, entertainment and media, intellectual property, consumer products, and technology.

Cake: Open-Source AI Infrastructure Platform Company Raises $13 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Cake, a managed open-source AI infrastructure platform, announced it has raised $13 million to bring AI to the mid-market. And the recent seed round was led by Gradient (Google’s early-stage AI fund) with prior pre-seed funding and participation from Primary Venture Partners. Gradient and Primary were joined in the round by Alumni Ventures, Friends & Family Capital, Correlation Ventures, Firestreak Ventures, and many industry-veteran individual investors.

Public: Investing Platform Company Raises $135 Million (Series D-2)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

This year, Public had celebrated its five-year anniversary and it has been nearly four since the Series D. And the company also announced new financing totaling $135 million, including $105 million in equity financing and $30 million in debt.

Eagle Electronics: Electronics And Cellular Module Production Company Raises $14 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Eagle Electronics - a new leader in high-tech electronics and cellular module production - announced it has raised $14 million, led by the O.H.I.O. Fund with participation from Asymmetric Capital Partners, to establish manufacturing technology and operations in Solon, Ohio, in partnership with CO-AX Technology. This initiative marks a significant milestone in the company's commitment to onshoring the advanced high-tech supply chain to the US.

OpenYield: New Funding Raised For Advancing Bond Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

OpenYield—an operator of the FINRA and SEC-registered OpenYield ATS—announced that it has closed a new funding round to continue its mission to modernize the bond market. This most recent funding round was led by Canapi Ventures, with additional support from Clocktower Ventures and Flow Traders. It supplements earlier fundraising efforts from Fin Capital and TD Bank, bringing OpenYield's total funding to date to $7 million.

Simpson Thacher To Open Luxembourg Office With Funds Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett announced it is planning to open a Luxembourg office, as well as the hiring of prominent funds partners Jean-Christian Six, Paul Van den Abeele and Yannick Arbaut. And all three will be based in Luxembourg.

PBG.io: Interview With CEO Pablo Antonio Bejarano About The Decentralized Vault Portfolio Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

PBG.io is a pioneer in the field of decentralized finance (DeFi), which has created a transformative technology in asset management: Decentralized Vault Portfolios (DVPs). And through blockchain technology, DVPs enable non-custodial asset management, offering numerous unique advantages that are changing the way investors manage their digital assets. Pulse 2.0 interviewed PBG.io CEO Pablo Antonio Bejarano to learn more about the company.

DLA Piper: Joel Montin Named As Partner In Regulatory And Government Affairs Practice

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

DLA Piper announced it has appointed Joel Montin as a partner in its Swedish regulatory and Government Affairs practice.

Autoimmunity BioSolutions: $2 Million (Seed) Closed For Advancing Development Of Immuno-Corrective Therapy For Disease Treatment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Autoimmunity BioSolutions (ABS)—a biotechnology company pioneering a next-generation, immuno-corrective therapy for a genetically defined subpopulation of patients suffering from autoimmune disease—announced the closing of a seed financing led by Eos BioInnovation, with participation from Alexandria Venture Investments, Independent Capital, and others.

Potentia Robotics: Interview With Team Leader Anish Suvarna About The Student-Run Nonprofit

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Potentia Robotics is a student-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which was created by students at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Potentia Robotics Team Leader Anish Suvarna to learn more about the nonprofit.

Cresta: Contact Center AI Platform Company Raises $125 Million (Series D)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Cresta - an end-to-end generative AI platform for contact centers - announced the closing of its $125 million Series D financing round. This funding round was led by new investors WiL (World Innovation Lab) and QIA, with participation from Accenture, EnvisionX, LG Technology Ventures, Qualcomm, and Workday Ventures. The round also includes returning investors Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, J.P. Morgan, Sequoia Capital, and Tiger Global. This funding brings the total to over $270 million.

Squire: $35 Million Debt Financing Raised From Silicon Valley Bank

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) announced it has provided $35 million in debt financing to Squire Technologies, a leading full-scale management and point of sale (POS) system that helps barbershop owners scale their businesses and increase clientele while also reducing the amount of time spent in back-office operations.

Avant: $6.5 Million (Seed) Raised For Expanding Access To Advanced DeFi Strategies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Avant, a company behind DeFi-backed stable-value token avUSD, announced a $6.5 million funding round that will enable the platform to expand its suite of inclusive DeFi tools. avUSD is designed to extend seamless access to delta-neutral trading strategies, allowing users to utilize the same advanced techniques employed by hedge funds and specialized trading firms. Designed with a core focus on decentralization, accessibility, and security, the avUSD token offers a wide range of users access to the benefits of DeFi.

PocDoc: £5 Million Raised To Advance Diagnostic Testing For Cardio

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

PocDoc is a company transforming access to cardio, metabolic, and renal diseases by enabling patients to use smartphone-based technology to undertake screenings that offer almost instant results in workplaces, communities, and at home. This most recent heavily oversubscribed funding round has seen the business raise £5 million from leading investors MMC Ventures, Molten VC, and Simplyhealth Ventures. A fourth major investor joining this round is KHP Ventures.

Accel-KKR: First Strategic Capital Fund Closed At Over $2.2 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Accel-KKR announced the completion of fundraising for AKKR Strategic Capital LP, closing on over $2.2 billion of capital commitments. AKKR Strategic Capital will invest in a broad range of transactions primarily focused on the software industry in the secondary market, aligning with the firm’s long-standing focus and experience backing growing software and technology-enabled services companies.

Kyan Health: $16.7 Million Secured For Upgrading Workplace Wellness

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Kyan Health announced it raised $16.7 million in funding. The company combines AI-powered preventive care with organizational insights that help companies treat employee well-being as a strategic and measurable investment rather than a box-ticking exercise. The funding features a previously unannounced $4 million seed round led by Amplo VC and a $12.7 million Series A led by Swisscom Ventures, with participation from GreyMatter Capital, naturalX Health Ventures, Founderful, Joyance Partners, and several angel investors. This brings Kyan's total funding to $18.4 million as it expands its platform globally.

Cradle: AI-Based Protein Engineering Company Secures $73 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Cradle, a leading platform for AI-powered protein engineering, has raised $73 million in Series B funding to respond to rising demand for its technology in R&D-intensive industries. The round was led by IVP and included previous investors Index Ventures and Kindred Capital. This funding round brings Cradle's total raised to date over $100 million.

Fresho: AI-Based Ordering Platform Company Raises $17 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Fresho - a market-leading order management platform that helps fresh food wholesalers operate more efficiently and better service their restaurant customers - announced the closing of its $17 million Series B funding round, bringing total investment to $50 million to date.

Enfabrica: Networking Silicon Company Closes $115 Million In Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Enfabrica Corporation - an industry leader in high-performance networking silicon for artificial intelligence (AI) and accelerated computing - announced that it raised $115 million in new funding as part of an oversubscribed Series C equity financing round led by Spark Capital. The new investors joining the round include Arm, Cisco Investments, Maverick Silicon, Samsung Catalyst Fund, and VentureTech Alliance, with support from existing investors.

Montara: Data Development Company Raises $5.4 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Montara - a data development platform that enables organizations to deliver better data products faster - announced the successful close of a $5.4 million round of seed funding led by Norwest Venture Partners. And the funding was joined by angel investors, including Borge Hald, co-founder and former CEO of Medallia. Montara will use the new capital to scale its go-to-market activities and product development.

ThoroughCare: Care Coordination Solutions Company Secures $5 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

ThoroughCare, a leader in care coordination solutions, announced it has closed its $5 million Series A funding round, led by Empactful Capital.

Evergreen Residential: $1 Billion In Capital Commitments Raised

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Evergreen Residential Holdings - an institutional real estate investment and operating platform - announced that it has raised about $1 billion in capital commitments from diverse sophisticated investors. And Evergreen is also announcing that Kuvare Holdings, a financial services platform that provides insurance, reinsurance and asset management solutions, has made a strategic investment in the firm.

LSC Awarding $5.9 Million In Grants To 31 Civil Legal Aid Providers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) announced that it is awarding 31 Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) totaling $5.9 million. LSC’s TIG program supports civil legal aid organizations that seek to leverage technology to deliver high-quality legal assistance to low-income Americans. Organizations in 22 states are receiving TIG funding this year.

Orion Innovations: Interview With President & CEO Rodney Schutt About Healthcare Technology to Improve Patient Safety

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Orion Innovations is a company that focuses on new and disruptive technologies that improve patient safety and improve the bottom line. Grounded in the principle that robust solutions can be simple to adopt, the company is dedicated to giving healthcare heroes and facilities new tools that are smart, simple to integrate and deliver the best possible patient outcomes. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Orion Innovations President & CEO Rodney Schutt to learn more about the company.

Teleo: Heavy Equipment Autonomous Company Secures $16.2 Million (Series A Extension)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Teleo - a company building autonomous technology for heavy equipment - announced it has raised $16.2 million in Series A extension funds in addition to its previously announced Series A funding round. Teleo's first extension round, totaling $9.2 million, was led by UP.Partners, with participation from other investors, including new investor Trousdale Ventures and return investor F-Prime Capital. And the second extension, totaling $7 million, was also led by UP.Partners, with participation from new investor Triatomic Capital and returning investors F-Prime Capital and Trucks Venture Capital, and others. Since its founding in 2019, Teleo has raised $29.8 million.

Thoughtful AI: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Alex Zekoff About The Healthcare Automation Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Thoughtful AI is a company that is pioneering a new approach to automation for all healthcare providers. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Thoughtful AI co-founder and CEO Alex Zekoff to learn more about the company.

Heirloom: Direct Air Capture Company Raises $150 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Heirloom, a leading Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology provider, announced it has raised $150 million in Series B funding. The funding round was co-led by Future Positive, and Lowercarbon Capital - which also invested in Heirloom’s Series A. A range of new investors, including Japan Airlines, Future Positive, H&M Group, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, MOL Switch, Quantum Innovation Fund, and Siemens Financial Services also participated.

ClearSale: Interview With Sr. Director Bruno Farinelli About AI And Ecommerce Fraud

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

ClearSale is a company that understands that protecting business against fraud-related chargebacks takes more than what technology can provide. Earlier this month, Experian agreed to buy ClearSale for $350 million. Pulse 2.0 interviewed ClearSale’s Senior Director of Risk and Customer Success at ClearSale, Bruno Farinelli.

Enterpret: AI-Based Customer Feedback Intelligence Company Raises $20.8 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Enterpret, an AI-enabled customer feedback intelligence platform for product development and CX teams, announced that it raised $20.8 million in Series A funding. The fundinground was led by Canaan Partners, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Peak XV Partners (fka Sequoia Capital India), Wing Ventures, and Recall Capital, as well as angel investors including Lauryn Motamedi (Head of Product Growth at Notion), Elena Verna (VP of Growth and Data at Dropbox), Nan Yu (Head of Product at Linear), and Andrew Berman (Director of AI at Zapier) and others.

Zignaly: Interview With CFO & Co-Founder A. Rafay Gadit About The Wealth Generation Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 5, 2024

Zignaly is a pioneering Web3 company that has a goal of unlocking wealth-generation opportunities for everyone. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Zignaly CFO & co-founder A. Rafay Gadit to learn more about the company.