Venture capitalists are buzzing over the Trump administration's plan to charge $100,000 for H1-B visas, and it hasn't quieted down after White House clarification that these will be one-time fees on new applications.

• Most VC reaction seems to be negative. Both because of the financial burden it could place on startups, making it that much harder to compete with richer incumbents, and also because of the longer-term risks it presents to American innovation.
• But the conventional wisdom isn't universal, as befitting an industry where some of the best bets are iconoclastic.

Why it matters: Venture capitalists aren't hiring managers, but they have portfolio-level views and ultimately foot the bill for startup budgets.

The bear case: A lot of America's top entrepreneurs and tech execs are immigrants, including those who utilized H1-B visas. People like Elon Musk and Satya Nadella.

• Putting up new roadblocks may prevent, or at least discourage, potential immigrants who would otherwise create the next great U.S. company. Much like restrictions on student visas.
• Already we're seeing recruitment posts from founders in emerging tech hubs like London and Toronto, while there's talk that some startups may just open remote offices in India (while some LPs may increase allocations to India-focused VC funds).
• In short, it presents a pipeline problem. Not only for H1-B visa holders who are sponsored by startups, but also for those who go to work for Big Tech and later leave to launch or join new companies.
• "The choice is simple: we can welcome and keep visionary founders and highly skilled talent in the USA with a much needed Startup Visa and other sound immigration policies, including H-1B's, or watch these new companies and the jobs they create begin overseas," says Bobby Franklin, CEO of the National Venture Capital Association.

The bull case: Startups use a relatively small portion of H1-B visas, and many of those are transfers that won't get hit by the new fee.

• Such hires are usually very specific people with very specific skills — the sorts of folks who can help make or break a business, rather than those coming via so-called "body shops." How could that individual not be worth an extra $100,000?
• Moreover, startups tend to utilize the H1-B program more as they grow, from dozens of employees to hundreds, thus lowering the financial resource strain.
• Finally, the U.S. government must do something to cut down on alleged H1-B visa abuses. This might not be the perfect solution, but it could actually increases the number of spots available to startups.

The bottom line: The wisdom of this change, and of others involving legal immigration, won't be known until most of today's decision-makers have long since retired.

Stripe is in talks to repurchase shares from venture capital backers at a $106.7 billion valuation, Axios has learned.

Why it's the BFD: The payments infrastructure giant caught grief, including from yours truly, for not going public when its valuation hit $95 billion before the pandemic — after which it was slashed to only $50 billion.

• Now it's worth more and is offering liquidity without public-market glare.

Behind the scenes: Stripe hasn't yet determined how much stock it will repurchase, nor if the offer will be extended to employees. A source called the talks "flexible."

• The $106.7 billion figure is Stripe's latest 409A valuation.
• A company spokesperson declined comment.

Flashback: One year ago, longtime Stripe investor Sequoia Capital bought $861 million worth of Stripe shares from its own limited partners at a $70 billion valuation.

The bottom line: Stripe's founding brothers have never seemed interested in an IPO, and this is further indication that there won't be one anytime soon.

🚑 Oura, a Finnish smart ring maker, is raising $875m in Series E funding at around a $10.9b valuation, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4niTVgF

• Filevine, a Salt Lake City-based legal intelligence startup, raised $400m via two equity rounds from Insight Partners, Accel, Halo Fund, Meritech, Stepstone, Run Ventures, and Album Ventures. axios.link/4ne4gu5

🚑 Capital Rx, a New York-based pharmacy benefit manager, is nearing a $252m Series F round led by Wellington Management and General Catalyst. Other backers include Generation Investment Management, Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, 9Yards Capital, B Capital, Edison Partners, Prime Health Investments, and Transformation Capital. axios.link/46WJmJl

• AppZen, an automated enterprise finance compliance tool, raised $180m led by Riverwood Capital, as first reported by Axios Pro. axios.link/46Cx9ZX

• Distyl AI, an SF-based startup that helps integrate AI into core biz workflows, raised $175m in Series B funding at a $1.8b valuation. Khosla Ventures and Lightspeed led, joined by Coatue, Dell Technologies Capital, and DST Global. axios.link/4261PBx

• Empower Semiconductor, a San Jose, Calif.-based processor maker, raised $140m in Series D funding led by Fidelity Management & Research Company. Maverick Silicon, CapitalG, Atreides Management, Socratic Partners, Walden Catalyst Ventures, Knollwood, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority participated. axios.link/47RggNq

• Auterion, an Arlington, Va.-based provider of software for military drones, raised $130m in Series B funding. Bessemer Venture Partners led, joined by Lakestar, Mosaic Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, and $25m of non-dilutive funding from DoD. axios.link/3VQ5KyV

• Fnality, a London-based provider of wholesale payment systems, raised £99.7m in Series C funding from WisdomTree, Bank of America, Citi, KBC Group, Temasek, Tradeweb, Banco Santander, Barclays, BNP Paribas, DTCC, Euroclear, Goldman Sachs, ING, Nasdaq Ventures, State Street, and UBS. axios.link/3KeL4xU

🚑 Ausperbio, an SF-based biotech focused on chronic hepatitis B, raised $63m in Series B2 financing. Qiming Venture Partners led, joined by HanKang Capital, CDH Investments, YuanBio Venture Capital, Sherpa Capital, and Genesis Capital. axios.link/3IaQWYr

🚑 Until Labs, a developer of cryopreservation for organs, raised $58m in Series A funding. Founders Fund led, joined by Field Ventures and Lux Capital. axios.link/4gyDnP4

🚑 Avenzo Therapeutics, a San Diego-based oncology biotech, raised $60m in Series B funding. OrbiMed and SR One led, joined by Longwood Fund, Foresite Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, Surveyor Capital, NEA, Deep Track Capital, Sofinnova Investments, Sands Capital, Ince Capital, TF Capital, Delos Capital, and Quan Capital. axios.link/48uESv

• Morse Micro, an Australian developer of ultra-low power chips, raised A$59m in Series A funding. MegaChips led, joined by National Reconstruction Fund Corp., Blackbird, Main Sequence, Uniseed, Ray Stata, Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull, and Startmate. morsemicro.com

🌎 Nxtfood, a French plant-based meat producer, raised €49m from Creadev, Roquette Ventures, Clay Capital, and IRD Invest. axios.link/42G3IVF

🌎 The Protein Brewery, a Dutch producer of fungi-based ingredients, raised €30m in Series B funding from Invest-NL, the Brabant Development Agency, Novo Holdings, Unovis Asset Management, and Madeli. axios.link/4nN3jJi

• Brale, a stablecoin issuer, raised $30m. Lightspeed led, joined by NEA and Refract. brale.xyz

• Rocket.new, an Indian vibe-coding startup, raised $15m in seed funding. Salesforce Ventures led, joined by Accel and Together Fund. axios.link/4nnUaam

• Sunhat, a German ESG compliance automation platform, raised €9.2m in Series A funding. CommerzVentures led, joined by insiders Capnamic, EnBW New Ventures, xdeck, and WEPA Ventures. axios.link/4nAE5OJ

🚑 Seven Starling, a New York-based provider of maternal telemental services, raised $8m. Rethink Impact led, joined by Pear VC, Zeal Capital Partners, Magnify Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Expa, Fiore Ventures, March of Dimes, Rogue Women's Fund, and Graham & Walker. axios.link/3IADayg

• Testkube, a New York-based continuous testing platform, raised $8m in Series A funding round led Insight Partners and Ratmir Timashev (co-founder of Veeam Software). axios.link/4nsYAMQ

🌎 Earthmover, a New York-based weather and climate data provider, raised $7.2m in seed funding. Lowercarbon Capital led, joined by Costanoa Ventures and Preston-Werner Ventures. axios.link/4nd07qh

• Tilt, a provider of direct indexing solutions for financial advisers, raised $7.1m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Portage and Lerer Hippeau led, joined by Golden Ventures, Real Ventures, Cumberland, and FJ Labs. axios.link/46GtWJ4

🌎 Alchemy, a Canadian advanced materials developer for auto and defense, raised C$6m from NameSilo Technologies, Pathfinder Asset Management, and Pembroke Management. axios.link/42DAyq3

• Wexler.ai, a London-based platform for fact-checking complex litigation, raised $5.3m in seed funding. Pear VC led, joined by Seedcamp, LegalTech Fund, and Myriad Venture Partners. axios.link/46iK7xa

• Veezoo, a Zurich-based agentic analytics platform, raised a €5m Series A led by ACE Ventures. axios.link/4nk0sYq

🚑 Prosper AI, a voice platform for health care, raised $5m in seed funding. Emergence Capital led, joined by YC CRV, and Company Ventures. getprosper.ai

• Unit 221B, a New York-based cybercrime tracking company, raised $5m in seed funding led by J2 Ventures, with participation from Pipeline Capital. axios.link/48t7jdi

• Catena, a New York-based logistics data startup, raised $5m in seed funding led by Floating Point, per Axios Pro. axios.link/46zKOky

• Shield, a crypto neobank, raised $5m in seed funding led by Giant Ventures. axios.link/46hCBCH

• Forgent, an AI platform for public sector contracts, raised €4.3b in pre-seed funding led by Cherry Ventures. forgent.ai

• Predicti, a Danish predictive platform for fintech, raised $4.2m led by TX Ventures and Dreamcraft Ventures. axios.link/4nOdEVn

• Pillar, an Italian construction fintech, raised €3.2m in pre-seed funding. Emblem led, joined by Pareto, Plug and Play, Kima Ventures, B Heroes, Vento, Eden Ventures, and IAG. axios.link/3K9vq71

🌎 GrainChain, a McAllen, Texas-based agtech supply chain startup, received a $3m investment from Bed Bath & Beyond. axios.link/3IAQWkm

🌎 Time-Travelling Milkman, a Dutch developer of dairy-free cream made from sunflower seeds, raised €2m in pre-Series A funding from Sparkalis and Evercurious. axios.link/48uF9ia

• Argyle, a New York-based verification platform for income and employment data, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Mastercard and insiders Bain Capital Ventures, Checkr, Rockefeller Asset Management, and SignalFire. axios.link/3KeVayM

• Bregal Milestone acquired a majority stake in SkySparc, a Stockholm-based provider of digital transformation solutions for treasury and finance orgs, from Bragnum Invest. axios.link/4nhDCk0

• Carrick Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in Intelligo, an Israeli provider of corporate background checks that had raised over $40m in VC funding from firms like Felicitas Global Partners and Behrens Investment Group. axios.link/3W88Uhf

⚡️ KKR and CPP Investment Board agreed to buy a 45% stake in Sempra Infrastructure Partners from Sempra (NYSE: SRE) for $10b in cash (impliued $31.7b enterprise value). axios.link/4nsY41m

• Lion Equity Partners acquired Custom Tube Products, an Edgewater, Fla.-based maker of metal tubing assemblies and parts. axios.link/4mq9u4L

• Security Fire Systems, a Blackford Capital portfolio company, acquired North Little Rock, Ark.-based Lakeview Security, Fire & Communications. securityfiresystems.com

• Thoma Bravo agreed to buy PROS Holdings, a Houston-based provider of revenue management software to airlines. for around $1.4b, per $23.25 per share (42% premium to Friday's closing price). axios.link/3VqE0R9

• TreeServe, a portfolio company of Soundcore Capital Partners, acquired Dave Leonard Tree Specialists (Lexington, Ky.) and JL Tree Service (Fairfax, Va.). axios.link/42svPYz

• Valsoft, a Montreal-based software acquisition platform backed by Coatue and Viking Global Investors, acquired Quorum Information Technologies, a listed Canadian provider of software for auto dealers and OEMs. axios.link/4nEZju5

⚡️ Climate Transition Special Opportunities, a renewable energy SPAC, filed for a $150m IPO. axios.link/4nekMKD

• Commercial Bancgroup, a community bank with dozens of branches in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee, set IPO terms to 3.7m shares at $25.75-$27.75. It would have a $367m market cap, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (CBK). axios.link/3KfDpzu

• Allwyn International, a European lottery operator, agreed to acquire Georgia-based fantasy sports operator PrizePicks for upwards of $4.15b (including $1.6b in upfront cash). PrizePicks backers include TiE Atlanta Angels. axios.link/4gH15Jc

• Grant Thornton Advisors completed its acquisition of Stax, a Boston-based strategy consultancy, from Blue Point Capital Partners. axios.link/46j83Av

• Hitachi (Tokyo: 6501) agreed to acquire Synvert, a German data and AI services group, from Maxburg. axios.link/426sqyk

• Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE: WMS) agreed to buy the water management unit of Germany's Norma Group for $1b. axios.link/46j4evd

• Anson Funds Management is pushing Clear Channel Outdoor (NYSE: CCO) to pursue a sale, per Bloomberg. The activist investor holds around a 3.6% position. axios.link/3KywqS1

🍺 Heineken agreed to buy the beverage and retail unit of Costa Rica's Florida Ice and Farm Co., including the Imperial beer brand, for $3.2b in cash. axios.link/4myJJ2v

• Morningstar (Nasdaq: MORN) agreed to acquire the CRSP, a provider of historical stock market data and indexes, for $375m from the University of Chicago. axios.link/3Kl5WU1

⚽ The Paine family, owner of the Maine Mariners, acquired a minority ownership interest in pro soccer team Portland Hearts of Pine. axios.link/4na6Tx2

• Archetype, an early-stage crypto VC firm, raised over $100m for its third fund. axios.link/47WLVx2

⚡️ Macquarie Asset Management raised over $3b for its first dedicated energy transition fund. axios.link/47R2lab

• Sagard of Canada and Unigestion of Switzerland agreed to merge their private equity platforms, which would manage a combined $23b in assets. axios.link/46AofMq

• Ventech, a French VC firm, raised €175m for its sixth fund. axios.link/4gxCcPU

• Tim Atkinson (ex-Blantyre Capital) and Steven Carew (Warakirri Asset Management) joined Hayfin as managing directors of partner solutions. axios.link/3KgA7Mf

• Bank of America promoted Geoff Iles and Lukas Poensgen to co-heads of EMEA M&A. axios.link/3IvMvHy

• Timmy Davis, former U.S. ambassador to Qatar and a longtime State Department official, joined Qatar's Irth Capital as president and partner. axios.link/3I9919i

• Rohan Juneja (ex-Jefferies), Ryan Lake (Arlington Capital Advisors) and Lauren Vitale (Lincoln International) joined JPMorgan as mid-cap investment bankers, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3IzRcAc

• Serge Tismen joined Moelis & Co. as a managing director of M&A. He previously spent more than two decades at Citi. axios.link/424OIAs

Nvidia shares rose nearly 4% yesterday, after announcing plans to invest up to $100 billion into OpenAI.

• The stock price increase added around $171 billion to Nvidia's market cap.

If you consider this a venture capital deal, or even a corporate venture capital deal, then it's easily the largest in history.

• The investment is tied to data center buildouts. The more gigawatts that OpenAI deploys, the more money it receives. No specific metrics were disclosed.
• Or, put another way, this is Nvidia giving OpenAI money to buy Nvidia products (while also diversifying its deep-pocket partnerships beyond Microsoft).