Archives

Waabi: $1 Billion Raised To Expand Physical AI Platform And Launch Robotaxis With Uber

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Waabi announced it has closed an oversubscribed $750 million Series C round and lined up additional milestone-based capital from Uber tied to a new robotaxi partnership, bringing total “new funding” support to $1 billion. The Canadian autonomous-vehicle company, founded in 2021 by Raquel Urtasun, said the financing will accelerate development of its “Physical AI Platform,” deepen commercial progress in autonomous trucking, and fund an expansion into robotaxis deployed exclusively on Uber’s platform.

Hexaware Appoints Amit Vij As Chief Private Markets Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Hexaware Technologies announced that it has appointed Amit Vij as Chief Private Markets Officer, a new senior role designed to deepen the company’s engagement with private markets investors and their portfolio companies.

ADP Launches New AI Agents to Tackle Workforce And Payroll Challenges

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

ADP introduced a new set of “ADP Assist” AI agents designed to help organizations reduce friction across HR and payroll processes, improve decision-making, and cut down on manual work across the employee lifecycle. The company said the agents are designed to think, plan, and act with human oversight, combining automation with ADP’s longstanding workforce expertise.

VML Taps Jason Xenopoulos And Mel Routhier For New North America Leadership Roles

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

VML announced a set of leadership appointments aimed at strengthening creative leadership and office management across North America, with changes centered on its New York hub and its regional creative organization.

WTW Completes Acquisition of Newfront

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

WTW announced it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Newfront, a San Francisco-based insurance brokerage that the company described as a top 40 U.S. broker with a technology-enabled model and specialty expertise in high-growth industries. The transaction brings Newfront into WTW’s platform as the company deepens its presence in the U.S. middle market and advances its technology and specialty strategies, with Newfront now operating as part of WTW.

Arlo Solutions Appoints Venice Goodwine As CIO And AI Product Owner

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Arlo Solutions has named Venice M. Goodwine as its Chief Information Officer and AI Product Owner, effective January 2, 2026, as the Washington, DC-based government contractor looks to expand its enterprise technology leadership alongside data and artificial intelligence initiatives supporting mission-focused federal customers.

Ultra Clean Names Robert Wunar As Chief Operating Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Ultra Clean Holdings announced it has appointed semiconductor operations veteran Robert Wunar as chief operating officer, with the leadership change taking effect March 23, 2026. The company also said Harjinder Bajwa departed Ultra Clean effective January 25, 2026.

Agerpoint Names Michael Gomes Vice President And General Manager Of New Intelligent Equipment Division

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Agerpoint has appointed Michael Gomes as Vice President and General Manager, Intelligent Equipment, a newly created executive role designed to push the company’s spatial intelligence platform directly into agricultural machinery and in field systems. The move signals a sharper commercial focus on embedding Agerpoint’s sensing, analytics, and digital twin capabilities into equipment workflows, where real-time decisions can influence how work gets done on the ground.

Epicore Biosystems Adds UConn Experts Douglas Casa And Elaine Lee As Scientific Advisors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Epicore Biosystems has appointed Dr. Douglas Casa and Dr. Elaine Choung-Hee Lee as Scientific Advisors, bringing together expertise in exertional heat illness prevention, human performance, thermoregulation, and proteomics as the company pushes to translate sweat biomarkers into actionable hydration and heat risk decisions for athletes, industrial workers, and military personnel.

International Paper Plans Spin Off To Form Two Standalone Public Packaging Companies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

International Paper announced plans to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies: a North America-focused International Paper and a new EMEA Packaging business focused on Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company said the move is intended to accelerate profitable growth by sharpening each business’s operational and capital-allocation priorities based on distinct regional market dynamics.

MITO AI: $4.5 Million Pre-Seed Funding Closed For Collaborative AI Video Creation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

MITO AI, a Madrid- and San Francisco-based startup building a collaborative platform for AI-native video creation, has raised a $4.5 million pre-seed round led by Paul Murphy at Lightspeed Venture Partners. The company said the financing included participation from Kibo, Kfund, Sequoia, and A16Z scouts, LifeX, and angel investors, including unicorn founders and executives with ties to USV, Roblox, and GitHub.

Arkero: $6 Million Pre-Seed Closed And Early Deals Signed With MLS, NWSL, And EFL Clubs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Arkero, a new AI-driven operations platform for professional sports organizations, has raised a $6 million pre-seed round and announced early partnerships with teams across Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, and England’s Football League.

Automata: $45 Million Series C Closed To Build Operating System For AI Ready Labs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Automata, a London-based lab automation company focused on fully integrated platforms for life sciences, announced it has closed a $45 million Series C funding round led by Dimension. The company said the financing included participation from Danaher Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners, Octopus Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, and other investors, alongside a strategic investment partnership with Danaher Corporation. As part of the deal, Murali Venkatesan Ph.D., Global Head of Danaher Ventures and Vice President of Science Technology and Innovation, will join Automata’s board.

Terra Energy: $105 Million Raised To Expand Residential Solar Subscription Model

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Terra Energy, a residential solar subscription provider based in Miami, announced it has closed a $105 million funding round to support its expansion beyond Florida into Texas and, next, California. The company said the final component of the series was a $35 million green loan financing from Breakwall Capital.

Northslope: $22 Million Series A Raised To Scale Palantir-Native And Mission-Specific AI Applications

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Northslope, an applied AI company built specifically for the Palantir operating system, has raised $22 million in a Series A financing to scale its forward deployed engineering model and expand its Palantir-native AI application platform.

RobCo: $100 Million Series C Raised To Scale Physical AI Robotics In U.S. And Europe

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

RobCo, a Munich-founded physical AI-driven robotics company, has raised $100 million in Series C funding to advance its “Physical AI” roadmap, expand enterprise deployments, and deepen its presence in the U.S. market. The company, founded in 2020, builds AI-enabled robotic systems designed to operate inside real production environments, targeting industrial use cases where autonomy and adaptability are increasingly critical.

1Buy.AI: $3.9 Million Seed Funding Closed To Build AI ‘Operating System’ For Electronics Procurement

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

1Buy.AI, an AI-first electronics procurement platform, has raised a $3.9 million seed round to expand development of what it describes as an AI operating system for sourcing and managing electronic components across global supply chains.

Suave Brands And Elida Beauty Complete Merger To Create Evermark

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Suave Brands Company and Elida Beauty have completed their merger to form Evermark, LLC, creating a new global platform of personal care brands backed by Yellow Wood Partners. The companies said the combined portfolio represents approximately $1.9 billion in annual retail sales, positioning Evermark as a scaled independent player with broad household penetration and category reach across hair care, body care, skin care, lip care, and personal essentials.

Francisco Partners Closes $2.2 Billion Take-Private Of Jamf

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Jamf announced it has completed its acquisition by Francisco Partners, ending the Apple device management and security company’s run as a public firm and positioning it to pursue an expanded product roadmap under private ownership.

Apple Acquires Audio AI Company Q.ai

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Apple has confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup developing artificial intelligence technology for audio, as the company continues adding AI-driven features across its hardware lineup. And Apple did not disclose the terms of the acquisition.

Dorsey: Marcello Hallake Named As Corporate Partner In New York

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Dorsey & Whitney has hired corporate partner Marcello Hallake into its Mergers & Acquisitions group in New York, adding a veteran cross-border deal lawyer with deep experience across Latin America and other international markets.

Dentons Canada Welcomes 10 Lawyers To The Partnership In 2026

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Dentons Canada announced it will admit 10 lawyers to its partnership effective February 1, 2026, highlighting the move as part of its ongoing investment in leadership, innovation, and client service across Canada and globally.

Lunar: €46 Million Closed To Scale Nordic Business Banking, Build Lending, And Expand Into Norway and Finland

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Nordic challenger bank Lunar announced it has completed a €46 million capital increase to accelerate growth in its business banking franchise, develop a broader lending proposition, and support continued geographic expansion across the Nordics, including planned moves deeper into Norway and Finland. The company framed the financing as fuel to pursue growth and profitability in parallel, with management reiterating an expectation to reach profitability in 2026.

Dentons Middle East Reappoints Banking Counsel Justine Harding In Muscat

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Dentons Middle East has brought back banking and finance lawyer Justine Harding as Counsel in its Muscat office, reinforcing the firm’s regional Banking & Finance bench amid rising client demand for financial services expertise.

Pixellot: $35 Million Closed To Expand AI-Driven Youth Sports Streaming And Monetization

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Pixellot, an Israel-based provider of AI-automated sports capture and streaming for youth and community athletics, has secured $35 million in new funding to support global expansion and accelerate development of its AI-as-a-Service platform.

Primmune Therapeutics: $8.6 Million Raised For Cclinical Development Of PRTX007

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Primmune Therapeutics announced it has completed an additional $8.6 million close of its Series B financing, bringing the total amount raised in the round to $23.3 million. The latest close included participation from Bioqube Ventures, Oberland Capital and Samsara Biocapital. The company said the new capital will support continued clinical development of PRTX007, an orally administered, systemically acting small-molecule toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) agonist being developed as an immunotherapy for solid tumors.

Gigablue: $20 Million Series A First Close Raised For High Integrity Marine Carbon Removal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Gigablue, a marine carbon dioxide removal company, announced it has secured a $20 million first close of its Series A financing, announcing the raise during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

AxisCare Expands Home Care Software Platform Following Strategic Partnership With Frontier Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

AxisCare announced it has broadened its home care technology platform and service offerings following its strategic partnership with Frontier Growth, which made a minority investment in the company in March 2024. The Waco, Texas-based home care management software provider said the partnership has helped accelerate product development, expand services, and strengthen its role as a technology partner for home care agencies seeking operational efficiency and growth.

heyData: $16.5M Series Closed A To Unify Security And Compliance

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

heyData has closed a $16.5 million Series A funding round led by Riverside Acceleration Capital, positioning the company to accelerate product development and expand its footprint across Europe. The company framed the raise as a commitment to making compliance and IT security more intuitive and automated for everyday business teams, rather than a specialized, expert-only function managed through spreadsheets and ad hoc processes.

Levellr: $2.5 Million Raised To Bring Real-Time AI Insights To Discord Communities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 30, 2026

Levellr, an AI insights platform focused on helping brands and game studios understand and monitor Discord and other next-generation community platforms, has raised $2.5 million in seed funding in a round led by Fuel Ventures.