Archives

Ellis Raises More Than $10 Million In Seed Funding Led By First Round Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Ellis has emerged from stealth with more than $10 million in seed funding to build an AI-native operations platform for private credit firms. First Round Capital led the financing, with participation from 645 Ventures, Harlem Capital, Khosla Ventures, Slow Ventures, Wilshire Lane, Westbound, Collide Capital and Gallery Ventures. Individual investors included Ariel Alternatives CEO Mellody Hobson, Thrive Capital founder Josh Kushner and Mercury founder and CEO Immad Akhund.

Cresset Expands Santa Barbara Office With $600 Million Advisor Cory Boggs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Cresset has expanded its Santa Barbara, California, office with the appointment of Cory Boggs as Managing Director and Wealth Advisor. Boggs previously served as a wealth manager at Manchester Capital Management, where he managed more than $600 million in client assets.

BridgePeak Energy Capital Funds $921 Million Across 44 Loans In First Half Of 2026

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

BridgePeak Energy Capital closed and funded more than $921 million across 44 loans during the first six months of 2026. The amount funded represented a 12% increase from the same period in 2025.

Edge Focus Completes $100 Million Consumer Loan Securitization Co-Sponsored By Nelnet Bank

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Edge Focus has completed EDGEX 2026-1NN, a $100 million pre-funded asset-backed securitization supported by a portfolio of unsecured consumer loans. The deal represents the company’s fifth asset-backed securitization and expands its series of institutional consumer-credit offerings.

RBC Adds $1.5 Billion Focus Wealth Management Team In South Florida

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

RBC Wealth Management-U.S. has added the seven-person Focus Wealth Management team to its Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, office, strengthening the firm’s presence in South Florida and its capabilities for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

Blackstone Energy Transition Partners To Acquire DarkVision From Koch Engineered Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Funds managed by Blackstone Energy Transition Partners have agreed to acquire DarkVision Technologies from Koch Engineered Solutions, a division of Koch. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Antora Energy Raises $550 Million In Series C Funding Co-Led By G2 Venture Partners And Eclipse

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Antora Energy has raised $550 million in an oversubscribed Series C funding round co-led by G2 Venture Partners and Eclipse. New investors in the round included Ribbit Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Activate Capital, John Doerr, Westly Group, StepStone Group and Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures. Existing investors Decarbonization Partners, Impact Science Ventures, Trust Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Lowercarbon Capital also participated.

Mercer Advisors Launches Aspen 2.0 AI Platform Across $110 Billion Family Office

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Mercer Advisors has introduced the second generation of Aspen, its proprietary AI-enabled platform supporting the wealth management firm’s family office services. Developed by Mercer Advisors’ technology team over the past three years, Aspen 2.0 has been deployed across more than 1,100 interdisciplinary wealth professionals. The platform is intended to address fragmented client data and disconnected technology by creating a unified environment for advisors and specialists.

Vista Equity Partners To Acquire Majority Stake In Quantios From Hg

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Hg has agreed to sell its majority stake in Quantios, a provider of software-as-a-service solutions for the global trust and corporate services industry, to Vista Equity Partners. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Johnson & Johnson Secures $2.58 Billion Option To Acquire Sail Biomedicines

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Johnson & Johnson has entered into strategic agreements with Sail Biomedicines to develop in vivo CAR-T therapies for immune-mediated diseases and has secured an exclusive option to acquire Sail for $2.58 billion. And Johnson & Johnson will collaborate with Sail on the biotechnology company’s lead immune-mediated disease program and its broader platform. The partnership includes incentives to expand Sail’s technology into additional therapeutic targets.

VanEck Partners With Allocate To Expand Private Markets Access For Wealth Advisors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

VanEck has entered into a partnership with Allocate to expand access to private-market investment strategies for financial advisors, registered investment advisers and their clients. And VanEck will use Allocate’s private-markets technology and operational infrastructure to launch and manage advisor-focused offerings while retaining control over its investment strategies, products, brand and investor relationships.

Cytactic Adds Stripe Executive Shawn J. Chen To Advisory Board Following Strategic Investment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Cytactic has appointed cybercrime and crisis management expert Shawn J. Chen to its advisory board following a strategic investment by Chen in the company. Chen currently serves as Global Head of Litigation, Financial Crime & Risk Legal, IP and Cyber & Data Privacy at Stripe. He previously served as Global General Counsel for Litigation, Regulatory Enforcement and Investigations at HSBC.

BAE Systems’ Free Cash Flow Swings By £2.16 Billion To £1.79 Billion In First Half Of 2026

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

BAE Systems reported a £2.16 billion year-over-year swing in free cash flow during the first half of 2026, moving from a £368 million outflow in the prior-year period to a £1.79 billion inflow.

Vecteezy: Interview With Founder And CEO Shawn Rubel About The Creative Photo And Video Marketplace

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Strivve Secures Final CUSO-Backed Capital Raise Led By Chartway Ventures

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Strivve and its Credit Union Service Organization subsidiary, Strivve CUSO, have secured an investment led by Chartway Ventures as part of what is expected to be the fintech company’s final capital raise.

EVERSION Raises €2.3 Million Led By Kammerer Holding And Kreissparkasse Biberach Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

EVERSION Technologies has raised €2.3 million in an investment led by family office Kammerer Holding and the opportunity capital fund of Kreissparkasse Biberach.

Ahead Health Raises $10 Million To Expand Into Germany And The Netherlands

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Ahead Health has raised $10 million in funding led by 3VC and RTP Global to support its expansion into Germany and the Netherlands, its first markets outside Switzerland. The Zurich-based preventive healthcare company has begun accepting bookings for checkups in Munich. Customers in the Netherlands can join a waitlist ahead of the company’s full rollout in August 2026.

Bombardier’s Free Cash Flow Swings By $392 Million To $228 Million In Q2 2026

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Bombardier delivered a major cash-flow turnaround during the second quarter of 2026, generating $228 million in free cash flow compared with cash usage of $164 million during the same period last year.

Intercontinental Exchange To Acquire MarketAxess For $5.7 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Intercontinental Exchange has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MarketAxess Holdings, creating an integrated fixed-income marketplace spanning electronic execution, market data, indices, analytics and post-trade services.

EU Launches AI Gigafactories Call To Unlock More Than €30 Billion In Investment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

The European Union has launched a call for tenders to establish up to seven AI Gigafactories across Europe, advancing its goal of strengthening technological sovereignty and becoming a leading AI continent.

Mastercard’s Value-Added Services Revenue Jumps 20% As Business Becomes Major Growth Engine

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Mastercard reported that its value-added services and solutions business grew substantially faster than its core payment network during the second quarter of 2026, highlighting the segment’s increasing importance to the company’s broader growth strategy.

Ferrari Raises Full-Year Guidance And Reported €1.94 Billion In Q2 2026 Revenue

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Ferrari reported net revenue of €1.94 billion for the second quarter of 2026, up 8.4% from €1.79 billion in the same period last year. Revenue increased 10.6% on a constant-currency basis. Operating profit increased 9.5% to €605 million, producing an EBIT margin of 31.2%, compared with 30.9% one year earlier.

Wacona Capital Closes $210 Million Continuation Vehicle For Core States Group Led By Painswick Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

Wacona Capital has closed a single-asset continuation vehicle for Core States Group with total commitments of approximately $210 million, including commitments from the private equity firm’s general partner.

University Of Missouri: Consistent Daily Routine Linked To Lower Pain And Depression, Says Research

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 2, 2026

University of Missouri researchers have identified a simple, effective way to improve quality of life. A new study found that maintaining a consistent daily routine can reduce physical pain and ease symptoms of depression, showing how everyday habits can meaningfully impact well-being, particularly for older adults with insomnia.

UC San Diego: Sweat-Powered Fingertip Patch Monitors Parkinson’s Medication

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2026

Engineers and neuroscientists at the University of California San Diego have developed a soft, wearable fingertip patch that continuously tracks a patient's Parkinson's disease medication levels through their sweat. The device operates using chemicals in the patient's sweat and requires no batteries. Its measurements were comparable to those obtained by standard laboratory blood tests, according to research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Ionis: Dr. Frank Bennett To Retire As Chief Scientific Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2026

Ionis Pharmaceuticals announced that Frank Bennett, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief scientific officer, will retire effective February 2027.

Ashland: Peter Thomas And Allen Spizzo Appointed To Board Of Directors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2026

Ashland announced the appointments of two new independent members of the Company Board of Directors and the formation of a Capital Allocation Advisory Committee as part of its entry into a cooperation agreement with Ancora Holdings Group, a meaningful stockholder.

University Of Vermont: V-GaN Tech Hub Opens New Test And Characterization Facility

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2026

The Vermont Gallium Nitride Tech Hub has officially opened a new Test and Characterization Facility, a major addition to the nation's growing microelectronics innovation ecosystem and a critical resource for accelerating the transition of advanced semiconductor technologies from development to commercial deployment. The facility is located in South Burlington, Vermont.

Qlaris Bio: Parisa Zamiri, M.D., Ph.D., Appointed To Board Of Directors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2026

Qlaris Bio, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing first-in-class therapies for glaucoma, has appointed Parisa Zamiri, M.D., Ph.D., to its board of directors. The appointment comes as Qlaris continues to advance its lead development program, QLS-111, through late-stage clinical trials as a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of glaucoma.

OpenGate Capital: Merak Rail HVAC Business Acquired From Knorr-Bremse

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 1, 2026

OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Merak, the global rail HVAC business of Knorr-Bremse, a publicly listed German industrial company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.