Venture Capital

Omnea: Procurement Platform Company Raises $20 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 17, 2024

Omnea - an AI-based procurement orchestration and supplier risk management platform - announced it has raised $20 million in Series A funding to make procurement painless and give companies greater control over their spend. Accel led the funding round, with participation from existing investors First Round Capital and Point Nine, who led the previously unannounced $5 million seed round.

OroraTech: $27.3 Million (Series B) Closed To Advance Predictive AI In Wildfire Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 17, 2024

OroraTech, a leader in wildfire intelligence, announced closing its $27.3 million Series B funding round led by Korys, the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), and long-standing investor Bayern Kapital. This funding round will advance the next phase of OroraTech’s strategic growth, with the company further expanding key global markets and enhancing its predictive AI capabilities and orbital sensor network. Through predictive algorithm data fed by their thermal satellite network, OroraTech enables companies, organizations, and fire agencies to actively respond to the global wildfire crisis, reducing damage and saving lives.

Allyx Therapeutics: $3.3 Million Grant Awarded From NIH

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 17, 2024

Allyx Therapeutics announced that it has been awarded a $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health as part of its Small Business Innovation Research Commercial Readiness Pilot program. This funding round will support further investigation of Allyx’s lead clinical asset, ALX-001, a highly-selective, first-in-class, synapse-targeted, disease-modifying oral therapy in development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Amazon Investing Over $500 Million For Small Module Reactors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 17, 2024

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is investing over $500 million in nuclear power technologies after revealing three projects from Virginia to Washington state. AWS has a significant need for clean energy as it expands services into generative AI (GenAI).

Innovation Works: Interview With President & CEO Ven Raju About The Early-Stage Investor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 17, 2024

Innovation Works (IW) is one of the most active early-stage investors in the country and the most active early-stage investor in the State of Pennsylvania. So far, IW has financially supported over 761 companies that have gone on to raise $3.3 billion in follow-on funding, and IW portfolio companies have generated and retained over 20,000 jobs in the State of Pennsylvania. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Innovation Works President and CEO Ven Raju to learn more about the company.

Amex Ventures: Interview With Managing Director & Head of Business Development Ope Runsewe

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 17, 2024

American Express Ventures is a firm that harnesses the combined strength of American Express and startups to drive innovation and alter the trajectory of consumer commerce, enterprise and B2B services. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Amex Ventures managing director and head of business development Ope Runsewe to learn more about the firm.

Family Office Resource Group Reveals Launch And Equity Investment From 4100FS

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 16, 2024

The Family Office Resource Group (FORG) officially announced its launch, along with a growth equity investment from 4100FS. FORG provides a comprehensive and white-labeled family-office solution to wealth management and professional services firms that want to meet the often complex and ever-growing needs of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals and families.

Zinnia: $300 Million (Strategic Financing) Secured From Vista Credit Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 16, 2024

Zinnia, a leading life and annuity (L&A) insurance technology company, announced $300 million in financing from Vista Credit Partners (a subsidiary of Vista Equity Partners and a strategic credit and financing partner focused on the enterprise software, data, and technology markets). This new financing will accelerate Zinnia’s go-to-market strategy.

Lightmatter: Photonic Supercomputing Company Raises $400 Million (Series D) At $4.4 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 16, 2024

Lightmatter, a leader in photonic supercomputing, announced today that it has raised a $400 million Series D. This company valuation at $4.4 billion brings the total capital raised to date to $850 million.

Seedstars And Redwood Ventures Reveal Strategic Partnership To Accelerate Innovation In Latin America

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 16, 2024

Seedstars (a global organization dedicated to supporting startups and entrepreneurs in emerging markets) and Redwood Ventures (a leading venture capital firm in Mexico) announced a strategic partnership to foster innovation and accelerate growth in the Latin American startup ecosystem.

Mill Point Capital: Fund III Closed At $1.7 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 16, 2024

Mill Point Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm, announced the final closing of Mill Point Capital Partners III, L.P. And with about $1.7 billion of total capital commitments closed in less than five months from launch, Fund III, consistent with its predecessor funds, was oversubscribed and closed at the hard cap.

20VC: Third Fund Closed At $400 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 16, 2024

20VC, a London-based venture capital firm run by Harry Stebbings, announced that it had raised a third fund at $400 million. Stebbings is also best known for running one of the most popular VC-focused podcasts. The $400 million third fund will be split between seed stage rounds ($125 million allocation) and Series A ($275 million allocation).

BuiltWorlds And 1871 Partnering To Better Serve The Construction Industry

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 16, 2024

BuiltWorlds (a member network and innovation catalyst for the buildings and infrastructure industries) partnered with 1871 (a global innovation hub based in Chicago). BuiltWorlds and 1871 have long worked parallel to one another, with BuiltWorlds focusing on tech innovation in myriad construction sectors and 1871 serving multiple industries, including construction. The two organizations also recently agreed to combine efforts to better identify and elevate innovation in the construction/building technology spaces.

ForceMetrics: Decision-Assist Public Safety Platform Company Raises $22 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 16, 2024

ForceMetrics – a leading decision-assist public safety platform that consolidates critical information for first responders and provides real-time, actionable insights, saving time, money, and lives – announced today that it has raised $22 million. The company is backed by leading institutional firms, industry leaders, and public safety advocates, such as a lead investment by Costanoa Ventures with additional support from the Hobson Lucas Family Foundation (founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson), Stand Together Venture Labs (previously the Charles Koch Institute), GovTech Fund, Flybridge Capital, Growth Warrior Capital, and more.

Fin: Sustainable Logistics Company Raises $7 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 16, 2024

Fin, London’s premier operator in sustainable logistics, announced today that it has raised $7 million in seed funding and plans to expand its operations to the US. This funding round was led by MaC Venture Capital and participated in by Side Door Ventures, Pearls Capital, and Simplex Ventures.