Venture Capital

Rime Raises $24 Million Series A To Build Enterprise-Ready Speech-To-Speech AI Models

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Rime has raised $24 million in Series A funding to expand its enterprise voice AI platform and support the development of speech-to-speech models designed for complex and regulated environments. The round was led by M13, with participation from Twilio Ventures, Corazon Capital, Unusual Ventures and other existing investors. Morgan Blumberg, a partner at M13, will join Rime’s board of directors in connection with the financing.

Float Raises €4.5 Million Series A To Build AI-Native Financial Platform For European Tech SMEs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Float has raised €4.5 million in Series A funding to expand its revenue-based financing business and develop an AI-native financial platform for European technology companies. The round was led by Hamburg-based CHAPTERS Group AG.

Sagard Credit Partners III Holds $1 Billion First Close And Targets $2 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Sagard has announced the first close of Sagard Credit Partners III (SCP III), securing more than $1 billion in initial commitments toward the private credit fund’s $2 billion target.

StartUpNV: Interview With Executive Director Jeff Saling About The Business Incubator

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

StartUpNV is a non-profit business incubator and accelerator that supports early-stage and growing startups in Nevada by providing expert mentorship, structured business programs, and access to a network of affiliated venture capital funds. Pulse 2.0 interviewed StartUpNV Executive Director Jeff Saling to learn more.

AdvanCell Closes $315 Million Series D Financing To Advance Targeted Alpha Therapies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

AdvanCell, a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company developing targeted alpha therapies for cancer, announced the closing of an oversubscribed and upsized $315 million Series D financing. The round was led by Ally Bridge Group and co-led by Alpha Wave, alongside new investors Bain Capital Life Sciences, Fidelity Management & Research Company, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., a leading sovereign wealth fund, Eventide Asset Management, and Velosity Capital, with existing investors including Morningside, Eli Lilly and Company, SV Health Investors, Sanofi Ventures, Abingworth, SymBiosis, Tenmile, Brandon Capital, Piper Heartland, Catalio Capital Management, Proto Axiom, and Time BioVentures also participating.

LionLight Capital Closes Inaugural Fund At $215 Million Hard Cap In Ten Weeks

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

LionLight Capital, a Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based growth-oriented private equity firm, has closed its inaugural fund, LionLight Capital Fund I, at its hard cap of $215 million in capital commitments. The fund was oversubscribed and reached the hard cap in ten weeks. Pacenote Capital served as exclusive placement agent, and Cooley provided legal counsel.

SkyAlyne And PAL Aerospace Reach C$750 Million RCAF Training Agreement

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

SkyAlyne and PAL Aerospace have reached an agreement for an approximately C$750 million contract covering aircraft modification, training and in-service support for the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Future Aircrew Training program.

Carlyle AlpInvest Closes AlpInvest Atom Fund II At $1.7 Billion Hard Cap

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Carlyle AlpInvest, a leading global private equity investor with $107 billion in assets under management, has held the final close of AlpInvest Atom Fund II (AAF II) at its hard cap of $1.7 billion, exceeding its $1 billion fundraising target. The fund is dedicated exclusively to single-asset continuation vehicle (SACV) transactions — a fast-growing segment of the GP-centered secondaries market. Combined with the firm's evergreen vehicles, AlpInvest Secondaries Program VIII, and related sidecar vehicles, AAF II brings Carlyle AlpInvest's total SACV investment capacity to $7 billion during the fund's investment period.

Wafra Closes Constellation Generation V At $2 Billion, Surpassing Target

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Wafra Inc., a New York-based alternative investment firm with approximately $30 billion in assets under management, has held the final close of Constellation Generation V (CG V) at $2.0 billion, exceeding the fund's $1.5 billion fundraising target. CG V is the largest vehicle raised for Wafra's Capital Constellation strategy since the platform launched in 2012. The fund has already begun deploying capital through strategic partnerships with Niobrara Capital and Gallatin Point Capital.

Walden Robotics Raises $300 Million At $1.1 Billion Valuation To Deploy General-Purpose Robots

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Walden Robotics has launched from stealth with $300 million in seed funding to develop and deploy general-purpose robots that can learn continuously while performing useful work in manufacturing, logistics and other industrial environments. The financing values the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based physical AI company at $1.1 billion. Toyota and Deviation Capital co-led the round. Toyota participated through Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Invention Partners and Toyota Ventures. Other strategic investors included NVIDIA, Boeing, AE Ventures, Samsung Ventures, Prologis Ventures and CoreWeave Ventures. Financial investors participating in the financing included Calibrate Ventures, Colle Capital, Shine Capital, NextView Ventures, Squarepoint Capital, One Madison Group, KAS Venture Partners and Menlo Ventures, among others.

SkinMedica Deepens Commitment To Regenerative Science With Continued Investment In R&D

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie company, announced SkinMedica's expanded commitment to regenerative science, with investments advancing innovation, research, clinical insight, and patient experience. The initiatives include a new Regenerative Science Advisory Board, an expanded research and development facility, and new flagship retail experiences.

AstraZeneca Licenses Zegfrovy From Dizal In Deal Worth Up To $1.5 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

AstraZeneca has entered into an exclusive global licensing agreement with Dizal Pharmaceutical for Zegfrovy, an oral targeted therapy approved in the U.S. and China for certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

I Squared Capital To Sell Minority Stake In TIP Group to IMCO And GCM Grosvenor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

I Squared Capital, a leading independent global infrastructure investor, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell a 25% minority interest in TIP Group, one of Europe's leading transportation equipment leasing and services platforms, to the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario and GCM Grosvenor.

ReElement Technologies Raises $25 Million From U.S. Department Of War To Expand Rare Earth Refining

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

ReElement Technologies Corporation, a rare earth and critical mineral refiner based in Indiana and a minority holding of American Resources has received a $25 million investment from the United States Department of War through its Economic Defense Unit and the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment. The funding comes from the Department's Industrial Base Fund and is directed at expanding domestic refining capacity at ReElement's Marion, Indiana Refining Campus.

Ensysce Biosciences Awarded $5.3 Million To Advance Overdose-Protected Opioid

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Ensysce Biosciences has received a $5.3 million installment from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to support the development of its MPAR overdose-protection technology and lead product candidate, PF614-MPAR.

Vedanta Oil & Gas To Invest $5 Billion To Boost Production Fivefold

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Vedanta Oil & Gas plans to invest $5 billion to increase its oil and gas production by more than fivefold, supporting India’s broader effort to reduce its dependence on imported energy, according to Bloomberg.

MDA Space Closes Upsized $819 Million Bought Deal Offering of Common Shares

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

MDA Space, a trusted mission partner to the rapidly expanding global space industry, announced the closing of its previously announced upsized bought deal offering of common shares in Canada and the United States. A total of 23,000,000 common shares were issued and sold at a price of $35.60 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $819 million to the company.

Linker Finance Secures $5 Million Seed To Accelerate Growth Engine for Community Banks

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Linker Finance, a modular platform purpose-built for community banks, announced it has secured an additional $5 million in Seed funding, bringing its total Seed funding to $8.7 million following its previously announced $3.7 million round. The financing includes continued participation from existing investors Chingona Ventures, Ten One Ten Ventures, Audaz Capital, and Angeles Investors, alongside new strategic investment from 22nd State Banking Company.

Goodfin Launches QSBS Venture Fund Targeting 0% Federal Capital Gains Tax On Startup Investments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Goodfin, a Y Combinator-backed agentic wealth platform founded in 2022, has launched the Goodfin QSBS Venture Fund, a vehicle designed to give accredited investors access to early-stage startups that have been pre-vetted for eligibility under Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code — the provision governing Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS). The fund is structured to help investors potentially exclude up to $15 million or more in capital gains per investment from federal taxes, targeting an effective federal capital gains rate of 0% on qualifying exits. State tax treatment varies by residence.

Skalar Raises €12 Million To Build AI-First Tax Advisory Firm

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Skalar has raised €12 million through its pre-seed and seed financing rounds to expand an AI-first tax advisory firm designed to address Germany’s growing shortage of tax consultants. Headline led the financing, with participation from futurepresent, QED Investors, Repeat Ventures, MS&AD Ventures, Foreword Fund, and several angel investors.

Nopan Raises €7.2 Million To Expand Account And Wallet Payments Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Nopan, a performance platform for account and digital wallet payments, has raised €7.2 million in total funding, including a new investment round led by Newion. Existing investors Crane and Seedcamp participated in the latest financing, along with a group of angel investors with experience across merchant payments and financial technology.

Meta Expands Louisiana Data Center In Over $50 Billion Investment for Richland Parish

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Meta's data center expansion represents an investment of more than $50 billion in the Richland Parish region, one of the largest investments in AI infrastructure in the world built in America. The project supports infrastructure projects, workforce development programs, and an energy agreement expected to save Entergy Louisiana customers more than $2 billion over 20 years, on top of $650 million in savings from a first agreement. Meta pays the full costs of the energy, water, and related infrastructure the data center uses so consumers aren't paying the cost.

Intel Invests €5 Billion to Expand Manufacturing in Europe

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Intel announced a €5 billion ($5.7 billion) capital investment at its Leixlip campus in Ireland, marking the next phase in the site's capacity expansion. Global demand for AI and high-performance computing is driving the need for advanced silicon to power AI Factories, and Intel is scaling capacity in Ireland to deliver Intel Xeon 6 and next-generation Intel Xeon processors built on its Intel 3 node.

Ardian Partners With Munich Electrification, Providing Capital to Accelerate Battery Technology Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Ardian, a global private investment firm, is acquiring a majority stake in Munich Electrification from the company's founders. Munich Electrification provides battery management systems and electronics, control and sensor components, as well as software primarily for electric mobility and battery energy storage systems applications. As part of the transaction, the founders will retain a minority stake while the existing management team significantly invests alongside Ardian and the founders into the company. Completion is subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities, and the parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction.

ABB Invests In Gridcog To Accelerate Complex Energy Project Modeling

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

ABB has made a strategic minority investment in Gridcog, a UK-based software startup whose platform enables scenario modeling, design, and simulation for renewable energy, storage, microgrids, and distributed energy resources. Financial terms were not disclosed. ABB is leading the funding round, joined by energy companies AXPO, DNV, and Verbund Ventures. Existing shareholders Albion and Clean Energy Finance Corporation retain their stakes.

Sabanto Raises Series B To Scale Autonomous Farming Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Sabanto, an agricultural technology company developing autonomous retrofit systems for farm equipment, has raised an oversubscribed Series B funding round. The financial terms of the round were not disclosed. Leaps by Bayer led the financing, with participation from Sustainable Forward Capital, InnoVenture Iowa, Fulcrum Global Capital, DCVC, and Yara.

Odyssey Investment Partners Acquires Majority Stake in TransPak

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Odyssey Investment Partners has made a majority investment in TransPak, a Silicon Valley-based provider of packaging engineering, logistics, testing, and supply chain solutions serving the data center, semiconductor, aerospace and defense, and medical industries. Financial terms were not disclosed.

NUBURU Announces Proposed $38 Million Offering To Fund Tekne Acquisition And Extinguish Debt

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

NUBURU, a next-generation dual-use Defense & Security integrated platform company, announced the commencement of a proposed best-efforts public offering of up to $38 million of securities.

Leon Capital Closes Approximately $19 Million In Structured Equity Investments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 15, 2026

Leon Capital Group subsidiaries Leon Multifamily and Leon Financial have closed two structured equity investments totaling approximately $19 million to finance multifamily and student housing developments in New Hampshire and New York.

Prenetics Raises $1 Billion For IM8 Via General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 14, 2026

Prenetics Global, the parent company of supplement brand IM8, has closed $1 billion in growth financing from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund (CVF), the company announced Tuesday. The deal is structured to fund IM8's marketing spend without issuing any new equity, warrants, or convertible instruments to General Catalyst.