Archives

Spearmint Energy: $92 Million Tax Equity Investment Raised For Battery Energy Storage Project

By Annie Baker ● Oct 20, 2023

Spearmint Energy - a next-generation renewable energy company enabling the clean energy revolution through battery energy - recently announced it has successfully closed a $92 million tax equity investment in its Revolution project provided by Greenprint Capital Management, which is an investment firm focused on financing climate positive solutions and specializing in certificated renewable energy tax credit acquisitions.

Tofu: $5 Million Seed Round Raised To Create Personalized Marketing Campaigns At Scale

By Dan Anderson ● Oct 20, 2023

Tofu - a generative AI platform for creating hyper-personalized omnichannel marketing campaigns at scale - recently announced it has raised $5 million in venture funding. Index Ventures led the funding round with participation from SignalFire, Stage 2 Capital, and Liquid 2 Ventures.

LaPhair Capital Partners: Social Responsibility Flagship Fund Launched With $100 Million Target Size

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 20, 2023

LaPhair Capital Partners - a minority-led influencer-backed and performance-driven venture capital fund - recently announced the launch of their flagship Alpha Fund I, with a target size of $100 million. Alpha Fund I will invest in companies focused on social responsibility in underserved communities within high-growth markets.

Hook: Music Expression Platform Company Secures $3 Million

By Annie Baker ● Oct 20, 2023

Hook - a music expression platform company that utilizes the power of AI to empower anyone to remix and remake their favorite songs - recently announced that it has closed a $3 million Seed investment round led by Steve Cohen's Point72 Ventures and Waverley Capital, co-founded by former Warner Music Group CEO, Edgar Bronfman, Jr. The other participants in the funding round include Mark Gillespie's Three Six Zero and Avex, Japan's leading entertainment brand.

Overstory: Climate Tech Company Secures $14 Million To Mitigate Wildfires

By Noah Long ● Oct 20, 2023

Overstory - a climate tech startup that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to mitigate wildfires, protect biodiversity, and help industries make smarter decisions about natural resources - recently announced that it has raised $14 million in Series A financing.

Excelestar: This Successful Venture Firm Is Actively Investing In B2B Tech And Medical Devices

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 20, 2023

Excelestar is a venture firm that helps portfolio companies produce growth and sustainable profits from a long-term perspective. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Excelestar Ventures founding partner Tasneem Dohadwala to learn more.

Beluga: Crypto Platform Company Raises $4 Million

By Annie Baker ● Oct 20, 2023

Beluga - a trusted crypto platform that onboards and guides new users through their crypto journey - recently announced a $4 million seed round from some of the most well-known crypto and FinTech investors. Fin Capital led this round with participation from Anagram, UDHC, Dispersion Capital, Aptos Labs, 2 Punks Capital, Borderless Capital, Kyber Capital, 186 Ventures, W11 Capital, Rubik Ventures, etc.

EVPassport Receives $200 Million Commitment From Northleaf

By Annie Baker ● Oct 20, 2023

Northleaf Capital Partners - a leading global private markets investment firm - recently announced it has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in EVPassport, an electric vehicle (EV) charging platform company co-founded by Hooman Shahidi (Chief Executive Officer), and Aaron Fisher (Chief Technology Officer) - which focuses on the deployment of Level 2 and Level 3 EV chargers across North America. The funds managed by Northleaf have committed $200 million to fund EVPassport’s capital requirements and accelerate the build-out of EV charging systems.

Beem: Building An Inclusive Financial Network For Establishing Creditworthiness Linked To Over $10 Trillion In Annual Spending Power

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 20, 2023

Beem (previously known as Line) is a profitable AI-first fintech company that accurately risk ranks over 100 million who form the bottom 80% of the US working population without using FICO. And Beem uses this to facilitate payments, distribution of goods and services, risk-adjusted prices, and relevant inflection points in their financial journey while continuing to capture the $10+ trillion in annual spending power they have. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Beem founder and CEO Akshay Krishnaiah to learn more.

Cognitive Space: $4 Million Closed To Enable Satellite Constellations To Grow And Scale

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 20, 2023

Cognitive Space - the market leader in intelligent space automation - recently announced it has raised $4 million in seed+ funding during the second quarter of 2023. The funding round saw participation from esteemed venture capital firms York IE, Draper Associates, and Dolby Family Ventures - which reinforces Cognitive Space's position as a trailblazer in the intelligent space automation sector.

Fingerprint: Accurate Device Intelligence Platform Company Closes $33 Million In Funding

By Noah Long ● Oct 20, 2023

Fingerprint - an accurate device intelligence platform - recently announced that it raised $33 million in Series C funding led by Nexus Venture Partners with participation from Uncorrelated Ventures.

Hayden AI: Geospatial Analytics Company Raises $53 Million In Series B

By Annie Baker ● Oct 20, 2023

Hayden AI - a leader in artificial intelligence and geospatial analytics - recently announced the successful closing of its $53 million Series B funding round. The oversubscribed funding round was led by the Drawdown Fund, a growth equity firm dedicated to advancing companies and products that are addressing major drivers of climate change.

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.