Archives

Beautiful.ai: $45 Million Raised For AI-Powered Presentation Software Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Beautiful.ai, an AI-powered presentation software company, announced the launch of a new context-aware AI workflow alongside securing $45 million in funding from General Catalyst to accelerate its global growth and product development.

RAVEN.IO: $20 Million Raised For Runtime Cybersecurity Platform Targeting AI-Driven Attacks

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

RAVEN.IO, a cybersecurity company focused on protecting applications at runtime, announced it has raised $20 million in funding to accelerate product development, expand its U.S. go to market efforts, and grow its engineering and research teams. The round was led by Norwest, with additional investment from Elron Ventures and participation from RedSeed, UpWest, SentinelOne, Jibe Ventures, Dnipro VC, Unusual Ventures, CyberFuture, and Descope CEO Slavik Markovich.

MassRobotics: Physical AI Fellowship Program Announces Second Cohort With AWS And NVIDIA Support

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

MassRobotics has announced the second cohort of its Physical AI Fellowship, a virtual program powered by Amazon Web Services Startups and NVIDIA Inception, designed to help high-potential robotics startups build, refine, and scale physical AI solutions.

BNP Paribas: €350 Billion Target To Drive Asset Management Growth By 2030

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

BNP Paribas has unveiled a long-term strategy to significantly expand its asset management business, targeting approximately €350 billion in cumulative net inflows by 2030 as part of a broader plan to scale its platform and nearly double pre-tax income.

Connection Capital Appoints Sam Kemp As CEO To Lead Next Phase Of Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Connection Capital, a London-based private markets investment firm, has appointed Sam Kemp as Chief Executive Officer and Partner, a newly created role designed to support the firm’s continued expansion as demand for private market investments grows.

XBOW: $120 Million Raised To Scale Autonomous Offensive Security Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

XBOW, an autonomous offensive security company, announced it has raised $120 million in Series C financing, valuing the company at over $1 billion. The funding round was led by DFJ Growth and Northzone, with participation from Sofina, Alkeon Capital, Altimeter, NFDG Ventures, and Sequoia Capital.

LPL: Consilium Wealth Team Joins Platform With Over $250 Million In Assets

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

LPL Financial announced that advisors Stephen Horvath, Brady Doe and David Hermann have joined its broker-dealer and registered investment advisor platform to launch Consilium Wealth. The team collectively serves more than $250 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets, based on figures provided to LPL as of year-end 2025.

Owkin: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Dr. Thomas Clozel About The Patient Data Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Owkin is a TechBio company that uses AI and federated learning to analyze decentralized patient data, aiming to improve drug discovery, clinical trials, and diagnostics. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Owkin co-founder and CEO Dr. Thomas Clozel to learn more.

Miracle Chain: $200 Million Oil-Backed Initiative To Build African Capital Gateway

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Miracle Chain has announced a new blockchain-based initiative aimed at expanding global access to African markets through tokenized assets and integrated payment infrastructure. The project centers on building a scalable financial framework designed to make African economic opportunities more accessible, structured, and investable for international participants.

Linux Foundation: $12.5 Million Raised For Open Source Security Initiative

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

The Linux Foundation announced $12.5 million in grant funding from a coalition of major technology companies to strengthen the security of the open source software ecosystem, as artificial intelligence accelerates both software development and vulnerability discovery.

CometChat: $6.5 Million Raised To Expand AI Agent Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

CometChat announced it has raised $6.5 million in strategic funding from Run Ventures as it accelerates the expansion of its next-generation AI agent platform. The company has now raised a total of $21.1 million to date.

Advanced Inhalation Rituals: Interview With CEO Stuart Brazier About The Global Social Inhalation Leader

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Advanced Inhalation Rituals (AIR) is a leader in social inhalation and the world’s largest flavored hookah producer by volume, owning the iconic Al Fakher brand. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Advanced Inhalation Rituals CEO Stuart Brazier to learn more.

Transform Iran: Interview With Lana Silk About The Faith-Based Outreach

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Transform Iran is a Christian ministry that aims to transform Iranian society by planting underground churches, developing leaders, and spreading the gospel through media outreach and humanitarian aid. The organization focuses on long-term, structural, and spiritual change across Iran. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Transform Iran CEO Lana Silk to learn more.

KKR: $310 Million Investment In Electric Bus Platform Allfleet To Scale India Operations

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

KKR announced it will commit up to $310 million to form a strategic partnership with Allfleet India Private Limited and PMI Electro Mobility Private Limited, aiming to scale Allfleet’s electric bus platform and expand electric public transport infrastructure across India.

Elliott Investment Management Takes Significant Stake In Mitsui O.S.K. Lines

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Elliott Investment Management L.P. has disclosed a significant investment in Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., one of the world’s largest shipping companies.

Fusion Hotel Group Acquired By SC Capital Founder To Build Pan-Asia Hospitality Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Fusion Hotel Group, a Vietnam-based wellness hospitality brand and management company, has been acquired by Suchad Chiaranussati, founder and chairman of SC Capital Partners, marking a strategic move to create a scaled pan-Asian hotel management platform.

Redwood Logistics: Acquisition Of Stridas Expands Managed Transportation Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Redwood Logistics, a Chicago-based fourth-party logistics provider, has announced its acquisition of Cincinnati-based managed transportation company Stridas, strengthening its capabilities in freight optimization, procurement, and commercial solution design.

Beanstack Acquires Comics Plus To Launch Joyful Reading Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Beanstack announced it has acquired Comics Plus, bringing together a reading motivation platform with a digital content library to form a new brand, Joyful Reading Company. The combined entity aims to increase reading engagement by pairing Beanstack’s motivation tools with Comics Plus’s catalog of comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books.

Podpage Acquires School Of Podcasting To Expand Education With Free Tier And Coaching

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Podpage announced that it has acquired the School of Podcasting, a long-running podcast education platform founded in 2005 by Dave Jackson, as part of a broader push to expand access to podcasting education and integrate learning more deeply into its ecosystem.

SuperSeed: £50 Million Fund III Launched For Physical AI Startups With British Business Bank Backing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

SuperSeed has launched its third fund, securing a cornerstone commitment of up to £50 million from the British Business Bank to invest in seed-stage companies focused on physical AI. The fund, backed through the Enterprise Capital Funds programme, will target B2B AI and SaaS startups applying artificial intelligence to industries such as manufacturing, energy, construction, and autonomous systems.

British Business Bank: €20 Million Commitment To Partech Impact Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

The British Business Bank, a UK government-owned development bank, has committed €20 million to Partech Partners’ inaugural €300 million Impact Fund, expanding its strategy of backing European growth funds that invest in UK businesses.

Fuse: $5 Million Rescue Fund Launched By AI Lending Platform For Credit Unions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Fuse, an AI-native loan origination and account-opening platform, announced the launch of a $5 million Rescue Fund to help credit unions transition away from restrictive, long-term contracts with legacy technology vendors.

Radial Equity Partners: Investment In Industrial Components Provider Thomas Precision Machining

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Radial Equity Partners announced an investment in Thomas Precision Machining, forming a strategic partnership to support the company’s continued growth and operational expansion.

Recon Analytics Acquires Atom Insights To Expand Global Coverage Across 40+ Countries

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Recon Analytics announced it has acquired Atom Insights, a device market intelligence firm with operations in Canada and India, strengthening its capabilities in global device analytics and expanding its reach across more than 40 countries. The transaction, disclosed on March 16, 2026, did not include financial terms.

SEALSQ: $125 Million Raised In Registered Direct Offering Priced At $4.11 Per Share

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

SEALSQ Corp announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with several institutional investors to raise approximately $125.0 million through a registered direct offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules.

Microsoft: Copilot Leadership Shake-Up To Refocus On AI Model Development

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Microsoft has formally announced a major restructuring of its Copilot and artificial intelligence leadership, consolidating its Copilot efforts while shifting greater emphasis toward building advanced AI models.

Blify: $2.1 Million Raised For AI Workplace Learning Platform Embedded In Slack And Teams

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Paris-based HR tech startup Blify has raised $2.1 million in pre-seed funding to accelerate development of its AI-powered learning platform designed to integrate directly into workplace tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp. The round was led by AFI Ventures, with participation from Kima Ventures, Better Angle, Fair Equity, and more than 50 angel investors, including operators from companies such as Maki People, Alan, Doctolib, and JobTeaser.

Robinhood: $34.6 Million Of Ventures Fund I Invested In Stripe And ElevenLabs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Robinhood Markets announced that its closed-end Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI) has completed investments in two high-profile private companies, Stripe and ElevenLabs, marking the fund’s latest move to expand retail investor access to private markets.

Baxter International: Anita Zielinski Named As Interim CFO

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

Baxter International, a global medtech company, announced that executive vice president and chief financial officer Joel Grade will depart the company to prioritize family matters, marking a leadership transition in its finance organization. Grade will remain in an advisory role through April 30, 2026 to support continuity during the transition.

NOV: Sanjay Chowbey Appointed To Board Of Directors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 18, 2026

NOV Inc. announced that Sanjay Chowbey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kennametal Inc., has been appointed to its Board of Directors.