Archives

Oak Essentials: Inaugural Growth Investment Raised From Silas Capital And Unilever Ventures

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Oak Essentials, a natural skincare brand founded by Jenni Kayne, announced it has secured a first round of dual funding from Silas Capital and Unilever Ventures to fuel its expansion. The funding will enable enhanced product development, increased marketing efforts, and broader distribution.

Advisory-Focused Investment Bank PJT Partners Buying deNovo Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

PJT Partners has agreed to acquire deNovo Partners, a leading advisory firm focused on the Middle East and based in Dubai. This deal builds on the highly successful strategic alliance PJT Partners and deNovo entered into in 2020.

Macquarie Asset Management To Buy Minority Stake In D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Macquarie Asset Management (MAM), DESRI, and the D. E. Shaw group announced that MAM has agreed to acquire a significant minority stake in DESRI via several MAM-managed funds. These funds include Macquarie Global Infrastructure Fund (MGIF), Macquarie Green Energy and Climate Opportunities Fund (MGECO), and Macquarie Energy Transition Infrastructure Fund International (METI).

PCI Pharma Services Investing Over $365 Million To Support Drug-Device Commercialization

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

PCI Pharma Services (PCI), a leading global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on biopharma’s most complex therapies, announced it is investing over $365 million in infrastructure supporting the clinical and commercial-scale final assembly and packaging of drug-device combination products utilizing advanced drug delivery systems, with an emphasis on injectable formats. The effort is part of PCI’s global investment plan, anchored and funded by recent new business featuring new and expanded facilities in Europe and North America. It is designed to augment and accommodate future growth.

True North Advisors Acquires $470 Million Clear Rock Advisors Team

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

True North Advisors, a Texas-based registered investment adviser (RIA) with $3.9 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM), has acquired Clear Rock Advisors, a wealth management and investment firm managing approximately $470 million in AUM with offices in Dallas, Austin, and Kerrville, Texas.

Orpyx: Diabetic Care Company Raises $20 Million In Growth Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Orpyx Medical Technologies, a leader in diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) and amputation prevention, announced the completion of an additional $20 million in growth capital led by Perceptive Advisors (Perceptive).

Metabase Q: $11 Million (Series A Extension) Raised To Help Reduce Cybersecurity Risks

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Metabase Q, an IT cybersecurity management company, announced $11 million extension Series A round. SYN Ventures (a VC firm focused on investing in innovative security companies) led both A rounds and John Watters, former president and COO of Mandiant, an independent board director of Metabase Q, participated in both.

DeepLook Medical: Medical Imaging Company Raises Series A

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

DeepLook Medical - a healthtech company specializing in visual enhancement technology for advanced medical imaging - announced it marked the 11th investment in Xcellerant VC Fund 1. Michael Shufeldt, MBA, Principal at Xcellerant Ventures, will join the board.

Why OYO Is Buying G6 Hospitality From Blackstone Real Estate For $525 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Oravel Stays (the parent company of the global travel technology company OYO) announced that it has agreed to acquire G6 Hospitality—the leading economy lodging franchisor and parent company of the iconic Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands—from Blackstone Real Estate for $525 million in an all-cash deal.

Mesa: Homeowner Membership Company Raises $9.2 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Homeowner membership platform Mesa announced it exited stealth with $9.2 million in seed funding. This $7.2 million seed funding was led by Streamlined Ventures with Starting Line, Assurant Ventures, Vera Equity, Redwood Trust Horizons, Clocktower Ventures, and several other firms and strategic investors participating. Mesa also received an additional $2 million in venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank.

Picus Security: Security Validation Company Raises $45 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Security validation company Picus Security announced it closed a $45 million growth investment round led by Riverwood Capital with the participation of existing investor Earlybird Digital East Fund, bringing Picus’ total funds raised to $80 million. Picus has 500+ enterprise customers worldwide today, and this latest investment will advance Picus’ continued product innovation and expand customer success, sales, and marketing.

Cercle: $6 Million (Seed) Secured To Advance Women’s Healthcare

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Cercle, an AI-based company that unlocks women’s healthcare data at scale into insights for optimal patient and business outcomes, announced it has raised $6 million in seed funding. This funding was led by Outsiders Fund (an early-stage VC firm). And additional investments were made by FemHealth Ventures, CGHealth Ventures, and Rogue Women’s Fund. They join existing investors Sheryl Sandberg and Tom Bernthal’s SBVP fund, and several individual angel investors.

Campfire Interactive: $37 Million Majority Investment From Invictus Growth Partners Raised

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Campfire Interactive - a leading provider of enterprise software solutions for manufacturing companies and automotive suppliers - announced it has secured a $37 million majority investment from Invictus Growth Partners. This funding marks a major milestone for Campfire and will support its continued growth, accelerate product innovation, and expand its market reach.

Hotel Engine: Travel Technology Company Raises $140 Million At $2.1 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Denver-based travel technology company Hotel Engine announced a $140 million Series C growth investment led by Permira Growth Opportunities II, a fund advised by global private equity firm Permira.

Apptega: Interview With CEO Dave Colesante About The Cybersecurity Compliance Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Apptega is a market-leading end-to-end cybersecurity compliance platform that security-focused IT providers and in-house teams use to build and manage cybersecurity and compliance programs simply, quickly and affordably. Pulse 2.0 interviewed CEO Dave Colesante to learn more about the company.

ChargeLab: Interview With CEO Zak Lefevre About The EV Charger Software Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

ChargeLab is a company that builds software for managing electric vehicle chargers. Pulse 2.0 interviewed ChargeLab CEO, Zak Lefevre, to learn more about the company.

Sware: Interview With CEO Ellen Reilly About The Digital Validation Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Sware is a leading digital validation and process automation across the healthcare, life sciences, and medical device industries. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Sware CEO Ellen Reilly to learn more about the company.

Device Authority: Interview With CEO Darron Antill About The Zero Trust Security Automation Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 25, 2024

Device Authority is a company that secures the connected future by automating Zero Trust security at scale, and is a recognized global leader in Identity and Access Management (IAM) for Enterprise IoT ecosystems. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Device Authority CEO Darron Antill to learn more about the company.

Letta: UC Berkeley GenAI Spin Out Raises $10 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

Letta, a new GenAI startup spun out of UC Berkeley's AI research lab, has emerged from stealth with a $10 million seed round led by Felicis with participation from Sunflower Capital and Essence VC. And notable angels include Jeff Dean (Chief Scientist at Google DeepMind), Clem Delangue (CEO of HuggingFace), Cristobal Valenzuela (CEO of Runway), Jordan Tigani (CEO of MotherDuck), Tristan Handy (CEO of dbt Labs), Robert Nishihara (co-founder of Anyscale), and Barry McCardel (CEO of Hex).

Meridian: Decentralized Liquidity Marketplace Secures $4 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

Meridian - a decentralized liquidity marketplace and liquid staking protocol built on Movement - announced it has raised $4 million in seed funding. The funding round, co-led by ParaFi Capital and Borderless Capital, saw participation from Amber Group, Saison Capital, Interop Ventures, and Oak Grove Ventures. And Meridian aims to spearhead the Move-based DeFi ecosystem on Movement, a network of blockchains created by Movement Labs.

Crosshatch: Personalization Identity Layer Company Secures $2.7 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

Crosshatch - an identity layer for personalization - announced its platform's public beta launch and an initial fundraising round of $2.7 million. And Crosshatch enables users to bring their data and context directly into apps, unlocking hyper-personalized experiences without compromising data control.

HavocAI: End-To-End Maritime Autonomy Solutions Company Raises $11 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

Trousdale Ventures and Scout Ventures have co-led a $11 million investment round in HavocAI, a developer of low-cost, collaborative, autonomous surface vessels. And HavocAI's fleet of uncrewed boats represents a game-changing solution, with capabilities delivered at incredibly low costs in an era where threats to global shipping and security intensify daily.

Baseload Capital: €53 Million (Series B) Closed For Advancing Geothermal Energy Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

Baseload Capital, a Swedish company scaling up geothermal energy worldwide, announced the closing of its €53 million Series B round of funding.

DELLI: Food And Drink Platform Company Secures $6 Million (Seed Extension)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

DELLI, an online platform for independent food and drink, announced a $6 million seed extension to capitalize on recent momentum. Launched by Depop alumni Marie Petrovicka and Simon Beckerman, DELLI has seen 16 times growth in sales since last year. Offering thousands of new products and hundreds of thousands of items sold, customers doubled their basket size on the platform and returned twice as often.

Jus Mundi: $22 Million (Series B) Raised And Jus AI Launched

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

Global legal AI company Jus Mund announced the launch of Jus AI, its research and productivity assistant for global legal professionals. The company has also secured €20 million (US $22 million) in Series B funding, one of the largest rounds of funding for a European legal tech company.

University Of California Advances Life Science Research Procurement With Labviva Partnership

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

The University of California (UC) has recently picked Labviva, a leading AI procurement platform for life sciences, to enhance procurement efficiency and research-related purchasing across all UC campuses. And the initial Labviva deployment occurred at UC San Diego in 2022, with UC Merced going live in September 2024.

DefectDojo: $7 Million Raised For Scaling AppSec Innovation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

DefectDojo, a pioneer in scalable application security, announced a $7 million funding round to respond to demand and accelerate its mission of connecting security strategy with execution for smarter risk management. This latest funding round, led by Iolar Ventures and Aspenwood Ventures, will drive innovation, product development, and market expansion.

Smartsheet To Be Acquired By Blackstone And Vista Equity For $8.4 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

Smartsheet - an enterprise platform for modern work management - announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by funds managed by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners in an all-cash transaction valued at about $8.4 billion.

Level AI: Interview With Founder & CEO Ashish Nagar About The Innovative Customer Service Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

Level AI is a state-of-the-art AI-native solutions company that was designed to drive efficiency, productivity, scale, and excellence in sales and customer service. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Level AI founder and CEO Ashish Nagar to learn more about the company.

Castlelake Selling $5 Billion Aircraft Portfolio To Avolon

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 24, 2024

Global alternative investment manager Castlelake announced it has entered into a sale-purchase agreement with leading global aviation finance company Avolon to sell a $5 billion, 118-aircraft portfolio held by Castlelake Aviation Limited (CA Ltd.).