Archives

Insigneo Teams With Karta To Launch Global Charge Card For International Clients With U.S. Assets

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Insigneo, an international wealth management firm headquartered in Miami, announced a partnership with fintech startup Karta to launch a co-branded global charge card for high-net-worth international clients holding U.S.-based assets. The companies said the agreement gives Insigneo exclusive rights as the first wealth management firm to offer a co-branded charge card with Karta, positioning the launch as part of Insigneo’s broader push to add new tools and services tailored to cross-border clients.

Stifel Scales Wealth Platform As Fee-Based Assets And Client Balances Hit New Highs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Stifel Financial reported continued progress in its wealth management strategy in 2025, pointing to advisor growth, rising fee-based assets, and record client asset levels as key drivers in its Global Wealth Management business. The company said Global Wealth Management delivered record fourth-quarter net revenues of $933.2 million, up from $865.2 million a year earlier, as higher asset management revenue, improved client activity, and balance-sheet growth supported results. Pre-tax net income for the segment totaled $330.1 million for the quarter.

Fidelity To Launch First Stablecoin Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD) For Retail And Institutional Investors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Fidelity Investments announced it will launch its first stablecoin, Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), expanding its digital asset investment lineup with a fiat backed token designed to maintain a one dollar value per unit. The company said FIDD will be issued by Fidelity Digital Assets, National Association, with availability for retail and institutional investors expected in the coming weeks.

CMA CGM And Stonepeak Form United Ports JV In $2.4 Billion Terminal Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

CMA CGM Group and infrastructure investment firm Stonepeak have agreed to form UNITED PORTS LLC, a U.S. joint venture designed to acquire 10 major CMA CGM operated port terminals around the world. Under the agreement, Stonepeak will invest $2.4 billion for a 25% minority stake, while CMA CGM will hold 75% and retain full operational control of the terminals.

SimonMed Launches Longevity Division And Rebrands Around AI-Enabled Preventive Imaging

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

SimonMed Imaging has introduced an updated brand and launched SimonMed Longevity, a new division centered on AI-enabled preventive care and longevity screening. The initiative marks what the company described as the next phase of its evolution as a national diagnostic imaging provider, expanding emphasis beyond traditional diagnostics to include earlier risk identification and preventive support powered by artificial intelligence.

Osaic: $164 Million Advisor Chris Livingston Joins

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Osaic announced that financial advisor Chris Livingston has affiliated with the firm and joined Oakfield Wealth Management Group, an Osaic-affiliated team led by Private Wealth Advisor Anthony Macaluso. Livingston, who is based in Brooklyn, New York, brings approximately $164 million in assets under administration and more than 25 years of industry experience to the platform.

Raymond James Unveils ‘Rai,’ A Proprietary AI Operations Agent For Internal Q&A And Process Support

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Raymond James has launched a proprietary digital AI operations agent called Rai, expanding the firm’s long-term artificial intelligence strategy with a new internal tool designed to deliver fast, curated answers to operational questions. The agent uses natural language processing and generative AI to respond in plain language, drawing on multiple Raymond James knowledge bases and adapting over time based on user activity and preferences.

Dentons: Beth Taylor Named As Global Chief Legal Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Dentons has strengthened its Global Leadership Team with the appointment of Beth Taylor as Global Chief Legal Officer and the promotion of Shane Mercer to Global Chief Information Officer. Both executives will join the firm’s Global Management Committee and report to Global CEO Kate Barton.

Yahoo Debuts Scout, A New AI Answer Engine Built On Its Search History and Data Assets

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Yahoo has introduced Yahoo Scout, a proprietary AI-powered answer engine that the company says is now available in beta for U.S. users across Yahoo Search and the broader Yahoo product portfolio. Yahoo said Scout is being rolled out on desktop and mobile, positioning the product for a wide consumer footprint across Mail, News, Finance, Sports, and other Yahoo services.

Celona: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Rajeev Shah About The 5G And LTE Networking Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Celona provides an integrated, cloud-native private 5G networking platform designed to help enterprises easily deploy and manage secure, high-performance wireless connectivity for mission-critical applications. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Celona co-founder and CEO Rajeev Shah to learn more.

Cloud Capital: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Ed Barrow About The Financial Tech Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Cloud Capital is a financial technology platform that helps CFOs and finance teams forecast, manage, and reduce cloud infrastructure spend through automated, risk-free commitments. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Cloud Capital co-founder and CEO Ed Barrow to learn more.

Patchworks: Interview With CEO Jim Herbert About The No-Code Integration Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Patchworks is a no-code/low-code integration platform (iPaaS) that helps eCommerce and retail businesses automate and manage data flows between systems like their storefront, ERP, WMS/3PL, finance, and other back-office tools. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Patchworks CEO Jim Herbert to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

LoyaltyLion: Interview With CEO Charlie Casey About The Loyalty Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

LoyaltyLion is a data-driven eCommerce loyalty and engagement platform that helps online brands build customized rewards (and referral) programs to increase customer retention and repeat sales. Pulse 2.0 interviewed LoyaltyLion CEO Charlie Casey to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

NewEdge Advisors Adds $1.4 Billion ClearTrust Wealth Advisors Team In Tennessee

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

NewEdge Capital Group announced ClearTrust Wealth Advisors has affiliated with NewEdge Advisors, bringing a 24-person team and approximately $1.4 billion in client assets to the firm’s growth-oriented registered investment advisor platform. ClearTrust is based in Franklin, Tennessee, and joins from Ameriprise Financial, where the team managed the assets prior to the move.

Limy: $10 Million Raised To Help Brands Optimize For The Agentic Web And AI Storefronts

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Limy, an infrastructure platform focused on optimizing brand performance in what it calls the “Agentic Web,” has emerged from stealth and announced a $10 million funding round. The financing was led by Flybridge, with participation from a16z speedrun, along with other investors including Axiom, Clarim, Communitas, and JRV & AnD.

Stellular Bio: Series 1 Financing Closed To Advance Regenerative Biologic For Sjögren’s Dry Eye

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Stellular Bio, which is developing Platelet-derived Regenerative Biologic (PRB) therapeutics, announced it has closed its Series 1 financing round to support advancement of its lead candidate, STLR-201, toward clinical testing as a treatment for Sjögren’s disease dry eye.

MBZUAI, G42, And Cerebras Release K2 Think V2, An Open Reasoning System For The UAE

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

G42, Cerebras Systems, and the Institute of Foundation Models at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence said they have released K2 Think V2, a 70 billion parameter reasoning system built on the new K2 V2 base model. The organizations described K2 V2 as IFM’s strongest frontier class open source foundation model and said it was purpose built to serve as the base for K2 Think.

Vention: $110 Million Raised To Scale Physical AI And Expand Access to Industrial Automation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Vention announced it has raised $110 million in new financing (C$150 million) to accelerate its push into what it calls Physical AI and to help manufacturers automate more quickly and with less complexity. The company said the round included participation from Investissement Québec, Desjardins Capital, Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, and NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture capital arm, along with other financial institutions.

Emobi: $3.4 Million Seed Funding Raised To Scale JustPlug And Expand Plug-And-Charge EV Roaming

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Emobi announced it has closed a $3.4 million seed round to expand its JustPlug technology and scale its EV charging roaming infrastructure across North America. The company is known as North America’s largest EV charging roaming and JustPlug infrastructure provider and said the new capital will be used to strengthen its technical platform and accelerate commercial partnerships with automakers, fleets, charging operators, and infrastructure providers.

Curate: $10 Million Raised To Help Restaurants Build Loyalty Without Requiring App Downloads

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Curate Technologies, a hospitality platform that powers instant, white-labeled mobile ordering and loyalty experiences, has raised $10 million in a new round of funding led by Kirk Brown, co-founder of ZoomInfo. The round also included institutional support from K5 Global, a venture capital firm co-founded by Michael Kives and Bryan Baum, and participation from individual investors, including NFL wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and Carl Cheng, founder of Pieology.

Elysium Therapeutics: $7.5 Million SAFE Round Raised To Advance SOOPR Rescue Therapy For Oral Fentanyl Overdose

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Elysium Therapeutics announced it has completed a $7.5 million SAFE round to accelerate development of SOOPR (Synthetic Opioid Overdose Protection and Reversal), a novel rescue treatment the company is designing specifically to prevent and reverse overdoses caused by highly potent synthetic opioids, particularly when ingested orally. The Lyons, Colorado-based biopharmaceutical company said the financing will support efforts to move SOOPR through additional preclinical and clinical work.

Lassen Peak: Over $10 Million Raised To Bring Handheld Terahertz Radar Concealed-Weapon Detection To Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Lassen Peak announced it has completed a mix of debt and equity financings totaling more than $10 million to fund product completion and prepare for market introduction of what it describes as the world’s first fully integrated handheld radar system for concealed weapon detection.

CraniUS Therapeutics: $20 Million Series B Raised To Advance NeuroPASS Platform For Targeted Brain Drug Delivery

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

CraniUS Therapeutics announced it closed a $20 million Series B financing to accelerate development of NeuroPASS, a fully implantable, skull embedded platform intended to bypass the blood brain barrier and enable targeted drug delivery and monitoring in the brain.

Factify: $73 Million Seed Funding Closed To Build A Post-PDF ‘Intelligent Document’ Standard

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Factify, a startup aiming to replace static PDFs with what it calls “Factified” documents, announced it has raised $73 million in seed funding to build a new document standard designed for AI-driven business workflows. The round was led by Valley Capital Partners and included participation from technology and business leaders, including John Giannandrea, former Head of AI at Google and SVP of AI at Apple, Ken Moelis, founder of Moelis & Co., and Peter Brown, CEO of quantitative hedge fund Renaissance Technologies.

Guardian Payroll Services: Interview With President Matt Taylor About The Business Management Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Guardian Payroll Services provides customizable, technology-driven payroll, human resources, and tax compliance solutions that combine automated systems with dedicated personal support to help businesses streamline employee administration. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Guardian Payroll Services President Matt Taylor to learn more.

NexAIoT: Interview With CTO Dr. Hoe Seng Ooi About The Smart Manufacturing Solutions Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

NexAIoT provides Industry 4.0 smart-manufacturing solutions—combining industrial PCs, IoT automation/edge computing, and enterprise data-integration software with consulting and implementation services to help factories digitize and operate more efficiently. Pulse 2.0 interviewed NexAIoT CTO Dr. Hoe Seng Ooi to learn more.

Datatruck: $12 Million Series A Closed To Build An AI-Native Operating System For Long-Haul Trucking

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Datatruck, a Chicago-based platform positioning itself as an AI-native operating system for North American long-haul carriers, announced it has raised a $12 million Series A round led by Avenue Growth Partners, with participation from existing investors. The company said the funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand its teams, and scale adoption among carriers that are replacing legacy transportation management systems with AI-driven platforms.

EAM Closes $575 Million Fund II For Growth Software Investments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Equality Asset Management (EAM), a Boston-based private equity firm focused on transformative growth software and technology companies, announced it has closed its second fund, EAM Private Equity Partners II, L.P., with $575 million in total capital commitments. The firm said the fund was oversubscribed, with investor demand exceeding its hard cap.

Scholé AI: $3 Million Raised To Bring Personalized And Role Based Learning To Enterprise AI Upskilling

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Scholé AI, an AI native workforce learning platform, has raised $3 million in funding to expand deployments, hire, and continue building its adaptive learning product. The round was led by ACE Ventures with participation from The House Fund and FundF.

Minovia Therapeutics: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Dr. Natalie Yivgi-Ohana About The Biotech Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Minovia Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech developing mitochondria-based cell therapies—using its Mitochondrial Augmentation Technology (MAT) to transplant healthy mitochondria into cells to treat diseases driven by mitochondrial dysfunction, including rare genetic mitochondrial disorders. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Minovia Therapeutics co-founder and CEO Dr. Natalie Yivgi-Ohana to gain a deeper understanding of the company.