Venture Capital

ADB Launches $70 Billion Plan For Energy And Digital Infrastructure In Asia-Pacific

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 3, 2026

The Asian Development Bank has announced a $70 billion program to expand energy and digital infrastructure across the Asia-Pacific region by 2035, with the dual aim of strengthening power grid links and increasing broadband access across some of the world's most underserved communities. The announcement was made in Hanoi on Sunday, with ADB President Masato Kanda framing energy and digital connectivity as essential pillars of the region's long-term economic growth.

CBL Properties Completes $97.5 Million Refinancing Of Fayette Mall In Lexington, Kentucky

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

CBL Properties, a publicly traded mall REIT listed on the NYSE under the ticker CBL, has completed the refinancing of Fayette Mall, a dominant super-regional enclosed mall in Lexington, Kentucky, securing a new $97.5 million, five-year non-recourse CMBS loan at a fixed interest rate of approximately 7.25%.

Canterbury Capital Wealth Management Launches Canterbury Capital Insurance As Independent Insurance Affiliate

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Canterbury Capital Wealth Management, an independent registered investment advisor based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has announced the launch of Canterbury Capital Insurance Co., a new independent insurance affiliate designed to provide clients with dedicated expertise in risk management and wealth protection.

Fun: $72 Million Raised To Scale Global Payments Infrastructure For Internet-Native Capital Markets

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Fun, a global payments infrastructure company operating in stealth since its 2022 founding, has raised $72 million in a Series A round co-led by Multicoin Capital and SignalFire. The company has built proprietary technology to become the payments backbone for platforms operating at a global scale, processing over $18 billion in transaction volume per year with a 99.999% success rate, supporting millions of users across more than 100 countries.

Lumian: $3 Million Raised To Build AI-Native Amazon Agency With Specialized Agents For Brand Operations

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Lumian, a San Francisco-based AI-native Amazon agency, has raised $3 million in funding backed by Flybridge, Bowery Capital, and Fika Ventures. The company has built a single workspace in which specialized AI agents run advertising, listings, inventory, content, and account health continuously, with human brand managers owning strategy and decisions.

CHAI AI Surpasses $80 Million ARR At $2.4 Billion Estimated Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

CHAI AI, a social AI platform backed by CoreWeave and AMD, has surpassed $80 million in annual recurring revenue at the close of Q1 2026, propelling the company to an estimated $2.4 billion valuation. The company has sustained a 3x annual growth rate for three consecutive years and projects ARR to surpass $200 million. Total investment to date has exceeded $55 million.

Flow Control Group To Raise Investment From KKR And Neuberger

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Flow Control Group, a leading North American network of technical flow control and industrial automation distributors and solutions providers, has announced that KKR and Neuberger Private Markets have agreed to jointly acquire the company. KKR, the existing investor, will maintain majority ownership, with Neuberger holding a significant minority interest. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2026.

Allworth Financial Announces New Strategic Investment Partnership

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Allworth Financial, a national full-service registered investment advisory firm with approximately $35 billion in assets under management and administration, has entered a new strategic investment partnership co-led by Integrum Holdings, Lightyear Capital, and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Existing employee and advisor shareholders will maintain significant ownership of Allworth. Allworth's management team will continue to lead the company.

Featherless: $20 Million Raised To Scale Open-Source AI Infrastructure Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Featherless, a neutral infrastructure platform for open-source AI models, has raised a $20 million Series A co-led by AMD Ventures and Airbus Ventures, with significant participation from BMW i Ventures, Kickstart Ventures, Panache Ventures, and Wavemaker Ventures. The capital will support global footprint expansion, deeper technical integrations, enterprise deployments, and advancement of the company's open-source agent runtime.

Nura Studios Emerges From Stealth With Animation Platform Showcraft To Transform IP Into Episodic Content

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Nura Studios, an animation technology company founded by veterans from Apple, Unity, Roblox, Adobe, and Canva, has emerged from stealth with the announcement that its Showcraft animation platform will enter Early Access on May 19. The company is backed by seed funding from iGlobe Partners, Fellows Fund, and Shanda Ventures.

Ridgeline Capital Management: $180 Million Fund II Closed With Backing From FedEx And Cisco

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Ridgeline Capital Management, an early-stage venture firm focused on applied technologies for critical operations, has announced the oversubscribed final close of Ridgeline Ventures Fund II at more than $180 million in commitments, including SBA commitments and backing from Fortune 500 companies, including FedEx and Cisco Investments. The fund closed in December 2025.

VideoTutor: $11 Million Seed-Backed AI Tutoring Platform Surpasses 50 Million TikTok Views

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

VideoTutor, an AI tutoring startup founded by Gen Z entrepreneurs and backed by $11 million in seed funding from YZi Labs, Baidu Ventures, and Amino Capital, has announced that VideoTutor-related content has surpassed 50 million cumulative views on TikTok, driven largely by organic student sharing. The milestone reflects growing demand for AI tutoring that generates visual, animated instructional content rather than text-based answers.

Ctruh: $2.5 Million Raised To Scale Browser-Native 3D Platform For Spatial Internet Experiences

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Ctruh, a full-stack platform enabling brands to deploy 3D and extended reality experiences at scale, has raised a $2.5 million seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures and co-led by Avinya Ventures. The round saw additional participation from India Accelerator, Finvolve, Founders Avenue, Anthill Ventures, and LVX, alongside angel investors including Vivek Sinha, former COO of Unacademy, and Shivakumar Ganesan, founder of Exotel. The latest raise brings Ctruh's total capital raised to $4.5 million and will fund deep-tech research and development as well as market launches in the United States and UAE in 2026.

Techcyte: $15 Million Raised To Scale AI-Powered Digital Pathology Platform Toward Profitability

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Techcyte, a leading provider of AI-powered digital diagnostics for anatomic and clinical pathology, has completed a $15 million capital raise led by Van Tuyl Companies, with participation from existing investors Zoetis and Mayo Clinic. The investment supports Techcyte's path to profitability and continued expansion of its Fusion platform across veterinary, environmental, and human diagnostic segments.

Hut 8: $3.25 Billion In Investment-Grade Senior Secured Notes Closed For River Bend Data Center Project

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Hut 8 Corp., an energy infrastructure platform integrating power, digital infrastructure, and compute, has closed a $3.25 billion offering of 6.192% senior secured notes due 2042 through its wholly owned subsidiary Hut 8 DC. The notes are rated BBB-minus by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings and represent the first investment-grade construction bond issued for a single-sponsor data center project.

Archwest Capital Surpasses $2.5 Billion In Funding And Closes Second Securitization In Six Months

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Archwest Capital, a leading private lender to residential real estate investors backed by Bain Capital, has announced that its platform has surpassed $2.5 billion in funding and closed its second residential transition loan securitization in six months. The $275 million securitization generated strong investor demand with an average of 2.4x oversubscription, with the A1 tranche nearly 5.0x oversubscribed. The transaction mirrors the structure of Archwest's 2025-RTL1 deal, featuring a two-year revolving period that allows for reinvestment of payoffs into new collateral.

Green Boy Group Leads Investment In Fudi Protein To Unlock Alfalfa-Based RuBisCO Protein

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

Green Boy Group, a global B2B supplier of plant-based, non-GMO, and organic food ingredients, has led an early-stage investment in Fudi Protein, a company developing a proprietary process to extract RuBisCO protein from alfalfa at a commercial scale. The investment further cements Green Boy Group's position as a market leader in plant-based proteins and adds a highly differentiated ingredient to its global distribution portfolio as it moves toward B2B commercialization. Green Boy Group operates offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, and Sydney, and was founded in 2016 as a specialist in supplying plant-based ingredients to food manufacturers worldwide.

Satellogic Signs $12 Million Agreement To Deliver In-Orbit Satellite To Sovereign Defense Customer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

Satellogic has signed a $12 million agreement with a sovereign defense customer to deliver a commissioned, in-orbit NewSat satellite from its operational Aleph-1 constellation, enabling the customer to achieve independent Earth observation capability with significantly greater speed and cost efficiency than traditional satellite procurement. The agreement encompasses the full transfer of ownership and operations of the satellite to the customer, along with comprehensive support to develop the customer's independent capabilities to command the satellite and process and use its data for both military and civilian applications. The transfer process will begin immediately and is expected to be completed in early 2027, subject to the parties meeting contractual and regulatory milestones.

Blue Owl Achieves Nearly $315 Billion In AUM

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

Blue Owl Capital reported first-quarter adjusted distributable earnings per share of 19 cents, beating analyst estimates of 18 cents, as the alternative asset manager emphasized growth across its businesses beyond direct lending. Assets under management jumped 15% to $314.9 billion, driven by the company's real assets business, which invests in real estate including data centers and other infrastructure. The results come against a backdrop of heightened scrutiny on private credit and direct lending, where Blue Owl has faced meaningful investor redemptions and market pressure after deciding late last year to merge two of its private credit funds — a merger it subsequently abandoned after its shares fell sharply.

Pmtbox Raises $15 Million In Seed Funding Raised To Unify Fragmented Commerce Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

Pmtbox, an enterprise commerce platform built to unify payments, risk, and data for merchants, has raised $15 million in seed funding in what the company says is Utah's largest reported seed round in the last decade. The round was led by Tandem Ventures, with participation from Element Ventures, Cynosure Investment Partners, and Aaron Skonnard, Founder and CEO of Pluralsight. The funding will be used to expand pmtbox's engineering, risk, and enterprise teams while accelerating go-to-market efforts across verticals where commerce complexity is highest. In connection with the raise, Alex Bean, Founding Partner at Tandem, joins the pmtbox board of directors alongside new independent director Nick Thomas, founder of Finicity — two of Utah's most successful fintech founders.

Microporous Secures Final Funding For New Battery Separator Manufacturing Facility In Virginia

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

Microporous, a leading manufacturer of advanced battery separators and a portfolio company of Trent Capital Partners, has secured final funding for a new manufacturing facility in Danville, Virginia. Financing is being provided by Trent Capital Partners, Eagle Point Credit Management, and Elda River Capital Management, completing the capital structure needed to move from planning into construction. With comprehensive financing now in place, construction on the new plant is set to begin in May 2026. The Danville facility will produce battery separators for lithium-ion batteries across automotive, industrial, and grid applications.

JuliaHub Raises $65 Million Series B And Launches Dyad 3.0 For Industrial Digital Twins

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

JuliaHub has raised $65 million in a Series B funding round led by Dorilton Capital, with participation from General Catalyst, AE Ventures, and former Snowflake CEO Bob Muglia, and simultaneously launched Dyad 3.0, an agentic AI platform the company describes as Claude Code for the physical world. Dyad is designed to allow engineering teams to model, simulate, and validate industrial systems — from heat pumps and satellites to semiconductors — using autonomous AI agents, compressing design and testing cycles from months to days. The platform is already in use at several Fortune 100 companies across aerospace, government, automotive, HVAC, and utilities sectors.

BioOrbit Closes £9.8 Million Seed Round To Manufacture Cancer Therapies In Space

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

BioOrbit, a biotech company developing in-space manufacturing of cancer therapies, has closed a £9.8 million ($13.2 million) seed round, which the company describes as the largest seed round in the history of in-space manufacturing. The round was co-led by LocalGlobe and BREEGA, with support from Seedcamp, Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund, Type One Ventures, 7percent Ventures, and others. BioOrbit was founded by Cambridge scientist Katie King and oncology researcher Dr. Leonor Teles, and is building a manufacturing process that removes gravity from the equation entirely — conducting drug production in orbit to achieve formulation qualities impossible on Earth.

True Global Ventures Doubles Down On Prezent As Company Launches Prezent Vivo

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

True Global Ventures has significantly increased its investment in Prezent, nearly doubling its position through a secondary transaction, signaling continued confidence in the company's execution, market positioning, and long-term growth trajectory. The investment coincides with the launch of Prezent Vivo, a new offering that fuses purpose-built artificial intelligence with expert services to deliver enterprise communication outcomes, with a clear focus on the life sciences industry. Prezent has grown more than 200% in annual recurring revenue year-over-year and is currently in a scale-up phase, making it one of the strongest-performing companies in True Global Ventures' portfolio.

Boyne Capital Closes Oversubscribed BCM Fund III At Over $400 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

Boyne Capital, a Miami-based lower-middle-market private equity firm, has closed its third investment fund, BCM Fund III, with total limited partner commitments of $355 million, exceeding its $275 million target and reaching its hard cap. Including parallel funds and GP commitments, total commitments exceed $400 million, with over 10% of total capital coming from Boyne employees — a meaningful signal of internal conviction in the fund's strategy and prospects. The fund closed just 90 days after launch, reflecting strong demand from a diverse group of limited partners, including family offices, fund-of-funds, foundations, endowments, and high-net-worth individuals.

Establishment Labs Refinances Debt With $300 Million Credit Facility From Oaktree

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

Establishment Labs Holdings has entered into a $300 million senior secured term loan facility with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, refinancing its existing debt and providing additional capital for future strategic growth initiatives. The facility is structured in two tranches: a $265 million tranche used to refinance existing indebtedness with a maturity through 2031, and a $35 million tranche available for future growth initiatives. The loan carries a fixed interest rate with a potential step-down based on leverage targets, no amortization prior to maturity, and flexible prepayment capability, consistent with the terms of the company's prior credit agreement with updates reflecting current market terms.

Crescent Cove Closes Oversubscribed Fund IV With More Than $446 Million In Commitments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

Crescent Cove Advisors, LP, a San Francisco-based private investment firm providing growth capital to high-growth technology companies, has announced the final close of Crescent Cove Fund IV with more than $446 million committed, surpassing its target and closing oversubscribed. Fund IV attracted commitments from a diversified base of new and existing institutional investors, including Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association and Keebeck, the wealth management firm, as well as endowments, foundations, a sovereign wealth fund, registered investment advisers, family offices, investment platforms, asset managers, and OCIO providers. Additional capital was secured through two major national consultants.

Creati Raises $20 Million To Launch Buzzy, An AI-Powered Video Editing Tool

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

Creati Gen AI Inc. has raised $20 million led by Redpoint Ventures and launched Buzzy, a conversational AI video-editing product the company describes as the world's first AI Video Photoshop, a new category of video editing that allows users to modify any video simply by describing the changes they want. Instead of relying on complex tools or reshooting footage, creators can describe changes — such as removing background people, fixing eye contact, or adjusting lighting — and have them applied precisely at the pixel level. The announcement comes from the team behind Creati Studio, which has grown to over 20 million users and $15 million in annual recurring revenue within its first year of operation.

Chance Studios Raises $3.2 Million To Build Superapp For Trading Card Collectors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

Chance Studios has raised $3.2 million in funding co-led by Makers Fund and Hashed, with participation from Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, Gam3Girl Ventures, and Digital Elm, to build what it describes as a superapp purpose-built for trading card game collectors. The TCG market has grown into a multi-billion-dollar category, but Chance's founders argue that the biggest unmet need for collectors is not authenticity, liquidity, or a fragmented buying experience — it's finding enjoyment and community after the point of purchase. Chance is designed to be the first platform built by TCG natives for TCG collectors, combining instant liquidity, transparent transactions, and a vibrant social layer in a single integrated experience.

Reverence Capital Partners Closes More Than $2 Billion Recapitalization Of Osaic

By Amit Chowdhry ● Apr 30, 2026

Reverence Capital Partners has announced the closing of a recapitalization of Osaic, Inc., one of the nation's largest providers of wealth management solutions, representing more than $2 billion in new capital funded at close. The transaction is anchored by a continuation vehicle that will establish a new long-term institutional capital base while maintaining existing governance and board composition. Proceeds from the transaction will be used to provide liquidity to existing investors in Reverence Capital's funds, while Reverence Capital is simultaneously committing incremental capital from its current flagship Fund IV to support Osaic's future growth initiatives.