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Munich-based fusion energy company Proxima Fusion has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Free State of Bavaria, RWE, and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics to build what the partners describe as the world’s first commercial stellarator fusion power plant in Europe.

Lone Star Funds announced that an affiliate of Lone Star Real Estate Fund VII, L.P. has reached an agreement to acquire 90 Whitfield Street in London, UK from Derwent London.

Seraphim, a UK-headquartered SpaceTech investment group with offices in the US and Germany, announced the latest closing of its early-stage venture fund, exceeding its previous $100 million target. With this close, the firm now manages more than $550 million in active funds, reinforcing its position as a global leader in SpaceTech investment.

Cemex announced it has reached an agreement to acquire all assets of Omega Products International, a leading stucco manufacturer in the western United States that generates approximately $23 million in EBITDA per year.

H.I.G. WhiteHorse, the credit affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, has arranged a €120 million financing package for Nasta Pet Food, a France-based, family-owned international group specializing in ultra-premium pet nutrition.

Semperis, the identity-driven cyber resilience and crisis response company, has appointed Tom Linckens to its Strategic Advisory Board as it advances its next phase of growth across the DACH and EMEA regions.

Medaxion, an anesthesia-focused information systems company, has appointed Mike Wirth as Chief Growth Officer as the company accelerates its national expansion strategy.

Digital Turbine, the global leader in growth solutions for the mobile ecosystem, has appointed Ben John as Chief Technology Officer as the company continues its next phase of innovation and expansion.

One Identity, a leader in identity security, has appointed Michael Henricks as Chief Financial and Operating Officer as the company continues to scale its global operations and align financial leadership with operational execution.

C.A. Fortune, a privately held national sales brokerage and marketing agency, has appointed Matt Ulmer as Chief Digital & Marketing Officer, consolidating the company’s marketing, digital, e-commerce, and corporate marketing functions under a single executive leader. Ulmer will report to CEO Tyler Lowell and join the Executive Leadership Team as the company sharpens its focus on integrated growth beyond the traditional brokerage model.

WorkWhile has appointed longtime board member and technology executive Simon Khalaf as Chief Executive Officer as the company enters its next phase of growth and expands into worker-focused financial services. Co-Founder Jarah Euston will transition to President and Chief Operating Officer, where she will focus on scaling operations and accelerating expansion.

Brightwell, a global payments technology company that powers embedded cross-border payment experiences for financial institutions, has appointed former MoneyGram Chairman and CEO Alex Holmes to its Board of Directors as demand from banks and credit unions continues to grow.

MEDIPEEL, the derma beauty brand majority-owned by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, has appointed Jason Wi as its new Chief Executive Officer. The company said the leadership transition marks the beginning of a comprehensive restructuring of its global operations aimed at building a more resilient and scalable operating model to support sustained international growth.

Intrinsic, an AI-enabled robotics software company, has joined Google in a move aimed at accelerating the development and adoption of physical AI across industries. The combination underscores Google’s ambition to bridge the gap between digital intelligence and real-world operations, particularly in manufacturing and logistics.

Perplexity has introduced Perplexity Computer, a new AI system designed to unify frontier models into a single, general-purpose digital worker capable of creating and executing entire workflows.

Gambit Security has emerged from stealth with $61 million in Seed and Series A funding to help enterprises strengthen resilience across their entire technology stack. The capital was raised in under 12 months from Spark Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Cyberstarts.

Harper Insure, an AI-native commercial insurance brokerage, announced it has raised $47 million in combined seed and Series A funding to expand its technology-driven approach to commercial insurance. The company said the round marks the largest publicly disclosed Series A ever raised by a Black founder.

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation has invested RM155.6 million, or $40 million, in Malaysia-based Zetrix AI Berhad to support the expansion of digital public infrastructure services in Malaysia and emerging markets across ASEAN and beyond.

Worldline announced the strategic sale of its Indian payment activities to BillDesk as part of a broader effort to sharpen its focus on core European payment operations and streamline resource allocation.

Sinergy Flow, a climate tech company focused on long-duration energy storage (LDES), has closed a €7 million late-seed funding round to accelerate the development and commercialization of its flow battery technology.

Allica Bank, a digital bank focused on small and medium-sized businesses, has raised $155 million in a Series D funding round to accelerate its growth in the UK, deepen investment in its technology platform, and begin international expansion. The round was backed by Ventura Capital, GLG, Sona AM, and existing investors TCV and Blue Owl. The majority of the funding consists of common equity, alongside a portion of new additional Tier 1 equity capital. The investment values Allica at close to $1.2 billion.

Kash, a social-native prediction market platform, announced it has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding as it looks to embed tradable prediction markets directly into social media feeds, beginning with X.

Profound announced it has raised a $96 million Series C at a $1 billion valuation, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Existing investors Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Saga VC, South Park Commons, and Evantic also participated in the round.

Astelia, an AI-native cybersecurity platform founded by leaders of Israel’s National Red Team, has raised $35 million in combined seed and Series A funding to expand its AI-driven exposure management capabilities. The round was led by Index Ventures and Team8, with participation from Holly ventures. The company is already working with dozens of customers, including leading Fortune 500 companies.

Jeh Aerospace is a software-driven manufacturing company that provides high-precision aerospace and defense components—specifically aerostructures and aero-engine parts—using AI and robotics to accelerate supply chain production for global customers. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Jeh Aerospace founder and CEO Vishal Sanghavi to learn more.

Spirit AI has raised $280 million to scale the deployment of its general-purpose embodied models, as the industry shifts toward Scaling Law-driven VLA architectures. The funding comes from a diverse group of global financial and strategic investors and supports the company’s push to expand large-scale physical AI systems trained on real-world data.

Avisi Technologies, a clinical-stage ophthalmic medical device company, announced the closing of a $10.7 million Series A financing round to advance development of its investigational VisiPlate glaucoma treatment and support its pivotal SAPPHIRE clinical trial. The round was led by MedVenture Partners, with participation from new investors Sherpa Healthcare Partners, SNBL-Gemseki, SBI US Gateway Fund, Golden Seeds, and OneOneFive. Existing investors, including Good Growth Capital, Accanto Partners, Life Sciences Greenhouse Investment, and Quaker Capital Investments, also participated. As part of the financing, Justin Fukuyama, MS, MBA, Partner at MedVenture Partners, has joined Avisi’s Board of Directors.

NationGraph, an AI-native intelligence platform for businesses selling to government agencies, announced it has raised $18 million in Series A funding led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from Perplexity’s Fund, XYZ Venture Capital, Reach Capital, and angel investors. The round, which closed in Q4 2025, brings the company’s total funding to $22.5 million.

Prophet Security, a provider of Agentic AI solutions for security operations, announced strategic investments from Amex Ventures and Citi Ventures to accelerate adoption of its Agentic AI SOC Platform. The funding is aimed at helping security operations center teams respond to threats faster and with greater accuracy as cyberattacks grow in speed and complexity.

Cohen & Gresser announced that Olga Ponomarenko has joined the firm’s London office as a partner, with Irina Bratishkina joining as an associate. The pair brings significant experience advising on complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions, co-investments, equity capital markets transactions, and broader strategic corporate matters.