StubHub last night raised $800 million in its IPO, pricing at the midpoint of its $22 to $25 per share range.

• That gives the ticket resale giant an $8.5 billion initial market cap, although that may climb when shares begin trading today on the NYSE under the ticker "STUB."

I spoke with StubHub co-founder and CEO Eric Baker about the IPO and the business. What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation:

Axios: Why go public now?

Baker: "It's really about raising proceeds to deleverage, since we took on a lot of debt when [Viagogo] bought StubHub. For example, I'm not selling any shares.

• We flipped our S-1 just before 'Liberation Day' hit, at which point everyone hit pause, so we've been ready to go for a while."

What did you keep hearing from prospective investors on the roadshow?

"A lot of people are very excited about us doing direct issuance, like the deal we just signed with Major League Baseball. Everyone knows we're the dominant platform for global ticket resale, so they're interested in the next phase."

How much growth are you seeing from events outside of concerts and sports?

"Concerts and sports are huge, but we're seeing so many other experiences. For example, the University of Oklahoma created something where you can buy tickets to [postgame] press conferences. There are also all sorts of exhibits and live gaming. Plus, the growth of comedy through platforms like YouTube."

President Trump recently signed an executive order on ticket gouging. It's not mentioned in your S-1. Do you agree with what he's doing?

"Yes. If you look at the executive order, it has three planks:

• The first is pricing transparency. The second is stopping bots. We publicly lobbied for both of those. The third is making sure there's no anticompetitive behavior, like what DOJ is looking at the Live Nation and Ticketmaster."

Ticketmaster is a big reseller, in addition to being the top primary issuer. How do you view the regulatory resolution of that situation, vis-à-vis Stubhub?

"Everything we focus on doing assumes that nothing changes with the status quo ... If anything were to change, I'd assume there would be a lot of positive developments for us."

You mentioned the bots issue. When I go to buy tickets for an event, it feels like face value ones last for less than five minutes, and then suddenly, there are hundreds immediately on StubHub at very high prices. Isn't that a bot issue?

"I think many of the problems with major events often have nothing to do with bots, but rather the failures of how tickets are put up for sale by the primary seller."

President Trump yesterday delayed the TikTok ban, as expected.

There also was a buzzy WSJ report about how the White House has agreed to a deal whereby Andreessen Horowitz, Oracle and Silver Lake would control TikTok U.S. via a carveout from China's ByteDance.

• That should satisfy the divestiture law in terms of ownership structure, as Chinese interests would fall below 20%, although there still are questions related to the algorithm.

Three things to know:

1. This deal is largely the same as what was negotiated before "Liberation Day," when Trump's tariffs blew up talks with Beijing. Plus, Oracle has been involved since 2019, when Trump first tried to ban the app — although it's vascillated on being an equity partner in addition to a tech partner. Maybe it's now feeling a bit richer.
2. Several existing ByteDance shareholders in the U.S. tell me that they're still in the dark on what happens to their positions, or if they'll be asked to cough up new money. Which is odd for a deal that's supposedly being presented this week to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
3. One new wrinkle reported by WSJ is that the U.S. government would have a board rep. That's not required by the divestiture law, and raises questions about if taxpayers will have an equity stake in TikTok U.S. (either via an investment or given free of charge).

Samara, a maker of prefabricated tiny homes that spun out of Airbnb, tells Axios that it raised $34 million in Series B funding led by insider Thrive Capital.

Why it's the BFD: America has an affordable housing crisis.

Catch up quick: Samara was the brainchild of Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and former Flex CEO Mike McNamara — a marriage of design and manufacturing chops.

• Despite the lineage, only a minority of its configurable homes are used as rentals. Many are used for multigenerational living, often situated in the backyards of larger homes.
• All of its sales so far are in California, which McNamara says is leading the nation on zoning reforms.
• Gebbia, who now works in the White House, "continues to check in on a constant basis."

By the numbers: Samara has booked $100 million in revenue over the past 12 months, and currently is delivering around 10 homes per month. Time from order to delivery can range from seven months for simple builds to 18 months for complex multi units.

• The company also agreed to donate $5 million worth of homes to victims of the Los Angeles fires, via Steadfast LA, while Gebbia made a $10 million match.

The bottom line: "Building homes is very different than what we built at Flex, but it's still manufacturing. That means repetition in a controlled environment that leads to lower costs and better quality every single year." — Mike McNamara

🤖 Figure, an SF-based maker of humanoid robots, raised over $1b in Series C funding at a $39b valuation. Parkway Venture Capital led, joined by Brookfield Asset Management, Nvidia, Macquarie Capital, Intel Capital, Align Ventures, Tamarack Global, LG Technology Ventures, Salesforce, T-Mobile Ventures, and Qualcomm Ventures. axios.link/4nuOkDr

• Lingokids, a maker of interactive learning apps for young children, raised $120m. Bullhound Capital and General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund led, joined by Nextalia Ventures. axios.link/42rMcV0

• Airia, an Atlanta-based enterprise AI security and orchestration platform, raised $100m from co-founder John Marshall (co-founder of AirWatch, sold to VMware). axios.link/4pIYm6b

🚑 Ollin Biosciences, an Austin, Texas-based ophthalmology biotech, raised $100m led by Arch Venture Partners, Mubadala Capital, and Monograph Capital. axios.link/47Nv1Rs

🌎 Chestnut Carbon, a New York-based carbon removal startup, raised $90m in Series B extension funding from insider Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. axios.link/4mg9EeX

• PassiveLogic, a building software and hardware developer, raised $74m in Series C funding, per Axios Pro. Noa led, joined by Prologis Ventures, Johnson Controls, PSP Growth and insiders Addition, NVentures, Keyframe, and Brookfield. axios.link/4nsPnnm

🚑 Imagine Pediatrics, a Nashville-based provider of virtual special needs care, raised $67m in Series B funding led by insiders Oak HC/FT, Optum Ventures and Rubicon Founders, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4nAcTiu

• CodeRabbit, a Walnut Creek, Calif., code review startup, raised $60m in Series B funding at a $550m valuation. Scale Venture Partners led, joined by NVentures and insiders CRV, Harmony Partners, Flex Capital, Engineering Capital, and Pelion Venture Partners. axios.link/4ntujNG

• EvoluteIQ, a Swedish orchestration platform, raised $53m from Baird Capital. axios.link/4n8sFl1

⚡️Entouch, a Richardson, Texas-based provider of energy management solutions for multisite operators, raised $50m led by Respida Capital. axios.link/4mqfXNb

• Omnea, a London-based procurement intake and orchestration platform, raised $50m in Series B funding. Insight Partners and Khosla Ventures led, joined by Accel, Point Nine, First Round Capital, and Prosus. axios.link/46I4xzG

• PayNearMe, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based payments experience management startup, raised $50m in Series E funding led by Atlantic Vantage Point. axios.link/3Vn4xid

• Genomines, a cultivator of nickel and other metals from plants, raised $37m in Series A equity funding led by Engine Ventures and Forbion BioEconomy, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4n7nhhV

• NoFence, a Norwegian virtual fencing company, raised $35m in Series B funding. European Circular Bioeconomy Fund led, joined by Capagro, Nysnø Climate Investments, Climate Innovation Capital, and Speedinvest. axios.link/4n3YYRL

• Druid AI, a Romanian enterprise agentic AI platform, raised $31m in Series C funding. Cipio Partners led, joined by TQ Ventures, Karma Ventures, Smedvig, and Hoxton Ventures. axios.link/4n4IMjc

• Turnout, a platform for resolving tax debt and disability claims, raised $21m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Shine Capital and LGVP led, joined by Swish Ventures, Jaz Capital Partners, Zeev Ventures, HoneyStone, Conversion, and Four Aces. axios.link/4mo09dT

⚡️ Fourth Power, a Cambridge, Mass.-based energy storage startup that uses thermal batteries, raised $20m in Series A+ funding. Munich Re Ventures led, joined by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and DCVC. axios.link/4natsSq

⚡ ️Sympower, a Dutch grid flexibility startup, raised €19m in Series B extension funding led by PGGM. axios.link/46Dq64m

• Kertos, a German enterprise compliance startup, raised €14m in Series A funding. Portage led, joined by insiders Pilabs, Redstone, 10x Founders, and Seed+speed Ventures. axios.link/4psp9TO

• Overmind, a London-based developer of predictive change intelligence, raised $6m in seed funding. Renegade Partners led, joined by Four Rivers and Operator Collective. axios.link/4nf8VME

• Sonair, a Norwegian developer of 3D ultrasonic sensors for robots, raised $6m led by Scale Capital. axios.link/3VQ0xa6

🚑 Genoskin, a French developer of ex vivo human skin models, raised $5.4m in equity funding. OCCTE led, joined by Captech Santé, GSO Innovation, and CA Toulouse 31 Initiatives. axios.link/48h95hB

• CreatorDB, a developer of AI infrastructure for influencer marketing, raised $4.7m in Series A funding. Acorn Pacific Ventures led, joined by Pegatron, Meimaii Technology, AVA Ventures, and the National Development Fund. axios.link/4mgtpTB

• Eve Security, an AI observability and policy enforcement platform, raised $3m in seed funding. LiveOak Ventures led, joined by Tau Ventures. axios.link/46aOGcU

• Rulebase, a London-based fintech back-office tech startup, raised $2.1m in pre-seed funding led by Bowery Capital, with participation from YC, Commerce Ventures, and Transpose Platform VC. axios.link/46DpJH0

🌎 Ara Partners acquired Microtec, a Naples, Fla.-based company turning waste glass into concrete materials. axios.link/3K77v83

• General Atlantic invested in skin care company Osea Malibu, with Cavu Partners exiting. axios.link/46qokCu

• ParkerGale invested in RedZone Technologies, an Annapolis, Md.-based IT service provider for highly regulated industries. axios.link/47MLfdt

• SageLink Capital and Genesis Park invested in Perfect Feast, a Pleasant Grove, Utah-based provider of corporate gifting solutions. axios.link/4natIAS

• Senske Family of Cos., backed by GTCR, agreed to acquire Houston-based Green ER Lawns, Trees & Pest. axios.link/4nzn1rM

🚑 Sheridan Capital Partners invested in National Care Systems, a Brooklyn-based provider of revenue cycle management software for skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. axios.link/4mfNpWx

• Spectrum Equity acquired a majority stake in Poppins Payroll, a Boulder, Colo.-based provider of household payroll for families and caregivers. axios.link/46GgOEH

⚡ ️Velto Renewables, backed by La Caisse, agreed to acquire a 163 MW portfolio of regulated solar projects in Spain from Bankinter Investment and Plenium Partners. The deal also includes another 97 MW solar portfolio from Plenium. veltorenewables.com

⚡ ️West Monroe, a Chicago-based consultancy backed by BDT & MSD Partners, agreed to acquire 2050 Partners, an energy and utilities consultancy. axios.link/3K4uvod

• Xplor, an Atlanta-based portfolio company of Advent International, is merging with Clubessential, a Cincinnati-based embedded payments provider for membership-based organizations. Clubessential backer Battery Ventures is selling some of its stake and rolling over the rest. axios.link/46HcV2o

• Groww, an Indian investment platform, filed to raise up to $120m in its domestic IPO. It's previously raised nearly $600m from backers like Iconiq, GIC, Microsoft, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, and YC. axios.link/4nrXd0w

• Verisure, a Swiss fire and security alarm maker owned by Hellman & Friedman, said it will seek to raise up to €3.1b in a Stockholm IPO. axios.link/4ppBYOK

⚡ WaterBridge Infrastructure, a Houston-based provider of water services and infrastructure for E&Ps, raised $634m in its IPO. It priced 31.7m shares at $20, versus plans to offer 27m shares at $17-$20. It will list on the NYSE (WBI), while backers include Five Point Energy. axios.link/41HCMV4

• X3 Acquisition, a financial services SPAC led by X Cubed Capital Management execs, filed for a $200m IPO. axios.link/3VUWERa

• Apollo Global Management is weighing a sale of AOL, which could fetch around $1.5b. axios.link/3VnesnV

• Tweet of the day: "Ted Turner has a chance to do the funniest thing."

⚡️ProEnergy, a portfolio company of Energy Capital Partners, agreed to sell four fast-start power generation facilities to CPS Energy for nearly $1.4b. axios.link/4nc2rxS

🚑 TA Associates delayed its sale process for OmniActive, an Indian nutritional ingredients maker, over tariff concerns, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3VnZVs7

• Thomson Reuters (Nasdaq: TRI) acquired Additive, an SF-based tax document processing automation startup that had raised funding from Mantis VC and Quiet Capital. axios.link/3IruIRR

• Jindal Steel of India offered to buy the European steel operations of Germany's Thyssenkrupp. axios.link/3IcHS5h

• Rithm Capital agreed to acquire office properties-focused REIT Paramount Group (NYSE: PGRE) for $1.6b in cash. axios.link/3VTPZGY

• Alt Capital, an enterprise AI-focused VC firm led by Jack Altman, raised $275m for its second fund. axios.link/4nUXcCT

• Sean Brownridge joined Cooley to chair its activism defense practice. He previously was with Schulte Roth & Zabel. axios.link/3IrNEjo

• Alan Glass joined Energize Capital as a partner and co-head of its growth buyout strategy. He previously was with Vista Equity Partners. axios.link/46EOyCm

• Erica Madrid joined Blueprint Capital Advisors as an executive director. She previously led DEI and client engagement at Morgan Stanley. axios.link/4ppSHkX