Archives

JT Group Buying Vector In $2.4 Billion Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2024

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.

Baker McKenzie Names Partners In Monterrey, Johannesburg, And Palo Alto

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2024

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

LPL Brings In $615 Million Wealthstead Financial Advisors Team

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 21, 2024

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: Gen AI-Based Data Analytics Company Raises $11.3 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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: $180 Million (Series C Extension And Growth Debt) Raised For Advancing Precision Surgery Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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: AI-Based Construction Project Management Company Raises $20 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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 Buying Hybrid Cloud Management Company Morpheus Data

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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: $1.7 Million (Pre-Seed) Closed For Creating Pharmacy Benefit Products

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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: Insulator Technology Company Raises Series A Extension

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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 To Buy V-Wave For Up To $1.7 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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 Closes Third Fund At $160 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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: £4 Million (Pre-Seed) Secured To Help B2B Companies Manage Personalized Marketing Campaigns

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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: $215 Million In Funding Facilitated Across 64+ Startups

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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.

KKR Buys Six Class A Industrial Warehouses In $377 Million Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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: $102 Million (Series D) Raised To Scale Non-Invasive Histotripsy Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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.

NextGen Growth Partners Closes $165 Million Fund III

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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: Interview With Founder & CEO Elya McCleave About This Workforce Optimization Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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: Powering Cell Therapy Mass Customization In A $15 Billion Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

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.

ModelOp: AI Governance Company Raises $10 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

ModelOp, a leading AI Governance software for enterprises, announced that it raised $10 million in series B equity funding led by Baird Capital with participation from existing investors.

Mudstack: $4 Million Raised And James Gwertzman Named As New CEO

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

Mudstack, a leading provider of file versioning and asset management tools for the game industry, announced the closing of a $4 million financing round. Anthos Capital led the round, which also included participation from Khosla Ventures, A16Z GAMES, Pioneer Square Labs, and Hyperplane.

Cyberbit: Cybersecurity Skill Development Platform Company Raises Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

Cyberbit, a leading provider of cybersecurity skill development platforms, announced a new round of funding from existing investors, including Charlesbank Capital Partners, an established middle-market private investment firm. This deal recapitalizes the company under solely North American ownership and control and will provide the resources for future acquisitions, expansion, and product development.

Blackstone Buys Majority Stake In M3

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

M3 - a leading hospitality accounting software company - announced it has signed a definitive agreement for a majority investment from Blackstone Growth and affiliated funds. This funding will help to accelerate the company’s growth by enhancing new product expansion and supporting the adoption of M3’s software, which enables hotel operators to run more efficiently and effectively. AAHOA (representing nearly 20,000 hotel owners and 60% of hotels across the United States) will also make its first-ever strategic investment along with Blackstone.

Neptune Medical: $97 Million (Series D) Raised And Jupiter Endovascular Spins Out

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

Medical device innovation leader Neptune Medical announced the spinout of its subsidiary Jupiter Endovascular after completing a $97 million Series D financing. And Sonder Capital and Olympus Corporation of the Americas were significant participants in this round along with investments from other existing and new investors.

Jupiter Endovascular: $21 Million Secured To Develop New Endovascular Procedures

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

Jupiter Endovascular - a medical technology startup developing a new class of endovascular procedures using Endoportal Control to bring the precision and control of direct surgical access to catheter-based interventions - announced that it has exited stealth mode with a $21 million new round of financing. Sonder Capital was a major participant in the round that included participation from multiple strategic investors. This funding round will be used to support the company’s upcoming pivotal trial for Pulmonary Embolism and the development of additional Endoportal Control technology clinical applications.

Vanilla: Estate Planning Software Company Raises Strategic Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

Estate planning software company Vanilla announced a strategic funding round led by returning investor Insight Partners, with participation from Venrock, Vanguard, and other previous investors. Vanilla also welcomes new strategic investor Edward Jones Ventures and new investor Alumni Ventures. Along with supporting its rapid growth and customer adoption, the company will use the funding to expand its platform, including its first-of-its-kind embedded AI technology, to transform how financial advisors and estate planners help households of all wealth levels build their legacy.

Goodfire: $7 Million (Seed) Closed To Advance Understanding Of Advanced AI Systems

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

Goodfire has announced a $7 million seed round to advance its mission of demystifying generative AI models. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the funding round, with participation from Menlo Ventures, South Park Commons, Work-Bench, Juniper Ventures, Mythos Ventures, Bluebirds Capital, and several notable angel investors.

FLYR: $295 Million (Series D) Raised To Help Travel Businesses Improve Operations

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

FLYR, a technology company that focuses on innovating for the travel industry, announced a $295 million Series D funding round for accelerating the delivery of modern reservation systems, elevating digital channels, and enabling AI-based decision automation for the world’s largest airlines and hospitality brands. The company also received an additional $70 million in credit led by Vista Credit Partners to scale its product offerings around the globe.

Amount: Loan Origination Platform Company Raises $30 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

Amount, a digital origination and decisioning SaaS platform powering consumer and small business deposit account opening and loan origination, announced the closing of a $30 million equity capital raise. Amount welcomes Curql (a collective of credit unions jointly investing in fintech) as a new strategic investor. This investment from Curql aligns with Amount’s strategy to expand more into the U.S. credit union market. The company’s existing investors, including Growth Investing at Goldman Sachs, WestCap, Hanaco Ventures, and QED Investors, also joined the round.

VSParticle: Nanoparticle Synthesis And Deposition Company Raises €6.5 Million (Series A2 Extension)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

VSParticle (VSP), a leading supplier of nanoparticle synthesis and deposition tools, announced it has raised a €6.5 million A2 extension round led by NordicNinja and previous investor Plural to continue its goal of unlocking a century of material innovation in the next 10 years.

Svante Raises $100 Million From Canada Growth Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 20, 2024

Canada Growth Fund and Svante Technologies, a leading global carbon capture and removal solutions provider headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, announced a financing commitment of up to $100 million to accelerate the development and construction of Svante’s commercial carbon capture and removal projects in Canada and the US.