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Ankona Capital: Second Fund Closed At $129 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 20, 2023

Ankona Capital announced the final closing of its second fund with $129 million in total commitments, which is roughly double the size of its inaugural fund. The Ankona team is going to continue to focus its investments on early growth-stage business-to-business (B2B) software companies and to follow its proven strategy of helping companies reach scale and sustainability through smart and capital-efficient growth.

Poppy: This Indoor Air Safety Monitoring Company Is Transforming Over A $6 Billion Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 20, 2023

Poppy is an indoor health company that provides instant and accurate air safety monitoring for any indoor space. Commercial properties and corporations use the company's products to keep buildings sustainable and occupants healthy. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Poppy's Co-Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Sam Molyneux to learn more.

General Catalyst And La Famiglia Uniting To Double Down On European Investments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 20, 2023

Leading VC firm General Catalyst and La Famiglia, one of Europe’s most renowned seed investors based in Berlin, announced they are joining forces. The combined entity will enable La Famiglia to turbocharge and globalize its investment thesis of creating meaningful change by fostering cooperation between young digital disruptors and established industrial market leaders.

Alpaca: Partnership With SBI Group And $15 Million Strategic Investment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 20, 2023

Alpaca - a global brokerage platform for stock and crypto trading that supports launches of hundreds of investing businesses - recently announced a new strategic partnership with SBI Group. This financial services group has the largest online broker (the second largest brokerage firm) in Japan by revenue and has over 400 billion yen assets under management for VC/PE investments.

HawkEye 360: RF Geospatial Intelligence Company Secures $10 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 20, 2023

HawkEye 360 - the world's leading defense technology company for space-based radio frequency (RF) data and analytics - recently announced the second and final close of the company's Series D-1 funding round with an additional $10 million, bringing the total Series D-1 to $68 million.

Alethia Ventures: $50 Million Debut Fund Launches

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 20, 2023

Alethia Venture Partners has announced the launch of their $50 million debut fund called Alethia Opportunity Fund I. The venture fund is now actively deploying capital into the next wave of growth brands across the broader beverage category.

Darwinium: Security And Fraud Prevention Platform Company Secures $18 Million

By Annie Baker ● Oct 20, 2023

Hivebrite: Community And Engagement Platform Company Raises $37 Million

By Noah Long ● Oct 20, 2023

Hivebrite - a leading community and engagement platform - recently announced that it has raised a $37 million Series B funding round. This latest funding round highlights the growing demand for Hivebrite's product and its leadership in the community-building industry. Hivebrite founder and CEO Jean Hamon launched the company in 2015.

Aclid: Biotech Security And Compliance Automation Platform Company Raises $3.3 Million

By Annie Baker ● Oct 19, 2023

Aclid - a security and compliance automation platform for the biotechnology industry - recently announced it closed an oversubscribed seed financing of $3.3 million. This funding round led by 2048 Ventures and IA Ventures will enable Aclid to meet customer demand for its real-time screening and verification platform.

Variantyx: Genomic Precision Medicine Company To Expand With New Funding Round

By Noah Long ● Oct 19, 2023

Variantyx - a leader in genomic precision medicine - recently announced that it has secured additional funding from its portfolio of investors, which includes Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Pitango HealthTech, New Era Capital Partners, 20/20 HealthCare Partners, and Peregrine Ventures.

Roofr: $23.5 Million Secured To Advance End-To-End Roofing Software

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 19, 2023

Roofr recently announced that it raised $23.5 million in funding. This funding round will help accelerate the development and launch of groundbreaking roofing solutions, including their newly launched CRM, and soon-to-be-launched Payment Processing, Material Purchasing, and more. Vertical Venture Partners led the round with participation from ABC Supply Co, the largest roofing supplier in North America, and several new and existing investors including Bullpen Capital, Interplay Ventures, i2BF, SVB, Ace & Company, MGFO, Podemsky Ventures.

Workstorm: Series A Funding Round Announced At $200 Million Valuation

By Annie Baker ● Oct 19, 2023

Workstorm - a leading provider of secure collaboration solutions - recently announced it has closed its Series A round, valuing the company at $200 million. The funding participants include Author Capital Partners and Chicago-based high-net-worth investors. This funding round will accelerate product development, expand its customer base, and support the growth of its sales and engineering teams.

Honda, GM, And Cruise Planning To Launch Driverless Ride Service In Japan

By Dan Anderson ● Oct 19, 2023

Honda Motor announced it is planning to set up a joint venture with General Motors and Cruise to start a driverless ride service in Japan in early 2026. The three companies are planning to launch the joint venture in the first half of 2024, assuming regulatory approval.

SYN Ventures: Cybersecurity Seed Fund Launches At Over $75 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 19, 2023

SYN Ventures - the only VC firm founded and led exclusively by former Fortune 500 CISOs and C-level security leaders with over $600 million of assets under management (AUM) - announced the first closing of its dedicated cybersecurity seed fund with over $75 million, the largest cyber seed dedicated fund domiciled in the United States. The firm also expects to do a final close later this quarter.

Snappy: Restaurant Management Company Raises Series A Funding Round

By Dan Anderson ● Oct 19, 2023

Snappy - a Canadian all-in-one restaurant management Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company - recently announced closing an oversubscribed Series A funding round. The funding round - led by Texas-based Golden Section Ventures - follows an investment by Celtic House Venture Partners and Celtic House Asia Partners in 2021.

Netflix Increases Prices As Subscriber Count Rises

By Noah Long ● Oct 19, 2023

Netflix announced it is increasing the prices for some customers while also reporting an increase in its subscriber base.

SHINE Technologies: Fusion Technology Company Raises $70 Million

By Noah Long ● Oct 19, 2023

SHINE Technologies - a next-generation fusion technology company - recently announced it has raised $70 million in additional funding. The funding round was led by existing investors, including Baillie Gifford and Fidelity Management & Research Company, and also included participation from new institutional investors. This funding round will complete the commercialization and scale-up of the company's near-term applications of fusion technology, which are used in the industrial, defense, and healthcare markets.

Prophecy: Self-Service Data Transformation Company Secures $35 Million

By Annie Baker ● Oct 19, 2023

Prophecy - a leading self-service data transformation platform - recently announced a $35 million Series B funding round led by Insight Partners and SignalFire with J.P. Morgan as a major investor. The new funding round catapults the company’s total funding to $67 million. The funding round included participants from new investors, Singtel Innov8, Databricks Ventures, and DallasVC.

Auquan: Financial Services Company Raises $3.5 Million

By Noah Long ● Oct 19, 2023

Auquan - an AI innovator for financial services - recently announced the closing of its $3.5 million seed round, led by early-stage investor Neotribe Ventures. The company also announced its Auquan Intelligence Engine, powered by retrieval augmented generation (RAG) AI. The company's SaaS-based product helps customers like UBS and Federated Hermes extract intelligence from the world’s unstructured data to power business due diligence, research, compliance, and risk monitoring.

Zygon: Cybersecurity Solutions Company Secures $3 Million

By Noah Long ● Oct 19, 2023

Zygon - a cybersecurity solution for protecting enterprises from the risks brought by the uncontrolled spread of SaaS applications among their teams - recently announced a $3 million seed round and the public release of their solution. The fully subscribed round was led by Axeleo Capital and includes Kima Ventures and multiple world-class cybersecurity angel investors.

Outstaffer: HR Tech Platform Company Secures $1.5 Million

By Annie Baker ● Oct 19, 2023

Digital Identity Solutions Company Prove Identity Closes $40 Million

By Noah Long ● Oct 19, 2023

Prove Identity - a global leader in digital identity solutions - recently announced a $40 million funding round led by MassMutual Ventures and Capital One Ventures. This new funding - supported by more than 40% new international customer growth year to date - also reinforces Prove’s position as the global leader in the digital identity verification and authentication market.

Clockwork: Self-Care Robotics Company Raises Over $5.6 Million

By Dan Anderson ● Oct 19, 2023

Clockwork - a pioneering self-care robotics company - recently announced the launch of its investment round on Wefunder - inviting the general public to join the venture transforming the $1.5 trillion self-care industry. With $5.6 million raised from prominent investors, Clockwork launched a community investment round to the public led by Arash Ferdowski, Dropbox Co-Founder and former CTO.

Perch Energy: Clean Energy Platform Company Raises $30 Million From Nuveen

By Annie Baker ● Oct 19, 2023

Perch Energy - a clean energy technology platform and community solar servicer that connects solar developers with consumers - recently announced a $30 million investment from Nuveen, the $1.1 trillion asset manager of TIAA and one of the world’s largest real estate investment managers.

CIONIC: Neurotech Company Raises $12 Million In Round Led By L Catterton

By Noah Long ● Oct 19, 2023

CIONIC - a pioneering neurotech company that created the FDA-cleared Cionic Neural Sleeve - recently announced an additional $12 million extension of its Series A financing, bringing the Series A total to $25 million. This funding round was led by L Catterton, a leading consumer-focused investment firm and joined by new investor THVC, and all major investors. Plus, CIONIC has also partnered with Enable Ventures - the first impact venture fund dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap while achieving competitive, market-rate returns.

Matic: Embedded Insurtech Platform Company Secures $20 Million

By Dan Anderson ● Oct 19, 2023

Matic - a leading embedded insurtech platform - recently announced it raised $20 million to extend its Series B. This funding round includes $17 million in Series B equity co-led by IA Capital Group and Cultivation Capital with participation from existing investors and the majority led by new investors, including Intuit Ventures, TruStage Ventures, and Assurity Ventures. At the same time, Matic upsized its credit facility by $3 million, bringing new liquidity to $20 million.

Pickle: Peer-To-Peer Rental Marketplace Company Lands $8 Million In Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 19, 2023

Pickle - a peer-to-peer rental marketplace making local closets shareable on demand - recently announced that it has secured $8 million in seed funding. This funding round was co-led by FirstMark Capital and Craft Ventures with participation from Burst Capital.

P3 Technologies: $10 Million Raised And Pet Pharmacy Acquired

By Annie Baker ● Oct 19, 2023

P3 Technologies (P3T) - a leading pet health technology and solutions provider - recently announced the successful closure of a substantial $10 million investment round and the strategic acquisition of a leading veterinary pharmacy, which marks a significant milestone in the company's growth and expansion strategy.

Gero: $6 Million Raised To Mitigate Burden Of Age-Related Illnesses

By Annie Baker ● Oct 18, 2023

Gero - a biotechnology company focused on aging and chronic diseases - announced that it has closed $6 million in a Series A extension round. This funding round positions the company to continue internal drug development programs, grow its scientific team to boost platform technology development, and expand its US presence.

Allara: $10 Million Raised To Help Women Dealing With Chronic Hormonal Conditions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 18, 2023

Allara - a first-of-its-kind virtual care platform bridging the care divide for the millions of women of reproductive age dealing with chronic hormonal conditions - recently announced $10 million in Series A funding led by GV (Google Ventures), with participation from Great Oaks Venture Capital, Humbition, Vanterra, Gaingels, and individual investors like Tom Lee (One Medical) and Maggie Sellers.