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Avantax - a unique community within Cetera Holdings and a leader in tax-focused financial planning and wealth management - announced it welcomed financial advisors John Surace, Kelly Powers and their S&P Financial Services team (based in Hauppauge, New York in the heart of Long Island). And transferring to Avantax from Osaic, the team has approximately $150 million in client assets under administration as of June 2024.

Kara Boccella (a seasoned wealth advisor) and Devon Galindo, CFP, ChFC, AIF (a wealth advisor with 15+ years of experience serving high-net-worth clients) announced the launch of Serenus Wealth Advisors. The Santa Monica-based independent firm is focused on serving as a trusted partner for legal professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals and families nationwide.

Hanger Ventures (a Hanger, Inc. business whose primary objective is to advance orthotics and prosthetics innovation and improve patient outcomes) announced its debut investment in Canadian-based firm Bionic Power. As a developer of active lower body smart orthotic devices that enhance personal mobility, Bionic Power is raising Series A Round funding with Hanger Ventures committing as the lead investor.

Lario Therapeutics - a biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class precision medicines for epileptic and neurological disorders - announced it has been awarded a $6 million grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). This program is in collaboration with the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre, which will also be delivering key science as part of the grant.

Juno - the first company in the U.S. to provide child disability insurance - announced it has closed an $8.5 million Series A led by Spero Ventures with participation from Floating Point, Newark Ventures, and WVV Capital, bringing its total capital raised to $12.5 million.

Growth-focused private equity firm Bregal Sagemount announced the successful closing of its inaugural small-cap fund, Bregal Sagemount Basecamp I at $500 million. This fund closed at its target and hard cap, inclusive of strong support from existing limited partners, several new institutional investors, and a significant GP commitment.

Ani.VC, an early-stage venture fund for pets, has launched with an inaugural investment into DOG PPL, a canine social club expanding from its base in Los Angeles. This independent fund is focused on the more than $540 billion pet and animal health market, including veterinary health, therapeutics and technologies, nutrition and consumables, and pet longevity. And it will deploy $35 million over the next three years into companies across the US, Europe, and Asia.

Cetera Financial Group announced that a nine-person team doing business as Rally Wealth and Benefits has joined Summit Financial Networks. The firm (led by President Bruce Glenn) and his daughter Managing Partner Kristina Strickland provide comprehensive financial planning and investment advice to clients and had over $325 million in assets under administration as of March 1, 2024.

OXIO is the first cloud-native Telecom-as-a-Service (TaaS) platform that empowers any brand or enterprise to embed connectivity into its offering without the constraints of legacy telecom. To learn more, Pulse 2.0 interviewed OXIO CEO Nicolas Girard.

Aionic Digital is a company focused on software development and systems integration that is uniquely positioned to utilize its industry experience to develop practical solutions combined with expert consulting to maximize the value of its clients' investments. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Aionic Digital CEO Yaron Benjamin to learn more about the company.

Persistent Systems is a digital engineering and enterprise modernization company utilizing deep technical expertise to help clients stay ahead. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Persistent’s Senior Vice President & General Manager – Global Lead, Healthcare and Life Sciences Business Ganesh Nathella to learn more about the company.

CharmHealth is a company that developed a suite of products for providers that were built to address the application of cloud and mobile technologies for managing healthcare practices. Pulse 2.0 interviewed CharmHealth founder and CEO Pramila Srinivasan to learn more about the company.

CW Advisors (CWA) announced the acquisition of Mercadien Asset Management, an RIA located in Hamilton, New Jersey. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

USA Cares announced that it was granted $2 million in funding from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This allocation will be essential in providing financial hardship assistance to veterans across Kentucky, ensuring those who have served our country receive the support they deserve.

Linx Security, a modern identity security and governance solutions company, emerged from stealth and announced that it has raised $33 million in funding. The funding round was led by Index Ventures and Cyberstarts, with investors also including entrepreneurs Mickey Boodaei (Imperva, Trusteer, Transmit) and Rakesh Loonkar (Trusteer, Transmit), and Cerca Partners and Knollwood Investment Advisory.

UPS announced that it has agreed to buy Estafeta, a leading Mexican express delivery company. This deal is a key part of UPS' Better and Bolder strategy, aimed at becoming the world's premium international small package and logistics provider.

Krispy Kreme announced the sale of a majority ownership stake of Insomnia Cookies to Verlinvest and Mistral Equity Partners. This deal was set up as $350 million in total enterprise value, which has doubled since Krispy Kreme’s 2018 acquisition.

Vitable, an enhanced Direct Primary Care company working with SMB employers to deliver affordable and high-quality healthcare to hourly workers, announced it has raised a $16 million Series A funding round led by Cherryrock Capital with participation from Citi Impact Fund, First Round Capital, newark venture partners (nvp), Commerce Ventures, and Y Combinator.

Strive Enterprises, a financial services company with an asset management platform focused on maximizing long-run returns for investors, announced today that it closed a $30 million Series B financing round led by Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. Deason Capital Services (led the Series A round), Narya Capital, and several prominent entrepreneurs also participated in the funding.

Igloo, the parent company of Pudgy Penguins, today announced the closing of over $11 million in funding led by Founders Fund with additional investments from Fenbushi Capital, 1kx, Everest Ventures Group, and Selini Capital.

QA Wolf, a company that guarantees 80%+ end-to-end automated test coverage for web apps, announced a $36 million Series B funding round to accelerate its expansion into native mobile testing, which is set to launch later this year and is now open for waitlist. This funding round was led by Scale Venture Partners with participation from Threshold Ventures and Ventureforgood, and existing investors Inspired Capital and Notation Capital.

Evo Security, a leading provider of Identity and Access Management solutions for Managed Service Providers (MSPs), announced the successful completion of its Series A funding round - raising $6 million led by TechOperators, an Atlanta-based cybersecurity venture capital firm led by industry veterans. This funding round includes participation from Sorenson Capital, Prelude, Strategic Cyber Ventures, Inner Loop Capital, and new partner MetroSITE Group.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Off-the-Road (OTR) tire business to The Yokohama Rubber Company for $905 million in cash. The deal follows a previously announced strategic review of the OTR tire business concerning the Goodyear Forward transformation plan.

Agilent Technologies announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BIOVECTRA, a leading specialized contract development and manufacturing organization, for $925 million. BIOVECTRA produces biologics, highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients, and other molecules for targeted therapeutics.

Tellurian announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with subsidiaries of Woodside Energy Group Ltd, pursuant to which Woodside will acquire all the outstanding shares of Tellurian for $1 per share in an all-cash transaction.

TeamDynamics is a tool for individuals and teams who believe teamwork should be intentional and rewarding. Pulse 2.0 interviewed TeamDynamics co-founder Christopher Morrison to learn more about the company.

Terex announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Environmental Solutions Group (ESG) from Dover Corporation in a $2 billion all-cash transaction.

W, the men's personal care brand launched by Jake Paul, announced today it has raised a Series A led by Shrug Capital. With $14 million in funding to date, inclusive of seed financing and incubation from Anti Fund, the company is now valued at more than a $150 million valuation. The co-investors include Range Group, 305 Ventures, Uphonest Capital, Quiet Capital, and Palm Tree Crew, with participation from individuals including Celsius' CEO John Fieldly, Fanatic's CEO Michael Rubin, Lil Durk, Nick Kyrgios, Naomi Osaka, and Carter Reum and Paris Hilton.

Protexxa - one of the largest cybersecurity companies in the country - announced it has raised $10 million in Series A funding. The investors in the Series A include Bell Ventures (venture arm of Bell Canada) and Sandpiper Ventures. The round also saw support from existing shareholders, Export Development Canada, BKR Capital, The Firehood Angels, and Graphite Ventures. Additional investors include Global Risk Institute President and CEO Sonia Baxendale; Tricon and Cidel Co-founder Geoffrey Matus; former Home Depot Canada CEO and current NRStor CEO Annette Verschuren; and business lawyer and Distinguished Counsel in Residence at Toronto Metropolitan University Ralph Lean. Plus, Protexxa has welcomed a new advisor Dr. Donette Chin-Loy Chang.