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Create Health Ventures, a VC firm exclusively focused on early-stage digital health startups with founders from the healthcare industry, announced the closing of its first fund of $21 million and its goal of investing in innovations that improve access to care for everyone, enhance the patient experience and facilitate better patient health outcomes. And the firm invests in business-to-business (B2B) solutions that payers and pharmaceutical companies can utilize to meet business goals ranging from enhanced patient engagement and a more effective care journey to recruitment and retention in clinical trials as the need for participants accelerates. 

Journey Strategic Wealth, a national RIA for independent advisors, announced the addition of the MDL Wealth advisory team, including founder Michael LaBarbera, advisor Ted Albrecht, and service advisors Carol Liddy and Sheila Meneses, bringing Journey's total AUM to $3.7 billion.

Summit Financial, ​​a leading architect of advisor success and client satisfaction for over four decades - in collaboration with Merchant Investment Management - announced that it has acquired an equity stake in the wealth management arm of Meeder Investment Management. 

Q5 Wealth Management, a financial advisory team managing $1.5 billion in client assets in Beaumont and Houston, Texas, recently joined the independent channel of Ameriprise Financial from UBS Financial Services. And financial advisors Omar Bitar, Jeremy Saba, Mike Persia, Ed Persia, and Brad Klein conducted an extensive search for a new broker-dealer and chose Ameriprise for the firm’s robust resources to elevate their high-net-worth clients’ experience and significantly scale their practice. These advisors were specifically energized by Ameriprise’s innovative and fully integrated digital capabilities that will consistently make it more efficient in exceeding clients’ expectations.

Raymond James announced a couple of major hires. This includes a $290 million advisor team and a $150 million financial advisor.

LPL Financial announced that financial advisor Alberto Francis has joined LPL Financial’s high-net-worth-focused employee affiliation model, LPL Private Wealth Management, to launch Rockview Private Wealth. And he reported having served approximately $725 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets and joins LPL from Bank of America Private Bank.

Enterprise Products Partners and Piñon Midstream (a portfolio company of Black Bay Energy Capital) announced today that Enterprise’s affiliate has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Piñon Midstream in a debt-free transaction for $950 million in cash consideration. Piñon Midstream offers natural gas gathering and treating services in the core of the prolific eastern flank of the Delaware Basin in New Mexico and Texas. 

Efficient Capital Labs (ECL), a leading revenue-based financing provider that provides non-dilutive capital to B2B SaaS companies operating in the South Asia-U.S. corridor, announced an $11 million Series A fundraising co-led by QED Investors and 645 Ventures. This funding round included participation from existing investors Riverside and Generalist, as well as new investors FJ Labs and Eudemian Ventures.

Commonwealth Financial Network, a national firm dedicated to providing financial advisors with holistic, integrated business solutions, announced that Krueger Financial Services of Tempe, Arizona, has joined its network of independent financial advisors. Formerly affiliated with Osaic, the team reported serving over $630 million in client assets. The advisors include Kim Krueger, CFP, Eric Krueger, CFP, and Tim Hill, CFP, on the staff of nine.

Admiral, a Visitor Relationship Management (VRM) company, announced the closing of $19 million in growth equity and debt funding, led by Harbert Growth Partners, the growth equity team of Harbert Management Corporation (HMC), joined by Bridge Bank and others. This latest funding round, combined with previous equity and debt, brings Admiral's total capital raised to $28 million, with Admiral funding partners including Birchmere Ventures, Gulfshore Capital, Florida Opportunity Fund, and media publisher Capitol Broadcasting. 

XII Medical, a clinical-stage medical technology company developing innovative therapies for obstructive sleep apnea, announced the closing of a $45 million Series B equity financing. This financing was led by Omega Funds and joined by new investor Intuitive Ventures. Existing investors also joined, including founding investor Cleveland Clinic, Ajax Health, Longview Ventures (an affiliate of Broadview Ventures), Aperture Venture Partners, JobsOhio Growth Capital Fund, and an undisclosed strategic investor. The funds will be utilized to further product and clinical development. XII Medical developed a patient-centric neuromodulation therapy designed to enhance the quality of life for the millions of people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. 

Bitfarms (a global vertically integrated Bitcoin data center company) and Stronghold Digital Mining entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Bitfarms will acquire Stronghold in a stock-for-stock merger transaction. This deal is valued at approximately $125 million equity value along with the assumption of debt valued at roughly $50 million. 

Vector Group announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by JT Group, a global company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in tobacco, pharmaceuticals and processed food. And JT Group’s global tobacco business (based in Geneva, Switzerland) manufactures and sells some of the world’s best-known brands in over 130 markets worldwide – including Winston and Camel (outside the U.S.), MEVIUS and LD. 

Leading global law firm Baker McKenzie recently announced several major hires. These hires will expand the firm to Monterrey, Johannesburg, and Palo Alto. 

LPL Financial announced that financial advisors Jason Walker, Vladimir Nikitenko, CFP, H. Scott Braswell, Rosty Tkachenko, and John Hydrick, CFP, have joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer, RIA, and custodial platforms, which are aligned with existing firm Integrated Financial Group (IFG). They reported serving approximately $615 million in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets and joined LPL from Lincoln (now part of Osaic).

Reliant AI, a provider of gen AI-powered data analytics software, announced today it is launching out of stealth with $11.3 million in seed funding. This new funding round was co-led by Tola Capital and Inovia Capital, with participation from angel investor Mike Volpi.

Caresyntax, a vendor-neutral precision surgery platform, announced it raised a total commitment of $180 million through a series C extension and growth debt expansion round. The investors in the $180 million round include Symbiotic Capital, MTIP AG, BIONIQ Capital, PFM Health Sciences, Pictet Alternative Advisors, surgical.ai, BlackRock Innovation Capital, Aescuvest, Optum Ventures, Cure Capital, Relyens Group, Vesalius Biocapital, Lauxera Capital, Plug & Play Growth Fund, and ProAssurance.

Trunk Tools, an AI-based construction project management company, announced it raised $20 million in Series A funding. This new funding round was led by Redpoint Ventures and participated in by Innovation Endeavors, which led the seed round. This brings the total capital raised to date to $30 million.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced that it is buying Morpheus Data, a pioneer in software for hybrid cloud management and platform operations. The acquisition of Morpheus validates HPE’s commitment to simplifying IT complexity by expanding the hybrid operations capabilities available through the HPE GreenLake cloud. 

Rx Save Card, a pharmacy benefit solution that enables employers and their employees to integrate an array of cost containment strategies into one integrated navigation and payment experience, announced the successful completion of their $1.7 million seed funding round led by Distributed Ventures and participation from industry insiders.

Thintronics announced it closed its Series A Extension by adding M Ventures (the CVC arm of Merck KGaA), TGVP (the US CVC arm of TOPPAN Holdings), and previous investor Tallwood Venture Capital. Maverick Capital and Translink Capital led the Series A round. The California-based electronic materials company supplies high-performance insulators for emerging AI data centers, networking, and RF/millimeter-wave (mmW) applications.

Johnson & Johnson announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire V-Wave, a privately-held company developing innovative treatment options for patients with heart failure. As part of the deal, Johnson & Johnson will acquire V-Wave for an upfront payment of $600 million, subject to customary adjustments, with the potential for additional regulatory and commercial milestone payments up to approximately $1.1 billion. V-Wave will be joining Johnson & Johnson as part of Johnson & Johnson MedTech.

Flint Capital announced the final closing of its third VC fund for early-stage startups and a later-stage fund, securing a total of $160 million. The funds were raised from IT entrepreneurs who favor the fund's stable venture profits in high-multiplier industries over increasingly risky alternative assets and entrusted a record amount to Flint Capital. This capital will assist early-stage European and Israeli startups in target industries, including Cybersecurity, Digital Health, Fintech, Enterprise SaaS, and B2C, in entering the U.S. market. 

Userled – an AI-based company transforming how B2B companies create and manage personalized marketing campaigns at scale – announced it has raised £4 million in a pre-seed funding round led by LocalGlobe, with participation from Dig Ventures. This funding round will be used to continue hiring the world’s top talent to build the best marketing technology products.

Qubit Capital announced it has made a significant impact by transforming how startups connect with investors. And through its AI-driven matchmaking platform, Qubit secured over $9 million for different startups in recent funding rounds in the second quarter of this year, enabling them to thrive in a competitive market.

Global investment firm KKR announced that it has acquired a portfolio of six well-located, Class A industrial logistics properties in major U.S. Gateway and Sunbelt markets for approximately $377 million.

HistoSonics, a manufacturer of the Edison Histotripsy System and novel histotripsy therapy platforms, announced the completion of an oversubscribed $102 million Series D financing. This funding round was led by Alpha Wave Ventures, a world leader in growth stage investments, with participation from new investors Amzak Health and HealthQuest Capital, and existing investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), Venture Investors, Lumira Ventures, Yonjin Venture, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, and others.

Chicago-based private investment firm NextGen Growth Partners (NGP) has closed its third fund, NextGen Growth Partners Fund III, LP at its $165 million hard cap. And Fund III was oversubscribed at a first and final close, welcoming capital commitments from new institutional partners alongside continued support from its existing partners.

Innovorg is a skills-building and workforce optimization AI-powered platform that is purpose-built for the cloud and data center space. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Innovorg founder and CEO Elya McCleave.

Sarcura is a company powering cell therapy mass customization through a miniaturized and autonomous manufacturing platform. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Sarcura co-founder and CEO Danila Buchmayr to learn more about the company.