SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- September 01, 2026 -- Diffraqtion capped its pre-seed funding round at more than $10 million after Lockheed Martin Ventures and Presidio Ventures, the venture arm of Sumitomo Corporation, joined as strategic investors, the MIT and University of Maryland spinout announced Aug. 31, 2026. The Somerville, Massachusetts-based company builds quantum camera platforms for defense and space sensing.

South Jordan, Utah -- September 01, 2026 -- Opalescence Whitening launched Opalescence Go Advanced, a prefilled take-home whitening tray built on a redesigned UltraFit tray that eliminates the outer placement tray used in prior generations. The company, which markets itself as the top-selling professional teeth whitening brand worldwide, said the new product ships ready to use directly from the package. Opalescence has whitened more than 150 million smiles globally since its formula first reached the dental market 35 years ago.

AUSTIN, Texas -- September 01, 2026 -- DPR Construction completed the 74-story Waterline tower at 98 Red River Street two months ahead of its original 50-month schedule, finishing the job in 48 months. The 1,025-foot structure now stands as the tallest building in Texas, DPR announced on Aug. 31, 2026. The 2.7 million-square-foot tower, co-developed by Lincoln Property Company and Kairoi Residential, combines residential, hotel, office, retail and parking uses on a footprint of more than three acres in downtown Austin.

NEW YORK -- September 01, 2026 -- Optimizely unveiled Virtual Teammates on Aug. 31, 2026 at its Opticon conference, a new class of AI coworkers built to take on defined marketing roles instead of responding to individual prompts. The launch includes five role-specific digital coworkers: Chief of Staff, SEO & AI Search Analyst, Marketing Analyst, Personalization Strategist, and CRO Manager. Each retains organizational context over time and operates across marketing tools under its own identity and permissions.

MOUNTAINSIDE, N.J. -- September 01, 2026 -- Yorkville America Equities, LLC launched the Yorkville America MANGOS Plus Index ETF, trading under ticker FRUT on NYSE Arca and NYSE Texas, the firm announced Aug. 31, 2026. The fund combines six AI platform companies with seven hardware and infrastructure suppliers inside a single rules-based index, charging a 0.50% expense ratio with quarterly distributions. Tidal Investments, LLC serves as sub-adviser, and PINE Distributors LLC acts as distributor.

ARLINGTON, VA. -- September 01, 2026 -- Corvex, Inc. (Nasdaq: MOVE) said it will lift critical IT power capacity fivefold, from roughly 1.5 megawatts to approximately 8 megawatts by year-end 2026, backed by a $33 million private placement led by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Morgan Stanley and Oppenheimer & Co. The Arlington, Virginia-based AI infrastructure provider is doubling its existing Mid-Atlantic data center and standing up a second facility in the Midwest, with both sites expected ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2026.

CARY, N.C. -- September 01, 2026 -- Veloxis Pharmaceuticals dosed the first participant on Aug. 31, 2026, in its Phase 2 RENGEVITY-201 trial testing pegrizeprument, an investigational immunosuppressive drug, against tacrolimus in kidney transplant recipients. The Cary, North Carolina-based company, a unit of Asahi Kasei Corporation, will enroll up to 120 de novo kidney transplant patients across multiple sites in the randomized, partially blinded study registered as NCT07290777.

Boise, Idaho -- September 01, 2026 -- Perpetua Resources Corp. (Nasdaq: PPTA; TSX: PPTA) said dual autoclaves for its Stibnite Gold Project in central Idaho are now being fabricated at a custom facility in Europe, one of several construction milestones the company detailed on August 31, 2026. Four drill rigs have completed roughly 5,800 meters of a 10,000-meter 2026 exploration program that has returned high-grade gold, antimony and tungsten intercepts. The update follows an August 18, 2026 ruling by the U.S.

INDIANAPOLIS and CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Aug. 31, 2026 -- Eli Lilly and Company agreed to pay up to $2.875 billion in cash to acquire Merida Biosciences, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company developing antibody-degrading therapies for autoimmune and allergic diseases. The figure includes an upfront payment plus contingent milestone payments under a definitive agreement announced by both companies. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.

NEW YORK -- September 01, 2026 -- Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. hired Joel Berry II as a Financial Advisor to its Robinson Private Client Group in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the firm announced on Aug. 31, 2026. Berry arrives from Truist Financial to expand the team's advisory work with current and former athletes navigating Name, Image and Likeness deals and revenue-sharing arrangements. The Robinson Private Client Group, led by Managing Director Tanner G. Robinson, oversaw more than $6 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2026.