Archives

Farmblox: Farm Automation Company Raises $2.5 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Farmblox (a farm automation system connecting equipment and in-field sensors to the internet so farmers can see everything from their phone or computer and take action) announced that it has raised $2.5 million in seed funding to propel expansion and scale into new markets such as vineyards and orchards. This oversubscribed funding round was led by Hyperplane, with participation from Slow Ventures, MHS Capital, and Service Provider Capital.

Spear Bio: $45 Million (Series A) Raised To Advance Protein Research And Disease Diagnostics

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Spear Bio (a biotechnology company enabling the measurement of protein molecules down to dozens of copies with ubiquitous qPCR equipment) announced the closing of its $45 million Series A financing. This oversubscribed round was co-led by Foresite Capital and Bio-Techne Corporation, with additional participation from existing investors including Maverick Ventures, Yonjin Capital and CDH Investments. Vikram Bajaj, Managing Director of Foresite Capital, has joined the company’s Board of Directors.

Halda Therapeutics Raises $126 Million (Series B) To Advance Cancer Therapies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Halda Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing a novel class of cancer therapies called RIPTAC (Regulated Induced Proximity TArgeting Chimeras) therapeutics, announced today that it has raised new financing of $126 million in a Series B extension, including funding from new investors Deep Track Capital, Frazier Life Sciences, RA Capital Management, Vida Ventures, Boxer Capital and Taiho Ventures, as well as existing investors Canaan Partners, Access Biotechnology, Elm Street Ventures, and Connecticut Innovations. With this funding round, Halda has raised $202 million to date from investors.

Symbiotic Capital: Life Science Credit Firm Raises Over $600 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Global life science credit firm Symbiotic Capital has been officially unveiled with more than $600 million in capital committed and targeted for investments and co-investments. Symbiotic Capital is affiliated with Bellco Capital, a Los Angeles-based investment firm founded by biotechnology entrepreneur Dr. Arie Belldegrun. Symbiotic will structure and originate credit solutions to compelling life science companies to support scientific innovation across biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics, tools, synthetic biology, and other healthcare subsectors.

Boostly: Restaurant Marketing Platform Company Secures $5.6 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Boostly, a marketing platform for restaurants, announced it has raised $5.6 million in seed funding, led by Trestle Partners and with participation from Relish Works, Singularity Capital, and Y Combinator. This funding will accelerate Boostly's goal of providing rocket fuel for restaurants by utilizing customer data to drive orders and revenue with minimal effort.

DevRev: AI-Based Customer Support Company Raises $100 Million (Series A) At $1.1 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

DevRev, an AI-based platform that integrates customer support and product development, announced the completion of a $100.8 million Series A funding round, bringing its valuation to $1.15 billion. And DevRev is backed by prominent investors such as Khosla Ventures, Mayfield Fund, and Dheeraj Pandey’s family office, Param Hansa Values, and several accelerators and family offices of tech CEOs and VCs.

LPL Brings In $180 Million SoundWay Financial Team

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

LPL Financial announced that financial advisors with SoundWay Financial have joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer, RIA and custodial platforms - which is aligned with existing firm Balmville Wealth Group (BWG). And they serve about $180 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets* and join LPL from Cetera.

Artax Biopharma: $8 Million Raised To Transform Treatment Of Autoimmune Diseases

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Artax Biopharma, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on transforming the treatment of autoimmune diseases, announced the closing of an $8 million convertible debt financing, supported by Eli Lilly and Company, Advent Life Sciences, Columbus Ventures, Sound Bioventures and Belinda Termeer.

NeuroTherapia: $12.3 Million Secured To Address Neuro-Inflammatory Conditions Of The CNS

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

NeuroTherapia, a clinical-stage company and Cleveland Clinic Innovations portfolio company focused on developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, announced the first closing of its Series B financing with $12.3 million in funding. The Series B funding round, led by Cleveland Clinic, includes all previous investors, Brain Trust Accelerator Fund II, Dolby Family Ventures, and the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), and new investors, Foundation for a Better World, and CRUINT.

Abnormal Security: $250 Million (Series D) Raised At $5.1 Billion Valuation To Prevent Inbound Attacks And Detect Compromised Accounts

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Abnormal Security, a leader in AI-native human behavior security, announced the closing of its Series D funding round, with total expected proceeds of $250 million at a $5.1 billion valuation. This current round brings the total expected proceeds to $546 million and is led by Wellington Management, with participation from existing investors Greylock Partners, Menlo Ventures, Insight Partners and CrowdStrike Falcon Fund.

HubiFi: Financial Intelligence Company Secures $2.5 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

HubiFi, an advanced financial intelligence and revenue recognition solution, announced it has secured $2.5 million in a seed funding round co-led by Motivate Ventures, Anthemis (supported by Foxe Capital), and Rev1. The company revealed the launch of the Stripe Connector, enabling enterprise accounting and finance teams to measure revenue to cash with the click of a button.

Spineology: Medical Device Company Raises $25 Million (Series AA)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Spineology, a medical device company pioneering Conform and Expand spinal fusion technology, announced that it has raised $25 million in Series AA financing led by SV Health Investors, with participation from 1315 Capital and its existing investor, RC Capital.

Descope: Helping Customers Easily Customize User Journeys Through Visual Workflows

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Descope is a company that helps developers build secure, frictionless authentication and user journeys for any application. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Descope co-founder Rishi Bhargava to learn more about the company.

Icebreaker: Open Professional Network Company Raises $5 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Icebreaker - which is the world's first open professional network - announced a $5 million seed round, led by CoinFund. This funding round will help grow Icebreaker's world-class team and further its progress toward scaling the internet's open, verifiable, and trusted professional network. This funding round also includes participation from Accomplice, Anagram, Legion Capital, and more than 30 founder angels.

GiftCrowd: An Easy Way To Gift Together In A $50 Billion Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

GiftCrowd offers an easy way to gift together hassle-free regardless of whether you are buying a gift for your kid’s friend or buying a gift for a coworker. Pulse 2.0 interviewed GiftCrowd CEO and founder Eshed Doni to learn more about the company.

CapTrust Surpasses $1 Trillion In Client Assets

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

CAPTRUST Financial Advisors announced a major milestone: surpassing $1 trillion of total client assets as of June 30, 2024. Launched in Raleigh, North Carolina, CAPTRUST has grown to a national firm with clients in all 50 states.

EQ Tickets: The Story Behind This Affordable Event Ticket Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

EQ Tickets is a social ticketing platform built with the purpose of creating more connection around music, sports and other live events. With over 20 years of experience in sports, entertainment, and music industries, co-founders and brothers Aaron and Ryan Caradonna and artist-executive Matt Raposo (Rapta) are addressing high resale ticket prices head-on. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Ryan Caradonna and Rapta to learn more.

AIRNA: RNA Editing Therapeutics Company Raises $60 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

AIRNA, a biotech company pioneering RNA editing therapeutics to restore the health of patients with rare and common diseases, announced the successful closing of an oversubscribed $60 million financing round, bringing the total Series A funding to $90 million.

Best Parents: The Company Matching Teenagers With College-Preparatory Resources

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Best Parents is the first marketplace of boarding academic courses for 13 to 17-year-olds. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Best Parents co-founder Burçin Advani to learn more about the company.

Athena Security: Weapons Detection Systems Company Raises $10 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Athena Security, a leader in concealed weapons detection system software inspired by the Homeland Security Best Practices, announced the completion of a $10 million seed funding round led by its founders Lisa Falzone and Chris Ciabarra. This funding round validates Chris and Lisa's confidence in Athena's CWDS technology and the growing demand for advanced security solutions.

Posos: How This AI-Based Company Streamlines Medical Prescriptions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Posos is an advanced artificial intelligence platform dedicated to medical prescriptions. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Posos co-founder and CEO Emmanuel Bilbault to learn more about the company.

Balderton Capital: $1.3 Billion In New Funds Announced For Backing European Companies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Balderton Capital, one of Europe’s leading technology venture capital firms, announced today its $615 million Early Stage Fund IX and $685 million Growth Fund II, to back ambitious entrepreneurs from seed stage through IPO across Europe.

3V Infrastructure: Up To $40 Million Raised To Expand EV Charging Access

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

3V Infrastructure, a new electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure owner and operator, announced its formation with a goal of accelerating widespread access to EV charging. Created with top-tier talent, 3V Infrastructure builds and operates Level 2 EV chargers in long-dwell properties like multifamily housing and hotels, eliminating upfront and ongoing costs for real estate portfolio owners and managers. The company has also secured a commitment of up to $40 million from an affiliate of Greenbacker Capital Management, which provides strategic growth capital to leading energy transition companies.

Cognigy: How This AI-Based Company Is Transforming The Customer Service Industry In An $8+ Billion Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Cognigy is a company that is transforming the customer service industry by providing the most cutting-edge AI Agent platform for voice and chat in the industry. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Cognigy VP of Marketing Alan Ranger to learn more about the company.

Arch: $100 Billion In Platform Assets Surpassed And Team Expands

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Arch, a digital admin platform modernizing private investment operations and investor communications, announced it has processed more than $100 billion in private markets assets on the platform.

BrightNight: $440 Million (Strategic Investment) Raised From Goldman Sachs Alternatives

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

BrightNight (a leading renewable power company designed to provide utility and commercial and industrial customers with clean and dispatchable renewable power solutions) raised a $440 million strategic investment from the Infrastructure business at Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

Savvy Wealth: $26.5 Million (Series A) Closed To Provide Financial Advisors With Advanced AI Tools

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 12, 2024

Savvy Wealth (a digital-first platform for financial advisors centered around transforming human financial advice) announced an additional $15.5 million funding round led by Canvas Ventures. This latest funding round, which closes the company’s $26.5 million Series A round, will accelerate the development of its artificial intelligence AI-based technology platform, expand its product and engineering teams, and recruit entrepreneurial advisors to its national affiliate registered investment advisor (RIA), Savvy Advisors. The funding round also saw participation from existing and new investors, including Thrive Capital, Brewer Lane Ventures, Index Ventures, The House Fund, and Alumni Ventures.

AeroShield: Material Science MIT Spin Out Company Raises $5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 11, 2024

AeroShield Materials, an MIT spinout developing advanced technology for energy efficiency applications in the built environment, announced the opening of its new manufacturing facility in Waltham, Massachusetts, and the closing of $5 million in additional funding. Existing investors Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and MassVentures participated, as did new investor MassMutual Ventures.

KKR Buying Majority Stake In FGS ($1.7 Billion Deal)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 11, 2024

KKR announced the acquisition of WPP’s full equity position in FGS Global, a major global communications and public affairs consultancy. The proposed deal is supported by FGS management, builds on KKR’s initial minority investment in July 2023, and values FGS at $1.7 billion.

Robertson Stephens Brings In $530 Million Ratio Wealth Team

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 11, 2024

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management announced its fourth acquisition of the year and strategically expanded its presence in Colorado with the addition of Ratio Wealth Group, an SEC-registered investment advisor managing over $530 million in advisory assets. And Derek Scarth and Graham Gerlach, co-founders of Ratio Wealth Group, join Robertson Stephens with their team, including Josh Freedman, Nancy Kimball, Becky Neils, Jen Padgett, Jack Seavall, and Shawn Wallace.