Archives

Graphjet Technology: How This Company Transforms Waste Into Anode Battery Materials In A $20 Billion Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 17, 2024

Graphjet Technology is the world’s first and only company to own a technology that transforms palm oil waste, the palm kernel shell, into graphite, single-layer graphene, and graphene-based anode battery material. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Graphjet co-founder and CEO Aiden Lee to learn more about the company.

Ilant Health: Interview With CEO Elina Onitskanky About This Obesity Treatment Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 17, 2024

Ilant Health is a center of excellence for obesity and cardiometabolic health, focused on increasing access to obesity treatment while reducing total cost of care for employers and payers through value-based care. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Ilant Health CEO Elina Onitskanky to learn more about the company.

NineTen Media: Growing Digital Marketing Company Transforms And Gives Back

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 17, 2024

When we first spoke with Marcus Drenth earlier this year, he was launching the digital marketing venture, Dood Digital. Today, the company has seen rapid expansion and officially rebranded to NineTen Media. This move represents what NineTen Media has become and positions the agency for continued growth.

Interview With Valentina Ragoni About This Elegant Italian Shoe Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 17, 2024

Rangoni Shoes has been making footwear of impeccable quality since the 1930s. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Valentina Ragoni (a spinoff of Rangoni Shoes) lead designer Valentina Ragoni about her namesake brand to learn more about the company.

CACI To Buy Azure Summit Technology In $1.275 Billion Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Wealthspire Advisors Brings In Judith Heft & Associates Team

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Wealthspire Holdings, the parent company of Wealthspire Advisors, an NFP company and top-ranked independent registered investment advisor (RIA), announced the acquisition of Judith Heft & Associates, which is a women-owned firm that provides high-touch lifestyle and bill pay services to affluent clients and their families.

Outdoor Living Supply Buys Majestic Stone Landscape & Stucco Supply

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Outdoor Living Supply (OLS), a distribution platform focused on outdoor living products and solutions, announced that it has acquired Majestic Stone Landscape & Stucco Supply, a full-service distributor of manufactured and natural stone, hardscape, and landscape products. This deal expands OLS’ footprint in the Southeast, adding two strategic locations in the Georgia market.

Gearset Buys Salesforce-Focused Code Analysis Company Clayton

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Gearset, a leader in Salesforce DevOps solutions, announced the acquisition of Clayton, a code analysis platform designed specifically for Salesforce. This strategic acquisition is Gearset’s first following years of rapid growth, driven by a $55 million growth investment from Silversmith Capital Partners. During that time, Gearset has launched several products and upgrades, reaching the milestone of surpassing 2,500 customers — four times more than any other Salesforce DevOps vendor.

Accenture Federal Services Secures $190 Million Department Of State Contract

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Accenture Federal Services announced it had won a $190 million prime contract from the U.S. Department of State to provide data and systems engineering support for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a program commonly known as PEPFAR.

Thayer Ventures And Derive Ventures Launch Platform To Invest In Startups

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Thayer Ventures (a leading venture capital firm focused on technology innovation in travel and hospitality) and Derive Ventures (an active early-stage investment firm dedicated to travel and hospitality) announced the formation of Thayer Investment Partners (TIP). This new platform will utilize the experience of the firm's founding members to drive value for industry partners and invest in a new generation of innovative start-up companies.

Aucctus: AI-Based Innovation Management Platform Raises $1.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Two Boxes: $5.3 Million Raised For Streamlining Returns

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Two Boxes, a way for brands and 3PLs to streamline returns and capture critical data from the process, announced it had raised $5.3 million. New investor Assembly Ventures and existing backers Vinyl, Range Ventures, and Matchstick Ventures also joined this round. The oversubscribed funding round, led by Peterson Ventures, more than doubled the company's valuation.

Bay Point: $50 Million Raised For Legal Fund II

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

TeamBridge: Workforce Operating System Raises $28 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

TeamBridge, one of the fastest-growing Workforce OS (workforce operating system) empowering hourly workforces, announced it has raised $28 million in a Series B round led by Mayfield. Existing investors General Catalyst and Abstract Ventures participated.

Novameat: Sustainable Food Company Secures €17.4 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Sustainable food technology company Novameat, creating pioneering plant-based products with a unique fibrous texture and strong customer acceptance, announced that it has raised €17.4 million in an oversubscribed Series A round. The funding round was led by Sofinnova Partners and Forbion via its BioEconomy Fund and follows a reinvestment from Unovis Asset Management, Praesidium, and Rubio Impact Ventures.

Intel Receives Award Of Up To $3 Billion For Secure Enclave Program By Biden-Harris Administration

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

The Biden-Harris Administration announced that Intel has been awarded up to $3 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act for the Secure Enclave program. This program was designed to expand the trusted manufacturing of leading-edge semiconductors for the U.S. government.

Ares Management: U.S. Real Estate Opportunity Fund IV Closes At Over $3.3 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Today, Ares Management announced the final closing of Ares U.S. Real Estate Opportunity Fund IV, L.P. (AREOF IV). Through equity commitments to the Fund and related transaction vehicles, Ares raised over $3.3 billion to invest in opportunistic real estate in the U.S. This marks the largest Ares Real Estate closed-end fundraising to date, and it is a significant increase from the $2.2 billion of commitments raised for the predecessor fund and related transaction vehicles.

SCF Partners Buys Geothermal Fluids Solution Provider Newpark Fluids Systems

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

SCF Partners announced the acquisition of the Newpark Fluids Systems business (NFS), a leading global pure-play oil and gas and geothermal fluids solution provider, from Newpark Resources. Newpark Fluids Systems offers a full range of drilling and completion products and related technical services supported by an innovative digital modeling software suite, global supply chain, and infrastructure to enhance customers’ performance efficiency and productivity.

Thatch: Personalized Health Benefits Platform Company Raises $38 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Personalized health benefits platform Thatch announced it has raised $38 million in Series A funding. This funding round was led by Index Ventures and General Catalyst, along with new investors SemperVirens and The General Partnership, with participation from existing investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Avid Ventures. This investment will fuel Thatch's mission to correct an accident of history and decouple health insurance from employment.

PhoreMost: Biopharmaceutical Drug Target Company Raises $50 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

PhoreMost, a leading UK biopharmaceutical company unlocking the next generation of drug targets, announced it has added $12 million to its Series B financing, bringing the total raised to over $50 million. Parkwalk Advisors led this additional investment, with participation from existing investors BGF, Dr Jonathan Milner, Amadeus Capital, and Astellas Venture Management. It will support the progression of PhoreMost’s pipeline of novel degrader assets.

Reonic: Climate Tech SaaS Company Raises €13 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Reonic, a climate tech SaaS startup focused on enabling the deployment of sustainable energy solutions across Europe, announced that it has raised a €13 million Series A funding round. The round, which was led by Northzone, includes participation from existing investors Point Nine and Puzzle Ventures.

Inflammatix: Molecular Diagnostics Company Closes $57 Million In Funding (Series E)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Molecular diagnostics company Inflammatix announced it raised $57 million in Series E funding led by Khosla Ventures and Think.Health. This funding round will support regulatory filing and early commercialization of the company's lead product, the TriVerity Acute Infection and Sepsis Test (TriVerity).

Moderne Ventures: Over $230 Million Closed For MV Fund III

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Moderne Ventures, a VC and growth equity firm with vertical specialties spanning real estate, finance, insurance and sustainability today announced it has raised over $230 million for MV Core Fund III, exceeding the oversubscribed $200 million MV Core Fund II.

Acuvity: AI Security And Governance Company Raises $9 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Acuvity, the creator of a comprehensive AI security and governance platform for employees and applications, announced a $9 million seed funding round led by Foundation Capital, with participation from individual investors like Basil Alwan, Sri Reddy and Jonathan Siddharth. And Acuvity will use the funding to accelerate the development of its products and protect the rapid expansion of AI adoption in the enterprise.

AstroForge: Interview With Co-Founders Matt Gialich And Jose Acain About This Fascinating Asteroid Mining Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

AstroForge is a company on a mission to expand humanity’s capabilities and utilize untapped space resources. Pulse 2.0 interviewed AstroForge co-founders Matt Gialich and Jose Acain to learn more about the company.

WellSaid Labs: How This Company Is Using AI To Drive Human Parity In Voice

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

WellSaid Labs is a leading AI text-to-speech technology company and the first synthetic media service to achieve human parity in voice. Pulse 2.0 interviewed WellSaid Labs co-founder Matt Hocking to learn more about the company.

Interview With Luxury Fashion Designer Payal Khandwala

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 16, 2024

Payal Khandwala is an award-winning artist and fashion designer with a self-titled label who received Society Magazine's Young Achievers Award in the Fine Arts category in 2007. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Payal Khandwala to learn more about her namesake brand.

Unlock Technologies: $280 Million Raised To Help Homeowners With Equity Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 13, 2024

Unlock Technologies - a leading fintech company transforming the homeownership experience - announced a significant strategic partnership with D2 Asset Management (D2). This agreement includes a $30 million Series B equity investment in Unlock and a $250 million capital commitment from D2 to support Unlock’s origination growth. Also joining Series B were Saluda Grade, Second Century Ventures, and REACH, the venture and tech growth arm of the National Association of REALTORS.

Dentons: Mark Segall Named As Co-Head Of The Banking And Finance Practice In Poland

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 13, 2024

Dentons partner Mark Segall has been appointed Co-head of Dentons’ Banking and Finance practice in Warsaw. He will lead the practice alongside fellow Co-head Bartosz Nojek to further develop the team’s capabilities, drive growth, and continue delivering innovative solutions tailored to the evolving needs of the firm’s clients.

Castik Capital: EPIC III Fund Closes At €2 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 13, 2024

European private equity investment firm Castik Capital announced the final closing of its third fund EPIC III with total capital commitments of €2 billion. The fund raise exceeded the target of €1.75 billion and represents a 60% increase on its predecessor fund, EPIC II, which closed at €1.25 billion in October 2020.