Aura Acquires Qoria, Strengthens Leadership and Growth

Virtual Science AI is proud to announce the appointment of Rupert Mussen as Chief Financial Officer. Rupert brings over two decades of experience scaling PE-backed and high-growth technology businesses, having held CFO and Group CFO roles at G, Network, Sohonet, and Optimity. His expertise spans fundraising, mergers & acquisitions and financial leadership through periods of rapid growth - exactly what VSAI needs at this stage of the companies journey. Working closely with CEO, Thomas Hughes, Rupert will help strengthen and scale the financial foundations underpinning Virtual Science AI’s global growth, while supporting continued investment in innovation and the development of broader AI applications designed to improve how life science organisations operate and ultimately help bring treatments to patients faster. Welcome to the team, Rupert. 🚀 #Lifesciences #AI #Virtualscienceai #Insights #Leadership

We’re excited to announce that Ash Spiegelberg has joined Disruptive as Chief Strategy Officer. He joins from Brunswick Group, where he co-led the global TMT practice, having advised many of the world’s leading technology companies and investors on their most important moments. Founder and CEO Alex Davis commented: “Ash has a deep understanding of the intersection of capital, strategy and narrative, having worked with many of the world’s greatest tech companies and their founders. We strive to be an invaluable partner to founders and their companies, and the investor they turn to in their most important moments. Ash will help us build on that as a key part of the technology ecosystem.” As Disruptive continues to scale, this appointment reflects our commitment to investing in exceptional talent and building a differentiated platform in private technology investing. Press Release: https://lnkd.in/gSaMk6ax Axios Pro Rata: https://lnkd.in/guHCUSHM TBPN: https://lnkd.in/g2YddWDU

Somewhere in the process of building a company from nothing, you stop working on the company and start being it. The shift is gradual enough that you don't notice it happening. One quarter the company is the thing you're working on. A few quarters later, the company's performance and your sense of self are the same signal. A good quarter feels good. A bad quarter feels like a verdict. This is identity fusion. The predictable output of pouring everything you have — your time, your relationships, your reputation, your financial security — into one endeavor. When all of your inputs are inside the company, the company becomes who you are. The question isn't whether you care about what you're building. Of course you do. The question is whether who you are can hold when the company can't. Tomorrow: what to build before you need it. #FounderMentalHealth #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #IdentityAndWork #StartupFounders Michael A. Freeman, M.D. Mike Pincus. Lisa Mikkelsen Nektarios Liolios QED Investors Seamus McMahon

When Cohere announced its acquisition of Germany's Aleph Alpha last Friday, the press release called it a "transatlantic alliance" built on "shared Canadian and German values." Both governments attended the announcement. The combined entity will carry a $20 billion valuation. The sovereign AI narrative is genuinely compelling. Yet, if you read past the headline, some familiar M&A communications tensions start to surface. Cohere shareholders will hold roughly 90% of the new company. The combined entity keeps the Cohere name and Cohere's CEO leads. As of the announcement, the fate of Aleph Alpha's leadership team was still unspecified. Framing aside, this is an acquisition. Aleph Alpha's 250 employees almost certainly know that. None of this is unusual in large tech deals. What matters is how leadership addresses it, and how quickly. A few things I'd be thinking about if I were advising on internal communications here: Aleph Alpha has had a turbulent stretch. Its founder departed last year, and co-CEOs were appointed just this past February. Employees are now absorbing a third significant change in leadership context within a year. In that environment, even well-intentioned ambiguity can feel like a signal. The strongest performers, who always have options, will be watching closely for what comes next. Cross-border deals of this complexity also tend to surface an investor communications challenge that doesn't always get enough attention. When a company's strategic direction shifts as part of a transaction, the investors who backed the original thesis deserve a narrative that speaks specifically to them, not one written for a general business audience. How that's handled quietly often matters as much as the public announcement. There's also the question of government involvement. When two national governments are actively narrating your transaction, the external story can take on a life of its own. That's an asset for market positioning, but it could also pull internal messaging in directions that don't fully serve the people inside the organization. The sovereign AI opportunity that Cohere and Aleph Alpha are pursuing together is real. Deals like this one tend to succeed or struggle based on what happens in the first 90 days, well after the announcement headlines fade. Curious whether others have seen cross-border tech integrations handle the internal communications particularly well. What made the difference? #CorporateCommunications #ChangeManagement  #InternalCommunications #MergersAndAcquisitions #MandA

The Distribution by Juniper Square recently featured our Founder and CEO, Fernando De Leon, in a wide-ranging conversation on building and operating businesses across multiple industries, the supply chain of capital, and the investment philosophy behind each of Leon Capital Group’s companies.   Check out the full episode, which is now live on all major platforms. Link in comments. #LeonCapital #RealEstate #PrivateMarkets #TheDistribution

Few stories in American business are as remarkable as that of Fernando De Leon. He grew up in Matamoros, Mexico, crossed the border daily to attend school in Brownsville, Texas, and at 12 represented South Texas in the National Spelling Bee. He went on to Harvard University, then Goldman Sachs — and walked away at 25 to bet on himself. He launched Leon Capital Group in 2006, just before the financial crisis, and went "all in 200 times in a row" — buying what others were fleeing and building from the ground up. Today, Leon Capital is a Dallas-based family holding company with a portfolio exceeding $10 billion across real estate, healthcare, and financial services. What makes Fernando's model so compelling isn't just the scale — it's the structure. Permanent capital. Proprietary deal flow. Operating discipline that institutional PE simply can't replicate. He's redefining what a family office can be. This conversation with The Distribution by Juniper Square is worth your time. #FamilyOffice C. Travis Pittman

Excited and honored for Hologram Media Network to be selected by Moderne Ventures to accelerate HMN. We’re looking forward to working with the Moderne team members and their network of investors, mentors, and industry leaders as we continue building the first spatial hologram media network and expanding the role of immersive technology across commercial real estate, retail, and high traffic locations. Congratulations to the other companies in the cohort: Chateauz™, Darcy Solutions, Geolava, Sigma360, Orbital, On3 Inc., and 3V Infrastructure. We look forward to building alongside you.

We are proud to announce our latest Moderne Passport cohort. Each class we select a handful of companies that we believe are ready to break into real estate and related complex industries — and this group is no exception. The Passport Program gives founders direct access to operators, executives, and partners across our network of of real estate industry leaders who can open doors and drive growth. Please reach out if you have any questions or would like to learn more about our Passport Program (https://lnkd.in/ddEK5UJT) . Chateauz™, Darcy Solutions, Geolava, Hologram Media Network, Sigma360, Orbital, On3 Inc., 3V Infrastructure, Moderne Ventures

We're thrilled to join the 2026 Spring Passport Program and the Moderne Ventures network. Over the next six months, we'll collaborate with 1,500+ real estate leaders to accelerate access to EV charging by eliminating the upfront cost, operational complexity, and ongoing expense for property owners. At 3V Infrastructure, we fully fund, install, own, and operate EV charging at multifamily and other long-dwell properties across the U.S. We’re excited to be in such great company with this cohort and looking forward to what's ahead.

Exciting news: On3 Inc. is honored to be joining the Moderne Ventures Passport Program for Spring 2026. It's validation of what we've been telling the industry: frontline construction teams need AI built for them, not adapted from somewhere else. Safe and proprietary with company, construction and supplier data, trained on company knowledge, and designed for how the work actually gets done in the field. Companies like PulteGroup, D.R. Horton, DRB Group, Mattamy Homes , Simpson Strong-Tie, Daltile and others are already putting it to work. Stop Reinventing. Start Deploying. Reach out if you're ready to see how. Luke KruegerPaul C.Eradj KhaidarovJeanne Conger, CGB, CGP, BrokerClay LoneyDavid Bernardino