The next deadline for TikTok to be sold or banned is just days from now, but all signs are that President Trump again will kick the can down the road.

Why it matters: This is Congressional fecklessness on full display.

• For years there was a bipartisan chorus of concern over TikTok posing a national security risk.
• Today there is virtual silence, even as the app is used by an increasing number of Americans.

Catch up quick: Congress passed legislation in early 2024 that requires TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to divest control to U.S. interests or else the app would be banned.

• It was signed into law by President Biden and upheld by the Supreme Court.
• Trump, however, has repeatedly used executive orders to provide ByteDance with deadline extensions — even though such moves violate both the law's letter and spirit. The most recent of those is set to expire next Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Behind the scenes: The outline of a divestiture and data security deal has been in place for months. In fact, the latter part was essentially negotiated with Oracle when Trump tried to ban TikTok at the tail-end of his first term.

• Beijing, however, hasn't signed off — and Trump now seems to want TikTok as leverage in stalled trade negotiations.
• There also are several third-party bidders that have submitted alternate proposals, including groups led by Frank McCourt and Steve Mnuchin.
• Multiple sources tell me that the White House has been radio silent on TikTok for a while now. Expectations are that another extension is likely, although they caution to expect the unexpected when it comes to Trump.

Zoom in: As we've previously reported, TikTok's rivals aren't suing to enforce the ban, for fear that such a move could boomerang on them in other countries.

The bottom line: This may well push into 2026.

Giorgio Armani's heirs have been instructed to sell the late designer's namesake company, most likely to a French buyer, according to his will.

Why it's the BFD: This has stunned the fashion world, given that Armani had taken several steps to maintain the brand's family control and Italian heritage.

Zoom in: His heirs (via a foundation) are directed to sell an initial 15% stake within 18 months, with three priority suitors listed: EssilorLuxottica, LVMH, or L'Oreal.

• Then there would be two additional divestitures to the same buyer at intervals of three and five years after Armani's death, with the final stake sale to be 54.9%.
• If no buyer emerges, then the heirs are to take the company public.

The bottom line: "Although Armani was able to maintain his grip over his company until the very end, the group's revenues struggled to grow, remaining stable at about €2.4bn last year amid younger consumers shunning the label's staple formalwear and a wider luxury industry slowdown." — Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli, FT

🚀 Apex Space, an LA-based maker of satellite busses, raised $200m in Series D funding at a $1b valuation. Interlagos led, joined by insiders a16z, Point72 Ventures, and 8VC. axios.link/3IgW11f

🚑 Diana Health, a New York-based network of women's health practices, raised $55m in Series C funding. HealthQuest Capital led, joined by Norwest Venture Partners, .406 Ventures, LRVHealth, and AlleyCorp. axios.link/4pkhZ46

• Scintil Photonics, a French startup focused on scaling photonics for AI factories, raised €50m in Series B funding. Yotta Capital Partners and NGP Capital led, joined by Nvidia, BNP Paribas Développement, Supernova Invest, Bpifrance Digital Venture, Innovacom, Bosch Ventures, and Applied Ventures. axios.link/41OvEGu

🚑 Alchemab, a London-based biotech whose lead candidate is an ALS drug, raised $32m in Series A extension funding from OVI, RA Capital, SV Health Investors, DCVC Bio , Lightstone Ventures, and Eli Lilly. axios.link/4mguXND

• Brain Co., a startup that helps large organizations incorporate AI, raised $30m in Series A funding. Elad Gil's Gil Capital and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners led, joined by Andrej Karpathy, Aravind Srinivas, Fidji Simo, Patrick Collison, Brian Armstrong, Reid Hoffman, and Mark Weinberger. axios.link/3JRcBp0

🚑 Penguin Ai, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of health-care administration solutions, raised $29.7m in Series A funding. Greycroft led, joined by UPMC Enterprises, SemperVirens, Snowflake Ventures, Watershed Ventures, Horizon Mutual Holdings, ManchesterStory, Overwater Ventures, California Health Care Foundation, Canvas Prime, and Plug and Play. axios.link/3VIEPVk

• AxonIQ, a Dutch development platform, raised more than $18m in seed and Series A funding from AVP, Volta Ventures, and Trifork. axios.link/3Vf7WQ5

🚑 Goodpath, a Boston-based provider of virtual care for chronic conditions, raised $18m in Series A funding led by MassMutual Ventures with participation from Healthy Ventures. axios.link/41R4vCS

🚑 Medra, an SF-based developer of lab robotics, raised $11m in pre-seed and seed funding from Neo and Lux Capital. axios.link/3Ie28U3

🚑 Lōvu Health, a Cupertino, Calif.-based digital maternal health platform, raised $8m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. SJF Ventures led, joined by Rogue Women's Fund, Symphonic Capital, Emmeline Ventures, Magella Ventures, Oakwood Circle Ventures, Sand Hill Angels, Swizzle Ventures, Terrasys, Stand Together Ventures, and Alumni Ventures. axios.link/4piu6ib

• Oneio, a Finnish enterprise IT integrations startup, raised €8m. Bocap led, joined by insider Fairpoint Capital. axios.link/3K2R8cy

🌍 Messium, a U.K. startup using satellites to monitor crop soil health, raised €3.8m in seed funding led by UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund and Expansion Aerospace Ventures. axios.link/41OnttV

⚡️ Standab, a Swedish micromobility charging provider, raised €3.6m led by Spintop Ventures, joined by Almi Invest GreenTech. axios.link/468yIhS

🚑 OpenHealth, a German lab data infrastructure startup, raised $3m in seed funding from GoHub Ventures, xdeck ventures, Edenbase, Exceptional Ventures, YZR Capital, Octopus Ventures, and Calm/Storm Ventures. axios.link/4go63KL

• Altan, a Spanish developer of agent-run software, raised $2.5m in pre-seed funding led by VentureFriends and JME Ventures. axios.link/4nbyGNu

• Hive Robotics, a German collaborative robotics startup, raised €2m led by b2venture. axios.link/46asmA9

• Aperture, a Genstar Capital portfolio company, acquired Bryant Consultants Operating, a Carrollton, Texas-based geotechnical engineering and forensic consultancy. aperturellc.com

• Bow River Capital acquired meQuilibrium, a Boston-based provider of workforce mental health and performance management solutions that had raised over $40m from firms like HLM Investment Partners, Chrysalis Ventures and Safeguard Scientifics. axios.link/3VeYOLh

• CVC Capital Partners is in talks to buy Namecheap, a Phoenix-based domain registrar and web host, for around $1.5b (including debt), per the WSJ. axios.link/48cfLxp

• Interlock Equity invested in VeloSource, a St. Louis-based provider of locum tenens staffing solutions. velosource.com

• Norea Capital acquired a majority stake in Motrec International, a Canadian maker of industrial EVs. axios.link/3JRgxWR

• Station Partners invested in First Children Services, a provider of behavioral health and special ed services in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. firstchildrenservices.com

• Warburg Pincus is weighing a bid for British fund administrator JTC (LSE: JTC), which recently rejected Permira's buyout approach, per Bloomberg. axios.link/41L4ekY

• Black Rock Coffee Bar, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based chain with 158 locations, raised $294m in its IPO. It priced at $20 (above $16-$18 range) and will list on the Nasdaq (BRCB). Backers include Cynosure Partners. axios.link/4g77Tzx

• Gemini, a crypto exchange platform led by the Winklevoss twins, raised $425m in its IPO. It priced 15.2m shares at $28, versus initial plans to offer 16.7m shares at $17-$19. It later increased the range to $24-$26 and added a $50m private placement from Nasdaq. Gemini reports a $282m net loss on $68m in revenue for the first half of 2025, and will list on the Nasdaq (GEMI). Backers include Morgan Creek Digital. axios.link/4nNoaMH

🌎 Legence, a San Jose, Calif., sustainability consultancy owned by Blackstone, raised $728m in its IPO. It priced at $28 ($25-$29 range), for a $2.9b initial market cap. Legence had a $25m net loss on $1.1b in revenue for the first half of 2025, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (LGN). axios.link/46i5vkW

• Lendbuzz, a Boston-based auto finance platform, filed for an IPO. It reports $11m of net income on $173 in revenue for the first six months of 2025, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (LBZZ). Lendbuzz has raised over $1b of private equity funding, and even more debt, from backers like 83North and OG Tech Ventures. axios.link/3VazeqO

• QDRO Acquisition, a financial services SPAC, filed for a $200m IPO. axios.link/4mYnqnA

• OTG Acquisition I, a digital infrastructure SPAC, raised $200m in its IPO. axios.link/3Vhojvn

• SMG, an online marketplaces group backed by General Atlantic, is planning to raise up to $1.1b this month via a Swiss IPO. axios.link/3I4UpYp

• Via Transportation, a New York-based provider of municipal transportation solutions, raised $493m in its IPO. It priced at $46 (above $40-$44 range), for a $4.2b fully diluted value, and will list on the NYSE (VIA). Backers include Exor, 83North, and Pitango. axios.link/47kDivT

• F5 (Nasdaq: FFIV) will pay $180m to buy CalypsoAI, a New York-based AI testing and security startup that had raised over $30m from Paladin Capital Group, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Hakluy Capital, Expeditions Fund, Auren Hoffman and Anne Wojcicki. axios.link/46lrCqx

• PAI Partners sold part of its stake in Belgian infrastructure services provider Infra Group for around €3b to an investor group that includes current backer ICG, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4gmVtUj

• Banco Sabadell's (Madrid: SAB) board is asking shareholders to reject BBVA's (M: BBVA) €15.3b hostile takeover bid. axios.link/46zJNKk

• JPMorgan Chase promoted Francisco Abularach and Michael Johnson to global co-heads of infrastructure investment banking, per Reuters. axios.link/4mhI4hB

Paramount Skydance is working on a takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, backed by the Ellison family, as first reported by the WSJ and confirmed by Axios.

• This comes just a month after David Ellison's Skydance completed its Paramount purchase, and the same week that Larry Ellison briefly dethroned Elon Musk as the world's richest man — following a blowout earnings report from Oracle.

Zoom in: A merger would unite CNN, CBS, HBO, Nickelodeon and DC Studios under the same banner.