Venture Capital

Holly: AI-Based Government Hiring Platform Raises $2.2 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2025

Holly, an AI-based platform modernizing government hiring, announced the closing of its $2.2 million oversubscribed pre-seed round, led by J2 Ventures with participation from Roble Ventures, Gaingels, and notable angel investors. And the funding will support Holly's platform as it works to solve the million-job government workforce vacancy crisis.

Ascend Capital Partners Acquires Majority Stake in Unison Therapy Services

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2025

Ascend Capital Partners - a healthcare-focused private equity firm dedicated to improving the access, affordability, and quality of healthcare for vulnerable and underserved populations - announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Unison Therapy Services, one of the largest outsourced therapy providers for Pre-K – 12 students in school- and community-based settings.

Tune Therapeutics: Over $175 Million (Series B) Raised For Advancing Field-Leading Epigenome Editing Programs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 13, 2025

Leading epigenome editing company Tune Therapeutics announced the completion of over $175 million in financing led by New Enterprise Associates, Yosemite, Regeneron Ventures, and Hevolution Foundation.

A2 Biotherapeutics: $80 Million (Series C) Raised For Advancing Clinical Development Of Precision Cell Therapies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

A2 Biotherapeutics - a clinical-stage cell therapy company developing first-in-class logic-gated cell therapies to target tumor cells and protect normal cells selectively - announced the closing of its $80 million Series C financing round, supported by a syndicate of investors that includes The Column Group and Samsara BioCapital.

Valspring Capital: Fund I Closed Above Target At $255 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Valspring Capital, a healthcare-focused growth equity firm, announced the closing of its debut fund, Valspring Capital Fund I, above its target at $255 million. Launched in 2022 by a team spun off from Bain Capital Ventures to pursue healthcare investments with the firm’s support, the Valspring team will seek to invest primarily in growth-stage companies in the healthcare industry, focusing on the information technology, technology-enabled services, and services sectors within North America.

Phase Four: In-Space Propulsion Company Raises Series C

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Phase Four, a leader in advanced in-space propulsion design and manufacturing, announced the first close of its Series C funding round, securing nearly 60% of the target raise with strong participation from new and existing investors. And the round is led by Artemis Group Capital, the Oklahoma-based investment firm helmed by former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, emphasizing the growing confidence in Phase Four's innovative propulsion solutions.

RLTYco: $20 Million (Series A) Raised For Giving Agents Same-Day Commission Advances And Other Benefits

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

RLTYco, a New York-based full-service provider of comprehensive resources for real estate professionals, announced the closing of a $20 million Series A funding round led by Altriarch. The funding round also included participation from existing investors, including Andrew Dodge, entrepreneur and angel investor, Christopher Schmidt, Executive Vice President at Related Companies, and SERHANT. Ventures (SERHANT.’s education division that develops, creates, and produces resources and solutions for agents in today’s new marketplace). Ryan Serhant, CEO and founder of SERHANT., is a partner, advisor and ambassador via SERHANT. Ventures.

VertexOne: $131 Million Financing Commitment Raised From Runway Growth Capital And BC Partners Credit

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Runway Growth and BC Partners Credit, announced a $131 million financing commitment to VertexOne. BC Partners Credit is the $8 billion credit arm of BC Partners, which is an alternative investment firm with about $40 billion AUM.

Origis Energy: $415 Million Funding Package Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Origis Energy, one of America's leading renewable energy and decarbonization solution platforms, announced the closing of financing for the Swift Air Solar project in Ector County, Texas. The $415 million funding package includes construction, term debt, and tax equity financing from Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) and Advantage Capital.

Grand Games: $30 Million (Series A) Raised To Accelerate Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Grand Games, a gaming studio behind the widely loved Magic Sort mobile game, announced it has raised a $30 million Series A round, marking its arrival as the latest up-and-coming studio to emerge from Istanbul, the gaming powerhouse that brought forth Dream Games and Peak Games. Balderton Capital led the round with participation from existing investors Bek Ventures (formerly known as Earlybird Digital East), Laton Ventures, and angel investor Mert Gür.

Prudentia Sciences: AI-Based Life Sciences Marketplace Company Raises $7 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Prudentia Sciences, an AI-based technology platform for life sciences announced its public launch, supported by $7 million in funding. This funding round was led by GV, with participation from Iaso Ventures and Virtue.

Tenvie Therapeutics Raises $200 Million For Delivering Small Molecule Therapies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Advanced Ionics: Green Hydrogen Electrolyzer Company Raises $6.7 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Advanced Ionics, a developer of a new class of green hydrogen electrolyzers aimed at accelerating decarbonization, announced that it raised an additional $6.7 million in funding from strategic investors JERA, Lummus Venture Capital, the Argosy Foundation, and existing investors Clean Energy Venture Group and bp Ventures.

Bonaccord Capital Partners: Fund II Closes At $1.6 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Bonaccord Capital Partners - a private equity business focused on providing growth capital and strategic support to middle-market private markets sponsors - announced the final close of its second GP Stakes fund, Bonaccord Capital Partners II (BCP II), with $1.6 billion in total commitments.

Absci Raising $20 Million From AMD

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Absci Corporation, a data-first generative AI-based drug creation company, announced a strategic collaboration with AMD to deploy AMD Instinct accelerators and ROCm software to power critical AI drug discovery workloads, including Absci's advanced de novo antibody design models. And AMD will also make a $20 million investment in Absci, structured as a private investment in public equity (PIPE), highlighting the growing demand for innovative AI applications in drug discovery.

Vensana Capital: $425 Million Fund III Closed For Investing In Breakthrough Medical Technologies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Vensana Capital announced the closing of Vensana Capital III with $425 million in committed capital. This fund was oversubscribed at its hard cap with the support of the firm’s existing limited partners alongside select new institutional investors, and it brings Vensana’s total capital under management to about $1 billion.

Leyden Labs: $70 Million Secured For Advancing Intranasal Antibody Programs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

Leyden Laboratories announced it has raised $70 million in funding to advance its Mucosal Protection Platform. This funding round was supported by co-leads ClavystBio and Polaris Partners, with participation by Qiming Venture Partners and existing investors. And the company’s syndicate of VC investors now includes GV (formerly Google Ventures), Casdin Capital, F-Prime Capital, ClavystBio, Polaris Partners, Qiming Venture Partners, Invus, Byers Capital / Brook Byers, Bluebird Ventures, and Softbank Vision Fund 2.

RyboDyn: $4 Million (Pre-Seed) Raised To Pioneer Development Of First-In-Class Immunotherapies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 12, 2025

RyboDyn announced the discovery of a new proteome and the successful closing of a $4 million pre-seed financing round to advance its mission of targeting the dark proteome to develop novel immunotherapies. The funding round was co-led by Genedant Capital and SeaX Ventures, with significant participation from SOSV and Swell VC as part of the investment syndicate.

Kian Capital Buying Gardening E-Commerce Company Eden Brothers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 11, 2025

Kian Capital Partners, a lower-middle-market-focused private investment firm, announced that in partnership with management, it completed the acquisition of Eden Brothers, an e-commerce retailer specializing in flower seeds and bulbs for gardening enthusiasts nationwide.

RheumaGen: Gene Therapy Company Raises $15 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 11, 2025

RheumaGen - a cell and gene therapy company engineering a new class of therapeutics for major autoimmune diseases - announced the closing of a $15 million Series A financing co-led by SPRIM Global Investments and William Taylor Nominees.

R136 Ventures: Interview With Founder & Managing Partner Victor Orlovski About The Investment Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 11, 2025

R136 Ventures is a unique investment company dedicated to mid- and late-stage startups in the U.S., Israel, and Dubai. Pulse 2.0 interviewed R136 Ventures Founder and Managing Partner Victor Orlovski to learn more about the firm.

Red Rover Health: $4 Million (Seed) Raised To Advance Healthcare App Store Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 10, 2025

Red Rover Health, a company that enables healthcare providers to integrate best of breed third-party solutions into their electronic health record (EHR) systems, has received $4 million in seed funding from NewShore Partners. The latest funding round gives Red Rover the capital to hire key talent to expand the core integration platform and scale operations.

Zeto: $31 Million (Series B) Raised For Transforming EEG Brain Monitoring

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 10, 2025

Zeto - a rapidly growing medical technology company transforming EEG diagnostics with its cutting-edge devices and AI-driven cloud platform, has announced the closing of a $31 million funding round.

Aspect Biosystems: $115 Million (Series B) Secured To Develop Bioprinted Tissue Therapeutics

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 10, 2025

Aspect Biosystems - a biotechnology company advancing the development of bioprinted tissue therapeutics as a new category in regenerative medicine - announced that it has closed a $115 million Series B funding round. This funding round was led by Dimension, a multistage investment firm dedicated to the interface of technology and the life sciences, with participation from existing and new investors, including Novo Nordisk, Radical Ventures, an undisclosed leading global investment firm, InBC, Pallasite Ventures, Pangaea Ventures, Rhino Ventures, and T1D Fund: A Breakthrough T1D Venture.

Onkos Surgical: $35 Million Venture Loan Facility Raised From Horizon Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 10, 2025

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (an affiliate of Monroe Capital and a leading specialty finance company that provides capital in the form of secured loans to venture capital-backed companies in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and sustainability industries) announced it has provided a $35 million venture loan facility to Onkos Surgical, of which $30 million has been initially funded.

Nema Health: $14.5 Million (Series A) Raised For Expanding Virtual PTSD Treatment Model

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 10, 2025

Nema Health, a leading solution for virtual trauma and PTSD care, announced a $14.5 million Series A funding round led by Deerfield Management alongside new participant CVS Health Ventures (CVS Health's venture capital arm). And Nema's existing investors Optum Ventures, .406 Ventures, and GreyMatter also participated,

Gridware: Power Grid Monitoring Solution Provider Raises $26.4 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 10, 2025

Gridware - a continuous power grid monitoring solution provider - announced a Series A funding round of $26.4 million led by Sequoia Capital. The funding will enable Gridware to scale further production of Gridscope devices and the Gridware monitoring and analytics service, which provides continuous power grid monitoring 24 hours per day to help utilities prepare for and respond to a growing number of risks.

Hydrostor: Conditional Commitment For Up To $1.76 Billion Loan Guarantee From U.S. Department of Energy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 10, 2025

Hydrostor, a long-duration energy storage developer and operator, announced it has reached a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $1.76 billion with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Clean Energy Financing Program (including about $1.5 billion of principal and approximately $280 million of capitalized interest). After finalized, the loan guarantee will help to fund the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center, a 500 MW advanced compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) project to be built in Rosamond, California, that will provide more than eight hours of backup power to California’s grid.

Signiant Raises Majority Growth Investment From Battery Ventures

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 10, 2025

Signiant, a leading provider of secure file transfer software for the media and entertainment industry, announced a majority growth investment from Battery Ventures. The terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Verdiva Bio: Cardiometabolic Company Raises Over $410 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 10, 2025

Verdiva Bio announced its launch as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies for obesity and other cardiometabolic disorders. And the company is advancing a portfolio of next-generation oral and injectable treatments with first-in-class or best-in-class potential. And Verdiva has launched with an oversubscribed Series A funding of $411 million, co-led by Forbion and General Atlantic, with additional participation from RA Capital Management, OrbiMed, Logos Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, and LYFE Capital.