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Axelspace Holdings recently announced that the company completed its Series D funding round, raising approximately JPY 6.24 billion (equivalent to $44 million). This funding round sees the allocation of new shares to SMBC-GB Growth I Investment Limited Partnership, several venture capital firms, and corporate investors. This funding round brings the cumulative amount of equity financing to approximately JPY 14.3 billion.

NDI originally started out as a proprietary technology invented and used within NewTek (a company acquired by Vizrt Group). Today, NewTek is no longer but NDI and Vizrt operate as standalone companies within the Vizrt Group. Pulse 2.0 interviewed NDI Head of Strategy Miguel Coutinho to learn more. 

Pattern Energy Group LP - a leader in renewable energy and transmission infrastructure - recently announced that it has closed an $11 billion non-recourse financing and begun full construction of SunZia Transmission and SunZia Wind, the largest clean energy infrastructure project in U.S. history.

Main Street Capital Corporation recently announced that it recently completed a new portfolio investment totaling $43.2 million to facilitate the recapitalization of Pinnacle Plastics, Inc. and Integrity Plastics, Inc. (known as Pinnacle together), a manufacturer and distributor of commercial can liners, polyethylene bags, produce bags, and other adjacent products for use predominantly in the quick-service restaurant, convenience store, and janitorial services industries.

MediWound - a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on next-generation enzymatic therapeutics for tissue repair - recently announced that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), through the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) has awarded MediWound an additional $6.7 million in non-dilutive funding for developing NexoBrid as a non-surgical solution for field-care burn treatment for the U.S. Army.

Rephrase.ai is a generative AI platform that enables you to convert plain text into professional-quality videos within minutes. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Rephrase.ai co-founder and CEO Ashray Malhotra to learn more about the company. 

Viasat - a global leader in satellite communications - recently announced it will work with the U.S. Air Force's Life Cycle Management Center (USAF LCMC) to transition and integrate new innovative technologies and capabilities as part of a $900 million ceiling, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. As part of the multi-award contract – known by its initialism LCMC XA IDIQ – Viasat is expected to prototype and test systems, hardware, software, and cybersecurity solutions to provide integrated and multi-domain capabilities for the USAF.

Base Operations – a leader in SaaS-based global threat intelligence for physical security – recently announced the successful closing of a $9.1 million Series A led by Grotech Ventures and Spero Ventures with notable contributions from Vela Partners, Good Growth Capital, Mindset Ventures, Alliance Holdings, and Gaingels.

Trinity Capital - a leading provider of diversified financial solutions to growth-stage companies – recently announced the commitment of $30 million in growth capital to Cart.com, a provider of unified commerce and logistics solutions that enable merchants to sell and fulfill anywhere.

Lyndra Therapeutics - a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company – recently announced the closing of a $101 million Series E financing round. The proceeds of the funding round, led by Sarissa Capital and including Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited and Polaris Partners, will support the development of Lyndra’s pipeline, including oral weekly risperidone (LYN-005), which is near completion of a pivotal phase 3 study.

Enpro - an industrial technology company – recently announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Advanced Micro Instruments, Inc. (AMI), a leading provider of highly engineered, application-specific analyzers and sensing technologies that monitor critical parameters to maintain infrastructure integrity, enable process efficiency, enhance safety, and facilitate the clean energy transition. Under the terms of the deal, Enpro will acquire AMI for $210 million in cash, representing a valuation of about 13x normalized 2023 EBITDA.

Rightpoint (a Genpact company) is a global experience leader with over 700 employees across 12 offices who work with clients to drive growth by delivering experiences that transform how people, technology, and businesses interact. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Rightpoint's Chief Marketing Officer and Global Alliances Lead, Neil Dowling, to learn more about the company.

Gracell Biotechnologies - a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing innovative cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases – recently announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by AstraZeneca.

Bristol Myers Squibb and RayzeBio recently announced a definitive merger agreement under which Bristol Myers Squibb will acquire RayzeBio for $62.50 per share in cash, for a total equity value of approximately $4.1 billion (or $3.6 billion net of estimated cash acquired). The deal was unanimously approved by both the Bristol Myers Squibb and RayzeBio Boards of Directors.

Cisco recently announced the intent to buy Isovalent, a leader in open-source cloud-native networking and security, to boost its secure networking capabilities across public clouds. The acquisition of Isovalent will build on Cisco’s Security Cloud vision, an AI-driven and integrated security platform for organizations of all sizes.

Portal26 (formerly Titaniam) is an award-winning Generative AI (GenAI) visibility and data security leader. The company’s GenAI Visibility and AI Trust, Risk, and Security Management (AI TRiSM) SaaS Platform helps organizations embrace and accelerate the competitive promise of GenAI throughout the enterprise. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Portal26 CEO and founder Arti Raman to learn more about the company.

web3mine - an open-source innovation lab building Web3 tools that help humanity transition to community-owned and -governed internet infrastructure – recently announced its emergence from stealth mode following a successful $6 million seed funding round. This funding round was led by 1kx, a leading Web3 investor and also included Protocol Labs and a community of angel investors.

rabbit - an AI startup building the future of human-machine interface – recently announced that it has raised a $10 million Series A round led by existing investor Khosla Ventures, bringing the total funding to $30 million.

Unnatural Products - a biotech company pairing AI with chemistry to usher in the next generation of molecularly targeted therapeutics – recently announced $32 million in Series A funding, led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (MGHIF) and TechBio-focused ARTIS Ventures. And other new investors include First Spark Ventures, The Venture Collective, Humain Ventures, LongeVC, and Not Boring Capital, along with participation from existing investors.

TFI International, a North American leader in the transportation and logistics industry, recently announced it has agreed to acquire Daseke, one of the leading flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics companies in North America, for $8.30 in cash per common share.

MSCI - a leading provider of mission-critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community – recently announced its purchase agreement to acquire Fabric, a wealth technology platform specializing in portfolio design, customization, and analytics for wealth managers and advisors.

Luna Innovations - a global leader in advanced fiber optic-based technology – recently announced a $50 million investment by White Hat Capital Partners, an investment firm focused on sustainable value creation in technology companies serving mission-critical applications.

Bristol Myers Squibb and Karuna Therapeutics recently announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Bristol Myers Squibb has agreed to acquire Karuna for $330 per share in cash, for a total equity value of $14 billion, or $12.7 billion net of estimated cash acquired. The deal was unanimously approved by both the Bristol Myers Squibb and Karuna Boards of Directors.

Vestwell – a leading employer and individual savings platform – recently announced it raised its Series D round, totaling $125 million. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the funding round. And existing investors Fin Capital, Primary Venture Partners, FinTech Collective, and newcomers Blue Owl and HarbourVest also participated.

Mayfair Equity Partners is backing a management buyout of TrustedHousesitters, a category-defining, subscription-based pet-sitting and travel community. Mayfair and the management team will hold a majority stake in the business. Rockpool will exit its stake in TrustedHousesitters and reinvest alongside Mayfair. The transaction values the business at over $100 million. The additional deal terms were undisclosed.

J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC - a leading private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry – recently announced it has closed its investment with Capital Funding Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for CFG Bank, a top-performing Baltimore-based bank providing financing and banking solutions to the national healthcare and multifamily industries.

IntelliBoard - a leading learning analytics provider – recently announced the completion of a financing round led by Advantage Capital (a new investor) and an existing investor, Connecticut Innovations (CI). This new funding round will be invested in the future market growth and innovation of IntelliBoard's leading Learning Analytics platform.

BASF, LetterOne, and Harbour Energy plc (Harbour) recently signed a business combination agreement to transfer Wintershall Dea’s E&P business consisting of its producing and development assets and exploration rights in Norway, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Algeria, Libya (excluding Wintershall AG), Egypt and Denmark (excluding Ravn) and Wintershall Dea’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) licenses to Harbour. In exchange, at the closing of the deal, the shareholders of Wintershall Dea – BASF (72.7%) and LetterOne (27.3%) – will receive total cash consideration of $2.15 billion (BASF share: $1.56 billion) and new shares issued by Harbour equating to a total shareholding in the enlarged Harbour of 54.5% (BASF share: 39.6%).

GreyOrange - a leader in AI-driven fulfillment automation – recently announced the first close of its Series D funding, securing $135 million. This funding, led by Anthelion Capital (formerly Cowen Sustainable Investments), reinforces GreyOrange’s innovative approach to transforming warehouse and retail store operations through a hardware-agnostic software platform and a dynamic range of certified robotic and sensing technologies.

Atavistik Bio - a biotechnology company discovering the next generation of precision allosteric therapeutics inspired by the body’s natural regulators – recently announced that it had raised an additional $40 million to advance its lead precision allosteric small molecule therapeutics in oncology into the clinic and to advance its earlier stage pipeline. The funding included existing investors, including The Column Group, Lux Capital, and Nextech Invest, Ltd. Since launching in August 2021, Atavistik Bio has raised $100 million in aggregate.