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Nace.AI has raised $21.5 million in seed funding to commercialize a platform where more than 100 specialized AI agents autonomously execute complex enterprise workflows, with human experts providing final validation. The round was led by Walden Catalyst with participation from General Catalyst and a group of institutional and angel investors. Alongside the announcement, the company is launching its product in research preview.

UFP Industries has announced the acquisition of the operating assets of three John Rock locations — in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, and Bowling Green, Virginia — for approximately $48 million. John Rock, a subsidiary of Kamps Pallets, designs and manufactures new pallets across Pennsylvania and Virginia, and the three acquired locations add approximately $82 million in annual sales and bring nearly 250 employees into UFP's organization. A fourth John Rock location, a sawmill in Dilwyn, Virginia, will remain with the seller.

Evergreen Cooperatives, a nonprofit focused on revitalizing urban neighborhoods by creating pathways to wealth building, has expanded its portfolio of employee-owned businesses with the acquisition of North Coast Sign and Lighting, a full-service provider of light installation solutions and commercial signage based in Medina, Ohio.

Moritz, formerly known as Arcline, has raised $9 million from Y Combinator, 20VC, Urban Innovation Fund, Inception Fund, and more than 20 unicorn founders to build what the company describes as the law firm users have always wanted — one capable of resolving complex legal matters in hours without unsustainable costs. The company's cap table includes the founders of Dropbox, Reddit, Instacart, Hugging Face, Superhuman, WorkOS, Runway, Mixpanel, Rappi, Scribd, Supermetrics, Privy, Optimizely, Product Hunt, and Google Photos, alongside current and former Y Combinator partners, Lenny Rachitsky, and operators from ElevenLabs, Lovable, and OpenAI.

Reduciner, a Finnish deep tech startup spun out of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, has raised €3.6 million in seed funding to commercialize a novel high-temperature technology that converts captured carbon dioxide into usable fuel and valuable industrial raw materials. The round includes equity investment from Voima Ventures, Lifeline Ventures, and Mikko Kodisoja Foundation, with VTT contributing the underlying technology and IP as an in-kind investment. Proceeds will fund the construction of a 1MW industrial-scale pilot facility in Finland.

MOTHER.Tech, an AI-native creative studio based in Brooklyn, has launched Degen, a mobile app that allows users to generate images, videos, memes, carousels, and text content in a single tap without prompt engineering, model management, or editing skills. The app is available on iOS and Android via invite code and is backed by Google Ventures, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Box Group, and Shine Capital. The company has raised a total of $15 million, with the most recent investment coming in 2026.

Anthropic has announced a partnership with Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and Goldman to launch a $1.5 billion venture to accelerate AI adoption across hundreds of portfolio companies, according to CNBC. Additional asset managers participating in the effort include Apollo and General Atlantic. The new entity, which has not yet been named, will deploy Anthropic's Claude AI model directly inside businesses, beginning with companies owned by the investment firms involved.

Lithosquare, a deep tech startup applying foundational AI to mineral exploration, has secured $25 million in seed funding to deploy its Geology AI platform globally. The round was led by World Fund with participation from Kindred Capital VC, daphni, Omnes, and OVNI Capital. The company has spent months operating alongside initial exploration partners to validate its technology in real-world geological settings before announcing the raise.

Global law firm K&L Gates has appointed Jake Bernstein to the newly created role of Global AI and Innovation Partner, effective immediately, formalizing the firm’s approach to artificial intelligence strategy under a practicing partner’s leadership as the industry moves toward rapid deployment of agentic AI.

Toast introduced Toast IQ Grow, a complete marketing solution designed to take on the day-to-day work of marketing a business, from identifying a lunch slowdown to automatically launching a campaign to address it. The announcement includes more than 20 updates across marketing, payroll, inventory, and operations, with a stated goal of reducing the operational burden on restaurant and retail operators.

Sequana Medical is a medical device company that develops innovative solutions for patients with liver disease. The company’s flagship product, the alfapump, is a fully implanted device that treats recurrent or refractory liver ascites by automatically and continuously pumping fluid from the abdomen to the bladder, eliminating the need for repeated painful drainage procedures. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Sequana Medical CEO Ian Crosbie to learn more.

TestSprite provides an autonomous AI testing agent that automatically generates, executes, and maintains end-to-end frontend and backend tests to validate AI-generated code, ensuring production-ready software with minimal manual effort. Pulse 2.0 interviewed TestSprite co-founder and CEO Yunhao Jiao to learn more.

Galvanize Real Estate, the sustainable real estate strategy of global asset manager Galvanize, has acquired a three-property industrial portfolio totaling 462,300 square feet in Green Oaks, Illinois, a growing industrial hub north of Chicago.

Fortress Solutions, a provider of mission-critical services for telecommunications and next-generation networking, has announced the formation of Fortress Solutions Holdings, a newly established holding company, alongside the acquisition of Dimension Energy Solutions, formerly known as Dimension Energy Services.

SAP SE has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Prior Labs, the pioneer of Tabular Foundation Models, in a deal that commits the enterprise software giant to investing more than €1 billion over the next four years to scale Prior Labs into a globally leading frontier AI research lab. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Praana Group has completed its acquisition of Multi-Chem, which will now operate as Sterling MultiChem within the company's Sterling Specialty Chemicals platform. The acquisition brings together Sterling Specialty Chemicals' expertise in specialty chemical manufacturing, polymer technologies, and advanced surfactant systems with Multi-Chem's field service capabilities, creating an expanded platform for supporting oil and gas operators with high-performance chemical solutions across upstream, midstream, and downstream operations. Multi-Chem has built a strong presence in oilfield chemicals through application-driven programs addressing drilling, completion, production, flow assurance, corrosion and scale management, water treatment, and process optimization. Financial terms were not disclosed.

A joint venture between Sculptor Real Estate Income Strategy and Trinity Investments has completed the acquisition of the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, a luxury beachfront property on Florida's Gulf Coast, from MassMutual, the leading mutual life insurance company that has owned the resort for more than four decades.

Oliver Wyman, the global management consulting firm and a business of Marsh, has entered into an agreement to acquire CR3 Partners, a consulting firm specializing in transition, turnaround, and distress advisory services. The transaction is expected to close later in the current quarter, with financial terms not disclosed.

Gloo, a Nasdaq-listed technology platform serving the faith and flourishing ecosystem under the ticker GLOO, has completed its acquisition of EnterpriseMarketdesk, an established Workday Services Partner that provides consulting, implementation, and support services to nonprofit and mid-market organizations.

Datavault AI, a Philadelphia-based artificial intelligence and data infrastructure company traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker DVLT, has priced a registered direct offering of approximately 109 million shares of common stock at gross proceeds of $60 million before deducting offering expenses. The offering was led by several preeminent global investment managers alongside participation from existing shareholders, with Titan Partners, a division of American Capital Partners, acting as the sole placement agent.

LibreMax Capital, an asset management firm specializing in securitized products and asset-backed finance, announced the launch of the LibreMax Asset-Backed Income Fund (LMIFX), its first interval fund designed to provide investors with access to private asset-backed finance and structured credit opportunities. The fund debuted with $285 million in capital commitments and aims to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns alongside current income.

Smartness, an agentic technology platform for the lodging industry, has raised €47 million in what the company describes as the largest-ever round in Italy for a Vertical AI company. The funding comes as Smartness pushes to redefine how hospitality operators engage with software, shifting the model from purchasing tools to purchasing outcomes.

A-Cube, an Italian technology company specializing in automated digital tax compliance, has closed a €4 million funding round led by P101 SGR, one of Italy's leading venture capital firms. Sella Direct Ventures, a fintech-focused investor, also participated in the round and will make its global network available to the company. The capital will support A-Cube's expansion across key European markets, accelerate the development of its API-first platform, and fund integration of artificial intelligence models to enhance automation and predictive capability. The Milan-based company, founded in 2018, has processed more than 70 million invoices since 2019 and currently serves more than 450 customers across more than 10 countries.

Global law firm Reed Smith has expanded its private equity capabilities in Southern California with the addition of partner Bryan Ikegami to its Global Corporate Group. Based in the firm’s Century City office, Ikegami brings extensive experience advising private equity funds and portfolio companies on complex transactions, reinforcing Reed Smith’s continued investment in the region.

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright announced the addition of prominent partners John Bonnet III and Mark Pendleton to its Dallas office, continuing the expansion of its corporate, M&A, and securities practice. The pair are joined by senior counsel Larry McFarland and associate Hannah Choi, strengthening the firm’s capabilities in private equity, healthcare, and energy transactions.

Babst Calland announced that Peter J. Landau has joined the firm’s Pittsburgh office as an associate in its Corporate and Commercial and Emerging Technologies practice groups. In this role, Landau will advise clients across a range of industries on corporate and commercial legal matters, including mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, corporate structuring and governance, and general business counseling.

Bizora is an AI-powered tax research and advisory platform that helps professionals, such as CPAs and attorneys, quickly obtain citation-backed answers, navigate complex federal and state compliance, and manage M&A transactions, reducing manual research time significantly. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Bizora founder and CEO Adam Tahir to learn more.

PodPlay provides a full-stack operating system for modern recreational sports venues, integrating app-based reservations, automated video replays, digital scoreboards, smart facility access, and payments to enable autonomous operations, reduce labor costs, and enhance the player experience. Pulse 2.0 interviewed PodPlay co-founder and CRO Ben Borton to learn more.

CommLoan is a commercial real estate lending technology company that operates a digital marketplace using its proprietary CUPID AI engine to connect borrowers and brokers with a wide range of commercial mortgage lenders, streamlining the financing process. Pulse 2.0 interviewed CommLoan founder and CEO Mitch Ginsberg to learn more.

Global Net Lease has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Modiv Industrial, a net-lease industrial REIT listed on the NYSE under the ticker MDV, in an all-stock transaction valued at an enterprise value of approximately $535 million.