Today's column didn't quite come together in time, so let's dig into the notebook.

✨ Stripe yesterday confirmed its deal for AI model marketplace OpenRouter, which is expected to close within a few weeks. A few quick notes:

1. No dollar details were disclosed, but sources tell me that the total value is over $8 billion and is mostly stock with some cash mixed in.
2. Stripe sent investors a letter about the deal, first reported by Axios, which partially read like a defense of staying private (much, much) longer. It claimed that "the singularity" began on Jan. 1, and that being private is a "corporate structure that helps us steer the right long-term course."
3. At the same time, however, Stripe says that the profitability of its "core payments engine allows us to make acquisitions like these without significantly diluting existing stockholders." Not sure how being public would change that.
4. I spoke with some OpenRouter backers, and none of them are sweating the private stock issue. They view Stripe as having plenty of liquidity via secondaries.

🔒 More on OpenRouter: Stripe's basic thesis seems to be that OpenRouter is the top two-sided marketplace for getting Stripe on the token path.

• But Anj Midha, who helped lead the seed round in early 2025 for OpenRouter at a $36 million pre-money valuation while he was a partner at a16z, argues that it's more about security (or, in tech terms, deployment-time alignment).
• Midha, who kept investing via his new firm (AMP) and remained on OpenRouter's board, believes that Stripe basically just bought a bulwark against rogue AI agents conducting fraudulent transactions — because it processes so many tokens from so many models from so many developers.
• He argues that Stripe has "built a trust machine at scale" -- doing statistical cybersecurity, rather than deterministic, even before LLMs -- but that the token economy presents a different set of challenges that require a different solution.
• Midha also acknowledges to me that Stripe will need "great governance restraint," so as to remain lab-agnostic.

🗽 Southern see-ya: Khosla Ventures partner Keith Rabois has quietly relocated to New York City, where he'll soon help open the firm's first office outside of Silicon Valley.

• It's something of a stunner, given that Rabois has spent years as a pied piper for Miami, where he moved as part of the COVID migration from Silicon Valley.
• He's still got a home in Miami — having put it on the market but then pulled it off — and several local portfolio companies.
• The northern move was largely driven by family logistics, given that Rabois' husband is part of the Trump administration (i.e., NYC → DC is easier than MIA → DC). But also reflects startup strength in New York, where the new Khosla Ventures office will be joined by an executive briefing center.

🏀 New firm alert: Sports-focused BlackSun Private Equity came out of stealth today, with more than $1 billion in the bank and plans to raise at least $6 billion more. Some of that will come via a fund structure, while it's also planning to utilize SPACs (including to help LPs monetize pro sports stakes).

• The strategy will be to buy pro sports franchises, but the bulk of AUM will go toward associated media, fintech, and commercial real estate assets.
• BlackSun president Nery Gomez tells me that its first big swing was for the Boston Celtics, with a $6 billion bid that was topped by Bill Chisholm, and that it's now working on a bid for Seattle's expansion NBA team. He declined to identify who would have been the individual control owner of the Celtics, nor who would serve in that role for Seattle.

Castelion, a Torrance, Calif.-based developer of hypersonic missiles, raised $800 million in Series C equity funding at a $13 billion post-money valuation.

Why it's the BFD: Startups are racing to help fill stockpiles depleted by the wars in Iran and Ukraine.

Deal details: The round was led by JPMorgan's Strategic Investment Group, a16z, and Carlyle.

• Other backers include Lightspeed, Lavrock Ventures, Altimeter, General Catalyst, Interlagos, and T. Rowe Price.
• Castelion also secured $250 million for a revolving credit facility.

The bottom line: "The lower-cost missile space is getting crowded quick, and speed is emerging as the new mass." — Colin Demarest, Axios Future of Defense

• Fractile, a British AI chip startup, reportedly is in talks to raise $600m at a $6.5b valuation from backers like Lightspeed, Redpoint Ventures, Thrive Capital, and Founders Fund. axios.link/4zA0W3h

🚀 Muon Space, a Mountain View, Calif.-based satellite startup, raised $250m in Series C funding. Eclipse Capital led, joined by Google, Salesforce Ventures, Galvanize, I Squared Capital, Woven Capital, Radical Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Activate Capital, ACME Capital, ArcTern Ventures, and Overlap Holdings. axios.link/4xeh1tM

• Also, a micromobility company spun out of Rivian last year, raised $150m in Series D funding. Prysm Capital led, joined by Eclipse, Greenoaks, and MVP Ventures. axios.link/3Smr1lw

• Callosum, a "software layer that co-optimizes AI models and chips," raised $100m in seed funding. Atomico led, joined by DCVC, Plural and UK Sovereign AI. axios.link/4zufYqY

• Navi, an Indian fintech founded by Sachin Bansal (Flipkart), raised $100m from Prosus at a $1.3b valuation. axios.link/4hD2lzr

• Rillet, an NYC-based AI accounting startup, raised $100m in Series C funding. Iconiq led, joined by insiders a16z and Sequoia Capital. axios.link/4wK6TrD

🚑 Renata Medical, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based maker of stents for pediatric congenital heart disease, raised $25m in Series D funding led by Archimed. axios.link/4wWoY65

🚑 Astromech, a Colossal Biosciences spinout that predicts biological outcomes using AI, raised $20m led by Arch Venture Partners at a $3.8b valuation, per Axios Pro. axios.link/46gvObi

• Twin1 AI, a digital twin creation platform, raised $20m in seed funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Tribeca Venture Partners and Aramco Ventures, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3SFq73H

🚑 Ours Privacy, a Houston-based customer data platform for health-care marketplaces, raised $15m in Series A funding. Lightbank and Health Velocity Capital led, joined by Rock Health, Lakehouse, TMV, Switch Ventures, Starfire Ventures, and GreyMatter. axios.link/4wH2XaV

🔥 RockRose Risk, a Napa, Calif.-based fire-zone insurance broker, raised $12.5m in Series A funding. Congruent Ventures and Crosslink Capital led, joined by Nuveen. axios.link/4qAbTOc

• Idler AI, a frontier data research lab, raised $9m in seed funding. Paradigm led, joined by YC and Long Journey Ventures. axios.link/4qLpHFL

• Quantizr, a Park City, Utah-based financial ops platform for the live entertainment industry, raised $5m in seed funding led by TTV Capital. axios.link/4xKxxRX

• Velatir, a Danish enterprise infrastructure layer, raised €5m led by Spintop Ventures and Ugly Duckling Ventures, with Norrsken Evolve participating. axios.link/4cQ3Cjc

🔥 Agellus Capital acquired Phillips Fire & Life Safety, a Houston-based fire and life safety services company, adding it to Bluejack Fire & Life Safety. axios.link/3UIUBSR

⚡ Albireo Energy, a Huron Capital portfolio company, acquired Powers' regional units in Oklahoma and Mississippi/Louisiana. axios.link/4xLBllZ

• Aventia, backed by Bernhard Capital Partners, acquired Bryant Hammett & Associates, a Ferriday, La.-based civil engineering, land surveying and hazard mitigation firm. axios.link/3U9EFcf

• Charlesbank is in talks for a $700m stake in U.S. law firm WSHB, per the FT. axios.link/4qBBXID

• The Crest Group, backed by Stellex Capital Management, acquired Dukane, a St. Charles, Ill.-based maker of ultrasonic solutions and plastic joining technologies. axios.link/4x9ADz0

• CVC Capital Partners invested in OpenRent, a U.K. property rental platform. axios.link/4wCx4Ak

• Foods Connected, an Apax Partners portfolio company, acquired food quality inspection provider HarvestMark Quality Insights. axios.link/4wCXulK

• Genstar Capital agreed to buy Oncourse Home Solutions, a Naperville, Ill.-based provider of home infrastructure warranties, from Apax Partners. axios.link/4x8YC1k

• Investcorp acquired Indian contract logistics platform 20Cube 3PL Solutions for about $52m. axios.link/4cJlLiD

🚑 Medmark, an Irish occupational health provider, secured up to €70m from Phoenix Equity Partners. axios.link/4hJRuE2

🔥 Security Fire Solutions Platform, backed by Blackford Capital, acquired Industrial Electronic Systems, a Rancho Cordova, Calif.-based provider of fire alarm, security, and life safety solutions. axios.link/4xan7vd

🚑 SEVA Growth invested in Serif Health, an SF-based provider of healthcare price transparency data. axios.link/3S1enIF

• Cribl, an SF-based data management platform valued by VCs at $3.5b, acquired the security operations platform of Radiant Security, which has raised $22m from Cheyenne Partners, N47, Lightspeed Venture Partners Israel, Jibe Ventures, General Advance, Uncorrelated Ventures, and Acrew Capital. axios.link/4zyX0Qm

• Munich Re agreed to acquire At-Bay, an Israeli cyber insurance and services startup, for $575m. At-Bay had raised over $290m from Lightspeed, Khosla Ventures, M12, Acrew Capital, RPS Ventures, Icon Ventures, and Samsung Venture Investment. axios.link/4ghK9Jf

⚡ Quantum Capital Group agreed to sell Permian Basin-focused FireBird Energy II to Continental Resources. axios.link/46dBV06

• Strategic Value Partners hired JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley to find a buyer for APCOA Parking, a London-based parking space operator that could fetch €2b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4wWhDU5

• Academic Capital Partners is raising $300m for a debut fund that will buy educational assets in Asia and the Middle East. axios.link/4zs64q1

• Cognition, a new cybersecurity VC firm led by ex-CrowdStrike CTO Elia Zaitsev, is raising $170m for its debut fund, per Axios. axios.link/3U5bqax

• Jefferies Credit Partners is targeting €1b for a secondaries fund, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4gj6iqN

• Makers Fund, an early-stage entertainment VC firm, raised $250m for its fourth fund. makersfund.com

• Tim Luke is leaving Barclays to become vice chair of tech investment banking at Morgan Stanley, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4xtC4ZD

• John Plueger joined AE Industrial Partners as a senior advisor. He previously was CEO of Air Lease Corp. axios.link/4wH8U82

Stripe's next big acquisition act is expected to be PayPal, as it continues to work with PE firm Advent International on a takeover that would be worth more than $50 billion.

• Wall Street is betting that Stripe and Advent will sweeten their initial $60.50 per share bid, given that shares are now trading above that price.