Venture Capital

Penny Finance: Strategic Investment Raised From OWF To Expand Access To Digital Financial Planning

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Penny Finance announced a strategic investment from One Washington Financial, the holding company of Washington State Employees Credit Union, as the company continues to broaden access to financial planning tools designed for everyday consumers. The investment strengthens Penny Finance’s momentum as a digital platform built to help credit union members manage spending, grow savings, reduce debt, and begin investing with greater confidence.

Celero Communications: $140 Million Raised To Expand AI Infrastructure Connectivity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Celero Communications has secured $140 million in funding to accelerate the development and deployment of its high-performance coherent DSP technology, which the company says is becoming increasingly essential as artificial intelligence infrastructure undergoes rapid global expansion. The financing includes a newly announced $100 million Series B round led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund, along with earlier seed and Series A investments totaling $40 million led by Sutter Hill Ventures, with contributions from Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Management, Maverick Silicon, and additional backers.

GetVocal Raises $26 Million Series A To Scale Trustworthy Enterprise Conversational AI Across Europe

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

GetVocal, a Paris-based provider of transparent and governed conversational AI agents for enterprise customer support, has closed a $26 million Series A funding round led by Creandum, with participation from Elaia and Speedinvest. The investment brings the company’s total capital raised to $30 million and marks one of Europe’s notable early-stage financings in the fast-growing enterprise AI customer experience market.

Avanzanite Bioscience: €32 Million Series A Raised To Accelerate Rare Disease Expansion Across Europe

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Avanzanite Bioscience has secured a €32 million Series A investment from MVM Partners, marking the company’s first institutional financing and positioning it for an accelerated phase of commercial and strategic growth across Europe’s rare disease landscape.

Shipday: $7 Million Series A Closed To Expand AI Delivery Platform For Small Businesses

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Shipday has secured $7 million in Series A funding in a round co-led by ECP Growth and Ibex Investors Mobility VC, positioning the global delivery and logistics technology provider for accelerated expansion of its AI-driven solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. The financing also included participation from B Capital and Supply Chain Ventures, bringing Shipday’s total funding to more than $10 million following its 2023 seed round.

Bambusa Therapeutics: Oversubscribed Series A-2 Round Raised To Advance Next-Generation Bispecific Pipeline

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Bambusa Therapeutics has completed an oversubscribed Series A-2 financing round at a significant valuation increase, marking a major milestone as the Boston-based biotechnology company accelerates the development of its next wave of bispecific antibody programs. The clinical-stage company, which focuses on advancing transformative therapies for immunology and inflammation, secured expanded participation from all existing investors, including Athos KG, RA Capital Management, INCE Capital, Redmile Group, BVF Partners, Salvia, Janus Henderson Investors, Invus, ADAR1 Capital Management, and Dawn Biopharma, an investment platform controlled by KKR. Their sustained support reflects increased confidence in the company’s bispecific platform, executional strength, and growing clinical momentum.

Breakthrough Properties Secures $430 Million First Close For New Growth Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Breakthrough Properties has closed $430 million in the first round of fundraising for its Breakthrough Properties Growth Portfolio II, marking a significant step in expanding its global life science real estate platform. The announcement reflects growing investor confidence in the firm’s strategy and builds on the success of its inaugural $3 billion life sciences investment fund, which was completed in 2022.

Flocean: Series A Funding Extended To $22.5 Million As Xylem Joins As Strategic Investor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Flocean, a Norwegian subsea desalination company, has expanded its Series A financing to $22.5 million, with global water technology leader Xylem joining as a strategic investor. The investment strengthens Flocean’s push to commercialize its subsea desalination systems, including the planned launch of Flocean One, which is set to become the world’s first commercial subsea desalination plant when it goes live in 2026.

X-Caliber: $285 Million Financing Finalized To Advance Oasis At Lakeport Resort Development In Missouri

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

X-Caliber Capital Holdings has closed a major $285 million Rural PACE-X financing package to support the ground-up development of a $495 million resort and entertainment district in Osage Beach, Missouri, marking one of the most significant real estate financings in the state in recent years. The project, known as The Oasis at Lakeport, is positioned to become a prominent Midwest destination with a Marriott hotel featuring 402 rooms, a large indoor waterpark, a conference center, an amusement park, and a broad spectrum of entertainment amenities.

Nanoramic: $54 Million Raised To Advance Global Commercialization Of Its Neocarbonix Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Nanoramic has secured $54 million in Series 1 equity financing, marking a significant step toward scaling the global commercialization of its Neocarbonix battery platform. The round includes a new investment from PEP Capital along with continued participation from Samsung Ventures and Top Material. Earlier commitments from General Motors Ventures and Catalus Capital, which co-led the round, were also included alongside prior investments from ITOCHU Corporation, Fortistar Capital, and WindSail Capital Group.

Gridware: $55 Million Series B Closed To Accelerate U.S. Deployments And Drive Global Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Gridware has secured a $55 million Series B strategic growth round led by Tiger Global and Generation Investment Management, marking a significant step in the company’s efforts to expand its continuous grid monitoring technology across the United States and into new international markets. The round also includes continued participation from Sequoia Capital, Convective Capital, Fifty Years, True Ventures, Lowercarbon, and Y Combinator.

Infinite Orbits: €40 Million Secured To Advance European In-Orbit Servicing Leadership

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Infinite Orbits has raised an oversubscribed €40 million financing round to accelerate its position as Europe’s leading in-orbit servicing provider. The company, headquartered in Toulouse and already recognized as a global pioneer in the sector, plans to leverage the new capital to expand its European footprint, accelerate satellite deployment, and strengthen the continent’s space sovereignty.

Peec AI: $21 Million Series A Raised To Expand Its AI Search Marketing Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Peec AI, a marketing technology platform designed for the emerging age of AI-driven search, announced a $21 million Series A financing round on November 18, 2025. The investment was led by European venture firm Singular, with participation from Antler, Combination VC, identity.vc, and S20. The round brings the company’s total funding to $29 million following its Seed raise led by 20VC in July 2025, making it one of the largest Series A financings in the AI search category to date.

Secure.com: $4.5 Million Raised To Launch AI-Native Digital Security Teammates

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Secure.com has introduced its new Digital Security Teammate platform, an AI-native agent designed to help overwhelmed security teams handle rising breach costs, severe labor shortages, and the accelerating pace of cyberattacks. The launch coincides with the company’s $4.5 million investment from Disrupt.com, the MENA venture builder known for backing global technology companies, including Cloudways, which achieved a $350 million exit to DigitalOcean. The financing marks Secure.com’s first institutional raise and positions the company for expanded global deployment.

Klarna: $6.5 Billion U.S. Loan Purchase Agreement Secured To Accelerate Fair Financing Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Klarna has entered into a major U.S. funding agreement expected to support $6.5 billion in Fair Financing loans, marking one of the company’s largest U.S. capital arrangements to date and reinforcing its rapid growth in the American consumer credit market.

Topgolf Callaway Brands To Sell Majority Stake To Leonard Green & Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Topgolf Callaway Brands announced an agreement to sell a 60 percent stake in its Topgolf and Toptracer businesses to private equity firm Leonard Green and Partners, valuing the businesses at approximately $1.1 billion. The deal will provide the company with about $ 770 million in net proceeds following purchase price adjustments and marks a significant strategic shift as the company narrows its focus to its core Golf Equipment and Active Lifestyle platform.

nvp Capital Closes $80 Million Second Fund As Assets Rise To $200 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

nvp capital has closed its second venture fund at $80 million, bringing the New York-based firm’s total assets under management to $200 million as it expands its global focus on seed-stage enterprise software and vertical AI startups. The new fund includes commitments from institutional investors such as Prudential Financial, Rutgers University Endowment, Ford Foundation, and Liberty Mutual Investments, as well as corporate backers such as Audible and Horizon Mutual Holdings.

DealMaker: $20 Million Financing Facility Secured From CIBC And Information Venture Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

CIBC Innovation Banking and Information Venture Partners have jointly provided a $20 million financing facility to DealMaker. This New York-based platform enables companies to raise capital directly from individual investors. The new funding, a mix of equity and debt, strengthens a relationship that began in 2022 and is expected to accelerate DealMaker’s product innovation and expansion efforts across the U.S. market.

Azul: Majority Investment Secured From Thoma Bravo To Accelerate Enterprise Java Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Azul announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to receive a majority strategic investment from Thoma Bravo, marking a significant expansion milestone for the enterprise Java platform provider. Existing investors Vitruvian Partners and Lead Edge Capital will reinvest additional capital and retain meaningful minority positions, joining Azul employees as shareholders.

Anthropic Secures Up To $45 Billion In New Strategic Commitments From Microsoft And Nvidia To Scale Claude Globally

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Microsoft, Nvidia, and Anthropic unveiled a sweeping set of strategic partnerships that will significantly expand access to Claude, accelerate infrastructure development, and deepen long-term collaboration across engineering, cloud computing, and model optimization.

Hammerhead AI: $10 Million Seed Funding Raised To Accelerate AI Factory Deployment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Hammerhead AI has emerged from stealth with a $10 million seed round to accelerate the deployment of AI factories by enabling operators to maximize power utilization for AI workloads. The oversubscribed round was led by Buoyant Ventures, with participation from SE Ventures, AINA Climate AI Ventures, MCJ Collective, WovenEarth Ventures, Bombellii Ventures, Clearvision Ventures, Stepchange, Acclimate Ventures, and several prominent industry leaders, including Jack Cogen of CoreWeave’s Board of Directors.

Maxima: $41 Million Raised To Advance Human-AI Collaboration In Enterprise Accounting

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Maxima has secured $41 million in combined Seed and Series A financing as it aims to transform the month-end accounting close through its agentic AI platform. The funding was led by Redpoint Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, and Audacious Ventures, with participation from several industry leaders, including former BlackLine executives Andres Botero and Eric Borrmann, Rubrik CFO Kiran Choudary, Vanta CFO David Eckstein, and Liquid 2 Managing Partner and former NFL Super Bowl Champion Joe Montana.

PicoJool: $12 Million To Commercialize Pixel-Level Photonics For AI Data Center Bandwidth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

PicoJool has emerged from stealth with $12 million in new funding, led by Playground Global, as the company seeks to commercialize a new class of pixel-level photonics designed to increase bandwidth in AI and hyperscale data centers dramatically. The Palo Alto–based startup has developed high-bandwidth Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) and a suite of parallel-optics packaging technologies that aim to make optical connections as inexpensive and manufacturable as copper, enabling data centers to transition to optical architectures at scale.

Agentio: $40 Million Series B At $340 Million Valuation Raised To Advance Expansion Of AI Creator Ad Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Agentio announced a $40 million Series B funding round led by Forerunner, bringing its total capital raised to $56 million and valuing the company at $340 million. The company plans to expand its AI-native infrastructure, which enables brands to transition substantial portions of the massive digital advertising market into creator-led channels.

Coller Capital’s Evergreen Secondaries Fund Surpasses $1 Billion In Assets Under Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

Coller Capital announced that its Coller Secondaries Private Equity Opportunities Fund has exceeded $1 billion in assets under management as of September 2025, marking a major milestone for the evergreen vehicle launched in April 2024. The achievement reflects growing investor demand for access to private market secondaries through structures that offer liquidity, diversification, and long-term performance.

VentureIsrael: Interview With Managing Partner Rafael Gold About The Early-Stage VC Firm

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

VentureIsrael is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in deep-tech and machine-learning startups. Pulse 2.0 interviewed VentureIsrael Managing Partner Rafael (Roman) Gold to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

voize: $50 Million Series A Raised To Help Nurses Cut Administrative Burden

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

voize, a Berlin-based startup building AI tools specifically designed for nurses, has closed a $50 million Series A round led by Balderton Capital, with participation from HV Capital, Redalpine, Y Combinator, and HPI Ventures. The company says the funding will accelerate its expansion across Europe and support its entry into the United States.

RebuilderAI: Pre-Series A Funding Raised To Accelerate Global Expansion In 3D Modeling AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 18, 2025

NAVER D2SF-backed RebuilderAI has secured KRW 4.5 billion in new capital through a Pre-Series A funding round that adds ASICS Ventures, Medici Investment, IBK Capital, and Korea Credit Guarantee Fund to its investor base. The round marks a new stage of momentum for the Seoul-based company, which continues to gain global recognition for its 3D modeling AI technology after receiving a CES Innovation Award and being named a Top 100 Global Startup at the Entrepreneurship World Cup 2025.

Nyver Capital Partners: Record €335 Million Debut Fund Closed At Hard Cap

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 17, 2025

Nyver Capital Partners has completed the final close of its debut private equity vehicle, Nyver I, at its hard cap of €335 million, marking the largest first-time private equity fund ever raised in the Netherlands. The Amsterdam-based firm reached the hard cap in slightly more than four months, reflecting strong global investor demand for its strategy and team.

CPP Investments Reports Net Assets Of $777.5 Billion As Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Earnings Rise

By Amit Chowdhry ● Nov 17, 2025

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reported another intense period of performance, with net assets reaching $777.5 billion at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2026. This represents a quarterly increase of $45.8 billion, compared to $731.7 billion in the previous quarter. The results were primarily driven by $39.8 billion in net income, supported by an additional $6 billion in net transfers from the Canada Pension Plan. The Fund also generated a 10-year annualized net return of 8.8% and recorded a quarterly net return of 5.4%.