Archives

CorriXR: Oncology-Focused Biotherapeutics Development Company Raises Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2024

Cortado Ventures - a leading investment firm committed to supporting innovation and growth - announced a strategic investment in CorriXR Therapeutics, an oncology-focused biotherapeutics development company with a pioneering gene editing platform technology. And this investment solidifies Cortado's commitment to advancing cutting-edge medical solutions and supporting the development of groundbreaking treatments for cancer.

Thayer Street Partners: An Interview With Josh Koplewicz On His Firm’s Flexible Growth Capital Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2024

Thayer Street Partners is a boutique private investment firm that provides flexible growth capital to technology-enabled financial, real estate, and business services companies in the lower middle market. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Thayer Street founder & managing partner Josh Koplewicz to learn more about the firm’s history, investment strategy, and goals for the future.

Why MITER Brands Is Buying PGT Innovations For About $3.1 Billion

By Annie Baker ● Jan 22, 2024

MITER Brands (a nationwide manufacturer of precision-built windows and doors) and PGT Innovations (a manufacturer of premium windows and doors) recently announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement for MITER to acquire all outstanding shares of PGTI for $42 per share in cash, or an enterprise value of approximately $3.1 billion.

Vicarius: End-To-End Vulnerability Remediation Platform Company Raises $30 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2024

Vicarius - the developers of vRx (the industry’s first fully autonomous end-to-end vulnerability remediation platform) announced a $30 million Series B led by cybersecurity investment firm Bright Pixel (formerly Sonae IM). And AllegisCyber Capital, AlleyCorp, and Strait all participated in the financing. The company’s total funding is now over $56 million.

Unbox: €12 Million Secured To Help Customers Achieve Efficient Funding Distribution

By Annie Baker ● Jan 22, 2024

Unbox - an infrastructure provider for programmable exchange of value - closed a €12 million Series A funding round. The funding was led by HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) and featured strategic participation from SFPIM Relaunch, a Belgian Sovereign Wealth Fund subsidiary.

Sway (Formerly Returnmates) Secures $19.5 Million In Funding

By Noah Long ● Jan 22, 2024

Sway (formerly Returnmates) is a technology company that enables customer-centric delivery and return experience. And the company rebranded to Sway, a name representative of the multi-directional services offered to retailers, expanding beyond returns to incorporate last-mile delivery.

Prismatic: Embedded Integration Platform Company Raises $22 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2024

Prismatic - a leading embedded integration platform - recently announced $22 million in Series B funding to drive platform innovation. Five Elms Capital led the funding round, which is the growth equity firm's second investment in Prismatic in less than a year.

Why LiveRamp Is Buying Habu For About $200 Million

By Annie Baker ● Jan 22, 2024

LiveRamp (a leading data collaboration platform) recently announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Habu, a data clean room software provider, in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $200 million.

Why Thomson Reuters Is Buying World Business Media Limited

By Annie Baker ● Jan 22, 2024

Thomson Reuters (a global content and technology company) recently announced that it has acquired World Business Media Limited, a cross-platform, subscription-based provider of editorial coverage for the (re)insurance industry. This deal aligns with Reuters' strategic priority to provide must-have news and insight for new customer markets and professional verticals.

Cognizant Launches Innovation Assistant In Partnership With Microsoft

By Dan Anderson ● Jan 21, 2024

Cognizant has announced a collaboration with Microsoft on the launch of the Innovation Assistant, a generative AI-powered tool built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, which will augment Cognizant's internal innovation program Bluebolt.

Ford Reducing F-150 Lightning Production In Favor Of Gas Vehicles

By Noah Long ● Jan 21, 2024

Ford has reiterated plans to shift production to favor two gas vehicles over the Ford F-150 Lightning. Last month, Ford revealed it planned to reduce the F-150 Lightning production by approximately half. Late last week, Ford said that 1,400 workers would be impacted by this change, which is set to occur on April 1.

How Gmail Is Now Making It Easier To Unsubscribe From Emails

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 21, 2024

Google has added a new feature to Gmail that makes it easier to unsubscribe from emails on mobile devices and the web versions of Gmail. This is done by moving the "Report spam & unsubscribe" button by creating separate "Report spam" and “Unsubscribe.”

Meta Plans To Buy 350,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs By The End Of The Year

By Annie Baker ● Jan 21, 2024

According to an Instagram post from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the company plans to buy a substantial amount of Nvidia hardware by the end of 2024 to support its AI initiatives. Zuckerberg discussed a goal to ramp up an open-source artificial general intelligence platform that would be able to support productivity, wearables, and digital assistants.

StackHawk: This Company Makes It Easier For Developers To Fix Application Security Bugs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 19, 2024

StackHawk is a company that makes it simple for developers to find and fix application security bugs. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Stackhawk co-founder and chief security officer (CSO) Scott Gerlach to learn more about the company.

Lemurian Labs: How This Company Is Solving AI’s Compute Capacity Limitations

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 19, 2024

Lemurian Labs is a company focused on unleashing AI's capabilities for humanity's benefit. To fulfill this purpose, Lemurian Labs is developing a general-purpose AI accelerator capable of orders of magnitude better performance and efficiency than legacy processors while being designed for scalability. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Lemurian Labs CEO and co-founder Jay Dawani to learn more about the company.

SmartBear: How This Company Ensures End-To-End Quality Through Test Automation And Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 19, 2024

SmartBear is a company that provides a portfolio of trusted tools that give software development teams worldwide visibility into end-to-end quality through test management and automation, API development lifecycle, and application stability - ensuring each software release is better than the last. Pulse 2.0 interviewed SmartBear chief revenue officer Melissa Campbell to learn more about the company.

AGF Management Buying Majority Interest In Kensington Capital Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 19, 2024

AGF Management Limited’s (AGF) private markets business signed definitive agreements to acquire a majority interest in Kensington Capital Partners Limited - one of Canada’s leading alternative investment firms, as part of AGF’s strategic imperative to grow its private markets business.

Diamond-Amazon Deal: What Could Happen To The MLB, NBA, And NHL Games

By Annie Baker ● Jan 19, 2024

Earlier this week, regional sports operator Diamond Sports Group and Amazon announced a major partnership. Diamond represents 37 teams in the MLB, NHL, and NBA. If the deal is approved in court, local games would be added to Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service and it would enable Diamond Sports Group to emerge from bankruptcy.

VRDirect: Empowering Enterprises To Create And Adopt VR Experiences

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 19, 2024

VRdirect is a software company specializing in virtual reality solutions for businesses. Through an easy-to-use platform, VRdirect enables enterprises to create, distribute, and manage VR experiences without coding or technical expertise. Pulse 2.0 interviewed VRDirect CEO Dr. Rolf Illenberger to learn more about the company.

Uptake Alliance: Inaugural Cohort Of 15 Climate Tech Startups Announced

By Dan Anderson ● Jan 18, 2024

Uptake Alliance - an emerging venture development program focused on fostering breakthrough climate technologies - announced the selection of its inaugural startup cohort. The innovation program - which was designed to facilitate and propel startups to secure commercial agreements, boost revenue, assemble exceptional teams, and secure funding - launches later this month.

How Zillow Is Empowering Renters Through A New Credit-Building Payment Reporting Service

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 18, 2024

Zillow has announced a new feature that enables renters who pay their rent on Zillow to have their on-time payments reported to a major national credit bureau at no cost. This is a first for any online rental marketplace, providing a unique opportunity for renters to build credit through regular rent payments at no additional cost.

Build A Rocket Boy: Gaming Company Raises $110 Million In Series D

By Dan Anderson ● Jan 18, 2024

Build A Rocket Boy - a leading independent gaming and entertainment company - recently announced closing on a Series D fundraising round worth over $110 million.

Cyversity: New Leadership And Board Revealed To Bring Better Diversity In Cybersecurity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 18, 2024

Cyversity - a 501(c)3 non-profit association dedicated to achieve the consistent representation of women, underrepresented communities, and all veterans in the cybersecurity industry through programs designed for diversifying, educating, and empowering - announced new executive leadership and its newly elected board of directors for the 2024-2026 term effective January 1, 2024.

Sayari: Supply Chain Risk Intelligence Provider Company Raises $228 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 18, 2024

Sayari - a counterparty and supply chain risk intelligence provider trusted by government agencies, multinational corporations, and financial institutions - and TPG (a global alternative asset management firm) announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for TPG Growth - which is the firm’s middle market and growth equity platform - to make an up to $228 million strategic majority investment in Sayari. Sayari’s founders, employees, and existing investors will retain a significant stake in the company.

Zip Closes $225 Million Debt Facility With Victory Park Capital

By Annie Baker ● Jan 18, 2024

Victory Park Capital (VPC) - a global alternative investment firm specializing in private credit - recently announced that it has closed a refinancing agreement for a US$225 million debt facility with Zip Co Limited, a global leader in the digital retail finance and payments industries. The deal will support the growth of Zip’s US receivables.

How John Deere And SpaceX Are Collaborating To Help Farmers With Connectivity Challenges

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 18, 2024

Deere & Company recently announced it has agreed with SpaceX to provide cutting-edge satellite communications (SATCOM) service to farmers. Leveraging the industry-leading Starlink network, this solution will allow farmers facing rural connectivity challenges to leverage precision agriculture technologies fully.

Kusari: $8 Million Secured To Bring Security To The Software Supply Chain

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 18, 2024

Kusari - a software supply chain security startup - recently announced it raised $8 million through combined investments in pre-seed and seed round funding. The seed funding round was led by J2 Ventures and co-led by Glasswing Ventures with participation from Unusual Ventures, which previously invested $2 million in pre-seed funding.

TrusTrace: $24 Million Raised To Advance Product Traceability And Compliance Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 18, 2024

TrusTrace - a global SaaS company with a market-leading platform for product traceability and compliance - announced today the completion of a (U.S.) $24 million growth investment led by Circularity Capital, a specialist investor in businesses that enable the circular economy, with participation from existing investors Industrifonden and Fairpoint Capital.

Gates Foundation: $8.6 Billion Budget For 2024 Announced

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 17, 2024

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced its largest annual budget to date as it works toward a healthier and more prosperous world. These are the details.

Northvolt: $5 Billion Raised For Circular Gigafactory

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 17, 2024

Northvolt recently announced the signing of a $5 billion non-recourse project financing to enable the expansion of Northvolt Ett in northern Sweden. This deal represents the largest green loan raised in Europe to date.