I come here neither to praise nor pillory David Sacks, the venture capitalist who spends half his time as President Trump's top advisor on AI and crypto.

Instead, my goal is to emphasize what I thought was obvious:

• Sacks is promoting policies that he believes will help the U.S. win the AI race against China, even if no one can quite agree on the course parameters or finish line.
• And, in so doing, he's also promoting policies that would benefit U.S. venture capitalists — including himself, friends, foes, and strangers.

Sacks was the subject yesterday of a lengthy New York Times story whose headline bark was worse than its prose bite.

• Its argument was that Sacks is inherently conflicted, by virtue of his dual roles. That he still holds lots of AI-related investments, despite divestitures.

These are the sorts of things most of us already knew, although "we" aren't the NYT's target audience.

• For example, it's nearly impossible to be an active venture capitalist and not have investments that will be impacted by AI policy. Virtually all startups — regardless of sector — now refer to AI in their marketing materials, and internally are seeking to more deeply integrate the technology.

The social media reaction was loud and predictable. Many Trump critics used the piece as evidence of illicit self-dealing. Sacks and his supporters used it as evidence of media malfeasance (without identifying any false information).

• Everyone should take a breath.

Sacks has been an unabashed AI optimist from the jump, and Trump signaled support for his philosophy during the campaign.

• Nothing Sacks has done so far, including his push for preemption, is counter to those long-held beliefs. If there's evidence that he's working against his view of the national interest or against competing startups, we've yet to see it. Innuendo doesn't count.
• Sure, there are disagreements over things like chip exports (which also was true within the Biden administration). But, for the most part, Sacks is following conventional Silicon Valley wisdom. A bit similar to when Googlers were omnipresent in the Obama White House.

But let's not pretend that Sacks is sacrificing venture capital for the common good, or that the two are somehow unrelated.

• Sacks' driving AI philosophy of "let them cook" is the sort of light-touch regulation that industries covet. And for good reason.
• It doesn't mean every AI startup will succeed — including those in Sacks' portfolio — but is nonetheless a net positive.
• The reflexive "how dare you?" yesterday read as oblivious in some cases, as disingenuous in others.

The bottom line: The Trump administration is very friendly toward the AI industry, believing that the rewards outweigh the risks. And if it's right, those rewards will flow to people like Sacks.

• That reality isn't new. It's also not nefarious.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has agreed to acquire Innovator Capital Management, a Wheaton, Illinois-based provider of defined-outcome ETFs, for $2 billion in cash and stock.

Why it's the BFD: Defined-outcome ETFs are becoming increasingly popular among investors (and financial advisors) who want to protect against volatility.

• They limit downside risk and cap profit potential, with some using them as a fixed income alternative.

Behind the scenes: Bryon Lake, Goldman's co-head of third party wealth, years ago worked with Innovator's cofounders when they all were at PowerShares (later acquired by Invesco).

The bottom line: "Innovator's 'buffer' has done better on the downside than the upside this year, with the strategy working during the Liberation Day tumult in April but underperforming the S&P 500 since May." — Ben Berkowitz, Axios

• Black Forest Labs, a German AI image generation startup, raised $300m in Series B funding at a $3.25b postmoney valuation. AMP and Salesforce Ventures led, joined by a16z, BroadLight Capital, Creandum, Earlybird VC, General Catalyst, Northzone, and Nvidia. axios.link/4pGzkUj

• Quantum Systems, a German developer of aerial intelligence systems, raised €180m in Series C extension funding led by Balderton Capital. axios.link/3XWjicX

🚑 Protego Biopharma, a San Diego-based rare disease biotech initially focused on AL amyloidosis, raised $130m in Series B funding. Novartis Venture Fund and Forbion led, joined by Omega Funds, Droia Ventures, YK Bioventures, Digitalis Ventures, Vida Ventures, MPM BioImpact, Lightspeed, and Scripps Research. axios.link/4iunYjD

• Gravis Robotics, a Swiss earthmoving robotics platform, raised $23m. IQ Capital and Zacua Ventures led, joined by Pear VC, Imad, Sunna Ventures, Amada Investment, and Holcim. axios.link/4izQBwc

• BHub, a Brazilian accounting startup for entrepreneurs, raised $10m from Next Billion Partners and insiders Valor Capital, Monashees, and Hedosophia. axios.link/49JAkSQ

• ExploMar, a Chinese maker of electric propulsion systems for boats, raised $10m from backers like DCM Ventures. axios.link/3XZxDFw

⚡ Blackstone is nearing a $4b buyout of MacLean Power Systems, a Ft. Mill, S.C.-based utility parts maker from Centerbridge Partners and CFT Capital Partners, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3M7ukJQ

• Cegid, a Silver Lake portfolio company, agreed to buy a majority stake in Shine, a Copenhagen-based provider of digital solutions to small businesses, from Investcorp. axios.link/4pIvKJf

• Crestline Investors made a minority investment in Canadian out-of-home adtech Broadsign to support its acquisition of lace Exchange, an OOH supply-side platform. axios.link/4rvcRuX

• CVC Capital Partners and EQT have dropped their A$5.25b pursuit of Australian insurance broker AUB Group (ASX: AUB). axios.link/3MvWRJ6

• IDHL, a U.K. digital marketing agency backed by Bridgepoint, acquired London-based ecommerce consultancy Vervuant. axios.link/4itBnZe

🚑 Patria Investments agreed to buy Banmedica, a provider of health services and insurance in Colombia and Chile, from UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) for $1b, per Reuters. axios.link/3KtRYjf

• Permira Credit is in talks to take over German tour operator Berge & Meer. axios.link/48biWFw

• Temasek is in talks to buy around a 5% stake in Singapore-based engineering services firm Quest Global at a $4.6b valuation, ahead of an expected IPO in India, per Bloomberg. axios.link/44yhGK9

• Warburg Pincus agreed to buy a majority stake in Raptor Technologies, a Houston-based school safety software provider, from Thoma Bravo at around a $1.8b enterprise value, per Reuters. axios.link/4pABqF1

No companies plan to price IPOs this week on U.S. exchanges.

• Mountain Lake Acquisition II, a SPAC led by Paul Grinberg (chair of Axos Financial), filed for a $261m IPO. axios.link/4paZqiv

🚑 Livingbridge is seeking to sell Australian teleradiology firm Everlight Radiology for around A$1b, per AFR. axios.link/4ro1vJb

• Maven Capital Partners sold DPP, a British mechanical and electrical maintenance contractor, to an undisclosed buyer. axios.link/4ryOmgI

• Wayve, a London-based self-driving startup valued at $2.8b by backers like SoftBank and Nvidia acquired Quality Match, a German provider of self-driving data for AI model training. Quality Match raised over $6m from firms like LEA Partners and Kensho. axios.link/48r3WSO

• Anta Sports Products (HK: 2020) is weighing a takeover bid for listed German sneaker and sportswear maker Puma, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3Ko3jRK

• Deutsche Boerse has offered to buy Amsterdam-listed fintech Allfunds for around $6b. axios.link/43VTmBU

• SolGold (LSE: SOL), a Swiss copper miner, rejected a second takeover bid from China's Jiangxi Copper Co. axios.link/3XY6kLP

• Somnigroup International (NYSE: SGI) offered to buy Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG) for around $1.6b in stock, or $12 per share. axios.link/48sVbaT

• Unilever (NYSE: UL) agreed to sell British snack brand Graze to Germany's Katjes International. axios.link/44HRYTx

• Willis Towers Watson (Nasdaq: WTW) is in talks to buy an 85% stake in workplace pension provider Cushon from NatWest Group (LSE: MWG), per Reuters. axios.link/3MvzOy1

• 6 Degrees Capital, a VC firm with offices in London and Antwerp, raised €154m for its third fund. axios.link/3KvnHk4

• Castle Fund, led by Daniel Gould (Assymetry Ventures, ex-Amazon and Roku), is raising $20m for its debut fund, per an SEC filing.

• China Investment Corp., a $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, is in advanced talks to sell a $1b PE fund stakes portfolio, per Bloomberg. Bidders include Ardian. axios.link/4iu7JmH

🚑 GL Capital, a Chinese PE firm focused on health care, is targeting $800m for its fifth fund, per PEI. axios.link/4pF3Lds

• Entrée Capital raised $300m for new VC funds. entreecapital.vc

• J-INC, a Japanese buyout firm led by Soichi Yamaguchi (ex-Bain Capital), is nearing a $393m final close on its debut fund, per PEI. axios.link/44vv9lY

• Monolith Management, a Chinese VC firm, raised $289m for a new fund, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3MwJsR1

Barrick Mining (NYSE:B) this morning said it's exploring an IPO of a subsidiary that would hold its North American gold assets.

• This comes just weeks after activist investor Elliott Investment Management took at least a $700 million stake in Barrick, whose shares rose to their highest levels since 2012.

The bottom line: It's been a good year for gold investors, but a better one for Barrick investors.