OpenAI this morning unwrapped its new consulting and services business, backed by billions of private equity dollars, as we previewed last week.

• It's being called The OpenAI Deployment Co., or DeployCo for short.

What we knew: DeployCo launches with $4 billion of investment at a $10 billion pre-money valuation, with OpenAI retaining majority control. It's not in today's announcement, but investors get a guaranteed minimum 17.5% return and have profits capped.

• Goldman Sachs is the only backer of both DeployCo and a comparable effort from Anthropic.

What we didn't know: Three blue-blood consultancies — Bain & Co., Capgemini and McKinsey & Co. — are among DeployCo's investors.

• The generous interpretation is that the trio will gain a deeper understanding of OpenAI's capabilities and roadmap, which they can then share with clients.
• The more cynical interpretation is that OpenAI somehow convinced these legacy firms to help fund their own disintermediation.

Zoom in: TPG is DeployCo's lead investor, with Advent International, Bain Capital, and Brookfield listed as "co-lead founding partners."

• Other backers include B Capital, BBVA, Emergence Capital, Goanna, SoftBank, Warburg Pincus, and WCAS.
• We'd previously noted that DeployCo may acquire forward-deployed engineering teams, and today's announcement mentioned that it's already bought one called Tomoro.

What to watch: If other big PE firms like Carlyle, KKR and EQT come into the frontier lab fold, or if they decide there's more value in remaining unaffiliated.

Architect Capital has agreed to invest $535 million into OnlyFans for around a 16% stake, which implies a $3.15 billion valuation.

Why it's the BFD: OnlyFans had been trying to raise outside capital — or sell itself entirely — for at least five years. But investors kept blushing at the porn.

Zoom in: The FT reports that both James Packer and Sam Lessin co-invested with Architect Capital.

Catch up quick: OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky died of cancer earlier this year, at just 43 years old.

• His widow reportedly assumed control.

The bottom line: OnlyFans generated $1.4 billion of net revenue and $7.2 billion of gross revenue in fiscal 2024, including $684 million of pre-tax profit.

• Those figures should have produced a stronger valuation, even if growth had slowed from the company's pandemic peak. But, again, naked people.

🚑 Isomorphic Labs, an AI drug discovery company spun out of Google's DeepMind, is in talks to raise more than $2b led by insider Thrive Capital, per Bloomberg. axios.link/48TaSJq

• Helsing, a German defense-tech sometimes referred to as Europe's Anduril, is in talks to raise around $1.2bn at an $18b valuation, per the FT. Dragoneer and insider Lightspeed are leading. axios.link/4eFqeoA

🚀 Cowboy Space (fka Aetherflux), a San Carlos, Calif.-based orbital infrastructure company, raised $275m in Series B funding at a $2b post-money valuation. Index Ventures led, joined by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Construct Capital, IVP, and SAIC. axios.link/3P7rKW9

• Grand Games, a Turkish mobile gaming studio, raised $70m in Series B funding. Balderton Capital led, joined by Bek Ventures and Laton Ventures. axios.link/42oamj1

• Frame Security, an Israeli cybersecurity startup, raised $50m from Index Ventures, Team8, Picture Capital, Elad Gil, and Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport. axios.link/48P7Ztc

🚑 Eyeo, a Dutch nanophotonic imaging startup, raised €40m in Series A funding. Innovation Industries led, joined by Imec.xpand, Invest-NL, Qbic, High-Tech Gründerfonds, and Brabant Development Agency. axios.link/48UmfAL

• Fifth Dimension, a real estate investment platform, raised $26m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. HV Capital led, joined by Prudence, Mercia, MMC, AFG, Speedinvest, Seedcamp, and Anthemis. axios.link/4fjZjyG

• Algorithmiq, an Italian quantum computing startup, raised €18m led by United Ventures and CDP Venture Capital. axios.link/4d2YiJZ

Source: Giphy

🎵 The Red Hot Chili Peppers sold their recorded catalog to Warner Music Group, via its JV with Bain Capital, for more than $300m. axios.link/433EFvm

• Altor offered to buy listed Swedish sleep analysis company Sleep Cycle for around $54m. axios.link/4uFfZVQ

• AnaCap agreed to acquire Cattaneo Dall'Olio Rho Tax & Legal Group, an Italian professional services firm. axios.link/4uJFB48

• Apollo agreed to buy and merge live events businesses Emerald Holding (NYSE: EEX) and Questex. Emerald is being valued at around $1b, with major shareholder Onex agreeing to support the deal, while Questex is being sold by MidOcean Partners. axios.link/4wi3OAd

• Blackstone agreed to acquire a majority stake in Greek online marketplace Skroutz from CVC Capital Partners. axios.link/4nomTwj

• Bowmark Capital agreed to acquire BCIS, a U.K. construction data and cost benchmarking platform, from LDC. axios.link/4uJCDwA

• Bruin Capital agreed to buy a minority equity stake in Matchroom, an independent sports media and promotional business. axios.link/4u3xSxR

⚡ FH Capital agreed to acquire a 75.1% stake in JinkoSolar's (NYSE: JKS) U.S. subsidiary. axios.link/4fab4rt

• I Squared Capital offered to buy Australian outdoor advertising company oOh!media (ASX: OML) for A$765.9m, topping an earlier offer from Pacific Equity Partners. axios.link/3R0Mf7C

⚡ Voltagrid, a Houston-based energy management and generation company, raised around $1b from Blackstone and Halliburton at a valuation north of $10b. axios.link/4eE92zR

Several large U.S. IPOs are expected to price this week, including Cerebras Systems, BX Digital Infrastructure, and Fervo Energy.

• Applied Aerospace & Defense, a Huntsville, Ala.-based aerospace equipment maker owned by Greenbriar Equity, filed for an IPO that Renaissance Capital estimates could raise $350m. It was formed last year via the merger of Applied Aerospace and PCX Aerospace, and plans to list on the NYSE (AADX). Its pro formas 2025 financials include a $49m net loss on $604m in revenue. axios.link/4ezkXyM

• Cerebras Systems, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AI chipmaker, boosted its IPO plans to 30m shares at $150-$160 from 28m shares at $115-$125. It now would have around a $33b market cap, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (CBRS). Cerebras reports $238m of net income on $510m of revenue for 2025, and had raised around $3b from firms like Alpha Wave, Benchmark, Eclipse, Fidelity, and Foundation Capital. axios.link/4dexIMS

⚡ Compass Gas e Energia, a Brazilian energy company controlled by Cosan, raised $650m in the first IPO on Brazil's B3 stock exchange in nearly five years. axios.link/4eEBVvO

⚡ Fervo Energy, a Houston-based geothermal energy developer, boosted its IPO terms to 70m shares at $25-$26 from 55.55m shares at $21-$24. It would have a $7.23b market cap, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (FRVO). Fervo had raised over $1.6b from backers like Devon Energy, Capricorn Investment Group, DCVC, B Capital, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures. axios.link/4fe94yu

• Quantinuum, a Broomfield, Colo.-based quantum computing group being carved out of Honeywell, filed for an IPO that Renaissance Capital estimates could raise $1.5b. It reports a $193m net loss on $31m in revenue for 2025, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (QNT). Shareholders include Quanta Computer, NVentures, JPMorgan, Mitsui, and Amgen. axios.link/4dydQFQ

• Safepoint, a Tampa-based property and casualty insurer focused on coastal areas, filed for an IPO that Renaissance Capital estimates could raise $250m. It plans to list on the NYSE (SFPT). axios.link/4ddVlFh

• Apollo has held talks to sell MidCap Financial Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: MFIC), a business development company that Apollo values at around $3b, per the WSJ. axios.link/4to8cL5

⚡ E.ON, a German utility, agreed to buy U.K. energy supplier Ovo, which had raised over $1b from firms like Mitsubishi, Mayfair Equity Partners, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management. axios.link/48VbX3r

🎵 Sony Music and GIC agreed to acquire Recognition Music Group from Blackstone. RMG owns over 45,000 songs, including the catalogs of Justin Bieber and Neil Young. axios.link/4uFVVTo

• Circle (NYSE: CRCL) raised $222 via a new token presale, per CNBC. A16z led ($75m), joined by BlackRock, Apollo, InterContinental Exchange, SBI Group, Janus Henderson, and Standard Chartered Ventures. axios.link/4tWTXxY

• Dream Finder Homes (NYSE: DFH) offered to buy rival homebuilder Beazer Homes USA (NYSE: BZH) for $704m in cash, or $25.75 per share. axios.link/4ufc4za

• Prosus agreed to sell part of its remaining Delivery Hero (ETR: DHER) stake to Aspex Management for €335m. axios.link/4eE0F7p

• Qatar Investment Authority committed $500m to General Atlantic's growth equity strategy. axios.link/4ttFCIj

• Skinos Ventures, an Israeli cybersecurity VC firm, raised $26m for its debut fund. axios.link/49dobEP

• TriSpan raised a single-asset CV for Sugar Beets, a café-bakery and lifestyle brand. axios.link/4tno2Wf

🚑 Aditya Humad is stepping down as president and CFO of KIC Ventures. axios.link/4nu2WEA

• Bryan Ikegami joined Reed Smith as a PE and M&A-focused partner. He previously was with Winston & Strawn. axios.link/3R0AD4w

• Michael O'Brien joined Calera Capital as a managing director and head of biz dev. He previously was with Valspring Capital. axios.link/4d32NUV

Bumble CEO Whitney Wolf Herd dodged when asked if the dating app maker would consider going private, during a new episode of The Axios Show.

The big picture: Bumble has been getting pummeled by the public markets, down 95% from its 2021 IPO, and has private equity history with Blackstone.

• Wolf Herd stepped down as CEO in early 2024, but returned 14 months later.

What she said: "We are always exploring what's best for the shareholders. I obviously cannot comment on what the structural future of the company would or would not be, but what I will say is I think the benefit that I have garnered over the last few years of being a public company CEO, is I'm tough as nails now. I mean you really can't hurt me ...

• Being a public company, CEO, whether this is forever or not, we'll see what's best for the company at the right time. And in the meantime we just keep delivering good product and working hard behind the scenes."

By the numbers: Blackstone valued Bumble at $3 billion when it invested in 2019, and still holds nearly a 23% ownership stake.

• Bumble went public at around a $7.7 billion valuation, but that's since been slashed to just around $1 billion.

Watch the full episode