Archives

Apple Tree Partners (ATP) - a leader in life sciences venture capital - has unveiled Red Queen Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel antiviral treatments for the general population and especially for immunocompromised patients who are at increased risk of severe illness or death from common and emerging viral pathogens. Red Queen operates with a $55 million Series A commitment from ATP. The company also has additional funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, specifically for the preclinical development of a pan-influenza therapeutic.

Cala Systems, a creator of highly intelligent heat pump water heaters that ensure comfort, save energy, reduce emissions, and integrate with the home, today announced $5.6 million in seed funding and the commercial launch of its product. The funding round was led by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and Clean Energy Venture Group. It included Burnt Island Ventures, Leap Forward Ventures, CapeVista Capital, Collaborative Fund, and Climate Capital.

Neon, a serverless Postgres database built for developers, announced a $25.6 million strategic investment led by M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund. Existing investors Abstract Ventures, General Catalyst, Menlo Ventures, and Notable Capital participated in the follow-up investment. This investment brings Neon's total funding to $130.6 million since its founding in 2021.

Streamkap, a real-time data streaming provider, announced it raised $3.3 million in seed and pre-seed funding for its low-cost and low-maintenance streaming ETL platform. The investors include InReach Ventures, TEN13, Haatch, and Begin Capital. The company has also attracted angel investors with positions at companies like Datadog, Anthropic, and ClickHouse.

WorkJam , a leading digital frontline workplace, announced it has received a $20 million investment from Export Development Canada (EDC) to expand its international operations. WorkJam will use the new funding to fuel its global marketing efforts in Europe and Asia.

IONETIX, a leading cyclotron technology innovator and isotope manufacturer for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, announced a round of funding. The investors included Eli Lilly and Company and existing shareholders led by Tees River Limited.

SYSO, a leading market operator of renewable energy and battery storage assets, announced the completion of its Series B funding round at $14.5 million.

Companion Protect, a Kansas City-based pet health administration company, announced it has closed a $20.25 million extension round from Series A investors. This follows last year's $27 million Series A funding round from Avanta Ventures, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Old Republic International, and Stray Dog Enterprises.

MYAVANA, the trailblazer in AI-driven personalized hair care, announced it has closed a $5.9 million seed round. This funding round validates MYAVANA's pivotal role in transforming the global hair care market.

Cetera Holdings announced that Cetera's employee-based RIA The Retirement Planning Group (TRPG) has acquired Watters Financial Services. With about $180 million in assets under management (as of March 31, 2024), the father-son team at Watters Financial Services is based in Paramus, New Jersey and led by Tim Watters, CFP, and Colin Watters, CFP, (father and son, respectively).

Dentons announced that Mark Wetjen has joined the Firm’s Federal Regulatory and Compliance practice as a partner, resident in its Washington, DC, office. Wetjen's career spans across government, regulatory, in-house legal and private practice, with experience in financial markets, asset management, digital assets, derivatives, commodities and financial technology matters.

Financial advisor Michael Walstien has recently joined the branch channel of Ameriprise Financial from UBS Financial Services with $150 million in assets in Wayzata, Minnesota.

Science and nutrition company ZOE announced new investment from US-based Coefficient Capital. The New York based investment firm is investing $15 million and is adding ZOE to its lineup of technology-enabled consumer brands that it believes have the power to drive transformational consumer shifts.

Bluespring Wealth Partners, a leading acquirer of independent RIAs and hybrid wealth management firms, announced the acquisition of Rodgers & Associates Wealth Advisers (Rodgers & Associates), a wealth management firm specializing in retirement planning based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This deal comes shortly after Bluespring’s fifth anniversary celebration and brings the company’s community of partner firms to 27 total.

Cybersecurity company Endari announced its official launch from stealth mode by Nils Puhlmann, who is a seasoned cybersecurity veteran with over 30 years of experience. And the company has also raised $4 million in seed funding.

Kirkland & Ellis announced that Laura Vartain Horn has joined the firm as a Intellectual Property Practice Group partner. Vartain Horn is a former senior federal prosecutor with over a decade of experience handling and overseeing significant criminal, intellectual property, national security and cybersecurity cases.

Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a specialist global investment manager focused exclusively on the infrastructure needed for the energy transition, announced it has held a final closing of the Net Zero Power Fund.

Outpace Bio, a cell therapy company using unrivaled AI-powered protein design to program immune cells for improved function inside patients battling solid tumors, announced that it had raised $144 million in oversubscribed Series B financing. The Series B funding round brought the total capital raised by Outpace to approximately $200 million. It was led by RA Capital Management, with participation from new investors Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Sheatree Capital, Black Opal Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, and other undisclosed investors. Outpace’s existing investors ARTIS Ventures, Playground Global, Bristol Myers Squibb, Abstract Ventures, Civilization Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Breton Capital Ventures, WRF Capital, and Sahsen Ventures, also joined in the round.

Kirkland & Ellis announced that leading M&A lawyer Dr. Tobias Larisch will join the firm as a partner. Dr. Larisch will be based out of Frankfurt, where Kirkland will open a new office to support the Firm’s growing transactional practice in Germany.

Mars, a family-owned global leader in pet care, snacking and food, and Kellanova, a leading company in global snacking, international cereal and noodles, North American plant-based foods and frozen breakfast foods, today announced that they have entered into a deal under which Mars has agreed to acquire Kellanova for $83.50 per share in cash (for a total consideration of $35.9 billion, including assumed net leverage). 

Kano Therapeutics, a biotechnology company creating single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) as a safe, efficient, and flexible biomolecule for gene insertions, announced it has secured an oversubscribed $5 million seed round. The Engine Ventures and VSquared Ventures co-led the round, and Taihill Venture and Metaplanet also participated. 

Setpoint, a leading infrastructure provider for the credit industry, announced today the successful completion of its $31 million Series B funding round. 645 Ventures led the round, with significant strategic investments from Citi and Wells Fargo, alongside Andreessen Horowitz, NextView Ventures, Floating Point, Henry Kravis, Zillow founder’s 75 & Sunny, Vesta Ventures, Fifth Wall, Eltura Ventures, and Outrunner Capital. 

Guidewheel, a leader in AI-powered FactoryOps, raised an oversubscribed $31 million Series B funding round led by Decarbonization Partners, a partnership between BlackRock and Temasek. And Ecolab, Rethink Impact, and GSBackers also participated in this round, along with existing investors Greycroft and Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV).

ITpipes, an established leader in pipeline inspection software, announced today that it has secured $20 million in equity funding from Trilogy Search Partners and Miramar Equity Partners. 

RXNT is a company that transforms the way providers write prescriptions using a cloud-based solution that is still the gold standard today. Pulse 2.0 interviewed RXNT founder, president, and CEO Randy Boldyga to learn more about the company.

Daniel Thomason is a Product Manager at Google, focused on digital payments. Thomason is also an expert in everything from launching everything from new businesses to using his economics degrees to determine how to make the products we use safer, more accessible and even more intelligent. Plus, Thomason also got a perfect score on the Bloomberg’s Mensa-like test. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Daniel Thomason to learn more about his journey.

NutriFusion is a company that developed a process to stabilize and concentrate the natural vitamins and minerals found in fruits and vegetables. Pulse 2.0 interviewed NutriFusion President and CEO William Grand to learn more about the company.

Mechanical Orchard, a technology business reinventing the software that runs the world, announced it has raised $50 million in a Series B funding round led by GV.

Prana Thoracic, a Houston-based medical tech company created with a vision to transform lung cancer intervention, announced the successful final closing of its Series A extension round. The company initially raised $3 million, received a non-dilutive grant of $3 million, and has now closed on an additional $3 million in oversubscribed funding.

Myrobalan Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing novel oral small-molecule therapies to repair damage and restore brain function in high-unmet need central nervous system (CNS) conditions, announced the appointment of Grant C. Bogle to its Board of Directors. Mr. Bogle is a seasoned biotech executive with over three decades of operational experience in the biopharma industry and a strong focus on financial strategy, business development, corporate governance, and general management.