Archives

Techstars And Northwestern Medicine Collaborate On Accelerator Program

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

Startup accelerator Techstars and Northwestern Medicine are collaborating to launch a new accelerator program aimed at advancing healthcare innovation. Northwestern Medicine and the Techstars Healthcare Accelerator will invest in the most promising early-stage healthcare startups, creating a pathway for founders to build high-growth companies dedicated to advancing quality care and patient outcomes.

TCW: Second CLO Closed This Year At $400 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

The TCW Group, a leading global asset management company, announced that it has closed its second $400 million Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) fund this year, TCW CLO 2024-2. This fund is secured primarily by broadly syndicated first-lien loans. This closing adds to TCW’s strong, continued growth in alternative credit assets, which have doubled since 2020.

Openwater: Medical Technology Company Raises $100 Million In Total Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

Openwater announced the acceleration of its plans to commercialize its hospital-grade technology platform that integrates semiconductor physics, light, and sound to diagnose and treat diseases at the cellular level. Founded by brain tumor survivor and former Google X, Meta, and One Laptop Per Child executive Mary Lou Jepsen, Openwater has secured $100 million in total funding from new and existing investors. The new and existing investors include Plum Alley Ventures, Khosla Ventures, BOLD Capital Partners, Esther Dyson, and Peter Gabriel.

Raiz: Strategic Investment From State Street Global Advisors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

State Street Global Advisors - which is the asset management business of State Street Corporation, announced a strategic investment in Raiz Invest Limited. Raiz is a leading Australian fintech platform that helps customers grow their wealth by helping them to save and invest.

Arch Lending: Crypto-Backed Loan Provider Company Raises $75 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

Crypto-backed loan provider company Arch Lending announced it raised $75 million in funding, including an oversubscribed $5 million equity seed round and a $70 million loan financing facility. This equity round was co-led by Morgan Creek Digital and Castle Island Ventures with participation from Galaxy Ventures, BitGo Ventures, etc. Arch serves individuals and institutions and it is known for its concierge customer service, premier product experience, and security and trust.

Talus Bioscience: Drug Discovery Company Raises $11.2 Million (Seed+)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

Talus Bioscience, a drug discovery company launched by a team of scientific leaders in proteomics, biochemistry, and machine learning, announced $11.2 million in new venture funding. The seed+ round was led by Two Bear Capital, with participation from WRF Capital, NFX, YC Continuity Fund, Funders Club VC, and BoxOne Ventures.

McKesson Buying Controlling Stake In Core Ventures For $2.49 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

McKesson announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Community Oncology Revitalization Enterprise Ventures (Core Ventures). Core Ventures, which is a business and administrative services organization, was established by Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, LLC (FCS), a leading physician-owned community oncology practice. FCS physicians will continue to retain a minority interest in Core Ventures.

Magnetar: Alternative Asset Manager Raises $235 Million For AI Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

Leading alternative asset manager Magnetar announced the closing of Magnetar AI Ventures Fund LP - which is a $235 million venture fund that invests in early-to-growth stage companies advancing the generative AI revolution. This fund builds on Magnetar’s history of investing opportunistically across the private-public continuum and serving as a long-term partner to portfolio companies.

AT&T: Interview With Assistant Vice President of Hyper-Automation David C. Williams

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

David C. Williams is a talented technologist, leader, and senior executive at AT&T whose journey from one of the poorest corners of Dallas, TX, to a leading figure in technology has been a remarkable journey. Williams currently serves as the Assistant Vice President of Hyper-Automation at AT&T, where he has transformed the field of automation. Heading the largest Robotics Process Automation program globally, Williams’ efforts have automated over 100 million contacts, resulting in over $1 billion in operating income with an impressive 4,000% ROI. His technical know-how and unique approaches have also delivered significant financial benefits. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Williams to learn more.

LandingAI: Making Computer Vision Easier For Various Applications

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

LandingAI is a company that provides a cutting-edge software platform that makes computer vision easier for a wide range of applications across all industries. Pulse 2.0 interviewed LandingAI’s Senior Director of Partnerships Carl Lewis to learn more about the company.

Mermaid Chart: How This Company Creates Complex Diagrams From Markdown-Style Code

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

Mermaid Chart is a company that easily creates complex diagrams from markdown-style code and collaborates with team members in real time. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Mermaid Chart founder and CTO Knut Sveidqvist to learn about the company.

CenterOak Partners: $1.1 Billion Fund III Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

Dallas-based private equity firm CenterOak Partners announced today the closing of CenterOak Equity Fund III, L.P.. This fund was oversubscribed and achieved its hard cap with total capital commitments of over $1.1 billion.

Diakonos Oncology: $11.4 Million (Seed) Raised To Advance Differentiated Dendritic Cell Vaccine

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

Houston-based Diakonos Oncology - a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company - announced the final closing of an oversubscribed seed financing of $11.4 million. This funding round was led by biotechnology investment firm Restem Group, with participation from existing investors.

V2X Signs $747 Million Contract For F-5 Aircraft Maintenance

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

V2X announced that it has been awarded a single-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract valued at $747 million. This F-5 aircraft plays a major role in training naval pilots by providing adversary combat tactics and simulation capabilities. And this advanced training environment ensures pilots are well-prepared for real-world scenarios, enhancing their combat readiness and proficiency.

Trace Machina: Simulation Infrastructure Company Raises $4.7 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 26, 2024

Trace Machina, a company building simulation infrastructure for safety-critical technologies in physical-world AI, launched out of stealth mode with $4.7 million in funding. Wellington Management led the seed funding round with participation from Samsung Next, Sequoia Capital Scout Fund, Green Bay Ventures, and Verissimo Ventures. And angel investors include Clem Delangue (CEO of Hugging Face); Mitch Wainer (Co-Founder of DigitalOcean); Gert Lackriet (Director of Applied Machine Learning at Amazon); and other industry leaders from OpenAI and MongoDB.

General Catalyst Partners Invests $120 Million In Re:Build

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 25, 2024

Re:Build Manufacturing is a company with a vision of re-energizing American manufacturing with high-tech design and engineering capabilities across critical industrial sectors like aerospace, healthcare, defense, and cleantech. Core to its mission is creating enduring jobs while strengthening vulnerable supply chains. General Catalyst announced it is investing $120 million to help support Re:Build’s vision.

VividQ: Computational Holography Company Closes $7.5 Million (Series A) In Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 25, 2024

VividQ, an innovator in the computational holography space, announced the completion of an additional $7.5 million in Series A funding. This funding round was led by Foresight Group and included new investors such as GameTech Ventures, and Florida-based Ruttenberg Gordon Investments (RGI), as well as existing investors. And this round brings the company’s total funding to over $30 million.

Otto: Travel-Based AI Agent Company Raises $6 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 25, 2024

Otto, a company that is building an intelligent and autonomous AI travel agent for business travelers, announced that it has raised a $6 million seed round led by Madrona Ventures, with participation from Direct Travel and angel investors from across the business travel industry like Erik Blachford (former CEO of Expedia), IAC Travel and Couchsurfing; Barney Harford (former CEO of Orbitz and COO of Uber); and Hugh Crean (CEO of Operix and former CEO of Farecast-acquired by Microsoft).

TickPick: Event Ticket Marketplace Company Raises $250 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

Brighton Park Capital (an investment firm focused on entrepreneur-led and growth-stage companies) announced a $250 million investment in TickPick (the modern transparent ticket marketplace transforming the event ticketing industry) to accelerate growth and scale operations. This deal represents the largest fundraising effort in the ticketing industry so far.

Miami International Raises $100 Million From Warburg Pincus

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

Miami International Holdings (MIH) - a technology-driven leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes - announced a $100 million investment from Warburg Pincus. Warburg Pincus could expand its investment in MIH to support additional growth subject to certain conditions.

Advance Auto Parts Selling Worldpac To Carlyle For $1.5 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

Advance Auto Parts (a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider in North America that serves professional installers and do-it-yourself customers) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Worldpac (an automotive parts wholesale distribution business) to funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle for $1.5 billion in cash. This deal is expected to close before the end of the year.

Stryker To Buy Vertos Medical For Treating Chronic Lower Back Pain

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

Stryker, a global leader in medical technologies, announced a definitive agreement to acquire Vertos Medical, a privately held company that provides a minimally invasive solution for treating chronic lower back pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis.

Franklin Templeton’s PE Platform Closes Second Enterprise Tech Growth Equity Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

Franklin Templeton announced the successful final closing of its second enterprise technology growth equity fund. This fund is managed by Franklin Venture Partners, the private investing platform of Franklin Templeton’s Franklin Equity Group.

Fortalice: Helping Organizations Become Prepared For Cyberattacks

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

Fortalice is a company with a goal to make sure clients are prepared for an attack and resilient to future threats. Created by former White House Chief Information Officer (CIO) Theresa Payton, the company’s skilled team of industry practitioners has worked in a broad range of public and private sectors. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Theresa Payton to learn more about the company.

Deep Fission: Nuclear Energy Company Raises $4 Million (Pre-Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

Nuclear energy company Deep Fission announced its emergence from stealth mode and a $4 million pre-seed round led by 8VC. At the forefront of advanced energy technology, Deep Fission is aiming to redefine the future of nuclear power with an unique approach - which is placing reactors a mile underground.

MolecuLight: Point-Of-Care Fluorescence Imaging Company Raises $11.7 Million (Series C)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

MolecuLight, a leader in point-of-care fluorescence imaging, announced the closing of a $11.7 million Series C funding round led by new investors Export Development Canada (EDC), Prosegur, and Azahar. Existing investors also participated in the round, demonstrating continued confidence in the company's growth.

David: $10 Million (Seed) Raised To Build Tools For Increasing Muscle

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

David, a platform that designs tools to increase muscle and decrease fat, announced a $10 million seed funding round. This investment was led by David CEO and co-founder Peter Rahal, with additional participation from Valor Siren Ventures, Peter Attia, M.D., and Andrew Huberman, Ph.D.

Pathalys Pharma: $105 Million (Series B) Raised To Develop Treatments For Kidney Disease

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

Pathalys Pharma, a private biopharmaceutical company in the late stages of developing treatments for kidney disease, announced it closed a $105 million Series B funding round. This oversubscribed financing was led by TCGX and joined by other notable investors including, JP Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital, Samsara BioCapital, Marshall Wace, KB Investment, JPS Growth Investment Limited Partnership, and included support from Pathalys' founding investors, Catalys Pacific and DaVita Venture Group.

Dermody Properties: $1 Billion Closed For Industrial Fund IV

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

Dermody Properties - a diversified private equity investment management company focused on the national logistics real estate sector - announced the successful closure of its fourth commingled fund, Dermody Properties Industrial Fund IV, L.P. (DPIF IV), securing $1.043 billion in capital commitments.

Kubiya: Conversational AI Solution Company Raises $12 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Aug 23, 2024

Kubiya, a leading Conversational AI solution for DevOps teams, announced it has closed a $12 million seed round with a $6 million extension of equity and debt financing and launched a new platform, AI Teammates. Heavybit led Kubiya’s current financing, with Hyperwise VC participating.