Pulse 2.0

Anthropic Reportedly Reaches $1.2 Trillion Valuation On Secondary Markets

Seattle Seahawks: Estate Of Paul G. Allen Reaches Agreement To Sell Team To Khosla Family In $9.612 Billion Deal

Visibuilt Raises €3.34 Million To Advance Mycelium-Based Construction Binders

Vanta: Interview With CRO Stevie Case About The Automated Trust Management Platform

Moneybox Reaches £800 Million Valuation Through Employee Secondary Share Transaction

Criteria Capital Risc Targets €300 Million In Startup Investments By 2030

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:50 AM

Caixa Capital Risc has rebranded as Criteria Capital Risc as its parent company, CriteriaCaixa, prepares to invest €300 million in early-stage biotechnology, healthcare, and technology companies through 2030.

Raxio Secures Additional Equity, Bringing Committed Capital Above $380 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:35 AM

Raxio Group announced that its committed capital has surpassed $380 million after shareholders Roha and Meridiam increased their investments in the African data center platform. The additional equity expands Raxio’s capital base from its previous level of $350 million and will support the company’s next phase of growth as demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence infrastructure, digital services, and high-performance computing accelerates across Africa.

Shimadzu Acquires TESCAN For $711 Million To Expand Electron Microscopy Business

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:25 AM

Shimadzu Corporation completed its acquisition of TESCAN GROUP, a Czech Republic-based manufacturer of electron microscopy and analytical instruments, for $711 million. The Japanese analytical and measuring instrument company acquired all shares of Glass HoldCo, which indirectly owns TESCAN, making the electron microscopy company a wholly owned subsidiary. Based on an exchange rate of ¥162 per U.S. dollar, the transaction value is approximately ¥115.2 billion.

Gray Media To Acquire Six American Spirit Television Stations For $50 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:15 AM

Gray Media has agreed to acquire six television stations from American Spirit Media for $50 million, expanding its presence across several regional markets in the United States. The deal includes television stations serving Toledo, Ohio; Jackson, Mississippi; Wilmington, North Carolina; Columbus, Georgia; Wichita Falls, Texas; and Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Reformed Raises $22 Million Series A To Expand Functional Coffee And Matcha Brand

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:08 AM

Reformed, a functional beverage company combining premium coffee and ceremonial matcha with wellness-focused ingredients, has raised $22 million in Series A funding led by IRIS Ventures. Founded by Neil Saada and Neil Marrakchi, Reformed is developing products designed to incorporate functional wellness into routines that consumers already follow. The company’s approach centers on enhancing everyday beverages rather than asking customers to adopt entirely new habits.

Acurio Ventures Closes €115 Million Secondaries Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 7:04 AM

Acurio Ventures announced the closing of Acurio Secondaries I FCR at €115 million, surpassing the European venture capital firm’s original fundraising target. The new vehicle was established to address the growing demand for liquidity across Europe’s venture capital ecosystem. As venture-backed companies remain private for longer and traditional exit activity remains uneven, investors, founders, employees, and fund managers are increasingly turning to secondary transactions to generate liquidity from existing holdings.

AkzoNobel Says Nippon Paint’s €7.5 Billion Offer Significantly Undervalues Decorative Paints Business

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 6:57 AM

AkzoNobel confirmed that it has received multiple conditional and non-binding proposals from Nippon Paint Holdings regarding a potential acquisition of its Decorative Paints business at an indicative enterprise valuation of €7.5 billion.

Helsing Raises $1.8 Billion In Series E At $18 Billion Valuation For Defense Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 6:55 AM

Helsing, a European defense technology company specializing in artificial intelligence, announced that it has raised $1.8 billion in Series E funding at an $18 billion valuation. The financing included participation from new and existing investors, including Dragoneer Investment Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Disruptive, ICONIQ, Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorganChase, CPP Investments, General Catalyst, Plural, and StepStone Group.

Bridgepoint Investing In UMag Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 6:51 AM

Bridgepoint announced that it agreed to invest in UMag Solutions, a Danish defense technology company specializing in drone-based real-time subsurface threat detection systems for land and sea. The transaction will see Bridgepoint acquire a majority stake in UMag. The company’s founders will remain significant shareholders and continue leading the business.

Churchill And Seviora Close Approximately $400 Million Collateralized Fund Obligation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 10:19 PM

Churchill Asset Management and Seviora Holdings announced the closing of an approximately $400 million collateralized fund obligation. The CFO combines U.S. and Asian private capital strategies, giving institutional investors diversified exposure across sponsors, investment strategies, and geographies.

Aligre: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Nico Lang About The Fintech Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:49 PM

T-Mobile Appoints Chris Sambar As Chief Enterprise Officer

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:43 PM

T-Mobile announced that wireless industry veteran Chris Sambar will join the company as Chief Enterprise Officer, effective no later than October 14, 2026. Sambar will report to T-Mobile CEO Srini Gopalan and lead the company’s SMB, enterprise, and government businesses.

Fubo Appoints Former Disney+ President Alisa Bowen As CEO

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:41 PM

Fubo announced that its Board of Directors appointed veteran media executive Alisa Bowen as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 10. Bowen succeeds David Gandler, who co-founded Fubo and helped build the company into one of the largest pay TV providers in the U.S. Gandler has also resigned from the Board and will no longer stand for election at Fubo’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders on July 28, 2026.

Robinhood Plans To Let AI Agents Trade Crypto For U.S. Customers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:38 PM

Robinhood plans to let eligible U.S. customers connect an AI agent to a dedicated account and trade crypto on their behalf. The company announced the upcoming expansion during a recent presentation, extending its Agentic Trading product beyond equities. Robinhood first launched Agentic Trading in beta on May 27 with support for equities only, while saying crypto, event contracts, and futures would follow.

Apple Sues OpenAI Over Alleged Trade Secret Misappropriation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:34 PM

Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and two former Apple employees, alleging that the ChatGPT maker misappropriated Apple trade secrets to support its push into consumer hardware. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Ampol: KKR Leads A$400 Million Financing Solution

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:27 PM

KKR announced that it has made a cornerstone investment in a A$400 million (US$275 million) financing solution for Australian energy company Ampol Limited. The transaction is anchored by KKR’s private credit and insurance platforms and will support Ampol’s refinancing initiatives and general corporate purposes.

Hephae Energy Technology Raises $17.8 Million Series A To Commercialize Superhot Drilling Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:23 PM

Hephae Energy Technology announced the closing of a $17.8 million Series A funding round to accelerate the commercial deployment of its advanced drilling systems for next-generation geothermal energy development. The round was co-led by Susquehanna Sustainable Investments and Underground Ventures. Participants included alfa8, Baruch Future Ventures, Centaurus Capital LP, Elemental Impact, Exa Ventures, Future Ventures, Grantham Foundation for The Protection of the Environment, New System Ventures, and True North Institute, joining existing investor Nabors Industries.

Scaleway Acquires Qarnot

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 9:20 PM

Scaleway announced the acquisition of Qarnot, a European specialist in high-performance computing for engineering, simulation, and research workloads. The acquisition adds dedicated high-performance computing capabilities to Scaleway’s Cloud & AI platform. Scaleway said the deal strengthens its position as a sovereign European cloud provider offering cloud, AI, and dedicated HPC capabilities within a single platform.

DLA Piper Adds André Teixeira To Finance Practice In Washington, DC

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:09 PM

DLA Piper announced that André Teixeira has joined the firm as a Partner in its Project Finance practice. He is based in the firm’s Washington, DC office.

Jabil Acquires Rebound Electronics

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 8:00 PM

Jabil announced that Rebound Electronics is now part of the Jabil family of companies. The acquisition expands Jabil’s ability to help customers build more resilient, agile, and secure supply chains.

Latham & Watkins Expands Capital Markets Practice With Byron Rooney And Dan Gibbons

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 7:57 PM

Latham & Watkins announced that prominent capital markets partner Byron Rooney will join the firm, along with partner Dan Gibbons, who has already joined. Rooney will serve as Global Vice Chair of the firm’s Capital Markets Practice.

Bayer Secures €3 Billion From Apollo To Improve Capital Structure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 7:04 PM

Bayer announced that it secured €3 billion in equity capital through an agreement with Apollo to improve its capital structure. Under the agreement, Apollo-managed funds and affiliates will obtain a minority, non-controlling stake in a newly established entity holding Bayer’s long-acting reversible contraceptives business.

Fourvenues: Interview With CEO Alberto Centeno About The Nightlife Management Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:37 PM

Fourvenues provides a comprehensive, all-in-one software platform that enables nightclubs, event organizers, and promoters to streamline their business operations, such as ticket sales, VIP bookings, guest lists, and staff management into a single system. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Fourvenues CEO Alberto Centeno to learn more.

Axle Energy Raises $25 Million Series A To Expand Distributed Energy Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:31 PM

Axle Energy announced a $25 million Series A funding round to accelerate its global expansion. The round was led by Energize Capital, with participation from returning investors Accel, Picus Capital, and Eka Ventures.

Birdsview Raises €2.5 Million Seed To Scale Avys AI Retention Agent For Retailers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:27 PM

Birdsview announced a €2.5 million seed round to support Avys, its AI-powered digital worker designed to help retailers grow repeat purchases. The round was backed by Fortino Ventures and Newion. Fortino Ventures has backed Billy Grace, an AI marketing platform in the Benelux, while Newion was an early investor in Parloa, an AI agent company that reached unicorn status.

En Carta Diagnostics Raises €5 Million To Advance At-Home Molecular Diagnostics Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:23 PM

En Carta Diagnostics announced a €5 million funding round to advance its molecular diagnostics platform and support its commercial launch. The round combines investment led by Blue Forest Ventures, participation from Ring Capital, and support from existing investors CentraleSupélec Venture and 50 Partners Health. The financing also includes non-dilutive funding from Bpifrance and other partners.

Demoboost: Interview With CEO Anna Decroix About The Demo Automation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 6:19 PM

Demoboost is an all-in-one demo automation platform that allows B2B tech and software companies to create, personalize, and track interactive product demos for their sales processes. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Demoboost CEO Anna Decroix to learn more.

Equinox Gold Sells Versamet Royalties Shares For C$130 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:53 PM

Equinox Gold announced that it sold an aggregate of 8,713,000 common shares of Versamet Royalties through a block trade with National Bank Financial. The sale generated aggregate gross proceeds of C$130 million for Equinox Gold. The company said it holds its Versamet shares for investment purposes.

Vista Equity And Quinti Capital Reportedly Offer To Acquire Criteo

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:51 PM

Vista Equity Partners and Quinti Capital have reportedly submitted an offer to acquire Criteo, the French advertising technology company. According to Reuters, the firms made an offer last week that valued Criteo at more than a 50% premium to its recent share price. The report cited two people familiar with the matter who were not identified because the information is not public.

CenterGate Capital Invests In Canadian Dental Labs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Yesterday at 5:36 PM

CenterGate Capital announced that its affiliate made an investment in Canadian Dental Labs, a Toronto-based dental laboratory platform and manufacturer of dental prosthetics and orthodontic appliances.