Pulse 2.0

Disney Makes $1 Billion Investment In OpenAI As Companies Sign Licensing Agreement For Sora

IBM Buying Confluent In $11 Billion Deal

Ritten: $35 Million Series B Closed To Expand AI Platform For Behavioral Health Providers

OnCorps AI: $55 Million Closed To Scale Agentic Fund Operations Platform

Realm.Security: $2 Million Strategic Investment Raised From Presidio Ventures

iRobot Agrees To Be Acquired By Lender And Supplier Picea In Chapter 11 Process

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 4:24 PM

iRobot Corporation, the maker of Roomba consumer robots, said it has entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement with its secured lender and primary contract manufacturer, Shenzhen PICEA Robotics Co., Ltd. and Santrum Hong Kong Co., Limited, collectively referred to as Picea, paving the way for Picea to acquire iRobot through a court-supervised process.

Sobi To Acquire Arthrosi For Up To $1.5 Billion, Adding Phase 3 Gout Asset AR882

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 4:22 PM

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB has signed an acquisition agreement to buy Arthrosi Therapeutics in a transaction valued at up to $1.5 billion, Viva Biotech said. Under the terms disclosed, Sobi will pay $950 million upfront at closing, subject to customary adjustments, plus up to $550 million in contingent consideration tied to future milestones. The companies expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2026.

Axion: $37 Million Series B Raised To Expand AI Platform For Manufacturing Product Quality

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 4:19 PM

Axion Ray, which operates as Axion, has raised a $37 million Series B funding round led by Salesforce Ventures with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Schneider Electric Ventures, and other existing investors. The New York-based company said the financing will support the expansion of its AI-powered product quality platform for manufacturers and accelerate product development as it scales deployments across industries.

Baker McKenzie: Adele Harrison Hired As London Data And Cyber Partner

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 4:16 PM

Baker McKenzie has hired data and cyber specialist Adele Harrison as a partner in its London-based Data & Cyber team, strengthening the firm’s capability in cybersecurity, data privacy, and regulatory investigations as client demand grows in the wake of escalating cyber risk and enforcement activity.

Duke Nicholas Institute Launches Dashboard Ranking Power Sector Competitiveness Across 12 Southeastern States

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 4:15 PM

Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability has launched a new interactive resource designed to help stakeholders compare the competitiveness of the power sector across the Southeast, offering a state-by-state view of policies and market features that shape how utilities, regulators, producers, and consumers interact.

Purdue University: Campuswide AI Graduation Requirement Approved

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 4:14 PM

Purdue University unveiled a sweeping artificial intelligence strategy on Friday, Dec. 12, anchored by a new graduation requirement that will make “AI working competency” a core expectation for all undergraduate students at the university’s main campus locations in Indianapolis and West Lafayette.

PolyAI: $86 Million Series D Closed To Scale Enterprise Voice Agents And Agent Studio Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 4:12 PM

PolyAI, an enterprise conversational AI company focused on automating customer interactions, has raised $86 million in Series D funding in a round co-led by Georgian, Hedosophia, and Khosla Ventures. Additional participants include NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), British Business Bank, Citi Ventures, Squarepoint Ventures, Sands Capital, Zendesk Ventures, and Point72 Ventures.

Cynch AI: $9 Million Raised To Accelerate Acquisition-Led Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:18 PM

True Global Ventures has led a $9 million equity investment round in Cynch AI, a San Francisco-based company building AI native tax automation software and pursuing acquisition-led growth in the tax and accounting market. The round also included participation from existing investors Permanent Capital, AI Capital, Clear Ventures, and Factory HQ, according to the firms.

Impulse Dynamics: Over $158 Million Raised To Advance Next Generation Heart Failure Devices

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:14 PM

Impulse Dynamics, a medical device company focused on therapies for heart failure, said it has raised more than $158 million in financing to expand commercialization and support development across its clinical and technology pipelines.

Locus FS: $40 Million In Strategic Investment Raised To Expand Biomanufacturing And Scale Bio-Based Additives

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:09 PM

Locus Fermentation Solutions (known as Locus FS) has secured more than $40 million in growth capital this year as it ramps up biomanufacturing capacity and expands commercialization of its bio based additives across oil and gas, mining, agriculture, and industrial and consumer packaged goods markets.

SK Capital To Invest In Swixx BioPharma In Deal Valued At Over €1.5 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:07 PM

SK Capital Partners, a New York-based private investment firm focused on life sciences, specialty materials, and ingredients, has reached a definitive agreement through an affiliate to invest in Swixx BioPharma AG as the company looks to accelerate its next phase of growth and global expansion. The transaction values Swixx at more than €1.5 billion.

Relation: Additional $26 Million Raised To Advance Lab In The Loop Drug Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:01 PM

Relation Therapeutics has raised an additional $26 million from existing investors NVentures, DCVC, and Magnetic Ventures as it continues building an AI-driven drug discovery and development platform focused on improving confidence in the underlying biology of disease.

DISCO Pharmaceuticals: €36 Million Seed Funding Raised And Mark Manfredi Named As CEO

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:59 PM

DISCO Pharmaceuticals has appointed biotech executive Mark Manfredi, Ph.D., as chief executive officer and completed the final close of a €36 million seed financing round to advance its pipeline of surfaceome-targeted drug candidates for hard-to-treat tumors.

Surf: $15 Million Raised To Scale AI Model Built For Digital Asset Research

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:57 PM

Surf, an AI intelligence platform focused on digital assets, has raised $15 million in funding led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Digital Currency Group. The San Francisco-based company said the new capital will be used to develop Surf 2.0 and expand its enterprise offering as demand rises among crypto traders, researchers, and investors for faster and more reliable market intelligence.

Trendtracker: $7 Million Series A Raised To Scale AI-Based Strategic Intelligence Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:45 PM

Trendtracker, a Ghent, Belgium-based scale-up building an AI-powered strategic intelligence platform, has raised $7 million in Series A funding to accelerate global expansion and deepen product development. Armilar led the round with participation from existing investor Capricorn Partners.

Reel Power International: New Investment Secured From StoneTree

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:42 PM

StoneTree Investment Partners, a private equity firm focused on lower-middle-market industrial businesses, has invested in Reel Power International, an Oklahoma City-based manufacturer of engineered equipment used in wire, cable, and flexible-material handling applications.

Amca Acquires Aerospace Control Products To Expand Hydraulic Pressure Switch Portfolio

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:38 PM

Amca, a Los Angeles-based aerospace and defense company, has acquired Aerospace Control Products, Inc. (ACPI), a Davenport, Iowa, manufacturer known for flight-critical pressure and liquid-level switches, as the buyer continues to build out a broader hydraulics-focused components platform. The transaction adds custom pressure measurement capabilities and expands Amca’s presence in hydraulic components used across major commercial aircraft programs.

Avocet Partners Launches With $500 Million Equity Commitment And Buys EMC National Life

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:33 PM

Avocet Partners has launched a new insurance-focused investment and operating platform backed by $500 million of committed equity capital from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management and Lane42 Investment Partners. The New York-based firm said it was formed to acquire, operate, and grow life insurance platforms while establishing an ecosystem of related investment and service entities.

MML Capital: Over €630 Million Raused For Debut Continuation Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:26 PM

MML Capital has closed its debut continuation vehicle, MML Dorchester SCSp, with more than €630 million of investor commitments after what the firm described as a significantly oversubscribed fundraising. MML said the continuation fund was created to acquire interests in two European business services companies currently held across prior MML Partnership Capital funds, alongside stakes owned by other shareholders. Under MML’s ownership, the firm said both companies delivered strong performance during the hold period, more than doubling EBITDA through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management: First Tokenized Money Market Fund Launched

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:23 PM

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has launched its first tokenized money market fund, My OnChain Net Yield Fund (MONY), making it available on the public Ethereum blockchain. The firm said qualified investors can access the 506(c) private placement fund by subscribing through Morgan Money, its open-architecture trading and analytics platform for liquidity management that now integrates traditional and on-chain assets into a single institutional workflow.

Lumotive Expands Global Footprint And Adds Senior Leaders

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 12:37 PM

Lumotive is expanding internationally and adding executive leadership as it scales commercial adoption of its Light Control Metasurfaces (LCM) platform across robotics, industrial automation, and smart infrastructure markets.

eAgronom: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Robin Saluoks About The Climate Tech Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 9:00 AM

eAgronom is a climate-tech platform that helps farmers and agri businesses manage regenerative farming practices while generating and monetizing high-quality carbon credits. Pulse 2.0 interviewed eAgronom co-founder and CEO Robin Saluoks to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Turnkey: Interview With VP Of Revenue Ali Faivus About The Programmable Wallet Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:00 AM

Turnkey is a company that provides secure, scalable, and programmable crypto infrastructure for embedded wallets and on-chain transaction automation. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Turnkey VP of Revenue Ali Faivus to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Philips Agrees To Buy SpectraWAVE To Expand AI-Enabled Coronary Imaging And Physiology Portfolio

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 4:00 AM

Philips has agreed to acquire SpectraWAVE, a Bedford, Massachusetts-based company developing enhanced vascular imaging and AI-enabled coronary physiology assessment tools. Philips said the deal is intended to strengthen its image-guided therapy business and broaden its offering for interventional cardiology teams treating coronary artery disease.

Sidley: 29 New Partners And 15 New Counsel Named Across The U.S. And Europe

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:55 AM

Sidley Austin has elected a partnership class of 29 and promoted 15 lawyers to counsel, a year end set of leadership moves that will take effect January 1, 2026. The new appointments span multiple U.S. offices as well as key European markets and cover a wide mix of transactional, finance, disputes, regulatory, and investigations practices.

Dentons: Craig Kenny Hired As Dublin Real Estate Partner

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:40 AM

Dentons has appointed Craig Kenny as a partner in its Real Estate practice in Dublin, adding an experienced adviser on major Irish property transactions as the firm continues to build out its Ireland offering. Dentons said Kenny has advised on some of the largest and most significant real estate transactions in the Irish market over the past decade.

Soverli: $2.6 Million Pre-Seed Raised To Launch A Sovereign OS Layer That Runs Alongside Android And iOS

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:35 AM

Soverli, an ETH Zurich spin-off building what it describes as a sovereign operating system layer for commercial smartphones, has raised $2.6 million in pre-seed funding as it looks to bring auditable, high-assurance mobile environments to governments, enterprises, OEMs, and consumers without requiring new hardware.

Finance Of America Lands $2.5 Billion Blue Owl Partnership Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:28 AM

Finance of America Companies has expanded its strategic partnership with funds managed by Blue Owl Capital in a move the company expects will accelerate product innovation and distribution for retirement-age borrowers seeking access to home equity. The companies said the enhanced arrangement includes a $2.5 billion commitment intended to provide scale and liquidity to support origination growth across multiple asset classes, along with a $50 million equity investment in Finance of America designed to deepen alignment between the two firms.

Why Meta Is Buying AI Wearables Company Limitless

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 3:25 AM

Meta has acquired Limitless, a company known for an AI-based pendant that records and transcribes real-world conversations, in a deal that underscores CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s growing focus on AI-enabled wearables as a primary way consumers will access AI tools. The terms were undisclosed.

Storen Financial Aligning With Dynasty To Expand Independent Wealth Platform With $500 Million In Client Assets

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 2:51 AM

Storen Financial has established a strategic alliance with Dynasty Financial Partners to expand its wealth management capabilities, broaden investment opportunities, and streamline operations while maintaining independence. Dynasty said it is welcoming Storen Financial, an Indiana-based comprehensive financial services firm that manages approximately $500 million in client assets and serves more than 5,000 business, tax, and investment clients.