Archives

Creative Planning Makes First International Acquisition With Switzerland’s Baseline Wealth Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Creative Planning said it has acquired Baseline Wealth Management, a Swiss-registered investment advisor with offices in Geneva and Zurich, marking the U.S. firm’s first international deal and its initial expansion into Europe.

U.S. Bancorp To Buy BTIG In Up To $1 Billion Deal To Expand Capital Markets Offering

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

U.S. Bancorp announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BTIG, a privately held investment bank and brokerage firm, in a bolt-on transaction designed to broaden U.S. Bank’s markets-based capabilities and deepen support for institutional and corporate clients.

Sign In Solutions Acquires The Receptionist To Expand Visitor Management Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Sign In Solutions announced it has acquired The Receptionist, adding a Denver-based visitor management provider with more than 5,500 customers across 35 countries as the company continues a multi-acquisition strategy aimed at building a unified visitor management platform for organizations ranging from small businesses to large enterprises.

Hughes Hubbard Acquires Schulman Bhattacharya, Expanding Litigation And Arbitration In Washington, D.C.

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Hughes Hubbard & Reed announced it has acquired Schulman Bhattacharya, adding a Washington, D.C.-based commercial litigation and arbitration boutique to deepen the firm’s disputes capabilities in the capital region.

X Square Robot Raises $140 Million in Series A++ Funding To Scale Embodied AI Models And Robot Deployment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

X Square Robot, a China-based developer of general-purpose embodied artificial intelligence, said January 12, 2026 that it has completed a Series A++ funding round of about $140 million, or roughly RMB 1 billion, as it accelerates development of what it calls a “robot brain” foundation model for the physical world and expands commercialization across logistics, manufacturing and healthcare use cases.

Aquilance: $16 Million Strategic Growth Raised To Expand Delivery Of Unbundled Family Office Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Aquilance, a technology-enabled provider of personal financial administration services for wealthy families and their advisors, has secured a $16 million strategic growth investment led by Ten Coves Capital as it looks to scale demand for “unbundled” family office-style services across wealth management firms, RIAs, and trust companies.

Department Of War Commits $1 Billion Direct-To-Supplier Investment With L3Harris

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

The Department of War (DoW), working in partnership with L3Harris Technologies, said it has signed a letter of intent laying out investment terms aimed at expanding U.S. production capacity for solid rocket motors—an input the Department described as a critical node in the munitions supply chain.

CIM Group Closes $167.67 Million Loan To Recapitalize 15-Property WoodSpring Suites Extended-Stay Portfolio

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

CIM Group announced it has closed a $167.67 million loan package to affiliates of Concord Hospitality and Whitman Peterson to recapitalize a 15-property WoodSpring Suites extended-stay hotel portfolio spanning Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Aquisor Launches European Buy-Side M&A Origination Firm For Private Equity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Aquisor, a European buy-side M&A advisory firm focused on deal origination for private equity investors, has launched under founders Dirk-Jan Vorgers and Ekaterina Kupriyanova, who previously led the European office of Harvey & Company.

NGP VAN Launches API And Data Products Team With Seven-Figure Investment To Modernize Integrations

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

NGP VAN announced it has formed its first dedicated API and Data Products Team and committed a seven-figure investment to modernize and expand the company’s APIs, a move aimed at strengthening the integration infrastructure used across the progressive technology ecosystem.

bricks.sh Raises €1.6 Million Pre-Seed And Launches Public Beta For Internal Tools Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

bricks.sh announced it has closed a €1.6 million oversubscribed pre-seed round and opened a public beta of its platform designed to help companies build internal tools faster while preserving customization.

Ciari Guitars: Interview With CEO Jonathan Spangler About The Travel Guitar Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Ciari Guitars is a company that designs and sells professional-grade electric “travel” guitars that use a patented folding mechanism so a full-size instrument can fold down to fit in a backpack or carry-on for easy transport. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Ciari Guitars CEO Jonathan Spangler to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Sema4.ai: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Rob Bearden About The Enterprise AI Agent Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Sema4.ai is a company that builds an enterprise AI agent platform that helps companies create, deploy, and manage secure AI agents that automate complex workflows across their data, documents, and business applications. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Sema4.ai co-founder and CEO Rob Bearden to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

HPS/PayMedix Secures $33 Million Investment To Expand Healthcare Financing Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

HPS/PayMedix announced it has closed $33 million in combined equity and debt financing to accelerate national growth of PayMedix, its healthcare financing and payments platform designed to simplify how consumers and providers manage medical bills.

Ares Raises Over $7 Billion For Leading Credit Secondaries Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Ares Management Corporation announced it has raised about $7.1 billion for its Credit Secondaries strategy, including the final close of its inaugural Ares Credit Secondaries Fund, related vehicles, and anticipated leverage.

Mevaldi: New Investment Secured To Speed Industrial Scale-Up

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Mevaldi announced it has raised new investment from ICOS Capital, with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and ICIG Ventures also participating, as the company looks to accelerate the industrial scale-up of its technology and expand the market reach of its bio-based chemical building blocks.

Fidelis Capital Partners With Opto Investments To Expand Private Markets Program For Ultra-Wealthy Families

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Fidelis Capital, an advisor-owned wealth management firm focused on ultra-high-net-worth individuals, multi-generational families, and institutions, announced it has selected Opto Investments as a strategic partner to enhance and scale its private markets program.

Franklin Templeton Updates Western Asset Money Market Funds For Stablecoin Reserves And Blockchain Distribution

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Franklin Templeton announced two institutional government money market funds managed by its Western Asset Management affiliate have been updated to support emerging use cases in tokenized finance, positioning the products for potential use by regulated stablecoin issuers and for distribution through blockchain-enabled platforms.

Dyspute.ai Launches Adri V2, A 24/7 Asynchronous AI Mediation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Dyspute.ai announced the official launch of Adri V2, a 24/7 asynchronous AI mediation platform designed to guide parties through dispute resolution without live sessions or simultaneous participation. Announced January 13, 2026, the company said Adri V2 uses an AI mediator persona to manage the process end-to-end, from intake through negotiation and agreement, aiming to reduce scheduling friction, lower costs, and speed up outcomes.

Deepgram: $130 Million Series C At $1.3 Billion Valuation Raised And OfOne Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Deepgram announced it raised $130 million in Series C funding at a $1.3 billion valuation to accelerate development of its real-time voice AI API platform and support new product and ecosystem initiatives, including an acquisition, expanded intellectual property efforts, and a new collaboration space in San Francisco.

SK Hynix To Invest $13 Billion In New Cheongju Plant

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

SK Hynix will invest 19 trillion Korean won (about $12.9 billion) to build a new advanced packaging plant in South Korea as the memory maker races to expand output for artificial intelligence-related demand, according to CNBC.

AbbVie And Trump Administration Strike $100 Billion Deal Tied To Medicaid Prices, Direct-To-Patient Drug Access, And U.S. Investment Plan

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

AbbVie announced it has reached a voluntary, three-year agreement with the Trump administration aimed at expanding access to medicines and lowering costs for Americans, while the company commits to a decade-long investment push in U.S. research, development, and manufacturing.

NetDocuments Completes Acquisition Of OpenText’s eDOCS Document Management Business

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

NetDocuments has completed its acquisition of the eDOCS document management business from OpenText, adding the eDOCS product portfolio and its dedicated team in a deal the company says will broaden its global footprint and deepen its focus on modernizing legal work.

Clifford Chance Adds Private Equity Partner Michal Netanyahu In New York

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Clifford Chance has hired private equity partner Michal Netanyahu in New York, a move the firm said will further strengthen its private capital capabilities in the U.S. and globally as it continues to build out its sponsor-side bench.

OneSpan To Acquire Build38 To Expand Next-Generation Mobile App Protection

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

OneSpan announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Build38, a mobile application protection company, in a move aimed at strengthening OneSpan’s SDK-based security capabilities for banks and other enterprises facing a surge in mobile-channel attacks.

Zeal Credit Union To Acquire The Miners State Bank in All-Cash Transaction

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Zeal Credit Union of Livonia, Michigan, and The Miners State Bank of Iron River, Michigan—along with the bank’s holding company, MSB Bankshares, Inc.—said they have signed a definitive agreement under which Zeal will purchase substantially all of Miners State Bank’s assets and assume substantially all of its liabilities in an all-cash deal.

TENEO Expands Asia-Pacific Footprint With Deal To Acquire PwC New Zealand Restructuring Unit

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Teneo announced it has agreed to acquire PwC New Zealand’s Business Restructuring Services (BRS) unit, extending the firm’s Financial Advisory platform in Asia-Pacific and adding a 22-person team that will anchor a new on-the-ground presence across New Zealand.

Jewelers Mutual Group Acquires EventGuard To Expand Event And Wedding Insurance Offering

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Jewelers Mutual Group, an insurance and business solutions provider focused on the jewelry industry, said it has acquired EventGuard, an event insurance program that previously operated as a division within Indemn, a licensed insurance agency and insurance technology company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

LPL Financial Names Ilan Davidovici As EVP Of Corporate Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

LPL Financial announced that Ilan Davidovici has joined the firm as executive vice president of corporate strategy, a newly announced role in which he will lead the company’s corporate strategy team and work across the organization to set long-term direction and strategic priorities.

Hightower Names Bob Lavigne As Chief Compliance Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2026

Hightower Advisors has appointed veteran compliance executive Bob Lavigne as Chief Compliance Officer for Hightower Holdings, tasking him with leading the firm’s enterprise-wide compliance program, regulatory strategy, and risk governance across its national network of advisory practices.