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Northwestern University announced that Mung Chiang has been named the institution’s 18th president. Chiang, who currently serves as president of Purdue University, will officially begin his new role on July 1 following an extensive global search led by representatives from Northwestern’s Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, alumni, and student body.

Gradiant announced the closing of a Series E financing round that values the company at $2 billion. The financing round was led by Safar Partners and Hostplus Superannuation Fund, with participation from ClearVision Ventures and other global investors.

Nord Quantique, a quantum computing company focused on quantum error correction and fault-tolerant systems, announced the closing of a $30 million investment round that brings the company’s valuation to $1.4 billion. The funding will support the company’s roadmap toward achieving fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2030.

Zeeco announced it has completed the acquisition of Oil & Gas Technologies Pty Ltd, expanding its capabilities and footprint in Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region.

International Paper announced it has acquired a converting facility from Delmarva Corrugated Packaging in Dover, Delaware, expanding its footprint in a growing East Coast market.

CopperPoint Insurance Companies announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire General Indemnity Group (GIG) and its subsidiaries from Boston Omaha Corporation. The deal will add commercial and contract surety capabilities to CopperPoint’s portfolio while establishing nationwide operations across all 50 states and Washington D.C.

FortyAU, a Nashville-based digital engineering and AI solutions firm serving highly regulated industries, announced the acquisition of fellow Nashville company Ronin Consulting, a software engineering and AI development firm focused on enterprise clients across healthcare, financial services, and defense. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Cognizant announced that its Board of Directors approved a $2 billion increase to the company’s existing share repurchase authorization, while also raising its 2026 share repurchase target to $2 billion, up from the company’s prior expectation of $1 billion.

Qualtrics announced the completion of its $6.75 billion acquisition of Press Ganey Forsta, significantly expanding its Experience Management (XM) platform with what the company describes as the world’s largest healthcare experience dataset. The transaction marks the largest technology acquisition in Utah history and positions Qualtrics to deepen its presence in healthcare while expanding its AI-driven experience management capabilities across multiple industries.

Squire Patton Boggs announced it has appointed Lorena Fatás as a partner in its Litigation Practice Group in Madrid. Fatás joins the firm after serving as a State Attorney in the Special Department for Economy, Energy and Environmental Law within Spain’s State Attorney Office, where she handled complex litigation, arbitration, and regulatory matters tied to economic policy, energy transition, and environmental regulations.

Life After Debt is a financial empowerment and debt resolution platform founded and led by Amber Duncan. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Life After Debt founder, CEO, and Chief Visionary Amber Duncan to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, announced that its Board has approved a commitment of up to US$100 million to invest in Africa-focused technology fund managers as part of a broader strategy to accelerate Africa’s digital industrialization.

Moritt Hock & Hamroff announced that Parag Parekh has joined the firm as a partner in its Condominium & Cooperative Services practice based in Midtown Manhattan. The New York-headquartered commercial law firm said the appointment comes as its Condo & Co-Op practice continues to expand amid rising residential development activity, increasing demand, and evolving building regulations across New York City.

No Barrier is a HIPAA-compliant, AI-driven medical interpretation platform that provides real-time, clinical-grade translation to help healthcare providers bridge language gaps with patients. Pulse 2.0 interviewed No Barrier co-founder and CEO Eyal Heldenberg to learn more.

Tewke is a London-based climate-tech company that manufactures "Tap," an intelligent, retrofit touchscreen light switch designed to optimize home energy consumption, monitor air quality, and provide advanced automation without needing a neutral wire. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Tewke founder Piers Daniell to learn more.

Clubfoot is one of the most common birth defects in the world, affecting roughly 200,000 children every year. It’s also one of the most treatable defects, often corrected without surgery for around $500. In wealthy countries, it's caught early and fixed so routinely that most people never see its lasting effects. But most children born with clubfoot are in low- and middle-income countries, where that care often never arrives, and a treatable condition becomes a lifetime of pain and exclusion. MiracleFeet works to close that gap, partnering with local healthcare providers to bring the low-cost, nonsurgical standard of care to the children who need it. Pulse 2.0 spoke with MiracleFeet CEO Daphne Sorensen to learn more.

Artivion announced that it has completed the acquisition of Endospan Ltd., its long-standing partner focused on endovascular repair of aortic arch disease and developer of the NEXUS Aortic Arch System. Artivion funded the $135 million upfront net purchase price using its previously drawn $150 million delayed draw term loan. The transaction also includes potential additional consideration tied to commercial performance.

Citi and HPS Investment Partners, a part of BlackRock, announced a €15 billion Private Capital Program to expand direct lending and private financing solutions across EMEA. The strategic collaboration aims to enhance capital access for corporate- and sponsor-owned borrowers across Continental Europe and the UK, and eventually in the Middle East.

Accrual has selected Runloop as the production infrastructure provider powering its AI agents across customer deployments. The partnership supports Accrual’s expansion of AI-driven accounting workflows for firms including Armanino, Creative Planning, and H&R Block.

Searchable, an AI performance marketing platform focused on helping businesses compete in AI-driven search, announced it has raised $14 million in funding led by Headline at an $85 million valuation.

General Motors is using a new “batch build” manufacturing strategy at its Fairfax Assembly & Stamping plant in Kansas City for the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt, producing groups of 30 similarly equipped vehicles together to simplify operations, improve quality, and reduce production complexity.

RB Global announced it has completed the acquisition of BigIron, accelerating the company’s strategic expansion into the U.S. agriculture market.

BMW Group and solar technology company SOLARWATT are expanding their long-running partnership to integrate BMW’s upcoming Neue Klasse electric vehicles into connected home energy systems, further advancing bidirectional charging and Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) capabilities.

Team Velocity announced the acquisition of Foundation Direct, a digital agency founded by former Google automotive executives, in a move designed to combine elite media strategy capabilities with Team Velocity’s Apollo customer experience platform.

Articore, the company behind global creator marketplaces Redbubble and TeePublic, announced it has completed the acquisition of India-based print-on-demand creator marketplace Frankly Wearing. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

RISR is a business owner engagement platform for financial advisors that captures client financial data to provide automated business valuations, risk assessments, and actionable insights for growth and succession planning. Pulse 2.0 interviewed RISR CEO Jason Early to learn more.

Technology company Bending Spoons announced it has closed its acquisition of Tractive, an Austria-based company focused on pet location-tracking and health-monitoring solutions. The companies had entered into a definitive acquisition agreement in March 2026.

SJE announced the acquisition of Anchor Scientific, a manufacturer and distributor of switches and controllers for the water and wastewater industry. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

LIO is the all-in-one platform for inpatient mental health, combining digital rounding, ambient monitoring and compliance reporting. With its contactless design and FDA-cleared software, LIO supports frontline teams and hospital leaders to make data-driven decisions – improving safety and efficiency while strengthening adherence to regulatory standards. Pulse 2.0 interviewed LIO CEO Todd Haedrich to learn more.

NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy announced a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction that will create the world’s largest regulated electric utility business by market capitalization and one of the largest energy infrastructure companies globally.