Archives

OpenAI Launches GPT-5.5 Instant As New Default Model With Improved Accuracy And Personalization

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 7, 2026

OpenAI has updated ChatGPT's default model to GPT-5.5 Instant, replacing GPT-5.3 Instant for all users. The update delivers stronger factual accuracy, more concise responses and improved personalization by making better use of context users have already shared across conversations.

IBM Db2 Genius Hub Expands AI Inferencing Support To Google Vertex AI And Intel Gaudi

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 7, 2026

IBM has announced that its Db2 Genius Hub now supports Google Vertex AI and Intel Gaudi AI accelerators, expanding the platform's options for AI inferencing beyond its existing support for Amazon Bedrock, AMD Instinct accelerators and NVIDIA H100 GPUs. The update gives enterprise customers greater flexibility in building and scaling AI inferencing workloads.

Hopeworks Expands To Newark

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 7, 2026

Hopeworks, a social enterprise advancing economic mobility through technology training and workforce development, has announced its expansion into Newark, New Jersey, marking a significant step in extending its proven model to one of the country's most dynamic and rapidly evolving cities.

Keewaywin Capital Announces Final Close Of Inaugural Fund At $20 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 7, 2026

Keewaywin Capital, an Indigenous-led private credit investment manager focused on housing and related infrastructure, has announced the successful final close of its inaugural fund, Keewaywin Capital Fund I, with total commitments of $20 million.

Vastian Announces Strategic Growth Investment From Bregal Sagemount And Silversmith Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 7, 2026

Vastian, the fastest growing provider of quality management software for hospitals and laboratories, has announced a strategic growth investment from Bregal Sagemount, a leading growth-focused private equity firm, alongside a new investment from existing investor Silversmith Capital Partners.

Cerberus Appoints Rahul Sangwan As Head Of India To Lead Continued Platform Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 7, 2026

Cerberus Capital Management, a global alternative investment firm with $70 billion in assets, has appointed firm veteran Rahul Sangwan as Head of India, formalizing his leadership role over the firm's growing Indian franchise.

Merit Financial Advisors Acquires $420 Million Firm Pradel Financial Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Merit Financial Advisors, a Georgia-based financial advisory firm specializing in financial planning and wealth management for high-net-worth individuals and families, has announced the acquisition of Pradel Financial Group, a Seattle-based wealth management firm led by veteran advisor Paul Pradel, marking Merit's 58th acquisition.

Apollon Wealth Management Welcomes $650 Million Firm Senglaub Financial Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Apollon Wealth Management has announced that Senglaub Financial Group, a Delafield, Wisconsin-based financial planning firm overseeing approximately $650 million in client assets, has joined its growing national organization, expanding Apollon's footprint in the Midwest.

Altara Raises $7 Million In Seed Funding To Accelerate Scientific And Industrial Breakthroughs With Agentic AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Altara, an AI company building a scientific intelligence platform for research and development through manufacturing, has announced $7 million in seed funding led by Greylock, with participation from Neo, BoxGroup, and Liquid 2 Ventures, along with angel investors including Jeff Dean and leadership at OpenAI and AMD.

Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance Doubles Funding Commitment, Awarding 13 Innovators In Cancer Research

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance, a program of The Pershing Square Foundation, has announced 13 winners of the 2026 Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize, marking a transformative expansion of the program from a regional initiative into a national platform supporting the next generation of cancer researchers.

Bogart Wealth Adds Bryce Black As Director Of Corporate Development To Support Expanding M&A Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Bogart Wealth, an independent, fee-only Registered Investment Adviser, has appointed Bryce Black as Director of Corporate Development. The role is new and is designed to institutionalize the firm's mergers and acquisitions strategy as it pursues selective partnerships with RIAs serving Fortune 500 executives, professionals, and employee communities.

OnePoint BFG Surpasses $16 Billion In AUM And Appoints Sam Cari As Chief Strategy Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners has appointed Sam Cari as Chief Strategy Officer as the firm surpasses $16 billion in assets under management and continues to expand its national footprint through a disciplined combination of organic growth and strategic partnerships.

Lido Advisors Appoints Brian Haloossim As President To Drive Next Chapter Of Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Lido Advisors, a nationally recognized wealth advisory firm with over $42.5 billion in regulatory assets under management, has announced the appointment of Brian Haloossim as President and the elevation of founding partner Ken Stern to Co-Chief Executive Officer, strengthening the leadership team of one of the nation's fastest-growing independent wealth management firms.

Raymond James Unveils New AI Capabilities And Technology Enhancements To Elevate Advisor And Client Experience

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Raymond James is showcasing new artificial intelligence capabilities and technology enhancements at Elevate, its national conference for independent financial advisors, reflecting the firm's commitment to delivering advisor-first technology designed to support service and enhance the client experience across all affiliations.

UBS Appoints Jeremy Autry As Market Director In The Manhattan Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

UBS has announced that Jeremy Autry has joined the firm as a Market Director in the Manhattan Market, based at UBS's 1285 Avenue of the Americas location and reporting to Manhattan Market Executive Kellie Brady.

Wealthspire To Acquire Fi3 Advisors, Deepening Indianapolis Presence And Family Office Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Wealthspire, an independent wealth management, institutional advisory, and business management firm, has announced an agreement to acquire Fi3 Advisors, an Indianapolis-based boutique advisory firm with approximately $1.2 billion in assets under management.

Citizens Expands Leadership Across Wealth And Private Bank To Enhance Client Experience

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Citizens has announced the addition of two strategic hires — Joe Roberts as Head of Family Office Solutions within Citizens Wealth, and Adam Devlin as Head of Platform Transformation across Citizens Private Bank and Citizens Wealth — underscoring the firm's continued investment in serving high- and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

Spring Labs: $5 Million Raised For AI-Native Compliance Platform For Financial Institutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Spring Labs announced it raised $5 million in funding led by BankTech Ventures and Haymaker Ventures to expand its AI-native compliance and operations platform for financial institutions. The company said the funding will support growth beyond AI complaint and dispute agents into a broader compliance workflow and agent orchestration platform for banks, sponsor banks, and fintechs.

Celadyne Technologies: $250,000 UT Seed Fund Investment To Scale Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Celadyne Technologies, a startup launched out of The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering, received a $250,000 investment from the UT Seed Fund to advance hydrogen fuel cell and electrolyzer technologies for defense, industrial, and transportation applications.

Elastics: $2 Million Raised For AI Agents For Prediction Markets

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Elastics, an AI-native operating system for prediction markets, announced it has raised $2 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round led by Frst. The round also included angel investors from across the AI and crypto sectors, including the co-founders of ElevenLabs, partners from XBTO, an Andreessen Horowitz scout, and a RedStone co-founder.

Donaldson Company: Acquisition Of Facet Filtration Expands Aerospace And Defense Exposure

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Donaldson Company announced it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Facet Filtration, a company specializing in mission-critical fuel and fluid filtration solutions for aviation and industrial applications.

ElevenLabs: $500 Million ARR Reached As AI Voice Platform Adds BlackRock, NVIDIA, And Jamie Foxx As Investors

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

ElevenLabs announced that it has added a new group of investors to its third close of its Series D fundraising round, including institutional firms such as BlackRock, Wellington Management, NVIDIA through NVentures, Santander, D. E. Shaw & Co., and Schroders. The company also welcomed investments from entertainment figures including Jamie Foxx, Eva Longoria, Hwang Dong-hyuk, and existing investor Matthew McConaughey.

Merck Completes $5.8 Billion Acquisition Of Terns Pharmaceuticals To Bolster CML Pipeline

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Merck has completed its acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals, adding TERN-701, a novel investigational oral treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia, to its oncology pipeline in a deal that will result in a charge to research and development expense of approximately $5.8 billion, or approximately $2.35 per share, reflected in both second quarter and full-year 2026 results.

Snap-on Acquires Hi-Force Hydraulic Tools To Expand Torque Offerings Across Critical Industries

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Snap-on Incorporated has acquired Hi-Force Group Holdings Ltd., a Daventry, United Kingdom-based designer and manufacturer of high-pressure hydraulic tools, heavy lifting systems, and torque and tensioning equipment, for approximately $58 million in cash, with the deal closing on April 30, 2026.

AlphaDrive Launches $100 Million Cyber And AI Venture Fund With Leumi Partners As Anchor Investor

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Veteran investors Yaron Elad and Elik Etzion have launched AlphaDrive, a $100 million venture fund targeting the intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, bringing aboard Leumi Partners as an anchor investor alongside family offices, cybersecurity entrepreneurs, and institutional backers from the United States and Europe.

RTI International Invests In Navidence To Standardize Disease And Treatment Definitions In Clinical Research

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Independent scientific research institute RTI International has announced a partnership and strategic equity investment in Navidence, an AI-native technology company working to standardize how diseases, treatments, and outcomes are defined across clinical research and real-world evidence generation.

Wealth Enhancement Acquires $318 Million Firm Lake Tahoe Wealth Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Wealth Enhancement announced the acquisition of Lake Tahoe Wealth Management, an independent registered investment advisor managing more than $318 million in client assets. The transaction increases Wealth Enhancement’s total client advisory, trust, and brokerage assets to more than $148.1 billion.

Steward Partners Buys $450 Million Firm Jazz Wealth

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

Steward Partners announced the acquisition of Jazz Wealth, a Tampa Bay-area wealth management firm overseeing approximately $450 million in client assets, further strengthening Steward Partners’ footprint across Florida’s Gulf Coast and the broader Southeast region.

OpenVC And NYSE Launch Crossover Index Tracking Top 500 Public And Private U.S. Companies

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

OpenVC and Intercontinental Exchange have launched the NYSE OpenVC 500 Index, a first-of-its-kind benchmark tracking the 500 largest U.S. companies by value regardless of whether they are publicly listed or venture capital-backed. The index combines constituents from the NYSE U.S. 500 Index and the NYSE OPEN Venture Capital Unicorn Index, which tracks venture-backed private companies valued above $1 billion.

FastSpring Secures Strategic Investment From LLR Partners To Accelerate Global Commerce Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 6, 2026

FastSpring, an all-in-one digital commerce platform serving AI, SaaS, gaming, software, and digital product companies, has secured a strategic investment from LLR Partners. The investment joins existing backer Accel-KKR in supporting FastSpring's continued growth and product development.