Archives

PolyGone Systems: Princeton University Spinout Raises $4 Million Seed Round To Scale Microplastic Monitoring And Removal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

PolyGone Systems, a cleantech company and Princeton University spinout focused on microplastic monitoring and removal, announced it has raised $4 million in Seed funding to expand its filtration and water analysis capabilities. The round was led by FYRFLY Venture Partners, with participation from Tech Council Ventures, Interstate Fusion Ventures, Golden Seeds, and angel investors. The New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund matched $1.65 million of the raise.

Onshore: $31 Million Series B Raised For AI-Based Tax Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Onshore, an AI-powered tax platform formerly known as SPRX, announced it has raised $31 million in Series B funding to accelerate its expansion across additional U.S. tax and accounting domains. The round was led by FPV Ventures, with participation from Vertex Ventures, ADP Ventures, Y Combinator, and Restive Ventures. The financing brings the company’s total funding to $46 million.

Novig: $75 Million Series B Raised For Sports Prediction Market Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Novig has raised $75 million in a Series B round to expand its trader-first sports prediction market and accelerate its push toward federal regulation. The round was led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Multicoin Capital, Makers Fund, Edge Equity and existing investors Forerunner Ventures, Perceptive Ventures and NFX. The financing brings Novig’s total capital raised to more than $105 million.

Efficient Computer: $60 Million Series A Closed For Energy-Efficient Processor Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Efficient Computer has raised $60 million in a Series A funding round to accelerate development of its ultra-efficient general-purpose processors designed for artificial intelligence and advanced computing workloads. The round was led by Triatomic Capital, with participation from Eclipse, Union Square Ventures, Overlap Holdings, BoxGroup, RTX Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and Overmatch Ventures, among others. The financing brings the company’s total capital raised to $76 million.

Monark Markets Raises $8.1 Million Strategic Round For Building Brokerage And Wealth Platform Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Monark Markets has raised $8.1 million in strategic financing to accelerate its mission of building standardized infrastructure connecting brokerage firms and wealth platforms to private markets. The round was led by F-Prime, with participation from The Treasury, Commerce Ventures, Grit Capital Partners, and BBAE Holdings.

Sift Biosciences Raises $3.7 Million Pre-Seed To Advance T-Cell Booster Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Sift Biosciences has closed an oversubscribed $3.7 million pre-seed financing round to accelerate development of its next-generation peptide immunotherapy platform designed to activate pre-existing memory T cells. The round was co-led by Freeflow Ventures and Lifespan Vision Ventures, with participation from Valuence Ventures, Eisai Innovation, SBI US Gateway Fund, and other early supporters.

Elevation Point Invests In Hampton Bluff Capital Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Elevation Point has made a strategic minority investment in Hampton Bluff Capital Partners, a newly launched independent wealth management firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, as the growth-focused partner continues expanding its footprint among breakaway advisory teams.

JLL Partners Raises $1.4 Billion For Fund IX

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

JLL Partners, a New York-based middle market private equity firm focused on the healthcare, industrials, and business services sectors, announced the final close of JLL Partners Fund IX, L.P., with approximately $1.4 billion in equity commitments.

Aprio Wealth Management Names Courtney Holt Chief Compliance Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Aprio Wealth Management, an SEC-registered investment advisor with over $5 billion in assets under management, offering integrated, fiduciary-based advisory services across all 50 states, announced that Courtney Holt has joined the firm as chief compliance officer. In this role, Holt will lead the firm’s compliance strategy, ensuring that its continued growth is grounded in strong regulatory governance and a commitment to client protection.

RF Investment Partners Backs Recapitalization Of Fire & Life Safety Services Platform NSG-Norel

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

RF Investment Partners announced it has partnered with Prairie Capital to support the recapitalization of NSG Life Safety and Norel Service Company, which together operate as NSG-Norel, a provider of fire, life safety, and security solutions across New England.

World Investment Advisors Appoints Jeffrey Sheftic As Chief Growth Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

World Investment Advisors, a financial advisory firm and division of World Insurance Associates, announced that Jeffrey Sheftic has joined the firm as Chief Growth Officer, bringing more than 30 years of wealth management leadership experience to drive organic growth, advisor engagement, and operational clarity.

Korsana Biosciences Launches With $175 Million To Advance Alzheimer’s Therapeutics

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Korsana Biosciences, a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies to reduce the burden of neurodegenerative diseases, announced its emergence from stealth with $175 million in funding from a syndicate of healthcare investors.

LPL Brings In $275 Million Firm Shoreline Private Wealth Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

LPL Financial announced that Jason Mochi of Shoreline Private Wealth Management has joined its broker-dealer and Registered Investment Advisor platform. Mochi reported serving approximately $275 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets and joins LPL from Morgan Stanley.

Ascentis Launches Family Wealth Division

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Ascentis Wealth Management, a part of Ascentis Holdings, announced that it is welcoming Ascentis Family Wealth, a newly launched Dallas-based wealth advisory practice led by Kevin Gray.

Payra Raises $15 Million Growth Investment From Edison Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Payra, a B2B payments and accounts receivable automation platform built for blue-collar and construction-oriented businesses operating on legacy enterprise resource planning systems, announced that it has raised a $15 million growth equity investment from Edison Partners.

Aliro Raises $15 Million In Oversubscribed Round To Advance Physics-Based Cybersecurity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Aliro announced that it has raised $15 million in an oversubscribed funding round aimed at advancing what it describes as the next major paradigm shift in cybersecurity: moving digital trust from mathematical assumptions to the laws of physics. The round was led by Gutbrain Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Cisco Investments, as well as new investors Argon Ventures and Wonderstone Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Murata. The capital will support expanded deployments, ecosystem partnerships, and the company’s broader mission to redefine global security infrastructure.

Battery Ventures Raises $3.25 Billion For Fund XV To Back AI And Software Innovation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Battery Ventures announced the close of a new $3.25 billion fund, Battery Ventures XV, to continue backing technology companies globally, with a focus on the U.S., Europe, and Israel. The oversubscribed fund was completed in a single close and comes as the firm continues investing across both the venture capital and buyout markets. The raise follows 15 announced exit events for Battery in 2025 and more than $10 billion in liquidity realized over the past five years, reflecting the firm's stage-diversified approach.

HGGC Closes $3.2 Billion Fifth Flagship Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

HGGC, the Palo Alto-based middle-market private equity firm co-founded by Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, announced that it has raised $3.2 billion for its fifth flagship fund, surpassing its target and hard cap in what remains a competitive fundraising environment for private markets.

Polymarket Acquires Prediction Market API Startup Dome

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Polymarket announced that it has acquired Dome, a Y Combinator-backed prediction market API startup, in a move aimed at expanding its developer infrastructure and strengthening its data and tooling ecosystem.

Nestle In Advanced Negotiations To Sell Remaining Ice Cream Business To Froneri

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Nestle announced it is in advanced negotiations to sell its remaining in-house ice cream business to Froneri, the joint venture it established with PAI Partners, as part of a broader strategic shift to sharpen its portfolio focus.

Herbalife: Cristiano Ronaldo Acquires 10% Stake In Pro2col Technology With $7.5 Million Investment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Herbalife announced that global sports icon Cristiano Ronaldo has acquired a 10% equity interest in HBL Pro2col Software, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary that holds the company’s Pro2col technology. Ronaldo invested $7.5 million in the platform and committed to provide services and sponsorship rights to Pro2col Software.

Scopely To Buy Majority Stake In ‘Pixel Flow!’ Studio

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Scopely announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Istanbul-based development studio behind the breakout mobile puzzle game “Pixel Flow!” The hybrid casual title launched in late 2025 and has already been played by more than 10 million people globally, becoming the only casual game released in the past 12 months to break into the monthly top-20 grossing charts in the U.S.

Hims & Hers Health To Acquire Eucalyptus In Up To $1.15 Billion Cash-And-Stock Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

Hims & Hers Health announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Eucalyptus, an international digital health company, in a transaction valued at up to $1.15 billion. The deal is designed to accelerate Hims & Hers’ strategy of becoming the leading global consumer health platform and expand its footprint beyond the United States.

DG Matrix Raises $60 Million Series A To Scale Power Infrastructure For AI And Electrification

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 21, 2026

DG Matrix announced it has closed a $60 million Series A funding round, bringing its total capital raised to over $100 million as it looks to accelerate the deployment of next-generation power infrastructure for AI data centers and broader electrification. The oversubscribed round was led by Engine Ventures, with participation from Helios Climate Ventures, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Fine Structure Ventures, MCJ and Sabanci Climate Ventures. Existing investors, including ABB, also committed additional capital.

Evolve Private Wealth Names Brett Cohen As Managing Partner

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 20, 2026

Evolve Private Wealth, an independent wealth management firm serving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth families, announced it has appointed Brett Cohen as Managing Partner, strengthening its leadership team as the firm continues its national expansion.

LPL Financial Onboards $300 Million Advisor Tom Madigan To Thimble Island Private Wealth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 20, 2026

LPL Financial announced that financial advisor Tom Madigan, CEPA, has joined its broker-dealer, registered investment advisor, and custodial platforms, aligning with Thimble Island Private Wealth, a firm supported by LPL Strategic Wealth. Madigan reported serving approximately $300 million in advisory, brokerage, and retirement assets and joins LPL from UBS.

Envestnet Appoints Rich Friedberg As Chief Information Security Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 20, 2026

Envestnet announced the appointment of Rich Friedberg as Chief Information Security Officer, extending the company’s C-suite transformation and reinforcing its focus on enterprise resilience, secure-by-design innovation, and disciplined cyber governance across its $7.4 trillion platform.

Hamachi.ai Selected By Broker-Dealer United Planners As First Enterprise AI Partner

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 20, 2026

Hamachi.ai, a regulatory-first, AI-powered Wealth Intelligence Platform built for investment advisors and asset managers, announced that United Planners has selected the company as its first enterprise generative AI partner. The agreement marks the first formal enterprise-level adoption of Hamachi by a broker-dealer, delivering compliant, advisor-ready AI capabilities at scale across the firm’s national network.

Orion Expands Integration With DPL Financial Partners To Embed Commission-Free Annuities In Orion Connect

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 20, 2026

Orion and DPL Financial Partners announced an expanded integration that embeds DPL’s annuity comparison and analysis tools directly into Orion Connect, the company’s flagship advisor platform. The move gives financial advisors seamless, in-platform access to commission-free annuities and insurance solutions designed to improve client outcomes and support organic growth.

CUBE Acquires RegTech Firm 4CRisk To Advance AI-Driven Compliance And Risk Automation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 20, 2026

CUBE, a global provider of Automated Regulatory Intelligence and Regulatory Change Management solutions, announced it has acquired 4CRisk.ai, a Silicon Valley-based RegTech company known for its agentic AI platform that maps policies and procedures directly to regulatory obligations, controls, and risks.