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Mesirow, an independent employee-owned financial services firm, announced the acquisition of Price Wealth Management, an established RIA firm based in Stuart, Florida. This deal builds on Mesirow’s significant existing footprint in the area, including offices in Miami and Boca Raton. Price Wealth Management was represented by DeVoe & Company, a leading consulting firm and investment bank to RIAs.

LPL Financial announced that the firm has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire The Investment Center, a broker-dealer and registered investment adviser based in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Eclipse Private Wealth Management announced the launch of its new independent advisory firm. Eclipse will be led by the father-daughter team of Joel R. Freedman, CFP, CPWA and Alex Freedman. Before starting Eclipse, Joel and Alex worked together at Morgan Stanley, helping clients pursue their financial objectives with customized investment strategies, comprehensive financial planning, and guidance for imperative decision-making.

Ameriprise Financial announced that Financial Advisor Nathan Brown, AAMS, CRPC, CRPS, recently joined the firm’s branch channel from Edward Jones with nearly $150 million in assets. His practice is based in Kalamazoo, Michigan and includes Client Service Associate Kelli Besser.

BEX Capital, an investment firm focused exclusively on secondaries in private equity fund-of-funds (FoF), secondaries funds and co-investment funds - announced the closing of BEX Fund V at $765 million. As the first fund raised since the management buyout of BEX Capital at the beginning of the year, this was the first and only close of BEX Fund V, reaching its target in just four months.

TPG Rise Climate - which is the dedicated climate investing strategy of TPG’s global impact investing platform - announced that it has acquired MIRATECH - which is a global market leader in aftermarket emissions and noise reduction technology for stationary industrial engines.

Korio, a pioneering Randomization & Trial Supply Management (RTSM) technology company, announced the successful completion of its Series A funding round, led by BIP Ventures and with participation from existing investors Excelerate Health Ventures, Boston Millennia Partners, and other strategic investors. This investment is driven by strong customer demand for Korio's flexible and quality-focused RTSM platform.

Agora Data - a fintech company focused on empowering car dealers with finance company-level strength while maintaining their existing processes - announced additional funding capacity from Waterfall Asset Management for up to $100 million. This new mezzanine line of credit advances Agora's ability to support and expand participation from both independent and franchise auto dealers.

Mavely announced several achievements, emphasizing its position as a rapidly growing player in the influencer marketing industry. With incredible growth and significant financial milestones in the first half of 2024, Mavely continues its momentum to empower people to monetize their content by promoting the world's favorite brands.

aifleet, which is the industry's first full-stack and scalable carrier utilizing AI to humanize trucking, announced today it had raised a $16.6 million Series B funding round led by Tom Williams at Heron Rock, with participation from Volvo Group Venture Capital, Obvious Ventures, Ibex Investors, Compound, Winthrop Square, and Cooley. With this funding round, the company has raised nearly $50 million.

ITC Federal (ITC), an established provider of goal-focused IT solutions and enterprise services to U.S. federal agencies, announced a strategic venture capital investment from Blue Delta Capital Partners, a venture capital firm focused on the U.S. federal government services market.

Defense tech company Darkhive - a company that is focused on open architecture Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) integrated with a secure software delivery system - announced it closed a Series A investment round of $21 million led by Ten Eleven Ventures. The additional investors in this funding round included Crosslink Capital, RTX Ventures, and Stellar Ventures.

Global financial services company The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY) announced BNY has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Archer Holdco, a leading technology-enabled service provider of managed account solutions to the asset and wealth management industry.

Zilla Security is a company that delivers a SaaS platform for security and access compliance. And the company automates user access review processes that are essential for maintaining compliance with regulations like SOX, HIPAA, GLBA, FFIEC and SOC 2. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Zilla Security co-founder, CEO, And President Deepak Taneja to learn more about the company.

rater8 is a leader in healthcare reputation management. Pulse 2.0 interviewed rater8 founder and CEO Evan Steele to learn more about the company.

Early-stage VC firm Mayfield announced AI Garage, a $100 million initiative aimed at ideation-stage founders building AI teammates as digital companions. And the firm has identified teammates as a $6 trillion opportunity that drives in the era of Collaborative Intelligence, where humans work with AI to transform how we work and live.

Wealth Enhancement Group - a national independent wealth management firm with over $90.5 billion in client assets - announced the acquisition of Levy Wealth Management Group, a hybrid RIA located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This team oversees over $1.3 billion in client assets and is led by President, Victor Levy, CFP, Chief Operating Officer & Wealth Advisor, Michael Clatterbuck, CFP, ChFC, and Wealth Advisor, Joseph Robostello, CFP, ChSNC.

Kirk Bell, the Central division director for Raymond James Financial Services (RJFS) has welcomed Garrison Financial Group to the firm, which is operated by financial advisors Craig Garrison, Timothy Hall, CFP, and Matthew Strelau, CFP.

Sensori.AI is the only company that is blending Generative AI, Neuroscience, and ML to help companies change how they innovate products. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Sensori.ai founder and CEO Dr. A.K. Pradeep to learn more about the company.

Habyt, a leading provider of flexible living spaces, announced today €40 million in funding led by Mars Growth Capital (a joint venture of MUFG and Liquidity Group). This new funding round will support Habyt's ambitious expansion strategy, primarily through targeted acquisitions to consolidate its leadership position across critical regions.

Neurovascular innovation company Scientia Vascular announced it raised $14 million in growth funding led by Piper Sandler Merchant Banking. This funding will enable Scientia to continue commercializing the next generation of neurovascular tools, providing new possibilities for treating a variety of neurovascular disease states for patient benefit.

Bambusa Therapeutics - a biotechnology company focused on developing bispecific antibodies for the treatment of immunological and inflammatory (I&I) disorders - announced the closing of its Series Seed financing round at $15 million. 

Candid Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on developing potentially transformative drugs to address autoimmune diseases, announced it has officially launched today. To drive development and position Candid to become the leader in TCE antibodies for autoimmune diseases, Candid also acquired Vignette Bio and TRC 2004 through a simultaneous three-way merger and multi-step financing. This acquisition integrates two cutting-edge bispecific TCEs. In connection with the merger, Candid has successfully raised over $370 million in capital from an extensive roster of investors, including a recently completed financing co-led by Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Fairmount, TCGX, and venBio Partners.

Forum Ventures is the leading early-stage fund, accelerator, and venture studio for B2B SaaS startups. Founded in 2014 and based in New York and Toronto, we’re on a mission to make the B2B SaaS journey easier, more accessible, and successful for early-stage founders. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Forum Ventures CEO and Managing Partner Michael Cardamone to learn more about the firm.

finally, an AI-based all-in-one finance and HR suite, announced it has closed a $50 million Series B from PeakSpan Capital and $150 million credit facility from Encina. This new funding round follows the company’s $95 million Series A in 2022 and additional $10 million capital raised in February of this year, bringing total funds to date to $305 million.

Soluna Holdings, a developer of green data centers for intensive computing applications including Bitcoin mining and AI, announced today that it has entered into a $25 million Standby Equity Purchase Agreement (SEPA) with a fund managed by Yorkville Advisors Global L.P.

CSA Medical, the developer of The RejuvenAir System (a Breakthrough Medical Device advancing the power of liquid nitrogen spray cryotherapy for the treatment of chronic bronchitis), announced the completion of an oversubscribed $53 million Series D preferred stock equity financing. TVM Capital Life Science and Yonjin Ventures co-led the round while also being joined by a syndicate of existing shareholders SV Health Investors, Ascension Ventures, First Analysis, Blue Heron, and Intersouth Partners.

GigaStar is a platform that provides YouTube Creators with an intuitive platform to raise capital from Investors who also benefit from gaining exposure to the Creator Economy. Pulse 2.0 interviewed GigaStar CMO Sarah McNabb to learn more about the company.