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Deft is an e-commerce search engine that utilizes knowledge graphs and language models.  Pulse 2.0 interviewed Deft CEO and co-founder Zach Hudson and CTO and co-founder Alex Gunnarson to learn more.

Vivun is known as the world’s leading provider of PreSales software. And the company’s AI-powered platform includes solutions for PreSales Operations, Demo Automation, Product-Field Alignment, and Xpert Analytics. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Vivun co-founder and CEO Matthew Darrow to learn more.

Alaska Energy Metals is an Alaska-based mineral exploration company focused on developing the Nikolai project, a sizable polymetallic exploration target containing nickel, copper, cobalt, chrome, iron, platinum, and palladium. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Alaska Energy Metals CEO Gregory Beischer to learn more about the company.

Bergen Brown Jr.’s journey from living in poverty in the inner city and serving in the U.S. Navy to managing the operating expense financial planning for a $100 billion portfolio of 3,000 logistic assets in private equity was a hard-fought battle. And his goal now is to help pave the way for young professionals to achieve freedom from financial adversity. Brown Jr. is a graduate of Temple University and is currently working on his Executive MBA from the Villanova School of Business. In Brown Jr.’s new book, Becoming a Financial Critical Thinker: 5 Step Process for Bulletproof Finances, he breaks down complex ideas into a language that is easy to understand for young adults who want to become financially inclined. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Brown Jr. to learn more about his background.

IBM Consulting and Palo Alto Networks recently announced that they will expand their strategic partnership to enable clients to strengthen their end-to-end security postures and navigate evolving security threats. Palo Alto Networks will be in a select group of strategic IBM Consulting partners, and IBM Consulting will be a premier security services partner for Palo Alto Networks.

Hal Leonard (the legendary sheet music and educational publisher) has joined digital leader Muse Group in a partnership set to revolutionize access to popular music and creator tools for musicians worldwide. And as makers of the world’s most popular online libraries, tools, and community spaces for audio creators, including MuseScore, Ultimate Guitar, and Audacity. This partnership further drives Muse Group’s position as an industry leader in music content and creation. Muse Group and Hal Leonard will retain their respective HQs in the USA and Cyprus, as well as distinct operational expertise.

At the COP28 event, Energy Dome announced funding commitments for its first CO2-based and innovative thermo-mechanical energy storage system in Sardinia, Italy. The funding will be in the form of a project-level grant commitment of up to €35 million from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and €25 million in venture debt financing commitment from the European Investment Bank, both subject to the satisfaction of funding conditions. The funding is being made available through the EU–Breakthrough Energy Catalyst partnership.

Candex - a leading vendor management and tail spend solutions provider - recently announced a Series B investment of $45 million, led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management with new investor WiL (World Innovation Lab) who both join existing investors Altos, NFX, Craft, JP Morgan, American Express and Edenred.

Big Idea Ventures (BIV) - a global leader in early-stage alternative protein and food technology investing - recently announced its third portfolio company through the Generation Food Rural Partners Fund (GFRP). Nexture Bio develops novel technologies to support the advancement of alternative meat products.

Mine - a pioneering company disrupting the data privacy marker - announced today that it has raised $30 million in Series B funding, led by Battery Ventures, with significant investments from PayPal Ventures and Nationwide Ventures and with the participation of all existing investors, including Saban Ventures, Gradient Ventures (Google’s AI), MassMutual Ventures and Headline Ventures.

Virtuo - a leading homeownership concierge platform that connects and streamlines tasks associated with moving and beyond - recently announced it has secured CA$3.5 million in a seed funding round, with lead investors ATB Private Equity and TELUS Ventures. This new funding round will fuel Virtuo’s expansion across Canada and into the U.S., enabling it to bring its top-notch customer experience to more homeowners and partners, including realtors, mortgage providers, and builders. And with this latest round, Virtuo’s total funds raised is now over CA$7 million.

CoreWeave - a leading specialized GPU cloud provider - recently announced it had closed a minority investment of $642 million led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, with additional participation from Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), Jane Street, J. P. Morgan Asset Management, Nat Friedman & Daniel Gross, Goanna Capital, Zoom Ventures and others. This deal was done at at about a $7 billion valuation.

Malou - an all-in-one solution that helps restaurants increase their sales by attracting, retaining, and building customer loyalty - recently announced it has successfully raised over $10 million in funding. This round of funding was led by prominent investors, including the SaaS B2B experts henQ, Bleu Capital, Bertrand Jelensperger (founder of The Fork), Jim Texier (former CPO of Lightspeed), and several restaurant clients.

Alaska Air Group and Hawaiian Holdings recently announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Alaska Airlines will acquire Hawaiian Airlines for $18 per share in cash, for a transaction value of approximately $1.9 billion, inclusive of $0.9 billion of Hawaiian Airlines net debt. This combined company will unlock more destinations for consumers and expand the choice of critical air service options and access throughout the Pacific region, Continental United States, and globally. The deal is expected to enable a stronger platform for growth and competition in the U.S., as well as long-term job opportunities for employees, continued investment in local communities, and environmental stewardship.

Prodoscore is an AI-powered data intelligence solution dedicated to making teams more successful. By clarifying what employees need to do to maintain optimal productivity without feeling pressured by meaningless metrics, Prodoscore helps empower people, streamline processes, identify opportunities for workforce optimization, and ensure better-informed decision-making.  Pulse 2.0 interviewed Prodoscore CEO Sam Naficy to learn more about the company. 

Carmot Therapeutics - a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing life-changing therapeutics for people living with metabolic diseases, including obesity and diabetes - recently announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement for Roche to acquire Carmot at a purchase price of $2.7 billion upfront and the potential for $400 million in milestone payments.

L Squared Capital Partners recently announced that it held the final closing for its fourth private equity fund at $840 million. And L Squared fully committed its $505 million third fund earlier this year with the investment in ERA Industries.

New Era ADR - a dispute resolution technology platform - recently announced an investment by Marquee Ventures, a venture capital fund spun out from the Chicago Cubs. And OnDean, the family office of Andrew Sieja, founder and former CEO of legal tech and eDiscovery giant Relativity also participated in this round.

LucidLink - a company that is in enabling instant access to data and real-time collaboration for the world's most innovative companies - recently announced that it has raised $75 million in Series C funding, including secondaries, led by Brighton Park Capital an investment firm focused on entrepreneur-led, growth-stage companies within the software, healthcare, and tech-enabled services businesses space.

Monta Vista Capital - a leading seed-stage venture capital firm in Silicon Valley for transformative B2B startups - recently announced the launch of its third and largest fund. Like its predecessors, the firm’s new $48 million fund aims to provide the most promising new B2B company founders with access to the experience, agility, and capital needed to deliver on their visions far ahead of the market.

Workforce inclusion platform Inclusively recently announced that it has closed a $13 million Series A round to accelerate enterprise access of their new workplace personalization product Retain. This funding round was led by Firework Ventures, with participation from existing investors, including Benson Capital (the venture arm of Gayle Benson, owner of the Saints and Pelicans).

Osmo - a machine olfaction startup - recently announced it raised a $3.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance the company's AI-enabled scent platform for discovering and producing compounds that repel, attract, or destroy disease-carrying insects to improve animal and human health. This grant is in addition to a $5 million equity investment in Osmo that the foundation made at the company's launch in January 2023.

Leap - a leading virtual power plant (VPP) platform - recently announced that it has secured additional equity financing from Presidio Ventures, bringing Leap’s total B-EXT funding to $16 million after a round announced in July 2023.

Princeton NuEnergy (PNE) - a clean-tech innovator specializing in recycling, repurposing, and commercializing lithium-ion battery materials - recently announced the initial closing of its Series A funding round, raising $16 million. Wistron Corporation, a Fortune Global 500 member and industry leader in electronics recycling services, led the funding round.

Radiant Security, a pioneering force in AI-enhanced security operations solutions, today announced the successful closure of a $15 million Series A funding round. This strategic financing, led by Next47, reaffirms the soaring demand for cutting-edge, AI-based solutions that address the longstanding challenges that Security Operations Centers (SOCs) face.

Nema Health - a virtual treatment program delivering evidence-based care for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - recently closed a $4.1 million seed round. This funding round was co-led by Optum Ventures and .406 Ventures, with participation from GreyMatter Capital and additional angel investors. And Nema also announced the launch of its care program in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with a national insurance partner.

SilverSun Technologies (SSNT) and Jacobs Private Equity II, LLC (JPE) - which is led by Brad Jacobs - announced today that they and minority co-investors have entered into an investment agreement, under which JPE and the minority co-investors will invest $1 billion in cash into SilverSun. This proposed equity investment comprises $900 million by JPE and $100 million by co-investors, including Sequoia Heritage.

Launchpad.build - a cutting-edge U.S.-based technology company using AI to deliver next-generation capabilities in robotics and automation - recently announced it has closed a strategic funding round with an investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures (the venture arm of Lockheed Martin).

Photonic - a company building one of the world’s first scalable, fault-tolerant, and unified quantum computing and networking platforms based on photonically linked silicon spin qubits - recently announced it has raised an investment round of $100 million.  The funds were raised from organizations including British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), Microsoft Corporation, the UK government’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), Inovia Capital, and Amadeus Capital Partners. This brings the company’s total funding to $140 million.

Sailes is a company that is harnessing artificial intelligence to streamline prospecting for enterprise sales teams. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Sailes' president, CEO, and founder Nick Smith to learn more about the company.